Chloe Bencini's AS Media Studies Blog

Friday, 30 March 2012

Our completed Thriller opening; 'The Routine'

Final things to note:

- 'The Routine' so called for its repetition of this ordinary mans daily repeated life. He is described as to have OCD, an obsessive compulsive disorder, in which would mean that many of his days are laid out the same as he likes things to happen in a certain way or order- this was made to emphasise the disturbance created by the villain. This is where the name 'The Routine' came from.

- The song choice of 'Oh me, oh my' by 'The 99's' was used for two reasons:
1- It is a young modern song who's listeners also happen to be the age of our target audience.
2- One of the first lines used it 'Every day we seem to turn around im on my back again'. This sense of a routine used within the song emphasises the routine within our film.

Looking back at your Preliminary Task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the product? [7]

*PLEASE NOTE THIS VIDEO WAS OUR FIRST ROUGH DRAFT AND NOT THE FINISHED PRODUCT*

What have we learnt since the preliminary:

- Firstly, and probably most importantly, i have learnt about a whole new range of technology's. Whether it was filming with our Sony camcorder, editing clips on SonyVegas or editing our sounds on Fruitloop, it was all completely new to us and we had to teach ourselves and learn how to use them all efficiently. In a way, you could also say this has taught us to become more independent and less reliant on teachers etc.

- Also, i have learnt a range of ways on how to present work. Whereas before, i wouldve typed everything, ive learnt know that there are many different ways to present the work you have. Sometimes just adding some pictures or videos helps, but then there's also programmes and software like Prezi.com and Microsoft Powerpoint.

- I have also learnt how to gain a better idea of your audience. Whether that's for a Thriller opening, a TV ad or a music video, we have learnt the ways to achieve the appropriate evidence we'd need. For instance, there's many other ways than just a simple survey or questionnaire to get answers, we also used surveymonkey.com, which enables people to fill in your quiestionnaire online. Also, focus groups, which also helps with small chunks of advice anyone is willing to offer. These are skills that can be used with most things in media, and therefore becomes very useful.

- Although with our preliminary task we still planned out storyboards, they were minimal and simplistic. Through this Media project we have learnt how to create detailed storyboards including a short analysis on each individual shots. Writing them in such detail also meant i became much more familiar with camera angles and shots.

- Along with this idea, i learnt the importance of mise-en-scene within a media presentation and how to use it succesfully. For example, waiting for the right time of day to film our morning scenes within our Thriller opening, keeping the man undressed to look like he'd just woken up etc. And through this, we noticed just how much of an effect it really does have an a film.

- I have learnt how to analyse other short media clips. In preparation of creating our Thriller opening, we watched both past students work and clips from professional Thriller films. Rather than just focusing on the plot like i wouldve usually done, i had learnt to start analysing in a bit more detail, making notes of the lighting, mise-en-scene, camera shots and angles etc. Something that became very easy to do by the end of it all.

- I have learnt how to work efficiently with the same group of people over a long period of time. Me and the three other members of my group had to work near enough everyday together for several hours in perfecting our Thriller opening. I learnt how to exchange and collaborate with ideas, teaching each other different skills, working more as a team than four individual people. Teamwork was something i'd struggled with previously, having little patience and an over-attentive passion for leadership, so this project has really taught me how to work with others, as well as showing me that teamwork can sometimes mean better work.

Friday, 16 March 2012

What have i learnt about technology through the process of creating our Thriller opening? [6]

This is a Prezi presentation for the above question

Saturday, 25 February 2012

How does our Thriller opening appeal to our target audience? [5]

As earlier stated, our target audience was people aged between 16-20 and of both genders. I believe we have successfully appealled to our target audience through using several different techniques.

Firstly, the soundtrack to the beginnning of our Thriller opening is a modern upbeat track that most people of the mentioned age to could relate to listening to; by using a song that our target audience can associate with it automatically draws in thier attention.

Secondly, we also added a large amount of suspense to our Thriller opening, drawing a younger audience who get more excited at Thriller films containing a lot of tension (see target audience questionnaires)

We also used actors of around that age group, yet again giving the audience something to associate with, as if putting them in the shoes of the character more easily and drawing them in quicker.

Lastly, our Thriller opening contained no extreme violence, only mild nudity, no sexual references or bad language, and no horror scenes of which may disturb a young audience. By keeping these above topics to a mild degree, we make the Thriller viewable to a younger audience.

Also, due to the fact the protagonist was male, and no other females seemed to feature within our thriller opening, we kept the villain masked, therefore suggesting it could be female, and maybe then drawing in a female audience also.