Final Thriller Opening

Finished Opening

Evaluation

Evaluation

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

When we began thinking about our product the first thing we discussed was what type of audience were we going to be catering for? After some brief discussions among the group we decided that it would be much more suited to our knowledge if we targeted our product at people our age. This would make thinking up an interesting storyline for this audience much easier as we know what would be interesting for our own age group. After thinking of a plot for the film and storyboarding we realised that not only did our product taylor to the needs of a teenage audience but that it could quite easily also be aimed at an adult audience aswell.

2. How did you attract/address your audience?

Whilst discussing our target audience the subject of how we would appeal to them obviousley came up. we decided that the best way to get through to our audince would be to write a gripping story, about things that people our age would be interested in. As you can see from our brief synopsis earlier shown on the blog our film would include the subject matter of romance, a popular genre to a typical teenage girl audience. Alongside this we had a theme of violence which in turn would appeal to a typical teenag boy audience. Both of thses statements we found were also true of a typical male and female adult audience.

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

There are only two characters in our story and to create enigma we did not reveal much about either of them. But in what we did reveal you can see how we have tried to represent particular social groups in our film, we have chosen to do things this way because certain stereotypes of social groups are quite popular among our audience and may help to appeal to them. Firstly we have a character in the opening who you only ever see walking, whilst walking this character has his hands in his pockets and takes up a slouched position, his closed body language here and the fact that all the way through you can't see this characters face, suggests this character is quite concealed, quiet or mysterious. Also in our opening we have a character that you see in similar costume to the last, tracksuit bottoms and a large coat, this places him in a social group maybe seen as "thugs" or "hooligans" in addition to this we have a shot of him opening and drinking from a hip flask. Suggesting that this social group would be drinkers. Finally in a shot we showed a character washing blood from his hands, which might suggest that this particular social group is dangerous and violent. 

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

Our product would be seen in cinemas. After this the product would then go to DVD. It would get onto these two mediums through a production company or studio paying for it to be screened and then featured on DVD. Because of the technological age we are in our product would most likely end up on the internet aswell. Trailers for our product would be distrubuted by major television networks so we could appeal to a much larger range of audience and trailers would also be featured on popular websites like youtube.com and imdb.com

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

When we started out on this project as a group we only knew a little about the technologies we would be using, for example. We were all very uncomfortable with the editing programmes because we had only previousley used an older version of iMovie, but now we had to use either the new iMovie or FinalCut Express. In the end we used FinalCut and so we now know how to use that prgramme and also whilst we were producing our continuity project we tried to use the new iMovie and became accustomed to that aswell. Previousley to this project we had all only ever used a stationary tripod and a Canon MD101 camera. But since starting the project we got to grips with using a tripod on a dolly. We learnt how to set up and use a jib properly, and we also learnt how to use better and larger Canon XM1 cameras.

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

As our media product is in the thriller genre we were given the challenge of trying to take on certain ideas and conventions of a thriller movie. To do this we watched several other openings for thriller movies all from different times and directors, and made notes on the conventions found in each of them. This helped us greatly when we came to make our opening because we were then able to take ideas from these films and either use them or mold them to fit our story. For example, we knew from watching other openings that films used the convention of enigma. This could be created by having an opening character that you see but never find out about them, no clues are given as to who they are. Or and object could be used to create an enigma, this could be done by cutting to an object in a tense scene, the object would need to be quite abstract so to cause curiosity amongst the audience. In our product we decided to create enigma amongst both of our characters but would do it in different ways, firstly one of our characters was never to have his face or much of the front of his body on screen, the audience would only see him from behind and briefly from the side. This character would have very little revealed about him if anything. As for our other character we decided again to have little of him seen on screen but his face can be seen in a couple of shots. This however would not have created much enigma so we decided that in each shot, this character would have an object or be doing something that would create enigma, for example in one shot we say our character washing blood from his hands, the audience here would immediately question why? Thus creating enigma. Also we managed to incorporate the idea that a linear structure to set could create a trapped or closed in atmosphere. In a lot of shots a character was walking on a pavement by a road, the lines that are created here are that of the curb on the side and the fronts of houses on the right, this makes it look like our character is being drawn in and is being trapped, this creates a very tense atmosphere which is also quite typical to thrillers. 

7. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression of it to the full project?

When we began to plan our preliminary task we thought very little about a story to the entire film and focused mainly on the story of the short clip we would make. This impaired us greatly as without looking at the bigger picture a lot of things can be missed. Such as if your storyline requires a certain character to act a certain way then they must from the beginning and throughout, in our preliminary task our character didn't act and used a normal speaking voice whereas to make it much more realistic he could have been more serious. So when planning we not only learnt to plan the product in full rather than just the extract we would film but also to concentrate on characterisation where necessary. When we filmed our full project because of mistakes we made in the preliminary task we knew how to do certain things better in order to get a better final piece. For example we had a lot of continuity errors in the preliminary task that we hadn't noticed whilst filming then when it came to editing it we were too late to film again. So this taught us that when filming our full project we needed to think through each shot before filming it. That way we could work out any errors there might have been. Also to avoid some of the poor quality shots we had in the preliminary task, like shaky camera where not needed, we would practice each shot once or twice and then film it two or three time so we had several shots to choose from when it came to editing. Finally when we were editing, in the preliminary task we used iMovie and had trouble adding music to it. So we tried out FinalCut when editing our final product and found it much easier. Overall we feel that progressing to the final piece we have all learnt a lot about the technology we were using and feel confident in our abilities to use them.

Feedback

We showed our finnished version of the opening to some students in our class and asked them to give us some feedback, and some constructive criticism where neccessary. The students we showed made these points about our opening:

• The narrative is unclear.

We agreed with this, and knew that this would be a problem after editing. We took all of the shots thinking that when they were put together they would make much more sense than they actually did, this matter was also not helped by the fact that there were certain shots in the animatic that for unforseen reasons we could not film in the time we had. But if we had shot them, they may have helped distinguish certain aspects of our story.

• There is a continuity error when the photograph is lit on fire inside, and then thrown on a fire outside.

Again this problem arose whilst we were filming, in that we couldnt get the lighter to work outside so had to make the decision that we would light it inside and then re light it outside on the main fire then film it being thrown in. We tried our best to make it as unobvious it was two different locations as possible but certain things are noticabley different.

To avoid these problems next time we would have taken much more time to film the entire thing, possibly over the course of a few days rather than leaving the filming as late as we did and only having one day to film. This way there would be more chance of us having the weather neccessary for certain parts, and we would also have had much more chance of filming shots we didnt have time for that would have helped our narrative.

I would also like to apologise on the lateness of uploading our finnished opening. But as we have had trouble with the soundtrack and with uploading in general it has taken much longer than expected, it should be up by the end of friday though.

Soundtrack issues

Our original soundtrack was composed by phillip glass which we later found out that it wasn't copyright free, so Dr Clifflands gave us a CD full of copyright free music which we are currently editing to make it fit our thriller opening. This has greatly delayed our work on our evaluation and we will hopefully be back on track after one more lesson. While half our team are editing the soundtrack the other half will be trying to carry on with the evaluation.

Editing

After filming our thriller we have now come to editing. whilst we were filming each time we took a shot we needed we filmed it three times so to give us variety in shots and also helped when we found that some shots were either not what we wanted or were filmed with continuity errors. putting together our final piece was very little hassle apart from at one point the mac we were using sent all of our work to the recycle bin. Luckily we found it and were able to rescue it and continue editing. Our final problem occurred when we went to put a production company logo we made onto our piece in final cut, the lettering was unreadable. But we overcame this buy editing the words we needed over the top of the image on final cut the same way we put the credits on.

Corrected risk assessments

The previous risk assessments we uploaded were unfortunately incorrect. They were written out when one of our members, who had the completed storyboard, was away from college. So without knowing, the risk assessments were filled in and some large risks were missed out as we were not to know that they would be included in the story. Now we have reviewed the finished storyboard we were able to re-do our risk assessments this time including all of the major risks missed out previously. 

