How does your media product represent particular social groups?
In my group's media product, there are two different types of social groups that we have decided to represent.
One of these social groups are heterosexual adolescent white females who are middle-class and are able-minded as well as able-bodied. All of these social groups are represented through the characters of Demi and Megan, the vulnerable duo of teenage girls seen in the opening sequence of my group's media product. One specific social group that my group decided to represent were teenagers. Teenagers are generally perceived to be care-free and prone to danger, thus making them perfect victims of a horror product. Also, teenagers are believed to spend a large amount of time on social networking websites (such as Facebook and Twitter), and my group wanted to represent how that has the ability to take their life away from them. As teenagers are prone to danger, this makes them vulnerable. We highlighted the vulnerability of Megan and Demi through a mixture of cross-cuts, that indicated to the audience that something major would transpire to them both, as well as simultaneously featuring close-ups, to show how they are doing when alone and more vulnerable than ever. The addition of an eerie non-diegetic score helps in indicating that something bad will happen to Demi and Megan, which not only showcases their vulnerability, but also shows that they are in grave danger.
These are the type of girls who our film appeals to. The film features adolescent female characters in the beginning, whom these girls and other heterosexual, able-bodied and able-minded girls can relate to. My group made sure that Demi and Megan would portray teenage girls in a way that could represent adolescent females without making that portrayal negative.
Whilst being heterosexual, able-minded and able-bodied like Demi and Megan, my group wanted to take the character of the antagonist of the film in a different direction. The gender of the antagonist is a male. His ethnicity, age and social class will remain unknown to the audience until the end of the film, when the antagonist's identity is revealed to them. The reasoning behind keeping certain aspects of his social group hidden is to keep a sense of mystery, so the audience will remain anticipated to eventually see who the antagonist of the film is. As the antagonist of my group's media product is a serial killer, he will represent criminals. Cinematography is used once or twice to show the presence of the antagonist. The shots that do show him are mid-shots that feature the back of him, so no clues are given to the audience and they will continue to make assumptions on who they think the antagonist is from the shots that feature him in the opening sequence. When Demi dies towards the end of the opening sequence, it is clear to the audience that she has been murdered by the antagonist. However, they only see Demi falling to the floor rather than seeing the antagonist that killed her. This shows that the antagonist is smart for remaining hidden, as well as being cold and calculated for coming up with a strategy to kill Demi whilst keeping his identity unknown.
In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
There are many typical conventions of an opening sequence that have been featured in some way in my group's media product.
Equilibriums are one of the many conventions of opening sequences that have been incorporated into my group's media product. The purpose of an equilibrium is to showcase the normality of the world of the film, so the audience has a good grasp of what the characters are usually like and therefore, have a better chance of relating to them after seeing them in normality. My group's opening sequence starts off with an equilibrium when Demi, one of the two female characters shown in the opening sequence, is looking at her phone, checking to see where her date (as well as Megan's) is.
Soundtracks are also a convention typical of opening sequences in real media products. Soundtracks help to set the mood/atmosphere of the action that is taking place in the film. My group has implemented a non-diegetic score into our media product in order to assist in setting the mood for the audience (and eventually the characters). As our film is of the horror genre, our incorporated soundtracks that make the audience fearful for the safety of the two adolescent girls.
Speaking of helping to set the atmosphere of the film, another convention that helps to achieve this is establishing the mood/atmosphere. This is another convention of opening sequences that have been placed into my group's media product. This is done not only through the soundtrack, but also through Demi and Megan's performances. When they act cautiously upon entering the forest, the audience should sense trepidation from them, and therefore, feel anxious for them.
Another convention that is typical of opening sequences that is evident in my group's opening sequence when Demi and Megan are in the forest are questions. Prompting the audience to ask themselves questions helps to build the intrigue of the media product, and as the audience are answering the questions in their head that relate to the action being shown on-screen, they feel more involved with the product that they are watching. One particular question that the audience should conjure up upon watching my group's media product may include "What will happen to Demi and Megan" when the focus of the camera frequently switches from Megan to Demi when both girls are alone in the forest.
Whilst equilibriums are there to showcase normality, establishing shots are there to showcase the location that will be seen in an opening sequence at some point. Establishing shots are yet another convention of real media products, and using them helps the audience to familiarise themselves with locations that will be used in the media product. My group has featured an establishing shot of the forest between cross-cuts of Demi and Megan walking to the forest and the forest itself.
This shows an equilibrium, as the two girls are just innocently going to the double date that they and their "boyfriends" had set up.
Titles are the last convention typical of real media products that have been incorporated into my group's media product. Titles and logos are featured in the opening sequence of real media products so the audience are fully aware of which companies have produced and/or distributed the real media product. My group's opening sequence incorporates titles throughout the product. Such titles that are featured includes the editor, producer, person responsible for the sound and the director.
As the genre of my group's media product is a horror, we've also incorporated conventions typical of real media products that are of the horror genre.
Vulnerability and isolation both play a big role in my group's media product, and are also well-known conventions of real media products of the horror genre. Vulnerability and isolation both help to establish an atmosphere of fear for the audience when watching the action on-screen. The whole purpose of Demi and Megan's characters were to show their vulnerability. This becomes clear to the audience when they see two young adolescent girls head into an eerie forest. The isolation comes into play when Demi and Megan go their separate ways. As they are alone and vulnerable, the mood is established for the audience, and they should feel incredibly anxious about the fate of these two young women.
After hearing Demi's scream of agony, Megan runs away in total fear. This highlights her vulnerability, as she knows that there's someone dangerous in the forest, but she doesn't know what, which makes her vulnerable to him.
The antagonist of the film is also another convention typical of real media products of the horror genre. As the antagonist of 'Lethal Media' (the title for my group's media product) is a male serial killer, he dresses in black to hide his identity. The mysteriousness from this intrigues the audience, as they want to find out who the killer is, but at the same time, the mysterious aura of his character also makes them feel anxious, as the audience don't know anything about him, thus becoming worried about what he does to Demi and Megan when he sees them arrive in the forest.
My group implements establishing shots of the forest in our media product. The presence of the forest is a convention of real media products. As forests are well-documented as being eerie and creepy locations, my group decided that incorporating a forest as a location of our media product would be able to provoke desirable reactions of fear and anxiety from the audience when they see these two young teenagers walk into the eerie forest.
The pan of the forest and its lack of colour helps to give off an eerie feeling, to distort the audience when they watch the opening sequence.
Editing is also a convention typical of real media products. When the audience witness the cross-cutting between Demi and Megan in the forest, the audience not only have a good idea of what to expect within the next minute (assuming that they are aware of the conventions of horror movies), but are also prompted to ask themselves which one of the girls will die first, and whether the other girl will survive or not.
Soundtracks are not just conventions of opening sequences of real media products, but they are also typically used in real media products of the horror genre. Non-diegetic scores that are quiet, yet audible to the audience will most likely provoke desirable reactions from the audience, because it isn't what they'd expect to hear, and therefore, it makes them feel uncomfortable listening to quiet soundtracks that barely pierces the silence. My group has incorporated a quiet non-diegetic score because we want the audience to feel uneasy when listening to the music and watching the action on-screen.
