Our Final Thriller

This is the video of our final Thriller; Thou Shalt Not (watch without annotations)

Looking Back At your Preliminary Task, What Do You Feel You Have Learnt In The Progression From It To The Full Product? (Evaluation Task 7)

This is a Prezi I have created which reflects upon what I have learnt and how my skills have improved since the Preliminary Task up to filming my Thriller.

What Have You Learnt About Technologies From The Process Of Constructing This Product? (Evaluation Task 6)

As a production group we went through the technologies that we used to create our thriller. We picked the ten most important ones and annotated our final sequence with them. 

Please play the video below with annotations for this task. 

Creating this thriller opening sequence has taught me about how to use different varieties of technologies and the different things that using a variety of technologies can offer. It has also helped me to appreciate why we need to use these technologies to gain the most effective results and to make sure that what you have created appeals to the target audience that you want to attract.

How Did You Attract/Address Your Audience? (Evaluation Task 5)

I have created a sound cloud interview about the thriller opening sequence I have made. It answers the question of how I attracted/addressed my audience. 

Interview

Hi Mia, if you have a few moments I would just like to interview you on your upcoming thriller; Thou Shalt Not
Yes of course no worries

Thank you! So my first question for you is who are your target audience? 
Well we did a lot of research to find out who our audience would be and we found that our film would appeal mostly to males aged 15-20

EVALUATION TASK 4

So what do you think your target audience will enjoy about the thriller you have made? 
Well there are many conventions of a thriller within ours and I think these will particularly appeal. We have things like violence, action, mystery and the threat. Without giving too much away there is also a dominant male character playing the psychopath which I think our target audience of males will particularly enjoy and there is a climactic moment when the victim ends up over-powering the main villain




I know we mentioned earlier that your film is a thriller but which type of thriller actually is it?
I would describe the film as a psychological thriller, which is a sub-genre of a thriller.

Would you say that any films influenced you or inspired your film? 
Yes, I would say there are a few. Films such as Se7en, swordfish, the Dark Knight, Taken, Shutter Island and As good as dead are all films which had an influence on us when coming up with ideas for the film. These were great as well because they helped to appeal to our target audience. Our film played upon these concepts that these films use to make them appeal to the audience that enjoy these films that are similar to ours.

SIMILAR MEDIA PRODUCTS

Where is your film set? 
We decided to set our film in a church

What was your reason for this? 
I think a church is a very different concept because it is a juxtaposition to the very dark and evil narrative as a church has connotations of happiness and worship. However, a church is often associated with something creepy or haunted.




Why do you think your audience would respond to this as a location? 
Well, this location is controversial because the things that the psychopath is doing make the audience uncomfortable anyway but the fact that he is in a church makes it even more sinister. Also, the location immediately raises questions as the audience want to know how he got there and why there are in a church. Its great because it makes the audience feel uncomfortable as the narrative doesn’t fit with the setting.

How would you sum up the narrative/plot of your film? 
It’s essentially about a psychopath killer holding a girl hostage in a church and he gets found by the police.

Why would this attract an audience do you think? 
I think this would attract an audience because it is a thrilling concept and has them on the edge of their seat. With a thriller, the audience will already go into the film expecting to feel tense and on edge and they are waiting to be surprised and engaged and I think our thriller caters to all of these expectations.

Who are the characters in your story? 
There are three characters; the psychopath, the victim and the policeman.







How would you expect your audience to feel towards each of these characters? 
Well I would expect the audience to be confused by the psychopath. The behaviour he displays in the scene is uncommon and so immediately confuses the audience and they are not sure what to think. He is a very split character. Some audience members may love him because he is mysterious and intriguing, whereas others may hate him because he is essentially an evil man and is terrifying because he approaches such a dangerous situation in such a calm manner. I would like to think that the audience like the victim. I wanted them to be on her side right from the start and so the sequence begins with a shot of her, this means that we are immediately engaged and focused with this character and want her to be saved.

Did you use any narrative devices? 
We wanted to create suspense for the audience and so we had the victim with her hands tied up and throughout the sequence kept showing them to hint at her breaking free. We tried to shock the audience with the unexpected reveal of the victim managing to actually break free and stab the psychopath.

