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

Looking back at our preliminary task we can see the difference between that and our actual thriller film. After having processed and edited our preliminary task we come to learn of several mistakes that we had carried out which therefore made it a little less effective as it could have been but also made it good for us as we then knew what we would not do whilst shooting our actual thriller. These included playing back the scene we had just recorded in order to look at it but found that whilst uploading it onto the conputer and in the process of editing, it took a lot longer then expected as we had to do several things. It also included stopping and starting the camera everytime that we had shot one of our characters talking  meaning that we had to be very precise when editing it to make it flow as it sounded very unatural and planned. 

Whilst being in the process of filming a thriller, we have come across and learnt many new things. These simple skills include how to use the camera better therefore meaning being able to use the zoom in and zoon out button whilst recording. We also feel like we can use the camera in different ways in order to get different angles and views that we want so that we can maybe portray people in a certain way.

As said earlier, we can notice differences between our preliminary task and our thriller, 'The Decoy'. The differences between them are that we believe there is more imagination and thought in the thriller rather than the preliminary task.This is because in the preliminary task, we were given a set of vocabulary that could be exchanged between two characters just to give us an idea of what we could say, however as we were very new to the whole thing we just decided to use the vocabulary that we had been given. Whereas, in the thriller we come up with the very few vocabulary that has been used in it.

 Also, whilst watching the preliminary task through we realised that the shots we caught were not very strong and the actual filming was low. However, in the thriller we hav improved our filming and the shots that we have caught at a much higher level. 

If you look at the top image above which is taken from our preliminary task, you can see that the camera angle is not very good and isn't very straight. However, if you look at the image on the bottom which is from our thriller film, you can compare them and see how our camera angles have improved.  


I also think that right at the start of our preliminary task the camera angle wasn't very good, this therefore made this shot look lob sided and look as though it goes up from one end to the other. It also isn't very equal as it doesn't show you the other side of the room. In our thriller film, we have made sure that every angle shot from the camera was correct and everything balanced in each to make it look equal. This example is shown below.

Evaulation Question 6, What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

Whilst shooting out thriller, we used several uses of technologies to create the opening sequence.

The first piece of technology that we used was a mini DV digital camcorder. We used this digital camcorder to shoot the whole of our thriller and was also used to film our preliminary task.As said before, we have developed our knowledge of being able to use the camcorder which us therfore improved on the quality of our filming.

We obviously used a tripod in the process of filming our thriller so that we could get smooth steady shots. Using a tripod also meant that we were able to tilt the camera down in order to again portray different things. We were taught by our teacher in class how to use a tripod and how to safely and securely attach the camera onto the tripod. We were also told that we must take care with camera's and tripods.  

A digital camera was also used by our group. We used this camera in order to take pictures of our location for our thriller. This was very easy to use as I have one at home very similar to it which made me familiar whilst using it. Once we had gathered the shots for our location, we uploaded them onto the computer so that we could transfer them onto our blogs.

We also used a mobile phone to take pictures of our group filming our thriller. Even though we were not able to process the images and put them onto our blogs we still attempted to use one. If we were able to use these pictures, we would have gone to the Apple Mac Computers, another piece of technology used and we would have used bluetoothed them onto the computer.

As just mentioned, an Apple Mac Computer was used. These are very different to normal computers as they enabled us to go onto the internet to go on our blogs, bluetooth pictures and most of all to use various complex programmes to edit our thriller etc.

The reason for using these types of technologies were due to the fact that for example the Apple Mac Computers let us edit our thriller thoroughly, add music in where wanted, take our sound that had been recorded etc. We used these technologies firstly by following sets of instructions that had been put up on the walls in various places to help us get used to the programmes.

I have also used different websites and computer programmes to complete my thriller.

Blogger is  most obvious one. I have used this to update and let people know what I have been doing at certain times of the course, what work I have achieved and to show people my work. Everyone that has taken this course has their own blogger and they can be accessed by anyone from around the world. Our main job for our blogger was to keep a constant update of what was happening. I think that I was able to ahcieve this. The link to my blogger is http://georgiecameronrc.blogspot.com/ 

I also used the website http://www.mobygratis.com/film-music.html This site let me and my group send off license requests for unsigned music that we thought would be good and would fit in with our thriller. Whilst looking through the types of soundtracks, we sent off for about 8 license requests overall and were approved for all of them. However, although we have sent off for this many, we will not be using them all in our thriller as some didn't fit as well as others.