Here are the finished and correct risk assessments.

Completed Animatic

Animatic

Latest Updates

At the present time, we have completed all of the necessary work including the risk assessment and we are waiting for it to be scanned in. Other than that we are on track to get straight to the filming just in time for our fourth member to be back in college and in the thriller. Until then we will plan our scenes and select an appropriate location for filming.

Problems

Two of our members have been unable to participate due to illness, this has caused a great delay on the work produced by the group, the two members that are ill have taken work home from the group and we cannot progress without this work completed and uploaded to the blog. Until then we will be completing the risk assessment and searching for non-copyright music files to act as a soundtrack in the opening scenes of our thriller. We hope that by spending the extra time looking for a good soundtrack we will create a lot of suspense and tension. We will have reduced filming time as we know that one group member will be unable to participate for the next two weeks, his role of Director is of great importance and will have to be replaced by a substitute group member.

Brief synopsis of Thriller

The main  character in the thriller called Marcus, he is a mysterious, quiet and brutal character. He works for an agency which deals with targets ready for assassination. His boss (unnamed) gives him a target that he must kill, Marcus meets his target to find out her daily routine, but while conversing with her, he falls in love with her and has a dilemma over whether he should assassinate her or not. His boss has given him an ultimatum of whether to kill his lover or to be killed.  This all culminates in a climactic ending in which both our main characters are killed.

Research into thriller openings

For the past few lessons we have been watching various thriller openings which we then made notes on to help with ideas for our own thriller opening. 

Notes made on North By Northwest - Alfred Hitchcock 1959:

In the beginning we see a series of vertical and horizontal lines appear above the credits and title. the lines then fade and a similar set of lines appear but they are window panes of a large building. Lines are used close together to create an effect of chlostrophobia  or uneasiness. When the title is shown a clue to the film is given in the font, the 'n' in the word 'north' has an arrow pointing upwards off the top, representing north. Music is critical, it can be used to create a feeling of tension, fear and excitement. In the beginning of the scene there are lots of people in cramped spaces, non of them are standing still. This adds to the feeling of being trapped and confined.

Notes made on Vertigo - Alfred Hitchcock 1958:

The first shot in this opening sequence is an extreme close up of part of a woman's face. An extreme close up is used to create a very uneasy or uncomfortable feeling. The fact that we can only see part of her face in any shot adds to the enigma, which is, who is this woman? we then see a colour change as the screen has a red tint. This colour has connotations of passion, danger, blood, death, and pain. After we see this spirals then begin to emerge from the woman's eye. We are then drawn into the spirals which could represent the feeling of 'vertigo' and also make the audience feel like they are being drawn into the story. During all of this nothing at all is revealed about the woman so the enigma continues.

Notes made on Touch Of Evil - Orson Welles 1958:

This opening is all one shot, there are no edits which makes the whole thing run very smoothly. the camera is on a track and crane, this allows the camera to see the entire set from a lot of angles and follow the action at the same time. At the very beginning of this scene we see a man put a bomb in the boot of a car, and the longer the scene is drawn out without the bomb exploding the greater the suspense gets for the audience, the suspense and dread is worsened by the extras used, every-time the camera that follows the car with the bomb in passes someone the audience wonders wether the bomb will go off and kill them. This is called dramatic irony because the audience knows something that the characters do not.

Notes made on Kiss Me Deadly - Robert Aldrich 1955:

In this opening the performance is critical, the audience hears the woman running and her heavy breathing, this shows that she is panicked. The audience immediately knows she is in trouble when they see her, as it is night time, and she has no shoes on, these together suggest she is being chased and is obviously frightened by the person chasing her. Even though she has just made such a dramatic entrance the audience still know very little about her. When she gets in the car the driver acts as a device for the audience, as he asks all of the questions that the audience would be wondering. After the audience find out more about the woman the enigma is lost but then at the end of the opening the woman tells the gas station attendant she needs something to be posted and hands him a letter, thus creating another enigma for the audience who are wondering what is in the letter.

