Thursday, 28 April 2011
Alex Revell - Full Evaluation
Full Evaluation- Alex Revell
Question 1- In what ways does your media use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
Chase
- We agreed straight away that we wanted a chase scene in our thriller. This is because the "chase" element is a simple way to create a thrill for the viewer. As movement, shot transitions, sound (both diegetic and non-diegetic) are increased in speed dramatically. Dozens of thrillers to this day include chases, example are:
Casino Royale, i,Robot and Narc all possess a foot-chase scenes. Ergo, we decided to use this method to create a thrilling scene. When the audience watch our chase scene, we feel an intense increase of speed and action. This is the feeling that these three films pass out to viewers, so we were looking for the same effect.
Setting
- We used two very different locations for both scenes in our film. The chase setting takes place in a forest pathway - which is in bright daylight and very open. Then the basement setting, takes place in dark, dusty, small and cut-off basement. We chose these two settings because they gave more variety to our film instead of using the same location.
- We used the forest path because it was very narrow, and a perfect length for our chase scene. It also held fantastic positions for us to place our camera. We chose a basement because it was perfect to create a dangerous and dark atmosphere. The basement looks cut-off from society so the tied-up victim has no chance of rescue. This also helps create a feeling of mystery, because the audience have no idea where this place is.
Basements have been used many times before where victims have been held and/or tied up. An example of this method being used is found in:
In Pulp Fiction, this famous basement scene is used as a climax to round-up one of the film's endings.
Why our film is unique
- Our film is unique because our chase scene takes place in a quiet, pleasant forest pathway. However, what is going on is dangerous. Hardly any thrillers use this type of setting in chase scenes, most chase scenes mirror the setting which is usually a dangerous or busy place. Our chase scene in no way resembles the environment it is taking place in.
- Our film represents a middle-class area. Both characters are wearing a shirt and tie, and the area once again is very tidy, quiet and green, which also represents a middle-class. This is not entirely correct for the real world, but is what we intended. Rarely do chase scenes feature a middle-class setting or characters.
We also used a bright filter on top of the chase scene to add a feel of a flashback.
Nine Of Our Shots And How They Relate To The Conventions Of A Thriller
Shot 1
- Opening shot, questions raised. Where is he? He is okay?
- We see he is taped up, we know this isn't his basement.
Shot 2
- Shot of taped victim's feet, audience now know he is immobile.
- We see what he is sitting on.
Shot 3
- Point of view shot, we get to see what he sees.
- Darkness, where is the antagonist? Is he there?
- Stairs - The only way out.
Shot 4
- Tilted shot gives a feeling of panic.
- LA gives indication of a powerful confrontation.
Shot 5
- ELS establishes setting more.
- Raises questions - when will the path end?
Shot 6
- Surveillance shot, is someone watching?
- High angle shows how much longer of path is left.
Shot 7
- Twig that is tripped on shown clearly in shot.
- Character is running into twig's direction, what will happen?
Shot 8
- Shot through stairs gives indication of character being watched.
- Suspense, raises questions as to what is going to happen next.
Shot 9
- Antagonist's face is revealed - Mystery of identity has been solved.
- Shadow on the wall shows adds effect on antagonist.
Question 2: How does your media product represent a particular social groups?
Our product represents two middle-class caucasian men. This is a huge social group in the UK. However, these characters taking part in criminal activity which is not usually affiliated with the middle-class.
Our characters are affiliated as middle-class because:
Mise En Scene
- Peaceful setting for chase scene.
- A bricked basement isn't something you would find in a working-class environment these days, but something more likely to be in the middle-class countryside.
Costumes
- Shirt and Tie is heavily affiliated with middle-class.
- Normal hairstyles.
- Smart trousers.
Mise En Scene and Costumes contribute to make these characters look middle-class.
Question 3: What type of media distribution might distribute your media product and why?
I believe of product would be suited best if it was broadcasted on BBC or a channel similar to the BBC. As I believe it does not feel like a cinematic film that you would go to the cinema to watch, and it would be more successful if broadcasted on national television and brought out on DVD. If it was to be broadcasted, it would also be released for portable devices and available to download online. Therefore, our product would be best for home viewing.
