Question 7

Since I have done my preliminary task, I believe that I as a media student have developed my skills and techniques. I now find it easier to be more professional with how I setup shots:

Here we see a shot from my prelim, on the left and a shot from my thriller production, on the right. Here is a clear example of being able to set up effective shots. When we filmed our prelim we quickly set up this shot and we didn’t leave anything out, so we hand no sense of mystery, we said that it was long shot and that is all we thought about. Whereas in your thriller production, in the shot on the right, when we set up this shot we thought about all of the elements for example the prop placements, the lighting, the angle of the shot, the camera rules like the rule of thirds we tried use these, how steady it was and making sure nothing in the shot would damage the theme of our film. As you can see on our prelim doesn’t look very thrilling, if I did it again I may have taken the bin out or maybe even crop out the building on the left, because it doesn’t really fit the thriller genera.

And how I edit:

When I began editing I really thought about how professional the shot looks. On the left you can see a shot from my thriller opening, it has only got one effect, which darkens the edges of the screen/shot so that it looks gloomy and follows typical thriller films. Whereas the shot on the right is from my preliminary, we wanted to make it look like CCTV but because we used so many effects of it, it doesn’t look professional. Also in the editing of the thriller opening I took into account of the timing, so that it matches the music. In the prelim I didn’t do this. I believe I can now effectively edit clips.

We also improved on our typography skills. The shot on the left shows the opening sequence example; we created our own typography in Photoshop and imported it into iMovie. This looked a lot more professional than the standard typography that comes with iMovie as you can see on the right.

My preliminary was ok, its story was good, but could be changed to be a better production and the editing was good as well, but some of the shots went on too long. Our lighting was actually typical of a sci-fi thriller, but some of the audience found the effects confusing and over used. This was a different case for our thriller opening sequence we used a good amount of lighting effects. Also our use of mise-en-scene has improved massively, in our prelim we just filmed, where as in the open sequences we thought about how each shot was going to be setup, for example where were the props going to go? What costumes are the characters wearing? And the positioning of the shot?

We have improved a lot of skills and techniques. In our prelim we had feedback of the camera not being steady, this is something we corrected straight away when filming our thriller opening, to maintain a professional look. Our editing skills are much better; we can now easily edit clips to be able to create a professional looking product. Continuity was a big problem in our prelim; we fixed this for our thriller opening. We have improved our use of the 180 degree rule, we only used it in one shot in our opening, it was the shot when the protagonist walks along the dirt covered ledge, but we have also practised it. Now we  can use it effectively.

When we first started planning out opening made a list of ideas individually and then we can together as a group to discuss the best ideas and the ideas we liked. We decide on a thriller about a person on the run from the police for being wrongly accused and he has to find out the truth. From there on we went and made a story board and annotated it. Once we sorted the storyboard out we then decided create a detailed shot list, to help us when filming. Once we had filmed we began to edit the footage, we all had in put in the editing process. Because we all had an input we were all happy with our final product.

The location we choose was very typical of thriller/horror films, we filmed in and around a wood. And the shots that could be seen as dangerous where filmed at home as the risk assessment says.

At first when it was raw footage I believe it was bad. But once we finished editing I was very happy with the end result, I think that our thriller opening sequence is very successful. We did have a good amount of shots but I still think we could have added more. I liked the quality of the camera we used but when we exported and upload the video it got compressed making it looked ever so slightly pixelated, which I was slightly disappointed by. Another problem was that it was quite difficult to get the text we had created on Photoshop on to the video and when we put it on the video would crash, this was hard to work with but once we exported it was fine. But I believe that out thriller opening followed many typical thrillers and it looked quite professional in my opinion.  

Here you can see our continuity editing has improved from theses shots. The thriller opening shots show the continuity as correct with the same shoes walking over the newspaper. But whereas in the prelim Zak and Conor are running and then in a different shot they have swapped sides. Overall we have improved massively  since our preliminary.

