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

At the beginning of our coursework, we filmed a preliminary task, in which we had to record and edit a scene which adhered to the 180 degree rule, and included the use of a shot-reverse-shot and an action match. Now, after creating our opening sequence, we are able to see the progression that we have made by comparing our preliminary task to our opening sequence. One of the first aspects we can compare is the use of action matches in the two works.



One of the main differences that can be noticed is how much smoother the editing is in our opening sequence when compared to the preliminary task. This is due to the fact that, in the preliminary, the editing appears to 'jump' as George is walking, meaning the action match is not as subtle as it should be. In our opening sequence, on the other hand, the motion is much smoother and less noticeable as Owen walks from the living room to the kitchen, with no sign of the editing 'jumping' like it did in the preliminary task.

Another piece of editing that the use of, or lack of, can be compared between the two is shot-reverse shot. Whilst we did use shot-reverse-shot in the preliminary task, during the conversation between myself and George, the opening sequence does not feature any shot-reverse-shot. This is because of the fact that our opening sequence only features one person, and there was therefore not any conversations within the opening sequence. For this reason, it would have been unfitting for us to use any shot-reverse-shot. In the preliminary task, on the other hand, shot-reverse-shot fitted well into our scene as it involved a conversation between two people.



Lastly, the final aspect which can be analysed in the two clips is the 180 degree rule. Both the preliminary task and the opening sequence adhered to this rule, rarely breaking the 180 degree boundary and ensuring that the change is clear in moments where it does. An example of this is when George is entering the classroom and, in the opening sequence, when Owen enters the kitchen.

Evaluation 6: What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

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

Below is an example of the profile of a audience member that we tried to aim our sequence towards and who we agree would enjoy the film the most.

When finding out what our model audience member was, we had to take into account numerous pieces of research, such as our audience survey and our research of average thriller genre fans through the use of YouGov. Our first focus was the gender of our audience member. Whilst our survey showed that the majority of respondents were female, YouGov contradicted the idea that the majority of our audience was female by showing that for the thriller films we searched the majority was, instead, male. For this reason, and as YouGov takes into account a wider audience than our survey did, we decided that it was more accurate to have a male as our model audience member -- although we are aimed our film towards both males and females due to the majority being different on our survey and YouGov. We then analysed the different interests, financial statuses and careers audience members of the thriller genre had on YouGov, and found that the majority of the thriller audience were working class and had careers in typical jobs such as manufacturing. In addition, as the majority of the audience was male, we found they had typically masculine interests. We ensured that all of this was taken into account when creating our model audience member, and this therefore resulted in the profile seen above.

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

Evaluation 5: How did you attract/address the audience?

Directors Commentary 



Audience Feedback Video

This is our audience feedback video for the opening sequence, we asked 5 questions relating to the sequences storyline or shots to see what could have been improved and what was good about out opening sequence that was clear to the audience. The audience found the opening sequence intriguing and knew what type of genre we were trying to link the sequence to from the variation of shot techniques used and the sound which was overlaid on the opening sequence.

Did you notice the dark figure in the background?

All of the audience members stated that they were able to see the dark figure within the shot and that he could be seen easily, however one audience member said that his appearance and positioning in the shot was "subtle leaving us to wonder who he was and why he is important in the sequence"
Although two of the members stated that they were able to see the dark figure and gave an explanation as to what his appearance did to the mood of the sequence one member was only able to say yes and not give a reason as to what effect it had on the shots, this shows that not all of the audience viewers will recognise the meaning or purpose as to why we involved him in the background and can be improved on possibly by incorporating a sound which makes clear that he is not supposed to be there.

Do you think that the soundtrack suited the footage, if so state why?

One member of the audience stated that the soundtrack which was played over the top linked well to what was going on within the sequence, as a result of this I believe that it helps to make the audience relate to the footage as it will seem more realistic to them because there is a radio talking about an event which has happened locally to the characters area. they also said that the sound played over the top of the burning house was good as it related to what was in the shot and that it also increased the tension. Furthermore they claimed that the childish giggle in the nightmare sequence is relatable to that of a horror genre which made this sequence more affect as it helped to foreshadow what was going to happen later on in the opening sequence. this was done intentionally for this purpose as we wanted to make the audience believe that something bad was going to happen in the next scene which allows for the audience to be kept in suspense which is an ideal component of a thriller opening sequence as it provides us to build up a climax with ease making the audience overthink things that are going to happen later on. in relation to the radio soundtrack played over the top none of the audience members were able to relate it to the mood which we wanted to portray towards the audience as it gives the opening sequence a more eery mood to it, also linking back to the house fire none of audience members mentioned the gradual build up of the fire crackling which we wanted to make clear so that the audience get a sense of anxiety as they expect for a big ending to happen which doesn't happen as they are supposed to feel nervy for the rest of the opening sequence.

