Evaluation Charlotte...

Watch 'Deception' (2010) Here

What is a thriller?



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

Our film product uses and develops conventions of a real media product as it contains the generic conventions for a thriller. There are many generic conventions of thriller genre film. This includes creating enigma (- the audience begin to ask questions), or being put on the edge of the seat. Thriller films are full of suspense, the plot usually involves a chase between the protagonist (possible victim) and antagonist.

Thriller films are normally shown from two or more characters' points of view, to create a build up of tension.

•  For example the protagonist - who the audience are made to create empathy for. An example of this is in the popular thriller 'Psycho' (1960) shown in this picture below, the character sees her murderer. 

• Or the antagonist - which can either lead to empathy for the villain or seeing why they have become the way they have (e.g. a flashback to the past). An example of this can also be shown in the thriller  'Psycho' (1960). This scene includes camerawork that switches between the antagonist's POV (point of view) and the victim's POV.

• The narrative can be shown through the POV (point of view) of an on-looker, which detaches the audience so that they can see the situation from an objective point of view. This is so the audience is omniscient - all knowing.

Directors who have focused on the thriller genre include 
 

- Alfred Hitchcock (Psycho 1960, Marnie 1964 & The Birds 1963) 
 (click here - how to master creating tension)

- Steven Spielberg (Duel 1971, Jaws 1975, Disturbia 2007)
(click here - for the jaws soundtrack) 
 

& - Christopher Nolan (Memento 2000, & Insomnia 2002)

click here - for clips from Memento)

This can be shown through elements of mise en scene, camerawork, editing and use of sound.

Mise En Scene

-Props, Decor & Location - for example where a film is located is very important as it can help raise enigma as the audience may discuss what kind of person the character is thorugh their living location. We used a key conventional prop - a knife. A typical setting for a conventional yet modern thriller would consist of an isolated location or a place that is familiar to the protagonist (e.g. a house, shown in such thrillers as 'Halloween (1978) and our film 'Deception', 2010)
Conventional props that are used in thrillers usually consist of objects that can appear as weapons (knives and...)
Various weapons are used in thrillers, they are used to create a sense of fear for the protagonist. 

• Knives (used in Psycho (1960) or Scream (1996) suggests a domestic killer because this weapon is commonly found in homes and so it is easy to get hold of. This can also display improvisation of innocent characters as they defend themselves in states of urgency.

-Make Up, Hair & Costume - The way a character is presented is vital as the audience will judge straight away about who the person is and what they do. Make Up can do anything from making eyes look hollow to making a face look washed out. Certain costumes used can create a greater sense of enigma (for example in 'Peeping Tom (1960) the first character you see (a woman standing outside a shop), is presented in bright clothes, a short skirt, and lots of make up,  in contrast to everybody else - it is later shown that she is a prostitute.) The costume used in any film can present characters differently, in contrast to others.



-Body Language & Facial Expressions - how the characters communicate and express themselves, for example if a victim (conventionally a woman) was scared the emotion of fear can be shown on her face mostly through her shocked eyes, for example in 'Psycho' (1960) when the victim is being attacked. This is shown in our film at the end of the clip where the victim meets the antagonist.





-Lighting & Colour are very important especially for films that have the genre of thriller, as certain types of atmosphere can be created, for example the use of low key lighting help communicate fear and anticipation. For example (to the left) in the comical thriller Shadows and Fog (1991), (even though it is in black and white) high key lighting must have been used to create the clear shadows. In our film 'Deception' (2010) we have used this technique to create the shadow of the antagonist to introduce fear for the protagonist. On our audience feedback we received, a couple of people commented that the 'making of the shadow was good', but an improvement could have been 'concentrating on the white balance'. 

• During the filming process we used artificial lighting, this video (tutorial) simplifies using the 3 point lighting technique.

Composition of the Shot - How objects and characters are placed.

• Such as elements of mise en scene that are commonly used in thrillers such as low key lighting. I believe that our product contains examples of these. We used low key lighting during most of the filming apart from the scenes which included creating shadows (for this we had to use high key lighting to make it effective, this included the use of artificial lighting ( a red head).

Camerawork 

• Camerawork includes Camera Shots, Camera Angles, Movement (such as panning and tracking) and Depth of Field (such as shallow or deep) 

• Shallow depth of field is sometimes used in thriller based films so that the audience focuses on one character or object. The shot to the right is from our film clip, it shows the protagonist getting something out of the fridge but being out of focus. It focuses on a food label - this is to show that the object she was opening was a fridge. The audience feedback we recieved on this shot commented on how 'the composition was good' but other people believed that we could have made it more obvious that it was in a fridge.

