Soundtrack choice

This is the soundtrack chosen for our thriller opening. We chose this because it creates an eerie sensation it adds to the action. We also really liked the modern, electrical sound it has. It makes it very contempory and unnatural.


This is another soundtrack that we considered. We liked the thrilling, creepy effect it has, but it wasn't long enough and didn't match the action as well as choice 1.


This is another soundtrack we considered for our thriller. We really liked the high pitch sounds with the low pitch sounds running all the way through it. We felt it made the thriller feel much colder. We chose choice 1 over this because of the exciting climax it had in the middle, which matched with the action of our thriller very well, whereas this soundtrack didn't have the same climax and was the same all the way through.

Evaluation of my thriller opening: Question 7

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

Since the preliminary task, I have progressed a great deal in the making of my full product. In regards to the performing and shooting, what I have most learnt since the preliminary task is the planning. When planning for the full product, I was much more thorough in planning the details of the shoot.

As well as this, the shooting of the film progressed a lot from the shooting of the preliminary task. The group put a lot more time into the shooting, and was more aware of the time in which we shot the scenes as well as the control over the environment (noise level of other people/ cars, amount of other people around etc). This was because of the problem with background noise that we had during the shooting of the preliminary task.

The editing of the full product progressed considerably since the preliminary task. I used the effects that the software offered to much greater affect, and appropriately to reinforce the thriller genre. I was able to adjust sound levels, colour and length of clips more than I was when editing for the preliminary task.

I’ve learnt that working in a group produced much more ideas than working alone. When one person in the group suggested an idea, the rest of the group were able to produce similar ideas or develop that idea. This is one of the main benefits that I discovered about working in a group. I found that this helped a great deal when coming up with the original ideas, the planning, and identifying an appropriate soundtrack. I did, however, learn that working within a group meant that decisions took longer to make as it had to be agreed with by the entire group, and this elongated working time.

My individual contributions to the planning were some of the ideas in the storyline, identifying the locations, the creation of the shot list, the character designs and the costume designs. To the shooting of the film, I contributed to most of the camerawork and the directing. I produced my own version of the final edit, separate from the other 2 members of the group, and so I decided upon my own narrative structure, which shots to use, the cutting of shots, the sound adjustment, the transitions, colour and shot-stretching effects, and the addition of a flashback scene. 

Evaluation of my thriller opening: Question 6

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

I have developed my technological knowledge considerably during the process of creating my film. Before, I had rarely used digital film cameras and so this new experience enhanced my knowledge of the technologies. I discovered how different it is to use digital film cameras to using still cameras, both in the way they work and the photographic effects they create. Aspects of the camerawork I’ve learnt from this experience are: modes of use, replaying footage, using the tape, using the camera with the computer.

I’ve also learnt a great deal about camera angles, shot types and movement of the camera. In particular, I’ve discovered how effective tilt shots can be in creating a distorted and confusing image, such as this shot from “The Third Man” which connotes disorientation and a kind of vertigo, thus placing the audience with the character. 

I used this same shot type to the same affect. The tripod, as part of the equipment, aided with this shot.

I’ve learnt a great deal about editing films from this project. I learned the importance of sequencing shots to create the narrative structure, as I used this a lot to change and develop the original narrative structure.  I also learned how to cut the shots I used to make them fit into the sequence and to create a better effect. Using different effects is another aspect that I learned a lot about, such as using transitions and changing the colour of the footage, as well as the addition of slow-motion of certain shots. I also learned where it is best to use these effects within the film. I learned how to adjust the sound within the film, which was particularly useful to me when dealing with different sound mixes such as the loudness of the skateboard and the beeping of the buttons. I learned that I could put points within the shots in which I could adjust the volume without having to adjust the volume of the entire clip. Adding music to the film was another point that I learned.

 Adding titles to the film was important. I learned where to place them on the image, how long they should last for, the colour and font of the writing and which information was important to add (such as cast names and director). 

Evaluation of my thriller opening: Question 5

Question 5: How did you attract/address your target audience?

The audience is attracted to my thriller by the use of similarly aged characters that can be related to. The characters’ attitudes may be appealing to the audience as teenagers of the same age may be able to understand them. The audience can also identify with the characters and issues such as theft and mugging. The film also communicates what it is like for ordinary people living in contempory Britain.

Another aspect of the characters that might appeal to the audience is the costume. The three characters wore different types of costume: Eve White in recognisable high street fashion, Will Block in a costume associated with skateboarders; hooded jumper, jeans and trainers, and Scarlett Fraser in a costume that connotes the “gothic” or “emo” style, for example the leather jacket, hooded jumper and skinny jeans, suggesting she has an edge.  

The city location would address those in the target audience that live or work in the city. It might reinforce their views of what a city is like. The British city location would be familiar to the British audience.

The cliff hanger at the end of the thriller opening would encourage the audience to watch further into the film. They would want to know whether the same situation would occur for Scarlett Fraser, or if she would challenge and defeat Will Block.

The research I conducted previously indicated that my target demographic of 16 – 24 year olds enjoyed the action genre. The pie chart below shows ‘action’ scoring highly amongst the participants. 

Following this, I conducted a short study on 10 non-media students, ranging from the lower age of my target audience (16) to older audiences. I asked them to view my film, and then give a rating out of 10 on 5 separate aspects (music, costumes, location, editing, and how well they understood it). Below are my findings:

The results show that the lowest score was an average of 8, and the highest score was an average of 9.2. This shows how the audience were most attracted to my film. Qualitative responses from the study suggested that the aspects of mise en scene that the viewers liked the most were the ATM and underpass locations, because they felt more anxious and tense whilst the action took part in these places. 

