The Unknown (Opening Scene)

Evaluation Questions

1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media  products? (i.e of film openings) 


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzYqV4pByUQ

2. How does your media product represent particular social groups

http://www.slideshare.net/tdonaldson95/evaluation-question-2-34450411


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

I have decided on an institution that is neither vertically or horizontally integrated. They are called 'Entertainment Film Distributors' who are a British distributor of independent films in the UK and Ireland for various production companies which is ideal for my product because it is culturally based in the UK London.  Entertainment have released and distributed films internationally however they are based in London, UK.

I have chosen this institution because they distribute various types of genres from horror, romance, western, action and thrillers. They have distributed may thrillers over the years for example: 'Dungeon Dragon' (2000), 'American Psycho' (2000) & 'Freddy VS Jason' (2003). 

I chose 'Entertainment' because of them not being independent they may be more open to distributing amateur films.

4. How did you attract/address your audience? 

Using past and present information I used questionnaires, online surveys and social networking techniques such as texts and iMessage. 

The results that I gathered gave me an insight into what target audiences would be appropriate

for my media product. My research was targeted at mainlys students ranging from 15 to 19 years old.

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

http://youtu.be/8DyMqT5jHE8

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

http://prezi.com/zpmcjjueupw4/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy

7. Looking back at your preliminary task (the continuity editing task), what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to full product?

* Above is my voice note, that I recorded for this question. Unfortunately it will not load properly so below is my typed up version*

Looking back at our preliminary task I feel that my knowledge has really been expanded. I have learnt  how to now use the programs equipment correctly. From the rules set for the preliminary task such as the 180 degree rule our group has learnt how to create and use different camera shots to highlight different emotions and also hide the undiscovered motive of my lead protagonist, in my media product, which allows the audience to keep guessing and highlight our convention of suspense. Overall I have definitely grown in confidence with using these programs and creating a specific media product. Considering on how minimalistic my equipment and props were, I had to take and use most of my knowledge from my preliminary task and entwine them into my final product in order to create a complex story line.

An image taken from the preliminary task.

Planning

Unfortunately I have not been able to blog as frequently as I would like to ...

However

I have still been doing a lot of planning behind the scenes

STORY BOARDS

Unfortunately, I was not able to get a hold of a scanner :( 
So the only thing I could do was take a picture of my storyboards using my phone ..
*Not the best option, but I had to use the tools that I had access to !*

Due to myself not being a full time student at sixth- form, communication between myself and my media teacher has been very difficult. Therefore, finding out what needs to be on my blog and other elements is very difficult. 

Hence my posts all be posted late and being in the wrong order !!!

HOWEVER 

On a good note ....

I have decided on a name for me opening sequence !!!

'THE UNKNOWN'

Referring to my previous post, where I explained my synopsis, I feel as though this title is most appropriate for my text as, audience are 'unknown' to whether the lead protagonist is in danger or whether it is 

just her heightened suspicions from her recent mental health scare.

Synopsis , Filming and Editing

Similar to my previous AS thriller opening, I have decided that my opening will be a psychological thriller. Although elements of the product will be similar, there will also be elements that are very different.

                                                                      Synopsis
My thriller opening entails, a teenage girl who 'appears' to be getting followed by 'the unknown' The lead protagonist has a history of mental health issues, just recently being released from the hospital for severe self harm, will anyone believe her suspicions? Was it all in her imagination ? We'll just have to wait and see. 


Filming 
LOCATION:- Beckton/City Airport  
DATE:- 29/03/2014
TIME:- 13:30 - 17:00

I filmed my establishing shot of the lead protagonist walking from City airport, in Beckton to her home 5 minutes away. I have filmed all scenes today successfully. A total of 7 takes were done as expected, not everything can be perfect on the first try. I had a few problems with lighting and the rain but this was sorted out by changing the location of the camera by a few meters and waiting patiently for the weather to co-operate. To improve this, I could have done a trial scene beforehand to see which angles were most suitable and check the weather on the day of filming beforehand.

