This is our Thriller film
Saturday, 24 December 2011
Friday, 23 December 2011
Thursday, 22 December 2011
Evaluation
In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge form and conventions of real media products?
Our product is similar to some thrillers because it has that stereotypically suspense music that builds suspense within the thriller, it is also similar to some thrillers as it has the same thriller codes and conventions: Our thriller includes cuts at a fast pace this is like most thrillers at this kind of editing is needed to make it look more effective, cuts are also used within Thrillers as it doesn't tell the audience exactly what is going on it just gives an insight. Also within our Thriller we have used question and answer mode, this is like most Thrillers as they leave the audience asking whats going to happen next. Our thriller creates questions like who is the kidnapper? and what is going to happen to the woman in the end? We chose to make the thriller we did because we thought that kidnap was a good idea to base a Thriller on, as a kidnap sequence involves suspense and tension, questions and answers because the audience aren't sure whats going to happen in the end because anything could happen in a kidnap film. We decided what to include and what to exclude by deciding what conventions would make a better Thriller, for example we decided to include suspense music as this is used in all thriller films and it creates a tension atmosphere and an affect on the audience as tempo increases, we decided to exclude props as we thought it would be most effective if the audience were totally unaware of what was going to happen. We didn't decide to do anything different than the thrillers we have studied in media group as we know that the codes and conventions used within these thrillers are effective and we also know that alot of people watch films like that because they are interested and find it entertaining so if we kept the thriller similar then people would want to watch it. Our narrative is linear as we thought it would make it clear and it would flow better and if it was non-linear it would spoil certain scenes of the Thriller so there wont be as much suspense. When we first started the project we decided to film at Elliot's house but then we realised once we started shooting it would be easier to film at Andy's house as it was a clearer outside, we settled on this location and filmed all of the thriller there. I believe our opening sequence was successful because it flowed and most of the filming was done correctly and after editing, our film flowed and was easy understood. We decided to follow Thriller codes and conventions and use a male killer because we wanted the Thriller to be more realistic as in reality there are more male killers and kidnappers rather than woman plus we wanted to get as close to Thriller codes and conventions as we could so more people would watch it. Our completed production is a good example of an opening sequence for a Thriller film because it sets the whole film up so the audience know whats its going to be about, the opening sequence tells the audience if it is there type of film we we have put alot of effort in creating the perfect scene which i think we have done. Our Thriller film uses many codes and convention: Question and Answer mode - our thriller uses this code and convention because it leaves the audience with question after the opening sequence - Who is the killer? What will happen to the woman?
How does your media product represent particular social groups?
In most Thriller films, female characters are seen as more vunlnerable than males characters - The female character is always in the most danger and is stereotypically the first one that is put in danger in Thriller films. In our film we decided to go along with stereotypes and codes and conventions of a Thriller film and use a female character as to an audience there are different representations of the gender characters - The audience believe that if a male character is put into the place of the female character in our Thriller then he is more likely to put up a fight and act out against the kidnapper. We see this type of thing in "Red eye" and "Silence of the Lambs" as the female are the ones who are being made vulnerable to killers in these films as they are seen as the weaker sex. In our Thriller we also used a male killer as males are seen as the dominate type, they are seen as strong and inferior so this makes our Thriller follow codes and conventions.
What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
I think we would see our Thriller for not on YouTube or Facebook as it is the introduction but if the whole Thriller was to be completed then i could see it possibly being in the cinemas - worldwide. I think our completed thriller could be distributed by DVD as it is a good film and a good Thriller. Our Thriller could also be distributed worldwide in cinemas such as Cineworld or Odeon as these companies are very successful companies and would make alot of publicity for our Thriller. Our thriller could also be distributed on Film Four as Film Four often has a dedicated night for certain genres of film such as Freight night for Horror films so we could have our film distributed by Film Four as it is a quite successful Film channel. Our Thriller could also be distributed by WAHIE Porduction as they are looking for fresh ideas and i believe our Thriller is a fresh, creative and an innovative idea.
Who would be the audience for your media product?
