Main Task Video- Last Laugh

Audience Feedback

When we showed the film to a selection of our target audience the main criticism was the lack of continuous non-diegetic music throughout. Although we started off using contrapuntal music at the start we didn’t carry this on and our selection said that it might have been more effective if we had. We asked four people (2 boys and 2 girls) to give our film marks out of ten. The response from both genders was very positive although we noticed the boys had a tendency to mark it a little bit higher at 9/10 each. The girls gave it a 7 and an 8. The boys said they enjoyed the humour and cultural references to video games like Fifa. The girls said that although it was funny they thought the references to computer games made it focus more on the lads audience. Both genders liked the intertextual reference to Scream.

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

I have learnt many things since starting the preliminary task to finishing it. We found out that a horror/ comedy film would be perfect for our film as Leslie is naturally funny and we knew he could play a good role as the killer clown. I have also learnt the different camera techniques and editing techniques play a big role in the world of film. I have learnt the effect music can have on a scene and the suspense it can create. I have realised that sound can play a really big part when making a film as it sets the mood of the entire film and shows the viewer what film they are watching. I have also learnt that match on action is extremely important to a clip but is also very effective as it adds a sense of reality to the audience and allows for continuity within the scene.

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

I have learnt a lot from when I first started filming to when I finished. I have learnt about the lighting within our scenes and how to control it when recording our footage. I have also learnt how to use different camera angles and different shots when dealing with shots with a fault in the lighting. I have learnt many things on editing as I have had to edit sound and different transitions into my film. I have also learnt how to add credits and when and where to add cuts to the film. In using Pinnacle 12 I have learnt many things about editing for example different types of contrapuntal sound can be used to create comic effect and make for a humorous tone. I have also learnt how to add music which can set the mood of the film. For example (see pic below) we used a very bold red font which looks cheerful and when edited together with the contrapuntal music will amuse the audience when and where to add cuts to the film to make it faster paced and more interesting.

Evaluation: How did you attract your audience?

We attracted our audience by using a parody of the Scream franchise. This attracted the audience because we cross-referenced the scream killer and the clown killer. This is very rare in movie clips so the audience would have found it interesting and quite funny to watch. The comedy within the clip also drawn the audiences attention because the killer clown asks the Male protagonist for a game of ‘Fifa 10’. The clown kills the protagonist because he loses at a game of Fifa 10, so the audience will find this funny and some can relate to losing at Fifa 10. We have also made numerous references to other films like IT, Scream and Star Wars that we think our target audience would appreciate. We would attract a wide British audience as the typical terraced house is present within the film which some viewers can relate to. We have tried to keep the humour fairly broad and slapstick so as not to alienate the women in the audience. I believe that we did this through the range of weapons the antognist looks at which are mostly domestic and subvert typical horror iconography.

Evaluation: Who would be your target audience?

The target audience for my media product is Male teenagers and Male adults. This is because the male teenagers can relate to the humour of the killer clown playing Fifa 10. Male adults would also relate to the Clip as Male adults will know the Scream franchise as many teenagers wouldn’t be old enough to watch the film. We are trying to attract all audiences including ethnic minorities. We have aimed for a niche audience of British horror/comedy fans that would be more mainstream than normal horror fans. We have targeted an audience between the ages of 15-25 as this is the age range that would most likely appreciate our level of humour and cultural refernces. Unlike a horror film our film also appeals to women as it is a comedy also, females, stereotypically do not usually watch horror films as they cannot relate but because of the comedy they are able to relate to the characters. To do this we included a girl at the start of our film as a nod to our target audience. Both gender’s can relate to the intertextual humour in Scream as this is something Scary Movie has previously done.

Evaluation: What kind of media organisation might distribute your media product and why?

I believe that Vertigo films would be a perfect company to distribute our media product. This is because it is a low budget film and Vertigo can distribute it to cinemas quickly. Vertigo have had experience with horrors and comedy films so this company would be ideal. Vertigo also uses multi platform technology when distributing their films. They use websites such as MySpace to distribute their films across the world. Vertigo films are known for producing low budget horror comedy films which is why Vertigo films would be an ideal company to help us distibute our film. Vertigo films have been known for using websites like Myspace to distribute their films.