Preliminary Task

My Evaluation

In What Way Does Your Media Product Use, Develop or Challenge Forms and Conventions Of Real Media Products?

Our media product sticks to the conventions of a stereotypical horror film, this is present from our first shot of the pre-title sequence. “RAWR productions presents” is the first title to appear, it is written in a gothic font and a blood red colour. These two attributes are very popular conventions of the horror genre and proved to be very effective. Another way our media product used the conventions of a horror film was through the use of a zombie. Zombies are extremely familiar conventions of horror films and I believe by including this, we did not only stick to codes of the genre, but maybe exceeded other groups. I say this as the media board mention there being a mass influx of generic productions, a brief example would be “A girl being followed in the woods by a masked stalker.” One way we challenged forms and conventions of existing media products was through races of the protagonists and antagonists. I played the lead role and me being from afro-Caribbean descent challenges conventions as in horror films, the main protagonist is usually Caucasian. Another way our group stuck to conventions was through the soundtrack used in our sequence. During the pre-title sequence the music played was dark, eerie music which fits the horror genre.  We also added sounds of screaming to our film which are almost portrayed in every horror film.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

As written in my blog I believe that the demographic for our film would be a 15+. I say this as I believe in this current climate, it is what most 15+ year olds would be interested in seeing. In terms of social class, I honestly believe that the film would be able to reach out from class E all the way to class A. I believe this as many Hollywood horror films premier to people of the highest class and are then released into cinemas where they can be viewed by the other classes. I wouldn’t say that our film is aimed at a particular social group as during the sequence there aren’t many social schemas present. If we were producing a ‘gangster film’ then individuals from such backgrounds could relate, but our film is a horror with zombies; not many people can relate that to everyday life!

What Kind Of Media Institution Might Distribute Your Media Product and Why?

If I were to choose a media institution that would distribute I would probably say that it would be Hammer Studios. Hammer studios dominated the media industry in terms of horror films and as our film is of the same genre, they would be the best option. Hammer Film Productions produced classics such as Dracula, The Mummy and The Curse of Frankenstein. Hammers business levels and experience would be key selling points as to why we would be interested in them distributing our media product. Hammer film productions were founded in 1934 making them one of the most experienced companies in the industry and they now have a very reputable name. I believe that they would be interested in distributing our media product as ‘Rays of the Dead’ seems like a working title that Hammer productions would make. Our media product sticks to many codes and conventions, the same codes that are present in many Hammer films. A final way that working with Hammer Film Productions would benefit us would be alone its reputable name. To have Hammer productions working alongside you immediately boosts public awareness and increases chances of success.

Who Would Be The Audience For Your Media Product?

I believe that the main audience for our media product would be those aged fifteen and higher. Many teenagers and young adults would be interested in watching our film as my questionnaire showed that Horror/Thriller tend to be their favourite genre. I do believe that member of an older demographic, maybe aged 30 upwards would also be interested in the film although it would not be the key audience. Our film does not hold any prejudice’s or negative schemas towards any religion or race so that would not decrease the audience in any way such.

How did you attract/Address your audience?

One way we attracted our audience was through a mini promotion we ran before we started filming. As we had different ideas to what our final idea is now we decided to hold a casting session for people who wanted to be in our film. This helped raise awareness of the film being produced and has lead to anticipation of other people wanting to see it. One way we addressed our audience was through use of the soundtrack in the film. In our title sequence we used the son “Centerfolds and Empty screens” by a band called “We have have Band” They are an up and coming trio who’s music is popular with youth culture. This may raise awareness about the media product and encourage more people to watch it. Another song used on the soundtrack was “Day in Day out” by a band called “Architects” These are also an up and coming band and this would hopefully have the same effect. Another way in which we attracted our audience was through using ourselves as characters in the sequence. William and I are pretty popular members of Birmingham Metropolitan College, us being in it helped promote ‘Rays of the Dead’ awareness as people were interested in seeing what we both had to offer as actors.

What Have You Learnt About Technologies From The Process Of Constructing This Product?

During the process of making this film, I have learnt about many different technologies, firstly through use of the camera. We first encountered problems with it as the camera we were given would not record over our tape, we quickly overcame this solution and were given another camera. As I acted in the film I did not use the camera much but I was familiar on using it as I filmed our preliminary task. Software I believe I have now became fluent in using is Final cut pro. By the end of the production I was very confident in using this software. I used the software to change the lighting on our entire film to give it a yellow hint, the connotations of this were that the suns radiation had become too strong thus tinting the world in this yellow light. I also did the complete soundtrack for our production. I did this by transferring Mp3 files from my mobile phone onto the computer, then onto final cut pro. We did encounter a few problems at first, such as the mp3’s not saving properly but through trial and error this was later corrected by myself. I, Raheem Hall, also log and captured some of the film. This however was not a difficult process, I just had to make sure that I captured a few seconds before every clip.