We targeted our film at 15-21 years old as we thought it would be most suitable as it wouldn't be suitable for under 15 year old because of the violent scenes and swearing at some points and over 21 year old is could get boring. We made our decision about the target audience by discussing which age group it would be most appropriate for and if scenes included would be appropriate if we aimed it at under 15 year old. I think our Thriller could appeal to people outside of the target audience as it is an interesting film for all people from 15-30 it just depends on what Thriller films they have seen before.
How did you attract/address your audience?
We knew that elements we decided on would appeal to our target audience as before we started to film the Thriller we carried out audience research - we devised a questionnaire as a group and went around asking people to fill it in. This then gave us the information we needed to film the thriller as we knew what to include like if we should do it about kidnap which is the most important question. The completed production is appropriate for the target audience as we based our film on the feedback we got from the audience research we carried out, our production meets the answers we got on the questionnaire because we based it on what most people said they wanted within the Thriller. When the audience were watching our Thriller i wanted them to feel frightened and scared for the woman as this means they were drawn into the film.
What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
Our product is similar to some thrillers because it has that stereotypically suspense music that builds suspense within the thriller, it is also similar to some thrillers as it has the same thriller codes and conventions: Our thriller includes cuts at a fast pace this is like most thrillers at this kind of editing is needed to make it look more effective, cuts are also used within Thrillers as it doesn't tell the audience exactly what is going on it just gives an insight. Also within our Thriller we have used question and answer mode, this is like most Thrillers as they leave the audience asking whats going to happen next. Our thriller creates questions like who is the kidnapper? and what is going to happen to the woman in the end? We chose to make the thriller we did because we thought that kidnap was a good idea to base a Thriller on, as a kidnap sequence involves suspense and tension, questions and answers because the audience aren't sure whats going to happen in the end because anything could happen in a kidnap film. We decided what to include and what to exclude by deciding what conventions would make a better Thriller, for example we decided to include suspense music as this is used in all thriller films and it creates a tension atmosphere and an affect on the audience as tempo increases, we decided to exclude props as we thought it would be most effective if the audience were totally unaware of what was going to happen. We didn't decide to do anything different than the thrillers we have studied in media group as we know that the codes and conventions used within these thrillers are effective and we also know that alot of people watch films like that because they are interested and find it entertaining so if we kept the thriller similar then people would want to watch it. Our narrative is linear as we thought it would make it clear and it would flow better and if it was non-linear it would spoil certain scenes of the Thriller so there wont be as much suspense. When we first started the project we decided to film at Elliot's house but then we realised once we started shooting it would be easier to film at Andy's house as it was a clearer outside, we settled on this location and filmed all of the thriller there. I believe our opening sequence was successful because it flowed and most of the filming was done correctly and after editing, our film flowed and was easy understood. We decided to follow Thriller codes and conventions and use a male killer because we wanted the Thriller to be more realistic as in reality there are more male killers and kidnappers rather than woman plus we wanted to get as close to Thriller codes and conventions as we could so more people would watch it. Our completed production is a good example of an opening sequence for a Thriller film because it sets the whole film up so the audience know whats its going to be about, the opening sequence tells the audience if it is there type of film we we have put alot of effort in creating the perfect scene which i think we have done. Our Thriller film uses many codes and convention: Question and Answer mode - our thriller uses this code and convention because it leaves the audience with question after the opening sequence - Who is the killer? What will happen to the woman?
How does your media product represent particular social groups?
In most Thriller films, female characters are seen as more vunlnerable than males characters - The female character is always in the most danger and is stereotypically the first one that is put in danger in Thriller films. In our film we decided to go along with stereotypes and codes and conventions of a Thriller film and use a female character as to an audience there are different representations of the gender characters - The audience believe that if a male character is put into the place of the female character in our Thriller then he is more likely to put up a fight and act out against the kidnapper. We see this type of thing in "Red eye" and "Silence of the Lambs" as the female are the ones who are being made vulnerable to killers in these films as they are seen as the weaker sex. In our Thriller we also used a male killer as males are seen as the dominate type, they are seen as strong and inferior so this makes our Thriller follow codes and conventions.