This could also include subjective camerawork (helps portray restricted narrative) and objective camerawork. Point of View (POV) shots are usually used for subjective camerawork to promote shock for the audience. 

• An example of subjective camera work would be in the beginning of 'Halloween' (1978) where the antagonist enters the house. The audience can see from Michael Myers' POV (point of view).

Sound plays a big part in a thriller based film. The use of non diegetic sound (usually music) is commonly used in thriller films to build up the tension of what is about to happen to the character. The use of silence is a characters worst enemy as the audience become aware that some bad is about to happen. 

• The soundtrack for a film can be extremely important and in the case of many films, make the film seem realistic and generally scarier. For example the film 'Jaws' (1975) uses the simplicity of two notes that still builds up tension for the audience and anybody who has or hasn't seen the film.

A traditional narrative for a thriller based film would include a 3 Act Structure.

• The Set Up - (also known as 'Equilibrium') this stage would usual introduce the main protagonist and antagonist(s) this then leads to the 'Confrontation stage'.

• The Confrontation Stage (also known as the 'disruption'). The confrontation stage is the largest part of the narrative as it presents the main problem/issue for the protagonist which is mainly from the antagonist. 

•  The final stage is the 'Resolution' which is where the narrative reaches closure, this usually results in the defeation of binary opposition as the antagonist is beaten. A narrative would usually conclude with the idea of a 'happy ending' even though there are many exceptions to this for example in UK version of the film 'The Descent' (2005) the resolution stage is mixed as nobody (protagonists) are seen to survive. Shown in the picture below is the main protagonist in 'The Descent' in one of the endings of the gory thriller.

        

I believe that our product 'Deception' uses this 3 act structure, as the set up would include the beginning until things start going wrong for the protagonists character as the tv starts going fuzzy and the phone rings and then nobody answers - many disruptions from the characters normality. The confrontation is shown at the end of our clip so that the audience is left shocked as well as the character. We have used subjective POV shots in the set up so that the audience know as much as the character so that the shock of the ending is effective.

• As the scenes shown in our film would be the beginning of a full length feature, the film does not contain a three act structure as it is part of it in the narrative. Our film would be part of the Set Up (as the narrative . Our product uses the conventions of a typical thriller and develops them, for example the first couple of scenes introduce the antagonist of the narrative. Binary Opposition is shown throughout our piece for example the antagonists character (the psycho) vs the protagonist character (the woman)

My conclusion from the previous research task is that the majority of the films I looked at started with the mood of the film being reasonably calm, but building to the disruption, for example in Alfred Hitchcock's 'Marnie' (1964) the establishing shot is a woman walking at a railway station. (shown as image on left - a woman walking away from the camera carrying a yellow clutch bag - establishing shot of the film 'Marnie, 1964)

•  The scene is simple yet complex as the audience can guess that something is not right. I believe that our product shares and develops the idea of having a calm mood and builds to an event, but in a way through using subjective camerawork from the point of view of the antagonsit. I believe that we were inspired to use this technique from the film '28 Days Later' (2002) as in the film the director chose to use the POV of one of the 'infected' (antagonist) to shock the audience.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Social Groups refers to the types of social groups the characters belongs to in the narrative. e.g. Gender, Ethnicity, Age, Sexual Orientation.

The protagonist (who has to outwit the antagonist) - Ghislaine. This character is the protagonist although who could have been a victim. As our film is a low budget British thriller we decided on going with the traditional role of having a female victim. Her character has been presented like this to make her look feminine as she is the victim yet strong - a modern yet tradional role for a woman. 

Representation Profile - Ghislaine

• Name - Ghislaine

• Gender - Female

• Age - Mid 30s

• Ethnicity - British

Portrayed as a strong independant housewife. This is shown through:

• Camerawork - Ghislaine's character was shot in a variety of shots, such as OTS (over the shoulder) as it makes her look small and inferior as if somebody was standing behind her watching. Although she is the main character in 'The Set Up', shallow depth of field is used when she is in the kitchen and opens the fridge to represent that she isn't the only character in the narrative and that she may not be alone in this scene.

• Mise En Scene: Her clothing suggests that she is a working female - she is wearing black - not a conventional feminine colour. Minimal make up is worn to show that her character isn't the 'girly girl' type of housewife, she is a strong woman who just happens to have bad history with the antagonist. Her location could suggest that she is British as there are no religious paintings or props associated with being a different religion, for example in the British film 'Bend it like Beckham' (2002) the family is of seek religion and Indian ethnicity. This is shown through the decor in their house and their costume worn throughout the film. The first picture shows a woman standing infront of a religious painting. The second shows the protagonist wearing a sari.

