Media Thriller Evaluation

Media Thriller Evaluation

When looking at Thriller openings we usually see establishing shots of locations e.g. a house or a hotel. In my Thriller, we started it off with an establishing shot of the character house and this is commonly used in openings of Thrillers. The audience are normally left asking questions or wondering what is going to happen next and this is a good way to start. In my Thriller the audience never see the perpetrator and in Thrillers the perpetrator is hardly ever seen straight away. To build up suspense within our Thriller we used sounds that came in one after another and gradually increased in volume e.g. the heart beat increased in volume when the stalker was watching the girl.

After the radio announcement we start hearing a continuous sound. This makes the audience suspect that something is going to happen. The audience then start to feel comfortable because the sound continues for a long time and nothing happens. The audience are then again alerted when the sound of strings comes in and the suspense is then built up until we see the flash of the girl.

The flash we used of the little girl was heavily influenced by the scene in “The Shinning” of the two little girls flashing up when the little goes to the door. 

When we watched this, the sound played a massive part in the shock of it. The fact that we saw an ordinary little boy riding a tricycle made us feel at ease and was completely unaware that any such thing could occur. This is very similar to what we did as it was an ordinary day in the city.

In my Thriller we used a typical teenage black girl. The fact that this girl is teenager already determines the age group that my Thriller appeals to. Although the main character is a female the Thriller still appeals to both genders of the teenage group. Females are usually the main victims in Thriller films where they are assaulted or kidnapped and this is what happens

 in our Thriller. This also shows that women are vulnerable. The costume that the girl is wearing is typical of a working class girl. She is wearing dark colour jeans, a black jacket, plimsolls and a black and white woolly hat. The audience can easily relate and step into the shoes of this character as it is what they see or even wear on a daily basis. The little girl that we see in the Thriller is wearing a blue coat and a colourful scarf like a typical little girl. 

This shows the innocence and realism of the girl. This is also done in the shinning where the girls have their hair down and wearing blue dresses with bows on them. The innocent look is also created with the ‘innocent’ smile.

Shooting the Thriller in the day time was much easier and allowed us more filming time that we definitely needed. Although we shot it in the day time, using final cut pro we were able to make it black and white that gave it a better feel.

We developed our understanding on how to shoot footage, and how we had to film one piece of action several times in different angles in order to get very effective match cuts. We realised that charging the camera was important as there was many times where the battery died out.

We explored different camera angles and camera techniques; however the majority were normal straight ones. We had the problem of breaking the 180 degrees rule and due to that had to film several times again. We used low angle shots of the girl closing the door and the pan to the radio and also close ups like when we were focusing on the keys.

Using final cut pro I was also able to blend in the sound track and have everything flow properly and smoothly.

The editing process became easier as I became more used to the program. Logging and capturing was easy and I particularly enjoyed doing Match cuts. As I became more familiar with the program editing became quicker. The only difficult thing we found with Final cut Pro was making our Thriller shorter as we had exceeded the 2 minutes by like 1 minute. Cutting out some footage was the hardest part.

Although Filming and editing was important we also had to record everything that we had done throughout the process and we did this on Blogger. At the end of every lesson or sometimes every week I would blog what ever I had done in the lesson. This was a good way of keep a track of whatever I had done within that week of lesson.

I think that my Thriller will be distributed as a small independent UK release. I don’t thin that it would be a big Hollywood blockbuster because of where it is set. It will not relate to people unless they live around this area. It will be distributed around a small number of UK ‘arthouse’ cinemas and will only mainly get watched by working class people roughly aged from 15-24.

Films like ‘The Shinning” I think would be enjoyed mainly by people aged fifth teen upwards and so that’s the target for my Thriller. “The Shinning” was mostly enjoyed by males than females and so that’s what my Thriller is aiming at. I however think that females would enjoy it as well as they would be able to relate to it as it is a typical girl that is the main character and that is getting kidnapped. The audience that my Thriller would appeal are niche, those within the east end of London. I would expect that sort of audience as they can easily relate the film. Kate is a 19 year old female who works in a call centre in East London. She loves going out with her friends on the weekends and is a big fan of the cinema. She loves to shop in West End.

