AS Media Opening

CREATIVE CRITICAL REFLECTION

MARIAM IMRAN

Q1. How does your product use or challenge conventions and how does it represent social groups and issues?

• Media language is the way Media text is represented to the audience. It is based upon an individual’s thought process and perspective regarding some matter.
• An example is the New Media, where information is exchanged through texts, images and videos just a click away for complete access of news worldwide. Adults, teenagers and even children use these interactive media sites to remain updated.
• A convention is a widely accepted concept of a particular matter and codes are a system of signs that create meaning, which is divided into two categories, technical and symbolic. Conventions and codes combine together to specify the genre of a film. Technical elements consist of Camera, Editing style, Mise-en-scene and sound. Symbolic elements consist of the denotation, the literal meaning of something and connotation, the hidden meaning of something.

• Our film is a representation of Gender and Age.

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• The genre is horror and psychological thriller, hence the title we chose is “Devoured”, not too cliché yet fits the genre well. The film begins with the establishing shot of the an apartment building, a typical way to develop the connection of the subject with the location. It introduces the audience to a teenage boy walking towards his apartment with a very suspenseful score in the background, building tension.

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• We used slightly blue color grading to build that melancholic feeling we aimed for. Moreover, his costume was decided after careful consideration of the age group we desired to represent, teenage , keeping the current young audience we targeted in mind, we thought a young male student might be more intriguing to them. We also challenged the Theory of Hegemonic Masculinity by showing the male protagonist as the victim of some supernatural force, him scared and vulnerable in the face of it. But

it follows the stereotype of teenagers being at risk and shaken from the experience.

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• We used low camera angles and close up shots of his face to lay emphasis on his growing unsettlement, a conventional way to connote the subject as weaker. Also, the use of light flicker to initiate the horror is of a very typical type but widely accepted as something tense and nerve wracking,

hence we collectively decided to make use of it.

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• As he enters the apartment, where the real paranormal activity occurs, we use a crab shot to connote

someone unknown peeking through the door, combined with a camera shake and slightly red color

grading, depicting danger, hence developing tension among the audience. The initial slow paced

editing shows how the situation is still under control, however still plays a key role in arising stress in the

viewers as well.

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• Added to this, we show the protagonist taking a sigh of relaxation and slowly dozing off afterwards where the camera zooms in, creating an effect of anticipation. Shortly afterwards, the television turns on itself and contrapuntal music begins. The song we chose for the following scenes was, “Tiptoe” by Tiny Tim which was initially released as something romantic but it changed into something widely known to be disturbing after its used in the in the film, “Insidious.”

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• Furthermore, the ambient sounds of his footsteps, the keys rattling and the flicker of lights

plays a key role to bring realism and establish a verisimilitude environment in our film. The

incidental sound on self-played dark music and the entrance of the antagonist (the shadow like

figure) brings the extent of anxiousness in the viewers.

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• I’d like to add that we also made the supernatural entity as something human-like, which breaks the stereotype of the paranormal being always coming about as a mystical creature of some sort. We thought that something humanlike might bring the tense feeling we desired the audience to sense when it enters the frame.

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• The juxtaposition of camera frame from the victim to the culprit connotes the difference of their standing in the scene, the supernatural force as something dominating and powerful while the

protagonist as weak and in danger. Moreover, we didn’t reveal the face of the antagonist

throughout the film to maintain the element of mystery and curiosity among the audience. Followed

by the continuity editing for a smooth flow.

• Last but not least, I’d like to discuss the ending. Our film has an open ending which had the aim

to leave the viewers in utter anticipation and long for them to know what will happen later.

Additionally, the title fades in, contradicting the overall outlook of the film followed by a sound bridge

of, “Tiptoe” for a suspenseful conclusion.

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Q2. How does your product engage with the audiences and how would it be�distributed as real media text?

• Considering the genre of the film as already mentioned, psychological thriller and horror, our target audience is the young generation or youth if said in more generalized terms.
• However, the genre does not allow children or individuals under 13 to watch the film due to ample use of jumpscares and demonic sounds. Psychological thriller also consists of violence and graphical imagery which might be disturbing for minors and might cause long-term psychological harm. Adults may also enjoy if it is the genre that lures them to watch a film.
• Our film might successfully draw the viewers in due to its intriguing narrative and tells how dark the world really is even with its fictional origin. Viewers would like the thrill, imagine themselves in such situations and give a thought to the decisions they would likely make. Youth might be more inclined to it as danger mostly exhilarates them.

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• If this Media Project was a complete film, Digital Marketing would be the major way to advertise the film. Digital marketing is the component of marketing that uses the internet and online based digital technologies such as desktop computers, mobile phones and other digital media and platforms to promote products and services.

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• We would make official open social media accounts which every individual can follow and design digital flyers to promote it on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter etc. Major Internet platforms allow immense amounts of audience tailoring. This way the audience would stay tuned to updates regarding the film. Also, following the old-fashioned yet traditional ways by using posters, newspapers and flyers.

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• We would also create official websites for the film, accessible to all WEB 2.0 users. This way they could get information regarding the platforms where the film is available online for those who can’t watch it in cinemas or elsewhere. Also, short teasers and trailers would be made available on YouTube, Dailymotion as well as the websites through the official channels of the marketing team. We can get our team members interviewed on television, radio, or a prominent podcast, which can reach massive audiences.

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• Hiring one advertising agency with its quirky ways to market can be another best choice for our low-budget film. Added to this, we would create blogs to write news about the film along with facts about the production that might intrigue individuals. Despite the rapid technological development, Radio channels can still be considered an alternative way to advertise the film. Radio jargons and jingle are effective ways to grab audience attention and make a long-lasting impact. Also the local television channels can distribute our film by playing the teasers and trailers during commercial breaks which can be successful in attracting audience of all ages, however age restriction would be specified.

