AS FOUNDATION PORTFOLIO: Reflective Evaluation - IVANA TALBOTT

Question1: In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? - 

Our initial idea was to focus our product around the idea of an Ouija board as we both thought it was a good prop to use that would immediately signify the horror genre. We based the majority of our film around the idea of using a Ouija board and developed the idea of creating a typical ‘girly sleepover’ story line using vulnerable girls. However, we decided to add a different element by making one of the girls at the sleepover the murderer of another girl.

We looked at other horror films which used Ouija boards to get some idea of the atmosphere they created and the way in which they were used to show the horror convention. We studied ‘What lies beneath’ as one of the films. In one particular scene two women use an Ouija board to contact somebody. It wasn’t the storyline we focused on in this particular film it was the lighting used to create a certain atmosphere. They used candles, orange lighting and fog to give a really sinister feel to the scene, the candles also made the Ouija board stand out. Apart from the fog, we are using all of these elements in our horror film to create this atmosphere.

We also looked at the film ‘paranormal activity’ for inspiration. We looked at camera angles, within the scenes using an Ouija board, to see how they highlighted its importance. Many eye line shots were used with the Ouija board in focus and the dark background out of focus. This highlighted the significance of the Ouija board but also created tension as you expected to see something in the dark background. They also used many high angle shots looking down at the Ouija board. This is unusual because high angle shots are usually used to make someone/something look inferior or vulnerable. However, by using a high angle shot of the Ouija board it also created a high angle shot of the person next to it, making them look vulnerable as if somebody was looking down on him. We are using this high angle technique on the three girls surrounding the Ouija board; making them look vulnerable and also highlighting the importance of the Ouija board.

One of the horror conventions we used is flashbacks. We added this to show the memories of the murderer including things like: the girls funeral; a point of view shot of the murderer strangling the girl; happy home videos of the murdered girl to show guilt and memories of all four girls laughing. These flashbacks do two important things. One is to reveal the twist in the story line, that it was actually that girl that murdered her friend. These flashbacks also add a creepy element to the film because there are home videos of a little girl, which the audience know is dead, dancing in the garden. This also reveals that it is her who is being contacted through the Ouija board and she will come back to haunt them.

Some other horror conventions we used are dim lighting, to create a sense of the unknown and create shadows. We used churches and graveyards in the funeral flashback which is a typical horror genre. However, we thought this was too typical so we only did a 4 second shot of this to highlight it was a funeral. We also used the theme of death and possession, developed from the idea of a Ouija board, which is a typical horror genre.

We challenged some horror conventions by adding light and happy scenes but embedding them in a way in which makes it more creepy and sinister. The scenes themselves are light and happy but the reason we are seeing them is because we know she is going to haunt the murderer. Therefore this makes it feel more scary. We also plan to use a children’s nursery rhyme in the film, which could challenge the typical music used in a horror film but again we are using it in a way that makes it scary.

To provide something new we have decided to add a realistic touch to the film so the audience can relate to the film more. I think this is more effective than adding non-realistic elements like monsters or zombies because our story line is more likely to be real and that it could happen to the audience; therefore relating to the audience.

In our opening titles we have decided to keep it simple but effective by having slow panning shots of the Ouija board and the candles and using effects on the top of this to highlight the importance of the Ouija board. It also creates a nice contrast between the very action packed film and the slow, relatively calm opening titles.

 The ‘Dreamworks’ logo inspired me as the words are situated in the sky to imply that it’s a huge production. Therefore I used a picture of space to tie in with the word ‘Colossal’ to imply the same thing.

 The film ‘What lies beneath’ uses simple water movement for their opening titles with text occurring at certain points. This is simple but effective and creates a sinister but calm start. This is what I tried to achieve with simple camera shots of the Ouija board.

 These two images establish the sub-genre of horror. The shot of the Ouija board on my film shows satanic possession because they are trying to contact the dead. The shot from ‘What Lies Beneath’ shows that it is a psychological horror because the first shot in the film is of this girls face as she is the one that thinks she’s going insane.

