How did you attract/address your audience?

To define the genre of our film we used various techniques in the opening sequence, and also to grab the attention of the audience so that they are persuaded to watch the rest of the film.

For example, we edited certain scenes with the antagonist, so a black and white filter appeared on screen. This was used to give an ominous effect to the scene, so the audience can quickly distinguish that this particular character is up to something no good, and could possibly be dangerous and pose a threat towards the protagonists.

Also still on the antagonist, all the shots revealing the antagonist were very secretive. Every shot showed the antagonist with a hood up, not facing the camera, and one shot had him walking away from the camera, so his identity cannot be discovered. The camera shots we used for the antagonist were low angle, high angle and medium long shots.

This links in with the mise en scene used for the antagonist, which was dark clothing and hooded tops. Hardly any antagonists that hide their identity in horror films wear brightly coloured clothing, so we felt it would be right to follow the stereotypical horror antagonist.

On the other hand, the protagonists had completely different camera shots, which all revealed their faces. We used a wide range of camera shots for them, such as medium long shot, close ups, and low angle shots etc. These were used to make the protagonists highly accessible to the audience.

The protagonists had a different mise en scene compared to the antagonist, wearing normal everyday clothes, with bright colours and nothing to cover their faces. This was used because we wanted to create a contrast and establish a difference between the protagonists and antagonists.

We portrayed the protagonists as normal as we could, so that it was easy for the audience to relate to the characters. This was also used to create a sense of unknown and the characters being totally unsuspecting of what horror lay in store for them, which is implied happens later on in the film, which is hopefully the main factor in which the audience decide they want to watch more of our film. We think that all these techniques help the audience define the genre of the film, which is obviously horror/thriller.

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

Using a camera was easy and simple, it was also fun to film in a random sequence because of the fact that we could edit later on. The camera was very small and simple, so it was easy to carry and shoot things; we also had support from the tripod so that our filming wasn’t shaky and unprofessional. This gave us the confidence we needed to make a successful piece of film. We also learnt about the 180 rule which states that the two characters in the scene should have the same left/right relationship to each other, so in the beginning of our scene we made sure we used the 180 rule. Using the editing software was much more complicated as it took a lot of concentration and effort. We had to make sure our editing was precise and on time, meaning our film would look professional.

Directors Commentary Part 1

Here the directors of our piece talked about some of the reasons we chose certain aspects for our piece. We decided to do this as it helps the audience to understand exactly why things are the way they are and it also gives them an incite into the making of the piece.

Looking back at the preliminary task, what do you think you have learnt from the progression from it to the full task?

The preliminary task helped us to progress for the main task during the preliminary we were able to acquire the skills we needed in order to create a short and easy first task attempt. We needed to do this in order to learn different camera skills and different shots; it also helped us to learn a wide range of filming rules and techniques, which we later went on to use in our main piece

During the preliminary task we learnt how to plan out our piece, this has helped us as it showed us how to plan our final piece. This planning helped us to work together well as a group, to choose the locations to use and to decide on filming days and roles for our group members. The planning also helped us to decide after some research what genre we wanted our film to be, we knew we wanted to make a piece that built tension so after looking into it we found that a physiological thriller would be best, as it includes both action and mystery, both additional aspects that we want to include to keep the audience engaged.

The experience planning helped us to know what sort of lighting, dark and gloomy to create a spooky atmosphere, and editing, colour filters in order to show different narratives, we needed in order to show our piece as the genre we wanted it, we knew what sort of things we would have to consider in order to get a good location. We also knew in order to show different time periods, different filters would be needed as this would create a contrast that the audience would find easy to spot when watching our piece; we made sure that each time we saw the same narrative we saw the same colour filter. Although in our preliminary we did not include music we knew that from planning the preliminary in our planning for the main task we had to decide what type of music would be needed when making our piece, the music we chose helped to create a build up, we included a change in the music when the stalker appeared as this emphasised the danger he was to the girls and made the audience fear him as well. In our preliminary task we used only diagetic sound, however in the progression from our preliminary to our actual task we knew that in order to make an effective piece we would need to have both diagetic and non-diagetic sound as this engages the audience. For our piece we learnt how to use garage band and using this programme we created our soundtrack to our piece as this avoids any copy right laws which we knew if we wanted to use a certain piece we would have to get permission from the artist themselves.

