Evaluation

Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt from it in the progression from it to the full product?

When looking back at my preliminary task, I feel I have learnt a lot about how to structure a thriller openings sequence. Our preliminary piece was too much of a story which meant that there was too much going on in the space of two minutes. It also made it difficult to set up real enigma codes and raise questions within the audience as the enigma codes and questions raised were often answered before the clip finished.

We also did not use credits very effectively within our preliminary task. Instead of putting names with what those people did we simply added the names to the shots. This made the credits meaningless and the font that we used was not very eye catching. To improve on this, we had to learn how to overlay credits onto existing footage and change the font that we used.

Evaluation

What have I learnt about technologies in the process of constructing my film sequence?

During the production of my media product, I have learnt how to use an Apple Mac and some of its programmes such as Soundtrack Pro and Final Cut Pro. Before starting AS Media Studies I had no previous experience of using any of these technologies so I have had to learn quite a lot, which I feel I have done so successfully and believe I could confidently use all on my own.

Evaluation

Who would be the audience of your media product?

The audience of our media product would be people of working class aged 15 plus who enjoy thriller films and like to figure out mysteries. This i because our media product sets up different eigima codes for the audience as we see shots of a dead female body, followed by shots of a lonely protagonist and of an antagonist planning something.

Evaluation

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Our media piece represents the difference in working class males and females, i.e. females as vulnerable and males as superior. This is done through the connotations that we used.

We used camera angles a lot in order to convey what we wanted to when it came to separating the two sexes and show the distinct difference between the superiority and vulnerability of the male and the of the female. This was done through shots and movements such as close ups, extreme close ups, tracts, pans, establishing shots and point of view shots. The close ups and extreme close ups raised questions within the audience such as ‘what’s behind them?’ and also made them wonder who the antagonist was as only small parts of them were shown, therefore hiding their identity. The tracks and pans used helped emphasise the vulnerability of the protagonist as it showed how few places there were to hide and how easy it was for them to get lost. Also, it helped to show the audience what the antagonist was doing and developed enigma codes.

We also represented the working class through the use of costumes. Neither of the characters were dressed up as though they were above working class, though they were not dressed in rags. The girl wears a coat hat and jeans which include connotation of red, and the man wears all black coat and jeans, making him immediately suspicious to the audience and poses a threat. These costumes can be seen in ‘127 Hours’ and ‘Mystic River’. In ‘127 Hours’, the protagonist wears a red T shirt, suggesting that they are in danger. In ‘Mystic River’, the antagonist wears a large dark coat and dark tie and trousers, suggesting that he has a ‘dark’ personality. To make our antagonist seem more dangerous we simply enhanced this when deciding on our own costume.

Evaluation

How did you attract your audience?

We attracted our audience by ensuring that what we were creating would satisfy their needs. We chose what audience we wanted to attract and then did research into what they would expect from a typical thriller opening sequence. After doing so and creating our first draft, we showed our target audience the footage and found that it did not match the expectations from our audience. This method was helpful as we could continue developing it until it matched the expectations of our audience. 

Evaluation

In what way does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products, i.e existing films?

During the storyboarding stage of our media product, we took inspiration from films such as 'Seven' and 'The Woman in Black' when adding in our connotations.

When taking inspiration off 'Seven', we used shots of a suspected antagonist in a room on his own seemingly planning something. This was shown through close ups of a messy table covered in camera films and pieces of scrap paper, and a wall covered in drawings of a particular girl with threats written across them. We also used hints of red to give enigma codes and suggest danger to the audience. The enigma code was further built up as the red light came off a camera.

We also used camera angles to make the antagonist conventional. We used shots mainly from behind him so that we could not see his face, giving a sense of mysteriousness and making the audience believe that he is dangerous. ‘Seven’ uses close ups and extreme close ups throughout the whole of the opening sequence, which is how we got the idea of hiding the antagonist’s face from the audience. Also, the sequence entirely consists of a portrayed antagonist planning something, which is how we got inspiration to use similar shots.

When taking inspiration off 'The Woman in Black', we used shots and camera angles to make the represented protagonist look vulnerable. However, unlike in 'The Woman in Black', the protagonist was female and not male. In order to make her look vulnerable, we used an open setting with some woodland, giving the sense that she was isolated and could easily get lost in the woods. Also the open space suggested that she had nowhere to hide. We also used close ups of her face to show expression. This can be seen in ‘The Woman in Black’ in the beach scene when the protagonist is made vulnerable in an open space and sees the antagonist. Also, during the bedroom scene, the protagonist is made to look vulnerable with the use of a high angle point of view shot from the antagonist.

Final cut video - Broken Developments

Final cut video - Broken Developments

Finished rough cut

This is the finished rough cut of our thriller opening sequence.

Before soundtrack

This is our rough cut before adding the soundtrack.

