Question 2 Evaluation Task

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

My thriller opening sequence can be directed to a very specific social group, which is of a lower social status.

Basically the story revolves around a woman who happens to be a contract killer who kills unfaithful husbands after being contracted by the cheated wife. It is stereotypically correct to say that this eliminates the higher class of the equation seeing that generally these higher class social groups have less domestic problems since they live a wealthy, relaxing life. Thus, making it possible for the middle and lower class social groups to relate to the story as to why she is going around killing men.

In terms of mise-en-scene we used props such as a camera, a walkie talkie, a brown envelope and two decent cars. Non of which are very expensive material, except for the cars which still aren't the best cars out there. The spy is not using any expensive gadgets and extremely impressive spy material. This tells the audience already he is a low budget spy, not one of the big names in the spying industry. Next, in terms of costume, no one was wearing expensive looking clothes, maybe for the exception of the killer who was wearing high leather boots. The was the killer was dressed kind of suggested that she is a respected killer in the industry. However, the spy was wearing the contrary, the was wearing very simple clothes, including a leather jacket, some regular black gloves, a regular head wear. And the wife who was dressed up very casually, just as an individual imagines a middle-class housewife, reenforcing the fact that the thriller is directed to a middle to low social class. As in for lighting, we used only natural lighting, this was to portray the fact that the killer was being spied and did not have any idea about it.

Camera work wise, we kept changing between the spy's point of view and to the actual scene. At one point we did give the killer a low angle as she was walking out of the car And the freeze frame portraying the fact that the spy took a picture of her was also of a low angle to her face. These low angle shots on the killer not only makes her more intimidating, but also since her clothing already suggests that she is likely to be professional and is part of a slightly higher social group, it also helps the audience realize the fat that she has more money. Therefore making the opening sequence slightly more directed to a higher social group as well.






Sound wise, the use of the dietetic sound of the camera clicking as the spy took a picture also gives the audience a sense of an unprofessional agent. Due to the fact that he is running the risk of being heard by the killer and the wife due to this click sound. This also suggests that the camera he is using is not very good, therefore directing a bit more to the lower social class who cannot afford high level equipment. The non-diegetic background soundtrack is not directed to a specific social group, since it is simply there to fulfill the conventions of the genre, attracting all kinds of audience and grabbing there attention towards the intensive sequence they are watching. At one point also, the walkie talkie starts losing connection and it becomes harder to hear what the wife and killer are saying, this suggests to the audience that the walkie talkie might be a cheap piece of equipment, again connoting that the spy is it very professional, therefore not of a high social class.

in terms of editing we used a slightly different form of acting at one point. Which contradicts the conventions of a thriller, however it does help build tension in my opinion. There is a bit in the sequence where we used fast paced editing, which is a convention of an action film. This may be able to attract a more varied range of audiences (including a wider range of social groups as well) since there is a tiny taste of action there, but still being able to hold that suspense of a thriller.