Evaluation

Evaluation


In what way does your thriller sequence use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media thriller sequences?

My thriller sequence uses the vital convention of suspense and developing suspense to create tension in the audience. This in my opinion is the most important factor in creating a successful thriller, without it the film can lack excitement but at the same time to much can make the tension less effective, so I tried to create a good balance between having suspense built up through the music and action but not so much that it becomes ineffective. The music is a very important role in creating suspense and tension as the music sets the mood and feeling of the sequence, so I used a dark, sombre feeling piece, building up to a sense of urgency as a dark figure sweeps across screen, this immediately transforms the mood and makes the audience relate the mood change to this character that has disturbed the feeling of the sequence, and at the same time makes the audience very unwary of the character. The music builds up to a crescendo as the figure goes to open the door, but then just as quickly as the music builds up the tension it can be completely dropped to create an anticlimax as the audience realises that the figure is actually just trying to get home and he actually lives there, this use of dead ends and partial vision is used in my sequence to keep the audience on their toes.

How does your thriller sequence represent particular social groups e.g. Men and women

My opening sequence portrays the male character as a towering, sinister, fearful person that is about to hurt the other character. The female character is portrayed as a weak, feeble, defenceless, innocent young girl and is also viewed by the audience as the victim but later on in the film this view is broken, as we discover she is actually the one to be scared of.

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

I think that institutions such as film4, MGM, UK screen and channel 4 would be the kind of companies that would be more likely to distribute my film compared to more mainstream American companies such as 20th Century Fox, DreamWorks SKG, Lionsgate Films, Miramax, Newline, Paramount or Sony Pictures. This is because the more mainstream American film companies are more interested in big blockbuster, box-office smashes instead of small, British, independent films. Whereas the organisations that I deemed appropriate support these sort of films and are willing to release and distribute them.

Who would be the audience for your thriller film?

When thinking about who will be watching this film, certification is very important as if you don’t get this bit right you could completely cut out a large section of your target audience or get in trouble from the British Board of Film Classification or the British board of films for classifying the film too low. That’s why I have chosen to make a certificate 15 film.
This is because:
- There is a bigger target market for 15 films, as from my research I know that there is a significant market for 15 - 17 year olds especially, and cutting this market out would damage the viewings of the film.
The difference between a certificate 15 and a certificate 18 is the amount of gore, violence and sex in the film. Choosing a 15 film meant that I could cut out the amount of gore and violence, which would both make the film easier to shoot, and still keep the storyline effective, but also turn the film into a psychological thriller more so, which from the research I know that the target audience want, in comparison to a gory thriller.
The fact that the film is rated as a 15, doesn’t only mean that just 15-17 year olds are going to watch it, the good thing about the psychological thriller genre is that it appeals to people of all age, that enjoy intellectual, thought provoking rollercoaster’s of films that have tricks and turns round every corner.


What programs have I learnt to use?

I have learnt to use programmes, such as Adobe after Effects and Adobe Premiere Pro. These programmes have helped me to capture and edit the film as digital technology allowed me to edit the film in a non-linear fashion. This meant I could change the order of the shots with the ability to change it back at any point, instead of using analogue editing which is long, time consuming and very difficult to get right. Websites such as freeplaymusic.com has provided a source of copy-right free music to use in my thriller film opening. However, at times the computer didn’t help me when it occasionally decided to crash.


What feedback did you get?

To get feedback for my film I asked my class to look at my opening and review it and say what they liked and what they disliked and what message they got from the piece. This is the feedback I received:

- ''The match on action shot with the candle from the outside to the inside of the house was great.''
- ''When the man's walking up the stairs to the girl's room, and the camera keeps flicking back from the room to him walking creates intensity, like something is about to happen .. By flicking from one shot to the other quickly.'' ''Also, good sound bridge''
- ''On screen graphics and credits were good - they did not distract from the film, and also fitted in with the genre.''
- ''Good performance''
- ''When the girl is flicking through the newspaper, you know that she is looking for something''. One person also said it makes them ''ask questions'' which relates to Bonitzer's theory of partial vision: they do not know why she is cutting up the newspaper, but know it is a sinister / psychotic act, making them ask why, but not telling them the answer directly.
- ''The way the music changes as the action in the movie changes too is good because it fits in with the film''. This feedback from the group shows that the film achieved what it set out to do and is a success in my opinion.
What difficulties did I encounter and what have I learned from them?
In the preliminary task I encountered a lot of problems. Because we filmed in an open public place it was hard to control other people’s actions and the environment we filmed in, we had to do lots of retakes to get the desired mood and action without interruption. We also experienced technical difficulties in the form of the camera not focusing properly, but to be fair that was because we hadn’t put the camera in auto focus, so we had to re-film it.
In my final thriller sequence the main problems that occurred came down to editing and sound.
The music that I used in the opening was really effective as far as setting the ambience and mood but it was too short to fill the section completely, so I had to duplicate the track and then layer it in at the point that it finished and then edit it down so that the join between the two was seem less.
On the raw footage, somebody talks off screen in one of the scenes, and this would have ruined the mood, to get rid of this mistake, I lowered the audio to zero and increased the on screen audio to drown out the unwanted dialogue.
Conclusion

