Media Studies AS Portfolio Evaluation

By Nicole Haigh

Genre • The genre of my opening sequence

(thriller) is shown through the use of different media elements, sound, lighting, editing, mise-en-scene and cinematography.

• The opening sequence has to have a lot more depth to a stereo typical genre in order for the audience to understand the film, in the 2 minuets we had there is loads of media elements incorporated into it.

• We have created a typical opening sequence to a thriller film by incorporating thrilling music and using a lot of close up shots.

• Our sequence works well with the use of all the media elements this is shown with the results from our audience feedback.

Filming• The opening sequence fulfils all the requirements of

what an opening sequence should look like due to the technical elements used during filming and editing.

• When we where filming we where carful not to include any information which may give the rest of the film away we did this by checking all the film to see if there was any reflections of the camera or props out of place, if there was we simply edited it out of the film.

• The music which we put to the sequence helps to build suspense and gives the film that edge which makes it a thriller.

• The lighting being low key and shots being rather different is size and style.

People in society• The opening sequence includes representations of different people in society,

e.g. teenagers. Teenagers are often portrayed as being an easy target for kidnappings and violence, especially female teenagers.

• We have used this in our opening sequence by using low angle shots to indicate the innocence of the girls and using low key lighting when they are on there own.

• Costume in the opening sequence is casual and typical of teenagers, this makes the sequence more realistic and stereo typical.

• I have also portrayed the murderer in this sequence he is tall who wears dark clothes and is very strong (this is shown when he picks up one of the girls bodies). He is also middle aged meaning he may be more experienced in what he is doing.

• In the opening sequence these are not stereo typical roles and I am offering an alternative to the original stereo type.

• I have chosen these two character types as is makes the victims more susceptible to harm and makes the sequence tenser.

• From the audience feedback I know the audience responded well to the characters and understood where what I was aiming for.

Target audience • The target audience for this opening sequence is

both male and female of ages 16-25 with a mixed ethnicity/nationality.

• The social-economic status would consist of B-C2 this is because it involves people of that social class meaning the audience could connect with the characters.

• The audience is of the age where there would be stronger interests in the thriller genre.

• This is a good audience to target as it is a mass part of the population, meaning the company is more likely to make a profit on ticket sales.

• I may have a secondary target audience as it may appeal to 26-35 year olds but generally speaking it would be more likely to appeal to 16-25 year olds.

• From feedback, I received very positive comments from people in my target audience.

The story• The story is set in a quiet English town

where two teenage girls (good friends) both lived, both girls where very secretive and liked to do things with out others knowing. One of the girls had a boyfriend who was growing concerned about her as she kept a lot of things to herself. Both girls end up being kidnapped due to there wondering by an older man.

• I have created a flashback scene in the opening to tell the audience what has happened earlier and keep them interested, I have done this by having it in black/white.

• I have Managed to build up suspense in the opening sequence by the use of music and camera shots, also lighting can play a key role in trying to create fear in the audience. I have done this in order to get the genre integrated into the opening sequence.

Sound, editing and mise-en-scene• The sound we used within the sequence is

both diegetic and non-diegetic. • Non- diegetic sound we used was to build

suspense music. • Diegetic sound used was footsteps and the

garage door opening and closing. • The mise-en-scene was the use of dark

clothes and the car headlights making it realistic.

• The editing we used was both fast and slow pace, slow at the beginning which builds up to being fast. This works well with certain shots, such as setting of the scene at the beginning and the shots of the dead girl as they are low angle shots. The transitions we used were fade ins to either white or black. This worked well with the effects used to make part of the film black and white to show the past.

What I have learnt • From this coursework I have learnt to use the camera’s and upload the footage

onto the computers in order to edit the work. When editing I learnt how to apply subtitles, music effects and transitions between clips.

• I have also learnt how to cut the film down in order for it to only consist of 2 minuets of material and make it run smoothly.

• I have also learnt how to use the blog and upload pictures, text and video’s, to get feedback we created a questionnaire on Microsoft word.

• From the preliminary task I have improved with using the camera’ s and editing equipment. The storyline is also a lot more adventurous in the finished sequence compared to the preliminary task.

• Overall I think the finished opening sequence is a big improvement and if I was to do this task again I would be more adventurous with the camera and lighting, but I have enjoyed making this sequence and am very proud and happy with the finished product.

Nicole Haigh