 These two pictures establish character. In 'What lies beneath' this is the first we see of this character and she nearly just drowned in the bath so you know there is something wrong with her, this is shown by a close up shot. We used this close up shot in our film to establish our character by showing her facial expression as she is feeling guilty for murdering the girl.

 These two images establish mise-en-scene. The shot from What Lies Beneath shows a long shot of the bathroom where most of the weird phenomena happens in the film. We used a high angle shot of the three girls chanting to establish where they are and what they are doing.

 This low angle shot, in our film, shows a memory of the girl strangling the other girl. This is an important moment in the film because it reveals to the audience that it was in fact her that killed the girl.

This is another flashback of a memory, showing a home video of the girl that died. This is an important moment because you know she is going to come back and haunt the girl.

This is the last image you see in our film as this simple shot of the girl being strangled shows that she has come back to haunt her. 

Question 2: How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Age: Due to the fact that our cast were all teenagers it very heavily represents that age group. At the beginning of the film the teenage girls are talking about how they are not supposed to be doing the Ouija board but they are anyway. This is representing the teenagers as rebellious which is a common ideology of teenagers in society. 

Gender: All the cast are girls, they challenge the common ideology because they are being brave and doing a Ouija board. However, they are at a typical sleepover which is very typical for horror films. This is because at sleepovers they are usually all 'girly' and feminine which is a contrast to the 'horror' genre making a surprise element. The film represents these girls as being very vulnerable in the end as there are a lot of high angle shots, looking down on them making them look innocent. 

At the beginning of this clip you can see that the threat is the man. He looks like a typical country american man who owns a gun. However by his facial expressions yo ucan tell that he is about to do some harm to some people. The victims are little children, particularly a little girl. This is typical of a horror film to make a little girl the victim. This is because little girls are typically more vulnerable and the audience feel like they want her to be protected. The girl is also white with dark hair. This is also used a lot in horror films as the contrast between the pale skin and the dark hair makes the girl look more scary.Therefore this film follows the stereotypes of age, race and gender.

As we can see at the start of this clip this film also follows the stereotypes of the victim being a girl. This time the girl is a 19 year old. However, she is a student which implies she could be living on her own and could still be vulnerable. She is also white, which follows the stereotype of vulnerable girls. In this film there is no clear threat as it is a possession from something unknown.

Question 3: What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

As a group we decided that Hammer films would be a good company to work with. This is because this company is not as big as film companies such as Universal so working with Hammer Films wouldn’t be too far-fetched for a small UK film. However, this company specialises is classics such as ‘Frankenstein’ and ‘The plague of Zombies’. These have very different horror conventions to my film, as they tend to use the theme of monsters, so it would be a very different film to what they usually produce. On the other hand ‘Hammer Films’ have recently produced a film called ‘The Resident’ which is a modern film that challenges the typical ‘monster’ conventions and did relatively well getting a user rating of 5.2 on IMDB. Hammer films more recently produced the film ‘The Woman in Black’ this also challenges the typical horror conventions used by Hammer.  This also has similar conventions to our film with the ghost and the murdering of different people. The fact that they have recently released this film is the main reason we decided to choose Hammer Films because they currently have a heightened popularity in the media due to this worldwide successful film.

Being as Hammer Films as produced some classics that have been successful worldwide they would know exactly what the audience like to see, so they can therefore apply this to our film to help us get the most money out of our film. They are also a relatively well known production company so they could probably afford to cast a well-known celebrity star in the film which will heighten the popularity of the film. They also have an existing audience so atleast a small number for people are guaranteed to be interested because they like existing films from this company.

To market our media product it would be a good idea to focus on the new media to target our audience, alongside the standard posters and trailers etc. Using new media such as social networking sites would be very beneficial as our target audience is teenagers and the majority of teenagers use some sort of social networking site. Therefore paying money to promote a ‘trending topic’ on sites such as Twitter or creating a page on sites such as Facebook would get our product well known and talked about, as shown on the screen grabs below using The Woman In Black as an example.