How could we market our product?
We could market our film by the following:
- Advertisements on the TV channel our film is being viewed on.
- Release a trailer to YouTube and create our own channel.
- Create a Facebook page and release bulletins on our product.
- Billboards around the country.
- Create a website dedicated to our film.
- Pay for advertisements across the internet on popular websites.
Question 4: Who would be your audience for your media product?
Gender:
Our target gender would be males because:
- Both characters are male.
- Violence and action usually appeals to males.
- Thrillers have almost always been orientated around male entertainment.
- However, females are still targeted for our audience, just not as much as males.
Age:
Our target age range is around 15-25. As both characters are younger, this may appeal more to young people. However, because our film features violence and relevance to torture it would not be suitable for under 15s. So this film would be 15+ Age Restriction.Therefore, our target audience are 15-25
males.
Question 5: How did you attract/address your audience?
We attracted our our audience through few features:
Mise En Scene- Dark, wet, dirty basement is the type of atmosphere that would appeal to a 15-25 year old male in a thriller.
Costumes- Both characters wearing trainers, jeans and casual overalls. Normal clothing for middle-class 17 year olds, therefore costume appeals to 15-25 middle-class males, but would appeal to any class.
Accents- When Liam talks, he sounds just what a middle-class 17 year old would sound like. Therefore, this also adds the attraction for a middle-class audience.
Synopsis- The general theme of the film would appeal to most 15-25 year old males, regardless of class, ethinicity etc.
Shots- Shots are all quite quick during the chase scene. This is make it feel quicker and action-packed,
Sounds- Soundtrack is electronic, which appeals to most male audiences 15-25 years old these days. At least in films.
I like to think our product is similar to Narc's chase scene, in the way that there is a flashback.
However, Narc includes diegetic sound only.
I know Narc appealed to me and many people I knew who watched it, and enjoyed the chase scene. I hope our product managed to pull off that effect to a certain level for our target audience.
Question 6: What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
I have learnt all sort of new things about the technology we used.
EditingI learnt a lot about editing and how to edit in Final Cut Pro. I worked a lot on this software in our preliminary project, and a little bit on our final product, although Jordan was our main editor, I still picked up things from him when observing him edit.
Apple Mac
I have never used an Apple Mac before, so using one for the first time was a whole new experience for me. It is very different to Windows, and I enjoyed working on a completely different type of computing hardware.Garageband
I used Garageband a lot in the preliminary, and
I had a chance to use it a bit with Jordan and Matt when we were finishing off our project. So
I have learnt how to use this software as well.
I found it great how many sound there were, and it was very useful for our project in the end.
I also learnt more on how to use other stuff such as a voice recorder, HD Camcorder and lighting.
Question 7: . Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learned in the progression from it to the full product?
Since the preliminary task I have learn so many things.
Sound
I believe the strongest understanding I have made is the ability to analyze how important sound is in a film. It really does set the mood so well, and it helps create the mood you want to make. Our soundtrack we used helps increase the "thrill" the chase scene, it is electronic, fast and exactly what we wanted. I understand how important this was, where as when working on the preliminary, I didn't think about sound so much.
We also added two sound effects in our film which I think were great. When the camera pans over Liam and cuts to the next scene, we added a gloomy sound effect which and made sound bridge between the two scenes. I came up with the idea to import a "dripping" sound in the basement scenes. I don't think I would have came up with this idea around the time we were making the preliminary. I believe that dripping sound effect helps create the suspensive mood we were looking for.
Shots and Framing
During the preliminary, our framing and shots weren't amazing. This was not only due to Jordan using the HD camera for the first time, understandably, but also because none of us noticed framing issues. I did not notice the framing issues in our preliminary until our teacher pointed it out.
However, now I notice the shots and frames much better. We noticed this when filming our final product. We planned our location, but we did not plan our shots. We all had the confidence to say, "this is what we're going to do", and came up with a solid plan of our shots.
Before our preliminary, I could not do that. But we all aimed to get the framing right and shots correct. I believe we managed to do this successfully.