A further issue that I had was timing, originally I had scheduled to start filming at 12:30, this could have be prevented if I had communicated better with my brother who drove me and the cast to the location. 



WWW - What Went Well
I managed to film what I needed to in a small amount of time

EBI- Even better if
I communicated better with those helping me to get there and being more efficient in planning trial scenes.

Above are some scenery shots that I took on my iphone, of the various locations that were shot.

Codes and conventions of a thriller

Like other genres such as horrors, action and comedies, thrillers have generic codes and conventions. They are used to break down films and identify key features that are used to make it a specific genre.

Common conventions or a thriller are as following :

Mirrors, low key lighting, shadows, obstructive editing, quick cuts, changes in camera angle, tension music, flashbacks ,black and white and montages.

Editing:The use of quick cuts. It is common for thrillers to use quick cuts, to create tension and quicken the pace. This allows the audience to make assumptions and create climax for viewers. Another editing technique is fading to black. This is used in thriller films usually when someone is unconscious or dying. Fade also adds suspense to a thriller, as the audience are unaware of what is about to happen next.

Sound:Non-diagetic/diagetic sounds are often used in thrillers to create suspense and tension. As well as music and voice overs.

Camera shots/movement: Tracking, zoom and Pan Shots are used camera movements in a Thriller; it gives a sense of suspense and builds climax for viewers.

Mis en scene:conventional mis en scene, would be low key lighting since there isn't a generic location. However, props that would be expected would be things like: Sharp objects, letters, mirrors etc.

Camera Angles:Low angle and the high angles are mainly used to show who is the victim or villain. 

Preliminary task

I have previously, done the preliminary task before, as you can see below ...

These are the storyboards for my preliminary task.

I am going to use what I have previously done, to guide me in the creation of my text.

Opening thriller analysis.

The Good Doctor(2011)

The Good Doctor is a 2011 American thriller film directed by Lance Daly, and starring Orlando Bloom as the eponymous "good doctor" A young doctor goes to unconscionable extremes in order to remain in the service of a female patient with a kidney disorder.

The opening clip to ' The Good Doctor', is unconventional to most thriller openings/trailers. It does not appear to be within the genre, as it does not start with jumpy quick edits and low lighting. Instead there is dialogue, it is only towards the end of the opening sequence that the pace of the edits begin to pick up and and the non-diagetics start to fade in. 

Obsessed(2009) 

A successful asset manager, who has just received a huge promotion, is blissfully happy in his career and in his marriage. But when a temp worker starts stalking him, all the things he's worked so hard for are placed in jeopardy.

The opening clip embodies conventional codes and conventions of an opening thriller. Fast overlapping edits, eerie diagetics. After every edit a font banner overlaps with text that contradicts what is going to happen or a character, for example "Innocent", was used overlapping the office temp, which the audience eventually find out after watching the sequence that the office temp is anything but that. The sound throughout the sequence is both diagetic (Dialogue between characters) and non-diagetic ( Eerie music). The pace of the music denotes the sequences genre while connoting the actual contents of the film.

Black Swan(2010)

A ballet dancer wins the lead in "Swan Lake" and is perfect for the role of the delicate White Swan - Princess Odette - but slowly loses her mind as she becomes more and more like Odile, the Black Swan.

A picture is being drawn in black pastel on a white surface. , black  font is used to present all the actors. After the picture of the swan is completed, background changes to black, and a white font slowly fades in, titling 'Black Swan' being the last text to appear.

During the opening, all the music heard is a non-diegetic sound of classical music. As the text starts to show, the music is very slow placed and gentle.

Throughout this opening sequence the setting stays very much the same, being simple and plain. The main colours that are used are blacks and whites, denoting the battle of good vs evil in the film. 

What do the audiences think ?

Research.

I have, decided to use some of my previous AS research to help me understand what audiences want and expect of a thriller opening, since it was not to long ago. Below is some data that I collected previously.

