Question 7 Looking back at your preliminary task,what do you feel you have learnt in the progressionfrom it tothe full product?

Looking back at the preliminary task I feel that since then I have learnt a great deal both as a direct result of the preliminary task and as a consequence of trial and error during the process of making my thriller opening.

It was during the preliminary task production that I initially learnt about the importance of shot types and angles. Without doing the preliminary task I would have only used a small variety of shot types such as close ups and long shots however my thriller reflects a larger amount of shot types as a result of the preliminary task. During the preliminary task me and my group were encouraged to use as many different angles and techniques as we could and it is from the tutorials of what we could have used that I learnt about effects such as match on match action, high and low angle shots and over the shoulder shots. Many of these shot types were used in my final project demonstrating how I have learnt from the preliminary task.

During the preliminary task we spent a large amount of time on the planning phase which as a consequence led to a fairly rushed shoot. From this I have learnt the value of planning time efficiently. In my final production I made sure that enough time was left to shoot the film without any issues. Furthermore I drew up a shooting schedule in order to maintain the time efficiency.

In the preliminary task I appeared on camera as opposed to the directors role I took in my thriller opening. What I have gained from this is the knowledge of what it is like for the actors on set and how difficult it can be to recreate exactly what the director is asking you to do. As a result I believe that when I took to directing I was able to communicate with my actors far more easily.

The editing phase of the preliminary task proved rather tedious as I had never used the required programme before - adobe premiere elements 1.0. As a result of this work however I became far more adept at using it in the future. A task that originally would have taken me an hour could be done in 15 minutes by the time I was editing my thriller. This saved a huge amount of time which was vital in order to keep on schedule.

While I was not in a group for my thriller I was still part of a team as I required three actors for my film. During the preliminary task I was part of a group of five people which gave me the skills needed to work with people on set. When you are part of a team it is important to coordinate your actions and not get in the way of each other’s tasks. The preliminary task enhanced this fact by allowing me to experience first hand what it was like to work in a group.

One of the first phases of the preliminary task was choosing an appropriate location. I went out to different areas until we found an area that looked appropriate and was not likely to be interrupted. From this I how looks are not everything when it comes to choosing the set. Our first choice in the preliminary task was too busy to be suitable. When it came to choosing a location for my thriller I chose an area that would be both appropriate and unlikely to be interupted by passers-by.

We didn’t have a soundtrack for the preliminary task however there were a few inappropriate background noises including speaking from behind the camera, from this I learnt the importance of checking the soundtrack and in my final cut I ended up having 6 separate soundtracks before I was satisfied demonstrating how the preliminary task experience taught me the value of suitable and good quality sound. For example the dialogue in the prelim was recorded straight to the camera and was not given its own soundtrack; the result was a less than brilliant sound quality and various background interruptions. In the final cut of my thriller however I combated this level of quality by recording the dialogue separately on a microphone and I removed all background imperfections.

Several parts of the preliminary video are jumpy and it sometimes repeats the same sequence. By seeing the negative effect that this has on the overall quality of the video I ensured that in my thriller this did not happen.

My audience feedback for my thriller is far better than I expected. While the male audiences appear to appreciate it more I have however received very little criticism from males or females. Most people understand what is going on however it has been suggested that my plot is not clear. I believe that this is my largest weakness however this is not an issue for most people. My biggest strength is my soundtrack, I believe that it perfectly complements the atmosphere and this has been backed up by several people.

The most important lesson I have learned from the whole process is that it is vital to understand the bigger picture. When I started out I had in my mind a good looking sequence however there was no back story, it was just a pointless sequence of events. At the time I believed it was ok for me to be in the dark as much as my audience however the whole plan for this shoot collapsed and it was not until I had formulated motives and backgrounds that I managed to effectively shoot my thriller. By knowing the bigger picture I knew exactly how each character should behave and what misé en scene was appropriate.

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

In the process of creating my media product I was required to make use of various technologies, some of which I have had previous experience with however with others I have had none at all and therefore had to learn from scratch how to use them.

The Camera was an integral part of the process and, while I have used it before on previous projects, this time around I was required to have more in depth understanding. For example the contrast settings had to be adapted in order to see properly in the dark natural lighting I was using. Also I had to adapt the zoom settings from digital to optical to create a clearer image while using the zoom.

In the editing process I was required to use software that I have never used before. The editing programme I used was adobe premier elements 1.0. In order to learn how to use this I attended various tutorials on how it worked and enlisted the help of a more experienced user when I ran into difficulty. In order to create my film I had to learn to do the following:

-          upload the video from the camera to the programme

-          cut out parts of the original video in order to place them into a timeline so that I had a foundation to start editing with

-          finely cut out part of the film so that unnecessary images were not included

-          put in video transitions such as “dip to black” in order to create a flowing sequence

-          download and record other media to insert into the clip, for example music and voiceovers

-           put my selected soundtrack over the video and align it so that the sound increased in tension at the right areas

-          add in a post recorded voice over

-          add in sound effects such as gun shots and a recording of water

-          edit the sounds so that they did not disrupt the dialogue, i.e. make them quieter without making them suddenly drop in volume

-          create titles for the credits and film title

-          add transitions to the titles so that they appeared over the video but didn’t block it out completely

-          finally export the completed video

After this process I had to upload the video to Youtube. This process was simple but I hadn’t done it previously so it involved creating an account before uploading.