Question 6

When I produced this production, I learnt new and different techniques that will be useful in future productions. I can now frame shots effectively to create the atmosphere I want. I have learnt to use continuity editing properly and I also know how to get the audience to fell how I want them to feel, for example I composed a shot which makes the audience uneasy.

When filming we had made a massive improvement on our prelim. We used the tripod effectively to keep the shots steady; we made sure that the neck of the tripod was loose so that we could easily pan across when filming. We encountered a problem when trying to keep the tripod steady, the ground was very uneven but lucky the tripod we use made it easy to set the legs at different heights to keep the shot level. We also tried to stay away from hand held shots because it can most of the time be a little shake and unproffesional. They lighting was perfect on the day of filming, but if It wasn’t we could of used equipment to help us with the lighting. We learnt that if the lighting is too dark then a torch is very helpful because it doesn’t make the shot too bright to affect the thriller conventions but it gives enough like to get a clear shot. We wanted to follow the thriller convention of dull lighting to create a tensional and suspenseful effect. This gave the feeling that evil was lurking about.

I believe that I and my partners have improved our knowledge greatly. I know realise that close ups are very useful for filming objects and facial expressions, I makes the plot and what is happening much Clear to the audience. Extreme long/long shots are typically used to show the audience the location of the film.  I also have tried to use the rule of thirds in many shots this is because we used many close ups and wanted the audience to focus on the objects, like weaponry and the wanted poster so that the audience would recognise them later on in the film.

We had access to iMovie when we were creating our thriller. It comes with most Macs. It is very effective and surprisingly easy to use. I learnt a lot of things. One of the simple things I learnt was how to import footage from a SD card to the mac. I had to make a new event, an event is where footage is stored and up drag and drop the film files into the project from the event. I also learnt how to effectively edit the footage together. I also learnt how to add effects and transitions. The change the effect on the clip by going to clip options and going to the change effects/filter button. We chose to use the effect Vignette, because it fitted the thriller genre very well my darkening the outside of the clip making it feel grungy and dark.

I also used the software Photoshop. I used this to produce our company’s ident and the titles. I didn’t want to use the titles available in iMovie because they looked too stock in my opinion. Once we had finished on Photoshop we had to import them and overlay them on the footage. I learnt how to do this. But not all the iMovie’s we have access to have this feature. To do this you have to right click on the clip and click on picture on picture button.

 I also learnt how to import music and edit out the pieces of the soundtrack I didn’t want, this was done in garage band and then exported to iTunes.

We finally finished producing so we decided to export it using QuickTime and we made sure that the export quality was set to the highest. But when it finally went onto YouTube the quality decrease for some reason, which was a bit disappointing.

Technology had a big impact on our work, it enabled us to gather feedback and get our production out. We used YouTube to put your production on our blogs; this also was good because it has a comment section, so people could give their opinion. I should of used Facebook to get even more feedback from friends and family. So that we can improve for future productions.

If I was to do the production again I would of like to use a lot more shots, we could have had more shots of actual people and not only parts of their body. Also I wish I had made the production lead up to a key event in the opening. I wish we filmed more of the bridge that we filmed at and I would have used the location a lot better, to an advantage.

Question 5

We used our research, to find out what grabbed our target audiences attention. We did this by looking at thrillers that were similar to our own ideas and our Vox Pops also helped us find out what the audience wanted.

Typical of the thriller genre, they use straight cuts with a one second of black screen to grab the audiences attention, this was in time with the music to create tension. It was also a good way to introduce new clips because they wont get bored of the length clips and normal straight cuts. it made the audience wonder what was going on because it was going so quick, this created the sense of mystery and confusion, this is what we aimed for.

This shot makes the audience uneasy; this is because there is a mysterious human silhouette on the hill, this makes the audience want to find out who it is. It also shows he is higher than the camera shot, this suggests that he has power and that the protagonist or the audience is vulnerable or less powerful.

Our audience wanted a likeable character and someone they could relate to. We decide that the first and only face you see detailed is the protagonist’s. This is because we didn’t want give much away. When the audience first see this picture they begin to think who this is and draws them in to find what he has done and how he will progress throughout the story. 

