1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
1. Use of Filter in Editing- When a film is being edited many people like to add a filter effect. This can create a tense and sombre mood. This effect can be used in many different types of films but is mainly used in thrillers for example it is occasionally used in the Bourne films.
2. Use of Enigma- In our film to create enigma we decided to hide the identity of the Mob Manager. The second picture is the most revealing shot of him, this means it can confuse the audience as they are not sure who he is. Another shot was an extreme close up of his mouth which is similar to one used in the film Friday.
3. Restricted and unrestricted narration - Restricted is where the audience know less about the film the the actual charaters themselves, for example if a chase occurred and the characters would know why it is taking place, however the audience would not. Unrestricted narrative is where the audience know the same as or more then the cast and characters.
Thrillers mainly use a restricted viewpoint, this keeps the audiences knowledge well balanced and entertained. We used a restricted narrative to raise questions and suspicion. Not only does it then build tension for the audience, it also makes them think and ask about what is about to happen.
4. Sound and editing - Sound is a huge part of a thriller film, it can either create huge suspense or it can frighten the audience, then two main ways of creating tension are firstly, to play music over a particular part of the film, and secondly, silence. Silence can work really well if the character is hiding or trying to escape. Editing is also as important, because, the way in what camera shots and angles are used and how appropriately ordered they are. Each shot and angle can create the perfect viewing point for suspense and tension, or it can simply destroy and ruin it.
I think that our camera angles and shots have been used very wisely, we have used a very wide range of various shots, including an amount of different distances and angles. With sound, we have kept it very minimal, very little dialogue and at a few certain points, silence creates the perfect way to excite the audience.
5. Protagonist and antagonist
The definition of protagonist and antagonist in film production are, protagonist, the hero or good character and antagonist, the evil character know as the villain. A perfect example of a protagonist and antoganist is in the film Spiderman 3, Spiderman being Protagonist and the evil villain being Venom, the antoganist.
2: How does your media product represent a particular social groups?
Our final media product represents particular social groups in a constructive way. The firstly the characters are dressed rather smartly and appear to be quite formal and important. Shirts, ties, trousers are worn by the Mob leader and Stan. Our Mob leader is a very stereotypical Mob leader due to the clothes and the secrecy. the secrecy keeps the audience on the edge of their seat wondering what is about to happen.
3.What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
I think that our film would be shown as a television movie, such as ITV or the BBC, this is because the definition and cinematics don’t live up to other top films such as James Bond, Men in black or The Bourne Series. The visual and special affects are also very amateur and not as good as serious film companies for obvious reasons. However I think our film has a great story line and enough potential to fulfil the standards to be made into a film fit for viewing at a cinema screening if the challenge is taken on by a big company.
4. Who would be the audience for your media product?
We had a set target age of 16 - 25 year olds. If this film got played on BBC it would be good for it to be played at around 9 at Prime time. There is no specific target Gender for this film but it would more likely to be young males considering all the characters in the film are male.
5. How did you attract/address your audience? We attracted and addressed our audience in a number of specific ways, firstly, with usual features of editing, sound and camera work. Then moving on to how we aimed at getting the feature of a thriller, gripping and intense action.
We have used a number of different shot sizes and angle to keep the viewer entertained locked on the film, this is done by not using the same shot over and over as this would get very boring. One thing I would have suggested if we were to re-do our piece is maybe to use a few more different transitions, such as a dissolve or maybe a fade.
1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
The first shot is of an example of our titling. When we researched titles from thrillers we decided that a simple white font and a black background would suit our opening and be effective as it doesn't distract the viewer from upcoming action compared to a busy screen with a complicated image taking the main focus away.
Establishing Shot from 'Shutter Island'
The second shot I chose was an establishing shot of our opening. Many thrillers such as Shutter Island use this to set the scene of the film and put the action into context.
The third shot is a medium close-up of the character using his phone. This is a common convention of thrillers to have close-ups and medium close-ups of the props. We chose to do this because it is the link between our cross cutting to the other character in the different setting.
