Evaluation - Jordan

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

A conventional thriller is meant to provide an exciting experience for the audience that keeps them on the edge of their seat. This is due to particular thriller conventions that help maintain a grip on the audience’s attention. Conventions include such things as enigma, protagonist and antagonist and restricted and unrestricted narration. In our opening, we followed these conventions as best we could to make it clear what genre the opening is. Also we did this to create suspense and tension for the audience as it would grab hold of their attention for the rest of the film.

Raising Questions

• A thriller opening is meant to raise questions or enigma to the audience that may be answered later on in the film. This is so that the audience then have a story to focus upon in the film and realise why the questions were raised at the beginning of the film.
• Many questions are raised throughout our opening, with the main one being, why is the male character who appears first (protagonist) tied up to a chair? Where is the protagonist? And who has tied the character up? These questions are raised as soon as the opening begins as the initial shot LS of the character tied to the chair gives away nothing of how he got there but gives the audience the situation he is in. These questions grab the audience’s attention as they want to carry on watching to find out the answers to the questions raised.

• Also, in our opening, we tried to raise a question to the audience with one of the titles at the end. This is due to the background image for the text being a photograph that has been manipulated in final cut. It is not clear what the image is, so therefore, has the audience wondering what it may be and how it is relevant to the film.

• Another question raised is the question of what is in the bag? This is a huge question in terms of the thriller as a whole due to the title 'The Myth' which is based on what is in the bag. Therefore, this question is set up for the audience very early in the film which leaves huge scope for the rest of the thriller in how the story can answer the audiences question.
  
  
  

  

Protagonist and Antagonist

An antagonist and protagonist are usually presented to the audience in a conventional thriller opening. However, a conventional thriller would normally have a female character as the protagonist due to their vulnerable stereotype and our protagonist is in fact a male. In our thriller opening, both a protagonist and antagonist are created. This is due to the initial shots of the protagonist being tied up to the chair and later on in the opening shown getting chased by another character who is then revealed as the antagonist in the film. The presence of the antagonist is created as when the shot of the protagonist on the floor is shown, after him tripping up and the antagonist approaching him, with the transaction back to the previous setting, it is clear that this character has tied the other up so therefore indicates danger to the audience. However, the perception of protagonist and antagonist may change later on in the film.

The following are examples of where our media product follows conventions of a thriller:

Camerawork

• A wide range of camera shots are used during the chase scene to add pace and tension to match the use of editing and sound
• A lot of CU’s of the protagonist, such as this one, are used at the beginning of the opening to convey his claustrophobic and scared emotions to the audience

• LA shots of the antagonist are used after the chase sequence to show his position of power over the protagonist tied up

• Also, use of POV shots which are good at conveying what the protagonist is feeling to the audience

Sound

• Fast paced, non-digetic soundtrack is used during the chase scene to create a ‘thrill’ to the audience
• Ambience sound of a water drip during the shots of the protagonist to create a mysterious and eery atmosphere
• Shocking sound when the final title of the film appears which makes the title stand out more, keeping the audience on the edge of their seat
• Sound bridge when protagonist is shown lying on the floor shows connection between the two different settings 

Mise en Scene

• The costume of the protagonist has tears and fake blood stains on it to imply danger and raise more questions

• The setting in which the protagonist is tied up in creates another enigma for the opening

Editing

• Quick, straight cut transitions during the chase scene add to the pace of the opening
• The title ‘3 Hours Earlier’ gives the audience an idea of the time frame for the opening

Films we used for inspiration: 

We used pulp fiction for inspiration due to the smart dress on some male characters and the different settings which link to one another which we have done a little in our opening but not drastically like in Pulp Fiction

We drew inspiration from Reservoir dogs because the representation of middle-class is in a similar way to in our product as they are wearing smart dress but, however, are involved in criminal activity which could be seen as bad representation for the middle-class

2. How does your media product represent particular social groups? 

Gender 

• Our media product represents the male gender group as both the protagonist and antagonist are males. This challenges normal conventions of a thriller as the protagonist would usually be a female
•  We represent the male gender mainly negatively due to them being obviously involved in criminal activity and also that the antagonist has tied up the protagonist and beaten him. This is shown to the audience from the ripped shirt that the protagonist is wearing 
• There is no other gender representation in the opening as the two male characters are the only characters during our media product

Social Class

• The middle-class is represented in our thriller due to the setting and costume
• The setting of the chase scene is in a quiet alleyway with lots of greenery etc at one side which shows that it is more likely to be a middle-class area because it is away from busy, urban areas
• Basement setting shows signs of middle-class from its old brickwork as it is unlikely of a lower-class person being associated with a setting like this
• Costume is a huge part of our media product as it represents the middle class from the use of a shirt, tie and smart trousers on both of the characters. A shirt and tie is associated with the middle-class as it implies that there job is fairly important and well paid which requires this dress code
• We use shots like this to make it clear to the audience what our characters are wearing

The representation of this social group may be fairly negative because middle-class people would not usually be associated in the criminal activity in which our two characters are. However, during the chase scene, we use a lot of LA shots which represents the middle-class characters from a good light in the sequence.


