Opinion and Peer Feedback

1. "The film was very well shot, and the music gripped me, however, at times I think the filming could have been better"
2. "I enjoyed the black and white effect applied to the film, and the costumes appeared to match the characters well"
3. "Unfortunately I failed to feel involved as an audience member, and I couldn't really follow the story"
4. "I think the opening was very well done, and it created enigma and excitement. In order to improve it next time, I think the group should think about how to recognise the location and story better"
5. "The film, I enjoyed watching. The music I found was exciting, and encouraged the suspense the audience feels"

Adding the Music

We added the music by saving the MP3 file to "My Documents". From here we imported it into Adobe Premiere Pro where we dragged it out over the course of the film

Our Team and Candidate Numbers

Dan Walker- 3068
Amy Selby- 3175
Holly Costema- 3037

Copyright Free Music

In order to source copyright free music, I sourced copyright free music in google. I selected music from the following website. http://freeplaymusic.com.

Evaluation

• In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

I think our media product has used several conventions of the real life thriller. For example, it is quite fast paced and it is also constantly creating enigma for the audience and has the theme of crime as the core of the narrative.

• How does your media product represent particular social groups?

The media product represents young adults as it aims to promote how easy one is vulnerable to dangerous figures in society. Also, it focuses on criminal characters as the person is portrayed through the colour of clothes, behaviours and attitudes.

• What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

Perhaps one of the smaller companies as it is a British cast with British Locations is maybe low budget companies such as EM Media who focus on this sort of thing would be useful.

• Who would be the audience for your media product?

The audience would appeal to anybody really who enjoys watching thrillers or horror films. The film may require a certain certificate as contains a hint of horror which may be unsuitable for youngsters.

• How did you attract/address your audience?

The audience was addressed as for those who enjoy this sort of genre we aimed to offer the conventions which would entertain. We also tried to include suspense, excitement and enigma in order to engage the audience

• What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

I now understand that technology I do not always use technology to its full potential, for examples, video cameras, I now know how to alter the white balance, capture video clips and successfully record a shot using the right functions.

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

I think that I used to be able to trust the camera’s stability without a tripod, but actually the tripod is crucial when delivering quality of film. Also, I think that adding the ambient sound of silence really makes the film feel more realistic and professional.

North by Northwest (1959)

The film is directed by one of the most famous directors Alfred Hitchcock, and is writtedn by Ernest Lehmam. Many may describe the genre as mystery or thriller or even adventure.

In the film Roger Thornhill an advertising executive gets kidnapped by a gang of spies in New York, led by Philip Vandamm, who believe that Roger is CIA agent George Kaplan. Roger Thornhill escapes, but must find Kaplan in order to clear himself of a murder it is believed he committed. Following Kaplan to Chicago as a fugitive from justice, Thornhill is helped by a beautiful girl called Eve Kendall. This is often a famous type of character a beautfiful girl, often blonde and especially in Hitchcock's films. In Chicago, she delivers a message to Kaplan that almost costs Thornhill his life when he is chased across a cornfield by a crop-dusting plane.

This information is found from: http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0053125/

What is a trailer and an opening?

Many often can get confused between a trailer and an opening. In reality, they are quite different for example:

- A trailer is jam packed full of action while an opening has very limited action to prevent giving too much away

- A trailer is quite fast paced, an opening is more slower to set the scene

Trailer

> Fast paced to cram as much highlights into a short period of time

> Highlights comedy and Jokes to engage the viewer

> Shows Best scenes to also engage the viewer

> Often Violent to describe the type of film

> Newspaper Quotes/Director- to show off the film and any awards

> Backing Track- add emotion, personality, helps audience to relate to it if they like the music,

I think that films use trailers primarily to show off the stars of the film but also to show the film to its best advantage. (whereas the opening scene won't show the best) creates excitement. The trailer tells people what the film is about e.g. the genre. The opening is not meant to give too much of the plot away. The trailer aims to showcase some of the best bits of the film also giving details about the production team.

This excercise is important because I think it may be difficult when producing the opening to cram a lot in, which can be easily diagnosed as the trailer, so contrasting the two helps to show differences and put them in the back of my mind ready for when we go to produce the film.

Questionnaire

We devised a questionnaire, which we will hand out and collect information from. Some of the questions included are; what do you like to see in a thriller, who are your favourite characters and how often do you watch thrillers.

