Harry Preen P5

Evaluation for Media 1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
Our media production was a film to shows a dystopian view of the Second World War; this is from the idea that Germany won the war. We gave the audience the first person perspective from both the victim of the attack and the killer. The conventions of the thriller that we used were aspects that we were keen to make as accurate as possible. When the killer attacks the victim we used fast-cut editing to create this sense of tension built up into a final sequence. Not only does this allow for a build in tension before the finale, but it also gives us the opportunity to use a varied amount of shot types when ordering the film in the editing process. We took inspiration in this section from the Bourne films and placed the characters in a confined environment to make it appear less likely that the protagonist will escape.

Harry Preen P5 Other conventions of the thriller that we incorporated included the types of shots that we used. Point of view shots from the perspective of the killer were key in the film because it gives the audience an indication of what may happen in the film. However, as it does not get confirmed until the action sequence it creates tension. When the assault happens we also used point of view shots of the victim to show his reactions to the assault. As the assault takes place in a car we wanted to get shots from all possible areas of the car to rotate the audiences perspective as the assault takes place. Victim from the perspective of the killer

We used sound in the first half of the film to portray the conventions that one would expect to see in a thriller. The song we used for this soundtrack was Tick of the clock by The Chromatics. This same soundtrack was used for the film Drive and we took influence from this film because it set the scene showing a calm protagonist in a dangerous situation. This soundtrack is in a minor key using chromatic notes and a pulse that is in time with the protagonists footsteps as he walks to the car. The mise-en-scene that we used in the film was to give an impression of danger to the audience. To do this we incorporated the gun hidden out of sight, to be put in the front compartment of the car. This shows the audience that there is a threat to the main protagonist. The black leather jacket indicates that the

Harry Preen P5 protagonist is mysterious. However, dark colours in costume have the associations with being evil. This uses the ideas that the protagonist has a history that may not be positive. We wanted to use the themes of film noir to address this. The convention of using dark clothing to display a characters personality was something we found to be useful as the film is so short. In this instance our thriller is similar to The World Is Not Enough. The main antagonist Renard is constantly dressed in dark clothing to express his evil personality. The ideas that we developed in our film ranged from expanding on influence from other films and ideas that we came across whilst shooting and wanted to expand on. The editing of the film was done into sections and we create a moment of calm with the slow pace of the film following the music. However instead of building tension we divert suddenly to the action sequence. Like in the Bourne films it does not give indication to the audience that it will happen. The shots that we used did not only consist of the close ups on the protagonist to emphasis the fear and surprise on his face during the assault. But we also used close ups on the mirrors in the car to show another perspective of the attack. This added another dimension to the sequence and build upon the conventions of a thriller. Not only this but we linked the titles with the end result of the attack by using a continuous shot following the murder weapon going to the back of the car, where the newspaper containing the titles is placed. When the car door shuts, there is a silence in the soundtrack and an eerie wind soundtrack begins. This emphasizes this calm in the film before the attack. This develops the conventions of a thriller as the usual soundtrack keeps building before the main sequence of action. Not only this but we thought of making it

Harry Preen P5 seem as though a non-diegetic sound is diegetic in the editing process. We did this by merging the sounds of the key turning in the car with the next soundtrack giving a transition in the mood of the film.

The props that we used to develop the thriller conventions we used the kiss on the neck of the protagonist. This was to illustrate the idea of the protagonist having a hidden past that would lead on if the storyline were to continue. However it acts as a cliffhanger for the audience instead. The colour of the lipstick also portrays the associations of blood and danger-creating tension as it displays further how dangerous the killer is. The way we challenged the conventions of the thriller genre was the hardest thing for us to do and required more planning on before we shot the film. The main shot type we used that challenged the thriller conventions was the continuous shot that followed the rope to the back of the car. In thrillers such as Taken and Phone Booth there is relentless fast-cut editing, amidst the action. The editing process also allowed us to merge the soundtrack of the key in the ignition of the car with the second main soundtrack of the film. The second soundtrack contrasts with the typical conventions of a thriller and shifts the atmosphere to a more major mood. Which, in this film is ironic because of the

Harry Preen P5 action sequence, which takes place whilst the soundtrack is playing. For this we took inspiration from Quentin Tarantinos Reservoir Dogs which plays and upbeat soundtrack whilst a torture scene takes place. For mise-en-scene we tried to create a sense of unfamiliarity with the murder weapon. The large orange rope is not something that is used in thrillers to commit murder; the audience would be expecting a gun or knife. However, we wanted to use something that would already be in the car and the rope shows that potentially shows an impulsive nature to the killer. Not only this but the newspaper we used had scorch marks on it. Showing some sort of previous event happened which involved fire. This creates tension because fire has the associations of danger. This is something we wanted to put across in our thriller to challenge conventions of a thriller.

