Evaluation

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

When doing my essay on the thriller genre I mentioned, "thrillers are a very effective kind of genre towards an audience because they vary in so many different good ways". I think that our finished thriller opening settles into the thriller genre very well by the way that we have put in a lot of effort and many different techniques that we have learnt. As a group we decided that we wanted to use the main conventions of tension and suspense in our film however we didn’t want to challenge them to a great deal as we are not professionals, although we did want to stay away from stereotypes to make our storyline more interesting to watch.

The main technique that we decided as a group to do to avoid typical stereotypes was making our serial killer female. At first we discussed about having a male killer however decided that it would be more exciting if we had a female and would add to the story line. We all felt that this would be breaking away from the stereotypical thriller aspects as usually a woman is often shown as the weaker sex or just a love interest.


Although we eventually decided to have a female killer, at the very start of our thriller opening we didn’t want to reveal that the female character was a killer until later on so that we could build up tension. We wanted to make Lily (the female killer) look like an average woman who had come home from work so that this might make the audience think that she is the next victim as it is a thriller film and not the killer. We also wanted the audience to question what they are seeing and decide for themselves before it was revealed, what this character was about. Then when it finally is revealed we wanted them to question why she’s doing this and what her motives could be etc. 


When filming we tried to use a wide range of shots and camera angles so that the audience wouldn’t find it repetitive with just watching similar shots and angles the whole way through. We also thought that it would be a good technique to hand hold the camera when we wanted shaky shots to represent the fear and nervousness the victim is feeling. When it came to the editing we decided that we were going to do continuity editing so that our thriller opening would flow nicely and nothing major was revealed too soon. 


Another aspect in our film that we concentrated on to make it the best we could was the sound. I think that sound in a thriller is one of the key techniques to make the film successful and to portray the key conventions of tension and suspense. I believe that sound plays the most important role in any film as the thrill and the fear completely disappears without the sound. When we were in the process of editing, we were playing around with different soundtracks quite a lot and every sound created a different atmosphere when we were watching it. The sound we placed within the film played a major part in the creation of suspense and tension in the atmosphere. When we were searching for the most suitable track for our thriller opening we came across many different tracks but finally decided that the best track for our film was the 'Saw' soundtrack. Even though we did not produce the sound ourselves and it was made for a different film, we found this soundtrack to fit perfectly with our film and was intense at the right moments of our storyline. 


Another thing that I mentioned in my thriller essay was "most thriller films have a shock or twist in the storyline". However because our thriller was only an opening, we didn’t want to give too much away at the very start of our film. As a group we discussed about whether or not the victim should be killed in the opening, as keeping her alive could be what the rest of the film would be about. We decided to kill the victim off in the opening as we didn't really want her to be of any relevance throughout the rest of the film and she is just there to show what the killer is like. As I have made reference to before, this is used in most of the ‘Scream’ saga’s openings where at the start, a victim will be killed but there only relevance is to introduce the killer’s character.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

In my opinion I don’t think our thriller opening represents any particular social group as the idea of the woman being the serial killer breaks away from the stereotypical thriller storyline. However, I do think it represents a certain class group of the working/middle class. This is shown through the mise-en-scene of the whole piece and also her costume. From the start, the woman is shown to be wearing working clothes and carrying a briefcase which the audience will probably be thinking contains a laptop or paperwork which straight away shows that she has a job. She isn't wearing anything out of the ordinary just a normal costume matching with the middle class audience. The location also represents the class as it’s a semidetached house and the interior is not luxurious which adds to the normality of the thriller which is what we wanted from the start.

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

Our thriller is not a big production film and is more of a small independent film with a small budget. If we were to distribute our film the distributors we would sell it to would be smaller independent companies like First Take Studio’s and Working Title. If our film was to be shown at a public viewing it would more than likely be shown at specialist cinemas or at an art house as appose to big multiplex cinemas like Vue. If our thriller was to succeed in the public eye within the areas I have just mentioned, then we would hope that it would get broadcasted on a channel like Film4. As a group we would like to think that if we had the budget and equipment to film our whole thriller then global institutions such as Universal would distribute our film giving it credibility and helping it have the best success it can get.