What did you think about the broken picture frame?
it left them wondering as to why the picture frame was broken, which was the purpose of the shot as it left the audience asking themselves question and lead them into anticipation of what the answer was. the audience will be intrigued as to what the meaning of the broken picture frame is meaning that they have to carry on watching leaving them gripped throughout the opening sequence. secondly the use of the broken picture frame implied that the man had been there before without the main character knowing so, it also comes as a shock to the audience as one member stated that "its scary and comes across shocking", another member said that the broken picture frame leaves the audience to wonder about the story in there head since they are not sure why the picture frame has been broken or who it has been done by. However none of the audience were able to speak about how the shot was fluent and used a shallow focus from the glass to the picture frame to show that it was broken, we used a shallow focused so that the audience would gradually realise what has happened however this didn't prove to be as affective as none of them felt that it had much relevance to the sequences mood
that was trying to be implemented into it. a way we could change or make this more clear is by showing the picture for a longer period of time so that they are left in shock to build up a bigger climax for the ending.

Did the lighting establish a tense atmosphere in the sequence?

The audience said that through the use of low key lighting contrasted a tense mood and atmosphere, the reason as to why they thought it created a tense atmosphere was because the shadows of objects were clearly seen which made each scene seem "eery and spooky". an example that was given of when the low key lighting was effective was in the various close ups at the beginning of the opening sequence as you could see objects but the setting around them was too dark to see where it was. from the feedback we were given I believe that the low key lighting was successfully in contrasting a tense atmosphere as the feedback stated that they found scenes eery or spooky which was the atmosphere we wanted to create for the audience. None of the audience members mentioned how the use of low key lighting helped to portray how early in the morning it was which is vital in our opening sequence since it helps to show how the main character is young working class man who has a stressful life waking up early and having to go to work for most of the day, it also shows how he is living a normal life like other people which we hoped the audience could feel repeatable to.

Did you have a basic understanding of the stories background?

The feedback that we got given back was that all of the members who watched the opening sequence understood what was happening in each scene, they understood the part which we wanted them to understand such as the flashbacks being linked to the main character which one person said. also that the sequences made sense, they didn't seem to be in a mixed up order where they didn't make sense with one another instead the scenes made sense when switching from one to another which gradually built up the storyline allowing for the audience to understand what relevance each shot had to the sequences story. although all of the audience members were able to have a clear understanding of what each scene was about not many of them could state what was happening in the flashbacks only that they had a relevance to the main characters past life, as a result of this we could try to make it more clear that the main character is related to the man in his flat but believes that he died in a house fire which was shown in the flashback. A way we can do this is by showing an object or image of both the main character and the dark figure with an object in the picture which can be seen on the dark figure to make clear who he is or what they thought may have happened to him.

Screencast 

Our Opening Sequence - Finished product

 

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Construction Post #3 - First Draft Opening Sequence Analysis

Having completed our first draft, there is both some aspects of it that we are happy with and some which we feel need to be improved, in order for our second draft to be of a higher quality. One of the main parts of our opening sequence which we are satisfied with is the overall collection of shots which we have. The shots of the protagonist flow well, and include all of the necessary actions and facial expressions that we needed to include in our sequence. For this reason, it is unlikely that we will need to re-shoot any of these, and can therefore focus more towards editing, which is the current weakness in our opening sequence. Whilst the editing for the majority of the shots is fairly smooth, we feel that the dream sequence is not yet distinguished well enough from the 'real life' scenes, and that we therefore may need to edit or colour them in a way which makes it clear they are inside the protagonist's head. To do this, we are planning on speeding up the pace of editing, and testing out some different effects on shots. We may also, although the majority of our shots are satisfactory, record some more shots for the dream sequence in order to prolong the length of it and have more shots for the fast-paced editing to flicker between. In addition to this, we are also considering changing the font of the credits, due to the fact we feel it does not look very professional or fitting for our opening sequence, and as a result we would like to find a higher quality font. Finally, the last aspect of our opening sequence which needs to be addressed is our title screen. It is fairly simple at the moment, and for this reason we would like to improve the quality of it by animating it in some way. This will hopefully work to make the title stand out more, and increase the dramatic atmosphere of the sequence.