A good example of a film which represents this male, middle-class social group is Swordfish.

This is because of the fact that the males are dressed very smartly which implies that they are middle-class and have a wealthy background. It also represents the same social group as the men in Swordfish are also involved in some kind of criminal activity just like the characters in our thriller opening. 

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

I think that our media product would be best suited if it was broadcasted on the BBC as a drama or something similar. This is due to it lacking cinematic feel, partly because of editing techniques used and budget. Also, it would go on a channel like this because of it being a British thriller production and a big production company wouldnt take on something this small.

• Good examples of distributors that would take on our product are: Momentum Pictures, Icon, Soda Pictures etc
• The distributor we would choose if given the choice would be Icon film distribution UK due to its low budget along with their targeting of action
• Films that Icon film distribution UK have took on include:

A Single Man

Precious

The Road

Apocalypto

How we could market the film

• Create a website for the film including lots of stats for the film, basic storyline, trailers, teaser clips etc to attract our target audience
• Also create channel on Youtube for various trailers and videos promoting the film
• Advertisements on TV if it was getting shown on a particular channel such as BBC 1 as it would promote both the film and channel
• Could put billboards around that catch peoples eyes. Put especially in places where our target audience would go e.g the train station
• Make a Facebook page and release bulletins notifying people on information for the film

4. Who would be the audience for your media product?

Gender

Our media product is suitable for both gender groups as, although both of the characters are male, the general plot of the opening would easily grab both genders attention. However, I think that our opening would be enjoyed more by the male gender group because of the general fast paced nature of the opening, especially during the chase scene. Also I think that when the protagonist is tied up it implies violence and torture which would not appeal to the female audience, especially as this is just the opening and may suggest things to come later on in the film.

Age

The thriller opening, itself, is suitable for most ages due to the lack of violence in it. However, our product would not be suitable for anyone under the age of 12 due to the implication of violence from where the protagonist is tied to the chair. Therefore, the thriller would get a 12 certificate unless the remainder of the film got more violent and unsuitable for young people to watch. Our media product would be most likely to appeal to an audience around the age of 15 as the fast paced section of the film (chase scene) would be enjoyed more by this age group.

This audience of males between the age of 15 and 25, generally, will like fast paced thrillers in the same style as our opening. A good example of a thriller this audience would go and watch is Casino Royale and the Bourne films due to its high rate of action and adreneline. Below is the opening from Casino Royale. Our audience would most likely enjoy this as it is similar to our media product because of the slow dialogue scene that contrasts to the intense fight.

5. How did you attract/address your audience?

We attracted/addressed our audience in a variety of different ways like camerawork, editing, sound, mise en scene and the story told through narrative.

Story told through narrative

We told the story in a way that would be play with time and attract the audience in this way as they would see the connections between both different time settings. We decided to do this so that it would contrast with the initial shots of the protagonist tied up. We also had a title just before the setting changed which told the audience how long ago this scene took place. The audience is then left to recognise the connection between each setting. This is made fairly obvious from implications made during the dialogue. At the end, the characters then talk to each other which leaves the audience with the question - what’s in the bag? This gets them excited about things to come in the film as they know later on they will find out.

Camerawork

• There are a variety of different shot sizes and angles throughout the opening to offer variety to the audience
• Tried to offer unique shots such as this one (on right) to entertain. We used this shot as it gave the audience something to look out rather than the chase and to let them see the scene from an unusual perspective

• CU shots of lower body and ECU’s of heels as they are running ‘over’ the camera for say

• Initial shots in the opening establish the character to the audience. Also a creative shot is between two of the stairs of the basement which shows the protagonist clearly struggling

Editing

• CU tracking shot of the protagonist (right) which then switches to original setting half the way up of his body is a good way of returning to a timeframe and makes it happen although they haven’t even noticed it
• Lots of quick straight cut transitions during chase scene to create a fast paced mood for the audience
• Video filter during the chase scene used subtly but effectively as it is brighter and would therefore attract the audiences eye as well as indicated some sort of time difference

Sound

• Fast paced non-digetic soundtrack to quicken the pace and to create a contrast to the previous mood created at the beginning of the opening
• Sound when the final title of the film comes up immediately attracts the audiences attention as it is a fairly shocking noise which is unexpected
• Sound when the ‘3 Hours Earlier’ title appears is used as a build up to the chase scene along with the typewriter sound at the same time.

Mise en Scene

• Costume is used during the initial shots so that the audience can see he has been beaten. This injects a feel of danger into the opening for the audience.
• Setting worked well in basement as gave creepy feel to audience and matched the context of the product. Reservoir dogs has a scene similar to ours where a character is tied up in a basement and their is dialogue between him and the antagonist. We drew some inspiration from this film during the early stages of planning when deciding about narrative and setting.

