Evaluation

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

We included a few forms and conventions of thrillers. The first is the music. Thrillers are known to use music that follows the story and adds to the suspense and drama of it. I think we used our music effectively and it kept the pace moving and made sure that eah shot didnt linger too long as that would slow down the story and lose the audiences interest. We also used a typical convention of not revealing too much, by using shots and editing to suggest that there was something in the house with the lead character we didnt need to reveal too much about it. this adds to the suspense and mystery of the film. Also by revealing the identities of the characters slowly and seperately we didnt throw the audience straight into the action.

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

I would imagine that an institution like film4 would distribute our film as it is a british based channel on the television that distributes both to home and cinema audiences, this would allow the film to be viewed by a larger majority of people. Film4 is a popular institution after being responsible for 'Slumdog millionaire' and 'The lovely bones' and more, this would make our film seem more attractive to audiences and would once more boost the viewing possibilities

Who would be the audiences for your media product?

The film would most likely be placed in the catagory of a '15' age rating as there would be language and scenes unsuitable for younger audiences further into the film. The introduction that we produced wouldn't be this rating but we had to think about this film as a complete piece as if it was actually going to be created. We would aim mainly at the 15-30 year old audience although we wouldnt limit it to those and the film would probably still appeal to the older ages. The film would most likely appeal to the male audience though i will not generalise because the action sort of thrillers also appeal to female viewers.

How did you attract/address your audience?

We attracted our audience with the flashbacks in the hope that audiences would want to know what would be revealed next. We made sure that the flashbacks didnt reveal too much as once again we were thinking about the film as a complete piece, so that the short film wasnt the end. So this also adds to our hopes that the audience would be enticed by the unknown elelments of filming such as the shots from high above.

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

I have learnt about the difficulties and subsequent possibilities that come with changing the ideas from a concept in your mind to a solid piece of work. I learnt that each idea comes with its limitations mainly with camera angles and lighting, for example when we were filming we aimed to have a shot from one of the top corners of the building, but we found that the lighting wouldnt be appropriate and would make the filming look unprofessional. I have also learnt how to use the camera angles and positions to my advantage and have discovered what lighting and shots make a film look more effective. Before making this film i didnt have the first idea of how to edit a piece using any of the editing software but by the end i had learnt how each effect works and how to edit the piece together effectively. I also learnt how to import music from itunes, export the film onto disc and then how to upload to an external site like youtube.

looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full production?

The most basic of things i have learnt it not to make blatent continuity errors. for example, in our continuity piece the storyboards and a drinks bottle appreared in a couple of shots because we forgot to to remove them. This was an amateur mistake that i made sure didnt happen in our final piece, i checked each shot for possible errors and if i noticed anything, we refilmed the shot. I have also gained a greater knowledge of the effectiveness of different camera angles and editing features such as cuts and fades. I believe that the final piece included much better transitions and more complicated edits. Another thing that changed between the two films was the way that the characters were show. In our preliminary task there were a lot of shots taken from the back of the characters, something i now realise wasnt effective enough as the audience doesnt have any idea of emotions or thoughts going on with the character. In our final piece we had a majority of reaction shots showing the front of sides of people faces. we couple of shots from behind when the characters were seemily being chased away by something but we thought this would look better if the camera was behind the character as it would show a better idea of them being chased.

The final piece 'Flashback'

The final film includes a few changes from the original planning such as the introduction of the second flashback and the removal of the voiceover.
The soundtrack is a compilation of various pieces of music from the 'The Bourne Identity' we chose this particular set of compositions as we needed something dramatic and yet suspenseful to remain in the conventions of the thriller genre.

Initial Feedback

In general we had good responses to the film.
"The soundtrack kept the pace moving well and the sound effects added to the overall drama of the piece"

"I liked how the flashbacks revealed a little at a time and i would be interested to know what else the audience would discover"

"The editing was good, it kept the film moving and didnt linger on any point for too long"

"I really like it. The start is really good, and the way the flashbacks happen, it's edited really well."

We posted the video on both youtube and Facebook as a way of getting feedback as we felt this would be the most effective way of gathering opinions.

The Creation of 'Flashback'

The Plot

Our basic idea was that the film would be based around a F.B.I agent being found at the side of a road unconscious and then waking up with complete amnesia. The opening includes the initial interviews between the investigating officer and Benjamin. The flashbacks we used show the basic idea of how he ended up where he was found. The scenes include benjamin and another agent within a mystery house and another of them being chased by something, which we don't find out about in the opening. We decided that the film would carry on with the flashbacks being frequent and short before the secret is finally revealed at the end. We hoped that the aspect of the pst being revealed over time would entice the viewer to carry on watching.

