Final Evaluation - By Ghislaine Moolenaar

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

The definition of a Thriller is a suspenseful adventure story or play or movie. Source from wordnetweb.

What makes a Thriller is called the ‘conventions of a Thriller’. This is the use of good Camera Work, Sound, Mise en Scene and Editing.

High Angle. Extract From Doctor Who

Low Angle. Extract From Doctor Who 

·         Camera Work; will be high/very high angles is to make the antagonist/protagonist (mainly the protagonist) look ‘smaller’, it also shows being vulnerable and scared. And low/very low angles is to make the antagonist/protagonist (mainly the antagonist) look ‘bigger’, it also shows power, and bravery.

No Dialogue. Extract from

The Disappearance of Alice Creed

·       Sound; there will hardly be any dialogue, which creates tension, and there will most likely be a sound track – non-diegetic sound. However, in some Thriller openings there will be no dialogue at all for example The Disappearance of Alice Creed and The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.

Cross Cutting Diagram

Parallel Editing Diagram

·        Editing; The cuts and transitions will be quick, to keep pace, and keep the audience watching the movie/opening. Thrillers can be either cross cutting, where two different things will be happening in two different locations and the characters will eventually meet up. Or Parallel editing, which is where there are two separate actions happening at the same time but never meet. These two editing techniques create suspense because if it was cross cutting, the pace will be faster and the transitions and shots will be quicker and shorter. And with parallel editing, they will wonder why those two locations are connected.

The Disappearance of Alice Creed - Mise en Scene - One of the beginning shots.

·         Mise en scene; sets the mood, and places the actors into their characters. Mise en scene includes 11 elements: Body Language, Facial Expression, Composition, Settings, Props, Decor, Lighting, Colour, Costume, Hair and Make-up.

      Our Thriller:

•      Body Language

Relaxed when on swings, both mother and daughter, however, a much slouched position when the little girl is thinking of her mother and is feeling sad. When the little girl goes up the stairs she is very energetic and happy, and almost bounces when she walks.

•      Facial Expression

When she is in ‘real life’ she as a very plain but sad face, but in the memory she is having fun, laughing and smiling. The mother has also got a happy face and looks like she is having fun.

•      Composition

The characters are mostly in the middle of the frame.

•      Settings

The setting is mainly outdoors in a playground with swings, and indoors in a kitchen and in a bathroom.

•     Props

We used props such as swings, painted picture and a paint set.

•     Decor

The shots that where shot outside, the decor was trees, swings, houses and grass. And indoors, it was, tiled walls, table cloth and kitchen utensils

•     Lighting

When we were outside and shot a big shot of Kirsty, we used lighting to lighten her face up so that we could still see her features, instead of having dark shades. We also used lighting when we where indoors, to make it look like a sunny day.

•     Colour

The colours are very spring colours and light and happy in both, however in the ‘real life’ the way she looks makes everything seem a lot darker and sadder.

•     Costume

The costume for the little girl is very sweet and innocent and very girly, which is stereotypical because when we think of girls, we think of pink frilly dresses. The mother’s costume is very fashionable for a mum, because we wanted to make her look like a young mum, with a young daughter.

•     Hair

The hair for the little girl is down with a hair accessory – pink headband with a flower on it. The mums’ hair is also down, so it is mostly natural, no hair styling gel or any products in it.

•     Make-up

There is no make-up for the little girl – too young, and the mum has little make-up very natural, and very naturally pretty.

·         Our Thriller Opening is very much based on what an opening is meant to do; give a brief explanation about what the film is about. So we tried to make it so that it wasn’t all Thrillers based, but enough to create enigma in the audience and so that they watch on and we also wanted to see what the audience thought it was, to create suspense and enigma. We also used flashbacks a lot, so that the audience don’t know which ‘time’ is real and what is a memory. We have done this so that it is restricted to the audience, and so they have to make their own mind up about it.

·         We used a mother and a daughter as the two characters, which are mainly used in Thriller’s. Such as Marchlands, Flight Plan and Pans Labyrinth. At the beginning of the opening, neither of them are protagonists or antagonists because they seem happy, until we hear a scream, which is from the mother, from downstairs when the child is upstairs. Then both of them suddenly become protagonists. We have been influenced by TV programmes and movies such as Marchlands (TV Programme) and Hide and Seek (Movie).

