Evaluation - Chris Beard

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

1.ECU - One convention that has been used, but not often, in the film are extreme close ups. These distort the viewer's perception and are able to show significant features or reactions to the viewer. Using a person's eyes is a common feature at the centre of the frame, which is why we chose to use it and can be seen on the real thriller product.

2.Shallow Depth of Field - These are commonly done to draw attention to a specific person or object. Often in dialogue sequences, but can be used for any situation when something or someone needs to be highlighted. In the example thriller, the sniper's weapon has been highlighted which gives narrative and character to the opening. In our opening, we used in the form of a focus pull to say that this character is important.

3.POV Shot - Point of view shots adds a sense of realism as the viewer is put into a character's position. In the case of the example thriller, we are put into the assassins viewpoint as he is about to kill, making us fell bad. In our opening, the POV shot allows the viewer to see detail more easily and feel more as if they were there.

4.Props - The props used in films as part of the Mise en Scene can add large amounts of meaning to the  story. In the example, the child's drink that can be seen suggests the childish nature of the assassin. In my opening, the evidence board gives meaning to the story to demonstrate the vastness of the situation that the viewer is being introduced to.

5.Restricted Narration - This is where the camera framing used limits what the viewer is able to see of an object or person. One main purpose for it, and why it has been used in my opening, is to create a sense of enigma. In both cases, the viewer is limited on what they are able to see of the character. This leaves them asking questions on who they are and what they are doing.

6.Costume - This part of Mise en Scene helps to create realism to the viewer. Well designed and chosen costumes can make the situation seem more believable and causes the viewer to pay more attention to it.

7.Diegetic Sound - In sound editing, enhanced diejetic sound was added in the form footsteps. These again add realism to the film. Some also change the mood such as the footstep sounds or gun shot. Recognisable or chilling sounds can have a huge impact on the viewer and add great realism when used effectively.

8.Dialogue - Unlike most traditional thrillers, my opening uses a high amount of dialogue. Most thrillers, such as my example one, dialogue is completely avoided. In the example, it has been cut out where we would expect there to be dialogue. We chose to have dialogue so that the flashback sequence is more effect and so that it can achieve the intended result. Without it being there, the flashback would make no sense thus be pointless.

9.Flow - Thrillers need to keep a good sense of flow throughout so that the viewer doesn't become too lost amongst the action. This is done with well planned continuity editing techniques where the the camera's viewpoint doesn't suddenly change and things in the composition don't vanish. Well implemented flow also add realism to the film, making it more effective.

A more in depth view at Thriller conventions in openings can be seen in my opening analysis here

2.How does your media product represent particular social groups?

The film that my group produced mainly focuses around one social group which is gender. One example of this can be seen with the police officer. In the thriller opening, the officer is played by a male. This male character is portrayed to be organised and serious. This has been mainly done through the use of mise en scene. The smart outfit that the character has shows this as it is what we commonly relate to this type of person. It also suggests that they are in high up position due to the outfit, as well as the serious and logical facial expressions. Part of the reasoning behind the officer being played by a male is down to common conception. Most people are used to seeing the high up police ranks played as males. Following common males stereotypes helps the viewer to more quickly identify who characters are meant to be. 


Another reason for using male character stereotypes is based on masculinity. Masculine characters are commonly known to be stronger people and have matched high up police roles for many years. In general though, the common stereotypes for masculinity matched very well with how we wanted to portray the characters. Females aren't traditionally seen in in these roles, which is likely due to the traditional themes around femininity. Females traditionally take on different roles in thriller films and aren't often the main protagonist of the film, normally taking the role of a hostage or sidekick. Not challenging conventions made the storytelling easier to achieve from our perspective, with less explanation through dialogue and mise en scene needed.

The age social group is also slightly challenged in the thriller opening to some extent. In most common conceptions of high up officers in the police, are older people rather than the young. The film challenges this by having a younger person playing the role. Even though he is a younger person the common traits of a officer, serious and collected, are present through the use of mise en scene that were explained earlier. However, this stereotype for females is an old perception of the roles they take. More modern stereotypes seem women taking more roles that would normally would be done by a male. Our film was trying to be more traditional in the way characters are cast and perceived, leading to a lack of females in the main roles.

