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

1. Title of the Film - We chose the title for our film based on the fact that the majority of the film would be based in a school. We thought that mentioning a school in the title would entice people into watching the film because people relate the location of a school because everyone has been there. The familiar setting may encourage people to see the film. Using the word nightmare tells the audience the genre of the film because of the connotations of nightmare. It tells people that its going to be scary.

2. Setting & Location - The setting for our film was crucial, we wanted a place that looked like it was on the edge of a built up area such as a town but was quiet enough so an unnoticeable murder could occure. The place we filmed at was a quiet location with a few buildings in the background. The trees around added to the effect mystery in the scenes. Overall, the setting and location added to climatic introduction and built up suspense with the film.

3. Costumes & Props - Costumes of the teenagers were not important although we made Jon (the person who was run over) where a white t-shirt so when once he was hit, the blood was very visable and clear. The driver, we made wear a suit to look like he was a teacher, this was important to show that the scenes fitted in with the rest of the story. With props, we made the teenager, Jon have an iPod for a reason that he needed to distracted when crossing the road so he didn't hear the car approaching. We made the driver look at his phone while he was driving also so he didn't see Jon. All the props and costumes were used to make the story make sense and be compelling as a horror film.

4. Camerawork & Editing - We wanted the title sequence to be smooth and but seem mysterious. During the editing process, we made all the scenes look darker to make it look more creepier and scarier. We also did crucial editing to Jon once he was in ghost form to make it look like he was disapearing, this one was done as a camera trick. The effect makes the film defiantly confirm its identity as a horror film.

5. Title Font & Style - The font for our title sequence is serious plain font. We used 'Times New Roman' in white because it shows how the film is serious with what its showing. The white text makes it stand out and contrasts the black and white grainy scenes their showing on. The main title for film 'A Schools Nightmare' has different font because we wanted it to have a unique style which could be distinguishable from other films making it have an identity. The font for that was looks like it has blood on it showing the genre of the film just from the title and again in white to contrast the background and surroundings. In the title sequence the main title is shown on a plain black background making it clearly stand out. The fonts and style helped to show the theme of the film and to give the audience an idea of what to expect by 'teasing' them if the title shot was used in trailers and other promotion material.

6. Story & How the Opening Sets It Up - Our story was typical for a horror film, the whole film would contain blood, gore, and would be based on a physiological story. The story would also involve ghosts, a typical feature of a horror film. Using all these aspects in our story would entice people to see the film as they would what to expect slightly. You can't have a film too different as it would be a big gamble if people would like it plus critics too would like it. Our opening sets up well for the main storyline. We needed an initial trigger to teacher being haunted by a ghost so we came up with the idea of him accidentally running over one of his pupils, this over time would make him go 'mad'. The opening climaxing up to the opening scene where everything calms down but from then, the characters within the film and the audience watching would know this isn't the end of things to come.

7. Genre & How the Opening Suggests This - The opening to our film fits nicely with the horror genre because of the conventions we used. The whole opening uses a dark effect to make the shots look gloomy plus the lack of colour anywhere adds to this also. The shots of Jon standing in the road after he had been run over clearly shows something spooky and mysterious has happened defining the genre of the film.

8. How Characters Are Introduced -  The 4 teenagers are first seen together walking along a path then splitting up, from what you can tell from their talking, they look like best friends. They all say bye to Jon and he walks off in a different direction. We can now tell Jon is going somewhere different to other teenagers creating a sense of mystery. The driver isn't shown fully until after the title sequence. This is to draw the audience in. He is portrayed as evil as he never seen happy plus the shots he is in are especially dark.

9. Special Effects - We used two special effects significantly during our two minute extract to help convey a horror film. The use of making the whole film darker was done by using a special effect in Final Cut Studio X and the fading out of Jon at the end. Both were used to make the film more spooky and creepy.