From the planning of our main piece we came up with a shot list that changed slightly as we decided that the particular shot would not create the atmosphere we wanted and would not show the changes in emotions of the girl. We realised after filming our preliminary inside that the lighting was not the best and it looked quite fake, in order to get over this while filming our main task we filmed most of our piece outside. This helped as we had natural lighting, however we made sure that the unhappy moments were in gloomy weather as this added to the mise en scene as a pathetic fallacy, using weather to show the emotions, to contrast we made sure that the happier parts of the footage were when it was brighter outside as this again helps to portray emotions. Outdoors also helped to create realism within the piece as it was real places that did not look made up or created by us, this added to the effectiveness of the piece as it shows the audience that the girls are in real danger.

To edit our final piece and our preliminary task we learnt how to use ‘final cut pro’, initially the programme seemed hard but after some experimenting with different ways of cutting, different effects and different cut rates we learnt how to use the programme so that when editing we were quick and effective, this helped to enabled our piece to be made to a good standard. In our preli-



minary task we learnt to demonstrate a range of techniques e.g. a jump cut which we went on to use in the piece for the moment where the stalker is introduced and then when we later see him again. This editing technique enabled us to show the mystery of the man which therefore helped to create additional atmosphere in our opening two minutes of the film. While editing we made sure we used transitions in order to keep the piece following with no big jumps between shots, apart from the jump cut as this added to the buildup of atmosphere for the audience.

Overall the preliminary task was very helpful and definitely helped with progression to our final piece. If we had not done a preliminary we would not have created a piece to a good standard. During our final piece we learnt a lot more than what we did when just making the preliminary and therefore, if we were to do another task then we would know that the planning of the piece is crucial and that in order to get a good and effective piece you must film the same event from many different angles, as when editing this enables the audience to get a good overview of what is happening.

4. What kind of media institution would distribute your media product and why?

The media institution that would most likely be interested in distributing and producing our product would be something like Film4 Films, due to the company being responsible for backing a large number of films made in the United Kingdom, and more specifically film genres similar to ours (Horror), with examples such as Attack the Block, Fright Night and Shaun Of The Dead. The reason we believe Film4 Films would want to distribute our film is because it is solely a British film, as it has all British cast and a British production, and is filmed in Britain. It is also a Horror, and the large majority of films under this particular genre released by Film4 do reasonably well in box office cinema, so for this reason we think they would be prepared to market our product, as we think it would capture their imagination, and that our film would fit well in their movie library.

Also Pathé might be interested in distributing and producing our film, as they have also produced and distributed British horrors such as The Cottage and Blood: The Last Vampire, which share same qualities as our film, due to them being British films and share the same Dark Horror genre. They have a good relationship with British directors and the British horror films under their tutelage have done well in box office, despite Pathé being a French company, although they do have offices in London.

If the two film companies above rejected our film, we would have to aim for a film company that possessed a lower-budget and preferably one that was independent. The film company that would meet our needs best and would be best suited to our film would most likely be Hammer Film Productions. Situated in London, and founded in 1934, the company is best known for the Gothic "Hammer Horror" films that have been released under the company name. The Curse of Frankenstein (1957), Dracula (1958), The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) and more recently The Woman in Black (2011) are examples of films that are in the Hammer Film Productions. We feel our product would be at home under the production of Hammer Films, and that they would market our film well, and evidence of this is the success and the popularity of films produced and distributed by Hammer Films, and the fact that the names of the films in the Hammer Films library are instantly recogniseable.

