Final Cut

Here is our final cut for our thriller project.

Evaluation - Planning

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

• title - development
• how 'Se7en' and 'Negative' helped my group
• abstract and narrative filming - differences between, why changed, etc
• photography and town scenes and idea
• looking at the theme of 'Gender' withint thillers - how we changed the stereotype, how does it still apply to a thriller conventionally
• As we worked through our group’s photography and town theme, my group decided to change and take a more narrative, rather than abstract approach, without giving to much of the plot away. Therefore allowing us to film scenes, rather than random images as done in an abstract, to make it easier for us to get our thriller idea across, still without giving to much of the plot away so questions could be raised during the narrative to confuse the viewer, which is a typical thriller convention.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

• Teenagers (-both genders are equally vulnerable – boys taken first – but then girl left to defend herself. –drunks – vodka bottles and being loud – makes them even more vulnerable to attack -anti-social behaviour from teenagers - steroetyped underage drinking - therefore believeable?)
• Gender (Men – more powerful – killer is a man.)

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

• to show generic conventions of a thriller film (list generic conventions – in red book)
• to show how stereotypical themes such as ‘gender’ can be challenged (female vulnerability)

Who would be the audience for your media product?

• people aged between 15 – 30 years of age (teens featured in sequence – more depicted on teenagers lives and understanding – drinking, vulnerability of strangers)
• Both have one word titles about the films. For example, ‘Se7en’ represents the seven deadly sins within the Bible, which ultimately causes the killer to choose his victims. However, even though we gained inspiration for our idea from ‘Se7en’ I do not think that the content has turned out the same as we changed from abstract to more narrative.

How did you attract/address your audience?

• By using scary but upbeat music to attract a youthful audience
• relation to photography – very popular hobby amongst youth culture today – fashionable
• opening sequence feature teenagers – can relate to characters lives which makes it more scary for the viewer (it could happen to them sense of thought) – going out drinking at night with mates
• ‘Development’ was aimed at young adults of 15 – 25 years of age.

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

• garage band – music
• final cut express – editing video footage
• day for night plug in – used the colour filter to give the appearance of night (or at least dusk)
• Never used an apple Mac before – easy to use
• list different frame shots I have learnt (and used in the sequence)
• to use the tripod for steady, close-up shots – as used in my close up shots of killers hands and camera - gives professional effect
• I have learnt to use the tripod for steady, close-up shots, (such as what I used when obtaining close-up shots of the camera flash). This gives a professional effect to the footage.
  

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

• to make sure you have a steady, solid plan that can easily work before starting
• need to be careful of outside conditions before deciding to film – brightness outside when filming night scene (colour filter wouldn’t work as well – difficulties, yet were pleased with end effect (clear film as filmed in bright conditions, yet gives impression of dusk still)
• make sure everyone has a clear idea of what they are doing within each scene (filming, acting, editing, etc) – I helped our team by creating a structured plan of who was doing what for both the ‘Town’ and ‘Photography’ scenes.
• Before starting our thriller project we had to create a preliminary task which I enjoyed, as it made us comfortable with the equipment and with the different camera shots we could use and was simply fun to create.
  We created an animatic before beginning the project to make sure we had a steady plan that could easily work, before starting. Our animatic was questioned about the amount of plot given away, so we shortened the amount of narrative storyline in our project so questions could still be raised.
• During the planning we updated our blog with all of the information we found out as well as notes to help us. I created a task structure on the blog for the group for people to follow and stick to, however, this was altered throughout the project because of people’s absences.

Editing Programmes we shall use

• garage band - music
• final cut express - editing video footage
• day for night plug in - use the colour and saturation filters, etc
  

Thriller Conventions

Ideas for Our Thriller Opening Sequence

• create a sense of suspense / tension / paranoia: this can be created through close up shots (for example, on a door handle / facial features), music reflecting mind of character (often creepy and chilling, making the viewer uncomfortable), lighting reflecting mood of character and to create scary mise-en-scene (usually red or dim light)
  
• good guy / bad guy character structure (however sometimes this is not so clear)
• visual and narrative hints - motifs
• plot: a journey to figure something out (solve a mystery / a twist in the narrative)
• the equilibrium of the film is quickly broken near the beginning of the film to be restored, generally, at the end.
• chase scenes
• create some king of enigma around a certain situation or character
• the narrative can be based around the protagonists flaw so he/she is held back in some way (sometimes resulting as their fatal flaw)
  
• music: a non-digetic soundtrack which is eerie to create scary atmosphere
• short title (often one word) indicating flaw / something to do with film narrative (for example: 'saw' 'vertigo')
• the main characters identity is questioned (good guy? bad guy?)
• flashbacks
  

Possible Titles for the thriller opening sequence

• Development
• Developer
• Photograph
• Depth of field
• Obsessed
• Obsession
• Digital Night

Animatic Feedback

Our original idea used 3 teenage girls as they would be more vulnerable to the killer. It then followed each of the girls on their way home as they separate off from each other to show that they are alone. As each girl was shown to separate off from the group the image would flick from that scene and the killer placing a photo of that character dead to suggest her murder. The ending would then show a photo of all three of the girls with the two dead ones being crossed off.

Feedback from the class and teacher suggested that in our original idea we showed to much of the plot therefore not leaving a lot to the imagination, so the viewer would not be asking questions about what is going to happen as the narrative would be quite straight forward.