For my Film to be successful and that I would get a good audience, I would have to look for the best way to advertise my Thriller. Knowing that my audience are young and both male and female, advertising my Thriller would be good on social networking sites like Facebook. As my Thriller is for working class people aged 15-24 having the film advertised on billboards would be a good idea. There will be no famous actors in my film so that won’t help to attract the audience. The mise-en-scene is urban, as it is set in city streets, it has an urban setting and the people may live near a place like this and so will find it is easy to relate to such things. The storyline is also very real and happens on a daily basis and so people will understand and feel for the character even more, this will also help to attract the audience. When making our Thriller we wanted the audience to be hooked and be very interested in what will happen next and hopefully we did this very successfully.

My group learnt a lot when doing this Thriller. There were many major set backs but we were able to finish it successfully. Our idea was changed mid way in making the Thriller which was a set back. We had to change the time of our Thriller. When we first filmed our Thriller we had trouble using the lightening kit as our Thriller was in the night. The footage came out very dark, so we had to change it to day time. We also faced the problem with the fact that when we first filmed the floor was icy from snow and on other days the floor was dry.

When I look back at the preliminary match cut task that I did. I have realised how important it is to plan and story board the ideas that you have for your Thriller before we go and film it. For the actual Thriller we decided to film many different angles of the same piece of action and this was something that we didn’t do in the preliminary task. The match cut task really helped me when I came to do my actual Thriller as it allowed me to have knowledge of how to do really good match cuts.

When it came to editing the Thriller it made it slightly easier as we had practiced on the preliminary but there were still things that need to be learnt.

Having done the preliminary task, it allowed us to also get to gripes with our organisation and also sharing out the task. We knew that it wouldn’t be easy to do anything without the whole group pulling their weight. As the process continued I found myself being more confident in using the software’s like Final Cut Pro, Soundtrack Pro and Live Type.

We had very positive audience feedback which made me proud of my work. We were told that the black and white effect was effective and the use of sound effects worked. I was really pleased that people enjoyed watching the Thriller and that they were supportive of the work. If I had to do this again I would plan more in depth and know exactly what I was going to go and film before I started as this wasted a lot of time.

Massie Road from 283goswell on Vimeo.

Final Edit and Finished Thriller

On Friday I came into college at 9:00am in order to try and finish the Thriller. I was shortly joined by Louise who helped my to finish off. When we first opened up the project we played the whole Thriller through in order to see what needs to be done.
We needed to put on sound effects on important things like the girl and also the name of the road "Massie Road".

Before we did that we finished off blending in the different soundtracks and mixing the radio bit together. When we had finished blending all the music together we exported the project to soundtrack pro in order to put in sound effect. We found it hard finding sound effect that would go with all the different bits. We finally found some effects and it worked well.

We wanted the last bit of the stalker to really stand out so we slowed down the footage and also put heartbeats on it gradually increasing in volume as the stalker approached the girl.
We tried to put several effects on different part like where we see the flash of the girl, but was unable as the shot was too short. We instead had to just use a sound effect.

We looked at the footage and realised that in several times it was sunny at sometimes the floor was wet and so we decided to make the whole Thriller black and white. We we watched it again in black and white it looked more professional and stood out more. It really gave the effect that we was looking for.

At the end with stalker we used an effect that made the screen sharp this gave a more thrilling feel and made it look more effective. I was unable to attend tutorial as the deadline was fast approaching but luckily we was able to finish the Thriller at 12:25pm.

I was really happy that we was able to finish. A lot of work was put into making this Thriller and together as a group despite the absence of one member and sometimes the lack of commitment we was still able to finish and in my eyes have a successful Thriller.

'Let em play God'

Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock was born on August 13th 1899 in Leytonstone London, and he unfortunately died on April 29th 1980 at the age of 80. He wrote an article about how to create suspense and what it really is. In class we were given a sheet about him.

Joseph Hitchcock wrote an article called thrills, suspense, the audience'. In this article Hitchcock. We always wonder how movie makers get the audience at the edge of their seat and Joseph Hitchcock talks about this. ‘Let em play God’, Hitchcock assumes that suspense is built up when the audience plays God. If as the audience we are unaware if a character is a hero or villain they will not know whether to rejoice or not rejoice. Hitchcock says if the audience has been told all the secrets that the character doesn’t know, “they’ll work like the devil for you because they know what fate is facing the poor actors”. He describes this as “Playing God”.

