http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi2935882521/
In terms of camera shots our film is conventional of the thriller genre and this is because we use a as close-ups and / extreme close-ups. We used several of these intensive shots throughout our production and each of these shots intensifies the action and help to create suspense and tension. films such as ‘ The shinning’ use close ups very effectively
Our film is conventional to the thriller genre and this is because as a group we got a lot of tips on how to make a film effective when we watched the BBC documentary presented by Thomas Sutcliffe which talked about different film openings and how effective and ineffective they were and the reasons why were successful or unsuccessful. We learnt that a good beginning arouses some questions that the film must then answer. The audience should be left in suspense of what will happen next. It should give hints of what will be taking place letter in the film (foreshadow). This can be seen in our thriller in a panning shot in which a knife moves across the screen suggesting that Corinne is going to be killed or hurt. This shot also makes the audience feel on edge; stereotypical props such as knifes tend to conotate danger and death.
There are many different ways of opening a thriller. According the critic Stanley Kauffmann the classic opening is an establishing shot. This is often filmed as a long shot and at a low angle. These classic openings inform the audience of the where-about of the film and it provides them with vital information. These types of shots often start with an exterior setting followed by an interior shot; we followed this classic way of film opening. We used an upbeat soundtrack at first to suggest that the main character had been out the night before, as the opening goes on the music becomes more intense and dramatic. The contrast in sounds adds to the tension and it suggests that something bad is going to happen. For the soundtrack, we used instruments such as a piano and strings, this is conventional to thriller films that often include high-pitched string instruments and piano sounds as a part of the soundtrack, we also used sound effects such as doors creaking and a heart beat thus heightening the tension. We used many diagetic sounds and this was because when conducting our research we found that many of the successful thrillers were thrilling because of the use of natural diagetic sounds. E.g., the scene in the shinning when Danny is riding is bike in the corridors of the hotel is suspenseful because of its use of diagetic and non-diagetic sounds.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3t60oY0TbTU&feature=related
In addition, we have used techniques such as teasers and cliffhangers in order to leave the audience on edge and wanting more.
Our thriller opening focuses on two characters main and these characters include a black teenage female( Corinne) and a black male intruder. Each of these characters carry representations of age, gender and class etc. The character Corinne is represented as a stereotypical teenager. E.g. in the first scene we see Corinne waking up fully dressed in going out clothes and with smudged makeup on her face. This shot suggests that she has been out partying or drinking the night before. Also, we show a shot of the clock and this lets the audience see that it is in the afternoon which portrays Corinne as the stereotypical lazy teenager.
Her bright and very ‘pink and fluffy’ room conotates that she is very feminine and girly, the pink curtains which have embroided little girls on them add to this conotation as well as helping to portray Corinne as a young character who perhaps been rebelling. We choose to film this scene in this location as we wanted to represent Corinne as a typical teenager, we got this idea from an episode of ‘Skins’ in which we saw a young girl sneaking into her pink and girly room early hours in the morning suggesting she was a typical teenager who liked to go out and have fun with her friends.
http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2008/01/25/lge_Skins_080125124330072_wideweb__300x300.jpg
This link shows the a conventional portrayal of teenagers and we wanted to also communicate this steotipcial outlook.However,it could be argued that Corinnes character is not stereotypical but counterypical and this is because you wouldn’t expect someone that has been out partying late into the night to come home to a pink and girly room .
The intruder is represented as a stereotypical black male criminal and this is heightened e.g. the fact that he is equipped with a knife. In the media today black males are often associated with crime and trouble especially knife crime. Secondly, he is seen as intimidating and this is through features such as extreme close ups and by having shots of only his feet leaving the audience feeling tense and on edge with lots of questions in their heads.
We filmed the opening in Tottenham in north London and this was because we wanted to help the audience understand more about the characters and in our case these characters were from a working class background. The terraced houses in the opening establishing shot is a big clue as to the social class that we wanted to represent throughout out thriller.(working class).
Our film is a small, low budget ,British production with a British cast and so the kind of institution that would distribute our film is most likely to be a UK company that distributes films around a small number of UK ‘ arthouses’ cinemas ,TV, the internet. Channels such as channel four often broadcast small films made by small production companies and as it is a popular channel, it would attract a large audience(especially if was advertised well on the channel and hammocked between two popular, well-known, and established programs. Alternatively, it could broadcast before or after a popular program). Chanel 4 broadcasts short films on a regular basis e.g. on Monday 23rd March ‘3 Minute wonder’ comes on followed by ‘Dispatches’.
http://www.channel4.com/tv-listings
Other possible distribution companies include, Trinity Filmed Entertainment, Soda Pictures, Shorts International (http://www.independentcinemaoffice.org.uk/distributors.html)
I would like our film to appeal to a large audience but the target audience for our film is teenagers and middle-aged adults living in the UK and most likely in an urban environment. This is because teens and those in their middle age have large effect on the media in the sense that they are the ones who consume the most television/ cinema and this is clearly reflected in the type of films that are released. Young people are likely to enjoy our film and this is because our film includes quick images and modern technology. Institutions use many audience techniques in order to get the widest audience possible. One technique used is the use and gratification theory, this includes personal identification and it is where the viewer’s life is reflected in a piece of text. To make our thriller appealing to our target audience we have made sure that the characters are young and made sure that the film is set in an urban area (Tottenham), this will mean that the audience will be able to personally relate to the characters thus making them feel more empathetic and involved. We have also included a counter typical character ‘Corinne’ which means audiences will not always be able to predict the way that she thinks and acts thus creating suspense and thrill when dilemmas and predicaments occur. Another reason why we have decided to have Corinne as a counter typical character is because we felt that countertypes represent real life people and we want our thriller to be realistic. Our thriller will probably appeal to a niche audience of young, working class, black people and this is because all of the characters in our thriller are young ,black, and working class. The kinds of person that we feel would enjoy our film would be male/ female teenagers, living near, in, or around an urban area that enjoys watching films.