Another way gender is portrayed in the film is with the hit man of the gang, played as a male. This again is based on common conception for a gang. His nature is shown through the way in which is speaks. The body language he uses also shows this from the way he walks and the intimidating way in which he enters the room. The lone footstep sounds as he walks through the hallway bring attention to him and show that he is significant. This overall representation of him start to suggests that he is at least one of the antagonists of the film. His language and the way he behaves add to this. These are all also stereotypical to a member of gang, part of this also is that a gang mainly features males.

Youth is also represented in a slightly negative way in the film, the gang hitman is a young person. Whilst youth aren't always know to be in such prominent roles in gangs, youth gangs are becoming a common thing in society and on the news. Whilst people don't like talking about it, it is definitely  something that exists and isn't unrealistic. By staying true to the darker current events, it makes the film seem more new and interesting. Whilst it is a negative and almost unknown way to represent parts of youth, it seemed like a logical and good idea to keep it current as it also matched well with the storyline.

3. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

In my opinion, Entertainment Film Distributors would be a good choice for the distribution of the film. The main reason is that they specialise in independent films so would understand the market better. Another reason behind this choice is their history with distribution. Their portfolio of distributed films include giants like The Lord of the Rings and the artist. Combined with their experience with smaller less successful titles, they have a good grasp on various scales of projects thus would understand a small scale project. Whilst they haven't worked with a huge range of thriller films, the ones that they have distributed have been successful. This includes the film "A History of Violence" which has received very positive reviews from critics and the public.

In terms of the method of distribution, the film would follow the traditional path to some extent as it would have both a cinema and DVD release. One slight difference would be that this would be a simultaneous release rather than staggered. Part of the rationale behind this method is that a much smaller amount of people go to the cinema than what used to a few years ago. By doing both releases at the same time, people are able to choose how they would prefer to watch it.

One unique method of distribution that would be used is social networks. Part of the strategy would involve free weekly segments streamed on social networks such as Facebook and Twitter. I would choose to do this because people would find it easier to find time to watch a smaller segment over a week rather than the whole thing at once. It would also appeal more younger people, who are more likely to be interested in the film.

Advertising for the film will heavily relate to its unique method for distribution. The key platform for the advertising will be web based, ads will appear on various web sites including news sites and social networks. This would be chosen down to the common habits of young males. Young people in general use the internet most days as a way to stay up-to-date with news and their friends. Advertising on the internet will make sure that they notice the ads rather than missing them and knowing nothing about the film. The common place for advertising will still be used, e.g. tv and posters, but efforts would mainly be focused on internet advertising.

4. Who would be the audience for your media product?

The audience for our thriller opening would predominantly be younger males.  The age category would be around 15-30. Although, whilst males were the main target for the film, some parts of it seemed to interest young females based on what was gathered as feedback. This was a surprise as females aren't traditionally interested in thrillers and this was not the audience that we were aiming for. One possible reason for the female interest could be the enigma that we created during the opening. Females tend to enjoy puzzles which is similar to what enigma is. With limited limited violence but still being there to an extent, a wide range of ages would be able to enjoy it due to it getting a lower age certificate. Information about people's views was gathered through Facebook, seeing as this is commonly visited site for younger people and matches with the distribution strategy.

5. How did you attract/address your audience?

There are various aspects of our thriller opening that would attract younger people to our film. One main thing is the characters themselves and their ages. All of the characters used in the opening of the thriller are young people rather than traditional, for example, an older person playing the police officer. This allows the audience to better relate to the characters rather than feeling more distant. The dialogue used as well as the behaviour used also helps to achieve this effect.

The shots used also helped to address the audience. The use of more engaging shots, such as the extreme close up, make the viewer feel close to the action as well as helping them to understand what is happening in the story. Some of the feedback that gathered demonstrated how much people enjoyed these shots. This means that the audience was engaged in the film which shows that the use of these shots was successful.

The story of the opening also will help to attract the audience. The groups suggested and the characters that build the story aren't unrealistic for the modern day. The themes that are present, e.g. gangs, are known to be around in modern society and are features in many current film and TV products. Whilst points of the film are unlikely, nothing is over exaggerated to a point where it is unrealistic. Everything is possible which is something that makes the viewer feel closer to what is happening.

