Evaluation Question 7

Evaluation Question 7

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

My preliminary task was to create a short clip of two people having a conversation, to demonstrate different camera angles and skills that we are going to include in our thriller opening clip. The clip would be no longer than a minute and the aim was to become familiar with the equipment that I would be using for our main overall thriller clip. It also gave me the chance to use an editing programme where my group developed our understanding of the technology and become comfortable and more skilled when we come to editing our final task. I had to include in our clip, a character walking in through a door, a door closing, a few lines of dialect between two characters and different camera shots.




We made our clip as professional as possible by establishing the genre, setting and characters this would help us practice how we are going to do these things in our final task. Once my group (Charley and myself) had decided where we were going to film our clip, we recruited two willing actors to take part. We were told to demonstrate: shot/reverse shot and the 180-degree rule and to edit and film an actor walk through a door sit down In front of another actor and exchange a few words of dialogue. From the preliminary task I learnt how to use the equipment I would be using whilst filming my actual thriller sequence, I also learnt what I had to go and ask my teacher to explain some aspects of the camera that I was unsure on how to use, therefore when I came to filming for the real thing, I would be prepared and ready to film without any problems.

The skills that I learnt from the preliminary task that helped me with my thriller film were that I learnt how to use the editing software (Final Cut Pro X) which really helped when creating my thriller film, as I already knew how to use the software. From my preliminary task i learnt that i needed to make sure that no one was in the film that didn't need to be as it caused confusion and problems whilst filming, therefore i made sure that whilst we were filming our final thriller we made it clear who the main characters were. I also learnt that we needed to record some sounds separately and edit them in as it made the conversation between the characters less clear and harder to understand, therefore as we were filming in a busy noisy environment we recorded train noises separately and added them in after. This made the dialogue between the characters clearer and easier to understand. I also learnt from my preliminary task to make sure i am using appropriate camera angles.

Evaluation Question 6

Evaluation Question 6

Evaluation Question 5

Evaluation Question 5

1.    How did you attract/address your audience?

The primary research carried out was essential to my production as it allowed my group to find out more information and therefore plan what we were going to include in the thriller from the data we had carried out. It allowed my group to find out important useful information that would help make my thriller a success and make it most enjoyable for my audience as they informed us what they wanted to see. We carried out a numerous amount of primary research that helped us create my thriller. We both conducted a number of researches which included the research into age certificates where we found that the BBFC (Board of film classification) are responsible for the classification and censorship of films in the United Kingdom. They censor DVD's, videos and video games. 

They rate films from U, PG, 12A, 12, 15, 18, they rate the films as they seem appropriate based on whether the film is adequate for children to watch. These things include: drug references, sex, violence, aggressive language, discrimination, nudity, mature themes, and gory violence. These help to make sure that young children or people under the age of the certificate aren't exposed to something they shouldn't be watching or viewing, also if the film is too scary that they don't get nightmares or feel shocked from what they are seeing. The BBFC on average views and classifies 600 films, 12,000 DVDs 200 trailers and 800 adverts, and from all of these only 29 have been rejected in the last 10 years. This helped with creating my thriller as it was vital that my group and I rated my thriller sequence the most appropriate for my audiences as I don’t want them watching something that isn’t appropriate to my age group. 

I decided to rate my thriller a 15 as it doesn't limit my audience age too much, and I can still use different cinematography and mise en scene to create a good suspense filled thriller. I wouldn't be able to include any gore or strong language which would help cut costs whilst filming as well and may put some viewers off. I also conducted research into the history of thriller films Thriller films have evolved greatly over the past few decades as present audiences expect to see much more frightening and suspense filled films compared to audiences in the 30s and 40s who were naive to thriller films and were much more greatly disturbed and offended by psychological films. Modern day thriller films are much more gruesome, psychological and disturbing such as 'The human centipede' and 'The woman in black' compared to much less full on films such as ones in the 20s and 30s. Researching the history of thriller films will help in my research and thriller clip as I know what to include in my clip and know the standards I have to live up to. 

Some secondary research i used would be researching the history of thriller films. This has taught me how the thriller genre has evolved from the early 20's to the present day and therefore when I created my thriller film, I knew what aspects my audience would expect to see as i have identified what aspects are included in the successful thriller films over the years. I then included some of these conventional aspects in my thriller film such as the fact of having a blonde female victim and having a masked killer as these would be the things that would appeal to my audience. 

