EVALUATION Q2 by Maria Beardall

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Our Media product doesn't have many representations based on the fact that there is only one character seen in the whole opening, yet can represent major factors such as gender, age, regional identity and ability etc. The two main factors we focused on as a group however were gender and age as they were to be made obvious for important reasons, other than that our main character is a female, not commonly used in many protagonist main character roles and is of the target audience age.

Gender:

Mise-en-Scene is the main way we conveyed to the audience that the main character is female, as these conventions are easiest for a audience to pick up (see Propp's character types), and for the audience to identify. However her character is untypical as she is a female, yet also a protagonist; not a victim or damsel in distress, and also isn't sexualised as most other characters are in the Media industry.

We created Eliza's gender, imaged predominately through costume, hair and make up. We curled her hair to make it seem strikingly feminine and a typical hairstyle to a female character and also, in the hall scene, used very bold eye shadow which is, again, typical to what a female would wear. This was accentuated by the black and white filters which, as the visual normality of colour has been stripped from the first part of the opening, and forces the audience to notice smaller details such as her hair and make up. The visuals were also added upon by making our actress wear a white, laced dress which comes to the knee of her, seen in long shots. This reveals her skin which is usually sexualised in the film industry, yet we added it to cause confusion and also make Eliza seem more vulnerable, and also hints innocence as a white signifies the individual to be a good character. In the forest scene she is wearing jeans and a coat, very covered up for a typical female character yet is conveying the 'tomboy' female stereotype, which links with her, fittingly, being a protagonist. She does have her nails painted to however enforce the female image.

Camera and editing also contribute to giving Eliza the representation of a female character, however she is untypical. The camera work and editing work seamlessly together to produce the image of a female through deliberate close ups of Eliza's lips, eyes and chest to also add and really forces the audience to notice she is a female through the Mise-en-Scene. There is also a pan down her arm too, which would be seen traditionally to sexualise her female character, but is now to show she is vulnerable and scared through body language - her intense breathing and gripping her hands tightly. This adds to the hints that she isn't a traditional female in the industry, therefore is quite unusual in her character type (not gender, her role in the film), as she differentiates from the sexualised image of women seen a lot - she is seen as scared, yet bold and untypical as she looks around in the forest before she gets taken, and in the hall scene (possibly planning to escape) - she is a clever protagonist. These actions are all seen through mid shots and long shots. The transitions seen where the main character is introduced not only shows a dream state to the reality, but also is slow and not intimidating to show that Eliza is feminine and not a threat to anyone - she is a protagonist; which is harder to show and break away from being an untypical female, yet I believe we achieved this and conveyed this to our audience well as she is deliberately supposed to seem warm and angelic.

Sound is also used to convey that Eliza is female, predominately can be identified through the voice over which was spoken by a female. This gives major clues as the dialogue links with the actions and facial expressions, therefore hints that the off screen voice is Eliza's. It represents her as the audience can tell the voice belongs to her. The words are expressive and convey her emotions in the appropriate way which can tell the audience she has serious thoughts about what is going on and therefore is very smart and holds elements of a typical protagonist; breaking the typical traditional view of females for a positive view.

What we wanted to achieve/our intentions:

We chose to have a female for our main character as we believed it would communicate more with our demographic, and we also wanted to break the boundaries most of the media industry don't; with using a protagonist female character and not sexualisation of  her. It was a challenge we wanted to take on to communicate to the audience from her as an untypical female and in this sense draws more attention to her as it works with the thriller genre of creating suspense and sparks curiosity in the audience's mind. We wanted the audience to notice she is vulnerable yet inquisitive and intelligent, therefore morally want her to 'win'. We did use stereotypes in the sense of appearance, but didn't play on them in the way most industries do.

Age:

We wanted the age of our character to relate to our target audience, therefore kept the age of Eliza at the 17 mark, which we portrayed through Mise-en-Scene, by using hairstyles and make up in a way that is of a youthful trait, hinting she is of a similar age to the audience, permitting them to relate to her. Her nail varnish in the forest scene is also a clue to her young age as it it typically done by teens, and her nails can be seen in a close up of her taking her earphones out. This also leads on to the over the shoulder shot of her on her phone, technology most stereo typically used with teenagers, along with earphones -  these props connote she is, again, a similar age to the audience which makes the audience feel connected to her and more vulnerable and on edge as they are the same age to Eliza and make the disequilibrium more real and possible to them. Therefore, props are used heavily to convey she is youthful.

