Charlotte Hudson- Evaluation

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

Conventions of a Thriller:
(the black conventions are the conventions with links)

• Protagonist- The more dominant character, can be a villain but is a lot of the time the victim (in the link the woman is the protagonist, as the film is based around her and her beating the killers)
• Antagonist- Likely to be the villain causing suspense and can also be a Protagonist as well (in the link the males are the protagonists as they've captured Alice Creed)
• Enigma Code- Holds back information, the audience ask questions
• Action Code- Tells the audience something will happen
• Binary Oppositions- Multiple opposites within two characters for instance good vs bad
• Unrestricted Narration- Audience knows more than characters causing dramatic irony
• Restricted Narration- Audience knows the same or less that the characters
• Suspense- Keeps the audience hooked and constantly questioning 'Whats going to happen?'

• Our Thriller opening was influenced by these conventions, it was made clear who the protagonist character was (the victim) from the very beginning. However the killers were made to not be as obvious to the audience until we used editing to create a graphic match(2) to enhance and highlight who the killers are at the end of the opening. By not making it obvious who the antagonist killers were this kept an element of enigma throughout and suspense as the audience questioned who the killers were. We also restricted narration, as although our opening was using the victims flashback, the victim knows the same or less than us because we are using flashbacks to work out who the killers are.  

• Mise en Scene was used to keep suspense throughout as during the 'action' scenes the costume used was big boiler suites to hide who the killers are and also to hide their gender(1). This also showed a contrast to the costumes in the flashbacks and by doing this means the audience don't instantly connect the characters in the flashbacks and in the 'action' scenes. However this is different to most thrillers as usually the antagonists character is shown to highlight fear etc for instance in the Dark Knight. 

• Lighting was used to create and enhance the change in scenes and action for instance flashbacks were bright with light rays editing effect(4) placed on top to distort the characters and we used three point lighting to eliminate shadows. The lighting during the action scenes were darker and we used low key lighting that enhanced key moments and creating shadows for specific shots (when killing the protagonist)(5), the lighter lighting mainly highlighted the victim and objects used to kill her. 

• Like most thriller films non-diegetic sound is a main feature, however many thrillers use their sound to heighten danger and fear for instance in cape fear they use strong orchestral sounds to heighten fear. However our opening creates sense of confusion and underlying fear but the non-diegetic sound helps to not make an instant connection between the protagonist and the antagonists. The diegetic sound creates elements of fear as the sound at the action scenes is enhanced for instance when we use a CU shot of tape(9), the sound and camera work work together to highlight a planned murder. The diegetic sound when in the flashbacks is all distorted and blurred like the memories, this highlights that the protagonist is confused. We also put in limited amount of dialogue as we thought it created more tension and atmosphere without dialogue. We use MOA to try and connect the murderers and the girls in the flashbacks for instance the MOA of passing the coffee cup and the MOA of slamming the door shut(7&8), the audience question if its the same hand, the same character. 

• Our opening story and plot is non-chronological and we use ellipsis because we don't show the reasons why the girl is being killed etc and this creates the audience asking questions. We also use objective camera work as most of the scenes are observing and the audience see events unfolding. The structure of our opening is dis-equilibrium as we see different parts of the film in the opening; for instance the killing and early moments in the film all muddled together through flashbacks and moving back to the killing. We used this type of opening because we enjoyed and were influenced by the thriller film 4.3.2.1. (watch up to 1:28 and ignore the fact its in Russian).

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

• For our thriller opening we used three female teenage actresses. We didn't use the opening to show a class divide as they are all friends, they seem like normal middle class teenagers. So I guess by doing this we were attracting more of the middle class audience but we also didn't show a divide in ethnicity. Therefore not discriminating a religion; for instance if the victim was Asian the opening may have come across as victimizing a different ethnic group. So we kept all the females White British. However I'm sure some people may say that by doing this we are causing a divide between ethnic groups as we didn't have variety of characters. 

• We are representing a group of girls, 2 girls are best friends and bring the victim into the group. The victim is from a different background and is isolated by the other two. By using this as part of our plot we are connecting to the teenage girl audience as this is an everyday way of life as there is constant bullying and isolation between groups of girls at school/college. So this film is showing an extreme case of girls lives- here by connecting the audience as they may be in the same situation being isolated in their friendship group. It shows how teenage girls group themselves and they are cruelly calculated.

