Danielle Waites
A/S Media Evaluation
For my media coursework, I worked in a group of four to produce a Thriller film opening. One of my many tasks to complete in this media project was to create a presentation, which had to include the forms and conventions of a Thriller film which i spoke about in great detail. Creating this presentation had a huge advantage on my knowledge as this way I could compare our film opening with world wide Thriller films, too see what type of iconography, editing, setting etc, they use, this is so i could get a more of an understanding of what makes a perfect Thriller film opening, I also included some annotations of film openings and film posters within my presentation. When our film was totally complete, we all had to go over it together, just to make sure, we included most of the forms and conventions, to make our film 'fit in' with the genre. Along with all our group opinion, we asked for feedback from our target audience after they watched it, to see if our Thriller film opening, met their 'standards'.
To relate our film opening to more 'real life' Thriller openings, we looked at all of the forms and conventions that the genre use, to make the 'typical' Thriller film. As mentioned above, I created a presentation, which partially looked at the forms and conventions. To start the forms and conventions, there is always a stereotypical victim, which includes, a innocent young girl, who doesn't really know her bearings around where the film is set, whereas the villain is more likely to be seen as the 'hard man', just like in the Thriller film 'Harry Brown'. In our film opening, we kind of kept to the convention of the victim being a young innocent female, with her female friends, whilst the villain was a man, with a hood up and mostly covering his face. Normally, in a Thriller film, the women are stereotypically seen as 'sexy' and 'seductive', we didn't follow this convention, along with the convention of the villain, the villain is seen as a 'gangster' in a typical suit, however the villain in our opening, was dressed in jeans and a hoodie, which connotes that maybe his a 'hooligan' who is getting revenge. The setting comes under the convention iconography, which we have to consider within our Thriller film, normally the Thrillers are set within an urban environment (which was the setting we used) to create that 'gangster' feeling which also links back to our villain character, the setting links to him, as the urban environment is also associated with gangs. At the start of our opening, it was quiet busy, with the public walking around, but then when it came to the killing scene, it became more deserted, and the victim and the villain was 'together'. We also set our film at night, this naturally creates more suspense, as the victim is a girl, it automatically set her to be seen as more vulnerable. In addition to the conventions in a Thriller film is also the visual and audio style in a Thriller film. We chose to use a gun shot at the end of our film, which is a stereotypical of a Thriller film weapon. When you see the villain holding the gun towards the victims face, there is a sudden black screen, before the black screen, it has a point of view shot from the victim eyes, the back screen symbolises death, and could be the automatic shut of the eyes of the victim as she got killed. As well as adding a gunshot, we added some music over the top of the opening, to create suspense within the audience, to get the audience more interested in the opening, we used more eerie music which makes the audience more wary of what is going on within the film. Then the music slows down a bit, and starts up again, but this time more faster, which creates a lot of suspense within the audience and starts getting them thinking of whats going to happen. We also decided to use this type of music in the scene where it is cross cutting between the other girls, while the murder is taking place. Furthermore, adding to all the other forms and conventions, lighting had a big impact on our film and it is also a very important convention within the 'mainstream' Thrillers, we used quite dark lighting in our opening as it was quiet hard to control as we used a public place. On the other hand the lighting was quiet successful at some points of the opening, as we filmed in the dark, and with the street lights against the villains face, we couldn't see him, which is also a typical feature of a Thriller film. Another important convention would have to be suspense and action, which are the two things that the audience suspect when watching a Thriller film. We also included it within our film opening, we done this by including a murder, with a 'typical' Thriller weapon, which was a gun, other weapons include; knifes, pieces of rope to strangle the victim to death, an axe, poison, hammer any many more.
Our group particularly stuck to most of the forms and conventions of a typical Thriller film but the one which standed out for me was the environment, the environment we used was a typical urban setting, but you wouldn't really see it within a Thriller film, this is what made our film unique. As mentioned above, we used a very busy public area to start of with and then it followed on into a more quiet area, where the victim got killed, so the villain wouldn't get caught. However the only thing we went against in the forms and conventions of the setting would be, the lighting within the film, even though its was good in some ways, if we had more professional equipment, we could of included some extra lighting at the start of the scene.
All the way throughout the film me and all my group had to keep in mind the audience for this opening, this includes the planning, we had to think about how to attract them. First our group had to select an age range that we think is appealing to that particular age. The age we thought was suitable for this type of horror film is fifteen plus, as there is a killing in the opening which used violence and a weapon. Typically teenagers like films that have a lot of action as they are particular active themselves so therefore they can relate to the film a lot more. I also think Murder and a revenge story also gets the teenagers intrigued into our opening. The visual elements such as the surrounding that our film opening contains, are very important to get the audience interested as it sets the scene in many films, for example our film is set at night, which sets and eerie atmosphere. In our film opening we didn't really look closely to gender, as we aimed our film to interest both genders, we done this by not focusing one one gender, we used both male and female. Just to make sure we got our film to the correct age range we asked some teenagers of this age to view our film opening and give us feed back on how they found the violence and how they think we can improve it. Here our some of the feedback that we collected after they watched the opening...
" What an excellent start to a Thriller film, its certainly my sort of genre, i would recommend it to anyone who like this type of action/revenge film. However i would change the lighting in the film, sometimes you cant really see whats going on, this could easily be solved by turning the light on, on the camera."
Another viewer said:
" This Thriller film contains all of the forms and conventions of the typical genre, but i wouldn't recommend it, for a Thriller film opening, i expect it to be exciting, this opening lacked loads of that. I wanted to be taken back by the opening, but it was just like any other film, I know all the forms and conventions are typical, but most Thriller films change them or give them a bit of a twist, this film opening is good, just not to my standards.
" Wow, what a film opening, I wanted it to carry on, it so addictive, it has typical forms and conventions of a Thriller film, the villain looked scary and you don't know whats coming up on the screen next. The story line was very easy to follow, i have no complaints or changes that should be made to this, it is perfect and fits into my standards completely.
Looking back at all of our film 'critics' comments, 2 out of 3 of them are positive, this shows that our films is very successful, and would suit a big release and more of a bid budget film working with a major film production. As a group we all decided our film would suit this sort of release as we are catering for a big genre and many members of the public like the Thriller genre, we could easily cater for this audience as we learnt how to draw the audience towards the film from the opening. I personally feel that our opening can be taken further and expanded to make a main stream movie. To make our film even more appealing to the audience, if our film was major release we would add stunts, more effects, a lot more action and techniques. However i do see the other 'critics' point of view, our groups film does need to challenge the forms and conventions more to make a more a story line, so it would also make it within an independent production. On the other hand, i definitely think our film should be pushed towards the big budget market.
Making our film, has given me such a huge amount of knowledge on the Thriller genre and i am fully confident on doing another film project again. I have now got more awareness of making a film. All of our group thought that the editing part would be the easiest, but clearly not. We had to go through all of our shots of different scene and put them together, to make sure the film is absolutely perfect for the audience to watch, as time consuming it is, we all got through it and worked very well as group. Before doing my project, i was fully confident, as I studied the Horror genre in my last project at GCSE, i kind of knew what the editing process was like.