An example of titling in 'Se7en'
Fourthly, this shot is an example of placement of our titles. Like in 'Se7en' we chose to put it where there is an empty space.
In the fifth image, it is an example of the setting. Whilst editing I noticed the creepy branches and how it makes the shot connote a sense of danger and eery-ness.
The sixth shot is at a slight low angle, making the character look superior and have a high status. In many thrillers there binary oppositions. In this part of our extract I think we can clearly see that Alex is our antagonist and is the one in charge.
The seventh shot is an example of how we used changed the gradient. We put a filter on top of our original piece. This is to make the opening darker and appear less colourful and bright so that it channels the action happening which is mysterious and tense.
The eighth shot is a close-up of the 'mystery man's' fist. Throughout the opening we have had different shots of him, not revealing his face to create enigma and get the audience thinking. The use of enigma is common in thrillers and I think we did a good job of it!
A Close Up from 'Black Swan'
Finally, this is a use of a 2-shot.We get a good view of both characters and we can clearly see who the more powerful character is. We chose to use this so that the audience can see the relationship between them.
2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?
A typical 'mob leader' from The Godfather. He is also wearing a gold ring!
We have three male characters in our opening and I feel as if we chose this gender subconsciously. It is very common to see males as the lead in a thriller and I think that we just followed this without considering that maybe a woman could be a 'mob leader' or a female someone would kidnap a male. However I do feel we made the right choice otherwise some viewers may not take a female a seriously as they would a male (which shouldn't be the case). Two of the men in our opening are traditional middle class white males that are on the wrong side of the law. None of them aren't poor as we can tell by their costume and hair. They aren't of a lower class however the 'mob leader' would be seen to be upper class because of his materialistic possessions which create status and power. I think Alex does play a good 'mob leader' with typical props and features such as the glass of whiskey, a gold sovereign ring and the deep voice. If we had a woman for this role I don't think it would have been as effective. Alex's character would ideally look around 50 or 60 years old, someone with a history that everyone is afraid of. The other two characters are supposed to be younger so that they can run faster and fight easier! They are around their 30's or 40's and as 'Stan' is younger than the 'mob leader' he has less power because his lack of knowledge and experience. He is easy to order around and should do exactly as he is told.
3. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
I think that we would have a distribution company that would be British because our film is made in Britain and we would want to keep it like that. I would choose Granada International because they are in a partnership with ITV and as ITV is a big and popular channel in Britain I think we would get good advertisement on the channel itself. Programmes such as 'I'm a Celebrity' and 'The Only Way Is Essex' appeal to a similar age audience to our thriller.
We would advertise our film on the T.V through ITV as well as a movie trailer on other channels. The trailer would be able to be watched on the internet on big popular websites such as 'YouTube'. I think that an official movie website would be made for the audience to be able to talk about the film and exchange ideas and opinions. With the new technologies of today such as the internet and smartphones etc. it is easy to get hold of new releases and find out what the next big film is so therefore a lot of publicity and advertising would benefit our thriller.
The certificate of our film would be a 15 because of bloody scenes and violence. Also as our target audience is 16+ this would be an appropriate branding.
4. Who would be the audience for your media project?
I'm hoping that our thriller will attract anyone over the age of 15. I think it is important that we appeal to a wide audience and not just one specific gender or age. Many people like thrillers and it's not just a stereotypical middle aged man that likes a good thriller! I much prefer thrillers to a cheesy American rom-com and many of my friends do to! I don't want to aim it at (for example) specifically males ages 16-29 because we wouldn't get such a big feedback if it were. However, I do realise that there are more males out there that prefer thrillers but it is all changing so hopefully ours won't just appeal to males! 5. How did you attract/address your audience?
Camera Work
Our example of a long shot in order to see
the character relationship to one another
We used a variety of shots such as close ups then switching to a long shot. This is to keep the viewer interested instead of just using the same shot throughout. Each shot has a different meaning and point to it. For e.g. a close up is used to show purely the facial expression and emotions of the character. However a long shot is used to put the character in context and see their relationship with the setting. You would be able to see their body language with other characters.
