Question 6

Question 5

Question 5 (Connor Snell): How did you attract/address your audience?

The target audience for 'Gone' is both men and women aged 15-45.

Our film genre falls into thriller/horror and is based around the idea of children going missing because of a sinister stimulus. A common theme in modern horrors is the idea of children going missing as this is one of the main things parents fear in society. Therefore we chose to base our horror on this as most adults can relate to this narrative. Below are modern examples of posters with missing children on them.

From looking at results about who watch horror films such as Insidious and The Woman in Black (males and females between the ages 15 and 40) I can conclude that our film will engage a wide audience as nearly all groups of people like watching horrors.

Another reason why people will watch our film is because horrors give a buzz to the audience in the form of a jump scare. Many people are fond of this and seek this feeling of true fear and creepiness. Also, missing people is a big problem that we have in modern society because it's the notion of not knowing where someone is or what could have happened to them. 

The disjointed narrative structure of our horror film appeals to the audience as it offers an alternative to stereo typically horror plots. This is shown in our opening sequence in the form of a flash back/forward.

The screenshot above shows the lack of events which are taken place in chronological order which is usually what is shown in a horror movie. This is because before we got to 1:52 we are shown a flash forward of what happens in the film. This would attract the audience to watch our film as this would show a new angle of showing a horror film.

This screenshot represents the creepiness of our film. The fact that the character in the image is unidentifiable as you cannot see their face or any other features leaves lots of enigma which people would want to find out more about.

Examples of our audience from feedback

As a section of question 5 I wanted to talk about the feedback that we received about our film 'Gone'. As a result of this, I decided to create a survey monkey and let people watch our opening sequence and then answer questions which we wanted to find out the answers to.

The results of the questions can be shown in the pie charts below and I deem these not only to be good feedback, but another thing that I can learn from.

The main ages of the respondents were 17/18.

Was the genre easy to identify? 80% of respondents said yes.

A vast majority of people thought that it was easy to identify our film genre which was what we were aiming for so we have achieved this for ourselves.

Did the films show good conventions for the genre? 70% of respondents said yes.

Nearly three-quarters of respondents thought our film used good conventions. This is what makes a good horror film so I'm glad we have fulfilled what we have set out to do.

Would you watch the full-length feature film? 60% of respondents said yes.

Just over half of people said that they would watch our full-length feature film but this is understandable as horror films are not for everyone.

Did you get confused at any point? 60% of respondents said yes.

Just over half of people also said that they were confused at some point when watching our opening sequence but this is also understandable because most films are confusing at the start.

Question 4

Question 4 (Connor Snell): Who would be the audience for your media product?

Age:

The age of our audience which we were aiming for was decided straight away because this would be the most important thing to think about when we filmed our scenes and how the film was displayed to the public. We decided from a very early point that we would make the audience from the age of 15 to around 45. The film certificate for ‘Gone’ is a 15 due to the horror and gore content. We knew through knowledge that anyone below the ages of 15 or above the ages of 45 would not be suitable to watch our opening sequence, let alone the full-length feature film. This is because some scenes would be disturbing and potentially unsettling.

Age links into the narrative and style of ‘Gone’ because some parts of our film would not be appropriate to watch by young children or the elderly. These sorts of scenes would include jump-scares, blood scenes and offensive language. Horror films do not appeal to these age groups because they respond much more sensitively to everything.

Gender:

The gender of our audience was also important to us because we didn't want our film to be sexually dominated. We also knew from knowledge that a large proportion of people that view horror  films are stereo typically ‘couples’. This is why, even though there were  not any females in the opening sequence which we probably should have done but it was hard as we were a group of 3 boys, we were confident that both genders would watch and enjoy our film.

Gender links into the narrative because in the opening sequence we have only included characters which were boys. This may have warned of females if the film genre had not have been horror but because of the certain genre, the main group that would see our thriller/horror would be 'couples'.

Films with similar target audiences

All three of the below horror films have young children as the main character, just like 'Gone'.

The Omen (1976) is an old film and had a core audience of males and females aged 16-40

Insidious (2010) is a modern horror that has a core audience of males and females aged 15-30

Orphan (2009) is another modern horror that also has a core audience of males and females aged 15-35

Question 3

Question 3 (Jack Beeson): What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

Production Company

We created 2 companies to distribute our film which are "White Box" and "Silver Lining", the two production films we created specialise in low budget films. The other production company we are using if Film 4 which is a already created production company. We have chosen Film 4 for one of our production companies as they are responsible for supporting many films that are created in the UK just like "Gone".

