Question 4

-Who would be the audience of your media project

My media project, psycho, is aimed at a specific audience of young adults aged between fifteen and nineteen which is our primary target however our secondary audience is adults who have a key eye for thrillers. To gain key insight and understanding into our thrillers audience type I conducted research where I watched a selection of thrillers aimed more towards a teenage audience. These thrillers included the maze runner and Kingsman the secret service. Kingsman the secret service has a fifteen certificate and is primarily aimed at teenagers due to the young cast as well as this it is also aimed at boys due to the intense action and key parts of violence. In the box office this film had a budget of $81 million and there gross income was $128,248,205. Which is a massive profit.

After studying these films I found that these were very stereotypical alike in the fact that they all had male protagonist and male antagonists however one of the other films I viewed went against this which was gone girl as unlike stereotypically there was a female antagonist. Just like gone girl our film also goes against stereotypical ways as our victim isn't a helpless women it is simply a man instead. These films in particular seemed to feature characters that were a similar age to the audience we will be aiming at, this therefore allows the audience to relate and sympathise to the characters in the film this then engages the audience as if they are there in person, this will build their emotions such a fear and happiness along with sadness.

Our target audience in regards to gender, during my research I found out that most thrillers typically are aimed towards the gender specific male section. However often female characters are implemented to gain larger female audiences. In this instance our thriller is aimed further towards the male gender as we have castes two actors who are both male so that typically teenage boys and men can relate a lot easier to the characters on screen. I suspect that using two male characters it won't only draw in male viewer but based upon their looks alone it could also attract more women too, as sometimes attractive people gain their very own viewership.

Regarding the ethnicity of our film, it would appeal best to white British audience I would say as the two main characters, the antagonist and the victim are both from this same ethnic group this therefore enable the audience to easily relate and to also being able to imagine placing themselves into that position of the characters. Placing themselves into the antagonist they would feel strong and powerful but placing themselves into the victim would make them feel weakness, anxiety and scared.

Question 2

- How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Our main antagonist David sticks to the conventional thriller genre and he is represented as strong and powerful. However he is frightening and blood curdling. Our character is mainly inspired by Friday the 13th's Jason Voorhees who is a demonic and spine chilling serial killer. We implied nightmarish connections between the two such as the strength and power used to capture his victim. Not only that but both are mental insane capable of almost anything sinister with their psychotic mind.  We also decided that our antagonist's costume would be very similar to that of a sluggish teen awaking from a pleasant sleep the night before. Wearing very casual clothes such as a t shirt, joggers and a dressing gown. These clothes draw attention to the plain simplicity of the outfit however they appear enigmatic as to why someone so psychotic is wearing them. The audience will notice the costume choice as they imitate a modern teenage boy’s casual wear which is key to being transparent. This particular style imitates a modern style which will therefore attract the audience’s attention as they may have seen similar outfits out and about in their day to day life.

The main inspiration for Nathan’s character David is psychotic killer Jason Voorhees from Friday the 13^th in which he stalks and then kills the other characters who typically are teenagers trying to have a good time in the middle of nowhere, practically desolate areas where no one can hear them scream. Jason Voorhees represents the same themes we wanted the audience to see in our thriller with our eerie murderer. He creates this as they both carry the same or similar qualities such as the dark but ordinary representations as well as that the mysteriously creepy effect of choosing out his weapon choice as Jason typically used a machete but our character David uses hedge clippers. With both characters you gain the effect that something isn’t right from the start as something seems very wrong mentally with each of them. This leads to a spin chilling thrill. 

Whilst creating this character we also confronted generic character qualities like a psychotic mental state along with the madness of a killer instinct. We used stereotypical gender of a male antagonist too as typically most characters in thriller genre are male as men possess a more violent and sinister profile. Unlike women who are typically seen as vulnerable and powerless, due their height, size and weight.

