Evaluation Activity 7-Will Smith

Progression from preliminary task to final product

In our preliminary task we used match on action. Our actor (Matty Folkes) is filmed walking up to the door with a medium shot, we then cut to a close up of him opening the door and then back to a medium shot of him walking through the door. This is an example of match on action, giving our shot a sense of continuity.

Since learning the basics of shot reverse shot, match on action and the rule of 180° we have now since tried to incorporate these in our final product where appropriate. Match on action is a continuity shot which is similar to shot reverse shot but unlike shot reverse shot is not used during conversations, it is infact used when portraying the actions of a character. Shot reverse shot is used in many films during conversations between characters to show facial expressions and dialogue. The 180° rule is a guideline meaning filming must take place within an 180 degree angle, which is maintained during conversation. We used the 180 degree angle during the beginning shot of our opening scene as our characters walk into the woods. We didn't find any convenient scenes in our introduction to include shot reverse shot and match on action. 

In our final product we used a variety of shot types, particularly medium and long shots. We also used the point of view shot twice in the opening scene. This proves our group have learnt different filming techniques since our preliminary tasks.

Evaluation Activity 4-Will Smith

Who would be the audience for your media product?

The main audience for our media product will be teenagers and young adults who are thrill-seekers. There will not be too much blood and gore, which increases our range of viewers meaning squeamish horror fans will happily view our film. We are not targeting a specific gender for our horror which opens up our options for viewers. We will try and target audiences through YouTube advertisements on    YouTube videos about other horror movies.

Evaluation Activity 1-Will Smith

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

Here we are walking into the location for where much of our horror movie is filmed.There are three casually dressed teenagers strolling into the woods, which is the main setting for the introductory part of our film. We take shots of us walking into the woods from the front and then from behind. The characters are introduced obviously as being friends as they are seen chatting and laughing, enjoying each others company.






At the start of the film we used simple font and colouring for the titles to keep the viewers attention on the film. We get a better view of the teenagers height and clothes, giving a hint of their age.







This type of shot is typical to a horror movie set in the woods. It is showing that the teenagers are walking further and further into the heart of the woods, away from help.

The camerawork in this shot is a POV shot of the killer, creeping around in the woods watching the teenagers. This character is introduced without anyone knowing what he looks like or who he is, leaving mystery with him. This is typical of a horror opening leaving suspense with the viewers not knowing who the antagonist is.

In this scene the friends are all discussing about football. This is a subtle way of showing the three are just normal boy teenagers who love football and who commonly socialise with each other.

This shot is a key part of our film. The actors excuse for leaving is that he needs the toilet. This needs to be done so we can separate the teenagers from each other leaving them vulnerable to danger. It isn't unusual in horror films for a character to somehow find themselves alone and separate from friends.

The character is tapped on the back and suspects nothing of it-thinking it's just a friend. When he turns around we see an attempted expression of shock. This shows the audience the murderer is about to attack. We black out the ending of the opening scene leaving a cliffhanger to what happened to the unsuspecting teenager.

Evaluation Activity 6-Will Smith

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

Evaluation Activity 5-Will Smith

How did you attract/address your audience?

Evaluation Activity 2-Will Smith

How does your media product represent particular social groups?





The protagonist Will is murdered  just like Paul Allen for the Christian Bale film American psycho. They are both victims in a murder. They both have scared and confused expressions on their faces. 

Both are males in between the age regions of 15-30 and are well dressed. Will is wearing a smart parka coat while Christian Bale is wearing a shirt and tie. Both have a scared expression on their face.

Evaluation Activity 3-Will Smith

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









Our production company is mainly Graveside Productions. We chose this new film company as they were British and brought in positive input on how to improve the film.
Lionsgate have produced notable horror films. Lionsgate target the same audiences we are looking for in our film. Films like American Psycho, The Saw Films and The Cabin in the Woods are all movies we have taken inspiration from to the create the Woods By The Lake. Lionsgate have a strong budget and are notorious within the horror film community. Lionsgate can therefore distribute our film using their various links and using their budget. We are looking for a similar expenditure as what The Cabin in the Woods were allowed. We will be looking to double our budget to make roughly at least $60 million in box office which we think is a reasonable aim with Lionsgate being our distributors.

The Woods By The Lake Full Opening-Will Smith