Evaluation Question 6

To make my opening sequence, the hardware I had to use was; a Canon XHAI camera, a tripod and a tape. The software I had to use was Adobe Premiere to put my shots together, as well as make my titles and edit my film by using the effects and adding music to it.

To learn how to use the camera, my class and I were put into small groups and given a tripod, a camera, a battery and a tape. We were then given a demonstration of how to set up the camera properly, and attach it to the tripod. Firstly, we were taught how to hold the camera while handling it to avoid damage and also to be professional. We then had to pull the legs out of the tripod and make sure that the base was flat and the legs were kept in place by turning the knobs so that it stayed at a particular length. After this we had to take the tray off of the top of the tripod by pushing a button and twisting a lever, and screw it on to the bottom of the camera tightly to ensure that it was secure and the camera wouldn’t fall off. Holding the camera correctly we had to slide the bottom of it which was attached to the tray on to the top of the tripod, and lock it into place to make sure the camera was secure. We were told that we had to put in the battery first and switch the camera on before putting the tape inside. We were then shown the spirit level, this makes sure our shots are straight and not diagonal when we play it back, we were shown how to make it level, by using a round disk underneath the camera attached to the tripod, we had to unscrew it while holding the top of the camera and check that the silver ball was in the middle of the circle. We learned that moving the round disc under the camera would make the camera move, so when the silver ball was in the centre of the circle it meant that the camera was level. We had to adjust the spirit level every time we moved the camera as the ground was uneven, and our shots were at risk of being wonky. Plus, while moving the camera we had to detach the camera and reattach it when at the right location to ensure the camera was kept safe, this meant constantly checking the spirit level too. As well as this we were shown how to use the screen on the side of the camera, how to zoom and to use the cross to line our shots up and increase accuracy. After learning how to use the camera, we were set a task in threes to take a variety of different shots that were listed in order to test our understanding after watching videos of camera shots, we were then able to watch them and be given feedback on head space and position in the frame.

Some of the shots we had to take were: long shot, close up, extreme close up, mid shot, mid long shot, worms eye, birds eye, eye level, and over the shoulder. We learned where to place the camera, how much we needed to zoom, where to place our actors, and at which length we needed to adjust our tripod to get the perfect shots.

We were educated on the 180 degree barrier, where you can not have the camera past a certain point otherwise the audience will get confused, the camera angles will be wrong and this is unprofessional. Also, we were told to be aware of the importance of safety shots, so we took many at the beginning of our film of our environment and surroundings. We also learned the rule of thirds as well as continuity, this was demonstrated to us, we filmed a short scene and were shown how to angle our camera and what to do in order to ensure continuity.

After this we were taught how to use software (Adobe Premiere) which enabled us to put our opening sequence together. To get used to using the software we firstly had to start by editing a piece of film that wasn't our own, to become familiar with how it worked. We were then taught how to put on effects like black and white and transitions such as; fades, dissolves etc. This led to us being able to make our films look professional and fit more into our thriller genre. We were taught how to use the time line on the software, how to cut the shots we wanted, delete ripples, piece our film together, extend the length of shots that we'd cut and delete shots that we didn't need. Plus we learned how to place shots so that we could layer them and make our film look more realistic. In our film we used lots of fades to take us to the next shots for more of a gloomy effect, we faded to black to make it dark and mysterious which matched our film. Another thing we was taught was how to add text onto our shots and edit it to our preferences. When our actor was sticking the black card up to get rid of the light we overlapped our shots to make it speed up and to also make our film more interesting to watch. We faded to black fast to speed up the pace.

While making the ident for our film, we learned how to make photos zoom in, as well as using sound effects to make it more dramatic. When we made our ident 'Maiden Name' we used a sound effect of a gun shot when the gun is fired to make it different and give it a sense of realism. When we made the title of the name of our film 'An eye for an eye' we learned how to move the photo in the background around the screen, and make our music fade out. We also learned how to add music to our film, we had to use copy right music and add it onto our time line, we also had to fade it out at the end and fade it in at the beginning of our opening sequence. All of the content of our films was saved on a 'LaCie' hard drive. We chose music named 'Cellar Door' because it fit the genre and opening sequence very well. Also the footsteps coincided with the movements made by our actor in the sequence. You hear the sound of the actor writing on the photo to give a more disturbing feeling to the audience, many people dislike the noise so it would make them feel uncomfortable. It also gives an idea of our characters personality.

Overall, I feel as though I have gained very useful experience in making the film and using the equipment, I am proud of my end result, however now I have used the equipment properly I believe I could make my film a lot better if given the opportunity. I would like to do it again and maybe change my location to make it look more realistic. I would also like to use an actor who has lot's of experience to help me put forward the mental state they're in. The task has also benefited me in the sense that I can lead a group better than before and my negotiating skills have gotten a lot better.

Evaluation Question 2

How does your opening sequence represent particular social groups?

My opening sequence would appeal to people who have an interest in psychological thrillers because it creates lots of tension and confuses the audience from the beginning. The start is quite disturbing and sets up the main theme of the film which is revenge. This kind of film is not for a younger audience as it requires a more complex mind and therefore would appeal to someone who enjoys problem solving and can understand the story line. Trying to grasp a member of a younger audience’s attention from the beginning of my film would be difficult as they're more interested in comedies and romances. My opening sequence grabs the audience’s attention quickly as it is setting up the story, it leaves them in anticipation wanting to know more. However from my audience feedback I learned that "the story line could have been clearer", because of this it was hard to grab the attention of the audience as it was too confusing.