Camera and editing also portray she is a teenager through close ups to subtle hints in props, such as an OTS shot of her holding and listening to music on her phone, and also a CU shot of her when she takes her earphones out; you can see her nail varnish which connotes youth and is an activity stereo typically seen to be done by teenagers, and also shows her with more technology, her earphones. We wanted to connote her youth through technological props as it is also typically seen as teenagers who are constantly on their phones and using new gadgets. Therefore we used objects and activities related and seen as youthful through the medium of camera shots to really concentrate on her age and also exaggerate these features of her. Editing also symbolizes her age in the forest scene as the cuts show her movement is quick and expected of a teenager, therefore also add to her built up image of being a young age as she can be seen quickly looking around and actively checking her surroundings; typical to a young and aware protagonist.

Sound also adds to the portrayal that Eliza is young as the music is upbeat and correlates with the editing to show there is drama she is in the midst of, and therefore leaves assumption that she must be of a young age to be able to move quickly - unlike an older, more unable person would stereo typically would be unable to do. The off screen dialogue is also a massive hint that she is of a young age as the dialogue is spoken by someone the same age as her, therefore sets up the image that she is speaking, and immediately is presented as a teenager, or around that age, to the audience. This creates and furthers her image as a teenager to the active audience who will be of the ability to clue she is around the age of themselves.

What we wanted to achieve/our intentions:

We chose to have a teenager as the main character as we believed it would make the audience feel more personally linked to the main character, and therefore spark an interest in her as she is 'linked' and most probably in a similar situation to the audience, making the drama feel more real. We wanted this effect on the audience to make it much more intense as they feel related to her in some way due to her assumed and portrayed age, and would make a potential audience want to watch the film more and also keep people actively viewing the film. It also emphasizes the thrill and emotion felt to the audience as it feels more potential to happen to them.

Overall Opinion:
I believe that our character has been correctly presented to the audience to create a diversity in the media industry by 'branching out' and using a female protagonist, and also deliberately resonates more with the audience as they feel linked to the character as she is typical in connotation of age; therefore making the film more thrilling as it resonates with the audience on a personal level more (an effect wanted as we knew the target age we wanted from the beginning of planning this film.)

Evaluation - Question 2 - Sam McLeish

Question 2; How does your media product represent particular social groups?

In my opinion, albeit effectively, this product represents only few social groups; gender, and class and status are explored.

Gender

The theme of gender is explored as the protagonist is female. This is unusual for a thriller sequence because it is typical for men to be the lead characters in thriller films, and for Hollywood in general -  "new research by the Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film at San Diego State University that found that females comprised a paltry 12% of protagonists in the top-grossing films of 2014". As our piece doesn't comply with the stereotype of this style of film, we are representing women in a positive light because they aren't confined to their role as secondary characters; in this piece, the male stalker is the secondary character as he has extremely limited screen time. 

The VLA shot

This idea is further supported by the fact that the female character is in every shot, apart from the establishing shot of the leaf and the shot of the male character's feet. Also, the VLA shot that is used in the hall scene challenges the stereotype of female characters because it is suggested to the audience as she is the character is in power in the scene. This progressive idea then reflects women, as a social group, positively as they are equal to men in terms of holding power.

The white dress

Also, in terms of what the character is wearing in the product, this idea of female empowerment is presented because she is wearing a dress in what could be said is a scary situation. Although what she is wearing shouldn't really effect her role in the scene, it is symbolic to the audience because a dress is white. This then connotes the fact that she is the protagonist (binary opposites - good being white) and successfully establishes her powerful role in the scene.

The quick pace of editing

In addition to this, the editing also suggests that this character is the protagonist, thus representing women as a social group. For example, the very quick pace between shots, as shown in the gif to the right, presents the character in a positive light because the sequence isn't highlighting the fact that the character is female. This then shows that she is just as relevant because the action is still happening regardless. 

Finally, the soundtrack suggests that the main focus of the sequence is the female character, as shown by the fact that the diegetic off-screen narration was read by a woman. The audience assumes that the narrator is the persona of the character as she reads in the first person. This successfully represents the social group because it is shown that she is the most important role in the entire scene.

Hanna (Joe Wright, 2011)

To conclude, I feel that the above actions were put into place so that the audience is able to sympathise with the character. This works well, in terms of the storyline, as the audience will be more engaged as they hope for the character to be safe. In doing so, we challenge the stereotype that a female's role in thriller films is to be the princess that needs saving. This idea is also shared in the film 'Hanna', as it is clear in the opening sequence is that the protagonist is female and doesn't need to be saved.



Class and Status

The POV of his shoes

The POV of the female

The idea of status is explored constantly throughout our sequence. For example, in camera-work, when the POV shot from the stalker looking at his shown. it is shown to the audience as a high angle shot looking directly down. This is then effective because it suggests that he as a character is a low-life in comparison to the female, so it gets the audience to fear/hate him during the piece. However, this interpretation shift mid-sequence when there's another POV shot of him looking at the female character from behind the tree at a eye-line level. This allows for the audience to dislike the character even more as he's getting even closer to the character that they've learnt to sympathise with. Therefore, a shift of power from the female to the scene has been presented through camera-work.

