AS Level Media Evaluation - Question 4 FINAL

Evaluation

EvaluationJake WisemanWho would be the audience for your media product?

Silencer is a crime thriller that we have aimed at the teenage and young adult audience for both the male and female gender. Our thriller has elements within it that would appeal to both genders and therefore we feel out media product isnt aimed at either gender more than the other.

Our film would be classified and certified with a 12 rating. This means our film would be suitable for people over the age of 12 years old only. We made this decision based on other films with similar age ratings and also the conventions of certified 12 films already on the film market.

Comparing our film to others of the same genre made it easier to decide which age rating our film suited most. We looked at the levels of violence, amount of strong language and also the frequency and intensity of the implications of sex and nudity. Having looked at these aspects we found a few closely linked films that featured similar levels of the above things as our film and then used these films to aid us in our decision into which rating and classifications our film should have.

Certificate 12 thriller film conventionsTheme Mature themes are acceptable, but their treatment must be suitable for young teenagersOur film contains themes such as; Murder, Rape and hidden identity however, any scenes that include the representation or mentioning of these themes will be brief. Our film touches on some sensitive issues such as loosing a loved one which is why we have gone for a 12 rather than PG. In comparison to other films, the levels of violence and strong language are very low and therefore our film is suitable to be a certified 12 crime thriller.

Language The use of strong language (eg. F***) must be infrequent. Racist language used as abuse is also a concernOur film would pass as a 12 certified film in terms of language because there is no use of strong or racist language throughout our opening sequence and there would be very few, if any, uses of swearing throughout the film itself. This means our media product is suitable for this age group which is good as it allows our target audience to widen.

Nudity Nudity is allowed, but it must be brief and discreet if here is any suggestion of sexOur film is highly unlikely to contain any nudity at all. The only possible inclusion of nudity would be if we include shots referring to the rape of the detectives wife. However, these scenes would be 1 or 2 seconds long and the image would be blurred or distorted in some way so that it was not prolonged and did not show strong violence, rape or nudity. I also strongly doubt there will be any scenes involving sex in our entire thriller and neither will there be any scenes that include suggestions of sex.

Certificate 12 thriller film conventions continuedImitable Techniques Dangerous behaviour (such as hanging and suicide) may be included in 12A and 12 certified films but details must not be dwelled upon. Anti-social behaviour should not be endorsedOur film does not show any scenes including anti-sociable behaviour or dangerous activities. There will also be no references to suicide. We feel that these sorts of behaviour arent suitable for a 12 certified film and therefore we have chosen not to include any scenes which show or suggest it.

Violence Violence must not dwell on injuries or blood. Sexual violence may only be implied or briefly and discreetly indicatedOur thriller does contain violence with the crime scenes and shootings. Although, in our opening sequence we used the cut to black technique when the gunshot sounds. The audience still know the person was shot but the black screen means no injury or blood is dwelled upon. Also, sexual violence is mentioned in our film because the detectives wife died giving birth to the product of rape. However, we would not show any detailed shots including sexual violence and although it may be mentioned, these scenes would be very short and discreet.

Comparisons with other films certified at 12

Now You See MeElements of our film are similar to those in the crime thriller Now You See Me. In the Louis Leterrier film a pair of detectives take charge to try and stop a bunch of criminals. This is something that links it with Silencer because in our thriller we will include a lot of scenes involving detectives hunting down criminals in order to get answers. This film also links to our own because it uses fast cuts and lots of different camera angles to create tension and build pace in chase scenes. The film is a 12 certified film(the same as ours would be) because there are scenes that include threat and violence. This film is also similar to ours because it features a detective whos true identity is not shown from the beginning of the film.

King KongAlthough the characters and plot of this thriller and our own arent similar, the two films do share some things in common. Both of them use music to build tension and both include characters which act differently to what the audience may expect. Both our film and Peter Jacksons are 12 certified films. I would say that this is because both of the media products include moderate violence and frightening scenes depending on what sort of threats the detectives made in our film. Interestingly, neither film includes strong language however, many would agree that strong feelings and emotions of the characters are shown through the use of acting, camera angles and the soundtrack in certain parts.

Comparisons with other films certified at 12 continued

Angels & DemonsDespite the fact this film is a mystery thriller and ours is a crime thriller, the two do have many things in common. Both feature a pair of people trying to solve a mystery to a case lead by crime. As well as this, both films involve a sequence of murders which signifies something big to the audience. The two thrillers are both certified 12 films because of the moderate violence. Angels & Demons contains horror in the scenes with the dead body having its eyes eaten by mice and the close up of the burning body, however, it is still certified a 12 which suggests that we could also include some more graphic scenes in our film if we needed to.

The Bourne UltimatumThis 3rd film in the 4 film Bourne series has some similar features to our film Silencer. For example, it features a male protagonist who is looking for answers; a lot of chase scenes ;and involves detective corporations, which all link it closely to our crime thriller. Furthermore, the 12 certified film features some moderate violence which is very similar to the levels of violence shown in our film. We feel as though the 2 films are similar in context and their themes both seem appropriate for a 12 year old viewer.