My Thriller

"Here is my thrilller"

Evaluation

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

My media product relates to numerous conventions of a real media product. This is conveyed through the use of mystery. The opening of my film is in a dark room with an unknown man in a chair beaten up. I have done the opening my film like this so the audience start thinking and wondering who this man is. This adds mystery and leaves the audience wanting more directors use this technique to make the audience carry on watching this makes my piece relate to real media products. Another convention I have used is fast paced running and chases I have emphasised this through the use of fast paced music. This is a technique used within films to help bring a film to life. The opening to my thriller also conations a protagonist this is a convention of a real thriller and helps to make the film seem like a real production. Another convention I have used is the use of cliff hangers, the opening of the film helps to make the audience think this is typical of a real production and incises the audience to keep watching.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

My media product is aimed at an age group of 16 – 25 these people may be able to understand the actors more due to the similar age range. The media product relates to a thug, crime culture presenting a lower social class group presenting how violence is used now days to resolve problems. Mise en scene helps to portray this image through the use of costume, what people wear now days and how people are stereo typically labelled as a certain group or genre this stereotype also labels how people act, for example in this piece the villains are portrayed to be violent through the use of costume and clothing. The main item of clothing I have used to emphasise this is a hooded top (‘hoodie’) this is stereo typically an item of clothing that a thug or someone committing crimes might wear to hide their identity. Within society people tend to be wary of people that dress this way because they think that they might cause trouble.

























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



Warp X is a distribution that works with companies like EM media, these kinds of companies need to make the films as low budget as possible. Warp X might distribute my kind of media product because I am trying to keep my production as low budget as possible and use methods to make it look like a high value production. This is Warp X’s key method of producing media products. ‘Warp X harnesses cutting edge digital technology and low budget production methods to make high value movies that can reach cinema audiences across the world’.

I would use universal pictures to distribute my film. I would use this distribution company because they distributed the borne sequel and there was alot of sucess with these. Although it would be very costly to use a distribution comapyn of this size as my thriller is a low budget production.

























Who would be the audience for your media product?



My media product would appeal to a wide audience. It would mainly appeal to a younger adult audience and late teens around 16 – 25. I have done research in to this using a questionnaire to back up this it is posted on my blog. My media product would also appeal to an audience who are in to the genre of thriller. I asked 20 people from different age groups what kind of thrillers they liked and what films they liked the most. Most out of the 15 – 18 age group and the 18 – 30 liked Batman best I took this in to consideration and tried to include some of Christopher Nolan’s techniques used in films like Batman within my product, for example a technique I used was using darkness to my advantage to add mystery and suspense.





















How did you attract/address your audience?

I made my film attract and address a younger adult audience because I wanted to put violence and fast paced chases in to it. This wouldn’t have been as suitable for an old audience or a young audience. I made the thriller like it is because I incorporated all the things that a young audience like in a fast paced thriller. I included techniques to incise the age group I was aiming for I included a chase scene with fast paced music that I had made using music software to make the piece come to life and seem more realistic, the age group I was targeting will like this because it relates to films like Batman which that age group like in a thriller.



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

I have learnt how easy it is for anyone to get hold of the software to edit films in the way we have done it. I can now see that it is easy for anyone to start making movies. I have learnt how to film properly and edit footage in a professional way with the software provided. I found it quite hard to get the hang of editing at the beginning during the preliminary task, after messing around with it for a while and learning what things do I picked it up quite easily and found editing my footage easier than I thought I would have. I hit a few snags when editing and had overcome some problems but found it came together in the end. I can now see how much work would go in to making a Hollywood production and how much time it would take to get the footage perfect.
























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

I have learnt a lot more from the final piece than I did from the preliminary task this is because I did the final piece by myself so I had to do everything. I am glad I did it this way because I got to learn new skills that I may not have learnt if I was doing it in a group. If I worked in a group I don’t think I would have grasped the project as well as I have done, working by myself required a lot more effort but I think it has done a lot of good for my production.

Editing techniques

I am going to use straight cuts throughout the film this will add to the fast paced feel throughout the thriller.

Shot reverse shots will be used in the film this will also add to the fast pace 0f the film.

The opening of my film will start off slow and slowly get faster this will add to the distortion and mystery of the film.

I have used sound effects withing my piece to emphasise what was happening within it.

