Thriller

Preliminary video.

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

I feel that I have developed as a film maker since filming the preliminary task. I have learned how to use a wider range of shots in my filming and I have improved as an editor. I have also learned how to use diagetic sounds to greater effect in our opening. This includes both diagetic and non-diagetic sounds.

                                         

Our preliminary product had no sounds at all so we changed that in our thriller opening. Our thriller opening contains diagetic and non-diagetic sounds. Also, our preliminary task wasn’t edited very well and there were mistakes in it. We changed this in our full product by spending more time editing it. Our preliminary product featured no transitions in between shots so we decided to use them for our thriller opening.

 We did feature a wide variety of shots in our preliminary task so we used that in our main product. Whilst filming the preliminary task, I learned how to use the 180 degree rule and the continuity rule. This helped us in the filming of our main product as it meant we got to use it to use it before going straight into the main product without using those rules. We also developed skills such as shot-reverse-shot and match on action shots.

Use of the 180 degree rule in our preliminary product.

We planned the shots in our main product by looking at what worked in the preliminary task and putting it into the main product. We also looked at what didn’t work and changed those aspects for the main product or just didn’t use them at all.

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

We used the pcs to plan our thriller and the preliminary task. On the pcs we used programmes such as Powerpoint and Paint to create presentations and example film posters.

 Blogger was used on the pcs to present all of my work and keep it all together. It was also used to present the thriller opening.

Youtube was used to upload the opening to the internet. 

 I have learnt how to use the cameras properly to record our footage. We also used the tripod with the camera to keep it steady. Without the tripod the shots would not be steady and it would not look good.

We then used the macs to edit and store our footage.

We used iMovie software to view our footage and edit it all together. 

iDVD was used on the macs to burn the thriller opening onto a disc.

Garageband and iTunes was also used to make our thriller opening. We used them to get music to put onto the thriller opening.

In terms of filming the thriller opening I learned about such rules as the 180 degree rule. The 180 degree rule is used to assure that shots between two characters, or something similar, make sense and the characters are always in the same places on screen during different shots. We also learned to use different transitions during our thriller opening to make the change in shots look a lot better and so the thriller moves along more smoothly. We also used a variety of shot types in our thriller opening. We featured long shots to show the setting and to show the whole of the character in one shot.

We also used cutaway shots in the thriller to add effect and to break up the different shots of the opening.

Also, we used close up shots in the opening of the thriller to add emphasis on certain objects and points in the thriller.

How did you attract/address your audience?

The audience expected our thriller opening to be very mysterious. They did not expect much to be revealed about the characters in the opening of our thriller. They also expected the thriller opening to be quite slow and build up to the action. They would also expect a twist in the thriller and something that the audience would not expect to happen.

                                          

We added mystery to the character in our thriller opening by not revealing a name and by having no dialogue. The character was dressed very plainly so his appearance gave no clues as to who he was or what role he would have in the film. Also, we did not include much action in the opening of the thriller and it was quite slow paced. We also added a twist at the end of the opening in the hope that it would surprise the audience.   

Who would be the audience for your media product?

We identified our audience as people aged from 12 and upwards. The film will be certificate 12 because it does not contain much violence or any sexual content, but it is too dark to be anything less. The product will not contain any discriminatory language or behaviour as that would make the film a 15. Drug use will not be shown in the product and any psychological horror will be infrequent and disturbing sequences will not last for long. Any use of strong language will be infrequent and not very strong. Mainly the film will be aimed at a male audience.

 

To identify our target audience we produced questionnaires. We asked peoples ages and what their favourite thriller film is. We also asked them what kind of thrillers they liked, such as psychological or crime thrillers. We then asked what they expected to see in the opening of a thriller and what rating they would have expected a thriller to be. We handed them out to people of all different ages and genders and looked at their responses. The majority of people who liked thrillers were male. Most of our research was aimed at young adults because we had the most access to them.

 

Most of the people we asked enjoyed slow paced thrillers that involved some action, like Shutter Island. They said that they expected there to be a twist and for the main character to be very mysterious. The slow pace of the opening should add tension and mystery to the opening of the thriller without revealing too much about any of the characters. No big action will happen in the opening as that is not what the audience want. The audience expected the thriller to open very mysteriously and not reveal too much about the characters involved in the film.

The main audience for our opening would be a male teenager or young adult. They would generally be very involved with the internet and would be regular users of the internet. They would also be interested in films and would take a lot of interest in similar films. They would generally spend a lot of time using other media products, such as mobile phones and the television. They would generally spend a lot of time watching thrillers and various other films.

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

A media institution such as 20^th Century Fox would distribute our product. They have distributed many thrillers before, such as Die Hard, and would be suited to distribute our thriller. They are one of the largest film institutions in the world and have made films since 1935. They originally formed as a merger between two companies, Fox Film Corporation and Twentieth Century Pictures. They are considered as one of the six large film companies in the U.S. They are based in Los Angeles and are owned by the News Corporation. They make films of all different genres and have made animated films, like Ice Age, sci-fi films, such as, Star Wars, and thrillers, like Taken. They are an appropriate institution to distribute our product because they are one of the biggest companies in the world and would distribute our product all over the world and it would gain a very large audience by them distributing it.

Having a large film company producing the film would bring many benefits. It would allow the film more media coverage as a large company could afford large advertisement campaigns and people would be more interested in a film distributed by a company they know. They would also be able to fund the making of the film and allow the filmmaker to do exactly what they want with film due to their increased budget. The film Avatar was made by various different studios but was funded and distributed by 20^th Century Fox.

Having a large company producing the film would also allow sequels to be made easily if they are wanted. For example, 20^th Century Fox have released five different Die Hard films and this may not have been done if the Die Hard name had not been owned by such a large company.

 

20^th Century Fox are owned by News Corporation. News Corporation own many newspapers, like The Sun and The New York Post and several television companies including, Fox and Sky. This would allow the film to be very easily and cheaply advertised through these media institutions and large advertising campaigns would be run very simply. This would be good for our media product as it would allow the product to get a lot more coverage.