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

My preliminary task was completed before most of my research took place. To complete it I had studied the basics of continuity editing, the 180 degree rule and shot reverse shot. This type of editing is used in many conventional films. From the preliminary film I researched and learnt other types of editing, mainly montage. I felt that these were better suited for the pace of my film. I have therefore learnt a lot about the different ways to edit a film and what is best for different genres

(An example of a basic over the shoulder mid-shot from my preliminary film. The rest of the shots in my preliminary film were also fairly basic)

When filming my preliminary film I was using only very basic shots such as mid-shots and close ups. through out the process of filming my film I experimented with a number of different types of shot, e.g. worms eye and point of view shots. I have learnt when different shots work and although not all the range of shots appear in my final product, I had to cut many out when editing. I do feel that my final product shows a range of different shots and more types of shots than my preliminary film exhibited.

(One of the more abstract shots used in my film)

A key technique in film making that I had not experimented with in the production of the preliminary film was lighting. Fortunately the lighting when shooting my preliminary film was good. When shooting and editing my film I had many problems with lighting (see mid-evaluation: lighting problems post). Rather than research lighting techniques I thought it would be more beneficial to try different lighting for myself. In the editing of my film I discovered many shots with the wrong lighting, the majority of these were because there was not enough lighting. When shooting the footage I did not realise the issues of poor lighting in some of the shots. It was only when uploading and editing the shots that it became apparent. In the making of my film I learnt how important the right lighting is to the film, the right lighting can make a good scene really special.

When making the preliminary film I only filmed each shot until I thought I had got it right, I did not film each shot more times than I thought necessary. This caused problems in the preliminary film and in my final film. I often had to go back and re film shots when if I had taken more time and re filmed each shot originally I would have saved a lot of time. By the production process of the final film I had realised this and began to take more time when filming each shot.

Evaluation: What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this film?

Throughout the creation of my film I have used modern equipment and software which has had a number of advantages. I have used a DV camera when filming. This meant that I could rearrange the clips in my film, shoot in no particular order, rather than shooting in the order that it would appear in the film. I found this very helpful as for a number of shots I had to go back and re-film. These cameras however were not free of problems; the key problem was that the image quality was not amazing and the sound quality was poor.
For the editing of my film I decided to use a mac rather than a PC. The key reason for this was the software on the mac's. I used final cut to edit the film and live type to create the titles. Neither of these programs are available on a PC. Although final cut was difficult to handle when I first used it, after using it frequently I believe I have become competent in using this software. Final cut enabled me to use professional quality software and provided me with excellent tools for the editing to give my film a professional feel. After trying different title creating software, I found that live type gave the most professional and mature choice of title animation. I feel that I have learnt how to use this program to create titles which enhanced my film.

(Final cut is the program I use. As you can see there is a large number of features that helped me create a better film)

I made some mid-evaluation posts in which I was struggling to master the technology, especially the chroma key tool on final cut. I learnt from the mistakes I made with technology in the process of production and mastered most of the techniques by the time my film was completed. Chroma key, however I have not quite mastered. I spent a lot of time trying to master the tool and believe that the chroma key shot in my film is good and looks fairly realistic. Saying that, it is not perfect yet.

Evaluation: How did you attract/address your audience?

I use a number of methods to attract and address my audience.

How did I attract the audience:
- I would promote my film in each country that it would be screened in. The main form of promotion that I would use would be a range of adverts across many different types of media. To do this I would hire an advertising company and give them a brief on what I wanted the promotion to achieve. The television and radio adverts would not be a conventional film advert that just shows short clips from the film, instead I would produce an advert which will confuse the viewer and wanting to find out more. I this way I believe that the advert will stick in the viewers head and will make them want to know more about the film. The billboard posters and bus posters that I would produce would again be unconventional. Rather than denoting the name and actors in the film, it would be images that the audience could recognise from the television adverts. This would stick in the audiences minds and make my film seem intriguing and hopefully more popular. I would aim to create a mystery or enigma that would draw the audience in.
- To keep the audience wanting to watch the rest of my film I left many questions that are brought up in the opening sequence unanswered, creating a sense of mystery around the film (an enigma). My aim was to make the audience want to watch the rest of the film to find out the answers to these questions.

(I believe that this YouTube comment shows that I have attracted the audience. This user was a 15 year old male, part of my target audience) 

How would I address the audience:
- In an attempt to address the audience along with scaring the audience, I would make each of the victims in my film relate to different ages and genders. This would scare the audience by making them feel that the victim could be any one of them as well as making the film scarier for more than just my primary target audience.
- As well as this I, especially in my opening sequence, I tried to make the antagonist a very relatable character (except when he is committing the crimes). The audience would be scared by this as it will make them feel as if anyone on the street could be the antagonist.

Evaluation: Who would be the audience for your film?

My target audience will be defined because of their age along with their gender as well as type of audience etc.

From previous research (see post Research: Target Audience) I worked out that the target audience for most horror films and my horror film is 15-25 year old males. The socio-economic group(s) that I will be targeting my film towards is groups B and C. I will promote my film accordingly.
Film rating:
- As I will be distributing my film globally, there will be film classifications from different film classification boards. The most Important will be the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) and the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA).