In my opinion I have gained lots of practical experience and skills that I will be able to apply to other projects in the future and be more confident to use the software that at the start I was slightly scared of using, without someone there to guide me on every click of the mouse. I also think that these skills have been effective in the making of this piece.

Section 1: Task 3: Film Synopsis

The central character is a teenage girl. She was brought up by her father, after her mother died in mysterious circumstances when she was fairly young. The relationship with her father is very strained and almost hostile. It is obvious the effects of such: she is introverted and 'just another face in the crowd'. However, the diary helps her to provoke this other side to her: the cheerful, optimistic side to her. In this diary, she collects pictures of her mother, and writes accounts to her, as if it was a normal conversation. In a usual trip to the library to look through old personal family history, she stumbles across a newspaper account: her father was a suspect in the disappearance of her mother. This disregards any remaining trust and love she had for her father, and in an insecure state, runs away from home; taking shelter at night outside the library. However, the darkness, an insecure state of mind, and her imagination play a part in her somehow being admitted to hospital. From there, her father finds her, and takes her back home. (this scene will be made to look like he has hunted her down, and very provocative). When they finally get home, he has her cornered in the room, and she confronts him about her findings, screaming at him in hysterics: only to be faced with the fact that she was actually the killer ...

Section 3: Brainstorm of Content

Idea 1:
Possible names: The Diary, March 13th.
Overview: A teenage girl from a single parent family; her dad is hostile to her, and her mother was murdered when she was young. She has never been told about what has happened to her mum, and wonders/ suspects why her dad is being hostile and secretive. The diary is a way for her to keep the memory of her mum alive, and the only thing in life that she feels happy and safe with. One day, she finds something out about her dad when she is researching/ finding pictures of her mothers death. She suspects that her dad was the killer in her mother's murder. The twist in the story is that she is in fact the killer.
There will be a linear narrative; the film starts with her childhood, then jumps to her life as a teenager, in the present.

Idea 2: An alternative to idea 1
Possible names: The Diary, March 13th
Overview: A teenage girl, because of some traumatic past, is 'gifted' with premenissions of seeing peoples murders before they happen. However, people think that this is because of the traumatic event that she is turning mental (to a lesser extent), and so for the best, she is admitted to a mental institution. From there, she keeps a diary, and writes down all her premenitions and feelings; telling every person that will listen to her. The detectives investigating the strange murders find out about the girl, and get her to help save the victims before they are killed. The twist is that she is the killer, fixing all of the murders beforehand, and in taking the kiler to the new murder victims, the detectives are condemning them. The film ends with her being killed herself: including the morality factor, because she is in effect only a kid, but has the capability to murder tens of people.
There will be a linear narrative.

Idea 3:
Possible names: Candle light, Wick
Overview: A man's candle company is being phased out by the introduction of gas and electricity. He cannot afford to keep the business alive, and so in retalliation to the thought that he may have to lose his business, he murders people who are mainly linked with this, using the fat and blood from their bodies to make the candles. After he murders the victims and makes the candles, he sadistically keeps one candle as a memoire of his 'good work' in the backroom of his shop. When he is finally caught by a relative of one of his victims, they find the back room, and the thousands of candles inside.
There will be a linear narrative.

We have chosen to film idea 1, as we feel that the opening to this will be easiest to film in context with the overview.

Section 1: Task 3: Film Characters

Section 1: Task 3: Film Characters
Character 1
Name: Sophie Wilson
Age: 16
Sex: Female
Costume: Ordinary clothes eg. jeans and a hoodie/ t-shirt (following the theory set by GK.Chesterson, that a thriller has an ordinary, everyday hero in). Clothes change to show the passing of time, and also change to slightly 'scruffier' and more worn clothing when the character has ran away from home.
Props: Diary, bagback
Character background: She is from a single parent family, and has obviously suffered from the lack of mother-figure in her life. Low self-esteem, and a very tempremental/ emotional state. Has a very hostile and unloving relationship with her father, and does not know why. Often very quiet and goes un-noticed in the household, and throughout life, but a completely different side comes to light when she has the diary (where she feels safe to be herself and express feelings and problems she has, all of which is addressed to her mother, whom she collects and keeps pictures of in the diary). This will hint to the audience that she has a split personality, but not give away the plot.