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Evaluation 1: In what ways does your media sequence develop or challenge forms and conventions of real life media products?

Evaluation 2: How does your media product represent particular social groups? - Presentation in real media texts

Mental Illness in the Media

When framing our main protagonist ‘Billy’ it is immediately apparent that he is someone who suffers from mental illness, due to the first shot of the opening sequence displaying the prop of the tablets

skewed across the coffee table. This may highlight Billy’s over use of drugs, and general substance abuse, as he feels it will lift him from his depressive state. Whilst this is a fairly stereotypical representation of mentally ill characters, as they are commonly presented to have substance abuse problems, it is also atypical in the fact that our protagonist is being treated for his mental illness, whereas in media texts the mentally ill character is often used as the villain and therefore is often not undergoing treatment, in order for them to be presented as mentally unstable as possible. The isolation of the tablets within this shot creates a representation on how people who grieve from mental illness are seen as abnormal in comparison to regular societal norms that everyone follows. Harmonising this shot with aspects of low-key lighting allows the audience to depict the character as weak and vulnerable in his state, making him unable to see the fear and danger of the mysterious figure lurking within his home. This is also an atypical representation of a mentally ill person, as media texts often present mentally ill characters to be dangerous and unstable, whereas we have instead presented our protagonist in a sympathetic light -- showing how vulnerable his illness has made him, rather than the 'dangers' he could bring. At the same time, the essence of mental illness or ‘abnormality of mental health’ can be seen in the brothers driven ambition to receive revenge for past events. Using the costume, specifically in hiding the face of ‘Steven’, allows the mystery of the character to evolve over the time of the sequence.

It also allows the audience to believe that something may have happened to him in order to cause him to go on this psychotic path of revenge. This could therefore be considered a stereotypical representation, as he is displaying the dangerous side of severe mental illness and external suffering that is often seen in media texts, which is a contrast to Billy's internal and 'safer' suffering.

The representation of mental illness in thriller movies is typically a negative one, often being used to explain away the reasons behind the antagonist's killings by depicting them to be 'crazy' or 'deranged', in order to create a villain that acts in ways that are not typical human behaviours and therefore make the audience uneasy. Mental illness is often used to be a source of apprehension in thrillers, as characters who suffer from it are displayed as unpredictable and dangerous. One of the most iconic examples of this is the Joker in the Batman series as, though it is never explicitly said that he is mentally ill, it is clear from both his behaviour, costume and the reoccurring mention of his childhood trauma ("You wanna' know how I got these scars?") that he is not mentally stable. The Joker is a character which kills ruthlessly, and often laughs whilst doing it, presenting him to be a cold-blooded killer and, consequently, presenting mentally ill people to be the same.

However, the Joker is not the only character that is a representation of mental illness in thriller movies. There are also several other films which feature mentally ill characters in the role of the villain -- such as 'John Doe' in Se7en, who goes on a mass murder spree that follows the seven deadly sins. This is another common trope of mentally ill characters, as they are often presented to be obsessive, often over niche things or topics. For example, John Doe with the seven sins, or the Joker with his scars. These strange obsessions are used to cause the audience to feel uneasy, as they are often strange obsessions that many people do not have, and therefore contribute to the character's strange behaviour. Although having an obsession alone is not necessarily dangerous behaviours, thrillers often turn these obsessions into it -- an example being, once again, John Doe.

In addition to these examples, another common issue with the presentation of mentally ill characters is that they are often very two-dimensional when it concerns their mental illness. It is rarely explained what they have, how it was caused, or anything that could be used to allow the audience to understand the character's motives. Whilst understanding the character's motives would not necessarily make them a sympathetic character, and they should not be one, this absence of explanation translates badly on the representation of mentally ill people, as it causes them to be seen in a similar two-dimensional light. They are often defined by their illness, and many people are uneasy around those with mental illness because of the violent mentally ill characters found in movies. However, one example that challenges this in some ways is Kevin Katchadourian from We Need To Talk About Kevin, which closely follows his childhood and relationship with his mother and therefore what caused his issues later in life. However, this challenging of conventions does not extend throughout the whole film as, at the end, he commits a mass murder at his school.

