Our Final Thriller Film

Evaluation Question 7- 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 your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

Prelim:

At the beginning of the year, we had to create a prelim film so that we could begin learning about filming and editing as well as planning. During the process of making this preliminary task with my group, I began getting used to the equipment such as the camera, tripod, and furthermore, the editing software Premier Pro. I was also able to learn how to organise a group as well as taking part in it and doing equal amounts of work. This therefore helped me to organise my teamwork skills. I had done GCSE Media which helped a lot with the filming process, however, I had never used Premier Pro before, therefore initially I struggled to work with it. However, I picked this up quickly and soon managed to film to high quality and take into account aperture, the 180 degree rule, and shot types. I then began thinking about lighting and how that could effect the footage, therefore I ensured that the lighting we used would enhance the filming quality to each piece of footage. I decided to play around with editing for a while and watch Tutorials on how to do things such as audio gain and lowering/increasing the volume of the music. Initially, I found this complicated and a little overwhelming, however, I quickly got the hang of it and began feeling much more confident when editing. Despite this, the prelim task was very simple compared to the amount of work I had to put into editing my thriller opening. Thankfully, the prelim task allowed me to really get into grips on how to edit and allowed me to make minimal errors during the editing on my thriller opening.

During the filming of my prelim task at the beginning of the year, I was unsure on how to make continuous filming, therefore having numerous transitions looking a little odd. We did not utilise a tripod during this prelim period which made our shots shaky and unstabilised, therefore making the overall film fairly bad quality. I learned from this, though, so in my thriller opening I ensured to use tripods during filming to avoid blurring and shakiness. I was already rather confident with a camera due to taking GCSE Media last year, so I experimented with multiple angles whilst filming our thriller sequence with a tripod to increase quality and smoothness. Due to this, we had a number of different footage that we could work with and pick from to ensure high quality footage. This also allowed us to have continuous filming and no jumpy cuts like before. We took a lot of different frames and we chose the best ones to use despite a few minimal errors still there.

Before we started filming and editing the prelim, I decided to conduct some research of my own into conventions of thrillers so that I could include them within the prelim. I then began watching and analysing an abundance of thriller openings, trailers, and title sequences so that I would be prepared to apply my knowledge into my thriller opening. I ensured to study a number of shot types, characters, mise-en-scene and sound (ambient, diegetic, non-diegetic, dialogue, crescendos) so that I could apply these in my thriller to make a professional, smooth film. Megan and I discussed multiple conventions which we would use for our thriller before beginning to film so that it would fit into the thriller genre rather than another one. I also asked for improvements that I could make once my peers looked at my prelim task. They included more variety of shot types and to increase audio-gain so that they could hear the characters more. I appreciated these remarks so that I could apply these into my thriller opening.

Blogging:

I attempted to blog about every decision my group and I made during the prelim, however, it was difficult to keep track of progress due to the filming and editing being the top of my agenda. This wans't too efficient as we wasted aspects of time checking things through on our blogs. Knowing that this was a mistake, I ensured to keep blogging about Megan and my decisions and changes which we were planning on making during the thriller process. I tried very hard to blog about progress which was been made such as shot types and sound. I was then able to see how much progress was being made and therefore I did not waste time double checking my blog every so often. We also made a to-do list so that we could tick off what we had completed and what needed to be done. I ensured to blog frequently and efficiently so that I could make my priority filming or editing instead of having too much blogging piled up on me.

Schedules:

My group and I in the prelim task all agreed that we did
not communicate enough or were very organised. We did not schedule ourselves well which lead to our film being sloppy and tedious. This impacted on us quite dramatically as we became stressed and worried too much instead of being calm and collected. However, I learned from these mistakes and decided that communication with my partner Megan during our thriller film process was vital. As mentioned before, we created several to-do lists and planned out everything before we began. We also asked each other frequently whether we agreed on something or if one of us thought something needed to be changed. I ensured to take time on a particular job before moving onto the next so that I would have perfected the task before. Megan and I did not necessarily work in chronological order, however, the to-do lists ensured that we did not miss some shots or narrative that was vital for our filming. We also agreed that we should begin the most significant jobs which were more time-consuming rather than taking too long on smaller jobs as we could come back to them if we had time at the end. Once we had placed in all of the shots needed, we would then begin adding in little pieces of detail to ensure continuity and seamless editing. 