The table outlines that people are most interested
in the psychological sub-genre.

I have still decided to use social networking in order to gather more recent primary data, that is specific to my media product in terms of the narrative. 

Below are some images of the information I have gathered.

Codes and conventions of an opening sequence

What are the codes and conventions of a thriller opening ?

I found that when watching various thriller openings that three key  areas are concentrated on. Such as: Camera movement and angles of the shot, and the types of editing used to create a specific atmosphere, in this instance it would be a nervous or tense one. Next is the use of diagetics and how that works with the action, and finally the mise-en-scene, what actually happens in the scenes.

In my text, I will include the following, to make sure that the genre is identifiable with audiences: 

Low lighting 

Swift edits/Quick cuts 

Eerie diagetics e.g. A heart beating or creepy music 

Black and White 

Narrative theorists

I am already very familiar with Narrative theory and its theorist from my previous attempt at my AS coursework and my A2 text. Below are print screens from my previous blog on previous research I had carried out on the theorists. Below the print screens I will be additional information and links to the text I am doing now.

Tzvetan Torodov

My current thriller opening actually supports, the Bulgarian literary theorists ideas. As I feel that most thriller openings do, in order to keep a certain level of suspense in the audience members, I feel as though most thrillers should start with a state of equilibrium. 

Levi Strauss

Vladimir Propp

My media text  challenges this theory, as the lead protagonist in the thriller opening is defined as a victim visually however this is not the case.

Roland Barthes 

The french semiologist suggested that narrative works with five different codes which activate the 

reader to make sense of it. 

The codes are as following:- 

Action - A narrative device by which a resolution is produced through action e.g. a shoot out.

Enigma - A narrative device that teases the audience by presenting a puzzle or riddle to be solved.

Symbolic - (connotation) 

Semic - (denotation) 

Cultural - A narrative device which the audience can recognise as being a part of culture.

Kate Domaille

According to Kate Domaille every story ever told can be fitted into one of eight narrative types.

The eight are as follows:

Cinderella- the dreams comes true E.g. the pretty woman

Achilles- the fatal flaw that leads to the destruction of the previously flawless, or almost flawless, person e.g. Superman, Fatal Attraction.

Candide- Indomitable hero who cannot be put down, e.g. Indiana Jones, James Bond, Rocky. 

Circe- the chase, the spider and the fly, the innocent and the victim e.g. The Terminator.

Faust- Selling your soul to the devil may bring you riches but eventually your soul belongs to him e.g. Devil's advocate, and Wall Street.

Orpheus- the loss of something personal, the gift that is taken away, the tragedy or loss e.g. Sixth Sense

Romeo and Juliet- the love story.

Tristan and Iseult- the love triangle. Man loves woman, unfortunately one or both of them are already spoke for, or a third party intervenes e.g. Casablanca and Eclipse. 

Audience theory

The certificate of my media product is a 15, as it would be considered to contain upsetting scenes, that are not suitable for younger viewers. I feel that the text will attract the interest of mainly females due to the sub-genre being psychological due to the fact that the lead protagonist is a female, however I feel that both females and males can be targeted because the thriller genre generally does attract both genders. 

Income bracket/status:
In this category class C-E would be suitable for my media text, as upper class audiences most likely wouldn't be interested in this genre or it's narrative. I also feel that the category class A-B would not be interested in amateur filming.

Young and Rubicam:
Succeeders and reformers would be most attracted to my opening text because of the status of control, being able to form their own ideas and opinions about my text on the other hand mainstreamers would not be interested in the opening for obvious reasons such as it being amateurly filmed and it not being viewed by most of the population. This also applies to aspirers.

VALS:
I feel that experiencers would be probably be my only audience because of them being young and enthusiastic it gives them the urge to seek for something new. 

Life Matrix:
Tribe wired would probably be most appropriate because of being free spirited and up for trying new things, and  Fun/Atics  would be another targeted audience because of being them being fun-seeking.