What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
I think we would see our Thriller for not on YouTube or Facebook as it is the introduction but if the whole Thriller was to be completed then i could see it possibly being in the cinemas - worldwide. I think our completed thriller could be distributed by DVD as it is a good film and a good Thriller. Our Thriller could also be distributed worldwide in cinemas such as Cineworld or Odeon as these companies are very successful companies and would make alot of publicity for our Thriller. Our thriller could also be distributed on Film Four as Film Four often has a dedicated night for certain genres of film such as Freight night for Horror films so we could have our film distributed by Film Four as it is a quite successful Film channel. Our Thriller could also be distributed by WAHIE Porduction as they are looking for fresh ideas and i believe our Thriller is a fresh, creative and an innovative idea.
Who would be the audience for your media product?
We targeted our film at 15-21 years old as we thought it would be most suitable as it wouldn't be suitable for under 15 year old because of the violent scenes and swearing at some points and over 21 year old is could get boring. We made our decision about the target audience by discussing which age group it would be most appropriate for and if scenes included would be appropriate if we aimed it at under 15 year old. I think our Thriller could appeal to people outside of the target audience as it is an interesting film for all people from 15-30 it just depends on what Thriller films they have seen before.
How did you attract/address your audience?
We knew that elements we decided on would appeal to our target audience as before we started to film the Thriller we carried out audience research - we devised a questionnaire as a group and went around asking people to fill it in. This then gave us the information we needed to film the thriller as we knew what to include like if we should do it about kidnap which is the most important question. The completed production is appropriate for the target audience as we based our film on the feedback we got from the audience research we carried out, our production meets the answers we got on the questionnaire because we based it on what most people said they wanted within the Thriller. When the audience were watching our Thriller i wanted them to feel frightened and scared for the woman as this means they were drawn into the film.
What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
Filming Diary
Media Studies
Diary
December 8th
First filmed at Elliot’s house – decided it would be better to film at Andy’s as it was a better location as Andy’s house was in a quieter area.
December –
Filmed at Andy’s house and finished on the day started.
January
Started editing the film to make it flow as the film needed cutting and placed in the right order as we filmed things three times to make sure we had at least one useful shot.
January 4th
· Started to edit the film. Managed to near complete the first few seconds
January 5th
· Continued editing the first section of the film.
January 6th
· Completed the first few seconds of the film and started on the middle after the woman had arrived home.
January 10th
· Continued working on the middle section of the film as it needs a lot of work because we didn’t use a tri-pod for the camera most of the time which made shots shakes.
January 11th
· Continued with middle section.
January 12th
· Started to finish the middle section but still not complete.
January 13th
· Completed middle section and started editing the end of the film.
January 14th
· Finished editing and handed work in.
This is our filming diary. Here we recorded when we worked on our film, we recorded dates and places and what we did on these days.
Section 12: Anaylsis of Completed Thriller
Narrative Structure: Our thriller is called Vanished and it is based around kidnap. Vanished is about a woman who is abducted from her car after coming home from work and getting scared. The husband then comes home to find her missing so the film is about the games the kidnapper plays that involves many twist and turns.
Thriller Codes and Conventions: During Vanished there is alot of suspense music that goes quiet at times to give more of an impact, the suspense music creates a tense atmosphere like most thrillers it is used to do this. Also in Vanished there is alot of cuts to make it seem more face paste and jumpy, this is done in most thriller films to create that affect. Our thriller also has balck and white credits which it put upon the image that freezes when the credit comes in this is like a typical thrilller as it draws your attention and whats to highlight a specific scene.
Camerawork: Within our thriller we have used a lot of medium shots as it has a better affect because it shows her reactions in all her body rather than one part. we have also used close ups to show her expressions on her face as she is answering the phone because the audience need to see full detail.
Sound: In Vanished there is alot of different sound used to create suspense. The start of the film is silent but as the woman gets closer to her house the music begins to fade in eventually getting louder, the music also fades outs at times to make it more suspensed. The music changes half way through and tempo increases and this is the main scene of the starting sequence so suspense needs to be built to breaking point.