Also, I have learnt the importance of how the number of cuts can increase or decrease the pace and speed of a scene. Our scene has a lot of cuts, therefore the visual speed is increase and the thrill of the chase is better. This is also something I did not notice during the preliminary.
Mise En Scene
Mise En Scene is also something I can analyze better now. The group decided we would target a middle-class young male audience, so both of our characters were dressed up as middle-class young males. The shirt and tie symbolizes the middle-class, and the trainers and jeans symbolize youth. I would not have understood this during the production of our preliminary so this is something I have learnt well.
Editing
I edited the preliminary project successfully, I only knew the basics though.
I edited little bits and bobs throughout this final project, however Jordan was the main editor and he did pretty much everything. However, this does not mean I couldn't learn. We all worked together, but I managed to spectate and learn what he was pressing, what buttons he pressed and what techniques he used. From this it was like I was receiving an editing lesson whilst he was working on our project.
If I was given our project footage again, I would feel confident enough to edit it to a decent standard and make it decent. I would have not had the confidence to edit the whole project before watching Jordan do what he was doing. So editing is something I have learned a lot about.
In conclusion, these are the four main aspects I have gotten a grasp of over the last few months since the preliminary. I have learnt these and built my skills well since December. This is what I have learnt, and those were the skills I built upon.
Since the preliminary task I have learn so many things.
Sound
I believe the strongest understanding I have made is the ability to analyze how important sound is in a film. It really does set the mood so well, and it helps create the mood you want to make. Our soundtrack we used helps increase the "thrill" the chase scene, it is electronic, fast and exactly what we wanted. I understand how important this was, where as when working on the preliminary, I didn't think about sound so much.
We also added two sound effects in our film which I think were great. When the camera pans over Liam and cuts to the next scene, we added a gloomy sound effect which and made sound bridge between the two scenes. I came up with the idea to import a "dripping" sound in the basement scenes. I don't think I would have came up with this idea around the time we were making the preliminary. I believe that dripping sound effect helps create the suspensive mood we were looking for.
Shots and Framing
During the preliminary, our framing and shots weren't amazing. This was not only due to Jordan using the HD camera for the first time, understandably, but also because none of us noticed framing issues. I did not notice the framing issues in our preliminary until our teacher pointed it out.
However, now I notice the shots and frames much better. We noticed this when filming our final product. We planned our location, but we did not plan our shots. We all had the confidence to say, "this is what we're going to do", and came up with a solid plan of our shots.
Before our preliminary, I could not do that. But we all aimed to get the framing right and shots correct. I believe we managed to do this successfully.
Also, I have learnt the importance of how the number of cuts can increase or decrease the pace and speed of a scene. Our scene has a lot of cuts, therefore the visual speed is increase and the thrill of the chase is better. This is also something I did not notice during the preliminary.
Mise En Scene
Mise En Scene is also something I can analyze better now. The group decided we would target a middle-class young male audience, so both of our characters were dressed up as middle-class young males. The shirt and tie symbolizes the middle-class, and the trainers and jeans symbolize youth. I would not have understood this during the production of our preliminary so this is something I have learnt well.
Editing
I edited the preliminary project successfully, I only knew the basics though.
I edited little bits and bobs throughout this final project, however Jordan was the main editor and he did pretty much everything. However, this does not mean I couldn't learn. We all worked together, but I managed to spectate and learn what he was pressing, what buttons he pressed and what techniques he used. From this it was like I was receiving an editing lesson whilst he was working on our project.
If I was given our project footage again, I would feel confident enough to edit it to a decent standard and make it decent. I would have not had the confidence to edit the whole project before watching Jordan do what he was doing. So editing is something I have learned a lot about.
In conclusion, these are the four main aspects I have gotten a grasp of over the last few months since the preliminary. I have learnt these and built my skills well since December. This is what I have learnt, and those were the skills I built upon.
Matts Evaluation
Evaluation
(1) In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
. We tried to use as little dialogue as possible as we wanted to shock the audience with our drastic camera shots.
