Chayana's Evaluation
1.In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products
Camera Work
In our thriller opening, we wanted to use the traditional
conventions of enigma, and restricted narrative to draw the viewer in, as it
was also the beginning of our hypothetical film. One of the ways we did this
was through our camera work and framing.
In our opening shot of the film, we use an extreme close up with
a restricted view to cause enigma, which is a conventional device used in
Thriller openings. The close up allows the viewer to see the protagonist’s
expression and it means that the audience doesn't get to see the surroundings.
We took inspiration from the film ‘Kill Bill’ for this shot,
as we felt like it was an effective way for the film to start as it is a
dramatic way to introduce the characters.
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| Screen Cap From Kill Bill |
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| Screen cap from our thiller opening |
In our sequence we have also got some handheld camera work
where the main character is running. We chose to have the hand held camera as
it made the shot unsteady as it gave the impression that the character is being
chased, and represented chaos.
We got inspiration for this sequence from the scene in ‘The
Silence of the Lambs’. We thought that this was a good scene as it could be foreshadowing
events that were going to happen later in the film. It also represents the
characters running away from something. In the case of our film, running away
from her memories because she did not want them to be real.
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| A screen cap from The Silence of the Lambs |
Editing
For our flashback scenes, we put some effects to make them
have a dream like effect. We used the dissolve transition to make it seem like
her memories and real life were fading onto each other. We also made the flashbacks
delayed so that the movements look like they’re in slow motion.
We got our inspiration for the flashback scene from Bourn
Ultimatum, as those scenes showed that the flash backs memories, and that was
the effect that we wanted to achieve when we presented this information to the
audience.
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| A Screen Cap from Bourne Ultimatum |
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| A screen cap from our Thriller opening |
When editing, we wanted there to be a fast pace, so we had
the duration of shots be short, and made the frequency higher. During these scenes
we also had cross cutting between the house and the memories. The faster pace
means that it gives the audience less time to digest all of the information
given to them and makes them more shocked.
Sound
In the beginning of our sequence we had whispering as some dietetic
sound, as the character could hear the voices. We used it as a device to show
that the character was disorientated. It puts the audience in the characters
place, as the audience finds out information at the same time as the character.
We used some non-dietetic sound to accompany the running
scene. The music was parallel to the scene as it was high tempo and used a fast
melody that was minor to be dramatic. This enhanced the atmosphere of the scene.
Mise en Scene
We chose our setting and location with inspiration from 'The Silence of the Lambs', which was set in the forest where she is running. The forest is a icon in the genre of Thriller, as it connotes the feeling of uncertainty, because forest seem to be in the middle of know where, and you never know where they end and where they end.
We also used a house as a setting, as the house is a place that usually symbolizes safety and belonging. We contradict this view as the murder is happening in a place that is supposed to be safe, and it is by her husband who is supposed to be her family.
We also used a house as a setting, as the house is a place that usually symbolizes safety and belonging. We contradict this view as the murder is happening in a place that is supposed to be safe, and it is by her husband who is supposed to be her family.
2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?
In our Thriller opening, there are two characters that we get a proper glimpse at, which is the female protagonist, and the male antagonist. Some might say that the characters follow some stereotypical traits of antagonists, such as the male being jealous and controlling, and this is his incentive of committing murder.
This is a negative connotation of men, however, there are other male characters that are shown in a good light, therefore, it mostly a bad connotation of mental health and disability, as we have created this character to have a mental disability that has not been treated in the correct way, and explores how dangerous certain disabilities can be if they are ignored. Moreover, it shows how people can live with disabilities without other people ever knowing or them showing the symptoms, because these the signs could be invisible.
This is communicated through the use of costume of the characters. The character that has got this mental disability is dressed in a way that doesn’t indicate that they have the capacity of committing murder.
Another theme of disability is theme of anxiety, and this translating into dependency for the character. The antagonist activity causes a state of disorientation and fear so that he could be the one to comfort her to so that she would feel like she needed him to live. We can see this in the shot where he goes to hug her and his body language when he does this, as this was his plan.
The character has anxiety, which means that she second guesses all of her thoughts, and she doesn’t know if they are true. We show that her memories are hazy by using editing techniques, such as high saturation and red tones. We can also see from her facial expression and the way that she rubs her eyes that she wasn't sure if the memories were real.