Mise-en-scene: The lighting within the starting sequence is dark, when she gets out of the car only the light from the driveway is on, this retricts her sight around her as the light just focuses on her so its hard to see her around her, this also retricts the audiences sight so they wonder if anything is around her as this is when the sound comes into play which builds the suspense. Within the thriller the woman is driving a modern day car, lives in a nicely designed house and is wearing modern clothes this shows the thriller is set in present day and not past.
Editing: We have not used alot of editing techniques within our thrilller as we wanted to keep it simple. Within Vanished we have used alot of jump cuts an cuts as this builds tension because the scene flash quickly. We have also used fade in and fades out of the music so we can build suspense on specific scenes.
Graphics: In Vanished we have used still images from the video and put them to black and white with credits over it, we have done this to put focus on the credits and out focus on the specific scene. Towards the end of the film we have done the same but put tension music on top so it creates a more terrofying affect.
Thriller Codes and Conventions: During Vanished there is alot of suspense music that goes quiet at times to give more of an impact, the suspense music creates a tense atmosphere like most thrillers it is used to do this. Also in Vanished there is alot of cuts to make it seem more face paste and jumpy, this is done in most thriller films to create that affect. Our thriller also has balck and white credits which it put upon the image that freezes when the credit comes in this is like a typical thrilller as it draws your attention and whats to highlight a specific scene.
Camerawork: Within our thriller we have used a lot of medium shots as it has a better affect because it shows her reactions in all her body rather than one part. we have also used close ups to show her expressions on her face as she is answering the phone because the audience need to see full detail.
Sound: In Vanished there is alot of different sound used to create suspense. The start of the film is silent but as the woman gets closer to her house the music begins to fade in eventually getting louder, the music also fades outs at times to make it more suspensed. The music changes half way through and tempo increases and this is the main scene of the starting sequence so suspense needs to be built to breaking point.
Mise-en-scene: The lighting within the starting sequence is dark, when she gets out of the car only the light from the driveway is on, this retricts her sight around her as the light just focuses on her so its hard to see her around her, this also retricts the audiences sight so they wonder if anything is around her as this is when the sound comes into play which builds the suspense. Within the thriller the woman is driving a modern day car, lives in a nicely designed house and is wearing modern clothes this shows the thriller is set in present day and not past.
Editing: We have not used alot of editing techniques within our thrilller as we wanted to keep it simple. Within Vanished we have used alot of jump cuts an cuts as this builds tension because the scene flash quickly. We have also used fade in and fades out of the music so we can build suspense on specific scenes.
Graphics: In Vanished we have used still images from the video and put them to black and white with credits over it, we have done this to put focus on the credits and out focus on the specific scene. Towards the end of the film we have done the same but put tension music on top so it creates a more terrofying affect.
Section 11: Audience Feedback
Questionnaire
Q1. Does our thriller build suspense?
Q2. Do you understand what is happening?
Q3. Are the graphics effective in fitting into the thriller genre?
Q4. Did you enjoy the beginning?
Hero villain victim
Q6. Was the setting appropriate to a thriller?
Q7. Were there many problems with the continuity, what were they?
Q8. Do you think the music we chose was suitable for the thriller?
Q9. Would you want to watch the rest of the film?
Q10. Were you scared for the girl?
Q11. Did the film engage you?
Q12. Did you think the beginning followed the guidelines for 15 rating?
Q13. On a scale of 1-5 how much did you enjoy the film with 1 being the least enjoyable.
Q14. Did the film follow the codes and conventions of a normal thriller?
Q15. Was the lighting effective for a thriller?
This is the Questionnaire that we devised as a group to determine if our thriller was successful.
Section 10: Logging Sheets And Edit Decision List
The Edit Decision list - we used this for our thriller as we needed to put in the actual shots we used and what the edit was called. We mostly used cuts and jump cuts and few still so the audience could see the credits better.
These are the logging sheets. We used this to time the different shots and if they were a good take or not. We then used the information to form the Edit Decision list and the final Thriller.