1. Whats your favourite thriller?
________________________

2. What do you think a good name for a thriller would be?
· The Unknown· Kidnapped· Gone· Dead and Gone· Other, Please state__________________________

3. What do you like to see in a thriller?· Murder· Action· Kidnapping· Cliff Hangers· Other, Please state_______________________

4. Who are your favourite characters in thrillers?· Good guys· Bad Guys· Femme Fetale’s· Other, Please state____________________

5. Who is your favourite character in thrillers?· Alfred Hitchcock· James Bond· Batman· Other, Please state_____________________

6. How often do you watch thrillers?· 0-2 weeks· 2 weeks- 1 month· 1-4 months· 4-6 months· 6 months-1 year· 1 year+· Never

7. Do you prefer to watch films in..?· Colour· Black and White· Sepia· No Preference

8. Where do you like to see thrillers?· Cinema· At home· Internet· Phone· Other, Please state_______________

9. How long do you expect the opening to thrillers to last?· 0-2 minutes· 2-5 minutes· 5-10 minutes· 10+ minutes· Other, Please state____________________

10. What do you expect from a thriller?From our results we found out that most people's favourite thriller is Wanted.

The most popular names for a new thriller were The Unknown and Dead and Gone with 4 votes each. We therefore decided to call our thriller Dead and Gone. We think that this name will create an enigma for the audience.

Action was the most popular thing that people would like to see in a thriller. Therefore we have decided to do short, quick cuts to give the impression of action.

Most people prefer to watch films in colour rather than Black and White or Sepia. We are filming our thriller in colour as it shows realism

Industry

I researched into industry and looked at the best thrillers of all time

1. The Godfather (1972)
2. The Godfather Part II (1974)
3. The Dark Knight
4. Star Wars Episode V- The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
5. Rear Window (1954)
6. Cidade de Deus (2002)
7. Fight Club (1999)
8. The Usual Suspects (1995)
9. Psycho (1960)
10. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)



The source was: http://www.imdb.com/chart/thriller

The Bourne Identity was adapted into a movie starring Matt Damon which used many of the thriller conventions of the plot. Though its sequels, , depart significantly from Robert Ludlum's storyline, the conspiracy-thriller genre is still well-preserved.

Phone Booth is a thriller about a selfish man trapped in a phone booth by a deranged sniper. Framed for the murder of a pimp, he finds himself surrounded by police who have no idea of the sniper's presence

The source for this informatoin is: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thriller_(genre)#Film

23 March 2009: Reviewing Ms Dughan's Comments

Here is Ms Dughan's comments:

• Too short
• Incorrect spellings
• It is very rare to have a director as a star- change this title
• You cannot have Holly and Amy talking but we can't hear the words
• 1:04 empty screen as Dan has left it- cut this earlier
• Running shots- remember the 180 degrees rule. Amy and Holly run from right to left, the come back in from left to right
• Dan snatching Holly is badly framed, and why is there no audio to match the struggle
• The video ends too abruptly - think about your ending
• Overall, this doesnt make sense. Is Holly being chased from the beginning? If so, why does she stop for a hug and chat with Amy? Dan sometimes walks, sometimes runs, so it doesn't give the feeling of a chase. I think you need to be clear whether this is a chase or a stalker following someone.

9th March 2009: Shooting the Film

This week we have managed to record 01:20 of our film which is about 60% of it. We have been filming on location and have used a variety of shots as planned. We haven't really countered many problems now although it has struck me that we may need to alter our story boards because we have added more shots which havent been displayed on the blog. I think it has worked well that we have worked quite quickly because it means we can get a lot done. However, i think we need to try really hard to keep continuity as this can become an issue we don't neccessarily think about, and it is so easy to be uncontinuous as well without noticing. On Wednesday we have edited what we have so far, well we have captured it anyway and put it in order but not altered any of the actual settings except that we have decided that the film is going to be in Black and White, we have decided this because we think it would help that it wasn't so bright seeing as it isn't really the ideal time of day for an abduction, therefore black and white will help illusion that it is later on in the day then what time it actually is. We are all up to date at the moment, so we now need to film the remaining 40 seconds and put it into the film. And then, we can start actually editing the filming we have, by adding music and effects.

2nd March: Completing our Research and Planning

This week we completed all our research and planning, and we started filming our opening to the thriller. We collected our equipment and went on location where we took lots of shots. We decided not to film chronologically because it would be wiser to film with the people we have got and the circumstances we are in.

We also encountered a problem this week as we found that we could not upload the videos we have so far because they were in mp4 and so were formatted incorrectly. In the end, with the help of Mr Wheatley we converted it to the right material.

Risk Assessment

For the course of our filming there will be minimal risk of danger, however it is essential we take maximum precautions anyway.

Location- Because we are not in college, we must ensure that we return at the times negotiated to ensure the teachers are aware of where we are. Also, we must not cause nuisance or damage to any other pubic citizens we may meet in the process of filming. The only other risks about our location is the common sense risks like coming into contact with strangers, or prevent getting lost. We will ensure this by not filming out of day light hours.