One way in which we have attracted young males to the thriller opening is the story again, but in terms of action. Whilst sticking to thriller conventions, a key event happens very early on in the opening. This prevents it from seeming too dull and that it is dragging on. The parallel cutting used between the victim and the hitman. This builds up suspense and tension, getting the viewer interested in what is happening. It also gets them ready for the event at the end which is the murder in this case. This whole series of events attracts the young male audience to the opening.

The use enigma was also a way in which we attracted the audience. Effect use of this will be able to attract various demographics and not just the one specified for our media product. By introducing a good level of enigma right at the start of the opening, the audience is pulled in as they want to know more about what is happening and why. With a sense of this throughout the whole opening, the viewer should be attracted to it.

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

Script for Video

 

A transcript of the audio can be found here

7. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learned in the progression from it to the full product?

(1-9, Left to Right)

1.Shot Type Variety - Comparing the prelim to the thriller opening, we have been a lot more adventurous with which type of shots that we have used. One example is the extreme close-up that has been used. The film became more interesting to film and plan because of this as it didn't feel like we were shooting the same thing repeatedly. I also gained greater experience by using more type of shots. The use of more shot types also make the film in general feel more interesting to the viewer, thus they are more likely to pay attention.

2.Titles - In the prelim, there was no title present. At the end was  a simple fade to black to mark the end. This is a huge difference in comparison to the thriller opening. I spent time in motion creating a good looking and interesting title with the film name for the end of the opening. This taught me about how to use Motion to create good, effective titles for the film as well as giving me something more unique to do.

3.Props - The prelim had one simple prop which was a piece of paper which had little preparation needed beforehand. The opening had a more complicated prop as an evidence board, which involved a large development process in terms of gathering content and choosing what to have on it. Some of the development can be seen here  . This increases the story for the film, making me learn about the importance of constructing the story well for effect. It makes the film make more sense, without removing all enigma.

4.Location - The location choice also developed my methods for making story.In the prelim, whilst we had some sort of idea for what the location would be like, the actually choice was made on the day and was just whatever location we could find on the filming day. The process for the thriller opening was a much  longer process. Once we had the initial storyline, we spent time thinking of possible locations that would match the story. Unfortunately our first choice, a doctor's surgery, was unable to be used. We eventually chose Sainsbury's as our location. Permission was easier to get as a group member works there so permission was quick and they knew the best place to film within Sainsbury's.

5.Character - I also learned more about developing character in the story. Well chosen costumes allow the viewer to understand more about the character. It also lets the viewer understand more about character personality and how they might behave and react to situations. It can also be used to make the viewer choose sides. The other aspects of mise en scene also add to the development of character. Planning wise, for the prelim we did not consider the costumes whatsoever due to the time constraints. The opening had this thought about due to how much it effects the viewer's opinions and knowledge of the characters.

6.Tighter Framing Motion - During the making of the opening, we thought more about how the characters in the shot would be moving, as well as the space needed for them to complete this movement on screen. The motion scenes in the prelim left a lot of empty space around the characters which made it look untidy, the was fixed in the opening by only having the space that was needed. My framing skills developed for the thriller, which made the shots look a lot better in general.

7.Sounds - In terms of post-production, one thing I learned was about the sound-editing for the opening. The prelim had no sound editing done in the post production, mainly due to a lack of time and also not being able to see where this would be best done. This was worked better in the thriller due to the better locations and shot. These allowed for sound editing to be done effectively for better effect. It also helped that thriller tends to have background music which allowed us to add some to ours.

8.Dialogue, OTS Shots - These were some of the most important shots in both the prelim and the thriller opening. In the prelim, there was a lot extra space and the framing left the subject seeming a bit distant. This has developed between this and the thriller opening, looking a lot better in the process. Although, to start with it wasn't the best that it could be. This was later improved in the re-shot, developing skills more. Details on the effect it had and before and after screens can be seen here

9.Editing/Flow - My skills in the editing of the film developed greatly during the progression between the prelim and the opening. I was able to maintain the flow better between shots by cutting between them at the right point to make a seamless transition between the shots. Making it easier to watch and not to get any unintended effects on the film.