Evaluation: Question 1 In what way does your media product use develop or challenge forms and conventions-Miss Begum

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

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

W: What was the preliminary task and what were its main aims?

The preliminary task was a task that we did in order for us to see if we have any experience in making a product. We had to record a thirty second clip about anything we want and edit it using final cut pro. Doing the preliminary task helped our group choose what roles each member will take in our final product as we saw who was good at what.

W: Identify 4 things you are now better with and more confident with doing in terms of filming and editing

Filming: When we were filming the preliminary we were not getting angles or sizes that were effective or significant in the scene instead it was just simple recorded footage. For our final product we used effective angles and sizes such as low angle to show superiority of a character or close ups to show facial expressions

Filming: The area that we filmed our preliminary task was quite dark and this made it difficult to see everything that was on the screen. For our final product even though it was meant to be filmed in low key lighting we made everything as clear as possible by filming with flashlights and changing the brightness of the scenes on final cut pro.

Editing: The editing we did for the preliminary task were simple straight cuts and nothing else this made it ineffective and boring. For our final product we used a lot of different dissolves and fade to colours this made the final product look more effective. 

Editing: another thing we did for editing in the preliminary task is that some of the edits didn’t make sense it would go from one angle to another completely different angle which didn’t make it look that professional. This did not happen to the final product as we made sure that we didn’t do that.

I: Compare 3 images of preliminary to final product.

1)

2)

3)          

The pictures above show a big change from the preliminary task to the final product. The angles were better the effects were better the lighting was better and just overall the final product was bet

Personal reflection:

Did you make a successful thriller and why?

I think we made a successful thriller because I feel like the thriller opening scene was filmed well edited well and I also think the sound was good as well. I also think my thriller was successful because the feedback I received was generally positive and people who had seen my thriller said that they had been scared while watching it which I was aiming for.

What did you most enjoy?

I enjoyed filming and editing the thriller film because when I was editing I liked experimenting with the effects I could use and while I was filming I tried different angles to see which was the most effective

What could be improved?

I feel like the middle part of the thriller was the weakest part of the thriller film as I feel like the sound is not as good as it could have been and I also feel that the editing seems weird in that scene

What are the main things you have learned over the whole process?

I’ve furthered my knowledge of editing and how to use a camera I also learnt new tricks and techniques on final cut pro.

Final Product

Evaluation: Question 5) How did you attract/address your target audience? - Miss begum

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

The importance of doing the secondary research into existing films:

Researching Into existing thriller films was important because I needed to know what my target audience is attracted to. Another reason why I needed to look into existing thriller film is to know the common conventions of popular thriller film and how they would work in my production.

The target audience of thriller films? (Age gender, ethnicity, occupation, hobbies and interest)

From my research into thrillers, I believe that the target audience that they appeal to consist of the following:

Age: 15-30 because this the younger people who would enjoy this type of thriller film with violence and death.

Gender: Unisex because all genders can enjoy this film it is not targeting a specific gender.

Ethnicity: All type because the movie is not specific to any to any ethnicity

Occupations: Student working unemployed because this film isn’t really aimed at people who are in pension.

Hobbies and interests: sports socializing fashion going out with friends.

I believe that from thriller films the target audience enjoy the element of surprise, having a psychological or a physiological affect from the movie and being confused while watching a thriller film. But the most important thing is that they get scared watching the thriller film as this is what most people watch thriller films for. This was good research as it meant that for my thriller I had to consider including these things for my audience as they would enjoy the thriller film more.

My target audience

From my research, the target audience I wanted to attract for my thriller was young people aged 15-30 from any gender because this social group are the ones that normally watches thriller films. Another reason why I choose this target audience is because most of the people I gave my questionnaire to were people from around that age and they are the ones that game me feedback to see what they want to see in a thriller film,

Addressing my target audience

I carried out a questionnaire because I had to get feedback from my audience to see what they would like to see in a thriller film so I could make the film as good as possible. The importance of a questionnaire is that it is direct and specific because you see the person face to face which means most likely the feedback is going to be accurate.

Some key question I asked to ensure I was attracting my target audience.

Q) Do you like when villains faces are hidden?

This was an important question because this helped me see how many people like seeing the villains face hidden and a lot said yes so I decided to include a mask for my thriller film?

