task 5- how did you attract/address your audience?

Our opening title sequence consists of several attraction methods. One of them being our shot qualities.

Other than our regular high definition shots we also had underwater foottage and slow motion shots which we used to add an unsettling feel. The fact that alot of thought was put into the characteristics of the production, will also be a key factor in attracting viewers who are very interested in cinema and quality of film.

The film starts off with a young girl swimming in a pool. This immediately addresses the male audience. As it has been proven several times in the past with many thriller movies, violence+girls in very little clothing is the perfect formula to get the attention of male viewers from the ages 16 to 40.

Another factor which provokes the audience to watch the film once seeing the title sequence is the feel of voyeurism one gets whilst watching the production. We have filmed it in a way which causes the viewer to feel like they're watching the girl without her being aware of it. As we did that, we used uncomfortable camera angles which gave the audience a feel of disturbance and pleasure at the same time.

Because the intruder isn't shown clearly, the mystery element would attract viewers who are interested in brainteasers. A similar audience to the tv series CSI for example.

task 4- Who would be the audience for your media product?

Our media product is an opening title sequence to a thriller about an investigation on series of killings of teenage girls. As one can tell from the variation of shot qualities such as underwater shots, slow motion shots etc., it is obvious that it will be a stylized and complex movie therefore making the audience range wider. Our targeted audience would consist mainly of male viewers between the ages of 16-40. Because males have more tendency towards violence, this causes them to enjoy watching murder-based productions. Another reason for having a greater male percentage in the audience is because the victims are teenage girls. When we look at the history of horror films, we see that most murder themed movies consist of teenage girls, generally in very little clothing such as night gowns, being brutally murdered by male figures. This type of film has been the preference of the audience, thus showing this is what works in the media business. Overall, our targeted audience would be anyone who enjoys the feels of fright, unsettlement and mystery; filmed in a good quality and artistic manner.

task-3 What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

Our media product could be considered as a high concept thriller which is targeted at a mainstream audience. Although it requires a certain amount of technology when it comes to special effects, it could be produced in a low budget and succeed. 

Looking at the movie Monsters, which was distributed by Vertigo films, it is a high concept production yet was produced at a low budget making it a very similar project to ours.  Monsters had a successful gross revenue which shows that Vertigo films is a company which is quite familiar with these certain types of projects.

I think that our media product would be picked up by Vertigo films because it is an independent company which tends to work with small productions, such as our own, which don't include A-list stars and address to a global audience.

task-2 How does your product represent particular social groups?

The only commentable character in our production is the girl in the swimming pool who is presumably the victim. This scene is an example for a subversion of stereotypes because unlike most murder-based thrillers where the victim is bound to end in disaster as they tend to go to dark alleys or get theirselves into trouble in order to have some fun; this character is in her own territory, training in a disciplined way showing her hard working and determined personality. She is not in a danger zone, which makes the idea of a stalker near her even more worrying. The fact that the representation of the victim is so innocent, causes the audience to think that this can happen to anyone.

task-1 In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Because we had done a lot of research referring to successful media productions before making our product, we were quite familiar with the opening title sequence done in real media productions. These are some screen grabs from our project, I chose these ones because I thought they would be best suitable to show the relation between real media productions.

   

  As seen in most productions, the opening title sequence starts with the title of the production company. I used the title sequence of Reservoir Dogs by Quentin Tarantino to demonstrate this. However we have placed our titles in particular frames where it is a part of the sequence in a way that they are legible and in the same time do not distract the viewer from the product.

For the swimming pool scene, there are some similar shots used in the movie Angels and Demons.

   

Also, looking at real productions such as I Am Legend, we see that it is frequent to end the opening title sequence with the title of the movie.