PowerPoint Presentation

Coursework Evaluation

By Sharmila Francis

My name is Sharmila Francis, I am a student from Wymondham College and this is my Media AS level coursework.For my coursework, I decided to do an introduction to a film of the Thriller genre. While working with this subject I have built on my editing skills as well as camera work, becoming more efficient as well as informative in terms of planning and the audiences understanding of the theme.The reason why I have chosen this field is because I am interested in visual Media, especially those involving camera work and editing. I wish to pursue a career in the Media Industry, specifically in the BBC.

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

The media products which I analysed were two famous horror and thriller films. The 1973 film The Exorcist by William Friedley and the 1960 film Psycho by Alfred Hitchcock. The codes and conventions that these visual media products use have been chosen specifically to give the directors desired effect on the audience, such as the stereotypical aspects seen in a horror or thriller film. For example, the use of dangerous objects, dark clothing, and dramatic audio. My media product uses similar codes and conventions to the real media products for the same reasons by using props, clothing etc. which we associate with horror films and danger such as harmful object, darkness, and daunting music.

Main Product Analysis (How Used) (Magazine or Film Opening)

PsychoSetting: A bathroom in a home, where you are most vulnerable yet it is an enclosed space. This intrudes in the audiences comfort zone.

Props: Knife, shower. We associate a knife with danger. The water created an optical illusion making seem like there is more blood.

Colours: Black & white film, does not add any particular effect, but it tells us when the film was made and when it was set.

Costume: Naked woman, villain is wearing thick clothing. Woman is portrayed as innocent and helpless, villain is portrayed as evil hiding their identity.

Diagetic sound: Woman screaming, showing her fear, being in the scene makes the emotions more realistic.

Non-Diagetic sound: The soundtrack of screeching violins showing the harsh actions of the villain.

Sound Effects: The sound of the blade piercing the womans skin makes the scene seem real. A more frightening and gruesome effect for the audience

Close-ups: Of the womans skin and where she is being hurt, we see her being injured so it is more believable and we see what is happening. Close-up of the expression on the womans face triggers our emotions to feel scared. We zoom in on her mouth giving an effect to the scream.

POV: We get the point of the woman, so we feel as if we are in her position.

Camera angle: We look up at the villain making him look more patronising and frightening. We look down on the woman making her seem helpless and weak.

Editing: The scenes are very short and there are simple transitions, showing us how fast everything is happening in such a short amount of time, making it unexpected.

The ExorcistSetting: A home and more specifically a bedroom. This has been done because we find homes and especially our own bedrooms to provide comfort and safety, as well as privacy. This has been invaded in the film, making the audience uncomfortable.

Props: Furniture and a cross. The furniture is used to show how much control the girl has and affect the mind and our imagination. The cross is used as a religious symbol and her betrayal to Christ

Colours: High contrast in colours, to emphasise the amount of blood seen and making it stand out on an innocent character

Costume: Child is portrayed as innocent and helpless by wearing white, showing she is truly innocent and the demon isnt her. The mother also wears some white to an extent to show that she is innocent and vulnerable.

Diagetic sound: Child screaming to show that there is still some innocence trapped in the body. Deep angry voice of the demon to support how dangerous and terrifying he truly is. Smashing furniture to emphasise on the danger the young girl is in and the dramatic event.

Non-Diagetic sound: None.

Sound Effects: Sound of her stabbing herself with the cross, supports how gruesome and painful her act is.

Close-ups: Of faces to show their reaction such as the mother or if they say something important such as the girl when she turns her head around.

POV: From the mothers eyes as the furniture comes towards her. This is done to make us feel more uncomfortable seeing from the victims eyes.

Camera angle: We look up at the mother because she is regarded as more important stereotypically, but then we get a high angle shot to look down on her as she is attacked as well as a low angle show to look up at the daughter because she has the control.

Editing: The scenes are very short and there are simple transitions, showing us how fast everything is happening in such a short amount of time. This makes the event more dramatic

Main Product Analysis(Used) (Film)

Thriller OpeningSetting: A home and some scenes take place in a bedroom; I have taken the idea from both of my researched film extracts and feel this is appropriate in order to affect the audience by making them feel uncomfortable because their comfort zone has been interfered.

Props: Most important props used were weapons such as a knife and a gun. This idea was used from Psycho because we associate these weapons with danger and fear.

Colours: Colour film, did not have an effect on the audience and wasnt intended to. Although there is a contrast between the blood and the blade to emphasise the amount of blood and the seriousness of the event.

Costume: The male character was wearing black to indicate that he was the villain because stereotypically they wear darker clothing because it is associated with danger, fright, and hell imagery. The female characters did not wear any black to show that they were the innocent characters. This linked back to the codes and conventions that were used in both extracts.

Diagetic sound: The screaming of the characters while they were being murdered and gasps etc. to show their reaction and their fear. Aggressive footing to emphasise how scary the villain was and how powerful he seemed. Slamming doors to show the urgency in their actions. Gun shot at the end of the product. These were all mostly used from the codes and conventions of Psycho

Non-Diagetic sound: Music played in the background was made so seem dramatic and was timed perfectly to the actions on the characters. Certain instruments such as the electric guitar and violins created a dramatic effect.