Surprise not suspense is built if a character is not convincing according to Hitchcock. Hitchcock also says that we do not need effects such as shadows, dull weather and creaky doors to build up suspense. His movie ‘Rope’ was evidence for this point. As Hitchcock became more interested in developing his suspense techniques, he chose to shoot these types of stories exclusively. When Hitchcock had made ‘Secret Agent’, ‘Sabotage’, and ‘The 39 Steps’ this conclusion was made.

Media Lesson and Work Shop 26/2/09

When i first got into college i joined Louise and Pareece in the editing room and started to complete the editing. We was thinking about having build up sound for the sudden flash of the mysterious girl and just before that. We decided to have different sounds but coming in one after another. When we made the sound we found it hard to mix everything in smoothly.
In the last bits of the Thriller where the stalker sees the girl, Anabel told us that it was too long but we couldn't fit any footage in between so we had to leave it how it was. Where the stalker runs up on the girl, we slowed it up and made it more effective.

After lunch time i came back to media workshop in order to do more work as the deadline is Friday. When i came back i put the sound that we had made onto the footage and it worked really well.

Tomorrow i am planning on getting to college for 9:00am even though i start at 11:00am so that i can have time to put more sound effects and also to add any effect for the illusion of the girl and also the stalker scene. I think the group have worked well in order to get the Thriller done, but we still need that little bit more work in order for it to be completed well and successful.

Workshop editing

Today Louise, Pareece and I attended lunch time workshop. When i first got there i logged and captured the footage that Louise and I had shot yesterday. We ended up fixing all the footage together and putting in some sound effects. I asked Pareece to recorded the radio so that we could include it and fix it into our Thriller. It was difficult because we had to blend it smoothly into the voice over that Micky had done for us.
Louise and I had stayed in college up to 6:00pm so that we could get as much work done as the deadline is fast approaching. It was difficult when fitting in sound effect as we had to get it all accurate and also low enough in volume to be made background noise.
We had realised that once again despite being told we had broken the 180 degrees rule and so we had to go and film again. We came back and fitted it in perfectly.
In tomorrow's lesson we have to get as much done and basically be finished. I am planning on reaching college early tomorrow so that i can get a lot of work done to meet the deadline this Friday. I hope as a group we will be able to finish everything and have a successful Thriller

Final Filming

After logging and capturing all the footage and also editing it, we had realised that we had broken the 180 degrees and so we had to film some bits again. We had no time to wait for Thursdays lesson so me and Louise decided that we would go and film the things today.

When we finished college at 3:00 pm we went and booked out the camera for over night. We set off to our first location i where the girl spots the mysterious girl and also the panning of the post code. When we first shot the post code, the pan was too slow and we also zoomed in whilst filming. Rebbecca told us that it wasn't right so instead we tracked the girl until she past the post code then she walked out of the shot and i quickly panned up and focused on the post code. Instead of zooming in, i filmed then paused it, zoomed in and then recorded again.

We also had to re film the stalker bit because the way we filmed it, it didn't look like someone was getting stalked but just looked like a normal camera looking at the girl. We had also broke the 180 degrees rule and so had the stalker in a different place. To show that thee was a stalker I used the camera behind cars and was moving a lot to show that the girl was being watched.

When we first shot the bit where the girl left the house and panned to the radio, it didn't come up for some reason, so we did that again. We also shot the same thing in many different angles so that it gives us a variety of shots that we can use and also make very effective match cuts.

Tomorrow after in finish college i plan to attend Media Workshop as i am aware that the deadline is fast approaching. I plan on logging and capturing the footage that me and Louise filmed today and also finishing of the music so that on Thursday and Friday we can put everything together and hopefully have a good Thriller

Workshop/editing lesson

I along with the rest of my group attended workshop. We as a group have faced many problems throughout the duration of making this thriller opening and because this, are trying our best to attend workshops as well as lessons in order to meet the deadline.

in today's lesson we continue with editing our thriller. We tried to log and capture the footage myself and Louise shot on the half term Monday workshop but for some reason the footage would not show up on the screen therefore, although we were frustrated, we decided that we would just have to refill it. As we carried on editing we found bits of footage that were either non unable or just needed redoing because of rules broken such as; the 180 degrees rule and match cutting from the same angle causing jump shots. we took note of all the things we needed to re film, and planned to film them on tomorrow after college so that we could attend workshop on Wednesday to log capture and edit. We also embedded our footage onto soundtrack pro in order to see how our filming fitted in with our music. last we took note of what sort of effects we will be inputting and where they will go.

