Media Evaluation: Question 6 & 7

What have I learnt?

I have learnt how to use various different technologies, shown clearly through my evaluation; using various different sites and programs to do all of the questions asked. I have also learnt how to edit, and edit well; through using Premiere Pro, the best technology to use for (beginner) editors as it is fairly simple but has a wide range of functions and features to explore and use, things such as ghosting (to blur a shot making it feel supernatural), fading in and out, cropping, changing the saturation, blur etc. We did use after effects to attempt a picture that would fit within our film, but figured it was not that useful and didn't use it again as it was not a relevant program for what we wanted. We also made our music through Mixcraft, a program that we saw was best fit to make our soundtracks as that is it sole purpose; to make music and soundtracks. Mixcraft was hard to use to begin with but then after a long time of practicing we could use it very well and was also enjoyable to use, as you were making your own soundtrack. We learnt how to use the new technology through playing around with it (basic trial and error); we used what we thought looked/sounded good. Within our soundtrack we included 'male choir', 'female scream' 'violin screech' etc, and for our spike noise we placed these sounds on top of each other to create a more dramatic effect; something we learnt as we went along. We also learnt things from tutorial videos done by different people.

From our preliminary task we knew that a mistake we made within it was time planning; the video was filmed and edited all last minute as the original copy was not good enough so we knew that for our main task we had to plan it all correctly and film early to ensure that any changes that needed doing/adding could be done in time. We also didn't plan the film correctly, we didn't like the story line of the preliminary piece so we ended up changing it halfway through which made it harder to film in time. To stop the same happening again we made sure we would stick by the story line, but we also made the story good from the start so we knew we wouldn't have any second thoughts.

Planning and mainly story boarding was key for us and we became much better at it, because as previously mentioned we needed to ensure the story was good so that the filming was made easier as we had a schedule designed around the story board on what we needed to film. The creative decision making went hand in hand with camerawork and therefore improved as we went along as we did some research into films and looked at what camera shots were used at different points. The creative decision making was the way we set the shot up and the camerawork was how the camera was placed so they both improved together, and by the end I think we had mastered it- a personal favourite of mine is this shot:

My editing techniques have improved drastically from doing the main task as we knew that our main problem from filming the preliminary task was making it all fit together correctly, so our continuity had to be perfect to make the film look good and flow.

Media Evaluation: Question 5

We also used the BBFC to classify our age for our film, using the aspects included from research and planning. We used aged 15 because within our full film we would have included strong language and horror/violence throughout the film. We would also apply for a rating of 15 because of the ideas of the hypodermic needle model. This could mean that if anybody that watched the content under the age of 15, it would put ideas into their head that the specific content (i.e murder) would be acceptable. The 15 is also used because of the cultivation theory, to stop younger ages from watching films that include things such as murder, because the more of it they see, the more acceptable it will become. To stop this the age rating is put in place, but also the murderer could be shown to be punished, proving it is wrong to the viewers that are allowed to watch it.

Media Evaluation: Question 4

Media Evaluation: Question 3

Media Evaluation: Question 2

We also used an eerie backing track within our opening, when the girls are shown there is a sense of mystery, almost promoting that these teenagers are in danger- perhaps going against some particular social groups that are within this age category; as this age group can sometimes be the danger.

Media Evaluation: Question 1

The Final Piece

Here is our final piece that we have done for our Media course, a horror thriller called: 'She's Back'.

Distribution and Promotion

Often HALF of the budget for a blockbuster movie is spent on marketing and promotion. Promotion is often done through the use of:
-Trailers (advertised through the TV, Radio or Cinema)
-Posters
-Toys (eg. free McDonalds toys)
-Film websites
-Companies social network sites (twitter accounts, facebook advertising etc.)
-Youtube (interviews with actors, early viewers etc.)

Any company can associate with any other company. For example, Warner Bros, a huge marketing company that distributes films joined forces with a few different companies whilst promoting 'Batman: The Dark Knight Rises'. They joined up with:
-Toshiba Electronics- the company ran a six week campaign to win tickets to the European premier in London.
-Nokia- the release of their new phone the Nokia Lumia 900 came with limited edition batman branding on it, and came with exclusive movie content if you bought it.
-French Connection UK-the company sold limited edition T-shirts across 70 worldwide stores.
-Armani- the company provided clothes for the actors to wear during promotional events

Warner Bros also struck a partnership with Lego, so Lego made their own trailer for Batman but with with Lego figures, and Batman is now show in Legoland as a Lego version.

Marketing a big product like a movie can be a very expensive business, especially when that product has a limited shelf life. Movies have to be a hit on their opening weekend, often on their opening day, otherwise they tend to disappear very quickly, and the studio stands to make a loss on their investment. Due to a short shelf life the movie studio may begin marketing a movie as long as six to eight months before the release date, especially to create anticipation for an event movie, using teasers (enigmatic posters, short viral videos).

This would be key in our thriller as we are releasing a trailer, so our trailer needs to create great anticipation and provide teasers to become a good adverisement.

