OuiParty PowerPoint Evaluation

1. OuiParty PowerPoint Evaluation The Coopers’ Company and Coborn School Candidate Number: 4000 Faith Adamson

2. 1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? One of my main priorities in the making of my thriller, was to make sure that the thriller conventions of a film had been met. In order to accomplish this, I firstly went over the thriller conventions which had previously been discussed in our media lesson and also refer to the primary research I had done beforehand and research some more to gain a greater knowledge of the different types of thrillers. Doing so, I found that our storyline was closely linked to the two films ‘Paranormal Activity’ and ‘Final Destination 3’. They were similar as our story also had a non-human antagonist similar to Paranormal Activity and, our story contained flashbacks which was similar to Final Destination 3. Conventions ‘OuiParty’ use. • The plot, storyline and narrative also contribute to the suspense of the thriller. An example of this is in the second flashback. The homeless person is simply walking along and picks up the Ouija Board. The music playing in this sequence contrasts to what is happening at the time. This music builds tension, as the two contrast to each other.

3. There are also themes of Voyeurism in our thriller. This is seen at the very beginning of the thriller in the graveyard scene. The camera is behind the tree and the audience are seen as onlookers to the characters sleeping on the floor. This makes them seem vulnerable and the antagonist superior. • The theme of Voyeurism is repeated and shown when the protagonist is seen in a mid shot, waking up. This creates an enigma as the audience are left wondering who is watching them and more importantly the main protagonist? • We also created an enigma around the antagonist in the middle of our thriller, this is when we are first introduced to the antagonist and the homeless person. We create suspense around the character by having a worms eye mid shot of the homeless person turning around slowly with the antagonist behind him wearing a black hooded cloak. By not letting the audience put a face to the antagonist, this created a sense of suspense for the audience as they are left with the question ‘Who is the antagonist?’ and ‘what does it want?’

4. The soundtrack which was used within the second flashback was non-diegetic and also repeated throughout the thriller. It was a scary and almost creepy sound which got louder towards the end of the piece. It is very faint in certain parts so that you could hear the characters speaking. It created almost a recognizable motif and as it builds up suspense, the audience could tell something was going to happen to one of the characters whenever it was heard. By using this piece of sound, it creates a eerie atmosphere and mise-en-scene. • My group decided on a one word title, ‘OuiParty’. This is often used in other thrillers as it is very simplistic but can have a different meaning and contain an even bigger sub-text which may be provided later on in the thriller. The word ‘OuiParty’ is a mixture between ‘Ouija board’ and ‘party.’ These two are both identified in our thriller and this is why we think the title works. The editing of the title is used to reflect the mind of the main protagonist. The non-diegetic soundtrack within the sequence implies something bad is going to happen as it is also repeated later on. It can also be used to establish the confusion of the main protagonist especially further on into the thriller.

5. How ‘OuiParty’ develops or challenges conventions. As our main protagonist is female, it is expected that she will stereotypically vulnerable. The main protagonist is an intelligent character rather than the stereotypical type, so by making the character unlike others, we are challenging this certain convention. Our thriller very much plays on the conventions of extraordinary events happen in an ordinary situation, containing themes of voyeurism and it also touches on a scene near the end of the film in which the protagonist is in peril and a crime at the core of the narrative. By including these, our thriller certainly develops these conventions. These conventions are shown at the beginning, middle and end of our thriller. E.g. Protagonist is in peril – at the end when she gasps, they audience are left wondering what happened to her. Voyeurism –at the beginning of the graveyard scene where the audience is looking at the characters who are in a vulnerable state, Crime at the core of the narrative – the homeless person is killed in the middle of the thriller

6. Do the thriller conventions you have used indicate a sub-genre? Had our thriller been made into a full length film, conventions of a psychological and a serial thriller would be present as shown in the opening sequence. There are signs of it being a psychological thriller from the flashbacks the main protagonist ‘Grace’ gets from touching certain objects. For example the Ouija Board and the dead homeless person. The audience can see that she is particularly scarred from the flashback she receives from the homeless person as she gasps and then links the two together. This represents a mind-game the killer has set-up for the protagonist and therefore links into the psychological sub-genre. There are also signs of the film being a serial thriller. This is shown in the killing of the homeless person which Grace sees in the flashback. The antagonist has killed the homeless person in relation to the Ouija board which hints towards the fact that the antagonist could be linked into killing everybody who is involved with the Ouija board. This therefore relates to the serial thriller sub-genre.

7. How we analyzed ‘Paranormal Activity’ and ‘Final Destination 3’ to influence our opening sequence. Link to ‘Paranormal Activity’ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDNjFJUyUz4 We looked at the idea that ‘Paranormal Activity’ showed of having a antagonist that wasn’t a human or animal and was almost non-existent. Link to ‘Final Destination 3’ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nek7VJQtsuE We also looked at the idea ‘Final Destination 3’ had of the flashback as we interpreted this in our own way and we both had more than one flashback. We then decided to incorporate these into our thriller sequence. We did this by including flashbacks and making them similar to the ones used in Final Destination 3. We also made the antagonist non-existent.