Notes made on Bladerunner - Ridley Scott 1982:

The non diegetic sound in this piece is of string instruments and drums, the strings are very high and screechy and the drum beats are very spaced apart and give the impression of bombs landing and exploding. The scene opens with a long caption setting the scene and letting the audience in on the context of the story. There is only black background which has connotations of nothingness and death. The font is all white with the occasional word written in red. the red has connotations of blood and death or passion. Finally the audience is shown the date and place the scene will take place in.

Notes made on Marnie - Alfred Hitchcock 1964:

The first thing the audience sees is the production company logo which is illustrated rather than the typical picture. Then all of the credits are revealed in a series of animated pages making the opening look like a story from a book. All the while the music in the background is very high pitched, very quick string sounds giving an effect of anxiousness and unease. Then when the title is shown the strings go slower and more romantic, and then immediately revert back to the high pitched and fast paced ones heard before. Cut to extreme close up of yellow handbag, this draws the audiences attention because it is such a vivid colour. Then tracking shot slowly reveals the rest of the woman carrying the bag, the audience then sees that she is very smartly turned out and is wearing leather gloves, but the audience can only see her from behind so there is still a mystery about her. lines are also used her to make the audience feel as though they are being drawn in. Finally it cuts to a close up of a man saying "robbed" the audience then is given the impression that the woman seen previously in the opening did it.

All of the following notes made on conventions of the thriller genre can be used to heavily influence our work. we can take on board different aspects of different openings to use in our own opening. For example if we wanted to, a shot in our opening could be in a train station and using the tracks and various lines in that setting we could create the trapped or drawn in effect.

Continuity Projects

Firstly when we came to make our projects we drew up a storyboard and from that decided where we were going to film. After this we took out a camera, tripod and dolly so we could film all of the shots we needed. We then came back to the classroom and imported what we had filmed into iMovie and edited it all to the way we wanted it. Then we added sound effects to give an atmosphere. Unfortunately when we came to save it we were supposed to save the project onto the "scratch" disc but we saved it onto the user area we were using. So when we came back to upload it onto our blog today we found that the picture from the video had been deleted but the sound remained. We grabbed an image to display on here but cannot upload any vid

We have now managed to rescue the original video and can upload it here.

Evaluation of exercise:

After watching this piece again there are certain conventions we have either missed, or have done wrong and several mistakes have been made in the filming process. However each of these mistakes is a lesson learned for our group as a whole and can be taken on board to better our final piece when it is created. The first thing we noticed is that when the main character has his first bit of speech, most of his head is off shot for most of the scene. Also we noticed that in the very last shot actors are missing from the background. We know that if we did this in our final piece we would have to go back and film it again wasting some valuable editing time.

Continuity Storyboards

These are the original storyboards we created for our continuity excersise. We decided to abandon these ideas as one of the actors had to sit on a toilet floor which we had not anticipated to be as dirty and un-hygienic as it was. 

These are the new storyboards we collaborated. We feel these

 are much better and safer.

Introduction

   We are group 5. The group consists of four people; Thomas Cooper, Chris Sides, Joel Browne and the ever colourful character of Samuel Cornish.

   So far, during our AS level media studies course, we have learnt a number of things. Firstly, we have learnt how to correctly story-board a short sequence of film. We story-boarded it so that when we came to film, it was all in the correct order. We studied the conventions of continuity editing which allows the narrative to be read by the audience in the way intended by the director. We then, watched and analysed a continuity sequence, then re story-boarded it for ourselves and filmed it again from the storyboards we had drawn. By doing this we we're able to find out how the two differed and what rules we had broke whilst filming. We have also filmed a short narrative that had to include several essential shots. The shots we were given to include were a close up, point of view shot, over the shoulder shot, tracking shot, circular pan. We were asked to build the narrative around these shots. Finally we have now started to analyse the different conventions and shots in continuity sequences from thriller openings. We also began to look at how suspense is built and enigma is created.