This blog has been marked. SJA 08/05/11

Question Six - What Have You Learnt About Technologies From The Process Of Constructing This Product?

During the process of making my opening sequence I used a wide variety of technologies. For example; the use of the HD video camera. I used this to film our opening sequence with full in depth detail to the mise-en scene and to the characters and actions involved.

Not all of the technologies used were to do with the filming or editing of the opening sequence. For instance; the use of www.blogger.com is a large contribution to the main evaluation and publishing of our opening sequence and the work completed to create our ideas for the sequence.

Also another use of technology is the use of Imovie on the Mac computers. I used this software to do the majority of the editing. Personally I believe that this software is the most efficient software to use for editing our opening sequences because you can cut clips by the millisecond making continuity fluent and realistic. Furthermore; you can add minor effects and order the video clips onto an organised timeline.

Question Four - What Have You Learnt About Technologies From The Process Of Constructing This Product?

I have used a variety of technologies during the process of constructing this product. For example; there was a lot of technology used whilst filming and editing our product. One example of this would be my use of the video camera to film all of our shots with. On the other hand; not all of our shots are a part of the filming and editing process. Blogger is a prime example of technology in which is benefiting the process of the construction of our product.

Filming And Editing
During the filming and editing process there was a considerate amount of technology which I used. For instance; I used a high definition video camera to get the best quality and detail out of each of our shots. I decided to use this because it works perfectly well when we needed still shots and point of view/fast moving hand held shots.

Question Five - How Did You Attract/Address Your Audience?

We attracted our audience by placing a mixture of tense and fast upbeat pace in our opening sequence. The use of these would entice an audience so that they would be interested in watching our film. Also the fact that our opening sequence gets everyone asking questions keeps them interested.

Our film is successful at doing this because it uses similar conventions to an already successful and famous thriller. For example; 'Inception' uses tense atmosphere and then an upbeat fast paced scene in which the audience are placed on the edge of their seat piecing the bits of the film together trying to discover what will happen.

Question Four - Who Would Be The Audience For Your Media Product?

Name: Jimmy Sullivan

Gender: Male

Age: 21

Lives: England

Watches: Family Guy, CSI, South Park, Inbetweeners.

Visits What Websites: www.youtube.com

www.dropdead.com

www.kerrang.com

Does What When They Go Out: Skateboards, BMX, Hang out with mates.

Listens to: Avenged Sevenfold, Guns N' Roses, Dead By April, The Blackout, Children Of Bodom, Parkway Drive, AC/DC, Escape The Fate, The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, etc...

Wears: Dark clothing, Converse, Band Merchandise clothing.

Reads: Kerrang! Magazine, Q Magazine

Likes: Skateboarding, BMX, Drumming, going to concerts.

Shops: Local Music Shops.

Aspires To Be: Professional Musician.

How Much Spare Cash: Enough to go out in his spare time.

Likes This Genre Because: Because the way the conventions of the thriller challenge his mind and get him thinking.

Extra Information:

Question Three - What Kind Of Media Institution Might Distribute Your Media Product And Why?

A small independent indie label would most probably distribute my media product because it is only going to attract a small audience because of the style of film it is and it is only aimed at a smaller group of people. Therefore; the independent label will distribute this product because of the small income that the film will create. Also because it is a low budget film which is made by amateur film makers. A good example of a small independent film label would be 'Independent' because they specialise in publishing and distributing movies directed by semi-professional film makers. For example; they have produced films such as 'Mr Nice', 'Abel', 'Holy Rollers', 'Trackers', 'We Need To Talk About Kevin' and 'Third Star'.

A larger distributor such as '20th Century Fox' would not distribute this film because of the audience size that the film will attract. The film would not benefit the distributor causing a high loss of money therefore creating bad reputation and possible debt. Another reason that a big well known label wouldn't distribute this film would be because it is made by an amateur and is only on a small budget and filmed/directed by a director who is unknown in the world of media entertainment.