Finally, one last example of the representation of mental illness is Vincent Grey in The Sixth Sense, who is a past patient of Dr. Malcolm Crowe. Unlike the Joker, John Doe and Kevin Katchadourian, Vincent Grey is presented in a less stoic, cold-blooded way, instead being presented as both mentally and emotionally unstable. This therefore presents him in a more sympathetic light, due to the fact he is sobbing and apologising, but it does not change the stereotypical representation of him in the fact that he shoots Crowe. Much like the other characters, Grey is also a dangerous mentally ill person and, regardless of whether he is reluctantly dangerous or not, he still remains an antagonist of the movie. This therefore contributes to the on going theme in the presentation of mentally ill people, especially due to the fact that although he is not stoic or cold-blooded he still behaves in an unusual manner -- such as the fact he is not wearing clothes, and that he broke into Crowe's house.

In conclusion, thriller movies predominately present mentally ill characters to be dangerous, unstable people who are often placed into the roles of antagonists and villains. They are used as plot devices to cause the audience to feel uneasy, and often to provide an unpredictability to scenes, all whilst not properly explaining what is wrong with them or what caused them to be that way. Our opening sequence is, as a result, challenging of this convention -- as the protagonist of our film is mentally ill and is not presented to be violent or unpredictable.

Working Class Males in our film

Our opening sequence to the thriller film 'Forsaken' represents the young, working class male as having poor punctuality, being messy and disorganised. However, the character is not portrayed in a particularly bad light, and Billy's behaviour is relatable and typical of a young male his age. 

Through the use of this shot, we start to construct the representation of a young, working class male as being somewhat uncontrollable and sporadic. This is because he is shown sleeping on the couch, even though by the appearance of the house, it would be expected for him to have a bed. He is also shown holding alcohol in this shot, suggesting that he passed out, possibly late at night, after drinking. This, along with the close-up of the pills, adds to the construction of Billy having various problems in his life. When comparing this to the typical representation of a working class male, which is often that they are hard working and sociable, our representation is prominently atypical -- due to the fact that our protagonist is the complete opposite of these two characteristics. However, the fact that this behaviour highlights our protagonists stress is therefore typical to a working class male, as they are often presented in media texts to have some form of underlying problem due to stress.

Another representation constructed of white, working class males in our film is that they are lazy and procrastinate, which is once again a contrast to the representation of working class men in thriller movies. This can be seen in this shot as there are many dirty dishes visible that Billy seems to have neglected and not taken any interest in washing up. This may show his distraction in his work and how his monotonous lifestyle has taken up any free time he may want when coming home. This way of life may have caused Billy to become depressed with himself and the amount of work and pressure on his shoulders that he always seems to put before his social life away from work. Once again, where comparing this to the typical social life that is seen for working class men in thriller movies, it can be seen that our representation is a contrast to the usual representation, due to the fact that Billy lacks a social life. 

Another representation constructed of white, working class males is that they are routine and live normal or average lives. To develop this idea that our character is average and doesn't live a special or privileged life, as shown through the morning routine of our character getting ready. He does this in a normal manner and his clothes are not over extravagant. This helps with the aspect of the audience being able to relate to the character, and how he is just a seemingly ordinary person, but these events still occur. This is therefore stereotypical to the representation of white, working class males in the thriller genre, as they are often presented to live average, and even monotonous lives -- in order to create a more dramatic effect when things begin to turn abnormal in their lives.

Young working class men in media texts

Young working class men are typically represented in thrillers as following a usual routine which they stick to doing throughout the movie scenes. These types of people are usually social and charming towards work colleagues or friends who are around them, and would be social with work colleagues at bars or clubs after work or during a work break. They are also seen to be busy and have not much time to themselves, which in thriller genres will usually leave the character becoming distressed, leading them into depression. This is often used due to the fact that thriller films typically have a convention which includes a character who is abnormal compared to other characters in the film, in order to give the movie an edge to it.

