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

Question 5: how did you attract/address your audience?

Question 2: how does your media product represent particular social groups

Final Product - Pariah

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

Question 6: what have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

Question 4: who would be the audience for your media product?

Our film utilises standard filming techniques, however it also draws on the 'found footage' idea, made popular by the Blair Witch Project and still used by thriller and horror films to this day, such as Cloverfield and Chronicle. 

Using the Chronicle's Demographic Breakdowns page on IMDB, I discovered that Chronicle was viewed mostly by people aged 18 to 29 - 81297 people. A significantly larger portion of these people were male: 68768, to 12529 females. Taking this into account, I think that our film should be aimed at (but not limited to) males aged 18 to 29, given that this was the age bracket in which most of Chronicle's viewers sat as our film draws parallels to Chronicle in more than that it is a thriller that incorporates a found footage element; it is centred around a character who is something of a social outcast.

Despite 18-29 being the most popular age demographic, the most user reports for Chronicle on IMDB came from males under 18, meaning that males under 18 were the group that most rated the film on the IMDB website. This indicates a significant interest in the found footage genre with this age group, and so if it were to be released then inevitably it would be viewed by males under 18. However, we have not aimed it at this age demographic because our film is more plot driven than other found footage films, with more emphasis on character development and character nuances than traditional 'jump scares' and other techniques synonymous with films that incorporate found footage. 

An example of a character in Cloverfield directly addressing the person holding the camera, in found footage style.                           

An example of the same thing in Chronicle.

Although, given these statistics, it is inevitable that our film would be viewed by under 18s eventually, and so we would not be totally excluding some archetypical features found in other found footage films, such as the use of long, single handheld shots to help build tension.

The 'user ratings report' for Chronicle on IMDB.com

Question 3: what kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

Filming

Last weekend and this week, we completed our filming. We begun on Sunday the 23rd of March, where we went to our location and filmed everything but the titles. The weekend prior to this, I had gone down to the place where we initially wanted to film - the old Dairy Crest milk factory - but it was inaccessible due to the fact that new fences had been constructed. So, we elected to film at the Ariel Centre part of the local Kevicc School. We then filmed the titles on the afternoon of Wednesday, March 26th in the basement of the school 'manor'. We managed to get everything done, but I feel like we spent too long on very simple things - some basic shots took almost an hour to get right.

Script

Here's the finished version of the script:

Sean Connor Joel Screenplay from MissMoore866

Props, Costumes & Roles

Today we decided who will be playing who in our film. Connor will play the killer, I will play the Police Officer, and Joel will play the colleague. Given that only the three of us will be working on it, we will all take it in turns to operate the camera, as there will be no more than two characters on screen at any one given time.

Props

 - Polaroid photographs

 - Knife

 - Camera killer uses to film himself will also act as a prop when the other camera dominates

Costumes

 - Killer will be wearing ordinary, casual clothes. Naturally they will be a bit ragged from his time spent living in seclusion.

 - The Police Officer will not be in uniform, but rather some smart-casual office clothes.
 - The colleague will be dressed similarly to the Police Officer.

Plot Synopsis and Explanation

The basic premise for our film introduction is that a killer lives in an isolated, deserted area through his desire to be forgotten and ignored by the rest of humanity, due to having a troubled and unfortunate childhood. He told no one that he would disappear, and so whenever somebody comes to look for him he kills them, so as to avoid them returning and telling everyone that he is still alive and living in isolation.

His childhood has effected him mentally, to the extent that he keeps a kind of 'video diary' after he kills someone, describing who they were and how the killing took place. Our film introduction will end with him being visited by a police officer who has presumably noticed that people who leave to look for him don't come back, and has managed to locate roughly his whereabouts. Our film will end with the police officer killing the antagonist. As this is just a film introduction, we imagine that the rest of the film would be either the antagonist's life prior to this event leading up to it, or just how the aftermath of his death and the police officer discovering that he killed the people who came looking for him affected the people his victims were involved with. This idea of the whole film's events not happening chronologically was inspired by thrillers such as Memento, and the idea of an event that occurs at the beginning having an impact on the lives of the characters for the rest of the film was inspired by Brighton Rock.