In our preliminary task, we had to film and edit a simple sequence. We learnt how to put certain sequences together and put them in order, just by cutting from one shot to another. In this thriller opening main task, we learnt more editing techniques, such as crosscutting, for the more difficult scenes filmed. We also learned how to put a non-dietetic soundtrack onto the film and other techniques involving sound such as creating sound bridges to link 2 scenes together. The preliminary task i done was a great successful as it prepared me for what i had to done for my coursework. This is why i think my Thriller film opening became a fantastic success. Also from ym preliminary task i not only learnt how to edit effectivly, i got alot more out of it, such as, the shots that make the film, and how film productions use them in certain ways to gets the audience understanding the story and on the edge of there seats, (if the genre is appropriate). I also learnt alot about the mis-en-scene, not only in a thriller film, but in other genres too, and how it affects the film in may different ways, this is including keeping the audience keen to watch the film.
Not only did i enjoy working within a group, i really enjoyed shooting the film, although it was really tiring keep shooting the same scene over and over again, however, we had a very successful outcome in the end. So overall i think that our Thriller film opening was a great success. I also think it is amazing how we made such a brilliant film and had such a magnificent experience, by just starting off with a storyboard, drawing on a piece of paper. As said in many paragraphs above, I think our film followed the forms and conventions of a typical Thriller film, i feel that we followed all the right steps and created a good piece of, working in a group very well.
Thursday 22 April 2010
Tuesday 20 April 2010
Evaluation by Jhenelle
‘1 Down 2 to go’ compares to actual thriller openings by using the same forms and conventions of the genre such as props and iconography, narrative elements, characters, audiovisual style and themes. However, it also challenges these things and does them differently that how the audience would expect.
The story follows a group of girls who are stalked by a serial killer, this narrative links the opening to a sub-genre of thrillers called ‘serial killer’ thrillers. This sub-genre usually features a serial killer, typically male, and the protagonist’s efforts to get away from them. In the typical opening in this sub-genre, the serial killer kills a minor character, as happens in some thrillers such as Scream. In ‘1 down 2 to go’; this happens, and right after lets the protagonist know of her impending doom. In most thrillers in this sub genre, the victims don’t know what’s going to happen or that they’re being threatened until after a few people have died: in our thriller opening; the other victims are immediately informed via text message.
The iconography used in this opening features a gun (weapon of the killer) which is one of the central objects used in thrillers. The characters also use a cell phone to carry forward the story, which will signify the youth that the story centres around, their use of technology also reflected in movies. Movies such as ‘One Missed Call’ use cell phones as a main element of iconography within the story, with the killer contacting the victims through their cell phones.
The music in this opening is also linked to the thriller genre in that slow suspenseful music was chosen to make some moments more intense, for example the scene where the girls find out that their friend might be in danger, cross cutting with scenes of their friend being killed, the sound gets higher and higher until she is killed and the opening comes to an end.
In our film opening, the characters shown are the victims and the killer. The killer is the only male character and shows him as the stereotypical serial killer/ stalker. In most thriller films, and film in the subgenre of serial killer thrillers, most serial killers are male. They are represented as psychopathic stalkers who are either obsessed with their victims or just kill for fun, but they are almost always male characters. The killer in this opening is mysterious in that you never really see his face; he seems like just a nameless murderer, which is also stereotypical because serial killers are generally thought to be male.
The female characters in the film are the victims, which is also a stereotype of the genre. The characters in this film are teenaged girls, dressed in stylish clothes with is what you would stereotypically see of these types of girls. Another stereotypical view of these girls is that they would be weak and defenceless and unable to overcome dangers, which is true of the characters at the beginning of the film when one girl is killed. One of the characters in the opening is the typical scream queen stereotype who is generally useless and gets killed first. Another character is a strong female character, who shows her resourcefulness in the film by having her cellphone on hand. She breaks the stereotype of women being victims to men because of this, maybe she will be able to survive throughout the film.
The image of these characters will show teenage girls as weak and easy to victimize while the killer, who is a man, will be violent and evil. The representations are stereotypical views on their respective gender also, with the girls being helpless and weak and the man being more powerful than them. In the opening this is what is portrayed, but hopefully further into the film, the girls might break the stereotype and brave the killer and ultimately defeat him (those who haven’t died, anyway.)
Our film would fit more as a low budget, independent film, possibly produced by Lionsgate, who have produced low budget thrillers such as the ‘Saw’ series, ‘Resident Evil’, ‘Bug’, ‘Skinwalkers’, ‘Captivity’, ‘Hostel’, ‘Lake Dead’, ‘The Eye’, etc. It would suit a small audience and aimed at small independent cinemas because of the low budget as well as it being similar to the narratives of themes of the movies produced by Lionsgate.
This film would be aimed toward teenagers; an audience that is targeted by a lot of thrillers which I think are similar to my film, like ‘Final Destination’ and ‘Tormented’. These tend to be 15 certificate films. Both are heavily aimed towards teenagers because of their main characters being teenagers, which is true of 1 down 2 to go. This film opening is intended to attract a young audience, by using characters that are teenagers so that they could relate to the main characters more and connect to them. Another thing teenagers could relate to is the setting of the mall, giving them an additional sense of terror because they usually go to places like that and things like what happens in the opening happens in their favourite places, along with the girly night out that a lot of teenagers can relate to. The use of mobile phones and cameras are also something that would be linked with teenage audiences because teenagers frequent this technology and are very attached to their phones, also adding more shock that they can relate to because the girls in the opening are victimized using their cell phones.
Feedback from audiences who have seen the opening find it very scary and hopefully the combined elements of terror and teenagers will attract that kind of audience because there are a few thriller movies aimed towards teenagers and teenagers are fans of thriller movies, like the Final Destination. The film was shown to teenagers aged 16 – 18, around the age of the target audience. The feedback was positive and the audience felt it was scary in parts, proving some of the forms and conventions effective to the genre of the film, though we could use more editing techniques for certain scenes. According to a random member of the audience audience; “I like the choice of music and the storyline, but I think it could do with more effects and more lighting when they’re in the car park.” One main criticism of the opening is the lighting; the audience felt some scenes were too dark or not lit well enough.
In the process of making this opening, I have learnt a lot about filming and editing processes. With filming, I’ve learnt that there are many factors to consider such as lighting, composition of shots, etc and using the camera to create the atmosphere or sense of panic needed in the opening, which is very interesting because the camera is the window through which the audience sees whatever you want them to see. I have also learnt a lot from editing, and putting all the shots together in the right order and sequence for the opening. I have also learnt how to put in certain effects, like slow motion which can be subtly controlled in percentage changes, and how to create the title sequences using transparencies so that the lettering appears over the image.
Music was another thing I learned to put on the film and dealing with the soundtrack and the dialogue which had to overlap each other. This required careful adjustment and synchronisation of the music and dialogue tracks. I have learnt a lot more about editing and filming than from the preliminary task, spending more time on the film and adding music and titles. Using the process of editing we were able to create the title sequence as a distinct feature separate form the main opening section. We did this by using still images that we could transform to black and white in a digital imaging program and then import these into Adobe Premiere and add film grain to it, , This title sequence wasn’t originally planned until we experimented during the editing stage. We were also able to dub the sound of a gunshot on a certain part of the opening, synchronising the sound against the scene and making it fit together.
In the preliminary task, we were required to film and edit a simple sequence. We learnt to put certain sequences together and put them in order, simply cutting from one shot to another. In this thriller opening main task, however, we learnt more editing techniques, such as crosscutting, for the more complicated scenes filmed. We also learned how to put a non-dietetic soundtrack onto the film and other techniques involving sound such as creating sound bridges to link 2 scenes together. Another thing we did for this opening that we didn’t do in the preliminary task was to create credit titles to put ahead of the opening.
