In what way does your media product use, develop or challenge froms and conventions of real media products?

Before we went out to film our opening sequence we had to research and plan it. We came up with many ideas. One of the ideas was is that we wanted to make it as realistic as possible. We wanted it to be high quality and wanted to make sure it looked like a professional film. You can produce a professional film opening sequence by using the same type of equipement that the film industry uses.

Our media product uses various forms and conventions of real products. Firstly, when were filming our opening sequence we used a tripod to make sure the footage wasnt shaky this makes it look professional at a level. If we didnt use a tripod the quality of our film wouldnt really be high quality the way we wanted it to be. The camcorder we used was a small camcorder it wasnt the big ones that are used to make films out in the film industry. Even though the camera wasnt a high standard we co-operated with what we had. We used different angles and shots to improve the quality.

We wanted consistency in the making of the film sequence. To make it accurate we made sure that the scenes didnt jump from one to another and that it was consistent. We wanted the film to be accurate as possible therefore we made sure that we kept the same costume when we needed to.

Final Cut Pro was the editing software which we used. This was a really good software to use because we could do all sorts to our original film sequence. For example we could add different effects, colour, transitions and speed the clips. The software was complicated but obviouslyt not as complicated as the one the film industry uses. Even though we didnt use one like the film industry our film sequence was still a high quality media product.

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

We learnt various new skills from various media technologies. A particular one was the use of the Apple Mac comouters. Before beginning our media coursework Apple Mac computers were new to some of us. The layouts and features differ from a 'PC'.

We used a variety of other media technologies which help contribute to the completion of our coursework. A number of websites were used to help with the research and planning in pre production.

We used YouTube to research other film openings such as 'Silents of the lamb' and 'The Usual Suspects'. Our genre is a thriller, therefore the fims we researched on YouTube were of the same genre as our opening sequence. For example 'The Blaire Witch Project'. Watching this we started coming out with ideas on what we should include in our film sequence.

We also used the website called 'IMDB' to research more into these films, from this we learnt who the directors, stars and the running time was for the film.

We used the website Blogger to show all our pre planning and preperation for the preliminary task and main task. It shows everything we've done from the start of the coursework till the end.

We used an editing program called 'Final Cut Pro' which was fairly straightforward to navigate around as there was a help icon at the top of the page if we needed to find a certain effect or transition we could just type it in there and it would automatically find it for us to use. We used Final Cut Pro to capture all our clips and then rearrange them on the timeline. After this was completed we used a tool called 'mark in' and 'mark out' to crop out the clips that we didnt need.





We also used the college equipment which included digital camcorders and tripods, which were easy to use as they had the basic record, pause, rewind, fast forward and play functions. The tripods were easy to assemble as they just required us to open them up using the clips that were provided. When we were out on location filming, we learnt that without the tripod the camera footage is shaky and this wasnt the effect we wanted in our openibg sequence. There was a scene in our film where we didnt need the tripod and we wanted a shaky effect.

Whilst out filming we had to make sure that we recorded a gap before and after the clip we recorded so it would be easier to edit together and cut sections off without erasing the part of the clips that were essential. We also used the digital camcorder to take pictures of our location.

Re-shooting shots

We have been out today to reshoot two of our shots in our main task. The shots we had at first were too obvious that one of the characters were looking at the camera and plus it didn't really go with the genre. So for that reason we decided to redo the clips that didn't fit in and that wern't clear to understand the speaking. Also we analysed our video and we spotted a few mistakes such as jump cuts, we realised that one of the clips where a character called Saba picks up a log to help out with the fire, the clip quickly skips to her talking, which didn't really look right. We cropped part of the clip and lengthened part of it, to make sure it looks right. Everything that were doing in our main task , we do to our best ability. We have really stuck into our project, making sure that everything looks accurate and fits in.

Audience and Genre

The primary audience for our media product is late teens and adults. As the genre comes under thriller and horror it would contain dark and distressing scenes which would be inappropriate for children under 15 years of age. Similarly, the film 'The Blair Witch Project' is also rated 15 for the same reasons, as their storyline is also based on students who go into the woods, and none comeback whereas in our video their is one survivor.

Our target audience in terms of gender would be precisely both genders male and female. Our product is aimed at a niche audience because people who have a specific interest in the elements such as mystery, drama , thriller and process of the mind would have interest in the film. However, this would be a smaller audience with more unique taste, rather than the majority audience who have more interest in romantic-comedies and dramas.




The BBFC website states age certifications for films/TV; the 15 certification has many guidelines as to why only said person aged 15 or above can view films with this certificate and explains what aspects of the film make it classify as as 15, these guidelines are stated below:

Discrimination:No endorsment of discriminatory language or behaviour will be present in the film.

