Mercy - Audience Feedback.

Here is a video of our audience feedback. We gave other people the chance the chance to comment on our film and talk about the good points and bad points.

Sam Boon's Evaluation

1. In what way does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of media products?

The opening scene to our film includes and develops many of the conventions of a typical horror film. Firstly, the bulk of the opening scene is a chase scene through some dark woods, which is quite common for a horror film. Films such as 'The Blair Witch Project' and 'Severance' use such a setting. The use of woods means that there's is more for the characters to interact with, such as tress, rocks and even bridges, and adds realism to the film because it shows there is no escape for the victim and even in the day it's dark. If the chase was through a city or down a street in the middle of the day, there would be plenty of places for the victim to get help, and just wouldn't scary or realistic. Also, woods are generally seen as scary because of the dark, mysterious feel to them, which is exactly what we wanted to capture. The use of the dark colours and abstract shots delivered it just how we wanted.


The chase scene is quite common in horror films as it captures both the insanity of the villain and the fear of the victim, and provides a chance for a fast paced scene. The characters in this scene apply to the stereotypical villain and victim too. The victim is fast, but in a panic and full of fear - which is captured and shown by the use of handheld and point of view shots - whereas the villain is calm, swift yet slower and reserved. The use of this type of victim is used in most horror films, and the use of the slow villain is also common, used in films such as 'See No Evil' which was one of our main influences for the villain. The use of this allows us to emphasise his strength and power, and actually make him look like something to fear. Also, the our villain fits the conventions of a typical villain as his identity is coevered by the use of wearing a hood and keeping his head down, which is very common to happen in horror films, as it adds mystery to who the villain is or what he looks like, whilst also making the villain seem scarier.

A way in which our film challenges the conventions of a typical horror is with the use of camera shots and angles. We tried to use the most different and as many different shots as possible to capture the chase scene in many different ways. For example, the use of hand held point of view shots whilst the victim is running down a path shows and emphasises the fear he has, and gives the real feeling of panic as it shakes around quickly making it hard to comfortably watch, and give the viewer the feeling that they are being chased or make them worry for the victim. On a few occasions we used a 'match on action' to give a more creative and technical side to the film. For example, as the victim runs and falls onto a bench, the shot changes to a different and closer angle to show the fall in more detail and for the viewer to understand the panic in the character.

Another way in which our opening 2 minutes challenge the conventions of a typical horror film is that it cuts straight into the chase scene without any introduction to the plot at all, which fits in more with the conventions of an action or thriller film. Usually a horror film starts off with a small happy or safe scene, for example a party, romantic late night walk, teenage campout etc so that when the horror kicks in it is unexpected. Whereas our film straight away cuts into the chase. This makes the viewer think what's happening and why, and keeps them on the edge waiting to see what happens. Then at the end of the chase scene it cuts to a college classroom conversation, when usually in a horror film it would be the other way round.

2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?

All the characters in our film are young white males. The villain fits the stereotype of the young male been strong, powerful and masculine. But on the other hand, the victim is shown as weak, scared and inferior. The characters in the next scene represent males in different ways too. One is angry and couragious, whereas the other is sad and respectful. This represents young males in many different ways. The film would mainly attract young males and there are no female characters for females to relate to, but our target audience is of both genders aged 15-40 years old.

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

Our film wouldn't suit a major hollywood production, promotion or distribution as it's not completely original or doesn't have a large enough target audience. Dimension Films would be a suitable company to distribute our film as they distribute most horrors including 'Planet Terror' and 'Halloween'. In terms of cinema release, it would be released around winter when it's colder and darker to create the perfect atmosphere for the film showing, in contrast to a light, hot summers day. The film could also be released on rental sevices both in-shop and on TV/internet, if the demand was high enough. The opportunity for merchandising would be harder than that of a hollywood family film, but t-shirts, posters, comic books and even action figures could be sold as their is a high interest in merchandise and memorabilia for horror films in the 'comic book scene'.
4. Who would be the audience for your media product?