From our Vox Pops we found that most of the thrillers that people enjoyed where quite action based. Typical of action-thrillers, there are many weapons. So to get the audience’s attention we added many weaponry references like the gun magazines you see here, the knife and the close up of the gun.

This shot of the newspaper clippings gets the audience’s attention very well. It sets their minds in motion, wondering what has happened and why. It creates mystery and suspension, for what might happen in the rest of the film. They also wonder why some walks over it? Could it be a crime scene? This makes the audience anxious to find out more.

Many of the shot were focused on different things and not the main elements so that it creates tension, suspense and suspicion. They way this shot is show is very eerie because you can’t tell the character facial expression, so it is hard to think what the character is like.

The non-diegetic soundtrack we used in our production worked very well. This is because it was quite slow and mellow, but also not very suspenseful. We choose to do this because it added to the effect, it became more surreal. It also had lyrics that connote to our thriller sub-genres, crime and mystery, for example “bury me” this suggest that some will die in the story. Our thrillers soundtrack is very similar because they both use string and acoustic instruments to create a dramatic track, keeping the audience from getting bored.

The costuming in our production is very typical of the thriller genre and people will immediately connote the antagonists clothing with death because he is all in black. Also the suit and tie show that the antagonist is of a higher status and has authority, his red tie connotes danger and blood. This relates to our story, because the antagonist has authority, this means that he will be able to frame people for murders.

The lighting in the opening sequence was natural and a darker filter was added around the edges to give the film more of a grittiness, also this follows the typical conventions of a thriller film because they are normally very dark.

When we were editing, we tried making the camera shots and the cuts be in time with the non-diegetic soundtrack. Also when filming the camera shots we wanted them to look very eerie, like a fight, assassination or murder had gone on. we used the rule of thirds a lot, we tried to keep most of the objects and props situated in only a third of the screen.

After we had shown our thriller opening to some of our typical age group we got feedback on it. People thought that it was very good and that they like the black flashes to cut up the shots. They then said that the music was good best it was different and it still worked.  They also said that they enjoyed the tension created from the different shots, for example they said they like the shots of the, gun magazines, newspaper clippings, silhouette on the hill and the burred shot of the protagonists face. Another person said that they liked the mystery behind the story and they would like to find out what is going on. 

When we showed this film to a few people, they responded very positively. They liked the cut away shots of the trains, as this kept their attention, and hinted at how the storyline would end, without giving too much information away. They also liked the location of our film, and also felt that the narration worked well, as it hinted at how the plot might develop, but still left some areas down to the viewer’s imagination. Our audience also liked our choice of non-diegetic music.

Our thriller is very similar to the thriller film, Seven. They both use similar camera shots, just like our production they used close ups to get the audience to see key and significant props to the plot, without the audience really understanding it. Also the editing was very similar we used some slow shots and then when the music changed tempo the speed of the shot changes would change. Also the cuts were all straight cuts just like the Seven opening.

It was also similar to the walking dead opening, with the shot types being similar, close ups of objects. The editing was similar, all straight cuts like our production and the sound was also similar because there is not diegetic sound it is all non-diegetic, our music was similar because they both use string instruments, to create tension. All in all I believe that the audience got what they wanted, mystery, crime and the references to weaponry suggest later on in the film they will be used. 

Question 4

Our target audience will be in the physiographic groups of explorers and strugglers, because explorers want to find out who’s behind the murders and strugglers will like this film because it is very different from their reality and would like to escape their lives. Our audiences age between 15 and 40; this is so we can have a larger audience. We think that more males would watch this film because the protagonist is a male and the antagonist is a male. ­­

We researched the physiographic groups to find the correct audience for our film.

Struggler

Alienated, disorganised - with few resources apart from physical. Consumers of alcohol, junk food and lotteries, also trainers. Brand choice involves impact and sensation. Escape reality

Mainstreamer Domestic

Conformist, conventional, sentimental. Part of the mass, favouring big and well-known value for money 'family' brands.

