Nikkis Evaluation

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

Whilst planning filming and editing our thriller opening we had to keep in mind the typical conventions of a thriller which are suspense, jump cuts, flashes, mystery, pose questions and make the viewer think, they play on voyeurism a lot and tend to be dark or dim lit however this isn't essential, I think we successfully included most of them throughout our opening sequence.
We filmed at dusk/night time to create a dark dim light, this can create suspense or mystery as your view is obscured slightly we also used a lot of flashes especially in the beginning to break up the long walking scene this is a good technique to use as it throws the viewer off and leaves them asking questions. The use of props in the opening helped a lot the use of the shovel suggests Chris has just been digging or buried something although we never actually see him doing this.


After the walking sequence we go through the house as a point of view shot from Chris this plays with the concept of voyeurism the idea of watching or being watched.

If our thriller was to have a sub genre it would be horror as it indicates death or murder we also incorporate religious themes as the plot line is to do with a cult, the bible in the title sequence and the symbol flash help reiterate this point.


Films that have influenced us would include Silence of the Lambs as we have a long walking scene that focuses on one person another would be Se7en we got the idea for the flashes from the title sequence in this as the main title sequence consists of flashes of images that are relevant to the rest of the film, our flashes include flashes of the cult symbol and flashes of Chris climbing out of the ditch and shoveling dirt. The last film that influenced us would be one hour photo as it plays on the idea of an antagonist which is what we have tried to incorporate with Chris being autistic and becoming part of a cult which then ask him to carry out certain tasks.


Does your media product represent particular social groups?

The main social group represented within our opening would be upper middle class, white, English, male teenager. We can tell this by the type of house he lives in its a fairly big modern house with a modern interior however we haven't represented him in a stereotypical way, he's not a typical hero figure because he's autistic he comes across as possibly being quite vulnerable and although he may be part of a cult he's good at heart we also feel it breaks away from the stereotypical male lead who is normally fairly confident masculine and assertive none of which our main character is putting a new perspective on male leads in thrillers.
As for gender representation it is a very stereotypical representation, a male dominant lead in films is very common ours is the same as we haven't introduced any other characters into the film yet.
Chris is a teenage boy of about 16-17 which links in quite well to our target audience as our target audience is older teens.


What kind of media institutions might distribute your media product and why?

I think our thriller is very typical of blockbuster films its edited together really well and the story itself is quite unique it also ends on a cliffhanger, we used some slightly more advanced techniques such as the mirror clone shot and the effects used as we are walking through the house.


Our thriller would be to a cinema standard I think people would want to come and pay to see it rather than an internet only release or a straight to television movie as its too articulate. It has great potential and is similar to other blockbuster films. Because of the uniqueness of our film with Chris being autistic and also being the main character there is a possibility for merchandise as he is an iconic unique character. The possibility of there being sequels is quite open as well as there are several sub plot lines towards the end of the film.
The look of our thriller fits in well with the conventions of a thriller it includes ideas of not knowing and not being the person you expect, there is a definite sense of evil or sinister happenings this is shown through it all being very dim lit apart from the burning candles placed carefully around the house. The use of the shovel again suggests evil connotations and the flashes of images also gives a creepy feeling to the hole thriller.


Who Would Be the Audience For Your Media Product?

Our main character is a teenager of about 17 so our production is mainly aimed at older teens as its fairly easy for them to relate to it can also appeal to a slightly older audience to about the age of 30 our age certificate was 15 this is because it links to murder and death so is not appropriate for younger ages .
Similar films to our thriller would include se7en and silence of the lambs this is because we got most of our ideas from these films and they have similar themes and target audiences however they are aimed slightly less at teens rather than middle aged to young adults.


How did you attract/address your audience?

As I stated before our main target audience is middle class teens to middle aged adults this is because the themes and characters within our film are easier for them to relate to being of similar ages and social backgrounds I think the main of our film audience would be teenagers the mirror clone scene would make them quite interested as its quite a cool effect however the flashes and to some extent the mirror clone could cause some terror or fear in younger children and possibly woman as the tend to be more vulnerable but not necessarily.
Our use of camera shots were key we used a lot of mid-shots and a few close ups with the flashes our long shot built up suspense as it was quite lengthy however broken up by the flashes we also used a point of view shot quite heavily throughout our thriller this would also attract our teenage audience as you can see what its like looking through someone else's eyes seeing things that you wouldn't normally be able to.

