Evaluation Question 7

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

When we first filmed the preliminary task we weren't experienced with the camera and had to gain knowledge through the filming. We took the positive aspects from the preliminary task and incorporated it in our piece like the match on action thought that would be good to put in our piece and the close up of the characters face as the characters face alone tells a story. The preliminary task has helped us to gain an understanding of camares and editing, we had to use final cut to edit it and it gave us the basic understanding of it. Even though the preliminary task and the final opening sequence are very different we were able to bring certain aspects from the preliminary task into our opening sequence. I believe if we compare the preliminary task to the opening sequence there is a huge difference of quality so through the preliminary task he have been able to develop from it to a full piece.

Evaluation Question 6

What have you learnt about technology from the process of constructing this project? 

I learnt a lot about the process of creating an opening sequence and the technology behind it all. Throughout this media project I have been writing down all that I have learnt and experienced on my blog on the website Blogger, this has helped me to reflect every aspect of the project and how I have gained knowledge throughout. We had to use slideshare to upload work from powerpoint, using youtube was a good source for audiences feedback on what we could have done better and what we did well.
I used the Canon PowerShot SX520 HS Bridge Camera to shoot our opening sequence this camera was very useful for shots for the knifes and the match on action shots. I was able to get different shots from using the tripod for example when the main character picks up the knifes the tripod meant that the camera was steady so the shot was clear. All of these shots were only able through the high quality of the camera. My group had to practice with the final cut were we will be able to edit our piece so we used the preliminary task to gain knowledge about the software. I gained a lot of knowledge through this being able to add effects and make decisions on which shots to keep. Also we used garage band to create our music from scratch, we had no experience with this software but after creating the opening sequence I feel confident to use it again. All of these programs were on the Apple IMac so it was easy to control what we are creating. All of these technology's help me to create the media project and gave me knowledge I wouldn't have unless I did this project.

Evaluation Question 5

How did you attract/addressed the audience?

My group  thought that using teenagers would attract the certain type of audience which we are aiming for. We wanted to show a typical city teenager which was reckless by showing him carrying knifes and even the clothes that he was wearing youths would normally wear. Having a stereotypical character helped us to relate to the audience. The name of the opening sequence may bring curiosity to the audience and the scene of someone watching the victim supported the name of the opening sequence 'the watcher'. We tried to make the audience feel part of the scene by making it the point of view for the character for example when the dark figure was behind the victim. We liked to show the audience things which the characters were unaware of what was going on for example the dark figure watching him come out of his house and when he was walking.
Through the opening sequence I was able to portray my opinion of the feelings of paranoid people knowing that they are under threat when they leave their homes. We were able to manipulate the audiences emotions when first thinking that the main character was doing wrong by carrying knifes, however realizing later that he is the victim himself and that it was protection and not to cause crime.    

Evaluation Question 4

Who would be the audience for your media product?

Evaluation question 4 from beassrr

Evaluation Question 3

What kind of media institutions might distribute your media project and why?  

A Production company like scorch would be a company to distribute our media project, they will be able to set everything up for us like the release date and if it should be home viewed. My group came to the conclusion that because we are an independent media company which has created their first film opening sequence. It is most likely that there will be a small audience. Making the opening sequence available to stream online and creating some DVDs would be a good way to distribute our media project. We will need funding for our piece so maybe film 4 would be able to fund us because of the type of film it is, thriller which they show a lot. As we are sending a strong message to the public I believe we would have support to distribute our media project and to promote it.

Evaluation Question 2

How does your media product represent particular social group?

Evaluation question 2 from beassrr

Evaluation: Question 1

How does your media product represent particular social groups?





Media pictures from beassrr

This represents troublesome youths of today, music artists portray themselves as reckless people who have no rules and limits in their lives. These photos connotes that he may of had a bad past and is currently battling with those situations. These are vulnerable youths which are influenced very easily, so through our opening sequence we can see how people are effected by the threats. 

Feedback

Feedback from the opening sequence 

After putting our opening sequence on youtube we had positive feedback from friends giving us their views of our opening sequence.  They said how they thought that the shot from behind the victim was effective and how the camcorder special effect made it feel like they were the watcher, I took from this information that the special effects we incorporated made a difference to our piece and that the shots from the actors made the audience feel like they were there in the scene. The positive response helped us to understand an audiences point of view of our opening sequence and how to improve it to a better standard.

