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

I have learnt many things about the technology used to construct this media product. One of the main things is the video editing. The program I used to edit the video was Adobe Premiere Elements 10.

What I had to do was get all the footage from the get media section, I then had to put the footage in the sequence that we need, making sure that the editing flows. I noticed that the playback was slow, so each time a lot has been played the video had to be rendered to see the continuity. I then had to put the music in at the point where he presses the button, then also making it fade away as he left the room and slowly getting louder as the intro carries on. I also had to put in the voice overs for the video in the right places.

HD Camera 

We used this camera to film, it allowed us to film our footage in High Definition. Fortunately one of our group member's had her own tripod, thus allowing us to use hers. Unfortunately the school didn't have any better quality cameras to provide. We also had problems with the camera's batteries, this is because they were not powerful enough for the camera, however, for some reason it would last white we were filming.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Our media can represent a variety of different social groups, such as young adults and people with mental disorders. We start with James, a 21 year old male. However, he is not the typical young adult because he suffers from schizophrenia. The films could show the audience how people with these mental disorders can struggle with their life, trying to ignore their symptoms. It may not represent them in a good light though, especially in the intro, but throughout the film, if we made it, the audience should be able to connect with James, seeing how much he is struggling.


James may also represent young males; he is living on his own and struggling to hold a job. Although, this may be due to him having schizophrenia.

As you can see from the picture above, James is looks relatively normal, and is just dressing up smartly preparing for a job interview. This is what any typical person would do to look good to the employer.

Joe is seen to be different because he is one of James’ hallucinations. He is dressed unusually, wearing a bow tie. This is to give him a villain like quality, similar to that of the Joker, also having an evil stare on his face. This is so the audience see him as a villain, meaning that they will want James to conquer his disorder.

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

This was our preliminary task

Looking back on the preliminary exercise, I have learnt many new techniques, filming wise, editing wise etc. We have learnt to use some techniques such as the 180 degree rule, shot reverse shot and match on action. In addition, I have progressed by learning to have a wider variety of camera angles. I used some videos on YouTube to help me understand these techniques in more depth. I also feel I have progressed editing wise, allowing me to make the motion picture flow more, increasing the use of continuity. I have also found that video editing software’s can sometimes be unreliable, meaning you have to continuously save it.   

These are the videos that helped me understand the techniques in more depth

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1sivBMhDe-s

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdyyuqmCW14

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLkUHZ1qips

I also used a small film video company called film riot who gave me some ideas about how to edit and some film techniques.

http://www.youtube.com/user/filmriot

How did you attract/address your audience?

We attracted our audience by making sure that from the beginning the can be frightened. We did this by using Joe, making sure he appears in places where the audience do not expect. We also used a recognisable song, allowing people to relate to the film more. We also attracted our audience by adding the creepy voice throughout the intro. It is the first thing they hear in the thriller intro, enticing them right from the beginning.

Who would be the audience for your media product?

The audience for my media product will be young adults. My past research has shown that people between the ages of 15 – 24 go to the cinema the most. This meant that we chose to plan our video to young adults. So we chose to use young adults as actors in the intro, meaning they will be able to relate to him more. However, this film can be people who are thrill seekers, so it can be shown to people of all ages. Our film is more likely to be either a 12A or a 15 because of the violence involved throughout the film, but for just the intro it looks more likely to be 12A. This means that no one under the age of 12 can buy or watch the film without parental permission. This also means that this film may not be shown before the watershed if it was shown on TV.

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

Miramax films are an independent film production company that has distributed films, including foreign films for over 31 years. They would be a good company as they will be able to advertise our film abroad, for example in the USA.

A media institution that might distribute our media product could be BBC films. BBC films are an established forefront of British independent film-making and co-produces around eight films a year. BBC would be a good distributor because they will be able to advertise our film on the BBC website and the channels. This would allow us to reach the biggest audience in the UK because everyone who owns a TV will have BBC.

In addition, we can use Miramax to distribute the film internationally. The characters in our film can also represent those who are abroad because its not used to only represent British people.

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? (i.e. of film openings)

The title of our film is 'No Way Out!’ we chose this title because it is a line that could be used throughout the film. Telling the audience that James (our main character) is trapped in his head and that there is no way out. This can also deceive the audience, thinking that they may see a thriller film where someone is trapped and may be murdered.

Our media product was able to use, develop and challenge forms of real media products in a variety of ways. This is because our final media product can be considered differently from others. This is because our film is a psychological thriller, which is actually based on a psychological disorder (schizophrenia). The intro is used to show the day when James’ schizophrenia became severe.

It’s similar to other psychological thrillers because it starts, allowing the audience to connect to the main character, living in a house. However, we change straight away to him taking his medication, this shows the audience that he is different; this is because someone his age doesn’t usually have to take medication as soon as they wake up.

All our camera work is still shots on a tripod; this allows us to have professional looking quality. This is similar to real media products, where a majority of the time films have some still shots. However, we were unable to add some other effects used in films due to the fact that we didn’t have the equipment, for example a jib, crane or a dolly.  We also used a variety of camera shots to keep the audience engaged; this is used by many types of thriller films.

We challenged conventions by not using the conventional music that is seen in thriller films, the music they usually use is used to build up tension. The music we used was to show that it was a song that was on the radio, but not a pop song. Throughout the film James was supposed to recognise the song, hearing the words ‘you can have it all’, he believes the song is talking to him.

The genre of our film is is psychological thriller. We show this because the film is supposed to have an affect on the audience usually by frightening them e.g. building tension by using music, or having faster cut scenes. Examples of psychological thrillers are the black swan, the shining and the woman in black. These films all build tension by using music and getting into the audiences minds.

 We also developed conventions of using many point of view shots throughout the intro. This is used when James can see Joe (his schizophrenic hallucination) who also tells James what to do.

No Way Out! - Finished product