Q7 - Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

  Looking back at my preliminary task, I have learnt that it takes a lot of time and effort to get the perfect shot, and you need a lot of patience for that. I have also learnt about the importance of sound within a film. For example, if you watched a film with really bad quality sound, it would be a really bad film. Ambient sound and good background music is key for building suspense in a thriller. I also feel a lot more confident using programs such as Adobe Premiere Pro than I did when I was producing my preliminary task. I have also learnt that lighting is key in making a good film. If you do not have good lighting in a shot then the shot just looks horrible and unprofessional, which is why I have learnt that it is key to take time on lighting.

Q6 - What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

 There are many different technologies I have used in the course of creating my media product. For example for my filming I used a Nikon D3200 which is the camera I own so I knew how to use it beforehand which was extremely useful. It also meant I did not have to book a time to use the camera at college so I could film anytime. 

Another form of technology I have used is Blogger. I had never blogged before starting my project, and I found it hard to use at first, but with time I got a lot better. 

Youtube was another technology I used in the process of constructing my product, I have had experience with it in the past which was useful and made the process a lot quicker. 

For editing, I used Adobe Premiere Pro which I had never come across before but now know how to use it and I am now able to edit videos with ease. Through the usage of these technologies, I was able to create a short amateur film with a low budget.

Q5 - How did you attract/address your audience?

To attract my audience, I used many conventions that would make my thriller more interesting to watch. I knew from my research that it as mostly people from the ages 15-20 who like thrillers. Most of these people liked thrillers that had a lot of suspense, which is why in my thriller I have tried to create a lot of suspense by using the slow fade cuts and slow camerawork etc.

Also, the audience I am aiming at like crime thrillers, so I have utilized a lot of the conventions that would typically be used in a crime thriller, such as drugs and weapons. I believe that the society we live in today would be a lot more interested in watching my thriller as I have included these conventions.

Q4 - Who would be the audience for your media product?

Conventionally, thrillers are usually aimed at people from 15 and above, and from some of the research I have conducted, people around the ages of 15 to 20 love thrillers. Which is why I would aim it at around that age range, and which is why I believe that people around that age would be more interested in watching my thriller.

Another reason why I would target this audience is because the character in my film is of the same age as them. Therefore it would make it easier for the audience to sympathize with him, as they would understand what he is feeling and understand what's happening. It would be harder for older age ranges to understand this. These are the reasons in which why I would aim my thriller at this age range.

Q3 - What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

Q2 - How does your media product represent particular social groups?

 My media product represents particular social groups in many ways. There is only one character in my opening, so that means the social group represented in my film is narrowed down. He is quite obviously in his teenage years, which brings in the social group of young adults, but he owns a knife and is obviously a drug dealer. Therefore he must be troubled. As he is a teenager he must still be living at home with his family as he would not be able to support himself. Which represents the social group of family. It also raises the question of what his relationship with his family is like, does he get on well with them? The audience could also infer that his family will be involved in the film at some point. There are also drawings in crayon on the wall when he walks out of his back door, the audience would infer from this he has a younger sibling, more specifically a girl as there is a drawing of a flower on the wall. To conclude, the main social group represented within my film is a troubled teenage boy living at home with his family, which raises a lot of questions.

Q1 - In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Risk Assessment

There were a few things that could have been a risk while filming my final piece. In my film, one of he props used was a knife. Obviously this is a hazard and would injure my actor badly if he happened to fall on it, there was no real way to overcome this, but my actor made sure he took great care in handling the knife. In the last cut in my film, I had to film my actor walking out of an alleyway from the road. This posed a risk as it was dark and there was a risk of cars coming. Again, there was no real way of overcoming this risk so I was just extra careful to look for cars.

Thriller Location

For my thriller location, I used one of my friend's house to film at. Most of the opening was shot in his room, and some of it around the rest of the house as he was walking outside. This was the ideal location for me as I was not looking for anything obscure because thats not what my thriller is all about. So picking this location was a no brainer, and worked out well.

Evaluation Draft

Q1 - In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? 