We have included the 'video diary' as it would allow us to intercut two different types of footage; the still camera and the handheld camera. We felt as though this would make for an interesting confrontation scene between the police officer and the antagonist. 

Film Pitch

            

Audience Profile

In order to be able to create a relevant and useful audience profile to be used on our second film, I analysed the IMDB page for the crime thriller 'The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo'. I feel as though this will be a suitable film to inspire ours as it features many conventions of thrillers yet is a little more unusual than most with one of the two protagonists being something of a social pariah. I would like to explore having an unconventional protagonist on our next film in the same way that 'The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo' does, so it could also prove to be a useful piece of reference material.

It has received a rating of 7.9 out of 10 from 234,135 users. As the graph below indicates, significantly more males had rated this film than females: 167869 to 46762 at the time. More specifically, the age bracket that had most rated this film was 18-29, which could prove to be useful in conducting our audience research as we now know roughly which age demographic 

                                   

These things considered, I interviewed my Dad about thriller films. From this I learnt what his favourite thriller films are, what he likes about them and why, what he expects from a thriller soundtrack and what his perceptions of a thriller protagonist and antagonist are. I also interviewed my classmate Matt, who at 17 is almost within the most popular age bracket of viewers for 'The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo', so his opinions would be useful to take into consideration when producing our film. Lastly, I interviewed our teacher Ms. Moore, who I thought would be useful in providing a professional opinion on what to expect from thriller films. Also included is an interview Joel did with his Dad, and interviews Connor did with his parents:

After conferring with the other members of the group, we all came to the decision that the most appropriate target audience for our production will be males over the age of 18 (we will not aim exclusively at men, however, they were just the gender with whom thrillers proved to be most popular when we were doing our research). We came to this decision through each analysing statistics for a different film on 'imdb.com'. As mentioned, I researched 'The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo', Joel researched 'Goodfellas' and Connor researched 'Now You See Me'. We chose these three as we felt that they are as different as films could possibly be within the 'crime thriller' subgenre, and so would provide a varied set of results. imdb.com allows one to view a visual representation of which age demographic a certain film is most popular with (as seen above), and for each of the three films we researched, it was a male group over the age of 18; this is why we have elected to choose this age demographic.

A Scanner Darkly

For the first part of our 'A Level Film Enrichment', I borrowed 'A Scanner Darkly' (Richard Linklater, 2006). Simply put, it's a near future sci-fi film about a group of friends addicted to the mysterious drug 'Substance D', focusing heavily on the theme of identity. 

The film is stunning visually, employing a 'rotoscoping' technique which animates the actors in a very realistic manner. However, there's no glaringly obvious reason for this; it just seems as if Linklater thought it looked cool and couldn't think of a reason not to. In places, it can make understanding some of the characters quite tricky (talking quickly, as paranoid drug addicts do) as it's very hard to lip-read them.

A still from 'A Scanner Darkly', demonstrating the 'rotoscoping' technique

Having said that, I thought 'A Scanner Darkly' was a totally engaging film - the philosophical and thought provoking is balanced perfectly with the comical and quotable. Not one of its 100 minutes felt wasted, and while the plot is slightly tricky to understand instantly, the viewer will be left trying to piece the plot together for the rest of the day, and if a film can have as much of an effect on a viewer as to make them want to figure it all out, then in my eyes it's been a success. 

8/10

Classification of Thrillers

This is a presentation I made on the 'Prezi' software. It describes what each of the BBFC's film certifications mean, and gives an example of a thriller film that fits each one for context.

Vlog

              

This is a blog we produced to conclude our preliminary filming exercise. 

Final Preliminary Piece

              

This is the end result of our preliminary film exercise; a short thriller film in which we demonstrate some of the technical skills that we have been focusing on as a class. These are: the 180 degree rule, a match on action shot and a shot-reverse shot. The process of filming took roughly three lessons and editing took just one.

