Our thriller conforms to conventions of thrillers in several areas of our film. There is a generic convention with the antagonist-protagonist relationship between the two main characters, seen in many thrillers.
The use of voyeurism is a convention, the idea that something or someone is watching you. This allows the audience to ‘step in to the character’s shoes’ and understand fully the situation they are in. This can be identified in the 'entering the woods' scene with the use of the 'crab shots'. This photo shows conforming to conventions; the antagonist is seen in a hooded coat, adding to the dark, mysterious character profile that is represented.
The flash of light during the flashback sequence is archetypal. Seen in many psychological films/media (like Seven, CSI, Criminal Minds) indicating a previous event somehow linked to the character. These media products have influenced our work, clearly illustrated by our content.However, our film does challenge conventions as our lead character is female, going against the idea that the main character is a tough (alpha) male figure. Our conventions indicate our genre is psychological. This involves asking questions of the audience and surprising them, demonstrated at the climax of film when the antagonist appears in the window this is left at a point where the outcome is hinted, but not shown: a ‘cliff hanger ending’. A sub genre of crime could be indicated by the stabbing scene, showing violence/murder.
How does your media product represent particular social groups?
The social group that is represented in our media is white teenage males and females. This links into our target audience of both genders, between the ages of 15-35. In our film, the social group that is heavily represented is the white, middle class. I believe gender is represented very stereotypically:a vulnerable girl and a powerful man. We have represented the (assumed) male as strong and the female to be vulnerable and weak. In the ‘killing scene’ the male uses his power over a helpless female victim. However, if we could show more than the opening we would show the female lead growing in character as the film progresses.What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
I believe our film could be produced by a major Hollywood studio, many conventions of mainstream thrillers are shown. The topic can be widely understood by our target audience.
Our product would not be released as an art house film as the film is not heavily reliant on aspects of mise en scene. It is not very experimental either; the camera shots are fairly conventional to a thriller, for example: tracking, close-ups, and long shots.
I believe our film could be produced by a major Hollywood studio, many conventions of mainstream thrillers are shown. The topic can be widely understood by our target audience.
Our product would not be released as an art house film as the film is not heavily reliant on aspects of mise en scene. It is not very experimental either; the camera shots are fairly conventional to a thriller, for example: tracking, close-ups, and long shots.
This film would not be an internet only release; meaning limited access for consumers. Our film is appealing to a younger audience (the people who watch films regularly and buy DVDs) so it would need to be as widely accessible as possible, to maximise profit potential.
It does give opportunities for merchandising; t-shirts and posters could be sold. The merchandising would take into consideration our target audience (15-30) as university students could use posters to decorate their rooms, if they could not afford to spend money on expensive artwork.
Our film could be made into a franchise, for instance video games based on the storyline. We are now increasingly dependent on technology; so this could sell based on the target audience. The potential for DVD sales after the initial cinema release would increase revenue.
Who is the audience for our media product?
Our film targets those aged 15-30, this should not limit the appeal of the film to this age group, those older may also enjoy it.
The film would appeal to our target audience because they can relate to the situation the characters find themselves in. The age of our cast is similar to our audience; meaning they will feel more connected. This age group are generally more aware of newly released films and have more free time, making it easier to target this audience. The certification for the film is a 12A but this will not stipulate the age of the viewers.
It does give opportunities for merchandising; t-shirts and posters could be sold. The merchandising would take into consideration our target audience (15-30) as university students could use posters to decorate their rooms, if they could not afford to spend money on expensive artwork.
Our film could be made into a franchise, for instance video games based on the storyline. We are now increasingly dependent on technology; so this could sell based on the target audience. The potential for DVD sales after the initial cinema release would increase revenue.
Who is the audience for our media product?
Our film targets those aged 15-30, this should not limit the appeal of the film to this age group, those older may also enjoy it.
The film would appeal to our target audience because they can relate to the situation the characters find themselves in. The age of our cast is similar to our audience; meaning they will feel more connected. This age group are generally more aware of newly released films and have more free time, making it easier to target this audience. The certification for the film is a 12A but this will not stipulate the age of the viewers.
How did you attract/address your audience?
Our audience profile consists on both genders, aged 15-30. We attracted our audience by including a violent stabbing scene. This age group would be the most accepting of this ‘horror-like’ scene, this could almost be an expectation of young audiences.