The marketing of an independent film is challenging enough with restricted budgets and tight time schedules. However, there are ways we could overcome this. For example we could search for film competitions so that we can see what our film qualifies for. Also presence in film festivals can help us market our independent film to distributors, and hopefully secure a concrete offer from a distributor. We could also “fly the banner” for our film, spreading the word about our film, hosting parties/dinners, conferences, screen previews etc.




In this day and age we are blessed with the technology that is available, such as the Internet, and using the Internet as a marketing tool would be a good strategy. By discussing our film on Internet forums and discussion boards, these websites are compatible with film enthusiasts looking for new independent films, and this would raise awareness of our film title and hopefully persuade people to go to their local cinemas and watch it. We could also maybe use YouTube, by releasing a trailer under a distributors account and hopefully gain a large number of views and this would lead to a good turnout at the showings in the cinema.




Also we could ask our local cinema if we could display posters of our film, to raise publicity of our film, and hopefully catch the eye of members of the public. A film poster with a vibrant colour scheme, eye catching imagery, and a creative and unusual font for the title is sure to be successful in advertising our film. An example of a noteworthy movie poster is the one used for 28 Days Later, a critically-acclaimed British film.

Final AS Opening Sequence

Opening Sequence on Youtube.com
This is out final Opening Sequences Uploaded to YouTube

Who would be the audience for your media product?

The chosen audience for our media product would be an audience that fits in the age range of 15+, this is because it is a dark thriller that wouldn’t be suitable for a younger audience, and if we were to carry on from the first two minutes of the film it would have been pretty complex which young minds wouldn’t understand. Most 15+ girls would be interested in our media product because it includes two female best friends and not only is it terrifying it is also sad and most girls love a sad story (tear jerker). In the first two minutes of our film we tried to show many flashbacks so that the audience would be intrigued so find out more, and to find out why there was two girls swinging happily on a swing and now there’s one all alone. If our media product was continued it would also have shown lots more of flashbacks of the girl’s memories and happy times, then it would fade back into the sad reality of how life is like now.

We are aiming for a mass audience as the thriller genre is very popular and has a huge audience of boys and girls. People who are excited by physiological thrillers and films that build up fear would be most suitable for our media product.

Our media product is especially aimed at an audience who likes thrillers and likes films that keep them guessing and wondering. A thriller which almost relates to our theme and age range is “when a stranger calls”. This thriller is about a stalker and a victim almost like ours; the tension increasingly builds up, and leaves the audience wanting more because of its intense terror.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

After choosing the genre, physiological thriller, due to the fact that it incorporates all the traditional traits of a thriller and additionally incorporates the mystery and drama that we wanted to portray. Due to this we stuck to traditional stereotypes as this then helped the audience to understand the dangers of the man and the vulnerability of the girls.

When you ask a group of people about vulnerability issues generally they will first think about white, young females. We decided that we would uphold this traditional stereotype and portray the young girls are weak and vulnerable. This enabled the audience to feel the fear, and unhappiness that the girls experience, by understanding the fact that they are innocent and therefore defenseless.

The stalker was a white male, again upholding the stereotype that men are stronger and have more control, especially over woman. However we chose a white male rather than a black male to contrast to the negative stereotype about them, as this then shows that both have the same controlling powers over woman. This is also an everyday stereotype shown in many different aspects of history we decided to include this as it helps the piece to immediately connect with the audience and for them to understand the dangers and the main narrative of the piece.

Both these stereotypes showed in our piece show the negative representations of people, due to his they help our genre as in a thriller you need to show fear, we did this by including images of the man, in dark clothes as this effect with the hoodie (a item of clothing that has seen many bans due to the fact that the identity is concealed within the hood, as this picture shows.)

This clothing choice helps to cast a shadow onto the man’s face and thus hides the man’s features creating a mysterious effect to the audience, and enables them to wonder who he is and what is going to happen, this again relates back to our genre it also helps to identify with everyday stereotypes that our targeted audience would be aware about and see in their daily lives. The use of all his dark clothing again emphasises the danger he is to the two girls.

