Key: HL = Hyperlink to.
RED HL = General links (such as YouTube and earlier posts),
GREEN = Film Info (via IMDb),
Yellow = Info about... (e.g. director)
BLUE = Film Character's Info (via IMDb/Film's website)
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Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
I took GCSE media studies in High School and achieved a B grade; I thought I knew everything I possibly could about the subject, from the range of different camera angles to how the mise-en-scene arrangement is constructed, but I was wrong.
I feel that I have learnt a lot from the preliminary task, at the beginning of the course I already knew about different camera angles such as the three main types of close ups; Long, Medium, and Extreme. However, a “worm’s eye view shot/angle” I had never heard of beforehand. This is the opposite to a “bird’s eye view”, when you are looking from above the subject/object. The worm’s eye view is when you are looking up from the ground or surface – Myself and James Kent have used a worm’s eye view while filming our Thriller production.
Throughout the preliminary task, I had to work in a group. There were a total of 4 members, Myself, James Kent, Jessica Moy and also Mandy Edmondson. Working in a group has developed my social skills to a higher level. The group and I discussed ideas calmly and made a good group effort towards the project as a whole. Working together, achieving together.
During the preliminary task, I learnt about the 180-degree rule, match on action, and lastly shot reverse shot. The 180-degree rule is a basic guideline in film making that states two, or even more characters (or any other possible elements or objects) in the same scene that should always have the same left/right relationship to each other. For example, if the camera passes over an imaginary axis connecting the two subjects, it’s then crossing the line and can confuse the viewers as it is from a different perspective.
Match on action is when the camera cuts from one shot to another view that matches the action and pace of the first shot to create an impression of continuity. A shot reverse shot is a film technique where one character (A) is shown looking at another character (B) and then the other character (B) is shown looking back at the first character (A). This creates a since that the two characters are facing in opposite directions. The viewer then assumes that they are both looking at each other.
While filming our preliminary task, Myself and Jessica Moy where chosen by group discussion that we should star in our prelim film. I feel that my confidence to act on film has greatly increased because of this. During filming, Jess had a couple of laughing fits, and so did the rest of the crew. This then coursed us to re-film sections. In total, there were a number of different outtakes which where not used for our final edit. I have learnt that it takes time before you get a ‘good’ shot to use. On top of this, on one day filming, we came in a different costume. The difference in costume made us re-film everything which we did up to that point because otherwise there would be a continently problem within our prelim task. This could have confused our audience as there would have been a sudden change in costume.
From learning the techniques of match on action, shot reverse shot, 180 degree rule and continently, they have all affected my thriller production greatly so that I have the skill to create a processional production at AS level media studies.
The importance of planning, researching, constructing storyboards and focusing on the mise-en-scene arrangement/visual image than a complicated story within the thriller opening has taught me a great deal about the process of how a film is constructed and edited. For the thriller production I was in a group with James Kent, this was a good thing because we went to the same high school. We knew each other which meant we knew great detail about each other’s subject strengths and weaknesses. We both helped each other and have progressed together.
Researching the thriller genre was a challenge because there are many different types of sub-genres, such as the western thriller – “The Assassination of Jesse James” (2007) or even the mystery thriller – “Once Upon a Time in America” (1984). The thriller genre could easily be confused with the horror genre as both are suspenseful and contain the important element of tension.
Planning, on the other hand has been a great success. I’ve learnt how to display my work in a number of different technologies such as displaying PowerPoints on Slideshare and embedding soundtracks on my blog. This has increased my confidence and progression using more tech-based programs.
At the beginning of my group’s thriller production, myself and James Kent came up with an idea that our protagonist would be trapped in some kind of shipping container after spotting and walking towards an abandoned wallet. The protagonist would then be trapped within the container by having the doors slammed shut by a dark silhouette figure, much like the silhouette arrangement of Jesse James on the rail tracks in “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford” (2007) and the silhouette of Harry Lime in the sewer scene from “The Third Man” (1949).
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Harry Lime in the sewer scene -
The Third Man
The figure would then become an enigma as you wouldn't have been able to see him/her because of the halo/chiaroscuro lighting around him/her. This idea became more and more overambitious and finally became impossible to film. I've learnt here that by using simple ideas, which my group did in the end can contain just as much mystery, suspense, drama and interesting plot narrative as are previous ones within the cinematography and mise-en-scene. This 'simple' idea was that our malefactor would approach our protagonist from behind.
Prelim Storyboard
Creating a storyboard was rather simple for me, this is because during GCSE media studies I needed to create them. However, while filming our thriller opening, myself and James Kent started to film new ideas, which where not included in our storyboards. Unlike the prelim task - we filmed everything that was included in the storyboard, and nothing else.