 There are many ways in which my media product uses, develops and challenges forms of conventions of real life media products. After watching many different thrillers, I picked out many of the conventions used in these thrillers and incorporated them into my opening. For example, one thing I noticed in a lot of thrillers I watched was the build up of suspense. This was achieved by the usage of slow cuts and camerawork. Which is why in my media product I used a number of slow fading cuts and panning camerawork, I believe this achieved a great deal of suspense in my product. Another convention that I had picked up from watching some thrillers, was background music. A lot of suspense in films comes from the background music. Which is why I thought it was important that I included some. I picked an uncopyrighted song called 'echoes' and I believe that it fit my thriller opening perfectly and really worked well with the film and greatly increased the amount of suspense that was being built. Another way in which I used conventions in thrillers was through the usage of props. I noticed that in the thrillers I watched their were many props to do with violence and crime, I knew this would have had to be used in my film as it is a crime thriller. I used a knife and a fake bag of drugs in my thriller, which definitely sets the tone down and shows my audience more about my film.

Q2 - How does your media product represent particular social groups?

 My media product represents particular social groups in many ways. There is only one character in my opening, so the social group represented in my film is narrowed down. He is quite obviously in his teenage years, which brings in the social group of young adults. As he is a teenager he must still be living at home with a family. Which brings in the group of family. There is also drawings in crayon on the wall when he walks out the door, which the audience would infer from this he has a younger sibling. To conclude the main social group represented within my film was a teenage boy living at home with his family

Q3 - What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

 There are a lot of companies that would distribute my film. As my film is a independent British picture, it would be silly for distribution companies such as Warner or Universal to distribute my film as they go for big budget Hollywood pictures and my film is not that. Which is why it would be better for companies such as Optimum Releasing who distributed the 2006 film 'This Is England' or Revolver Entertainment who distributed the 2012 film 'Ill Manners'. The reason I would go with these type of companies is because it would be a lot cheaper and also as I believe my film has more of a niche audience, and smaller distribution companies would be better at putting out to smaller niche audiences rather than bigger companies to the whole world. Another reason I would pick these distribution companies is because the films they have distributed before are in the same genre as my film, which is why my thriller would be perfect for these smaller companies.

Q4 - Who would be the audience for your media product?

 Thrillers are usually aimed at people from 15 and above, and from some of the research I have conducted, people around the ages of 15 to 20 love thrillers. Which is why I would aim it at around that age range. Another reason why I would target this audience is because the character in my film is of the same age as them. Therefore it would make it easier for the audience to sympathize with him and understand what's happening, than it would be for the older age range.

Q5 - How did you attract/address your audience?

 To attract my audience, I used many conventions that would make my thriller more interesting to watch. I knew from my research that it as mostly people from the ages 15-20 who like thrillers. Most of these people liked thrillers that had a lot of suspense, which is why in my thriller I have tried to create a lot of suspense by using the slow fade cuts and slow camerawork etc. Also, the audience I am aiming at like crime thrillers, so I have utilised a lot of the conventions that would typically be used in a crime thriller, such as drugs and weapons. I believe that the society we live in today would be a lot more interested in watching my thriller as I have included these conventions.

Q6 - What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

 There are many different technologies I have used in the course of creating my media product. For example for my filming I used a Nikon D3200 which is the camera I own so I knew how to use it beforehand which was extremely useful. It also meant I did not have to book a time to use the camera at college so I could film anytime. Another form of technology I have used is Blogger. I had never blogged before starting my project, and I found it hard to use at first, but with time I got a lot better. Youtube was another technology I used in the process of constructing my product, I have had experience with it in the past which was useful and made the process a lot quicker. For editing, I used Adobe Premiere Pro which I had never come across before but now know how to use it and I am now able to edit videos with ease. Through the usage of these technologies, I was able to create a short amateur film with a low budget.

 Q7 - Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product? 