Sound Effects: Gunshot used at the end of the product, used during a silence to make the sound effect louder and give a more serious ending.

Close-ups: Of faces to show their reaction such as the victims, and close ups of the villains face to make him seem patronising. Close up of weapons the villain used to show clearly the props we associate with danger. POV: From the victim to show how threatening and terrifying the villains actions are, such as in Psycho

Editing: The scenes are very short and there are simple transitions, showing us how fast everything is happening in such a short amount of time. This makes the event more dramatic.

Walking Through The DoorSetting: A girls boarding school, where they spend excessive time with each other which shows how sometimes arguments may arise from the stress of being away from home.

Props: Phone and computer, the development of technology for communication and how some peoples profile can prove to be too public affecting their safety.

Colours: Colour film.

Costume: Comfortable clothing as if they were in their own home, shows how comfortable they usually are around each other. Feminine clothes, stereotypical girlfriend and girl.

Diagetic sound: Shouting and slamming and screaming. Shows how girls are stereotypically known to be dramatic in some cases and supports the idea of girls being bitchy in society.

Non-Diagetic sound: None

Sound Effects: Slap, no real slap was used but this was done to give a dramatic event of how girls react to each other stereotypically when they are angry.

Close-ups: Of faces to show their reaction or whenever they are saying anything important. There are also close-ups of the information shown such as the photos on a Facebook page.

POV: When the two girls are arguing there are point of view shots from both of them so as an audience we can support both sides of the argument and feel included in the piece.

Editing: Simple editing and transitions have not been done in a certain way to create an effect.

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

My film opening uses similar codes and conventions as other films of the same genre. It creates the same effect as other thriller films, creating suspense and alarm whilst frightening the audience as well as increasing their feeling of vulnerability. The fear experienced feels more realistic, because rather than a horror film, a thriller could possibly relate to the audience.Stereotypical codes and conventions are used in order to give the audience the reaction desired. Such as sharp objects, dark clothing, frightening music and the disruption of comfort. Camera angles and editing can also be used to affect the audience is the desired way, such as close-ups, hand held shows, point of view shots and fast paced editing.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

My media product specifically represents families and age groups. This has by done in a variety of ways, such as clothing by making the children wear young clothing and the parents wearing adult clothing. Authority is also clearly presented as the older sister is seen to have more control over her younger sister, and the father is seen as stronger compared to the other characters, presenting the stereotypical view of the male being dominant in a family. Sound is also used to represent family and authority as the younger character never talks, presenting her as someone shy and innocent.

What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?The type of Media Institutions that would distribute my media products would be companies such as Ghost House Pictures because they specialise in the Thriller and Horror genre, such as movies like The Messengers. They also seem to specify in thriller and horror movies which affect certain types of audiences, this being those part of a family such as a mother or child. They also attract the younger generation. Major companies such as Columbia Pictures would consider distributing the media product only if they decide that the film has the opportunity to gain popularity. They would decide to converge if they felt it was a good opportunity.

Who would be the audience for your media product?

The types of audience vary depending on the genre of the film. For my thriller genre the most ideal and popular audience would be those of a younger age group such as teenagers and young adults. This is because audiences of this genre stereotypically have an interest in visual media that increases their adrenaline, and as the younger generation are stereotyped to be the ones who take risks and have reckless behaviour as well as the desire for excitement and danger, they would prefer to have suspense and dramatic films, which is the effect thriller films aim to achieve. But generally the horror and thriller genre could interest anyone of any age group.

How did you attract/address your audience?

I attracted my target audience by using codes and conventions which interested them, such as the use of dramatic audio and fast paced editing. I also included a character of their age group which was the older daughter. By doing so, the audience could relate to the character and understand the reasons for her actions. When advertising my film on a popular video website called YouTube I wrote a brief storyline in the description box that summarised what my media production was about and what it included. I also added tags for my video, which are the words and phrases the audience would search for. I used a large quantity of tags so that my film was likely to appear in the results.

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?The use of technology in visual media is important because it is relied upon to create the desired effect on the audience such as the use of camera angles and editing. It also determines the mood of the media extract, in this case, an adrenaline pumping, dramatic and frightening effect. A high quality camera was necessary in order to give a professional look, and light adjustments were essential to give an effect. The use of editing was important as well as camera work because the skills required to crop and arrange the clips desired was necessary because the use of editing effected the suspense by use of speed, transitions, etc.

Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?I have learnt new techniques in film making and the reasons for doing so. Having a better use of the camera and an increased knowledge in which specific angles and movements to use in order to achieve a heart-pounding effect on the audience. I have learnt new ways to editing my products therefore become more efficient and having a better understanding of the technical aspects of editing. I now know how to carefully choose my actors and actresses for filming, making sure that they are appropriate for the role they need to play.