I've learnt that by filming new, fresh, and a selection of scenes which where not included in the original storyboard add towards the range and variety of different scenes/shots which could be used while editing. The PowerPoint presentation embedded below visually shows the progression of the storyboards for my group's thriller opening.
“Making a film is like going to war” – Ridley Scott
I completely agree, creating our thriller opening and preliminarily task was difficult at times because of the amount of effort and commitment to the project(s) - the pressure of trusting and relaying on someone else to turn up on a filming date or completing tasks in time, if not, the amount of work to do it yourself, storyboards, ideas, and camera movement. At the beginning of the course, my analyses were weak, but I finally began to improve and increase my skills to produce more detailed analyses, which carefully explained the mise-en-scene with great precision thanks to my developing skills to identify intertextual references and also editing.
Question 5 - How did you attact/addressyour audience?
If you wish to only read my response instead, you can click on the button below which will display the transcript of the above Prezi. Simply click the button below and it will display my work.
Myself and James Kent (group member) primarily attracted our target audience by using a drum beat-like soundtrack. The drum-like beat would immediately appeal to our 16 to 21 year old target audience because of the pace and upbeat style of soundtrack, much like how modern music has become more techo and dance, for example, Adele's drumbeat throughout in "Rolling In The Deep" appeals to an upbeat, dance style of audience.
I’ve uploaded my version of the edit onto YouTube and then questionnaires were carried out to different Year 12 and Year 13 students aged between 16 and 17, this was before myself and James Kent edited our final edit/outcome together.
The results indicate the popularity of the section of the soundtrack which I used in my edit. Out of the 18 questionnaires, 18/18 agreed that the choice of soundtrack effectively reflect and enhance the mood and action within the mise-en-scene, furthermore, over 1/2 of the responses agree that the soundtrack is one of the best features of the film. The results show that the section of the soundtrack used in my edit successfully indicates that my group’s film attracts our chosen audience ranging between the ages of 16-21.
The two male characters may also add interest and appeal towards our target audience demographic. This is because they can identify with the characters which creates a more personal approach to one another. The use of suspense and tension in the extreme close ups, close ups and tracking shots all put the audience in a position which positions them with the protagonist - there both in 'the same boat'.
The cliff hanger is another possible appeal which attracts the audience because they will be left wondering what is it the young man is look at? The interesting fact that he is looking directly at the camera and audience indicates if he is accusing them.
Question 4:
Who would be the audience for your media production?
Photographer - Austen Nuttall
The ideal target audience for my group's thriller would suitably be males between the ages of 16 and 21, mainly because they would enjoy upbeat thrillers such as "Essex Boys" (2000) and "Animal Kingdom" (2010) due to their youth and upbeat lifestyles.
"Essex Boys" (2000) and "Animal Kingdom" (2010) both follow a male protagonist of a similar age (16-21) which would appeal to their audience, my group's thriller also uses a male protagonist which audiences of a similar age could possibly identify with. However, our thriller film may also appeal the attraction of females aswell between 16 - 21, this could be because they might find the male actors attractive.
I have carried out research into"Essex Boys" (2000) onAmazon.co.uk to find out if people buy similar films on DVD. I've found out that these films include a male cast and a violent story. These are two main features of "Essex Boys" (2000) and my group's thriller also includes these features. This is how I have determined if there is an audience for my group's thriller or not.
Also, questionnaires where carried out to see if this audience would be attracted to watch my group's thriller film. The questionnaires where distributed to 18 people, 10 males and 8 females each between the ages of 16 -17.
The 18 members of the audience viewed my version of the edit to my group's thriller film, whereas James Kent (group member) did the same for his edit. We then combined our feedback and create a final product which includes the best features of our two edits and any improvements which where suggested.
Here are a few results which I received and I have picked out to display on my blog - both male and female:
As mentioned in question 3, Facebook would be the ideal advertisement for my group's thriller production. Facebook would also be used by our audience as younger, more youthful people are signing up to the site. A servery by an American website called http://pewinternet.orgstates that:
"Facebook is the dominant social media site among teens, as 93% of teen social media users have a Facebook account."
Our audience of 16 -21 would wear stylish fashion trends as they are aware of their image and presentation towards one another.
Photographer - Austen Nuttall
Older audiences, for example between the ages of 40 - 60 could also be our audience to our thriller, this is because they would appreciate the slight intertextual references and art-like cinematography of past films which they might have viewed during their childhood that feature in my group's production. For example, the inspiring long shot of a pathway in the ending scene of "The Third Man" (1949) inspired my group and resembles much likeness of my group's thriller. An older audience of this demographic may find this appealing as we are crediting the early days of films which are classed as being now iconic and famous because of their use of cinematography.
