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

I have come a long way since the Preliminary Task 'Drug Deal Gone Bad'.

'Backstabber' for one is much smoother editing wise. Also the Preliminary Task, had no music and there was a lot of back ground noise. The costumes were ordinary, and the acting was sub-standard. Especially when i scratched my nose mid shot, not exactly Drama College material that. Also the Preliminary Task was completely rushed, whereas we had time with Backstabber to edit properly, plan our shots properly and plan it more efficiently.

progression

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

We used these technologies to make our film, obviously we needed to use a video camera. Wikipedia was for the research, as was YouTube.

Technology used in our film

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We also learnt to use final cut express which is the mac's excellent video editing software, this allowed us to cut and edit our film to how we saw fit.
Also we learnt how to properly use film cameras and tripods and microphones.
We used digital cameras to photograph our storyboards.
We used the internet for our audience research, i.e surveymonkey and Facebook.
We used blogger to write this blog

Advancements in technology made filming this easier than it would have been in say the 1930s. However, it was still quite a challenging product to undertake, meaning i have developed a great admiration for those early film makers who were able to film despite the difficulties.

5) How did you attract/address your audience?

People would want to watch my film because of the mystery and suspense in it. Who is this guy? Why is he killing? What happens to the girl at the end.

The actual motives of the antagonist i find are a powerful tool to keep the audience watching. If the audience doesn't know why he is committing these acts the it is human nature to want to find out, if you want to find out you have to keep on watching.
Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho used this technique when the murders committed by the main antagonist are not explained straight off, they appear random and unprovoked.

The end of our introduction also ends with a cliffhanger, the villain rises from out of nowhere and the protagonist is trapped. He proceeds to walk towards the protagonist with his arm outstretched. We are led to assume the protagonist has been killed, however there is no clear proof that she has. This is our cliffhanger, what happens to the protagonist now that she is trapped by the antagonist.

Due to the use of an only young cast, our movie will attract audiences of a younger age, and they'll want to keep on watching because they feel they can related to the characters. This is because it is human nature to associate yourself with a person who is like you. What would be the point of associating with someone who is nothing like you? When audiences associate themselves with characters they become much more involved in the development of the character they are most like. This makes audiences want to keep on watching to see what happens to their associated/favourite character.

To distribute my product i would look at my target audience and act accordingly. For advertising on TV (i.e trailers) i would choose channels that usually have a high number of males watching. Also I would use Facebook to advertise as Facebook has millions of users. On Facebook advertising you can select certain criteria for your advert. For example if i thought my film was similar to another thriller, i could target people on Facebook who have liked the other film.

As this film was filmed in Dagenham, where a lot of people are thriller fans but no thriller has ever been shot here, the film can expect to enjoy the viewership of people in Dagenham, people around the surrounding areas and anyone connected to Dagenham in some way.

Also as our film is a British independent film, we can expect viewership from a mainly British audience. The American audience is hard to track when you're a low budget independent British film maker. With the loss of the UK Film Council and Hollywood dominance over the industry, means viewership will significantly lower than the next Hollywood blockbuster.

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

From looking at my survey 75% of my audience would be male. However only 4 people answered and its wasn't very successful.
Going on stereotypes however, men are more likely to enjoy my film than women. It would also appeal to younger men who like a bit of action as well as suspense. Its not a relaxed film or something to cuddle up to, so maybe it'll be less popular among couples who want a film to watch together.
Speaking to a few men and women about my film, the men reacted more favourably to it. The women on the whole didn't seem as interested in it.

3) What kind of media institution might distribute my media project and why?

Seeing as our film is an independent British film it'd have probably been helped greatly by the Microwave scheme like other British titles such as 'Shifty'. The Microwave scheme helps tackle funding and distribution issues and it funded by the outgoing UK film council. With the death of the film council comes the death of the Microwave Scheme.

As for a distribution company it could could vary from Metrodome, Film 4, Working Title, BBC Films etc...

If hypothetically we were Hollywood filmmakers then there are numerous production companies that would take the film if they deemed it good. A film like ours probably wouldn't be touched by a company like Disney or Buena Vista. Instead we'd have to focus on getting distributed by companies like Paramount, Universal, Columbia, 20th Century Fox etc...

