Final Thriller

Preliminary

Preliminary Analysis

Preliminary Analysis

The plot features an interrogation where the suspect denies killing the victim. Lies unravel and yet he insists he didn't kill her. 

The editing techniques used in this scene was:

- Match on Action

- Eyeline Match

- Shot/Reverse Shot

- The 180 Degree Rule

Each of these techniques were re-created in a few examples in the clip. 

The match on action shot is a follow of an action in two different shots. This was recreated by the interrogator entering the interrogation room.

                     

An eyeline match is a technique used to show what a character is looking at or thinking about. This was used during the initial part of the film where the interrogator glares at  the suspect through the window of the interrogation room. 

A shot/reverse shot is used to convey conversations/arguments in films and programs. This was primarily used during the actual interrogation in the film.

The 180 degree rule is the basic guideline that two characters in the same scene should always have the same left-right relationship to each other. If this rule is broken and the camera passes over the imaginary  boundary, the characters appear to become inverse. This is known as crossing crossing the line. We maintained the rule throughout the film (evidence as depicted above).

Each technique was edited precisely and carefully edited to cover any mistakes during the film. An example of this was the confession shot. Some of the parts in the dialog became irrelevant and the whole speech was too long, therefore I had to cut out some parts in order for it to make sense. However, if I had left the sequence as it was, there would have been obvious jumps in the scene. In order to cover these up, I had replaced some of the suspect's images with the interrogator reclining and listening to the suspect's confession. All in all, the shots were all held steady, i believe each of the techniques used were used appropriately, and overall, all technical skills were used decently.

However, there were some mistakes during the film that couldn't be corrected. Aside from the stumble at the end, using dialog with untrained actors was an unfortunate mistake and made the film that much more amateur-looking. In the future, less dialog would be more appropriate and perhaps a couple of moving shots (where necessary) would improve the overall image. 

Pay Me In Blood Bloopers and Deleted Scenes

These bloopers are used as a way of viewing the construction of my thriller and as an appeal for possible audience viewers to watch my final thriller.

Q1/ In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

 Using, Developing and/or Challenging Forms and
Conventions of Real Media Products

Thriller conventions typically include a range of techniques such as McGuffins, Red-Herrings, Cliff-Hangers, suspense, twists, bluffs (double bluffs), etc. In order to make my film a thriller, I’ve had to incorporate some of these conventions into my intro. A USB (the McGuffin) is used as a plot devise in my film to give reason to the murder committed though the object in itself is generally unimportant.The cliff-hanger at the end leaves the audience in mystery and entices them to keep watching the film in order to see if the issue is resolved.  


My intro was influenced by films such as The Collateral, North-by-North West, Casino Royal and No Country for Old Men. All of these films feature the crime thriller genre and most feature an innocent bystander getting mixed into a world of crime. However, my film challenges some of the conformities of a crime thriller by presenting my lead antagonist as a female.

The costumes of some of the characters in the film are linked to their attributes and their personalities. The hit man, for example, is garbed in mostly all black, insinuating that she is not to be trusted. Also, while in disguise, she wears a black wig and large black sunglasses. It represents her want for disgression, though her clothes are black, she is also casual, so she doesn't stand out from the crowd. The witness, however, wears a white or cream coloured jumper, symbolising innocence (she is a victim and a witness). Examles of costume portrayal in the mise-en-scene are illustrated in the film 'No County for Old Men' where the protagonists wear light-coloured, flannel shirts and the antagonist wears black, covert clothing.

My setting is set in a public bathroom where the murder actually takes place. This can be linked to ‘Casino Royal’ as it insinuates the dark, gritty nature of the cool, astute main characters (since both main characters’ darker personalities are revealed in the bright, dirty room and their cool, collected masks are put in place outside of it predominantly in the darker settings).

However there are parts of my media product that challenge the typical controversies of a typical thriller. An example of this is portrayed by my main character, the hit man. Where the role is usually played by a man, she is a woman.

Another conversion of a typical thriller convention is that the hit man is rather gritty (but effective) in her killing techniques. She is proffesional and takes care of any links that may be drawn back to her and her employer, but her killing method (and how the killing ordeal was carried out) was rather shambolic and chaotic (again linked to Casino Royal's bathroom scene where the fight was brutal and mecriless). Unlike a typical thriller hitman, who is smooth and flawless in every aspect, she is not (at least in some aspects). It can be debated that this facet is used to highlight the tragedy of the murder.

Q2/ How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Represent ing Particular Social Groups

My film has demonstrated both conforming and subverting to stereotypes. On the subject of gender, the plot is controversial and there is no definitive rule on stereotypes. On the one-hand, we have our hit man, who is actually a woman, murdering a man to obtain the USB for her employer. This goes against the typical conventions of a thriller as usually the term ‘hit man’ is self-explanatory, a man usually plays the role (for example Anton Chighur in 'No Country for Old Men'). The fact that a woman plays the role gives an element of power to women in general an subverts from the stereotype that all women are weak and helpless. An example of where women are taking up the roles usually played by men is in the film The Avengers’ in the form of the Black Widow, although where my character lacks the smooth, sexual prowess of the femme-fatal role the Black Widow plays, they are both on the front-line in terms of getting their hands dirty.