BBFC: In Britain I believe that my film should be classified as a '15'. Although the opening sequence only contains a reference to violence, the rest of the film will contain violence as well as bad language. I have aimed to make my film a 15 when shooting as this means I will not be excluding any of my target audience. As well as this, an age rating of younger would deter my target audience and may make them think that the film is too immature for them.

MPAA: In America my film would be rated 'R'. Although this would be excluding a small part of my target audience from going without an adult, a rating of 'PG-13' or younger would deter most of my target audience for the same reason as above.

Evaluation: What kind of media institution might distribute your film and why?

The three types of studio that I will be considering to distribute my film are Hollywood studios (e.g. Universal), British studios (e.g. Film 4) and Art house/Independent studios.
Hollywood studios:
- A Hollywood studio would have the money, experience and contacts to distribute my film successfully. They also have the money that would boost the production as well as promotion of my film. Global distribution would not be a problem as shown by the domination of Hollywood studios in the British cinema listings.
- Hollywood studios tend to invest in films that they believe will make a lot of money regardless of the quality of the film. They also tend to invest less in foreign films such as my British film.
British studios:
- A British studio would be looking to invest and distribute British films. Although they are not global powers as the Hollywood studios are, they have the funds and knowledge to distribute and promote my film well among a British audience.
- A British studio is less likely to distribute and promote a film well abroad, although British films like 'Slumdog Millionaire' have been successful around the world.
Independent studios:
- Although I have attempted to challenge some conventions of the horror genre as well as film production, an Art house/Independent studio would tend to distribute very abstract films which completely challenge all the conventions of a genre. These studios also have less success in distributing films globally and in Britain.
I believe that the ideal media institution to distribute my film would be a Hollywood studio. This is firstly because of my target audience. After asking a group of people in my target audience if they would be more likely to watch my film if it was distributed by the different types of studio, they responded by saying a Hollywood studio. This may be because of the larger amount of promotion that the Hollywood studios can afford. If I could choose an individual studio it would be 'Twisted Pictures'. I would choose this studio as it is known for distributing horror films (mainly the Saw series).

Evaluation: How does your film represent particular social groups?

I have represented different social groups in my film.

The antagonist in my film is a male and I have represented this in a number of ways. Firstly his house is very plain which is stereotypical of a male living space. The lack of colour or many ornaments highlights the idea that he does not mind what his house looks like, stereotypical of males. My film also represents males in other ways. The character has a short haircut, stereotypical of males, along with plain clothes. 

(This is the male antagonist's corridor. There is no ornaments and very simple wallpaper stereotypical of males. The male is represented as working class by the luminous jacket connoting he does manual labour.)

The victim is seen as stereotypically female. She is shown pushing a buggy which denotes motherhood. This action is also seen as common of females at her age.

I have also represented class in my opening sequence. The antagonist is implied to be working class in the film. The luminous waistcoat and trousers suggest that he works in manual labour, stereotypically seen as working class professions. The very short hair cut is a stereotypically working class hair style.

(The buggy represents her age as well as her gender.) 

Age is represented in my opening sequence through both the antagonist and the victim. The antagonist is shown in a luminous waistcoat which represent that he is of working age. He lives on his own, without a family which suggests he is not at an age when he is expected to have a family.

Evaluation: I what way does your film use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

In my final product, I believe I have done all three areas of the question; used, developed and challenged conventions that are used in the film industry.

How have I used conventions:
- I have used media conventions when choosing the sound for my film. I believe I have done this without using sound that is too stereotypical of the genre. I chose music that follows the conventions of a horror film because it helps to build the tension well. The audience react with the style of music, feeling as if something will happen. The music builds the tension. Horror films are expected to scare or 'chill' the audience. The digetic sound I used at the end of my film follows these conventions. The baby crying is a pessimistic noise which are common in horror films.
- In the editing of my film I opted, for the majority of cuts, to use straight cuts. These are conventional of horror films as they help to increase the pace as well as the tension of the film.

- A male antagonist is a very common convention of horror films. I have followed this convention in my film.

- I have used dark mise-en-scene in my film which is a horror convention. I have followed this convention because it helps to create an eerie atmosphere.

- I have used the iconography of the horror genre in my film. The leafless trees are an example of this. I used horror iconography so that the audience will be expecting something bad to happen and will therefore want to continue watching my film.

(This comment is just an example of a comment which suggests that I have created an atmosphere using horror conventions. 88% of people asked agree with this. 55% believe that as well as this, at some point in my opening sequence I have challenged horror conventions.)

How I have challenged conventions:
- It is stereotypical for horror films to be very gory and violent. This is actually becoming very typical as special effects become more realistic. My product has no blood or gore but instead I have tried to build tension and inflict shock on my audience using different, more subtle methods and I believe that my film is better for that. I believe I have shown that shock and tension can still be used without the need for violence.

- The majority of horror films are focused around the victims. Very rarely is the antagonist the main character in the film. I have made a film which subverts this idea by focusing on the antagonist as the main character.