In what ways does your media production use, develop, or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
At the beginning of the course, myself and James Kent (group member) discussed thoroughly how we could either challenge, use, and even develop specific conventions which are found in the thriller genre. We did this because we could then plan and develop our process professionally and effectively by discussing soundtrack, costume, location and finally how we could relate all of these to the thriller genre in some way. This would then ensure that our "Opening to a New Thriller Film" would be unique.
Essex Boys (2000) - marshland
My group’s thriller “Death Watch” is set in a modern Briton. The cinematography which is used in "Death Watch" was primarily inspired by Carol Reed’s “The Third Man” (1949) and the use of chiaroscuro lighting. Our location was primarily inspired by the ending scene in "The Third Man" (1958), and the use of gritty marshland in “Essex Boys” (2000).
One of the most iconic shots in our opening is the long tilted shot of a vanishing point with trees either side which both our characters walk down. This shot immediately establishes a connection between the ending scenes of “The Third Man” (1949) when Anna walks down the pathway towards the camera and away from the vanishing point. We've developed this shot and reversed it - the character(s) are walking towards the vanishing point instead which creates a scene of mystery - they are walking into the unknown.
My group decided to create two edits each, one in colour, and the other in black and white. This then increased our choices of a final outcome. I preferred to use black and white instead of colour, the reason behind this is because of the use of good natural ambient lighting which was captured on film. The ambient lighting created a unique chiaroscuro effect throughout the entire footage. By using black and white, the contrast in the two colours create a very bold eye catching depth of field within the mise-en-scene.
The gloomy dark depth of field can be seen as if its reinforcing the generic conventions of the thriller genre - developing the scrapyard/marshland and area into a representation of a 'Noir-film' period where shadows dominate within the mise-en-scene. This is to give an ominous and mysterious atmosphere, thus possibly increasing tension.
The opening scene of our thriller starts in a snowy location. The opening shots of the snow represent just how cold and chilling my group’s thriller will be. The snow will represent our thriller’s mood and atmosphere, much like the snowy location in the film “The Grey” (2011) – The snowy location in “The Grey” represents the wolves within the film. The wolves are represented to be cold-hearted, blood boiling, savage animals. The wolves establish the surrounding location to be dangerous, cold and frightening as the snow is their 'hunting ground'.
The snow scenes which are used in my group's thriller are used to give an effect of time passing, this adds a sense of realism and a 'stalker'-type atmosphere. The predator is on the hunt, waiting for the right time to strike. Our first 'actual' shot is of the vanishing point, which establishes the location of the upcoming scenes and events.
The character's names within our thriller where very difficult to create. My group member and I then decided to use our own names. There where many reasons behind this, to start off with, by using our own names "Austen, and "James", our characters would be believable to the viewer. This is because 'over-ambitious' names would be unnecessary, preposterous and especially hard to believe.
Another reason behind this is that the name "James" is of a christian origin. The biblical name, "James" comes from "James the Just" who is mentioned to be the brother of Jesus. This felt suitable because our film is about two families. The two families could possibly relate to the loving relationship of brotherhood between James and Jesus. However, our film challenges this bond because the two families are in competition with each other, which will eventually leave Austen between the two opposing families and a possible threat. James sees an opportunity to 'stike' against his opposing family and their son Austen. This is then developing and challenging the idea and format of love between one another which can also represent the setting and characters of our film to have a 'survival of the fittest'-like characteristic. Thus resembles much likeness of the plot of "Animal Kingdom" (2010) and also the hierarchy status between each family member within the film.
The main character in our thriller is called “Austen”. Austen’s costume is very plain. He doesn’t wear many brightly coloured clothes, but is aware of the latest fashion and styles - the patterns on Austen's uncolorful top represent this. The costume choice took inspiration from “Joshua Cody’s” costume from"Animal Kingdom" (2010) because he wears similar styles of clothing.
Our second main character is called James. The introduction shot of James uses a low tilted angle shot looking upwards which suggests he has a very powerful presence which dominates over other characters. The cinematography of this particular shot was highly influenced by the worm’s eye view of ‘Noodles’ in “Once Upon a Time in America” (1984) and the tilted medium shot of 'Harry Lime' in the doorway in “The Third Man”(1949).
Witness (1985) - lavatories
My group’s choice of location challenges the generic conventions of unglamourous claustrophobic settings which are found within the thriller genre. Examples of these generic conventions include the lavatories in “Witness” (1985), the interior of motor vehicles in “Essex Boys” (2000) and lastly the tightly damp venerable space of the shower in “Psycho” (1960).
Instead of using such generic locations, our group has developed and implied them by using wide open spaces which are not tight or claustrophobic, such as the long shot of the pathway in our thriller production. Our characters do not fill the mise-en-scene in these scenes, unlike the close ups of Marion Crane in “Psycho” (1960) and The Bride in the 2004 “Kill Bill Vol.2” (graveyard scene).