Hide and Seek

·         Shot 1 is an establishing shot, where we see the little girl (main character) in front of swings, swinging by themselves. This is a stereotypical setting, however we find it very good, because then the audience will know that it is something to do with a thriller based story line. We tried to get the lighting a bit darker than the memory, because then we can tell what is ‘real life’ and what is a memory. We can also hear silence except for a high pitch swing squeak. I have seen swings being used in Hide and Seek

·         Shot 2 is an extreme long shot. This is where she is in the memory – her mum (another main character) and the little girl. We have created a high key lighting to create a ghost like look. There is a lot of dialogue here between the mother and daughter.

·         Shot 3 is also an extreme long shot, but we see the little girl on the swing head on, this is so that we can see her facial expression – happy, exited and thrilled. This is to show that she is neither a protagonist nor an antagonist, so that the audience cannot make a judgement on her straight away.

·         Shot 4 shows the little girl back in the ‘real world’ walking towards a picture she has found. There is no dialogue here, because she is in thought and has no one else to talk too.

·         Shot 5 is a big close-up of the little girl’s face, to show her facial expression – sad. This is a contrast to her memory – happy. This could imply she is a victim of an accident that has happened in the past.

·         Shot 6 is a fade (an editing technique and a transition that indicates the passage of time) to another memory of the picture she was holding which is now laying on the table.

·         Shot 7 is a shot of the little girl walking up the stairs. The lighting is a lot darker, which means that something is about to happen which has made her upset in the real life. This creates suspense and enigma.

·         Shot 8 is a shot of the little girl washing her hands, and the lighting is a lot lighter, this could put the audience off track slightly because they thought something was going too happen. But then she hears a scream (diegetic sound), with the lighting the same, this then answers the audiences questions about how it is a thriller.

·         Shot 9 is the title – a ripped painted picture of her and her mum but with her side insight, with the title ‘Alone’. This creates mystery and suspense in the audience because they are wondering where the mum painted picture is. There is also a soundtrack of a music box over the top which is non-diegetic sound. A creepy music box is a stereotypical thriller sound. When you think of a high pitched slow tune, it reminds you of ghosts, however, ghosts are supernatural, which is linked to horror.

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

Hide and Seek

• Our Thriller opening represents a few social groups. For example, we have a very strong Mother and Daughter relationship, since they like to go to the park together and have fun.

Marchlands

Hide and Seek

Hide and Seek

• The little girl is a very stereotypical girl in a thriller movie/TV program. We wanted her to wear pretty and girly/feminine clothes. So we got her to wear pink and black. This creates the appearance to be innocent. We also got her to wear a pink flower Alice band in her hair, to make it look even more feminine. She walks and her actions are very dainty and careful, so make her look innocent and that she can be hurt or broken very easily.
• The Mother is also very stereotypical because she is loving and caring and wants the best for her child. When she is pushing the swings she is also in very close contact with her daughter, as if she doesn’t want to let go, but when the daughter is in the sky, the mother can feel and see her happiness. They also keep eye contact, as if they do not want to let go of each other, and that they have a very close bond. The Mother is wearing very classy clothes, which gives an impression she is a young mum, and also because her daughter is still quite young it backs up that theory.
• We wanted to create this particular look for both the Daughter and Mother because we wanted them to be fragile, and that they are very easy victims to get killed, raped, murdered, kidnapped etc. Anything that would be included in a Thriller. We also wanted the light to hit them to make them as if they are angels, or ghost like, and to make it as if even though they are fragile, they cannot be harmed, however this then contrasts with the end of our thriller opening. Examples of this is Hide and Seek, Flight Plan and Marchlands. We could have also broken these stereotypical characters, so that it isn't easy to predict what is going to happen, or what the characters will wear and look like. We could have broken the stereotypical characters by making the mother a very bored, and uncaring person, who doesn't want to have fun, or she might have a disability, which makes it hard to communicate or play with her daughter. And we could have made the daughter very emo, and so she would wear dark clothes, however, children at that age do not have an appearance to look after, but the mother could have dressed her up as that, or maybe the little girl has to dress herself, and so she looks scruffy. We chose not to do a non-stereotype because then younger  audiences and older audiences can relate to the characters.
• Our audience is for anyone over the age of 16, because the younger generation like thriller movies, because they get a ‘thrill’ from it. And even though this is going to be aimed at the older generation too, it could make them even more protective about their families, because kidnapping, rapes and murders happen in real life too. However, this is not for the children, because it can scare them, and can also make them weary about loosing their mothers. 

