Evaluation

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Thriller Film

THIS IS OUR FINAL PRODUCTION PIECE AND ELEMENTS THAT LEAD US TO OUR FINAL PRODUCTION.

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Welcome to our year 12 Thriller blog!
Our names are Natasha, Jaimie and Tommy, we are A-level media students!

This is an introduction to our AS Thriller Film blog Throughout this blog we will do the following things: The codes and conventions of a Thriller film  Our ideas for a thriller film. How we used the codes and conventions to help us with our thriller film. 

• Research of thriller films
• Showing how we used our research to benefit our film 
• Examples of thriller films Taster of our thriller film 
• Our thriller film How we made our thriller film 

Question 7

Question 6

Question 5

Question 4

Question 3

Question 2

Question 1

Thriller Opening Sequence - 'Fugitive'

Final Scene

Through our storyboard and script we were going to have a train station scene to show how the main character was running away from something, however we decided not to do this. We decided not to do this as we felt through the rest of our filming that it was not necessary as emphasis on the character running away from something was shown in our cinematography during the rest of the film. For example we used fast paced editing in which we had quick shots throughout the opening sequence such as close ups to long shots we we felt created the chaos within the thriller. We also decided not to use this last scene as by looking at our audience feedback we thought it would be better to add more to what we already had to emphasise the narrative and therefore the final scene was not necessary. Therefore we instead added more shot such as close ups and establishing shots on mise-en-scene such as props including drugs, clothing and a passport. Overall we felt this would be more successful than having that final scene.

Editing

The editing software we used to compose our thriller film was Corel VideoStudio X8. We used this software because it has a user interface appropriate for a consumer of media who may not have a lot of experience with using editing software whilst still being able to create a high quality final product. Although there are a lot of features available in this editing software we found that its simplicity often limited our creativity as there some effects it did not support. 

When using this editing software we used the cut tool, this meant that we were able to remove any unwanted footage from our film with great ease. Having the cut tool available also meant that were able to create quick and tight shot changes in order to create a sense of tension for our audience.

Another feature that Corel has which added something to our film was the large number of transition effects that we had the choice of applying to our film. We wanted to convey to the audience the passing of time we needed to find the perfect transition. We chose the flashback transition as we felt this was the most professional looking transition available to us.

The timeline meant that we were able to view all the aspects of our thriller film in one place and have a comprehensive view of what had been done and what needed to be done, meaning that we were able to keep the editing organised with the help of video markers to communicate to the other editors anything that needed doing

Finally , there was a feature on Corel that allows you to edit sound to a very basic level. This meant that we could enhance the diagetic sound within the film and also drop background noise out making a more realistic and immersive thriller.

Overall all of the features within Corel VideoStudio Pro X8 meant we had easier control over the creative process of composing our thriller film.

Sound

Using the royalty free music website we searched for a track that would fit in to our thriller film. We needed to make sure that we chose a song that fit in with the pace of our thriller as well as set the mood for the audience. As a group we spent a lot of time searching for the perfect soundtrack to our film and in the end we decided that Intruxx by Glass Animals was the perfect fit. This is an instrumental track with two separate moods to the song which is exactly what we were looking for. In the beginning of our thriller the mood is calm and collected to represent the demeanour of the character this is shown through the music however there is a sense of eerie silence to the music which displaces the audience from their comfort zone as they know that something is about to happen. As time passes for our character he begins to experience distress and downfall which is conveyed through the music we chose. The importance of a good soundtrack when creating a thriller film is vital as a lot of what is felt by the audience depends on audio that is in time with what they should be feeling.

Final Day of Filming & Audience Feedback

After looking over our rough cut we decided to re-film our thriller relating to the comments our audience feedback gave us. These comments included mise-en-scene in terms of props in which we could add drugs or some other type of illegal substance to make the main character more suspicious and have more of a background or possible background that the audience can follow and make a judgement. Other comments in terms of mise-en-scene included the clothing of the main character and that he could be wearing darker clothing such as a suit. Another comment that was suggested was the use of camerawork in terms of setting the scene and more extreme close ups of the props so that the audience could see exactly what the main character is picking up. The establishing shot was suggested to set the scene of the thriller including props such as drugs in the shot to heighten the suspense of the thriller. 