Syno

Question One - In What Ways Does Your Media Product Use, Develop Or Challenge Forms And Conventions Of Real Media Products?

My media product challenges the conventions of a real thriller product by using a variety of different techniques within editing, mise en scene and the filming itself. For example; my use of camera angles portrays the genre of thriller. Also the mise en scene I used is relevant to the genre and it helps to create the atmosphere that I set out to achieve when filming this opening sequence.

On the other hand; my use of music is also appropriate because it creates an eerie and tense atmosphere when the chase scene is progressing. It draws the viewer in and then it places the audience into the shoes or the position of the character in main focus in the film. A lot of real made thrillers have this effect and are therefore successful and so by using this similar conventions my opening sequence is successful.

Question Two - How Does Your Media Product Present Particular Social Groups?

Our main character Scott (Daniel Decruz) challenges the stereotype of a modern day businessman. For example; he is smartly dressed and is using his phone to show a higher status and to portray the wealth in which he has achieved. This is shown because the mobile phone is a symbol to show that this person is wealthy enough to have the opportunity to own an expensive mobile phone. Also the fact that the mobile phone conversation is the main focus portrays the fact that his status means that he does not need to take notice to others around him. This is also shown by the fact that he is looking down to the ground showing the audience that he is in his own world in which he feels comfortable in.




Our second main character the kidnapper (Luke Nolan) uses the conventions of a teenage gangster to create the mysterious character that the stereotypical teenage gangster creates. The fact that we can't see his face portrays the mysterious being in which is created here. Also the use of the dark hoodie being used portrays fear and an unknown identity to give the influence of rebellious actions and acts of sin. This shows the audience that this character is focused on his objective and is determined to remain unknown and mysterious to the viewers and to the victimised character. This is a stereotype as most people who sin and break the law are often shown as hooded teenagers who are male and who don't want their identity to be released, they want to stay mysterious to everyone.

What Titles?

Production Design - The production designer is is the person who produces the overall film and the person who will choose what happens to the overall film.

Casting - This is the person who will choose the cast for the whole film. They sit down and discuss who will be best to play each character in the film.

Costume Designer - This is the person who choose the costumes for every character in every scene. They will look at detail in the clothing and choose the clothing to what best suits the character and the situation that they are in.

Editing - These are the people who place the final touches before the final copy of the film is released. They make sure the film is fluent and that the film has no glitches or mistakes so that it seems realistic.

Executive Producer - This person is not someone who will physically help produce the film but they will deal with the financial issues and help out with advertising.

Director - This person is the person who is in charge of the whole film and what it turns out like. They tell the actors/actresses what to do and where to go. They are the reason that the film makes sense.

Producer - This is the person who produces the film. Their role is to help the film be fluent and make sure it is pitch perfect with music, and camera shots.

Screenplay - This person has the role of writing out the script for the whole play. They are in charge of making sure that each line makes sense and that the characters know what they are doing and what they are saying.

Shooting Schedule

This is a scanned in image of our shooting schedule. We chose to do a shooting schedule because this will keep us organised and it will keep us on track and in time so that we are able to film all of our shots and leave enough time to edit the shots so that they are fluent and that they make sense. The schedule also portrays our location and it shows where and what time we will be filming.

Casting

Kidnapper (Luke Nolan) - we chose Luke to be the Kidnapper because he can play the role of a secretive and mysterious character well. His use of body language and facial expression helps to portray that he is a mysterious person and that his mind is set on his one objective.

Scott (Daniel Decruz) - we chose Daniel to be Scott because he can become the character of a sociable and happy person easily. He uses his facial expression and his body language well to show how he feels and what sort of person he is.

Lauren (TBD) - we chose (....) because her voice is appropriate for the voice of Lauren (Scotts daughter). She can inform the audience of struggle by manipulating her voice to portray this scene.

