Our Storyboard

Our Finished Thriller

Preliminary Task

Lighting Exercise

The Final Deed - Sound Exercise

The Final Deed - Sound Exercise

When planning and filming 'The Final Deed' we tried to combine as many sound components as possible to make our film sound as best as it could. Overall we included almost all different types of sound which we could and I think we used them very well.

The Final Deed is an crime/thriller and is about a person who gets set a task to go and murder an innocent girl. Once the murder has been committed the murderer is then spotted by two police officers. The police officers chase the murder until they catch him and arrest him. 

Within this film our main focus was the different sounds which we could include. Although we did take notice of the storyline and shot types to still make sure it made sense and wasn't boring by having the same shot types throughout the whole film.

Safe Place - Camera Exercise

Safe Place

Evaluation Question 7

Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from in to the finished product.

Evaluation Question 6

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

 

Evaluation Question 5

How did you attract/address your audience?

 

Evaluation Question 4

Who would be the audience for your media product?

To find out who would be the audience for our product we made a questionnaire using survey monkey with five simple questions so we would roughly know what sort of person would like what genre of film.

This was the first question in the questionnaire and what it tells us is that more men answered our questionnaire then girls which would mean our answers will mainly be based on men.

Our next question lets us know what sort of age range would be most interested and according to the data that would be ages between 16-19.

  The next question tells us that everyone who answered enjooys going to the cinema which is a good result for us.

 This question tells us how often people go to the cinema and in this case most people go monthly or a few times a year and the others are either yearly or weekly.

 The final question tells us that the most popular genre is thriller which is what we have chose to do due to the results and the other too most popular was comedy and horror.

Evaluation Question 3

What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why? (studio, TV, Web, DVD etc)

Evaluation Question 2

How does your media product represent particular social groups? (gender, age, sexuality, ethnicity etc)

In our thriller we included representation of certain social groups. One of which we included would be gender as the two main characters were both male. What this would mean is that as male is the dominant gender they should be manly and strong although in our thriller they were seen as weak in comparison to the other two masked men. This would then challenge hegemony as it isn't following the system of all men being strong and brave as the two main character were scared.

We have also included age as you can see that the two boys are both young and have something on them which isn't theirs, which could portray them as being thief's just because they are young teenagers which would also be agreeing with the stereotype of the young. 

Our thriller also includes the bad guys in hoodies and masks which would also follow the stereotype of all people in hoodies are thugs and bad guys, however this isn't always true.

In our film there is also a blue collar crime which takes place which is the kidnapping which is different to a white collar crime as that is something that takes place in a office such a fraud and is usually associated with the upper class, whereas blue collar is usually done by the lower class and is usually more hands on.

Evaluation Question 1

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

In real media productions many different conventions are used, examples of these would be red herrings, a macguffin, suspense, cliff hangers, fem fatale, bluff and a twist. 

Within our film we tried to include many different elements of a real media production. We included a MacGuffin, suspense and a cliff hanger which was then supported with the camera shots and movements used. 

Mac Guffin

A macguffin is a plot device that motivates the characters and advances the story but actually has little relevance to the story which the audience usually forgets about. We added a macguffin in to our film so we would have something to base it around. In our film the macguffin is the disk which you hear them talk about but don't see until the end.

Suspense

Suspense is used to create tension in the film to make the audience stay interested and on the edge of their seat during the film. We decided to add suspense into our film as we thought it would make it more interesting and will help to make the audience stay interesting as well. The suspense which we created was when the first boy got taken and then nobody knew what was then going to happen after.

Cliffhanger 

A cliffhanger is usually used at the end of the film and it is when the film is left on an open ending. The reason behind this is that it leaves the audience to come up with their own ending of how they would like it to end. It also makes the audience want to see more and it can be used if it is then leading on to another film. As our film is only the opening it is left on a cliffhanger, however we added to the cliffhanger more but still leaving it open in the fact that no one knows what was going to happen next.

The main film which influenced our thriller was 'North by Northwest' by Alfred Hitchcock. This film influenced our film on the idea of the maguffin which is where we got the idea from. 'North by Northwest' also influenced us with the suspense in the film.