. Are overall aim from this thriller was to create suspense and anticipation for the audience, a key way of achieving this was through the chase scene, with its speedy camera transactions and movement, alongside the intense non diegetic music really thrilled the audience.
. Are overall aim from this thriller was to create suspense and anticipation for the audience, a key way of achieving this was through the chase scene, with its speedy camera transactions and movement, alongside the intense non diegetic music really thrilled the audience.
.In our opening we also attempted to raise questions, such as why is the protagonist of our production tied up on a chair in a darkened room. This is shown by the opening shot (long shot) although the shot is rather narrow so obscures other information on the surroundings, this makes the audience feel almost claustrophobic which adds panic, anxiety and tension.
. Mise en scene was a key aspect in which we attempted to thrill the audience as the country footpath surrounded with greenery added to the tension, as the theme of claustrophobia was continued as the trees seemed to arch creating a tunnel like affect, which increased anxiety and also made the shots seem faster as the leaves appeared to fly past you this added the theme of danger.
. The setting of our thriller challenges a stereotypical or thriller as it is filmed during daylight, as we felt a night time chase scene was too predictable. Also we chose to film in a rural area that looked like a country path to avoid a typical urban surrounding so often associated with thrillers such as this.
Our characters challenge a stereotypical thriller as they are both dressed smartly in shirts and ties, looking fairly middleclass, contrast to the predictable youths in tracksuits you may expect from a production such as this.
. Due to some clever camera work we were able to perhaps create the biggest question of our thriller, which is what is in the bag? It’s made clear that the contents of the bag is very important to the film as it completely changes the atmosphere of the film as tension rises between the two characters, as it inspires the little dialogue we used.
Another way we raised questions within our thriller was in the titles at the end of the opening, we used a vague and mysterious image to provide a background for the film title. This alongside some intense sincere non diegetic sound really creates anticipation.
We were inspired by this chase scene, with its edgy non diegetic sound and fast paced camera transactions this was something we also tried to achieve. We felt this got us on the edge of our seats, just as we wanted our audience to.
(2)How does your media product represent particular social groups?
We feel our media product goes against the stereotypes of most thrillers; we did this by using a male victim character in contrast to the typical female ‘damsel in distress’ used by many other thrillers.
We also wanted to avoid the typical underclass, tracksuit wearing, housing estate characters which are commonly associated with chase scenes, we did this through costume; dressing our characters in smart shirts and ties. We also achieved this via setting as the running through a country side alleyway with much greenery to promote this theme of characters.
This could be perceived as a negative view of the middle class as they are not usually associated with criminal activities perused by our characters.
(3)What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
I would plan to produce our thriller as a strictly digital product. To save money on celluloid film prints as well as other cinematic outputs. I would advertise the product on the internet on sites using viral advertising on sites which are target audience use often, such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Our film will be available to buy from iTunes as well as games consoles such as Xbox 360 and PS3 additionally it will available on demand on BT Vision as they are more likely to show low budget British thriller than Sky television. It will also be possible to download and view the film on portable devices such as iPhones, iPods and Smartphones; we feel this will capture our target audience’s attention.
Having discussed possibly shooting a 3D version of the film, although we decided there wasn’t enough funding. There was also not enough funding for a Film distribution company so we will approach advertisers and distributors ourselves.
(4)Who would be the audience for your media product?
Due to the general violent themes and fast paced action are film is generally more targeted at a male audience, although can still appeal to the female audience. Thrillers in general are targeted towards males, this with the combination of two main male characters should really home in to our target audience.
Both of our main characters are young actors meaning it will generally appeal more to a younger audience although we cannot ignore the adult themes within our production such as torture and intense violence, because of this i feel a certificate of 15 would be ideal for our film, the target audience will be in between the ages of 15 to 26. This is key to our advertisement plan, as research shows our target audience are keen website surfers on the sites discussed above, as well as game console players.
(5) How did you attract/address your audience?
The theme of the film was key to attracting our audience, as we wanted intense themes with a helpless protagonist, which allows audience to feel empathy and therefore develop relationship and attachment with the characters. The chase was also important to grab the audience attention and add first instance of suspense.
