Evaluation 2018- marking

Level 3 12–15 marks • Proficient skill in the use of digital technology or ICT in the evaluation. • Proficient understanding of issues around audience, institution, technology, representation, forms and conventions in relation to production. • Proficient ability to refer to the choices made and outcomes. • Proficient understanding of their development from preliminary to full task. • Proficient ability to communicate


The prezi on codes and conventions seems to be missing a few points (blank at the end) but is thorough in its exploration of audience expectation and readings of thrillers.
Lewis' entry on representation does not go into much depth about how teenage boys are represented. I thought that Lewis' entry on institutions was thorough and I like his point about a British film company promoting a British made film. Lewis seemed very confused in his post about audiences and his writing lacked organisation. I wasn't sure what he was trying to say about primary audience. Lewis' post on addressing and attracting an audience was good but not in depth enough. His post on technology was reasonably thorough. The post on progression from prelim was fairly basic.

A few careless mistakes aside, Lewis' evaluation has improved since last year. There is some variety in the ways that things have been presented and on the whole there is more depth to the work.

Lewis 13/20

Evaluation 7 2018

Looking back at my preliminary task, I have learnt that it is important to use the best sound quality, as when I shot my preliminary task I was using my phone, instead of a camcorder ,which I used for my film opening. This is because when I was talking to my teacher in the classroom, I struggled to hear what the characters were saying, with the constant tinny sound that I had.

I had also learnt how to use iMovie properly for my final product, as when I made my preliminary task i used iMovie on the iPhone, which lacks the ability to add sound affects, and change the affects of the sound and video, like the mac that I used for the film opening, so I have learnt to always use the best technology available to me, in order to have better quality in my film.

From my preliminary task, to my thriller film opening, the main thing I learnt was the effectiveness that music can have on the atmosphere of my thriller film opening. When watching my preliminary task back, the lack of music stood out to me, and it felt incomplete. I feel that if I ever did my preliminary task again, I would have music at the start, when I am on the laptop. This could have introduced the setting as a work environment, and not have left it with the slightly boring feeling that it feels like now. Unfortunately, for my preliminary task, I didn't know that you could convert music from YouTube into iMovie, using YouTube converter websites.

The use of props that I used in my thriller, compared to my preliminary task, despite being used for different things, are used in a more effective way. The knife used in my thriller, as an action code, is a powerful plot device, in shocking the audience. I feel like my preliminary task doesn't use props to the same affect, and instead, it almost feels like filler material. This is a method of audience engagement that I have learnt during the transition between the preliminary task and the thriller opening.

Evaluation 6 2018

What have I learnt about technologies, from the process of constructing this product?

from the construction of this product i have learnt how to use iMovie to perfectly time sound affects with things going on, on the screen.For example, when the knife fell on the ground and I added a boom affect, which hyperbolizes the affect of suspense created.

I also learnt how to add affects to sound in order to make them feel like they belong in the dream sequence, which I was going for. For example, when I am walking through the woods I added a sound of a dog barking, but I put an echo sound affect on it, this was supposed to make it seem less in touch with the real world, as the effect made it sound almost like a figment of my imagination, not really there. This would make the audience second guess what they are watching, typical of the thriller genre. Also regarding affects, I learnt to how add a "day to night" filter on scenes which were meant to be at night, when I had woken up in bed, this helped build verisimilitude, as waking up "in the middle of the night" in a bright room wouldn't have been convincing. This was very helpful, as I didn't have to record when it was darker, and visibility from the camcorder would have made it harder to see what was going on, 

I also learnt how to trim bits of footage and made it so that the end of that clip lights up, so when it cuts to the next scene it is bright for a split second, before going back to normal. I did this by increasing the brightness at the beginning and the end of the 2 clips. I have used this  transition between the panning down of the tree and the shot of me walking towards the woods, this was to make it seem more dreamlike, sort of like it is transitioning between the real world, and the dream world that I was trying to convey.

 I have also learnt how to use prezi, to deliver my textual analysis, in a more aesthetically pleasing way, than just typing up paragraph after paragraph. I felt this will make my blog seem better flowing.

These were the main things I learnt, I was already aware how to use a camcorder, to carry out different shot types.