Therefore for this day of filming we re-filmed the thriller using the same cinema verite, long shots, close ups, wide shots and extreme close ups that we had done before. However we also added an establishing of the kitchen in which you can see the props of drugs on the table which then leads over to the main character entering the house. This enabled the audience to see the tension within the thriller and have a judgement on the main character. We also added props of the drugs in which we had a worms eye view and extreme close up of the main characer measuring out drugs and placing a bag of them in his pocket to heighten the suspense of the character and the chaotic scene of the thriller. Also through mise-en-scene the main character wore a dark black suit to emphasise the mood of the sequence as suspensful to follow the conventions of the thriller genre. Therefore we re-filmed the footage with our main character wearing this clothing to follow the thriller codes and conventions better.

What went well during this day of filming is that we managed to finish the footage for our thriller following our audience feedback including more extreme close ups and other types of camera angles, changing mise-en-scene in terms of props and clothing and also heightening the tension within the thriller. What we could have improved upon would be the chaotic nature of the thriller as our main character does not rush around quite as much however the character's mood still emphasises conventions of a thriller.

Overal the filming was successful and the planning was very organised following our script and storyboard

Our Thriller - Mise-en-scene

For our thriller opening, mise en scene plays a key part in the main aspects of the film, as it includes the setting and props of the film, costumes used, the body lanuguage and how the main character acts and also the lighting. 

             The setting of our opening film is in a fairly regular house, a little disorganised with paperwork and other items lying around, and also drugs which the main character will take with him. The props used in the opening include scales which are on the side which is seen when the main character walks into the kitchen, and salt which was used to represent drugs. The character has his passport in one of the cupboards, and these are all the main props for the scene in the kitchen. In the scene upstairs, where the main character is rushing around to pack up his things and leave, he gets his bag and packs clothes, the passport and a mysterious package in a draw under the bed. The audience isnt aware of what is inside the package adding to the uncertainty in the scene. 

           The main and only character is dressed in a black suit and tie, making him appear as formal, despite the fact that he is in a panic and the fact he collects frugs from his house suggests that he isnt formal, and is a shifty and potentially dangerous character as he is clearly running from something. The body language/how the character acts also shows the panic of the character as he is looking to get his things and leave, which is represented by his sense of urgency in the film. Lastly, the lighting used in the film is not specified in any way, its just daylight, which could perhaps show contrast between the location and the character, as the location and light is very normal, yet the character is not by no means, and the contrast can be seen. 

                 The mise en scene is crucial for our film in order to display the mood and feeling within the film, so the audience can get a clear idea of the genre 

Filming

For filming we used a HD Canon Camera and Tripod for our opening sequence to a thriller film. We spent a day filming for our first draft of the thriller sequence in which we needed Oli Taylor as our main character wearing baggy clothing and carrying a large bag on his way out of the setting of a house in a neighbourhood. 

During this day of filming we started with Oli hectically walking into the house in which our camera man held the camera and followed Oli go into the house to cause cinema verite. During this scene of the thriller we also filmed close ups of Oli opening the door and a match on action of him going into the house. We then filmed the rest of the thriller in the house. This included filming long shots and wide shots of Oli walking into the kitchen and chaotically trying to find something which we soon find out is a passport. We then do another long shot and cinema verite of Oli running up the stairs and then hectically grabbing everything he needs and putting it in a bag. During this we also filmed close ups and extreme close ups of what Oli is doing and a wide shot as each prop is placed on the bed ready to be packed. We then finished with cinema verite in which Oli walked out of the house quickly to suggest the tension within the thriller. 

What went well during this day of filming would be the different types of shots that we managed to get as we managed to create a match on action shot and filmed shots such as close ups, long shots, extreme close ups and wide shots so that the target audience could see everything that our main character is doing. What also went well was that we managed to follow conventions of a thriller through terms of lighting and mood of the sequence as throughout the thriller you can see it is very chaotic and suspenseful heightening the tension of the thriller. 

What we could have improved on would be the use of mise-en-scene as we could have used more props such as drugs to heighten the tension further and allow the audience to make a judgement on our main character on whether he is a antagonist or protagonist. We could have also improved our mise-en-scene in terms of clothing as Oli does not look like he is suspicious through his clothing therefore we could have had him wearing darker clothes such as a hoody and jeans or a black suit.  Another improvement could have been he lighting at the end of the thriller as due to the timing of the day when Oli enters the house it is daylight and when he leaves it is dark therefore we could have filmed him entering and leaving at the same time so that the lighting did not significantly change. Therefore we can change problems such as these once looking over our rough cut of the thriller.

Overall the day of filming was successful and we managed to gain lots of shots that followed our storyboard. Our thriller filming day was also very well organised and flowed smoothly during the day. 

Questionnaire Analysis

What is your gender?

