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

We have learnt alot from our preliminary video in order to prepare us for our final thriller "Possessed". In our preliminary thriller we had less time to plan and execute our film also we had less skills for example we did not have much knowledge about different camera shots and different editing techniques.
In our preliminary video we did not create an ident which introduces the film and sets the scene and atmosphere immediately. Whereas in Possessed we created a company called fantasising productions which would introduce our film accompanied by scary music and a thrilling background. Our preliminary did not feature titles either which make the film alot more proffessional.

From these pictures you can tell the development of skills on the software finalcut express. In the preliminary video when creating titles they are simple and there is not a smooth transaction between text changes. Whereas in the titles of Possessed you can see a more proffessional use of text.

Also in our preliminary video the sound is not at all continuous. The sound changed as the camera moves whereas in Possessed the sound is continuous and reflects the environment that Sid is captured in. There is a scene in the preliminary video were Harley immediately stops crying as soon as the camera is moved off of her, this si not realistic at all. Also in our film posessed we have thrilling diagetic and non diagetic sound running alongside eachother which is quite sophisticated and builds a better atmosphere.
In Posessed I have used a greater variety of editing techniques which makes the film look alot more proffesional and realsitic.

This is an example of a dissolve in Possessed, this links two scenes together one from the past and one from the present.

I have also used black and white effect in my film to give the effect that the film has been set in the past.









From our preliminary video we learned that mis en scene is very important in a film. So in possessed we decided to set the film in a dark place where people would be scared of, we used props such as blood and sick to make our film relastic.

In this picture Sid is wearing dark clothes to show that he is unhappy and is in a dark place. He is in a dirty room which is dimly lit this shows that it is not a pleasent place. The sick also looks realistic and shows that Sid is not in his right state of mind and is not enjoying his time.

animatic thriller storyboard

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

Mini DV digital camcorder
We used the video cameras to record the footage for our thriller and videos that we uploaded to our blog. Once we had recorded them then we connected them to our iMac so that we could import all of our footage onto final cut express and edit it on there. These cameras could be handheld or attached to the tripod for a steady shot.

tripod
We used a tripod when constructing a steady shot in our thriller video. We attached the digital camcorder to the top of the tripod and then filmed it normally. We could adjust the height of the tripod in order to get the right height of shot. We could also tilt the angle of the tripod so that the camcorde would face in the direction we wanted.

Mobile Phones
We used mobile phones during this process to keep in touch with other members of the Posessed crew. We also used mobile phones to take pictures of locations when we were planning and did not have the digital cameras with us. We sent the pictures to the Imacs via bluetooth.

Digital Cameras
The still digital camera was used to take pictures of our storyboard and upload them as an animatic onto our blog. We also took pictures when testing the scenes we were going to do e.g the bleeding eyes scene.

Blogger
I used the website blogspot.com to create an online blog to show my progress when creating my thriller video. I added my planning and videos and evaluation onto it. This would help me keep track of all the things i have learnt over the course. I accessed my blog through an account which i signed up for. Blogger allowed me to post videos and images and edit the information i have uploaded.

IMAC
I used the imac to use the various softwares on it eg. garageband and final cut express. We also used these to log into our blogger accounts and upload videos and save pictures on.

Survey Monkey
I used the internet site surveymonkey to create a survey which would help me reach out to the target audience of my thriller. I signed up to an account on a website and created questions relevant to my thriller. I then pposted my survey onto my blog and facebook so that people would participate in it. I was also able to view my results on my account.

Youytube
I created a youtube account so that i could post my videos which i created eg. vox pops and preliminary video online and receive feedback online. I also posted my finished thriller "Possessed" on there to get publicity worldwide. I also watched past students work and other thrillers which would inspire my work on there.

Google
I used the search engine google to search popular thrillers and also find websites that would help me in my research and in creating my thriller.

5) How did you attract/address your audience?

My thriller "Possessed" holds the audiences attention as it leads them asking a series of questions, why is he there? What relevance does the black and white clip have to the plot? Who is the girl we see walking? The audience would like to know what is going to happen next and see what answers the film brings to these questions. I think the thriller would hold the audiences attention as it has non diagetic and diagetic sound that is parallel to the surroundings and what is going on. This builds a scary atmosphere that would thrill the audience as it was fast paced and matched the editing.

The Maguffin in Possessed is that Sid has awoken in a room and has no idea where he is or how he has got there, he is being tortured and does not know why. The audience does not know this either so will intrigue them and want them toknow how he got there and what is happening to him. We have also left the film with a cliffhanger as Sid and Harley are walking being folllwed by a tarcking shot (as if someone is stalking them) and it cuts to titles, this gives the effect that something is going to happen.