The story follows a group of girls who are stalked by a serial killer, this narrative links the opening to a sub-genre of thrillers called ‘serial killer’ thrillers. This sub-genre usually features a serial killer, typically male, and the protagonist’s efforts to get away from them. In the typical opening in this sub-genre, the serial killer kills a minor character, as happens in some thrillers such as Scream. In ‘1 down 2 to go’; this happens, and right after lets the protagonist know of her impending doom. In most thrillers in this sub genre, the victims don’t know what’s going to happen or that they’re being threatened until after a few people have died: in our thriller opening; the other victims are immediately informed via text message.
The iconography used in this opening features a gun (weapon of the killer) which is one of the central objects used in thrillers. The characters also use a cell phone to carry forward the story, which will signify the youth that the story centres around, their use of technology also reflected in movies. Movies such as ‘One Missed Call’ use cell phones as a main element of iconography within the story, with the killer contacting the victims through their cell phones.
The music in this opening is also linked to the thriller genre in that slow suspenseful music was chosen to make some moments more intense, for example the scene where the girls find out that their friend might be in danger, cross cutting with scenes of their friend being killed, the sound gets higher and higher until she is killed and the opening comes to an end.
In our film opening, the characters shown are the victims and the killer. The killer is the only male character and shows him as the stereotypical serial killer/ stalker. In most thriller films, and film in the subgenre of serial killer thrillers, most serial killers are male. They are represented as psychopathic stalkers who are either obsessed with their victims or just kill for fun, but they are almost always male characters. The killer in this opening is mysterious in that you never really see his face; he seems like just a nameless murderer, which is also stereotypical because serial killers are generally thought to be male.
The female characters in the film are the victims, which is also a stereotype of the genre. The characters in this film are teenaged girls, dressed in stylish clothes with is what you would stereotypically see of these types of girls. Another stereotypical view of these girls is that they would be weak and defenceless and unable to overcome dangers, which is true of the characters at the beginning of the film when one girl is killed. One of the characters in the opening is the typical scream queen stereotype who is generally useless and gets killed first. Another character is a strong female character, who shows her resourcefulness in the film by having her cellphone on hand. She breaks the stereotype of women being victims to men because of this, maybe she will be able to survive throughout the film.
The image of these characters will show teenage girls as weak and easy to victimize while the killer, who is a man, will be violent and evil. The representations are stereotypical views on their respective gender also, with the girls being helpless and weak and the man being more powerful than them. In the opening this is what is portrayed, but hopefully further into the film, the girls might break the stereotype and brave the killer and ultimately defeat him (those who haven’t died, anyway.)
Our film would fit more as a low budget, independent film, possibly produced by Lionsgate, who have produced low budget thrillers such as the ‘Saw’ series, ‘Resident Evil’, ‘Bug’, ‘Skinwalkers’, ‘Captivity’, ‘Hostel’, ‘Lake Dead’, ‘The Eye’, etc. It would suit a small audience and aimed at small independent cinemas because of the low budget as well as it being similar to the narratives of themes of the movies produced by Lionsgate.
This film would be aimed toward teenagers; an audience that is targeted by a lot of thrillers which I think are similar to my film, like ‘Final Destination’ and ‘Tormented’. These tend to be 15 certificate films. Both are heavily aimed towards teenagers because of their main characters being teenagers, which is true of 1 down 2 to go. This film opening is intended to attract a young audience, by using characters that are teenagers so that they could relate to the main characters more and connect to them. Another thing teenagers could relate to is the setting of the mall, giving them an additional sense of terror because they usually go to places like that and things like what happens in the opening happens in their favourite places, along with the girly night out that a lot of teenagers can relate to. The use of mobile phones and cameras are also something that would be linked with teenage audiences because teenagers frequent this technology and are very attached to their phones, also adding more shock that they can relate to because the girls in the opening are victimized using their cell phones.
Feedback from audiences who have seen the opening find it very scary and hopefully the combined elements of terror and teenagers will attract that kind of audience because there are a few thriller movies aimed towards teenagers and teenagers are fans of thriller movies, like the Final Destination. The film was shown to teenagers aged 16 – 18, around the age of the target audience. The feedback was positive and the audience felt it was scary in parts, proving some of the forms and conventions effective to the genre of the film, though we could use more editing techniques for certain scenes. According to a random member of the audience audience; “I like the choice of music and the storyline, but I think it could do with more effects and more lighting when they’re in the car park.” One main criticism of the opening is the lighting; the audience felt some scenes were too dark or not lit well enough.
In the process of making this opening, I have learnt a lot about filming and editing processes. With filming, I’ve learnt that there are many factors to consider such as lighting, composition of shots, etc and using the camera to create the atmosphere or sense of panic needed in the opening, which is very interesting because the camera is the window through which the audience sees whatever you want them to see. I have also learnt a lot from editing, and putting all the shots together in the right order and sequence for the opening. I have also learnt how to put in certain effects, like slow motion which can be subtly controlled in percentage changes, and how to create the title sequences using transparencies so that the lettering appears over the image.
Music was another thing I learned to put on the film and dealing with the soundtrack and the dialogue which had to overlap each other. This required careful adjustment and synchronisation of the music and dialogue tracks. I have learnt a lot more about editing and filming than from the preliminary task, spending more time on the film and adding music and titles. Using the process of editing we were able to create the title sequence as a distinct feature separate form the main opening section. We did this by using still images that we could transform to black and white in a digital imaging program and then import these into Adobe Premiere and add film grain to it, , This title sequence wasn’t originally planned until we experimented during the editing stage. We were also able to dub the sound of a gunshot on a certain part of the opening, synchronising the sound against the scene and making it fit together.
In the preliminary task, we were required to film and edit a simple sequence. We learnt to put certain sequences together and put them in order, simply cutting from one shot to another. In this thriller opening main task, however, we learnt more editing techniques, such as crosscutting, for the more complicated scenes filmed. We also learned how to put a non-dietetic soundtrack onto the film and other techniques involving sound such as creating sound bridges to link 2 scenes together. Another thing we did for this opening that we didn’t do in the preliminary task was to create credit titles to put ahead of the opening.
Final Evaluation by Nita
Our product compares to “real world” thriller openings because it shows many of the typical characteristics you would find in thriller film openings. For example: the basic story of our film involves 3 girls going out late at night, one getting separated, and a “stalker” murdering the girl on her own.
Also the fact that the stalker is a man is also very stereotypical. Usually in thriller films, the men are the “killers” and the women are portrayed as vulnerable or helpless.
We used some of the forms and conventions that you would expect to find in a thriller opening. For example: the narrative involves a murder, a weapon is used (gun), and there is also some violent behaviour at the end. Also, the atmosphere hints what genre the film opening is supposed to come from. The atmosphere is very late in the evening and we purposely waited until it got dark. Also the setting was in an urban place and it was quite busy at the beginning. The whole film opening is set in an urban area (Romford), which is typical of thriller films.
Throughout our film, we have “represented” people, and we have used stereotypical genre characteristics. For example: our choice of gender for each character. We have deliberately chosen a certain gender for a certain character. Stereotypically men are usually the “killers” whereas the women are the “targets” who are portrayed as helpless and vulnerable. We have used this stereotype in our film. Although there are three girls and only one man (stalker/killer), the girls are still portrayed as helpless. The “killer” does murder a girl in the end.
