After choosing a genre we all wanted to work with we decided to research the genre, after doing so we decided to challenge the general conventions that are present in horror films. Normally females are portrayed as weak compared to men after seeing this convention we decided to challenge it by casting females for both the main protagonist and the antagonist. We show the protagonist as being a strong female as she is the one who leads the way into the woods. If we followed the normal conventions of a horror film this would be the other around and the female would be less willing to go into the woods. Although we have followed certain conventions of a horror with our titles. It’s very common that horror movies have titles which are red. We decided to follow this convention as although it was typical it fit the message and theme we had in our opening. Another convention we followed was with the location. The reason we decided not to challenge this convention was because we didn't think the story of the opening would make as much sense if it was set in another location, due to it making sense we decided to use the woods as the location for the scene like many horror films do.We also used dramatic music in the opening this was another way we followed conventions of a horror film. Many horror films use dramatic music to create tension which diegetic sounds in a scene cannot produce. Our choice of non diegetic music helped set the tone of our opening from the beginning. Also we developed the idea of following the few horror films which start with scenes of horror and gore at the start of a film. We decided to do this as not many films decide to do this and it would make our media product stand out compared to others.
How does your media product represent particular social groups?
We used our media product to represent social groups in different ways compare to what they are often shown like in films. A clear example of this is the role of the protagonist. Usually the protagonist is a male in horror films but we chose to chose a female. By choosing a female we portrayed women as strong and headstrong as it is the female character who leads the way. We also show women as powerful as our antagonist is also a female. This choice could be seen to represent women as strong and somewhat evil. The choice of protagonist and antagonist’s both being female could be used to show the devil and angel concept as one character is good and the other is evil. We show men as somewhat weak in comparison to females as the dead man is shown to have been killed and now being eaten by the female zombie. Men are also shown as weak as Leo is killed before Kate. This portrayal of men is very uncommon and goes against the conventions set in the average horror. Although when it came to social class we conformed to horror conventions in using working class characters. Also we conformed with the age we chose to portray the characters. We decided to do this as the age of the characters seemed fitting so our audience could relate to characters their own age and their own social grade.
What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
As our film is a horror a good choice of Production Company to distribute our film would be Hammer Film Productions. The reason behind is because this company produce a lot of British horror films which our product is. Although the film could have backing from Film4 as they produce various low budget films which are either released into the cinemas or broadcasted on TV. The smaller production company may be more realistic as our film doesn’t include many effects or props which may be included in bigger productions which are distributed through Hammer Film Productions. Both choices seem good as both companies produce films like our own.
Who would be the audience for your media product?
For our film our target audience would be in the 18 to 24 bracket. Our film would most likely be given an 18 rating by the BBFC, the age bracket was heightened due to the gore which our film had. The reason we decided to have our target audience in this age range was because the characters in the film were in the same age group, due to this the audience would find the characters more relatable. Our product would also be more aimed at males, this is because figures show that more males than females go to watch horror films, although our product isn’t clearly directed at a single sex. Our film is also aimed at social grades C and below the decision behind this was more lower class people watch horrors compared to upper classes. Also the characters which are in our product come from this social background which once again would allow the audience to relate to the characters in the film more compared to if they were from the A band of the social class scale.
How did you attract/address your audience?
We decided to attract our audience through its storyline mostly as a zombie disaster. We saw this as a storyline which would intrigue both males and females although males seem to show a keener interest in the zombie storyline than females. We also hoped that the name of the film would intrigue an audience into watching the film as the name ‘The Infestation’ catches an eye with people wanting to know more about what ‘the infestation’ is. Also the titles we used with their font and colour told the audience that the film was horror. If we were able to create a promotional campaign to promote the film the best way to get our audience would be through the use of viral marketing. With this we could create websites that could show people who are in the storyline. Pops ups and trailers on websites such as youtube or vimeo would also be a good way to attract viewers to watching the film. Although our audience would most likely be more affected by viral marketing traditional marketing would be good to use also as this could itself attract a larger audience. Through traditional marketing posters and ads in magazines could be used.