Our film would be watched by most horror film fans, but specifically the target audience would be 15-40 year olds, mainly male. This is because all the characters are young males. However, the thick and complex plot would draw in older people. Films such as 'Saw' use very complex plot lines to add something more than just gore to horror films, and it gains the films a lot of fans, which is what would happen with our film. The age certificate would be 15 years old, this is because the plot line is unsuitable for anyone under 15, but not violent/gorey enough to have a certificate of 18 years old. We chose to make our film as a 15 certificate and not 18, as making it an 18 would throw off a lot of fans due to too much gore etc.5. How did you attract/address your audience?

We attracted a young male audience in several ways. Firstly, the cast for our film are all young male characters that the audience can relate to. Secondly, the second scene takes part in a college and one of the main characters is a 17 year old student, adding a sense of realism to the film and showing the everyday life of a young male at times. Also the use of point of view camera shots makes it easy for the viewer to feel drawn in and understand the characters position and thoughts, making it more enjoyable to watch, especially in the horror genre where films need to be as scary and realistic as possible.
6. What have you learnt about technology from the process of constructing the product?

We learnt how to use the camera in terms of filming and playing back, how to white balance (in different environments and types of lighting) and how to set up the tripod. We found that when filming outside, it's best to film away from wind as it ruins the audio in the scene you're filming, and to take spare batteries as the battery life on the camera we were using was quite short. However, it was easy to use and easy to take to wherever we needed to film. Not many problems were faced when filming and it was easy to overcome any problems we did encounter, such as lack on continuity between two shots. We used Final Cut Pro to edit our footage, and found it quite simple and easy to use. We were able to add sound and use effects to make the film flow and add tension to it. We faced a few problems with editing but overcame them with the use of different effects such as fading. Our main problem was that the opening scene was too long and so we had to cut a minute or so out, which was really simple.


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

We have learnt quite a lot from this task. First, we research the horror genre and found out all the conventions of the genre, and incorporated them into our own film. This includes setting, mise en scene, plotlines, sound, camera work and loads more. For example, horror films generally have dark settings with tense music and tend to look up at the villain to show their power. We noticed this and used low angle shots on the villain and high angle shots on the victim to show a difference in strength. We also used lots of creative shots such as point of view shots and complex editing like match on action edits to add a proffessional side to the film. I have also learnt how to use the equipment confidentally and wouldn't have to worry about being told how to next time. The same goes for the editing software, and can now use Final Cut Pro to put footage together and edit it, without the help of a tutor.

In my opinion, our project was a success as by the end we had produced what we wanted to, in the right style with the right type of shots and acting. Obviously improvements could have been made like more back-up shots as some of the shots don't flow into eachother as perfect as possible, but other than that I'm happy with what we've done.

Personal film opening analysis.

Halloween (2007)


Summary


On Halloween 1963, Haddenfield, 10-year-old Michael Myers, estranged and mentally unstable, is imprisoned in Smith's Grove Sanitarium under the care of Dr. Sam Loomis for the murders of his mother's boyfriend, his older sister, and her boyfriend. Now, 16 years later, he escapes and now in search of his baby Sister Laurie and Dr. Loomis must warn the residents of Haddenfield and get to Laurie before Michael does.

Analysis

The film starts with eerie music and the "Dimension Films" logo comes onto the screen. This is the only company involved in producing and distributing the film. The logo then fades and a famous quote from the previous Halloween film comes onto the screen. The eerie music is still playing creating the atmosphere and tension. The audience does not know what will come next. The music then stops and a loud bang is heard. The title of the film is now visible in clear white writing against the black background. A slow rock n roll track is now playing and it cuts to a typical American house on Halloween. The settling is clearly in autumn as the leaves are on the ground and there are carved pumpkins outside the house. Writing appears on the screen explaining the place and year the audience is now looking at. Then film then cuts to a person with a clown mask on there face. It is not clear who this person is or what they are doing there so it creates a mysterious allure about the character. The music is still playing and is non-diagetic. He is wearing child's clothes which makes him seem more innocent.

