[EVALUATION] Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

The preliminary task helped me learn a lot about creating a media product in a group, including aspects of teamwork, hardware operation, software operation and directing. This knowledge then helped us in the creation of our final media product - the opening scene to a techno-thriller film.

For both the creation of the preliminary task and the final product, we worked in a team. However, the team during the preliminary task was much larger than the final team we worked with - infact, the team size decreased from four members to just two. We also organized the way the team worked better, including assigning each member of a team a different role in the design and creation of the film, as this is something that we didn't do in the preliminary task. This made working together much easier, as we all knew what we needed to do.

This shot made use of different editing techniques which
were learnt from the preliminary task

We also learnt a lot about the hardware we needed to use. While filming the preliminary task, we did not use a tripod. This made things harder to film, as someone needed to be constantly holding the camera. With the tripod, it made footage a lot smoother, as well as making filming easier to record.

Different editing and filming techniques were also made possible with the introduction of the tripod, as it allowed us to record multiple clips from the same angle. This allowed us to do things such as taking a video of an empty scene and cropping it over the shot of another scene. We used this to do the special effect where Scherbius appeared from behind a pillar.

We also paid more attention to the 180° rule in our media production (see video), as we sometimes forgot to check which sides actors were standing on when filming the preliminary task. We learnt from this, and paid more attention to smaller details such as placement of actors in the shot. This helped us improve the continuity of the production, giving the film opening a smoother pace.

Overall, I have learnt a lot through the creation of the preliminary task which was then carried forward to make the final production. This has not only improved the overall quality of our final production, but helped me to improve my knowledge and skills of creating a media product.

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

From the creation of this media product, I have learnt a lot about the different technology used to create a film. This includes hardware, such as cameras and tripods, as well as software such as the Adobe Production Premium software package.

The Zoom H4 recorder

We used a range of different hardware in the creation of our film. The first, and most obvious, is the use of tripods and HD camcorders. These were used to record the footage for the film itself.  While working on our film opening, we found that camera microphones were very sensitive to wind, as some of our audio could not be heard over the wind and later had to be dubbed over to make the footage useable.

We also used a Zoom H4 digital recorder (seen right) in some of our earlier recordings. This allowed us to record the audio separately from the camera, meaning better audio quality. However, we found that the Zoom was quite difficult to set up, and the microphone stand was constantly dipping to make the microphone visible in the shot. Because of this, we eventually decided to stop using the Zoom, as it caused some difficulties while recording.

Adobe Premiere Pro being used on an iMac

An Apple iMac was used to edit the footage down. While editing, we found that iMacs were easy to use with SD cards, as the Mac has a built-in SD card reader. We also found that the Mac supports a number of different editing and video programs from the Adobe Production Premium software package.

Adobe Premiere was the main program we used to edit the video. Premiere is an editing program that allows footage to be imported, cut down and edited, including adding effects, transitions and titles. While editing the film, we found that we could have 2 clips on separate layers and crop the top layer down to make both clips visible. This allowed us to do some special effects, such as the scene where Scherbius appears from behind a pillar.

Our logo, created in the program Adobe Flash

We also found that we could import footage from Adobe Flash as a .swf file type. Flash is a vector-based image creation and animation program developed by the same company as Premiere, and is therefore cross-compatible with some files. I used Flash to design and animate the logo, which was then imported into Premiere as a .swf file type. This allowed the clip to keep the vector-based quality, but prevented some sections of the animation from working, meaning the clip was later exported as a .mov file instead. This also helped us find that some elements of Flash do not work in Premiere unless they are exported in a certain way.

We used a number of websites to help plan and create our media product. For example, we used a website called pickaface.net to create the actor portraits used in the planning sections of our film production. We also found that there were a lot of online resources for finding royalty-free audio clips, such as incompetech.com for royalty-free music and freesound.org for royalty-free sound effects.

[EVALUATION] How did you attract/address your audience?

As mentioned in the previous evaluation, (Who would be the audience for your media product?), the target audience for our media production is a mixed-gender teenage audience due to the genre and style of the film. We decided on a number of ways to attract an audience through the style of the film, including the editing and story.

The casting reflects the audience of the film - the actors playing Scott and Scherbius are both 17, as opposed to casting adults in each of the roles. As the actors in the film both fit into the target audience for the production, this makes the characters easier to relate to, therefore helping attract a teen audience to the film.

The film also attracts the audience through the use of its soundtrack. While films aimed at families or children may have a more upbeat, happier soundtrack or may make use of licensed songs, we have used songs with darker, more intense tones (see video). This not only reflects the thriller genre of the film, but also makes the film seem more mature, therefore appealing to the teen audience.

The Dark Knight Rises' viral advertising campaign made
use of different social networks.

The plot and setting of the film also fits more with an audience of teenagers and young adults. The main theme of the film is hackers, and a lot of the ideas in the film are based on technological themes. Because of this, it may not make sense to a younger audience, while a teen/adult audience would understand it well.

     The audience could also be attracted through the use of marketing and advertisement by creating online adverts to be distributed through Facebook and YouTube as part of a viral advertising campaign, similar to advertising campaigns by Warner Bros for The Dark Knight Rises. Social networks are popular with teenagers and young adults, and a viral advertising campaign would therefore be perfect for attracting the target audience.

[EVALUATION] Who would be the audience for your media product?

A pie chart showing data gathered from our questionnaire.

As part of our production, we had to decide on who the target audience for our media product  would be. As part of this, we looked at different elements of thrillers, the target audience for thrillers and how these elements and ideas compare to the parts of our thriller film.