Soundtrack

This is the soundtrack to the opening sequence of our thriller film. It acts as an enigma code and creates a scary atmosphere for the audience.

Thriller spidergram

 

 

Thriller mood board

Risk assesment

Recce report

Storyboard

Props and costumes

Props

 

- Diana F+ and Minolta Camera

-Green Screen

-Laptop

-Scarf

-Dog lead

-Voodoo doll

 

 

 

 

 

Protagonist - played by Laura McLean - costume

- Casual clothes, big coat, scarf (red) and wellington boots. Just the normal clothes you would wear when walking a dog, casual yet practical. However, in this casual yet practical costumes, there are enigma codes which convey the potential occurrences in the future of the thriller. For instance, the red scarf and hat symbolise danger.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Antagonist-played by Charlie Boyden-costume

-The key to an effective and sinister antagonist is the feel of mystery. The costume will play a vital role into making the antagonist a mysterious, sinister and dark character by hiding away facial features. Consequently, this keeps the audience unaware of who the attacker is, therefore meaning the audience have to watch the rest of the film to discover who the antagonist is, and why he is there.

-Dark clothing blends in with the gloomy surroundings, therefore staying out of sight of the unaware protagonist, whilst the audience can see the antagonist thus contributing to the tension.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

-The costume will be relatable to a classic teenager; fashionable. Our target audience is from 16-25, therefore the costume would be more relatable to the target audience, making it feel more real, thus making the audience feel more vulnerable.

Audience profile and Treatment for Mr Grevor

Mr Grevor

Audience profile

16-25 year olds

Unisex

Students, casual workers

Multinational

Demographics - E, D, C1, C2, B and A. Enjoyable for people of all backgrounds. Full of enigma codes - sets up expectations and anticipation

Conventional thriller - not funny, dark, classic protagonist

Strugglers - they seek escape from reality

Explorers - they seek discovery. They will predict the course of events within the film

Relates to Seven in relation to; stalker; photos; notebook

Certificate 15  - this is because violence, blood and horror are main themes in our thriller and are not just brief encounters. Horror of strong threats and the threat of life occur throughout. This will appeal to our target audience because it will keep them intrigued in what is going to happen in the film. 

This is could be shown at; the open evening for year 11s and film and media awards.  

Treatment - Mr Grevor

It’s a normal day; Laura is walking her dog at the Brook when she sees Charlie in the distance under a tree. This alone is an enigma code expressing that Charlie has something to do with Laura. This opening sequence is from an outsider’s point of view. The audience can see what is happening to the characters but they are unaware of each other’s circumstances (dramatic irony.) 

The purpose of the film is to thrill the audience; build anticipation and to keep them guessing resulting in a satisfying ending. This opening sequence is act as a cliff hanger to draw in the audience without revealing the key events of the overall film. Using enigma codes in this opening sequence; the audience can gather suggestions to what the film involves.

Flashes of enigma codes come up as do the titles to hint to the audience what the film will include. 

1. Equilibrium (calm, walking dog, normal day, nothing suspicious)
2. Interrupt (cut to Charlie taking photos of Laura, cut to him in a room, close up of eyes)

The codes and conventions of a thriller which we are going to use are 

- antagonist (male)

- protagonist (female)

- enigma codes - props (scarf, dog, camera, laptop, dolls)

- don’t see the antagonist’s face 

- identity 

• lighting (shadows, hard light)
• music (scary, unpredictable)
• titles (flash of light,camera, then typewriter)
• sound (diegetic and non-diegetic)
• colours (red, danger, eye-catching) 
• mise-en-scene (dark, scary, unaware, unpredictable) 

Influences 

Our influences for our film include Seven (Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman), Shutter (Joshua Jackson and Rachel Taylor). These are our influences because they gave us inspiration on what theme music to use, what camera angles to use, what lighting to use and it also gave us the idea to use old cameras for the effect of the flash noise as this would give the audience a jump. The film Mystic River is what gave us our title, its a very tense and cliff hanging film. We misunderstood the title and thought it was Mr.Grevor and this is why we decided to use this as the title for our thriller film. Memento, Seven and Shutter are also other films which gave us inspiration on using cameras, as they use polaroid cameras which also have a big flash and is very effective, for example we were watching the commercial and the flash gave us a big jump; this is why we decided to use cameras and flashes. The cameras also give the protagonist insecurity and make them feel like they're always being watched or stalked.

Initial ideas

Initial Ideas:

• Masks
• Dolls
• Fields
• Digging
• Vulnerable girl with dog
• Bloody hands
• Old house
• Boy with camera

Actors:
Laura McLean
Charlie Boyden

Camera:
Sarah Adnams
James Knuckey

We got inspiration from the film opening Seven because we liked the use of close up and enigma codes used suggesting that someone was planning something. We also liked the font style used for the credits.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEZK7mJoPLY