Are we meeting the conventions of our genre?

Because we have chosen I hybrid, it's hard to tell but we are definitely meeting the conventions of Horror and Thriller films separately. We are currently challenging titling conventions where in both genres, they are usually simple white-on-black, and have little experimentation. However, challenging this and incorporating the titles into our storyline rather than making them a separate element, I think is a very good effect and adds to the disturbing storyline. We're using black and white which is hardly ever used in Horror films for effect but often in Thrillers, which we liked and decided to use. It works really effectively in emphasising reminiscence. Also, we use a female protagonist, an archetype of the Horror genre. I believe that this even mix of challenging and meeting conventions has meant that we have an original product that is not just copying other products but creating something unique that is still in-keeping with its genre.

Are we meeting the expectations for our target audience?

We were always going to aim the product at late teens and early twenties, i think by using actors that are around this age, and having the storyline in keeping with the day to day lives of this age group adds to its appeal. I think that a lot of our concepts, and our chosen hybrid genre, is very attractive to young movie buffs, especially on the theme of stalkers which is a point of such interest, and one of concern, for young people. I believe that we have targeted our audience well and know how to attract them to our product.

How our ideas developed

Our ideas changed very quickly from the initial 'archetypal horror' and to a more sophisticated plan. We did all agree on something though, that we did want to make it a horror film. We liked the idea of combining this with the Thriller genre which would allow us to experiment with styles and challenge conventions which we all liked the idea of, we saw the opening to the film 'Se7en', which really inspired us as it was really unique and unlike anything I had ever seen before. We liked the idea of close up camera shots of mise-en-scene not giving anything away. This gave us an idea, we needed a theme and when hearing that we could film in our college's photographic dark room, thought we'd make the most of it. This is where our ideas stemmed from and why our product is going the way it is.

Our Pitch

We want to create a unique film: a hybrid of the Thriller and Horror genres. An individual concept which sees a man, stalk (or 'tag') a young girl, and through the medium of photography, catalogue images of her until eventually, he captures her. The film should create a mysterious atmosphere, and use a mixture of images shots to create a feeling of distortion and confusion. There should be a series of shots in a dark room using red lighting to reinforce this, showing he is developing pictures of the girl and this is clearly a draw out process. When the man follows the girl, the image should freeze as if a picture was taken with a camera shutter sound. The film should also be filmed in mainly black and white and using point-of-view shots to signify reminiscence. There should be a chase sequence, cut into the opening, seen on several different occasions, which is from the point of view of the young girl, the film should end with a long sharp screen from the victim and the screen should go black at which point 'TAGGED' appears on screen. The music should be traditional piano, violin and occasionally drums at moments of excitement. These elements should create a very mysterious and confusing feel which would encompass our hybrid genre well.

Group Roles

On our first day of filming, we began by cutting out newspapers and magazines. We did this together. Next, we made our way to the dark room which is the location we had all decided on filming in. When there, we looked at lighting together and agreed that to recreate the dark room feeling, we would film under red lighting. Then we set to creating a mise-en-scene sceneario, I took the role of sourcing photography related objects to put use in these shots with the help of Alex and Letitia, I then placed the items in a random order. We cut the names of the cast out from newspapers and immersed these randomly within the mise-en-scene. Letitia then consulted Alex and I about what camera angles should be used. We came to a mutual desisicon that the camera should pan the mise-en-scene, stopping briefly over the names. Alex filmed this while I directed him as to which way to pan the camera.


I believe that we have all taken very equal role and thought this was important, especially as this was our first Media project, I wanted to learn as much as possible about the Technologies we were using, and taking an equal role in each aspect of the production really promoted this. 
I have in this project:

• Filmed 
• Directed
• Used a tripod
• Used a runner
• Uploaded footage
• Edited footage in depth
• Given ideas for script and subject matter
• Came up with the film's title
• Initially taken part in acting
• The arrangment of mise-en-scene
• Sourcing a soundtrack
• Helping to compose our own soundtrack