Preliminary Animatic

Once our storyboards were completed, we needed to use them to put together an 'animatic' - an animated montage of all the storyboards in order, coupled with voiceovers to explain the events depicted in the storyboards in greater detail. 

We each did voiceovers for the storyboards we drew ourselves: Connor did the first six, Joel did the second nine, and I did the last six.

Here is our final animatic:

Preliminary Storyboarding

Over the half term, we were tasked with creating the storyboards for our preliminary practical exercise. Connor did the first few shots, Joel did the second few and I did the last few. The shot types I had to draw included: match on action, shot/reverse shot and an upwards track.

Drive Opening Sequence Timeline

Research Task: Continuity Techniques

Shot/Reverse Shot
The shot/reverse shot is a film continuity technique used mostly in conversation sequences. It features one character looking at or talking to another character in one shot, and the other character is shown to be looking back at or replying to that character in another shot. One such example of this technique being put into practice can be found numerous times in the clip below, for example from 0:51 to 1:01.

 

180 Degree Rule
The 180 degree rule is a basic filmmaking princple, which states that regardless of the number of different types of shot, one character must always be on the same side of the screen. It is commonly featured in conversation sequences in which both characters are in the frame together. However, this rule is often broken purposefully, the objective of which is to disorientate and confuse the viewer, as it provides another perspective on a character. It can be seen being abided by (1:59-end) and broken (0:32-1:59).
 

Match on Action
Matching on action is a continuity technique where more than one shot is used to display an event that would otherwise happen relatively quickly, opening a door for example.  This can be seen in the clip below, from 0:06 to 0:08, where the character opens the door.
 

List of Shots

This is the list of shots that we will include in our preliminary film:

·      Tracking shot-Protagonist walking
·      Close-up shot-Tracking his gun in his hand
·      Close-up shot-Protagonists body
·      Close-up shot-Protagonists face
·      Shot-reverse shot-Antagonists talking over table about briefcase
·      Shot-reverse shot-Antagonists talking over table about briefcase
·      Match-on-action shot-One of the men opening the briefcase
    -Various angles to complete the match-on-action
    -Extreme close-up shot-Latch on briefcase
·      Shot-reverse shot-Antagonists talking over table about briefcase
·      Tracking shot-Protagonist walking
·      Medium-range shot-Protagonist enters the frame
·      Close up-Protagonist’s eyes
·      Reveal shot-Protagonist eavesdropping on the antagonists
·      Match-on-action shot-Protagonist kicking in door
    -Various angles to complete the match on action
    -Side shot
    -P.O.V
    -P.O.V of antagonists
·      Medium-range shot-Antagonists are bewildered
·      Reveal shot-Protagonist aiming gun at antagonists

Basic Preliminary Thriller Plot

- Two men sat on either side of a table having a conversation in a dimly lit room. Between them on the table is a closed briefcase.
- A man is sneaking down the hallway outside the room. He is dressed in a suit and holding a gun.
- He knocks down the door and raises his gun to the two men.
- The implication is that case and its contents belong to this man, and he has come to retrieve it. The fact that it ends with the gun being raised will (in theory) create a 'cliffhanger' moment.

Click to enlarge

The spider diagram we create using bubbl.us in order to come up with the premise for our short preliminary film. Joel's ideas are in red, Connor's are in blue and mine are in green.

Conventions of the Thriller Genre

Conventions of Thrillers

The typical thriller features one thing at its core: a struggle between good and evil. This will often be represented in the form of a protagonist who is being hindered in one way or another by an antagonist and so must overcome this, which is where the plot arises. A thriller film will typically feature a growing sense of threat or danger, which builds up to a climax or cliffhanger, the idea of which is to leave the audience 'on the edge of their seats', anxious to know what happens next. Thrillers will typically be set from the protagonist's perspective, allowing the audience to follow their story more, and become more sympathetic to them as a result. Often it will be the case that in a simple, less tense scene such as a conversation, not all information will be revealed on purpose, in order to keep the audience guessing, and allow tension and suspense to mount more as a result.

