Evaluation

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


Where our media product has used the conventions of a real media product:

The first frame shows tools which are used as dangerous weaponry in the film 'Hostel'. This implies to the audience what may be done to a possible victim or to let them know that something violent is about to happen or has happened.

We have used this by implying to our audience that these tools have been used in the previous frame where a body is seen on a table covered in blood. Also this shows our audience that the killer is dangerous and deranged. Also we follow the theme used in thrillers such as torture. Even though we do not show any kind of torture scene this is dramatically implied to the audience through the use of Mise en scene with the fake blood, dead body and the use of dangerous weapons such as tools. 

 Where our media product has developed the conventions of a real media product:

The first frame is taken from the film 'Hostel' where the themes of crime, kidnapping and isolation which also play on practical fears of society. This adds to the realism as well as making the audience think this could happen and what might happen next is kept a mystery. In this frame the audience can see who has been kidnapped while still wondering how he got there and why. 

 This is a frame from our film where we have developed the conventions as we have kept the victims identity a secret. Which will in turn make the audience wonder who he is and why he got murdered. This adds to the mystery aspect of our film as well as showing the audience that this is a crime based mystery thriller.

Where our media product has challenged the conventions of a real media product:

This is the soundtrack to the film "Psycho". The soundtrack to this film uses more convention means of sound such as a piano which plays on the classical suspense of the music. Also this music was recorded in the 1970's. It uses a higher tone which is convention of normal thriller soundtracks or suspense music.

This is the soundtrack to the film "Psycho".


However in our film we have used a non classical electro style music soundtrack. This adds to the modern aspect of our film. Instead of a high toned soundtrack we used an alternative low tone in our film. Additionally the music we used for our film worked as we were able to place it just as we were zooming into the killers face on a CCTV image. This makes him look more mysterious as he is being backed by the music. The music being fast paced which emphasizes the contrast between the killer performing his actions slowly and carelessly. However the music plays an important rule as it can express the feelings of the killer as rushed, cautious and nervous.

This is our film. Soundtrack begins at 24 seconds.


2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Representation of a particular social group on Prezi

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

http://nfgsmedia.wikispaces.com/Iris

4. Who would be the audience for your media product?

Morton Bikes is a 25 year old male. Morton lives by himself in a 2 bedroom flat in Harlow, Essex. 

He lives close to his work so that he does not have far to travel as he hates using his car but loves riding on his motorcycle on sunny days. He also lives close to his mother who he finds it hard to separate from as he finds it easy to talk to her. 

He enjoys watching the latest thriller and horror movies on his high tech TV. He also enjoys a select range of music which focuses on the rock and metal genre. He enjoys listening to bands just as Motor head, Iron Maiden and Black Sabbath. He has also been to see Motor head in concert at the Hammer smith Apollo arena. He thoroughly enjoys learning new things such as the mechanics for all his favourite motor cycles which wants to buy. He is working class and works in a automotive repair shop where he works a 7 hour shift where he cannot wait to get home to relax and grab the latest releases on Blue-ray. He has all the top of the line gadgets such as his Xbox 360, Blue-ray player and a 3D TV so that he will be able to watch his favourite horrors in the spectacular 3D. He did not go to university as he left school and went into the RAF to further gain qualifications in mechanics.  

His forms of escapism lie in his technology if it's a new piece of hardware for his high tech computer, his Xbox so that he can play with his friends online also thriller films. Thriller films give him the escapism he needs from his mother, work and other responsibilities. This allows himself to escape all his present problems and finally switch off. Some of his favourite films are "Psycho", "Memento", "Se7en" and "Rear window". Morton rarely reads books that his peers enjoy. He enjoys reading crime thriller books as this also helps his mind to escape from reality and think about just the story. He enjoys reading "The likeness", "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" as well as the more classic "Da Vinci Code".  

Morton prefers the late night visits to the cinema as he believes it adds to the atmosphere of the film. He favours seeing blockbuster movies rather than art house as he enjoys the use of more technology and effects in blockbusters. 

5. How did you attract/address your audience?






6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of construction this product?

As you can see this is me beginning to use and learn about how to use the steady cam. Over the course of making the film I have learnt how to use the camera by being able to keep it steady and displaying what we had filmed.  as well as logging and transferring images and video via final cut, photoshop and Iphoto. 

This is me learning to use the programme Prezi. At first I found using Prezi difficult but now I am able to  put pathways into my work as well as uploading images. This is through the use of the tutorial guide that is on the website. Also I did not know how to upload my Prezi's onto blogger but through asking the other members of the group I can now upload them by putting the embedding code into blogger.

This is me using final cut. I was very unsure how to work it at first but I soon researched how to use it through youtube and other sources and now I am able to use it happily. The log and transfer feature which at first I was unsure how to use but now I can log and transfer easily as well as use effects such as saturation and the colour corrector. 

