TASK FIVE: How did you attract/address your audience?

This screen shot taken from the very beginning of our title sequence shows a sophisticated font advertising the production company of our film. If this were a real and well-known production company which had previously made successful films, then the audience may be attracted to the film to see if it is as good as the previous films.

Again, if Karen Martin were a real director who had produced successful films in the past, then her fans would be encouraged to come and see this new film. This screen shot also shows the main character in a swimming costume which advertises the sporty side of the film.

This shot shows our main girl who was, at this point, filmed in slow motion. The slow motion is an indication of the tension of the film and would attract thriller fans who enjoy being put in suspense when watching films. Slow motion is also very impressive, especially when in HD as every detail of the action can be seen clearly.

 This tracking shot, combined with the non-diegetic drums, adds tension to this particular part of the sequence as well. This attracts the thriller fans as the lack of identity of the man is scary and the build up is intense, and so the audience would be willing to know what is going to happen.

TASK FOUR: Who would be the audience for your media project?

Our film fits into the genre of thriller. The main audience for thriller films would be from 15 to 22 years old. Obviously, other age groups would also come and see it but the rating would be a '15' due to its scary nature. It is specifically targeted for thrill seekers who come to the cinema to be scared.

The film may also attract sports fans who are interested in the girl's dream to reach the Olympic Games or who are interested in the swimming aspect of the film. The film won't specifically target rich or poor people, however if it was released in the cinema, then only those who can afford to get to a cinema and pay for a cinema ticket would be able to see it.

The Olympic games is obviously a worldwide event and so, even if our film was distributed by an independent film company (like Vertigo) then the target audience could stretch beyond the UK and on to other countries too.

TASK THREE: What kind of media institution might distribute your media project and why?

My media project's aim was to produce a successful and adrenaline pumping opening sequence to a thriller. I think that we have successfully achieved this through the build up of suspense through our tracking shot, in which only the feet of the suspected enemy of the story can be seen.

Out of the film companies that we have studied (Warner Bros Pictures, Warp Films and Vertigo) I think that Vertigo is the most likely to distribute my media project. Vertigo is a British independent film company which creates a wide variety of films. Our group decided that our thriller would be a 'CSI' type of film which had a number of murders linked together (possibly by the idea of The Olympics). Vertigo has, in the past, created 'CSI thrillers' (an example being ‘WAZ’) and so my film would fit into a genre of film which has previously been a success for this media institution, meaning that they would possibly be interested in another. 

Vertigo also aims to balance social realism with films of a mainstream intention which is perfect for my thriller. The storyline which would follow on from our opening sequence would be of an aspiring Olympic swimmer whose dream is to win a gold medal, but she is kidnapped by her competition (either another swimmer or another swimmer’s trainer). 

TASK TWO: How does your product represent particular social groups?

This screengrab of the young girl swimming was chosen to represent the social group of teenage girls. 

We chose to shoot this underwater shot fairly close to our actor (Bethany) in order to make the audience feel uneasy as if they are swimming alongside her. The point of the underwater shot was to emphasise her isolation. As anyone who has been swimming will know, when you are underwater, what you hear gets distorted and is much quieter. Therefore, for the case of our thriller, as the man approaches her in the pool, she had no idea that he was coming as she was underwater and could not hear him.

This picture shows the vulnerability that is often associated with teenage girls through the idea of her wearing only a swimming costume. Nowadays there is a stereotype for the kind of girl who is considered vulnerable in society. This girl, in general would be:

-alone

-distracted (perhaps by an iPod or mobile phone)

-dressed provocatively

-often around 15 or 16

This particular screengrab accurately shows aspects of all of these signs of vulnerability amongst teenage girls. The girl in the pool is:

-alone

-distracted (focused on her swimming and beating her best time)

-dressed in few clothes (because she is swimming)

-around the age of 16

It can therefore be seen that our main character in the opening of the thriller is the perfect target for a murder (which will later be the main plot of our thriller) and the screengrab represents the social group of teenage girls.

This is a screengrab from the film 'Scream' where, in the opening sequence, the girl gets stalked and eventually killed by a mysterious masked figure. This girl is similar to the girl in our thriller as she is also alone, young and at first distracted by the cooking. 

The main difference is that she is not shown to be dressed provocatively, however this film was made in 1996, at which time it was not such a craze as it is today (2011) for teenage girls to go out in clothes showing a lot of skin.

This film was a great success and a number of sequels were produced. This suggests to me (due to the large number of similarities between this film's opening sequence and my own) that my film would also be a success as it meets social stereotypes of teenage girls which prepare us to be scared.

TASK ONE: In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

These nine images are all screen grabs taken from our thriller which I feel adhere to the genre of thriller. The pictures are in chronological order and show the build up of tension starting from the beginning and and reaching a climax at the end. Looking at each individual picture, it is possible to analysise its relevance to a thriller film:

1) As seen in a number of thriller films, dark water adds a sense of the unknown which makes the audience nervous as they do not know what is coming. The stillness of the water is eerie and makes the audience uneasy, preparing them to be scared when the girl breaks the water with a dive.

2) This screen shot adds an element of time. The counting stopwatch helps to add tension as the audience think of each second as a second closer to a disaster e.g. in this case, a second closer to her encounter with the strange man.

3) The underwater shot of the girl doing a tumble turn creates the feeling of isolation. When she is underwater, she is completely unaware of what is going on above water in the 'real world'.

4) This shot shows the girl swimming towards the stopwatch. I chose to include this in my nine screen shots as it is a good example of the titles. We chose to use a sophisticated font, conveniently placed in an easy-to-read part of the screen. We chose to use this subtle font so that it is not blatently a thriller e.g. red writing. This in a way, subverts audience expectation.

5) This is a picture of the slow motion tumble turn. There is a lot of splashing water moving very slowly which obstructs the audience's view of bethany, causing confusion. Slow motion can also be linked to sports and swimming, as races are often replayed in slow motion to exaggerate any successes or failures.

6) This slow motion breath adds tension and it is at this point in the sequence when the build up to climax really begins. The breath which was added in during editing (due to slow motion having no sound) sounds like a desperate gasp which exaggerates the girl's determination in beating her time.

7) This screen grab is the second of two quick underwater shots which were added to create confusion and tell the audience that something is about to happen.

8)This screen grab shows the tracking shot which is accompanied by the beating of drums. The fact that the person's identity is concealed adds an element of suspense. The way the camera follows the man also shows that something is about to happen.

9) This final screen grab is of our title. The title is accompanied by eerie music which scares the audience and the actual title of 'Immersed' keeps the audience guessing what the film is actually going to be about.