Shooting Schedule

Shooting Schedule

Day	Scene	Location	Equipment	Costumes	Props	Cast +Crew
1 2	1 – 5 6 - 8	Valence Park A House	Camera, Tripod, Masks, Disk and Tape.  Camera, Tripod, Envelope with picture and blood, tape, torn clothes, chair.	Ordinary clothing for two friends. Masks and hooded tops for the kidnappers.  Ordinary clothes for one friend. Unkept clothes for the other.	Masks, Disk and tape. Envelope, Tape, picture.	Chloe King Leigha Betts Corey Maxwell Charlie Budge Jake Browning Matt Clarke Same as the above, including Maddison Nightingale.

The Birds (1963)

The Birds

'The Birds' is a 1963 suspense thriller film, directed by Alfred Hitchcock. The film is based on a series of widespread bird attacks on the public. 'The Birds' story was written by Daphne Du Maurier and the screen play was written by Evan Hunter. The film is starring, Rod Taylor, Tippi Hedren and Suzanne Pleshette.

This film does very well with including the aspects of a good thriller as you are constantly on the edge of your seat with the eeriness of the thought of bird attacks.

When analysing the trailer of 'The Birds' I realised it's very short (47 seconds). Which means with in this short period of time they have drummed in every bit of fast paced and exciting action to make the film seem very appealing to the audience. However they didn't include too much but just enough to make people want to go see the whole film. 

Psycho (1960)

Psycho

The film Psycho was directed by Alfred Hitchcock and stars Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh and Vera Miles.

The story line is based on Marion who needs money to be able to get married, so when she is told to put money in the bank for her boss instead she goes home packs her bags and leaves with the money. She then pulls up at an old motel and meets the man who owns it. From the outset he seemed rather strange and untrustworthy.

In Psycho you initially think that the film is based upon the theft of the money not at the fact that at the house opposite the motel their is a murderer who awaits. Which is why when Marion is murdered it is a shock to the audience as you were more concentrated on the money. Which then makes you think that  now any thing can happen.

The audience are now aware at the fact that there is a murderer in the house opposite, which makes you anxious as you know he or she can strike again at anytime.

There are many examples of fast pacing action in Psycho. One of these would be after Marion has stole the money and she is on the run. another would be the shower scene when Marion is murdered which is shown below.

The shower scene is a very well known scene and those who haven't seen the film would have most definitely had seen the shower scene. The full horror of the murder on screen is only hinted at, it takes the viewers imagination to fill in the gaps and make it as gory or imaginative as they want. With the shower scene all we end up actually seeing is the knife, blood, water and a women's body and only the brief penetration of the blade in to the flesh. 

Hitchcock said "Thrillers allow the audience to dip their toe in the cold water of fear to see what it's like". In my opinion Hitchcock has definitely succeeded in doing so in this film. 

Alfred Hitchcock

Alfred Hitchcock

Sir Alfred Hitchcock was born on the August 13 1899 and sadly passed away on April 29th 1980. Hitchcock was an English film director and producer. Hitchcock had a very successful career in Britich cinema in silent films as well as talkies and was said to be England's best director. However he then moved to Hollywood in 1939 and then became and U.S citizen in 1955. 

Hitchcock was raised as a catholic child and was then educated in the same way. He was said to have quite a lonely childhood and was usually isolated due to being obese. Hitchcock had a very strict father who always punished Alfred for his bad behaviour. One way in which he did this was by making him sit in a prison cell for the night. However his father unfortunately died when Hitchcock was only 15.

Hitchcock started off by submitting short articles to a newspaper. It was then when he became interested in photography and film production, which he then started working for a company which later became Paramount Pictures. In 1920 he then got a full time job in islington studios creating titles for silent movies.

Alfred Hitchcock had ended up directing more than fifty feature films during his career which was over six decades. Hitchcock had come first in a 2007 poll of film critics in Britain's Daily Telegraph. What they said was "Unquestionably the greatest filmmaker to emerge from these islands...". Many people would agree and many people have said that Hitchcock was the most influetial filmmaker of all time and is widel regarded as one of cinema's most significant artists.

Psycho is one of Hitchcock's most well known films, which was a low budget black and white thriller. The film was well loved by the public and managed to brake box office records in several countries. Psycho ended up being the most profitable film throughout his career and will always be remembered for the well known shower scene. 

Editing the sound of our thriller!

Today we decided to add in some sounds in to our thriller using freeSFX. We ended up using a bar ambiance sound to make it sound more natural and less staged. We had a few problems as at first we weren't able to hear the talking of the actors over the added sound so we turned parts down and now we're a lot happier with the result. We still have a bit more to film and edit and then hopefully we are finished.