By using point of view shots we get to put our selves in Chris's position although we don't see anything of much importance we do play particular attention to the bible of the piano which is linked with the cult and has great importance later in the film. This makes the bible stand out and makes the audience ask the question what is the importance of the bible? And how is it linked to the film? this also makes them want to watch on and find out more this conforms quite well with conventions of a thriller as it creates suspense through the prolonged tense moments within the point of view shots.



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

Whilst making an editing our thriller we had to use several technologies, processes and software I wasn't familiar with.
I was quite familiar with how to use a camera and the equipment however one problem I had was uploading the footage I had recorded to final cut express which was all new to me.
During filming we encountered lighting problems because we were filming outside at night we underestimated how quickly it would get dark and had to re-film a few shots this time we used torches and car headlights to help us create a better lighting .
Another problem we had was the lighting had somehow changed slightly whilst filming the mirror clone so one side was darker we tried lighting and darkening both sides however it is still slightly noticeable so we placed one of our titles over the top.
We got to use apple Mac computers which work slightly differently to normal computers however I have used Mac’s before so had no problems. Final Cut Express was new to me but it was very helpful when it came to editing with out it we wouldn't have been able to do several of the effects or at least not to as high of standard as we did, like the day night cycle and the mirror clone effect its a very straight forward programme and makes it easy to apply different effects. Different techniques we used included mirror clone a speed up process which helped us create our day/night cycle music faded in and out and we also played around with the lighting on several shots.


Looking back to your preliminary task what do you feel that you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

Before we could plan what we were going to do we had to do a lot of research we watched many different types of thriller films which helped a lot in learning about different techniques other producers used and how they incorporated conventions of a thriller into their film.
Once we had researched and come up with several ideas we looked again to what makes a thriller a thriller and chose the idea that best fitted the conventions of a thriller. We sketched it out on a storyboard and added more detail like sounds and props camera angles and editing. The initial research helped a lot in our decision making by keeping too similar ideas in other films. We knew typical camera shots and angles they use close ups for tensions and mid shots we however didn’t use close ups as we wanted to create suspense so our character never gets to close to the screen we used mid shots long shots and point of view shots. I think from making this production my understanding of different shots and angles has been broadened I now understand why different shots are used and what effect they have on the viewer and how they perceive the film.
I also feel more confident with using all the technology and equipment as we had to re-record several shots due to lighting and inconsistencies with camera work I now know how to correct these and stop them from happening in the future I can also edit to a high standard using final cut express.
I feel our final product fulfills the task very well and to a high standard we have successfully created a 2 minute sequence with specialist techniques and sounds that include key elements that make a thriller that includes essentials like suspense it leaves the audience wanting to know more and includes main titles actors names and the production company.

Chris's evaluation

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

Our thriller incorporates several generic conventions of a thriller such as in our burial scene we have a close up of a shovel pouring dirt into a grave, which a fairly stereotypical thriller sequence, and contains an element of mystery and intrigue, both key aspects of a thriller.

(the lighting is reduced due to the uploader, the final piece is much more visible)


However we also challenge these conventions with our protagonist. Instead of a standard, run of the mill, psychologically impaired and evil murderer, in tend on fulfilling their murderous desires, we have a very influencable teenager who isn't inherently evil, but is brainwashed by the cult.

How does your media product represent partiular social groups?

The main character is depicted as a dominant person, however that is because there isn't another character to challenge him for dominance. The dominance does waver in moments of weakness, such as the mirror scene.

The character's social representation is linked to the target audience as he is familiar to the target age group as he is of the same sort of age, and so the target audience can relate to him.

What kind of media institution might disribute your media product and why?

It could be produced by a major Hollywood institution, because it shares a number of conventions of a typical thriller, such as the cliffhanger/suspense building opening which leaves some unanswered questions, however it differentiates from the normal thriller in subtle ways that make it more unique, such as we know the identity of the killer from the start, and the killer isn't actually evil.

The thriller offers sequel opportunities and merchandising potential, for example, a second film could be made based around the cult recovering from the events of the prequel. In terms of merchandise, it offers potential action figurines in the form of the main character and the cult leader, but I think they could only be sold in specialist shops because the film wouldn't appeal to a huge audience and the majority of the consumers would most likely be collectors, but if distributed on a small scale to specialist shops, then some profit could be made, however it wouldn't be anywhere near as large as a more mainstream movie's merchandise.



The visual style of our thriller is very dark and sinister, and we achieve this through our use of lighting, props, costume and editing. Most of our lighting is dark/barely lit, for example the house POV shot scene is lit with only candles, the living room light and a torch held by the cameraperson, which create a very sinister effect.

