Q7) Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
Looking back at my preliminary task I feel as though I have improved tremendously with regards to planning, filming and editing. At the beginning of the planning for my thriller opening, many different ideas formed that we carried out by using storyboards, shot lists and intertextual links to other thrillers to prepare for the shoot. Researching the thriller genre made it easier to recreate scenes and perform intertextual references between a variety of thriller films. I worked in a group of three where we created the characters and their personalities, costumes and props to define them and make them believable. As I was one of the characters, I was therefore responsible for my costume and chose specifically to wear a red scarf and gloves to display intertextual references to the film ‘Sin City’ (2005, directed by Frank Miller) because I learnt that audiences like to notice aspects of the thriller genre. From my preliminary task I have learnt the importance of planning, therefore developing more detailed storyboards and the complexities of certain shots. For example, I feel my greatest achievement has been the effect of certain camera angles and shots such as close ups and over the shoulder shots, which I had no experience of before the preliminary task. In particular, we made sure that background noises were kept under control as we had suffered this problem during our preliminary task. We searched different locations and went on a recce to decide whether the location we wanted to use would create the perfect image of cinematography for the final product. We decided on the different shot types and camera angles that were usually used in thriller films, such as close ups, low/high angle shots to display power or vulnerability and over the shoulder shots to create the sense of being watched. A great deal of effort was put in to make sure all the scenes were exactly how we wanted them and especially the importance of composition for the mise en scene.
I used the editing suite to a much greater extent when producing the full product. Before on my preliminary task, my editing was not as advanced or elegant as it is now. For example, most types of transitions and visual effects were used between clips and I used slow motion for Eve White’s head spin to create a sense of motion and fear. I edited with a member of my group which helped me to advance as we learnt different editing skills from each other. I was good at performing how to piece the clips together and he taught me how to use smooth transitions.
The audience feedback that I received from year 13 students (our target audience) praised my camerawork and editing skills. This shows the extent of my media progress and has made me more enthusiastic about the media industry giving me more confidence about the subject. I was extremely pleased with the positive feedback and have taken on board their suggestions for improvement that will help me with future projects. Personally, I think that the strengths of my product have been the editing because we spent a long time perfecting it. The weaknesses are that the image of the character Scarlet Fraser was not obvious enough to portray as a femme fatale, and the ending wasn’t a significant cliff-hanger as noted on the student feedback. Most were undecided if they would want to watch the rest of the film. However, saying this we changed our idea a number of times due to them being unrealistic and too weak to represent as a thriller.
Overall, I have enjoyed the experience of creating a film and fully researching the thriller genre, as I was uncertain of what a thriller film entailed before I started this course. The most important thing that I have learnt is recognising key aspects and how much time and effort goes into the making of a film.
Sunday, 10 April 2011
Evaluation Question 5
Q5) How did you attract/address your audience?
In the opening of my Thriller film, ‘Thief’, I have put in a high standard of mise-en-scene visuals, short camera shots and close-ups, together with an eerie soundtrack and a cliff-hanger ending in order to attract the audience.
I have sampled 8 students, aged 17 and 18, 2 females and 6 males. They were asked to rate the production on a number of aspects of the film and give an overall assessment. Their findings are shown in the following charts.
From the results of their questionnaires, everyone (that’s 100%) liked the camera work and editing of my film ‘Thief’. Such comments included ‘huge variety of shots’ and ‘nice close-ups of faces’. They all agreed the soundtrack to the film effectively enhanced the mood and action. However, some were confused by the sudden transition of day to night which, on reflection, could have been avoided by adding a title such as “Later that day…” appropriately. One participant found the characters (teenage hoodies) were stereotyped and would show teenagers in a bad light from the perspective of an older audience.
In conclusion, I received a favourable response to the film and am pleased the work perfected on camera angles/movement and editing techniques was highly appreciated.
Evaluation Question 4
Q4) Who would be the audience for your media product?