Camera Operator (Me) - we chose me to be the camera operator because I have a steady hand and my use of varied shots will help with the atmosphere of the scene. Also I can set up quickly and I can change between shots quickly so that the shots can be filmed with ease.

Storyboard

We decided to create and use a storyboard because with this made we are able to use it to help us show what shots we will be doing and what we need to do next. The storyboard helps us to see what shots we need to do and where we need to be filming them. It also shows us the timing for the camera shots. Without this sotryboard our shots will be unorganised and we will have no idea on what we will need to be doing. We changed our ideas for this many times due to the fact of improvements or new material that we will be adding in.

Possible Film Titles

Below are our possible film title idea fonts that we may decide to use. I chose these because they are relevant to our chosen genre and they fit well within our opening title sequence. We have decided to use the first choice because it fits extremely well with our shots and the style of the font is appropriate for our thriller genre. They all suit the thriller genre but our chosen title font is the most appropriate because it is bold, it stands out when it is used and has quite an eerie presence.

Thriller Genre 2 - 'Casino Royale'

'Casino Royale' is known as a successful thriller due to the fact that it holds all of the basic yet vital ingredients for a thriller. It uses mainly black and white, this portrays the fact that the film is a dark thriller which may be suspicious and mysterious.

Its mixture of low angle and high angle shots shows the change of status within the characters. This will get the audience/viewers thinking and getting them to ask questions of what may happen throughout the rest of the film, and why the characters are there now.

Also the sounds in this opening sequence vary depending on the mood of the scene. For example; during the conversation there is only vocal noise whereas during the fight scene the noises are louder and harsher as they emphasis the point that the fight scene is an upbeat and fast tempo moment.

Audience Research 2

Conventions Of A Thriller

A thriller is one of the most common genres of media around today. It's conventions help this because they are unique and they are a recipe for brilliant entertainment. A thriller contains a variety of different conventions. For example; it contains many fight scenes and chases to draw the viewer into the world of the film. But its main common elements are suspension, excitement and tension.

Because of it's effective use of suspense, tension and excitement; this grabs the viewer and keeps them hooked into the world and atmosphere of the film they are watching. It creates questions, it gets the audience thinking about what is and what may happen.
The use of a cliffhanger is also very common after all of the suspense and tension. For example; the cliffhanger at the end of 'Inception' after all the suspense really gets the viewer/audience thinking and asking questions.

Location Research

Thriller Genre 1 - 'Inception'

'Inception' is another brilliant example of a thriller because of its fluent and subtle use of conventions. It uses a lot of the colour blue and yellow/orange. By doing this it creates and sets the atmosphere that the audience will be drawn into as the film goes on.


Also the use of tension, suspension and excitement portrayed through the mise en scene which helps to pull the reader into the world of the film. This then influences the feeling onto the audience as they feel apart of the film and they feel what the characters are feeling.


After being drawn into the film the audience begin to ask questions. For example; they may start asking them self 'Why is this person there?' 'How did they get there?' 'What will happen?'. They then begin to think about what may happen later on in the film, also they will start picking up on and looking out for clues that are given away in certain scenes.

Analysis Of ' The Sixth Sense'

'The Sixth Sense' is a successful thriller as it uses a variety of techniques to draw the audience into the film. For example; its constant use of the colour blue and red representing sorrow and death. The mise en scene is also important as it helps to create the atmosphere of the film. Also the use of the mysterious and eerie sounds. This helps to merge all of the techniques and variety of conventions to create the thrillers atmosphere.


By using the dark colours such as blue, black and red the whole film has a dull and sorrow atmosphere which is felt throughout the film because these colours are continuous within the duration of the movie. If the colours were bright and bold colours then the atmosphere would not be set well therefore it will not draw in the audience.


The mise en scene is important as it sets the scene for the film. The use of a dark house with only two people in portrays the fact that anything could happen and that they may not be safe. Because this scene is set at night it helps to expand the use of the dark colours, because these merge together well the use of natural and artificial colours and lighting is disguised.