How did you use representation to appeal to your audience? 
As our target audience is 15-20-year-old males, we have chosen elements within our thriller that will appeal to this audience. For example, we chose an attractive female to be the victim for the reason that it will not only appeal to a male audience but it also adheres to the stereotype of females being weaker than males. The use of weapon to create suspense and action should also appeal to this audience.

What music and sounds did you decide to include in your film? 
We decided to include a non-diegetic soundtrack to create tension for the audience straight away. This soundtrack gradually builds which would reflect the gradual build in tension and suspense that the audience will feel when watching the sequence. We also used the diegetic sounds of the church bells at the end of the sequence because this reinforces the location for the audience and therefore makes them feel more uncomfortable. The church bells also create an atmosphere for the audience and adds to the drama and the scale of what has happened, making the stabbing at the end more dramatic. Both of these choices are good for the audience because they will offer the tension and the suspense that they will expect to find within a thriller and so it makes the film more enjoyable for them.

Why did you choose to do your titles in the way that you have? 
We have created a low budget film and so we have used up and coming actors but we wanted to give the impression that these are bug names so that the audience will be more drawn to the film. We created this effect by showing the names in the opening sequence without saying what role they played. I think this gives them more importance and in turn makes the audience more intrigued. Similarly, the logo for our institution is the first thing that the audience see on top of the action. We decided to place this in the centre of the shot to emphasise to the audience the important of the company and therefore make them want to watch the film even more.

What editing techniques did you use? 
The most effective editing technique decided on was keeping short shot durations because it is a familiar style for our target audience and it keeps them more engaged in the action. However, we also contrasted this by using longer shot durations on sots that the audience may not want to see for longer, for example, when the psychopath licks the knife and cuts his tongue. We leave this shot for just a bit longer than the audience would want to make them feel uncomfortable and on edge-almost as if they want to look away.

What conventions of a thriller have you used & how have you used them? 
We’ve used the classic convention of a thriller of having a male villain and a male hero-similar to the dark knight trilogy in that way. We decided to use this convention because it is a familiar concept for our target audience and so they will respond to it and as a result be more engaged in the sequence. We also included the typical damsel in distress for the same reasons. The location, although unconventional, is still typical of a thriller as it is dark and creepy.

Who Would Be The Audience For Your Media Product? (Evaluation Task 4)

I researched into what the target audience for our thriller would be. Below is a video showing interviews with different age ranges to help me to gather information and research on what the most appropriate target audience for our thriller would be.

 

RESPONSES

Girls 15-20
Age? 17
Fav genre of film? Comedy
Do you like thrillers? Some not all, more action thrillers.
What grabs immediate attention? Unique twist
How do they make you feel? Something  exciting and something you  don’t expect happens
Would you watch our film? Yeah if there’s lots of action

Age? 17
Fav genre of film? Fantasy or romance
Do you like thrillers? Not a big fan, depends on what kind
What grabs immediate attention? Interesting storyline interesting concept and has to grab attention quickly
How do they make you feel? Creeped out. Action= excited
Would you watch our film? Quite interesting to see that concept because I haven’t heard of it before.

Boys 15-20
Age? 17
Fav genre of film? Action thriller
Do you like thrillers? Yes, engaging
What grabs immediate attention? Interesting and fast paced plot
How do they make you feel? Good, exhilarated good endorphins
Would you watch our film? Sounds amusing yes defo.


Age? 17
Fav genre of film? Action
Do you like thrillers? Yes because they make your heart race
What grabs immediate attention? Plot line and the cast
How do they make you feel? Confused usually
Would you watch our film? Yeah sounds like fun

Men 21-39
Age? 21
Fav genre of film? Comedy or Sci-Fi
Do you like thrillers? Yeah but I’d rather watch something else
What grabs immediate attention? The premise, franchise e.g  comic book
How do they make you feel? Depends on the sub-genre but usually good
Would you watch our film? If cast right and had a decent build up then yes.

