QUESTION 4-

Who would be the audience for your media product?

GENDER

Audience Research has demonstrated that thriller films are more popular with men than women with only 6/8 finding them enjoyable in comparison to only 3/15 women.

With this in mind we attempted to target the female audience more with an inclusion of a large amount of female characters (there are only female characters in the opening) including the two main roles of the homicide investigators, hopefully making it more relatable to the audience.

AGE

During the filming process we asked for feedback using social networking sites; knowing that the most regular social networking users parallel with the most regular cinema-going demographic (17-24). We used youtube to post a rough draft of our video and put links to the video on instagram to receive feedback.

Here are some things that we were told:

"Will it be turned into a real film? i'd be interested in how the story line would develop"

-Male 17

"Are you going to put in music? I think it works well without it; the background sounds set    the scene well"

-Female 21

While originally we were going to put in music we decided to adapt to the audience feedback and looped the background sound of falling rain to create an ambient and natural atmosphere with digetic sound.

PREVIOUS RESEARCH AND ADAPTATION TO IT.

We had also interviewed a group of 16-17 year olds, taking in mind our film would be a 15 (due to the themes it's dealing with and occasional strong language). They had told us that they found it 'boring' and 'long' when the 'Sixth Sense' credits came up separately on a black screen before the film had started, therefore we made sure to have credits overlapping the initial scenes.

-However looking at film openings such as 'Zodiac' i saw there was a gap in credits as a shot of a sign was showed; this gave the audience time to focus on the writing rather than reading the credits, we therefore tried to not have too many credits in the second section of our opening, where the detectives are speaking: This in turn gives the audience time to focus on the dialogue which naturally would happen; leading people to neglect the credits.

SIMILAR FILMS COMPARISON

'Gone Girl' is a relatively recent film with a similar storyline and dealing with similar themes therefore we had decided to look at statistics and reviews.

 Demonstrated that:

The film was based on a novel with a cunning female narrator so this adaptation shows how female audiences can be drawn in if there is an increase in female characters; here there are the characters of 'Amy' and 'Rhonda' both playing pivotal roles.

Final Product

Evaluation 7

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

9 frame sequence-

Looking back at our preliminary task, I feel that I have improved hugely in knowing more about filming and editing and exploring different platforms. I learnt a lot more about using cameras and techniques and angles, as well as finding out what angles and shots fit in best with a specific setting and how to use that to edit on 'Final Cut Pro X'.


Preliminary task:






Pre-production:

Pre-production is where all the planning takes place before any filming is done. This includes deciding where the location is, the script and making a plot. Also getting together actors and equipment.
We had to plan our time wisely and make a plan for what we was exactly going to do so when it came to actually filming we knew what we was doing and we had excellent time management. As it was our first time using the camera and equipment and also the Mac software (Final Cut Pro X) it took us a bit longer to figure things out but it came to us fairly quickly so when it came to making our Thriller and editing we had a lot more confidence in what we was doing which was very helpful.
when it came to filming our thriller opening, and this lead to a successful process.

Production:

When filming our preliminary task, we started discovering different camera angles and shots, for example close-ups. As we discovered this in our preliminary task when it came to our thriller we incorporated these shots into our opening and it also made it easier to film as we had past experience so it wasn't anything new. 

We included continuity techniques in our thriller with establishing shots and match on action. Establishing shots establish the shot where action is taking place, so in our case it is in a house and match on action was used to keep a continuous movement from one shot to the next.

 close-up shot

  In this picture we used the rule of thirds


Post- production:

This part mainly just included all  of the editing of the footage we filmed. We created a storyboard which we used as a guideline and when it came to the editing process we knew how to use the software and this made the time we had to edit very productive.

overall, I think our Thriller was successful as we used many different types of camera angles and shots. Also through the process we gained skills in editing and a  greater knowledge in thriller conventions.

Evaluation 5

Evaluation 1

Evaluation 6

Evaluation 6 from melissapreston100

Evaluation 7-Aleks

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

NEW PRODUCT EVALUATION

PRELIMINARY TASK EVALUATION

Production credits:

While this may look like a sped up version of footage it's admittedly in real time; the credits and title pop up for 2 seconds altogether and in the wrong order; here the title appears on screen first (not to mention the 'description' tab under it which remained unedited and untouched) then followed immediately by the 'studio 1 production'. The producers and distributors logos should appear on screen first, then are repeated in credit format as the initial credits, followed by director and main actors and then the title (normally with an average of a 5 second gap in between); this can differ slightly but such is a traditional opening layout in terms of text.

Our new product displays our better understanding of credit layout. Following research and timeline creation, we have put together an opening that follows the traditional layout of real media products.

Moreover we have created our own animated production logos using software outside of final cut pro such as go animate and biteable, making the opening look more professional than the prelim with its 1 second display of a red coloured credit in the corner as still text.