Ghislaine's character is a British female, mid 30s, middle class housewife. This will connect well with our audience as they may be able to connect with this characters or know somebody who can. She is represented as a normal person - not a person of power or daily importance just a housewife who has some bad history with the antagonist. This is shown through her clothing and decor of her house - she is no richer than an average person who would watch this film. We wanted the audience to either be able to connect with her (by having things in common with her) and to have empathy towards her. Ghislaine's femininity has evolved from the traditional expectation of a 'housewife' and she doesn't just participate in domestic jobs, she goes out and earns money for herself. She is not your average stereotypical 'housewife'

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

• Our film would be distributed by Focus Features as they have distributed many low budget (e.g. A Serious Man (2009) which had a budget of $7m) and British films (e.g. In Bruges, 2007)

• We have decided that our film would be distributed around the UK in arthouse cinemas for example 'The Duke of Yorks' in Brighton as they play low budget British made films.

 

• For example last year I was lucky enough to visit the Duke of Yorks for a Film conference and watched Matthew Thompson's (a British film-maker) 'Dummy' (2008) Starring Kick Ass' Aaron Johnson. The picture to the right shows a shot from a scene in the film 'Dummy' (2008).

Who would be the audience for your media product?

We have decided that the certificate for the film will be a 12a and therefore our product will be aimed at teenagers and adults, specifically for females between the ages of 12-18. Our audience may have also enjoyed such films as 'Donnie Darko' (2001 - Certificate 15) and 'Jaws' (1975 - Certificate PG). Our target audience may enjoy 'Flightplan' (2005) as it has a strong female character (protagonist/final girl archetype) at the centre of the film, and has a 12a certificate.



In the near future I think that older members of our audience will enjoy these upcoming films..

• The Disappearance of Alice Creed (2010)

as it is British low budget thriller.

&

• Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)

a remake hybrid thriller film.

How did you attract/address your audience?

Our target audience would enjoy our product as the narrative isn't as complex as other thriller genre based films for example the film 'Memento' (2000) is enjoyed by many but has a very confusing storyline. Also the use of subjective camerawork of the antagonist might attract our audience as it adds mystery and sudden shock, whilst raising enigma. 

• I think that our film will attract an audience because we have used a range of camera shots (e.g. OTS, POV) and shallow depth of field. I also believe that the music that Cristina created was very 'thriller-esque' and went well with mood of the film. Also the film's plot would include a previous break down in relationship between the two characters. The target audience - teenagers may be able to relate to this realistic break down in communicate between the characters.

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

The technology used throughout the process of the production and editing stages ->

Equipment

• A DV Camera, Tripod, Artificial Lighting (Red-Head) & Sound Recorder

The programs we used whilst editing are -

• -'imovie' ; (to put together the final piece), 'Final Cut Pro' (to adjust titles and credits), 'Livetype'', 'Garageband' (for sound clips) & 'idvd' (for developing a menu for the disc)

• Whilst in the editing process we have discovered some technological techniques such as using short cuts when using such programs as 'final cut pro' and 'garageband'. This made the editing stage a lot easier and took less time to do simple tasks such as selecting and cutting a piece of footage or sound. 

• During the editing process it took us a while to finalise how we would like the titles - for example we discussed font, size and placement.  Originally we were going to have the text superimposed on the front of the house as the protagonist Ghislaine, walked underneath it. We agreed to have text appear at the beginning of the film instead of separating it throughout the sequence.

 Since the preliminary task, 'The Detention' (2009) I think as a group we have progressed and worked out that we work well together whilst using new techniques or programs. Specifically I think I have learned how to use the equipment well (e.g. the camera's white balance, the red head lighting) and hopefully on our next project we won't come across any problems such as faulty equipment and bad weather. During the preliminary task we didn't use the sound editing program - Garageband, we have evolved from not using it in the first task to using the program and even recording our own sounds such as keys opening a door and a fridge opening. I would have loved to make the whole film piece. The anonymous audience feedback for 'Deception' included positive comments for example 'I enjoyed the story and the music was good' and things to improve included 'one sound clip didn't match up'. Apart from the constructive criticism the audience feedback was positive.


Click Here - My Title and Credits Work

Click Here - Pictures Taking During The Production and Editing Process


Click Here - Anamatic of Storyboard


Click Here - My Research Task