Question 1 - In what way does my media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
Question 2
In our media product of then opening sequence for Paranormal Mind, we followed some conventions, but we also challenged some, too. We decided to use this mix in order for our opening sequence to come across as conventional, but also to add a different touch to the feature in order to keep the audience on their toes and not being able to predict what may happen in the next minute.
What conventions did we intend to follow?
One convention we did decide to follow was the audio. We felt that the audio plays such an important role in the tension and effect of a thriller film, so it would therefore be sensible if we kept the audio as conventional as possible. As a result, our audio works closely with the visuals, providing low frequency trembles when tension can be felt, and sudden bursts of thick instrumental music in a jump-scare style scene.
Another thing we followed with our conventions was the overall theme of the opening sequence. We felt it was necessary to keep the theme conventional, so our audience can clearly identify our work as a thriller. For Paranormal Mind, we went with the common theme of a spirit/poltergeist running mayhem on a poor soul's life. We didn't want to do anything too unconventional, because we feared this may make our opening sequence unrecognisable as a thriller genre opening sequence.
Finally, we decided to follow be conventional with the narrative of our opening sequence. We decided on this because we wanted the audience to instantly recognise what they were watching, and not be left with any questions by the end of the opening sequence. To stay true to classic thriller films, Andrew (our protagonist) finds himself in trouble from an unnatural 'thing', and requires trusty help from his friend in order to sort his mind out for him. Therefore, to stay conventional, we have decided to follow Propp's character theory by having the 'hero' have aid from his 'sidekick'.
What conventions did we intend to challenge?
Firstly, we decided to challenge the typical characters you may find in a thriller film, particularly the protagonist. While a typical thriller film features an adventurous protagonist that takes on any challenges that face them, Andrew is a shy and retiring character, who much prefers to stay at home away from any trouble. His shy nature is clearly seen with his hunched body language and crossed arms, especially after he jumped with the post falling to the ground. We wanted to give the protagonist a different personality as we felt the heroic protagonist is a bit cliché.
Secondly, we decided to challenge the conventional kind of setting you may find on a thriller film. By setting it in Andrew's house, we wanted to emphasise how he was not an adventurous person, and that places like houses are usually places where you would find a poltergeist. This change in setting would also hopefully provide a fresh twist to the audience, who are used to metropolitan settings, or deserted in the middle of nowhere.
Overall...
By following a selection of conventions, we have created an opening sequence that is instantly recognizable as a thriller style film. Things like the tension-inducing audio and dark colour-correcting gives the overall feel of the sequence a dark and unsettling sense to it. We were sure, however, to add an original sense to it, perhaps most notably with the main protagonist acting very timid and shy, and the setting initially appearing docile, but quickly becomes the setting for a horrible encounter. We believe that we have struck a good balance of originality and familiarity.
What conventions did we intend to follow?
One convention we did decide to follow was the audio. We felt that the audio plays such an important role in the tension and effect of a thriller film, so it would therefore be sensible if we kept the audio as conventional as possible. As a result, our audio works closely with the visuals, providing low frequency trembles when tension can be felt, and sudden bursts of thick instrumental music in a jump-scare style scene.
Another thing we followed with our conventions was the overall theme of the opening sequence. We felt it was necessary to keep the theme conventional, so our audience can clearly identify our work as a thriller. For Paranormal Mind, we went with the common theme of a spirit/poltergeist running mayhem on a poor soul's life. We didn't want to do anything too unconventional, because we feared this may make our opening sequence unrecognisable as a thriller genre opening sequence.
Finally, we decided to follow be conventional with the narrative of our opening sequence. We decided on this because we wanted the audience to instantly recognise what they were watching, and not be left with any questions by the end of the opening sequence. To stay true to classic thriller films, Andrew (our protagonist) finds himself in trouble from an unnatural 'thing', and requires trusty help from his friend in order to sort his mind out for him. Therefore, to stay conventional, we have decided to follow Propp's character theory by having the 'hero' have aid from his 'sidekick'.
What conventions did we intend to challenge?
Firstly, we decided to challenge the typical characters you may find in a thriller film, particularly the protagonist. While a typical thriller film features an adventurous protagonist that takes on any challenges that face them, Andrew is a shy and retiring character, who much prefers to stay at home away from any trouble. His shy nature is clearly seen with his hunched body language and crossed arms, especially after he jumped with the post falling to the ground. We wanted to give the protagonist a different personality as we felt the heroic protagonist is a bit cliché.
Secondly, we decided to challenge the conventional kind of setting you may find on a thriller film. By setting it in Andrew's house, we wanted to emphasise how he was not an adventurous person, and that places like houses are usually places where you would find a poltergeist. This change in setting would also hopefully provide a fresh twist to the audience, who are used to metropolitan settings, or deserted in the middle of nowhere.
Overall...
By following a selection of conventions, we have created an opening sequence that is instantly recognizable as a thriller style film. Things like the tension-inducing audio and dark colour-correcting gives the overall feel of the sequence a dark and unsettling sense to it. We were sure, however, to add an original sense to it, perhaps most notably with the main protagonist acting very timid and shy, and the setting initially appearing docile, but quickly becomes the setting for a horrible encounter. We believe that we have struck a good balance of originality and familiarity.
Question 3
Question 4
It is very important for the producer to have a target audience in their mind when producing their film. This allows the producer to have a clear understanding on what and what not to include in the film, in order to please the audience. If a movie does not have a specific target audience, the film may appeal to nobody and run the risk of being a huge commercial flop.
In the video below, I state the outlines of who our target audience is and then include a montage of pictures that sum the person up. Some pictures refer to their interests, and others about their casual lifestyle.
We believe that our target audience would find our film appealing (and subsequently watch it) because we have purposely made it as relatable as possible to the target audience. This would theoretically allow the audience to connect with the film, and really become absorbed by the believable story.
We do believe that we have targeted the right group of people when we take into account the storyline, setting and characters involved. We believe targeting males was a good idea, for example, because the opening sequence of Paranormal Mind only contained two male characters. Similarly, we believe targeting introverted and independent people was a good idea, for the reason that the opening sequence is set inside a house with just a single, timid person.
It might have been a good idea to expand a potential market share by targeting females as well. This would've been achievable if we included female characters into the opening sequence of Paranormal Mind, or if we included attractive males to allow 'female gazing'.
Question 6 - What have I learnt about technologies from the process of creating this product?
All progress was logged onto this blog, which is Blogger. It is a long-running free blog site that has been owned by Google for some time now. This is an easy to use website that has allowed me to record all of my progression, and embed all of my PowerPoint documents and YouTube videos. My experience with blogger is very good, since I have been using it personally for well over a year now with various free time blogs. My time spent with Blogger was good and fuss-free, allowing me to put all of my content on there without a fuss. The moderate flexible nature of Blogger has allowed me to customize my blog to a unique level, in order to make it visually appealing.
Overall, it is fair to say that I have had a smooth experience with blogger. There were no compatibility issues with embedding, and the format of the text and images worked well. If there was one thing I would change, it might be worth looking into using a more sophisticated blogging website, to allow a more professional looking website.
Overall, it is fair to say that I have had a smooth experience with blogger. There were no compatibility issues with embedding, and the format of the text and images worked well. If there was one thing I would change, it might be worth looking into using a more sophisticated blogging website, to allow a more professional looking website.
Question 7
Audience Feedback
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