I also carried out questionnaires as part of my primary research, I gave it out to the public aged 16-18. I specifically asked people this age as it would be a good representation of my target audience's views and opinions. The questions asked them about their views and opinions on thriller films, some questions that were included were: ‘Do you like sequels?’ ‘What type of narrative would you like to be used?’ and ‘What types of sound do you like to hear in a thriller?’. The pie charts show all of the closed questions I asked in my questionnaire, this means that the questions required a one word answer or pick an option this means that no personal comments or elaboration are included. I also included open questions also where people could express more on their opinion. This would give a mixture of different answers and allow me to interpret them in different ways either being qualitative or quantitative. Conducting this research, I am now aware of what my audience would most likely to see in my thriller and therefore make it as successful as possible. 

More primary research that i carried out, would be the research into modern day thriller films. I looked at their cinematography, editing, sound and mise en scene, where i put my research and thoughts into blogs. The research i carried out gave me ideas and inspiration to what i could include in my thriller film. It also gave me a clearer understanding of the thriller genre which is vital as i need a good understanding of the genre of film i am making. This would help me to create my thriller as i would understand the effects i would be making towards my audience and the feelings i want to be portrayed to them. 

Evaluation Question 4

Evaluation Question 4

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

A target audience is very important as they are the people who will be watching your film. You need to make sure your target audience is appropriate to your thriller as they will be the people watching your film. The target audience is the specific age and gender of the people who the film is being aimed towards, having a target audience insures that the film is aimed at an age group who would find the film interesting and let them relate to the characters and the events in the film. 

Therefore I want to make the film most enjoyable for my target audience as possible otherwise they won’t want to watch it, i will ensure this by making sure my target audience is as specific as possible. It is important to include many aspects that would appeal to a target audience which may grab their attention to watch the film in the first place. Having a target audience also creates a sense of direction for the people creating the film as then they have something to be working towards to make it specific to a particular type of person. 

My thriller’s target audience are males and females aged 16-18 as I believe these are the types of people who would enjoy my thriller the most as it includes actors who are the same age, which will mean the audience will be able to picture themselves in the same situation and therefore feel more engaged in what’s happening and carry on watching. Also the relationship between the girl and boy would appeal to the target audience as well as they would again picture themselves in the same situation and make it more relatable especially as the clip is set on a train which teenagers often use as transport. This will make the audience want to carry on watching to see what happens to the characters as the audience would have made a relationship with them.

Evaluation Question 2

Evaluation Question 2

     How does your media product represent particular social groups?

The main characters in my thriller clip include a blonde female victim, who dresses very stereotypically for a girl as she wears a pink top which demonstrates how stereotypical her character is. Another character is a male character who is with the blonde female victim on the train but later gets off, and the masked killer who is wearing dark clothes and a mask. I included a blonde female victim as she portrays to the audience as very innocent and venerable, which would mean the audience would be making a relationship with her as they feel they could do something to prevent her fate and therefore become engaged in what’s happening. I included the young male character as having him would appeal to a wider target audience and emphasises the fact that the female victim is left on her own which adds enigma as it wouldn’t have had the same effect if she was on her own from the beginning.

Including the masked killer was vital for my thriller as without the killer, there would be no danger and be very boring for the audience to watch. The fact that he is masked adds to the suspense and mystery of the clip as the audience will have a fear of the unknown and his identity is not revealed. Gender is represented in a very stereotypical way in my thriller as the victim is a female, showing that she is vulnerable and helpless as when she gets pushed over by the killer, she can’t defend herself. Gender is also portrayed in a stereotypical way as well as when the male character leaves the train and leaves the female victim on her own, the audience automatically assumes and gets the impression that something bad is going to happen to her as she is on her own as she can’t defend herself as there is no male there. The masked killer is also portrayed to be stereotypical as even though you can’t see their face, you can tell he is a male because of what he is wearing; this is stereotypical as men are perceived to be stronger than women, so showing that the killer is male, makes the audience feel even more worried for the victim more as they automatically assume that she wouldn’t be able to defend herself if she came into trouble with the villain as she is helpless.

The blonde female victim and male character will appeal to young teens as they will be able to relate to the relationship between the two and that would make them want to watch it more to find out what happens between them. The masked villain would appeal to a wide audience as the audience would find him quite intimidating because they can’t see his identity and therefore that would make them want to carry on watching.

Group Storyboard - Miss Miller

Group Storyboard

The purpose of having a group storyboard is to collaborate all of my group's ideas together. This way we can make sure that our thriller includes everyones ideas making our narrative the best that it can be. We have combined my groups ideas by taking the best idea from each narrative and putting them all together to make sure we have a strong clear narrative that represents what everyone wants our thriller to be persieved as.

