Evaluation-Question 7: Looking back atyour preliminary task,what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

What was the preliminary  task and what were its main aims

The preliminary task was designed in order for us to familiarize ourselves with the camera by filming a short sequence with a simple narrative. This task has a purpose of introducing us to filming and editing so we can get some knowledge that would of developed our production skills for our two minute thriller that we have now completed. The preliminary task also gave us a good insight into the technical side of filming such as camera handling, the way in which we hold the camera keeping it steady if need to be and camera framing, creating the right shots. The aim was for the examiner to see and measure our progress and development over the unit, from then until now how our research has helped us progress over the unit. Since the preliminary task I do feel that I have improved because I can edit quicker because the preliminary helped me to and my camera operating is much better because of the range of new shots used in my thriller.

Four areas that my technical practice has improved.

The technical practice has improved my filming because during the preliminary task there wasn’t a good range of different shots. However when I watched my thriller there’s an improvement in the different shots used which are more creative. For example when we see the teenage girl walking through the park there is a tilt shot from her feet tilting upwards to introduce her for the first time. We used this shot because her feet are the only thing creating noise so we wanted the audience to hear her feet and see it first thing at the same time so that the effect is better on the audience. 

Another example that I have improved on is my attention to detail through the use of close ups. In the opening shot of my thriller we see the doll and automatically there was a zoom into the doll as it faded to black. A zoom was used to show the audience that the doll may have an effect on the scenes to come and plays an important roll throughout my thriller.

 The iconography of the doll was used in a creative and meaningful way. In the park scene where the teenage girl sees the doll there’s a tilt shot to show that the doll has an effect on the girl. This was used to show how much meaning the doll has  

The use of sound has developed since the preliminary task. For example there’s no background sound and we have explored different types of sound.

The use of effects and transitions were used very well. Our group wanted to use the idea of a home recording to emphasise the past to ensure the audience understand the narrative. We had the camcorder edit that we could place on top of our shots to give the effect of POV home recording.

another editing technique that was  used of fade to blacks was used to allow the audience to understand time progression within the sequence.

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

 

Evaluation

The task

·       We researched the generic conventions of thrillers exploring the thriller world with all the media involved. These conventions included micro elements which were various things such as cinematography, iconography, sound, editing and mise on scene. We discovered the importance of each micro element and how it can be used effectively to create emotion within the audience.We were put in to small groups according to all our different skills and abilities, and using research and our knowledge of thrillers we were given the task to create a 2 minute thriller opening. To start we came up with ideas for a thriller ideas were put forward by each member of the group and then we combined all our different thoughts and ideas, to create the final idea.

·       However before we started exploring ideas we had to research and plan out various things. These things included creating a questionnaire, this was done to investigate our target audience and what elements do they enjoy or think makes a successful thriller. After the research that's when we brought our final narrative idea to life by creating a storyboard. The storyboard was a good way of saving time when it came to filming. This is because we had a plan of what micro elements we needed and we could use it to help us remember certain things in a particular scene. The storyboard also included ways in which we could use different elements effectively when filming.

Does my thriller follow conventions of a thriller?

I agree that I and my group created a conventional thriller film because we researched well and understood what we needed to do as a group by looking at other thrillers Such as 'TheUnborn'.While analysing the thriller my group picked out some good techniques of cinematography that could help our thriller improve. For example when we see a character scared we wanted there to be a close up shot or medium close up. This is so the audience can see and understand how the character is feeling. Another way our thriller was conventional when we create frightening scenes we used low key lighting to capture the emotion we want to give to the audience, as done in 'The unborn'.

 

Generic conventions within my thriller

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

There are many conventions used in my group’s thriller for example the generic use of low key lighting is used to create an intense setting of a scene. For example when Amber (the teenage girl) walks home the use of low key lighting adds a dark and frightening effect that the audience can sense. 

 

 

We also used typical conventional thriller characters. We have used different shot sizes and angles, like when Amber sees the doll there is a close up to capture the emotion of the girl. This was used to understand the characters feelings when she sees the doll and it makes the audience feel shocked.

 

 

 

Non-diegetic sound is just one of the type of sound used in our thriller. This sound is used when we see Amber (the teenage girl) walking home in the dark you can hear the footsteps of her shoes. This creates an intense atmosphere within the audience because of how uncomfortable the sound makes you feel.

 

The antagonist who is the little girl wears a white over grown shirt. This is unexpected and would be rejected by typical thriller conventions this is because you would expect the antagonist to wear black and dark colours. However we decided to make her wear the protagonists colour because she’s a child and the audience would be more frightful of her because they wouldn’t expect to see a child being the evil character. Also she’s meant to be a ghost so white is a good colour that could be used to represent a spirit. The protagonist on the other hand

Our group have decided to use a jump cut. This has been used when we see the teenage girl being possessed by the little girl in the bathroom scene. This has been used to send unexpected rush of emotion to the audience by scary shots appearing and disappearing not knowing what will be shown next. 

