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.

2.How does your media product represent particular social groups? (gender, age ethnicity etc.)

At first our thriller was supposed to be a male being dominated mentally by a hooded figure ( me) but due to last minute changes we were unable to add this stereotype to the thriller. This would have been a stereotype as many people are scared by hoodies and hoodies are usually seen as scary antisocial criminals.

Due to last minute changes our thriller does not show a certain sex as more dominant but shows human beings as being a cruel species as Sid is being punished by something. It shows men as weak as Sid cannot control what he is doing and is very emotional about the state he has been put in. The male character (Sid) is shown in a more negative light as he is less in control of his actions. This could be seen as sexual stereotyping as the male character is weak whereas the woman in the film seems happy. A popular film where this stereotype is used is in the "Shining" where the character Jack Torrence played by Jack Nicholson becomes possessed by a super natural presence and attempts to kill his wife and son as he has descended into madness.

We have not represented sexuality, class or ethinic minorities but it is a representation of teenagers as we have used young actors. It shows that teenagers are helpless although they like to think they are responsible. Sid cannot do anything about the situation he is in. We have not used any stereotypes as we have not used much talking in the film.

1.In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real products?

This is a list of common conventions in thriller films:

Suspense
Tension
Jumpy Scenes
Silence
Dramatic Music
Unexpected Dramas
Murder
Protaganists
Antagonists
Heros
Villians
Isolated Areas
Dim Lighting
Weapons
Crime
Innocent People

The conventions of the thriller genre that we have incorporated into our video is the aspect that a crime has taken place and the protagonist is being punished for it by being possessed by a "thing", which the audience is unsure of, this creates mystery. Our thriller is based around this storyline. The protagonist has woken up in a mysterious place, so he has obviously been kidnapped, this also leads the audience to wonder what happened before. Sid our protagonist has been dis-empowered as the "thing" that is controlling him psychologically is in control of his 5 senses.Already in the first few seconds our video is involving a lot of mystery and causing the audience to ask questions. Sid is being being controlled and many extraordinary things happen to him, he is vomiting, suffocating, hearing things, his eyes are bleeding and everything he touches sets alight, these weird things happen in a normal setting like in many other thrillers which makes the whole thing a lot more serious and thrilling. Our titles also match Sid the protagonists mental state as they are blurred much like Sid's memory. The main title of the film "possessed" which appears at the end of the film works very well as it matches Sid's mood it is flashing and red much like a warning.

Films that have inspired my thriller: The Exorcist
We took inspiration from one of the most famous thrillers of all time The Exorcist which was produced in 1973, we did this as this thriller is extremely famous and is recognised universally. Our storyline has similar aspects, Sid is being possessed by something that is driving him insane this is much like the girl in Exorcist, her body has been taken over by a demon which is causing her to act differently to her normal behaviour.

Films that have inspired my thriller: Saw 1
Saw 1 has also influenced my thriller quite a bit. In this film people have been taken hostage but do not know how they got to they place where they are being held. They are being tormented by a higher power much like in my thriller "Posessed". These people cannot escape the place where they are.

Films that have inspired my thriller: Psychological thrillers such as Inception and Shutter Island
These recent films have inspired and influenced my thriller as they are extremely popular and have done very well. I have taken inspiration from them by creating a psychological thriller where the audience is asking questions and is unsure of what is going on. this creates great suspense.

Posessed- The final thriller

This is the final draft of our thriller opening "Possessed". We have uploaded it onto youtube so that it will be watched by people all over the world. We hope to generate lots of views and create a lot of publicity for it.

Advertising for our film Posessed

We created this poster using Microsoft Publisher, this is to tell the target audience when our film will be released in cinemas but also advertise an promote it. We have used a simple layout with the name of the film being the main focus. It is red as this colour relates to blood and tragedy. The slogan Revenge, like you've never seen it before suggests that the film is a thriller. This will cause the audience to wonder why  this revenge is so different and new and make the target audience want to see the film.