I have attempted to open my thriller like a real Hollywood product I have looked at various different film openings and credits to make mine as similar.

I have used fast paced music to emphasise the fast paced shots in the films this brings the film to life and if a convention of a real media thriller production.

Music

In my thriller I have used one sound effect and a piece of music off the Internet both are copyright free.

Heavy breathing:

http://www.royaltyfreemusic.com/

This sound effect sounded perfect for my piece, it fitted in well and added to the daunting mystery factor.

Music:

http://www.royaltyfreemusic.com/

I used that music because i think it gave a sense of mystery to the thriller all the effects fitted in well together.

Fast paced music:

http://www.royaltyfreemusic.com/

I couldn't upload my music i made to the final edit so i used some from the Internet which was copyright free. It is fast paced and emphasises the scene.

Wheel spin:

http://www.royaltyfreemusic.com/

I have used a wheel spin sound effect to emphasise the driving scene.

Diary

I have conducted a diary over the period of this course this is the result of that.


Diary

19th Jan: we were introduced to the preliminary task and put in to groups.

26th Jan: Today we were taught how to use a camera correctly by doing so we were told the camera basics, I took notes and uploaded them to my blog.

2nd Feb: Today I decided to analyse the opening of two thrillers. I analysed James Bond ‘Casino Royal’ and SE7EN. I uploaded this to my blog that evening. Next lesson I need to do Genre conventions and thriller locations.
Evening HW: I looked in to research on what I can put in my genre conventions ready to write about it next lesson.

4th Feb: Today I focused on mainly on writing about thriller conventions. I wrote a lengthy piece about it. All in my own words. I uploaded this to my blog. This took up a lot of the lesson time, I then moved on to make a spider diagram on thriller locations.

9th Feb: Today I was absent for personal reasons. People were put in to groups in the lesson I missed out in result I am in a group my by self. I worked on some bits at home in my absents and asked a few friends to act for me in my piece. Next lesson I need to upload the names and pictures of my actors.

10th Feb: Today I put the pictures of my actors on to my memory stick ready to upload to my blog for next lesson.

11th Feb: Today I worked on my blog by putting my locations up on my blog. I also uploaded pictures of my actors and gave a brief description of why they are playing those parts. I need to start to prepare ideas for my story board.

16th Feb: Today in my free periods I began to think of ideas for my piece. I made a few attempts on the story board but didn’t make one that fitted my standards.

18th Feb: in today’s lesson I worked on my story board, I spent most of my lesson doing it I finally made a story board that incorporated all of my ideas and I felt worked well. I then took pictures of all my pages and uploaded them to my blog. I am now ready to film and will do so in my free periods tomorrow. . I also need to make a risk assessment before I started to film, I also need to upload pictures of my costume with pictures.

23rd Feb: Today I made a risk assessment and uploaded it to my blog. I also uploaded pictures of my props that will be used. I then filmed the opening of my thriller I used Thomas Mortimer as my actor because I felt that he would play the part well. The filming looked quite good on camera I was quite pleased with it. Next lesson I will be able to capture it.

2nd March: Today I uploaded the pictures and annotations of my costumes on to my blog. I then captured my filming I did the previous day. I took a long time to capture because it was one of my fist times capturing by myself. After capturing it I put in on to my T drive and worked on it on adobe from my pc, I started to edit but found it difficult when trying to make how I wanted. I will have to carry on with it in the week to make it better.

06th March: Today in my free time I uploaded some information about thrillers and directors I also added pictures of the director’s number one thriller.

11th March: Today I did a bit more filming due to some of my friends having free time. We went to the park and did some filming there. There wasn’t much done but it’s some film to add on to my piece never the less. I also took some recce pictures of the locations and uploaded them to my blog that evening.

16th March: In Monday’s lesson I captured the rest of the film and joined the two pieces together. I continued to edit. I found this quite difficult so I left it for a while and looked for copyright free music and sound effects to add into the work. I found some music for the opening and a heavy breathing sound for the opening. After this I made an animatic for my story board and uploaded it to Youtube then to by blog.

18th March: In today’s lesson I decided to go off site and do some filming for the rest of my short film. This took up the whole lesson and some of my time after school. My filming is now complete and I am now ready to finish my editing for my draft piece.

