Evaluation

1. How does your product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

General
The product that I have created has utilized and challenged conventions of existing media products in a variety of ways. In terms of genre, the sequence uses a number of horror elements, such as the use of Mis En Scene, Greyscale colour correction, ambient lighting and thematic music. The decision to include elements of the horror genre was based on a series of factors in the early planning process – the genre of horror is popular amongst a range of specific target audience groups, particularly young adults. I created a sequence with a few attributes that actively subvert horror whilst simultaneously targeting the audience of young adults by emphasizing the ‘pure’ horror elements. The elements that produce subversion of audience expectation and alternative cinematic styles mainly include the use of anticlimax (The apparent absence of revelation) and production techniques from the title sequences I analysed within the research process, such as rhythmic editing (cutting titles to the beat of a soundtrack) and immersion techniques (Point of View shots). The combination of the ‘pure’ horror elements and the elements that subvert them create a product that is particularly unique, especially when compared to existing media products.

This is my favourite shot from the sequence. It shows the Mis En Scene, ambient lighting and greyscale at its best.

Titles
The additional subversive elements are however, directly inspired from some existing media products. The titles themselves are directly inspired by Reservoir Dogs (a title sequence I studied) and other films that utilize titles with non-specific fonts and a lack of styling that sometimes fade in and out over black backgrounds. The use of non-specific font does not give away any hints about narrative or genre, which is why I wanted to utilize this technique in order to make the audience understand the genre and narrative through the other micro elements of the sequence.

My title sequence was inspired by the use of, styling and pacing of titles in existing media products

Editing (cutting to the beat)
The rhythmic editing is more general – I used the technique of cutting my titles to the soundtrack in the edit to add to the effectiveness of audio. Rhythmic editing is very common among media products, particularly title sequences. This can be seen in one of the title sequences I analysed, Zombieland, where the duration of the shots is directly linked to the pacing of the music in the background, using slow motion cinematography and animated titles paced specifically to the soundtrack for enhanced effectiveness – to help the music tell the story rather than the use of diagetic sound or dialogue. This is why I chose to use music in my sequence and cut the video to it accordingly; it is an effective way of telling the story without using dialogue or other sound.

Soundtrack
The soundtrack itself is directly reminiscent of the horror genre – I looked specifically for copyright-free tracks for horror sequences when searching for the appropriate music. I found a few tracks that would have been suitable, all having a similar style and genre. Horror tends to favour classical style pieces, or works derived from or emulating this genre. This is due to the age and grand scale that classical music encompasses, as well as the chilling atmosphere it can create with its somber and dark tones. I chose a piece that matched the genre of horror and also the ideas behind using classical music in the horror genre. The piece is particularly fitting the tone of the sequence, and has a number of solid punctuations and a good rhythm which aided in the editing technique of cutting the video to the audio.

Camera – POV shot
I also addressed the audience with an immersion technique; this was also inspired by a number of title sequences I looked at, particularly Zombieland, the first title sequence I studied. I used a POV shot right at the end of my sequence in a manner reminiscent of this sequence – it is used to address the audience by immersing them into the scene at the final second through the use of Point-of-view. This is not specific to the horror genre, but it is rather a more general production technique.

my final POV shot has a similar style to POV shots that are used in media products to create immersion through the out of focus foreground and low angle.

Narrative
In terms of narrative, I have set up a potential story within the micro features of my product. There is very little information or detail on the single character within the sequence, and the action he is performing is not entirely clear. This creates a lot of restricted narrative and audience expectation that there may be a reveal, especially when the sequence cuts away to the location shots, which happens often. Within the sequence, there is ultimately no reveal on the character or the action is performing.

When thinking about this title sequence as the beginning of a full film, I considered that I did not want to reveal the details of narrative or characters immediately, but instead, decided to use this sequence as a more general introduction to the atmosphere of the piece. When thinking about applying theory, I wanted to prevent the audience from subconsciously applying the narrative theories of propp (through familiarity with media texts), by removing any hints of characterization or narrative function in this opening sequence. Through the use of another theory, barthes’ ‘enigma code’ theory would suggest that due to the deliberate absence of characterization and narrative function, this sequence is just another event to prolong the inevitable ending of the film as a whole.