Age? Late 20’s
Fav genre of film? Action
Do you like thrillers? Yes they are engaging, not obvious and have you thinking about them afterwards
What grabs immediate attention? Really good opening sequence something mysterious with a really good interesting character.
How do they make you feel? Good storyline= shocked, taken aback. Ambiguous or misleading.
Would you watch our film? Depends on the actor. Sound cliché so would have to be good actors. Sound action which I like.


Women 21-39
Age? 26
Fav genre of film? Comedy
Do you like thrillers? Yes they’re alright, particularly gory thrillers
What grabs immediate attention? Hard to work out storyline, I don’t want to be able to work out the plot line too quickly. Cast
How do they make you feel? Emotional or bored
Would you watch our film? Sounds good but probably not

Women 40+
Age? 48
Fav genre of film? Psychological thrillers
Do you like thrillers? Yes, I like the excitement, tension, not knowing what will happen next
What grabs immediate attention? The tension, the actors, the opening scene
How do they make you feel? Relieved depending on the outcome, excited
Would you watch our film? Absolutely

Age? 75
Fav genre of film? Criminal
Do you like thrillers? Yes , the suspense and hoping I can solve the problem before the end of the movie
What grabs immediate attention? The actors, atmosphere and opening scene
How do they make you feel? Looking for more- sequel to the action
Would you watch our film? Yes I would


Men 40+
Age?  50
Fav genre of film? Thrillers
Do you like thrillers?  Yes, there is anticipation, build-up of the story, the opening scene and seeing how things develop and the twists and the turns. Soundtrack and atmosphere.
What grabs immediate attention? Opening scene is the most important but also unexpected twists & unpredictability
How do they make you feel? Scared
Would you watch our film? Yeah, sounds interesting

Age? Over 40
Fav genre of film? Dark comedy or music
Do you like thrillers? Not really
What grabs immediate attention? Got to be interesting straight away.
How do they make you feel? Intrigued
Would you watch our film? No probably not

RESULTS

OUR TARGET AUDIENCE 
Looking at the results that we obtained, I think that the audience for our thriller would be males from ages 21-39. I think our Thriller would also appeal to an audience of 15-20 year old boys but because of the slightly gory, psychopathic element to the thriller, I think it would suit an older target audience more. We found that most males regardless of their age like thrillers or action packed movies. For example, 4 out of the 6 men that we asked said their favourite genre of film was an action or thriller, showing us that our thriller is definitely suited to a male audience.
Our interviews really helped me to see what sort of people we would need to market our thriller to. It would be a male who enjoys action packed films which give an adrenaline rush at the end and so something action packed would be essential to grab their attention and make them want to see the film. I think our film suits this category and would appeal to a wide range of males but especially ones that enjoy the more high paced action style films with and element of gore and horror.

I have made an example member of our target audience and created different social media profiles for them.

I firstly created a Facebook profile:

This Facebook profile represents a member of our target audience who is 24 years old. I have also accumulated various different things that I think a member of our target audience would like:

I chose action packed films and many franchises because I think that this is very appealing for a male target audience. This could possibly show us that we would need to think about more films after the one we have made to create demand and a wider audience. The films I have included are all very well known as 'classics' as I think although our idea is original, it would fit into this category and would appeal to males with this sort of taste in films. 

I also created a 'Pinterest' account for Jack because it is a clear representation of a person's likes and dislikes and is a very visual way of representing what our target audience would be:

What Kind Of Media Institution Might Distribute Your Media Product And Why? (Evaluation Task 3)

Below is a video I have created on what institution I think would make our film as a whole if it was a big blockbuster release.

This is a SlideShare explaining what indpendent institution would finish what we have already created.

This is another example of an indepedent institution that would finish what we have already created but on a slightly bigger budget.

How Does Your Media Product Represent Particular Social Groups? (Evaluation Task 2)

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

The target audience for our Thriller would be 15-20-year-old males. We have taken this into consideration and ensured that our sequence represents particular social groups, particularly focusing on age and gender that will appeal to our target audience.

We decided that the victim of the thriller would be dressed in a white dress. The use of the colour white connoted that she was innocent and pure and therefore made the audience sympathise with her more as she was automatically the weaker character.  This costume choice showed that our sequence was adhering to the stereotype of females being weaker than males and in particular, younger characters being weaker than the older characters.