Distributor

When researching what potential distribution company to use to distribute our film there were many implications which would make us decide. Such as what company usually distributes our genre of film or what target audience the distributor usually aims their films at. For our film we were looking at the horror/thriller genre and our target audience will be mainly in between the 15-30 age group. The main goal was to find a distributor which would market our film successfully.

Momentum pictures for "Gone" from beesonjack


Marketing for 'Gone'

With the current trends and the current technology we can use technology to our advantage when we market "Gone". The audience we are aiming our film at which is 15-30, this age group will be a very good group to be able to advertise towards. This group widely evolve their lives around social networking. Using social networking websites such as Twitter and Facebook will help us reach out to our target audience and advertise to them specifically. 
We will also be able to add videos on to youtube which is also very popular with our target audience. On here we could upload trailers, footage from behind the scenes or bloopers etc...

We will also be placing "Gone" posters on different sites to promote and advertise our film. These posters will be placed in appropriate places tailored for our audience.

Our main portrait poster that will be used.

Our poster on a bus stop.

Our poster in a cinema.

The showing of 'Gone'

Cinema

The first screenings of gone will be shown at the cinema. The film will be a certificate 15 and will be shown across UK and Ireland cinemas such as Odeon and Empire etc...

DVD and Online

After the film has been shown in cinema's for numerous weeks the film will then be released on DVD. We are hoping it will also do very well on this platform and will be sold over years to come not just in the first month when it is released. We will also sell the film to be shown online streaming sites such as Netflix and Love film. When it comes to this stage we must take great precaution when it comes to piracy as this may effect us cost wise.

Question 2

Question 2 (Jack Beeson): How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Question 1

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

Analysis -

Insidious Opening Title

The title of the film which is ''Gone'' is to create enigma for the film similar to what Insidious has done, we used this title as we feel it is simple and very relatable to the film itself.  We wanted to create a mysterious title which would make the audience think about why we used it.  In the shot we ended on, we watch the boy disappear which relates back to the title as he is literally ''Gone''.

This is the house of the set, which is challenging the park which we used.

The setting and location for ''Gone'' is mostly filmed in a park at night, we used this location as it was quiet and also very compact so we were able to show a lot in such a small area, we tried to keep this horror arguably similar to Evil Dead so that we can create a similar setting however much more mysterious you can see this in the bottom right shot as shows the park, we tried to challenge the real media product by using high key lighting.

For the character in the film we used props and a costume, the main props were the article of the missing boy as well as the makeup we needed to use on the boys face to make him look muddy and dirty.  You can see this in use in the top left shot as there is a close up of the characters face with the dirty look.  This similar prop is used specifically in Evil Dead with the main character also looking dirty and muddy through out the film.

The Camera Work and editing in the close up with the boy, with the light shot flashing on him on and off as well as the ghosting effect in the editing is challenged in our inspiration film Insidious, we tried to sync the audio to the ghosting effect in editing to make it unique and clean.  We feel that using the lighting effect develops several lighting effects in Insidious specifically in the opening titles.

The titles font we used is Coolvetica which looks rather casual for a horror film, we tried to challenge the real media product being our inspiration Insidious which uses some old fashion style font however we feel that our font worked well with the editing and camera work in the film even though it was white and looked fairly casual compared to the genre, and if you look at the stereotypical horror film the font which is used is normally quite old style or fancy.

The story for ''Gone'' is rather typical for a horror film, the opening which sets the film up is fairly understandable.  Obviously the opening should only reveal only little of the actual film however we tried to create a enigma from the opening to set a tension, as you can see in the bottom left shot we filmed the end of the opening in a dark corridor as the boy slowly walks towards the camera not revealing his face, this is to keep the audience unknown and continue the enigma.

The genre for our film is Horror and we compared our opening to the real media product which is Insidious, both genres are horror however our opening is set to create enigma and not so much straight into horror which is challenged to Insidious which is typically known for jump scares as well as low key lighting which is a similar to ours.  The best example of the same use of lighting is in the middle top shot with the character and the yellow light behind him.

In the opening of our film we have one main character which is James, we introduced him with the news reporter saying that the boy is missing and we then show different shots of the boy in low key lighting to make it look late at night you can see this in the top left shot as you see the main character close up, this is challenging the real media product from Insidious as in the opening we do not really get to see the main character too much so we tried to develop the idea of creating enigma with the audience.