Setting, Mis En Scene and lighting

One of the most obvious and effective things about my title sequence is how the setting, Mis En Scene and lighting came together to produce shots that were incredibly effective and consistent with the genre.

The setting of the two churches both provided excellent Mis En Scene for the sequence. This included a variety of gothic headstones, gravestones, broken walls, cobwebs, and decaying brick and mortar; all brilliant setpieces associated with the horror genre. The locations had all this in the space that I had agreed permissions to film in, so I took a variety of footage in the area.

The footage was particularly effective as on the day of filming the weather conditions were perfect – it was a foggy day, which produced a brilliant effect on the camera with the natural ambient lighting. I decided to continue using the ambient lighting as it brought out the best in the fog which worked well on camera when coupled with the natural Mis En Scene of the location.

2. How does your media represent particular social groups?

There is little within my media product that represents social groups of particular people -This could give the sequence a broader appeal. The product does, however, subtly represent religion with how traditional religious establishments are used as locations and within the Mis En Scene. The traditional religious buildings such as churches have gained an association with horror due to the progression of horror themed media through the years – this association began in gothic literature, which was a big inspiration for the sequence. The traditional architecture of the religious buildings are used as a contrast between the holy places of worship (the churches and courtyards used in my sequence) and the tense and horrific atmosphere (the horror elements that surround these environments); this could be considered as a negative representation of religion in how the locations and what they represent are used to inspire fear – churches in particular are commonly used in horror media because of this audience association and also because the buildings are
often considerably old, which can create additional levels of atmosphere and elements to add in the Mis En Scene.

The use of places of worship to represent horror could be a negative representation of religion

The use of restricted narrative and the fact that my opening sequence is not specific in characterization could also give the sequence a wider appeal to the audience. The fact the sequence does not contain any specific character archetypes or any specific actions at all may make it more engaging that a typical opening sequence in the same genre. This is because the sequence is vague, which will leave the audience to interpret what is going on for themselves.

Here is a presentation on this topic;

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

Considering the nature of my media product and the target audience, I do not think that it would be suited to a cinematic/theatrical release. In an ideal situation, the initial release of my product would be exclusive to digital distribution. Digital distribution services such Itunes, Netflix and Lovefilm have gained rapidly in interest within the last 4 years, with their core audience being young adults, my target audience.

This graph from a review of the Netflix service (http://high-definition-television.net/netflix-uk/) shows how the number of international subscribers has increased. Recently, Netflix has began introducing ‘Netflix-original’ content. If my product was exclusive to a digital distribution service in a similar manner, it would be a mutually beneficial deal that would ensure my core audience of young adults are targeted (consumer demographics show that teen and young adult consumers make up 30% of digital distribution sales) and also create additional interest in the service from people who are interested in my product who would not normally use digital distribution.

Here is a presentation on this topic;

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

The target audience for my media product is that of young adults, between the ages of of 17 – 27 specifically. This decision was justified in the early planning stages when it was decided I could use standard conventions of horror to target this audience, as traditional horror is popular among this audience.

This is justified by research that I undertook to find a target audience and a suitable genre. Through looking at trailers, statistics and demographics, it became obvious that both classic horror and contemporary horror are favoured by these audiences of young adults. Therefore, by using the conventions and traditional features of the genre, I would be targeting this audience.

Based on the distribution of my film, it has the potential to gain a global audience, as online digital distribution services such as LOVEfilm and Netflix are rapidly expanding their reach in different territories across the world.

My research found a key link between a potential target audience and the horror genre

A link to a voicethread that simplifies this answer is here;
Audience – Voicethread

5. How did you attract/address your audience?

As already mentioned, I used standard conventions of horror to target my audience. This is included in a variety of micro features such as Mis En Scene (The scenery and gothic headstones used provided a chilling and aged atmosphere) Ambient lighting (I was lucky enough to have filmed on a misty day which produced a great effect) Greyscale colour correction (This heightened the effect of the mist and ambient lighting and is a common attribute of classic horror) and the soundtrack. These features are all reminiscent of horror, which was my intention when creating them in order to target my audience. I also addressed my audience by using a particular technique I discovered in my first case study – using the final shot to create an immersion effect. This is achieved simply by having a solitary first person POV shot at the very end of the sequence – drawing the audience into the action at the last second. I tried to create this effect with the final shot in my sequence; a wide shot that tilts upwards, as if the audience is within the sequence, scanning what would be the location of the first scene.