The primary target audience for my thriller opening ‘Thief’ would be people in the 16-24 age range. My film would appeal most to this particular audience because of the youth casting and the theme of crime. They would enjoy crime/gangster thrillers as youths are interested to see how other teenagers act in certain situations, as they have maybe been in one of these themselves or are curious as to what they would do if they were to find themselves in one. The contemporary settings of the city locations that I have used will entice a younger audience, as they could visualise themselves with these common settings and is therefore a realistic representation. Many teenagers and young adults are fearful of being mugged in the street - especially by someone younger than themselves - and would therefore feel embarrassed and demoralised so perhaps would not report it. Many of these crimes go unreported due to these reasons. Also, audiences of this age group can relate to the character’s attitudes, behaviour and opinions identifying with them about being unemployed. The characters are communicating to the audience about the major flaws in society and so they would understand the issues easily. Female audiences would also be able to empathise, especially with the character Eve White, whose vulnerability and naivety causes her to be a victim of an unprovoked attack from a teenage boy. This demonstrates how females are portrayed by the media to be the weaker sex (both mentally and physically) and have the qualities of Eve which can lead to sexism. However, the character Scarlet Fraser breaks the mould by appearing tough, intelligent and independent which is a positive representation of women that they will prefer to watch, as it creates a better image of females and by using a strong femme fatale creates the sense of power. On the other hand, the male demographic might be slightly annoyed as I have portrayed male behaviour in a controversial way, as Will Block is seen to be arrogant and focussed on getting what he wants without thinking about the consequences.
The primary target audience for my thriller opening ‘Thief’ would be people in the 16-24 age range. My film would appeal most to this particular audience because of the youth casting and the theme of crime. They would enjoy crime/gangster thrillers as youths are interested to see how other teenagers act in certain situations, as they have maybe been in one of these themselves or are curious as to what they would do if they were to find themselves in one. The contemporary settings of the city locations that I have used will entice a younger audience, as they could visualise themselves with these common settings and is therefore a realistic representation. Many teenagers and young adults are fearful of being mugged in the street - especially by someone younger than themselves - and would therefore feel embarrassed and demoralised so perhaps would not report it. Many of these crimes go unreported due to these reasons. Also, audiences of this age group can relate to the character’s attitudes, behaviour and opinions identifying with them about being unemployed. The characters are communicating to the audience about the major flaws in society and so they would understand the issues easily. Female audiences would also be able to empathise, especially with the character Eve White, whose vulnerability and naivety causes her to be a victim of an unprovoked attack from a teenage boy. This demonstrates how females are portrayed by the media to be the weaker sex (both mentally and physically) and have the qualities of Eve which can lead to sexism. However, the character Scarlet Fraser breaks the mould by appearing tough, intelligent and independent which is a positive representation of women that they will prefer to watch, as it creates a better image of females and by using a strong femme fatale creates the sense of power. On the other hand, the male demographic might be slightly annoyed as I have portrayed male behaviour in a controversial way, as Will Block is seen to be arrogant and focussed on getting what he wants without thinking about the consequences.
The film Kidulthood (2006, directed by Noel Clarke) is specifically aimed at teenagers, as the cast is made up of mostly teenagers and it conveys issues that are sometimes common with them such as bullying, suicide and mugging. This makes it successful because it portrays these issues to a wider audience and the film’s popularity has increased due to the performance of the young actors and concerns raised.
This is a trailer from the film "Kidulthood"
"Kidulthood explores the lives of teenagers in London in Huda's interesting and controversial 2006 British drama. The British media runs riot on any story they can get their hands on and exploit, and in recent years have developed various forms of stereotypes, none more so than the stereotypical "gangster teenager" who swears every other sentence, drinks, does drugs and has a violent motive towards others and this ideology is explored by Doctor Who star Noel Clarke. Clarke dives deep into the lives of numerous teenagers to bring out the personalities of the teenagers, and his character Sam is a stereotype of a teenager, the use of violence and swearing portray the villain of the narrative. I'm usually against stereotypes being used in films but in this case it is interesting to see how these stereotypes feel about being branded that way, when the teenagers walk into a shop and are accused of a crime they didn't commit just because of their image as this stereotype the media has created."
This is a quote about the film from a 24 year old member of the public.
This is a trailer from the film "Kidulthood"
"Kidulthood explores the lives of teenagers in London in Huda's interesting and controversial 2006 British drama. The British media runs riot on any story they can get their hands on and exploit, and in recent years have developed various forms of stereotypes, none more so than the stereotypical "gangster teenager" who swears every other sentence, drinks, does drugs and has a violent motive towards others and this ideology is explored by Doctor Who star Noel Clarke. Clarke dives deep into the lives of numerous teenagers to bring out the personalities of the teenagers, and his character Sam is a stereotype of a teenager, the use of violence and swearing portray the villain of the narrative. I'm usually against stereotypes being used in films but in this case it is interesting to see how these stereotypes feel about being branded that way, when the teenagers walk into a shop and are accused of a crime they didn't commit just because of their image as this stereotype the media has created."