This is a negative connotation of men, however, there are other male characters that are shown in a good light, therefore, it mostly a bad connotation of mental health and disability, as we have created this character to have a mental disability that has not been treated in the correct way, and explores how dangerous certain disabilities can be if they are ignored. Moreover, it shows how people can live with disabilities without other people ever knowing or them showing the symptoms, because these the signs could be invisible.
This is communicated through the use of costume of the characters. The character that has got this mental disability is dressed in a way that doesn’t indicate that they have the capacity of committing murder.
Another theme of disability is theme of anxiety, and this translating into dependency for the character. The antagonist activity causes a state of disorientation and fear so that he could be the one to comfort her to so that she would feel like she needed him to live. We can see this in the shot where he goes to hug her and his body language when he does this, as this was his plan.
The character has anxiety, which means that she second guesses all of her thoughts, and she doesn’t know if they are true. We show that her memories are hazy by using editing techniques, such as high saturation and red tones. We can also see from her facial expression and the way that she rubs her eyes that she wasn't sure if the memories were real.
3. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
There are several ways for our film to be distributed. Some bigger companies like Disney would have whole departments dedicated to distribution, however as this is an independent movie with a small budget, if we wanted to have professionals distributors, we would have to hand over our movie to 3rd Party distributors.
There are some distributors that specialize in publishing independent films, and within these, ones that specialize in thriller films. In the UK, these include distribution companies like Momentum Pictures, that accepts 20 Thriller films a year and has got Oscar an Bafta winning films under it belt. Another example is Warp Films, which is based in London that has been around since 1999, and has also got Bafta films under their belt. These distributors would be cheaper than mainstream distributors like Lionsgate, Paramount or New Line.
The benefits of having a professional 3rd party distributor include the fact that they have got experience with getting films into the viewers eye, whether it be through festivals or in cinemas that shows independent films. However, platforms that the audience watch films are changing, including streaming on websites like Netflix, Vimeo and Amazon Prime.
On the other hand, because there are new formats for the viewer to exhibit the movie, we could also self publish our movie by making a deal with these websites like Netflix, as that means that we get to keep the license to our film meaning that it is still our intellectual property, as we would lose this if we used a 3rd Party.
Another option would be to put the movie on Youtube for free, and make money through the advertisements. This has been done by some people like Nick Lawrence who released his movie called 'Time Expired'. If we were to do this, we would be able to also have a donation section where people would be able to donate money to our movie. This is a good strategy as is free to upload content to YouTube, and there are million of active users everyday, so we wouldn't have to spend any more money from our low budget
4. Who would be the audience for your media product?
Age Range
In the early stages of planning our film, we had decided
that our product would aimed for the ages 17- 25 and so we wrote our plot with
the thought of what would interest this age range. These things included themes
of death and violence that would not be suitable for younger ages. However,
there is nothing there is nothing too explicit that would cause the rating to
go up to 18.
The certificate system states that there might be:
·
strong violence
·
Frequent strong language (e.g.
'f***').
·
portrayals of sexual activity
·
strong verbal references to
sex
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sexual nudity
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brief scenes of sexual
violence or verbal references to sexual violence
·
discriminatory language or
behaviour
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drug taking
In our opening, there is a shot of a knife with blood on it,
and there is a flashback where the antagonist is standing over a dead body,
which shows violence, and though there are no scenes of people taking hard
drugs, but the protagonists is drugged throughout the story.
Gender
In writing our characters, we wanted to use a mix of strong
character that are of both genders so that the characters would be relatable to
all genders. The fact that the narrative is in the point of view of the female protagonist
gives it a narrative makes it more accessible for woman, but the plot is a plot that will also appeal to males.
People who would like our film, would be the people that
enjoy Silence of the Lambs, which got 95% rotten tomato, The Usual Suspects ,
which got 88% rotten tomato and Seven, with an 80% rotten tomato, because our
film also takes the path of following a mystery of finding out who a killer is.
5. How did you attract/address your audience?
This will leave the audience feeling frustrated with knowing the fact that they know who is the murderer and justice not being served like the conventional story telling where good over throws evil. This will make the audience want to see the antagonist get the justice that they deserve.