Earlier in the project, we ran a questionnaire to help decide on the themes and ideas to go into our thriller - the results of this questionnaire can be seen here. At this point in the project, our target audience was teenage boys, as a majority of the people who took our questionnaire fell into this category, as shown by the pie chart.

Our film was inspired by
The Matrix.

Another thing that would influence the target audience of the film is the genre. Different genres would appeal to different people - for example, an animated comedy would be aimed at a family audience, while a horror film would be targeted at an older audience. Our film is a live-action psychological/technological thriller, influenced by films such as The Matrix and Shutter Island - both of these films have an age rating of 15, and are aimed at an older audience of teens and young adults. Our film would therefore probably fit into this category of films, therefore best suiting this audience.

Different genres also appeal differently to men and women - romantic comedies and horror films would both attract very different audiences, for example. This doesn't apply to all film genres, however, as some genres are aimed at a mixed audience of men and women, such as comedies and some thrillers. This means our film could appeal to both men and women, although it is aimed more at a male audience.

Overall, I think our film would be aimed at an audience of teens and young adults, with a mixed audience of men and women. This audience fits the genre of our film, and the film would be suitable for an age rating of 15.

[EVALUATION] What kind of media institution might distribute your media product?

There are a large number of film distribution companies active at the moment, but most film companies will only distribute a film when it meets certain criteria, such as genre or audience. For example, Lionsgate Films focuses mainly on distributing independently-funded or highly-controversial films, while Warner Bros. focuses on a larger variety of genres with a larger budget.

Sinister was distributed
by Momentum Pictures.

GI Joe was distributed
by MGM.

One of the factors that distribution companies will look at when distributing a film is the genre of the film; some distribution companies will only publish a film if it is a certain genre. Momentum Pictures - a major media distribution company - mainly publishes horror and thriller films such as Sinister, while Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) distributes action films such as G.I. Joe and The Hobbit. As our film opening is for a thriller film, such as The Matrix or The Dark Knight Rises, our film would probably be distributed by a company focusing on Thrillers.


Another key factor distribution companies will look at is the target audience for a film - different companies usually cater to different audiences, and will stick to that audience for a majority of their films. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures is a film distribution company focusing mainly on family films, and therefore distributes films aimed at families such as Toy Story, The Avengers and the Pirates of the Caribbean series. Our film is aimed at a teen-adult audience, so this is something else which would be considered by a distribution company.

Summit Entertainment and

Lionsgate films are both possible

distribution companies for our

media production.

Finally, some distribution companies may distribute different films depending on the scale or budget of the film. Lionsgate Films' main focus is on independent films - films that have been independently funded and produced - but don't usually distribute large-scale releases such as the Harry Potter films or the Sherlock Holmes series, which are both distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. As our film is a low-budget independent film, our film could be distributed by an independent film distribution company such as Lionsgate Films.


Overall, our film would have to be distributed by a company that focuses on thriller films created by small independent film productions. This could mean a company such as Lionsgate Films, which was the most commercially successful independent film distribution company in 2012 and distributed films such as The Hunger Games. Other possible distribution companies include Film4 Productions, a British comedy and thriller film distribution company, and  Summit Entertainment, distributors of the Twilight films.

[EVALUATION] How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Media products, such as films or games, usually present different social groups in different ways. This is done for different reasons, such as to prove a point about certain social groups, create interesting characters or even for the sake of the plot.

The main characters - both fit into the group of teenagers.

In our film, we have represented a few different social groups. The first, most obvious social group is that of teenagers, as the character of Scott is portrayed as being in his teens - around 17 or 18. The character of Scott is shown making his way to work at the beginning of the film, in order to represent the social group of teenagers.

Scherbius holding Scott's CV, suggesting he is job hunting.

Another smaller social group represented by our media product is the social group of hackers, specifically white hat hackers. White hats are hackers who will fake an attack on a system in order to test the system's security or find any faults in the system. The term white hat can also mean a hero or the protagonist of a story. This is fitting as the main focus of the film is a group of hackers led by Scherbius. This shows hackers in a positive light, suggesting some hackers may have morals or purpose to what they do.

Finally, our film opening could also represent the theme of employment and the social groups that go with it, such as employed and unemployed youths. Scott is very young but is revealed to have a job working as a security advisor working with the local police. However, he does not seem happy with the job.

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

For our film opening, we looked at the thriller genre – especially the psychological and technological sub-genres. Our film opening was then based around conventions from these genres, as well as building on the genre. For example, we used very digital-looking titles on our film opening, as this is a common convention of technological thrillers such as "The Matrix". Because of this techno-thriller theme, we also have a focus on modern technology and the theme of hackers. To fit with this theme, the film has been given a slightly greenish tint.

Before and after editing a scene. Note the green tint.

The opening scene also gives us our first view of the two main characters, Scott and Scherbius, who fill the role of the protagonists, which is typical in Thriller films. Another key aspect of a Thriller film is a character filling a mentor role, such as Morpheus from "The Matrix" or William Somerset from "Se7en". In our film, the mentor role is filled by the character of Scherbius.

We also aimed to build on conventions of Thriller films, in order to develop the genre and make our own opening more unique. For example, we combined elements of both psychological and technological themes - while the underlying theme is based on hackers and the idea of “hacking reality”, the actual events of the film are more psychological, such as characters changing location suddenly. We also went for a less commonly used suburban setting of a town centre, while most thriller films take place in large-scale cities, such as Gotham in "The Dark Knight Rises" and the unnamed city in "Se7en".

As well as this, we aimed to challenge the conventions of a Thriller film, in order to make our film more unique. One way in which we did this was by making the film on a much smaller scale to normal thrillers, with only two characters present in the opening scene and less action. The opening also relies less on special effects and CGI (see video), and more on simple editing such as cuts to give the effect of teleportation.