The Source Code

The Source Code (2011)

The source code is an action thriller based on a soldier who wakes up in the body of someone else, when he then discovers that he's part of a missions to find out who the bomber of the Chicago train was. 

Source code was directed by Duncan Jones and written by Ben Ripley. The film stars, Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Monaghan and Vera Farmiga. 

The estimated budget of the film was $32,000,000 and in the opening weekend the film made $14,812,094 in USA. 

Review:

"The story line keeps you on the edge of your seat and adds in enough humour to make it a thoroughly enjoyable experience"

I would definitely agree with this review as when I was watching it I didn't want to blink just in case I'd end up missing something. It also contains all of the key conventions which a thriller needs. 

Shown below is the trailer of the film:

What the trailer shows us is many different scenes of the film to show the rough story line of the film. this is done with loads of fast shots to make sure its all crammed in to the trailer. The director chose enough shots to entice the audience to go and see the film but not enough to give away what happens in the film. 

In the first five minutes of the film what you are shown is the main character waking up on the train all confused not knowing where he is, who he is or what he is doing. We then see him look around the train in a panic not knowing what is happening. The shots shown are rather long to match his feeling of disorientation. We then see the main character look in to the mirror in utter confusion as he looks in to the mirror and see's himself as someone else, which he then realises his not who he thought. 

Each of the train scenes are very important as they start of unaware and Captain Coulter Stevens seems very unsure about where he is and what has gone on. However as you continue watching you see how he starts to get used to who he is and the mission which he has to fulfil. You also see how the camera shots become quicker as he gets closer to revealing and finding out who planted the bomb on the train. In the train scenes you also see how Captain Coulter Stevens feelings and emotions change towards people on the train especially towards Christina. Who at first he was rather harsh against not knowing who she was, but later in he began to care about her and stated to worry about her safety knowing what was going to happen. 

In the Source Code there is a scene where a very emotional phone call takes place between Captain Coulter Stevens and his father, which i believe was added to show another side of the thriller and to interpret different  aspects of other films. It shows that thrillers haven't got to be all about fast-pacing action and that it can include a bit of down to earth emotional footage. 

The final scene of Source Code was very anxious and had everyone on the edge of their seats as nobody knew if Captain Coulter Stevens and Christina where going to be able to get out alive and live their lives together. As you then find out they did and they are safe there is then a sense of relief.

Our Ident

So today we've been creating our ident, using numerous different adobe programs like, Fireworks, Photoshop and Premier Pro. We've struggled with some of the programs as we were unsure on how to use some of them so now we're having to look on the internet to find out how to do some of the stuff which we want to include in our ident. 

Editing Our Thriller

Today I was able to get some editing of the film done, and I have had a lot of time to also get some of my blogging work done. 

With the editing, I'm not using the Apple Macs, so I've had to use a different software which is Adobe Pro, which was a bit confusing at first but then after a while I got used to with a little help from the teachers a other members of my group.

Filming - Day One

Day One of Filming

After weeks of complications and miss communications we were finally able to film the first bit of our thriller film. 
We were lucky enough to get permission from The Beacon tree Bar & Restaurant who were happy enough to let us film in the premises. 

Below are a few pictures which were taken during the filming. 

Overall we ended up getting a lot film and are now loser to finishing, although we still have a little extra to film. 

Editing

Editing

Editing is the process of looking at all the footage shot during the making of a film or TV program and placing it in the desired order and joining it together.

There are two key areas to concentrate on with editing :

1. The speed of editing (how long each shot lasts for)
2. Style of editing (how each shot is joined to the next)

The Speed of Editing

In a film, on shot could last either a matter of seconds or even minutes but the length of each shot is really important as it establishes the pace of the film moving the action along.

The speed of editing helps to determine the mood of what is taking place on screen.

If the director would like the audience to feel a matter of suspense of anxiety then the speed of editing will be quick and snappy, meaning the scenes and shots will frequently be changing in action. This is usually used in action films.

However. if the desired mood is relaxed then the scenes will last a lot long and change a lot less frequently, which is usually shown in a romantic comedy.

The Style of Editing

This is when in a film how the shots are linked together. The movement from one shot to the next is called a transition. 

Straight Cut

• This is the most common and "invisible" form of transition.
• It is when one shot moves instantaneously to the next without attracting the audiences attention. 
• Straight cuts usually help to retain reality. They tend to not break the viewers suspension of disbelief.