We have tried to put across a small message: that young girls should try and avoid being out late at night and alone. There is a risk that young girls could get raped or even killed. Although this also applies to boys as well, stereotypically girls are more vulnerable. Also, girls are represented as being more vulnerable through media, for example: on TV in the news where we hear a lot about young girls getting raped/killed, which occurs more with lone girls walking the streets late at night than boys.
I think a big budget major Film Studio Production Company would manufacture our film because, although the narrative/storyline is simple, it does send out an important message: young girls (and boys) should try and avoid being out late in the dark, because there is a higher risk they could bump into a dangerous person. In our film, the girl that gets killed walks up the stairs to a car park where it is very empty, isolated and dark. The fact that the setting is dark and empty reflects what real thriller films are set like. The darkness makes the audience wonder if there is anyone there. In most thriller films when someone is hiding, it is usually in the dark. Darkness shows mystery and can also show unseen danger which is the case in our film. The girl who walks up alone is the one who gets killed. She would have been more likely to survive if she had stayed with her friends until her mum arrived. In real life, a lot of young girls do this. They “meet up” with their parents in dark, isolated places, like car parks, where they are more likely to get followed.
Our film is aimed at young girls who go out late at night and come home alone. Although it is an unlikely event, it does happen. So our slightly extreme version of a “stalk and kill” situation just reminds young girls who fit the character of the lone girl that gets killed in our film, to be a little more street wise. It also reminds parents of what could potentially happen, if their child was out in a situation like in our film.
Our film opening starts off with the stalker with his hood up. We can already tell from the thriller theme soundtrack and the way he is standing (alone in an empty car park) that the film probably fits the thriller genre.
In the opening shot, we see the urban city over the man’s shoulder (from behind). The area is typical of where young teenagers are likely to visit. Nearly all young girls love shopping with their friends so when we see a shot of the shopping centre, our audience knows he film will probably involve young people. Also, the stalker is dressed like a typical teenage boy. He is wearing baggy jeans, and a hooded top with the hood up. Our audience can tell from just what he is wearing that he isn’t old. After the credit sequence, we see three young girls happily strolling out of the cinema. Straight away, our audience knows the film will be about young people-probably girls because our first scene shows the girls coming out of the cinema, which is quite stereotypical of young, teenage girls.
I have learnt that a lot of technological processes involved in real thriller films can be achieved using school equipment. For example: a stereotypical process that real thriller films use is fast-pace editing. When a scene is building up suspense, fast-pace editing is used. We also used this in our film for the same reason. It helped us build up suspense for the “big end”. From this technique, our audience can guess that the film is probably a thriller/horror. We also really enjoyed adding the soundtrack which really brought the film to life. From the soundtrack, the audience could probably tell what genre the film is from. We also added a gunshot sound at the end along with a blackout. The blackout was simple however it looked really good when it was put in. the blackout was put in to make it seem like we were looking through the girls eyes.(point of view shot) We see a gun aiming down at the camera and see a glimpse of the stalkers face for the first time. The fact that the whole opening ends in suspense is another stereotypical characteristic of thriller film openings.
Since the beginning of the project, I have learnt a lot. For example: in our preliminary task, we used a limited amount of camera angle shots. We used more types of camera shots in our thriller opening. We didn’t use high angle shots in our preliminary task, however we did in our thriller opening. Also, I feel our acting skills have improved since our first task. We added more emotion to our characters which improved our film too.
We also used a lot more editing in our thriller opening compared to our preliminary task. We added blackouts, fast pace editing, we added credits etc. at the beginning of the project I didn’t know how to achieve those thongs however now I am more familiar with the technological side of film.
Furthermore, we added sound to our film which I didn’t know how to before. Music really brings films to life. For example, from the type of music we use, audiences can guess which genre the film is from. I never used to notice it, but now I do. We also added a gunshot sound at the end. It was a simple sound but it really did have a great effect on our film overall.
I also learnt that light plays an important part in how our films are portrayed. For example: our film was a thriller therefore we used a limited amount of light.
Throughout our media project we have recieved feedback from our audience. for example alot of people said "i really liked the music they added and also the dramatic ending. ireally liked the blackout and the gunshot effect"
"i also liked the crosscutting effect, and the credit sequence at the beginning"
we also recieved some critism. for example: they said "they could have improved their film by maybe adding a wider variety of shots"
although we recieved critisms, we have had some helpful advice which could help us improve our next film, if we make one.
Also the fact that the stalker is a man is also very stereotypical. Usually in thriller films, the men are the “killers” and the women are portrayed as vulnerable or helpless.
We used some of the forms and conventions that you would expect to find in a thriller opening. For example: the narrative involves a murder, a weapon is used (gun), and there is also some violent behaviour at the end. Also, the atmosphere hints what genre the film opening is supposed to come from. The atmosphere is very late in the evening and we purposely waited until it got dark. Also the setting was in an urban place and it was quite busy at the beginning. The whole film opening is set in an urban area (Romford), which is typical of thriller films.
Throughout our film, we have “represented” people, and we have used stereotypical genre characteristics. For example: our choice of gender for each character. We have deliberately chosen a certain gender for a certain character. Stereotypically men are usually the “killers” whereas the women are the “targets” who are portrayed as helpless and vulnerable. We have used this stereotype in our film. Although there are three girls and only one man (stalker/killer), the girls are still portrayed as helpless. The “killer” does murder a girl in the end.
We have tried to put across a small message: that young girls should try and avoid being out late at night and alone. There is a risk that young girls could get raped or even killed. Although this also applies to boys as well, stereotypically girls are more vulnerable. Also, girls are represented as being more vulnerable through media, for example: on TV in the news where we hear a lot about young girls getting raped/killed, which occurs more with lone girls walking the streets late at night than boys.
I think a big budget major Film Studio Production Company would manufacture our film because, although the narrative/storyline is simple, it does send out an important message: young girls (and boys) should try and avoid being out late in the dark, because there is a higher risk they could bump into a dangerous person. In our film, the girl that gets killed walks up the stairs to a car park where it is very empty, isolated and dark. The fact that the setting is dark and empty reflects what real thriller films are set like. The darkness makes the audience wonder if there is anyone there. In most thriller films when someone is hiding, it is usually in the dark. Darkness shows mystery and can also show unseen danger which is the case in our film. The girl who walks up alone is the one who gets killed. She would have been more likely to survive if she had stayed with her friends until her mum arrived. In real life, a lot of young girls do this. They “meet up” with their parents in dark, isolated places, like car parks, where they are more likely to get followed.
Our film is aimed at young girls who go out late at night and come home alone. Although it is an unlikely event, it does happen. So our slightly extreme version of a “stalk and kill” situation just reminds young girls who fit the character of the lone girl that gets killed in our film, to be a little more street wise. It also reminds parents of what could potentially happen, if their child was out in a situation like in our film.
Our film opening starts off with the stalker with his hood up. We can already tell from the thriller theme soundtrack and the way he is standing (alone in an empty car park) that the film probably fits the thriller genre.
In the opening shot, we see the urban city over the man’s shoulder (from behind). The area is typical of where young teenagers are likely to visit. Nearly all young girls love shopping with their friends so when we see a shot of the shopping centre, our audience knows he film will probably involve young people. Also, the stalker is dressed like a typical teenage boy. He is wearing baggy jeans, and a hooded top with the hood up. Our audience can tell from just what he is wearing that he isn’t old. After the credit sequence, we see three young girls happily strolling out of the cinema. Straight away, our audience knows the film will be about young people-probably girls because our first scene shows the girls coming out of the cinema, which is quite stereotypical of young, teenage girls.