19th March: Today I had free time so I captured my footage on to the computer using Adobe software ready for Monday’s lesson.

23rd March: Today I edited my footage it took up the entire lesson. I worked very hard on it and managed to finish my draft edit in the lesson. Next lesson I need to work from the feedback given from the edit.

25th March: In today’s lesson I was given feedback from my editing there was a list of things that needed to be changed. I made these changed given on the sheet they included making the sound effects flow and sound natural. I found this difficult to do, I over came this problem in the end after tweaking the sound effects.

30th March: Today I was told about the things I need to change on my blog. I spent the whole lesson making these changes there was quite a lot to be done. I did not manage to make all of these changes in the lesson but I felt like I was making good progress. I will continue with this is my spare time and next lesson.

31st March: This evening I continued to make changes on my blog from my house PC I couldn’t make many changes with the resources that I had but I made the most of them. I need to continue with this on Wednesday’s lesson.

1st April: In today’s lesson I made the final few changes to my blog. There is still a few bits that I have left to do I will be able to do these in my own time. This includes research on audiences. I need to check over my diary and make sure it is up to scratch for the final deadline I will try and do this for Thursday 02nd.

2nd April: Today I checked over my diary and made sure that it was up to date and there were no spelling mistakes in it. I am now happy with the blog and the dairy. I am on schedule for the deadline.

Diary

Thriller questionnaire and reaserch

I have asked numerous people around college these questions to add to my research about thriller audiences.

Is thriller your favourite genre of film?

Yes

No

Do you watch thrillers on a regular basis?

Yes

No

How often would you say you watch them?

1-2 days

2-4 days

Weekly

Every few weeks

Monthly

Every couple of months

What age are you?

5 – 10

10 – 15

15 – 18

18 – 30

30+

What is your favourite thriller?

Batman

Bourne films

Se7en

The others

Silence of the Lambs
Psycho

North by Northwest



Who is your favourite thriller director?

Alfred Hitchcock

Quentin Tarantino

Martin Scorsese

Christopher Nolan

Steven Spielburg

Other


Evaluation: I asked 20 people around college this questionnaire, there were mixed answers throughout the questions. The people I asked in the 15-18 age group mostly went for Batman on the favorite thriller question I think this is because Batman is aimed at an older teenage audience. That age group mainly went for Christopher Nolan as their favorite director. The rest of the answers were mixed. This shows that people have different opinions and mixed tastes in to the type of thriller films they watch and the work that the directors do.

I will try and relate my thriller to Christopher Nolans style of of filming. I will do this by filming some of it in the dark to add to the fear factor and the sense of mystery. I think using his style of work will up my grade and help influence me.




















There are various different audiences of thrillers, some people like fast paced ones from directors such as Christopher Nolen but others like slower ones from directors such as Steven Spielburg different audiences like different things. Certain thrillers apply to different age groups this obviously attracts differnt audiences for example batman applys to a mixed audience but films such as SE7En apply to a older audience maily. Directors need to target certian audiences to make money.

Location recce shots

I have took photos of the loactions of filming that i have shot at. These are the main locations used.




























This is the shot where the thugs will run up and the events will take place.

























This is the top of the road where the car will park.



























This is the road where the car will drive up. the road head towards the park.

























This is the shot of the garage where the opening will be shot. When I shoot it the lights will be out and there will be a light focusing on the main shot.

Story board Animatic

This is an animataic of my story board. I have made this using adobe i then put it on youtube and put it on to my blog.

Top 5 thriller directors of all time:

I decided to research in to the top 5 thriller directors of all time. I have included there top 5 films and pictures of there number one rated film.


1) Alfred Hitchcock:

1. Rear Window (1954)
2. Psycho (1960)
3. Vertigo (1958)
4. Shadow of a Doubt (1943)



























2) Quentin Tarantino:

1. Pulp Fiction (1994)
2. Reservoir Dogs (1992)
3. Kill Bill: Volume 2 (2004)
4. Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)
































3) Martin Scorsese:

1. Taxi Driver (1976)
2. The Departed (2006)
3. After Hours (1985)
4. Bringing Out the Dead (1999)






































4) Christopher Nolan:

1. Dark Knight, The (2008)
2. Memento (2000)
3. Insomnia (2002)
4. Prestige, The (2006)

































5) Steven Spielburg:

1. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
2. Jaws (1975)
3. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
4. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)

Costume

For the costume I am going to use classic youth style clothes for example hoodies and jeans. These are seen to be classic youth clothes. and hoodies are associated to crime.


