Evaluation

Evaluation

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

The opening of our thriller has been made to be stereotypical of the conventions of the thriller genre. Our thriller does not change the conventions of a typical thriller although it does we are introduced to two characters and do not know how the antagonist is and who the protagonist are. We have made a variety of shots containing many camera angles that create a sense of suspense. The non-diegetic sound added to the opening gives the suspense and tension needed in a thriller. The non-diegetic sound also gave a hint as to what direction the scene was going in and this also helps the audience to realize what is happening within the opening. We used some of the shots used in se7en mainly the extreme close-up shots on relevant objects in the opening sequence. The opening of our thriller contains a lot of shots of objects and shots to capture the reactions of characters in the scene. 

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

The social group that was represented in the opening is teenagers. The gender is represented in a typical way because it shows how teenagers are reckless, impulsive and unaware of the consequences of their actions. The target audience would be people aged 16 and above and I feel that it links to the audience because for the most part it related to most of their personal lives. 

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

Our film has been made as a mainstream film so we feel that it should be distributed by institutions such as Revolver and Film 4. We have come to this decision because these institutions have experience in distributing films like this and have been successful with it. With films such as “28 Days later” and “Kidulthood”. We felt that our thriller would be a TV movie because it seems like a thriller the whole family could enjoy. I feel that it would be released it does offer merchandise of props from the film such as masks, T-shirts and other memorabilia.

Who would be the audience for your media product?

We feel that this film should be rated 15 because it is a thriller and in contains some strong violence that would not be appropriate for younger viewers we also rated it at 15 because the story line is a little complex and younger viewers may not get it.  We think that our film would be targeted at a unisex audience because it the film relates to both genders but it would mostly attract a male audience because it is mainly filmed from a male’s point of view and there is a lot of violence and blood which may not attract the female audience. 

Films that are similar to ours are films like Kidulthood which appealed to the teenage audience because it was a film that they could relate to and dealt with situations that teenagers go through. And 28 Days later which appealed to teenagers and young adults because it was a thriller and the story line was interesting because of its different twists and turns it also did not stick to the traditional conventions of a thriller because of its setting and how it was filmed. 

How did you attract/address your audience?

there are particular sections of the opening that are supposed to appeal and to terrify my audience. the film is rated 15 and it appeals to that age because it starts of by showing the everyday life of average teenagers. it also terrifies its audience because it the film takes what is supposed to be a joke and turns it into something deadly. 

the film does not exactly put the audience in the position of any character it is filmed in a neutral point of view  and lets the the audience watch from a neutral point of view and lets the audience watch as the story unfolds. the camera work is neutral so their are a lot of mid-shots and long shots that shows everything that is going on as the film is going. 

having the film done in the neutral point of impacts the audience because it makes it seem like there are in the film and the are involved in what happens to the different characters. 

having the film filmed from a neutral point of view does not stick to the generic conventions of a thriller because it shows what the characters are going to do. there are some aspects of the film that does stick to the conventions of a thriller because although the audience knows what is going to happen the audience does not know how it is going to happen.

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

the strengths of the camera equipment where that the cameras where handheld so we where able to capture some of the shots that we would not have if it was a standard camera such as point of view shots and make the camera jerky so the audience felt like they where the characters in the film. one of the weaknesses of the camera equipment was that we where not able to edit lighting so we had to film where the lighting was good. 

problems that we faced was that we where had different subjects that and we had trouble finding the time do any filming. we resolved this issue by working outside of college hours.  another problem we faced was finding the most appropriate places to film our thriller we where able to resolve this issue by filming in a location that was outside of college.

when using final cut pro we learnt that the editing of a thriller was important because it put together all the shots and made them make sense. it also made the opening flow as it went from one shot to another. one of the effects that we found useful was the fade to black effect this was useful for creating suspense so that  the audience is left in the dark about what was about to happen. Another effect that we found useful was the bad TV effect this was used as a transition from the actual film to the credits.

Garage band  was a useful programme for creating a sound track for the opening it was useful because it helped create suspense. the only challenge we faced when using the programme was making the sound track go with the film.

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

the research into the thriller genre was useful because it showed us that there where different styles of thrillers and they where filmed in different ways. The research  helped us decide what type of thriller we where going to film it also helped the planning of our thriller what our thriller would be about and how we would film the thriller. The research also helped with some of the different camera shots that we used in the making of our thriller. The planning helped because we knew how what shot we needed to do, how many characters and the props needed. 

after using the equipment we feel more confident in filming because we know how to use the the equipment and what its different features are.

we feel that the end product did fulfill the task because it fulfilled the the task at hand and we kept the the main conventions of the thriller and we added our own twist to the thriller.

the opening to our thriller

Sin City Open Credits Analysis

Opening Sequence Analysis

House Of Wax (1953)

Camera Shot/Angle/Movement

establishing shot: in this film the establishing shot is done in the middle of an empty street at night and it is raining. from this shot viewers can tell that the start of the film will take place there.

Sound

the sound for the opening credits is scary because it starts of slow and then builds up pace which tells viewers that the film will have unexpected twists and turns.

 

Editing 

the font of writing that was used in the opening credits look freaky because it looks like melted wax viewers could immediately tell that the use of wax would be used allot in the film it also give a hint of what the film is going to be about.

Locations

the location of this film looks like it took place in an old street in england because of the brick road the type of houses there and the lamp posts.

Characters

for the most part of the opening credits there is no characters that were shown but to the end of the film there is a man walking in the background and because there is no close up so viewer are not able to to tell whether he is the protagonist or the antagonist. but by the way he was walking you could tell that he was either tying to get out of the rain or get home quickly.

Genre

from this opening the viewers can tell that it could be a thriller or a horror film because of the the background music and the establishing shot and the type of font that was used made the opening credit look grim and erie.