Equipment- We must ensure the filming equipment is looked after correctly, and not damaged or exposed to water, fire or too much sunlight. All equipment borrowed must be returned in the same condition.

Cast and Costumes

Dan Walker
Dan will be acting as a kidnapper who generally wears dark, dirty clothes to adapt to his role. I will be wearing a black coat, dark jeans and white trainers as I think that it is this image that fits my character. I feel black symbolises danger therefore this is the colour I have chosen for it.

Holly Costema and Amy Selby
Holly and Amy are acting as girls who have just come from a night out, they will be dressed in smart clothes, dress, but more casual with lots of jewelry and handbags. It is important that their costumes are casual as the audience must be able to distinguish between the good characters and the bad characters so with the girls wearing colourful clothes we can tell they are the innocent characters compared to the black costume I am wearing.

Props: These will be including obviously the costumes and then a photograph of the girls, these are the only props really as it is just a kind of chase scene.

It will be in and around the two twichells running alongside Queen Elizabeth's Park in Toton/Stapleford. We chose these locations because the are fairly typical for this to be happening in. Twitchells are known to be typical places for crimes day or night because they are so private and enclosed. Here are some location shots.

Timeline

2nd March
Filming final scene
Editing first scene

9th March
Editing second scene
Editing third scene

16th March
Editing forth scene
Editing final scene

23rd March
Re-edit
Re-edit

30th March
Re-edit
Re-edit

6th April
EASTER
Drafting evaluation

13th April
EASTER
Evaluation

20th April
Final adjustments
Final adjustments

27th April
Final adjustments
Final adjustments

Final Practical Research

Films

According to www.imdb.com/chart/thriller The Godfather is the number one thriller of all time with The Godfather 2 coming in second and The Dark Knight in third place. The Godfather won 3 Oscars including Best Actor, Best Picture and Best Writing, Screenplay. It also had another 19 wins and 17 nominations. On the opening weekend the gross at the box office was $302,393 and it opened in 6 screens in the USA.Examples of films:
Phone Booth is a thriller about a selfish man trapped in a phone booth by a deranged sniper. Framed for the murder of a pimp, he finds himself surrounded by police who have no idea of the sniper's presence.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thriller_(genre)#Film
The Bourne Identity was adapted into a movie starring Matt Damon which used many of the thriller conventions of the plot. Though its sequels, The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum, depart significantly from Robert Ludlum's storyline, the conspiracy-thriller genre is still well-preserved.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thriller_(genre)#Film

Genre

Thrillers have a wide variety of genres including, literature, film, televison and gaming. Thrillers are characterized by fast pacing, frequent action, and resourceful heroes who must thwart the plans of more-powerful and better-equipped villains. Literary devices such as suspense, red herrings and cliffhangers are used extensively. There are a lot of sub genres within thriller for example, action thriller, crime thriller, medical thriller, drama thriller etc. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thriller_(genre)#Sub-genres

Today we constructed a mind map about costumes and props for each character. Here is our mindmaps to prove so:

Discussing our Opening

During today's lesson we discussed the content of our opening, we decided that we are now going to film like a chase scene with two girls going out running from like a rapist type character. So today we devised a storyboard to show this. Here are the pictures:

Selecting our Groups

During today's lesson we decided upon our groups in which my group consists of myself, Amy Selby and Holly Costema.

Firstly we made an immediate brainstorm we covered:

• Plots e.g. Murder, Affair, Abduction, Robbery we thought this because they are all typical thriller plots, because they all cause tension and cover many conventions involved in those listed below
• Locations e.g. House, Park, Shop, we thought these as they are quite realistic places
• Mise-en-scene e.g. Gloomy lighting to create tension, props- stolen goods etc. Gloomy lighting we think was best because it is more tension as it is commonly more tense situation when it is dark rather than light
• Sound e.g. background music to create tension, I think this because from experience and the media I believe it works well as it causes emotion
• Camera e.g. close ups on weapons, establishing shots - build up picture of location
• Characters e.g. protagonist, antagonist as these are typical characters

From this we constructed a more detailed brainstorm into our final ideas.

We then made a questionnaire which we will hand out to collect research. We asked questions such as What sort of graphics people like, what sort of thriller characters they like, where they watch thrillers etc.

Preliminary Task

These are the storyboards we used to prepare our preliminary task

For our preliminary task we first collected ideas of what we may want to do, E.G.

• School Disciplinary Meeting
• Police Interrogation interview
• Job Interview
• Medical Appointment
• Hostage situation

In the end we went with the police interrogation interview

Camera

We decided we would record the scene several times but in different angles to help editing later on. We used various two person shots, over the shoulder shots, long shots and tracking shots to help establish the scene.

