Evaluation script

Script for our evaluation: 

 Good morning and welcome to the Media chatshow. AS level examiners recently have been very interested in the development and production of the title sequence Waiting produced by Bethany Haigh and Elise Hockridge of the North Halifax Grammar School. I'm Oscar Charlie Ross and today I have the pair in the studio to tell us all about their product.

Interviewer: Welcome Beth and Elise!

Hi

Hi

It’s nice to have you here! So, get us started – in what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

We adhered to usual conventions by choosing rural, urban and very isolated location to make it seem deserted and hard to escape from. We have only included one character in the sequence that you can see and the second character is not visually revealed this is also common amongst horror and thriller films as this makes the audience feel as though they are aware of what is going to happen but the character does not adding an uneasy feel. We used s a lot of POV shots to make the audience see what is happening from the characters eyes whether this be the antagonist or protagonist. This can make the audience feel more involved and connected to the film possibly making it scarier and more uncomfortable. We used this effectively by having one character all POV shots. Props are essential in typical horror or thrillers and in films such as Seven the title sequence is simply props, a strong style model we used. Our frequent use of props, such as fire, were chosen to connote and foreshadow the danger to follow. We particularly liked how some films didnt incorporate the titles into the film but rather had a black screen seperate with writing on. We have used this in our title sequence as it makes it more unsettling and dark. Jump cuts were consistently used in our favourite style models. We found the use of jump cuts makes you constantly wondering what is happening and at times confused, but we liked this effect. We used lots of jump cuts from the two characters to signify journeys they were both on and create an uncomfortable unnerving effect which is a typical feel of thriller and horror title sequences.

We found there is often little sound in the title sequence and the sound that there is is very subtle. This creates a certain atmosphere as it is not overpowering but still significant. We used a creepy music box sound and added this to our title sequence. Typically the title sequences have very obvious or no sound at all but we challenged this and started our title sequence with silence then brought in the music box for the duration until the very end where a sound effect was used for the climax, this seemed to fit well with our content. We also challenged conventions when we used certain props, it is typical to see consistently scary props throughout the title sequence, like the fire we used, but we also decided to include jump cuts of ballet shoes and ballerina figurines, this gave the girl more background and although it is effective to give away little about the characters we felt the background information props helped exaggerate her vulnerability and thus make the overall feel more negative.

Brilliant, brilliant we loved it! So, how does your media product represent particular social groups?

The beginning of our title sequence shows a girl casually dressed in a dress with girly accessories such as a bag and jewellery that make her seem young, stereotypical and possibly innocent. When the audience is introduced to her house as the man is looking around it becomes clear she is of middle class as the house seems larger than average. It is clear by the size of the house and the mise en scene used such as the phone that she is of a middle class family. The cuts to different rooms showing furniture and ornaments such as a ballerina further show her as being girly, it is possible that the audience could connect the girl with the phone and house with the ballerina cuts to see that she is spoilt. However, we didnt want to emphasise this and we wanted to subvert the typical spoilt teenager who gets chased in horror films and make it more that she was vulnerable and we did this with her facial expressions and cuts to the corridors which seem deserted. The links to the large house with the fact that she is vulnerable allow us to appeal to upper and middle class social groups at the same time as they can both relate to these links and appreciate them.

I see, What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

American institutions may appreciate our product as it sticks to typical conventions and promotes possibly wealth teenagers which is common in american horrors such as The Ring which shows wealthy teenage girls who are clearly well off. This seems to be a popular option for american horrors and is also shown in films such as Scream. It is, however, more likely that British insitutions will distribute our product as the links between middle and upper class will be better appreciated by the british audience who can sometimes reject films promoting one class. The subtle links between middle and upper classes give a wider audience, the attraction of the girls vulnerable nature with cuts to her large house show she is not affected by this wealth. It is known that the british audience does appreciate some links to the upper class and do not reject seeing things they may not have such as big houses and wealth so we had to keep particular control over this to ensure the british institutions would be able to distribute our product. The standard conventions appeal to the traditional british horrors that have been widely accepted but the adaptations to a modern interpretation appeal to Film 4 and their appeal to untraditional films that subvert the usual characterisitcs, these usually focus on the urban problems such as Attack the Block.