Who would be the audience for your media product?

I think that there is no set audience for our film as many different ages and types of people enjoy the thriller genre. However, if we were to rate our film in accordance to the BBFC, we think that it would fall into the 15 certificate. This is due to what would be included in the rest of the film, for example the language and the violence that would most likely be used in the  rest of the film would only be appropriate for an audience aged 15 and over. Towards the end of our thriller opening, it is constantly showing images of knifes and this creates a disturbing atmosphere which may make certain viewers feel disturbed. The BBFC state "Violence may be strong but should not dwell on the infliction of pain or injury" and as seen in our opening, the audience is never shown the victim being murdered. However Lily, the murderer, crosses off her name, that insinuates her death and most likely through the rest of the film, there would be some scenes of violence when victims are held hostage but none that will "dwell on the infliction of pain or injury".

How would you attract/address your audience?

In terms of advertising, we would probably use an online marketing campaign strategy mainly because the price of television advertising is extremely expensive. Also, due to the fact that we would have no known producers or editors etc we would not have the available funds and mainly because we would only be a small independent film. Also, the internet provides a much more creative way to advertise as appose to just showing the trailer. We would make full use of social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube by making pages and having advertisements at the side therefore the poster or trailer will most likely to be seen. It can also involve the audience watching it and then by word of mouth it will make it become viral. We would also make sure that the film would be advertised on billboards, radio, posters, cinema etc this will expand our film to be more known and watched. When the film has been created credibility, it is also possible that we would be able to sell the rights to websites like Love Film etc and sell it on DVD. This will make a bigger profit on our film and possibly create less copyright as people may or will be paying for these services and will not need to illegally download the film. 

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

Through the whole of this project I have learnt a lot about the different techniques in editing. For our thriller opening we used an Apple Mac and even though we have used it before in GCSE when creating our music video, we found it a lot harder this time when editing. This is because clips had to have continuity which was a change from the sharply edited music video. However when we had finally grasped this technique, we found it quite easy to get along with the software. I also learnt that the internet is a major factor in making and advertising a film. I believe the internet is one of the best ways to promote a film as almost most households have access to the internet and with social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook, a product can create word of mouth and become a great success. We also used YouTube to upload our video onto and to get feedback whether it was positive or negative. The camera that we used was a JVC Everio which is a HD camera and I believe the quality of it shows when watching our final piece compared with the camera quality of our continuity piece.

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

I think it’s obvious that our preliminary task needs a lot of improvement and could be of a much higher standard in almost every aspect. This task taught all of us that creating any media piece is always a better experience when it’s planned out thoroughly from the start. For our continuity piece we didn’t really plan much out at all and just tried to improvise when we got to our location. This changed our attitude completely when creating our thriller opening which I think really paid off and is clearly noticeable when watching both projects. Another thing we learnt was the amount of footage we needed to film because when it came down to editing we didn’t have enough clips to have a smooth continuous piece and some edits were too jumpy and the audience would be able to tell this. Therefore, when filming Hit List we ensured that we filmed excessively and with a large variety of different angles and shots. I have also watched a great number of thriller films whilst in the process of making the two projects and I feel I have a greater understanding of the key conventions of the thriller genre which has enabled me to create and produce my own successfully. 

Analysis of 'Drive' Opening Scene

Before we made our thriller opening we wanted to look at different openings of real thriller films to get a better understanding of what they include. Here I am going to analyse 'Drive' a 2011 crime thriller, directed by Nicolas Refn.