Camera angles, shots and movement:

Here the shakiness is visible without a swift camera path and movement. A shaky camera, unless a p.o.v shot which deliberately uses handheld camera, really takes away from the effect of any media product making it look unprofessional. 

In our actual thriller opening we tried to keep pans as smooth as possible with a straight camera path.

Software usage:

The lightleak effect from final cut pro is used without subtlety in the preliminary task to mask a lack of continuity; the footage starts with the girl already walking after shes opened the door. An effect layered on really obviously can look almost comical and cringe worthy, whilst here we made sure to use the precision tool to make sure it comes in just as the natural light enters the camera it does not work very successfully, highlighting the importance of planning shots well rather than opting for fixing the footage in post production.

Final cut pro's effects came in handy when creating our real piece, yet this time we opted for a more sophisticated cross fade; merging two pieces of footage so that one fades into the other. The cross fade was useful to show time passing or establishment of a new scene, moreover it allowed us to 'cross fade' to black meaning a smooth fade out rather than an abrupt cut to black. I think this better use of software shows a development of our confidence with equipment, especially considering that, put together, editing took us just a little longer than it did for the preliminary task.

Shot types:

Though shot reverse shot is done correctly, portraying the conversation from the listeners perspective, the dialogue is very short with one word exchanges such as 'yeh' which made it hard to edit so that the conversation would look smooth resulting in a very jumpy, high speed effect.

Post-production, through cuts, can control the pace of action and here this is not done effectively as instead of the slow pace of a drug deal; establishing perhaps a feeling of mystery, there's a very quick pace giving the audience no time to think about what is happening.

Furthermore these short cuts make not only the image jumpy but the sound too, a lack of smooth audio makes the clip almost uncomfortable to listen to.

In our final product we do not use the shot reverse shot as we believed a two shot would be more effective, portraying the two detectives together as a team, rather than as individuals, and thinking that the pace that a shot reverse shot can bring (with the limited dialogue we had) would be too quick for the still enigmatic atmosphere of the slowly unraveling story. This showed a much better control of pace compared to our preliminary task and made dialogue much smoother and clearer.

Planning:

For our preliminary task we had little to no time to plan; all we really had time to decide on was the theme of the short clip which rotated around a drug deal, however we did not plan step by step what was going to happen; instead we did it as we went along. Furthermore location was not planned either it was just a place we happened to walk by a yet again spontaneous decision.

For our real product we had time to plan thoroughly with a shot list and later storyboard showing step by step camera shots and movement, a costume and prop list which was sent to the actors and crew and a picked location; down to the very specific spot.

Planning helped us to gain better continuity as we would know to re-film shots from the same point but at different angles rather than estimating where a person should start walking from and then having them look like they teleported as in our prelim (light leak transition gif).

Although filming still took a considerable amount of time, especially considering weather conditions and the 30 minute walk its-self to the park's cafe, (in order to change into costume for the second scene) this all would've taken double, if not more, time to do if all was done spontaneously; not to mention that something would most definitely be missing and the likelihood is we's have to travel back down to re-film.

Storyboarding, in particular, was useful as through the animatic we had a rough idea of how long the opening would be and thus if we needed to include any more footage or cut any out. We mainly stuck to our storyboard using it as a firm guideline and check list however did experiment with certain shots, such as the establishing shot for the second scene, we did this in order to make the best of the weather conditions, believing that the rain would be very atmospheric, therefore wanting to highlight this element of pathetic fallacy.


Overall we have improved our understanding of software and hardware used for film making at a basic level, gaining a better understanding of the programmes built in features as well as exterior elements brought in from other sources (i.e our production logos). Furthermore i think we have gained an appreciation of the time and effort that goes into creating media products at all 3 stages of production.
Though there's still much space for improvement, I believe our final product is of a relatively good quality with the props and setting playing a major role in this, placing importance on the pre-production research and planning phase.

Evaluation 7

Evaluation 7

https://www.scribd.com/doc/309373621/Evaluation-7

Evaluation 6

https://soundcloud.com/eoin-holmes/evaluation-6

Evaluation 5

How did you attract/address your audience?

Who was our target audience?

Our target audience was people aged from 15 onwards, however we mostly focused on peoples aged from 15 up to about 21. I talk more about how and why we chose to do this in my evaluation question 4 in more detail. To briefly sum up how we did it was by ensuring that the main protagonist of the film was aged around 17-19 making sure that the character would be more relatable and easier to put yourself in their shoes, making the film more realistic and therefore more enjoyable as an audience to watch.

How did we draw the audience into our film?

We made sure that our audience would be interested in the film by doing research into other thriller openings with an audience. From this research we concluded that we needed the main character to be introduced in the opening and to ensure that the main character is relatable. We did this by making the character a pretty normal teenager that was of similar age to our audience and to ourselves, the film creators.

