Dreamland - Final Cut

This is the final version of my thriller 'Dreamland'. Enjoy

Q1. How does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Q2: How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Q2: How does your media product represent particular social groups? by Alex Snowden

Q3: What kind of media institutions might distribute your media product and why?

I believe that an independent film company would be more suitable to distribute our film than a conglomerate at it would be more suitable when it comes to targeting a specific audience as this film is aimed at a niche audience rather than a mass audience. This will make the marketing campaign for our thriller more cost effective as it will be focused on specific areas such as TV advertisements instead of having to use all forms of advertisement. Because my film is not being directed by a famous director and it is only my first film the likelihood of a conglomerate choosing to produce this film is slim, if a independent film company produces this film the film would be able to be classed as a "British" film by the BFI Cultural Test and would be able to receive public funding from the government. As part of the planning for my thriller I looked at different productions, after researching different British film companies I narrowed my choices down to two companies; Film4 or Hammer Productions. Film4 would be suitable as it is known for its 'gritty' films, I decided that Hammer Film Productions would be the best company to produce my film as they are best known for their horror films and also produce films of different genres such as; science-fiction, psychological thrillers, comedies etc. Because my film would be classed as a psychological thriller it would be suitable for this company to produce my film.

Positives of choosing an independent film company

• Have more control over the film and what it will look like compared to having less control over the film if the film is produced by a conglomerate. independent film companies will give you more creative freedom meaning there are fewer regulations and fewer changed made
• There is a growing market when it comes to 'indie' films meaning more people will want to see my thriller. Also the audience will be more targeted towards a specific audience.
• Since it is a smaller company producing my film it will reduce the cost dramatically compared to a giant film company as there will be less crew members and less advertising since the advertisements will be towards a specific group instead of a mass audience

Negatives of choosing an independent film company

• Because the film will be produced by an independent film company the budget will be significantly smaller meaning not being able to afford mistakes and having to compromise in order to save money.
• There will be less resources when it comes to marketing therefore making it more difficult to reach a wider audience. This also applies to the films distribution.
• Some people perceive independent film company films to be of a 'lower standard' compared to the giant film company films

Q4 & Q5: Who would be the audience for your media product? How did you attract/address your audience?

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Q6: What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

Q7: Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the main task?

Preliminary by Alex Snowden

Thriller First Draft

After I made the screenplay and the storyboard for my thriller, I started to plan when I would be able to get it filmed. Due to conflicts with work I had to swap one of the actors (Chelsea) last minute so I decided that I would have Jaden star in my thriller instead. I decided at what time would be best for filming our thriller by researching the time that the sun would set that day and decided to film an hour or two before. We all met up on Saturday and filmed the opening shot and then went to location to start filming the rest of our thriller before it got too dark to film. Once I had filmed all the scenes I started editing it. This is the first draft for my thriller opening before I have put on main titles and finished editing the sound.

Reflections From The Shoot

Once we had decided on a date to film we all met up and went on to film the scenes for my thriller opening at my house and down the canal where we filmed the remainder of the thriller. We researched what time sunset would be and planned our time slot for filming accordingly so that we could film it all before it got dark. We were able to film all the scenes that we needed for our thriller in the allotted time period so there was no need to spend another day filming. There were only minor problems when we were filming, such as the weather as it was windy so it was difficult to get good sound quality but it wasn't as bad once we set up the camera and did some practice shots, so it was relatively easy to film the scenes needed. Due to the uneven terrain we were filming on it was difficult to have steady tracking shots of Dane running but except from that most of the shots were steady and usable. There were many bloopers while we were filming but we were able to film it all before sunset so all of our shots had sufficient lighting and are all usable.

Actor's Permission Forms

For the planning of my thriller to seem as realistic as possible and make it seem like it is a real film studio I made all of the actors sign film contribution permission forms so that I had permission to film them. Both Dane and Jaden signed a form saying that I could film them and use the footage for my thriller opening. These are the forms that the actors filled out.

How My Thriller Will Apply To Audience Theories

As part of my study into media consumption and audience theories I decided to apply these theories to my own thriller and see how my thriller fits into these theories. I focused on three audience theories and these were; Blumler and Katz (Uses and Gratifications), Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs and Niche VS Mass audience.

Audience Theories: My Thriller from Alex Snowden

Audience Theory: Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

As part of the research for my thriller and audience consumption i decided to do a study into one specific theory, this theory is Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, this theory focuses on the needs of a person and the need to fulfil them. Below is a poster that i made which explains Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs and how it can apply to the media and how it applies to my thriller.