The final shot was intended as a POV to draw the audience in

I also addressed the audience by subverting expectation. My title sequence builds anticipation in the viewer by constantly showing small elements of narrative, with shots of a mysterious character writing a letter, only ever showing the hands of the actor. These shots build the expectation that the character will eventually be fully revealed. This is not the case, with the sequence often fading to black where the revelations might have been. This could confuse or frustrate the audience who are waiting for narrative progression.

The vague nature of the opening sequence works in its favor in this regard, as it could create multiple readings when it comes to audience theory;

The ‘hypodermic syringe theory’ of audience theory suggests that some people who watch this sequence could have no real thoughts towards the potential narrative. This is because the sequence I have created does not give any real hints towards narrative, and the type of people the ‘hypodermic syringe’ theory affects would have no interpretations as these types of viewers generally just ‘consume’ media and do not deconstruct it in any way.

If this theory was correct to some degree, it would not necessarily be a negative – my preferred reading of the sequence I have created does not require heavy deconstruction. The main objectives of my title sequence were as follows;

1. To give a thematic introduction to the tone and genre of the film.
2. To show titles.
3. To show a small glimpse of the beginning of a narrative out of context, that would not reveal anything else of the narrative or characters.

An oppositional or negotiative reading of the media text may not be interested entirely in the concept of thematic introduction and may instead try to infer what they can about the narrative from the small amount shown. This is good, but not the reading I was necessarily trying to create in the production of the sequence.

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

Throughout the course of this project, I have learnt a lot about technology in the context of media production.
I learnt a considerable amount about the use of DLSR cameras and the associated equipment. For my project, I used a Canon 5D DSLR camera – I gained the most knowledge about the camera through using it in both the preliminary task and the main project. Through using it, it became obvious the common mistakes that could occur if correct attention was not given. Simple faults such as incorrect focus, zooming and basic framing errors became noticeable from extensive use of the equipment early on in the production process, which gave time to prevent further errors.

The canon is a versatile camera suitable for both amateur and professional use

I also learnt a lot about editing and the process of basic and advanced editing methods on the professional Final Cut Pro software. It became apparent that editing software will not enhance the footage that was shot on any miraculous level,
and that obtaining the correct quality and quantity of footage first always makes the editing process easier. Marking and labeling footage accordingly also helps, as sorting through large amounts of footage to find one correct take can be a difficult task.

Here is a link to a voicethread that further explains this topic;
Technology – voicethread

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

The preliminary task was useful as it allowed us time to get comfortable with creating a full production. During this task, I learned skills in all of the aspects that creating a full sequence involves. As a small group, we were responsible for the storyboarding, shooting and editing of a short film.

The most noticeable progression I have made since the preliminary task is becoming more creative and varied with the camera, incorporating a wider variety of shot sizes and distances. The preliminary task we filmed looked fine after the completed edit, but there was not a particularly unique mixture of shots – it was very basic in style and tone.

I have improved my skill in framing since the preliminary task

Another progression is general technical skill in editing – we had only just learnt the basics of editing to complete our preliminary task; the main title sequence required a lot more than just basic cutting. Not only did I learn more techniques in final cut pro, such as colour correction and audio editing, but I also learned how to use the title specific program Motion.

This shot shows that I used basic editing techniques such as matching action and base colour correction filters. I have since improved my skill in both of those areas as was required for my title sequence

I also gained knowledge of sound and sound editing since the preliminary task. As you can see in the preliminary task, the sound is diagetic and taken from the cameras poor quality microphone. I since learned that more audio equipment is needed when dealing with diagetic sound, and also that diagetic sound is not necessarily needed and non-diagetic audio such as music and sound effects can be just as effective as narrative devices.

I had to learn additional editing techniques for the post production of my sequence

Perhaps the most important progression was the improved ability to make creative decisions effectively. The preliminary task made obvious the need for swift creative decision making, a skill that was even more relevant in the title sequence project. I had to make decisions quickly on all of the different elements that came together to form the complete product.