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

Evaluation Task 6: What have we learnt about technologies from the process of constructing your product?

We added in annotations to answer the question.

Evaluation Task 5: How did you attract/address your audience

Our Thriller's primary audience is teens age 15-20
Our Thriller's secondary audience is Parents and people age 21- 39

The theme of our thriller is bullying, which could attract a broad demographic, however it will probably most attract British teens as they have a better understanding of school life and bullying, they also have a better understanding of the social classes involved for example 'Chavs'.
On the other hand, Parents may find it interesting, as I learned from my research, because they obviously have children who could potentially be bullied and so they can relate in that sense, but this is definitely the secondary audience.

This screenshot shows the school environment of our thriller, which attracts the primary audience as they are familiar with it and can relate to it as it's a large part of their every day life.






 Our thriller would be largely aimed at a British audience, specifically British teens. The setting of Ethan walking home is very 'British Urban' and this will attract a young British audience who live in this society.


 This screen shot shows the girl wearing heavy make up and large gold hoop earrings, which promotes the 'chavy' stereotype, which attracts the primary audience.
         

This screenshot below showing Jake/Ethan on the floor, will make the audience feel sympathy for the child, which will attract our secondary audience of parents, as they will relate as they will think of how they put their own children into the same environment (school) everyday where they are not In control of what goes on.

Evaluation task 4: Who would be the audience for your media product?

As you can see from the answers from the different age ranges, it is clear that the audience for our thriller is not a definite demographic. The 40+ age range seemed to want to watch due to the fact that they would find it interesting as a parent, whilst younger age groups explained they would either find it not interesting as it is depressing, whilst others seemed to be interested by it. Therefore I feel that our product may have an audience of many age groups.

Evaluation task 3: What kind of media institution would distribute your product and why?

The distribution process of a film is one of the most important aspects of post-production. It is basically getting the film out there to be seen by audiences. There are many different media institutions who all distribute on different sized scales. Large studios like Universal and Warner Bros. tend to produce blockbusters which are distributed worldwide, whilst small independent film companies such as Warp Films in the UK or Warner Independent Pictures in the US tend to produce low budget independent films which are distributed mainly just nationally rather than internationally.
There are also film companies such as Vertigo Films (UK) and New Line Cinema (US) which tend to produce films that they intend for national audiences but they do produce films every so often which achieve international/commercial success, such as Street Dance for Vertigo and Rush Hour for New Line Cinema.

Our thriller 'Food Chain' is basically a low budget, independent British film, which would probably, in the real world, be distributed by a company such as Warp Films, as these are typically the type of films they tend to produce, and it would be an Independent British film intended for a British Audience. This is probably the most realistic scenario in which our thriller would be distributed if it was a real film in the real world.

However, our plot basically involves the story of a young boy who is unsupported at home and who is bullied at school, which is actually a pretty basic storyline, the only thing that makes it British is the location we have set it in and the cast etc. So our thriller could actually be quite easily translated into an American Independent film about a boy who is bullied at school and unsupported at home, if we were just to change the setting and transport the story to a place like Compton in California or Harlem/The Bronx in New York. If this were the scenario, 'Food Chain' could then be distributed by a US Independent film distribution company such as New Line Cinema or perhaps Warner Independent Films as this is typically what they would probably be looking to produce in the sense that it is a low budget film with a simple yet intense storyline.

A powerhouse film company such as Warner Bros. or Paramount, would however never give our film a chance, as they aim to produce high concept films which will generate a large revenue, which is simply not achievable with the low concept project that 'Food chain' would be if it were a real project.

There would be a chance that a company like Vertigo Films could take a chance on a low concept British film however, as they did this with Gareth Edward's 'Monsters' which was a low budget film that went on to achieve commercial success. The same could be said for a US company like Lionsgate, as they took a similar chance on the film 'Precious' which included a cast that wasn't known, and had a very similar plot to ours involving a young girl unsupported at home, who is bullied.

In the world that we live, with such an advanced level of technology and social networking, it would also be a possibility for a film company like Vertigo or New Line Cinema to take a project like Food Chain, and use the power of social networking as a second hand distributer. What I am reffering to is platforms like Netflix, Xbox Live or iTunes. Vertigo have done this before with the project 'Monsters' which they distributed through Xbox Live where they assumed they would find a demographic that would enjoy the project. I think that Vertigo could take a similar course of action for our project in the distribution of it, which would help it achieve more success than it would should it be released in a few low key local cinemas.

Furthermore, if our thriller was American,  a US company like Warner Independent films could easily use a platform like Netflix in a similar way to distribute the film. Another way could even include Netflix just distributing it by themselves. Although Netflix are not actually a Media Institution/Film production company, they have done this before with the TV Series 'Orange is the new Black' which has achieved a considerable amount of success and exposure. I could definitely see this happening with Food Chain.

In conclusion, the most realistic institution which would most likely take our project on board, would probably be Warp films, as they obviously have a history for making films that are similar to ours in terms of them being Low concept etc. So a company like Warp films is the kind of media institution which would most likely distribute our film. However, there are still the alternatives that I have mentioned previously that I would definitely consider Feasable alternatives with regards to the distribution of our film, if it were a real life project. It is also safe to say that a company like Warner Bros., Paramount, or Universal would not take a chance on such a low concept film.

Evaluation task 2 -how does your media product represent particular social groups?

Our thriller is set in an urban environment. The characters in it are members of different social groups within that urban society. Film and media will often exaggerate the characteristics of these characters to promote a certain stereotype that each character represents.

In the case of our thriller, we cast Jake Pratt as the role of the school boy who is bullied. He is a white male of age around 17, dressed in an unattractive school uniform, which could indicate hat he perhaps comes from a privileged background, however in our story, he comes from a working class background. To show this we included segments like the text message from his dad, and also the setting that he walks home in. We chose particularly gritty looking urban scenes to further promote the idea that he comes from a working class background as he is not being driven home etc. The character that Jake is portraying is therefore a white male teenager from a working class family in a city.

When choosing the costume for Elina's character of the female bully, we decided on an adidas hoody and large gold hoop earrings along with her school uniform. The fact that she is wearing these extra items of clothing that are considered 'chavy' on top of her school uniform suggests that she attends a state school, as in a private school there would be much stricter dressing regulations. This shows her as a white teenage girl from a working class background who comes from an intimidating social group of bullies.

As for the other two actors, Jonnie and Owen, they played the other two bullies who we also dressed in school uniform with Nike trainers and a flatcap, also jackets instead of blazers. This also shows them of as chavy individuals from working class backgrounds as they are part of this intimidating social group of intimidating bullies.

In conclusion, I think that our thriller is a great example to show the representation of particular social groups as we have such great exaggerated characters that really show off their stereotyes.

Evaluation task 1:In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Evaluation task 1 from hurtwoodhousemedia5