This is a quote about the film from a 24 year old member of the public.
Final Shot List
SCENE 1:
Will Block in his bedroom, angry that he has no money and creating a plan to mug someone.
Close up of Will on his bed.
CUT TO: Medium shot of Will on bed, opening wallet.
CUT TO: Close up of empty wallet.
CUT TO: Close up of Will’s face on bed, he gets up.
CUT TO: Close up of Will’s face as he looks out the window. He walks away.
SCENE 2:
Eve White using the ATM machine, with Will Block stalking her.
High Angle of Eve White arriving at the ATM machine just about to put her card in.
CUT TO: Close up of card going into the ATM machine.
CUT TO: Over the shoulder of Will looking at Eve White at the ATM machine.
CUT TO: Over the shoulder of Eve looking around her, suspicious that someone is watching her.
CUT TO: Close up of Eve typing on the keypad.
CUT TO: Close up of Eve's hand going into her bag to put her purse away.
CUT TO: Close up of Eve walking away from the machine, putting card into her purse.
CUT TO: Close up of Will following Eve down the road.
SCENE 3:
Will Block mugs Eve White in the city underpass.
Long shot of Eve's feet walking/running.
CUT TO: Low angle of Eve running down the ramp towards the camera.
CUT TO: Medium shot of Eve looking bewildered in subway.
CUT TO: Long shot of Will rolling down the ramp fast on the skateboard.
CUT TO: Low angle shot of Will’s skateboard rolling slightly right to the camera at speed.
CUT TO: Medium/Long shot of mugging of Eve.
CUT TO: Handheld shot of mugging.
CUT TO: Medium shot of Eve shouting at Will as he rides off, too fast to catch up with.
CUT TO: Close up of Eve sitting down in the underpass, head is hands, looking distressed.
SCENE 4:
Will Block is back at the ATM machine having chosen his second target, Scarlet Fraser.
Close up of Will, back by the ATM watching Scarlet Fraser.
CUT TO: Close up of Scarlet at the ATM.
CUT TO: Close up of card entering the ATM.
CUT TO: Close up of Scarlet as she looks at Will, suspicious.
CUT TO: Close up of Will, looking back at her, waiting.
CUT TO: Close up of Scarlet using the keypad.
CUT TO: Medium shot of Scarlet.
CUT TO: Close up of Scarlet looking intimidating.
END
Will Block in his bedroom, angry that he has no money and creating a plan to mug someone.
Close up of Will on his bed.
CUT TO: Medium shot of Will on bed, opening wallet.
CUT TO: Close up of empty wallet.
CUT TO: Close up of Will’s face on bed, he gets up.
CUT TO: Close up of Will’s face as he looks out the window. He walks away.
SCENE 2:
Eve White using the ATM machine, with Will Block stalking her.
High Angle of Eve White arriving at the ATM machine just about to put her card in.
CUT TO: Close up of card going into the ATM machine.
CUT TO: Over the shoulder of Will looking at Eve White at the ATM machine.
CUT TO: Over the shoulder of Eve looking around her, suspicious that someone is watching her.
CUT TO: Close up of Eve typing on the keypad.
CUT TO: Close up of Eve's hand going into her bag to put her purse away.
CUT TO: Close up of Eve walking away from the machine, putting card into her purse.
CUT TO: Close up of Will following Eve down the road.
SCENE 3:
Will Block mugs Eve White in the city underpass.
Long shot of Eve's feet walking/running.
CUT TO: Low angle of Eve running down the ramp towards the camera.
CUT TO: Medium shot of Eve looking bewildered in subway.
CUT TO: Long shot of Will rolling down the ramp fast on the skateboard.
CUT TO: Low angle shot of Will’s skateboard rolling slightly right to the camera at speed.
CUT TO: Medium/Long shot of mugging of Eve.
CUT TO: Handheld shot of mugging.
CUT TO: Medium shot of Eve shouting at Will as he rides off, too fast to catch up with.
CUT TO: Close up of Eve sitting down in the underpass, head is hands, looking distressed.
SCENE 4:
Will Block is back at the ATM machine having chosen his second target, Scarlet Fraser.
Close up of Will, back by the ATM watching Scarlet Fraser.
CUT TO: Close up of Scarlet at the ATM.
CUT TO: Close up of card entering the ATM.
CUT TO: Close up of Scarlet as she looks at Will, suspicious.
