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

Since the preliminary task I think I have learnt new skills along with developing the skills I already had. At the beginning I learned the basic techniques on how to function a camera properly and such rules as match on action and the 180 degree rule. These helped me at first complete the preliminary task. During the preliminary task we did not think in much detail about the composition of the frame. The lighting, location and overall feel to each shot created an unrealistic scene that was very hard to follow. Although we used a tripod during this task our lack of practice and understanding at the time made the shots look tilted and not still while we wanted then straight and still. The finished preliminary task also didn't flow as we hoped as our choice of shots was not thought through carefully.

Looking back at the at the preliminary task we understood where we went wrong and improvements that could be made when we created our final product. These helped me create a successful final product that followed the rules and use them throughout to make it more effective and helped it look realistic and easy to understand and follow. For example we practiced using not only a tripod but a Fig Rig as well which allowed us to keep steady and successful shots throughout. In a preliminary task we successfully used the match on action rule when Rayleigh throws a piece of paper into the bin. Even though the actual shots when put together flowed the background sound was slightly different and our choice of shots were not well composed. We used this rule to help us many times in our final product. An example of this is in the first scene of our film when the main character picks up a small box, opens it and looks inside. This was made up of a number of different clips including one from behind him, a mid-shot in front and an over the shoulder shot of when he is looking inside the box. At first this was tricky to film but as we got used to it we were able to get these 3 shots perfectly composed within the frame and when put together they flowed successfully.

I have also learnt many technical skills like Live Type which I had never used before. My skills in iMovie also improved along with camera skills. I also learnt a more theory side of creating a film. This involved understanding the different conventions to certain genres and the industry of film making. I learnt to use a range of camera angles and movement to help set the tone and atmosphere of the film and allow the audience to understand the events that are happening.

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

Throughout constructing this product I have learnt about many different technologies.While filming the opening sequence we had to work with new cameras that we hadn't used before which I learnt how to use effectively. With the new camera we also used a steadicam for the opening shot.Before we begun I had basic iMovie skills but as out project developed so did my skills. When we first uploaded our footage onto the Macs it was in the wrong format and would not import in to our iMovie project. I learnt how to change the format so it would work. Other skills I learnt using iMovie was changing the speed of transitions and how to import sounds. We imported selected and imported sounds from freesound.org. As this site did not have a sounds we wanted for the second half of our opening we worked on Garage Band which I had not been on before and I learnt how to use it.

I also learnt how to use LiveType. This allowed us to create suitable credits for our product and to apply them in the correct places. I had never used this programme before so at first it took a while to understand but in the end I learnt how to use it well and successfully to make our product look professional. Our first couple of attempts did not go as planned as when we applied them on to our film they went to fast. After peer and teacher feedback we decided to change the speed, position and font of some of the credits which improved it a lot. To combine both the film and the credits together to create our product we used final cut. Like LiveType it was my first time using the programme so I had to get used to at first but after a short amount of time I got the hang of it and combined the two effectively.

Other technologies we used were social networking sites like Facebook and YouTube. As the picture below show we got a positive feedback from our friends on Facebook. They also commented on the video to tell us what we could improve in addition to the things that they think went well.

As we posted our product to YouTube we received some helpful comments on it helping us by giving us ideas on how to improve. Below shows their comments. As it is shown below the overall reception to our product was that the sound -both diegetic and non-diegetic- was sync correctly as well as being a good choice by working effectively. On Facebook people also commented on how successful the soundtrack we used was with one person saying 'The music which you have used creates a large amount of tension and also fits in well with the genre' and another saying 'the sound gave it a lot of dark atmosphere and tension'.

How did you attract/address your audience?

To attract our audience of 15-20 year olds the actor who plays the main protagonist was around these ages. This attracts a younger audience of 15-20 as they can relate to or aspire to be like him. We also decided to show the character getting dressed into a suit which suggests he is going to work. Many people of this age will just be starting to get a job and be able to understand more of what the character is like by picturing themselves. Our product will also attract an older audience as they may want to be younger again like the main character and be able to picture themselves young like the actor. It will also attract a male audience as the main character to films similar to our own is usually a young girl which we challenged by having a boy instead. This may also attract a female audience as they might not always want to watch attractive girls being attacked but instead a male instead.

Setting the beginning of our film in a forest to show a dream-like state will allow the audience to no the genre of the film. This will attract an audience that like this genre and watch it regularly.