2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Our film opening tries to give little away to the audience in terms of character development. The main protagonist in the film shows similar traits to the character of Jason Bourne. This is through the representation of the villain/hero

Harry Preen P5 aspect of his character. The audience is unaware of whether this character is good or evil. Our protagonist shares this trait with Bourne as Bourne has lost his memory; this creates a story that we are yet to discover. We chose the gender of this character to create tension because the associations with males in his situation often are that they are spies, or criminals. The appearance of the character is heavy-eyed showing maybe stress previously to the film. This allows us to extend the ideas of events occurring before the opening takes place. We used mise-en-scene as a main way of showing this ambiguity as to whether the protagonist is a hero or a villain. The black jacket and trousers (similar to Bourne), gives the audience the impression that his nature is mysterious. However, the associations that we have with dark colours are negative. The gun that he has creates the idea that he could be a spy or assassin. The setting of the film was in German occupied France. This emphasizes this idea that the protagonist is an undercover spy. We also used a darkening tool in the editing process to make the atmosphere far more eerie. It illustrates this idea that the time that the protagonist is a dark one. The protagonist can afford to drive his own car. This shows that from whatever occupation they have that they earn enough to afford the car they drive. This may present to the audience that the job of the protagonist is one with large financial benefits.

Harry Preen P5 The killer in the scene we wanted to portray as a femme fatal, this is an example of our team trying to create the feel of Film Noir. This was something that we were keen to do throughout the film. The character of Phyllis from Double Indemnity inspired the character of our femme fatale. This is because of the nature of Phyllis character. She is deceptive and cold-at heart. Though she doesnt necessarily show it at first. Our killer shows these themes when she leaves the kiss mark on the victims neck after she kills him.

Here we can tell that there is a past between the killer and the victim, this is indicated by the kiss on his neck.

The Killer, like the victim has a similar costume choice. We use miseen-scene to create ambiguity as to who is the protagonist and who is the antagonist. The killer has black gloves, which indicate a potential antagonist attitude. However this is similar to the victims black jacket, making the audience confused about who is the protagonist.

Harry Preen P5

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

Our production company name and logo is Yellow Gun Productions, our logo is simple and our name relevant to past productions that we shot as a team together. Our prelim video used the idea of a banana for a gun (for comic effect) and it ended up being something that we wanted to keep in our productions. Not only this but we inserted a non-diegetic sound of a can opening to be heard with the logo. This is something that makes our production logo stand out. The role of these companies is to produce the film and employ the staff to create the film, then go on to release it through film distributors. We wanted to create a simple design for our production company name and logo having something that was simple and easy to remember. The associations with a can opening are home comforts and cinema settings; this is why we chose this sound to open the production logo. We took inspiration for this from the Pixar ident. This is because of the sound that is created with the lamp over the letters. This sound is familiar to anyone that has seen a Pixar film and is memorable. We also found inspiration from the TriStar ident, they use bright light to unveil their logo at the end of the ident, and this is something we used to reveal the text in our logo.

Harry Preen P5 Production companies are the organizations that are responsible for the creating of the film or production. In the case of a thriller, the production company will organize the script, cast, location, budgeting etc. It is their responsibility to fund and create the finished product to then release it through a distributor. The distributor will then move on to selling the film. The production companies are also in charge of the marketing of the film e.g. Billboards, trailers, posters etc.

Universal has merged its digital distribution with Home Entertainment. The chief of distribution Peter Levinsohn did this to distribute films in a far more cost effective manner for both sides of the merger. Universal are a distributor of films

Harry Preen P5 that we would use to distribute our film from the success that they have had in the past with similar films as ours. Based in Universal City, California they are one of the biggest film companies in the world and have produced some of the most successful films of all time, critically and in terms of profit. Now, owned by Comcast the largest mass media and communications company in the world, after they bought the remaining shares off of NBC Universal. They run Universal studios, both the production/distribution of films and the running of the theme parks in the USA.

