Final Film

EVALUATION Q7 - (Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product? )

Evaluation Q7 from Kiera Tolhurst

EVALUATION Q6 - (What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?)

Evaluation – Q6 from Kiera Tolhurst

EVALUATION Q5 - (How did you attract/address your audience?)

Evaluation Q5 from Kiera Tolhurst

EVALUATION - Q4 (Who would be the audience for your media product?)

4 Who would be the audience for your media product?

The target audience of our film is directed towards a unisex audience of all ages ranging from 12 year olds upwards and because of the jump-scares, eerie music etc it is not suitable for young children. Typical audiences for a horror movie would be someone who enjoys seeking for adrenaline and thrill through the use of stereotypical horror features. It is also targeted towards a person who will delve into sub-genres of film and enjoys watching a diversity of different films. For example, the sub-genre of supernatural horror is quite specific.Teenagers were our main audience for this film and we followed this by using modern slang words like 'selfie' and 'spin the bottle' in the dialect between friends. 

To depict an appropriate target audience, we conducted a questionnaire around our class. Even though this could give quite biased results, the questions were quite generalised so we still received some suitable answers which helped us to choose an accurate target audience for our film. Some typical questions asked were:

EVALUATION Q3 - (What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?)

Evaluation Q3 from Kiera Tolhurst

EVALUATION - Q2 (How does your media product represent particular social groups?)

2 How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Because the plot of our film revolves around how a group of teenagers deal with the haunting of their best friend, we decided to include the absence of adults and parents to highlight their vulnerability. The three teens are forced to become independent and make their own decisions in the plot. A stereotype of teenagers/children in horror movies are that they are extremely susceptible and exposed to the horrors of spirits etc. As well as this, the stereotype of teenagers being more easily frightened is present in our opening sequel to increase tension and fear levels. Even though we didn’t challenge stereotypes in the opening sequel; progressing further on to the film shows how Carter is guilty for the death of Piper. This challenges the stereotype of teenagers being innocent and vulnerable.

Creepy young/teenage girls have become iconic within the horror genre. The image of the disturbingly eerie young teenager has become a stereotype in horror, but the fact that it still remains alarming while being so familiar is evidence to its ability to frighten an audience.

Even though it is never clear in the opening sequence that Carter is guilty for Piper’s death, if studied carefully, we included particular shots which portrayed some kind of separation between Carter and the other two friends. For example, in a dialogue scene, Elias and Bree are shot together in one frame at a medium close up level. Seconds after, Carter is shown sat across from them in a shot on his own which makes him more significant and isolated from the two friends.

Because the time period is set in the present 21^st century, the three friends were dressed in a modern fashion. Their casual outfits in the opening sequence also represents the idea it was just a normal day for them before they were visited by Piper’s dead spirit. Piper is shot wearing a white dress, which she wore the day she died, and we chose this to show her innocence before she was killed. The stereotypical connotations of the white dress being linked to hope, innocence and unity is challenged in the opening sequel as Piper’s haunting actions near the end of the two minutes contrast with these stereotypes.

EVALUATION - Q1 (In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?)

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

When we decided on our two-minute opening sequence being a supernatural horror, we then devised a storyline as a group. We decided on involving the mystery of a death within a friendship, as this opens up opportunities to develop answers to this later on in the film. At the end of the two minutes, the return of dead Piper is seen through the reflection in the window, which relates to the genre of supernatural horror.  

Ø  The credits appear at the beginning of the two minutes when there is little action/movement as this means the audience is not distracted later on when more significant events happen (for example: when Piper appears at the window of the kitchen)

Ø  The structure of the two minutes of the film is in linear order, however the flashback which is situated in the middle of the opening sequel is non-linear as it is a shot from the past. At the end of the opening sequel, the title sequence appears and the remaining film would continue on in a linear sequence.

Ø  – This particular shot is the closest relation to the genre of supernatural horror in our opening sequel as the eerie glow around Piper makes her look like a spirit returning to haunt her friends. The reason is still unknown at this point.

Ø  The shots of the three blurred close-up faces in the flashback scene has a fast, unsteady pace to it which creates a sense of tension, panic and confusion for the audience.