However, there are still elements of character stereotypes within my film such as ‘The Hirer’. Since he is a man and his employer is a woman, it still implies that men still hold some degree of supremacy over women despite the power they emanate to the audience. Although, it is debatable that it is the woman who goes out and does the man’s dirty work may also suggest that men depend on women in certain aspects of life. However there is another character in my film, ‘The Witness’ who follows the conventions of a stereotypical woman. At the sight of a body, she flees in terror and at the

end when she is eavesdropping into the killer’s phone call, she is almost pathetically terrified (though the affect was supposed to illicit sympathy for her rather than encourage a popular stereotype of women being weaker). She is a stereotypical woman in the sense that she is helpless in the situation.







In terms of age, all of my actors are teenagers, regardless of the fact that they are supposed to be playing adults, so unfortunately my film still portrays teenagers in a certain way (mistrustful and sly). With the category of race (despite all of my characters being Caucasian) my film subverts to the classical hegemony role since the

character in my film who gets murdered is a white male. Sexuality is not really portrayed in them opening, and remains neutral throughout, so there is little to comment upon. The class in my film, however, is stereotypical. The thriller genre is a blue/white collar crime menagerie, where the employer is an upper class citizen (made noticeable by his rather sophisticated accent) and the killer is of lower status (emphasised purely by the fact that she is killing people for money).

Q3/ What kind of media instituion might distribute your media product and why?

 

Q4/ Who would be the audience of your media product?

Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey , the world's leading questionnaire tool.

In media, the traget audience is a specified audience or demographic group for which an advertising message is designed. 

According to my results, my target audience would be mainly male aged between 25 to 34 year-olds according to the results of my survey (though the range between other possible audience members was significantly small).

However, I believe there will be a broader diversity within the audience due to the contents. Not only will men aged between 25 to 34 be enticed to watch it, but young adults and women will additionally. I believe that a large proportion of the audience will include these categories of women and young people as film caters to their viewing desires, the characters are all young adults and the main protagonist and antagonist are female.

The film also caters to different classes. The upper class will be interested in the film as one of my villains appears to be of that class, and the rest of my cast are working class.

In order to continue catering to my audience, I continued my survey, off Survey Monkey and on social networks such as Facebook, about what words they associate with the thriller genre. My results were as follows:


From this diagram - created on wordle - it is identified that the terms mystery, suspence and cliff-hanger are used more frequently than the rest when describing a thriller. Therefore, when creating my own thriller piece, I will be sure to incorporate these terms into my movie.

Q5/ How did you attract/address your audience?

Attracting my Audience

Before I published my film, I publicised behind-the-scenes footage (blooper reels) to entice my target audience to watch it. Not only does this present a sneak preview into my film, it also entices other genre audiences (in this instance comedy) to watch the intro. This footage was published onto social network sites (YouTube) which also appeals to younger audience members.

During the actual thriller, I have used a variety of conventions to capture and hold the audience's attention. A build up of suspense, use of a McGuffin, and a cliff-hanger are all incorporated into my thriller for these purposes. They aid the build-up of tension to the climax then leave the audience in mystery at the end, making the audience wish to know what happens next. Additionally, the music is a slow, eerie piece that matches the ambience and editing of the film.


To address the audience, I referred back to my survey and also conducted some research. In order to achieve a broad diversity of audience members, I had to have a broad diversity of characters within my film. By casting an equal number of males and females, all of similar age to our audience, it allows the viewer to become more attached emotionally with the character and also appeals to a broader range.

Q6/ What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

Technology

At the start of the course, the first piece of technology I was introduced to was the camera equipment. In the world of media, what really makes a film successful is the visual imagery the audience is presented with. Therefore the cinematography and the techniques and equipment associated have to be skilled masterfully. Between my preliminary work and my final thriller, I have used two different cameras. The first was a simple hand held, with little quality, therefore making me upgrade to a better model for my final thriller to improve quality. The camera I used to film my actors was placed onto a tripod, a device used to steady the camera for a range of shots such as a pan, a tilt, or even just a static shot. Another piece of equipment I used was a dolly, a wheeled tripod that created smooth tracking motions as I filmed. The footage was saved digitally onto an SD card so it could be directly imported onto my editing program, Adobe.

Coming onto the subject, the program I used to edit my film was Adobe. This enabled me to create a flow in my film and an understanding for my audience. Without editing, the film would look rough and amateurish, and not make much sense.