Regarding the tech of the camcorder, I learnt how to make the entire sequence flow, with the continuity editing. This made the editing feel invisible. Part of how I learnt to do this was through a video we were shown on YouTube in class, by Youtuber "Videomaker", called "Breaking Down the 180-degree Rule" Infact for research, I found youtube videos to be the easiest way of processing information. For example, I would look at past students preliminary tasks that were posted on Youtube, and see how they used process like simple shot reverse shot, eye line match and motivated cuts. Amongst other things, this helped improve my confidence with making the film, as I saw how simple it could be to achieve. 

To upload my music video for the world to see, I used YouTube. As a platform, this was simple as I could create an account and upload the video in less than 10 minutes. YouTube videos are invaluable in terms of the feedback that you can get from the comments section of them, as exchanging feedback can help each other know where they can improve, as well as what went well. 

A programme that I used for audience feedback was Survey Monkey. This was to find out who my target audience was, as well as find out what they wanted in the film opening, in terms of conventions.This had charts and graphs that my results were put into, which was easier and quicker than making making it myself. I simply emailed the questionnaire through SurveyMonkey, to people around my school, and got many results in the next few days.

Obviously, Blogger.com was vital in being the way I presented my blog. With Blogger.com, I could gain feedback from my teacher of what I had to do to improve, and what went well. Blogger.com allowed me to embed software like YouTube videos and Prezi power point presentations, so I could show my research and planning in a more aesthetically pleasing way.

Evaluation 5 2018

Evaluation 4 2018

Who would be the target audience for your media product? 

the target audience for my film is males over 15-25 , this is because my film is rated 15, due to common moments of horror, as well as fairly common moments of mild violence, and uses of mild bad language. there is also drug use later on when I am trying to control the dreams, which wasn’t being frowned upon in the film, but the use of context in this case meant it wasn’t enforcing a message that the audience should use drugs, which would spread a very bad message. To venture more into this, I researched the BBFC and what they do, in order to better understand what rating my film should be. 
I had a look at similar psychological thriller/horror film's age rating, to get a feel for what my conpetitors felt their films were rated in the UK
Donnie Darko- 15
se7en- 18
Black swan- 15
Shutter island- 15

It is important for me have a complete profile of my target audience, in order to know all about them, and so tailor my film, as well as my distribution practices, directly to them.


This is me, 17 at the time, and the target audience of Endless (my psychological thriller) 
Where they might shp would likely be online, as the internet provides convenience to me. This would translate with how I would purchase the film to watch. The act of going to the cinema with friends is very common, as it promotes socializing about the film, and is also convenient, as opposed to going to a physical shop to buy things. 

Secondary audience example- A secondary audience can be described as the second most important audience that I have to appeal to, obviously not as important as the first. This audience may consume the media in the background, while doing something else, and in this case, it may be a parent, of the 15 to 25 year old (who is the target audience) This is a part of audience engagement theory, which was coined by Jeremy Tunstall, who said of audiences that they either passively, or actively, consume media, based on who and where they are, or what they're doing. 

A funny example of the primary audience in real media texts, is the adult jokes that are made in children's cartoon shows, for the secondary audience of the cartoons, the adults. Most of these are innuendos, which the primary audience (the kids) woldn't understand.

However, ideally I wouldnt want to have a primary audience in my psychological thriller, because it would be very hard to understand by as passive viewer, if they are also doing things like cooking and cleaning while it is on in the background. they wouldn't be able to fully appreciate the narrative that the thriller has, especially the psychological aspect, which would be very hard to keep up with unless you saw all the twists and unexpected outcomes in the story.

There is also a type of audience called a tertiary audience, which differs from the others, as they're unaware that they're even consuming the media. Instead, they will see it through advertising, usually on a mass scale. This includes the sides of buses, billboards, TV and newspaper adverts etc. This would suggest towards the hypodermic needle theory, which "injects" the message into the audience, essentially the opposite of the uses and gratifications theory. However the Tertiary audience do still have less of an effect on the film's success, compared to the primary and secondary audience. 

The BBFC are very specific in the way they deem a film to be a 15. Below is the specifications for that, from the BBFC's official website. It all fits in with my thriller content.

