Final Video

This is our final video for the coursework piece, overall we are happy with the final product.

Evaluation

• In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
I created my work in such a way that it followed many typical thriller conventions. After watching clips from many other popular thriller films such as No County For Old Men and Batman the Dark knight, we decided that it would be best for our thriller to be dark and gloomy like these two examples.
We also decided to use other typical thriller conventions such as time lapse by using the dissolve transition.
We also used insert shots to create a sense of wanting to know for the audience and this attracts them to watch the rest of the video.





• How does your media product represent particular social groups?

To represent social groups in our work, we decided to create specific characters. The antagonist (the main character throughout the opening) was supposed to be a gothic, almost emo male in his early twenties. We did this to represent how a lot of teenagers in society have become in the past few years. We wanted to represent the regular teenagers by having the protagonist (walks past the antagonist on the street) dressed in bright coloured clothes, contrasting with the greys and blacks and reds of the antagonist. This was to represent all of the happy social groups that enjoy life and go out to have fun. The typical 'emo' stlye consists of a hairstlye that covers one side of the face, however the actor that we had in Adam Turner did not have the kind of hair for this and we therefore decided to use the hooded coat with the hood up, this represents another kind of social group within the teenage genre, as hoodies are seen as trouble causers by members of older generations this proves to be the case in our video also, as the hooded character is the antagonist. People with an emo style are also seen to be depressed, and unhappy with troubling moments in their lives encouraging to stand out with aspects of their physical appearence, this depressed state is also shown through out video as it is apparent that the antagonist is deeply troubled by one particular moment in his life which relates to the bomb shelter that can be seen in the insert shots that we have included.

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

A possible distribution company that could put our work to the cinemas is Lionsgate (http://www.lionsgatefilms.co.uk). This is because the films that they normally distrbute follow the same sort of conventions as the film that we have chosen to create, for example the saw series. The advertising that is used by Lions Gate films is often simple and attractive for example the posters for Saw III, the colours that were used were extremely neutral yet still managed to engage the audience. Another type of advertising that I would use to promote our product is the use of the Youtube website, not only is this source free but it is also a source that is mainly accessed by people in the younger generation, and this would be a good advertising move from our point of view as this relates to our target audience.

• Who would be the audience for your media product?

The audience for our thriller video would be teenagers around the age of 16 years old as the characters in the actual movie are around the same age as this and it would therefore make the film easier to relate to for this target audience, also any persons younger than this and thriller films often contain material that is unsuitable, for example murder, although we do not actually depict this throughout our video, there are hints that something disturbing has occured during the film. The insecure physcological state that the character is in during our clip is something else that may be unsuitable for the younger generations. The film is also unsuitable for older people as it has content that may not suit the interests of that target audience for example the different social groups that are represented throughout the clip have no relevance to the older generations, as the style of 'emo' and 'hoodies' often relate to people within the younger generation boundaries and therefore contain no relevance to an older person.

• How did you attract/address your audience?

To attract our audiences we decided that the location needed to be able to be related to. Therefore, We chose a park and an antagonist with a dark constume on what was not a cold day, he was seen to be wearing an extremely thick jacket with the hood up and also large boots, so that he looks extremely out of place in a park. This is something that everyone is able to relate to as many people have seen someone that looks out of place in a park and naturally become nervous. As mentioned before we also attempted to attract our audience with the different social groups that are represented throughout our video, also the content of our video, which engages the audience into thinking about the possible plot and asking rhetorical questions, who is that man? what is the relevance of the bomb shelter?

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

From constructing the product I have learnt much about the camera equipment that was available for us to use, for example setting the white balance on the camera. This must be done before every shot to make sure that the colour remains consistant throughout the video. I have also learnt a lot about the editing equipment for example how to add music and transitions.

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

From doing the preliminary task, I think that it helped greatly in how well I performed in the final piece. In the preliminary task I was able to get used to working in a group with people that I might not have done previously and helped me make the right choice for the final project. I was also able to get used to the camera and editing software. The preliminary task also helped us get an idea of the correct costume to use, as during the preliminary task we went through the process of chosing the costume with great detail, so that the audience of our video were able to tell that the antagonist in the clip was supposed to be a pizza boy, it helped me to understand

how the costumes that are used on the characters can engage the audience, and also relate to them.

Draft Version 1

This is the first draft of our final product, overall we are happy with the product but feel some areas need some more attention in order to make the video exactly as we would like it to be.