I have learnt that a lot of technological processes involved in real thriller films can be achieved using school equipment. For example: a stereotypical process that real thriller films use is fast-pace editing. When a scene is building up suspense, fast-pace editing is used. We also used this in our film for the same reason. It helped us build up suspense for the “big end”. From this technique, our audience can guess that the film is probably a thriller/horror. We also really enjoyed adding the soundtrack which really brought the film to life. From the soundtrack, the audience could probably tell what genre the film is from. We also added a gunshot sound at the end along with a blackout. The blackout was simple however it looked really good when it was put in. the blackout was put in to make it seem like we were looking through the girls eyes.(point of view shot) We see a gun aiming down at the camera and see a glimpse of the stalkers face for the first time. The fact that the whole opening ends in suspense is another stereotypical characteristic of thriller film openings.
Since the beginning of the project, I have learnt a lot. For example: in our preliminary task, we used a limited amount of camera angle shots. We used more types of camera shots in our thriller opening. We didn’t use high angle shots in our preliminary task, however we did in our thriller opening. Also, I feel our acting skills have improved since our first task. We added more emotion to our characters which improved our film too.
We also used a lot more editing in our thriller opening compared to our preliminary task. We added blackouts, fast pace editing, we added credits etc. at the beginning of the project I didn’t know how to achieve those thongs however now I am more familiar with the technological side of film.
Furthermore, we added sound to our film which I didn’t know how to before. Music really brings films to life. For example, from the type of music we use, audiences can guess which genre the film is from. I never used to notice it, but now I do. We also added a gunshot sound at the end. It was a simple sound but it really did have a great effect on our film overall.
I also learnt that light plays an important part in how our films are portrayed. For example: our film was a thriller therefore we used a limited amount of light.
Throughout our media project we have recieved feedback from our audience. for example alot of people said "i really liked the music they added and also the dramatic ending. ireally liked the blackout and the gunshot effect"
"i also liked the crosscutting effect, and the credit sequence at the beginning"
we also recieved some critism. for example: they said "they could have improved their film by maybe adding a wider variety of shots"
although we recieved critisms, we have had some helpful advice which could help us improve our next film, if we make one.
Thursday 25 March 2010
Final Evaluation by Jade
For my media coursework I created a Thriller film opening in a group of four. We all played separate roles in the making such as editing, directing, acting, etc. However before we started to film we conducted some research into typical thriller ingredients. We first started to look at the types of conventions used within a thriller so we could compare our film with a major thriller film production. As well as studying the conventions used, we also did an analysis of thriller posters and a particular film opening to build upon our knowledge of this genre.
Now our thriller opening is complete we want to look back over the film to consider whether we “ticked” all the boxes or whether we produce something that went against the typical forms and conventions or a thriller opening.
As a group we discussed the particular media institution which would produce our film, comparing whether it would be a high or low budget film. As well as this we also gained some feedback from our target audience.
Firstly, as a group we decided to try and stick to creating an opening that has the same forms and conventions as a “real world” thriller. To begin with, within thriller’s there are certain character types that often appear. There is always an innocent victim, stereotypically a female, and a well built, hard looking male villain. We stuck to the convention of the victim being female and the villain male, although we used three females as the innocent, harmless victims against a male villain. However we didn’t expand on this typical character type by making the women quite seductive and wearing skimpy clothing, just as we chose not to dress the villain in a suit and hat to give him the hard, mafia feel, of a character often seen within thrillers. We represented the young women as the victims with the male dressed in jeans and a hooded jacket with the hood up, to still give that urban, “yob” feel associated with this particular genre. Other characters are cops, spies etc. We decided against adding any of these as we wanted to leave the opening on a cliff hanger and wanted the audience to know there is more to the film.
The second convention used within thrillers is a typical story element. Thrillers develop suspense and action. We decided to build upon the theme of revenge and murder by creating a death within the opening. This is often done within thrillers, such as Jaws, to take the audience by surprise and keep them interested.
Iconography is a major ingredient to consider. We used the stereotypical surroundings within a thriller, rather than challenge them. We chose to stick with the urban, city life environment. We open our film and credits with a selection of images of the urban life. We started in a quite busy environment and then we moved to a more deserted, dull car park with no body or nothing around. (Yet you could still see the urban environment in the background). I feel we based our opening in a very stereotypical environment that developed the iconography and atmosphere, particularly at the end when the murder took place.
In addition to this the time of day also had an impact of the opening and enhancing the type of genre. We chose to set the film at night to create more suspense and it worked well with the characters, with the young females being out late and in the dark and the dangers that occur at night.
The final convention was the visual and audio style. One of the first audio styles that you can easily recognise, towards the end of the opening is creating the sound of a gun going off. After seeing the villain holding a gun towards the victim, the scene then cuts to an all black scene in which all you can hear is the gun shot. We chose to not only take the gun shot out of the scene and have it go off with a blank screen, but also try and make the noise quite loud, not only to build effect and suspense but, to also have an impact on the audience and allow them to use their own knowledge of what they have just seen happen in the opening and gather the sound of the shot symbolised a death.
As well as the choice of using audio style to add special effects and symbolise something, we also used a variety of music to build suspense. We started off with a quite dull and eerie music tune to grab the audience’s attention, which at the same time makes them wary and suspicious of what is going to take place. We then move on to cutting the music when the girls appear to show their innocents before picking a different type of music that was played in the back just to build suspense. Yet as the opening moved on the music died down again before picking up afterwards and going at a slightly faster pace and louder as it lead to the murder. With this, we decided to create something visually which was quite “panicky” to grab the audiences attention, so we decided to use the technique of cross cutting between the two girls and the soon to be murder scene. This was designed to build on the impact on the audience, as well as keeping their attention and make the audience feel that sense of fret and worry for the innocent characters that they have established within the opening.
Lighting was a particularly difficult element to try and include due to the particular setting we chose. Most thrillers use low-key lighting often on the villain to create the dull, suspicious feel that thrillers want to create. We would have liked to of used this lighting but with flood lit lighting and shop lighting used in our surroundings it became extremely difficult. However in some areas of our opening, especially towards the end, the lighting used on the killers face when approaching, the victim and when holding the gun towards her worked out well as it captured his face, and showed the audience who he was as they hadn’t seen him earlier on in the opening.
I think we stuck to the typical ingredients and elements of the forms and conventions, especially the representation of the character type and social group. We chose to use the very “stereotypical” genre characters and gender representation used with in thriller and we didn’t really challenge it. Starting with the choice of female victims, what we used is very predicable in thrillers as in society, as they are seen as lot more weak, innocent, the type of gender that would be easier to attack, and we can see that with in major thriller movies they use females as an easy target and a weakness. I feel this is one of the reasons when watching our opening you can see it is a thriller based genre. In addition as we are teenagers, this added to the young female weakness.
However, one thing in particular that could be see as going against the stereotypical female thriller character is the way we dressed her. Most women within this genre are normally quite seductive which adds to them being an easy target.
In addition we adapted the stereotypical character type for the male character. Obviously, just like in thrillers, we chose to use the male gender to become the villain. Men are normally associated with being more dominant , violent, tough and so are more suited to play a hard violent character than a woman. Also we wanted to expand on him being the villain by how he looked in the shots and the choice of clothing and props. Firstly as we based our opening within the city we wanted him to adapt to the role of a male, seen on the streets, in a gang, basically a “yob”.