23-02-09

Thriller Genres

On the 15-12-2008 as a class we brainstormed all of the genres of Thrillers.

> SCI-FI
> CRIME
> PSYCOLOGICAL- PLAYS WITH YOUR MIND.
> ACTION
> SUPERNATURAL
> AQUIRED IDENTITY
> MURDEROUS PASSION E.G. LOVE TRIANGLES
> INNOCENT ON THE RUN
> GOOD VS EVIL
> POLITICAL
> KIDNAPPING

Half Term Workshop catch up

On Monday 16th February Louise came to my house early in the morning so that we could re film all the remaining footage that had to be filmed. It wasn't that hard to do because she had already written down all the things we had to film in the lessons that i missed due to the production.

After we had filmed i asked Louise if she was able to attend the Media Half Term workshop catch up and she said that was OK. We then contacted Pareece and we all attended. When we first got there Louise and Pareece showed me what they had done in the week i was away. We then logged and captured the footage that me and Louise had filmed. We didn't get a lot done but it was still good as we had all the footage that we thought we needed. On Monday when we return to college i plan to attend workshop.

early morning filming-catch up

Saturday 7th January 2008

This Saturday the group had decided that we would go out and film the bits that need to be filmed. We decided to meet up at the same location at 11:00am. Unfortunately only Louise and I was present but we didn't let it effect us and decided to film anyway. We had to alter some of the filming and the original plan because there was only two of us. We were very annoyed because on the Thursday we was filming the floor was wet but on Saturday the floor was dry and it was a bit sunny but we still continued and are waiting to see what it looks like when we put it together.

We also started to film the house scene but faced the problem of bad lightening. We managed to film the bits that were missing from our original filming but are still waiting to see what happens when we log and capture all the footage that we have filmed. Although it was hard with just the two of us, we managed to do a lot of filming and I am sure that it will help us with our progress. Next week i will be out of lessons because of production week but i have tried to get as much work done as possible to help the group and make sure that we don't fall behind even more that we have already done.

Next week i will be off timetable because i am taking part in a college production so i tried to do as much work as possible and also on the first day of the holiday i plan to go workshop and try and catch up on missed work

Set back by snow/ gettin filming out the way

Thursday 5th January 2009

There was no lesson on Monday due to the bad weather but however on Thursday we decided that we would film the bits that needed to be filmed again. Once again the whole group was not present but we realised that we dont have enough time to wait for everyone. Although things are more difficult without everyone being fully commited, we had to realise that things had to be done. So the rest of us set out and went to film. When we went out to film the floor was wet and we knew that the next time we went to film the weather had to be similar or it wouldn't look right but we still continued with the filming. When we was filming we had to think about the best way and most interesting shots to use in order to make the best effect. Filming was very difficult becuase the weather was so cold but time was against us so we had to do what we could. After the lesson Louise and I attended workshop to try and put the footage up and start editing. When we had logged and captured the footage we started to edit it and was finding it difficult. We went to seek help from the technician and she told us that not enough footage had been shot and so it was hard to get the effect that we was looking for. We had to then book out the cameras for the weekend to finish off the footage that we had to do so that we could start editing.

Credits Lesson

On the 22nd of January half of group were not present. Pareece joined myself and Rhea towards the end of the lesson, and helped assist us in making the credits. Though a great deal of it had been done before she arrived. This helped us to become familiar with using the programme Live Type. although we got a lot done, we didn't finish the credits in the lesson, Pareece and I throughout work shop so I could help her catch up on the plans she missed and what we were going to be doing in the following lesson.

explaining changing our setting to the group

Thursday 29th January 2009

On Thursday's lesson, Louise and I explained to the group what we had done in Workshop and the problem that we had found with filming at night time. We explained that we had looked at the footage and that it was not filmed well because the light was positioned wrongly and also the fact that it looked to dark. We told them the new idea that we had decided on and Pareece thought it was a good idea. We told her that Gez and Mary had advised us that filming in the day time would be better for us and we would still get the same effect we was looking for.