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• We would use the fan base of an existing film or TV show. Our film would appeal to fans of another horror film, therefore we would reach out to that film’s audience. Social media platforms are great for this. We would join the conversations on Twitter, use hashtags on Instagram, and join Facebook groups related to those films.

• We would hold talks with other filmmakers. Try to develop a close relationship with them and if they are generous with their time, ask them to watch our movie and give us any feedback. And if the filmmaker has their own production company, they may even be interested in investing in our film.

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Q3. How did your production skills develop throughout this project?

• Media has become and will remain a major part of our lives. The constant learning of its concepts was evident being part of this technologically developing environment. However, pre production research was a significant part in originating the idea of this media text. Media studies broadened my horizons and positively altered my perspectives about the forms of media I consume everyday and amazed me in regards with the amount of effort it requires in pre-production, production and distribution of films. How the elements of Camera, Mise-en-scene, Editing and Sound work together to build such a great impact on its audience.
• After the film genre was decided with careful consideration of our expertise, me and my teammate divided the roles, I being a literature student initially had the experience of script writing hence was designated with the role of the screenwriter.
• As the screenwriter I had to keep the location in mind and used the components of that location for the mise-en-scene. The low-budget didn’t allow us to be flexible with the cinematography but it intrigues me how these limitations made me learn how to work with the resources available and triggered innovative possibilities within those restrictions.

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• Our actor was chosen after careful auditioning of the candidates, we decided to cast Fahad Opel thorough inspection of the expressions and his manner of non-verbal communication we desired to add in our film. Auditioning was a foreign experience and made me realize the importance of portrayal in films and the amount of its impact on the audience. As far as location scouting is concerned, we decided to shoot in a local apartment building and negotiated with its residents. We agreed on the timings till we wanted the location vacated while taking the comfort of the residents into consideration.

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• As the makeup artist and costume designer, I had to design a costume of a young male student, hence there were minimum props required. Both of these roles were essential in making me learn the concept of a verisimilitude environment and maintaining continuity between cuts in our film.

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• I acquired most of my knowledge in the production process, being the assistant director, I had to understand the importance of body language, gestures and facial expressions to manage parts of the creative aspects of film. All of these factors control the film’s dramatic and artistic aspects. Moreover I learnt to take care of the well-being of the actor and developed patience if things didn’t go as planned.

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• The biggest issue was the sound perspective. We had to continually monitor the sound

playing in the background because recording it separately would have been bound to

bring complications with proximity. Constant retakes were evident just to maintain

continuity of sound. One human error could deteriorate the realism of our film, hence

this continuous supervising sharpened my outlook while filming.

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• The editing was the most challenging part, the editing software kept crashing due to some

unidentified issues. After thoroughly looking for the possible issues we came to know that the

complication was the video resolution which was the cause of constant lags while I tried

to make alterations. Instead of a reshoot, we opted to convert the videos from 4k to 1080p

resolution, which was fairly compatible on the device I was editing on.

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• Also to avoid any future concerns, I downloaded an older version of my editing software,

Adobe Premier Pro 2021. Just the use of a professional editing software was challenge and a

foreign experience. It helped me as a student to look through the perspective of a pro-editor

and the difficulties the would likely tackle.

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• After the production process was done our product was given professional feedback which

gave the idea of the strengths and positive areas of the film. On the contrary, mistakes were

highlighted as well to further modify it for the better. I learnt how to make use of unwanted

shots as a filler and alter it through the use of various transitions and effects.

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Q4.How did you integrate technologies, software, hardware and online, in this project?

• Production of any media requires the involvement of all types technologies which consists of software, hardware and online resources.

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• Our equipment was quite portable, it consisted of a camera, tripod and a microphone to record sounds. My device being DESKTOP-ETI126H with the processor Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-6200U CPU and the installed RAM of 16.0 GB, wasn’t the best for this project but still worked efficiently throughout the pre-production process. The editing software was Adobe Premier Pro 2021 initially but had to be re-installed with an older version of the software, Adobe Premier Pro 2017, to avoid lags and a smooth run of the app on the laptop. I thought of using other software like the Flimora but Adobe Premier had the vast amount of options required for professional editing we aimed for. Also all the elements required for a realistic ambience were extracted from WEB 2.0 through the websites available online and most conveniently YouTube.

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• We took inspirations of the horror genre films available on platforms like Netflix and Disney+ etc. Also some short horror films available on YouTube e.g. The Smiling Man and The Ballerina

• As for the shooting equipment, we had to use Nikon D5000 but due to some unfortunate

circumstances developed in our team, we couldn’t make use of it so we had to go with

smartphone camera instead. Redmi Note 10 Pro with 64-megapixel primary camera and

16-megapixel front camera and iPhone XS Max with 12-megapixel primary camera.

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• Tripod was used to maintain stability in shots but if there was further modification required,

we did through the warp stabilizer available on Premier Pro.

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• For sounds we used a microphone to record it separately or took sounds from the websites like

Zapsplat and YouTube for synchronous or ambient sounds. Me and my teammate had constant

contact through resources such Whatsapp, Messenger etc to discuss different aspects

required in the product and for equal input for each of us in this group project.

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• Moreover, New Media played a major part in advertising of our film. We uploaded it on my

personal YouTube channel, shared it through platforms like Whatsapp, Instagram and Twitter etc.

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• We added the titles through the fonts available on Adobe Premier. Also, the color saturation,

the transitions and effects were pre-installed along with the software hence, were used without

extra work and were easily applied on the areas where necessary.

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