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

·         Now, because we have made our Thriller Opening, we have to choose a media institution that will distribute our product.

·         A film distribution company ensures that the film reaches the target audience. (British, age, mainstream/independent) The company will know what attracts people to films and so they will tailor their marketing campaigns to appeal to what audiences want. They will need to communicate information about a film to audiences in a way that will make them not only aware of the film but also in a way that will make them want to see it

·         There are lots and lots of different film distributors. Here is a link to a list of all of them: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_motion_picture_distributors

The Silent House
Front Colver

Optimum Home

Entertainment Logo

  ·        I would choose the film distributor Optimum 
      Home Entertainment. This is because they have experience in Thriller and Horror Movies and they 
      are English and also have experience in shooting films in England - Sussex.
  ·      It has distributed films like 'The Silent House', 'Brighton Rock (filmed in England)' and ‘The Last Exorcism’ and many more.

  ·         I think our film could be shown in Mainstream Cinemas and Independent Cinema’s. This is because when we release our Thriller, we can 
      show it in Mainstream Cinema’s first, so that a lot of people will be able to see it, and also all over the world (hopefully) and then after a few years, the movie will be then shown in Independent Cinema’s.

  ·         The Years in between showing our Thriller Opening in the two different types of cinema, we will be releasing DVD’s, Games, Posters, Merchandise and a lot of other things which will help increase the knowledge in which people know about our Thriller.

The Dark Night Front
Cover

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

• I think the audience for our Thriller should be rated 16+. This is because younger audiences might find it hard to understand but also might get a bit scared of loosing their mum (if they do understand the plot).
• This will also be for the older generation; however, it could make them even more protective about their families, because kidnapping, rapes and murders happen in real life too.

• 5.How did you attract/address your audience?

• We are going to attract our audiences by showing them the Opening of our Thriller. And hopefully then they will like it and tell their friends. However, if they do not like it, they will tell everyone. We will also create merchandising, posters and cardboard cut-outs. This will promote our Thriller Movie, and hopefully bring more people.
• A good idea is too bring our families and friends to watch our Thriller Opening, and then comment on it afterwards, on what we can improve and what was good about it.
• People will like our Thriller Opening because it is about a Mother and Daughter relation ship, but in the Daughters memory. In the little girl’s memory she remembers having fun with her mum in the park, then in their kitchen painting a picture. She then goes upstairs to wash her hands because they are dirty from painting. She then hears a scream, which is from her mum. We then see a shot of her in real life crying. Then it goes to the title. This suspense of not knowing what happened to the mother makes the audiences want to see the whole of the Movie. The Characters are stereotypical, so the audience will know what to expect, however that isn’t always a good thing, because then they will get bored easily because they will know what will happen.
• Comments from family and friends inserted here:
• Dad:
• 'I thought it was amazing, i liked the way they have edited it to make it flow from shot to shot nicely. It was also a very good story line, and i also found the music box at the end with the girl crying very creepy and mysterious. However, i do think that the beginning bit is a bit long and i think the audience might get drifted away from it slightly. But overall, i found it a very good piece'.
• Sister:
• 'It was very creepy! I liked everything about it and how it was put together amazingly. But I agree with dad, that it can be a bit boring at the beginning, but i really like it at the end!'.
• Friend:
• 'Wow. I really like the plot and how they have come up with that all by themselves. it was very engaging and very 'thriller' like at the end, with the music box and the little girl crying. Overall, a very well done piece!'

• 6.What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
• Voice Over:
• http://www.zshare.net/video/89544785198694e6/
• Since starting media studies and having finished our coursework – A Thriller Opening, I have learnt a lot of new things which helps in making an even better quality product.

