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

To create the opening scene of my film I decided to use multiple software packages using OS X. I chose to edit and create my film using this operating system mainly to use Final Cut, which is OS X specific. Because the hardware on the Apple iMac is designed to run this one operating system only, it is optimized, whereas due to fragmentation if I had used a computer running Windows, I could have found problems with lagging ect. The most commonly used packages for me were:

- Garageband

- Final Cut

- Livetype

I chose to use Final Cut for a few obvious reasons. Final Cut is the industry standard, and it allows for a huge editing to the film, whereas packages such as iMovie and Windows Movie Maker only let you do simple editing. Although there was a large learning curve, I thoroughly enjoyed learning to use this software as the main editor in my group. 

Garageband was helpful as it allowed me and my partner to create my non-diegetic music, from arranging orchestrated pieces to playing low piano notes; this software gave me a wide range of noises and thrilling sounds to choose from. I enjoyed helping my partner use this software and thought our final result was outstanding.

Livetype was another package I found helpful because I could pick a specific title sequence from a wide range of choices. Not only this, but it also let me to customize designs to what I wanted; in fact the template I started of with was nothing like the finished product. It was easy to implement into Final Cut because it was a part of the suite, and so Livetype appealed to me more than any other title lists.

However, I did encounter one problem; it took over 30 minutes to upload a small amount of footage and it took even longer to render so I could edit it in Final Cut. 

How did you attract/address your Target Audience?

Seeing as my film was set around teenagers, this drew me to the automatic conclusion that the age range I specified for my target audience would be reached without much hesitation. I have advertised my opening sequence through social networking; Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr. This has created a lot of buzz about my film, and a lot of people wanted to know more about it. If I had proper financial backing, I would create an "enigma code" for my film that would generate hype. An enigma code in media terms is a way of showing glimpses of your film to the public. This could be through advertisements on billboards or bus stops, via magazines or even through TV talk shows. By using these different methods, a certain hype will be created around my film. Now through my billboards I will select a long shot of my main character who is a teenager which will automatically appeal to the teenagers in the public. Then I will dim the lighting and have a shot of my antagonist in front of a graffiti wall. Subliminally this will tell the audience it is about a lower to middle socio-economic class boy and hopefully it will allure my set target audience. 

Who would be the audience for your media product?

By referring back to my original planning of my target audience, I feel I have successfully achieved what I set out to do. I aimed to set my audience towards the lower to middle socio-economic groups as they would be able to relate more to my film. Being set in a semi-detached house, with a small single bedroom, compact kitchen, it fits the typical conventions of a lower/middle socio-economic household. Secondly I aimed to set my age group towards the elder teenagers, from around 15-19 years old. According to the BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) I had to set my minimal age rating at 15 because of the frequent drug references and violence. A 15 rating would be perfect as it would allow me to continue with these films throught the film, without having to worry about the moral implementations on younger children. After gaining audience feedback with my partner about my ’15’ rating, 7 out of 10 15-19 year olds agreed it would be too unsuitable for younger teens.

The audience for my film would clearly be the 15-19 year old demographic, because of the appeal this thriller hybrid would have. It would also appeal, because they may be able to relate with the feelings of the protagonist, although clearly not on the same scale.


Sex - Male (stereotypically, males would be more attracted to the horror genre, however females would not be ignored)
Age - 15-25
Family Type - No family of their own/very young child with no film interest
Income - UK Average, some disposable income/NA if still at school
Occupation - First or second job, lover levels/NA if still at school
Education - 6th Form school/College
Ethnicity - All Targeted
Religion - All Targeted
Economic Group - Classes B/C, aspirational youngsters

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

I am aiming to distribute my film in the UK as a London based film. The reason for this is because my film is a typical English thriller. Usually in American thrillers, there are a lot of supernatural forces and monsters attacking humans, for example ‘Paranormal Activities’ and ‘The Hills Have Eyes.’ Whereas in English based thrillers such as ‘Sleeping with the Enemy’ and ‘Vertigo,’ these films focus on the raw hatred humans can express, and their regret afterwards. I would attempt to distribute my film through Film4, because they are renowned in the UK for producing top quality films that not only are of interest to a wide range of audience, but in particular to my target audience, the 15-19 year old demographic.

How does your film represent particular present social groups?

In my media film, there are huge representations of age and gender. I aimed my film towards teenagers from 15-19, and in fact I believe many young adults would enjoy this. The main reason for this is the themes I have incorporated; drug abuse, mental abuse and physical abuse.  I have also represented the male as physically abusive to a female character, however I have also shown the male being unable to cope with what he has done and unable to go about daily tasks without release.

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

My media film closely follows the typical genre of thriller for many reasons. Firstly, I play on the stereotypical role of a weak, helpless female victim being abused by a male muscular perpetrator. In many classics such as Alfred Hitchcock's 'Psycho' the main scene consists of a defenceless woman being repeatedly stabbed by a mysterious male. Furthermore the use of creepy and eerie non-diegetic music along with the dark mise-en-scene is very common in thrillers. Typically before a climax or the anti-climax, creepy music is played to build-up the climax and scare the audience. Finally, iconography which is defined as a pictorial illustration of a subject is followed closely by my film to give typical conventions of a thriller. If there was no music, I still feel as if the audience would still interpret my film as a thriller because of the striking images I have shown throughout the opening scene of the film. Overall, I asked 30 people, which aspect of my film, gave away the genre being a thriller. With 10% agreeing it was the music, 33% saying the flashing images and special effects made it obvious and the final 57% claiming they thought it was a thriller because it was similar to the openings of other thriller films they have watched.