Final Product

Post - Production: Audience Feedback

Audience Feedback:

The audience feedback is important as it gives us the idea of what the audience has enjoyed about the thriller and what they don't like. This is important as we gain more information of what we could improve in the thriller.

Some Images From The Focus Group




Positive Comments: 

John aged 16 said "the cinematography has been used well and the lighting is very effective as it provided the correct idea as the audience should get in the thriller" 

This comment has been very beneficial because it shows that my group and i have chosen to the cinematography in the storyboard was good to follow and the lighting ideas we have used in the scenes to create the different effects that the audience respond to. 

Vicky aged 17 said "the locations that have been used from the scenes as it shows what the characters are doing and where they are, also some of the locations shows the isolation and can apprehend that there would be something bad would happen. 

This is very beneficial as this shows that me and my group has successfully chosen a good conventional location for the scenes, that the audience would be able to respond to it and this is what the aim was.

Jim aged 19 said "throughout the thriller the sound is very good and conventional to the thriller as the soundtrack suits what you see on the screen and the sounds allows us as the what is happening and the sound builds up the tension and at the end the sound of the antagonist creeping up is very effective"

The comment that jim has said is very helpful as it showed that our groups soundtrack is good and is conventional to the thriller genre, also with him mentioning the end scene it shows that the soundtrack we have created for that as the audience has immediately has responded to it.

Constructive Comments: 

Rikki said "that some of the video is out of focus and is a bit blurry" 

This was good because it shows that we did not fully pay attention to the video being focused and this shows that the audience has picked up on little thing that could be improved and make the thriller much better. 

Lauren said "That some of the acting in the thriller wasn't the best or that great in some of the scene" 

This was a good comment because it shows that the actors didn't properly convince the audience that it was real, and this is something that could be much improved on, i think that this would impact the audience more if they could feel more for the character. 

Chelly said "The antagonist in the thriller should be more scary with something that distorts his face" 

This comment is very helpful because it allows us to improve the antagonist to be able to scare the audience more, if this could be improved the audience reaction to the end scare would be more effective as it could gain a stronger reaction. 

Do you think you have followed your brief and created a successful thriller? 

I think i have followed the brief as i have created a conventional thriller and the audience react to the thriller, but with the feedback being said there is something that could be improved but i do think it is a successful thriller because it still gains the same reaction expected from the group. 

Conclusion

In conclusion the feedback is beneficial as the audience has helped us understand some of the flaws that we have in the thriller what this means is that there was somethings that would improve the thriller even more. The intended target audience was successful for the production company and film company as it gain the reaction that we expected, what this means is that the thriller was good from the audience and is conventional to the thriller. 

Post -porduction: Soundtrack of the thriller production

Why are sound tracks important in thrillers?

The importance of the soundtrack is that it enhances the effect that the audience would get and also the understanding of the thriller, with what is going on-screen.


What impact does effective sound have on the audience?

The impact that the sound would create is to scare the audience effectively with the correct sound to build up tension and suspense then scare the audience. If the audience can be scared then the soundtrack is effective. 


What is the conventional soundtrack in a thriller?
With the soundtrack in the thriller it is conventional as the video that you watch is complemented by the soundtrack given an understanding of what is happening or to get a reaction from the audience. With watching the video some of the sounds in the soundtrack are made to scare the audience when something pops up in the thriller. This is conventional as it is a thriller and it should thrill the audience while watching.

What programme did you use to create the sound track?

What type of soundtrack did you create? Where was your inspirations from?

The the type of soundtrack i have created has suspense and tension to go with the thriller genre, and also with what you see. The way that the soundtrack had been inspired was because of scream and seven this is because the way that they build up tension towards the audience then suddenly scares them, this is what we was aiming to get as a reaction.

What was effective about your thriller soundtrack?

the party scen and the build up to the torture scene is most effective as it went well with the video. This soundtrack has enhanced the thriller because of the sounds that was there, the heavey breathing of the antagonist walking behind the victim then she gets taken. The soundstrack is really effective here as it enhances little things in the thriller which makes it thrilling to watch.