Mise-en-scene

In order to make a realistic interview room we kept the room quite deserted as typical, and positioned the table as an interview room with a chair on either side. We did not have particular costumes although, Alex Nightingale who played the suspect in the clip wore tracksuit bottoms and particularly juvenile clothing to represent youth crime. One spotlight was used to help focus the audience on one thing, and to help set the scene. Props such as the evidence, and tape recorder helped also to distinguish what was happening

Sound

In the dialogue we ensured representation of police was used in the language used for example "Interview Commencing at....". We came up with a script which is as shown below

PC Walker: Interview Commencing at _ _ : _ _ at Sun Hill Police Station with PC Dan Walker and Paul Smith. Where were you between the hours of 7:30 and 9:30 yesterday

Paul: At home

PC Walker: Can anyone confirm this?

Paul: I was on my own

PC Walker: How do you explain this? (shows evidence)

Evaluation of openings

For the homework last week we were told to watch the openings of two thrillers, and take notes on them. The films which I had chosen to watch were Man on Fire, and The Bourne Ultimatum

Man on fire!

Sets the scene- There are facts shown on screen to teach the issue being tackled
A range of establishing shots to introduce the location
The text on screen detailing the location helping us to picture place
Busy, dull, motorway- lots of people to watch expressions

Engages Audience- Fast pace, builds excitement in viewer
A lot of drama at first capturing instantly the audience’s attention

Crime- Kidnap- core of narrative

Enigmas- Who is the boy being kidnapped? Why are they abducting people?

Identity- Exciting music, mise-en-scene, costumes

Peril- Sound effects of screaming, show boy being attacked

Special Effects- Fast motion, Slow motion, Distorted imaging, Zoom, Point of View, Black and White

Bourne Ultimatum

Sets the scene- Shows main character instantly and we begin to build a picture
The text on screen detailing the location helping us to picture place
Busy, Gloomy- ideal for action

Engages Audience- Fast pace, builds excitement in viewer
A lot of drama at first capturing instantly the audience’s attention

Crime- Unknown - Builds Suspense- core of narrative
Bourne is being chased

Enigmas- What is he running from? Who are the people chasing him?

Identity- Exciting music, mise-en-scene, costumes, what he does

Peril- Tense music, Fast pace action, Dark gun scene

Special Effects- Fast motion, Distorted imaging, Handheld camera, Enhanced sounds

In the lesson after we watched North by Northwest. The film which was devised by Alfred Hitchcock had several of the conventions of thriller as it focussed around a crime, at several points found the main character in peril such as the helicopter seen. There was also many examples of twists and turns, Hitchcock is famous for his red herrings, such as the girl the character meets. This is also an example where it makes the audience want to ask question
such as "Who is the girl?", "Why is she being so nice to him?"

Wheatleys Words of Wisdom

So far, we have planned, filmed and just begun editing our opening to the new thriller. At the beginning of last week's lessons, Mr Wheatley offered some advice on how to construct an effective opening and how to use the camera.

1. Do not push tape in

2. Steady shot on tripod to prevent wobbliness

3. Make sure lens are clean, and wipe with cloth

4. Don’t point at sunshine

5. If doing a pan, allow enough space

6. Set it to Slow play- SP

7. Set exposure to manual

8. When you hit record wait five seconds to film

9. Set white balance up correctly

10. Zoom in a bit, set focus, gradually make BG blur, closer FG and BG are together the more you need to zoom in

I feel that this has been useful to me because now I am aware of some of the hazards to be careful of and have learnt something new for example the abbrieviations of SP and how to set the white balance

What are the conventions of thrillers?

• Crime is at the core of narrative- often murder
  
• A complexed narrative structure, with false paths, clues and resolutions
  
• A narrative pattern of establishing enigmas (makes you ask questions)
  
• Extraordinary events happen in situations
  
• Themes of identity, mirroring and voyeurism
  
• Protagonist with a flaw, exploited by antagonist
  
• Titles often reflect aspect of the character's psychological state
  
• Often a scene where the protagonist is in peril

In the lesson, we were told to find a partner and discuss what would make up a thriller, we decided that it should be scary and a sense of mystery. Holly and myself decided that it should thrill the audience. The mise en scene should mirror portaginess.

The reason I have also highlighted the conventions of a thriller on a whole is because our final task is about making our own opening scene of a thriller in a group. Therefore this will help me think of what the storyline could be.

Examples of thrillers include Sin City, The Dark Knight and Jaws.

I think that it was useful to go over the conventions of thriller as it helps me to have some guidelines in my head about what to include in our project. It has also helped refresh my memory and has also taught me a bit about the difference between a thriller and other films.