Group 9 Foundation Portfolio Nick Borthwick

1) My media product uses, develops and challenges forms and conventions of real media products by looking as realistic and believable as possible. The typical features that would be expected in a horror film are blood, weapons and other terrifying objects and themes. My film did not develop or challenge generic horror conventions as I wanted it to be similar to a realistic horror film so the audience know what to expect and that it lives up to their expectations so they don't feel cheated. I wanted a wider audience appeal as possible for my product. So therefore it contains typical conventions of a horror film, an example of this is were my Mum drops the phone at the end of the sequence and at the same time were I’m laid against a tree in the woods with fake blood on my wrists so it looks like I’ve cut them. This adds to the horrific atmosphere that is being created. The sub genre for my film is super natural horror as the son becomes obsessed with the occult and goes missing, then comes across a lot of occult symbols. There is also a lot of references to the occult included throughout the film such as the son copying occult symbols and researching them on the internet. The only horror film that influences, and is similar to my work is 'The Craft'.

2) My media product represents particular social groups as the only two characters featured in the film are the mother and the son. So therefore it shows a typical mother and son relationship as when the son goes missing the mother gets worried and becomes caring and maternal towards him by phoning the police as soon as she realises he’s gone missing. Gender is also represented in a stereotypical way as the son is more of a dominant character as he becomes brave when walking through the woods wearing a leather jacket with the hood up. The mother is less dominant as she becomes helpless because she doesn’t know what to do as her son’s gone missing. This links to the target audience as my film is an 18 rated certificate as people at that age would be able to understand the film and relate to it more.

3) My films going to be a British made film with a wide theatrical release so it gains media attention, such as reviews and ratings in newspapers, and appeals to a wider audience. Also I think it’s the type of film that would be released at the cinema as it’s a typical horror film which I think many people will be talking about. I think quite a large number of people would want to view the film as it contains a lot of twists in the storyline and many people will be wondering what’s going to happen next as a lot of unexpected things occur, it will also create tension when being viewed. An advantage of showing my film at the cinema is that after a few months it will be available to purchase on DVD, like most films that are at the cinema. Therefore if people enjoy the film at the cinema they can buy it to view at their own leisure. I would like my film to be viewed by a wider and diverse audience. In order to extend the longevity of my film, after releasing it on DVD I may release it on Blu Ray and HD in order for the audience to view it in better quality. After a number of years I may re-release my film on DVD with extra content so people don't forget about it or I could even make a sequel to keep the brand fresh so it doesn't get old quickly. Another idea is to release a special edition DVD when it reaches its 10th, 20th and 25th aniverseries. The mise en scene for my film is my house, my kitchen and the woods behind Bishop Cuthbert Estate which is quite deserted and is the perfect location to film parts of a horror film. So far this year there has only been three horror films made, it could be argued that there is a gap in the market for this genre of film for example, 'Paranormal Activity' is a supernatural horror and became a success. Therefore it could be assumed that a film similar to this is needed to fill the void in the market, as my film is a British film it is cheap to make and not a lot of big name actors would be needed to star in it because that's not the purpose of people watching horror films, they view them for their own enjoyment and entertainment. Also a horror film makes a large return to the box office as when one is released a lot of people rush to go and see it and it becomes popular in the media.

4) The audience for my media product is adults over the age of 18 as it’s an 18 certificate and myself as one of the actors is 18 so therefore people my age will be able to relate to and understand the plot more. Also adults in their 30’s and 40’s would understand the plotline as the mother is that sort of age so therefore mothers that age would get the storyline. Young people in their 20’s would be within the target range and anybody who enjoys a good horror film as usually horror films are aimed at an adult audience. I think my film could possibly reach out to a wider audience demographic as a lot of adults could understand and sympathise with the plotline. Although my film would be an 18 certificate people who are a lot older than that age can view and enjoy the film.

5) I attracted and addressed my audience by playing on the mother and son relationship throughout the film so therefore both people in my age group and mothers can relate to the storyline and really feel the emotions. There some particular points throughout my film that would appeal and terrify the audience for example, the beginning were I am looking up occult symbols and trying to draw them, also another scene were I am looking up occult symbols on the internet. Another part which may ‘creep’ people out would be towards the end were there is a quick flash of me running a knife towards my wrist, then an over the shoulder shot of me looking at the occult symbol then slicing it in half with a knife. Then a close up of me with fake blood on my wrists to make it look like I’ve cut myself. The audience can put themselves in mine and my mother’s position when viewing it especially people in those age groups, as it may feel realistic to them and they may think its creepy and weird which are typical conventions that are associated with horror films.