Conclusion:

In conclusion the soundtrack has helped us create a production much better as it has enhanced the reaction and the emotion that the audience gain while watching.With the soundtrack it has been more conventional to the thriller genre because of how it goes with the video, the sound effects in the soundtrack create this.

Evaluation: Question 7 What was the preliminary task and what were its main aims?

What was the preliminary task and what were its main aims?

The preliminary task was to learn how to operate and be able to use the camera. During the preliminary task we have experimented with the camera. What we did is remember the cinematography research that we did and used some of the camera shots, angles and movement. During the process of the preliminary task we were able to designate the group roles to the people. With doing the preliminary, it has helped use gain some understanding of how we can film the footage, and the experience of filming the footage for our own thriller by also learning how to edit by creating a short sequence.

Four areas where my technical ability has improved

1 - In the filming process of the preliminary task to the finished thriller the two things that we have now improved on is the range of camera shots and movement use. This is because in the preliminary task we didn’t use that many camera shots as we weren’t as confident in doing so. With the finished thriller, we have used a wider range of camera movement, angles and shots because we had more confidence.

 

2 - I also feel I am now better at capturing movement creatively for example there is shot of the female who is walking down the park and the camera is at eye level. In the preliminary task when filming the footage kept being shown as out of focus. With having more confidence in being able to use the camera functions better, I am able to control the focus and be able to frame the movement shots better.

 

3 - I have also improved my editing skills as in the thriller I have intentionally implemented jump cuts to emphasize the movement of the character walking to the house. This has improved from my preliminary because I didn’t use jump cuts; I used a lot of straight cuts instead.

 

4 - Another editing transition I have used is a flash bulb effect. This is used when the female character is walking home alone shown and the flash bulb is used to highlight that she is by herself and isolated from other people so no one can help her. In my preliminary, I did not use this transition as I was not confident that I would fit correctly in the preliminary task.

Compare three images of the preliminary to the final product

In the first image it shows the framing of the character talking to the other character. With the final product, the framing of the character has improved in ways to present the characters actions for example the antagonist. There is not as much unwanted space therefore is more focused on the character.

 

 

In this image the character is filmed with a medium close up. With this shot I just show the character talking. In the final product, there is an image of the female victim at the house party.  Here, I use the same camera shot as in the preliminary task which shows the characters partying because of the angle that the footage has been taken from. I have improved with my filming as I can now show more of what is happening in the scene.

 

The third image shows a frame from the long panning shot of the character walking out the door. We did this by filming on action and capturing the character walking out the door on one side and out the other. In the final product I have a frame from the end of the antagonist looking at the female victim zooming out while he walks away in his point of view. With knowing more from the experience of the preliminary task, we are able to use more of a range of movement shot angles.

 

I have made a successful thriller as I feel I have thrilled some of the audience with the narrative of the story. Furthermore, with the research and the planning that we did as a group has allowed us to use the camera angles, shots and movements to the best of our ability. With the cinematography, lighting and the editing in my thriller, they all work together well as the cinematography of the thriller shows well throughout the thriller and the editing compliments the cinematography as camera shots and the editing transactions are used to help create tension and build suspense in the thriller.

With creating the thriller what I find most enjoyable was the filming and the editing. This is because while filming you get to feel first-hand how the thrillers are made. In addition to this the editing of the thriller was interesting as when you film the footage, you want to edit it together and watch the way the thriller is able to be developed slowly.

Some of the things that I could improve on in the thriller are the lighting and also the organisation of the people that take part in the thriller. With the lighting we could improve on is in some of the scenes as it is too dark and the audience aren’t able to see anything. As for the organisation of the people, the timing of crew members being at the location and the date could be improved as this made us slightly delayed with the filming process.

In the process of the research, planning and the process of filming the thriller, I have learnt new ideas on how to create a production. Also, over this whole process of the filming and editing I have learnt how to edit and create a successful thriller with the first-hand experience of being the cameraman as well as the editor. With this I have gained some experience of what it is like to be a producer of a film.

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

Evaluation: Question 5 How did you attract/address your target audience?

With secondary research it is import in the existing film, as doing this research has allowed us to gain an indication of how to address the audience and also how to attract the audience. Also what it allowed us to know is that the common conventions that the existing thriller films have.

From the secondary research that I have found is that I believe that the target audience towards the thriller genres target audience is are the age’s groups of 15-45. With the age groups of this is that the 15-45 year old people are that they are young students or they are employed, the thriller are more target because under 15 cannot watch it and over 45’s are not interested because it doesn’t appeal to them. Therefore the age groups 15-45 are the most appealing for thrillers.  With the thriller genre it is not aimed at any specific gender to watch, also the ethnicity of a person is not aimed at any specific ethnicities. The occupation of the thriller target audience is aimed at are students and the employed that are looking for an entertaining thrill, or that it is there hobbies & interest in watching thrillers.

With the common conventions and emotions of the audience is that having an antagonist as tall and scary and also a vulnerable teenage female victim towards the audience. The emotions that the audience gain from the victim are that they fear, tension and sympathise emotions when they see the victim getting attacked. When the audience see the antagonist they fear and have chilled feelings by the antagonist. To ensure that we make the audience have this emotional effect from the thriller we make sure they can feel for the female victim, we make them fear from the victim from the antagonist using all the common conventions of a typical antagonist. Another convention that the audience may look from is the use of iconography and themes, with our thriller having a scene where the victim get murdered the use of iconography of the weapon that is used will connote to the audience that something is going to happen and the death of the victim is a part of themes in the thriller.

From what I have said before, the type of age group that I am aiming towards is from the ages of 18 as a minimum and above this is because of the content that is in the thriller as it wouldn’t be suitable for any ages below the ages of 18. From the; gender, occupation, hobbies and interest the thriller has no specific audience that it is aimed at apart from the audience looking for a thrill. This type of audience that I would attract because of the type of thrills that are in it, as a group we wanted to be able to attract all genders, ethnicity and occupation because it will keep the thriller open to everyone.

 

Evaluation: Question 4 who woud be the audience for your media product?

Evaluation: Question 3 What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

Evaluation: Question 2) how does your media product represent particular social groups?

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

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

·         The task…

The task was to create a 2 minute thriller within small groups. We were asked to research and identify the micro-elements and then use of them in our thriller films. Once we understood this concept, we were put into small groups and here we had to create ideas for a thriller we wanted to make whilst using all the appropriate conventions. Once we explored some ideas for a potential thriller we created a narrative by using the narrative structure of Aristotle as this best suited out idea. Once this was agreed, we then created a storyboard, which helped us further plan our ideas and group roles... Once we have captured all the footage of the thriller, we had to edit it using final-cut. Using this program allowed us to put effects that will enhance the visuals of the thriller. As well as video editing, we also had to create an original soundtrack using garage band making sure that it suited the narrative and emotion drawn from our thriller.

Generic conventions within my thriller

My planning and production was influenced by my research a lot therefore I believe that I followed and developed generic conventions of a thriller.

Within my thriller a low angle of the antagonist has been used when he is shown at the party stalking the female victim. With doing this it has been used to show the power that he has towards her and this is used to make the audience feel scared and afraid of him.

What the antagonist wears is all black this is shown at the party scene as everything he is wearing is black head to toe. What this represents is all the dark intensions that he has and also the anger of revenge to get back at someone that took his love away, and what this does is makes the audience feel scared and feared of him.

 

In the party scene of the thriller you can see the characters partying but then you can also hear the non-diegetic sound in the background. Non diegetic sound has been used here to just show that the  characters are being normal teenagers where they are partying and listen to music, and this makes the audience start to understand that the female is partying.

 

Nearing to the end of the thriller the editing starts to pick up, the fast paced editing is used when the antagonist kidnaps the female victim and starts to torture her; this was to use to show that something exciting is happening and what this does is make the audience feel excited while watching.

 

 

The body language and facial expression is scared and shocked when the victim is being taken by the antagonist in the park; this represents the characters as weak and vulnerable and the antagonist as strong and powerful. This makes the audience feel scared and feared for the victim as they know the dark intensions that he has towards her.

With the coursework tasks was that we were put into small groups to film and edit our own original thriller film. With doing this is consists of us creating our own narrative, creating a storyboard, doing research and filming and editing the footage for the production with an original soundtrack to it, then getting audience feedback through surveys and people watching it.

·         Does my thriller follow conventions of a thriller?

My thriller follows typical thriller conventions as we used conventional character representations to show the antagonist as a tall and strong that is dressed in all black clothing that hides his identity. This is conventional to a thriller as all antagonists are dressed in dark clothing to represent the evil and dark, with our antagonist he is perceived as fearful towards the other characters and the audience.

I believe my thriller also represents the female victim in a conventional way because is that she is very vulnerable as she is a teenager going to a house party. The clothes that our female victim is wearing is leopard print shorts and a white vest, what the vest can represent is that she is innocent in some ways because the black in the shorts can show to the audience that she has some hidden secrets. This follows the thriller conventions because the victim is wearing light colours and in most other thriller films you see the victim or the protagonist wearing light colours, which connote to the audience that they are pure. With this being shown our victim is shown as conventional with the innocence’s and purity but has some dark secrets that the audience figure out later on.

Our lighting in the thriller follows the thriller genres conventions as; in the torture/park scene we use low key lighting. This is because using low lighting in these scenes allows it to have more of an eerie feel whist following the thriller conventions, of the thriller scene of where the victim is being tortured and also when she gets kidnapped in the park, there is almost no light where makes it more scary for the audience to watch as they can’t much.

From doing some research of opening credits, which are seven and scream. I have gained some ideas of what to uses as conventional thriller openings. With the film seven, we see that the font of the writing is white and turns red. Also with the font it is in block capitals and some of the letters have parts that are faded. Also in comparison the film scream, shows the title in the colour white then shakes and turns red, screams opening credits are conventional because of the red and the way that it has been shown. With our thriller, knowing the conventional opening credits and typography needed. It has allowed us to be more creative using the research we came up with the idea of when the credits are being shown and title. It appears with a shake and the credits are shown, while the font has the writing looking like it is dripping like blood. Our credits in the thriller follow the thriller genre of being conventional because of the aspect of it shake to have a distort look and the blood type effect to make the audience wonder what this could represent in the thriller.

·         Generic conventions of a thriller

To help me understand the generic conventions were what I had to do is research into the thriller genre and their use of microelements. I found that in editing the way that they build tension is that the editing speed starts slow and then slowly builds to become faster as the editing of the footage would speed up. What this means in the generic convention that they can use in conventional thriller can generally scare some of the audiences by using the slow and fast paced editing.  Also with doing this with the tension and the suspense, there is sound that is in the films. This is used to show the audience that sound could scare the audience or make them emotional. With the research that I have done there are different types of ways sound is shown in the film. There is diegetic and non-diegetic what these are is that diegetic, is a part of the film world. This is when filming whatever sound is made at that time it is a part of the film world. For example, TV the TV can be on when being film this means the characters can hear it and also the audience can when they are watching the film.

Also with this there is Mise En Scene the conventional things that are in the thriller is that, the costume that characters are wearing, with each type of character there is a certain way that they are dressed in the thriller to show what type of character that they are in the film. Also the hair, make up and the body language of the character also are a part of the way they are shown to the audience. With iconography the typical conventions are, when the antagonist for example take a knife to use to kill the victim of the film. This is conventional be the weapon is used to kill the victim. Also with this being said where the antagonist kills the victim is also important as when I researched about it, and when the antagonist kills the victim It would most likely to be in the home of the victim or a isolated area to show the audience fear and to make them feel uncomfortable as the audience can relate to wear she lives.

My thriller following a conventional narrative structure

With knowing the theory of Aristotle, in our thriller we base our narrative around his theory as we think it fits for the thriller genre. We have chosen to follow this theory as it suits the ideas of our narrative of the thriller, this is conventional because with our thriller we have a equilibrium, disequilibrium and a new equilibrium, the beginning shows the characters and the middle shows the struggle the character goes through and the it ends with the a shocking ending towards the audience.

Research Questionnarie/Results

Questionnaire:
In order to create a thriller, i needed to create a questionnaire to gather some information through primary research that the target audience would like in thriller and their views with the thriller. With using the the questionnaire to find out information from the target audience we know what would be effective towards our audience which is conventional to the thriller.

The questionnaire below, is the questions that i have asked the audience to find out information about films and what genres that they may like and what interests that they have in a particular film. Once i have counted up the results i found that the majority of people liked and watched thrillers more than watching any of the other genres. As we have had these results this was convenient for me as i could be able to focus on the conventional thriller genres than having to have trouble to mix in the other genres within the film i am making. Since i don't have the trouble to mix the other genres within the film to make this effective towards the audience.

The image above is the questionnaire that i have asked the audience is thriller specific, what this does is allow me to gain the best primary research of what the audience would like in a thriller. Finding out the sub-genres that they like, or the common conventions shown, the types of characters ETC. 

With the results above is it essential that we used this to please the audience while helping us to create our thriller. With knowing the sub-genre of what the audience would like to see, with the results of the age groups allows us to understand the content that we are able to put in. Also with knowing the gender results of the thriller allows us to understand the variance of the results due to the gender shown. 

With asking some conventional uses that are in the thriller it will help us create the thriller using the results shown, with understanding that the audience would prefer that the antagonist show wear black and now wear a lighter colour for a sub verse understanding. Also to know that the certain types of entertainment feelings that the audience want to feel while watching helps us create the narrative, storyboard, editing and sound to create the feeling of fear, tension, suspense or excitement. 

Conclusion:

With the creation of the questionnaire it allowed us to gain the knowledge of what the audience wanted, what the questionnaire helps us do is relate back to the audience repose. With the results of the questionnaire it allows us to stick to the thriller conventions and sub genre that we have chosen. Due to the thriller that we have created we are able to build tension and shock them with the narrative of the thriller that we have created. This information is important as the group will know who are target audience is and what they would want to see in our thriller. 

 

Planning Story board

What is a Storyboard?:

A story board is a visual representatopm of the narrative that has been created, within the storyboard is shows each of the camera angles and movements of each character scene by scene. Storyboards my just be a picture in a box but with this it is very helpful as it is used by film makers in order to make the filming process easier in the actual films and it is less stressful. With having the storyboard the actors, directors and the camera operators to know what they are suspose to be doing without having to stop and plan the next scene.


The Task:
In the lesson we were working within the groups we are in to create a storyboard that would represented the narrative that my group has created. With being able to do this we had to think about how we would want our thriller to look like, know how long each scene would be, the sound, lighting, location, dialogue and also the actors and the people that were needed to film a certain shot.


Our Stroyboard:
Below is the storyboard that my group was able to come up with, this includes clear images and the micro-elements that will be used in our thriller. With this stroyboard being organised and clearly presented this will allows us to make the time of filming our thrillers easier and to know who will be needed in each shot, when they are needed and where they would be needed. Furthermore using the storyboard it helps us be sure of the narrative as we are able to know what the thriller will look like after filming the thriller.

Conclusion:
With creating my own storyboard, i find that it will help me and my group when we start to film as the storyboard helps us have a clear understanding of our narrative and how each of the shots should look when it actually comes to filming.With the storyboard it will make the production of the scene much easier as the director and the producer can work with the information that they have on their storyboard. This also ensures that their wouldn't be any shots/scens that are missing by accident, this also will make the editing of the thriller easy as we will know where to edit the film. For example: Fade to black, flash, straight cut etc.