Q) What kind of lighting would have more effect on you? 

This question was important because it helped me see what type of lighting people preferred to see in thriller films and majority said low key lighting so I decided to go with that?

Q) What type of themes do you like to see in thriller films?

This helped me because a lot of people said violence and death so that is what I have decided to include in my thriller films?

Q) What scares you the most about thriller films?

This helped me because I found out what most people found scary about thriller films and it made me include things that they said such as the element of surprise?

here's my questionnaire

audience feedback 

 After creating my production, I held a focus group because I wanted feedback from the audience, the people that were asked to come and view the production were other media and film students so that they could give me proper feedback because they know the terminology of media. Below is some of the criticism I received.



















































                                                           

One bit of feedback I received

 i am pleased that this person found my production good and the negative feedback was useful as i am going to change that about my production.

ashlihan aged 16 said

this helped me as i now have more feedback on how to improve my production.
Baris said

i liked how baris found my product good and the negative feedback he gave me i need to imprpove on the last person said the feedback was mostly negative so i need to imrpove on those certain things

Evaluation: Question 6) What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this media product? - Mrs. Quinlan

Evaluation: Question 2) How does your media product represent particular social groups? - Miss Begum

Evaluation: Question 3) What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why? - Mrs. Quinlan

Planning: Planning mise en scene - Mrs. Quinlan

Setting:

Here is our planning of the different locations we are planning to use in our production.

Dark room/unknown location:

We have decided to use this in the opening 30seconds of our production to introduce our antagonist character. The fact that he is in a dark room creates mystery and suspense around his character form the audience. He will also be under a spotlight to highlight the fact that he is unpredictable and no-one knows where he is. We think this will be effective as it doesn’t reveal much about him, apart from the fact that he is a ‘showman’ of some sort.

Park:

As our opening develops from the dark room with the spotlight, the next location we are introduced to is a park in the late evening with no one around. The reason we have chosen this is because parks are associated with children and innocence, and the fact that the antagonist is seen lurking around here will allow the audience to connote that he is up to something, or looking for a child which will create fear and worry for the audience for any child victim. The fact that it is evening will also give us natural low-key lighting which will emphasize the fear and obscene response we are trying to create.

Dark bedroom:

Once the antagonists has sought his victim in the park, the next location will be a dark bedroom. We would like a mirror here and maybe some chilling lighting from candles. What we want to show here is the older antagonist getting ready/dressing up in his clown attire, and the child imitating him. We have decided to show this to signify to the audience that the antagonist has captured his victim, however he hasn’t harmed him as such, he is now grooming the younger child to be like him. We will want a long view mirror here to show them putting on make-up as I think we can capture some really nice cinematography here. Also, the fact that they are in the room will allow the audience to question the relationship between these two characters and we think that will make them feel uneasy.

Street:

Once the little clown has been groomed in the bedroom, we will see both character from behind walking down an empty street to show now the little victim has turned into an antagonist too and is ready to go ‘hunting’ and look for victims too. The empty road is being shown to highlight the idea that there movements are random and unpredictable and they are on their journey to seek other victims. The fact that it is night again shows the antagonist hunts his prey at nightfall and the audience can create meaning from this. 

Spotlight –

 Will be used to isolate and introduce the main character to the opening scene, we chose this type of lighting because it is the best possible way of just showing the audience this character and helps cancel any other unwanted things and objects in a room. Spotlight is a common convention in thrillers as they are used in criminal themed thrillers where one character may be interrogating another character, or a scene where we are introduced to a main character. This type of lighting can also be used to show the character as they are, they can’t hide their identity and instead they are stripped off their hidden energy and shown to the audience as this character on a chair or somewhere in the glow of light.

Low-key – This will help us as low-key lighting is a good way to support a characters role as an antagonist or anti-hero. This type of lighting is normally used in very dark scenes to further explain the themes behind a film. Low-key lighting is common in thrillers as it is used to show the dominance of a character(s) and the power they may have in the film, when used it is important to understand the effect it has on a scene. Low-key lighting is used in many thriller films to show the effect of this one character most commonly an antagonist in dark superhero movies the superhero such as Batman they show him in low-key lighting for the audience to acknowledge their physical strength as well as the influence in the film.