In addition, I asked for feedback from 5 year 12 media students. The questions I asked were:

1. Was it easy to understand the narrative?
2. Did the sequence hold your attention?
3. How do you rate the camera work and editing?
4. How do you rate the standard of mise en scene, to include colour, figure, lighting and objects?
5. Is the production clearly the opening of a thriller?
6. Would the opening inspire you to watch the rest of the film?
7. Can you suggest anything that would improve the appeal?
8. Were there any aspects that you find offensive? 
9. Was there any part that you found confusing or hard to understand?
10. What were the best features of the production?
11. Does the soundtrack effectively reflect and enhance the mood and action?
12. Rate the overall production

The results from the questionnaires show a general score of 4 or 5 (out of five) for the first five questions. 4 of the students said that they would be inspired to watch the rest of the film after watching my thriller opening.

The aspects of my film that the students said appealed to them the most are the camerawork, editing and soundtrack, as well as the performances and the ethnicities of characters.

G321 Thriller film production “Thief”

Evaluation of my thriller opening: Question 4

Who would be the audience for your media product? 


The main audience for my thriller film is 16-24 year old, white British people. This is due to the characters within the film; they’re all within this youthful age group and ethnicity. Because of this, audiences of this age group may be able to relate to the attitudes, behaviours and opinions communicated by the characters.
Female audiences may also relate to my thriller because of the positive, strong representation of women intended by the character “Scarlet Fraser”. Evidence for such effects on audience is present for Niels Oplev’s film “The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo”, in which the greatest demographic is for females under 18.

Ratings by users on IMDB

This demographic in particular are attracted to this film because of the positive representation it provides for them, of strong, powerful and intelligent. It is this same demographic that would be most attracted to my thriller. 

Evaluation of my thriller opening: Question 3

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

The main distributors for my media product would be internet based. This is because it is easy to target the youth audience that would be attracted by my film, as this age group are familiar with the internet.

Websites, YouTube.com in particular, that specialise in video sharing would be a predominantly good way to distribute my thriller film. 

This is due to the website’s vast popularity, and the ease of uploading the video as it is free and simple to use. The website can also be accessed easily by smart-phones, such as iPhones and Blackberry models as well as many iPod models, which are becoming more and more popular.   

Short film competitions are a great way to distribute my thriller, because it has been specifically targeted at films such as mine. An example of this would be the British Short Screenplay Competition by KaosFilms, and Virgin Media Shorts which allows the 12 winning films to be shown in independent cinemas such as the Norwich based Cinema City. 

Evaluation of my thriller opening: Question 2

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

The characters in my thriller opening are all of the 16- 18 age range, white and British. Because of this, my media product immediately relates and appeals to this audience, who will identify with the skateboarder and the two girls. The representations of this age group vary: they’re presented as dangerous thugs by the character Will Block, who is unemployed. This is a common stereotype of teenagers. However, Eve White, Will’s first victim is a hard working, ordinary, law abiding citizen. Teenagers are also suggested to be overwhelming in number, because the cast is made up of teenagers. This could emphasize the fear and intimidation of this age group, therefore reinforcing specific stereotypes – the male aggression and female victim.

Males are presented negatively by Will Block as he is the only male character. My media product suggests that males are greedy, obsessive and have bullying personalities. In contrast, it presents females as male prey. The character Eve White reinforces the traditional idea of women being the victims in film. She presents women as vulnerable and weak in contrast to men. However, the second female character, Scarlet Fraser, challenges this traditional view. She out-stares Will as he hovers around, lurking, waiting to pounce. The cliff hanger connotes she will outwit him and refuses to be intimidated. This character adopts a contempory femme fatale image of a strong, independent woman, reflecting the progression of attitudes towards women in society. 

Evaluation of my thriller opening: Question 1

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

Eval1

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Final Shot list

Shot list:

Scene 1: Eve White using the ATM machine, with Will Block stalking her

High Angle of Eve White arriving at the ATM machine just about to put her card in

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Close up of card going into the ATM machine

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Over the shoulder of Will looking at Eve White at the ATM machine

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Over the shoulder of Eve looking around her, suspicous that someone is watching her

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Close up of Eve typing on the keypad

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Close up of Eve's hand going into her bag to put her purse away

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Close up of Eve walking away from the machine, putting card into her purse

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Close up of Will following Eve down the road

Scene 2: Flashback of Will Block in his bedroom, angry that he has no money and creating a plan to mug someone

Close up of Will on his bed

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Medium shot of Will on bed, opening wallet

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Close up of empty wallet

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Close up of Will’s face on bed, he gets up

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Close up of Will’s face as he looks out the window. He walks away.

Scene 3: Will Block mugs Eve White in the city underpass

Long shot of Eve's feet walking/running

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Low angle of Eve running down the ramp towards the camera

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Medium shot of Eve looking bewildered in subway.

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Long shot of Will rolling down the ramp fast on the skateboard
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Low angle shot of Will’s skateboard rolling slightly right to the camera at speed

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Medium/Long shot of mugging of Eve

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Handheld shot of mugging

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Medium shot of Eve shouting at Will as he rides off, too fast to catch up with

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Close up of Eve sitting down in the underpass, head is hands, looking distressed

Scene 4: Will Block is back at the ATM machine having chosen his second target, Scarlet Fraser

Close up of Will, back by the ATM watching Scarlet Fraser

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Close up of Scarlet at the ATM

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Close up of card entering the ATM

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Close up of Scarlet as she looks at Will, suspicious

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Close up of Will, looking back at her, waiting

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Close up of Scarlet using the keypad

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Medium shot of Scarlet

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Close up of Scarlet looking intimidating

END

Thriller planning - FINAL

Thriller planning final

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Mock Exam Essay Unit G321: Independent research into the thriller genre