Evaluation - Question 5

Evaluation - Question 4

Evaluation - Question 3

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

Distribution is how you make your media product available to your audience for viewing, in my case it would be my short film/opening.

Film can be distributed via many platforms: TV, cinema, DVD, or online via sites like Netflix, who are currently monopolising the online market of film and TV.

You then have the Big Six who are multi national corporations who distribute most box office hits: Disney, Paramount and 21st Centaury Fox to name a few.

Due to my opening/film being British Arthouse film wouldn't distribute my product as it's just not suitable. However, whilst doing my research since my film would clearly be an independent I did research and I think Lionsgate might be the best institution. I say this because during research I stumbled upon a film I had loved and knew others did too and didn't realise it wasn't mainstream. With a budget of only 3.5 million pounds "The Descent" was created and distributed by Lionsgate, this is a British adventure horror. The cast was European but location was in North America. The reason this was distributed in the US was that it had something they could relate to as well exploring caves and being adventurous relates to most peoples childhoods of role playing and wanting to know everything. Arguably, this could be more of a mainstream film as independent films make you more think and are major hybrids of genres that are risqué, this uses safe genres however and in that case may be more relatable. It's profit return at box office was pretty decent gaining 57 million dollars back, which is good considering only 3.5 million pounds went into making it. Similarly to this film however, it relies heavily on those niche audiences, especially since when they marketed the film it was disturbed by bombings, which meant posters ignored and everyone focusing on the media coverage on that.

Hopefully, one would not be in the same situation, however, being a fresh idea and there would not be much funding for marketing, advertising and merchandising - one would also have to rely on the niche audience as well. My product also breaks conventions, and would be shot on location this would bring cost down as opposed to "The Avengers" which would need lots of hardware and green screens to shoot, mine would more than likely have lots of handheld camera work. Due to being similar to "Moonlight" So independent companies like A24 and Lionsgate UK might be the best for an independent risqué film, especially since I'd be unknown. A24 might however, want to revamp it with an American cast in an American looking forest as their deciduous tress are taller so location relates more to what they've seen to appeal to the American audience.
Hollywood tend to go for more reboots of a reboot, Wonder Woman for example is not original, it's already had past marketing and production and was quite popular. But now they want to modernize it to appeal to a larger audience and has a revenue stream rather than drip. Anticipation for this film had already came from her appearance in Batman vs Superman made the film an anticipation for the public and had audience drawn in so marketing, advertising and merchandising might not be a big issue. Superhero films seem to be the new popular genre however all are predictable as they follow the same Toldorov's Equilibrium theory. My film however lacks anticipation by a worldwide audience which makes it more likely to be distributed by an independent company rather than Disney or any of the Big Six.

Evaluation - Question 2

"How does your media product represent different social groups" this is the question I'll be answering on the prezi below

Evaluation - Question 1

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

1) Flashbacks
  Our thriller takes aspects and conventions from this thriller film Sin City. Throughout the story it has a narration over it, we chose to incorporate the narration in our product with the flashback a slow motion of things. This adds a sense of depth to our product and helps the audience to understand what is going on, whilst creating a non linear narrative for the audience follows. The flashbacks show Scarlett's and Emma's previous relationship and the tree where the story is based around. This also helps to create an enigma code of location and death, this is because they do not know why they always meet at the tree, until the end of the flashbacks and since the camera swaps from Scarlett to Emma you also do not know who is going to die.











2) Violence against women
Violence against women is a common theme seen throughout the thriller genre according to the genre convention theory like "The girl on the train" which makes this prominent by also making the protagonist female similarly to what was decided for our opening. However, unlike the film we chose to have homosexual relationships rather than heterosexual which challenges most conventions today. This also adds a sense of hyper-reality as the threat against women is the stalker and that has been in the news and word of mouth for a while and adds a 'real' sense to it which can also allow the audience to connect to it more since it's more realistic.












3) Heterosexual male
Unlike "Sin City" and many other films, we chose not to have the protagonist as a heterosexual male but instead subvert this and have a homosexual female teenager lead, as the male is also usually of age to be called a man. One has done this as we and our qualitative data collected had shown that more would like to see women empowered in film, hence we did that in our opening - we went down a more Jodie Foster route.












4) Typography
The typography used looks like and old font that screams creepy and danger, almost paranormal feel. Our typography uses the style serif its simple yet respectable and gives a calming feel which is a binary opposite when the non diegetic music starts which plays on the enigma code.
5) Generic Setting
Many horror thrillers use the conventional stereotype setting of woods/forest such as "wolf creek" and "Cabin Fever" just to name a few. These films often have a common place that the characters feel safe and secure that eventually turns into a dangerous place. Similarly, in our opening the tree symbolizes this place that the two know very well and is safe and secure to them, and as the opening progresses it turns a dangerous place when Scarlett is killed by a crazy stalker.
6) Lighting
My lighting is unconventional of mainstream films, but conventional films as it uses lots of natural lighting to give it a normal feel, and make it seem like daily life rather than with mainstream films how they use lots of high key lighting to make everything seem happy - I just wanted the film to have a everyday standard feel. Otherwise, it's like glamourizing death and it doesn't make the film feel right.

Editing my opening

Throughout my opening there are many techniques used. Firstly, at the start I wanted to set the scene with a non linear narrative, I did this by using flashbacks, this further generates an enigma code of location as the viewer will then want to know why the protagonists meet at the tree. The flashbacks also show the significance of the tree "a meeting spot" for the protagonists.
I further used parallel editing techniques to show the two traveling and what is going on at the same time showing elements of being stalked for one of the main protagonists, whilst the other is unaware that this might be the last time she'd see her lover. This allows the viewers to empathize  at the protagonists situation as one dies and the other will never know what had happened leaving her clueless, alone and heart-broken.
I further then used a few fast cuts when the death was coming near, this was to build tension, and show that some action was going on at the time. I ended it with a shot of the main protagonists hand which creates another enigma code of how she died, as you don't see any blood or the state of her body viewers are left to wonder how she died, or if she's even dead at all.
I was also able to follow the 180 degree rule as both characters came from two different points in the forest so I had to ensure I wither showed me crossing the line or stay on the right side of it until I was ready to cross it.

I also used the fade effects by going into the effects panel and video transitions then selected the fade I wanted then dragged it to the timeline where a cut icon would appear and then bam a fade. I did the same for the slow motion which was also in the effects tab. I was taught I could do it by remapping but I think that removes or alters the audio too and since I had a voice over along with it this means that it would be altered in a way that didn't flow with the film.

Thriller opening