The film now cuts to the person again and makes it clear that it is a boy. He takes a rat out of a cage and starts to talk it. Because the boy is still wearing the mask the audience still does not know how old he is but they know he is young because he is talking to the rat and he isn’t very tall. The then suddenly cuts to a ragged man in a kitchen. He is talking to his wife he is cooking breakfast. The sounds are now all diegetic sounds of the breakfast being made and the camera switches to handheld as they start to argue. A girl comes downstairs and it immediately becomes apparent that she is the daughter of the couple already in the kitchen. When she is told to go back upstairs to fetch the boy the scene switches to the boy in a bathroom. The music suddenly changes back to the eerie sounds as the camera moves to the sink and the boys hands are bloody and the rat is no where to be seen. As they both go back downstairs an argument breaks out between the family and the camera goes back to hand held. All the characters are now dressed in normal casual clothes.

The scene cuts to a school bathroom where the boy is and some other people enter. It is clear they are bullies as they are talking about the fights they have just had. The music quickly turns back to the eerie style but now they are faint bangs every so often. The boy is confronted and the edits quicken in pace. An argument turns into a fight. A teacher enters the bathroom and splits them up. The editing goes back to normal pace and the music stops. The film then cuts to an office and the boy now called Michael is being interviewed by physiatrist. The editing here is mostly close up shots of the characters faces showing the audience who they are and giving them a good look. Michael is then seen running away however the other characters do not see this. The shot is then a long shot of him running but the other characters conversations can still be heard. The sound is now mostly non-diegetic as faster paced music can now be heard. The film cuts again to outside the school and bullies are seen going home. However Michael is also seen hiding behind a tree. He is standing showing his dominance yet he is still hidden from view showing his mysteriousness. Now the film is in the woods showing long shots of the bully walking through them. The music is still playing and getting louder and louder as he goes further into the woods. The music suddenly cuts off and Michael springs out from behind a tree striking the bully with a large log. He is wearing a mask and a zipped up coat to try and conceal his identity creating a more mysterious feel to him. The editing now quickens as Michael repeatedly strikes the bully all over the body. The only sounds that can be heard are the thuds of the log hitting the bully and Michaels screams and shouts. The camera shots are now all handheld and shaky showing Michaels current state and out of control. The bully now begs for mercy but Michael carries on hitting him until blood is everywhere and the bully dies. 

Evaluation

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

In the 2 minute extract of our film we use many generic horror conventions in the typical way horror films usually do. Our film shows the main character and villain to be confident and strong. He is able to carry a heavy weapon with ease and his strides are long and powerful yet he still seems to remain calm and in control. Instead of wearing a mask like in most horror/stalker films our villain always has his head bowed low so the victim cannot see his real identity until he moves in for the final kill. He also has his hood up to mask his identity slightly. This challenges the normal convections in most horror/stalker films. Because of the absence of a mask our villains face can only just be seen. This points out his angry expression and even suggesting he has no mercy for his victim. This explains the film title to the audience and helps them to understand what the victim is thinking. This would make he audience more scared of the villain. At the start of the 2 minute film these convections are made obvious along with other generic horror conventions such as dark colors and not many bring vivid ones. The main color scheme for the 2 minute extract is black, green and grey. This is seen in most horror films such as "Saw". It is also in a similar stalker/horror film like ours called "Halloween". This makes the audience feel more scared and intrigued. The setting for our 2 minute film is a typical horror movie convention. Films such as "The Blair Witch Project" were filmed mostly in woods. Some of our inspiration came from the film. Other films such as the Halloween series often cut from a chase or death scene to an open dialogue scene between different characters. This is seen in our film at the end of the extract and some inspiration came from the Halloween series.

Our film is a Horror film however it branches out into other sub-genres such as a stalker film or a thriller. It becomes clear in the first scene when the victim is seen sprinting away from something that does not become apparent until the next scene. Even them the stalkers face or body is not seen only his hands and arms are visible. This links to the first scene in the original Halloween film when Michael is about to kill his sister with a knife. However in our film this is changed to a large and heavy log.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Our film characters are all within the same social group. They are mostly of the same age apart from the villain who is slightly older to portray his dominance over other characters and mostly his victim. In our 2 minute film gender is represented in the stereotypical way in some parts but in others it doesn’t. The villain is a large male suggesting his power and overall dominance. However the victim is also a male but is seen as weak. The other characters in the film have no significance apart from our film portrays the male sex to be both strong and weak. The target audience would be mostly male as this would not appeal to females much as they do not have any female characters to relate to in any way.