Discrimination

The work as a whole must not endorse discriminatory language or behaviour, although there may be racist, homophobic or other discriminatory themes and language.
 

Drugs

Drug taking may be shown but the work as a whole must not promote or encourage drug misuse (for example, through instructional detail). The misuse of easily accessible and highly dangerous substances (for example, aerosols or solvents) is unlikely to be acceptable.

Imitable behaviour

Dangerous behaviour (for example, hanging, suicide and self-harming) should not dwell on detail which could be copied. Whether the depiction of easily accessible weapons is acceptable will depend on factors such as realism, context and setting.

 Language

There may be strong language. Very strong language may be permitted, depending on the manner in which it is used, who is using the language, its frequency within the work as a whole and any special contextual justification.

Nudity

There are no constraints on nudity in a non-sexual or educational context. There may be nudity in a sexual context but usually without strong detail.
 

Sex

Sexual activity may be portrayed, but usually without strong detail. There may be strong verbal references to sexual behaviour, but the strongest references are unlikely to be acceptable unless justified by context. Works whose primary purpose is sexual arousal or stimulation are unlikely to be acceptable.

 Threat

There may be strong threat and horror. A sustained focus on sadistic or sexual threat is unlikely to be acceptable.

Violence

Violence may be strong but should not dwell on the infliction of pain or injury. The strongest gory images are unlikely to be acceptable. Strong sadistic violence is also unlikely to be acceptable. There may be detailed verbal references to sexual violence but the depiction of sexual violence must be discreet and justified by context.

evaluation 3 2018

A media institution is a media company that produces, distributes, exchanges or regulates any form of media. distribution means how the media product is transported from the factory to the consumer. I will have to take into account that many of my target audience will simply stream the movie from an illegal streaming website, like 123Movies, this “distributes” my film, however they won’t have my permission and I won’t make any money from this, so this would be harmful, especially to a small independent film company like Shocker Studios, who need to make a certain profit from the film and can’t afford to be losing potential income. However, this does still give it extra publicity, as Blumler's uses and gratifications theory says that one of the things that audiences get out of a media text is to communicate with people about it , and people would talk to their friend about the film they watched, especially my target audience, who are young adult and teenage males, who are generally more chatty. Anyway, lost revenue from illegally downloading and streaming the film, may be regained from additional sales of other items, like merchandise, or film posters. This is the case with the music industry especially, as 97% of all music is illegally downloaded, resulting in increased concert prices, and so increased merchandise sales, as a result.

The real film production company "Warp Films" would release my film. One main reason why is that the company is British, based in Sheffield. So because my film is British made, with British actors, the audience may feel more engaged with the film, which is more relatable to them.

A distributor like Warpfilms would give me lots of advertising revenue to get "Endless better known, like TV advertisements, and posters in city areas or on the sides of buses. This would build awareness. Additionally, Warpfilms's website, say they "are about to launch on channel 4, Sky Atlantic and canal +". These could be platforms for Endless to air, with possibilities of exposure and revenue which wouldn't be possible before.

Warp films's mission statement, claims that "If you like predictable and formulaic storytelling, you've come to the wrong place" and this fits in perfectly with my psychological thriller, which relies on twists in the narrative to keep the audience engaged, and this certainly isn't "predictable and formulaic." Additionally, the fact my thriller begins in a period of disruption in the equilibrium, goes against Todorov's narrative theory, and once again, isn't "predictable storytelling.

Another aspect that stands out with is the line "sometimes we win awards or cause controversies. Secretly we enjoy these things" this tells me that Warpfilms isn't afraid to be controversial with the content that it puts out. Once again, this quote from their website suggests that they aren't afraid to be different, and stand out from their competitors, and the fact that the film is 

warp film's website claim they're "one of most exciting and respected uk production companies" and that would be great for my thriller, because it would give them much more hype before the film comes out, as people will respect the production company. this is the case with films owned by Marvel, like infinity war, which had people talking about it for months before it even came out, spreading the word and increasing potential sales.

regarding the order that people came up in the credits, Obviously the first thing to appear was "Shocker Studios" in the first 8 seconds. This is the production company I made up, to distribute my film, and is the most significant. The actors appeared next, in order of importance. This lets the audience who is starring in the thriller straight away, and may spark the audience's interest, so if Tom Hanks was in it for instance, the moment the name pops up, the audience will be instantly engaged. 