Ø  As a group, we decided to have constant eerie music playing softly in the background of the opening sequel; raising tension and effectiveness of shots dramatically. The use of the sudden thumping sound effect as the bottle stops and points in the direction of the dead spirit is appropriate as it frightens the audience.

Ø  As the credits appear on screen at the beginning of the opening sequel, they are in a black, harsh-edged font which is dark, serious and mysterious.

Post Production Video Questionaire

After we finished the production of the film we did a video questionnaire so that we could see what people thought of the films and whether they would go see the whole film after watching the first two minutes.
We started by asking their ages and what films they were interested in so that we could see if they fit our target audience for the film and if the genre and their favorite films were similar to ours. They were all between the ages of sixteen and seventeen which was perfect for our target audience as it allowed us to look at their answers with the understanding that they were perfect for our target audience.
When we asked about their favorite genre only one of their favorite genres' was horror however this allowed us to look at a wider range of audiences as they weren't all looking at their specific favorite film which was good as not every audience members favorite genre would be horror. This also ties in with their favorite films as only one mentioned the a horror film, 'seven psychopaths' whilst the rest were from various genres.
By asking them how they watched films it allowed us to see the best way that we would want to distribute our films. Three of the five said that they watched films through streaming sites or Netflix which would agree with the distributors that we have been looking at however the other two said that they watched theirs illegally which means that no money would go back to the film as the money wouldn't be coming back through cinemas or the streaming sites.
When asked what they thought about the film they all said it was really good and Izzy, Mitchell and Sophie enjoyed the editing on the film whilst Sophie also enjoyed the quality of the camera that we used for the film. However Theo said their was some improvements to be made which we would take into account if we made the whole film.
They all agreed that the genre was suitable for the film and that the certificate was correct which was perfect as this is what we needed for the film. The most important question was would they watch our film in which they all said that they would. They all said the music and iconography suited horror however when asked about the setting Theo said that the exterior shots would however the interior didn't so we would look at the lighting and the atmosphere of the house scenes to try and make the setting more impact to the horror genre.

Final Questionnaire Averages

 The Final Questionnaire Averages

When we asked this question in our questionnaire 8 out of the 9 candidates said they would, the 1 member who said they wouldn't justified this by stating that they don't like the horror genre and films so The Remembering wouldn't appeal to them anyway. We took these results on board and concluded that our film was appealing to our target audience and therefore successful.

 

When we asked this question in our questionnaire the majority of responses said yes however some disagreed and said that later on in the film the images may be too scary for audiences aged group.  Another response was that the opening sequence itself didn't contain enough violence of a 12A film however in our plot we had created more paranormal events to occur with violence so in the long run we believed our film was suitable for our audience. After analysing our data we believed our judgement of a certificate was appropriate and would help our film be successful as it would be open for our target audience to view. 

Final Media Questionnaire

Media Questionnaire

Name:

Age:

0-11                       12-14                     15-17                     18-24                     25-30                     31-45                     46+

Gender:

Male                      Female                 Other

Occupation:

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Favourite Genre of Film:

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Favourite Film:

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Where/how do you usually watch films?

Cinema                 Streaming                           DVD                       Online Subscription

How many films do you watch a week on average?

0                   1-2              3-4            5-6                 7-8          9+

After watching our opening sequence please give us a review and answer the following questions.

Review of the film:

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Does the film match the genre of horror you thought it would be?

YES/NO

If you said NO please fill out a reason as to why you think not

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Do you think certificate 12A was appropriate for the film?

YES/NO

If you said NO please fill out a reason as to why you think not

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After watching the opening sequence, would you watch the film?

YES/NO

If you said NO please fill out a reason as to why not

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Did the music suit the horror genre?

YES/NO

If you said NO please fill out a reason as to why you think not

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Did the setting suit the horror genre?

YES/NO

If you said NO please fill out a reason as to why you think not

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Did the images suit the horror genre?

YES/NO

If you said NO please fill out a reason as to why you think not

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What would you do to improve our film?