The Black and White

The natural colouring 

Status is also explored through mise en scene, specifically colour. For example, the black and white of the first scene suggests to the audience that the female character is either vulnerable or scared. This is then used to further add to the sympathy that the audience feels for the character. This is then contrasted to the second part of the sequence in which the frames are coloured naturally. As a result, it is suggested that the character now feels no fear, which is supported by the idea that her body language is confident when she walks. Due to these actions, the sequence shows the audience that the character develops the higher status in reverse from the above, which in doing so creates enigma for the audience as this chaos works well in a thriller sequence. 

The slow motion as she closes her eyes

In terms of editing, status is explored through the slow motion of the sequence. As shown here, the idea of status is presented because it allows for the audience to focus on the character in the extra few seconds and realise that she is the protagonist. This then helps, in terms of the narrative because it allows the audience to successfully explore the relationship between the two characters. In doing so, the audience then assumes that the female character holds the status within the scene as she is the one who is nearly always the focus of the shots and the male character isn't really presented to the audience until the last minute. 

The titling

Finally, status is also explored through soundtrack. For example, the echoing off-screen, diegetic dialogue of the narrator saying 'Eliza' is effective because the audience assumes that they are referring to the female character. This happens after the visuals have finished and the sequence is on the titling, which allows the audience to sink in what has just happened. This then further continues the idea that the female character holds the status within the scene as the audience only focuses on her and are then shocked as to what happened in the final moments of the sequence.

Enigma is created in Total Recall
because it suggested that it was a dream

Overall, I feel that our sequence creates lots of enigma on when it comes to class and status. On one hand, it is suggested that the male character holds the power as he causes the female to feel fear and at some moments she appears vulnerable. However, there are other moments when it is suggested that the female holds the power because she is shown more often and her body language suggests that she feels no fear at certain moments. I feel that we don't need to decide on which she feels more because they are both relevant interpretations; it may confuse the audience but this enigma is useful because it will keep them engaged throughout the film, trying to work out which is more likely. This is something that is usually used in the industry because the opening sequence to 'Total Recall' (Len Wiseman, 2012) also it abrupt and confusing, meaning that the audience wants to follow the film further. Therefore, I am happy that our sequence develops two separate ideas of class and status.

Evaluation:Question 2-Jess Smith

Question 2: How does your media product represent particular social groups? 

Throughout our thriller opening we did represent different gender's, age and regional identity. However nothing shown in the opening could lead viewers to make assumptions about ethnicity, sexuality, disability/ability or class and status. All factors are represented through camera use, editing, mise-en-scene and sound.

Gender:  
During the hall scene, Eliza is wearing glitter eyeshadow makeup, which is highlighted by the lighting, which is only worn by females (figures 1&2), therefore it's clear from the begining that the protagonists is a female, especially as she's positioned in the centre of the frame at all times. There are many ECU and CU on her face and eyes throughout the opening.

Figure 1

Figure 2

She is also wearing a femine, white dress, positioned in the cenre of the frame, attracting viewers attention (figures 3&4).

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 6

The woods scene also displays her gender as she's wearing a female, cross over black coat and girls shirt (figure 5).

Figure 5

She is also wearing a lot of liquid eye-liner (figure 6), which is usally worn by females. 

I also curled the characters hair before filming the hall scene, whereas she had straight hair for the woods scene, creating a clear difference between settings. This is easy to do for females, whereas male's wouldn't have two different hairstyles. 

It is also clear that the antagonist (stalker is male) becasue of the male shoes and black baggy trousers worn (figure 6). The antagonists hand is also shown at the end when it catches Eliza and he has clear nails, which conforms to him being male as if it was a female they would probably have painted nails (figure 7).

Figure 6

Figure 7

Regional Identity:Our opening also gave a bit of an incite into the regional identity of the character becasue the the cloudy, white sky (figure 1) in the wooded, country side area suggests it's in the UK, but it doesn't get anymore developed than that. 

Figure 1

There is also a medium shot of the antagonists feet in the cruncky, wintery leaves (figure 2), something that happens in cold temperatures.

Figure 2

Age: We chose to use a female character for our protagonists becasue one of our group members friend was happy to be the role, by it is stereotypical to use a female victim and a male antagonists, but it wasn't delibirate. Therefore we went for a more traditional, less modern style. But it works well becasue the protagonists icould be seen as at a vulderable age for females (16), so we wanted to represent her in this way, with headphones in so shes cut off from the world and she thinks she is alone throughout the whole opening.  This all conformed to the thriller genre.

Our soundtrack used apeals to our target audience (taken from our audience feedback) which is around 12-18 year olds as it fits what that age group enjoy when watching thrillers as it's a range of tempo's. The vocieover is done by someone aged 17, therefore in our target audiecne range, which will make it easier for viewers to relate to it, along with the 16 year old actors too.