Aspirer

Materialistic, acquisitive, image, appearance, charisma, fashion. Attractive packaging more important than quality of contents. (Younger, clerical/sales type occupation)

Succeeders

Strong goals, confidence, work ethic, organisation. Brand choice based on reward, the very best. Also attracted to 'caring' and protective brands. Watch films to get rid of stress (Top management)

Explorer

Energy - autonomy, experience, challenge, new frontiers. Brand choice highlights difference, sensation, adventure, indulgence and instant effect - the first to try new brands. (Younger - student) want to discover the truth

Reformer

 Free from restrictions, personal growth, social awareness, value for time, independent judgement, tolerance of complexity, anti-materialistic but intolerant of bad taste. Curious and enquiring, support growth of new product categories. Select brands for intrinsic quality, favouring natural simplicity. (Higher Education)

Resigned

Seeks survival, typically older people with an interest in the past and tradition. Rigid and authoritarian values.

Once we finished this piece of research, we chose to make our production appeal to Explorers because they seek adventure and want to find out the truth. Also Strugglers because the want to escape reality and want to find something new.

We did Vox Pops to find out what the public wanted from a thriller. We asked two questions what is your favourite thriller? and why?, the Vox Pop also showed each interviewee’s age and occupation. This was very helpful, but it didn’t go into much detail, I wish our group had done questionnaires to get better results. Also from these results we couldn’t clearly see our target audience, because everybody we interviewed had very different jobs to one another and where of many different ages. If we did this again, I would like to still do the Vox Pops with much more questions and even do questionnaires as an additional source of information.

Our Vox Pops told us that our audience is mainly male. We found out that the interviewee’s loved the most popular thrillers like, Physco, Training day, James bond: Skyfall, Jurassic park and Snatch. Training day and snatch are more male oriented films. We inter viewed harry and he said that “physco really sets the benchmark for thriller films” we took these five films into account when we were in the planning stages. Also we found out that our audience likes to have a character, who they can really relate to and like. Also somebody well known in the film industry. The also said that the film has to be suspenseful, the audience like to be kept on the edge of their seat. Someone said they like a hint of the sub-genre sci-fi in the films, but we didn’t include any, so if I did it again I might have added some science fiction.

The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) is an independent, non-governmental, notfor-profit, co-regulatory body. We are funded through fees charged to those who submit films and video works for classification.

Usually a team will agree on the age rating because we base all our age rating decisions on the BBFC’s Guidelines, but if we do not, the work is sent to another examining team. If they still disagree, works are brought to the weekly examining meeting for further discussion or sent to the BBFC’s Director or Presidential team. Really contentious works, like former 'Video Nasties', like the good the bad the ugly or cinema releases right on the border between two age ratings and likely to provoke comment, will often be seen again even if the first team agrees a decision.

Here is a list of the classifications from BBFC:

U Universal – Suitable for all.

A U film should be suitable for audiences aged four years and over, although it is impossible to predict what might upset any particular child. U films should be set within a positive framework and should offer reassuring counterbalances to any violence, threat or horror.

PG- Parental guidance.

 A PG film should not unsettle a child aged around eight or older. Unaccompanied children of any age may watch, but parents are advised to consider whether the content may upset younger, or more sensitive, children.

12/12A- suitable for 12+ or under 12 with an adult.

Suitable for 12+ or under 12 with an adult. Discrimination must not be endorsed by films message. Drug use should be infrequent, and instructional details should not be given. Sexual references can be briefly portrayed, although the activity should not go beyond what is suitable for young teenagers. Moderate violence is allowed, although it should not dwell on gory details.

15- No one younger than 15 may see a 15 film in a cinema. No one younger than 15 may rent or buy a 15 rated video work. The work as a whole must not endorse discriminatory language or behaviour, although there may be racist, homophobic or other discriminatory themes and language. Drug taking may be shown but the work as a whole must not promote or encourage drug misuse. Violence may be strong but should not dwell on the infliction of pain or injury. The strongest gory images are unlikely to be acceptable. Sexual activity may be portrayed, but usually without strong detail. There may be strong verbal references to sexual behaviour.