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

After watching a few different films of different genres, romantic comedy, horror and thriller, we decided that the physiological thriller would be one of the best genres for us, as we had ideas of what shots to include and the locations that would match. These locations include abandoned houses, hotels and parks. Similarly we chose to use the location to be a park as it helps to enhance the vulnerability of the girls. By doing this we foreshadow the events that will follow. While filming at the park we made sure that the scenery behind gave the idea of death and mistreatment, the trees that seem barren and bare helps to add to this concept. Along with other films of the thriller genre we have used dark and gloomy shots as this adds to the atmosphere a thriller needs for example in “The Shining” dark gloomy shots are used to emphasise the danger and fear of the woman and boy. Also within “The Shining” there are close ups similar to the one shown above that helps to create fear in the audience as the fact that the character is wearing black suggests gloom and the idea of a killer/criminal. We also have a close up similar to this that helps to show the danger of the ‘stalker’ character within our piece.


After looking at different films we liked the idea of pictures and memories in a box to create the idea of danger and different hints at what has happened to the girls friend. We got this idea from the poster from the film “Memento.” The pictures on the front caught our eye and helped us with the idea of creating the box to show old photos and meaningful objects that show the connection between the two main characters. This is unusual and therefore creates an original aspect in our pieces rather than in any other film.

The idea for our piece was created after we mind mapped what the typical thriller has in it. The main idea we came up with was the idea of a venerable person being stalked, again emphasised by the park location.

While editing we decided that we wanted a quick cut rate that leaded to people wanting more information about the situation that was happening within the film. They also help to draw in the audience, as they don’t know what shot will come next, this adds to the audience wanting to keep watching the film to find out what happens. This is similar to most thriller films openings as they draw the audience in quickly and effectively.

Locations

Park- We chose this location, as when the two are together it gives an idea of an everyday event, the idea that they regularly go here. The swings enabled us to show the before and after effects of the separation of the two girls, helping the audience to understand the effect that no longer being with her friend has given to the other girl. We hoped that this creates sympathy and helps to engage the audience.

For when the ‘stalker’ appears we chose to still be in the park as it was a unusual place and it highlighted the fact that he was following the two girls. The park proved a isolated place which helped add an extra emphasis of danger.

Box- this emphasized the idea that her friend is no longer with her. It gives the idea that she is taking all the things that mean something to the two of them and putting them away. We filmed this in a house as in reality this would be where she would be if making a memory box.

Shot List

-Close up memory box

-Close up of items in memory box

-Extreme close up of photo frame with photo in

-Close up of best friends necklace

-Shot of sky to show gloomy atmosphere

-Close up of faces to show emotions

-Medium long shot, sad on swings

-Medium long shot of happy on swing

-Close up of Joe’s feet

-Medium shot of the two girls talking

-Close up side of Joe’s face

-Long shot of the girls walking on bridge together

-Medium shot of back of the girls on swings

-Medium shot of girls talking on bench

-Extreme close up of Joe’s face

Our opening of a film is based on two best friends, who live a carefree and joyful life. Throughout the piece the audience see the girls no longer together, yet do not find out why. It shows how upset the girl is without her best friend. There are flash backs to when they were together and a memory box that helps to tie the flashbacks and the present together. There are hints that a third party may be involved in the separation of two friends yet the audience is not sure.

The opening sequence we drew influence from was the one from Scream and aspects of seven. We felt it was similar to the ideas for our main task, and in Scream the opening 2 minutes were packed with suspense and frightening scenes, but didn't reveal too much of the plot and none of it was rushed, seven includes lots of pictures which we thought was a good idea to include in our piece.