Overall, I believe that our planning, construction and final piece was all up to standard and that everything went to plan.

PRELIM:

FINAL:

Evaluation Question 6- What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

Evaluation Question 5- - How did you attract/address your audience?

Evaluation Question 4- Who would be the audience for your media product?

Who would be the audience for your media product?

Megan and I both decided that our main audience for our thriller film would be females between the age group of 14-18. Due to us choosing for our film to be rated 12, we wanted a wide range of audiences from different age groups and genders, however, we knew that overall females are more interested in thrillers.

After completing some research on typical thriller audiences, I found out that girls are more likely to enjoy thrillers as they are interested in the psychological aspect of it and are more eager to ponder over possible scenarios regarding the plots. Also, they are more likely to be hooked onto a fierce and heroic male antagonist or protagonist. Therefore, Megan and I discussed that we believed that females would be more inclined to watch our film due to them being interested in a wide variety of features in thrillers. Males are also likely to watch our film as it includes crime and mystery, a concept in which boys enjoy.

We chose to have the age group between 14-18 as the teenagers involved in our opening are also around this age group. This allows the target audience to relate to the characters in the film and therefore enjoy it more if they feel empathy towards them. Due to it being rated 12, we knew that the older generation would probably think of our film as 'young' due to there being a lack of gore and mature scenes. 

We chose not to include any frightening footage in our film due to the fact it could give children nightmares or have them scared for a prolonged amount of time. We also wanted our film to be family friendly, which attracts an even wider variety of people.

Despite this, many thriller films are rated 18 such as Crimson Tide, which contain disturbing footage which could trigger young children if they watched. Other thrillers are sometimes rated 15, such as John Wick, and these are less disturbing however still include slightly graphic scenes and strong language. 

In conclusion, Megan and I decided to have our film as a 12 as our narrative does not include graphic scenes with strong language or excessive violence. In our opening, it is clear that teenagers are included between the ages of 14-18 - our target audiences' age. The main plot is the delivery of the tape and the kidnapping of the protagonist Kathleen. Unlike films such as Momento, which is rated 18 and contains graphic material, our film is more crime orientated such as theft and kidnapping rather than murder, sexual corruption and multiple deaths. We believe that our audience will be engaged from the beginning as in our opening, it includes the journey of the tape and Kathleen being grabbed, however, does not explain what the tape is and why Kathleen is being targeted. This means that our target audience should be hooked onto our film and continue watching if made into a full-length film to see what would happen next. All of these mysteries are typical conventions of a thriller as they add to the interesting narrative. 

Personally, I believe that all genders will be interested in my film as there is no stigma attached and both sexes are involved, therefore allowing men and women to be able to relate to multiple characters. Females would possibly more attracted to the psychological narrative of the play, whereas males would possibly be more interested in the mystery and crime concept in our film.

Thriller Film Facts and Figures/Demographics

I found out that Audience Demographic Audience Psychographic Age is 15 – 40. The BBFC rating dictates the minimum age as 15. This suggests that thriller films are aimed at those much more mature so that they can fully understand the narrative and are able to question it and solve the mystery within it. I then found out that nearly all thriller films have a male protagonist. They also have male photographs on posters with typical male characteristics such as aggression, violence and danger. This would appeal to male audiences due to them being able to relate, however, I also found that females are obliged to watch thriller films as they are usually attracted to the protagonist or relate to other characters with more tender personalities. The protagonists' ethnicity is also primarily white which is a stereotype generalising white males are stronger than black males, females, or black females.
For example, on this thriller poster 'Beneath the Darkness', it involves two white males and a white female. Therefore, it is mainly male dominated which would appeal to male audiences, however, the woman would typically show a much more nurturing attitude which would appeal to female audiences. The fact the male character in the middle of the film is a typical 'man', with a stern face and tense features, it supports the fact that this is a stereotypical convention of thriller films. The other two characters seem to also be rather tense, however, much less than the protagonist which suggests they are much less aggressive and therefore would appeal to females.

The characters on this film poster seem to be in working class background, therefore attracting a working class audience as they would be able to relate to them. However, it could also appeal to audiences with a middle class background with similar professions such as crime-solving and other problem solving jobs. The fact this film could be a crime-solving film would be hinted in the title 'Beneath the Darkness' as this allows the audience to question what actually is beneath the darkness and whether there is something to discover. The photograph underneath the three characters is of an unknown figure (blatantly male) opening up some sort of coffin and finding something which also highlights the mystery convention. 