 Looking back at my preliminary task, I have learnt that it takes a lot of time and effort to get the perfect shot, and you need a lot of patience for that. I have also learnt about the importance of sound within a film. For example, if you watched a film with really bad quality sound, it would be a really bad film. Ambient sound and good background music is key for building suspense in a thriller. I also feel a lot more confident using programs such as Adobe Premiere Pro than I did when I was producing my preliminary task. I have also learnt that lighting is key in making a good film. If you do not have good lighting in a shot then the shot just looks horrible and unprofessional, which is why I have learnt that it is key to take time on lighting.

Thriller Final Edit

Thriller Research Task - The Usual Suspects

In one of our lessons, we watched a thriller titled 'The Usual Suspects' directed by Bryan Singer. This helped as it showed me a lot of the conventions used in thrillers for instance crime, dead bodies, weapons etc. I also showed me the different types of camerawork and editing used in thrillers.

I do understand that I will not be doing a film with a beginning, middle and end, but just the beginning opening sequence.

Thriller Research Task - Shutter Island

The next opening clip I decided to watch for my Thriller research task was 'Shutter Island' directed by Martin Scorsese. This opening straight away begins to build tension. Extremely dark music accompanies this sequence, this builds an extreme amount of tension within the scene. A lot of conventions are shown in this that are used in typical psychological thrillers. For instance, guns, dark corridors, rain, guards and prison cells. The effect of these images appearing on the screen are quite chilling, and combined with the music it makes the opening even more creepy. There is usage of camera work to create effect in this opening sequence as well. For instance, it cuts to a spiraling staircase, but the camera is positioned in birds eye view and is spiraling down as if you were walking down the stairs. This makes the viewer feel at unease because it is as if they are walking down the staircase first hand. This is effective as it gives us more information about the thriller. Throughout the opening sequence, the names of actors appear on screen using different effects. For example, the names of directors and producers etc. flicker onto the screen like a candle, and then fade out, most of them are in red. This effect fits the mood of the film as it is a spooky psychological thriller. Also, the names of the actors in the film come on the screen, by each letter of their name fading in one by one, and then out one by one. They are in white, showing they are different from the production team in red. The names of actors appear above certain objects which may give you a clue about what type of character they are playing for instance Leonardo DiCaprio's name appears above a gun.

Thriller Research Task - Reservoir Dogs

We were then set the task of researching our own thriller opening scenes. The first thriller opening scene I watched was Quentin Tarantino's ' Reservoir Dogs'. This opening scene uses a lot of typical conventions used in thrillers. For instance, the men are dressed in suits therefore it shows they may have something to do with being hit men. They are also smoking cigarettes. Also they are walking in time with the music, the music plays a key role in the scene as it creates a nice effect and it helps the scene flow. If you watched this opening scene you may not know that this film is a thriller right away because there is no tension built and nothing really happens that would show that it is a thriller but a bunch of men walking down a road. The actors names appear on screen while the camera shows a close up of each of their faces. The name of the film also appears above their head when they walk away. It then cuts to more opening credits written in yellow with a black background. The names of people in the credits include casting, music, costume, co-producer, producer and director.

Preliminary Task - Finished Product

This is the finished edited piece that we have produced. I am extremely happy with the way it came out and I am happy with the way my group worked together.

Preliminary Task - Editing

After filming we had to edit the video. Ashufta and I had never had any expeiriance in editing and unfortunitely our editing software was not working during the lesson. Therefore Chiska took the footage home and edited it on behalf of the group. Obviously, this holds me and Ashufta back as we still have never edited but I will make sure that I have had some practise before I do my proper film.

Preliminary Task - Filming

When we finally finished the planning stage, we were ready to film. The location we used to film was the media block at college, as it provided all the right things we needed for instance a dark room we could use for the drug deal, and a corridor leading up to it. As I was the main character in the short film and was in every shot, I was unable to film any of the scene. This does not matter as I have used cameras in filming in the past but when I film my actual piece I will need to make sure I am involved in the filming side of things. We tried to use a variety of shots in our film to make it more interesting to watch, for instance when dialogue was being exchanged we used shot reverse shot to show the contrast in character and to show that they are enemies. We also used a very interesting shot at the end of our piece. The shot was of the camera filming me (Rizzo) holding a gun in the point of view of Chiska (C-money) but it was focused in on the gun and not my face. This helped in force that C-money was in a very vulnerable and dangerous position. To steady the shots, we used a tripod so the filming would look smooth and professional. Me, Ashufta and Chiska worked extremely well together while filming and co-operate well as a team, which is why we will be filming our main task together.