Another site that was used was http://www.surveymonkey.com/  This site let me create and design an online survey in order to help me find my target audience. Once I had created this, I then posted it onto my facebook page so that people could take my survey and give me feedback. I thought that 'surveymonkey' was very simple to use and was a very quick way to provide myself with people's likes and dislikes. 

Youtube was also another site that I myself and my group used. I used this to get clips of titles from different films, to use opening clips of films and also to upload our preliminary task video onto it. Youtube is a very easy site to use and we had no problems using it.

Another website that I used was http://www.onetruemedia.com/ This website let me create several slideshows in order to present my work in different ways. This website again was simple and easy to use and I found it to be very effective.

Final Cut Express and Livetype were two programmes that were 

commonly used in our group that were found on the Apple Mac Computers. Although I thought these two programmes were very difficult to use, I after a while got the hang of them. I think that these two programmes are both very effective as they can produce some amazing stuff.

By using all of these different types of technologies I myself think that I have gained a lot of skills. It includes being able to use the Apple Mac Computers to the best of their ability and being able to complete work alone successfully. I have been able to create surveys and montages that I probably would have had struggle to do before. I also feel like I have improved on my communication with other people as I have had to work in a team and therfore have to talk to other people, arrange times and so forth.     

Evaluation Question 5, How did you attract/address your audience?

I believe that me and my group attracted our audience firstly by the music we used. The music we chose for our thriller turned out to be very effective as whilst watching the thriller, the muisc tends to get you on the edge sounds very mysterious which makes us think to ourselves what's goingt to happen next.

I also think we were personally impressed on where our thriller was placed. We thought that it was a good idea to shoot the first half of the sequence in daylight and then shoot the other half in the dark. This was to create an effect for the audience as they would therefore believe that the antagonists had been planning on the kidnapping all day and we didn't know when they was going to come back.

As we had set up questionnaires in order to find out our target audience we had a fair idea on how we should create our characters and how we should get them to come across to the audience. The reason for doing this was so that we were able to basically get into the heads of our audience in order for us to produce something that would be very effective towards them and would get them involved in the film. 

As we have finished filming, editing and producing our film I then decided to ask several people to watch it to give me feedback on what they thought of it. I asked them to be as honest as can be, so that I knew everything was true about what they thought. 

The feedback I got back was: 

Person 1: I really liked the film as it always seemed to keep me in contact with it. I liked how the music was used as it created tension at certain points in the film. 

Person 2: I thought that the film was created really well, I liked the titles at the beginning of the film and the music which I thought was really eery. 

Person 3: I liked how the young boys were shown to be a bit nasty and violent at the start of the thriller when one of them barged the girl that was walking past them. 

Person 4: The music was really exciting as it felt like as the music went on, something was going to happen at the end even if nothing did. 

Person 5: I liked the storyline of the thriller, thought it was clever how they filmed the first half the film in daylight and the second half in the dark. This created a better effect as the boy was getting kidnapped in the second half and the darkness made it more violent and scary. 

Person 6: I enjoyed watching the thriller that they have made, thought tension and suspense was created in many parts of the film. 

Person 7: It was good how some of the shots dissolved out at the end, and then a new scene came in. The music was good too. 

By me asking some of the people at home and friends etc, I was able to get some feedback and therefore know what people thought of it. 

Evaluation Question 4, Who would be the audience for your media product?

Before me and my group started to film our thriller, I created an online survey on 'surveymonkey.com' to find out my target audience. Even though only 8 people took our survey after they had left us with the results I could analyse them and find out who my audience were and what they would expect from our thriller.

In our survey we asked the audience a question and that question was, 'What do you think makes a good thriller?'. From looking at the results of this question, below are what we received from the people who took the survey:

• SUSPENSE
• TWISTS
• CLIFFHANGERS
• TENSION
• MUSIC
• TRUE STORY'S
• JUMPY SCENES

From the public completing these surveys, I can say that I reckon the audience for our media product would be people between the ages of 17-25. I also think that they will be either male or female and will be into the sort of films that contain a various bit of violence and a film that requires the audience to think a bit, think about what my happen next or why what has just happened has basically happened.