Camera work was important as we wanted some extreme shots that shock the viewer such as those below.
Editing was also an important aspect to attract our audience; we used straight cuts to add pace to our chase scene. Through fast paced transactions and also the seemless transaction through which the flash backs turns back to the present. A bright filter was used on the chase scene to add to the experience of a flashback.
Sound played a key role in giving pace and changing the mood in our production. Foley sound is used at the beginning to make water drops which creates an eerie mood, then non diegetic sound is used to create a beep noise over the ‘3 hours earlier’ this builds up the viewers’ suspense, then an intense soundtrack is played over the chase scene which really adds to the intensity.
(6)What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
We used the Sony HD Handycam to film both our preliminary and final product, i really enjoyed using this camera as it was easy to use, but also offers HD quality. We found it easy to create detailed shots and colour and white balance.
We recorded the dialogue for the product on a separate microphone for better sound quality; this was easy to then add to our product. We did our editing using final cut pro, this was the best piece of software at our disposal and helped us to add flow and pace to our product, as well as add video filters to certain scenes to add effect alongside transactions and our title sequence.
We used Garageband to create all the sound in our production minus dialogue. We created a soundtrack and also added necessary Foley and ambient sounds. We used a lighting kit for the basement scene in our production to create an eerie effect, we failed to use a lighting kit in our preliminary so this took some adjusting but we are pleased with the final product.
(7) Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learned in the progression from it to the full product?
The improvement from our preliminary to final production in unquestionable, everything has improved from sound to mise en scene, the ability to convict different themes such as weakness and power was clearly demonstrated using the new techniques we had learnt.
From our preliminary in progression to the final product, we have improved our use of camerawork, editing, sound and mise en scene hugely as we have learnt about different techniques to use in order to convey different things such as power.
Camera work was far improved with a faster pace and more diverse range of shots made this an intense thriller for the audience, we did this by using the environment to create extreme shots such as climbing in trees and crawling below fences.
I also believe the shot reverse shot was more affective as it was better framed than the preliminary. The way we perceived are protagonist to be weak was very affective as we film from high angle.
The editing with our final product was far more diverse where as in the prelim we only used straight cuts making our film tedious and predictable.
The use of sound was greatly improved as we added a soundtrack for our chase scene which created far more tension, also the Foley sounds used gave it a far more professional feel to our prelim.
We put far more time and thought into mise en scene in our final product, costume was key to promote our characters’’ background, and raise questions about them such as why are they wearing a suit?
The setting was far more relevant to what we wanted to achieve in our final product. Whereas in our prelim it was clear that we simply just filmed in college using little creativity.
Although in our final product we chose the setting purposely to replicate a dungeon this raised futher questions for our audience.
Liam Ellis, Evaluation
1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
A conventional thriller is made ideally to create suspense and dramatically entertain the audience in a way that keeps their eyes glued to the screen. A thriller can also combine with a number of other topics and genres such as action, sci-fi, mystery and horror. What makes a thriller good is how gripping and entertaining they are. Some main conventions of a thriller production are, enigma, restricted and unrestricted narration, protagonist & antagonist, use of camera, sound, & editing, typical elements of mise en scene, these points cover all the main areas of what a film should contain.
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.
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.
Mise en scene
In our thriller opening, our setting is firstly, what looks like a rural public footpath. This then leads on to a fair sized bricked basement, this gives us an idea of the catcher/kidnapper, is of some sort of money, as most homes that have basements are rather large.
The clothing that the two characters wear in our opening are fairly smart, shirt, jacket, tie and trousers, this makes the chase feel professional and business like. It also sets a strong recognition of social class, giving the audience a tiny bit more information but still raising questions about this information given.
The only obvious props that are used is, the bag given to the kidnapped victim in basement scene. We used an idea from a film, Pulp fiction, to use restrictive narration and not able the audience to see into this bag.
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. In our media product the protagonist is established very early as he is firstly tied to a chair and then in the next scene is getting chased. The antagonist also is discovered very early on in the product as he is chasing the victim. Then at the end the villain emerges out of the shadows which gives a very evil judgement.