After that was cleared we went into the editing room and changed our credits because it didn't look good for a day time Thriller. We managed to change it and it looked good. Whilst we was doing this, we was decided on the various shots that we would use for our new idea. This however didn't go to plan.
We also discussed whether we would still have the credits cut in between the action as first decided, but that is still to be confirmed.

After finishing all that we didn't have enough time to go and film so we went back and decided to edit the practice Thriller that we had failed to do before. Although this was a waste of time we still had to do it to put onto our blog.

We are planning on filming on Monday in Rebecca's lesson so that we don't fall too far behind. If all the filming gets done by the end of next week, this will allows us to have more time to edit the work and make our Thriller look good.

Workshop-Wednesday 28th January 2009

On Wednesday lunchtime, Louise and I attended Workshop to upload our footage that we had filmed on Monday. When we had uploaded it, we realised that the footage was too dark and the light was positioned wrongly. This made us understand how difficult it would be for us to film at night. We went to seek help from Gez and he told us that the footage did look too dark and that we could still film in the day and it have that Thrilling effect.
We were a bit disappointed that we were unable to film at night but realised we had to think fast. We were unable to discuss with the rest of the group because some people were not present but we made a few changes to the storyline of our Thriller and decided to film in the day. We kept some of the really bad filmed footage so that in our evaluation we can compare it to the footage that we are going to film again.

changing setting for the best

Thursday 29th

In yesterday lesson we looked back at the footage who shot on Monday and after seeking advice from different media teachers we concluded that it would be a wise idea to shot of thriller in the day time as trying to get the lighting perfect would be to changeling and a waste of time. Our whole group was again not present for the lesson so we had to make decisions amongst ourselves without consulting everyone. We decided that the concept of our whole thriller needed to be altered in order to work well with the lighting situation. Once we had worked our alteration for our new idea we planned to start filming the following Monday. This would give us this lesson to redo our credits to make it fit with our new idea and readjust our music soundtrack. We also edited the footage we filmed on Monday so that we could include it in our blog evaluation. Lastly we edited practise footage we had done previously and blogged. Editing took a while because we haven’t quite gotten completely use to dealing with problems that occur whilst using final cut pro as the program is quite complex. I believe that the more we continue to attend workshop the more practise we will get at it and the better our edited thriller openings will look.

Practise Filming

Our Peliminary Task:




We began to film for our Preliminary task by choosing our location and set up the equipment. Everything went smoothly apart from the fact that people kept walking through the corridors as we were filming meaning we had to stop, wait for them to pass and then start again. We then moved on to filming inside a classroom which was easier as it was silent work in that room. After capturing our footage and being satisfied we watched it over on the camera to make sure we had got the different angles necessary to put together match cuts.

Our filming was successful because we slightly more confident using the equipment and remembered techniques from the first filming. We knew the shots and angles that we required as we noted them in our pre-prepared storyboard which we kept during filming just encase. we learnt that it was essential to plan because sitting down to plan could be the difference between someone getting a good product and a inadequate one. We enjoyed filming and it made us more enthusiastic and anxious to being with our thriller.

Yesterday's lesson was a struggle because once again some of the group didn't turn up. In the lesson there was not much to do, we were unable to film because our Thriller was based in the evening. Me, Louise and Pareece went on to sound track pro and started to make the music. The sounds that we used was very effective and had the build up when we thought that tension was building up.
We knew we was running out of time and had done no filming so after college we booked out the camera and decided to start filming the first bit of our Thriller. We decided to scrap the original first bit of our Thriller because we realised that it was hard to do and time consuming. We was only able to film a little bit because of the light which lasted only 15 minutes. It was hard to film because we found it hard to place the light in a place where it would look natural, but we managed to do it. Our Thriller is going to be cut between action and credits so later on today we are planning on going to workshop to edit the footage we have and add the credits and music to it.

Last week we did a lot of work that would help us with editing and also putting sound onto our Thrillers.

In Rebecca's lesson on Monday, we used Sound Track Pro which is used for making music and also an audio editing application. This is what we are going to use in order to do our Thrillers because we are no longer allowed to use music already done, and so we have to make our own.

Firstly we had a computer tutorial in order to help us with editing sound and also putting on sound. It was really helpful because we had professional production mixers talking about the effects of certain sounds and also the importance of checking background noises. There are many sound effects that can be used to draw the audiences attention. I also understood that using things like heartbeats and footsteps at the right time can have a very good effect on your audience.