Constructing Film

Today we filmed the scene where Sid is being sick because he is being tortured by the taste sense. To create the sick we mixed the drink Peartizer and digestive biscuits. This created a orangey substance which looked like vomit. We filmed different shots to create different effects. In the hearing scene we used the over the shoulder shot so it was like the villain was whispering in Sids ear.

Voice over corrections

In todays lesson we decided that the scream in the thriller is not scary. Therefore we have decided instead of filming the scene again, i am going to do a voice recording off a scary scream and edit it into the thriller.

Applying Moby gratis to the thriller video

In todays lesson we added music clips from Moby Gratis to our thriller. First of all we chose a clip which had a light drumming sound, at first it sounded quite dramatic, but when watching the footage with the music we realised it did not create the right effect that we wanted. Therefore we applied for a creepier track which will send chills down the audiences spine.

Creaking Door

Sound Effects from the internet

I will use sound effects in my thriller video to heighten the sound. This is because most sounds will not be picked up by the microphones it will also make it sound more effective.
I will use youtube and mobygratis to look for good examples.
i am looking for ;
a creaking door
a scream
a thud

Garage Band

We will use the software Garage band to create a short piece of music to accompany our ident. We have chosen a particular instrument that we feel will suit our company name, we composed the piece ourself.

Format of the Titles

Below is the format of the titles that will appear before our thriller film. We have added each of these so that people will know who has contributed in each area to the film.

Fantasizing production 

Written by... Tyra Huggins, Sam Conway and Harley Mason and Sid Taylor

Starring...Sid Taylor and Harley Mason, with the voice over of Sam Conway 

Made by... Harley Mason, Sid Taylor, Sam Conway and Tyra Huggins

Music by MOBY GRATIS 

Title 

Ident For production company.

This ident has been created using livetype. This will be shown at the start of the thriller and will set the scene.

We have not yet added music to the ident, but we will do so using garage band

Stage Directions ( may change)

1. Production name 
2. Black out
3. Sense 1 - taste
4. Black out 
5. Written by
6. Black out 
7. Sense 1 - smell
8. Starring
9. Black out 
10. Sense 3 - see 
11. Made by 
12. Black out 
13. Sense 4 - touch 
14. Black out 
15. Sense 5 - hear 
16. Fuzzy screen 
17. Normal view 
18. How it all started...
19. Title 

This may be subject to change but so far is the outline of our Thriller.

Planning my Thriller- Desired setting we found

Car park- this is where stalking is done


Dirty sink in the bathroom we are filming in

Empty toilet cubicle

It turns out after researching into filming in this location we were unable to film there as the school caretaker deemed it an unsafe place as there were chemicals and machinery there. Therefore we will have to research into a safe location.

Garage band- Music to accompany ident

To create our music which will be accompanying our ident we will be using a software which is called "garage band". This software allows us to create our own music using instruments of our choice. We created a scary music clip using (          ). This will be played alongside our company ident. I think it matches the background and text and sets the atmosphere for our thriller which is creepy and scary.

Name of Production Company

We have created a production company which hopefully other people will recognize in the future. This makes the company look proffessional. Our production companies name will be "Fantasizing" productions, this will be create don Livetype a computer software which enables you to create movies/moving images. The production company name will be placed before the thriller.

Photoshop

My group has used photoshop to add effects on the images we will use in the thriller to add to mis en scene.

This is the image we have altered on photoshop. We have added the circle effect s it looks like the couple are being spied upon. I am very happy with the outcome of this image, i think it looks very realistic. This will be used when we do the sight scene, it will appear on the wall and sid will pick it up and it will catch fire (this will relate to the touch scene).

List of Characters

Sid- Playing: Sid
Sid is the protagonist in the thriller. He has been taken hostage as he has had a love affair with Sam's girlfriend Harley. Sid is a confused and scared character as he has awoken in a strange place.

Sam- Playing:Sam
Sam is the antagonist in the thriller. He is a psycho who has taken Sid hostage for having an affair with his girlfriend. Sam will be dressed in black.

