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.