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Thank you for completing our questionnaire

The Remembering soundtrack

http://freesound.org/people/rucisko/sounds/164816/

http://freesound.org/people/cormi/sounds/98471/

http://freesound.org/people/TheDweebMan/sounds/277192/

http://freesound.org/people/klankbeeld/sounds/133100/(opening sequence)

Filming

 Filming

Setting

Kiera's house; kitchen

Time

3:00pm

Group Logo

Risk Assessment

Storyboard for The Remembering

Location Pictures

LOCATION PICTURES – By Kiera Tolhurst

 1.     THE KITCHEN

The kitchen is the main setting in the opening sequel of our film. This gives the film a style of realism which makes the creepy appearance of Piper even more frightening. The kitchen has a desktop which we used as a table for the three characters to sit around through the main duration of the first two minutes.

2.     THE RIVER

The river is one of the most important settings in the first two minutes and the whole film. This is where the flashback of Piper’s death occurs. This setting is creepy and eerie as it involves the danger of deep water (in which Piper drowns), the scary reflections of the trees upon the water and a sense of the unknown.

3.     THE WOODLANDS

The woodlands is another setting in the flashback scene involving Piper’s death. Carter is seen dragging Piper up from the river and into the woodlands where she is later photographed by police. The woodlands hold a sense of mystery and the unknown.

4.     THE WINDOW LOOKING OUT TO THE GARDEN

The kitchen overlooks a large window, in which the spirit of dead Piper returns to her friends. We decided to use a window between her and the other three characters to show the barrier between life in the room and death on the outside. The sun also reflects down on the window which creates this sort of ‘glow’ around Piper.

Media Questionnaire Results

Media Questionnaire Results

Media Questionnaire

Media Questionnaire

Name:

Age:

0-11          12-14          15-17              18-24              24-30              31-45               45+

Gender:      Male              Female          Other

Occupation:

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Favourite Genre of Film:

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Favourite Film:

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Where do you usually watch films?

Cinema                     Streaming                 DVD               Online Subscription

How many films do you watch a week?

0-2                  3-5                  7-9                  10+

Please give us a review of the first two minutes of the film:

The Remembering

Opening shot is the camera panning photos across a wall in a room. The camera then slowly pans down to a photo frame with a pamphlet next to it revealing it to be from a funeral. The camera then journeys through the house listing the actors in the film. The camera travels through the house and introduces a group of friends hosting a memorial party for their friend who they begin talking about in memory. The group of friends continue their conversation before deciding to take a group selfie to make the anniversary of their friend’s death. The group stand and pose and take the picture. As the camera flashes the scene cuts to the flash of a police report and the photo of a dead body (Piper’s). A montage runs of the police report whilst an audio plays of the police notes. As the police complete their report, a CSI agent prepares a white cover to mask the dead body, as the CSI officer wafts the cover the film cuts back to the memorial and the group are laying out a while cloth for a party game. The group start to play spin the bottle, as they spin the empty bottle the camera captures a dark silhouette pass by the door frame. The group carrying on growing excited over the game whilst an audio of eerie whispers ring through the camera. Creepy music plays as the camera slows down the spinning of the bottle and the group’s smiles and facial expressions are slowed, the film then speeds up and the bottle stops spinning and points out of the room and appears to point at the balcony. The friends look up and the silhouette of Piper’s ghost is stood staring back at them. The friends are shocked in fear and stare blankly unable to move. The lights then flicker off but turn back on to reveal Piper missing, the fiends are shook and hold onto each other frightened at what's just happened. Then all of a sudden shot glasses fall off the table and shatter, amidst the shards of glass one of the friends pick up a note reading ‘My death was because of you’. As one friend reads the note another picks up a photo of Piper with the 4 of them, as she stares at it the sound of glasses echoes around the room, frightened they look at each other for comfort. The friend with the photo then looks back to see it cracked with a silhouette of Piper stood at the opposite end of the room. With a loud ringing of eerie music the title sequence rolls. THE REMEMBERING

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What genre do you think this film would be?

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What certificate do you think this film would be?

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Would you watch the film? Do you think it sounds interesting?

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What music would you expect to contain?

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What setting do you expect to see in the film?

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What images do you associate with this film?

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