We have used black and white footage of Sid and Harley walking. This creates the affect that this was from the past. This also causes the audience to wonder what happened in the past

Rianna 17- All Saints Catholic School and Technology college
"I really enjoyed the opening to this film i feel it reached out to me personally as it was based on teenagers. The black and white footage made me wonderf what relevance it had to the plot and i wanted to know what happened after they finished walking"

I think the use of young actors worked extremely well. We chose young actors as i looked back at my survey monkey results and the audience most likely to watch a thriller was a teenager. I chose ordinary looking teenagers that the audience could relate to, this would make the thriller more realistic and cause the audience to emphasise with them as they feel like it could be one of their friends. The actors are dressed in the latest fashions to make them even more appealable to the target audience.

The use of locations reached out to the target audience which was teenagers. This is because we have set part of it in a lochal park a place where many teenagers hang round. This makes them feel scared as they could be kidnapped in a place like this. This also adds a realistic affect as these places are not out of the ordinary. The other location we have used is a store cupboard, this is the place Sid is being held hostage. We have used Mis en scene to thrill the audience even further. We have used a dirty cupboard which Sid cannot escape from, it is dark and dirty which adds to the impact of the shot.

Survey

I created a survey on a website called surveymonkey.com, this will help me find out what the audience like to see, i will use the results to help me create a popular thriller. This website allowed me to choose the questions i wanted add to my survey and i only chose ones relevant tomy research.


Click here to take survey

Above is a screenshot of my thriller questionaire. When people take this they will have to answer all of the questions above, i will then look at the statistics that i get for each answer to decide what people want to see in thriller videos.

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

The audience for my film was teenagers aged between 13 and 19. We decided that we would target our film at this age group due to results I received on facebook and survey monkey. I posted a question asking the audience what age they was and if they would enjoy a thriller film and the result i got back was much more young people enjoy watching thriller films. We also targeted our thriller at teenagers as all of the actors involved are teenagers and they would be able to relate to the story line more as it is about teenage relationships and the troubles they go through. Teenagers would watch this as they like to know other people are experiencing similar things to them. It is also quite scary due to the things that happen to Sid and teenagers enjoy gore and scary situations.

Most of the people that took part in our survey was teenagers, this is why we aimed the film at teenagers, they said that they would like to see a film about bad relationships and they enjoy psychological thrillers. We incorporated all of these things in my thriller and i think it reached out to the target audience perfectly. It is clear from the results that the audience know what they want to see in there films and this is why we have used certain aspects to please them.
We added a cliffhanger to the thriller and tried to add alot of suspense as that is what the audience said in there vox pops. We also used results from questions i have asked on facebook to try and make the audience enjoy the film as much as possible.

3.What kind of media in situation might distribute your media product and why? (studio, TV, web,DVD)

An example of a company that could distribute our film is Filmf. Film4 is a British based company that produces both well known and up and coming films. I think Film4 is the most suitable production company for us as they create new films from new artists like ours. They cover most genres and have produced many thrillers before such as “The lovely Bones”. Film4 is a well known company which would get the film known and respected throughout the UK.

Metradome is also a Uk based film company it has created over 300 feature films. Metradome produces all genres in a cost effective way. Metradome would be a realistic option as it does not produce hollywood action films but films for up and coming producers.\

Hammer films is a London based film company with ties to Los Angeles distributors. It is well known for is production of many extremely popular horror films created before the 1980’s. The company was out of production since then but has been purchased by John De Mol. The company have since made films such as 'Let Me In' . Our film would really benefit from being produced by Hammer as it would distribute both in England and LA

Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation is another option for distributing our film. The company has distributed films similar to ones we hope to be in competition with such as 'Saw' 1-7 'Dogma' . The company seem to produce a lot of movies so it would be hard for them to produce such a low budget movie like ours.

Hammer films also uses the internet to distribute there films. Internet Beyond the Rave was released in twenty part with each part lasting four minutes each. It was posted onto myspace then a extremely popular social networking site and it received much critical acclaim We could go down a similar route and post our Film onto websites such as Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, Bebo.

We could advertise our film using different media such as the internet net, bus stoops, bilboards and create its own website. We could also release trailers both on the internet and tv.

Realistically….

• We could advertise our film in the same way Shifty (funded by the Britich film council) advertised theirs which was on Pirate Radio Stations to target their target audience. They also illegally fly posted their posters which was sticking them onto lamp posts. We could also hand out flyers on the lochal highstreets.