Filming

Today, Sam and I began to do the shooting for our thriller opening; we were required to capture several shots including our actors to get the project underway. Before beginning filming we had to take into consideration the risk assessment that we had previously produced, meaning that we had to make sure all of our equipment was able to be carried in their original bags, and each shot we had to find stable land in which to stand the tri-pod so that there was no risk to equipment or us.
Firstly, we required a high angle shot of our antagonist walking up a path, with the camera being in the bushes it connotes that the character is being watched from an unseen person in the bushes, creating a sense of mystery. In our filming session we also got a variety of different shots including over the shoulder, low angle, and long shots. All of which are used to create different atmosphere throughout our opening. We also managed to capture 2 takes of each shot to make sure that we had a backup in case something happened to the primary capture.
During the 2nd take of our final shot the camera ran out of battery, despite being fully charged at the start of the session. Meaning that our filming session ended prematurely. Despite this setback we felt that enough content was captured.

Thriller Genre Research

The thriller genre covers many different types of different films within that genre; all of these different films reach out to a range of different audiences due to a different range of content and conventions.
Various sub-genre’s include
Action thriller: This is the kind of thriller in which the main character or protagonist often has to have a race against time to save someone or something. This sub-genre often contains many scenes of violence, also an obvious antagonist. A prime example of this type of film would be James Bond.
Conspiracy thriller: This sub genre of the thriller film often involves a protagonist whom is facing a very serious or powerful enemy, which they only know about; a good example of this type of film is Three days of the condor.
Crime thriller: This particular sub genre is a hybrid, not only of thriller films but also the crime genre. Often, these films concentrate more on the antagonist in the film, rather than they do on the protagonist, the main film often being based around a successful or unsuccessful crime, the films normally include topics such as murder, car chases, robberies and shoot outs. A good example of this type of film is Asphalt Jungle.
Disaster Thriller: This particular kind of thriller mainly revolves around one big disaster within the film, sometimes a natural disaster, 2012 for example.
Drama Thriller: These films usually contain some element of mystery and drama, this particular genre of the thriller film is often much more slow paced than its counterparts, and example of this type of film would be the illusionist.

Risk assesment

This is our risk assessment, included in this assessment are possible risks that may occur when filming, what is at risk the equipment for example, and what we can do to prevent this risk.



1). What is the risk?

Bad weather such as rain/snow, this can cause damage to the equipment.

What is at risk?

Equipment (camera, tape)

What can be done to prevent this risk?

Keep the equipment in its protective cases at all times, when this equipment is not in use. Avoid filming in adverse weather conditions unless filming at that point of time is completely necessary



2). What is the risk?

Equipment being stolen – valuable school equipment being stolen by people hanging around the area, and also travelling to filming location.

What is at risk?

Equipment and crew

What can be done to prevent this risk?

Keep equipment on person at all times, do not leave the equipment unattended, make sure that each member of the crew has a mobile phone on their person at all times.



3). What is the risk?

Equipment being broken, for instance being dropped when filming the sequence

What is at risk?

Equipment

What can be done to prevent this risk?

Keep the camera screwed tight to the tri-pod when in use; keep the tripod in the upright position, so that the camera is not able to fall off. When the camera is not in use keep in the protective bag, and bag to be worn on crew members shoulder.



4). What is the risk?

Harm to us, rocky, unstable and muddy setting and landscape on journey to setting, simple trip can seriously injure both the crew and damage equipment
What is at risk?

Crew

What can be done to prevent this risk?

The crew must be careful when walking to and from filming location, make sure that we film on stable land, and make sure that rocks, unstable areas are avoided as much as possible.



5). What is the risk?

Equipment being lost, for instance dropping the tape on the floor when travelling to and from location, this could result in a loss of all our filming

What is at risk?

Equipment

What can be done to prevent this risk?

Make a checklist for every piece of equipment that is in use, for every time we use that certain piece of equipment. A new checklist to be made for every filming session. Double check this checklist to make sure absolutely every piece of equipment is present before leaving location.

Storyboard

Below is a description of our storyboard, as it is not as visible on our pictures, there are more shots to our storyboard, however they cannot be fitted onto the blog.


Shot 1: Camera is behind a fence looking at a path. Character walks past.
Shot 2: Camera is on the path watching the character walk away.
Shot 3: Camera is on a raised area looking down at the character walk over to and sit on a bench.
Shot 4: Camera is on a raised area looking down at the character on the bench. Character stands and walks out of shot.
Shot 5, 7, 9: Camera is at one end of a long path and the character at the other. Character walks towards the camera.
Shot 6: Insert shot of a doorway/opening to building.
Shot 8: Insert shot of a room. Camera pans.
Shot 10: Character walking along a path, starts running as sirens are heard in the background. Camera tracks character.
Shot 11: Character runs around a corner and past the camera.
Shot 12: Character runs half way down a path and bends over to catch his breath. Camera zooms in slightly.
Shot 13: Character walks along a pavement past houses. Camera pans with him.
Shot 14: Camera across a road facing a house. Character walks up to the house and enters.
Shot 15: Inside the house, mess everywhere, camera pans.