Each of the 'thugs' will be wearing hoodies similar to this one. Maybe darker. this is to give the impression that they are criminal like. And shifty characters. Both will be wearing the hood up.

The 'thugs' will both be wearing jeans similar to these (G-star) these style jeans are typical of youth and the fashion of today. The passer by that descovers the body will also be wearing jeans similar.





















Both 'thugs' will be wearing trainers similar to these. they are also typical of youth and the fashion of today. They also compliment the outfit.

The person that descovers the body will be wearing a jumper similar to this one. This style of jumper is typical of outdoor type people and walkers.

The Person that decovers the body will be wearing similar trainers to this. These are ordinary trainers for ordinary people not associated with a genre of people.

The victem will be wearing a blood stained shirt similar to this one to give the effect of being beat up/ murdered. gives the impression of a brutial attack.

Questionair

(will be put on monday 22nd feb)

Filming schedule

Saturday 28th Feb: Time: 4:00 location: my house.
On Saturday i prepared the props and rang the actors to make sure they were free to film the next day.


Sunday 1st March: time: 3:20 pm - 4:00 location: my garage.
On Sunday i shot the opening of my thriller (man beat up in a chair) it was around 25 seconds of film that will be used in the final film.

Monday 2nd March:

Risk assesment

Car: Check the car before using it, wear seatbelts and don’t go at high speeds. Park away from the main road.

Lying on the floor: Make sure there isn’t any glass or any sharp objects when the actor is on the floor.

Running in surrounding area: stay away from main roads, run on clear paths and check before doing so.

If near pedestrians: stay away from them (don’t use fake guns to outside in public areas).

Weather: Don’t film when the floor is wet it could create a slipping hazard.

Props

I have not really used props apart from the car. so i have took a picture of the car used.

Car is used in a clip

Story board

I have took along time over the story board i have added explanations about the shots and how they are going to be taken. i will follow this in my filming. I am yet to make an story board animatic but will get round to doing so.

I have tryed to use a similar camera style as drectors such as Christopher Nolen. This involves making shots darker and making the filming fast paced. I will try and use this style as best as i can but i may have to end up using more contepmory styles like directors such as Steven Spielburg.

Characters, Actors and Location

I have took pictures of people i have used in the thriller in filming. I have also wrote a short paragraph of why they were suitable for the role i have chosen them for.



Jamie

Tom

Johnny

Alex

Characters:

1. Beat up man (dead man in forest)



2. Man who discovers the body



3. Thug 1 (driver)



4. Thug 2 (font seat)

Actors:

1. Thomas Mortimer: this person will be good because they can get in to character well and did drama at GCSE.

2. Johnny Holden: this person will be good because they are quite good at getting in to different roles and getting in to character.

3. Jamie Brice: Jamie is a naturally good actor.

4. Alex: Alex is willing to try new things and help out as much as he can. he is good at getting in to character.

Location: I am shooting the scene in two locations. The fist will be my garage this is where the man will be tyed up. The second will be a park near my house.

Garage: I am shooting the opening in my garage because i can turn the lights of and the room will be pitch black. Then i can shoot the shots against the brick wall and light the main area. Making the room dark is fitting in with directors like Christopher Nolens work, by making the set dark and daunting.

Park: The park is a good location because it is out of the way and it is a vast space. This will ensure that there is no random people accidentally in the shot.

Genre reaserch

I have wrote this paragraph to explain the genre of thriller.