What kind of media Institution might distribute your media product and why?

Our film would not be suitable for distribution by a large media company such as Warner Bros. because of the many similar types of film already out there ready to be viewed. A major Hollywood studio could not produce this kind of film as it does not fit the criteria. Hollywood films are mostly action films, comedies or films suitable for family viewing. Such as "Die Hard 4.0" and "The princess and the Frog". Our film could be produced by a TV company such as "Channel 4" and displayed on national TV. The film would not be too graphic as it only has a 15 rating so it would be suitable for a TV release. However it could also be released on DVD to create more revenue and also over the internet as on-demand video. The film does not offer much chance for merchandising but this would depend on how good the ratings were and how many viewers I received on first showing. If it was popular a sequel could easily be made as the end of the film does not show how the main villain dies. At this point the sequel could be taken up by a large film company such as Film4 productions and be released in cinemas throughout the UK and then eventually worldwide. If the film were to do well T-shirts and posters can be produced to promote the film and to create more revenue opportunities.

Who would be the audience for your media product?

After researching age certificates for other horror films we decided that we would make our film within the age 15 certificate guidelines. We chose this because it allowed us to have some violence and gore and frequent horror scenes however it still allowed us to appeal to most teenagers and young adults. Similar films include the "Nightmare on Elm Street" series and also the "Jason" series. Most of these films have the age 15 certificate but still maintain the horror factor in them. We chose a mostly male audience between the ages of 15- 32 to be our target audience. This is because our actors are mostly male and around the same age as the target audience so the film would appeal to them a lot more. We did not want to go up to the age 18 certificate as we felt that this would put some of our target audience off because they might think it would be too violent and scary for them to watch. This is clear from out audience research as most of the people we interviewed said they did not like to see extreme violence and gore in horror movies.

BBFC Website

How did you attract/address your audiences?

We did not want to appeal to younger audiences because this would limit us to what we could do with our film and mean we would have to not include some of the horror and chase scenes we wanted to film. Also younger audiences would also be confused by the storyline as it is complex in places and we wanted our target audiences to be able to follow the film easily.

We also used setting as a key factor in attracting an audience. Some of the scenes in our film are shot I a school and the target audience can relate to this and make them think that the situation is believable. The chase scenes through the woods would also make the audiences become more engaged in the film and attract more people to watch. In the wood scenes we used different camerawork to appeal to the target audience a lot more. We used fast paced hand held shots and point of view shots to engage the audience and give them a better point of view of what the characters are seeing and experiencing. The audience is asked to put themselves in the shoes of the victim creating a terrifying atmosphere. This would also make the audience care more for the victim so when he eventually dies the audience's feelings are stronger towards him. This would make the audience want to watch more and hate the villain more which it they key to the horror genre and why it is so successful.

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

I have learnt a lot about working with and around cameras. I have learnt how to confidently set up a tripod and securely fasten the camera to it. I learnt how to level the camera out using the in-built leveling device on the tripod. The camera we used was suitable for creating a good quality short movie for our project however I do not think it would be good for creating videos/movies on a larger scale as sometimes when we were recording the sound altered in quality and there was a lot of wind which interfered with the sound at some times. We took more than 1 battery in case our main battery ran out because on our preliminary task the battery ran out very quickly. The camera was small enough to carry out good handheld and point of view shots. We did not use the zoom feature on the camera as we found is distorted the picture quality. The editing software I used was Final Cut Pro. I found this software to be very good and easy to use. At some stages during adding title sequences it got very difficult because I had never used the software before. I found the fade in and out effects useful for adding in the titles. We encountered a problem near the end of the film when we edited the last section as we found that the characters hands were not in the same position when we changed shots. We used the fade in and out effects again to create a flash forward effect.