What attracted your audience during the title sequence?

The main title shot that attracted our audience was the VN productions spinning record player. Every audience member that watched our opening agreed that they really liked that as an opening title and it had a really nice effect to it. The way we did this was by recording a spinning record player and adding the VN production cut out filter over it, creating a cool effect.

How did we take audience feedback?

We showed and asked many people including teachers, friends and family and asked for informal feedback which was not recorded. However I did record my family member giving me feedback on our opening sequence.

https://soundcloud.com/eoin-holmes/questions-with-mum/s-cBtvZ

Evaluation 4

Evaluation 3- Aleks

Q3 institutions from prytaleksandra



Producers, distributors and subsidiaries 

News Corporation
The major studio subsidiary is 20th Century Fox, while independent movies are distributed through its Fox Searchlight Pictures. Other companies under News Corporation include Fox Faith, 20th Century Fox Animation, Blue Sky Studios (coincidentally our distributors name) and Fox Animation Studios.

Walt Disney.
Walt Disney has the subsidiary distributor 'Buena Vista'.


Our distributor is called Blue Sky Studios 
And our two production companies Reel Time pictures and VN productions.

Our distributor was not a subsidiary of our production companies; they were all stand alone elements, differing from those of the big Hollywood productions, furthering the idea of our film being an independent production.


What is the role of a distributor?
A distributors role divides into two sections
1) the logistics with transportation (or in modern days dealing with encrypted files) to the cinemas
2) the marketing campaign: spreading the word about the film in order to gain an audience.



Where would our film be released?

Our film would most likely be released in cinemas such as  

Rio in Dalston 

                                    or Art House in Crouch End

these are indie cinemas with their programmes leaning more to foreign or independent films while still remaining popular among Londoners who voted the two into the top 3 independent cinemas in London meaning our film would still be open to a large audience.

An alternative way of releasing our film could be allowing it to be rented on the internet like many independent films who through their small budget often don't afford screening films in cinemas. However i think watching this thriller on a small screen such as that of a laptop or alternative smaller device, would ruin the ambiance, the atmosphere.

How would it be advertised?

Evaluation 3

https://soundcloud.com/eoin-holmes/evaulation-3

Evaluation 5- Aleks

How did you attract or address your audience?

Personally I think the main ways to draw in an audience is

-A)with a stellar cast

-B)with an interesting plot

No reply from Leonardo DiCaprio meant option A was off the list leaving us with the plot…. 

What makes a good plot?

Personally I find films with big plot twists the most appealing, these are also often the most successful films. Take for instance thriller films such as Game or Gone Girl ;you wouldn’t ever see ‘it’ coming. This sense of enigma keeps the audience involved throughout, attempting to solve the mystery themselves up until the point of revelation where they will find themselves gaping at the screen in surprise, or convincing those around them that they had their suspicions from the very beginning.

In order to successfully create plot twists there must be appropriate presentation of characters and action to draw the audience’s eye away  from the reality of the plot while simultaneously having the answer at arms reach.

-Seven is a good example of this with the criminal constantly passing by, in fact when Mills is dismissive of what seems like a paparazzi on the stairs it is later revealed as John Doe- (the criminal) in a quick montage, triggering long ‘Ohs’ of understanding from the audience or self-scolding of ‘how could I miss that’

I definitely think it’s all about the viewers mental battle.

What also must not be overlooked, is the way characters are built up. The writer(s), director(s) and actor have the most input when it comes to character presentation.

Once again this is in relation to the viewers emotions. Above all the most effective way to impact the audience through characters is make the audience empathize with them, fall in love with them and then watch them crumble in an awful break down; cruel but memorable.

Our Plot

I think the audience, at this point, could find a way of relating to any of the characters portrayed in the opening; this would most likely be female viewers because all three characters are female. However the matter of age also comes in with teenage viewers of 15+ (as this is our age rating) relating more to the jogger due to her young age whilst older viewers in their 20s+ more to the detectives who are older, visibly having a job.

If the film was to be extended from the opening a plot twist would be present due to the presentation of the suspect straight away; the detectives already seem to be taking this lead (‘looks like another one of the lake-side stranglers victims’ ‘Shawcross?*’) so as the film progresses they would become more and more sure whilst they are being tricked by the actual killer who works with extreme precision, having planned all of this over years.

*Shawcross was an actual murderer meaning our thriller would be based on a true story or incorporating real events- this alone often draws viewers in as it adds an increase to the eerie air; knowing something like this actually happened makes you feel more on edge.

Suspense

Suspense would not only be created through the plot and characters but also through Camera movements and angles and Sound, two key areas.