In terms of film that they have released, they have a very broad range of titles and genres in there name. In relevance to our production however they are the distributors of the Bourne films and have had major success with these films grossing 220 million for the third film The Bourne Ultimatum. Another film that

Harry Preen P5 Universal release was the international sensation Psycho this is a film that we took inspiration from because of the sudden assaults that the killer would inflict upon his victims. The Jackal was also released under Universal and this film is similar to ours as it is a film that contains assassination and is under the thriller genre. Universal is not specifically for the thriller genre but it is one that has distributed thrillers that we have taken influence from and it would be massively suited to distribute our film. For a film like ours the production needed wouldnt be too extravagant because we would be relying heavily on the storyline of the film and the techniques used in terms of camerawork and editing to make it interesting. However, to release the film and use a suitable cast we would need money that would come from events perhaps to raise enough money to make a shoot for the film possible. However, we could pitch the idea to investors to take away a percentage of the profits from the film after the release of it. But as we are a small production company we would not receive a huge investment, as we are unproven. So much of the investment would come from money that we have raised on our own. This in some ways could be a good thing because it means a greater percentage of profits for us. In our film we were all tasked with multiple jobs, as there are only four of us in the production company. However, large film companies will employ a large amount of employees to produce the film. The list of jobs that one would see in the credits is as follows:

Director Screenwriter Producer Executive Producer Director of Photographyas Film Editor Composer Costume Designer

Harry Preen P5

Visual Effects Supervisor Casting Director Cast

We have used a different approach to this and a unique one. We put all four members of the team in the newspaper in the rear of the car. But the order in which we see the members begins with the two cast members, then the director and then the Screenwriter. All of the members of the production team are in costume that is appropriate to the time zone set.

4. Who would be the audience for your media product?

The target audience that we have chosen to produce our film for is those between the ages of 16 and 23. We wanted to target it at people studying Media or film. This is because media students can examine the techniques used in the film for their own entertainment and the storyline that we have is a fairly complex one and needs people that have been educated to understand it as it has adult topics such as espionage and murder. The film will lean in favour towards males as well, this is because of the violence in the film. Espionage films such as James Bond and the Bourne trilogy are more targeted at a male demographic than a female one.

Harry Preen P5

Demographic Gender Age Interests Media Usage TV Shows They Like Films They Like Music Preferences Magazine Preferences Multi-Media Usage

Answer Male 20 Media, film, directing Uses social networking sites and Video cameras predominately Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones, 24 The Machinist, The Taking of Pelham 1,2,3, The Manchurian Candidate A variety of music (mainly rock and indie) Empire, Total Film Uses social networking to see new films. Editing software

Shopping Preferences Other Film Genres Sub-Genre of Thrillers

Television Quality over quantity Action, Comedy, Horror Psychological Thriller, Horror, Thriller, Action Thriller

To research who would be the most appropriate target audience for our media production we decided to create a questionnaire with fifteen questions to see what most people found interesting about thrillers in the chosen group we had set for our thriller. We sent these questionnaires away to Bath University to gather information from students there. We also handed out questionnaire to Media classes in and out of our own school. From which we gathered back fifteen results to put into a results sheet, where we examined the results and

Harry Preen P5 interpreted the date to create a thriller that would be relevant to the feedback given. The results we got given by the target audience showed a range of findings. The more popular sub-genres of thriller were psychological and conspiracy. We eventually chose to create a conspiracy thriller. The target audience also found that they receive far more information about films through television trailers, rather than billboards and social media. One of the comments we received from the target audience addressed what they expected to see in a thriller, they commented saying a great plot with a twist at the end. This is something we incorporated in our thriller with the protagonist being attacked by the killer. The BBFC age rating for our film overall would be a 15. The themes in the film are very dark as it includes war and espionage. Many espionage films such as James Bond and the Bourne films are rated 12, yet the themes of war and an occupied France also increase this sense that it is of a more adult nature. The opening has a strangulation sequence in it; this level of violence and the detail we use with the shot types emphasizes it. It will impact our target audience and that is why we have chosen to target it at 16-23 year olds studying media. It is a subject that will have graphic nature (if it were a complete film), this is indicative from our opening.

