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

The genre of our title sequence ''Dolls House'' is a thriller, based on a female murderer who kidnaps four young girls, but one escapes. The reason why we chose to produce a thriller opening sequence is because thrillers are very popular and have a larger target of audience. We have left out quite a few scenes, such as when Leah and I are running down a corridor to find a way to escape, however we kept the scene where the female protagonist grabs Leah while she is running. We missed out the running scene. Some films tend to do this because they like their audience to wonder what happened, and they start to question why things start to happen later on. missing the running scene also This makes the audience think about what happened to that girl, this would also make them want to keep watching to find out what will happen next as something mysterious is going on. This is very much like real thrillers as they also show exciting parts of the film and leave you hanging for a while. This is very effective towards the audience.

We have tried to edit and film ''Doll House'' to be just like a real thriller. We have done this by including a film company (Foney Productions), director (Sid Evans), and also the people starring in it (Monica Rabadia, Leah Hunt, Nichola Daley and Emily Gladding.) We have also add effects to these titles and made them look jumpy and flicky, this would be something you see on a thriller film. You would find this effect on the opening sequence I posted earlier of 'the ring'. I am very pleased with the titles as it is my favourite part of the sequence as we have edited them just how i want them to be, they also have a little professional look to them which makes it more exciting to look at. I find that the titles are as important as the actual sequence as the titles need to look good for the audience to be hooked on to it. (The font and text used would need to link in with the genre and atmosphere in the film.)

''Dolls house'' was influenced by a title sequence made for 'the ring'. the title sequence we found isn't the original sequence. We just found it on YouTube. We wanted our audience to feel excited about the film from the start by making the titles jumpy and using freaky music (a slow jewellery box). Also we use no talking, so we didn't mention no names and say who was who. We wanted the audience to try and predict what was happening. However, we made it quite obvious that the protagonist was after these girls, but we didn't mention why. This is very effective toward the audience as it makes them want to watch it more, and it brings suspense into the atmosphere. ''Dolls House'' was also influenced by a episode of CSI. From we CSI we got the idea of using a model as a prop for the protagonist. The model was of the same room the protagonist kept the four girls. We used the model to zoom in and out of every now and then. We also including footage of the protagonist making the model. I also played the part of the protagonist as i wasn't in the opening sequence of being the fourth girl. However, we positions the camera well to not capture my identity. We wanted to keep the protagonist anonymous until later on. This is to create more suspense.

There is one scene where we have zoomed into the model to a close up, and when it reaches up close we have edited the contrast into a slightly negative/bright effect. This brings out the colours more to show the horrific-ness of the film. This would also make it clear to the audience that the contrast change is somehow associated with the protagonist and it will stick in the audience's minds.

Question 2 - How does your media product represent particular social groups?

''Dolls house'' could be aimed at any social group as it isn't very scary. However it could get quite scary for young children. Also there may be scenes which are unpleasant and also foul language. Therefore it is best to aim the film for teenagers, 16 and over.

Also the best gender it would represent in particular would be females, as throughout the opening sequence we only see females. However this doesn't mean the thriller isn't aimed for males. It not 'girly' and it not 'boyish' so therefore it could be aimed for both genders.

In the film 'Jigsaw' we see people who could be compared to our main character. In our title sequence the protagonist teases the victims before killing them.

The main character in our title sequence is a female in her early 20's who is scarred at a young age. This would be the reason why she dislikes those who live a materialistic life style. From the title sequence we see that she becomes obsessive towards her victims.

The victims in the title sequence all connect in similar ways. Their lives are all about looks and beauty. These tend to be mainly teenagers who care most about their looks. Our title sequence represents certain social groups and appeals to the right stereotype of people. We chose to use teenagers as victims as most teens have a stereotype of being obsessed with how they look. Also we thought this may be effective on the viewers, as the title sequence would then start to appeal to teenagers.

Question 3 - What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

Our opening sequence is a thriller which many people may enjoy. The cinema distributes many films, and in particular comedy. Although our title sequence isn't comedy it is still a popular genre. Not alot of thrillers are released at the movies, however the typical teenage thriller films sometimes do and as 'Dolls house' is targeted to the audience of young people, there would be a chance of it being distributed.

As my group and I didn't have such a huge budget or real equipment (good quality camera's, high standard of locations/sets) the film wouldn't be advertised as a big film. It would just about get away with being distributed on DVD.

However the film could be distributed over the Internet. This would attract alot of people as it can be accessible to anyone. Also instead of being in cinemas first the film can be sold on to DVD straight away.

Question 4 - Who would be the audience for your media product?

Our title sequence is targeted to people who enjoy watching thriller films. Thriller films mainly screen gruesome shots which can sometimes be unpleasant and unsuitable for youngsters, because of this we would like to set the age certificate for 16- mid 20 year olds.

In the opening sequence to 'Dolls House' the characters shown are all females. Also the story of the film is about female issues and therefore portrays feminism. This could link to the fact that the audience that is going to be targeted most is females, but this doesn't mean it is only targeted for this gender. It can be targeted for the audience who enjoy watching films full of unexpected gruesome shots.

Question 5 - How did you attract/address your audience?

My group and I have addressed our audience by using various ways in which to attract the viewers.

We had many ideas for the location where we could set the title sequence. Our first idea was to use an old room which had been abandoned such as a classroom, but not everyone agreed. Therefore we started to think of other locations. We was offered a location at an old rugby shower room which everyone accepted. We expanded on this and thought about making the room look abandoned, smelly and damp.

Mise-en-scene: We used many props to make the location look like a murder scene. The main prop we used was fake blood as we used it in nearly every scene. We scattered the blood down the walls, curtains and floor. The mise en scene is vital to the visual effects. This is what catches the audiences attention.

The sound/music: We have used the sound of a jewellery box as the main music as it sounds mysterious and aerie. This is to play with the audiences mood and emotions. However, because the jewellery box sound was continuous, it wasn't very effective, so we added another aerie sound in the background. It is vital that not only visual effects can be effective, but also the sound/music.

The camera techniques are also important in attracting the audience as the viewers can only see what the camera shows. We have used our shots very wisely and cut out the parts which are not as important. We have put together the shots that we think are most attractive to the viewers.

Question 6 - What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

Throughout constructing my opening sequence i feel that i have learnt quite alot about technology. Although i currently study photography so i kind of know a bit about how to use the camera and the different camera angles i could experiment with. However, editing on iMovie was a little tricky as it was my first time using it. After a while i got the hang of it. Now that i have learnt how to use iMovie alot better, i can use these skills in the future.

Main Points i have learnt during the process:

To make sure the lighting is accurate in every scene and not to rely on daylight as it changes. Lamps are also more effective and precise.
To make sure the camera is positioned correctly and filming what we intented. (Correct framing)
No matter how many times you film a scene it is different everytime. For example, lighting, framing etc.
The most important is that i have learnt to be patient with editing on iMovie and start off by completing the simple tasks before attempting the more difficult.

Question 7 - Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

Looking back at the preliminary task I think I have learnt alot considering my group and I had a few arguements over which ideas to chose. We all benefited from this as is gave us a chance to express our ideas. We all participated equally, this expressed everyones individual skills.

Although team work is the most important, i feel that my contribution to the progression was quite strong, and i feel very proud of myself as the proccess was very long. Im very suprised i didnt loose my patience, this may be because i enjoyed putting the sequence together as it was quite exciting to see what the outcome would look like. There was a few panicks and stress along with the proccess but this encouraged us to work harder and work for perfection.