answer to the evaluation questions for my final media product

1. Evaluation Questions

2. Question 1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or
challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
Narrative and genre
Arctophilia is an psychological thriller which is based on a former investigator who
is now a everyday photographer but he becomes quickly re-involved with
investigation work assisting in the hunt for a person who is responsible for many
children disappearances and homicides. the media product is relatively straight
forward and an easy understandable story but not completely predictable as there
will be plot twists it will portray a typical investigator that is determined to solve this
case and stop it from happening any more and a deranged killer that always
keeps ahead of the police and leaving them dead end clues. the product will
feature common binaries like protagonist versus antagonists (good vs bad) dark
vs light etc..

3. camera and editing
when editing the final product I had a lot to work with in order to make the sequence
tense and build suspense from editing I was able to use things like fading in out and
making the whole clip dark so that it adds to the tension of the title sequence and
over lapping the videos to create a disorientated effect to it and adding a clips that
jump in very quickly to also add to the thriller genre.
in order to make the title sequence fit its thriller genre and build tension when filming
i used many different shots using close ups to how certain elements of this
mysterious man and other objects so that these specific objects and elements are
used as they symbolise and create questions in the audience who are viewing it.

4. Titles
coming up with a title was difficult for this type of film as it had to have
somewhat relation to the film and what it was about. so when discussing the
title sequence and that it was based on this strange person and looking at the
object used within the clip and we found Arctophilia which means the obsession
of teddy bears which this deranged person has. The word it self is strange and
people would look up and the realise what it is and this will give them a big clue
about the film and basically give the audience a huge plot point/

5. Introduction of characters.
the title sequence just purely is focused on the antagonist and the other
elements around him that have representations of other things lke the teddies
represent the children who own them although you don't see any of them. but
within the short amounts of time that you see the antagonist he is always doing
something different mainly he is silhouetted out so this also adds to the
mystery to the sequence and it also makes the audience question why is this
man always blacked out and why does he have these child's toys and in fact
the person is blacked out because hes the antagonist and seeing him in the
title sequence will only ruin the film as his identity will be revealed at the end of
the film.

6. lighting.
use of lighting played a big part when it was in production i wanted to create
an eary atmosphere so that it built fear in the viewer using low lighting and
silhouette shots of this odd person that the title sequence is based on. only
using a standard lamp for the source of light as this just gave the whole thing
a spooky essence to it.

7. Settings & Locations.
the setting I chose to do the filming for the opening sequence was set
within in the school the whole thing was shot with in the same room so no
change was required or certain times were required as it was done during
the night so it just had to be dark in the room. as the room is blackened
out and nothing is really visible to the audiences this also adds to the
questions raised by the audience as to them they don't know where he is.

8. special effects.
all the editing work was done on adobe premiere CS6 and after effects
this allowed me to use effects and add in sounds to create more
suspense and tension in the sequence from each scene i used a fade
effect so it transitioned more smoothly instead of it jumping around all
over the place also using a negative effect in certain areas of the creepy
clown doll which creates a jump scare in the audience but majority of the
title sequence didn't need much of special effects as it was all created
when filming the scenes.

9. how I created suspense.
he use of really low lighting and only seeing certain parts of the antagonist
definitely starts to build suspense as it just builds up questions and gives an
eary atmosphere also the use of the weird reversed music and static sounds
also creates the suspense lastly the use of the camera and the low angle
shots connotes that this person has some sort of power and that he should
not be taunted or there can be consequences

10. My media project mainly represents gender, class and somewhat of age. Through out the
production and development of the film there was originally only two males within the title sequence
so through that which you’d typically see in a thriller film is a male antagonist and a male
protagonist as the protagonist is trying to track down the bad guy. But in the final piece there is only
the male antagonist and the teddy bears represent females/ women as mainly its women who own
teddy bears and is very unlikely and unusual for a man to own teddies. So from this you get the
feeling that they are the/ going to be the victims with in this film through the representation of the
teddy bears.
As the media product is aimed at 18+ I had to ensure that the product came across, as an eighteen
and that it would only be suitable for them to see this psychotic thriller film. Through out the title
sequence you can see that the person (antagonist) is the only one there from what you can see of
the person you can see that he is quite a young person around the age of 18-25 around the age of
the viewers so it represents them. With the representation of age from what you can see the
antagonist is wearing a full suit with a jacket this can represent a working/ upper class of citizen as
they look like they could have a well-paid job/ high ranking type of job like a banker or detective
which can been seen typically at this age or just a bit older. Also as it shows a well-represented
figure it can also relate to the fact that he must have had a good/ higher suit of education so this
also represents those of higher education which also aims towards the target market as the film
would be full of plot twists and things to throw the audience off and confuse them so it will
continuously play on them till they can figure it out.
Question 2. How does your media product represent
particular social groups?