Character 2:
Name: Terry Wilson
Age: 40
Sex: Male
Relationship to character 1: Father
Costume: Ordinary clothes, again conforming to GK.Chesterson's theory - eg. jumper and trousers (to show the obvious age difference between the 2 characters)
Props: -
Character background: Cynical and worn down by life: has been such since the death of his wife. Is hostile with the daughter, often not wanting to be around her and feeling uncomfortable in her presence, but feels like he has to bring her up through life, and this attitude shows in his relations and interactions he has with her. In a dead end job and feeling trapped - constantly living his life in the past with his wife whom he truely loved.

Section 5: Treatment

HOUSE
Starts off in the family house; flashbacks to her childhood and her life as it is now. This location establishes (in present time) the hostility between dad and daughter, and the lack of mother figure.
HOUSE (Time passes)
Same location but older actor(s). Establishes the passing of time, and moves the story on: she wants to find out who killed her mum. See her cutting up and sticking down photos of her mum, which represents her wanting to keep the memory of her mum alive, and therefore her love.
LIBRARY
Researching into her mothers death. Looking through old newspaper archaives, and discovers that her dad has been a suspect in her mothers murder.
PARK
In shock, she runs away; too scared to go home as she is convinced that her dad is the killer (the audience will also be led to think this through the way in which they interact, especially important in establishing this aspect of the film in the house when she is a teenager/older).
LIBRARY PORCH
Pathetic falacy used to create a intimidating and lonesome environment: she has ran away and is now living on the streets (her first night alone).
STREET
Something scares her in the shadows of the library, or somewhere around her: so she runs into the street, where she is hit by a car. The audience do not see this, but it will be implied.
HOSPITAL
This helps to imply that she was hit by the car.
STREET
Her dad's perspective: he is trying to look for her after he realises his daughter is missing. The camera swaps between the hospital and the street (when she was on the streets) to create the feeling that her dad is 'hunting her down'.
CAR
The dad finds the daugher in hospital, and takes her home. Most of the shots will be through the mirror to again, create the sense of distance between them: because they have to speak through the mirror, not directly to eachother. Also, the shot of the dad will create a sense of intimidation again, adding to the effect that he has 'hunted her down' and therefore adding to the suspense of the story: what will he do to her? Will he kill her?
HOUSE
They both get out of the car, and walk into the house. Here, she confronts him about the murder after being backed into a corner by her dad. She is screaming at him and hysterical. The camera shows that the dad is losing patience with the daughter. He then reveals that she is the one that has killed her mother: her split personality.
This will have been hinted at through the film, as we plan to use different shots of her, different lighting, mirror shots etc.

Section 4: Audience Research Results

We found in our results the following data:
How old are you ?
15 or under 0%
16 60%
17 20%
18 20%
19 0%
20 0%

Gender?
Male 50%
Female 50%

How often do you go to the cinema or watch a film on average?
Never 0%
Once 50%
Twice 30%
Once a week 20%
Everyday 0%
Most days 0%

How do you define the thriller genre?
Smart, scary and action 50%
Psychological, suspenceful and clever plots 30%
Cheesy 20%

Do you like thrillers?
Yes 70%
No 30%

What do you think makes a good thriller?
Plot 60%
Empathy 10%
Fire 10%
Violence action 20%

Gory or psychological?
Gory 10%
Psychological 90%

In your oppinion what is the difference between a certificate 18 and a certificate 15?
More sex, violence and gore 100%
Which do you prefer?
15 60%
18 40%

In conclusion, we have decided from these results that we will be doing a pyschological thriller with a certificate of 15. We believe that as people watch thriller for the pyschological aspect of the film, the film will not have to be an 18.

Location for the film

location:Appleton Thorn
contact:xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
photo:




























Fire exits: the allocated exits are the front door, the two rear doors and the groud floor widows that will be unlocked.

Section 1: Task 3: Questionnaire
Media Questionnaire :)

The aim of this questionnaire is to gather research for media coursework about the thriller genre, and people's opinions on it. Please answer all the questions, and thank you in advance for taking the time to fill in this questionnaire.

How old are you?
◘ 15 and below ◘ 16 ◘ 17 ◘ 18 ◘ 19 ◘ 20 and above

Gender?
◘ Male ◘ Female

How often do you go to the cinema, or watch a fim, on average each month?
◘ Never ◘ Once ◘ Twice ◘ Once a week ◘ Every day ◘ Most weeks

How would you define the thriller genre?
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________

Do you like the thriller genre?