Drugs:In the film drugs are permitted to be viewed but in no way must they be promoted to the audience or make the audience want to experience the taking of these drugs. Also its unlikely to be acceptable to show dangerous substances that are accessible to the audience being used incorrectly, for example mis-use of aerosols or solvents.


Horror:The audience are allowed to see strong threat and menace, however not if carried out in a sexualised or sadistic way.

Imitable Behaviour:Any viewings of behaviour dangerous to the character (for example, hanging, suicide andself-harming) are not allowed to be shown in great detail to promote ideas to the audience of this behaviour.

Language:Strong language is acceptable to be used frequently, (for example 'fuck') however the stongest terms (for example 'cunt') are only permitted to used if it fits the context and can be justified by this. However when the use of strong language is repeated in an aggresive way its unlikely to be acceptable for this certification.

Nudity:Without strong detail nudity is permitted if used in sexual context, more so there are no constraints in non-sexual or educational context regarding nudity.

Sex:Without strong detail sexual activity is permitted to be portrayed; strong verbal references to sexual behaviour are also allowed. However highly strong references are again unlikely to be permitted unless they can be justified by the context of the film. More so work that is solely purposful for sexual arousal or stimulation are again unlikely to be acceptable.

Theme:There are no themes that are not allowed as long as provided with appropriate treatment for 15 year olds.

Violence:No infliction of pain or injury are allowed to be dwelled on when strong violence is used. Strong gory images and strong sadistic or sexualised violence are unlikely to be acceptable. Detailed verbal refernences to sexual violence are allowed but it must be discreet and be highly justified by the context.

Location Shots of our chosen location- Alexandra Park

As a group we specially really like the image below, this is firstly because the lighting in the middle of the pathway stands out, and it looks as if if you were to walk through the lighting at the end of the pathway , then it may take you to another world. Something as if either something good or terrible is about to happen. We thought that this would really relate to our thriller type video. Also from this image you can see the closed in trees, which present that the park is a forest type area in which we desire for the location of our video. Lastly we like how the girl(Saba) is looking towards the left, making us think that 'what was that sound', which also really relates to our video. This image is likeable because it shows the lighting, how it is really dull and heading towards darkeness. May help towards suggesting the genre of our video.

We liked this image because the boys in the image are part of our group , and one which he will be acting the 'teacher' and the other helping in being the 'camera man'. This shows that part of the group is walking towards the woods.

These are just extra image shots to show different parts of the location.

Detailed Shot List

1. Black background with red font showing the production company who made the film.


2. A long wide shot showing the teacher and the students in the forest, making the environment.


3. Medium shot of the teacher speaking to the students keeping on the right side of the camera, using the 180° rule.


4. Medium shot on the students, then tracking them as they walk through the woods to get the logs to make a fire.


5. Black background with red font showing who is starring in the film.


6. Low angle medium shot from the logs as students pick up the logs.


7. Close up of students picking up the logs.


8. Black background with red font showing the distribution company who distributed the film.


9. High angle medium shot panning on the student as they walk back to camp.


10. . Medium shot on students as the dialogue is being said about racing.


11. Low angle shot on students getting ready to race.


12. Hand held camera as one student runs ahead and gets to the camp.


13. Long shot with teacher on the right and one student on the left sticking to the 180° rule, whilst the teacher has dialogue.


14. Black background with red font showing who directed the film.


15. Close up on student giving a reaction shot of student’s expression when finding the other student isn’t with her.


16. Fast cuts and medium shots between the forest, the student and the teacher as there is a high pitch scream heard in the forest.


17. Black background with red font showing who edited the film.


18. Camera panning around the camp in a 360° angle, showing everything around and only two people there.


19. Shot reverse shot when the student and teacher decide to go and find the missing student.


20. Medium shot panning both characters as they walk into the woods.


21. Close up on student as they stop to look around and they hear a bird sound.


22. Eye line match to a low angle shot looking up at the sky and tree as they something there.


23. Medium shot of the teacher walking away as he has found a body.


24. Match cut to a close up on teacher’s foot to show he is walking towards a body.


25. Close up reaction shot on the teacher as he finds the body and says his dialogue.


26. Medium shot on the student as they hear the teacher talk to her.


27. Hand held camera as she runs to the teacher.


28. Close up reaction shot on student as she looks at the body.


29. Eye line match to a close up of the dead body of the missing student.


30. Low angle shot looking from the back of the body to the teacher and student, whilst playing horror type music.


31. Black background with red font showing the title of the film, with horror music carrying over to this shot.

Costume Pictures and analysis

We chose these sort of costumes; trainers, hoodies and jogging bottoms because we thought about the weather and the season as it is Winter. The timings we are going to be filming will be after college hours e.g 5pm. So the weather would be quite cold and cloudy. Plus we thought that it would be more appropriate to wear these sort of costumes as our film video is about a a group of 4-5 students going on a camping trip for a night in the park. So for that reason we thought we would wear warm clothing.