Typically, the protagonist in a thriller will be a relatively straightforward and easy to understand person, allowing the audience to relate to them as soon as possible. Though having said this, in some cases (such as Adrian Lyne's Fatal Attraction), the now seemingly normal characters may have a dark or hidden past, which can be the reason they inevitably come into contact with the antagonists, who are consistently more complex characters. For instance, antagonists will often be things such as: escaped convicts (as seen in Daniel Zirilli's Curse of Alcatraz), psychotic individuals (as seen in Stanley Kubrick's The Shining), or obsessive stalkers (as seen in Mark Romanek's One Hour Photo). This unlikely meeting of a seemingly innocent and ordinary protagonist and an usual and often sinister antagonist provides the basis for the events of a thriller film.

Thriller soundtracks are typically totally orchestral. The less tense, more everyday scenes will often be coupled with calm, pleasant pieces of music. The combination of these two elements is designed to lure the viewers into a false sense of security. However, during more crucial, tense scenes, soundtracks will often be dissonant and harsh sounding, perhaps to reflect the thoughts of the antagonist. A common feature is the use of 'stings' in the soundtrack which sound at the same time as certain events on the screen in order to put added emphasis on them. Often, a total absence of soundtrack will be used deliberately in order to provide suspense, and create tension before this is ultimately released with whatever event comes next. A good example of these conventions being put to use is the shower scene from Alfred Hitchcock's seminal Psycho. The soundtrack to this scene has become arguably one of the most recognizable in cinema history.

The Rebel Alliance: Preliminary Example

The Rebel Alliance

Match-on-action shots have been used effectively in this short film, as seen below when the character slides the briefcase across the table.

The 180 degree rule is made good use of in the conversation sequence, as seen below...

...and this moment also serves as a good example of a shot-reverse-shot, when the camera is back on the other character.

All three shot types are used effectively, however I noticed one instance of the 180 degree rule being broken, and a minor continuity error.

The 180 degree rule is broken where the character with the glasses reaches down to pick the briefcase up off the floor. In doing this, he is on the left of the screen facing right, and for the conversation sequences he has been on the right facing left. This is shown below:

Reaching for the briefcase, the character is on the left, facing the right

When bringing the briefcase back up to the table and talking, the character is on the right facing left.

The minor continuity error is that the briefcase is open in one shot, and is closed in another when neither of the characters actually close it, as seen below: 

Here, the briefcase is open

Two shots later, in the next shot in which the briefcase is actually visible, it is closed. Neither of the characters close it, so this is a continuity error.

The fact that the viewer doesn't know for sure what's in the case helps build a certain enigma and sense of mystery around it, making it the main point of interest. This uncertainty is a classic convention of thriller films.

The costume choices make it instantly obvious what roles these two characters might have in their line of work, even when the dialogue reveals practically nothing about them. One character is dressed in shabby clothes and looks relatively scruffy and unkempt giving the impression of him being thuggish and brutish, suggesting that he is at least a rank below the other character. This other character is dressed sharply in a suit complete with fedora, connoting importance, power and wealth, perhaps the leader of an organised gang. These are two stereotypical characters of the crime/thriller genre.

The pace of editing is quite slow on the whole, which subtly helps to build tension and a sense of mystery, along with the points about the briefcase that I mentioned earlier. This is a useful technique as it reflects the tension in the room, as the 'thuggish' character must be feeling a certain amount of pressure as he knows that he does not have enough money to please the 'boss'.

Preliminary Filming Exercise

Over a period of two lessons, myself, Joel and Connor have been making a short film. The plot was irrelevant, the point of the exercise was purely to practise using the 180 degree rule, match-on-action shots and over-the-shoulder shots.



One thing that came up consistently with other groups critiquing our film was that the 180 degree rule was broken. This is true and can be identified by the fact that I was stood on the left in the shot at 0:24, and on the right in the shot at 0:34. This is something that we will have to consider and improve on for our next piece of practical work, as by breaking the 180 degree rule you sacrifice consistency, which is something you need in a simple conversation. 
We also didn't include a soundtrack due to time constraints, though this will be improved upon when it comes to our proper piece of practical work as we will have much more time.