 Using Youtube was familiar to me when looking at videos and research how to use different programmes. However for uploading videos I was unsure on what to do mainly because I do not have a personal account. However now through asking the members of the group I can now successfully upload, annotate and tag videos.

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

This is our final piece on youtube.

Risk Assessment

Risk Assessment on Prezi

Title ideas audience research

We surveyed 17 people and these are our results:

View Point: 8
Ripper: 0
The Pupils: 0
White Eyes: 0
Spectrum: 0
Violent Vision: 3
Tritanopia: 2
Oculus: 1
Eye Spy: 3

Through these results we have chosen View Point as our Thrillers title.

Credit usage in prelim

This is our preliminary task where I have put the credits that we are thinking of putting into our film. This is useful as we are able to learn how to put credits into our film. I have also found that we need to find out how to fade our credits out of the image so they can look more mysterious. Also we need to learn how to put our credits behind everything else so that our characters do not walk past or through the credit.

Convention of Thriller: sound

The sound used in our opening scene will be non diegetic sound which will able use to create a specific atmosphere in our scene. Also we will use diegetic sound such as dialogue to give the audience knowledge about the mood of the character speaking and their relationship with other characters. We will also use silence in our opening scene to create a sense of mystery behind our characters while also making the audience think about what the characters are doing and why.

Conventions of Thriller: Camera shots and angles

The shot mostly used in thrillers is the close up. This kind of shot is used in films such as Se7en and Phone booth. This shot is used to build suspense as it can be used to distort what the audience can see as they can only see a certain amount of the image. Also these shots build up mystery around what the camera is looking out as sometimes the audience will have to think about what the object is. However if the object is a gun for example the audience will have to figure out who will use it and what for.
We will incorporate in our thriller the use of close ups as this allows us to build mystery and suspense around certain characters as well as keeping the audience guessing about what is happening. Also many fast paced jump cuts between close ups could be used to build a fast paced momentum or to add shock into our opening scene.

The angles used in most thrillers are low angles for the hero type character as this makes the character shown seem more powerful or that they are in a powerful position. Additionally this can be used on either character as in different scenes either character may hold more power over somebody else.
In our thriller film we will use low angle shots to make our characters seem more powerful as well as being strong. However we will also use high angle shots to make our characters seem less powerful and that they are not in control. This can be used in the scene with the police detective as he will not be in control of the killers movements or killings. Additionally high angle shots can be used to set the scene of an area.

Conventions of thrillers: Titles

The credits of most thriller films are put onto a black and white screen which is used to set the scene. Also non diegetic sound is normally heard as this sets the mood of the opening scene as well as allowing for sound effects that add dramatic effect. Also the use of non diegetic sound could be used for a narrative commentary.
However in our film we will incorporate our titles into our opening scene to set the scene early on in the film. The use of putting our titles into our opening scene will allow us to put effects onto our titles to make then add suspense and hints towards what the films theme is as well as what it may be based on. This is also present in the film Se7en however our credits will not fade when images are shown they will be present throughout the scenes.

Here is a link to Se7en's opening credits:

Lighting

The lighting used in our film will be mostly dim in the scene with the killer in. This will create suspense, suspicion and mystery around the character as well as not letting the audience see perfectly what is going on. Also the hiding of parts of the scene will make the audience think what else is in the scene as well as making them think that there is something out of the ordinary to do with the character. Additionally as our film is focusing around the aspect of eyes we will use dim lighting to help reinforce the impact of the theme on eyes by distorting the audience view onto the scene.

Props used in our thriller

The props that will be used in our thriller will be large and simply identifiable for example knives and tools. This will make the audience know that the character using these props is dangerous and therefore that he might not be trusted or that he will be up to something dangerous. As the props will be easily identifiable this will allow the audience allow to know what kind of actions could be performed with the prop as well as letting them know that the character using the prop could be anyone.

Conventions of our thriller: Hero and Villain

The hero type character in our film will be a man who is employed in a dangerous job, such as a policeman. The male heroes aim will be to defeat the villain by stopping him from committing a certain act such as a killing. He is also trying to preserve the life's of other innocent people.
However our Villain character the killer will be a man who is well tall and look out of the ordinary so he can be easily noticed and remembered. This will make him look more suspicious which will give the impression that they are not to be trusted.

Our thriller sub genre

Our film will be in the sub genre of a crime thriller this is because we are aiming our film to focus more onto the criminal rather than the policeman or other authorities. However our film will focus more onto psychological aspects rather than action events. Additionally our centre topic will be on a serial killer who will be involved in chases and double crosses.
We have chosen this sub genre above the others as it can be incorporated into our film easily as well as making it a lot more exciting.