Under-lighting – Is when the source of light is placed directly below the character. This usually allows the audience to understand who this character is and how demented and alone he is, also under-light is a good way to promote the character. Under-lighting is used to create dark reflections of a character which is another way to hide their identity and create silhouettes of that character, in other thriller films under-lighting may be used to show the audience that there is about to be a death or murder or the arrival of an assassinator to conclude their job. Under-lighting can also be used to show a much slow and calm scene in a thriller and the romantic bond between the main character and his love interest if there is one and confuses the audience as it can be used in many ways to produce different effects for a film, scene or opening.

Planning: Storyboard - Miss Begum

Evaluation: Question 4) Who would be the audience for your media product? - Miss Begum

Planning: Production roles - Miss Begum

Emeka

sound - I have decided to take on this role largely down to the fact that one of my other AS subjects is Music Technology in which you are taught deeper into the details and specifications of the technology side of the music industry and things such as drowning out the sound of unnecessary noise just to hear the footstep of the antagonist can be done with such ease.

Location - I decided to take this role as since between the two of us I travel the most in terms of range. Because of that I could know areas on my way to school or so and so that can be the location for different scenes in the thriller.

Lighting Operator - With the help of Music Tech info I can be able to use my knowledge of the equipment to be able to control lighting to suit the type of lighting needed in different scenes. Also as I know the type of lighting I need I will be able to picture it in my head and get a better idea of what I will do as operator of the lights.

Costume, Hair & Makeup - Because neither of us know how to apply makeup I find it best fit to seek help or advice into applying the face paint needed for the clown effect on both antagonist and victim. With costume I can sort that as with Dance (other AS subject) I have access to props and costumes for the themes needed as a clown hair and everything else is already in my hands.

Director - I have given myself director and not producer because they are both the top two jobs and my partner is better at producing than I am whereas due to my experience of watching thriller and non-thriller films I feel as if I would be a better director to create the effect my antagonist will need to show his intimidating posture. 

Abass

Camera- I am the camera man because I have had some experience of using cameras and Emeka tried using the camera during the preliminary task and it didn’t work out so that is why I decided to take the role of camera man. Also I am very good at using electronics so that is another reason.

Editing_ I decided to be the editor because I’ve had previous experiences with editing such as editing videos for YouTube so naturally I would edit the opening scene. I’ve also had experience with other editing software such as Sony Vegas which is similar to final cut pro.

Producer-I am the producer as I am a better producer than Emeka and I’ve produced with other projects as well so naturally I would do the role of producer. 

Planning: Planning cinematography, sound and editing - Mrs. Quinlan

 Micro elements

Sound (emeka)

Off-Screen 

Off-screen sound will be used when the audience is introduced to the main character as the antagonist to show the mental torture they are going through. 

Using Logic Pro X I will create sound to ensure the audience understand it is not coming from anything on screen and it is not in the line of sight of the naked eye. I have chosen this specifically as I can use LP to ensure the sounds are of the highest quality and match the mood of the scene. This is common in thrillers to show the rising tension in a scene that something is about to happen.

On Screen

On screen sound will be used for when the main character is training and practicing with his entrepreneur for what he wants to do with him and is a very important scene in the opening and the prop used for training will be highlighted when being used to single out the specific action as if to make the prop an iconography in the opening allowing the audience to see where the sound is coming from. This is a common convention using on screen sound to show the audience where a noise may be coming from such as in Watchmen an on screen sound was the TV that the victim was watching.

Contrapuntal

Contrapuntal sound will be used when the two characters are seen walking away from the crime scene near the end of the scene, this will be used to make the audience think ‘oh this seems like nothing is wrong here’ but really the sound will be used to hide their actions and cover up the fact that they had just committed an act of some sort. This is a good way to give the audience an idea of what type of characters they are, the main characters physical and intimidating mixed with the entrepreneurs’ cheekiness to show that there is definitely something wrong there.

Non-Diegetic

Non-diegetic sound will also be used and is the key sound in the opening as it is not part of the film world and consists of things such as sound effects, soundtracks and voiceovers, which is good for the opening as it draws away from using the sound in a recording. Muting the irrelevant sounds from the recording and creating my own sound is a good way to experience the different effects I can add to the scene using sounds and also add my own theme behind the sound and if I wanted I could add a voice-over as if to depict the life of the character in third person.