Due to the BBFC saying that the typical minimal age somebody would watch a thriller film is 15. This is due to there usually being a younger actor or actress in the film which the teenager could relate to. In my film, all of the characters are around this age, therefore highlighting that my age rating would be lower than 15-40, and rather 12-25. Also, typical male children around 15 would be interested in solving crime and mystery films as it allows them to think more and their coming of age. Female children around 15 would be typically idolising strong female characters in films such as my character Mirabell who is seen as fairly independent. The female audience would look up to these characters and perhaps strive to be like them, which also is a reason for the fact 15 year olds are likely to watch thrillers. Young heterosexual females around 15 could possibly be attracted to strong male characters too, such as the two males in 'Beneath the Darkness', and therefore the character 'Larry' in my thriller film. This could also be the reason for females being more likely to enjoy thrillers than males as heterosexual males could possibly want to be more involved with female orientated films they could be attracted to.

Teenagers could also be inclined to watch thrillers due to the convention of rebellion. Teenagers are typically known for types of rebellion and thrillers could be something that they are appealed to because of this. This could also be for young females who are idolising female characters who are anti-stereotypes of thriller films. As I mentioned before, male characters in thrillers are the stereotype as they are strong and independent. However, recent films are now much more female-orientated where a female character is rebelling against said stereotypes and are confronting them. This could attract primarily female audiences who would be idolising the feminism and therefore wanting to rebel, too. Males could also be attracted to this, however a little less than females. In my thriller film, the male is the more dominant character which could appeal to males who admire that, but also females who would be attracted to him. As well as this, the majority of my characters in the film are females who could possibly be rebelling against the male antagonist and are seen as strong and fairly independent, therefore mainly appealing to young women.

The antagonist of thriller films is stereotypically rich. For example, in my thriller, Larry is supposed to be seen as middle class or higher due to his expensive suit and posture. Another example would be in Psycho. This film represents the antagonist as being rich and middle class - upper class. This would appeal to both sexes, however primarily young males who are very money orientated. Young males around the age of 15 would have dreams of becoming rich, therefore enjoying watching the antagonist and perhaps even liking the character. In my film, I found that Larry was a liked character by many males in my class, however, the females were much more fascinated by the stronger female characters who were more working-class and therefore had less money. 

Therefore, young females are more likely to see my thriller film around the age of 12-15 as they prefer to look up to the independent women featured in my film. They would also like the psychological elements and problem-solving. They may also be attracted to the male character if they are heterosexual. Young males may also watch my film for the action and for the strong male character, however, are less likely due to them being uninterested in feminism.

Evaluation Question 3- What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

Evaluation Question 2- How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Evaluation Question 1- In what ways does your Media product develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Re-editing Day 4

January 20th 2017

On the 20th January, we knew that we had to really focus on getting the end product complete and include the last pieces of footage in and make adjustments to have it perfect. To begin with, Megan and I rewatched our project so that we could plan out the session. We took note of some improvements we needed to make, as well as organising feedback from our peers to have an unbiased approach. We then completed these imrpovements and filled in areas which were lit badly (we knew this was important as we discussed it before the lesson so this was not a major concern).

We began moving titles around to improve them as some feedback told us that some were not in relevant places. This ensured that the title sequence was different from the narrative and illustrated exactly what it was. We then rewatched it and witnessed how our first improvements enhanced our film. We focused almost entirely on footage so that we had the volume at a reasonable level which could be heard clearly by others yet not overwhelming. We then added in reshoots and watched the edit agaian.

Feedback then told us that we should make the title sequence even more separate from the narrative. After a quick discussion, we decided that making the shots black and white (apart from the brightly coloured tape). We then added the audio. We watched the edit yet again which allowed us to witness a few more issues. We added in a couple of sound layers to enhance mise en scene.

Megan and I watched our edit one last time separately with both headphones in so that we could really focus individually. We asked one last member of our Media class with unbiased views to comment on our film, in which they had no real criticism. Finally, we exported our final edit onto YouTube and watched it once more. We were very happy with what we had produced.