evaluation

My media product uses typical conventions of real media products in the form of props, camera angles, and costume. My media product is about a girl who gets kid knapped by a man who had been following her earlier that day. The main two characters involve a man posing as a kidnapper and a girl as the victim; this is very stereotypical in its self. The clothing of the charters are very reflective of their actions and identity, this develops the usual forms and conventions of films rather than challenges them. The colours of the kidnapper’s clothes are very boring and dull to not make his character stand out in his surroundings along with reflecting the mood and personality of him. He is wearing a large hooded coat that covers his face and therefore hides his identity. He is dressed mainly to cause mystery and a bad atmosphere around his character which reflects his bad actions throughout the product. The Girls clothing that is exactly what you would expect a seventeen year old girl to wear, her outfit is very cliché and every item she is wearing is reflective of high street fashion. Once the girl has been captured she is put into a white boiler suit that is used as a straight jacket to stop her from escaping. We used a white one because it reflects her purity and innocence and contrasts with the kidnapper who is wearing all black showing he is evil. Throughout the product the colour has been edited to fit in with the mood of the plot. We have bled the colour in some shots which is typical of this type of media products; we started off with normal everyday light but by bleeding the colour and adjusting the contrast and brightness we have managed to create a chilling atmosphere which causes suspense starting at the very beginning of the project. Our product begins with the sound effect of an old fashioned film projector playing, this develops stereotypical forms and conventions of real media products because it creates a mysterious atmosphere and as it is used at the very beginning it helps to set the mood of the whole product. As the product starts to unravel the plot, music begins to play; following the film projector sound effect this music helps to keep up the atmosphere created and increase the suspense as the storyline unravels. The only place in which we challenge the normal codes and conventions of real media thriller productions is through an over the shoulder shot. The shot is filming over the shoulder of the kidnapper as he is following his victim, because he is taller than the victim the shot is almost looking down on her, showing her in the kidnapper’s perspective. This shot creates the idea that the victim is of less importance than the kidnapper implying that he sees her as an object of little importance rather than of his main victim. This also makes the audience of the product get the impression that he has kidnapped before, this is because stereotypically we assume that he would be more cautious and emotionally involved in his actions and would have to have kidnapped a few times to be that emotionally disconnected. My media product represents a serious issue that the real public face today; child abduction. The girl does not see the stranger behind her and the shot through the bushes at their feet show how he is walking fast in order to catch up with her. The man’s body language is very closed and mysterious unlike the girl who is acting casual and like she would every day, this shows that he is planning to do something and she has no idea it is about to happen. The media institution that might distribute my media product is an institution such as the BBC. This is because they produce similar one off dramas that have a lot of things in common with my product. The plots are usually depressing and commonly involved chilling storylines that emotionally affect the audience. The audience for my media product would be teenagers or people who enjoy being in suspense. This is because my product presents a situation which can be connected to both teenagers and parents also it is dramatic and ends on a cliff-hanger which creates an Adeline rush a lot like good thriller films. From the process of constructing this product, I have learnt about technologies such as cameras, and how different camera angles can create different moods. They can effectively change the feeling of a scene from being light-hearted to serious in a matter of seconds. Also, the use of close-ups, for example when the teenage girl wakes up in the corridor without knowing her whereabouts creates suspense and the desire from the audience to start to question things such as, where is she, why is she there and who was the man. Lighting is also very important and can affect the mood of the scene as dramatically as camera angles.