The film starts with an ariel shot that pans over Los Angeles at night which shows all of the skyscrapers lit up. This tells the audience that the film is set in America in a big city. The credits are in a fluorescent pink/purple colour and are in a stylish written type font. As soon as the film starts music is playing as non-diegetic sound. The track is called Nightcall by Kavinsky and was actually released in 2010 however it has an eighties electric sound to it and is quite retro. The next shot shown is a low angle of Ryan Gosling's character sitting still in his car, this is where the name of the film first appears. It then changes to an over the shoulder shot of Ryan actually driving, here the audience can see that he is wearing a jacket with a high collar, driving gloves and has a toothpick sticking out of his mouth, he is also driving with one hand and looking out the window. I think that the music goes very well with the opening because it contrasts with the main character who is very calm and cool just like the song is. The following shot is not the characters point of view however it is just off view and the audience can see his reflection in the car's interior mirror. I think this was a good shot to use as its a very unusual yet professional way of looking at the characters expressions. Further on in the film a birds eye view is used, this is to show where the character is or where they are heading. There are continuous shots from the side of the character driving in the car still. Although this film is called drive and will obviously involve cars and car chases, in the opening scene the camera never leaves the inside of the car and is always with Ryan's character. I think that this was a good technique to use because stereotypical car films always film the outside of the cars to show off their speed and ability whereas here we are feeling what the driver goes through and perhaps are automatically sided with him. We then see the character outside of the car for the first time and he walks past a woman. The audience don't know that she has any resemblance yet however the shot does focus on her twice which might be a clue to the audience that she may be a key character in the film. The character then goes in to what looks like his new apartment and stands there in the dark, here you can see him with the street lighting on his face and behind him is his perfectly shaped shadow. This shot is used well because it shows he's not really bothered about most things and the shadow effect on the wall is a good technique to show that maybe he has a darker side to him. He then walks back out straight away and another birds eye view is used to show the big city again. The final shot that is shown is the same off view that was used when we saw him in the car earlier, it shows that he is driving again and we can see his reflection in the mirror. This gives the audience a sense of his personality, that he doesn't really care about things and would rather be out in his car as shown by the repeated shots of the city roads and of him driving.

Analysis of 'No Country for Old Men' Opening Scene

Before we made our thriller opening we wanted to look at different openings of real thriller films to get a better understanding of what they include. Here I am going to analyse 'No Country for Old Men' a 2007 crime Thriller, directed by the famous Coen brothers.

The film starts with just simple white on black credits where the name of the film first appears. Then just thirteen seconds into the clip i have chose, a voice over comes in which is a man with a deep voice telling a story about his past career and people he knew. This voice over lasts for a minute into the film as there is no other dialogue going on at this point. Whilst he is talking there are many different still establishing shots of an open dessert, starting from early sunset with each shot getting lighter as the scene progresses through the day. These shots show that the film is set in the dessert and as there are no people in these shots it is quite an empty place. The audience also knows this because the first line that the voice over says is "I was Sheriff of this county when I was 25 years old". He says the word sheriff which is used more in American dessert countries and also his accent is a strong 'cowboy' accent, these all set the scene of where the opening is taking place. At 1.28 the still establishing shots stop and it changes to a pan where a car is revealed and a sheriff is taking a handcuffed man to his car. Here is the first time the audience see any aspect of the crime thriller genre because there is a sheriff arresting a man and there is also an unusual gas tank put into the front of the police car which will make the audience suspicious. The audience don't actually see the criminal's face as he has his back to us and then he's in shadow in the back of the car, this is also suspicious as he is purposely being left in the dark and the audience are unaware of why he is being arrested. There is then another wide establishing shot of a long single road which is in the middle of nowhere and the policeman drives off into the dessert. This is where the voice over stops and it then cuts to the police station where the officer is talking to perhaps another colleague on the phone about the arrest. Here there is depth of field used as the officer is in focus and the criminal is out of focus sitting in the background. At this point the criminal silently stands up and slowly creeps towards the officer. Here the audience can sense his danger and are left feeling anxious about what he will do to the officer. As soon as the officer takes the phone from his ear the criminal is already behind him and straight away attacks him by putting his handcuffs around his neck. They then both struggle on the floor whilst he strangles him and ends up cutting his throat and brutally killing the officer. This is a significant part in the opening as it definitely portrays the thriller genre and shows how dangerous and violent this character is going to be throughout the film. 

Audience Feedback

When ‘Hit List’ was finally finished, we put it on YouTube to get some audience feedback. Social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter are also good places to post our film to get some feedback. When we posted our film on YouTube we asked people to comment honestly on how they found our film to be, whether it was positive or negative and to give us some general feedback of the piece as a whole. 