We were then given many still images from Casino Royale and had a table in the top left hand corner with things like dialogue, music and effects. We had to drag the various sounds into the place on the picture where we thought it best fitted and also decided if it was background noise or not. This allowed me to understand how sounds fit in together and create different effects.

We was then given a clip from Casino Royale and had to put the sound in and also the effects. This was extremely interesting and didn't want to stop. I found this quite easy to do however it also needed to be done carefully. Unfortunately we had do stop that and put sound on to our practice Thriller that we made. I was annoyed that we had to stop and found that boring. Although it was annoying it was useful because it is what we would have to do for the main Thriller.

In Annabel's lesson on Thursday most of the group was not present. Rhea and I decided that we would do the credits for our Thriller. Mickey gave me a tutorial on Live Type and showed me how to use it. Me and Rhea then went onto it and had a go. We made really good credit and i actually enjoyed doing it.
I wasn't able to finish it off in the lesson so i stayed for workshop and managed to finish it off.

Catch up 2

Rebeccas lesson on the 5th January, we were focusing on Match cuts and was seeing what it is. Micky and Rebecca explained what it was and gave us some examples of what it was. When we had done that, we were given a synopsis, which was : East London. 3pm. a man chain smokes as he sits at his home pc. He copiesconfidential computer files and plans to a cd. He packages them and is seen posting them.
We had to then fill out a grid using 20 shots to make this opening thriller. We had to try to use match cuts where appropiate. When we had done that we had to watch the one that was made by Mikey and identify and shots that were the same and alos identify where the match cuts were. There were around three match cuts, one beng when he was writing on the cd and two when he was walking t go and post the letters. I found identifing the match cuts easy and i feel they very effective.
Getting to the end of the lesson, we were put into our media groups and were given a storyboard. Rebecca read out a synopsis and we had to make a thriller out of it. She said that: Character A opens the door, enters a room, and sits in a chair opposite Caracter B. Character A and B exchange a couple of words of Dialouge.
We were told to storyboard our ideas and it was to be filmed in Annabel's lesson on Thursday. We was told to use interesting shots and also matchcuts.

On that Thursday, Pareece and I was unable to attend Annabel's lesson because of exams and so i was told that Rhea and Louise were split up and joined another persons group for this exercie.

The following Monday Rebecca told my group that we had to still do thfilm. On the Tuesday me and Louise went to workshop to do it becuase Pareece and Rhea was unable to attend. Whilst filming we found it hard to film and also be in the film because there were many shots that we were unable to do. We was able to include a few Matchcuts, like when Character A is opening the door and entering the room.

On that monday we were told that we had to make a pitch to present to the class. We had to talk about our idea for our Thriller and how we would use the different Techniques to make our Thriller good. The areas we were to talk about were images, icons, settings, location, lighting, camera work, production schedule, audience, music and storyboard. We managed to get ideas down that we were going to use in our pitch. For homework we all decided to write about one topic on the sheet that we had and bring to annabel's lesson on Thursday in order to do our putch.

On the 15th December in the lesson we watch and had to analyse six clips. We watched 'The Shinning', 'What lies beneath', '28 days later', 'Arlington road' and 'Collateral'.

I decided to analyse the Shinning because there are many elements that create a Thrilling feeling. When the clip starts, we see a little boy riding on a bike. This goes on for quite a long time. The lightening in this sequence is very dim and dull like which give an uneasy feel. The audience are situated behind the boy down at his level, this builds suspence as we are left right behind him and we are following him everywhere he goes. We turn the corners after he does and so we are unawer of what might happen to him or what he might see as he turns. Tension is created with the music, this warns us as the audience that something is going to happen. As the boy turns the final corner, he stops at room 237. The camera then drops to his level and we see how he looks at the dorr. As he gets up and goes closer to the room the music starts to build up again and the tension also builds up. When he goes to open the door, as the audience we will be unable to see what is inside the room if he opens it because we are to the side andcannot see. As he turns the door knob there is a quick flash of two little girs. This makes the audience jump. The music could be the reason why we jump, because when we wached it again without the music we didnt feel that tension. After the boys sees this, he quickly jumps back onto his bike and continues to ride off as fast as possible.