Other technology that I used was a dictaphone with a microphone attachment for various sound effects and the voice over as well as a tripod for steadier shots.

After learning the importance of using different camera shots and angles I set about utilizing them in my film. I used a wide array of shot types such as over the shoulder, high and low angle and extreme close ups. The experience of creating this film allowed me to put into practise these skills.

Finally, the whole project came together as a result of using the internet. I was required to do research prior to creating my own thriller and I know feel far more confident in finding audience response and critical reception for films on websites such as IMDB. Also the use of blogger was vital in order to present all of my work. I had never created a blog before and so by doing so I have gained skills in both efficiency (labels and case studies) and presentation – making the blog look good.

Question 5 How did you attract/address your audience?

My Target audience is males aged 15-21. In order to attract this audience I included various aspects of misé en scene that this audience could relate to. Items such as alcohol, cigarettes and an ipod humanise the character and allow the audience to relate to him. My audience can also relate to the feelings of anger and betrayal displayed by the protagonist. By allowing my audience to have a connection to the main character I have created a means for them associate themselves with the film.

As my target audience are males I also included factors that relate to masculinity. For example the motorbike has strong connotations of masculinity as do the leather jacket and gun. Furthermore the shooting scene shows a direct display of one male dominating another which again connects back to the idea of masculinity. Furthermore the way in which this macho behaviour has been presented suggests that to act like this is heroic allowing my audience to aspire to be like the protagonist.

This male empowerment is enhanced by the tense music which progressively builds in tempo and creates an aggressive atmosphere. The blunt sounds of the motorbike and gunfire create a charged ambience, especially the final shot which has no complimenting music thus enabling the gun to be the focus of attention.

I also attracted my audience by allowing them to empathise with the protagonist’s friend. We can’t help but feel sorry for this victim of circumstance. His confused, irritated and ultimately demoralized voice makes us want to discover what is going to happen to him and how he ended up in this situation.

Finally I ended on a cliff hanger. The black screen leaves us in the dark as to what has happened, we as an audience believe we know what has happened but it is impossible to tell until we see the rest of the film. This factor is commonly used in films either at the end of the opening scene or at the very end if the film has a sequel.

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

In order to research the audience for my thriller I had several groups of people watch my thriller and make a quick evaluation. As expected it was more popular with the male audience of various ages – however all under 30. Furthermore I looked at similar the reception of similar films such as Leon. IMDB tells me that Leon was most popular among males under 18.

My thriller is likely to attract a predominately male audience between the ages of 15 and 20. As the protagonist falls into this category the audience is able to relate to him and the feelings he harbours – i.e. anger, aggression and betrayal of friendship. Furthermore as a heroic figure he represents what many teenage males aspire to be.

Another character who male teenagers may relate to is the friend of the protagonist. In this opening he is seen as the victim and we as an audience can’t help but pity this boy who has been taken hostage, tortured and ultimately even had his friend turn against him. The feelings of betrayal and being placed in a compromising position can be related to by the audience. 

There are no female characters in the opening scene of my thriller which backs up the idea that my thriller is likely to attract a mainly male audience.

The antagonist of this film is in his mid to late twenties. For this reason you may argue that my film may also attract people of this age however the character being portrayed is not easy to relate to and it is unlikely that people would aspire tolerant that be like him. Furthermore people may actually see him as a negative representation of adults which would further attract a younger audience as they could relate to the concept of being at odds with older people.

In my film I have specifically placed misé en scene that could relate to this audience. For example on the protagonist’s desk we see a phone, an ipod, alcohol, coffee, cigarette packets, etc. all of these items create a link to a teenage audience as it humanises the protagonists character and subsequently makes him easier to relate to.

The action aspect of my thriller traditionally appeals to male audiences as it represents a display of masculinity. For the same reason the motorbike scene would also appeal to a male audience. Furthermore the sub-genre of my film (crime thriller) attracts male audiences more than female audiences. This can be seen by looking at almost any other film of this genre on IMDB, for example Reservoir Dogs, No Country for Old Men and Leon were all most popular in males under 18.

A film which has close themes to mine is Leon. For this reason I used Leon as a basis to find out what other media my audience may consume. Amazon tells me that people who bought Leon also bought: The Usual Suspects and Wasabi above anything else. Both of these received the highest user ratings from the males under 18 category on IMDB. This further backs up my belief that I will attract a male audience between 15 and 20.