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.
Films such as casino royale have brilliant sequences of chase scenes, from the start of the film, you can directly tell it’s a thriller as the chase scene has you gripped to action, this works really well as you don’t know the outcome and it could determine the outcome of the entire film as well. Within the chase itself, so many different camera angles and shots are used to add more affect and suspense, the chase also gets more intense each time a new situation happens or evolves.The setting is also very suggestive that the social class is middle class, the chase takes place in what looks like a country side walkway, trees either side and a few house, but nothing to built up. Then as the next scene evolves, a small basement is brought into place, this gives us an idea of a hide away that’s close to the chase, most probably again being in a rural area.
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, tousers and jackets were worn and this fits our theme of a thriller perfectly, it gives out the impression of something to do with special forces and this also 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?
Gender:
Our media product is aimed at any gender, however thriller are usually and stereotypically aimed more at a male audience, but we have tried to make it as gripping and entertaining to both genders. Both of our main characters are males and has a male theme for a story line, so it could also be argued that it is only aimed and directed towards male viewers.
Age:
As a thriller film, our targeted audience obviously is not going to be below the age of twelve years old. There is mild violence, but nothing above the protagonist being tied to a chair, this also only occurs in the basement scene. If we had to target it to one group of audience, it would fit into a category of 15-25, this is because our filmed has the same features and genres as something similar to, James Bond or the Bourne series.
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.
Editing
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.
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?Looking back at our preliminary task, I think we have improved quite successfully. Firstly our continuity editing is much better and less mistakes were made, this could be because we spend longer editing and took more care or the idea of taking more then one take on each shot. In our preliminary we also had problems with lighting, in our final product this was all solved by either using artificial lighting or being outside. Being outside automatically fixed our lighting problems that could have occurred as we didn’t want any particular direction or amount of light. Our camera angles shots and framing our also much more better, this is most probably because of practise. Another reason that this could have better is the fact that we done 2 takes of everything, when this is done we just hand picked the best shots taken.
1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
A conventional thriller is made ideally to create suspense and dramatically entertain the audience in a way that keeps their eyes glued to the screen. A thriller can also combine with a number of other topics and genres such as action, sci-fi, mystery and horror. What makes a thriller good is how gripping and entertaining they are. Some main conventions of a thriller production are, enigma, restricted and unrestricted narration, protagonist & antagonist, use of camera, sound, & editing, typical elements of mise en scene, these points cover all the main areas of what a film should contain.
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.
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.
Mise en scene
In our thriller opening, our setting is firstly, what looks like a rural public footpath. This then leads on to a fair sized bricked basement, this gives us an idea of the catcher/kidnapper, is of some sort of money, as most homes that have basements are rather large.
The clothing that the two characters wear in our opening are fairly smart, shirt, jacket, tie and trousers, this makes the chase feel professional and business like. It also sets a strong recognition of social class, giving the audience a tiny bit more information but still raising questions about this information given.
The only obvious props that are used is, the bag given to the kidnapped victim in basement scene. We used an idea from a film, Pulp fiction, to use restrictive narration and not able the audience to see into this bag.
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. In our media product the protagonist is established very early as he is firstly tied to a chair and then in the next scene is getting chased. The antagonist also is discovered very early on in the product as he is chasing the victim. Then at the end the villain emerges out of the shadows which gives a very evil judgement.
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.
Films such as casino royale have brilliant sequences of chase scenes, from the start of the film, you can directly tell it’s a thriller as the chase scene has you gripped to action, this works really well as you don’t know the outcome and it could determine the outcome of the entire film as well. Within the chase itself, so many different camera angles and shots are used to add more affect and suspense, the chase also gets more intense each time a new situation happens or evolves.The setting is also very suggestive that the social class is middle class, the chase takes place in what looks like a country side walkway, trees either side and a few house, but nothing to built up. Then as the next scene evolves, a small basement is brought into place, this gives us an idea of a hide away that’s close to the chase, most probably again being in a rural area.
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, tousers and jackets were worn and this fits our theme of a thriller perfectly, it gives out the impression of something to do with special forces and this also 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?