The Kuleshov Effect

Kuleshov edited together a short film in which a shot of the expressionless face of a man was alternated with various other shots (a plate of soup, a girl in a coffin, a woman on a divan). The film was shown to an audience who believed that the expression on the man's face was different each time he appeared, depending on whether he was "looking at" the plate of soup, the girl in the coffin, or the woman on the divan, showing an expression of hunger, grief or desire, respectively. The footage of the man was actually the same shot each time. 

This rule is key for our main thriller piece, and links into it as we now know the effect of cutaways and how they can be used effectively

Audience Theory

Cultivation theory:

In its most basic form, cultivation theory suggests that exposure to television, over time, subtly "cultivates" viewers' perceptions of reality.

George Gerbner came up with the Cultivation theory which examines the long term affect of watching TV. It splits the audience into 2 distinct catagories; heavy and light viewers.
A heavy viewer is classified as a heavy viewer as they watch more than 4 hours of TV a day and are affected by Mean World Syndrome- where "people who spend the most time in front of the TV develop an exaggerated belief in a mean and scary world."
A light viewer watches TV for less than 4 hours a day and will therefore not be as 'cultivated' by the TV, and therefore not as accepting as heavy viewers.

George Gerbner observed that in primetime, TV was 80% violence. So, heavy viewers was watching 80% violent TV, if his theory was correct, proving that the Heavy Viewers would get about 80% more violent due to their tolerance with violence in real life.

Hypodermic Needle Model:

According to the theory the media is like a syringe which injects ideas, attitudes and beliefs into the audience who as a powerless mass have little choice than to be influenced by it- in the past films (such as The Exorcist) have been banned in the past because it might encourage people to commit the crimes within them.

Made by Katz and developed by Lazarsfeld the 'Hypodermic Needle Theory' implied mass media had a direct, immediate and powerful effect on the audience; as research methodology became more highly developed, it became apparent that the media had selective influences on people. The most famous incident often cited as an example for the hypodermic needle model was the 1938 broadcast of The War of the Worlds and the subsequent reaction of widespread panic among its American mass audience.

Another well known example was Hitler's monopolization of mass media (through posters and speeches being widespread via the media) to gain support for his Nazi party.
The theory suggests that the media could influence a very large group of people by 'injecting' them with appropriate messages designed to trigger a desired response.


This links to our thriller because if we promote violence, then our audience may think they are going to be a victim of crime, or if violence is promoted in a good way our audience may become violent.

Famous Director: Spielberg

Born December 8th, 1946 in Cincinnati, he is undoubtedly one of the most influential film personalities in the history of film. Steven Spielberg is perhaps Hollywood's best known director and one of the wealthiest filmmakers in the world. Spielberg has directed Indiana Jones (probably his most well known film) along with many more top films, including:
-Jurassic Park
-Saving Private Ryan
-Catch Me If You Can
And the two infamous ET and Jaws.
Spielberg was the Director for Jaws, and introduced the idea of tense music with effect. The music used was simple, building tension as the notes used gradually got quicker in the build up to the climax.

He first gained attention from directing adventure films, but in recent years he has been seen to tackle emotionally powerful issues, such as the horrors of the Holocaust in Schindler's List, slavery in Amistad, hardships of war in Saving Private Ryan, and terrorism in Munich.

Uses and Gratifications

In 1974 two theorists, Blumler and Katz developed a theory on Uses and Gratifications. This theory suggested that the audience use media texts for various reasons:

Diversion (escapism):
To escape from everyday life. Our thriller would help the audience to do this as the film would not raise any issues surrounding everyday life, but provide escapism for the viewer. Although there are moments of horror, it would not be sufficient to get deeply engrossed into any particular subject.

Personal Relationships (Social interaction):
Using the media text for emotional and other interaction, for example substituting soap operas for everyday life. Our film would be aimed at a variety of ages, attracting groups of people, drawing social interaction. The film would also provide mutual talking points, as the audience decide on who should be blamed for the downfall- the protagonist or the antagonist.

Personal Identity:
Create their own identity from characters/celebrities in media texts, and learning behaviors and values. The audience will be able to interact with the main character of our thriller, as he posses many qualities, some of which should be avoided, helping the audience to sympathize with his flaws.

Entertainment:
As a means of relaxation, enjoyment and emotional release. Purely for the 'fun' of the experience. Our thriller would be perfect for entertainment as it has the stereotypical hero vs villain, and has elements of shock and horror.

Surveillance:
To gain information or knowledge.

Schedule of Filming

Our schedule is:

Film half of the film on Saturday 17th, the other half will be filmed on the Wednesday 21st. We will leave enough time for extra shots to be filmed if there are any problems. Every shot will be filmed 3 times to iron out any errors that there may be to save time. 

We have had to book out the equipment for these days.

Equipment and Location

We have decided to use:
 -DSLR Camera for the best quality to shoot our film in.
 -A tripod to hold the camera steady to get the best shots possible.
 -A sound recorder to record the voices of our characters so they can be heard clearly.


We are filming at Reece's house as we feel it is the most appropriate for our viewers as it is an everyday house that our viewers can connect with; involving them in our opening.
Here is the house:

Thriller opening storyboard

This is the story board for our thriller that we will be doing.

It has helped us as it has given us a guideline on what shots to use, and how we will film our piece.

Stereotypes