11. Question 3. What Kind of institution might distribute your
media product and why?
The distribution of my film would most likely be Vertigo films as they mainly view and distribute UK/
British films which would most likely struggle to compete against American box office films. As this
distribution company releases a wide range of genres and has released the biggest independent
UK DVD street dance 3D and the multi award winning Football Factory. In 2013 vertigo films had
eight films in production including co-productions and partnerships. This company would be a good
choice as they are very
supportive towards independent UK films and as it is a British made film also as they distribute all
types of films and genres they will be able to help with the marketing and gaining awareness of the
new film “Arctophilia” Also the British Film institute player can be another company that can
distribute my film. It was launched in 2013 to bring the best of contemporary British independent
cinema to different audience as it finds new audiences directly through TV platforms. This will also
be another good choice for my
distribution of my film as it also supports independent cinema also they have a different way of
finding and attracting new and different audiences through television platforms. This will broaden
my advertisements as it will go across different platforms drawing attention in. it is important to use
a UK film distributor, as it is an all British made film and for it to be shown/ premiered in the UK at
first will be a starting point as then it could become popular and demanded in different countries.

12. Question 4.Who would be the audience for your media product?
It is important to conduct primary and secondary research in the target market as well as others as
then you get a broader view of what your target market wants but then you get to see what others
think of the product then if they like it than you can expand your target market into other segments
of the market this is a good thing to do as it provides a primary source of feedback from the
targeted audience and get to see what the downsides are to the product and to what the best parts
are. After using interviewing different people that cover all different age groups I was then able to
see what it is they’re into and
what they like/ dislike I will be taking into account these factors which will have an influence on the
media product. After using both kinds of research upon both genders in the same age group (18-
25) it is clear that majority of the people who will view the film will be in this age group. So mainly
this film will be aimed at these people and this age group, as it will be suitable for them. Also after
looking at the information gathered comparing the gender difference it is definitely more apparent
that males find ‘thrillers’ to be the favorite genre so I have a big advantage there as it will instantly
draw attention to thriller
lovers. As it is aimed at his older audience (18+) this allowed me to do a lot more with it as I can
use violence and offensive language in the actual film in order to make it more intense film but for
the title sequence I wanted to keep it simple and make it so that it confuses the audience and
intrigues them into wanting to watch the entire film. All the research basically gave me a much
clearer view on who will view this product and what I could do with it.

13. It is a vital part that I was able to attract an audience to view/ see my final media product
either in a niche or mass market/ audience either way it had to appeal to some
audiences in order for it to fulfill its purpose of a film. As it’s a psychological thriller many
people in that type of market would be attracted to that as they would be familiar with
films like The silence of the lambs, se7en, the shining, vertigo etc…. although there are
a lot of great psychological thrillers are already out there to compete with at least it
already has an audience out there that it will be attracted to it. Also releasing a synopsis
of the media product so that people can read it would of also attracted more people from
that audience possibly others from different types of audiences. Also having a mini
premiere of a really rough cut of the title sequence for a people to see would of got the
word around intriguing others to check it out for them self.
Question 5. How did you attract/address your
audience?

14. there have been three main areas that i have been able to develop my knowledge on further
-camera equipment
-sound
-editing
camera equipment.
we only had high definition camcorder which i has previous experience with as i own my own
personal HD camcorder. although i had already used these sort of cameras before so i know how to
configure the device and about importing and exporting videos but one main thing i learned about
was how to use camera angles to make the shot have a full effect so i became more aware of how
to use the camera properly for this sort of production.
also tripods which was also available for us to use was a new for me as i had never used one
before although they are a very simple product to use it is a highly effective piece of equipment
giving me the best shots possible with out the camera wobbling or shaking.
another piece of equipment that was new to me was a sound/ voice recorder which is a very
sensitive piece of equipment as it picks up all sounds that around this didnt really interest me as i
thought that the camera picked up good enough sound.
Question 6.What have you learnt about technologies from the
process of constructing this product?

15. sound and sound editing
doing research upon thriller films and watching many of them sound/music is
actually such a big part of all of them as it will add to the affect of what you
are seeing on the screen as it builds up the suspense which is great so i had
to find a way to make what i could see on screen and add music and sounds
to it to make it even more strange and build the suspense up.in the end i
made my own as i recorded the music from a wind up clown and i reversed
and lowered the speed of it creating a original piece.

16. editing technology
we were assigned a apple macbook pro laptop each this was for us to do all
of our editing work on we specifically used adobe premiere CS6 for al the
editing this wasn't as new to me as i have been familiar with all of these
products beforehand, although i did learn about using effects on the clips to
make it look better. learning about using the tools on the software also helped
for when i was in production of the official product

17. Question 7.Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have
learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
progression from preliminary
from the preliminary to now i feel like i have progressed alot in the terms of ideas
although at one point we did have too many ideas which was a problem but you never
can have to many good ideas but like with in this ive thought more out side the box to
come up with something new and fresh and try not to follow the same simple plots from
other films. from the preliminary focusing on the 180 degree rule, shot/ reverse shot and
the match on action but this time we were able to use them and use all the other angles
ad movements we learnt into the real thing allowing us to get a better final piece. i
believe that i am much more professional in my work now and always trying different
ways of doing stuff making it more effective.
when deciding on what to do for the title sequence i realised that it took alot more
preparation and planning as this time i made more than one story board and ad to piece
it all together and then have to look at what props i needed and where i was going to get
them. planning and preparation is everything as i learned from mistakes in the past as
having everything planned so you know when and what to do.