An example of a young working class man in a thriller movie would be Patrick Bateman in the film American Psycho. The reason this film relates to the stereotypical young working class men is because the main character is a sophisticated man who has a well paid job in New York during the day but in the night he turns into a serial killer who murders random people that anger him either at work or during the day. This reflects the frustration that high end jobs create for people and as you are lead to believe that he is a normal man due to the suit and appearance of him, it can soon be found that the film takes an alternative view which makes the thriller more shocking

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Final Indent - Oracle Studios

The video above shows the indent for our original company, which we titled 'Oracle Studios'. For our design, we decided to go with one similar to the Hamsa Hand, with an eye in the middle of a hand. This is because we felt that this could be made in a way that would appear eerie and unnatural, and would therefore be suitable for the type of atmosphere we wish to create for our opening sequence. In addition to this, the monochrome theme used also causes the indent to appear gloomy and serious, which sets the theme and lowkey lighting up for the film to follow.

Costume For Our Opening Sequence

For our main character, we decided to use clothes such as tracksuit bottoms and a plain t-shirt, as these are casual items of clothing and therefore fitting to his personality. This is due to the fact that our protagonist is suffering from mental illness and addiction, including depression and alcoholism, and that he would therefore not be particularly bothered about his appearance unless he has to be. In addition to this, this clothing is also fitting because the scene opens on the protagonist asleep on the sofa, and so it is reasonable for him to be wearing comfortable clothing due to the fact that he is home alone and has no intentions of going out. This is relevant until the end of the scene, when he changes into work clothing.
For our antagonist, on the other hand, we chose dark clothing such as the black hoodie, bandanna and chinos as we want him to appear intimidating and also blend into the shadows easier. This will work to create more unease within the audience, as the black clothing will make him appear more mysterious and will also give the effect of a 'shadow', which is fitting due to the fact that the antagonist is following the protagonist throughout the scene. Finally, the hoodie is an important piece of clothing as it will hide the killer's face from the camera, leaving the audience questioning who he is.

Filming Schedule Of Our Opening Sequence

Props For Our Opening Sequence

We have used a variety of different props for our opening sequence, each with different motives, such as conveying something about the character to the audience or progressing the scene further, and it is for these reasons that they are important to the scenes. An example of this is the pills and alcohol bottle, as they hint to the audience that the protagonist suffers with mental illness and addiction, and therefore provokes them to question why. For our alcohol bottle, we used a Bulmer's cider bottle as, because this is not typically the type of alcohol you would see someone get drunk on, it is clear he is so addicted he will simply drink whatever is present. This therefore highlights the severity of his addiction. 

Choosing Our Location

Casting For Our Opening Sequence

Animatic Feedback

Our Animatic

The video above is our animatic which shows, using a storyboard of our opening sequence, the order that we plan to take and edit our shots in. It also shows the length we require each shot to be, as well as some of the sound effects we would like to use in our opening sequence. An example of this is the crackling fire when the photograph is burning, or the murmur of the radio in the background as the protagonist goes about his daily routine.

Initial Ideas

Opening Sequence Font Final Decision

 

Opening Sequence Font Options

(Best readability is in full screen)

25 Word Pitch

This is our pitch for our film, providing a small synopsis of what we aim for it to follow and be like. Our goal is to create a shocking, adrenaline-pumped opening sequence for a thriller without giving away too much information too soon, in order to ensure there is an unexpected plot twist and that the audience is left asking questions at the end of the opening. We believe that the storyline we have chosen will be ideal for creating this.

Decided Distribution Company

For our distribution company, we decided to choose Rogue. Founded in 1997, and later re-launched in 2004, Rogue is a subsidiary of Relativity Media and is involved in the creation of a large amount of thriller and horror films, such as A Perfect Getaway and The Unborn, and will therefore be fitting to our genre.  In Rogue's film A Perfect Getaway, there are some aspects to the story, such as the typical mystery of 'who is the killer?' and the mixture of both female and male characters, that are similar to what we would like to include in our film. This suggests that the aims we hold for our film are similar to those of Rogue's, and the audience that Rogue has attracted will also be a similar audience to who our film is aimed at -- under 25 male and females. This shared ethos of our film and Rogue indicates that the company would be a good choice for our distributor. Furthermore, the overall design of the company's logo is quite gritty and gloomy, due to it's popularity in thriller and horror films, and therefore provides the audience with a mysterious, solemn atmosphere that is fitting to the genre long before the film has actually started. The company is also a fairly small one, rather than being the type to create Hollywood blockbuster movies, and this is fitting for the type of classic, independent film we would like to create.

Audience survey response analysis