Gender:
Our media product is aimed at any gender, however thriller are usually and stereotypically aimed more at a male audience, but we have tried to make it as gripping and entertaining to both genders. Both of our main characters are males and has a male theme for a story line, so it could also be argued that it is only aimed and directed towards male viewers.
Age:
As a thriller film, our targeted audience obviously is not going to be below the age of twelve years old. There is mild violence, but nothing above the protagonist being tied to a chair, this also only occurs in the basement scene. If we had to target it to one group of audience, it would fit into a category of 15-25, this is because our filmed has the same features and genres as something similar to, James Bond or the Bourne series.
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.
Editing
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.
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?Looking back at our preliminary task, I think we have improved quite successfully. Firstly our continuity editing is much better and less mistakes were made, this could be because we spend longer editing and took more care or the idea of taking more then one take on each shot. In our preliminary we also had problems with lighting, in our final product this was all solved by either using artificial lighting or being outside. Being outside automatically fixed our lighting problems that could have occurred as we didn’t want any particular direction or amount of light. Our camera angles shots and framing our also much more better, this is most probably because of practise. Another reason that this could have better is the fact that we done 2 takes of everything, when this is done we just hand picked the best shots taken.
Saturday, 2 April 2011
A second mistake!
So, we are finished! And now I have time to look back and watch our film thoroughly, I believe we did a good job. However, we also noticed another mistake on this which we did not notice until we had finished. When Liam falls during the chase scene, in one of the shots, you can see a pedestrian walk into the shot looking at what was going on.
We had no idea of this until we watched the chase scene on full screen, and it was too late to change and re-film. We had put down filming notes around our area but the woman must not have seen them!
If we were to film again, we would make it more clear that filming was taking place, and that we would check out the details in the shots after we shoot them just in case. Also, we would make sure to take multiple shots.
We also have a final mistake which Matt will post about soon.
Written by Alex.
We had no idea of this until we watched the chase scene on full screen, and it was too late to change and re-film. We had put down filming notes around our area but the woman must not have seen them!
If we were to film again, we would make it more clear that filming was taking place, and that we would check out the details in the shots after we shoot them just in case. Also, we would make sure to take multiple shots.
We also have a final mistake which Matt will post about soon.
Written by Alex.
Editing and Sound now complete
We successfully finished the editing for our film and it is now open for viewing on our blog. We decided to make a few changes during this process. Firstly, we decided to change the soundtrack that we had for our chase scene so that it is more exciting and not as repetetive as the original sound we had. Also, with the final title image, we firstly had a simple black screen for the backdrop of the title 'The Myth' but we then decided to change it to a photo that Matt took earlier in the editing stages. We added affects to the title so that it looked more mysterious and raised more questions to the audience.
However, although we finished the project successfully, i have notocied a mistake in the film. This mistake is in one of the opening shots and is a shot of Liams legs tied up. However, in the bottom right hand corner of the screen you can see part of my leg from when i was taking the shot. This is due to the awkward position in which the camera was set on the tripod and made it so that i had to sit down directly behind the camera to make the shot possible. We did not notice this until very near to the deadline so therefore did not have time to go out and re-film this. We should have noticed this when we filmed it but we probably didnt due to us watching the footage on the small screen of the video camera. In the future, to avoid mistakes like this we will film multiple shots of each thing that happens in the film so that we have a back up clip if we need to use it.
Written by Jordan
However, although we finished the project successfully, i have notocied a mistake in the film. This mistake is in one of the opening shots and is a shot of Liams legs tied up. However, in the bottom right hand corner of the screen you can see part of my leg from when i was taking the shot. This is due to the awkward position in which the camera was set on the tripod and made it so that i had to sit down directly behind the camera to make the shot possible. We did not notice this until very near to the deadline so therefore did not have time to go out and re-film this. We should have noticed this when we filmed it but we probably didnt due to us watching the footage on the small screen of the video camera. In the future, to avoid mistakes like this we will film multiple shots of each thing that happens in the film so that we have a back up clip if we need to use it.
Written by Jordan
Friday, 1 April 2011
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