Thriller conventions

The genre of ‘thriller’ is used frequently throughout films, books and games. The main purpose of a thriller is to entice the audience and make them think to keep them watching, the more twists put in the more exciting the film is. Its supposed to be a on the edge of your seat experience or the audience. A thriller is usually built by a number of sub genres to build up suspense throughout the plot. A typical thriller usually uses a big strong man as the protagonist for example ‘The Borne Identity’ staring Matt Daemon. A Thriller typically has a fem fatal type character a women in distress or who carries a lot of baggage from her past. The fem fatal character usually finds a way to worm her way in the story somehow to change things for the protagonist. Likely plots are that the fem fatal is working for the villain of the story. This is a way that the main character keeps on getting caught through an inside job. Suspense is built up through the capturing of the protagonist and finding out information about the villain. Thrillers are built up on fast paced frequent action usually chases or fighting. As the film progresses you usually find out the resourcefulness of the protagonist and how well he can handle him self in the situation he is placed in. Villains in thrillers are usually rich men who control lots of people and own wealthy businesses a classic villain has a couple of over sized henchmen who work for him, these are usually the people who get most involved in the fighting. Villains usually have a trophy wife and the fem fatal is usually his mistress who is working with the protagonist. The protagonists in thrillers are usually people with military backgrounds or people who have some connection with dangerous situations. Although they can sometimes be normal citizens who have been accidentally pulled in to someone else’s business which makes them a target. Thrillers usually take place overseas in warm cities or foreign settings. Examples of thriller sub genres are Action thrillers such as ‘The Borne Identity’ due to the fast paced fighting, killing and chases. Another example is a drama thriller these usually consist of brutal deaths of loved ones or constant twists to entice the audience.

Posible thriller locations

Thriller opening analysis

I have analysed the opening of two thrillers.

James Bond - Casino Royal:

• Fast paced mysterious music during opening credits (emphasis through the use of drum beats)
• The graphology during the credits stand out, red/black man on light background emphasises the colours of the man
• Targets are used in the graphology to symbolise the weaponry used in James bond films
• The targets change in to roulette tables this symbolises the title 'Casino Royal'
• First man we see is James Bond this shows the audience that he is the protagonist
• Poker chips during opening credits and the dark colours adds mystery
• James bond fighting on at the beginning of the film shows that the film has a violence factor
• The chase scene shows who the villain is

1. Why is he chasing the man?
2. Who is the man?
3. Why are they fighting?
4. What do the poker chips represent?
5. What does the music represent?
6. Who is the man in the opening in the bathroom?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fiGy8lD4a_c

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JuZQfZ-WxTk&feature=related

SE7EN:

• Black background white names - shows pureness (white)
• Blackness of the background represents darkness and death.
• Distorted, dawning, mysterious music symbolises madness
• Darkness of the background and the hands - contrast between light and dark
• Faces in the opening credits represent deaths of those people
• Colours of the darkness against hands and background turns read representative of blood
• The needle in the opening represents blood (pinprick)
• Graphology represents death

1. Who’s hands are they?
2. What does the music represent?
3. Who are the people’s faces in cutouts?
4. What does the contrast between light and dark mean?
5. What are the books about?
6. Why are the books being highlighted?
   

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqzNySOLESQ

Preliminary task

For the start of the preliminary task we hads to come up with a few ideas on what the sequence was going to be about. A list of the things we thought about were:

Settings:
Coffee Shop.
Classroom.
Sat outside on a field.
Home.

Costume:
Ordinary Clothing.
Suits.
Coffee shop workers outfits.

Camera person: Oliver Allcock

Props:
Chairs.
Table.
Coffee Cups.
Newspaper.
Hat.
Scarf.
Gloves.

For the costumes we looked at websites such as http://www.topman.com/ and http://www.burton.co.uk/ to see what kinds of styles we could wear for the preliminary task. We were trying to go for a causal everyday look.


Camera basics:

• Turn steady cam off when using the camera on a tripod
• Use the widescreen option
• clean the lens before use
• set the camera to slow play (SP)
• set the exposures and focus to manual
• record for five seconds before recording your shot for editing purposes
• Wait five seconds afterrecording for editing aswel
• Dont point the camera at the sun
• if you want to do a pan shot make sure you have sufficiant room before shooting
• set white balance to white
• record the room in silence for around 30 seconds for editing
• make sure that the main focus of the shot is in the middle of the screen so it stands out more (displayed on the image above)

Costumes:

We decided that we would be better off wearing causual clothes for our piece. we diceded this upon the terms that we were not playing anyone with a high class status. We played young working class people so Matt and Steven used there normal clothes.

Camera person: Oliver Allcock

Actors from my short scene:

Matthew: A fisherman who has caught a massive fish (salmon) and discusses it with his friend (steven).

Steven: Friend of the fisherman (Matthew) who is interested in fishing for salmon and eating it.