The opening Sequence

The opening sequence 

The opening sequence had a positive feetdback from friends and family, it allowed us to focus on parts which weren't as good as others and improve them to be a high standard. Certain shots like the ones of the knifes, it wasn't as clear so when we next film we focused on the parts we need to improve. We thought that the music was good but from the feedback we got back we saw that at some points the music was too repetitive, also our teacher helped us to spot shots which could be better for example when the victim is leaving their house and it is like the audience is watching them but trying to stay hidden, that shot could have been improved if the camera zooms in more to the victim to make the audience focus on him more. 

I think that we were able to build up tension well throughout the opening sequence. we use Mise en scene to make sure it was clear that it was the thriller genre.

Preliminary Task

Preliminary Task

This was our first attempt of using a camera and we were able to have some experience with it and have a better understanding of the different features the camera has. We were able to incorporate some media techniques like match on action and see the effects with and without them, we explored the effects of the"over the shoulder" shot which would make the audience feel like they are in the scene and allow them to develop the emotions which the characters could have. The Preliminary task helped my group to develop some ideas of shots we would like in our opening sequence and if it would suit our genre and theme. This preliminary task showed us what we need to work on like making sure our hand is steady and using the tripod as much as possible. Also we used shot reverse shot when the questioning was happening because we thought that could build up tension for one of the characters to explode into anger, so I think that the shot reverse shot helped to build up to the climax.

Video Feedback

Video Feedback 

I acted my friend to watch my opening sequence and then if she will be able to give me feedback on video about it, she told me what the main parts she thought were good about my opening sequence, also I thought she would be brilliant to film as she was an example of my target audience so her view on the opening scene was important to our group. She spoke about the effect that the flashback had to her as an audience member and how it linked to the storyline. She spoke about how she thought she was in the scene when watching it as we filmed from the characters point of view.

Our Production logo

 

Production logo

When developing ideas about our production logo we had to create a name and an image which will be different and bring attention to our target audience, as we are doing a thriller opening sequence I thought our production logo should be based on the thriller genre, then we came up with the name Eye Spy because it may be related to the children genre but I thought with our image it could have a different effect.

Our opening sequence is based on someone watching a person and being paranoid throughout so our production logo and name should be similar to our opening sequence. The image of the eye is to indicate to the audience that our production company is based around the thriller genre and red is  usually linked with fear and the thriller genre. Eye Spy links with the image we have created and even though it may be related to kids, we thought it could represent the thriller genre so like a stalker so it has that elemnt of fear for the audience.

I think our production logo is simple but affective and it brings the type of atmosphere we wanted, production logos are very important as it allows the audience to recognise which production company created this film. We chose to use "Eye" instead of "I" as we thought it would be affective towards the audience and make it seem as someone is watching you. 

Video Diary

Video Diary 

The video Diary we did allowed us to explain our thoughts behind the opening sequence and the certain shots we thought were good in our piece as well as what we could improve on and change next time.

We had to evaluate the shots which we have done already and state what we liked about our piece and what can be improved to make our piece better, the video dairy helped us to understand our strengths in this piece  and our weaknesses. We spoke about the match on action we did and the effects it created and how it helped our opening sequence, and spoke about certain shots which had top be re-filmed so it was clearer for the audience to see.

I understood the real value of doing a video diary and how it helps us and the audience understand the effects of our shots and what our intention was for the different shots.

Test font choices

 

  Test font choices 

There are many different types of fonts available but certain fonts take someones work to another level, The choice of font and where it would be placed was difficult for me to decide.

I didn't want the font or the size of the font to overpower the scene which it was placed in with the shot being knifes and the main character on the bed sleeping, the chose of text I used was simple and easy to read as I wanted the audience to be completely clear of the production logo and the production name, even the size of the text couldn't be too big. The colour of the font was white as our piece is in black and white but we didn't want it to clash with the scene behind it hence why we chose white not black.

The second choice of font was different to the first as it was the centre of attention and was the last image seen in the short opening sequence, we used black as the colour for the second font as it stood out with the light background and allowed it to be the main focus of that scene. I wanted it to be big so it was eye catching and it was very important it was seen as it is the name of the film.

Creating of Music

Creating of Music 

When I had to think about what type of music I needed to create, I had to think about the type of atmosphere I wanted the music to create and how the music will link to the opening sequence. It was hard as I wasn't experienced with Garageband at all but I had to develop my knowledge about it through research and experimenting on the software.

I personally wanted to create the piece from scratch so I knew what was used to create the music and the purpose of it being inserted in it. I used some loops from garageband for a foundation and other instruments which had an impact to the sound of the music, I had to edit the music to be on beat and for the right sound we wanted.

It was difficult for me to create the music as I wasn't able to see the video until we imported it to our opening sequence, the time keeping and making sure that what happened in the short film linked to the music and wasn't too fast or too slow.