Our peer feedback was overall very positive. Many people said that we used a wide variety of shots and camera angles that worked well within our film. They said the shots were well composed and the variety of props, costumes and lights were effective within the frame and appropriate to our chosen group. The main thing people said to change was the music in the second half of the sequence. They said the first half had a good soundtrack and other sound effects however the second half ruined it. The views on this was that it was too fast and sounded too happy. Due to these comments we decided to find a new soundtrack. Instead of making it on Garage Band like we did before we found a suitable track on freesound.org. Before we imported it onto iMovie we asked people if it worked well and with a positive reception for that we imported it.

Who would be the audience for your media product?

The audience for my media product would be mainly for 15-20 year olds. This is because the main character shown is around them ages so they would be able to relate to him and become more engrossed as they would be able to picture themselves in the events that occurs. It is targeted at older teenagers as it may be slightly confusing for a younger person and and older teenagers may enjoy trying to figure out what is happening and what will happen to the main character as the film develops. The certification of the film would be a 15. We posted our product on our social networking site Facebook and we received an over all positive review. These people ranged from ages 17 upwards which is close to our target audience.

We posted our product on our social networking site Facebook and we received an over all positive review. This people ranged from ages 17 upwards which is our target audience.

What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

A potential media institution for distributing my media product would be Vertigo Films. This is likely to distribute our film as it is a low budget, British company which is perfect for our low budget, British film. Vertigo Films is also a good choice as it has produced many films similar to our own plot and conventions. A film similar they have produced is the 2007 horror film Shrooms. Although Shrooms is a different genre to ours it follows the basic plot of dreams. In Shrooms a character suffers a seizure and then experiences a dream-like trance while having a premonition of events that have not happened yet. This is similar to our film as the beginning of the film starts with the main character having a premonition in his dream. Vertigo Films is also a good institution for our product as we have casted Whitney Able who stares in one of Vertigo Film's latest films.

A second potential media institution that could distribute our product is Working Title Films. Like Vertigo Films, Working Title is also a British based company that is based in London. This is good as they create and circulate solely British films like our own. I also think Working Title is a good choice as they have distributed films -once again- that revolve around someone’s dream. One example of this is Paperhouse. Paperhouse is a 1988 dark fantasy film based on the novel Marianne Dreams. As the name suggests it is about a young girl who has disturbing dreams and the rest of the film focuses on these dreams while visiting the places she dreams about. This is similar to our film Premonition as it also begins with the main character having a dream and dealing with it and its meaning throughout the rest of the film. Working Title also distributed the 1996 film Fargo. During the research stage of our product we studied and analysed Fargo which inspired us, gave us ideas and helped us make a good opening sequence.

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How does your media product represent particular social groups?

In the first 2 minutes of our media product the audience only sees the main character of our film. He follows stereotypes as he is young. He represents young working men which is shown through the use of his suit. To follow this representation when he wakes up he does typical 'everyday' activities like eating breakfast and getting dressed which adds to the fact that many people his age could imagine that it is them in the film and that the events that are taking place could happen to anyone.

Our product also challenges many gender stereotypes as the he is shown as confused and a victim at the beginning which is usually depicted by a women.

The beginning of our film was influenced by Alice in Wonderland. Our actor (Ryan Clark) is similar to typical connotations of Alice due to the blonde hair and wearing blue. We challenged these stereotypes by having a male lead character.

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

While planning our product we were inspired by many other real media products. As the first scene of our opening sequence was a dream and we wanted the audience to realise this as soon as possible we made the scene to be similar to Alice in Wonderland. To do this we set it it in a forest which adds to the feeling of a dream. The theme of Alice in Wonderland was also shown through the use of the colour blue which is one of the main colours in Alice in Wonderland and the

main colour Alice wears. On top of these we used props like clocks and a small present which adds to the surrealism of the film.

Another film that influenced us was Memento. It made us understand the effect of close-ups and helped us make our own close ups more effective. Our choice of casting was similar to Memento as we used a young male that looks

innocent and harmless. The credits in our film were also influenced by the ones in Memento and other films of the thriller genre as they are blue and in capital letters.

Like Memento, Dexter (an American television drama) has also influenced our use of close ups. Dexter’s opening sequence shows a montage

of the main character doing everyday activities like getting dressed, shaving and preparing breakfast. This opening sequence is meant to show the audience everything about the character in the first few minutes which we tried to put across in our own product. Our opening sequence was also influenced by Dexter as it helped us improve out ideas within our house scene. We tried to replicate the sinister feel to each close up by using similar angles, timing and movements as Dexter as well as trying to get a similar soundtrack to create a matching atmosphere. We posted our product on Facebook to get feedback and relieved comments that it reminded them of Dexter.