We decided on our group storyboard by looking at eachothers storyboards and picking out the best elements, of which we would include in our final group storyboard. We chose the ideas in eachothers storyboards that stood out and the ones we all liked.

The contributions of which we decided to include from eachothers storyboards helped to create our final narrative. The ideas that were taken from my storyboard is the idea of setting the thriller on a train with a blonde female victim. My group and I thought this was a strong idea as it portrays conventional and non conventional thriller elements which the audience will and won't expect. This is because having a blonde female victim is very conventional to a thriller as they are usually the victims and therefore the audience will expect to see this in a thriller. But, setting the thriller mainly on a train is not conventional as not many thrillers are set here, this will surprise the audience as they wouldn't expect to see this setting. We chose these two ideas as they help to portray our narrative clearly and we thought they challenge and agree with thriller conventions.

From Charley's storyboard, we took the idea of using a maked killer and the use of a high angle shot in the last scene when the victim is looking up at the killer. Both of these elements are very conventional as we thought having a masked killer would portray to the audience a sense of mystery and fear of the unkown and the use of a high angle shot shows the killer's superiority and how vulnerable the victim is against the killer. We thought that these ideas were good as they will help to portray to the audience different hierachy's amongst the characters and they portray conventional elements of a thriller genre to the audience.

I think our overall group storyboard includes a clear narrative which has elements of my group and I's ideas. The fact that our storyboard includes eveyone's ideas will make everyone want to put 100% effort in as everyone has been includeded therefore making everyone want to contribute, this will make my group communicate well and end up with a good, clear narrative for our thriller.

 

Evaluation Question 3

Evaluation Question 3

what kind of media institute would distribute your product and why?

Thriller Comparison - Miss Georgiou

Thriller Comparison

Do you think you have created a successful thriller sequence and why?

In my opinion i believe that my group and i have created a successful thriller sequence as we have included all of the aspects a conventional thriller should include through the use of different micro elements. Whilst including the conventional aspects that our audience will expect to see, we also included aspects that differ from a conventional thriller as the location was on a train, this will intrigue the audience as most thrillers have more discreet settings such as forests and houses. This will therefore add to the enigma of the film as the audience won't know what's going to happen consequently making our thriller successful as the film is very different compared to other successful thrillers.

 

Which micro element, best shows your creativity and understanding of thriller conventions the most?

My thriller's most powerful micro element which demonstrates my understanding of the thriller conventions the most is mise en scene. This is because my thriller comfortably portrays conventional aspects of this micro element such as the fact the sequence is based on a train, this goes against conventional ideas of where a thriller should be set but still manages to be conventional. This is because the audience will be able to relate well to what is happening in the film as they will be able to picture themselves in the same situation, this therefore makes the audience more involved in what's happening and therefore makes the film more successful as the audience will enjoy it more. This aspect also demonstrates my creativity towards thriller conventions as we took a normal thriller convention and adapted it to make it better as a train setting isn't used much in thriller films therefore making our thriller stand out from others.

Another aspect that demonstrates my understanding of the thriller genre shown within mise en scene is the use of having a blonde female victim against a masked killer. This portrays a large amount of enigma as the audience want to find out what happens to the victim and eventually find out who the killer is. Therefore it will help to make my thriller a success as people will want to find out who the killer is, if he finds another victim and what eventually happens to him. This demonstrates my understanding of the thriller genre as having a blonde female victim is very conventional as blonde females are portrayed to be weak, naive and vulnerable therefore showing that she hasn't got much chance of escaping, adding to the enigma. Also having a masked killer is very conventional as it adds to the fear of the unknown, this is especially well portrayed when in the last scene, the masked is shown on the seat of the train portraying the idea that the killer could be anyone and that they will strike again.

Compare your opening sequence to a successful thriller and explain how your thriller is conventional.

Our thriller opening sequence can be compared to Scream's opening sequence. They are both very conventional as the victim is a blonde female, this shows that the victim is highly vulnerable as blonde female's are usually the ones who are oblivious and get into trouble, therefore the audience will expect to see this making it more conventional. The setting's are both also conventional as they are both places that the audience can relate to such as being at home or being on a train. This therefore makes the audience feel more involved in what's happening in the film and as a results builds the suspense and enigma. Both opening sequences involve a masked killer, this is very conventional to the thriller genre as it adds enigma and mystery to the film as the audience is constantly asking themselves who the killer might be and therefore intriguing them to watch more. The sound included in both opening sequences are similar also as they both include non diagetic thriller sounds, this evokes fear for the audience as it builds the suspense that something is going to happen. The editing and cinematography of both sequences are also similar as they portray reaction shots and shows the victim running helplessly. These show to the audience the characters emotions at the time which helps build a relationship with the character and therefore engage the audience more as they want to find out her fate, and as it shows her running it shows that she may have a chance of getting away making the audience feel sorry for her.