Story boards

our original designs for the film were simpler than the final piece but they put across the point our basic ideas.
This first set of drawings shows the very beginning where our inspector is walking down the hall towards the interview room, our original plan was to have a voice over the beginning titles and these first few shots with the inspector speaking to another officer giving the basic details. but we decided against it as we thought it would explain too much at the very beginning. We also get our first glimpse of the amnesiac agent.

Next we get a few shots from various angles of the questions and reactions between the inspector and agent. This set of shots links into the first flashback.The flashback includes a range of shots depicting the two agents exploring the abandoned house. This sequence of shots reveals the identity of the agent and the reaction. This sequence actually leads into the second flashback but in the initial stages of planning there was only going to be a single longer flashback.

Scene Analysis 'Psycho Shower Scene'

Psycho is an American Thriller, adapted from the 1959 novel by Robert Bloch, directed in 1960 by Alfred Hitchcock. It is considered one of the best thriller films ever created and is highly regarded even 50 years later.

The pivotal scene in the film was the shower scene, where the main character Marion Crane is killed off in an extremely dramatic stabbing. This scene broke boundaries in this film genre as it was the first time any director had dared to have a murder on screen, even a non-graphic one such as this. The scene runs for 3 minutes, includes 50 cuts and 77 camera angles. The fast cuts and dramatic close ups make the scene seem more violent and controlled than a wider shot would have done. The way that Hitchcock had the camera taking on almost a point of view shot in the killers perspective made the scene even more dramatic as it took all control away from the lead character that the audience has come to understand and sympatise with.

The infamous music in this scene composed by Bernard Herrmann was a compilation of screeching violins, violas and cellos and became one of the most famous pieces of music in the history of film. In the original scene developments Hitchcock had planned for the sequence to run in silence with no background sound at all but, after much persuasion from Herrmann, he agreed to give it a go and concluded that it intensified the scene vastly. The jolting rhythm and high impact instruments made the scene seem faster and added to the drama.

On Location of 'Flashback'

A series of shots in and around the old house in Brocton where Flashback was filmed.










The back of the building was also considered for set but we didnt end up using it as it wasnt open enough to let in the right amount of light. It was also a bit too cramped for the filming to be effective.

Film Classification research.

The BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) has been classifying cinema films since 1912 and videos since 1984.
They use certain criteria to set an age rating for films.

The first classification is a U rating. A film with the Universal age rating is suitable for all ages. Although knowing what might upset a child is near impossible, the BBFC decide that a U rating should be suitable for a great majority of the viewing puplic.
An example of a U rated film is the ever popular 'Alvin and the Chipmunks. This film created in 2007 by 20th Century Fox is an excellent example of a suitable film.





The next classification is a PG rating. A film with the Parental Guidance rating should be suitable for geberal viewing though some scenes may seem disturbing for a small child. The BBFC believe that scenes shouldnt affect children 8 years old or over and it is up to parents to decide whether their children may be affected by it.
Anyone can buy/rent or view a PG film in the cinema.
The first three Harry Potter films were rated PG and this shows where the parental guidance may be necessary for some children as some scenes may be considered frightening or disturbing to younger viewers.





Both a 12 and a 12A rating have the exact same criteria but the 12 rating was only created for video works. no one under the age of 12 can see a 12A film unless accompanied by an adult and it is up to parents whether to let their children see it. No child under the age of 12 can buy or rent a 12 DVD.
A 12 rating is the most common amongst film classifications and has been given to films such as the Pirates of the Carribbean and X-men Trilogies as well as The Dark knight and twilight.




This is the first rating where parental decisions to let their children see the film isnt applicable in cinemas anymore and it's down to the workers at the cinema to judge on age and certain cinemas will check forms of identification though this is unlikely in most places. No one under the age of 15 can buy/rent or view a 15 rated film because of language and distubing scenes or themes.
This is another of the common ratings and is generally seen on teenage films where the themes get more mature for example;
knocked up, Juno, Zombieland and Jumper.






This is generally the highest rating in the film industry and is given to the most gory, disturbing or adult rated films. Only adults over the age of 18 can buy/rent or view this rated film and I.D will be asked for in shops and rental stores. Also alot of cinemas will ask for I.D though not all.
This rating is found on films such as Sweeney Todd, Paranormal Activity and Dawn of the dead.






There is a higher rating called R18 which are films containing sexual content that is only shown in liscensed cinemas and are only distributed to liscensed Adult shops and adult film rental stores.

First Continuity Piece

Media Studies

The brief for our first continuity piece was for 2 people to meet together and exchange dialogue. We planned it for a couple of lessons, then filmed in various areas around the school using the skills of different shots and methods of filming we had learnt about so far. Once we had all of our footage we uploaded it to the computer and edited it according to our pre-determined plan. I am quite happy with our completed product it turned out better than i expected it too.

These were the original storyboards that the continuity piece was based on.