 

 

 

 

Amber is the female victim she is very withdrawn and vulnerable. This has to be represented by the way in which she carries herself. She is very confident in the way she presents herself and we see this in the park scene when she is walking through the park with her body upright. On the other hand her facial expression is always dramatic especially towards the end when she realises she’s being haunted. This is used to make the audience sympathise with Amber because they now know how she is feeling.

 The ghost child is very static she doesn’t move as much as a normal child would because the audience would not fear her as much. Her face also shows no emotion for the reason that ghosts shouldn’t have feelings only a motive. This will make the audience understand that the child is a ghost and she wants revenge which will make them scared.

 

 

Conventions of  target audience and opening  credits

Before the filming process we had to research into different things to make sure our film was as conventional as possible. One of the ways we have to make our film conventional was by analysing other thriller films and their opening credits. We did this to help our group understand what was needed in our thriller opening. I then understood how it made me feel as an audience member and how I wanted the audience to feel when they see my thriller. After this I then tried to see how they brought that emotion out of me.

Once that was finished we looked at age certificates and censorship trying to see what was acceptable for certain ages and audience groups. We watched scream the opening as a group and we related the narrative to the age certificate and tried to identify why it was chosen to be 18. Age certificate 15 films can contain adult themes, hard drugs, strong language, moderate violence and un-detailed sex references. “Beyond the grave” is a 15 certificate because of the fact that it may disturb younger children because of the antagonist being a ghost child and they might get nightmares which is unethical to their well-being. Also During this research we discovered that conventional films tend to be round the age certificate 15 so as a group we decided that this age group would suit our narrative in our thriller film.

My thriller following a conventional narrative structure

 In order to create a thriller we needed a narrative structure. We researched different narrative theorists such as Todorov, Aristotle, Propp and Barthes. We understood their theories in depth and knew their film structures. In the end my group went with Aristotle's structure because it was simple and easy for us and the audience to follow. 

 

 

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

Evaluation question 5

How did you attract/address your audience?
Audience emotions of a thriller tend to be…….
• Scared, Excited, Uncomfortable, Tension, Anxious
My target audience
• Ages:15+ • Gender: male/ female
• Ethnicity: all
• Occupation: students
• Hobbies and interests: horror genre, socialising, thrill seeker

As well as carrying out a variety of secondary research on thrillers and audiences, I also had to find a backup source of research which would allow me and my group to target our audience’s needs and preferences in thrillers. To do this we created a questionnaire as we felt it was the best way of getting some constructive feedback from our audience. My groups target audience was given a questionnaire so that they could inform us of their preferences. These questions where specific in finding out what they like to see in thrillers. For example one of the questions where “what themes do you enjoy in a thriller” this question allowed us to choose themes carefully. 12 out of 20 people said they liked revenge as a theme in a thriller. This information finally made our group come to a conclusion that we should incorporate the theme revenge to impress our audience. Another question used was “What in a thriller creates suspense in your opinion?” 15 people said that sound creates the most suspense when watching a thriller. Our group now know that when we are creating sound it needs to be used in a meaningful way so that we create that suspense the audience look for.

The questionnaire was really important when understanding our target audience and their desire and needs that our film needed to meet. We used a questionnaire because it was a quick way of retrieving information and relevant feedback from specific questions that our group wanted to investigate to insure our film was based around their expectations. Also when looking at the questionnaire it was clear to see who our target audience was (15+) and they all wanted suspense and intense feeling. This can now help our group create those feelings and emotions in our thriller.

Evaluation- Question 4: Who would be the audience for your media product?

Final product: Beyond the grave

Evaluation-Question 2: How does your media product represent particular social groups?

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

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

Evaluation question 3 from lashane35138

Planning:character representation

Character representations are important because.......
When creating a thriller it is important that the Representation of characters is considered because it shows a clear understanding of each characters motive in the thriller. It is crucial that different characters have the typical features that audience members look for. For example the victim has to look physically vulnerable so that the audience know they don't have a chance against the antagonist. This is done to for fill  the audiences needs and expectations.
Whilst researching my group found that children and usually a blonde beautiful girl  were used in thrillers to fit the victim role. These characters are used in a thriller because the genre of thriller has an innocent character that the audience can understand as well as relate or sympathize with. Because of this representation it creates emotion among the audience.


The following characters will be used within my thriller:

Name:amber
Age:18
Gender: Female victim because it is conventional = draws upon sympathy from aud
Role within the film:
Costume:
Hair and make-up:
Body langauge:




Some images of other female victims I found from my research that has influenced my idea:

Name: Chole
Age:5
Gender: ghost child
Role within the film:
Costume:
Hair amd make-up:
Body langauge:

Planning:production paper work

 Risk assessment
We created risk assessment sheets in class for our thriller. This was created to keep all the filming crew and actors safe this lowered the chances of getting in trouble with the school. every group member received a sheet and signed it to confirm they will be safe.