After this we decided to change our narrative. we thought that we would change the stereotypical idea of three teenage girls being in danger, to one girl and two boys. We did this to go against the traditional generic convention of female vulnerability in a thriller by the two males being the ones who are killed, leaving just the female who is now vulnerable by herself, even though she is the only one to have survived so far. This helps raise questions, example, Why is only the female left?

We then cut out a lot of the town narrative to focus more on the killer's planning and the the single photo being taken and developed, rather than explaining to the audience how the teenagers separate off and are killed. This raise more questions, therefore creating more suspense.

Setting

When the teenagers are walking along at night they need to look like they have just been to town but are walking around the back alleys rather than the center of town. This will be filmed in daylight so the film looks better but then a night filter shall be added later. - Cambridge Leisure Park

When the killer is developing the photo and planning. This can be filmed in lesson time as it is dark already in the room with just the dim white light and bright red light as wanted. - Long Road traditional photography room (development dark room)

Groups Tasks

Decide Storyline / Setting / Title:
Everyone.

Town Scene:

Acting:
Charmaine Christie: Teenager 1 - isn't killed
Stephen Dickens: Teenager 2 - killed
Connor Murphy: Teenager 3 - killed
Edward Neely: Killer taking photograph

Camera Work:
Charmaine Christie: Photo close up shot
Edward Neely: Whole of Town scene

Editing:
Connor Murphy and Edward Neely

Soundtrack:
Connor Murphy

Photography Scene:

Acting:
Edward Neely: Killer in photography room

Camera Work:
Connor Murphy and Stephen Dickens

Editing:
Charmaine Christie

Soundtrack:
Charmaine Christie

Props and Costumes

Town Scene:
We are using naturalistic clothing of teenagers to keep the sequence realistic, the girl shall also have a handbag to help suggest they have been out.

Vodka bottles will be used to indicate that the teenagers are intoxicated, thus making them seem more vulnerable to attack.

A camera will be used to link the teenagers and the killer, (it shall belong to a teenage boy who gives it to the killer to take a photo, then the killer shall have it later on in the photography scene).

Photography Scene:
The character developing the photo will be dressed in dark clothing to make him appear sinister.

Photographs and paper will be used to show the development of the photo.
Photography enlarger shall be used to project red light onto to the photograph to create a sinister atmosphere.

Thriller Animatic Sequence

Here is our animatic sequence showing a rough outline of the scenes we are going to shoot. Each storyboard still is in place of each scene. We have added in some transitions to show how our final video will switch from scene to scene. Our draught soundtrack has been added to the Antimatic sequence to give a feel of how our thriller opening will build suspense and work.

Starting Ideas For Thriller Opening

Our main idea for our thriller is photography. The idea originally came from the student thriller opening "negative" but the theme is used in may other thrillers such as "momento". The idea of using photography is a more psychological approach to the thriller genre. The opening sequence will start off set in a dark room with the camera focusing on a picture of one dead women. The scene will then flashback to the three women walking down a street in Cambridge. The camera will then follow the three women down the street for a few seconds. The camera would then change to a view of the front of them as they laugh and stumble down the road. After this shot the location will change back to the the dark room. The next photo will be on a table, it is a picture of the three women together, and a hand will come from the side to put crosses through two of the women's faces. There will be one girl left without a cross, which starts to ask questions. The location again switches back to the three women as they split up. one walks in one direction and the other two leave in the other.

The lighting will be low or coloured red (for example in the dark room) to effect the viewer via the mise-en-scene. Also the editing pace will be slow until the events in the opening start to un-fold. We have chosen the setting to be Cambridge and the surrounding villages to make a more natural environment which will make our clip more natural and the viewer will find more to relate to and will raise complex questions.

Conventions of a Thriller Opening - Se7en

• The opening title sequence of Se7en creates an enigma around the unknown character, immediately raising questions for the audience: 'Who is this character?' 'What is he creating and why?' This mystery intern creates suspense for the viewer.
• The character is shown to be putting a lot of time, effort and detail into what he is planning and uses unsettling images of people. This scares the viewer by making them feeling uncomfortable as they remain to wonder why he is doing this and raises a further question of 'What is he planning?'
• As well as the images, the non-digetic soundtrack is eerie creating dramatic effect by reinforcing the tension for the viewer and by using uncomfortable scratchy and creaking sounds, reflects the unstable mind of the character.
• To work alongside the music, the text is scribbled and scratchy and flickers throughout, once again reinforcing the unstable mind of the character, as if written by him.
  Flashes of images and photos throughout the opening sequence raise question and the quick changes between them create confusion for the viewer.
• The sequence is edited to change from back and white, colour and red to make the sequence appear threatening and sinister.
  Close ups of the character's hands make the viewer focus on what he is doing and creates suspense as his face and rest of body is not shown.
• Although the opening sequence does not reveal the plot, the title indicates what the plot is about, 'Se7en' as in 'Seven deadly sins'.
• The lighing is dark ending in flashes of light. This works alongside the text and music, creating a dramtic effect on the viewer by creating an uncomfortble and scary situation for the viewer. Indicates something evil is going to happen as darkness is associated with evil.
• There appears to be no breaking of the equilibrium, but you could argue that this is because the film already begins unsettled.
  The use of these attributes indicates to the viewer that the character is bad and is planning something evil, as everything used within the sequence is unsettling and uncomfortable for the viewer.