What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
After creating a film I have a better knowledge on how to use many tools which I had to use to produce my media product. Before my preliminary task I personally didn’t know to set up a tripod. Now I know how to easily set up a tripod and how to use it to create different shots. I also have a better knowledge of how to use a mini DV camera, before creating my film I had no prior knowledge of how to use a mini DV camera. Now I find it easy to record and watch back my footage. From using the mini DV camera and tripod I learnt how to create tilt shots, pans, tracking shots and how to frame a shot. While using the mini DV camera we used tapes opposed to SD cards, this was because it was easier to import footage in the editing suite. If the equipment was available it would have been nice to use SD cards. When it came to editing I like most people hadn’t ever used Final Cut Pro, using this gave me a different experience into how films can be edited as previously I had only used editing software such as Windows Movie Maker which is a much lower standard than Final Cut Pro. Through the use of Final Cut Pro I have learnt how to import footage; cut footage; drag and drop it onto a time line; how to import music for use on our product; how to add text; to change the speed of shots; how to change the colour of shots; and how to change the audience pitches on a clip. My new knowledge which I have gathered over the time of creating my media product has given me a glimpse into how films are made on a small budget and production scale, my knowledge has also given me an idea just how much work goes into creating films on many different scales. Also to record progress of my work I used blogspot. Before hand I hadn’t any knowledge of how to set up a blog let alone post blogs. It took me a while to get used to the site but I soon learnt how to upload and edit posts. I also learnt how to embed videos and pictures to make my blog look professional.
Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
Looking back at my preliminary task I feel I have greatly improved since. As I created my media product with two other members of the group I learnt how to work as a group and how to compromise so we could all put our ideas into our product. I liked working as a group as we could have the best ideas as 3 minds are better than 1. As I worked on my media product I learnt the basics of film making. I now know how to use a mini DV camera properly, how to insert a tape into the camera, how to zoom in and out and how to operate a camera basically. Also I learnt how to film from different angles and shots and also how to frame shots properly. In the preliminary task we filmed a scene which included match on action, and I followed the 180 degree rule. From this task I also learnt how to execute shots properly. After gaining new skills I was able to use these skills in my final media product which allowed me to create good shots and film good footage. I used my newly learnt skills to help me through filming my final media piece. With the basic knowledge I created footage with a variety of shot ranges. Throughout my preliminary task and filming my final product I made mistakes, although thanks to these mistakes I learnt more. Because of mistakes which made it improved my skills. With all that I have learnt over the time of my preliminary task and first attempts at filming helped produced a good final piece.
What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
After creating a film I have a better knowledge on how to use many tools which I had to use to produce my media product. Before my preliminary task I personally didn’t know to set up a tripod. Now I know how to easily set up a tripod and how to use it to create different shots. I also have a better knowledge of how to use a mini DV camera, before creating my film I had no prior knowledge of how to use a mini DV camera. Now I find it easy to record and watch back my footage. From using the mini DV camera and tripod I learnt how to create tilt shots, pans, tracking shots and how to frame a shot. While using the mini DV camera we used tapes opposed to SD cards, this was because it was easier to import footage in the editing suite. If the equipment was available it would have been nice to use SD cards. When it came to editing I like most people hadn’t ever used Final Cut Pro, using this gave me a different experience into how films can be edited as previously I had only used editing software such as Windows Movie Maker which is a much lower standard than Final Cut Pro. Through the use of Final Cut Pro I have learnt how to import footage; cut footage; drag and drop it onto a time line; how to import music for use on our product; how to add text; to change the speed of shots; how to change the colour of shots; and how to change the audience pitches on a clip. My new knowledge which I have gathered over the time of creating my media product has given me a glimpse into how films are made on a small budget and production scale, my knowledge has also given me an idea just how much work goes into creating films on many different scales. Also to record progress of my work I used blogspot. Before hand I hadn’t any knowledge of how to set up a blog let alone post blogs. It took me a while to get used to the site but I soon learnt how to upload and edit posts. I also learnt how to embed videos and pictures to make my blog look professional.
Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
Looking back at my preliminary task I feel I have greatly improved since. As I created my media product with two other members of the group I learnt how to work as a group and how to compromise so we could all put our ideas into our product. I liked working as a group as we could have the best ideas as 3 minds are better than 1. As I worked on my media product I learnt the basics of film making. I now know how to use a mini DV camera properly, how to insert a tape into the camera, how to zoom in and out and how to operate a camera basically. Also I learnt how to film from different angles and shots and also how to frame shots properly. In the preliminary task we filmed a scene which included match on action, and I followed the 180 degree rule. From this task I also learnt how to execute shots properly. After gaining new skills I was able to use these skills in my final media product which allowed me to create good shots and film good footage. I used my newly learnt skills to help me through filming my final media piece. With the basic knowledge I created footage with a variety of shot ranges. Throughout my preliminary task and filming my final product I made mistakes, although thanks to these mistakes I learnt more. Because of mistakes which made it improved my skills. With all that I have learnt over the time of my preliminary task and first attempts at filming helped produced a good final piece.