Dissolves

• This is when one shot is faded off of the screen whilst another shot is being faded in.
• The audience will then be able to see both shots on the screen at the mid-point of the dissolve.
• This is usually used to show a connection between two characters, places or objects.

Fades

• A gradual darkening or lightening of an image until it becomes fully black or white.
• One shot will fade until only a black or white screen can be seen.
• This is used to indicate the ending of a particular section of time within the narrative.
• It is also used to show the passing of time.

Wipes

• This is when one image is pushed off the screen by another image.
• Images can be pushed either left or right.
• It is more common for the image to be pushed off the left hand side as the movement is more consistent with the sense of time moving forward.
• This is usually used to signal a movement between different locations that are experiencing the same time.

Jump Cuts

• A jump cut is where the audiences attention is brought into focus with something very suddenly.
• This happens by breaking the continuity editing.
• This is known as discontinuity.
• It appears as if a section of the sequence has been removed.

Graphic Match

• This is when shots are placed in a certain order to create a smooth visual transfer from one frame to the next.
• When to consecutive shots are matched in terms of the way they look, this is what a graphic match is. 

Lighting

Lighting

There are many different elements in lighting which all have different effects and are used for many different reasons. There are also different ways in which the lighting can be set up. 
The standard lighting set-up is usually something like this: 

Key Lighting: this is the brightest and most influential source of lighting and is usually used to make something stand out and make an impact.

Back Lighting: his helps counteract the effect of the key light or create an outline of a silhouette, which is used quite often in horrors.

Filler Light: helps to soften the harsh shadows that use of back lighting creates.

Under Lighting: this is when the main source comes from below he subject. This is also often used in horrors and thrillers.

Top Lighting: this is when the main source of lighting comes from above which then highlights the features which helps to create a very glamorous look. 

Low and High-Key Lighting

• Low-key lighting is created by using only the key and back lights. This will produce a sharp contrast of light and dark areas on the screen as deep, distinct shadows are formed.
• Whereas high-key lighting uses a lot more filler lights to make the object seem brighter and more realistic. 

This is an example of low-key lighting.

This is an example of high-key lighting.

Film Noir

This is the term given by french film critics to a group of films made in Hollywood from 1941 - 1958.
These films are characterised by the dark themes which tend to show and darker side to human nature. They are always filmed using low-key lighting to give the films a hard, sharp look with many strong areas of contrast between light and dark.

Audience Feedback

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Thriller Recipe

The Thriller Recipe

What is a thriller?

Thrillers are films of suspense which are supposed to instill terror into the audience. Different types of thrillers are:

• Spy thrillers
• Political thrillers
• Conspiracy thrillers
• Legal thrillers 
• Psychological thrillers.

Aspect of a thriller
Key aspects of a thriller would be:

• Macguffin
• Enigmas
• Red herrings
• Cliffhangers

A macguffin is a plot device that motivates the characters and advances the story but actually has little relevance to the story. An example of this would be the thing which they are after in 'North by Northwest' but you never really see this until towards the end. 

A enigma refers to something mysterious or some sort of difficult problem. In thrillers this is commonly something which is the protagonist has to try to find out or solve before the narrative is resolved and then the film finishes. This is usually shown in most thrillers.

A red herring is the name given to a device which intends to divert the audience from the truth or an item with actual significance. Red herrings also usually work with other devices like enigmas to create more suspense.

A cliffhanger isn't always used in a thriller but is still used quite a lot. Cliffhangers usually feature the main character in a difficult situation which will then entice the audience to keep watching in order to see how the situation resolves itself. 

Cinematography

Cinematography

In cinematography there are two main features, these are the camera shots and the different camera movements.

Camera shots

There are many different kinds of camera shots, these are:

• Long shot (LS)
• Medium shot (MS)
• Close up (CU)
• Extreme close up (ECU)
• Point of view (POV)
• Low angle
• High angle

Examples of these would be;





Long shot





Medium shot



Close up



Extreme close up



Point of view



High angle

Low angle

Camera movement

The different types of camera movements are;

• Pan
• Tilt
• Crane shot
• Tracking shot
• Rolling shot
• Steadicam

Examples of these would be:

 Pan Shot

 Tilt shot

 crane shot

Tracking shot 

Rolling shot

Steadicam shot