Homeland

 

Homeland 

Homeland is a and american drama which follows the story of a american soljar which has been taken hostage for many years and has been returned home with something changed about him.
This is a good example of a thriller film/TV drama which throughout the series is good at generating tension and exploring different ways to effect the audience emotionally and they use a lot of incongraphy to define the genre. There are many twists throughout which keeps a lot of people watching Homeland constantly.

It is set in america in a normal home which has hidden secrets within the building as the main character helps to plan an attack on the USA but is covered up by his return, there is a lot of action and this TV series consist of quick thinking which keeps the audience engaged and wanting them to keep watching. This example of a thriller genre helps for my group to have a better understanding about the genre and how to have an successful thriller opening, this really inspired me to do more concerning my piece and I was able to think of ideas for my own piece.

Editing

 

Editing

When we started editing we had to think about how we wanted the opening sequence to be presented and what effects we want to generate from the editing. My team were not experienced in editing at all, none of us has ever edited or have any knowledge concerning editing as well.

We used a software called Final Cut Pro which we had to learn how to use from scratch and we had to develop skills to use this software.

Editing our piece was very hard as we had difficulties with our actor but we had to use what we had and develop upon it to make it the best we can, we used different effects to better our work but as we named out opening sequence The Watcher we used effects which relate to the type of theme we were looking for.

The editing altogether was quit challenging but very fun and I was able to learn new skills about the software and how it works, the Final Cut Pro allowed our work to be the best standard we were able to generate and explore different ways to better our short film sequence.

Analysis of production logos

  

Production logo

Production logos are very important, just the names of the produces can be the different between a thousand views and a million. A production logo is like a brand and is built up by the representation they make of themselves. It is used for films and TV programs and there are couple production logos which have become famous over the past years.

There are many different types of production logos even ones which move which is more interesting then a still one, it has to be eye catching and recognisable for people to always see it. It is normally at the beginning of a film so people will know from the beginning who made the film or the ending of a TV program, the more creative the production logo is the more people will know it.

The 20th century Fox has become one of the most known production logos, it has a certain theme tune which links with the production logo. This logo doesn't have much movement when it appears but the production team has made such brilliant films like Avatar, Titanic and Simpson movie these were all created by is production team and because of its high quality films it has been very popular.

Thriller treatment

Thriller Treatment 

When we thought about ideas for our thriller opening sequence, we thought about what type of atmosphere we wanted to create for the audience and how the different shots will create effect.

We started with a count down from five to zero with a blur effect which built up tension and it gets the attention of the audience very quickly. The fan slowing down as the first scene makes the setting intense and may make the audience ask questions about its importance in the opening sequence , this may make the audience unease as they will feel like they are not in control and my make them produce questions from the beginning. A shot of knifes on the floor at his bedside could show he is use to using weapons and indicates danger to the audience.

We first see the character asleep on his bed, he has four flashbacks. One of the area which are flats at night time this sets the scene the angle makes the flats look bigger which may show why the character is disturbed by it, then the sign danger which could be a warning that there is danger to come then the last two flashbacks are of a dark figure moving quickly across the scene to different locations. Those flashbacks help to show to the audience some things about the characters past which will make sense further on the opening sequence.
He wakes up startled and gets up, he rubs his hands then quickly turns his head towards the fan. This could shock the audience which will keep the atmosphere we are trying to maintain. He stand up and turns off the fan then checks the time on the phone, even though we focus on the time the wallpaper is more important then the audience may think. It is a picture of a baby which could be his child and could play a big part in the film itself.
He takes two from many knifes on his TV stand and places it within his rucksack, those shot presents the main character as a danger to society and that wherever he is going to at the moment requires him to bring weapons with him. This is a key part of the opening sequence as it reviles parts of the characters lifestyle. Mise en scene is shown as we look at the characters custom as it is dark which is normally related to a negative character, also the props which were the knifes and the rucksack paints a bad picture to the audience. We us match on action when he is leaving his house so shots of him leaving his room and down the stirs to his door.
We then create an atmosphere where it seems he is being watched by someone as soon as he leaves his house. We then see a dark figure of someone standing waiting for him to leave his house and as the character is walking, we have a shot were we are in the place of the dark figure slowly creeping towards the victim. The dark figure reaches an arm towards the victim and as soon as he places his hand on him it goes into the title. The last scene was able to build up tension as the dark figure approached the victim and I think the music was able to produce the type of atmosphere we wanted and the sound of an explosion as the title will shock people.

Inspiration: Taken 3

Taken 3

Taken three is a new film which has just been recently released and after watching it, I have realised that many types of thriller techniques were used to build up tension. This film really inspired me for my piece and gave me ideas ideas on how to improve our piece.