Thrillers

Thrillers

Silence of the Lambs 

1990 - Johnathan Demme

 One theme we noticed when watching the extract of this film is that it's an incredibly male-dominated environment that the protagonist, Clarice (played by Jodie Foster) is operating in. This is made obvious at moments such as the shot of her surrounded by male co-workers in the elevator, seen below.

An interesting directorial technique I noticed is that whenever something important or personal is said to the protagonist, the character saying it looks directly into the camera in a close-up shot. This has been used to help build tension, as it allows the viewer to see things from the protagonist's perspective, and so experience the events the same way as them.

Black Swan

2010 - Darren Aronofsky

Uncertainty is a key theme in this film, and in the two short extracts we watched, the protagonist Nina (played by Natalie Portman) keeps thinking that she literally sees herself when walking around town. In the first extract, on the train, the crowd of people leaves the viewer as unsure as the protagonist as to whether or not it was herself that she just saw, but in the second, it's very obvious that it is. The use of handheld camera helps create a sense of disarray and confusion.

The Shining

1980 - Stanley Kubrick

An interesting feature of the 'main character' above, Jack (played by Jack Nicholson) is a protagonist who transforms over the course of the film into an antagonist. Kubrick pioneered the use of steadycam in this film (see below), which works perfectly for a filler as the eery stillness of the camera even when moving creates an ominous sense of dread and being followed.

Title Sequence Analysis

Title Sequence Analysis: Repo Man

1984 - Alex Cox

Repo Man's Opening Titles

The first thing the viewer sees in this title sequence is the striking red typeface over the black background, introducing the stars of the film. The total absence of noise puts emphasis on this, and the colour red does have implications of danger, albeit subtle ones. This is fitting, as this features car chases, drug use, amongst other things of a similar nature.

The initial, bold typeface

The tone of the titles changes abruptly after this section. The most obvious thing to point out is the music selection; fast punk rock. This is in line with certain elements of the plot of the film itself, as the protagonist, Otto Maddox, is a young punk rocker living in Los Angeles.

The use of such music works nicely with the frantic, fast-paced nature of the main section of the titles themselves, which feature a map of a part of America being rearranged using an interesting editing technique. 

An example of the fast-paced editing technique

The title of the film itself is written in a different typeface, whilst maintaining that dangerous red colour. This typeface looks is wild, messy, as if it had been done in a hurry without a second thought. This perfectly compliments the uncompromising, coarse events of the film and some of the hasty decisions made.

The main title

Introduction

Hi, I'm Sean, a Media Studies student at Torquay Boys' Grammar School.

What is Media Studies for?

I think that Media is becoming an increasingly important subject in school, as the media itself is something that, nowadays, it's impossible to live without. It can entertain us through film, it can inform us through news, and so by studying it we are learning valuable things that we can apply to life outside of school.

Favourite Actors/Films

In no particular order, my current favourite actors are: Bryan Cranston, James Hardy, Ryan Gosling, Robert de Niro, Paul Whitehouse, Mark Heap and Kyle Mooney. Cranston, Hardy, Gosling and de Niro are four serious actors who I admire for the intensity of their performances in what I've seen by them. For example, Breaking Bad for  Cranston, Bronson for Hardy, Drive for Gosling and Taxi Driver for de Niro. At the other end of the scale, Whitehouse, Heap and Mooney are three actors who have built their careers on excelling at writing and performing in sketch comedy, which is something I am quite interested in. Kyle Mooney I admire particularly as he can be remarkably subtle - you'll find that you could watch the same sketch over and over again (whether it was his solo work or with his trio 'Good Neighbor') and notice something new every time.

Some of my favourite films of all time include: Drive, Akira, Taxi Driver, Ghost in the Shell, District 9, Alien, Shaun of the Dead, Little Miss Sunshine, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Napoleon Dynamite and Scott Pilgrim vs The World. You can probably tell that my favourite genres are sci-fi, thrillers and weird, quirky comedy.

Kyle Mooney

                                                                           

Napoleon Dynamite trailer