Looking Back At Your Preliminary Task, What Do You Feel You Have Learnt In The Progression From It To The Full Product?

I believe that I have learnt so much and came such a long way since the preliminary task in many aspects. Before we started working as a group, our ideas were very separate and coming to conclusions was a very difficult task. We almost spent two lessons deciding on the colour for our title sequences, things were not going to plan. As time went on we started to gel as a group and the continuous ideas flourished into what is the final product today, Rays of the dead. Co-operation and compromise are two extremely important factors that must be taken into account when working as a group. Our group displayed such attributes which I believe gave us and edge against others. I would now feel confident in making another product working with the same team, the same great team that showed very little promise when production began in January. I have learnt key media concepts, how to operate all the necessary technology and how to work together as a team. I believe that our final product is a major improvement as to what our work was at the beginning of term, thank to everyone who worked in our group.

Storyboard

This is the storyboard for our film 'Rays of the dead'

Props used

The initial idea for this prop was for it to be a radio broadcasting a message. In the final sequence we decided that a voice over would be more effective.

This was the shirt used in the sequence, covered in fake blood.

This zombie hand was used in the sequence

This is William Martin on set after going through make-up

Scream Opening sequence analysis

Scream is an American Horror film directed by Wes Craven that was released in 1996. The film tells the story of the fictional town of Woodsboro, California being terrorized by a masked killer who enjoys tormenting his victims with phone calls and movie references. The killer's main target is Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell), a teenage girl whose mother, Maureen, fell victim to a brutal murder one year earlier. The film takes the form of a "whodunit" mystery, with many of her friends and townspeople being fellow targets and suspects.
Scream was a box office success, grossing $173,046,663 internationally in it's 15 years and also spawning 2 sequels with a third sequel soon to be released and also a further two films in the pipeline. Scream is famed for revamping the Slasher genre, much like Halloween did in the late 70's using its standard Horror steretypes with a tongue-in-cheek attitude.

The film clearly takes notes from Hitchcocks' 'Psycho' (1960) from it's use of a maniac with a knife, to killing off one of the better known actresses in the first five minutes, which was considered very strange when Drew Barrymore's face had been a focal point of the film posters and alot of the advertising.


Opening Credits

The scene starts with a close-up of a ringing telephone, which is quickly answered by Drew Barrymores' character. We then get a close up of her face as she talks to the mysterious male on the other end. We get a pan to show is the exterior of the house which then leads into a long shot from the outside of the house showing a swing set in the garden, which is gently swaying, perhaps to suggest that it is a windy night, or more likely to suggest someone has just been on/ near it. As 'Casey' becomes more frustrated and agitated by this mystery caller we follow her through her house until she stops and turns suddenly at which point we get a close-up of her face which shows fear, which allows suspense and tension to build. Other notable shots come as exterior shots, firstly we see fog in the garden, which is used to a creepy, tension building effect to suggest a dark, broody atmosphere, we also get a shot of 'Steve' tied up and bloodied which makes it evident something is about to happen.

The title shows up first in white on a black background, but then as we hear a gunshot becomes red which suggests blood and is more conventional with a Horror film. The location of the house is the American Suburbs, we can tell this by the exterior shots of the house used, which sets the very conventional 'girl alone in a quiet neighbourhood, in distress' situation. The girl in question, 'Casey Becker' is a very stereotypical ditzy blonde often found in Horror films, this is because Scream itself is meant to parody and make fun of the generic Horror film. 'Steve', 'Casey's' boyfriend is again a Horror stereotype being a jock, however unlike most Horror films this jock is shown as weak as he has already fallen to 'Ghostface', the unseen killer, meaning he will not be swooping in to save the damsel, which is what normally happens. While in this section 'Ghostface' is not seen, he is mentioned, all be it subtley. When asked what her favourite scary movie is, 'Casey' responds with "Halloween, you know, the one with the guy in the white mask?" This exophoric reference, while refering the Michael Myers, also refers to the antagonist of Scream.

