Evaluation: Question 1

Media Evaluation
Question 1: In what way does your media product use, develop of challenge forms and conventions for real media products?

This film is a psychological thriller about a boy who has psychological problems. For example throughout the opening the audience is given the impression that he is being watched but we never actually see who is watching him because there isn’t actually anything there. He feels he is being possessed by the ‘spirits’ that are keeping him company and they make him do the things that he does. When the door slams shut this signifies that the boy has completed what the ‘spirits’ want him to do so they leave. Even though something is watching him, he doesn’t seem to mind which suggests that he expects or knows that he is being watched.

My production company is called ‘KAC-TS’ which stems from the combination of my groups initials. The logo design is based on the name as Kac-Ts is pronounced cactus so it contains images of black cacti on a green hilly terrain with a sun in the top left corner. Our logo is designed to replicate somewhat of a dessert setting as that is where cacti are typically found. Our logo sting gives the production logo a light hearted feel as it is uplifting, short and sweet, it is also parallel sound that is designed to follow the movements of the sun. We have decided to use bright, saturated and vivid colours so that the logo will be remembered as it allows for our logo to stand out from another.

Once the production logo and sting fades out the non-diegetic sound for the movie fades in to establish an gloomy and eerie atmosphere and set the tone of the movie which gives the audience the impression that the character is not your average child as the music does not depict anything close to happiness or child-like personality due to its low pitch and extremely slow tempo.  Throughout the clip as we approach the climax of the opening were the boy is holding up the poster the paces of the music is slightly faster than it was at the beginning of the clip and it is much louder and noticeable . This then creates anticipation within the audience as the music reflects how they would be feeling and leads them to question what happens next. Once the tension has been build it is quickly dispersed with the diegetic slamming of the door. The effect this sound effect has on the audience is that it quickly puts an end to the anticipation that they are lead to feel. In relation to the action in the film the door slamming shut signifies the end of the possession over the boy as if he has made the ‘spirits’, which he believes are keeping him company, satisfied with what he has done. This therefore adds to the psychological element because the audience don’t see anything around him or watching him they only get a vague idea that someone or something is watching him towards the end when long shots from outside of the room are shown.

The first collection of shots is a slow zoom to the door of the house and then a handheld track up the stairs with the credits on the steps. As a group we decided to do this to give the audience the impression that they were being invited into the house and this therefore engrosses them in the world of the film as they get an insight into the lives of the characters of the in the film. The track continues into the boy’s room where it becomes a pan of the room revealing the personality of the character as the audience is shown the types of posters and drawings that the boy has created and displayed. Once the setting of the room has been properly established the camera slowly pans down to the boy, revealing him sitting on the floor giving the audience a slow introduction to the boy behind the posters and drawings enabling them to put a body to the personality that has been presented through the props in the room. As mentioned previously, towards then end of the opening the audience is given the impression that the boy has company, however signs of this begins with the over the shoulder shot from the pan down to the boy; suggesting the boy is being watched from behind. The use of different angles had been used to subtly lead audience to believe that he is being watched from different angles.

In the beginning of the opening we get a few long length shots and zooms of the house and stairs. For example the zoom in to the front door and then it slowly fades to a slow pan up the stairs to the boy’s door. Once we get inside the room there is also a slow pan around the room to show the posters and drawing that are up on the wall. This was done to establish the location and give the audience an idea of what the location looks like and where the film is set. It also allows them to start making judgment of the character based on what is being shown such as the poster on the wall. Therefore, when the character is properly introduced they will already have a general idea of what he is like and this will in turn help them to get to understand the general concept of the movie much quicker. On the other hand, toward the end of the opening the cuts start to quicken and the number of fade that we used start to lessen, for instance during the sequence where the boy finished his drawing and begins to put them up on the wall as the door slams shut. This was done to create climatic tension and capture the true essence of a thriller without revealing too much of the narrative. During post-production we added filters that exposed the colours of the scene as opposed to filters that create a monotone colour effect that is typically seen in thrillers. This was so that that the audience will get the impression that the character is a child so it bears the implications of childhood innocence.

The extreme close up of the scissors on floor are used to connote danger and foreshadow future events that would take place in the opening, such as the part when the dolls hair is cut. The colour of the scissors, red, embody and signify danger which is effective as the main character is a child and the scissors are like a child friendly version of a knife or weapon.  The next extreme close up is of a doll head during the pan which suggests that it is linked to the scissors. This prop is though provoking for the audience as it makes them question his personality and childhood innocence. The fact that it is a doll head puts emphasis on the possibility of him having a psychological problems because of the way he uses toys for physical company or to embody the ‘spirits’ that are controlling him.