Below are some of the comments that were posted.

“Well done! Great piece. The use of voice over with the music building up is really effective. Well acted and edited too, there's just one minor continuity shift at about 1:39 but nothing too obvious, just being picky. An interesting take on the task too, most of the video's I've seen focus on the victim (which can get a bit stale) but it keeps the film fresh without taking away any of the tension.”

“Wow really good Lily! Ilike the plot as you really do not know what to expect to happen at the beginning and the ending is really effective with the crossing off of the names and dropping of the tape etc. ties in really well with the title and adds suspense; as well as the close up and edited shots at 3.10 onwards. The music such as Psycho killer - Talking Heads really adds to the theme of your piece too and the sound effects are well suited!! Well done and Good Luck!”


“On the whole, a good thriller opening. However being picky, at 1:43 you can tell he is reading off a sheet as he stutters when he says 'conclude' and you could maybe shorten the opening as it takes 14 seconds to get to the establishing shot”

Director's Commentary

When we had finished making our film we all talked about whether we should have a director’s commentary of our film. In the end we decided that we had the time and the resources to do it so Lily offered to record it for us, as none of us actually played the role of the director in our film. I think that having a director's commentary is a very creative way of discussing and analysing the decisions we made and why, and how they fit it with the conventions of the thriller genre.

Behind the Scenes

Whilst we were filming our thriller opening we also thought that it would be a good idea to film us making our film with our own cameras. Olivia Till and myself filmed this as Lily was constantly in the film so she was unable to do it. We edited the behind the scenes clips on the same Mac we used to edit our final piece and created a small video showing the hard work and effort we put in. It shows how we worked together and the discussions we had whilst debating on everything that was going to be included in our film or what was going to make it successful.

Camera Shots in 'Hit List'

Throughout the planning and filming of our thriller opening we wanted to try and show the different techniques we had and also gained in the process of making our film. Here I am now going to list and explain some of the different shots we used and why in particular we used them and why we thought they would be successful.

The first shot that is shown to the audience is a an establishing shot of Lily walking down the street, as she does this, the camera zooms out to reveal her character. We wanted to make the character and scene look realistic, therefore we dressed Lily in smart clothing to show the audience she is on her way home from work. We also dressed her in these clothes because we didn't want the audience to suspect anything suspicious about her, we wanted them to think she was just an average woman making her way home from a hard day at work.

The next shot that I have chosen to show is when there is a close up of the briefcase, we did this because this is prop plays is a significant part in our film. It’s a practical prop as at the start the audience just think its a normal briefcase from work, but the fact that there is a close up with straight away make the audience doubt maybe what’s inside it and what the relevance of it is.

 Another interesting shot used is of the radio being turned on and also tuned, this is a very significant shot as the radio plays a crucial part in telling a story in our film. The voice over of the radio news reporter is the only dialogue we have in our film. This is because none of us wanted to particularly speak in our film as we thought it wouldn't look professional. Therefore we asked Dan, a friend to do it kindly for us as we thought he had the best radio reporter kind of voice. 

After the radio is turned on and tuned we are shown a pan from Lily’s feet to her head. I think this was a good shot to use because it shows the audience that the character is anxious but they are only thinking she is distressed because there is a killer on the loose. However she is actually tense because the police are investigating her case and she is worried of getting caught and what the consequences might be.

On the next shot shown we used the same pan up technique as in the kitchen again later on in the film where I am shown tied up and being held hostage is fully revealed. However we shot this a bit differently by using the camera handheld. We wanted to get a unsteady camera effect which I thought we did very well and this shaky effect was a good technique to use as it shows the characters nervousness. 

The last shot that i have chosen to show is a particularly interesting shot that I think we used very well. Here you can see Lily’s eyes reflecting in the sharp kitchen knife she is holding which I think to be quite an unusual but good shot to other thriller opening’s we have seen. I think it is used well because it portrays Lily’s character as being evil and sinister which is what we wanted to be conveyed to the audience at this point in our film.