Audience feedback - Miss Georgiou

Audience Feedback

Explain why audience feedback is important to a production?

Audience feedback is essential to a production as critics criticism helps to inform the makers of the film what the audience liked and disliked and therefore what they can do to improve it. This therefore makes it easier for the producers to edit the film and shape the film and therefore improve the product before the general release to the public making it a better film and hopefully more successful than it would have previously been.

How did you receive audience feedback from your target audience?

We collected our audience feedback by creating a power point presentation which went through what our inspiration was, our narrative and other aspects that helped us create our thriller. We then showed our audience Our rough cut where they could see what we have created so far, this is what they based their judgement on which was shown through the feedback we received on what they thought that we could improve on. Our audience also told us things that we had done well whilst making the thriller, but we focused on the negatives as we are most interested in improving our thriller as much as possible.

How would this feedback benefit your production and the industry?

Receiving feedback will help my production as it will give us a clear idea of what exactly to improve on. This will benefit my production as it will help to make our thriller the best that it can be before it gets released to the public therefore making it as successful as it can be as it will have included all the things that our target audience will want to see as our feedback  instructed us to include the things we missed out. And as the thriller produced will be the best that it can be it should be successful and generate a large amount of profit which would go back into the industry which will be used to make more successful films. Also, if our production company has a good reputation for creating good thriller films then our audience will hopefully go and see our films in the future as they will expect them to be of the same standard, therefore boosting our production and industry's image.

Constructive Comments made by Groups
Some of the audience feedback that we received noted that we should make a clearer narrative as some of our audience didn't clearly understand what was going on at all times of the clip. This therefore led them to become uninterested in what's happening which is why they highlighted to us that this is something that we could improve on. Something else which our audience said we could improve on was the fact that some of our camera shots were a bit shaky, therefore they said that we should improve the steadiness of the shots. This will make our thriller more authentic. Our rough cut included some dialogue, but our audience thought that we had included too much as they said it made the narrative more confusing therefore suggested that we reduced it. The last criticism that was made was that we should use a wider range of editing styles, this was something we hadn't included much off as we hadn't finished editing therefore we 100% agreed with what was said and that we needed to work on it.

How we overcame this comments

We overcame the problem of making our narrative clearer by re-filming the parts that didn't portray the storyline very well, this overall made our thriller much more clearer and easy to understand for our audience. When re-filming to make our narrative clearer, we made sure that we varied the shots and made sure that they weren't shaky at all by using the tripod. Also when we were re-filming we reduced the amount of dialogue used which made our thriller more simpler and much more clearer which added to the enigma. Finally whilst editing, we made sure we used a variety of different editing styles in our thriller which helped with the transition between different shots which made our thriller run more smoothly as the changing of shots aren't so obvious which is consequently more enjoyable for our audience to watch. 

Evaluation Question 1

 Evaluation Question 1

    
    My brief was to create a 2 minute thriller sequence, where I had to include conventions and explore the different aspects of mise en scene. I had to include a variety of camera angles, editing and camera shots. 

 I had to make my thriller as conventional as I could as it would help portray a thriller the most. I was assigned into groups with who I would be creating a thriller with, my group included Charley and myself. We decided that Charley would be the MES coordinator and the editor. Charley would be the MES coordinator as the editing role is also shared with myself, leaving Charley with not much else to do therefore she agreed to take on the second role also. I would take on the role of director and editor as well as Charley as editing is a large role and would be unfair if one person took on this role by themselves therefore we will equally balance out the editing roles between us. I am also going to be directing the film as I am most confident and have the clearest idea of what we are trying to achieve; this will benefit our thriller as we will be more efficient with someone who has a clear understanding of the narrative. Emma would take on the role of organising the music for my thriller; this would include adding a soundtrack to cover the whole of our thriller, diegetic, non-diegetic, off screen, on screen, parallel and contrapuntal sound. 

From my production roles of being the director and part editor, I learnt that from being the director that I had to have a very clear picture of what I was trying to achieve whilst filming as I had to guide everyone in what to do. I also learnt that being the director that the role came with a large amount of pressure and responsibilities as group members would come to me and ask for guidance/help with what to do whilst filming. From being part editor, I learnt that I had to cooperate with Charley, who was also editing by exchanging ideas and taking it in turns to edit. I quickly learnt how to use the editing software and having someone with me doing the same job made it a lot easier as we could put both our knowledge together about editing and create the best possible skills. 