Editing (Abass)

The editing of a scene is one of the most important things when you’re making an opening scene. If you don’t get the editing right your scene could look very poor whereas on the other hand if editing is done well your scene could look brilliant so it is important to get the editing right.

Fade to black

One editing technique I am going to use is fade to black. This editing technique is used in a scene when you’re trying to go from one scene to another. I am going to use this when the guy in the mask’s scene ends and when the antagonist starts training the victim.

Straight cut

Another editing technique I am going to use is straight cut. This editing technique is the most used and most simple editing technique. It is just one shot moving to another shot. I can specify where I will use this because this will be use a lot in the opening scene.

Zoom

Another editing technique that I am going to use is zoom this when the shot moves closer to a specific place in the shot. I am going to use this during the scene when the antagonist is on his own acting weird in order to create more of a creepy effect on the antagonist.

Fast paced editing

Another editing technique I used was fast paced editing. Fast paced editing used to make the scene more effective and make it look scarier as well. I use fast paced editing during the scene when the antagonist is in the room on his own.

Planning: Shot list - Miss Begum

The shot list is produced by the director of the group as a way for the cameraman to know what shots to take during the filming of the opening scene. This will help see what camera shots are the most effective to use during the filming  the director created a shot list using footage already recorded and ideas from his storyboard to discuss the cinematography to be used in the groups opening scene.

Here's the  shot list:

Planning: Character representation - Mrs. Quinlan

Character representation

Intro:

Character representations are the specific aspects of a character. Characters are normally presented through stereotypes. For example the protagonist of a film is usually a white attractive male, a victim is normally a blond female because it is a stereotype that blond females are unintelligent so they are of portrayed as a victim. The racial people so anyone that is not white is normally casted as the antagonist in the film. What they wear also affect the way they are presented for example if an protagonist wore a suit you would think they are intelligent, if an antagonist wore red you would think they were evil and seductive and if a woman was to wear white it would show purity and innocence.

Name: Unknown (Emeka)

Character role: Antagonist- this character is the antagonist. He is represented as the antagonist because he is a racial person and people of any race other than white are normally seen as antagonist in films.

Age: 17

Gender stereotype of role: Black and muscular to show that he has threat to whoever is the protagonist and the victims of the story.

Costume: He wears black clothing in order to show that he is evil and deceptive. This makes the audience more scared of the antagonist. He also wears a mask which will make him look mysterious as you don’t know his identity.

Hair and Make-up: There’s no hair and make-up as he is wearing a hat and he is wearing a mask.

Body language and facial expression: His body language is really frightening because he is different emotions at once and his body language shows it. However you can’t see his facial expression as he is wearing a mask.

Represented as: This character is represented as a mysterious and a frightening being as his identity is unknown. In the opening scene he is presented as the antagonist

Role within the narrative: This character is the main antagonist of the opening scene. He trains the other antagonist into being just like him. He trains him to copy him and dress like him so that he can have his own little apprentice. He and the little boy move down a road which suggest he is up to mischief with the boy.

Name: Unknown (Tyler)

Character role: antagonist-this character was originally a victim but was made into an antagonist by the main antagonist of the opening after he trained him to become a copy of him.

Age: 16

Gender stereotype of role: He is a male and males are normally shown as antagonist as it is a stereotype that males are more threatening than women. He is also coloured and it is a stereotype for coloured people to be antagonist.

Costume: he wears dark clothing which connotes that he is up to no good= and that he is a mysterious person.

Hair and make-up: there is no hair and make-up as you don’t see his face and hair.

Body language and facial expression: his body language and facial expression is originally innocent as originally he is a victim but since he turned into an antagonist his body language turns aggressive.

Represented as: this character is represented as an innocent victim at first but is later represented as an antagonist as he was turned into an antagonist by the other antagonist.

Role in narrative: this character is the other antagonist in the opening scene. He was originally an innocent kid but the other antagonist took him under his wing and made him some sort of apprentice of his.