6) The strengths of using the camera equipment is that the footage from the hard drive can be put straight onto the macs. However the cameras that require a tape take longer to upload as the tape has to be rewound first which can take quite a while. I experienced use with both of these types of cameras as I had to film twice to improve my film and add more special effects. I didn't face many problems during my filming process but I did have to film in deserted locations such as the woods so I would have had to protect my camera and equipment in case it rained and I always carried the camera around in the bag. The cameras were small so it was hard to see the screen to see if I had filmed the right footage and to see if I had filmed it properly however I couldn't get an industry camera as those are not available in college. However an advantage to having a small camera is that they are light and compact whereas an industry camera is heavy and can be hard to carry around. The name of the camera's I used were 'Sony Handycam DCR-SR37E' and 'Canon MD216'. The software I used to edit my film was iMovie and I played around with the special effects to make it look like a proper horror film. It allowed me to shorten the clips and make them longer in order to fit the two minutes, the dialogue, to show the camera shot and to make sure the soundtrack would be in sync. I made the mise en scene darker in order for it to look terrifying and to fit in with my genre. To do this I clicked on the arrow underneath the clip, clicked video adjustments and adjusted the lighting on the clip to make it look darker and to fit in with my genre, then when I was happy with it I clicked done. To create my titles I clicked on the 'T' icon for titles then I selected a theme which I thought would be suitable for my film. For the production logo I chose the background from google images, put it onto photoshop for it to fit the correct size. For the font of the logo I visited the website dafont.com and picked a font that I thought would relate to horror. When it came to choosing my soundtrack for my film I used garageband which I found useful as it was quick and easy to import over my film. Firstly I chose some sounds that fit into the genre of horror and that would be realistic, imported them onto itunes then imported over my film to make the soundtrack. However I did find it hard to find a suitable soundtrack that would fit in with my genre, I had to have a good look around through all of the different sounds but I eventually found one that was suitable enough. To create the soundtrack I picked sounds from the category dark and they are very different sounds, however they are all called texture and ambience and have various different lengths. When all sounds are mixed together it creates a very dark creepy soundtrack which would fit in well with my film and when the titles are shown between each one there is the sound of heartbeats, towards the end there are screeching noises when I have the knife in my hand.

7) After looking back at my preliminary task I feel that I have progressed a lot and that my knowledge relating to editing and camera techniques has improved. For the preliminary task I had to film a sort sequence showing show match on action, shot reverse shot and the 180 degree rule. I worked in a group of three and filmed in various locations around the college to show these different camera techniques. The strengths are that we all worked well as a group, I felt that our editing techniques were quite a high standard as the software was easy to use. However the weaknesses are that my camera work wasn't very good but when I carried out this task I had only just started the course. We did use all of the camera techniques that were asked of us but not to a high level for example, when filming the part when walking down the corridoor the camera was shaking all over the place therefore making the picture blurry and you could hardly make out who was being filmed. Another reason for this is because the person I was working with was walking too fast and I couldn't keep up so had to go at a faster pace. I also accidentally got my other group member in the shot and he was shown carrying the tripod which didn't look realistic or professional. Another part of the film which I thought was unrealistic was towards the end when I was filming and my other two group members were playing table football in the common room, I don't think this part was needed and it didn't add much to the sequence so was therefore pointless. Also the end credits were there are some random people I didn't know, but the other two members of my group knew, were pulling faces at the camera. For the main task I had to create the opening of a film either film noir or horror lasting approximately two minutes. For my first task I created a mind map and researched both genres and decided to choose horror for the genre of my film. I carried out a lot of research into the genre to give me ideas and help plan my film including creating a storyboard and an animatic. To help with my opening sequence and title order I used the opening clip from 'Halloween' which I got from you tube and posted on my blog. I found that the research of my genre, the storyboard and the animatic really helped me produce my film as it gave me ideas of what to include.