Altogether, my group worked very well together as we were all very supportive of everyone else and the decisions that were made. We all got along well and worked together on the aspects that needed a group effort or decision. This made creating our thriller sequence a lot easier as jobs and decisions got done faster which meant we could move on with what we needed to do next. I think that we created a successful thriller film as we included many thriller conventions which contributed to its success. Conventions included a blonde female victim, which would portray her innocence and vulnerability to the audience therefore foreshadowing that something bad is going to happen to her, which would make the audience want to carry on watching the film. The use of a masked villain is also a convention that I used, this creates enigma for the audience and a feeling of uncertainty from the unknown identity.

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

    Conventions of a specific genre are very important as they are aspects of a film I would expect to see when watching a film. These help set the mood, setting and feeling of the scene as they help create suspense and keep the audience on their feet. The main conventions of a thriller film are: low key lighting, point of view shot, close ups, female blond victim, chase scenes, killers hidden identity, scary diegetic/non diegetic music and handheld shots. The iconography used in films is also very important such as knifes, guns and weapons. These all help to create a suspense filled thriller film that keeps the audience wondering what’s going to happen next. 

Low key lighting is used throughout The Haunting in Connecticut; you can see this right from the beginning until the end with flashes of light occasionally. This helps build suspense for the audience as there is the fear of the unknown as they can't see clearly what is happening which adds an element of danger. This is conventional to a thriller as danger is associated with the dark and therefore brings the feeling of danger into the scene. This helps build a relationship with the audience as the audience will be able to imagine themselves in the same situation and therefore feel more involved in what’s happening, at this point there will be a lot of close up shots showing the characters emotions. This will also make the audience feel more involved with what’s happening and build a relationship with the characters as they will be guided to feel the same emotions. 

Non diegetic thriller sounds are present throughout The Haunting in Connecticut also, this adds emphasis to what is happening by the disturbing noises corresponding with the clip. If there was no non diegetic sound in this scene, it would be very boring and un-gripping for the audience to watch as it would make what’s happening not very scary at all. This is conventional to a thriller as the sound builds up the suspense as the repetitive noises make it sound like something is going to shock you. 

My media opening sequence defines the thriller genre as many conventions have been included, such as the use of non-diegetic creepy sounds used to build the suspense; I used this when the blonde victim is left alone and when she is in danger. Both situations in the film, show danger for the characters and the non-diegetic sound helps portray and emphasise the suspense the audience will be feeling. Close ups and point of view shots are used in my thriller when the couple are sitting on the train, this shows to the audience the characters emotions and helps to identify the emotion change during the clip to the audience. This therefore allows the audience to build a relationship with the character as they will start to feel the same emotions portrayed on the screen and imagine themselves in the same situation. This will then grab their attention and continue to watch the thriller. 

Point of view shots are used when the blonde female victim looks up and sees the masked killer in front of her and at the end of the clip when the killer is leaning towards the young girl. Both situations make the audience feel more involved in what’s happening in the scene and therefore again, engages their concentration. Comparing my thriller opening sequence to a successful real thriller film such as ‘Friday the 13^th’ they both incorporate key conventional elements such as a chase scene, although the chase scene in my thriller clip was short it still had the same effect of building the suspense and making the audience eager to want to know what happens to the victim. This is the same effect created in Friday the 13^th when the villain is chasing the victim, both villains are masked and don’t run after their victim, but walk. 

Having a masked killer builds the suspense a large amount and intrigues them as the fear of the unknown emerges. The way the villain’s don’t run after their victims is very creepy and creates enigma for the audience as they wonder why the killer isn’t running after them. Both effects grab the audience’s attention which makes the film a lot more interesting and action packed to watch. Both films include non-diegetic sounds which are used when the victim is in danger; this builds the enigma in the film as it adds mystery and suspense for the audience. This also allows the audience to create a relationship with the victim as they feel guilty as they know something bad is about to happen. 

Overall my thriller is conventional as it demonstrates all of the conventional aspects expected to see in a thriller such as a blonde female victim, non-diegetic thriller sounds, a chase scene and a masked killer. I named my thriller ‘The Continuity’ this also follows the conventional structure of a thriller as it portrays that what is going on is something that will be repeated by the killer and find more victims. This will make the audience feel nervous and want to find out what happens to his other victims and if he ever gets caught, therefore adding to the enigma of the film.