We had the psychopath (villain) dressed in a white shirt and a black coat and black trousers. The white here was a juxtaposition to the evil, powerful character of the psychopath. His charter wore white to juxtapose the fact that he was no longer pure. In wearing white, the psychopath was then directly contrasted to the hero of the sequence, the policeman.

The policeman had a similar costume to the psychopath, however he had a neatly ironed shirt and wore a dark tie. This set him apart from the other two characters as it gave connotations of power and authority. This costume makes the audience feel comfortable and secure with this character and makes them instantly trust him.

The victim is sitting down at the start of the sequence. This clearly shows the audience the fact that she is powerless because she is physically below the psychopath. Having her sitting down not only makes her appear smaller but also weaker because as she is tied to the chair, she has no escape. The audience therefore sympathises with her because she is the weakest character and it appears that she has no escape. FACIAL EXPRESSIONS

Further on in the sequence the victim is held back by the psychopath with a tool to her mouth. This shot makes her appear even more powerless as the psychopath is the one in control. This further emphasises the victim’s vulnerability and enhances fear for the audience as they are unsure of what the psychopath is going to do to the girl. This adheres to the stereotype of females being weaker than males and also gives the impression that people in middle age (20-30) are wreck less and irresponsible. FACIAL EXPRESSIONS

Through his facial expressions, the policeman is shown to be in control and powerful. He has the most serious facial expressions but he also doesn’t look immediately concerned, which suggests to the audience that he has been in this situation before. Later on, at the end of the sequence, he sees the psychopath’s reaction to the girl stabbing him and he looks more concerned. This change in facial expressions highlights for the audience that this is not what he was expecting and so warns them that they should be worried.

The first shot of the sequence is a close up of the victim. This shot makes her appear vulnerable and adheres to the stereotype of females being weak. As this is the first character that the audience see, we automatically side with her and sympathise with her. This encourages the audience to support this character and although she may be the victim, she is the central character in the sequence. Having a close up as the first shot is very intimate and means that the audience feel closer to the victim. This shot also enables them to see her panicked and pained facial expressions making them sympathise with her even more.

The first shot that we see of the psychopath is a close up high angle. As he is walking up a staircase, he is coming towards the camera, making him appear more threatening. This gives the audience a negative impression of the character and unlike the victim, we do not trust him.

Furthermore, there is a mid-shot of the psychopath cutting his tongue with a knife which adheres to the stereotype of young adults being irresponsible and untrustworthy. Seeing this shocks the audience and makes them question him as a character. A mid sot also means that the audience are able to see more of his body, making him more powerful and threatening.

At the end of the sequence, when the victim is saved, there is a mid-shot of her and the policeman/inspector. This shot shows that she needs to be saved by a man and so adheres to the stereotype that women are weaker than men.

This shot then changes to a close up  which enables the audience to clearly see the victim and policeman’s facial expressions. These contrast with each other and mean that the audience will have sympathy for the girl and trust the policeman because he is protecting a vulnerable, innocent young girl.

As we were in a church, the acoustics were noticeably different to how they are in a normal setting. This echo that was produced by talking in a church gave a more creepy and eerie atmosphere to the sequence and makes the audience feel more uncomfortable because it is not a sound that they are used to.

At the start of the sequence, the psychopath is singing. This out of place, happy Christmas song makes the audience more uncomfortable as it is not something that you would associate with the horrible situation that is going on. This diegetic sound makes the audience uncomfortable because that is all that can be heard in the church. The juxtaposition of a happy song and a terrifying event makes the audience even more uncomfortable and uneasy because they are unsure of what will happen next.