We made the flashback particularly terrifying because of the black and white hue; this confuses the audience slightly, as the focus is altered. This effect helps to differentiate from the rest of the film. The changes of perspective (created using 2 separate cameras) and the harsh jump cuts speed up the action, increasing the viewer’s tension. We used a point-of-view (POV) shot allowing the audience to become involved in the terrifying situation with the main character, seeing what she sees, increasing anxiety.
The non diagetic music is crucial to attracting our audience. It is conventional, ‘chilling’ music that is almost continuous throughout. The changes in pitch of the music arrive at key moments, giving
the audience (in some cases) an unwanted indication of what is about to happen.We used close ups to show the panic and fear of the girl taking the audience into her mind.
We used a motivated cut to increase the viewer’s interest as she enters the caravan. We cut away at the point where the audience wishes to see something (the body) which is not quite visible.
What have you learnt about the technologies from the process of constructing this product?
To always check that the camera(s) are charged! We had problems whilst filming because we were left with no battery left. Fortunately we had two cameras available to use, so we could use one whilst the other charged.
The camera we were given limited what and how we could film. To counter this, we used one of our own cameras in tandem with the one we already had. This allowed us to get two perspectives of each shot, (for example a different POV angle) seen most effectively in the flashback killing scene:
During filming, the sound was difficult to control. As we had to film in the dark for most of our piece, we had to think of an alternative light source other than natural lighting. Lighting was checked during practice filming. We used lights off a quad bike and a generator. The generator (whilst giving the right amount of light) had overridden the diagetic sound and was picked up easily by our cameras.
We had to re-film what the opening sequence. After this we filmed each sequence several times with and without the generator. We then (when editing) chose the clip that was most suitable. Re-filming was another problem; there was no guarantee that the same cast would be available again. We had to swap actresses for the re-film.
I learnt during the editing stage how to edit together effectively using the software final cut express. I learnt how to sync the film with the sound (as they came from different sources). When we exported our film, the sound was out of time with the film so I had to drag the respective bars into position; the sound then fitted with the sequence.
Since the preliminary task I have learnt the many effects available to us. One effect which is evident throughout, is the ‘cross-dissolve’, this softened the transition form shot to shot. I learnt how to change the colour of the original killing sequence to black and white.
We had a track from other sources that had copyright free use. We also had several tracks from a composer of thriller music. The main problem was getting the copyright free versions from him. but we managed to do this.
Looking back to your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
After the preliminary task, we started research and planning. We worked well as a team, bringing different ideas to the process. We tracked our progress with ‘meetings’, which summarised what we had been doing and delegated responsibility of different tasks to each person. Storyboarding was the hardest process of planning, as it was so specific and we were bringing together all our research on to one piece of paper. This did help us when filming, as we knew what shot to film in what sequence.
Our research into current thriller films and their conventions helped, as we started to formulate an idea of what an audience expects of a thriller. We narrowed down a ‘mental check list’ of shots commonly used in thrillers and then tried to expand:
- Voyeurism (Tracking, Crabbing)
- POV shots
- Close-ups
- Long shots
- Canted Angle
- Establishing shot
- Low angle / Worms eye view
-Matched Cuts - This shows matched cuts being used to show compression of time to the audience.
The practice filming was vital. This gave us the chance to test each shot and its length based on the storyboard and work out what worked the best. Lighting was the main thing we tested, and whether people would be visible from different angles. This was all done a week before the real filming, when the cast arrived.
I feel my filming skills have improved. I have learnt to adapt the shots to my needs and abilities after extensive work during practice filming.
Overall, I believe our team has created a very good end product that would be successful if made for real. I think it fulfils the task set and I am proud of what we have achieved.
The practice filming was vital. This gave us the chance to test each shot and its length based on the storyboard and work out what worked the best. Lighting was the main thing we tested, and whether people would be visible from different angles. This was all done a week before the real filming, when the cast arrived.
I feel my filming skills have improved. I have learnt to adapt the shots to my needs and abilities after extensive work during practice filming.
Overall, I believe our team has created a very good end product that would be successful if made for real. I think it fulfils the task set and I am proud of what we have achieved.
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