Working script for prelim task

Int. scene - description

1 in this shot,a young man is walking down the corridor  

1. walks through door (MATCH ON ACTION SHOT)
2. in this shot the young man walks over to a desk and sits down there is a women in the chair opposite him (180 DEGREE RULE) 

 SANDRA

You make me sick, do you know how many people could have died?

(Shot Reverse Shot)

Brandon

These people are worth the risk. 

SANDRA

Your a twisted man!

SANDRA: *SIGH*

BRANDON: *SIGH*

Opening sequence to Se7en

• Camera Shot/Angle/Movement;

There are many different shots and angles. A lot of close up camera shots are used in the opening sequence. This makes it harder to realise what is actually going on. Point of view shots are used as well. This creates an unusual atmosphere as if you are doing everything with the character that is being introduced in this opening sequence. The repetition of certain clips is a way to try and imply to the audience that this scene is more important and has a meaning in the opening sequence of the film. This sets the tone of the film and prepares the audience for what is to happen in the film  

• Sound;

The only sounds you can hear is music, screams and many other synthesised sounds these are non-diegetic sounds as they are not associated with the action you can see it is also not very clear what the sounds are exactly. The music does help to build atmosphere and tension throughout as it is an abstract piece, it is very dull and eerie and their are other sound affects like a scream, sound of clippers and somebody typing set the mood for the film.

• Editing;

There is a lot of editing in the opening sequence. Where the scene goes from a close up or a point of view shot to the credits. There are lots of cuts and the majority of them happen quickly. This confuses the audience and makes them want to keep watching. There are also flashing disturbing images that make the audience feel uncomfortable and edgy. Also in the opening credits of this film you get to go through everything that is going on and through this you get the sense that this character is preparing to do something this also gave you the impression that there are two people doing two separate things in different locations.

• Mise en Scene;

It is difficult to determine what the scene or setting is. The only costume seen in the shots is cloth that is wrapped around the persons finger tips. The scene seems to be dirty and it looks unpleasant. Dark colours are used throughout the whole opening scene. 

Lighting: In the opening credits the lighting is some what bright which is unusual for a horror film because the lighting is normally very dull. In this scenario the lighting is bright because they wanted to see what the person in they opening credits was doing to set the audience up for the rest of the film. The image in the centre of the screen is bright implying that the object has a sense of importance. 

Prop: There is a lot of props in the clip. As the objects the man is holding are important parts of the prop as they give the audience a layout of the setting of the film, the prop in this scene is used to give an idea of how the antagonist does his work because from the opening credits you could see that the antagonist does put allot of thought in to what he or she does. 

Settings: In the opening sequence it is hard to tell what the film is really about. The antagonist in the sequence is holding a verity of objects in his hands. this could imply that he may be in a tool shop or mechanics.

• Characters;

Only one character is introduced in this opening sequence and they seem extremely mysterious as you only get to see their fingers, what they are doing and their surroundings. There is not a clear defined character but the audience assumes that he is the antagonist because of their surroundings. As the antagonist is surrounded with violent objects and images this shows that the character may have a dark side.

 

• Locations;

The location is unknown. It could be a Cellar, Laboratory etc. The location seems dark, dingy and gloomy.  

• Narrative/Plot;

There isn’t a clear plot and the audience cannot tell what will happen throughout the rest of the film but the opening sequence keeps the audience engaged as the audience is not sure what is going on and is led on to think many things.

• Themes;

The themes that are suggested in this opening could be death, serial killings, the disturbing pictures could imply suffering. As the whole opening sequence appears to be gloomy these themes are subconsciously gained in the audiences mind.

• Visual Style;

This opening sequence is very unique and original, many flashes of disturbing images are used, combination of edits, lighting and mise en scene is used to create an atmosphere. This atmosphere helps to keep the audience engaged as they are not sure as to what is going on.

• Genre;

This opening sequence has some conventions of a thriller or maybe even a horror. This is because all of the aspects above combined create an atmosphere for the audience that is almost uncomfortable and thrilling. 

                                                       

                                                        

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Opening sequence to Panic Room

Opening Sequence Analysis - Panic Room 

• Camera Shot/Angle/Movement;

There is a lot of panning used within this opening. Aerial shots, long shots, establishing shot, high angle shot, low angle shot and crane shots are also used. 

• Sound

Diegetic and non-diegetic.  The non- diegetic sound is used in the beginning where the credits are across the buildings, yet diegetic sound is used when it cuts to a busy street with people walking. 

• Editin

Typography is used, different types of shots are used and they seem to come straight one after the other as if in sync. Jump cuts are used as the camera cuts to many different buildings that are filmed at many different angles.

• Mise en Scene

The city, busy, cars, sky scrapers, lots of people, it looks like an autumn morning as leaves are falling from the trees and blowing in the wind.

• Characte

None established in the opening as you can only see the credits and towards the and you hear two female voices one female younger than the other, as a member of the audience you see where the voices are coming from and what characters are speaking. There are two females walking very quickly.

• Locations

The city, somewhere very busy. There are only two main locations within the opening sequence, the sky scrapers, busy traffic and then the busy road that is bombarded with dry leaves that have fallen from the trees and people walking. 

• Narrative/Plot

Although there is no narrative or plot represented in the opening sequence towards the end there is a middle aged woman and a young girl talking about a property to rent.  

• Themes

A theme represented could be busy city life. Or moving as when the voices become audible a female voice is talking about a property. 

• Visual Style

Quite typical in the way that names are shown but typography is used in a very unique way. As the credits seem to be in front of buildings. 

• Genre

The genre is not apparent as nothing is really happening. Yet the music seems to build tension for the audience this could imply that it is a thriller.