End of coursework statement

I have come to the end of my coursework period. I have really enjoyed every piece of work that I have done. This piece of coursework challenged my technical skills because was unfamiliar with software such as After Effects and Final Cut, but I have learnt many things about it and I feel that I have gained a little bit of confidence with these softwares. I feel that most of my media knowledge concerning filming has advanced from the start of the preliminary task to now. And the knowledge I gained from doing this piece of coursework will help me throughout my A level media education.

Evaluation - Question 7

7. Looking back to your preliminary task, what do you feel that you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

7 by EnidAkuffo

Evaluation - Question 6

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

Question 6 by EnidAkuffo

Evaluation - Question 5

5. How have you attract/address your audience?

I interviewed my friend Ronelle to find out what she thought about my opening sequence. She is 17 and attends my school, but she isn't an AS media student so she would be able to give an outside perspective. She has just watched the video so I would be able to get her original reaction. As she isn't an AS media student her reaction would be that of a normal (non media student) audience. There is a possibility that Ronelle may be biased because she is my friend, however after she viewed the video I asked her to be completely honest with the answers she gave. I chose Ronelle for the interview because she fits the demographics and some of the psychographics of my target audience, so I would be able to see if my opening title sequence really attracts its required audience. I used an open ended interview so that i can get her full opinion on my title sequence.

This is a copy of the questions I asked her and also her response.

Me: When you first watched my title sequence what was your reaction?
Ronelle: I really liked the soundtrack, I thought it corresponded well with the mood of the scene. I thought the black screen and the voice over gave the movie a mysterious touch, I wanted to know who was speaking. I really liked your production logo, it looked really professional seeing as it was made by students.

Me: What do you think the genre of the film is?
Ronelle: I think its a Thriller or Horror.

Me: What made you think that that was the genre of the film?
Ronelle: Well the scary soundtrack gave it away and the fact that there was a lot of dark lighting. Also there was a dead body in the first scene, so my immediate idea was thriller or horror. 

Me: Watching that title sequence would you like to watch the rest of the movie and why?
Ronelle: Yes I would because I want to know why the victim was killed.

Me: What would you say was good about my title sequence?
Ronelle: I like the voice over, it lets me question who is speaking, I thought it gives the audience an insight on the type of person the villain is.

Me: What could I do to improve my title sequence?
Ronelle: The villain's face was shown to often, you could hide her face so it doesn't give too much away. 

From the interview with Ronelle I got some positive feedback and the fact that she said she would watch the rest of the film makes me think that I have reached my target audience. However from an audience perspective Ronelle thought I gave a lot away, so I know what to do next them in order to get my audience fully engaged.

Evaluation - Question 4

4. Who would be the audience for your media product?

Evaluation - Question 3

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



Additional questions

What is a distributor?

The distributor is the company that markets/sells the film to the audience. The distributor has to market the film and develops an appropriate advertising campaign. To market properly the distributor has to target the appropriate audience. This can be easy if there's a star, but harder in the case of low budget independent films.
For example this Skyfall marketing campaign, where the winners of the task win free tickets to the premier.




Although Skyfall is not the genre that my film is, this marketing technique is a great one to let the audience be aware of the movie.
 Another example of a marketing technique are these real life missing posters for the movie Blaire Witch Project. This movie is closer for the genre of my movie. so with a distribution company like Screen Gems they would many ideas as to what to do to let my film appeal to its target audience.

Evaluation - Question 2

2. How does your media product represent particular social group?

My group and I chose to use Kenya as the villain in our film because she knows how to take on different roles as she has a GCSE in drama, so is able to portray a character as they really are.

She additionally doesn’t have hair that is typically seen amongst female victims, i.e. long blonde hair. So she stands out compared to the other characters. Furthermore we dressed her in black so that she looks sinister and the audience is aware that there is something suspicious about her. The audience can tell that because of her hair cut and dark clothing she is a rebellious and sly character. By doing this my group and I wanted her to be represented s the villain.

Kenya plays ‘Claire’ the working class girl who listens to no one and lives life the way she wants. Her character was inspired by ‘Rebecca Evans’ played by Leighton Meester in the thriller film Roommates .Similarly to Rebecca, Claire is represented as a psycho. In my opening sequence my group shows this through the voice over, where Claire speaks of the kind of girl she is. The audience hear that there’s something unusual about Claire. However both Rebecca and Claire are both countertypes because they are teenagers and female and it is the usual expectation for the villain to be an older man.

Similarities between the two characters also occur in the pictures above. Both characters are in black clothing. This represents the darkness they have within them and the fact that they are both evil people. This corresponds with the ideology that the villain is the person in dark clothing, as the audience are given the chance to identify this. In the photo of Rebecca we see her wicked facial expression and the audience can see that she is up to no good. However in the photo of Claire the audience do not fully see her face and this creates a mystery about what she is thinking. Claire’s body language also looks up right and superior; which could also represent her as the villain.

Having Kenya also matches Propp’s theory of character types, because we have included a villain. However the fact that Kenya is a girl is in contrast with the ideology that the villain is a man. Consequently she could be represented as maybe not as strong as male villains but the audience will be surprise to see how devious and dangerous she is in the rest of the movie.

Evaluation - Question 1

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

Evaluation - Question 1 by EnidAkuffo

Introduction to evaluation

Brief