In terms of props, the spade in itself is portrayed not only as a tool, but the character also carries it like a weapon, and this makes the spade seem like an instrument of death. Costume also adds to this sinister feel, dark baggy clothing and a hoodie creates a feeling of anonymity as the character could easily blend into a crowd. With the editing, shots like the close up of the character's boot, and flashes with the jump cuts, create a mysterious and suspense building atmosphere.

Who would be the audience for your media product?

Our thriller would likely appeal to a teenage audience, as they would be able to relate to it, but due to the dark nature of this film, they would be late teens, and also a more middle age audience would be attracted for the thrill aspect.

How did you attract/address your audience?

By using a main character who is similar to our target audience in terms of age, we made the film relatable to teenagers.

To do this we had several shots designed to appeal to our teenage target audience. The most prominent example of this being the mirror clone, which I've spoken about above, but it is attractive to teenagers, as it has paranormal/supernatural implications, which fascinates young people, for example, Paranormal Activity has been a very popular film amongst teenagers.

A TV trailer for Paranormal Activity :



The generic conventions that our film conforms to is the building of suspense, though the use of music and camera angles, the POV shot is quite fear inducing, and the use of cliff hangers, such as the burial scene, where the audience is left with unanswered questions.

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

The camera's did the job, however the quality wasn't fantastic, due to the age and mega pixels of the camera, and also it would refocus if the lighting was adjusted, for example if something reduced the light on the lens, such as someone walking past it, and would create a horrible gritty blur for a moment, however this could be solved by having the focus set to manual. Also the camera's weren't very good at picking up light, and the battery life was very minimal, but these flaws were not too hard to work around.

Lighting was our biggest problem. The camera wasn't picking up light very well, so we had to supplement it with torches and other sources of light, such as a car's headlights, to get the lighting level we wanted, due to the fact that lighting was reduced upon playback and through the viewer. We used new Apple Macs and Final Cut Express to edit and splice our movie, but that's it in terms of relatively new equipment.

I have learnt a lot about Final Cut Express throughout the production of our opening. Implementing text, overlays, effects and superimposing images were fairly simple to get the hang of, and by the end of it I was proficient in using them all. Using keyframes to fade music in and out throughout our opening greatly improved the atmosphere of our film, and the mirror clone shot was great for showing a whole new level of depth for the character by cropping in a second clip on the other half of the screen to achieve the clone trick. Also using a couple of effects enhanced the atmosphere further, such as the blurry flash during the POV sequence where the character looks at the table, and were easy to implement. Also specific features such as the sped up and slowed down POV sequence and the day night cycle were fairly easy to achieve after I learned how to manipulate the speed of the clips, and they worked fantastically to make our film a bit different and more suspenseful.



Looking back to your preliminary task, what do you feel that you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

My use of specific shot types has improved greatly. The POV sequence was mostly improvisational, in terms of what I filmed, apart from the path I was to take which was planned out, and took a few takes, however to create realism I just reacted on impulse, looking around my surroundings, lingering on important objects or symbolic surroundings, and subtly shivering at the sight of the cult bible. Also flowing from POV to medium long shot was tricky, however with planning we figured out the best angle to film from as to avoid breaking the flow and atmosphere.

After the production process I feel infinitely more confident with the equipment we used. Editing in Final Cut was new to, but by the time the final edits were made, and the length of the sound clips were synchronised, it had became second nature to me, and I had already had experience filming before, so I built upon that throughout the filming procedure. Using a Mac properly for the first time was tricky too, as I'd had difficulty in the past using one for small tasks, however I became used to it very quickly, and even learned some commands and shortcuts about it as it gradually revealed its secrets.

I am very pleased with our final product. Through a combination of planning, skill and occasionally dumb luck, everything has come together, and it is far better than I'd dared hope. The music we used throughout just seemed to fit to the clips as if they'd been fated to link with specific events, and it was just dumb luck that that the tracks were around the right length and synchronised so well. The filming was stressful due to the lighting, but after a refilming session of the horribly lit sections we managed to wrap up filming, and get down to the editing, and alot of it just seems like coincidence how it all came together so naturally, such as how the mirror clone didn't look out of place even though we'd impulsively decided to include it. So it seems we got out of it what we put in, and I am very happy with the result.

Start of editing

Ollie here

Today we began the editing process in our media lesson. So far we are deleting clips we will not use + any bloopers that are lingering on the tape. We are also beginning to arrange the clips into their vague order as according to the storyboard. So far though i think we are using final cut express and other resources to a good standard and i think that the thriller will definatley benefit from this if we can keep it up.