So he wore jeans, trainers and a hooded jacket, but also carried a weapon, a gun. We chose for him to have a weapon to commit the murder but also to build upon his character of being violent and aggressive. He also has his hood up so when couldn’t see his face, for the most part of the opening, to not only create suspicion, but it’s a certain element seen within male social groups.
We also had to remember our audience and how to attract and address them. Throughout the planning and the filming we always had to keep in mind the type of audience we were addressing and what we should include to attract them. The first thing we had to do as a group, was to set a particular age range. As a whole we decided to aim our opening at a fifteen plus age group. Due to the particular violence created within the opening we felt it may be a bit to much for a younger age group. However teenagers as a whole, we felt was a good age range and particular audience for our film opening. Yet the kind of audience we chose to address are the type that are interested in quite a lot of action, murder and revenge, the typical elements of a thriller. You can see this through the murder that takes place and mise en scene. The surroundings, of an urban environment, basing the film at night, the visual elements of the editing and the variety in the audio style and as well as using stereotypical thriller characters, all help to address an audience who likes typical thriller movies that build suspense and contain all the common thriller elements.
We didn’t specify between the types of gender as I feel our opening has elements of ingredients that would attract a variety within the audience. We have used both genders within our film so we haven’t excluded anyone. One of the reasons we used both genders is for this reason. Some audience may feel its more generated towards a female audience due to the limited amount of males that appeared within the opening, just as other audiences may feel the opening is addressed at a more male based audience, due to the action that takes place, vulnerability of the females against the dominate male. However I feel it isn’t gender specific.
As our audience was a main part of our film opening we gathered some audience feedback on our work on what they liked about the opening and what we could of improved on. One person said,
“ It was a really good opening to a thriller, it contained all the typical elements of the forms and conventions of this genre and was quite well in addressing the type of audience. However if you could change something about it, it would be to maybe change the audio style. The chose of music was good and where it was placed, but it may have been a little louder”.
Another viewer of our film opening said,
“It was good, I liked the way you presented the characters and led to false suspense with the music, as every time the music appeared the audience knew something was coming, I liked that. I also like the chose of cross-cutting at the end to help build suspense. I think it worked really well. But it you have to change or improve on something, maybe you could a few more different shots”.
Most of the audience who commented on our work had positive feedback, but if anything they said maybe we could improve on the audio style just to make it slightly louder and maybe use a more variety in the types of shots.
From looking at the audiences feedback and our overall production we could now think about the type of media institution that would distribute our media product. I think from it that you can see elements of both the production becoming an independent production, and a more mass market production, with a mass audience and multiplex release. However as a group we felt it was more suited for a bigger release, a big budget, a major film studio production. We felt this way as firstly, considering the type of genre we are catering for, we have developed and used the typical ingredients used which creates a good thriller and draws the audience in from the start. I think our film opening is a good opening in the “thriller world”, and it is a good starting point to expand on and explore to create a mainstream movie with more special effects and a lot more action which would be created in a studio. I feel that the opening can be explored and carried on in many directions, which you would add more techniques and effects, stunts and action, to gain that mass market. Yet I can see how some people would see our opening geared to a more independent production, as some people could feel it is too much of a typical thriller, that it needs to challenge the forms and conventions of a thriller more than work with them. But I would disagree as most thrillers, if not all of them have the same elements ruining through them and is why I feel our production is steered more towards a larger market.
Looking back at making our film, I have definitely expanded my knowledge and awareness of how a film is created, and I have especially learnt about the technologies involved in creating a production like our own. I originally thought the editing would be easy to do, and if not, the easiest part of the whole process, yet I was clearly mistaken as soon as I started. To begin with I never realised how time consuming and fiddly editing is. Before starting my coursework I didn’t have a clue how to edit a piece of work and how much you have to consider. Also as we took quite a bit of footage I didn’t realise how long it would take to pick the right piece of film and see what works best, not only for your film but also what works best for your audience. That is another thing, you have to remember, what would look good for the audience and keep them interest. This also made we realise how important it is to use a variety of shots, instead of just a master and pan shot. Another thing I learnt is the variety in effects which you can include, Such as fading, reversing a shot, zooming in and out of a shot, and a variety in colours and textures that you add to a shot, which can almost completely change it. It showed me in particular just how they make a difference and what a difference it would make if they weren’t there. The editing process and the effects that can be used has also made me look at major thriller movies that have been created and just how long they would of taken and what kind of effects they have used.
I loved the use of cross-cutting within our production, towards the end, to create suspense and this opened my eyes to seeing how editing can create a certain feel to the film.
When it comes to what I have learnt as a whole and what skills I have learnt when it comes to the editing, I can confidently say I have learnt the process of creating a film and how much time and effort is needed. I have also learnt a lot about the individual sections of making each and every shot, and the process of basically “chopping up” your filmed work and re-creating it. Compared to what I knew, at the start, I can clearly say I have expanded on my knowledge and now know what needs to be done to create a film.
However the main thing I have learnt is about the audio style and how you have to work separately with the visual elements of the production to the audio elements, the voices and music etc.
I have also learnt a lot compared to when we did our first preliminary task. For me the preliminary task was a good piece of work to introduce me and get me ready for my main film opening. With in that task I learnt three main types of camera shots and rules, the 180 degree rule, shot/reverse shot and match on action. This also gave me a taster and was a good exercise to what we would have to do as a group. Compared to what we had to do for our preliminary task and are opening was quite a lot. For the short task we didn’t really have to think much about the location or think deeply about the story line, and when it came to editing, all we really had to do was piece it together, not thinking about special effects, the credits or music. However when it came to our opening we had to think about all these things and more, the setting, the audience, gaining a good thriller story line. So I definitely think I have learnt a lot through the process of the two, not just the editing. I have got to learn a lot more about the types of shots and the effect they have, more about the importance of the mise en scene and how that effects the product, as well as including certain things to keep the audience interested. I
Over all, making our film opening has really taught me a lot about the process of making a product and the elements you need to consider. From the idea we drew up on paper to the final product I didn’t realise how much you needed to do to get to that end result. Yet looking at our opening, I feel we have created quite a good piece for the thriller genre and having our film contain many of the forms and conventions. I feel we used the elements within a thriller rather well and created a good story line. I also feel we connected rather well with our audience containing ingredients that should attract a variety of people.
Now our thriller opening is complete we want to look back over the film to consider whether we “ticked” all the boxes or whether we produce something that went against the typical forms and conventions or a thriller opening.
As a group we discussed the particular media institution which would produce our film, comparing whether it would be a high or low budget film. As well as this we also gained some feedback from our target audience.
Firstly, as a group we decided to try and stick to creating an opening that has the same forms and conventions as a “real world” thriller. To begin with, within thriller’s there are certain character types that often appear. There is always an innocent victim, stereotypically a female, and a well built, hard looking male villain. We stuck to the convention of the victim being female and the villain male, although we used three females as the innocent, harmless victims against a male villain. However we didn’t expand on this typical character type by making the women quite seductive and wearing skimpy clothing, just as we chose not to dress the villain in a suit and hat to give him the hard, mafia feel, of a character often seen within thrillers. We represented the young women as the victims with the male dressed in jeans and a hooded jacket with the hood up, to still give that urban, “yob” feel associated with this particular genre. Other characters are cops, spies etc. We decided against adding any of these as we wanted to leave the opening on a cliff hanger and wanted the audience to know there is more to the film.
The second convention used within thrillers is a typical story element. Thrillers develop suspense and action. We decided to build upon the theme of revenge and murder by creating a death within the opening. This is often done within thrillers, such as Jaws, to take the audience by surprise and keep them interested.