I would choose to release my film during the summer months, preferably the beginning of July. This is because my film is aimed at 15+ so by this time most schools will have broken up for Summer and will therefore go out more with their friends to the cinema. Also, a lot of horror films are released around September – November time so releasing it earlier will enable it to be out on hard copy in time for Christmas.

'The woman in black' has a twitter page in which you can follow and get involved with the latest updates.

As you can see on, 'The Woman in Black' has made a facebook page in which you can 'like' and people can get involved.

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

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product? - Ivana Talbott on Prezi

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

AS Foundation Portfolio: Written Evaluation EMMY BROWN

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

The inspiration for my horror film comes from a prop in particular: the Ouija board. This is a classic piece which is the centre of a lot of successful horror films such as Ouija (2007 Topel Lee) and Paranormal Activity (2007 Oren Peli). 

                                                        (Here is the trailer for Ouija)

   After researching these films, certain conventions were noticed which I introduced into my film to portray the threat and emphasize frightening events. By using a range of angles I was able to establish the innocence from the threat successfully whilst flashbacks add a sense of eeriness. I ensured the lighting was dim where needed to ensure a fear of the unknown was present, whilst props such as candles and the Ouija board contributed to the creepiness as they create tension for the upcoming events. The theme of the unknown and possession runs throughout my film due to the genre, this is a popular choice of subject which is also used in the films I have studied for inspiration.

    But I have challenged the typical conventions because at times scenes are calm and appear normal which has been done to further scare the audience because this authenticity allows them to believe that this could happen to them due to it being so close to everyday life but with sudden bursts of terror and possession.

    In the opening titles I will use the conventions of having slight hints at what the narrative is about, such as clips from newspapers, old photographs and possibly news coverage. This is a classic technique which has been used often but it is still effective, adding an instant feel of mystery and the unknown as soon as the film begins. 

2: How does your media product represent particular social groups?

 The protagonists in my horror film are in their teens so they represent  the youth of today. Being all female they have an immediate innocence which is why they're often portrayed as the victims and that's also why i chose them because they create a more effective film as people know immediately who's innocent. But we have used a female threat to shock the audience as they're quite unknown but also have a contrast with those that are thought as innocent but are also not. They follow stereotypes of being female as they look quite girly in night wear and are having a sleep over so they're obviously close friends which is a dominant view in society that most girls have a tight knitted group of friends. 

3: What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

  I would like to work with Hammer films as their involvement would massively help promote the film because they’ve had some really successful movies such as the recent Woman in Black starring Daniel Radcliffe, which has already taken $46,530,000 on a small budget of just $13 million. This gives me as a small film producer the hope that my film can also do well on a small budget when working with Hammer Film. Hammer Film also has a great reputation for making classic and gothic horrors so the existing prestige and ability to make those classics will promote me well. Also, with the use of such a reputable actor, Daniel Radcliffe, they may be able to also contact one for my film attracting an exist audience and fan base. 

In terms of marketing I think social networking sites would be the best way of endorsing my film due to its extreme popularity and the films target audience, 15 year olds, use them regularly. By creating pages to ‘like’ on sites and posting the trailer on blogs, many will be able to see it instantly, at any time. Another great technique is using it as an unskippable advert on video site ‘YouTube’ which means the viewer has to watch it in order to continue, almost forcing them to see it. Billboards and posters of the film allow masses of public to notice the film’s release as they get on with their daily lives so they can think about the film throughout their day. I would have the trailer in every 15 certifcate and plus films so everybody that is able to see it knows about it and also before horror film showings because then you already have an existing audience.