Section 9: Production Schedule
Date | Task | People Involved | Equipment/Props |
24/11/2010 | Designed and printed out questionnaires | Ainsley, Andy, Elliot, Rachael | None |
25-26/11/2010 | Handed out questionnaires | Ainsley, Andy, Elliot, Rachael | None |
29/11/2010 | Tallied up questionnaire results and put them into graphs | Ainsley, Andy, Elliot, Rachael | None |
30/11/2010 | Made a character list | Ainsley, Andy, Elliot, Rachael | None |
1-2/12/2010 | Wrote out shot list | Ainsley, Andy, Elliot, Rachael | None |
6-8/12/2010 | Drew out storyboards | Ainsley, Andy, Elliot, Rachael | None |
9/12/2010 | Wrote out shooting script | Ainsley, Andy, Elliot, Rachael | None |
14/12/2010 | Started filming at Andy’s house, and finished filming. | Ainsley, Andy, Elliot, Rachael, Ali | Camera, Video camera, tripod, car, keys |
Section 7:Reece and Location Sheets
Location Sheet 1 shows the first place we filmed which was the drive way outside of Andy's house as the beginning sequence invloved the woman coming back from work in a car.
Location Sheet 2 shows the second place we filmed, which was inside Andy's house on the corridor, as we had to show the woman coming into the house from outside
Section 6: Character outlines and Shooting script
Character Outlines:
Ste
Early 20's and married to Kate. He pays more attention to work than Kate although he means well. Normally he is quite shy and avoids confrontation, but when Kate is taken, he will stop at almost nothing to save her.
Kate:
Also early 20's and married to Ste. She is a loving wife who also has a demanding job, and isn't happy the way Ste puts his job first.
Kidnapper
Mid-to-late 30's. He is a mysterious and quiet person, and loves to be in control. He tries to cover his face most of the time and won't tell Ste the reason for kidnapping Kate.
Early 20's and married to Kate. He pays more attention to work than Kate although he means well. Normally he is quite shy and avoids confrontation, but when Kate is taken, he will stop at almost nothing to save her.
Kate:
Also early 20's and married to Ste. She is a loving wife who also has a demanding job, and isn't happy the way Ste puts his job first.
Kidnapper
Mid-to-late 30's. He is a mysterious and quiet person, and loves to be in control. He tries to cover his face most of the time and won't tell Ste the reason for kidnapping Kate.
Shooting Script
Outdoor
1. Establishing shot of the house
2. Close up of the drive
3. Close up of the wheel
4. Medium shot of the door opening
5. Zoom out as leg out of car
6. Close up on hand pushing door
7. Close up of key getting pressed (click)
8. Medium shot of feet
9. Medium shot of waist
10. Medium shot of shoulders
11. Extreme close up of key in the door
12. Inside house walking in
13. Shot from outside looking at her
14. Medium shot of her looking out
15. Shot from outside looking at door closing
Indoor
16. Close up of her switching light on
17. Medium shot of her side walking past
18. Another close up of light switch
19. Medium shot of switching the gas on
20. Put water and pot on stove
21. Medium shot (shoulder) her looking out window
22. Zooms closer to her
23. Then tracks away from her outside
24. There is a bang in the house (close up of her surprised expression)
25. Long shot from corridor looking in at her
26. Close up of phone ringing
27. Shot of phone saying ‘unknown number’
28. Zoom out and Katie picks up phone
29. Close up of phone and bottom part of head
30. Phone getting put back down (turn around)
31. Phone rings again from unknown caller
32. Close up of her expression (hesitant)
33. Medium shot going for the phone
34. Cut and zoom to the door
35. Cut and zoom reaching the phone
36. Cut back to the door
37. Shot of her surprised(jumping)
38. Walks to answer the door (camera track)
39. Extreme close up of key turning
40. Long shot of her opening the door
41. Her looking around
42. Mid-shot of her grabbing coat
43. Mid-shot of her slamming the door
Outdoor
44. Long shot of the girl walking to the car
45. Match on action grabbing car door
46. Zoom out her shutting the door
47. Ex close up starting the engine
48. Close up pulling the seatbelt
49. Ex close up clicking in
50. Over shoulder shot (scream)
51. BLACK