This scene from Reservoir Dogs also has the character tied up looking as if he has just been beaten up. This shocks the audience and creates another enigma to why he has been beaten. We did this in our opening to convey the protagonists low position of power over our antagonist and also to shock the audience.

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

Camera

• We used the Sony HD Handycam to film our final product mainly because we also used this for our preliminary and thought that it was the best camera for the job which is fairly easy to use
• We enjoyed using this camera and really liked the outcome of all of our shots as this camera enhanced certain details of setting etc
• Also, the camera has a separate microphone which we used to shoot the dialogue scene between the protagonist and antagonist. It picked up the speaking clearer and is very easy to put onto the camera and use

Editing

• For the editing process we used Final Cut Pro on the Apple Mac because this is the best software to use and has many different features in which we could easily play around with the footage, looking at what flowed the best
• Also, we had used this software for our preliminary which meant that every member of our group could easily use Final Cut to put the video filters, transactions and titles in which we needed a lot of for our final product

Sound

• Garageband is the program we used to add all of our sound onto the film apart from the dialogue scene in the basement. We used it because we had used it in our preliminary and we were experienced on the program
• Used Garageband to make the non-digetic soundtrack during the chase scene and also to add in Foley and ambient sounds where appropriate

Lighting

• We used a lighting kit during some parts of our product to light up the basement from a certain position as it would be to dark to see anything if the light wasn't there
• In our preliminary we didn't use any lighting what so ever so using lighting in our opening was a learning curve although it was fairly easy to do
• We had to use an extension lead also due to our setting being down a flight of stairs which was too far for the standard lead to reach any plugs in my house. We were careful as we kept the lead to the side of the stairs so that nobody walking up or down the stairs could trip

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

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.

Camerawork

We developed our camerawork by using a wider variety of shots in our final product than in our preliminary to create a faster pace and make it more exhilirating for our audience. We also tried to use more creative and inventive shots using the environment around where the scene took place. This contrasts to the preliminary task because we used no shots which used the environment as effectively as we did in the thriller opening. 

• Here is an example of where he framing was slightly off in the preliminary as part of the characters head is out of shot. This is a very easy mistake to make and we were sure to take our time lining up the camera shots when filming for our final product

 

• This next picture however is from our final product and is a good example of where we spent the time framing carefully so that the protagonist is easily seen by the audience. Also, we decided to use the MS so that the audience can easily see the characters body language when he is talking.

• This is also a good example of where camera work slipped in our preliminary. This is because the movement was too quick which caused the shot to look blurry and out of focus due to the harsh light which was in the room we shot. We learnt this mistake so therefore shot carefully when shooting for our final film.

Editing

We developed our editing skills in progression to the full product as we had previous experience  on Final Cut Pro from using it for our preliminary. This meant that we improved the editing, as a whole, in the thriller opening to make it flow better.

• We used a wider variety of transitions in the final product whereas in the preliminary task, we just used the simple straight cut. We used fade in, fade out in our thriller opening to convey the passing of time between the two different scenes

• While editing our preliminary, we were unaware how to put filters over our video in order to convey certain things to the audience. In our final product however, we used a glow filter to put over the chase scene as it would convey a flashback to the audience. The filter made it a lot brighter especially when the camera shot was a little more exposed to the sun.

Sound

In our preliminary, we used very little sound mainly due to none of us being that experienced in Garage band. However, in our final product we had a lot more sound as we had more time to work on our product and we also had more experience working on Garage band which made it easier to use what we wanted.

• In the preliminary, we used no Foley or ambient sound what so ever whereas in the opening we had ambience pretty much throughout with the water drip sound during the basement scene and general ambient noise when panning up the protagonists body.

Mise en Scene

We improved our use of Mise en Scene hugely from our preliminary task to our final thriller opening as in our preliminary we didn't really make much of an effort in this aspect of the film. However, we thought very carefully for the use of Mise en scene in this film.

• In this shot, it is easy to see that there was no real effort involved in costume as the character is simply wearing his normal clothes due to the filming arrangements that had to be made.

• However, on the next shot, from our final piece, you can see that we used smart clothing to create a more formal mood in the opening and to also represent the middle-class. This also keeps the audience thinking as it offers a question to what their job might be?

• The setting in our preliminary was also unsuitable for the narrative as it is quite clear that we simply used an empty room in college to film. There were problems with this as we used a staircase in a different location in college and the two doors were meant to match up so that it looked as if the first door shown lead to the room where the dialogue took place. However, the doors looked very different making the situation hard to believe by the audience.

 

•  In our final film, however, we chose the setting specifically as the stone dungeon like walls matched our theme perfectly and would raise further questions for the audience. The setting is in fact my basement and looks like a place someone would be likely to be hold captive. The picture shows the setting in which our protagonist was hold prisoner.