Evaluation Question 3 - What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

After having finally finished editing our thriller, and uploaded it onto youtube I have done several bits of research to find out the names of various film companies that could possibly distribute our film, 'The Decoy'. 
The first company that come straight into my head was Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. The reason for me thinking of these first are down to the fact that probably most times that I watch films, I can remember this advertisement at the beginning of the film.

You could say that 20th Century Fox Films are the most well-known company in the world as they have been running for a long, long time. They produce many films each year which are usually highly rated by the population ourselves. 20th Century Fox's most popular film franchisies include 'Avatar', 'The Simpsons', 'Ice Age', 'Home Alone', 'The Chronicles of Narnia' and many more.
Although 20th Centrury Fox is a well successful, and highly rated company, there are some disadvantagedsto it that would not be suitable for our film. Firstly, they produce more films that have a very high budget rather then a low budget. As our film would have a low budget it will be very hard for me and my group to try and offer our film to this company so that they will buy it. Therefore, 20th Century Fox Film Corporation is not the best film company for us.

The next is FilmFour Productions. This is a British Film production company which is owned by Channel 4. This company has been responsible for screening a large number of films that have been made in the United Kingdom. The companies first production was the film 'Walter' which was released in 1982.

I reckon that FilmFour Productions will be a good production company to sell our film to as said earlier most of the films made on this company are british as is ours and also it is a very highly watched channel.

Universal Studios is also another well-known company that could potentially screen our film. It is one of the one of the major six American movie studios still in continuous production. This company has produced and shown various films that have been highly popular including films such as 'Dracula' 1931, 'The Mummy' 1932 and 'The Bride of Frankenstein' 1935. Even though it may be hard for us, I think that this company would be another perfect choice as Universal Studios have a wide range of different budgets.

Columbria Pictures Industries was another film company that I decided to research. This is another American film production and distribution company. This studio is also very famously well-known and has been running for a long time. In an effort to improve their image, the Cohn brothers renamed the company Columbia Pictures Corporation in 1924. A string of this production company's hits in the early 1930's solidified Columbia's status as a major studio. In particular, 'It Happened One Night' 1934, 'Lost Horizon' 1937 and 'Mr. Smith Goes To Washington' 1939.

Many of the studio's early productions were low-budget affairs however, they were pushed to produce high-budget films. Therefore, Columbria Pictures Industries will not be able to distribute our film.

Our film could also be produced on the 'Microwave Scheme'. This type of production gives film directors an 18 day limit to make their film with a budget of £100,000. Obviously this amount of money comes from 'The UK Film Lottery', 'BBC Films' and 'skillset'. This production company would be a very good choice as it has a micro-budget and we are students living in London. An example of a film that was produced by the 'Microwave Scheme' is the film 'Shifty'. This was very successful as it was nominated for BAFTA Film Awards.

Our film 'The Decoy' could also be shown in many other different ways. This could be through advertisement, such as posters, billboards, adverts on the television, magazines or even newspapers.  

Evaluation Question 2, How does your media product represent particular social groups?

In my thriller, we have only very few haracters. Every one of these characters that star in the film are all men except for one pass by who is a woman that gets barged. The age of the these men are all between the ages of 15-17. The reason we decided to base our thriller on a group of young men is because men are seen as the more dominant powerful sex. The characters in the film are supposed to be portrayed as very young, violent and harsh men hence them being dressed in dark clothing and being the stars in the kidnapping of a boy therefore being shown in a negative way. Therefore, in our film we use a stereotype against these as we have put the young men in a category of 'thugs' basically. However, we do not use any abusive or racist language neither homosexuality. The reason for having the stereotype in our film was due to the fact that we wanted out thriller to come across as violent and scary, and wanted it to respresnt what life is really like out in our world today; we wanted the audience to see for themselves what things go on in the world.
We also use the stereotype of 'the young theives, or thugs' as we have the kidnappers in the film wearing dark clothing with their hoods up. Usually when we see groups of people with hoods up we expect something bad to happen due to their actions.
'The young thugs'

The 'dumb blonde' is also another stereotype that we decided to use in the thriller as she is barged by one of the protagonists. This way, she comes across to the audience as weak and stupid and very clumsy.