• As well as this, when creating our synopsis we decided that if the film continued past the opening the audience would have found out that the victim was in fact a murderer and therefore the girls were getting revenge on her as she had killed one of the girls family members. So we also used teenage crime- female teenage crime to connect the audience and keep the gripped. 
• Our opening is very different from another thriller Spring Breakers, the girls in this film are used as sex objects by wearing minimal clothing and presented as being sexy and older that their age. Although the females are also the antagonists, they are not acting as a typical group of teenage girls, they are the male fantasy version (unlike ours). The certificate of Spring Breakers is 18, and by having this certificate the sexual content and language is very advanced and provocative unlike a 15, therefore we are definitely attracting a younger audience and more females than males.

Camera work, editing, sound & mise en scene to create our social groups etc

• To create the isolation between the victim and the antagonists we positioned the antagonists together and used mise en scene to show the divide; for instance their body language and facial expressions, they look at each other and laugh at the victim. The camera work also highlights this, as we used a P.O.V and MCU shot from the victims perspective of the two laughing. When the girls are sitting in the cafe the victim is on the other side of the table, showing a divide between them. 
• We constantly positioned the antagonists next to each other and had the victim always at the end, she never stuck to one characters side as that demonstrated she was not as significant to the antagonists as they were to each other. Highlighting the isolation. 

• Sound we used laughter of the two girls, and the tiniest piece of dialogue from the victim near the end but majority of the time you see the antagonists looking at each other and looking as if they're only talking between them and the victim just watches and occasionally joins in. 
• The MOA of one of the antagonists passing the cup shows the power and dominance of those characters as the victim does whatever she has to to fit in. The following shot shows the antagonists boredom and how she is really uninterested in the protagonist (this expressed by body language). 
  
  
   

Stereotyping & why we chose females

• By showing the females like this, we were stereotyping teenage females as being bitchy, nasty and spiteful. This view of teenage girls is felt a lot by many different teenagers as today girls can be nasty and to make this as realistic as possible we had to show a variety of teenage girls and bitchy is one of them.
• Finally we have used females for our opening because most thrillers and other genre of films, males are mainly the main characters and the villains who are torturing women and expressing power and dominance over women. So by having all female cast we are showing that females aren't all weak and dominated by males. They too are just as dangerous as men and easily are out for revenge just as much as males however it is not as common. Therefore we wanted to go against the stereotypical thriller film and by doing that connected to more female audiences. 

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

• Kind of institution that would distribute my film: Whilst searching for British Independent Film Company, i decided that the type of film company that would distribute my film would be Metrodome Distribution as it has a wide range of thriller films of all ages. Many of the films that are distributed by this distribution are mainly on DVD and i feel that this would be the best as i would aim it for more DVD distribution than Cinema. A lot of their films released on DVD are aimed at the 15+ audience.
• Why: Although many females go to the Cinema, many girls like to have 'girly nights in' so would prefer to rent films to have a night in etc. As well as this, Microsoft now says that Xbox live members spend more time watching TV, music and films on live platform instead of playing games. As many game institutions are aiming their games and consoles at female audiences and also changing for family use etc they have also made the interface no longer solely about games. The interface is now equal for film on the home screen and more films are being recommended.
• The use of Netflix and Love Film is popular with the female audience and i therefore feel that my thriller would be successful online rather than in the cinema. These sites are also put on the home screen on the Xbox as well so will also grab the audience. 

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

• The audience for our thriller opening was aimed at 15+ and females. The film was mainly aimed at females through having mainly feminine cast, however this may attract the male audience simply because the actors are female. 

• When i uploaded the opening to be watched the audience, i mainly got feedback from females and attention from females, i was told by males that they had viewed it, however it wasn't made public unlike the female audience. This instantly suggests to me that it grabbed the female audience mainly.