CUT TO: Close up of Will, looking back at her, waiting.
CUT TO: Close up of Scarlet using the keypad.
CUT TO: Medium shot of Scarlet.
CUT TO: Close up of Scarlet looking intimidating.
END
Shot List
Tilt shot of Harry Cooper in the alleyway and Will Block quietly in conversation.
CUT TO: Close up of the hands of Harry and Will as the money is exchanged.
CUT TO: Long shot of Eve White walking away with bag on shoulder.
CUT TO: Close up of Will nodding in agreement to Harry.
CUT TO: Close up of Harry, slight smirk on his face, putting a cigarette to his lips and the gloved hand of Scarlet Fraser lighting the cigarette.
High Angle of Eve White arriving at the ATM machine just about to put her card in.
CUT TO: Close up of card going into the ATM machine.
CUT TO: Over the shoulder of Will looking at Eve White at the ATM machine.
CUT TO: Over the shoulder of Eve looking around her, suspicous that someone is watching her.
CUT TO: Medium shot of Eve walks away from the machine, putting card into her purse.
CUT TO: Close up of Eve's hand going into her bag to put her purse away, her passport seen in frame.
CUT TO: Close up of Wheels of Wills skateboard rolling down the road.
CUT TO: Medium shot of Eve's feet walking/running (Wills legs seen in background).
CUT TO: Low angle of Eve running down the ramp towards the camera.
CUT TO: Long shot of Eve looking bewildered in subway. Silence.
CUT TO: Over the shoulder of Will rolling down the ramp fast on the skateboard.
CUT TO: * Low angle shot of eve running slightly right to the camera and will catching up on the skateboard.
CUT TO: Medium/Long shot of Mugging of Eve, she falls to the ground.
CUT TO: Worms eye of Will riding off on the skateboard as from Eve White's point of view.
CUT TO: Long shot of Will riding down the street to Harry who is waiting for him hidden in the alleyway.
CUT TO: Medium shot of Will passing the stolen bag to Harry, who then passes the bag to Scarlet standing behind him.
CUT TO: Low angle shot of Eve on the floor of the subway, distressed and getting to her feet.
CUT TO: Close up of Scarlet’s face as she’s leaving the alleyway with Eve’s bag on her shoulder. Camera pans out for medium shot as she’s walking to view the her whole body.
CUT TO: Over the shoulder shot/ long shot of Scarlet walking towards the place where Eve is. Eve turns to face the camera, close up of Eve’s face as she looks angry.
* Added shot
CUT TO: Close up of the hands of Harry and Will as the money is exchanged.
CUT TO: Long shot of Eve White walking away with bag on shoulder.
CUT TO: Close up of Will nodding in agreement to Harry.
CUT TO: Close up of Harry, slight smirk on his face, putting a cigarette to his lips and the gloved hand of Scarlet Fraser lighting the cigarette.
High Angle of Eve White arriving at the ATM machine just about to put her card in.
CUT TO: Close up of card going into the ATM machine.
CUT TO: Over the shoulder of Will looking at Eve White at the ATM machine.
CUT TO: Over the shoulder of Eve looking around her, suspicous that someone is watching her.
CUT TO: Medium shot of Eve walks away from the machine, putting card into her purse.
CUT TO: Close up of Eve's hand going into her bag to put her purse away, her passport seen in frame.
CUT TO: Close up of Wheels of Wills skateboard rolling down the road.
CUT TO: Medium shot of Eve's feet walking/running (Wills legs seen in background).
CUT TO: Low angle of Eve running down the ramp towards the camera.
CUT TO: Long shot of Eve looking bewildered in subway. Silence.
CUT TO: Over the shoulder of Will rolling down the ramp fast on the skateboard.
CUT TO: * Low angle shot of eve running slightly right to the camera and will catching up on the skateboard.
CUT TO: Medium/Long shot of Mugging of Eve, she falls to the ground.
CUT TO: Worms eye of Will riding off on the skateboard as from Eve White's point of view.
CUT TO: Long shot of Will riding down the street to Harry who is waiting for him hidden in the alleyway.
CUT TO: Medium shot of Will passing the stolen bag to Harry, who then passes the bag to Scarlet standing behind him.
CUT TO: Low angle shot of Eve on the floor of the subway, distressed and getting to her feet.
CUT TO: Close up of Scarlet’s face as she’s leaving the alleyway with Eve’s bag on her shoulder. Camera pans out for medium shot as she’s walking to view the her whole body.