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

I have learnt a lot more during the production of the full product than I did during the production of the preliminary task. The full product required much more research than the preliminary task. I learnt what it takes to create a successful horror movie within the competitive genre such as using dark colors and creating the perfect villain. I was not familiar with the horror genre before I started this project and now I feel I know a lot more about the genre. The detailed planning helped us to create our film without much problems and it shows that planning always helps. However during the preliminary task we were only required to film indoors. During the full product I found there were a lot more problems with filming due to location and weather conditions. I learnt how to deal with these problems and progress further with working with cameras and learning all the different camera angles and shots. I looked at the different shots used in some horror movies and then suggested they become incorporated into our final product. I think our best feature in our final product is the match on action shots as they are a major improvement from the preliminary task match on action shots we filmed.

I think that our end product fulfilled the task that was set. However I think more shots could have been filmed as we came across some continuity editing problems at the end of the film. I also think that more research could have been done to help us create a better victim in the film as our victim was just a normal person. I am happy with the overall end product and would feel comfortable using the equipment again to film. 

Final filming Location and photos.

This is the final filming location for our film. Highlighted in red are the main locations.

Here are the pictures taken on the day of filming.

Shot list

Shooting Script – Opening two minute sequence

Exterior – Woods – Daytime

SHOT 1 Establishing shot – LS of woods.
LS of man running away.
PAN left following man running.

SHOT 2 MLS of man jumping through bush

SHOT 3 POV shot of lumberjack walking over to a tree and grabbing a stick.

SHOT 4 ELS of man running towards camera.
PAN slightly right following him hide behind tree.

SHOT 5 Medium shot over the shoulder of the victim.
Focuses switch to other character in background.
LS of lumberjack walking towards victim as victim runs away.

SHOT 6 LS of man running from tree.
PAN right following man run down path.

SHOT 7 POV shot of victim running down muddy path.

SHOT 8 ELS of victim running round a corner towards the camera.

SHOT 9 ELS of murderer waking down path towards camera.

SHOT 10 ELS of murderer walking round corner towards camera.

SHOT 11 ELS of victim running along through woods.
PAN right to follow him running.

SHOT 12 Match on action. Victim falls on bench.

SHOT 13 MLS of victim landing on bench.
Tilt upwards. Low angle shot of victim catching breath.

SHOT 14 CU of victim catching breath.

SHOT 15 MS of victim suddenly looking up then looking around.

SHOT 16 POV shot of victim looking around and getting hit by murderer.

SHOT 17 POV shot of victim falling. Turns back up and looks at murder
Standing over him, murdered kills victim.

Fades to title screen, then cuts to next scene.

Interior – College Classroom – Daytime

SHOT 18 Establishing shot – MS of student and tutor talking.

They turn as they hear a knock on the door.

SHOT 19 MS of scientist opening door and asking for a talk with student.

SHOT 20 MS of teacher leaving.

PAN left following tutor leave.

PAN right following scientist walk into room and sit down.

SHOT 21 Over the shoulder MCU of student whilst scientist talks.

SHOT 22 Fades to MS of student raging. Stands up, throws a chair and shouts.
Fades out.

1 EXT. Woods – NOON

Scientist stumbles through the woods. He looks behind him and sees the lumberjack murderer closing in on him.

SCIENTIST

Leave me alone

He runs through some bushes and downhill past some trees.

SCIENTIST

Oh God

The scientist runs along path.

The scientist runs round the back of a tree and stops to rest, looks over his shoulder and sees the lumberjack still walking after him.

The scientist is resting on the bench when he looks round and sees the lumber jack, the lumber jack then strikes the scientist down with a vicious blow. The scientist is knocked down dazed, he looks up and is struck by a killer blow.

2 INT. College – MORNING

Michael is talking to his tutor when there is a knock on the door

DR JAMES

Can I have a word with Michael please, its regarding family issues

Tutor then leaves the room

DR JAMES

This is going to be hard, I’m afraid, your father…he was murdered

MICHAEL

I’ll find out who did this….I swear to god I’ll kill em

Michael begins to rage before storming out of the room as the screen fades to black