• When speaking to the audience, I asked what other films were their particular favourites in the thriller genre. One audience member said 'The Strangers' which was also certified by the BBFC as being a 15, so here the similar certificate age we were trying to represent was clearly being represented in our opening. When watching the trailer of 'The Strangers' i noticed similar ideas and aspects that we have in our opening, for instance the use of mise en scene with the masks over faces to hide identity is similar to our boiler suites. And the use of sound, by having subtle music. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxNEFSBVgGI

• Another audience member also said they enjoyed the thriller film 'Shutter Island', again having the same certificate age, which again shows we picked the correct age range for our opening. When looking at the trailer, there are elements of our thriller. Mainly the use of the audience asking questions as there is confusion throughout the opening. So we again had created an effective thriller opening in this respect. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5iaYLCiq5RM

5. How did you attract/address your audience?

Attracting our audience 

• We attracted the audience by using flashbacks, the edited effect of the flashbacks being distorted and bright glows meant that it made the audience concentrate and seemed interesting 

• When speaking to some of the target audience they instantly mentioned they liked the contrast between the killing scenes and the flashbacks as the flashbacks (by the effective editing) looks like memories from the victim and therefore was very effective and grabbed the audience. The flashbacks were also more scenes of where many females enjoy spending time and this shows that the female audience was targeted.

• The use of mise en scene was very important as well to connect the audience, so we used natural settings, settings that are very day-to-day life for a lot of females aged 15+, for instance cafe's and shopping malls. Therefore it made the film and action more real and kept the opening girlier than other thriller films and became more interesting for females and caught their attention more

• Another mise en scene used to connect the audience was their costumes, their costumes are in fashion for the time period the film is set in. They are all wearing fashionable clothes, but all show different types of fashion and therefore attracting different members of the female audience.

• The boiler suites in the other parts of the opening are more manlier and different for women to wear, however women wearing the boiler suites aren't used seductively. For many men, females in boiler suites and bikini's are many men's fantasies however the suites are worn for a different purpose and aren't tight fitting, and therefore connects more to the female audience as they aren't being used for sexual reasons and not just used as an object. 

• Another member of the audience also commented on the non-diegetic sound, they said it was subtle yet eery and therefore created an atmosphere that grabbed the audience, whereas many males would prefer non-diegetic sound to be louder, more action and more violent.

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

• We used a camera similar to this, it was rather straight forward to use and quick to work out. However, remembering to set the White Balance wasn't always easy, so the need to re-shoot shots was a bit of a pain sometimes but was necessary as the quality of the camera makes a massive difference to the production as a whole. Using the tripod was easy enough with the camera, (setting up etc) wasn't a problem, just in some of the places we shot in there weren't always enough space which caused a problem in occasions, so the need of hand held shots was sometimes used as a result. For instance in the Cafe. But overall camera work and usage was good. 

•  Lighting was also another piece of technology we used. We used two types of lighting: smaller scale lights that were bright but weren't harmful to look at (smaller version of the image on the right-hand side) and then a big high voltage dangerous light (similar to the light on the left-hand side) which was very effective when creating the shadow at the killing scene. When shooting the flashback scenes we picked the shopping centre for instance that used a lot of bright lights so therefore creating a good effect, and when the girls walk into the cafe again we are using natural light, so the smaller lights weren't always necessary but we still used them effectively in the cafe and at moments in the killing scenes (for instance when she's in the boot) there is a slight lighting effect. 

• When editing the film and putting all the shots together we used Final Cut Pro, at the beginning this caused some confusion and difficulty. However after a few goes and copying other members of the group, it became very simple and quick to use. Cutting clips wherever necessary and creating a flow between shots.
• When putting effects on top of particular shots caused confusion and took many re-tries to get correct, but after many tries we found the effective effects and found the process easy, putting the effects to different percentages and strength etc. 
  
• Another piece of technology we used on the Macs was Garage Band. Again this caused problems at the start as it was another new piece of technology. We found that not a lot of the sounds created on Garage Band were very effective, but we found our non-diegetic sound on there which was very helpful after long hours of searching! And we found a loud 'hit' sound for when the victim is hit over the head and this created a lot of atmosphere and worked well we thought. But as we found not all of the sounds effective, we decided to create our own foleys. 
• To create our own foleys we used one of the new voice recorders, and recorded our laughter for the cafe scene and footsteps etc to create suspense. However again this caused issues as although we were making the sound ourselves, it didn't sound very effective and didn't fit in the opening very well. So we only used the laughter voice recording in the end and took another search on Garage Band. But in the end we learnt how to heighten the sound we created when filming. So a lot of the blurred sounds you hear and scuffling when dragging the body is the heightened sound created naturally through filming and this proved to be very effective. 