CUT TO: Over the shoulder shot/ long shot of Scarlet walking towards the place where Eve is. Eve turns to face the camera, close up of Eve’s face as she looks angry.
* Added shot
Saturday, 9 April 2011
Evaluation Question 3
Q3) What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
The main distributors for my thriller opening ‘Thief’ would probably be internet based, because it would attract my target audience. The internet is extremely popular within my target audience (16-25 year olds) because many of them use the internet daily and it has therefore become a common place within this age range. The YouTube website is especially popular amongst young adults as it specialises in video sharing and is free and easy to access popular videos/music videos online. Therefore this website would be ideal and a predominant way to distribute my thriller film. It can also be easily accessed through mobile phones such as smart phones (iPhone, Blackberry and Android phones). Youths can then view video clips such as my thriller easily and more importantly for free. The fact that YouTube shows free clips is a major benefit to young people who want to watch clips but without the hassle and expense, as not many of them would pay to watch a two minute clip. They can easily share this video clip amongst their friends via a quick share link. Social networking sites such as facebook and twitter might distribute our media product as they have the same target audience and it is free as well. If ‘Thief’ was shown on a social networking site, then many people from around the World will have the chance to view it and write comments about it, giving opinions on whether they liked it or not. This would then create a sensation surrounding ‘Thief’ depending on whether it is a successful hit or not.
My film is innovative as it challenges the role of women in society but stereotypes teenage boys to be dangerous. By using a skateboard and a young cast makes my thriller original because these are not common factors in thriller films and could therefore merit funding from Working Title or Warp films so it can then be developed as a feature film. It could then be distributed by Art House Media institutions such as Cinema City. Or another possibility is that it could go straight onto DVD as many independent films do because they might not have a budget big enough to pay cinemas to show their film.
Short film competitions are a great opportunity and an important factor for young film makers such as myself. A popular competition is the ‘Virgin Media Shorts’ which looks for films that are just over 2 minutes long, which is how long my thriller opening is, so would be perfect to distribute my film. It also allows the 12 winning films to be shown in cinemas nationwide which would be vital publicity for young film makers. Short films are shown at Cinema City during the adverts before films. This provides students, particularly UEA students to show their films to a wider audience and demonstrate their talent as serious young film makers. If Cinema City distributed my opening to ‘Thief’ then it would be a great platform to launch a film making career.
The main distributors for my thriller opening ‘Thief’ would probably be internet based, because it would attract my target audience. The internet is extremely popular within my target audience (16-25 year olds) because many of them use the internet daily and it has therefore become a common place within this age range. The YouTube website is especially popular amongst young adults as it specialises in video sharing and is free and easy to access popular videos/music videos online. Therefore this website would be ideal and a predominant way to distribute my thriller film. It can also be easily accessed through mobile phones such as smart phones (iPhone, Blackberry and Android phones). Youths can then view video clips such as my thriller easily and more importantly for free. The fact that YouTube shows free clips is a major benefit to young people who want to watch clips but without the hassle and expense, as not many of them would pay to watch a two minute clip. They can easily share this video clip amongst their friends via a quick share link. Social networking sites such as facebook and twitter might distribute our media product as they have the same target audience and it is free as well. If ‘Thief’ was shown on a social networking site, then many people from around the World will have the chance to view it and write comments about it, giving opinions on whether they liked it or not. This would then create a sensation surrounding ‘Thief’ depending on whether it is a successful hit or not.
 |
| This is a screen shot of my introduction to a thriller film 'Thief' on YouTube. It has been uploaded onto my personal channel so that different people can view it and comment. |
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| This is a screen shot from YouTube highlighting the simplicity of sharing or embeding a video onto social networking sites as it demonstrates at the bottom with the facebook and twitter logo. |
Short film competitions are a great opportunity and an important factor for young film makers such as myself. A popular competition is the ‘Virgin Media Shorts’ which looks for films that are just over 2 minutes long, which is how long my thriller opening is, so would be perfect to distribute my film. It also allows the 12 winning films to be shown in cinemas nationwide which would be vital publicity for young film makers. Short films are shown at Cinema City during the adverts before films. This provides students, particularly UEA students to show their films to a wider audience and demonstrate their talent as serious young film makers. If Cinema City distributed my opening to ‘Thief’ then it would be a great platform to launch a film making career.
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| This is a screen shot of the recommendations for the virgin media short film competition. |
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