Taken three was a brilliant thriller film and was able to play with the audiences emotions and there were many twists throughout the film which kept the audience drawn to the film to the very end. I learnt through watching this film that little detail counts and will be noticed by the audience, as a small thing seemed to be important we realised what it meant at the beginning which I thought the audience reacted liked as it kept their minds open for the rest of the film.

Special effects and lighting were very important in the film and it seemed they focused more on that for the film also the locations for the film were chosen well and related to the atmosphere they wanted to create, so I thought this film a great successful thriller and inspired me for my own piece.

Character profile

Character Profile

When my group thought about the characters we needed to think about the first impressions for the audience and how we wanted the audience to feel towards certain characters.

For the attacker we thought that everything about them should be dark and not visible, the audience should not see the attackers face at any point. The element of mystery should be constant throughout the opening scene as it will allow for the audience to keep guessing what the character is trying to do.

I think making the attacker in full black puts fear in the audiences hearts and makes them wonder who it is and why this person is there, it also allows us to do shots which makes the attacker look like a blur which may confuse people as they are not able to see what it is.

Target Audience Profile

Target Audience Profile

When we thought about who our target audience would be we had to think which type of people  would like the genre and who would be excited after the opening scene. Before we filmed we had to look at the features which would attract the target audience for the thriller genre, we thought that young adults and teenagers would be the most appropriate target audience for this genre.

 

The reason we thought young adults and teenagers would be the best for our target audience is because the majority of young people like films which have a sense of thriller about them, they are most likely to enjoy intense films. Thrill seekers will also enjoy this type of genre.

 

We wouldn't target young children as it may not be appropriate for them and even families, it wouldn't be a good environment for that sort of target. Furthermore the senior people probably wouldn't go to watch it as they may not be interested in thriller genre.

I believe the target audience we have chosen to focus on will be a success as it is more of the younger generation which is more interested in the thriller genre and are also more likely to go to the cinema and watch it. 

Costume and props

Costume and props list

When looking at the genre of thriller costume and props are important to present and identify this genre to the audience, dark clothing is always associated with mystery and danger so we thought the unknown/attacker should be in dark clothing to make it obvious he is not a good character.

We thought of different props which will show the characters intension, props like knifes will show a lot to the audience. I wanted the main character to be a normal person so props like game consults and mobile phone which represented the youth of today, also we thought of different costumes for different characters and how they helped to introduce the characters.

The attacker needs certain clothing and props to present himself as a negative character. So the first scenes of the villain being exposed is very important and the audience must not be able to see the face of the villain as it will build up suspense, so the clothing must be dark and cover the face.

Costumes and props are essential for the success of a brilliant thriller opening and will help for the characters to build up tension for the audience and keep them wondering throughout the thriller opening.

True Detective

True Detective 

True detective is a thriller drama and it is very obvious through the opening sequence showing the city and elements of the thriller genre like being set in a city and characters being part of the police, throughout the opening sequence we see that some of the images are within other images which could relate or foreshadow main events in the thriller drama. The opening sequence shows to the audience the setting very well showing the western type of theme through the buildings, also the sound track helps to make the theme obvious as it is normally related to the western theme. The image of the city within the man may connote that he is the detective of the city which relates back to the tittle true detective. Images of fire behind certain character may present to the audience that the character could bring chaos and destruction to the city. As well as the church within the wheel/fan could represent deception within the city as it could be telling the audience what is meant to be right is wrong and is twisted round like the wheel/fan, and that there are not many true detectives so what maybe seen to be good could deceive people. A long shot of the detectives looking at the city can show that they are two people within a city of destruction but they will fight for justice.

Lighting for effects

Lighting for Effects

The lighting and effects in a film is vital as it sets the mood for the film, it allows the director to play with the audiences emotions through the lighting. We as the audience associate dark lighting as a negative atmosphere so it helps to put certain thoughts in the audiences mind.

This image of Matrix is a good example of lighting and effects, the three main characters in the image are surrounded by a dark and gloomy city but smoke and light are behind them representing hope for people in the city. The smoke effect presents them as hero's and it is like a grand entrance of high authority.

The image really portrays the genre of thriller with its dark settings, also mystery. These special effects could indicate that the film could be futuristic and city based which is the ideal setting for a thriller film. The typography has effects which links with the image of the futuristic look.

The builds could also be portrayed as a prison which the characters in the centre of the image could be breaking out of but this is only possible because of the effects and lighting of the image, of the place being negative.

The lighting and effects for my thriller opening will be essential for the success of it, so certain attributes and features within this example of thriller image will be applied to the piece for a better thriller opening.