Iconography is a major ingredient to consider. We used the stereotypical surroundings within a thriller, rather than challenge them. We chose to stick with the urban, city life environment. We open our film and credits with a selection of images of the urban life. We started in a quite busy environment and then we moved to a more deserted, dull car park with no body or nothing around. (Yet you could still see the urban environment in the background). I feel we based our opening in a very stereotypical environment that developed the iconography and atmosphere, particularly at the end when the murder took place.
In addition to this the time of day also had an impact of the opening and enhancing the type of genre. We chose to set the film at night to create more suspense and it worked well with the characters, with the young females being out late and in the dark and the dangers that occur at night.
The final convention was the visual and audio style. One of the first audio styles that you can easily recognise, towards the end of the opening is creating the sound of a gun going off. After seeing the villain holding a gun towards the victim, the scene then cuts to an all black scene in which all you can hear is the gun shot. We chose to not only take the gun shot out of the scene and have it go off with a blank screen, but also try and make the noise quite loud, not only to build effect and suspense but, to also have an impact on the audience and allow them to use their own knowledge of what they have just seen happen in the opening and gather the sound of the shot symbolised a death.
As well as the choice of using audio style to add special effects and symbolise something, we also used a variety of music to build suspense. We started off with a quite dull and eerie music tune to grab the audience’s attention, which at the same time makes them wary and suspicious of what is going to take place. We then move on to cutting the music when the girls appear to show their innocents before picking a different type of music that was played in the back just to build suspense. Yet as the opening moved on the music died down again before picking up afterwards and going at a slightly faster pace and louder as it lead to the murder. With this, we decided to create something visually which was quite “panicky” to grab the audiences attention, so we decided to use the technique of cross cutting between the two girls and the soon to be murder scene. This was designed to build on the impact on the audience, as well as keeping their attention and make the audience feel that sense of fret and worry for the innocent characters that they have established within the opening.
Lighting was a particularly difficult element to try and include due to the particular setting we chose. Most thrillers use low-key lighting often on the villain to create the dull, suspicious feel that thrillers want to create. We would have liked to of used this lighting but with flood lit lighting and shop lighting used in our surroundings it became extremely difficult. However in some areas of our opening, especially towards the end, the lighting used on the killers face when approaching, the victim and when holding the gun towards her worked out well as it captured his face, and showed the audience who he was as they hadn’t seen him earlier on in the opening.
I think we stuck to the typical ingredients and elements of the forms and conventions, especially the representation of the character type and social group. We chose to use the very “stereotypical” genre characters and gender representation used with in thriller and we didn’t really challenge it. Starting with the choice of female victims, what we used is very predicable in thrillers as in society, as they are seen as lot more weak, innocent, the type of gender that would be easier to attack, and we can see that with in major thriller movies they use females as an easy target and a weakness. I feel this is one of the reasons when watching our opening you can see it is a thriller based genre. In addition as we are teenagers, this added to the young female weakness.
However, one thing in particular that could be see as going against the stereotypical female thriller character is the way we dressed her. Most women within this genre are normally quite seductive which adds to them being an easy target.
In addition we adapted the stereotypical character type for the male character. Obviously, just like in thrillers, we chose to use the male gender to become the villain. Men are normally associated with being more dominant , violent, tough and so are more suited to play a hard violent character than a woman. Also we wanted to expand on him being the villain by how he looked in the shots and the choice of clothing and props. Firstly as we based our opening within the city we wanted him to adapt to the role of a male, seen on the streets, in a gang, basically a “yob”.
So he wore jeans, trainers and a hooded jacket, but also carried a weapon, a gun. We chose for him to have a weapon to commit the murder but also to build upon his character of being violent and aggressive. He also has his hood up so when couldn’t see his face, for the most part of the opening, to not only create suspicion, but it’s a certain element seen within male social groups.
We also had to remember our audience and how to attract and address them. Throughout the planning and the filming we always had to keep in mind the type of audience we were addressing and what we should include to attract them. The first thing we had to do as a group, was to set a particular age range. As a whole we decided to aim our opening at a fifteen plus age group. Due to the particular violence created within the opening we felt it may be a bit to much for a younger age group. However teenagers as a whole, we felt was a good age range and particular audience for our film opening. Yet the kind of audience we chose to address are the type that are interested in quite a lot of action, murder and revenge, the typical elements of a thriller. You can see this through the murder that takes place and mise en scene. The surroundings, of an urban environment, basing the film at night, the visual elements of the editing and the variety in the audio style and as well as using stereotypical thriller characters, all help to address an audience who likes typical thriller movies that build suspense and contain all the common thriller elements.
We didn’t specify between the types of gender as I feel our opening has elements of ingredients that would attract a variety within the audience. We have used both genders within our film so we haven’t excluded anyone. One of the reasons we used both genders is for this reason. Some audience may feel its more generated towards a female audience due to the limited amount of males that appeared within the opening, just as other audiences may feel the opening is addressed at a more male based audience, due to the action that takes place, vulnerability of the females against the dominate male. However I feel it isn’t gender specific.
As our audience was a main part of our film opening we gathered some audience feedback on our work on what they liked about the opening and what we could of improved on. One person said,
“ It was a really good opening to a thriller, it contained all the typical elements of the forms and conventions of this genre and was quite well in addressing the type of audience. However if you could change something about it, it would be to maybe change the audio style. The chose of music was good and where it was placed, but it may have been a little louder”.
Another viewer of our film opening said,
“It was good, I liked the way you presented the characters and led to false suspense with the music, as every time the music appeared the audience knew something was coming, I liked that. I also like the chose of cross-cutting at the end to help build suspense. I think it worked really well. But it you have to change or improve on something, maybe you could a few more different shots”.
Most of the audience who commented on our work had positive feedback, but if anything they said maybe we could improve on the audio style just to make it slightly louder and maybe use a more variety in the types of shots.
From looking at the audiences feedback and our overall production we could now think about the type of media institution that would distribute our media product. I think from it that you can see elements of both the production becoming an independent production, and a more mass market production, with a mass audience and multiplex release. However as a group we felt it was more suited for a bigger release, a big budget, a major film studio production. We felt this way as firstly, considering the type of genre we are catering for, we have developed and used the typical ingredients used which creates a good thriller and draws the audience in from the start. I think our film opening is a good opening in the “thriller world”, and it is a good starting point to expand on and explore to create a mainstream movie with more special effects and a lot more action which would be created in a studio. I feel that the opening can be explored and carried on in many directions, which you would add more techniques and effects, stunts and action, to gain that mass market. Yet I can see how some people would see our opening geared to a more independent production, as some people could feel it is too much of a typical thriller, that it needs to challenge the forms and conventions of a thriller more than work with them. But I would disagree as most thrillers, if not all of them have the same elements ruining through them and is why I feel our production is steered more towards a larger market.
Looking back at making our film, I have definitely expanded my knowledge and awareness of how a film is created, and I have especially learnt about the technologies involved in creating a production like our own. I originally thought the editing would be easy to do, and if not, the easiest part of the whole process, yet I was clearly mistaken as soon as I started. To begin with I never realised how time consuming and fiddly editing is. Before starting my coursework I didn’t have a clue how to edit a piece of work and how much you have to consider. Also as we took quite a bit of footage I didn’t realise how long it would take to pick the right piece of film and see what works best, not only for your film but also what works best for your audience. That is another thing, you have to remember, what would look good for the audience and keep them interest. This also made we realise how important it is to use a variety of shots, instead of just a master and pan shot. Another thing I learnt is the variety in effects which you can include, Such as fading, reversing a shot, zooming in and out of a shot, and a variety in colours and textures that you add to a shot, which can almost completely change it. It showed me in particular just how they make a difference and what a difference it would make if they weren’t there. The editing process and the effects that can be used has also made me look at major thriller movies that have been created and just how long they would of taken and what kind of effects they have used.
