Media AS - Thriller

1) In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of the thriller genre?

After finding out all of my research, watching and reading about different thrillers and finding out what makes a thriller, if have come to the conclusion that my piece had many conventions of thriller genre.
The main convention for me was the low key lighting this is almost the 'etiquette' for the stereotypical, clique thriller. The low key lighting sets a tense atmosphere, everything seems scarier in the dark and this why darkness is so effective. films such as 'seven' us low key lighting for a mysterious effect. Also in the low key lighting you can't always analysis something a well as in the day light. The music is also a clique must for a thriller as the eerie music creates tension and heart racing atmosphere. However the music was only a last minute change we made after receiving some feedback. We originally had 'flashback' by Calvin Harris but after a discussion we thought it didn't really help create tension, which of course is a 'must' when listing thrillers. The other major part of our piece was the vulnerability of the four young girls, they were completely oblivious to what was going to happen, this is typical in thrillers as it makes the audience sympathise with the characters and also is more realistic to choose someone who cannot defend them selves. torture and murder are some quite common themes set for thrillers. Our piece featured vulnerable girls being tortured and the way murder scenes are filmed especially for 12a films which of course is what we set ours to accommodate, there are only quick and limited scenes this works as you don't always see everything you want to and the directed can manipulate the scene to make the audience think and see only what they want them to see. This is very effective in thrillers as you are clued to the film wondering what is going to happen. The gradual tension created from starting with just a voice over then switching to a chilled out area then going to the torture scenes is also common in thrillers as gradual tension is very important to clue your audience to watch the whole film and to stick with them even after the film has finished.

2)What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

Large film company's would distribute our product. we researched into Dreamworks as they make all types of films from horror to sci-fi and also have a similar target audience to us. Dreamworks and other big well known companies would be suitable.
Seeing as our film is a 12a before advertising on daytime TV or even playing it we would have to put guidance for parents before the film to worn them for any disturbing images or language.
However even though big companies would be suitable to distribute our film, this may not be realistic, as our film is of a low budget and big global companies may not want to invest in such a small low budget film. Therefore going to an independent company such as film four maybe a better option as they have still had their successes such as 'slum dog millionaire' which won multiple baffters. independent cinemas may also be interested in our amateur film.

3)does your media product represent particular social groups?

our main targeted group is 'teenagers' this is simply because of the relation between the audience and the characters. They can relate to the themes such as the party and also will effect them more as it will be more realistic therefore more scary. The costume from the sixth form centre also is the average clothing worn today by teenagers. But also the sense of the venerability that teenage block out their subconscious but can still be scary.

4)Who would be your audience for your media product?

Our target audience is aimed at both genders aged 15+ for the simple reason of the thriller theme and the torture intention. But there is only a quick flashes of these scenes and their not very graphic. It is also for people who enjoy thrillers so they will appreciated the piece more. we also feature allot of blood in our thriller and for anyone under the age of 15 may find this disturbing.

5)How did you attract/address your audience?

By enhancing the 'party' idea our thriller seems appealing to teenagers this is simply because party's are a familiar scene for teenagers and also interests them. Also by basing the first scene in a school it also seems like an average day at school but with a more heart racing, exciting edge to it.

6)What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

Before making our thriller i had very little knowledge of using mac computers but slowly through editing and uploading things i have found my way around and have increased my skills editing my thriller. My previous knowledge was when editing my continuity piece this was a great exercise that helped when doing my final piece. After every different day of filming we uploaded our clips and started cutting and moving things around. It was only after we had all our clips we started adding effects and music. Then finally the voice over. One of the things i learned from editing is that the more clips you get the better as even though it feels like you have to many when you come to editing it, if you have the same scene from all different angles and perspectives you have s much more to choose from. some of my achievements were the quickening of the scenes i think this worked really well and made our thriller. Also adding the soundtrack was challenging but worked out well in the end. When actually filming i increased my knowledge of how to use a camera to its full advantages.

7)Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

Planning is the biggest thing for me, i don't think you can do enough of it. It is very important to be sure what role everybody in your group is taking on, if this not clear then filming is very challenging. Also when we started filming our firs scene 'the getting ready scene' we were not prepared at all only when we were going to film and what we were wearing and this is why this particular scene wasn't featured, the poor planning showed in our work. Also our thriller was much more complex than the continuity piece which required allot more skill and time. Another thing is when doing our preliminary task i didn't really have much knowledge of the camera and also the mac computer for editing.

8)high points of your thriller?

My favourite thing about our thriller is the torture scene, this is mainly because of the make up, i think this makes it look more professional, also our location was very successful as it was a typical clique dark room. It also was made quite easy for us as it was at school free of charge for use to use wen we wanted, the low ceilings also created the right look we were trying to achieve.

9)low points of your thriller?

I think at the start we should have increased the sound so you could hear us discussing the party and therefore would make more sense. We should have spent more time on picking the music right the first time as because we had to change the music last minute we were rushed and only had limited time to choose it.