In our opening we were limited to special effects, the main effects came from editing with effects such as 'ghosting' on the close up of the main character as well as the increased lighting in some shots.  Obviously we were not able to spend too much on the film since it is a media project however we were able to apply ourselves using the Adobe Premier editing tools as well as common lighting effects when filming.  We tried to challenge Insidious by using different effects which created more of a subtle enigma rather than straight up horror.

Titles List for ''Gone''

The following list are all of the titles in order that feature in our opening sequence:

• A Production by Silver Lining - 2 seconds

• A Production by White Box Studios - 3 seconds

• A White Box Film - 3 seconds

• James Brookes - 4 seconds

• Connor Snell - 2 seconds

• Tom Wise - 3 seconds

• Casting by Jack Beeson - 4 seconds

• Co producer Connor Snell - 2 seconds

• Music by Marco Beltrami - 5 seconds

• Gone - 3 seconds

• Edited by Tom Wise - 4 seconds

• Production designer Jack Beeson - 3 seconds

• Director of Photography Jack Beeson - 2 seconds

• Executive Producers White Box - 2 seconds

• Produced by Big Talk Pictures - 2 seconds

 • Screenplay by Jack Beeson - 2 seconds

Poster Inspiration ''Gone''

These 2 horror movies (Uninvited and Mama) were both popular but also very well made films that are seen as great templates for sinister horrors.

This poster is similar to ours as the character in the poster is unidentified. This leaves mysterious and creepy enigma that we want as it will attract the audience. I also like how the colours are black and white because it gives a scary feel to the film and we also had this with our film poster.

This film poster is also another inspiration because it has an unidentified figure as the main feature. In our poster we wanted an unidentified character as it leaves a lot of questions and this is a common convention for horror.

Film Certificate

For our film ''Gone'' we needed to think about the type of Certificate of our film taking into consideration each aspect of the film which includes the plot and the enigma behind it, obviously the amount of horror was taking into consideration and we best think that considering our target audience is aged 15-35 we feel that the certificate should be a solid 15.

Sound & Reporter Choice in ''Gone''

Missing boy voice over 

This is the news article that I used to voice over "Gone" to give it a surreal effect. I feel like this was one of the main factors which established our film. Cutting the voice over being done at the right points was vital to make sure it sounds like we are talking about the missing boy in "Gone".

Representation in ''Gone''

''Gone Poster''

Here is the original poster that I created using Photoshop I took an original screenshot of the film and made it into 3 different parts, I added the text to it ''Gone'' then finished it up with different effects.  I then placed it into different places such as in the Cinema and also on different bus stop advertisements below you can see that as well as the original poster which I made:

Here is the original poster above.

Here is the poster on the side of a bus shelter.

Here is the poster in a cinema advertisement.

Here is the poster on another bus shelter.

Final for ''Gone''

Here is our final for ''Gone''

This took a lot longer to edit than the first draft since we had to make changes which will be in another post.  The whole time it took to edit ''Gone'' was around 2-3 weeks in total.  

Feedback for Gone first draft

Feedback for Gone first Draft

This is the feedback for our Gone first draft. Overall we received a mix average feedback with the average score being 44 which is the equivalent to a B. Below I have chosen different feedback scores showing high to lower marks. We will take all of our feedback into consideration when creating the final draft of our film.

 In the first feedback sheet I have chosen we received 50 this was one of our higher marks received. On this sheet the genre was identified as very evident and the music featured and the news article which was talked over the different parts of the film was also very good. 

In the second feedback sheet we received 49 this was one of our just above average marks. The music was also very popular again as was the news voice over also. They also recommend that we place our title of the film into a different piece of the opening sequence.

Our final feedback sheet that I have chosen was one of our lower marks that we received. They commented saying we established the story well but some shots were to dark which we will need to improve.

Institution

Film4 is a British digital television channel available in the United Kingdom, owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation, that screens films. It offers films in standard definition free of charge. To access the high definition version of the channel, viewers must have a paid subscription with Virgin Media or Sky. The channel is also available in the Republic of Ireland on UPC Ireland, Sky Ireland and eVision and in Switzerland on UPC Cablecom and Swisscom.  We decided to use Film 4 for ours because we know that they are a well-known production and they will be able to distribute ours well.

This is the film 4 classic picture / logo which will be featuring in our opening to ''Gone''

First Draft for ''Gone''

Here is the first draft for Gone, we were rather short on time towards the end so I had to put most of the clips together with minimal editing.  So in the final I need to make sure that all the shots are perfect.  We will get a mark of the first draft and improvements which we will need to make so that the final can be up to standards and how we want it.

I uploaded the first draft to YouTube in rather low quality since I was short on time, however the final will be in higher quality.