• I have learnt about:



Colour Temperature
of Pictures



Example of White Balance
applied and non applied

• White Balance. White balance is the process of removing unrealistic colour casts, so that objects which appear white in person are rendered white in your photo. You need to set white balance because otherwise your picture will look either very yellow, or very blue, depending on what time of day it is, or where you are shooting. We had the problem with white balance when we where filming our first idea outdoors, when the light was changing very quickly: 

White Balance Applied

White Balance Not Applied

• Voice Over:
• http://www.zshare.net/video/895449207aa90a29/
• But then when we new what to do and do it when we changed location, it became easier to not forget it, and then it became natural to do it, so we had fewer problems with White Balance in Alone.
• Voice Over:
• http://www.zshare.net/video/89545475802c59d1/



180' rule

• 180 Degree Rule. ‘The 180° rule is a basic guideline in film making that states that two characters (or other elements) in the same scene should always have the same left/right relationship to each other. If the camera passes over the imaginary axis connecting the two subjects, it is called crossing the line. The new shot, from the opposite side, is known as a reverse angle.’ Source from Wikipedia. We had to use the 180' rule when we shot the view of the mother and the view of the daughter when she is swinging. If we broke the rule, it would look like the daughter and the mother are facing the same way, and would be confusing to the audience.

Mother's View



Daughter's View



Tripod

• Voice Over
• http://www.zshare.net/video/895451934b07f60e/
• Using a tripod. Using a tripod was fairly easy. This link shows how to set up a camera: http://www.ehow.com/how_298_set-tripod.html

Highest part of Tilt

• Voice Over:
• http://www.zshare.net/video/8954551296993e5f/



Lowest part of Tilt

• Panning, Tracking, Crabbing and Tilting. These are the different types of camera movements and positions. These all contribute to the Thriller experience. They create suspense, enigma, sympathy, empathy and many more emotions. We didn't use many camera movement techniques, but what we did use was the tilt, when the little girl walked up the stairs. However, we didn't use this to create a thriller experience.

• Voice Over
• http://www.zshare.net/video/89545393779174ba/
• Knowing the different Angles and Shots. Knowing these are very important, because they will all contribute to the Thriller experience, just like the different camera movements and positions.
• Voice Over:
• http://www.zshare.net/video/895455630ad5ecbf/
• Also knowing how to edit is important and all the different transitions when in the production stage because one wrong edit, which is too short or too long, can make the difference between a good flowing piece or a jumpy rubbish piece. Also, if you have a transition which doesn't work, it can make the whole sequence look bad.

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

Our First Idea - Scarlet

Our Preliminary

• Because we had some problem with our first idea for our Thriller Opening – Scarlet, we needed to quickly think of another idea. We did this well and succeeded in creating a better story line than the preliminary task and our first idea for the main task.
• I think we have progressed a lot since the preliminary task to the main task.
• We have learnt a lot, especially from our mistakes, for example:

No Lighting Used - Door Handle

• We used to forget to set the white balance, at one part, when we filmed a door handle as an extreme close-up; it was very dark, since we forgot to use lighting. We have then been very careful where to use lighting when necessary. We have also learnt that even when you want to create darkness, you have to create it with light. So you can use soft lighting which is created with several light sources and so create less defined shadows.
• Our editing had also become better, because we will look out even more for continuity and flow between the shots.
• Our camera skills have also gotten better, because we can now pan/track/crab/tilt with more flow.
• We didn’t use any extra Foley sounds, because we thought we didn’t need them. So when we did our main task – Thriller Opening, we had little knowledge about how to use Garage Band, however, we did spend one or two lessons learning a little about it and how to use it. But for our Main task, we used water running to enhance the sound because it was very faint. We wanted to use this foley effect because then it distracts the audience, and then when they hear the scream, it becomes a shock.
• Overall i think we have improved a lot since our preliminary task, we have learnt not to do things and to do things more often, we have also gotten used to doing things we never thought of doing when filming. 
• Overall i think we succeeded what we aimed to do and what our aim was - to create a 2 minute Thriller Opening.