I have also been introduced to computer networks to aid me with my media research and used quite a number of web applications through the course of this project. Blogger has aided me in publishing my coursework since the start of the course and it's a very useful website for posting updates about my work. I learned I could integrate things from other websites into my Blog, such as a survey from Survey Monkey, videos on Youtube and a data analyser from wordle. Survey Monkey, was a very useful program and gave me useful information from my target audience. YouTube aided me in uploading and promoting my videos and using examples from films in my work. Prezi helped me present my work in a new and interesting style, making a difference in my usual presentation in my work.

Q7/ Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the finished product?

Film Progression

Looking back at my preliminary task, I noticed many errors and used them to learn and adapt for my final thriller piece.



Cinematography

In my preliminary, I noticed that there was little variation in camera shots, angles and movements. Though at the time I was trying to create a sense of control and rigidity - since the scene was based in a police station - this effect obviously didn't created the desired mood. Using this, I managed to create a range of different shots and camera movements to create a mood to the thriller.

Audio

Compared to the rest of the preliminary, the quality of the sound was fairly okay, however, what the problem was was the script and performance of my actors. Since they actually had no acting experience, the dialog was unprofessional and amateurish, creating another poor attribute to the film. That is why, for my final thriller, I limited the dialogue drastically and relied purely on natural body language to convey the atmosphere of the film.

Lighting

The lighting within the preliminary intro had no affect for the thriller atmosphere I was trying to achieve. Since the setting was in a classroom - instead of an interrogation room - it lacked the harsh, spotlight ambience where light was directed onto the person being interrogated. Using this knowledge, I improved my final thriller and incorporated other lighting techniques used in various thriller films. The lighting in Casino Royal's 'bathroom scene' was bright, and indicated - in 'Pay Me in Blood' - the brutality of the murder and the murderer. This also contributed to casting darker shadows around the settings - symbolising the dark, almost covert nature of the killer, and also representing the mystery of what happened and why (what was on the USB? why was the girl left alive? who was the hitman's hirer? ect...)

Mise-en-Scene

I have improved the mise-en-scene in my final thriller by going back and analysing what I did wrong with my preliminary. With the preliminary thriller, there is no indication of who the characters are; they are both in plain clothing despite the characters being a criminal and a police officer.



Now, I have taken this into account and created a meaning with the characters to actually portray who they are.

The setting was also a poor choice and gave no indication of what was happening in the intro. Taking this into account, I have situated my setting in a public bathroom, where the audience can recognise that the crime scene was situated somewhere isolated and yet easily reachable - amping up the fear factor. This 'fear factor' was then increased as the setting changed to the outside of the bathroom, into a dimly lit corridor. This setting creates a sense of unease to the audience, playing on a common fear - the darkness - and the fact that a killer is lurking around with one of the main characters in close proximity, leaving the audience in anticipation as to what happens next.

Editing

- Speed

With the preliminary, the editing was fairly slow for a thriller, so it lacks the exciting pace one usually sets. Although the pace was still slowly paced for my final thriller, the pace matched the scenario for my intro, unlike my preliminary where its seemed 'jumpy' in some places.

- Style


Again, with the preliminary, there wasn't much variation with the editing speed - only simple straight cuts. Therefore with my final thriller, i added a fade out at the end to emphasise the cliffhanger at the end.

Production Company Ident (Embed)

Shooting Schedual

Shooting Schedule

Day	Scene	Location	Equipment	Costumes	Props	Cast +Crew
1               2             3               4	The Bathroom Scene (moments with blood)     The Bathroom Scene (moments without blood)   The Flash Backs             Meeting the Employer	Robert Clack Leisure Centre         Robert Clack Leisure Centre       Robert Clack Leisure Centre         Robert Clack Leisure Centre	Camera, Tripod              Camera, Tripod, Boom pole        Camera, Tripod             Camera, Tripod, Dolly?	Casual Clothing              Casual Clothing           Casual Clothing             Casual Clothing and Covert, black clothing	Fake blood             Fake blood           Baseball bat?             N/A	'The Murderer' (Actor) and 'The Victim' (Actors),  Cinematographer + Director (Beth Agar)   'The Murderer' (Actor), Cinematographer + Director (Beth Agar)     'The Murderer' (Actor) and 'The Victim' (Actors), Cinematographer + Director (Beth Agar)   'The Murderer' (Actor) and 'The Employer' (Actors), Cinematographer + Director (Beth Agar)

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Props and Costumes

Props and Costumes

Character Name: The Killer
Costume: Dark, informal wear (black t-shirt and jeans, hiking/well-worn boots)	Props: Phone, USB
Character Name: The Witness
Costume: White t-shirt/blouse, black skirt	Props: Glasses
Character Name: The Victim
Costume: Jumper/Jacket, slacks	Props: Tie (strangled), USB
Character Name: The Hirer
Costume: Shirt/jumper (grey)	Props: Keyboard, phone