 

 The website for The Thing has various links to Youtube, Facebook and Twitter to attract it's target audience of 15 year olds and plus. I would release my film around Halloween as all of the teenagers want that added thrill around this holiday and a great tradition for many is to see a great horror that night. Although this means there will be competition with other horrors, this is a 15 certificate so many more consumers will be able to view instead of the 18.  In terms of what the film will make on an opening weekend is not easy to predict as low budget supernatural horror Paranormal Activity 3 took $26.3 million on its first weekend. So my horror film could go either way- be as successful as Paranormal Activity 3 or flop. 

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

After studying five films using IMDB, I have come to the conclusion that the audience for my media product would be males aged fewer than 18. After researching the viewer’s statistics of the films: Paranormal Activity 3, Insidious, Zombie land, The Walking Dead and Faces In The Crowd it is extremely obvious that the dominant viewers of horrors are under 18 males as their user ratings shoot everybody else as for Insidious 32,811 males voted compared to only 7,637 females.  All of the five films above have a 15 certificate which allows a much bigger audience in contrast to 18s who are limited the middle aged are not a popular audience. 

 

Here are the demographics (above) for Insidious.   

   I researched how the BBFC classified films through their site and hearing a talk from a representative and came to the conclusion that my media product must be a 15 due to the themes of death and possession but it isn’t disturbing or gore filled enough to be an 18. However, I do think that a horror film does look more appealing with an 18 certificate as it proves to be more scary but it does limit cinema viewings from the under 18 audience who go to the cinema the most.  In addition, I think the biggest subculture in my target audience will be Goth due to their stereotypical preference of dark and gore films but also from personal experience as after talking with Goth friends they do like horrors.  From my questionnaires I have gathered that the majority of the audience will be heterosexual couples and that the use of women will attract heterosexual men more. Also, the psychographic variables for my film will be egoist, rebel and cynical as I feel these will be most attracted by the thrill of a horror because of their unusual narrative twists and surprises.

   In particular Paranormal Activity 3 targets the less than 18 target audience very effectively by involving all different types of aspects of marketing in their advertising. Their main use, and my main interest for marketing, is social networking which is an obvious choice when targeting the under 18s as they use these sites so often. At the end of Paranormal Activity 3’s trailer it shows how you can get involved with them on ‘Twitter’ to see the film first, so they’re instantly introducing the audience to their social networking profiles and groups. Before the time of release, I remember seeing many posters in magazines aimed at teenagers so they’re again trying to pull this audience in through their daily hobbies and entertainment.

 

5: How did you attract your audience?

     I decided that in order to produce a 15 certificate film it had to have an exciting and thrilling plot but not too psychologically threatening or have graphic violent/gore scenes.  actresses were decided upon in order to be more relatable to young people so they can really connect with the film and put themselves in the victim’s position. There are, however, some slight problems with the under 18 audiences as I think they expect more: gore, violence and sex, from a 15 certificate than is allowed which can lead to bad reviews or general disinterest. Being in this target audience myself, I know that a lot of friends, particularly males, often feel dissatisfied when going to see horrors and never think they’re scary enough- more of a joke so they would like to see a more extreme film.

      In terms of character types I have followed Propp’s theory in which every character has a certain role in specific genres so it’s been made really clear who is the threat and who is the victim through various camera angles and the narrative in general. This allows a younger audience to understand the film better and focus on the horror aspects without having to be distracted by the confusion of character roles. Also the props in the film are a great key in displaying the narrative to the target audience because the Ouija board is a classic horror prop which features in Paranormal Activity 2 and 1 so they are bound have already been familiarized with this prop.

   Above is the scene in which the Ouija board is set on fire and moves itself.

  It’s clear from popular teen targeted horrors such as the Paranormal Activity movies and the Final Destination films that they love tension and frequently being made jump out of their skin so the music used will be tension building with an eerie feel to really emphasize the build-up of events to come. The opening will have little clues throughout to connect with the audience and when accompanied with the creepy music can achieve a really frightening sequence.

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

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product? on Prezi








Question 7: What do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?