◘ Yes ◘ No

Why?

____________________________________________

What do you think makes a good thriller?

Do you prefer gory or psychological thrillers more?

◘ Gory ◘ Psychological

In your opinion, what is the difference between a certificate 15 thriller, and a certificate 18 thriller?

_____________________________________________

Which do you prefer?

◘ 15 ◘ 18

Section 1: Task 3: Film Certificate
We have chosen to make a certificate 15 film.
This is because:
- There is a bigger target market for 15 films, as from our research we know that there is a significant market for 15 - 17 year olds especially, and cutting this market out would damage the viewings of our film.
- The difference between a certificate 15 and a certificate 18 is the amount of gore, violence and sex in the film. Choosing a 15 film meant that we could cut out the amount of gore and violence, which would both make the film easier to shoot, and still keep the storyline effective, but also turn our film into a psychological thriller moreso, which from our research we know that the target audience want, in comparison to a gory thriller.

SECTION 1 THE THRILLER GENRE

The thriller genre in general is greatly misinterpreted and not understood properly. this is mainly because there are so many opinions on what makes a thriller a thriller. Luckily a man called Martin Rubin came along and created a book that includes all thriller writers and what they had to say about what makes a thriller, so basically he just got stuff that other people had said and put it in a book (cheater), so since he didn't put much effort in to writing the book you would of though he would of put more effort into the tittle "thrillers"(wow, how did he think of that one). Anyway that's enough about Martin, he isn't the important one, its what the people inside said that counts, such as:

G K Chesterton

who said :

It is a modern genre (yes well that was obvious)

Not set in the normal countryside landscape but instead set in modern urban cities

It attempts to find the poetry of modern life

Finds excitement in everyday environments (in G K's case at the buffet)

Transforms the ordinary into the extordinary

Northrop Frye

This guy (who looks uncannily like Jerry springer) basically agreed with Chesterton's theory, but added his own ideas as well, such as:

The hero is often just an ordinary person

The audience is happy to believe the extraordinary situations that occur (suspended belief)

It turns the modern city into the "enchanted forest"

John Cawelti

This happy chappy combined Chesterton's and Frye's theory's, he said:

The genre transforms the city from 'a modern centre of commerce, industry and science into a place of enchantment and mystery.'

He said that this was achieved by introducing 'the exotic' into the everyday world, like the board game in Jamange, or introducing a book or a ring or something that makes the character start an adventure.

W H Matthews

Now this guy was obsessed with puzzles, mazes and labyrinths, so he Incorporated this into his theory he talked about:

The image of Theseus descending into the underground maze, full of twists and turns, puzzles and dead-ends.

To design a thriller narrative, add complex twists and turns so that the audience doesn't solve the problem too easily, but it should be designed so that when the audience look back they can understand why that was the outcome.

Pascal Bonitzer

This cool dude basically stole Matthews' theory and re-named it. He said:

Matthews was describing "partial vision" when he advocates mazes

The audience should only see so much

What the audience doesn't see is part of the thrill

The narrative picks a way through the maze.

Lars Ole Saurberg

This person who's name i can't pronounce was interested in concealment and protraction in the thriller genre, he talks about:

• Two ways in which suspense can be added, the first
  

Deliberately hiding something from the audience (concealment)

delaying or protracting an expected outcome

For example in the film Apollo 13 the audience knows that the characters survive, yet they are still on the edge of their seet.

Noel Carroll

The clues are all there, white beard, chubby exterior and the name 'noel', 'Carroll' this guy is definitely Santa. Aanyway Carroll believed in the Question-answer model, he said:

it is important to create questions, which keeps the audience in suspence until they are answered.

will the hero survive?

one factor for creating suspence is a battle against the odds (the probability factor)

the moral factor also increases suspence as it may not be morrally right for the hero to survive

In conclusion the genre of thriller is extreamly hard to define, and now that all the off-shoot sub-genres have appeared, i don't think anyone ever will.

section 1 task 3

a diary- full of how people are goingg to die on the date they die.

she sees the future but knows one will believe her if she said that she new when people died

shes mental

attempted suicide

she trys to kill herself because she cant get out to save people

when she gets in to the mental asylum she starts to write the diary

she gets a split personality, she the killer but doesnt know it
Narrative structure

linear

the film rows one scene anfter another

non linear

she goes through her life then it goes back over to reveal the plot

Possible Names

Collie Smith - mentalised

Other Stuff

family members try to help

brother or dad are trying to help her

rest of family killed in car crash

shows her newspaper cuttings

certificate

15

bigger market, more people can see the film

18

less people can see

more gore

Names

May 13th
The Gift
The Diary