Moreover, though the antagonist is given away in the opening, there are still many questions that are let unanswered, like who did the antagonist kill, and how they were connected to everybody in the story.
Some audience feedback was that the flashback had a good effect, as they felt the same confusion that the character would feel, which is the effect that we wanted to mirror. They have also said that the music worked in the running scenes. However, some other people have said that the music doesn't completely fit, and the flashback scene doesn't work.
6.What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
One of the main things that I have learnt about the technologies is not about the equipment, but how to use them more efficiently. Some things that you have to think about when you are behind the camera, is setting it up before you even hit the record button.
This includes taking taking some time to adjust tripods, and then adjusting them again, and then once more, ever so slightly, so that the framing of the shot is going to be just right. This might leave you in awkward and ridiculous looking positions, but it gets the job done. Unfortunately, this process is much harder when the shot you are recording is a shot that moves in any way.
We ran into this problem when we were using a tilt shot that started from a high angle that tilts to a specific point so that there was a shot of some pictures. The way we got around this problem by having one of the legs of the tripod loose so that it would retreat when we put pressure on it.
One of the ways we tried to come around this shot was by experimenting with the zoom option. However, what we found with the zoom, was that the zoom happened too fast, and did not create the effect that we wanted to achieve.
One of the biggest problems we ran into when filming, was the fact that we forgot to set our white balance on one of our locations. This gave us two options, try to fix the colours in our editing stages, or record the whole scene again. We chose to do the latter. This made us see how important is to set the white balance,as it is obvious to see when it has not been set, as mud should not look blue. This also made me understand that colouring for scenes is deliberate and is trying to portray an idea, as not setting the white balance is not something that they would make the mistake of doing.
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| Tash setting the white balance |
After spending hours using the editing software, I have learnt that if a transition other than a cut is used, it is for a reason. When piecing all of our footage together, it became a natural rhythm to just use a cut as you don't think about it too much, as the audience won't either. So when I used the dissolve, it was because we had to specifically create an effect, for example, we used the dissolve during the flashbacks, to cause the effect that the character wasn't sure if it were real life or not.
Moreover, I learnt how it is to do multiple shots so that you have a variety of shot to edit in, because when you are looking back at a shot, you might decided that it doesn't look as good as you thought it did on the camera's screen.
Lastly, we found out how difficult it could be to deal with sound. From finding a foley that will fit the sound we want, to syncing up the dialogue perfectly. We didn't create out own foley sounds, but luckily we didn't use that many, and we used a sound from Garage Band. But we had a sound of a body falling. We didn't actually film the character falling, so we couldn't record the sound at the time. Could have replicated the sound and recorded it late, but at the point we were going to put it in, w were almost finished, and we didn't really have time to set up a mic and find a space to try and make it sound like a body falling. So in the end we used a sound from Garage Band. While we didn't think that it was the best sound we could have got, I think that we got the effect we need.
Moreover, I learnt how it is to do multiple shots so that you have a variety of shot to edit in, because when you are looking back at a shot, you might decided that it doesn't look as good as you thought it did on the camera's screen.
Lastly, we found out how difficult it could be to deal with sound. From finding a foley that will fit the sound we want, to syncing up the dialogue perfectly. We didn't create out own foley sounds, but luckily we didn't use that many, and we used a sound from Garage Band. But we had a sound of a body falling. We didn't actually film the character falling, so we couldn't record the sound at the time. Could have replicated the sound and recorded it late, but at the point we were going to put it in, w were almost finished, and we didn't really have time to set up a mic and find a space to try and make it sound like a body falling. So in the end we used a sound from Garage Band. While we didn't think that it was the best sound we could have got, I think that we got the effect we need.
7.Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
When planning the storyboard for the main task, we knew that we had more time, which meant that we had more shots to experiment with. Some things that we experimented with were more interesting shots such as more tracking shots like the running shots, and low angle shots that wouldn't have made sense to use in our Prelim tasks, which was mainly level with the characters face.