18- No one younger than 18 may see an 18 film in a cinema. No one younger than 18 may rent or buy an 18 rated video work. Adults should be free to choose their own entertainment. Exceptions are most likely in the following areas: where the material is in breach of the criminal law, or has been created through the commission of a criminal offence. Where material or treatment appears to us to risk harm to individuals or, through their behaviour, to society. For example, the detailed portrayal of violent or dangerous acts, or of illegal drug use.  Contains detailed explicit images.

R18- Restricted 18

They can only be shown on licenced premises or licenced shops. Usually contains material that breaches criminal law. Material that encourages sexual abuse, the infliction of pain, or any sexual threats or humiliation which isn’t clearly defined in the plot.

From what I found out in my research, thrillers usually have a high age rating from the BBFC, because of the material that is in the film. For example violence or nudity is very common in thrillers. This tells me that a wide range audience will enjoy these films more because the film is quite mature.

If I were to send off your thriller to the BBFC, I would hope we got the age rating of 15, because it won’t be really detailed gore, but to still show some characters deaths. There will be no sexual content, but suggested drug taking. This is beneficial because this age rating will suit our target audience. But we also would hope for the 15 rating because there are still adult/mature content and which we thing is inappropriate for persons under the age of 15 we don’t want they to see the film. Also if we make the film an 18 then it will make our audience small.

Audience Profile-

Aged 15to 40

Mainly male

Wealth- Explorers earns a good amount of money, can afford nice clothes. Is very smart. Wear many different clothes. Strugglers earns an “ok” amount of money, spends money of things they enjoy.

Music- Listens to modern music, for example house and pop. On the radio or on an mp3 player.

Job- Typically a student or someone who has adventurous job, like the navy. Could also be a normal factory worker or unemployed.

Interests- Reading, the paper or late teen/young adult magazines. Watching films, thrillers, action and adventure. Uses social media like Facebook 

Question 3

The group decided of the name of our production should be Boundless Productions. We called it this because believe that we can do anything and we aren’t limited to anything, this means if we were a really company we would get people’s attention. Also the angled shape behind the text is similar to the infinity symbol. We have our company logo or ident is at the start of the opening sequence and it slowly zooms into grab the audience’s attention.

Production companies are key in the film industry. Their job is to obviously produce a film and sell the film that we produce. Nearly all production companies these days help the film makers and the creation of their film; they do this by making schedules, budgeting and sometimes even help make decisions on actors and key members of staff/crew.

The production basically gets control over the entire film. The production company other the years generates money from past products and is able to fund this film to generate even more money. They have to advertise the new film and they own all the rights to the film and the production company gets paid every time a DVD is sold and every time it is shown in a cinema.

I would like Lionsgate to produce our thriller because they are renowned for doing many thriller films.  Lionsgate is a leading global entertainment company with a strong presence in motion picture production and distribution, television programming and syndication, home entertainment, family entertainment, digital distribution and international distribution and sales. These means we can get our production out to a much wider range of people. Also they have shows on 20 different TV networks, making it so much easier to advertise our film.

Lionsgate have produced massively iconic films, for example The Hunger Games and Twilight and emerging young adult brands like Divergent and Ender’s Game.  These are large names for the filming industry, this tells us that they have a large about of experience. But they don’t only do thriller films they do many other genres as well. For example Kevin Hart’s Let me explain. I believe they would be very helpful in giving us pointers when we create our production.

When you decide to work with a large production company like Lionsgate, you get a bigger audience, this is because the production company its self already has a large fan base. This means you also inherit the company’s audience, attracting more people globally as well as locally.

 Our titles are similar to the walking dead, showing the actors first and the executive producers last followed by the title. The table below compares the order of credits with the order the credits were presented in our production:

Walking dead	Our Film
AMC presents Actors Executive producers Developed by Music by Title	Boundless productions Actors Executive producers Title

We missed a couple of things out, but the waking dead opening titles sequence is very different from most thriller films, only a the most important names are mentioned at the start where as other films list. The special effects, directors, costume design, writers, makeup artists. We decided to keep it plain and simple.