Mise-En-Scene
I think the setting would appeal to our audience because it appears to be a fairly risky place to go and I think that our audience would find this intriguing and perhaps they have been somewhere similar.
The hair and make-up is obviously supposed to be realistic and the audience would be able to relate to this.
Editing
We used cross cutting which then speeds up until the climax of the scene. The cuts do get quicker towards this and the audience would think that it is a good opening because it makes you sit on the edge of your seat!
Feedback
17 year old girl
17 year old male
26 year old male
The feedback was generally really good and I was pleased that people enjoyed it. I'm glad it had the desired effect of making the audience tense and sit on the edge of their seat.
6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
When film our opening we had to use a lot of technology. I have to admit that I found editing harder than the actual filming. I was fairly confident before filming on how to use a video camera but I think my skills have improved for e.g. how to set the white balance confidently. We made sure we took a few takes of each shot and when it came to editing we had a lot of shots to sort out. And we made sure our framing was a lot better than our prelim! We decided to use Final Cut Pro for editing and Garageband for adding and editing sound. I found Garageband easier to use as we did it last after we had edited our movie so all we had to do was put the sound on top. However it took longer than I thought it would!We attempted to do some cross cutting in the scene where our mystery man was approaching 'Stan'. I think we did do it well and in the final product I feel that we did build suspense and make the audience sit on the edge of their seats.
7. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learned in the progression from it to the full product?
This is our first shot from our preliminary and I think that we had a good idea of not revealing the main characters face at first and to have a sense of mystery. However, as you can clearly see our framing is not good. We have irrelevant plants in the shot which may confuse the audience as they would think that it may have something to do with the scene.
However, our first shot from our final piece is good because we set the scene in a relevant environment and the character is there for a reason not just because it looks nice. We considered the framing and our establishing shot is a good idea of what a thriller would look like.
Here in our preliminary we used an editing technique that wouldn't have been appropriate for our final piece. We were trying out different ways of cutting from shot to shot but this does look poorly done because it looks unrealistic.
In our final piece here, I tried to get an example of our editing but it was too fast to capture! To make the scene more realistic we just used 'the cut' which makes the action more believable. I think we did this well compared to our prelim as it wasn't as rushed.
In this shot our white balance is completely off! In some of the other shots the white balance was good then the next shot it looked like this! This isn't good continuity editing as the audience would clearly see the difference. I think we have definitely learned more about the technology we use, especially the camera.
Our white balance was continuous throughout our final piece and even though we added a filter on the top of it, you can see clearly that the whites don't have a slight blue tone to them and that the green is is bright and true to colour.
Like in our first shot from our prelim, we wanted to keep the sense of enigma as it is a common convention of a thriller. This time we made the character seen in action instead of making it too obvious by the character just standing still and panning up. I think this is one of our most effective shots and the movement of the camera when following him makes it look all the more mysterious!
In this shot from our prelim you can barely even see the character! It is much too dark and you would have to watch it when the room is dark. We could have got some portable lights so that we could see him which would have easily been done.
Even though most of our prelim was learning curve, I think our match on action was as good as we could make it. In our final piece we used match on action when 'Stan' was on the phone which I also think we did well.
Overall our final piece looks a lot more professional and more thought out. We thought about each detail and did a lot of planning which definitely worked in our favour.
1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
(Explained from left to Right) 1. Use of Filter in Editing- Used by us to create a sombre atmosphere, this foreshadows the fate of our protagonist. This is a common feature of Thrillers; and is used heavily in 'Sin City'.
2. Use of Enigma- We delibrately decided to keep the identity of the Mob Manager a secret leaving the audience questions as to who he really is. We achieved this by using an over the shoulder medium shot that revealed no facial features. This is used well in 'The Usual Suspects', where the audience doesn't know who has just set a man on fire. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6msq8mgdnE. Like this film we have allowed the character some dialogue to intrigue the audience even more.
