HOW DOES YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT REPRESENT

PARTICULAR SOCIAL GROUPS?

FEMALE GENDERAfter doing some research about the codes and conventions of the thriller genre, we found that the victims in films similar to ours were female. Once we had decided on our storyline, there was no question that the character playing our victim had to be female. Sophia’s character is the same age as the majority of our target market so it will be easy for the audience to relate to her and her feelings.

Our film represented females as fearful.

A close up shot was used on our female character when she was looking out of the window into the distance. The character looks lost and slightly helpless. This was a good choice of shot to use because the audience can clearly see all of the characters facial expressions, which helps the viewer understand the narrative.

We used a lot of jump cuts when editing when we were shooting our female character because it reflected the beat of her heart when she was scared.

We used props to try to make it obvious that the female character in this film is the victim. “Sophia” is carrying items such as a school bag and a bottle of water, which shows she is young and innocent compared to the character playing the murderer who has a bloody towel and a weapon in his bag.

MALE GENDERWhen we did research on the codes and conventionsof thrillers we found that males, more commonly thanfemales, are the antagonists or villains. Because of our storyline, we didn’t want ourcharacter to come off as intimidating to the audience,but instead we wanted the character to berepresented as psychotic and unpredictable. From the very beginning of the film it is obvious thatthe character is a murderer because of the propssuch as the bloody towel. The character calmly getsrid of the evidence by washing the towel in the sink.Because the character isn’t panicking about anextremely dramatic situation, it shows that he isdelusional. At one point in the film, there is a close up over the shouldershot of the male character looking out of the windowlistening to music through headphones. The fact that he isdoing this whilst being on his way to commit a murder shows that thecharacter is a bit disturbing. This was a good shot to use because thewhite headphones are centre of the frame, making it obvious to thereader that he is listening to music.The clothing that the male character is wearing shows the hugecontrast between the two very different male and female characters.The male character is wearing all black clothing because the colourblack has connotations of mysteriousness. The dark clothes make theaudience question what he is doing with a girl who looks so innocent.

AGEThe young female character is being represented as naïve and maybe slightly irresponsible in this film. Sophia’s character is wearing normal everyday clothes that a girl her age would typically wear to school. Her character comes across as ingenuous because of how child-like she looks in her clothes compared to the male character.

The older male character is considerably taller and has a much bigger frame compared to the younger female character. We made sure that this character had the most screen time to ensure that it was obvious to the audience that he was the most dominating. This character also uses dangerous props such as a garden tool (or weapon) and a bloody towel, which compared to the female characters school bag showed he was more experienced.

Older male with weapon

Younger female wearing casual clothing

Young female with school bag

RACEIn the our film the black male is straight away represented as immoral. In the first scenes of the film, the black male has props that suggest he is a murderer. The character is also silent and has a calm manor about him when he should be in a state of panic considering the situation that hes in. This, along with the fact that he has obviously murdered someone shows that he is unconscionable.

The white female in this film is represented as vulnerable or weak. We used close up shots to show her facial expressions and in some of the scenes she looks lost and confused. There is also a scene where the white female character is about to get on the train. Here we used an over the shoulder shot to show the fast train going past and the busy platform. This was a good shot to use because the character looks very small in a crowded and hectic environment. This made the character come across as feeble or at risk.

RACEIn the our film the black male is straight away represented as immoral. In the first scenes of the film, the black male has props that suggest he is a murderer. The character is also silent and has a calm manor about him when he should be in a state of panic considering the situation that hes in. This, along with the fact that he has obviously murdered someone shows that he is unconscionable.

The white female in this film is represented as vulnerable or weak. We used close up shots to show her facial expressions and in some of the scenes she looks lost and confused. There is also a scene where the white female character is about to get on the train. Here we used an over the shoulder shot to show the fast train going past and the busy platform. This was a good shot to use because the character looks very small in a crowded and hectic environment. This made the character come across as feeble or at risk.