Research- opening sequence (scream)

Scream opens with a black screen followed by a phone ringing sound effect, this hints at what is going to happen, when the film opens fully. Then the word ‘Scream’ appears in white and gradually the outsides flash red showing potential danger and as a sound effect we can hear screams, and the sound as if knives are being pulled out, starting to fade in. This knife and screams help to give the audience a sense of fear before the film has even begun. The lettering of ‘Scream’ eventually turns red, red portrays danger and blood. Due to the fact that it is a thriller it gives the audience a sense of fear.

After this we see a close up of the phone ringing, we then see a woman pick up the phone, and a mid shot shows her on the phone, during the phone call we can hear both the woman and the man on the other end of the phone. At this point we are unaware of the danger this man portrays as she does not seem to be scared of him and just tells him that he has the wrong number, to the audience this shows she is naive as she is unaware of the danger she is putting herself in talking to this man. The fact that it is a girl could uphold the stereotype that females are more vulnerable that males.

Then after putting the phone down the woman walks away and then turns as the phone starts to ring again. She picks it up and again we hear the man, this shows a repeat of danger as though a cycle is being created. This shows the audience danger as the man appears to not give up. This time we have a mid shot of her stood in front of big patio doors, these hint as an entrance and as though someone is watching her. After she puts the phone down and walks away the camera lingers on these windows showing a passage to entry, or the fact that she can’t get out. As the audience this again gives a sense of danger which is needed in a thriller.

From this we go to outside the house, with a tree and in the background a house which we presume to be the house she is in. This again portrays the idea that she is being watched, it also shows the fact that her house is a typical picturesque house that is stood alone this shows danger and the idea that it is both the typical house in a thriller as it is the complete opposite of spooky, looks like a normal perfect little house where nothing bad would happen.

After seeing the outside of the house we go back into the inside and here the phone rings again, this time she is in the kitchen and starts to talk to him about what she is doing. The fact that she tells him that she is about to watch a scary movie makes the audience annoyed as they know that this is a stupid idea, this is a typical feeling when watching most horrors. She then starts to pull the knives out of the knife box, these hints at future events and another sense of danger.

Throughout the opening there is no soundtrack, which is unusual as horrors and thrillers, a type of horror, usual have music to build up tension and to hint at bad events that are about to come. The music would usually make the audience be on the edge of their seats, yet by having no music they are no giving away any clue of what is going to happen which helps to keep the audience un-expecting any events that may come.

Research

After we decided that the idea of doing a thriller suited us best we researched lots of different types of thrillers. What made us choose a thriller was the fact that it was common and gathers a much wider audience than most films. During our research we looked at many films that fitted within the genre of thrillers; these are the type of films that create immediate intense and put an audience on the end of their seat. These can often range from a theme of stalkers to kidnapping to a horror, these are all thriller based. Some of the films we looked at are:

· When a stranger calls
· Jaws

· Red eye
· Panic room

· misery

While watching the opening of these films we were filled with excitement and we wanted to keep on watching, this is exactly how we want our audience to feel when we successfully create our media product.

Opening 2mins – 1st Film (Devil Wears Prada)

-Quick shots of each person getting ready create a short sequence.

-Contrast by having one that gets changed into different things (mise en scene)

