After re- watching my final product I think that it makes sense and is tells a coherent story. However, I do think that I could have made the actual storyline clearer. I feel that had I shown the Ouiji board being played rather than have my actors talk about it after it was finished; my storyline would have made more sense. Despite this, audience feedback suggests that the storyline did in fact become clear after the first few lines of dialogue. I think that the locations I filmed at helped to make my product more recognisable as an opening sequence. The locations I used in the opening sequence will be identifiable to the audience and recognisable as a suburban area. This was deliberate because I wanted the sequence to have a genuine feel, something it would have lacked had it been shot in school. Also, the effect of shooting in such locations adds a sense of realism to the sequence. This makes it scarier because the audience can relate to it and realise that such events could indeed be happening just around the corner…
During the process of filming my opening sequence i was careful to include the different codes and conventions found in horror films. For example, the whole piece was shot at night so that I could instantly create a sense of danger and darkness. I also wanted to make the creepy atmosphere even creepier, chilling even. To do this i included scary sounds and loud noise noises intended to make the audience jump. I also wanted to create a “killers’ trademark” sound, so that every time it is heard, the audience know that danger is near. I used parallel sound to emphasise this and increase the effect it had on the audience. During the filming of my opening sequence I did not choose to challenge existing codes and conventions of horror, but rather to develop them. For example, among other things; I shot at night, used loud noises to create shock and ‘scary music’ to build suspense. However, if I were to challenge the typical codes and conventions of horror one of the things I would have done would be to have filmed during the day. This would be a challenge because there are very few truly scary horror scenes that are shot during the day.During filming I tried to target a social group and i wanted to focus upon the younger generation. I decided to attempt to exploit their curiosity of the unknown and explore how young people might react when presented with unknown danger.
I think that my opening sequence could have been adapted to grab the audience’s attention more quickly. I feel that i may have rushed into the story too quick before properly explaining it. Despite this, my own research suggests that many other opening sequences found on television, start in much the same way. Also I can see from audience feedback that their attention was indeed held as the scenes unravelled.
I think that by ending the sequence so suddenly it leaves the audience wanting to know more about what happens to the characters.
I also think that the scene when the character answers his mobile phone worked well because it is an example of how I have progressed since filming my prelim. I believe that it shows how I am beginning to think as a director would. For example, the first characters disappearance in that scene shows plot development and that I can think one step ahead whilst directing.
I think that the last scene of my final piece also worked well. It is a POV shot from the perspective of the ‘bad guy’. This immediately makes the audience feel fear for the character the ‘bad guy’ is looking at. Also, I think that this scene finishes the whole piece in a way that clearly identifies it as an opening sequence because it brings one story to a close whilst leaving many questions for the rest of the film.
Regardless of the parts that did work well, there were unfortunately parts that didn’t. For example, the audio in the running scene towards the end is slightly disjointed and doesn’t flow quite as smoothly as I imagined.
Throughout filming I tried to pace my scenes carefully. I wanted it to be fairly gentle at the start and build speed as it went on. The idea behind this notion was that as the pace quickens, the danger increases. I tried to synchronise the pace of the scenes with the danger the characters were facing.
All the music/ audio used throughout my opening sequence is either my own or copyright free. In order to improve my final piece I think that I could have edited the audio so that it run more smoothly towards the end. I also still believe that by showing what had happened before the first scene, the storyline would have been clearer and possibly scarier too.
The target audience for my media product would be young people aged around 15 to 17. I chose this age category because I think that they would be better suited to receive my product in a positive way. I thought that my intended audience would be less critical of my product and enjoy it more for what it is rather than what it could be. This in mind, I also wanted to aim for a younger audience because studies show that suburban horror films are watched and enjoyed by more by this age category than any other.
In order to attract and address my target audience I decided to use a title that would be likely to grab their attention straight away. The term ‘Ouiji’ is recognised by many and frequently associated with horror. I thought that by using this infamous word as a title it would attract a lot of curious viewers.
Another technique I used to address my audience was the use of young actors. I thought that a young audience would engage better and connect with actors closer to their age.
Another technique I used to address my audience was the use of young actors. I thought that a young audience would engage better and connect with actors closer to their age.
I also played upon various methods used by some horror films to create a sense of horror. These methods included; ‘scary music’ to build suspense, loud noises to make the audience jump, and parallel sound.
From the process of constructing my product I have learnt that the technologies available are not always as reliable as preferred. For example, when filming my opening sequence, a glitch in the camera tape meant that my final piece did not run as smoothly as I first hoped.
As a result of this though, I learnt how to use the technology I had to tackle such problems. I learnt how to crop my video in different places so that the glitch was barely noticeable.
From this process I learnt that due to the different tools available to me it’s not essential to film chronologically, this was a valuable lesson to me throughout this process.
Also because I am completely new to media studies and this is my very first attempt at anything like this, I was inexperienced and had little or no confidence in using software such as ‘iMovieHD’. Despite that disadvantage I now feel that I am extremely capable of using said software and have much more confidence in my abilities.
Since my preliminary task I have learnt many things that have aided me in the production of my main task. For example I learnt how to abide by the 180 degree rule and how to properly break it if I needed to. I also learnt what camera angles are more effective in certain situations and how to use this to my advantage.
I also learnt that it is not necessary to film in chronological order but it is very important to make it look like you have whilst in the editing process. From this I learnt different techniques I could use so that my finished piece contained absolutely no continuity errors. Some of these techniques included; ensuring actors wore the same clothes in all shots, making sure that no props appear or disappear in different shots, making sure that the weather conditions are the same in all shots, making sure that something or someone that isn’t supposed to be the shot is not visible in reflections.
After looking back at my final project I believe that it is more suited as a television drama rather than a feature length film. I think this mainly because it is the type of production that aims to attract a wider variety of people than that of a film. Due to the horror element prominent in my project I would recommend that it should be shown after the watershed. Despite this, i would still hope to attract teenagers and adults alike.
I think that due to its genre and style the kind of media institutions most likely to distribute my product would be channels such as Channel4, E4, ITV, BBC, Film4 or FX. All of which have been known to distribute products similar to mine.