Risk Assessment for ''Gone''

Here is the Risk Assessment when filming for Gone, we needed to rate the risk out of 10 which we have down above.  We also needed to explain  the control measures in which we take to make sure that this is safe,

Shooting Schedule For ''Gone''

Here is our shooting schedule, we stuck to this and completed the filming by Friday.  We mostly filmed at Shennans Park as well as the school to get the best shots, mainly shooting after school when it was fairly dark.

Audience Research ''Gone''

Audience research

Who are you targeting? 

Primarily we are targeting people aged between 15 to around 30, since this is a horror we need to make sure that it is able to be suitable for our target audience and the certificate is a 15 therefore we need to make it very suitable.

Who is most likely to see our film? 

I think that people who are enjoying horror films will want to see this film since it is very similar to some horror films such as Insidious and Sinister therefore it would be quite a similar audience.

Who is your primary and secondary audience? 

Primary audience: People who enjoy horror films

Secondary audience: People who like adrenaline films

Props Research for ''Gone''

Here are the props which we planned on using for Gone

The missing boy poster - This is so that the audience can easily gather some information from the opening sequence, since this will give them knowledge of the opening without us telling them what is happening

Hoodie - To disguise the character easily and make him seem mysterious and unseen

Forrest / Trees - This is more of the scene however we need to use a tree so that the character can fade behind the tree in the opening scene.

Strobe Effect - To create the jump of the boys face

Fonts for ''Gone'' Research

Today I researched which font we will try to use when editing in the titles for ''Gone''.  I think this is a suitable title since it conveys a sinister look behind it.  When editing I will look at different styles of this font by trying bold or italic etc to get the best combination

''Gone'' Storyboard

Here is the Storyboard for ''Gone''.  This was filmed by me and the narrator was Connor we have below the script which he used.  This contains all the shots which we plan on using and hopefully it will be similar.

This is our storyboard for our film ‘Gone’. We have 15 shots in total and this is the first one. The first shot will be in a creepy misty park. There will be a boy on his own who will be walking through the park with his back to the camera. It will be a long shot. The title will form from the mist which will say who the film was ‘Directed by’. This shot will last for 17 seconds. The second shot will be a close up of the side view of the little boys face as he’s walking. This shot will last for 3 seconds. The third shot will still be the boy walking but a shot from the side. It will most likely be a tracking shot and the title will also come from the mist and it will say who the film is ‘Written by’.  This shot will last for 3 seconds and is a tracking shot. The fourth shot will be another close up of the little boys face but straight on as he’s walking. This shot will last for 3 seconds and is a close up. The fifth shot will then go back to what the first shot was like, with the boy’s back to the camera and the title will come out of the mist saying ‘Produced by’. This shot will last for 5 seconds.. The sixth shot will be a flashback to 3 boys playing football. Each character will have a title above their heads which will show their actor name. They will make a couple of passes between each other and then the shot will move on. This shot will last for 5 seconds and is a 180 degree shot. The seventh shot will be of the little boy kicking the ball football and then you see him apologise to his friends and you can guess that he kicked the ball too far. This shot will last for 5 seconds and is a close up. There will be a title saying ‘Director of photography’. The eighth shot will be of the ball going down the hill and there will be a title saying ‘Production designer’. This shot will last for 5 seconds and is a side shot. The ninth shot will be of the boy running down the hill after the ball and there will be a title saying ‘Edited by’. This shot will last for 5 seconds and is a tracking shot. The tenth shot will be of the boy at the bottom of the hill, looking around for the ball. He cannot see it and he turns around and runs and you can see that he’s scared. There will be a title which will say ‘Cast. This shot will last for 20 seconds and is a close up to tracking. The eleventh shot will be over the shoulders of the other two boys and you see them start to walk towards the hill. There will be a title saying ‘Casting by’. This shot last for 4 seconds and is a long shot. The twelfth shot will be of the boys walking towards the camera going down the hill. This shot will last for 6 seconds and is a side shot. There will be a title saying ‘Costume designer’. The thirteenth shot will be of the 2 boys looking around for the little boy. They do not find him. You then see a shock on their faces. This shot will last for 10 seconds and is a side shot. There will be a title saying ‘Music by’. The fourteenth shot will be of the 2 boys running down the pathway. During this shot, there will be music and tension building up and then there will be a sudden stop. This shot will last for 15 seconds and is a close up. The fifteenth shot will go back to the first shot of the boy walking through the park. There will be a title saying ‘Gone’ in the fog and then the boy will fade into nothing. This shot will last for 10 seconds and is a side shot.