5. How did you attract/address your audience?

Harry Preen P5

This is the opening shot to our thriller. It is a close up of the date and also the murder weapon. It gives the audience a starting point to build the story upon. In the questionnaire the target audience suggested that we make use of close ups of props. This is something that we have demonstrated to attract the audience to our production. It also creates mystery in the film and creates the sense that there is more use for the props later on in the opening. We will use editing at the end of the film to create a continuous shot following the rope back to the newspaper, which will become the titles of the film. This twist at the end of a thriller is something we have achieved by involving the team of the production in the plot of the film.

Harry Preen P5

For this shot we wanted to give the audience a sense of entrapment. Taking inspiration from the Film Noir sub-genre of Thriller, we wanted to use the gate to create a barrier between the audience and the action on screen. To use this shot was a compromise, as some people in the questionnaire would have rather seen a film in black and white. As we were not prepared to do this we decided to include elements of the Film Noir. This was something we found interesting and wanted to convey it to attract the target audience.

We used point-of-view shots from the killers perspective give an insight as to what may happen to the victim in the next shot. In the questionnaire people commented on saying they enjoyed a twist at the end of the film. The attack from

Harry Preen P5 the killer acts as this twist to create more tension in the film. We used the close up of the protagonist entering the car to emphasize the detail in which the killer is examining the victim.

We wanted to show the perspective of the attack from different places in the car. To do this we placed the camera in the passenger seat so we could get an extreme close-up of the hand over the victims face. When this occurs it is a use of mise-en-scene to mark the end point of the attack as it indicates that the victim wont survive the attack. The black glove is a sign of evil, as dark colours are associated with evil and this could be a take on death coming for the victim.

Harry Preen P5

In this shot we further created a sense of irony taking this inspiration from the works of Quentin Tarantino to make the protagonist look like they are struggling in the fight against the killer. We use a low-angle shot to make it seem like the victim is in control of the situation. Even though the audience knows that he isnt. It also puts focus on his facial expressions and how the surprise of an attack has put him completely off guard. This shot could also be seen as a hint for the audience that the gun is in the holder in front of him, yet in a state of shock he doesnt reach for it, being his fatal error. The rope is tight around his neck and we get a sense of how hard the struggle between the two is. This attracts the target audience that suggested the genre of conspiracy thriller, as this is a similar approach that the Bourne films have used when the protagonist is involved in an assault.

Harry Preen P5

The final continuous shot that we used was one that we had not received much information upon prior to the shoot. However, we felt that it was a shot that would be a good stylistic feature to include in the film as a different shot type. Rather than one that just presented the dead victim. The lipstick on his neck relates back to some target audience feedback we received, the soundtrack we used (je ne regretted rien) also gives this ironic sense to the thriller similar to films that influenced ours such as Reservoir Dogs and Inception. This also adds another dimension to the sequence of the plot, as it leads back to the titles that we see, intercutting between the protagonists entering the vehicle.

6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
Our media production uses many different technological devices so that the film could be produced. We learnt as a team how to use and develop our skills in these various technologies. The camera we used to shoot our film is a Sony NX Cam and the sound recorder was via Linear PCM. We all captured various shots/test shots so we could understand how to shoot effectively. The shots that we took were affected by different factors. One of the key factors was the positioning and angle of the camera, which we took control of using the tripod.

Harry Preen P5

We used the tripod in different ways to create the effects portrayed in the film. Placing the camera on top of the car in this test shot was something that did to create a high-angle shot. This puts emphasis on the character being in a fairly vulnerable position. The lighting when shooting the film wasnt too much of an issue for us as we shot in daytime. However, in our original plan we were going to shoot in the evening, this proved that through the camera if we were to do this that much of the footage we would produce would be too dark. This, making the quality of the footage slightly grainy would be difficult to rectify on iMovie. This is why we chose to shoot in the daytime.

Harry Preen P5

When shooting our production the weather was not a factor that we were that conscious of, as our film wouldnt be completely affected by it. However, for convenience we preferred to have dry conditions, which we were lucky in having. The location had been something though that we were more conscious about and we wanted it to be the perfect setting for the film to take place. We originally chose to shoot in a market town, yet we discovered whilst doing test shots that the overcrowded nature of the town was something that would become a large obstruction when shooting. This is why we chose an empty car park near a local church, which also gave us the opportunity to make the film look as if it were in the time set. The other opportunity that arose from the location of the shoot was that we were able to include a wider range of shots because we had more freedom as to where we could go as the restrictions were far less enforced.