The first three sounds we hear are a phone ring, a scream and a gunshot. The phone ringing, which starts as non-diegetic but moves to diegetic, sets the first shot of the movie, the scream clearly links with the title, and the gunshot is used to turn the title from white font to red. We also get a conversation, where as the scene goes on, one of the participants becomes distressed which is used to create suspense, also during the conversation we get a monotonus, loud drum beat as the situation becomes worse.

The only editing used in this scene really is simple cuts from shot to shot, when there is supposed to be suspense and tension the cuts are quicker than normal. There are a mix of seamless and continuity cuts used throughout the scene

Red Dragon Opening sequence analysis

Red Dragon is a 2003 film directed by Brett Ratner. I analysed the pre title sequence of the film using camera angles, sound, mise en scene and editing to help me break it down. Doctor Hannibal Lector is the main character in this film played by the well known actor Anthony Hopkins.

The pre title sequence is set in a grand theatre, a crane shot of the audience is shown as they are watching an orchestra perform. The camera slowly zooms in on Hannibal, who seems to stand out from the others, which suggests he's an important character in the film. By the way he represents himself, wearing a suit, suggests he may be upper class and an important character within society. The camera zooms in and shows an extreme close up of Hannibal Lectors face. You can see the concentration on his face as he watches and observes the flute player in the orchestra.Shot reverse shots are used between Hannibal and the flute player. He notices a single note of the piece that the flute player has got wrong, the expression on his face shows that Hannibal has notcied, and is very dissapointed as its a song he must love and know very well. He immediately wants revenge upon the flute player.

The music in the pre title sequence starts off very loud portraying aggression, it's very powerful just like Doctor Hannibal Lector. The classical music sounds very cheerful until the flute player gets a note wrong, the tempo then gets a lot faster, creating a sense of danger.

The title sequence for Red Dargon is very similar in many wats to the title sequence for Se7en. Se7en could have inspired Brett Ratner to make his using similar eliments. Like Se7en, a scrapbook has been used, including horrifying and disturbing images mainly of different body parts which suggests this is what the film could be about. There are shots of newspaper articles, with positive stories about Doctor Hannibal Lector, then suddenly the lighting goes down and the music turns to a much lower and more aggressive sound as we see shots of negative stories about Hannibal, he looks pure evil. This shows us the two sides to Hannibal and how he can go from good to bad so easily. There is also an image of a young child with their eyes scratched out which could represent how Hannibal doesn't like people looking at him and seeing him for what he really is.

The titles are red and white, red representing danger and blood, while white could symbolise the better side of hannibal, this could help represent the two sides hannibal has to him, red been his bad and evil side, harming people and white representing his innocence and purity.

Halloween Opening sequence analysis

Halloween is a 1978 American independent horror in the fictional suburban town of Haddofield, Illinois, USA on Halloween.
A psychotic murder institutionalized since childhood escaped on a mindless rampage while his doctor chases him through the streets.
Halloween was produced on a small budget of $320,000 and grossed a massive $47 million at the box office in the USA alone, equivalent to over $150 million as of 2008, becoming one of the most profitable independent films of all times.
Many critics credit the film as the first in a long line of slasher films inspired by Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho (1960). The movie originated many cliches found in low budget horror films of the 1980's and 1990's. However, the film contains little graphic, violence and gore.

The text in the title sequence is orange, representing Halloween, gradually turning to red, letting off a negative connotation of blood and danger. There is a black background making it clear to the audience that the film is bounf to include elements of darkness and violence. There is also a pumpkin in the background, an establishing shot first shows the pumpkin in the distance, the slow zoom in towards the pumpkin represents an animal zooming in on its prey, getting ready to attack. The titles constantly fade in and out whilst the music gets louder and faster, sounding as if there is a chase going on. The pitch often changes from high to low within the title sequence, which helps to build tension.
During the opening sequence a subjective point of view shot is used once the person has put the mask on which makes the audience feel as if they are behind the eyes of the killer. We see a knife been picked up and the person moves around the house using a forward dollying shot, as if he's searching for his victim, all the while the music gets higher and louder creating tension, as the audience aren't sure what the knife is about to be used for.
As the killer walks up the stairs you can hear the diegetic sound of the young girl humming, which helps to create a tense atmosphere. The music suddenly changes to a very high pitched sound representing the scream of somebody in grave danger as the killer behing the mask stabs the girl to death.
Unexpectedly, the killers identity is revealed and is infact the girls younger brother. John Carpenter cleverly used the camera angles to trick the audience by protraying the killer to be a lot older and taller than he is.. The entire opening scene is a long take from the killers point of view, up until the very last shot when it cuts and Michael is revealed as the man behind the mask. This could then make the audience believe the film contains many more twists.