Shot from the 'Usual Suspect' tantalises audience by revealing some bodily features but not facial.
3. Use of Props to Symbolise Power- This is a common feature of Thrillers. We used the ring and the glass of wine to suggest the mob manager was a man of high standing and to show how relaxed he was in his environment. This was emphasised by the close ups we used in the opening.
4. Lighting- We used side lighting and low key lighting to make the Mob Manager seem corrupt. This is a very common feature of Thriller antagonists. This can be seen in the opening of 'The Departed'.
The 'shadowy' side of the character suggests corruption.
5. Low Angle- We used a low angle shot to suggest to Mob Managers authority. However, some of the protagonists shots were also low angle, to suggest his rising anger. A low angle makes the subject seem larger and more imposing, but also emphasises strong emotions and beliefs.
Example from Citizen Kane: Low Angle implies characters growing empire
6. Unrestricted Narration- The audience knows more than the protagonist in our opening. Their omniscience to the situation is likely to create a feeling of suspense. The audience is aware of the danger posed by the mystery man and waits to see what he plans to do. The tension was emphasised by the use of a parallel soundtrack that began when the audience first saw the mystery man. This is unlike some Thrillers, which shock the audience who only know part of the plot.
7. Soundtrack- We used a soundtrack which paralleled the gait of the mystery man. This made him seem purposeful and proffesional. This is unlike De ja vu (One of the Thrillers I researched) which uses contrapuntal as the bomb is about to explode.
8. Narrative- We incorporated a classic Thriller convention when introducing the 'Confrontation' to the story very early on. This disequalibrium happened when our protagonist was kidnapped. An example from a real thriller could be 'The Dark Knight', within the first couple of minutes a bank robbery has taken place.
9. Titling- Our titling inspiration came about from the TV Programme, Lost in which the titles normally play after a moment of disequalibrium allowing the audience to reflect on what they have just seen. This is done to create an eery and unsettling atmosphere before the narrative progresses.
2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?
Who is being represented by your product?
Gender- In our product there are 3 main, male characters. But, no female characters.
Age- The mystery man and Stan are around the same age (Mid 20's) whereas the Mob Manager is much older (In his 50's/60's)
How are they being represented?
Gender
Although all 3 characters are male, there are both modern and traditional representations.
The Mystery Man and Mob Manager both appear to be negative and traditional stereotypes of men. The side lighting in the Mob Manager scene makes him seem corrupt; he has two personalities. The use of the hoody for the mystery man, creates a sense of danger and threat.They both have traditional stereotypical connotations of strength and power over the others around them. The fact that they are criminals could be seen as an extreme of competitiveness and aggression.
However, we did incorporate this idea from 'The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo', in which a girlwears a hoody we just felt that a girl carrying out the kidnapping was too much of an extreme, modern stereotype.
The hoody creates a sense of danger
Whereas, Stan is a more modern representation, he appears weak, vunerable and passive in the Mob Manager's plans.
We took this idea from Inception, in which the audience is immediately emotionally engaged with the male characters' plight. We did not just want a negative, traditional stereotype of males in our piece and it was with this idea that the character of Stan came about.
Close Ups of Stan create emotional emphathy
Modern rep in Inception
Age
The traditional stereotype of older people is that they are dependant on others, however, through the use of lighting in our sequence, the older mob manager is seen to manipulative to the younger, Stan. The stereotype that older people are wiser but use this for good is turned on its head in our opening where the older mob manager uses his experience to put our protagonist in a dangerous situation.
This idea stemmed from the representation of an older mob manager in 'The Departed'. In this film, the character played by Jack Nicholson is able to control the people around him without neccesarily having the same strength they have as young people. This is similar to our opening, the mob manager is not in the same location as Stan and therefore cannot be confronted by him on the issue. Our film is for a young audience, but by using an older antagonist, this is likely to unsettle them and leave them 'on the edge of their seat'.
Side lighting allowed for the 'darker' side of the character.