The cliff hanger at the end of our opening sequence leaves the audience on the edge of their seats waiting to find out what happens next. As I previously found out in my research, thrillers have a huge audience, ranging from teenagers to as old as 50+, this means that my opening sequence would appeal to a number of people especially those who enjoy my particular sub-genre.

The key characters in my film are; a female protagonist, who wants to avenge her parents but is psychologically disturbed from witnessing her parents death, and the group of men who murdered her parents when she was younger which she plans to kill one by one. A suggestion made after carrying out our audience feedback was to add some flash backs of Anna with her parents, and also of their death as this would make the story line more clear.

In the opening sequence one of the men from the group which killed the protagonists' parents faces will be shown in a close up shot when Anna writes 'you're next' on it.  My audience feedback suggested that we make the story line more obvious and dramatic as "a serial killer wouldn't just write you're next on the photo", so to add effect we "could rip up the picture" or burn it. Our female protagonist will be wearing all black to make her look dark and mysterious; when she is on camera she will be in the centre of the frame so that all of the attention is on her. The victim will also be in the centre of the frame as he too is relevant to the film. The victim will be wearing smart clothes to give the impression that he can deceive people into thinking he is a smart and decent man, he will have good posture and a straight face to show he means business. My main character reminds me of Cataleya from Columbiana because she was my inspiration to make the film and turn it from an action thriller to a psychological thriller. The villain reminds me of Byran Mills from taken because he looks quite scary and rough.

Evaluation Question 4

Who would be the audience for your specific thriller?

The subgenre I have chosen is a psychological thriller. The audience for my specific thriller would be from 15-40+. I think this because this kind of film is appropriate for people of these ages and people would enjoy the thrill, elder people would enjoy the thrill and would have lots of questions, plus younger people enjoy movies with their friends and scaring each other. As well as this from my research I found that thrillers cover a large age group as lot's of people enjoy them, and they appeal to elder and younger generations.

 Audience Profile:

Age: 15 – 35+

Interests: going to the cinema, spending time with friends, nights in, learning, watching television, reading books, especially thrillers.

Gender: mainly males but females too, especially because the protagonist if a female

Ethnicity: any

I didn’t specifically chose this age group because thrillers have a large audience anyway, however because the film isn’t a romance which stereotypically stands out to females or a fantasy which is more of a family film, the genre will genuinely have a large audience. It’s for people who enjoy challenging themselves and who have the time to watch a film or enjoy a film with their partner or teenage child, normally a daughter. Also this age group is independent and can pay to be able to watch the film or buy it, as well as this they’re active and enjoy going out to places like the cinema.

My target audience would expect my film to be intriguing and disturbing, with a twist or surprise ending. They would expect it to be tense and full of anticipation, maybe a little jumpy, with eerie music and very interesting. They would like to be fully focused on the film and enjoy watching it as it would entertain them, keeping them guessing right up until the end. 

The sub-genre would attract them to the film as it would make them curious, the fact that the protagonist is a female is different and makes women seem more strong and independent, so the film would appeal to women more than a different type of thriller.

If I were designing a poster for my film I would include dark colours mainly red black green grey and white to make it look dark mysterious and gloomy. I would use a jagged font to make it look slightly gothic and to fit the genre. I would possibly use a really thin font to make it look slightly odd and contrast with the dark colours which stand out. I would also use question marks and shadows, maybe some mirrors and weapons, also some disturbing pictures of mentally ill people, splatters of blood, and maybe a clock to show it’s only a matter of time, I’d also write revenge on it to show the main theme. I’d use a young good looking female to look attractive and to use encourage males to watch it.

 

To attract the audience to my film by using their prior knowledge of the genre I would make my trailer very eerie and use tension building music, I would add this into my opening sequence to make it more effective and to keep the audience entertained. The music would let the audience know that something is about to happen and tell them the mood and mind set of the character. The audience would relate this music to the character throughout the film and it would mirror their emotions.

In our audience feedback we found that editing was our strongest point which attracted the audience the most, the editing flowed well and we had a good use of shots which we blended in.

Another film that my target audience may be interested in is Columbiana, or Kill Bill. These films are similar about female main characters, which switches the roles around and has similar story lines of revenge.

The theme of revenge will relate to the audience because it would get their adrenaline pumping and make them think of themselves in the situation of the main character is in, it will create a sense of escapism and give them a topic to speak about after the film. The themes would attract the audience because it’s not your typical film about rescuing someone or falling in love, an eye for an eye it biblical and it shows the extent people will go to to avenge their families. Columbiana is a film based on the same theme which my audience may also find entertaining and relatable.

From my audience feedback I found that the idea of revenge for a theme was a good idea as many people can relate to it, but that my storyline wasn't clear because we didn't give enough away in the opening sequence and that we should have been more clear. An idea of using a flashback of Anna's parents was proposed, which was originally our idea, however we were unable to do this in time, so in the future if I were able to do my film again I would use a flashback to help the audience understand what my film is about.

Questions for audience feedback

1) What is your opinion on our title sequence? Did you enjoy it? Do you understand the storyline?

2) What would you change if you had made it and why?

3) What do you think about the music? How does it make you feel?

4) Does the film fit the psychological thriller genre and how does/doesn't it?

5) What do you think about the editing? Were the shots continuous throughout the whole sequence? How could we improve?

6) How did you find the acting? Did you think it was professional? What improvements could be made?

7) What are your opinions on the lighting? Did it fit the codes and conventions of the psychological thriller genre? Were you able to see clearly? How did it make you feel?