We will attract audiences to our film by having TV ads, billboards and posters. E.g. posters on busses in London thus attracting Londoners to our film. We could even advertise our film in places such as the underground and this would be a good place for capturing the attention of our target audience as well as other potential audiences (e.g. tourists). Ideally, if we had more money we could use a famous and well-known star such as ‘Aml Ameen (the star of Kidulthood) and this would inevitably bring in a large mass of people from our target audience.
http://www.amlameen.com/credits.html
I have learnt a lot during the process of making our thriller about the different technologies evolved. Firstly, I have learnt how to use a video camera and how to create different feelings through a range of shots. E.g. close-ups which often are effective in creating tension. Long shots which are good ways of helping to show settings and medium shots which often allow the audience to see a characters facial expressing etc. I have also learnt how to set up the camera correctly and how to adjust the tripod to create different levelled and angled shots etc.
I have learnt how to film in an organised manner stopping and starting the camera in the desired place without filming other old footage. In terms of framing I have learnt how to apply the correct rules when filming in order to create ‘useable’ footage e.g. making sure that there is a not mass of space above the characters head. As a group we experimented with a lot of different camera movement. We were unsuccessful in creating a tracking shot as we didn’t have the correct equipment to ensure that the camera was steady. To compromise we used shots such as panning or used a still cam.
During the project I have also learnt how to edit footage on Final Cut Pro, cutting and pasting clips in the right place without taking the attention away from the content of the actual product. I have also learnt how to create smooth match cuts e.g. we have used a match cut to show Corinne opening the door of her house and also when showing her journey down the stairs. In addition, I have learnt how to add in special effects such as cut dissolves in order to speed up time for example( we use a cut dissolve in our thriller right after Corinne gets her delivery of a usb).
Creating the soundtrack was relatively simple and it didn’t take very long due to the fact that we kept our soundtrack simple without to many layers. Also, because we could see our thriller whilst making the soundtrack we were able to put particular sound effects in the right place and at the right time e.g. we used the sound effect of a door creaking when the intruder enters Corinne’s bathroom and this conventional thriller sound adds to the suspense.
I learnt how to change volume of particular sections of our thriller in order to hide or cover up unwanted sounds e.g. various group member talking whilst filming say ‘ action, cut or go for example’. We created the credits on Livetype and we found that it was a very time consuming process. However, this was because as a group we kept over complicating things. I learnt that sometimes it’s the simple things are most effective. We discovered many potential transitions for our titles, and decided to use a live type font which meant that the credits would appear on the screen whilst the thriller opening was going on. We used a simple white font because white stood out against our product and we added an effect which emphasises the letters of each word as it appears on screen. Although are credits had a lot of movement they didn’t take away the attention from the thriller. Our main title ‘Illicit Content’ was on a black background and the words illicit is a bright red font. We decide to have the main title in this way because we felt that the red connotated danger and that the titles would stand out on the black ground. I also learnt how to conduct research on the internet and how to use blogger to plan, organise myself and refer back to. We also used the internet to blogger and YouTube to upload our video which has broadened the potential audience for our film.
Overall, I would say that the skills which I have learnt whilst producing our thriller have enabled me to become confident as a ‘film maker’ and it has given me an insight into the film making process.
From the preliminary task I would say that I have improved dramatically in terms of what I can do practically and also the knowledge which I have learnt. A lot of the facts which I have learnt I could have only learnt form getting involved and doing ‘hands on’ practical work. We used storyboarding in our preliminary task and as the project went on I started to realise and appreciate the value of storyboarding. Storyboarding helps you to stay on track as a group without moving away from the initial ideas and plans. Details storyboards are ideal because you can record down extra information like camera angles, shot types and the movements preventing you from getting stuff and idealess. They can take a long time to create however they are worth it has they are generally effective at saving time. When we did our preliminary task we didn’t think about creating a script we ‘went with the flow’, I have learnt that it is easier to create a script as this too saves valuable time. The filming process was initially very difficult when we did the preliminary task but as the project went on we got used to the equipment and developed our understanding e.g. 180 degree rule, and shot reverse shot which we had learnt in the preliminary task. The editing process was made easier by the time we came to edit our film as we already experienced it, and we had got the hang of cutting and rearranging, and adding in the front titles etc
In conclusion, we have been very successful as a group. If I were to do this project again I would plan ahead in indepth detail and communicate with other members of the group more effectively. Finally, I would be more organised, more focused and more aware of meating deadlines.
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