Final Product

 

This is our finished product. It took a long time to put together and many things were tweaked about it, we used our audience feedback wisely to change it so it suited our target audience which meant it would appeal to them more. 

Audience Feedback

This was filmed during a final viewing of our film where a fellow student commented on what he thought about our film. Overall we received very positive feedback with people wanting to watch more.

 
Anika uploaded the video to her Facebook page and received comments on what people thought which was a good way of getting ideas as the people on her page are all our target audience.

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

I chose to do this as a podcast because I found it easier to talk about and wanted to use a different way apart from writing and essay style. 

How did you attract your audience?

When attracting the audience we wanted to use eye catching effects such as the credits and we wanted to include shots that we would attract our audience also. We designed our credits firstly on Adobe After Effects and used an effect to make the words move which fitted in with the genre of our film. Although we encountered a problem because we could not import the credits into Final Express so we had to design them again on Final Express which meant we could not put moving effects on them but we used what we had and made them look good.

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Our plot was also key in attracting our audience as we aimed it at teenagers as it was about a teenage relationship and problems involved in them. Our title Behind Closed Doors gives the audience enigmatic feel as we want to watch to know what is behind the doors. Images used in the film including shots were also aimed at our audience because we wanted to make sure our target audience enjoyed the film, we used my bedroom which is a typically 'girly' room and again the plot and teenage relationshop would appeal to a teenage audience.

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

The software we used throughout editing was Final Cut Express and Adobe After Effects on the MAC computers. I had never used a MAC computer or any of the software so it was a new experience with me. Firstly before we started editing we had some technical problems with the software which eventually got fixed and we received a basic editing class for Final Express. I then went onto the internet and looked at tutorials on how to do certain things on the software. For our preliminary task we used flip cams to film which were limited in sound but suited the project well as they werent heavy to carry around. We also worked on Adobe After Effects for things such as the credits. The problem I personally encountered with Adobe After Effects was that I designed credits for our film opening but when trying to import them to Final Cut it would not work, this posed the problem of designing credits elsewhere so I designed them on Final Cut instead but they didn't have the same effects on Final Cut which meant I had to work with what effects they did have to design suitable credits.
The overall problem I personally had with the software was simply getting the hang of it and using it properly. I struggled throughout the project as I didn't know how to use it and I didn't understand the way it worked. Editing is one of my main targets to improve on for next year and I will do this by looking at tutorials and asking for help from people who know how to use the software.

Who would be the audience for your product?

After doing our initial market research being our questionnaire we found out our target audience were teenagers aged between 15-18 which helped us with deciding what the genre of the film should be. We also found that most people enjoyed watching horror/thriller and drama's which our film ended up being a hybrid in, we originally planned it as a thriller but we found it having conventions of a drama which worked well alongside the typical thriller codes and conventions. We also found out through the question our target audience liked the openings to build suspense. We did this as when our opening ends the audience are left slightly confused and wondering what is going to happen next. The storyline of our film is about a scorned ex-girlfriend which immediately may appeal to teenage girls who have been through a complicated break up and they could go to the cinema for personal identity. Although this could pose the problem of the film only appealing to females but by adding the thriller twist to the film this could encourage and appeal to males who may have also been in a break up or want to see a thriller film with a dramatic twist to it. When we received our audience feedback, it was shown that appealed to both males and females as the males in the class were also interested into what was going to happen next and enjoyed the thriller twist to it.

What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

Our film being a hybrid of drama and thriller means it is more appealing to different media institutions as it won't just be aimed at one type of audience. When doing our market research we focused on two films Obsessed and Prom Night which were both similar to the genre and story of our film. Prom Night was produced by Alliance Films which is a Canadian production company who have produced films such as 17 again and Piranha 3D which are both totally different genre of film but I think they our film would appeal to this institution because they produced Prom Night which relates to our film and they grossed a profit of $57,197,876 worldwide which shows they had success with the genre of the film. They have also produced a film called Pandorum which although is about space and aliens it is a thriller which shows they produce a lot of thrillers and dramas (17 Again) and I think our film would be suitable for the types of films they are producing. The other film we looked at, Obsessed was produced by Screen Gems which is an American subsidiary company of Sony Pictures. It has produced films such as When a stranger calls and Vacancy which are both thrillers although are storyline's are very different they all follow the typical codes and conventions of a thriller film and I think our film would appeal to this institution. I personally think the certification of our film would be 15 because it is a thriller and some of the scenes may not be suitable for children.