Preliminary Task - Storyboard

Now we began to put our ideas for the preliminary into a storyboard. The storyboard had to include the types of shots we were going to use and how it was going to be filmed and how long for etc. Here are the finished products:

Thriller Openings

Last lesson, the class decided to watch a number of thriller opening scenes because we thought it would be beneficial when we get to creating our opening scene.

The first one we watched was the opening scene and credits to 'Pulp Fiction', the classic film directed by Quentin Tarantino.

This opening scene uses a lot of the typical conventions that are used in thrillers. For instance, the man has a gun and they are talking about robbing banks and the coffee shop.
We focused more on the opening credits of this clip and the features of it included:

- Fast tempo music (Dick Dale - Misirlou) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-y3h9p_c5-M
- Names of actors appearing one by one.
- Name of Director Producers etc.
- Name of film in big lettering.


We also watched the opening scene from 'Run Lola Run' directed by Tom Twyker.

This thriller's opening scene starts with the ticking of a clock, creating tension, then it cuts to a huge crowd of people and the camera is weaving in and out of the crowd in a high angle shot. This is when the opening credits start. The credits are in a cartoon and show cartoon Lola running through some sort of tunnel, while the names of the filmmakers appearing above her head. This cartoon feature shows us that Run Lola Run is going to be quite a quirky kind of film as it is not a typical convention used in films. After the cartoon sequence, the actors names are shown below their faces. The pictures are taken in the format of police identification photos, this shows there is going to be crime involved in this film. The opening scene starts with a flashback of two people having a drug exchange which is a typical feature used in a thriller.


 The last opening sequence we watch was 'Blue Velvet' directed by David Lynch.

The sequence opens with the names of the director and producer with a blue velvet background, while tension building music plays so we know it's a thriller. It then cuts to a beautiful suburban neighborhood, it looks a bit to good to be true which builds some tension as it makes you feel uneasy as you would never actually see a place like that in real life. Throughout the opening, lots of little hints are dropped that something is going to happen for instance a gun on the TV and the broken tap spurting out water. At the end of the scene when all the tension has been built, a man falls to the floor dead which is kind of what you were expecting it's just when it was going to happen. All of this happens with nice music playing in the background which adds to the uneasiness of the scene.

To summarise, the main features that are used in these thrillers are:
- Music (creates tension).
- Mise on scene.
- Camera angles e.g high angles.
- Lighting.
- Opening credits.
- Narratives.

At the end of the lesson we also watched the trailer for 'Homefront'. This was because we needed to tell the difference between a opening scene and a trailer. A trailer is a collection of clips from a film edited together to advertise the film, and an opening sequence is the beginning of a film. Now that I have watched both, I can now tell the two apart and know that I am NOT doing a trailer.

   


     

Planning the Preliminary Task

Firstly to plan the Preliminary task we first of all brainstormed our ideas of what the storyline should be. We stemmed off a lot of ideas, but the one that seemed to stand out was a drug exchange. We decided on a drug exchange in a warehouse with two characters, C-money, the dealer, who was going to be played by Chiska and Rizzo, the drug addict, played by me.  

We decided that in the lesson of filming, we will shoot our short film at college, because it provided the environment we needed, which was a dark room. We also came up with the stage directions dialogue that would be exchanged by the two characters:

Rizzo: You got the gear?
C-money: Give me the money first.
(Rizzo throws the money over, then C-money  counts it and throws drugs over.)
(Rizzo tastes drugs.)
Rizzo: What's this shit?
(Rizzo gets angry and points gun at C-money.)
Rizzo: Get on your knees! I wanna hear you PRAY!

For the props we will be using a bag full of flour for the drugs, which I will bring in, and we are going to borrow a gun from the drama department.

We now needed to draw out our storyboard.