Gender is consistently challenged in our thriller when it comes to the victim or the hostage as their gender is male whereas typically it is seen as women who would have been captured due to their fragile state. However in this case we have used a male victim as it implies the pure strength and power used by our antagonist to capture him. Showing vulnerable ability amongst men almost as much as women.

The antagonist’s character is an illustration of many teenage boys in this modern time. It is a lot more common now a days for boys to feature wearing warm joggers and t shirt as almost a lazy type lifestyle. As well as this we specifically featured a young boy no older then seventeen for the specific reason we wanted to create a contrasted image. This image is created to aim and target our thriller at teenagers where as previously it wouldn't be. An example of a cast that mainly features younger people is the new thriller film Kingsman. This is a similar thriller as it features a younger cast.  This film Kingsman also captures key conventions such as suspense, multiple camera angles and more.

Another representation of teenagers is shown part way through our thriller as the main antagonist a teenage boy takes out a bowl and cereal for breakfast. Typically teenagers tend to eat Sugary foods and this is no other being an unhealthy product but however this just further implies the severity of a unexceptionally ordinary atmosphere but however then the psychotic side is released through other details. Stereotypically teenage boys are represented as hygienically unclean but however going against that stereotypical factor our antagonist brushes his teeth as this is a little bit of edginess which slowly hints at his real nature because brushing your teeth right before eating isn't any kind of coincidence at all. This hints at the real mental state he processes.

The ordinary traditional house depicts how much the murderous antagonist wants to go under the radar as innocent standard human being. The setting of the house being a plain and dull street like no other amongst other houses with all similar qualities and looks. Plainness is emphasised by the colder sack. However there is an ominous chill throughout as this particular street appears to be empty with people and happiness. This puts an increasing dark edge on our characters shoulder, due to the questions being asked such as where is everyone else. What’s happened to them? The ordinary transparent filling of this housing estate edge closer to what the character is like, as living there he wants to be seen as an ordinary person. As soon as the doors close his true cut throat personality comes out in masses.

Question 1

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

Convention
There are several conventions to a thriller such as suspense, tension, quick cuts, black and white shots and finally tense music. I tried to add all of these qualities in my thriller. Firstly suspense was used whilst capturing the antagonist as I made sure that his face was hidden to the audience, by using camera shots such as over the shoulder shot, and mid shots that go no higher than his chin. This gave the antagonist character a mysterious and creepy effect, adding suspense throughout. The second quality of this thriller is tension this was created via the anticipation of not knowing what particular weapon the antagonist was going to pick out as well as this it was also created when the antagonist was walking from room to room but leaving the audience in the dark as to where he is going, this gives off a mysterious aspheric effect. There were several quick shots throughout that depicted the victim’s tied up body this added to the already nervous edge the clip has, due to not knowing whether the victim was alive or not. At the very opening scene of this movie there is a lengthy black and white shot that shows the antagonists house and it also depicts this devilish character waking up too, it stays black and white until the speakers are turned on. This projects a dark and perplexing mood as if something isn’t quite right. Tense music is used throughout the start to give an ominous iniquitous mood, the music within at the very start projects a bewildering vibe something that really is very mysterious and dark. Then after the speakers are turned on a song plays but it isn’t any old songs it appears to have a dramatic effect of being creepy and weird, something quite unique that almost scares you.

Type of thriller
Our thriller would classed as a possible psychological type thriller. Where an antagonist David seems to be a mysterious, disturbing and sinister character. This leads you to the name of the film Psycho. The themes within the opening scene covey many conventions from the thriller genre; these include quick cuts, suspense, changes in angle shots, black and white shots and tense music. Many films within this genre feature these conventions, they also include fatal crimes like murder or hostage type situations that I have used, films such as you’re next. Where there is a family gathering and slowly one by one each individuals is killed in a brutal way by assassins paid to kill, until one stands up to defeat them before everyone is killed in a psychotic way.