Who would be the audience of your media product?

We hope to appeal to teenagers and young adults, we hoped to do this by using a young girl who seems quite relatable. Although the girl is fairly stereotypical she seems smiley and friendly which helps the audience connect with her. It is possible our product would attract couples as there is a stark contrast between the girl and the horror side which may be ideal for teenage and young adult couples who could see this together and both see something that would entertain them both. Typical horror/thriller fans and viewers will hopefully be enticed by our film and become a base audience as we have adhered to many conventions of the genre and so they will recognise this and appreciate how this is traditonal with a modern twist. The fact we have incorporated modern traditonal horror/thriller values and combined it with some challenges of conventions will hopefully widen our target audience.  

How did you attract/address your audience?

The horror may attract more boys who might be interested in the horror aspect and how this includes the girl more than females, however, it is possible that our breaking down of her character and advertising her vulnerability will make girls embrace her character rather than resist it which can often be found in films where the girl is the main character. We wanted to create a connection between character and audience so they would indulge in her vulnerability and this would make the title sequence more uneasy when it becomes clear that someone is in her house. We subtly added some sexualising of the girl by using opacity to zoom into her necklace which could make boys focus on her breasts. Teenage boys will hopefully be attracted by the girl and this could be the same for teenage girls, young adults that are males may be attracted by the suspicious and mysterious horror aspect and less about the girl.

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

Well we certainly had a fun ride with all the products. We encountered various problems but these problems in the long term helped our product and made it better. We had the problem of trying to shoot our footage when it was dark and in particular at dusk but this was difficult with the camera as it did not take well to the dimmed lighting and in particular when we tried to shoot in the dark and use a torch the quality of the shots was greatly affected. We had problems with the sound as we wanted to use the sound of the cutting and ripping pictures along with the striking of the match but this was difficult if there was any background noise. It was nearly impossible to add sound effects to the correct speed so we re-shot and used a quiet room with the camera close to the prop and finally got sound we could use from the actual footage. We also were very keen to emphasise how the two characters were doing things at the same time, as the girl was walking to the house the other person was already there. Split screen made the title sequence too cheesy and it didn’t seem believable so after playing around on sony vegas we found that you can use opacity to have two shots going along at the same time. This was very very beneficial to our piece and became the prominent editing feature. We also learnt how to do jump cuts by stuttering the footage which can make the footage seem more on edge and confusing which worked perfectly with the atmosphere we hoped to achieve. We also learnt lots about sound and how different pieces of music can alter the feel of the product all together, after experimenting on sony vegas we found that we can chop parts of the music up to relevant parts of the footage and this became invaluable as we had various moments of increased tension and the climax.

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

We have certainly learnt that the most important thing is planning. On our first shoot we had poor shot lists and we hadn’t even devised a storyboard. We had concepts in our head that we hadn’t applied to actual reality, we hadn’t even considered whether our actors would be available and if they would be able to film at the certain time of day. Without a shot list and thorough planning of props we were flawed as our material was inconsistent and the improvisations we had to use due to poor planning came across in the product. We have learnt that a simple concept and idea can be more effective than one with a really complex storyline, we were quick to have ideas and after watching style models we wanted to include everything we liked from every style model in our one product, this did not work and made the title sequence lack consistency. Our simple idea of a girl walking home from school whilst someone was in her house was our least favoured idea but when we realised how our previous experiments had been flawed by too much going on, we gave this idea a go and realised we could add things to a simple idea to make it better and more effective without having a dramatic and over the top concept. We have learnt that editing is such a huge part of the process and found that lessons devoted to just getting used to and testing out sony vegas paid off in the long run although it felt like we weren’t getting anywhere when we wanted to apply our skills it was easier and our editing could take place without being halted for the learning of new skills. Sony vegas transformed our average footage with little atmosphere or feel into a tense and on edge minute and half of film. The adding of sound, jump cuts, titles and opacity turned our product into everything we hoped for we felt like we had used typical conventions whilst also adding a modern personal spin on things with the incorporation of our new found skills.