-Close ups of clothing and objects

-Medium shots to help the close ups stand out more, contrast

-Variation of colours etc

-Background music to help the speed of the opening 2mins

-Credits telling name of company, name of film and name of actors

Research Opening Sequence

Seven

The opening shot is an extreme close up of what appears to be a book; the picture is not in full focus this helps to create a mysterious first image that immediately engages the audience. The credits of who made what start to appear, first in the right hand corner in front of the book, then from this the image fades out into a black screen and then more names of people who helped to produce the film appear, in a scratchy font. This again helps to add an additional mysterious effect to the film as this font is unusual. Following this there is a picture of two hands that appear the same yet one is darker than the other, as the audience you want to find out more and you do not understand this image, due to this the audience is engaged within the first 8 seconds of the opening.
The next sequence of shots have a fast cut rate this helps to give hints at what is happening but does not tell the audience everything. This fast cut rate keeps the audience interested; the dark shots give an effect of danger and mystery. Another image flashes confusing the audience which again keeps them interested and puzzled so that they want to work out what is happening, extreme close ups are used to show images that again help to give hints and tips as to what is happening. This technique is effective and may be something we want to consider in our piece. The title of the piece is then shown flashing across the scene this helps to create a sense of fear as the audience don't know what is going to happen yet know the genre is thriller. More extreme close ups are used to give the audience more information. A red wash is used over the footage, this hints and danger and blood and therefore creates fear for the audience it also hints at future events that are to come. Along with more names more extreme close ups are used to give more information as to what is going on. Flashing images help to build up tension and therefore to build fear. Photos suggest victims this idea helps to give hints to the audience but yet leads them to want them to watch on to find out what happens, this idea could be something to consider when we make our main piece. Half the screen has a red filter on it and the other half doesn’t this creates a sense of mystery. The shot goes back to the initial opening shot of the book this seems to suggest a cycle, as though this has happened before. The whole thing seems to suggest that the person is adding something into a book (another victim.)
After watching the opening two minutes of this film the things we have felt inspired by are extreme close ups of pictures and shadows, due to this we may use these in our final piece.

Research

In order to research before making the opening two minutes of our film we have looked at the opening two minutes of a few different genres of films. This has enabled us to understand how much needs to go into the first two minutes and to get a general feel for what our piece should look like.

Preliminary Task Evaluation

Aim: The aim of the Preliminary task is to demonstrate that we know how to use the 180-degree rule, a shot/ reverse shot combination and eye line match. In order to show this we did a shot sequence that included someone walking into a room, sitting down and having a conversation with another person, and showing the other peoples reactions to what is being said to them, and their actual response.

What did you learn about the cameras and editing software during the preliminary task?

During the making of our piece we worked out how to edit, this will help us when we make our final piece, as it made our final product look professional. An example of this is when we included a conversation between Simon and Beatrix for our preliminary task. We filmed the conversation from one angle and then another. We did this to capture the reactions of the two, and also film them speaking to each other and the other one listening. Also we also filmed Simon opening the door and the door closing to show that he has been walking to the meeting place. We learnt that filming in just one shot looks very basic and slack, so had to experiment with other angles to see which one fitted the best and most successfully.

The editing software was difficult to get used to at first, but once we mastered it, it was just a matter of what sequence were going to look the most impressive. We learnt that we had to cut bits of unnecessary film out that we didn’t need and which didn’t go with the timeline in order to make the preliminary task look better.

In the filming and editing of your project, what worked well and what could have been improved?

During the process of filming, we managed to get some decent shots of Simon and Beatrix, such as close ups. An example of this would be the close up of Simon’s shoes, when he was walking down the corridor. We inserted this because the opening shot was Simon walking down the far end of the corridor. If we had just filmed it walking down the corridor it would have looked poor quality filming and second-rate. So to speed the process up, we filmed a close up of Simon’s feet so we weren’t just filming him walking down the corridor which took around 15 seconds, we just had a 3-4 second shot of him walking then a close up of his feet, and back to him arriving at his destination, which cut the whole process down to about 9-10 seconds.

However, we could have improved the actual project why trying a wider variety of shots, as maybe we could have found a better way to capture some of Simon’s movements, such as him opening the door, capturing him entering the room from the door from a different prospective.

Preliminary Task

For the past week, we have been filming and editing our Preliminary task. Today we finished the editing and pieced the whole piece together. Within our Preliminary task we included: Close ups, medium shots, extreme long shot and shot reverse shot. While editing we made sure that we covered match cut and elements of a jump cut. The finished piece displayed a person (Simon) walking to a room in which he had a conversation with another person (Beatrix) inside the room. Due to the editing we could make sure we could see both persons reactions in the conversation.

Throughtout the making of the Preliminary Task we found we had natural strengths in filiming, yet while editing we found it hard at first to use final cut pro but after some practise we managed to edit the footage smoothly into a short sequence.