CCR - Question 2

How does your product engage with audiences and how would it be distributed as a real media text? 

For this CCR question, I had one of my peers (Male, 17) watch our film twice. I told him to watch it twice to ensure he had a solid understanding of the film. I asked him a series of questions afterwards. I am the interviewer labeled below and the "audience member" is my peer. 

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Interviewer: What were your initial thoughts of our film?

Audience member: It was super intense. The chess game and the fear shown by the other characters  solidified the intensity. I liked when the characters ran away towards the end.

Shot of characters running away

Interviewer: What was your overall impression of the story? 

Audience member: The film delayed my expectations because of the suspense throughout the film. I didn't expect the closing reveal, but I also didn't know what to expect. 

Interviewer: What do you think the film is trying to say about mental illness? 

Audience member: The people watching the girl playing chess may think she is possessed, which explains why they are scared of her. The girl playing chess may have a serious mental illness though. So, the film brings up the question whether the fear from the characters (the bystanders) is justified or not. 

Interviewer: Which shot stood out to you most and why? 

Audience member: I liked the shot that was over the chess board, where the characters are moving the pieces. It helped emphasize that the game was actually happening and added to the reveal at the end. 

Overhead shot of chess board

Interviewer: Can you identify any symbolic elements in the film that support the genre (thriller)? 

Audience member: The most obvious symbolic element is the dramatic music. The editing also made it look tinted, which kind of resembles the dark lighting you see in thrillers. 

Interviewer: If we were to distribute this film as a real media text, what platform do you think it would be most successful on? 

Audience member: TikTok, because nowadays everyone is on TikTok and when they scroll they are likely to watch more videos than on any other platform.

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Final thoughts: I agree with my peer on what platform this film would be most successful on. YouTube is another platform it could find success on, but the downside is that it is hard to discover new videos/creators on YouTube. On the other hand, TikTok has a prime focus on discovering new content  and it is more accessible.