Harley- Playing:Harley ( The girlfriend)
Harley is not featured in the film a lot. She was Sam's girlfriend but has had a love affair with Sid.

All of these characters have given consent to be in the thriller.

Planning- Mood board

This is a series of images that is relevant to my thriller. They all relate to a scene or emotion felt in the film.

12/01/2011 Health and Safety Assessment

Today we established the setting for our thriller video and carried out a health and safety risk assessment. We took our teacher down to the room where we will be filming and she agreed that it would be a good and safe place to film. We then asked Mr. Taylor the deputy head of Robert Clack to see if we would be able to film in that location and he agreed.
We then went to film a bit of the thriller, so we told our teacher Miss Thompson where we would be during the lesson, we signed the camera,tripod and film out so that we would be liable if they were broken or got stolen. We carried the equipment to the location carefully and in the correct manner ro ensure we would not drop them . We then asked Sid (a  member of our group) if he felt comfortable being filmed and he was happy being filmed.

Film Language

Mis en scene in my thriller
Settings and props
The setting needs to be a dark place so that the audience is scared as well as the character, also a bedroom where the cheating couple are carrying out there love affair.
Props the props need to be relevant to the storyline, in the dark room they need to be dirty and old.
Costume hair and make-up
The costume of the prisoner needs to be tatty and broken as he has been treated badly, the prisoner needs to look pale.
The girl needs to be in red so we get the sense of romance and promiscuity.
The voice/boyfriend needs to be in black so he looks scary and evil.
Facial Expressions and body language
The facial expression and body language needs to be relevant to the situation the character is in to make it realistic
Positioning of characters and Props
The characters and props need to be central and in focus if they are important in the scene so that the audience know they are important
Lighting and Colour
Lighting and colour needs to be relevnat to the scene. If it is an old scene it will need to be in black and white. I will use back lighting when the "bad character" is in the scene, this will create silhouettes and make the character seem more scary. Alot of the film will be in dark lighting

Treatment sheet

These are outlines of ideas that we will use in our thriller:
- 5 senses
-touch- set things on fire
- sight- can't see, bloody eyes, eyes cut out
- smell- suffocate
-hear- ear cut off
- taste - burger turn to maggots, throwing up, tongue cut off
- someone is possessed by voice
or
-someone is taken hostage

What sort of props will we need?
-5 actors and 5 rooms
-fake ear
-blood
-smoke
-fake tongue

Conventions of the genre
-suspense
-shock
-mystery
-villains

Art of the title

I visited the website The Art of The Title, to help inspire me in creating an effective title sequence for my thriller. This website shows amazing title sequences for different genres of films. I will use this website and the title sequences to help inspire me when creating my opening title sequence that will set the mood perfectly.

Planning my Thriller Video

After a long time of deciphering what our story line should be for our thriller video, we decided we would create a film about the 5 senses; touch taste smell see hear. The story is about a boy who has been cheated on by his girlfriend and he is punishing the boy who stole his girlfriend with the 5 senses, as he has been suing them with his girlfriend. The film will be very creepy and graphic what people have asked for in our audience research.

Planning my thriller video

 
 
 
Me and my group got together to plan how we was going to act out different scenes within the thriller video. Above are a few images that we took to create the suffocating scene which is related to the smell sense. To create the "poisonous gas" we blended together blue and green powder paint and the blew it i the air with a hair dryer. I think created a realistic effect.

This is our testing in how to create bloody eyes for "sight" . To create this we painted Sids face with red poster paint. I think it looks quite realistic we also put blood on his hands.

Music Copyright rules

The music we will be using in our thriller will have to be non copyright as we do not want to break any copyright rules and which will cause our production company to face legal action. Copyright are a series of rules which causes the object to be owned by a certain person or company and therefore they have the rights and it cannot be copied by anyone else. Most music we hear is copyrighted as people spend time and money creating and and do not want others profiting of their work. Therefore i will be using music that is not copyrighted. The image below is the copyright logo.