Sound could be used in the form of:

-music underlying and not dominating the scene but setting the mood

-Diegetic sounds such as foot steps, page flicks, or breathing.

-Silence: sometimes silence can be the most effective way of creating tension with films consisting mainly of some sort of background noise; thus it’s displacement can make the viewer feel on edge.

Marketing Campaign

What most feature films would do too is have a marketing campaign with film posters informing of a release date and social media building up the hype, usually with exclusive footage and countdowns. This stage is important as you need to spread the word to attract your audience.

SOCIAL MEDIA:

Our film had its own twitter page with backstage content; sneak peeks of the set and a countdown to the release:

A few tweets:

POSTERS:

I also created a potential film poster (with the application superimpose) which can normally be seen at bus stop shelters or in the underground

Evaluation 1- Aleks

Evaluation 2- Aleks

Evaluation 2- Aleks from prytaleksandra

Evaluation Question 6- Aleks

Evaluation 6 Anelka Evans

Evaluation 5

How did you attract your audience (1) from nelkzthebadass

Evaluation 4

Evaluation 3

What kind of media institute would distribute your film?

there are many factors involved when looking at who your film will be distributed by such as the budget , cast, target audience and quality of the film. After looking at all these factors the overall decision was to release as a UK Independent.

MY first reason to was the budget we would have to continue making our film, even if we git funding from institution from places such as the BFI or BBC or film4 it would still be a low budget film this is due to one the director (me) young  and inexperienced in making big films with high amount of money so what will be trusyed with me would also be limited .

My second reason to why i believe we would release as a UK independent is the the cast that we had we have quote a young cast with future stars that haven't quite made there names yet, so i believe funders wouldn't be to keen on giving out more money for unrecognized talent , each of our actors and actresses have a very small fan base but nothing that would majorly help the success of a film as a
Brad pitt or a Will Smith or Kevin hart or Jennifer Lawrence would have ,where people actually go to watch there films due to there performing skills are of the highest quality .

Last reason is the fact we dont need to be distributed by an american company to be a successful film but it doesn't guarantee success and being a uk interdependent doesn't either  but being a uk inderpendant help keep uk film scene alive if it is successful where as if it was release by an american giant i wouldnt be much of a game changer.

Final product

Evaluation 2

Evaluation 1

Eval 1....Anelka evans from nelkzthebadass

Evaluation 4

What would be the audience for your media product?

Audience research: who our target audience is

For our Thriller opening we decided as a group that we would target our film at people aged 15+.
both male and female. We chose this age rating because we did research on a variety of Thriller films and the majority of the age rating certificates are 15. Also as a group we discussed how we didn't want our audience to feel that it is aimed at just 15 year olds because of the age certificate being 15 but in fact we would want our film audience being between the ages 0f 15-25  because people between the ages of 15-25 are the prime ages for cinema goers.

in past research for our audience, we created a survey to find out what certain factors that would help us  create our thriller, the questions were:

We created these questions on a website called Survey Monkey and i then posted the link to the questionnaire on social networking sites like Facebook for my fiends and family to answer. After leaving the questionnaire up for a couple of weeks i gathered the results and this is what they were.

Question 1-

most people were aged 15-19.

Queston 2 -

most people preferred the sub-genre of psychological.

Question 3 -

most people said no to having dialogue in an opening.

Question 4 -

music and sound establishes an atmosphere the most in thrillers.

Question 5 -
there was a variety of answers for this question.

Question 6 -
the most important element to people who answered this question was camera work.

I took these answers on board and coorperated these into our thriller.

Evaluation 3

Evaluation 2

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

In our Thriller opening we only had one main character which was visible throughout the whole opening. The stalker however is not seen at all apart from a shadow and a hand.

The girl (myself) in our Thriller who is playing a teen/young lady was wearing normal every day to day clothes. We decided that by using a young lady who is around the age of 16/17 would help to intrigue the audience more as our target audience is aimed at 15 year olds and older. So by this the audience will be able to relate due to the age and in some cases the audience could think about if they were in the situation which is going on in the opening.
We used gender in a stereotypical way by using a female protagonist and male antagonist in which it follows the conventions of most thriller films.
The picture on the left shows the female protagonist and what she is wearing. The costume she is wearing which is a white top and jeans is a costume that an ordinary teen would wear.

Because the young lady is the only character that is introduced properly it suggests that she has a big part to play in the Thriller. 

The film 'Five Girls' is Thriller/Horror and the young lady in this, which you can see below is wearing casual every day to day clothes and this is similar to ours.

From past research, I found out what a typical teen/young lady likes to wear and do in their spare time and this is where we got the idea of what the young lady should wear.

 

The picture on the right is a shadow of the antagonist in which he is watching the young girl from a window. You don't see him (antagonist) you only see a quick shadow and a hand from where he is holding a camera to film the young lady.