8. 2. How does your media product represent particular social groups? As a group we decided to focus mainly on the representation of gender. We had both males and females in our thriller but decided to go against the typical stereotype and present the dominant gender as a female. By using a stereotypical group of teenagers going out for the night. They then wake up in the morning in an unfamiliar place where strange things happen. This covers the convention of extraordinary events happening in an ordinary situation. This also relates to our target audience who are teenagers around the ages of 16-17. By doing more research, I found that more than half of the people aged 16 and over prefer to see films with characters their age group as they can relate and empathise with them. We used different angles of the main protagonist to show her dominance. For example there were a few low angled or worms eye view shots to make her seem more important and powerful. This can also be related to please our target audience, especially the girls as we have shown an intelligent, dominant female protagonist.

9. 3. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why? ‘OuiParty’ is a film that could have been created in Hollywood with a star cast, but also an independent film with actors that may not be famous. This is because it is more suited to the style of the film and would make it appear more interesting when released. • ‘OuiParty’ would obviously have to be developed into a full-length film but this would be good as it could expand further into the psychological thriller sub-genre. This would be viewed in places such as the cinema at a full length, which could also lead into more films with a continuous plot that would be similar to the original. The film would be advertised on things such as posters, the internet, and newspapers in order to attract a bigger audience. • If it was kept as a short film, this would idealistically only be available on the internet with things such as ‘YouTube’ being the main provider for it. This would not be advertised and would attract a smaller audience and be passed on by word of mouth or social networking sites such as ‘Facebook’.

10. 4. Who would be the audience for your media product? • Our main target audience would be teenagers (or people aged from 14-17). This is because the cast of ‘OuiParty’ are only teenagers and also, this target audience can relate to the characters and the situations portrayed in the film. • As some of our film goes against the typical stereotype other films have, by being different in terms of having an intelligent dominant female protagonist, this draws the audience in and makes them interested in the film. • The storylinerefers to teenagers going out with friends and ending up somewhere unfamiliar to them. As this is quite stereotypical, this could also attract teenagers as they can put themselves in the characters shoes and may have experienced a night out similar to this. The only difference is that instead of the normal night out, our characters wake up finding themselves in an unusual surrounding and strange things happen to them. By covering the convention of extraordinary things happening in an ordinary situation, this may entice the audience into wanting to know what happens. • In the film ‘Final Destination 3’, there are also a group of friends who go out together to a fairground. This films also covers the convention of something extraordinary happening in an ordinary situation and there is a rollercoaster which crashes. This is closely linked to our thriller and is a big influence on our idea of a group of friends going out and something strange happening.

11. 5. How did you attract/address your audience? • In our opening sequence, we originally had pictures of the teenagers getting ready to go out. We used the effect of pictures appearing on the screen with a camera effect accompanying it. This technique is different from other thrillers which may start with an establishing shot or a close up. By being different, we hoped to capture the audiences attention and make them focus of the pictures of the three characters being happy and enjoying themselves. • We later changed this as it did not fit in with other stereotypical thriller conventions. We start off with the graveyard scene and the camera showing the audience who they are. As the audience no longer know how they got there etc. we hoped this would entice the audience as they want to know what happened to the teenagers. • The graveyard scene starts with an establishing shot and also a point of view of the antagonist. This shot shows vulnerability of the five characters as they are asleep on the ground in an unfamiliar surrounding. When the main protagonist is introduced, the camera directly above her also showing her vulnerability as she wakes up, it is a mid-shot which draws attention to her eyes as she wakes up.

12. 6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing the product? The main equipment used to film was a simple camera and tripod. I didn’t find any difficulties with this equipment other than the leads used to connect the camera to the computer. The leads were not very strong and also they were different to the ports I had on my own computer at home. I used thiscamera for the all of the filming and I found it very simple and easy to use. I had to use a different computer which had the correct port to connect the camera and also I uploaded it onto the school computers then exported the files and then saved them onto a memory stick to bring home and edit. This has taught me to always check to export it properly and to back up files as they can easily be lost. Programmes I Used: I mainly used Adobe Premiere Pro for the editing of my film. I found this easy and also I did not have the updated Serif Movie Plus that my school was using. I also used Adobe After Effects which was used for the flashback with the homeless person and Serif used to put the first flashback with the Ouija board.

13. 7. Looking back to your preliminary task, what do you feel that you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product (main task)? Compared to our preliminary task, I think that I have learnt many new things in terms of editing and filming. We planned everything to the very last detail when doing our main task, unlike our preliminary task where we were very last minute and were very unorganised. • For our full product, we researched the setting in more detail and decided where to film exactly. We decided to get the effect of morning, to go on a bright day (preferably in the morning) and if the light was not brilliant, increase the brightness on the editing programs. • We also created a storyboard which included the different shot types we would use as well as the story. After presenting this and receiving feedback, we took the advice given and made the changes straight away. Here is our thriller storyboard: http://faith93.wordpress.com/2010/02/25/thriller-storyboard-4/ In conclusion, I think that our group could have been slightly more organized in terms of the scripts and props which were needed, but overall I feel confident with our finished product and am very happy with it and the overall use of camera shots and angle types I have learnt. All of the things learnt during this process have been put to a good use and will be used in any future project I do.

14. Links to ‘OuiParty’ Videos. Final Cut: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRJH3J2msf4 First Rough Cut: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahKTN8X-vdg&feature=related Second Rough Cut: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2IyBbOgqW44