I loved the use of cross-cutting within our production, towards the end, to create suspense and this opened my eyes to seeing how editing can create a certain feel to the film.
When it comes to what I have learnt as a whole and what skills I have learnt when it comes to the editing, I can confidently say I have learnt the process of creating a film and how much time and effort is needed. I have also learnt a lot about the individual sections of making each and every shot, and the process of basically “chopping up” your filmed work and re-creating it. Compared to what I knew, at the start, I can clearly say I have expanded on my knowledge and now know what needs to be done to create a film.
However the main thing I have learnt is about the audio style and how you have to work separately with the visual elements of the production to the audio elements, the voices and music etc.
I have also learnt a lot compared to when we did our first preliminary task. For me the preliminary task was a good piece of work to introduce me and get me ready for my main film opening. With in that task I learnt three main types of camera shots and rules, the 180 degree rule, shot/reverse shot and match on action. This also gave me a taster and was a good exercise to what we would have to do as a group. Compared to what we had to do for our preliminary task and are opening was quite a lot. For the short task we didn’t really have to think much about the location or think deeply about the story line, and when it came to editing, all we really had to do was piece it together, not thinking about special effects, the credits or music. However when it came to our opening we had to think about all these things and more, the setting, the audience, gaining a good thriller story line. So I definitely think I have learnt a lot through the process of the two, not just the editing. I have got to learn a lot more about the types of shots and the effect they have, more about the importance of the mise en scene and how that effects the product, as well as including certain things to keep the audience interested. I
Over all, making our film opening has really taught me a lot about the process of making a product and the elements you need to consider. From the idea we drew up on paper to the final product I didn’t realise how much you needed to do to get to that end result. Yet looking at our opening, I feel we have created quite a good piece for the thriller genre and having our film contain many of the forms and conventions. I feel we used the elements within a thriller rather well and created a good story line. I also feel we connected rather well with our audience containing ingredients that should attract a variety of people.
Thursday 21 January 2010
Choice of music
For the music for our film, we picked some tracks that fitted with the themes of the thriller genre that was present in our film.
We used the internet to research which music we could use. We also watched real film openings to pick up ideas and see which ones would match our film.
We downloaded our music from a website called freeplay.com. All the clips we used were downloaded free from this website.
Our gunshot sound was also downloaded from a website for weapon sounds. We searched on google and found it.
We used numerous music clips at different parts of the film to add a sense of suspense and excitement.
We used the internet to research which music we could use. We also watched real film openings to pick up ideas and see which ones would match our film.
We downloaded our music from a website called freeplay.com. All the clips we used were downloaded free from this website.
Our gunshot sound was also downloaded from a website for weapon sounds. We searched on google and found it.
We used numerous music clips at different parts of the film to add a sense of suspense and excitement.
Credits
As the credits are a huge part of our film we want to make them as unique and original as we can. We would like to make them stand out and we want to be quite creative with them. As our theme is “Thriller” and based in an urban environment, we want to try to capture the surroundings as early as possible, as this will give the audience a clue and feel to the genre of the film. We first shot a quick scene of “the Killer”, from behind, showing the urban buildings around him. This scene will start the opening off and set the theme. However we want the credits to go before this scene and last around 15 seconds.
Our main idea for the credits is to show the surroundings and the urban life on which our opening is based. So we first took some still images of the buildings and we were thinking of showing them in a sequence with our name then appearing over them. And then in the background we were thinking of playing a loud, thriller themed song that’s fits well with the images. However as the images are still it looks a bit life less and needs some action and/or movement to capture the audience’s attention a bit more. Therefore we tried to re-shoot the images, yet using a camera, so we could play around with it a bit more and allows us to be more creative when applying the credits.
This looked slightly better but still looked plain.
To help us with the credits and liven them up, to make them stand out and unique we chose to look at some examples from some thriller films. One films credits which caught our eye was the “Hostage”. The credits from this film screams thriller from the angles and shots used, and is something we would like to capture in our opening. I really like to the movement and colouring to the credits, yet also how the credits move with the images. The movement of the piece is a continuous sequence of buildings, guns, police, and the urban life. We like how each image moves into one another as it keeps your attention at all times.
As well, as the movement, the colour looks and fits very well within the piece. The chosen colours of red and black set the tone and theme of “thriller” as these are the colours of which are usually associated with this type of genre. The images of our buildings of which we have captured was taken on quite a dull, winters day, so the images are not bright but dull, which works quite well with what we are trying to do.
In addition, we like how the credits move along with the sequence and are as if they are attached to the buildings. As well, we like the choice of colour, white, as this works well against the black and red as it stands out.
However after trying different things and adding different effects, we settled on something different from “Hostage”. Unfortunately we were unable to create the same effect as this film credits as it includes far too many effects of which we are unable to create. Yet we have included some different effects, on Photoshop, which makes them unique. We took the still images of the urban environment and turned them black and white and negative and put, in white, the credits over the top. We felt that the white writing went well in contrast with the grey and black backing of the images. As well as this we made the noise we added to the effect as well as fading to each image.
Below is the link to the beginning credits of “Hostage”:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukabvDvZBXE&feature=related
Our main idea for the credits is to show the surroundings and the urban life on which our opening is based. So we first took some still images of the buildings and we were thinking of showing them in a sequence with our name then appearing over them. And then in the background we were thinking of playing a loud, thriller themed song that’s fits well with the images. However as the images are still it looks a bit life less and needs some action and/or movement to capture the audience’s attention a bit more. Therefore we tried to re-shoot the images, yet using a camera, so we could play around with it a bit more and allows us to be more creative when applying the credits.
This looked slightly better but still looked plain.
To help us with the credits and liven them up, to make them stand out and unique we chose to look at some examples from some thriller films. One films credits which caught our eye was the “Hostage”. The credits from this film screams thriller from the angles and shots used, and is something we would like to capture in our opening. I really like to the movement and colouring to the credits, yet also how the credits move with the images. The movement of the piece is a continuous sequence of buildings, guns, police, and the urban life. We like how each image moves into one another as it keeps your attention at all times.
As well, as the movement, the colour looks and fits very well within the piece. The chosen colours of red and black set the tone and theme of “thriller” as these are the colours of which are usually associated with this type of genre. The images of our buildings of which we have captured was taken on quite a dull, winters day, so the images are not bright but dull, which works quite well with what we are trying to do.
In addition, we like how the credits move along with the sequence and are as if they are attached to the buildings. As well, we like the choice of colour, white, as this works well against the black and red as it stands out.
However after trying different things and adding different effects, we settled on something different from “Hostage”. Unfortunately we were unable to create the same effect as this film credits as it includes far too many effects of which we are unable to create. Yet we have included some different effects, on Photoshop, which makes them unique. We took the still images of the urban environment and turned them black and white and negative and put, in white, the credits over the top. We felt that the white writing went well in contrast with the grey and black backing of the images. As well as this we made the noise we added to the effect as well as fading to each image.
Below is the link to the beginning credits of “Hostage”:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukabvDvZBXE&feature=related
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