The diegetic dialogue in this scene is what helps the audience to understand the narrative but at the same time doesn’t give much away. From this dialogue, it is implied that this psychopath has done things like this before and it is also assumed that he is very dangerous because “the place is surrounded”. The psychopath uses a very light and unfazed tone when he says anything, which puts the audience on edge because the fact that he is so calm in this situation is usual and something that you would not expect. The policeman uses a very serious tone when he speaks which highlights the importance of the situation and the danger that the psychopath may cause. The policeman’s serious yet calm tone also indicates to the audience that he has been in this situation before and so they trust him as they believe that he knows how to handle the situation. The victim doesn’t have any dialogue in the scene. This highlights that she is the weakest character and cold also shoe the sequence adhering to the stereotype that females are weaker than males. It also reinforced the idea that younger teenagers are naïve and often unaware of what is going on. It could also be suggested that the fact she doesn’t have any dialogue is because she is too afraid to speak, and it would be difficult to say anything as her mouth is taped. This therefore makes the audience sympathise with her more as she is helpless.

The use of the diegetic sound of the knife when the girl stabs the psychopath is a climactic moment for the audience. This sound of the knife is very harsh and brutal and so grabs the audience’s attention. This diegetic sound also highlights to the audience the sudden change that has happened in the scene and changes the slow and calm pace to more frantic and action packed. This sound is very noticeable to the audience because up to this point, the sequence has been very slow and quiet. The sound also represents a sudden change in the victim’s character as she has changed from weak to strong, making the audience support her even more.  Most importantly, this sound effect helps the stab to look more realistic for the audience and helps them to believe that she has actually stabbed the psychopath.

The non-diegetic soundtrack we used added an element of atmosphere and fear that was missing. Using a soundtrack indicated to the audience when there were moments of high tension. The non-diegetic soundtrack adds another level to the sequence and creates a more sinister mood to the scene. This soundtrack therefore makes the audience feel more uncomfortable and tense as they are anticipating something happening.

As we filmed in a church, we had to rely mainly on natural light. This gave a tenser and thrilling atmosphere to our sequence as there were certain areas within the church with a lot of natural light but other places where there was very minimal light. For example, the psychopath begins the sequence in a stairwell which is very dark with only a window of light shining through. This lighting was particularly effective because the audience can only just make out his features, making him more mysterious and threatening.

We decided that we would edit the sequence in a linear order. This makes the scene easier to follow but also makes the audience feel as if they are there and things are being revealed to them at the same time that they are revealed to the characters.

We used short shot durations throughout the sequence to keep the scene fast paced and action filled, causing the audience to feel even more tense and on edge. This makes them expectant that something will happen but also keeps it engaging. Not all of the shots were short. Some were longer to contrast but to also make the audience feel more uncomfortable. For example, when the psychopath holds back the victim’s head. The shot is a just a bot longer than you would want it to be, making the audience feel uneasy and tense.

We used the shortest shot duration when the victim stabs the psychopath. When editing, we sped up the clip to make it seem as realistic as possible and to show that it is a moment of high intensity and action. Doing this made it look more realistic for the audience and made it more shocking as they only see it for a second. This is the point in the sequence when the victim subverts the stereotypes that she had earlier on in the sequence, she suddenly changes from the weakest character to the strongest character in a matter of seconds. Having such a short shot duration also emphasises how unexpected it is.

We used eye line match throughout the sequence which adds an element of mystery to the scene. For example, the audience first see what the victim’s reaction is and then it is revealed what she is reacting to. This keeps them guessing for longer but also means that they have already formed an opinion about whether what she is seeing is bad or good before they have seen it. It is also important that we see the victim’s reaction first because she is the main character and so it is important that we can see what everything looks like from her perspective.

Match on action is used within the sequence to show the audience that the policeman has a gun. This indicates to them that he has been in this situation before and therefore knows how to handle it. The fact that he puts the gun down also indicates to the audience that this is a high danger situation and so they feel more tense because they are aware that the psychopath can be very dangerous.

The use of props in the scene highlight the danger of the situation. The audience immediately see that the girl is a victim as her mouth is taped and she is tied to a chair. This adheres to the stereotype that females are weaker than males and because we can easily see that she is young, it adheres to the stereotype of younger people being more naïve.

The torture instruments on the altar also emphasise that the psychopath has the power to really hurt the girl and so the audience immediately feel panicked and expectant that something will happen to her. This also gives the impression that he is prepared and so has done this before.

Overall, our product uses the different areas of film-making (editing, sound, mise-en-scene and camera) to represent the thriller to our target audience. It focuses specifically on age and gender  to convey to the audience the message of our thriller.