3.What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
Our product would be distributed by a Britsh distribution company. Possibly a company such as E1 Entertainment Universal which also encompasses areas such as music and TV. They would distribute our product because of the way it tries to connect with younger people. This is the age group that this particular company focuses on.
Our target audience is the 16-25 market, therefore, by using a mainstream, modern and recognised company like E1 the movie will instantly appeal to those involved.
It will be released country wide in the mainstream, multiplex market. This market has disadvantages such as cost from prints of the film, but hopefully this can be clawed back by the widespread interest the film will make.
Certificate
I think our certificate would be a 15. This is for two reasons: 1. To hit our target audience and 2. Because of the criminal/violent aspect of the narrative. However, this would have to be certified by the BBFC.
Methods of Distribution
1. Our first method of distribution would be through the internet. This could include a website, a trailer on youtube and adverts on websites. This would interest our young audience because it is a very modern technology. This type of distribution would hopefully create a 'viral buzz' about the film as the word about it spreads. Films like 'Transformers 3' have over a million hits for their trailers on youtube.
Advantages
Most internet users are target audience
If done in the right way chance of 'viral' success.
Generally cheap, website might be slightly more expensive.
Disadvantages
Could completley alienate other people outside intended audience.
Could become 'viral' for wrong reasons. Internet audience may react negatively and create parodies or write comments that could affect film success.
2. Another method is Television. This could be done through chat show appearances or film dedicated programmes. This method is very mainstream, a huge majority of the population watch television and it is also very popular with the intended audience.
Dedicated film programmes would help promote.
Advantages
Popular source of entertainment, will be wide reaching.
If talked about in positive light then film may garner more interest.
Disadvantages
Not as easily accessible as internet, will only be shown at certain times when intended audience may not be watching.
If talked about negatively, then the wide reaching appeal will be a disadvantage as more people will think that the film is poor.
3. A final method could be posters or billboards. This could be put in a public place to raise awareness for theupcoming release. This could be put on bus stops, at train stations and on top of or on buildings.
A 'Wanted' billboard on top of a building.
Advantages
If placed correctly, could significantly increase interest and revenue for the film.
More memorable than other methods, a large visual reminder that people might see a number of times in one day.
Disadvantages
Because it is in a public place it may become defaced or vandalised.
Very expensive (especially billboards).
4. Who would be the audience for your media product?
Gender
Predominantly male audience. It should appeal to the stereotypical male interests through the use of themes such as corruption and crime and through the use of the soundtrack and cuts at fast pace.
Hopefully some females would connect and appreiciate with the emotional, passive modern representation used with the protagonist something that many Thrillers still seem to ignore.
Age
16-25 year old- Hopefully, the fast pace of our film and how it quickly reaches a state of disequalibrium would attract a 16-25 audience. Perhaps in our film we should of tried to include something for another age group, as this age group appears to go to the cinema the most. http://www.movieadvertising.com/cinema_stats.html
5. How did you attract/ address your audience? Narrative
The use of an early disequalibrium would attract a 16-24 audience,as they are thrown straight into the core of the story.
This moment is likely to engross the audience
Camera Work
Usage of variety of shots to keep target audience interested.
Close up of protagonist might interest a traditional female audience who can connect with the plight of protagonist. Because target audience is young, it might also connect with a younger, modern male audience.
Mise En Scene
Unusual rural setting will interest age group, they do not know exactly where the protagonist is and wish to continue watching to find out.
Target audience is likely to question where he is
Character
Use of traditional, male antagonist is likely to interest male audience.
Target age group may also feel so emotional connection to Stan as he gets kidnapped.
Editing and Sound
Quick cuts, especially nearer the end of the opening is likely to really interest the target audience as the cliff- hanger moment is reached.
Modern, parallel music should connect with target audience.
Comments on Thriller
Comment from 16-25 Year Old Female
Comment from 16-25 Male
Comment from 40-50 year old Male.
26 year old Male
It appears our film appealed much more to male viewers as more commented and most of these were positive
The female who did comment seemed to dislike the idea of an all male cast and also asked for there to be more stereotypical female elements.