• Finally we have been using blogger throughout, at first it was rather confusing and difficult as bits of text wouldn't go one way and images wouldn't move or were in the wrong place but over time i was able to deal with it and manage it instead of being angered. Blogging has been fun to do and has been useful to keep a track on the work being done. Sometimes it is more tedious then others but overall has been a fun site to use and after many posts, it has become very easy to use. 

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

Creating this opening, i noticed how my knowledge and ideas have increased. Before i was more interested in the easier option and how to get the specific clip done quickly without any hassle. Editing was never really a focus, except having to get the specific shots needed (MOA, SRS and 180* rule). However this time, i was more interested in creating more difficult and powerful shots to get the best effect. 

• The camera work has become more in depth, for instance the importance of an establishing shot to create atmosphere, there was more thought into lighting to enhance the shot and then they worked together to create an atmosphere instead of just for instance putting the camera in front of a house in broad daylight as it wouldn't create as much of an atmosphere. The 'establishing shot' in the prelim is of stairs and this is a less interesting and boring scene and the camera isn't very sharp. 

• Vision editing was used more and the idea of editing shots became more important to create specific shots, e.g. the flashbacks. We wanted the flashbacks to be obvious and look really different from the other killing scenes, so brightening the shots adding a glow and a bit of distortion helped to show the contrast between the present action and the flashbacks. Therefore my editing has developed as i now know how to create the effects (glow) and how to enhance them and I'm also able to use them correctly for the specific shots and the specific idea. 

• Sound editing has also developed since my preliminary task, i now am able to heighten the sound on my clips when it's necessary, for instance on the flashbacks we heightened the diegetic sound of the shopping centre so it became distorted noise and mumbling this helped create the effect of flashbacks. The use of folleys became easier and picking them off garage band, however we found our use of the folleys we made ourselves weren't as successful as imagined but luckily we had hardly any dialogue so it wasn't necessary. 

• I feel that my continuity editing was already successful enough but i have just improved by noticing where more MOA's can be placed, the need for an establishing shot and keeping the 180* rule. But i feel like the editing was one i didn't really have to focus on as much to develop unlike the others. 

• I have learnt that the need to completely tell the story in the opening is not necessary, the idea of keeping the audience thinking creates a more interesting and complex opening. I learnt that constructing a story can be done in many different ways, for instance showing different points in time and using MOA's to link characters together and this therefore carries the story on as you can link characters together. The MOA's in my prelim were good but the shot was not the best quality. The use of graphic matches also help to carry on stories and linking characters too. 

• Characterisation has developed since my prelim task as i have noticed that all areas help to create characters, and that its not just Mise en scene that helps create a character. You can use shot reverse shots and P.O.V shots to help create characters, for instance when we showed that the antagonists are closer friends, we used a P.O.V shot to show them from the protagonists view. Plus body language and placing of the characters help to characterise them as we have the two antagonists constantly next to each other whereas the protagonist drifts from side to side. In my prelim, the shot reverse shot was effective, however the lighting was not very good as one character's face was lit well whereas the other had shadow on her face and therefore made the shot not as effective. 
  

Overall, many things have developed through the course but for me I feel like working in a group for me has developed as before i was more about working by myself, however by the end of the coursework i found working in a group has become easier (but sometimes i feel like i need to work harder at this).
As well as this i feel that my overall knowledge of editing has developed massively and this has therefore made a massive difference to the task in hand as i have been able to make an average shot more advanced and more appealing to they eye. By doing this we have hit many of our targets that we made at the begining of the course. I feel like this is a good thing to develop as portraying the story isn't always easy and effective if you haven't edited correctly etc, so by developing this skill stories you want to portray have become easier to create.
I also now have more of an idea how to use garage band (which is very useful) whereas before starting our thriller opening i had no idea as in the prelim i was never shown (as i was away) and therefore never used it in my prelim. So this time i learnt how to use it in a short space of time and i feel it made a massive difference to our opening as it's a vital piece of creating a realistic opening and setting the mood and atmosphere.