To film in the first place we used digital filming equipment. So getting our film to cinemas would be easier as we wouldn't have transport heavy and fragile celluloid prints to the cinemas. However the drawback of having our film only in a digital format is the fact that it can be easily pirated. This could result in massive financial loss.

We'd advertise our film on YouTube and other sites as this is cheaper and most people of this day and age use the internet. Advertising on Facebook is always a good idea as well. Creating a fan page that people can like is a great way to get word about and get people excited for the film.

After the run in the cinema we'd release the DVD and Blu-Ray versions of the film, maybe around holiday time, so teenagers may want to buy it to watch whilst school isn't on. If we had enough money, a 2nd wave of advertising for the home release may not be a bad idea if it is guaranteed profit.

2) Representation of different groups in our film

There aren't a lot of different groups in our film. The groups that are in our film however are represented in different ways.

Ethnic Minorities:
The black individual in our film calls the main antagonist a "Dickhead". This is a negative representation of black people, as it makes them seem insulting.

Women:
Women are represented as slightly gullible and weak. The main protagonist is easily lured into the main protagonist's trap, and is easily subdued (implied). She is very vulnerable. This is a very platitudinous view of women.

Men:
Men in general are represented as insulting and confrontational. The killer is a man and the black person who insults him is also a man. These are the only 2 men in the film, so the film implies that 100% of men are insulting and violent. This is obviously incorrect in every way, only a minority of men are violent and insulting.

Young people:
Young people in general are portrayed as either antisocial or gullible. Also one of the actors is wearing a tracksuit top, something typically associated with youths. Youths are actually quite diverse and alternative.

In short i think we could have done more to represent different groups in a more realistic way. However if we did then it would ruin the plot of the whole thing, i think the best way to interpret this is as representing no groups, and just these certain individuals.

1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Thriller Conventions:

1. Our thriller does have crime as a core theme. It is implied that 2 people are murdered in our thriller. This furthers convention number one in the list above.

2. Our film does not have a complex narrative structure, I for one found it very easy to follow. However it must be noted that this is just the opening of the thriller, and if we were to make a whole film, it'd probably get more complex as time goes on.

3. There is a main problem in our thriller, the problem being there is a psycho murdering people. A lesser problem is that there seems to be no motive, and that would be a central theme to find out who this guy is and bring him down. This furthers convention number 3 in the list.

4. The protagonist in our film is dis-empowered, however whether she would continue being the protagonist, as its implied she's murdered is unclear. Also the way in which she is dis-empowered is quite straight forward, and she appears a bit gullible. This sticks with, and goes against (half and half) convention 4 on the list.

5. In our film, a murder takes place in a park. A park is a pretty normal setting, however a murder is not a normal sight. This furthers Convention 5 on the list.

6. Our film is too short to really develop any sort of character identity.

7-8. Not explored in our film.

9. The protagonist's main flaw is that she is overly gullible, and the antagonist exploits this by making her go to her supposed doom, by using the note. This furthers convention number 9 on the list.

10. The titles are in red, which is a representation of the antagonists unexplained blood lust. They also make the film become interrupted as they only appear when the screen goes black. This represents the antagonists love of the dark and of death and the fact he only thinks about himself. This furthers convention number 10 on the list.

11. Right at the end of the film, the protagonist of the film is trapped and it is assumed she is either killed or in grave danger. This furthers convention number 11 on the list.

12. In the beginning the park is vast and empty, this could represent how alone the protagonist is in her plight and the enormity of the situation about to arise. The antagonist on the other hand is dressed in all in black and is expressionless to reflect the remorseless killer she's going to have to go up against. Also the antagonist has dark patches under his eyes, like massive bags to show perhaps maybe he's not been sleeping and is not of sound mind. This means the protagonist has to go up against not only a killer, but a mad man.
In the 2nd part of the film, the mise-en-scene becomes very dark to reflect the evil that dwells in this place and how much danger the antagonist is actually in. The antagonist looks shocked and screams at the end, showing how scared she is, and how hard she's finding it to cope with the situation at hand. This furthers convention 12 on the list above.

Our film is similar to the the the intro of Halloween where the girl is walking and finds herself in a dark scary place. As you can see they both take place in a dark corridor type place. Admittedly in backstabber it is darker, but the concept is the same, alone, trapped in the dark walking along a corridor.