• Female
• Male

For our first question we asked 30 people whether the audience member was female or male. By asking this question we can see what sort of genres apply to each individual person depending on social group. This is important to the decisions of our thriller opening sequence to see what sort of thriller conventions and thriller films apply to different genders. By looking over our data we found that 16 people were male and 14 were females. The reasoning behind this could potentially be that the location we located our data from had a higher male population. 

 What age category do you come under?

• 16-20
• 21-30
• 31-40

For our second question we asked what age they were. This is important to the decision of who our target audience should be so that we know what thriller genres suit to different ages. From our data we found that 18 people we asked were between 16 and 20, 7 were between 21 and 30 and 5 were between 31 and 40 this may be due to the location we located our data and therefore the majority of people were between the ages 16 and 20. This helped us later on in the questionnaire to find out what thriller genres these ages of people preferred. 

What thriller genre do you enjoy?

• Action
• Horror
• Psychological
• Crime
• Romantic
• Supernatural

For our third question we as what thriller genre our audience enjoyed the most. This was important to our decision when making the thriller opening sequence to see what ages of audience preferred what genre of a thriller. We soon found that the majority of 16-20 year old females and males preferred action thriller films, the majority of 21-30 year old females and males preferred horror thrillers and finally the majority of 31-40 year old females and males preferred crime thrillers. This was helpful to us enabling to choose a target audience and following the genre of thriller they prefer to suit our target audience. 

What do you notice the most in thriller films?

• Pace
• Sound
• Props
• Costume
• Camera shots
• Lighting

Our fourth question consisted of the most noticeable conventions for our audience within thriller films. This was important to the making of our thriller opening sequence allowing us to find out what our target audience noticed the most in a thriller film and therefore found most important in a thriller film. By our data we found that the majority of people between the ages 16 and 20 noticed pace and sound of thriller films the most. Those between the ages 21 and 30 noticed props the most and those between the ages 31 and 40 noticed costumes and camera shots the most. This is helpful for deciding our target audience knowing what our target audience notice and find important within a thriller film. 

Do you think it is important for a thriller film to be suspenseful and tense?

• Yes
• No
• Unsure

For our fifth question we asked whether our audience found importance in the suspense and tension of a thriller film. This is important for the making of our thriller opening sequence as if the majority of our audience find it important to have suspense and tension in a thriller film then this is a key convention that we must have in our thriller opening sequence to suit our target audience and produce a successful opening sequence. From our data we found that everyone who participated said yes, suspense and tension is important for a thriller film. Therefore we shall add these conventions in our thriller opening sequence. 

What do you find the most appealing factor in a thriller film?

• Suspense
• Confusion
• Mystery
• Protagonist (Hero) Vs Antagonist (Villain)
• Characters
• Plot

Within our sixth question we asked our audience what they found was most appealing in a thriller film. This is important when deciding what to produce in our thriller opening sequence as by knowing what our target audience find most appealing we are able to use these ideas and put them in our thriller opening sequence successfully making the thriller more interesting and eye catching for the target audience. By looking at our data we found that those between the ages 16 and 20 found he factors confusion and suspense most appealing. Those between the ages 21 and 30 found the plot most appealing and those between the ages 31 and 40 found the mystery and confusion most appealing. Therefore we shall consider this in when making our thriller opening sequence. 

Out of these films (if any) what ones did you find most suspenseful?

• Shutter Island
• Fight Club
• Psycho
• Panic Room
• Sherlock Holmes
• Seven
• Abduction
• If other please state: ……………………………….

For our final question we asked what films (if any) did thriller audiences find most suspenseful. This was important to the making of our thriller film as by finding out what other films are suspenseful and eye catching to thriller audiences of different ages we were able to observe these films and notice key thriller conventions that could go onto influence our ideas. From our data we found that people between the ages 16 and 20 found the films Shutter Island and Psycho most suspenseful. Those between the ages 21 and 30 found Panic Room and Fight Club most suspenseful and those between the ages 31 and 40 found Sherlock Holmes and Seven most suspenseful. Therefore the thriller conventions used in these films were considered and influenced our ideas for a thriller opening sequence. 

Questionnaire

Audience Feedback - Rough Cut

Our second lot of audience feedback was on an older generation so that we could see what an audience of different ages would think of our opening sequence to a thriller film. As shown by the video we can see some positive points about the thriller however also ideas on how to improve. This consisted of lighting as it is light at the start and dark at the end and also the credits during the opening sequence could be more interesting. 

Audience Feedback - Rough Cut

Rough Cut