Costume
We have used just stereotypical modern normal type clothes such as the likes of a dressing gown, t shirt and joggers seeming to be a fairly average and normal person none of the less. Despite being a dark and deviant character, his real talents for murdering are hidden transparently behind his ordinary typical clothing choice. The clothing has been inspired by silence of the lambs character buffalo bill who typically wears normal common clothes for the time zone that this film was featured in but however behind clothes doors is a complete psychopathic serial killer who kills and uses faces as masks but however once leaving his house appears to be a completely normal citizen just like any other person just like our character. This stereotypical normal identity lead him into a state of mental being unstable choosing a psychotic and mad life of crime until he is finally stopped for good. This portraits a normal character but, to the audience he will be seen as demonic and unnerving person that we all know him to be.

Location
We have used a common and average house by looks on the outside and inside which a generic location is for and normal human being but however not for this demonic killer. Within the house several locations are used such as a bedroom, bathroom, kitchen and staircase which are all everyday typical rooms within the house but that’s what gives it its enigmatic feel throughout as it appears so normal that almost in fact it isn’t at all. This house setting isn’t lonely at all as it is featured on a street with similar looking houses all alike which all make it puzzling to the eye. However until the character walks outside to the garage and enters it has a sense of entrapment as a hostage is seen which brings to life an abnormal location setting for our mass murder. The grey concrete floor and dull walls give an appearance of an urban feel which is used in many similar thrillers. The reality of this location like many people have witnessed before in their own household allows them to put themselves in the position of the victim and the antagonist.

Sound
When implementing a specific genre, the soundtrack and sound effects are very important aspects of the film that make and break it in total. During the research I conducted I found that the soundtrack mostly consists of building tension and fear. So for this we had to find the correct type of music and effects we wanted otherwise our overall film would have suffered. Due to copyright laws this task was a lot more difficult than it should have been, so like many existing thriller films I found a tracks that got your heart racing with pure fear along with an intense spin chilling tremble as the fast paced beat of it made you scared and anxious, whilst sitting on the edge of your seat. Then like the film I used for inspiration ‘you’re next’ we found a very weird and creepy eccentric music song that clearly engaged the audience with its freakishness of it. Then we also added in diegetic sound too to increase the intense factor this film needed have such as the sound of the door creaking along with bang sound and footsteps, this all emphasised what was happening for the audience.

Camera Angles
After closely following a range of different camera angles in the research of different thrillers. I noticed that close ups were commonly used to emphasis the fear within the clip, as well as that they also show the intensity of any facial expression or action being done. Therefore we used this to show exactly what the action antagonist was completing, such as opening a draw and taking out a selection of knifes, this builds fear and the tension with a creepy effect like this. Over the shoulder shots are commonly used when the film makers don’t want to reveal the identity of the antagonist this therefore keeps the intense secrets within. This generate feelings of confusion. Long shot is also a common convention this place the audience in the mind-set that they are viewing it themselves as the character.

Props
When we were creating our film we wanted to make sure that our antagonist created a clear convention of a psychopath. This was done by using clear shots of our antagonist taking out large knifes and weapons from kitchen draws and toolboxes. This creates a large amount of suspense its self as the audience are on edge as to why he taking out knifes specifically. This portraits a stereotypical psychopath not only this but he also uses very normal and everyday props such as tooth brush, radios, breakfast cereal and spoons. These portrait a normal setting and a normal chilling atmosphere. This shows the audience how stereotypically ordinary the antagonist appears in such a common place such as a traditional house.

Lighting
To ensure we kept our theme of a realistic normal film we then featured only ambient lighting which is the use of only natural lighting and no artificial lighting was used throughout the whole of this film. Several ambient lighting uses were used as we decided to use natural lighting like shadows and sunlight through the window to convey a normal atmosphere, this is a generic convention within many types of thriller films. The shadows can convey fear and suspense in its self, but however this lighting was just completely natural never the less and wasn’t meant to show anything other than naturalness, which gives off an whole enigmatic feel to the entire film such as the ordinary atmosphere.