How does your media product represent particular social groups?

In our media product, the only social group that is represented is male adults. The character does not appear to be particularly wealthy and appears to be a standard, office–working kind of man. The one character shown in the opening of the thriller is an adult male and he is shown to be quite lonely and in trouble. We didn’t plan to be conveying the adult male group in any particular way and he appears to a very standard person. In many thrillers a lone male character is often portrayed as a hero, like in Die Hard. The character, John McClane is considered to be a hero and he is shown as quite a hard, gritty character who performs many heroics throughout the film.

Our character is also shown as the victim in the opening of our thriller. At the end of the opening a scream is heard from the character and it is presumed he is a victim of a murder. In the film Kill Bill, the main character, The Bride, appears to have been murdered right at the start of the film. This then plays a key role in the rest of the film.

The character has not been represented in any particular way in the opening of the thriller. Not much has been shown on the character in the opening of the thriller so there has not been any focus on particular characteristics. However, the props and lighting in the opening make the character seem to be very lonely and quite a dark character. This would impact on people’s opinions of this character because he is only ever shown in that way. The costume for this character is a simple costume. It presents the character as a normal man who has nothing special about him.   

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

A thriller is a type of film or literature that is generally designed to be very tense and very often they are set around one main character, the protagonist. There are several types of thriller, such as psychological thrillers, crime thrillers and action thrillers. Psychological thrillers like The Silence of the Lambs, are based upon mental issues with the character and is something that cannot be overcome physically. A crime thriller, like The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, generally involves a character solving a crime that personally affects the character. Action thrillers, such as Die Hard, involve a character fighting towards a solution to his problem, with explosions occurring regularly. A main character will generally face a tough problem and have a difficult time getting over this problem. In a lot of thrillers death is heavily involved and is a big part of the quest the character must face. Thrillers are also very mysterious and there are many things left untold until the end of the film.

 

Many thrillers use quite low lighting to add tension to the film and music is generally quite dark and slow and plays a massive part in thrillers. For example, in Citizen Kane, the lighting is very low and features a lot of fade shots and a slow dramatic music piece in the background.

 

Thrillers use a wide variety of shots. Commonly used shots include facial close up shots and mid-range action shots. In No Country For Old Men, there is a close up shot of a character as he is struggling on the floor with another character. These shots show the tension in his face and how calm the character is whilst killing someone. It also shows who the main bad character of the film will be.

Some camera movements are used to make the audience feel like they are in the film and they are seeing things from a characters perspective. In the Bourne Identity, a point of view shot is used to show the audience what the character is seeing and to make the audience feel like they are part of the film. It also gives a clear indication of who the main character is. It also adds mystery as to who the main character is as the character is not shown during the opening shots.   

The opening of a thriller needs to add mystery and make the audience ask questions. The opening needs to make the audience want to keep on watching the film. Wide, long shots are often used at the very beginning of thrillers to set the scene. In No Country For Old Men, wide, panoramic shots show where the film will be set and the barren landscape that is shown suggests that the film could be a thriller

Dissolve shots are often used to add tension and mystery. In the opening of Citizen Kane, dissolve and fade shots are used to show one of the characters house. It creates a lot of mystery and it makes the audience want to carry on watching and find out more about the house and why it is so important.

In our thriller we featured it on one main character and he also faced a problem that he had to solve alone. There is no real action in our thriller and a lot of it is psychologically based. We did attempt to make our thriller rather tense so the audience really have to concentrate and are alert to what is going on. We featured several cut-away shots in the opening of our thriller to add psychological effect.

We also used cross dissolves in the opening to show how the action moves forward and the change in shot. Without the cross dissolves, the opening wouldn’t flow as well and it would not make much sense.

Thriller Opening Storyboard

Pitch Reactions

Idea 1

Idea 1 was received relatively well but is too obvious and clichéd. It would be simple to film but wouldn’t appeal too much to the audience.

Problems

·         Filming in a forest would result in limited lighting and we would find it difficult to get it correct.

·         Using a dog means that it will be difficult making sure that the dog behaves in the desired way without acting up.  

We were advised to watch Paranormal Activity and The Blair Witch Project as they are similar films and filmed in similar ways. 

Idea 2

Idea 2 was received very well but many difficulties would be faced. It would be difficult to film but there would be a lot of appeal to it.

Problems

·         Filming in and around a football stadium at game time would be extremely difficult due to the noise and business of the stadium.

·         It would also be difficult to film without people getting in the way and interrupting the filming.

·         Filming someone getting stabbed with hundreds of people and many policemen around would be practically impossible.

We watched Football Factory and Green Street to give us inspiration.  

Idea 3

Idea 3 was received to be the best idea. Whilst it isn’t the most entertaining idea it had enough to excite the audience and it would be suitable enough to film.

Problems

·        Finding a deserted house we can use to film in is going to be rather difficult.

·        Making the deserted house believable and not so obviously fake would also be quite difficult.

We were advised to watch the first episode of Supernatural as it has a similar plot to our idea.

Audience Research Response

Our audience research will affect our production because we will use the information to suit what they want. For example, we made the opening a 12 as that is what the people wanted. It allows a wider range of people to watch it and enjoy it. This means that the thriller will have no graphic violence and limited swearing. We will also make the thriller opening quite tense and mysterious. This makes the audience ask questions and they want to finish watching the movie to see what happens.  

Thriller Opening Plot

The plot of our thriller opening is about a man returning to his abandoned house. He is returning, scared, because he is in trouble for committing the murder of his friends daughters over a poker debt. He searches through the house and finds a passport and a couple of old pictures of young girls, the girls he murdered. He takes them and tries to exit the house. The door is locked and he looks frightened. He slowly walks upstairs and notices that the light is on, when it was previously off. When he is up the stairs the lights turn off and he his ambushed by his former friend. A scream is heard and the beginning credits begin.

Media Questionnaire

Questionnaire

 

Age: 0-9    10-17    18-25    26-35    36-45    46-60    61+

Gender: Male                        Female

Where do you prefer to watch? Cinema         Home

What is your favourite thriller movie?

 

What kind of thriller do you like?

 

What do you expect to see in the opening of a movie?

 

What age rated films do you like watching?

U    PG     12      15     18