The director is last, as usual in the credit title sequence, because they are considered by the film industry, as the most important person in the production process. This is because they are the ones responsible for the framing and editing of the music video.

My film will also be distributed by lorry companies to supermarkets like Tesco, so people can conveniently get the product while doing their weekly shop, however this method is decreasing popularity, partly because dvds are more expensive compared to downloading films off Amazon or Playstation, and that the costs of the lorry company transporting these goods will work out more expensive than the cost of putting your film on an online exchange company, the dvd and case have to be physically made, whereas with digital distribution this isn’t the case. People still find DVDs attractive though, because it is good to physically own something, rather than just streaming in or having it hidden away as a file, this is generally not young people.

Cinemas, like Odean, would want to show my film if the ratings are high, my film is likely to do well in a cinema because people go to the cinema specifically to get a thrill and feel scared. 

the numerous subscription streaming services, like Now-TV, Netflix and amazon prime, will want to distribute my film to their audience, this is an example of cross media convergence. Endless, will get people to go to netflix, to watch the film, and at the same time, Netflix will be showing Endless to millions of potential customers. This depends on the ratings of the movie, and the expectations that audiences have on that movie, based on past advertising and current knowledge, will possibly get the film on the front pages of these.

You can also distribute, as well as consume films through iTunes, although this is a less popular way of distributing films due to the higher price. Because psychological thrillers are a niche genre of film, it can be difficult for the target audience to access the films that they want to watch, especially as the audience is very fragmented.Because of this, once people have downloaded a psychological thriller from iTunes, like silence of the lambs, my film, endless, will be "suggested" to them, through the algorithm, which helps people find films of the same genre with similar themes. This is also used for songs on iTunes, with niche genres like progressive rock. My independent film company, shocker studios, will benefit from this form of advertising hugely, because they don't have the Advertising budget that conglomerates like Sony have.

evaluation 2 2018

this is me, a 17 year old boy, in my thriller Endless

This is Glen Lantz, also a teenager from the psychological thriller/horror nightmare on elm street. I have chosen a character from nightmare on elm street Nightmare On Elm Street as my comparison, as we are both male teenagers, and as a result, we shown as having the same stereotypes, regarding teenage representation. Nightmare On Elm Street also has similar themes to my thriller opening, sleep is an example eof this. When the protagonists of Nightmare on Elm Street fall asleep, they are tormented and killed by Freddy Kruger (the antagonist.) They die in real life. I have used this as a similarity in my thriller, as when I am asleep it appears as if I am going to die, with the point of view shot from behind the trees and the bushes, and the finale with the thing coming towards me. When I am awake at the end, there is evidence of the experience, from the knife on my floor, which is a link between sleep and consciousness. Regarding appearance, we are dressed similarly, with casual clothes on, jeans etc. This is because we are both teenager’s with no job, and are on our school holidays, the typical time to get into trouble. We aren’t particularly rich, and so to an extent, don’t care too much about our appearance. This everyday appearance, also helps both the protagonists to be relatable with their audience, as they can see they are “one of them” by their appearance. This would be one of the Blumler’s “uses and gratifications”, as they are identifiable with the target audience of male teenagers, who could relate to the situations they are in, and communicate with each other about Glen and me. The representation of teenage boys is quite rebellious, and tough. The tormenting that happens in my thriller’s dream sequence, juxtaposes with this view, as I am completely out of control in the situation in the woods. However Glen from Nightmare on elm street, is the one who tries the most with fighting off Freddy Kruger, and ultimately succeeds with Freddy’s death at the end. He also displays masculinity, when comforting Nancy Thompson, his female counterpart. The film gives Nancy a subservient role in this, as she is frequently tormented by Kruger, and almost dies like the rest. This gives females a weak, defenceless view, especially compared with Glen Lantz, who saves her life a couple of times. Unfortunately, I represent the only social group in my introduction, as it is only 2 and a half minutes long.