The most interesting point is from the 26 year old male who commented that he would of liked to have seen a female included somewhere. This is likely to be because he has a lot of similar Thrillers that only include male characters and would like something fresh; he is out of our target audience and now reflecting he finds that their were too many similar Thrillers when he was this age.
6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
7. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learned in the progression from it to the full product?
1. Framing in Preliminary- Our framing in our preliminary was poor. We had little experience with the camera and were unsure exactly where to position it. The result was we had a lot of unused space in our shots that made close ups seem like long shots. This is an issue we brought up in our prelim evaluation... http://thriller11block31.blogspot.com/2011/01/feedback-by-us-on-our-preliminary.html
2. Framing in Final- After getting used to using cameras our framing improved in our final piece. In the 2nd shot only things needed can be seen, compared with the prelim shot which has excess space. 3. Lighting in Prelim- We were very inexperienced with lighting in our preliminary and barely used any. This is why shot 3 looks so poor.
4. Lighting in Final- After trying out lighting techniques in pre-production planning we felt more comfortable and used it to good effect in the Mob Manager scene. We used side lighting to make the character seem corrupt and dangerous if we had not used this lighting this effect would not have been made clear to the audience. Poor lighting can mean themes and ideas are lost and the quality of the shots is poor. http://thriller11block31.blogspot.com/2011/02/pre-production-planning-lighting-by.html
5. Use of Sound in Prelim- Our sound was very melodramatic in the prelim. During Shot 5, there was a loud wind digetic sound as the Superhero stood there, this did not promote realism at all.
6. Use of Sound in Final- We got used to the Garageband after looking at helpful videos and were able to make the soundtrack reach a crescendo as the phone hit the floor. Garageband allows for superior digetic and non-digetic sound, you can increase and decrease the volume of sound at certain moments as we did in this shot.
7. Mise En Scene (Props) in Prelim- The use of a cuddly cat in the prelim looked comic and unrealistic. We did not use a great deal of props and could not experiment with setting because we were restricted to college. This was coupled with the lack of time we had to prepare props and this rush meant that we didn't take our time in deciding on whether to use the cat or not.
8. Props in Final- The use of a realistic landline phone emphasised the idea that he was a man of power. We were able to expand our setting for the final piece and ended up choosing the eery bridlepath after researching other locations. http://thriller11block31.blogspot.com/2011/02/pre-production-planning-setting-shots.html
The choice of props and costume as a whole was not rushed for the final, every prop or costume used relates to a theme or idea in our thriller piece. For example, the phone relates to the loss of connection between the Mob Manager and Stan and Stan's frustration that he cannot confront him in person. http://thriller11block31.blogspot.com/2011/02/pre-production-planning-prop-research.html
9. Titling- When practicising and watching titles we discovered the importance of them and this then allowed us to incorporate some interesting titling to our final, this was a huge step from our preliminary where we barely considered them. Because we did not use titles, our preliminary caused confusion, it had no name and no credits for the people involved. After doing my title research.... http://thriller11block31.blogspot.com/2011/03/titles-and-credit-research-by-nathan.html
....I realised the importance of titles. They credit the people involved, emphasise themes and ideas and can even be used to expand the narrative. That is why we took time over our titling and the final choice of titling was a conscious and carefully considered decision.
We have finished our sound editing in Garageband...
Problems and Decisions
Problem:We couldn't find an appropriate sound to bridge between the two soundtracks included in our opening. Decision: Therefore, we made the 'disorienating' track reach a crescendobefore going into the next track.
We will soon be uploading our final video to the blog!
We have now finished our editing on final cut and will be moving onto Garageband for sound editing.
We've incorporated an interesting title into our film which you can see here...
Hopefully our sound editing will be as successful as our moving editing has been
Problems and Decisions
Problem: An interesting idea to place our titles over a still image didn't really work.
Decision:Changing our idea for the titling, this time to go over a black background, using white text to show the importance of the title to the audience.
Garageband
In order to help us get used to the Garageband interface we have researched a few videos and found this one to be the most helpful....