Storyboard

Lighting

For our film we want to create a sense of suspense and mystery throughout our opening scene. We will achieve this by using low lighting incorporated with darkness. We will only use low lighting for the killer as this will make him seem more mysterious which will keep the audience guessing about his background and what exactly he is doing. Additionally when we film inside a garage we will use dim lighting sources so that we can see what we are filming while still being able to have the thoughts of mystery involved.

However when we are filming the police detective we will use brighter lighting to show the audience all of his props such as his police badge. This shows the audience what job title he holds as well as being committed to his job. Also as we want to show the detective as being tired and working into the last hours of his day. Therefore we will film at night to show that he is obsessed while being dedicated and compelled to solve the case he is working on.

Credit ideas

Credits


We have tried to create credits that we can incorporate into our film by placing them in our opening scene. After that we have figured out how to create effective credits that we can transfer onto final cut express. Then we tried to use an effect that will make the credits look obscure to the eye without making them unreadable. This helps us to create a sense of tricks to the eye as well as a motif of eyes, sight and disillusions of the eye and mind.

Here is a clip from our first preliminary task which we changed where we have incorporated our credits into it just to see the effect of our credit we had made.

Certificate rating

Certificate research


For our film I have begun to think about which certificate rating our film should be. This is because whether our film is a 12A, 15 or an 18 either of these will decrease our audience. However as we are looking for a niche audience we have to aim our certificate quite high. In addition to this our film will contain sequences where characters break the law in offenses ways. Also our film will contain discrimination, horror with threats of a menace,  imitable behavior which will contain scenes of dangerous actives.
However in our opening scene the audience will not actually see the bloody gore, or dangerous scenes that may be seen later on in the film.

In conclusion we have decided to put the certificate of our film to a 15 therefore we can gain a higher audience count as well still targeting our niche audience.

Props

Props

The use of props in our film will consist of items that will give the reader as much possible information about the character to help the audience determine what is going on, why something is happening as well as giving the audience personal and specific information about the characters.

Such items will be the use of a police detectives badge of a unique branch of the police. This will give the audience personal information about the character such as hard working, brave, ambitious, a leader, analytical, perspective of the job at hand therefore seeing no obstacles, and also that he up holds the law which is in contrast to the serial killer.
In addition to this the use of specialist equipment for example high tech computers therefore showing the audience that he is of a high technical caliber as well as being a computer whiz.

Furthermore the serial killer will be seen using items such as knives, hammers and basic tools. This shows the audience that this character is primitive as well as being outside of society as he has to resort to using basic tools by himself showing that he is all alone. Also the audience may see the character as being neurotic making him seem more outside of normality. In addition this character may use more old fashioned equipment, either for writing or movement. He may use a fountain pen not because he is of a high class but because that is what he remembers his parents doing and that is the way he was brought up. This increases the audiences fear and thoughts that he is outside of society.

Location Ideas

Location

I think about different locations to help set our scene as well as back our scenes more creepy, dark and sinister. We therefore thought that we should place our scene inside a basement or a derelict warehouse. However as we no one in our group has a basement or a warehouse area that we could use. We have opted for the use of a garage where we could close the door to make it as dark as possible. Which will therefore create a dramatic atmosphere through the use of darkness creates a sense of mystery and will make the audience imagine and wonder what is present inside the dark room.

In addition to this we are thinking of jumping scenes between this dark garage to an office suite which will be used as a police office where the mysterious garage will be located by the police to try and track down the killer. Also the use of this office suite will help us to establish to the audience that the people present in this office are part of a unique police force where they track down serial killers.

In addition to all this the use of the binary opposite between the deranged doctor in the dark,sinister garage and the city living, smartly dressed police detector.

Thoughts on sound for a thriller film

Sound

The use of sound in a thriller film normally tends to explain the scene as well as builds up suspense into the scene. This could make the scene more stressful, dramatic, romantic, angry and sad. The use of sound should be used to engage the audience and to tease the audience and make them guess what may or may not be coming next.
However I have thought that it may be possible to use the backing track from "Love story" which is by Henry Mancini. This would be in contrast to a thriller film. As many people would know this song from the 1970's romantic film "Love story" "considered one of the most considered one of the most romantic of all time by the  American Film Institute (#9 on the list). This in turn would contrast to the feel of a thriller film which would make the audience think about the music as well as begin to think about what may be coming next. This is because the contrast would be so extreme that the audience will begin to think that the film is nothing like a love story. This could also create an emotional and dramatic element to the scene.

Final cut express Slow Motion effect

Slow Motion

I have thought about many films that have used slow motion for effect. I believe this technique is used as it is able to recapture a specific moment in a film, to create suspense, romance or stress onto a specific moment. This technique could also be used in a bullet dodge scene as the Matrix used this very well, this would be used as technology was a 100% result in our questionnaire. Or a bullet chase scene, where we try to follow a bullet to its target.
I have looked once again at youtube to learn about final cut express and how to apply this technique.