The use of wide open spaces in my group’s thriller is used to portray vulnerability yet still having a chance of escape. This resemble much likeliness of the use of wide open spaces which are found in “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford” (2007) – the entire film is set in a wide open space, as well as the wide open barren-like locations used in "Animal Kingdom" (2010) and “The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly” (1966).
My group's choice of location is unglamourous and desolated, this is a convention of the genre which we have developed. "No Country for Old men" (2007) for example features this aspect of location choice and setting. Vast wastelands are used to portray the vulnerability and isolation of the malefactor and victim(s).
Other films such as "Heavenly Creatures" (1994) and "Jackie Brown" (1997) have the malefactor committing the crime in broad daylight. The two young girls in "Heavenly Creatures" (1994) commits murder of one of the girl's Mother on a deserted path during broad daylight and in "Jackie Brown" (1997), Louis guns down Melanie in a car park, again, during broad daylight. This time frame is unusual as it is highly unlikely that the malefactor would commit the crime in daylight, otherwise he/she could possibly get court. Whereas under the cover of darkness, the malefactor could possibly vanish into the dark, gloomy, mysterious twilight. Mush like the disappearance of Harry Lime in“The Third Man” (1949).
After challenging a few the generic conventions, my group used a generic location for the ending sequence. This was the use of a scrap-yard marshy area. We've taken inspiration from the marshland in “Essex Boys” (2000) and used it to represent a shift in mood. The mood shifts from an area which our character could escape from to a closer, more tightly, claustrophobic environment where our characters begin to fill the entire mise-en-scene in a range of close ups and extreme close ups, thus representing a sense of danger which could possibly increase the tension, much like the shower sequence in “Psycho” (1960).
Extreme and close ups featured in our film greatly, especially towards the ending of our thriller opening. Close ups and extreme close ups are also a generic convention which are used in the thriller genre to restrict the audiences' view, creating a more in-depth profile of a certain character's view or even to show important props, such as the close ups and extreme close ups of the briefcase in "Pulp Fiction" (1994), which is an enigma and also in “Once Upon a Time in America”(1984).
Pulp Fiction - Brief case
My group have also used an enigma which is a generic convention within the thriller genre. An enigma is when an object is not fully explained, it is mysterious and puzzling to understand. We used an enigma because then our thriller opening would grab hold of the audience's attention so they would then carry on watching. This enigma was: 'why was the malefactor following the protagonist?' (Why was James following Austen?).
Another iconic shot within our production was the use of the dolly zoom. The 'type' of dolly zoom which was chosen was of a character's emotions, highly inspired from a clip from "Jaws" (1975)
This particular type of dolly zoom expressed the fear and terror of the character. Myself and James Kent attempted to feature this unique and visually unusual shot at the ending of our thriller opening because the dolly zoom strengthens the expressions and scare of the character at a specific moment. Our "Opening to a Thriller Film" would then cut to black suddenly, which leaves a 'jaw' dropping (no pun intended) ending which would leave the viewer in suspense to wherever or not our character Austen is alive - a key feature of a thriller film.
James' camera work: Dolly Zoom practice.
The font of our titles where highly inspired by the title sequence of “Essex Boys” (2000). The font used in my group’s thriller is represented in a way which would suggest that a teenager has sprayed graphite on a wall. This is to show the chaos and the views of teenagers in modern Briton within our thriller opening.
“Essex boys” titles – Sean Bean.
My groups choice of soundtrack came from a website called http://incompetech.com/m/c/royalty-free/. The soundtrack is called "Interloper" and is by Kevin MacLeod.
To listen to the soundtrack, please click the link below:
The soundtrack which my group has used is very drum-based. The drums represent the heart beats of our characters within the mise-en-scene, but more focusing on our victim’s. The drum beats also strengthens the tension for the audience as some people, such as myself, do not like the sound of a heart beating. They find the sound very chilling and unnerving to listen to. The idea to use a drum-based soundtrack came from the two notes that play in the soundtrack for “Jaws” (1975). These also represent a similar feeling and sound of a heart-beating which the paste gaudily gets louder and quicker as danger approaches.
In conclusion, my group’s opening to a new thriller film uses a wide range of different techniques and intertextual references to media products, in particular the thriller genre which my group and I have studied. We have challenged the genre’s conventions in such a way that it almost reinforces the importance to have the audience in suspense. To use a wide open space as a location which some may see as a kind of “safety area” which our character could possible escape from, yet still using the feeling and mood of venerability is very bold move against the thriller conventions. I believe that my group and I have been successful establishing the meaning of the location, the slight intertextual references and lastly the iconic shots which gives our thriller an unique personality.