                                                               Production schedule

Production schedule helps us save time stating when, where and what time we would all meet to film. All group members and actors recieved a sheet so they are aware of the times set.





Location recce 
Location recce is all about where filming would take place a picture of the setting so that people are aware of where we are filming incase we're in trouble.

Preliminary task

                                           
The preliminary task is designed for us to familiarize ourselves with the camera and how to film a short sequence. This task has a purpose introducing us to filming and editing so we can get some knowledge on how to produce our thriller. The task also gave us good insight into the technical side of filming such as camera handling the way in which we handhold the camera keeping it steady if need to be and camera framing.

The examiner needs to see this as it measures our progress and development over the unit. From now and how our research has helped us progress over the unit.

The filming process.
We came up with a short film narrative that we could film and it had to be 30 seconds long. Jordan filmed while me and chardelle where acting. The short narrative starts as we walk down the agora when suddenly we stop to talk and chardelles bracelet falls to the bottom of the agora. I offer to run and receive the bracelet in a very heroic way and the scene ends. We tried to use as much cinematography as possible, different shot sizes and angles really exploring our creative side as a group. We filmed for half an hour and edited for around 40 minutes.

The editing process
we started the editing process by deleting any unwanted shots this reduced time and was helpful. Then we just played each scene and cut out which parts where not needed. Then we dragged the shots we wanted to use into the section bellow in the order of the narrative structure beginning middle and end.

What I've learnt
Me and my group now have a good knowledge of camera work and we know how to edit and cut shots. This will help us when creating our 2 minute thriller.

Difficulties whilst filming and editing

When filming there where a lot of things our group had to think about and one of them was cinematography. The most difficult thing for our group was to incorporate all the different angles and shot sizes. We overcame this problem by just using the camera more and getting used to holding it. Another problem we encountered was that people kept getting in our shots and it was hard to concentrate with them there. So in order to stop this we found a new location which was the first floor because it was much quieter, filming was much easier and we finally finished.

 

What roles we all got

In the filming and editing process we started taking on role naturally. For example chardelle was the director because she came up with was in which we could be show and what directions we should face. Jordan was the camera operator because he had the most steady hands when the camera was handheld so we felt that he would have the best job of filming our thriller. I thought of good loctions and the senario of the task this gave me the role of being incharge of keeping the narrative through out the thriller and location manager.



Planning:production roles

                                         Production Roles


Actors-                                           Liz  and Rickada
Camera operator-                           Jordan Cleveland
Storyboard organiser-                     Jordan Cleveland
Location manager-                         Chardelle Willer
Sound editor-                                 Lashane Williams
Editor-                                           Jordan Cleveland
lighting-                                         Lashane Williams
director-                                        Chardelle Willer
producer-                                       Lashane Williams



My roles
Sound editor- This role was given to me for my creative side of being a dancer and a good creator of music and sound. I passed my music GCSE's in year 11 and I know how to use the equipment needed to edit. This will ensure that the right sounds are in the right scenes creating the right emotion that should be felt by the audience just by editing the sound.
Producer-A producer has the role of being organised and on top of things and my group all decided that those where the qualities I had when coming to create our thriller and I should take role of the producer.
lighting operator-I am very good with operating the lights because I am the most visual-ant in the group of what light i think would best suit the scene. This will help us get the best filming results possible.


Chardelle's roles
director-chardelle was picked by me and Jordan to be director because she is very dominant and the actors will listen to her when giving direction. She was also picked for this role because she has had experience directing before so she was the best option.
location manager-This role was fit perfect for Chardelle because she is the best with knowing places in the group. She lives next to a park and she suggested that we could use that park as well as her house. She knew all the locations very well so she could manage where we film.
costume hair & make up-As Chardelle is the only girl she wears make up and has a good sense of style and fashion. As a result we suggested she should take on this role making sure the characters look the part. She also used to do fashion textiles and with that experience she was at an advantage.


Jordan's roles
camera operator-Jordan has had experience behind a camera so as a team it was sensible to let him operate the camera. Jordan has very good steady hands and that's good because we want good shot sizes and angles. He also understands the use of cinematography and what better way for him to show that by using the camera.
editor-In our group me and Jordan work good with the editing however I suited sound editor and Jordan was good at cutting and putting together scene's from past experience also. When editing Jordan will understand what we have discussed as a group for what type of editing will go in which shot to create the chilling response intended.
writer/storyboard-For this role we discussed as a group who we all felt was the best at explaining our thriller plot. From our ideas we decided to go with Jordan's but with some things changed. When story-boarding your meant to explain the plot using pictures and because it was Jordan's idea he could explain it very well for us all to understand.