Harry Preen P5

We were aware that in order to make our film stand out as something of high quality then we would have to use a wide range of shots to create tension and ambiguity. This we feel that we achieved and we learnt to incorporate more shots in the film as the shoot went on. We had a set shot list of what we should include as an outline, yet we ended up shooting far more footage to have more to work with when it came to editing the film. Some of the main shots we used in the film included:

Close ups Extreme close ups Reaction shots Match-on-action Mid-shots Dutch angle shots Low angle shots Long shot Over the shoulder shot Point of view shot (from both the victim and killer)

Harry Preen P5

The composition of shots was important, as we wanted to include things that would indicate what would happen late on in the opening of the film. At the start of the film we showed the audience what would end up being the murder weapon and the titles. We also used techniques to avoid getting the killers face in shot whilst the strangulation took place. We did this by dressing the killer in black and shooting close-ups of their gloves to distract the audience from the killer.

When editing the video we took the SD card out of the camera and put it into the Apple Macs to begin the editing process, this then allowed us to import the footage directly from the SD card onto the Mac. However, this was not that easy as we had to download a file converter to shift the file from the original format to one that was compatible with iMovie. When ordering the film we wanted to create a link between the credits and the events onscreen.

Harry Preen P5

Harry Preen P5 In order to create tension in the film we made use of fast cut editing to switch shots quickly when the killer is attacking the victim. This is a contrast to the normal pace of the shot cuts when the victim isnt being attacked. We ordered the shots with transitions to do this. Though we didnt use any fades to white we did use fade to black after the victim is killed.

The sound of the film is completely non-diegetic, this is due to the ability we had to import sounds that would be used in the video. The first soundtrack we put in cuts out as soon as the door shuts of the car. This creates tension because it almost seals the characters fate. We included the sound of the key turning in the ignition and then the engine starts. We blended the sound so that it seems like it is coming directly from the footage itself.

Harry Preen P5

7. Looking back at you preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
It has been a challenge to produce our media production, but since the beginning of the project I have learnt a vast amount to do with cinematography and the use of iMovie. My knowledge of shot-types has grown through creating the shot list for our film. Not only this, but I have learnt how much sound plays a part in a film and how important it is to have any sound used effectively. When it came to shooting the production there were some key things we wanted to make sure were shot accurately. I developed my skills in keeping the continuity of the film to a high standard. This was mainly done through the use of the shot list, which planned out what we would shoot in advance of going out to shoot. Which was something that we didnt do with our prelim video. Another way to control the continuity of our production was to take test shots of the location before hand to make sure that nothing would ruin the continuity of the footage we shoot.

Harry Preen P5

To develop the 180-degree rule we had to understand what shots would work to make sure that we kept to it and also how we could shoot the strangulation scene in such a small environment with breaking it. Using the test shots that we took prior to the actual shoot we organized places in the car that would be appropriate to use. However, this did not limit us to keeping the camera in one place and we were very conscious that we wanted to create a film offering the audience different perspectives whilst the strangulation scene took place. We ended up circling the car with the camera to get a 360-degree perspective, this would give us the best options for selecting the footage that would best suit the film and the order of shots. In our prelim video attempted to shoot a shot-reverse shot, yet the footage for this shot lacked continuity and forced us to use a fast cut skipping the shot reverse shot. After this mistake we were keen to use it in our film. Whilst the strangulation takes place we use it darting back and forth from the killers hand to the victims face. Similarly to this, the match-on-action we used in our prelim was slightly under-developed and caused us problems in editing so we had to reshoot the footage, but in the film opening we incorporated sound to the shot. When the door of the car closes the music stops and then the perspective shifts to the protagonist in the car.

Harry Preen P5

I believe that we made the most of the time given to us to create our thriller opening and I have learnt a sufficient amount about shot types and editing in the process to create our opening. On the whole I think our production was a success, it creates tension and follows all of the set conventions of a thriller without appearing to have a disjointed storyline or to have any issues with setting and the shots we took. All of the shots are of a high quality and the props that were chose suited the time zone that we set the film in which created a great effect of aging the setting. One thing that I shall adapt for the future is the range of shots that we used. At times we found it difficult piecing together parts of the film but we found interesting ways to shoot different takes. If I had a better range of shots to my knowledge then I believe that I will be able to expand on the film that we have created in the future.

Harry Preen P5