From the prelim task, we knew how tricky it could be to set up a camera to create a perfect shot. However, by doing the basic shots, it gave us confidence to experiment with the different shots because we knew how to to use the equipment. And example of this is when we used a shot in which the camera tilts down to some photos on a table. We knew that we would be able to adjust the tripod in a way that shows that would allow for that shot to move smoothly.
One thing that we were more aware of during the thriller opening, was the mise en scene, and how it was very important for every aspect of the frame. In our prelim, there is a shot where there are people in the background with lights and recording equipment. Despite the fact that it wasn't our recording equipment, we should have thought about how that might distract from the shot. In our thriller opening, however, we chose our spot carefully so that we could not see what we did not want to see in any of the frame.
By doing our prelim task, we also gained experience using the editing software, final cut pro. Because we knew how to use the software, I felt confident enough to change the duration of shots, to change the colouring and using effects on our shot. And example of where we had flashbacks in the sequence. for those shots, we used an effect called Bad Film and we raised the saturation so that it would look distorted.
In the editing process, we were also more experimental with the transitions that we used. In our Prelim, we used a dissolve, but that was only at the end of the sequence. While we only use dissolve in the sequence, we use it more frequently. We use the a dissolve every time there is a transition from the flashbacks, whereas in the prelim almost every shot was a cut.
One of the major problems we faced, and were not keen to repeat, in our prelim task was the dialogue that we had for the film. While we were filming the sound recorder had not recorded the voices when we wanted them to. Because of this we decided to record over the footage. While this didn't take too long, the dialogue never was quite in sync, which took away the effect of the dialogue away. Because of this, I was dedicated to make sure that the sound we recorded was on the file and sounded good. When it came to editing, I found it so much easier to align the dialogue with the footage.
Lastly, while we were more experimental with was the Foley and non-diegetic sound track. When we were looking for non-diegetic music to play in the background, we had to think more about the mood and tempo of the music. For the running scene, we wanted to have a fast pace that builds anticipation, which contrast to the ending music that we wanted to sound happy, but eerie. When we searched the music for the Prelim, we threw caution to the wind and chose what we thought was dramatic. We didn't think about fading it in and out, and what place in the music would be best to start out. However, the song could last the whole sequence, so we knew how to end it while fading it out.
Furthermore we wanted to use foleys. We didn't record the sound effects along with the actions. In fact, we only use foley a couple of times in the whole sequence. However, finding some of the sound effects in Garage Band is hard because some of the noises we need where so specific. However, in the end, we managed to find sounds that are close enough.
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| A Low Angle shot from our Thriller opening |
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| The ending of tilt shot that reveals pictures |
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| A shot where you can see recording equipment |
By doing our prelim task, we also gained experience using the editing software, final cut pro. Because we knew how to use the software, I felt confident enough to change the duration of shots, to change the colouring and using effects on our shot. And example of where we had flashbacks in the sequence. for those shots, we used an effect called Bad Film and we raised the saturation so that it would look distorted.
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| A Flashback shot with effects. |
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| A dissolve transition in thriller opening |
One of the major problems we faced, and were not keen to repeat, in our prelim task was the dialogue that we had for the film. While we were filming the sound recorder had not recorded the voices when we wanted them to. Because of this we decided to record over the footage. While this didn't take too long, the dialogue never was quite in sync, which took away the effect of the dialogue away. Because of this, I was dedicated to make sure that the sound we recorded was on the file and sounded good. When it came to editing, I found it so much easier to align the dialogue with the footage.
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| The Boom min I used to capture sound |
Lastly, while we were more experimental with was the Foley and non-diegetic sound track. When we were looking for non-diegetic music to play in the background, we had to think more about the mood and tempo of the music. For the running scene, we wanted to have a fast pace that builds anticipation, which contrast to the ending music that we wanted to sound happy, but eerie. When we searched the music for the Prelim, we threw caution to the wind and chose what we thought was dramatic. We didn't think about fading it in and out, and what place in the music would be best to start out. However, the song could last the whole sequence, so we knew how to end it while fading it out.
Furthermore we wanted to use foleys. We didn't record the sound effects along with the actions. In fact, we only use foley a couple of times in the whole sequence. However, finding some of the sound effects in Garage Band is hard because some of the noises we need where so specific. However, in the end, we managed to find sounds that are close enough.
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| A shot where foley effect of running water is needed |