Planning: Preliminary task - Miss Begum

Preliminary task

Purpose of a preliminary task

  The purpose of the preliminary task is for the group to be familiarized with editing and camerawork this has also helped us work in a group as we have never worked like this in a group before. Most of us hardly use video cameras so we weren’t familiar with the buttons and know to adjust the camera or view the videos we took. Since I am going to be the camera man for the final product Emeka was the camera man for the preliminary task. This helped us learn how to use the camera properly to know how to use it for my final product. I was the one acting in it along with Umut this helped us know what the acting process is like and is going to help him prepare for the final product.

The scenario

  

 

The scene starts with me and umut are talking about what we should do for our course work and umut is not trying hard enough to think about an idea and is not bothered with the work.

 

I try and motivate him to do the work and say it is important because we will get a low grade if he doesn’t try harder.

 

He tries to act like he is getting involved but he makes a stupid suggestion. He suggested that our coursework should be about two people talking about the video game ‘Fifa’.

I say that that is a stupid idea because you can’t be talking about video games for important course work and I said we will get and F grade if we do that.

 

Umut says that he’s not going to comment on what I said because he thinks that his suggestion is actually a legitimate suggestion and he thinks it might actually get us a good grade.

Group roles for the preliminary task filming. Has this now changed for the final one?

Cameraman: the camera man is the person filming the scene.

Emeka was the one filming the preliminary task. It was originally umut that was filming but he wasn’t doing it well so Emeka offered to take the camera instead. Emeka wasn’t the best camera man because his hands weren’t steady and you can see that when watching the scene. Because of this we decided that I am going to film for the final thing because neither of them were good using the camera.

Actors: Me and Umut were acting in the preliminary task. Because me and Umut had done drama related courses in the past so we have experience of acting. This is why we were chosen instead of Emeka. For the final opening scene since I was put on the camera for the final task Emeka is acting and Umut has left our group so he isn’t involved in the final task in anyway.

Editing: for the preliminary task we all took part in editing in order for us to find out who was the best at it. When we were doing it we found out that I was the best at editing since I knew a lot about editing programs already. So we decided that I should be the one editing for the final task.

Difficulties we encountered with filming

Some of the difficulties we encountered while filming were things such as were we the right place is the film the preliminary task because we were trying to find the best place for lighting and objects in the scene. The way we overcame this was by finding a place where there was good lighting in order for it to be clear. A difficulty Emeka encountered problems with filming over the shoulder shots because he couldn’t seem to get the right angle. He overcame this by repeatedly trying different ways to get the over the shoulder shots and in the end he got the right angles.

Difficulties we encountered while editing

Some of the difficulties we encountered while editing include things like learning how final cut pro works. None of us had ever used final cut pro before, even though I used another editing program called Sony Vegas it was far different from final cut pro. The way we overcame this difficulty was learning how to use it while using the program because we found out how the program works.

What I learned

While going through this preliminary task we learned who was the best at doing what in our group. We found out I was the best at editing and filming and we found out that Emeka was the best at acting and using sound. I learned how to use final cut pro as an editing program because I normally use something else and I also learned how the camera worked.

Conclusion

Doing this preliminary task has helped us get familiarized with the process of filming an opening scene. This task has helped us decide who is doing what in out opening scene. It has helped me learn how to use the camera and final cut pro and it has helped Emeka develop his work with sound.

Planning: Pre-production paperwork - Miss Begum

Client release form

The client release form is a legal document that discusses the terms and agreements for any actor participating in our thriller opening. The cast needs to be informed on what exactly they are getting themselves into by participating in the thriller opening.

This is our client release form:

Risk assessment

The risk assessment is an analysis of location and risk and you will need to identify what risks might arise and how you plan to overcome them every part. Everyone taking part in this production has to sign the risk assessment so they know what risk they would be taking while participating in the production. This is a legal document meaning that they must have a copy of this document.

This is our risk assessment:

Production schedule

Production schedule is a summary of everything that is going to happen in your opening scene. This document includes stuff like who is participating in the opening scene and where it’s going to be set and what time we are doing it.

This is our production schedule:

Location recce

 This document is a summary of the location that you have decided on suing within the thriller opening. This document needs to be given to everyone participating in the opening scene so that they are all informed about the location where it’s set.

This is our location Recce:

Location release form

This document is a legal document that discusses the terms and agreements including the; company, council and people that are allowing you to film within their location. This document should be given to the company you may be filming in so that you can get their approval.

This is our location release form: