Wednesday, 11 November 2009

appendix twelve: analysis of completed thriller

Evaluation

Codes and conventions in our media product

It is important to recognise that when creating a thriller film that the media product has to explore the codes and conventions of such genre. In relation to our media product we used many of these important conventions. As the most common of the codes and conventions is that the films are usually set in darkness we used this to our advantage by having the film in filmed in a dark confined area to show this to the audience. The two pictures show how our media product is similar to a blockbuster thriller film through this convention of darkness.

Another obvious convention our media product included was dramatic edgy music to draw in the attention of the audience. Our film was set in an urban landscape which subsequently again fit in with the constant referral to the thriller codes and conventions. This urban landscape is shown to the audience through the fact our product was filmed in a garage. This may not appear obvious to the audience member, but the set does provide some clues to show the audience this is an urban landscape i.e. tools. This picture demonstrates how this can be seen. With this in mind it could be seen that our media product could challenge this convention. Partial vision plays a big role in our media product. As straight from the beginning of the sequence it starts making the audience ask questions. At the very beginning of the sequence partial vision is portrayed through a point of view shot. Again this makes the audience ask the question, whose point of view is this from? As there are more shot reverse shots through the sequence the audience begins to see more of what is happening on screen. This could be described as a form of protracted outcome, as the audience is left in suspense waiting to see who this person is. The two pictures show how partial vision is explored in our media product and in another blockbuster film.

Partial vision is also explored during the shot where the door opens and the light creeps across the characters face. This is as the audience know someone is there but never gets to see this person. Again during this time the audience could be asking questions such as, who is opening the door? This question could arise during the point the door latch begins to turn. Subsequently this could challenge the protracted outcome convention, as the audience never sees this person this could lead to the audience being in suspense until the point the girl screams and the audience hear the outcome that this is the villain of the story. This is another convention of a thriller film.


Who does our product represent?

Prior to creating this product our audience research we collected concluded that the audience age that we would be satisfying was 15-17 year olds. This could suggest to us that the product we created then therefore had to represent this majority of people. As this age range is a young one this meant in our media product we had a young character. Although this character is 10 years old I believe that the audience could find her more relatable then an adult, this is as most people who watch this film would be able to relate to being ten years old.


As through our audience research we found that most people would accept a film about domestic abuse this meant we could set our opening sequence around it. I found that as most people could relate to being 10 years old most couldn’t relate to being domestically abused. As most of our expected audience would have been raised domestically I find that this could mean the audience member could become attached to the character and begin to imagine themselves as 10 years old and being abused. This would make our film more controversial and interesting for the audience member. This shows me that our product could represent our target audience member. An example of a film that incorporates the two elements of young people and domesticated environments is Hide and Seek (2005). The main story line of this film is that a father is unknowingly causing his child mental harm. This means that the audience members can relate to this child as they have been that age and could imagine this happening to them. This means that in both films the audience member can relate to family problems. Our media product incorporates this message and represents a social group of 15-17 year olds in domesticated areas.

To add the effect of innocence to our character we chose to have the character wearing pyjamas. This therefore again allows the audience to relate to the character and represents how most 10 year old girls would dress. This addresses the stereotype that all young girls are innocent. This again is explored through the use of a teddy bear. The audience research found that this teddy bear enhanced the feeling of neglect; this meant that we were representing what the audience viewed as a code for neglect. This suggests to the audience that the girl is lonely and gives them a stereotypical view of what living with domestic abuse would be like. To represent our audience more we used the information from our questionnaire to find that children staring in to the camera was scary. This meant that subsequently we could use this in out sequence to represent the wants of 15-17 year olds.


To physically enhance the view that this child is domestically abused, we used make up to give the appearance that she had bruises on her face and a bust lip. This aloud us to clearly show the audience that we were representing the information they had given us about domestic violence being appropriate.


Who may distribute our media product

Our product has some obvious qualities that mean that it can be put in to some distribution categories automatically. As our product is set in Britain this means that it could be possible that it wouldn’t become a Hollywood blockbuster. More likely it would become distributed among British film companies such as Film Four. Film Four often have viewings of small budget films from Britain often i.e. Run Fat Boy Run. Subsequently our film is put in to the thriller genre; this also suits this particular company as they often have viewings of thrillers such as Slumdogg Millionaire. When looking at our media product this could mean that our target audience would be able to watch our product through this distributor. This is as are target audience is 15-17 year olds in domesticated environments. Consequently this means that they would be able to access this media distributor from home.


With technology ever growing and younger people accessing the internet this means that another source of media distribution could be on the internet. This means that websites such as http://www.dogwoof.com/ can show our film to the audience we are targeting. Media product makers such as me can post my product on to the website and can have the possibilities to be shown to anyone accessing the internet. Another form of distribution to our target audience would be in the form of a film festival. This is an event where film lovers can come and watch low budgeted thriller films like our own media product. The Sundance festival allows people to watch these kinds of films and we can enter our own product to them for distribution. With this in mind some extra extensive audience research we could have done would have been asking the person how they would usually access a thriller film such as our own. With this in mind I believe most people would have said on television or cinema. This suggests that Film Four could be the most appropriate form of Distribution we would use.


What will attract the audience to our product?

Through the use of audience research we have been able to understand our target audience. This gives us a clearer idea of what our target audience will want from our media product and what they will look like etc. The age range of our target audience seems to be 15-17 year olds. This is represented in the picture below. These people look like the type of people who would watch our film.




Due to their smiling faces and attitudes I expect that these teenagers have had a happy domesticated upbringing. This in turn means that they will be able to relate to some of the domesticated story lines within the product, meaning that they are obviously our target audience. AS the main character in our media product is ten years old, these people will be able to relate to being this age more clearly then the likes of 40 year old would be able to.

Preliminary task compared to final piece

My main preliminary task included one girl walking in to a room and having a conversation with another girl and then leaving. Immediately just within the plot line there is a huge difference between this and our finished product. This plot was not at all interesting for the viewer and did not challenge any codes and conventions of a thriller film. I think this change in satisfying the audiences need was due to the audience research we collected for the final media product. This research gave us a clearer idea of what the audience wanted from out product, such as tension, costumes, props, make up and what they expected of the film. This allowed us as directors and crew members feel more confident and reassured as to what we had to do on set. This confident made our final product look more professional and overall better then the preliminary. Some of the audience feed back we received after a viewing of the preliminary task was that the match on action wasn’t good. I feel that my group and I resolved this as the film looked very smooth and it was not commented on during the audience feedback for the final piece. One thing that was highly commented on during the audience feedback of our final product was that the music and graphics we used were to a higher standard ad gave the audience what they expected from our film. In our preliminary task we didn’t use this music or graphical techniques, so this in turn this resulted in the preliminary not looking professional, or satisfying the audiences wants. Whilst editing the preliminary product we found that we didn’t have enough takes to work with. To resolve this in our final media piece we took many takes. This meant that we had a wider range of takes to work with to make our film look at the most highest standard. Overall I see this Preliminary task as useful, as with out it we wouldn’t have realised some of these big mistakes and resolved them to make our product the best it could be.

Technology used









appendix eleven: audience feedback

Audience feedback

As it is important to collect audience research to make a satisfying film to a target audience, it is as equally important to collect audience feedback. Hopefully this feedback will allow me and my group members to understand how to amend problems and see what worked well within our thriller film.

During our feedback one of the first comments that were made about our media product was that the music played throughout the sequence made the audience feel tense and gave the clip more tension. This is positive feedback as one of the main conventions of a thriller films is music that provides suspense. Also this comments means that we have been following the information that we were given through our audience research, this is as our research we found that one of the main things that the audience expected from our media product was tension and suspense.

Another comment made about the music we used in this sequence was that it worked well with the effects we placed on the opening title of the film. This means that we were combining both the tension of the music and adding more tension with the title effects. We were given a comment “it made me jump” again this is a good thing as one of the things that the audience research found that the audience liked about a thriller film was that it was scary. This means that we were satisfying the audience’s wants with our opening sequence.

The direction we gave the actress was described as very good. This is important as this means that we were giving the right emotion across to the audience through the use of our actress. This means that we were able to put across the feeling of neglect and domestic abuse to the audience. This was also one thing that the audience wanted to see during our audience research. The feel of neglect was also put across using the prop of an old scruffy teddy bear. This prop was described as relevant, meaning that we did put across that feeling of neglect to the audience successfully.

Negative feedback is as important as the positive, but the only negative feedback we received was that there weren’t a lot of credits. We only had the title of the film in the beginning sequence as we felt that this needed to stand out as the most important thing of the sequence as it was the title of the film. This also made that audience ask questions about what the title of the film meant, making them want to watch the film to have their questions answered.

appendix ten: video log sheets




EDL

TITLE: nostrophobia
001 BL V C 00:00:00:00 00:00:00:13 00:00:00:00 00:00:00:13
002 AX NONE C 00:00:02:01 00:01:12:00 00:00:00:00 00:01:09:24
REEL AX IS CLIP 10 Ruska.wma
* AUDIO LEVEL AT 00:01:09:03 IS -8.30 DB (REEL AX A3)
* AUDIO LEVEL AT 00:01:10:19 IS -99.99 DB (REEL AX A3)
* AUDIO LEVEL AT 00:01:09:03 IS -8.30 DB (REEL AX A4)
* AUDIO LEVEL AT 00:01:10:19 IS -99.99 DB (REEL AX A4)
AUD 3 4
003 Untitled AA/V C 00:00:02:00 00:00:03:18 00:00:00:13 00:00:02:06
REEL Untitled_Tape IS CLIP scene 1 .avi
004 Untitled V C 00:00:02:00 00:00:03:12 00:00:00:13 00:00:02:00
REEL Untitled_Tape IS CLIP scene 1 .avi
005 Untitled V C 00:00:03:12 00:00:03:12 00:00:02:00 00:00:02:00
005 BL V W000 006 00:00:00:00 00:00:00:09 00:00:02:00 00:00:02:15
EFFECTS NAME IS W000
REEL Untitled_Tape IS CLIP scene 1 .avi
REEL BL IS CLIP BL
006 BL V C 00:00:00:00 00:00:00:09 00:00:02:06 00:00:02:15
007 Untitled AA/V C 00:00:47:19 00:00:52:12 00:00:02:15 00:00:07:08
REEL Untitled_Tape IS CLIP scene 1 02.avi
008 Untitled V C 00:00:47:19 00:00:52:06 00:00:02:15 00:00:07:02
REEL Untitled_Tape IS CLIP scene 1 02.avi
009 Untitled V C 00:00:52:06 00:00:52:06 00:00:07:02 00:00:07:02
009 BL V W000 006 00:00:00:00 00:00:00:08 00:00:07:02 00:00:07:16
EFFECTS NAME IS W000
REEL Untitled_Tape IS CLIP scene 1 02.avi
REEL BL IS CLIP BL
010 BL V C 00:00:00:00 00:00:00:08 00:00:07:08 00:00:07:16
011 Untitled AA/V C 00:00:16:03 00:00:20:02 00:00:07:16 00:00:11:15
REEL Untitled_Tape IS CLIP scene 1 03.avi
012 Untitled V C 00:00:16:03 00:00:19:19 00:00:07:16 00:00:11:07
REEL Untitled_Tape IS CLIP scene 1 03.avi
013 Untitled V C 00:00:19:19 00:00:19:19 00:00:11:07 00:00:11:07
013 BL V W000 008 00:00:00:00 00:00:00:07 00:00:11:07 00:00:11:22
EFFECTS NAME IS W000
REEL Untitled_Tape IS CLIP scene 1 03.avi
REEL BL IS CLIP BL
014 BL V C 00:00:00:00 00:00:00:07 00:00:11:15 00:00:11:22
015 Untitled AA/V C 00:01:12:08 00:01:18:01 00:00:11:22 00:00:17:15
REEL Untitled_Tape IS CLIP scene 1 04.avi
016 Untitled AA/V C 00:00:42:15 00:00:46:22 00:00:17:15 00:00:21:22
REEL Untitled_Tape IS CLIP scene 1 05.avi
017 Untitled AA/V C 00:02:32:10 00:02:38:23 00:00:21:22 00:00:28:10
REEL Untitled_Tape IS CLIP scene 1 06.avi
018 Untitled AA/V C 00:02:46:21 00:02:50:11 00:00:28:10 00:00:32:00
REEL Untitled_Tape IS CLIP scene 1 07.avi
019 Untitled AA/V C 00:03:03:09 00:03:06:22 00:00:32:00 00:00:35:13
REEL Untitled_Tape IS CLIP scene1 08.3.avi
* AUDIO LEVEL AT 00:03:03:09 IS +4.96 DB (REEL Untitled A1)
* AUDIO LEVEL AT 00:03:03:09 IS +4.96 DB (REEL Untitled A2)
020 Untitled AA/V C 00:03:11:15 00:03:14:16 00:00:35:13 00:00:38:14
REEL Untitled_Tape IS CLIP scene 1 09.2.avi
021 Untitled AA/V C 00:03:31:18 00:03:35:16 00:00:38:14 00:00:42:12
REEL Untitled_Tape IS CLIP scene 1 10.avi
022 Untitled AA/V C 00:03:43:07 00:03:48:09 00:00:42:12 00:00:47:14
REEL Untitled_Tape IS CLIP scene 1 11.avi
023 Untitled AA/V C 00:03:54:08 00:03:59:16 00:00:47:14 00:00:52:22
REEL Untitled_Tape IS CLIP scene 1 12.avi
024 Untitled AA/V C 00:05:13:21 00:05:21:00 00:00:52:22 00:01:00:01
REEL Untitled_Tape IS CLIP scene 1 13.avi
025 Untitled AA/V C 00:05:35:17 00:05:36:10 00:01:00:01 00:01:00:19
025 Untitled AA/V K B 00:05:36:10 00:05:43:17 00:01:00:19 00:01:08:01
025 AX AA/V K 000 00:00:00:00 00:00:07:03 00:01:00:19 00:01:07:22
REEL Untitled_Tape IS CLIP scene 1 14.avi
REEL AX IS CLIP thriller Linked Comp 01/thriller titles.aep
026 Untitled AA/V C 00:06:19:16 00:06:20:18 00:01:08:01 00:01:09:03
REEL Untitled_Tape IS CLIP sene 2 01.avi

appendix nine: production schedule

Name of production: "Nostrophibia"

Directors:
Jessica Healey
Hannah Burkey
Daniel Hancox

Cast:
Emily Burkey

Crew:
Jessica Healey
Hannah Burkey
Daniel Hancox

Equipment:
Camera
Candles

Location:
47 Helston Close,
Sutton Park,
Runcorn,
Cheshire,
Garage

Props:
Teddy Bear
Blanket

Day of filming: 14/11/2009

Collecting equipment and hire sheets
Collecting extras and cast
Travelling to locations
Creating set
Filming

Started Editing/logging: 16/11/2009

Finished Editing/logging: 14/12/2009

appendix eight: production material







appendix seven: recce and location sheets

Health and safety

Production health and safety is extremely important as it keeps everyone safe and all of the equipment in one piece, this reduces in an easier to produce film.Something’s may seem almost trivial however it is always important to ensure the clips are always fastened correctly and that the tripod is always placed in a level place to avoid it falling over. Another simple thing is making sure all cables that can be taped down are taped down to avoid accidents and those that cant be taped down have a stool or object is over it to show that the cable is there. Forms of contact are also important as if there is an accident it will be the only way to alert someone this means that they must always be charged and have credit on them when filming outside. Another thing to take into account is the fire exits and emergency procedures, this then applies to the crew and the actors as they should all know where to go and what to do. Another important thing to know is where the first aid kit is as this minimises the need for of site treatment. When filming off site at night, early morning or any time of day you must be aware of the fact there are fewer people around this could be a good thing, however this also means if there is an accident there are fewer people who can help. Weathering conditions are also important as frost and ice can not only be bad for costume and actors but can also be dangerous when positioning the tripod of moving with the camera, the most obvious but still on that is important if it is early morning or of a night it is going to be darker than usual, this means there are more dangers of tripping and falling but also of things such as muggings ect, to ensure you are not attacked or mugged it is always a good idea to film in a group of three, as if there is an accident then there is someone to stay with the injured person an then one to go for help.Finally there are some technical things to be aware of when using the equipment, the light (red heads and blonds) can reach between 800-1000 watts this making them extremely hot. This means that you should not touch any part of the head of the light as it will also be very hot and can cause severe burns. You must also ensure that you do not touch the bulb weather it be hot or cold, if hot it can melt through your skin, if cold you can leave grease on the bulb and this will cause it to shatter once it is turned on and becomes hot enough.


Location sheet

Opening scenes:
-garage, jess’ house
Address:
-Sutton park,Runcorn, WA7 6AA

bed room:
-jess’ house
Address:
-Sutton park,Runcorn, WA7 6AA

Recce

This image is of the garages and the area in which in Adalade lies in our opening sequence, originally we were going to film in an attic or loft space however we felt that the garage would be safer for out group and the actress and that is had a more sinister feel and was easier to gain access to.This is where at the end of the opening sequence Adalade as an adult sharply awakes, we decided to use this space as it looked mature enough for an adult, was easy to access and worked well with the feel of the overall film. It is a simply room with little artwork and is also very mellow this then worked again as there was nothing to draw attention away form Adalade.

appendix six: character outlines and shooting script

Character profiles

Adalade Mathews, as a child:


She is a 10year old girl, she is taller than average and has short brown hair and hazel eyes. Her mother died when she was 7years old and she now lives with her father; however she is a sufferer of domestic abuse at the hands of her father, her only family member. Due to this life of torment and violence as she finds herself forever locked in the attic space of their home, she is covered in bruises and is a very quiet, nervous, shy little girl who is petrified of the dark and her father.


Adalade Mathews, as an adult:

She is a 23year old woman, she is shorter than the average woman and she now has long brown hair and hazel eyes. Despite her background of domestic abuse at the hands of her farther she has now turned her life around and is a fully qualified psychologist, she has chosen this career in order to help other sufferers and come to terms with her past. She now owns her own house and lives in it with her 6 year old daughter. However her life has been dramatically affected by her past and she is still quiet, shy and afraid of the dark, but she has found herself having terrible dreams since the release of her father from prison.


Father:

The father in this film is known and referred to as he and him; however his name is actually Albert Mathews. When released from prison he is aged 57, he is tall and has a large build, he also has brown hair and hazel eyes. Before Adalade was born he was in the army however was struck off. From the age of 5 he was aware of the domestic violent abuse that effected his mother and sister at the hand of his father and when Albert had misbehaved and needed to be punished his father would force him to watch the domestic abuse towards his female family members; however growing up with this he somehow believed that it’s was the norm and so when he got married he then saw no problem with abusing his wife, however when she was killed in a car crash he then turned his attention to his daughter and when found guilty by the courts received 13 years without parole.

Script

Adalade as a child*

INT GARAGE. CUT IN. CLOSE UP-TEDDY.MIDDAY

The audience can see a TEDDY’s face in a dark room; the TEDDY is lying on his side

REVERSE. CLOSE UP-ADALADE.

The audience can see a young girl’s face in a dark room; she is also lying on her side and is looking at the TEDDY

SHOT. EXTREAM CLOSE UP-TEDDY

The audience can again see the TEDDY however this time it rakes up most of the frame and has not changed his position

REVERSE. EXTREME CLOSE UP-ADALADE

The audience is again shown ADALADE’s face in a dark room this again takes up the whole frame and she is still in the same position.

CUT IN. HIGH ANGLE. MIDDAY

We see a shot of ADALADE looking at the TEDDY in what seems to be a mirror image in the same dimly lit room.

CUT. CLSOE UP, TRACKING-ADALADE

There is a shot of ADALADE in the same room still lying down, however the as she sits up the camera follows her actions.

CUT. FULL SHOT-ADALADE and the TEDDY’s head

We can see ADALADE sitting upright holding her knees to her chest; we can also see the back of the TEDDY’s head in the bottom left hand side of the frame. ADALADE then reaches for the TEDDY and holds it close.

CUT. MID SHOT of ADALADE. FULL SHOT of TEDDY.

We see ADALADE look eye to eye with the TEDDY, she then pulls the TEDDY towards her face.

CUT. OVER THE SHOULDER SHOT. CLOSE UP-ADALADES mouth.

We see the back of the TEDDY’s head and a shot of ADALADE’s mouth and the bottom of her nose as she whispers to the TEDDYADALADE:He’s here

CUT. FULL SHOT of DOOR. OVER THE SHOULDER

We see a shot of the door from behind ADALADES head looking at the door in the dimly lit room.

CUT. CLOSE UP of the DOOR.

We can see most on the door in the frame, and no lighting has been changed however this time we are looking at it more form ADALADE’s point of view rather than over her shoulder.

CUT. FULL SHOT of ADALADE.

We are shown a full shot of ADALADE holding her knees to her chest in the dimly lit room. The camera then CRANES up to produce a slightly HIGH ANGLE shot of ADALADE without changing her position.

CUT. EXTREME CLOSE UP on DOORHANDLE.

The DOOR HANDLE fills the left hand side of the frame and is slightly lit on one side in the otherwise dark room.

CUT. EXTREME CLOSE UP-ADALADE.

ADALADE’s eyes and the bottom of her nose is the only thing that is visible within the frame, her eyes are filled with fear and there is a large amount of light on her face.ADALADE’s face is then covered in shadow and it is hard to distinguish her facial expression and features.

CUT. BLACK SCREEN.

We can see nothing, but can hear screaming and whimpering.

Adalade as an adult*

EXT. CUT. ARIEL SHOT-ADALADE.ADALADE wakes up suddenly in bed and gasps loudly.

CUT TO CREDITS