Questions to ask viewers:
-What is your age? All of the viewers were in between the ages of 16-18.
-What is your favourite genre? Do you enjoy horrors that are disturbing and can occasionally make you jump? Many of the viewers primarily enjoy horrors as there following scenes to come are unexpected, being disturbing and not seizing to make them jump.
-What is you job? How much are you paid? (optional) The majority of the people questioned were students alone, however, four had part time week-end jobs, working behind tills and stacking shelfs.
-Are you appealed to watch complicated movies or movies which are easy to follow? Movies which were easy to follow were mainly preferred as they are able to relate themselves to the plot and understand what the protagonists are aiming to display.
-What is your gender? Seven were females, eight were males.
-Where do you usually go on holiday? Is that holiday ideal for you? Those who went on holiday often went to Spain/Greece/Cyprus. However, their ideal holiday was more expensive and out of Europe, the most popular being America.
-Do you find our film synopsis interesting? Eleven said yes as they are teenagers themselves and would enjoy to view another of their ages group living a life more complex and dis-functional as their own.
-Did you notice any editing techniques? All of those questionned notcied the three snap snots that were used in effect to show Poppy, the protagonist, trashing the toliet cubicle. They also noticed how the title at the begginning appeared and dissapeared from the screen in accordance as they had been edited to do so in a specific way.
-How did you find the vommiting in the toliet? Do you think it was realistic? Ten thought that the vommiting was sickely yet effective whilst the other five thought that it was effective yet hadnt much of a reaction towards it.
-Do you think that the backing track fits in well with the genre? Thirteen of the people answered yes, and that it resembled well with the idea of youth as well as following the action taking place. However the other two thought that although the track was suitable for what was taking place, it didnt resemble the idea of a tragic plots hence the title 'teenage tragedy.'
After watching the opening sequence, are you eager to watch the rest of the movie? All viewers answered yes, and that they were keen to discover what happens to the girl and whether she survives after being left on a cliffhanger whist all they could hear was her screaming.
Evaluation questions
-In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? The situation the protagonist in the opening of the film is in, relates to others in unavoidable circumstances which lead to devasting results, in this case, the cliff hanger of her screaming whilst we are aware she is in the toliet with another person whom she is trying to avoid. The camera work is yet another example of how certain shots are used in order to present a scene in a specific way to convey what you are trying to. In this case, high angle shots in the product displayed Poppy, the protagonist trashing the toliet cubicle, displaying her as a victim as the camera is pointing down to her, making her vunererable which foreshadows what may come next. There are also many close-ups used which focus on features which are significant to not only the location, but also to the character e.g. a close-up of the characters hand slamming the wall was vital, not only to display her frustration being let out, but also on her painted nails and tribal braclets which are typical of what many teenagers would wear. The opening as an overall used the majority of conventions of real products as it is structured likewise to many other film openings through the use of titles, features, themes, location, character, shots, language, features and editing.
-How does your media product represent particular social groups? The media product represents the idea of a typical teenage girl, displayed through the use of her appearance and outfit as well as closer features focused on such as the tribal braclets and painted nails. The fact that she owns a mobile phone is yet another representation of youth as the majority of teenagers own one nowadays. However, the antagonist we do not fully see in the opening but only her converse shoes alone presents teenage girls more negatively, as a bully who wont stop hurting another till they suceed in getting what they desire.
-What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why? Media institutions such as 'revolver entertainment' would distribute my product due to the effective storyline despite the film being of a low budget, However, this was deliberate, making the opening scene more realistic instead of a completely made up plot, highly edited.
-Who would be the audience for your media product? Those between the ages of 15 and 21 would be more of an ideal audience, particulary female as they could be going through or know of a similar experience, perhaps not so drastic. They could be from any background, however, having the trait as being family-orienated as the overall film is based around the idea of a situation causing distress and turnings on relationships within a family. As the film is open to anyone economically, their ideal holiday to choice of newspaper can vary but all of what may be considered as a 'typical teenage choice' . In this instance, the majority of teenages my group questionned, would primarily like to visit places such as America.
-How did you attract/address your audience? In order to gain a wider audience, advertisement was key. However, as the film was of a low budget, adverts on the television were not possible, so as a replacement, film posters and a general synopsis box in local papers were vital with immediate effect, attracting a numerous amount of viewers, a large number being teenagers. The use of bright, primary colours and bold distinctive fonts such as Arial were used to characterize the different sources of advertisement to appeal to many.
-What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product? I have learnt that working on a product with such a low budget, requires more time and effort in order to construct and later develop the product. This can be done be editing on a computer such as an apple to make it unique yet realistic.
-Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product? I feel that I personally have learnt a lot of new skills and ideas since first starting on the preliminary task up to finishing my final product. This includes the variation of camera work and new shots that can be used that I wasnt aware could be done on a basic camera beforehand. After experimenting with these and uploading my work onto a computer, I discovered many ways in which I could edit the product some being by including titles, sound and the different ways the shots can be displayed. For example, two shots shown in a split screen to contrast the two different ideas.