It opens with a longshot of the house and slowly pans across it. There is then a cut away focusing on the drive, this shot is static. The next shot starts off with nothing in it, but then the wheel of a car slowly drives into the shot and then stops. The camera then zooms out slightly and shows the driver stepping out of the car but not showing their face, and then follows their feet as they walk to the door. the next shot is from behind the person who got out of the car, still not showing their face, as they walk towards the door. As they put their hand towards the door it cuts to an extreme close up of the key being put into the lock. There is a mid shot from inside the hall to show her walking in and putting her hand up towards the light switch; it cuts to an extreme close up of her turning the light on. There is then a midshot form inside one of the rooms showing her side on as she walks through to the kitchen. There is then a low angle shot from inside the kitchen as she walks in and turns on the lights. It then follows her as she puts her phone down on the worktops and walk towards the window. It then cuts to a shot from the outside looking in on her as she stares out of the window. A bang is heard in the house and a close up shows her facial expression. A shot at the end of the corridoor then shows her walking down it towards the front door. It cuts to a close up of the phone ringing, and then an extreme close up of the screen saying 'unknown number'. The camera then zooms out and shows her picking up the phone and starting to answer it. There is then a close up side on, showing the phone, as she answers it and says 'Hello' a few times. After there is no answer, it goes back to a midshot as she puts the phone down and starts to walk away. Then the phone rings again and there is another close up of the screen saying 'Unknown Number'. There is then another mid shot as she warily walks towards the phone. The shots as she picked up the phone before are repeated, but she is more frustrated as she answers the phone this time. There is then a loud bang at the door as she hangs up. It shows a close up of her face, and then a mid shot of her storming out the house. As she reaches for the keys from the wall, it cuts to an extreme close up of her hand grabbing the keys and then another mid shot of her walking outside the house. As she walks towards the car, it cuts to a shot from inside watchng her walk towards the car and open the door, like there is somebody in the car. It cuts to a shot from the front of the car showing her pull the seatbelt down, and then an extreme close up of her putting the seatbelt on. It then cuts back to the backseat of the car, and there is a close up of the mirror, as she looks in the mirror she screams.
Titles start.
It opens with a longshot of the house and slowly pans across it. There is then a cut away focusing on the drive, this shot is static. The next shot starts off with nothing in it, but then the wheel of a car slowly drives into the shot and then stops. The camera then zooms out slightly and shows the driver stepping out of the car but not showing their face, and then follows their feet as they walk to the door. the next shot is from behind the person who got out of the car, still not showing their face, as they walk towards the door. As they put their hand towards the door it cuts to an extreme close up of the key being put into the lock. There is a mid shot from inside the hall to show her walking in and putting her hand up towards the light switch; it cuts to an extreme close up of her turning the light on. There is then a midshot form inside one of the rooms showing her side on as she walks through to the kitchen. There is then a low angle shot from inside the kitchen as she walks in and turns on the lights. It then follows her as she puts her phone down on the worktops and walk towards the window. It then cuts to a shot from the outside looking in on her as she stares out of the window. A bang is heard in the house and a close up shows her facial expression. A shot at the end of the corridoor then shows her walking down it towards the front door. It cuts to a close up of the phone ringing, and then an extreme close up of the screen saying 'unknown number'. The camera then zooms out and shows her picking up the phone and starting to answer it. There is then a close up side on, showing the phone, as she answers it and says 'Hello' a few times. After there is no answer, it goes back to a midshot as she puts the phone down and starts to walk away. Then the phone rings again and there is another close up of the screen saying 'Unknown Number'. There is then another mid shot as she warily walks towards the phone. The shots as she picked up the phone before are repeated, but she is more frustrated as she answers the phone this time. There is then a loud bang at the door as she hangs up. It shows a close up of her face, and then a mid shot of her storming out the house. As she reaches for the keys from the wall, it cuts to an extreme close up of her hand grabbing the keys and then another mid shot of her walking outside the house. As she walks towards the car, it cuts to a shot from inside watchng her walk towards the car and open the door, like there is somebody in the car. It cuts to a shot from the front of the car showing her pull the seatbelt down, and then an extreme close up of her putting the seatbelt on. It then cuts back to the backseat of the car, and there is a close up of the mirror, as she looks in the mirror she screams.
Titles start.
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