The 'dumb blonde'

I believe that our film represents middle-working class people. This is because the characters are not shown to be walking around with loads of money however they are not shown to be sitting on the floor in poverty. I think that the film we have created is not suitable for young children as a crime is being shown. It also shows abusive behaviour as the antagonist is beaten and taken away. 

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

The conventions of the thriller genre are types of elements that are put into a film to make them a thriller, to make them appeal to an audience and for them to be very effective in order for people to like them. It is also to do with sound and editing. This would be quick cuts, fade outs and the different changes of the camera angle. Also the music that is used in particular scenes, during particular shots that is appropriate. It can be to do with the lighting, the use of shadows and stairs used in various parts of the thriller. Different types of lighting can be used to create different effects such as key lighting, back lighting, low- key lighting and high-key lighting. Using these different types of lighting obviously creates different effects for the audience, some appealing to more to than others. A film that goes against and does not play to the conventions is 'Phone Booth'. This is about a male who is trapped in a phone booth, pinned down by an extortionist's sniper rifle.This film avoids darkness and shadow, as it is set out in broad daylight. During the film when the antagonist is on the phone to the protagonist in the phone booth we see the use of flashbacks and very quick passed editing and is probably the only convention that the film follows.

In our thriller, we used non-digetic music throughout the film. Non-digetic music is music that is not part of the film world but has been put in place and can only be heard by the audience. This creates tension and suspense in the thriller as in certain parts of the film, more erey music is needed. We made sure that whilst choosing the music and allocating it to the right scene that it was appropriate and fitted well. For example, when the young male antagonist is being kidnapped by the group of thugs we used up beat, fast music to help attract the audience in. To make them feel as though they are on the edge of their seats and what to know whats happening next. We also used a lot of dissolve cuts in our film as at first we had too much footage of the protagonists walking from the car to the house and therefore passes the time by. We decided to use these in order for us not to loose interest of the audience as it would get too boring for them to watch.

Our thriller, 'The Decoy' can relate to several other thrillers as several elements are similar. Whilst in class, we watched the thriller film 'Shifty'. This film is about a young crack cocaine dealer thats lives in London when his life quickly spires out of control due to these 'druggies'. We thought that it would be a good choice of film to use to help us create our film as it focuses of crimes and we wanted to attract the same sort of audience that 'Shifty' had. We also took an idea from the film, as near the end of the film, we see a bunch of thug looking men that you are unable to identify. They are all wearing dark clothing, showing no facial expressions which creates a sense of mystery. It also creates tension and suspicion as we do not know what they are covering themselves up for and what they might do next. Therfore, in our thriller we wanted to create the same effect as this so in order for us to forfill this we dressed our young group of thugs in dark clothing and wearing a hood so little skin was shown.

The Decoy

 Shifty

We also took another idea from the film, as we thought it was a very good idea how at the beginning of the film they have a close up of someone knocking of the door. We liked how it seemed as though they had zoomed into the hand, giving us a point of view shot making us feel like we are in the position of the person who is knocking. This element is very effective, and to create this in our thriller we twisted it around a tad as we shot a close up view of the antagonist knocking on the door of the protagonist. This therefore, puts us in the position of the thug and gives us imagination which makes us think who's going to be on the other side of that door.

 The Decoy

Shifty

Another film that we decided to look at and gather some ideas from was the thriller film, 'Taken'. This film was obviously the most ifluential film that we looked at as we took the plot of the film and based our thriller on it. The main plot of 'Taken' is about a young female who is kidnapped and relies on her former spy father to save her from being forced into the slave trade. We obviously changed it around, as just mentioned a young female is taken whereas in our film the protagonist is a young boy. Usually in thrillers watched around the world, woman are the main sex that are being kidnapped. This is due to men being more powerful and dominant over women.

Taken

The Decoy

Last but not least is the film, 'The Dark Knight'. This film is about Batman, Gordon and Harvey dent are forced to deal with chaos unleashed by an anarchist mastermind known as the Joker, as he drives each of them to their limits.We thought that this was a popular film in the film industry and therefore saw like many other films it has a getaway vechile. We thought, that we must use this element in our thriller as kidnapping somene would be very hard without a car etc as we wouldn't be able to transport them by foot from one place to another.

The Dark Knight

The Decoy

Therefore, all of these elements show how are film relates to several other media products in the industry.