The Finished Thriller

Thriller - Animus

Preliminary Video and Evaluation

The story we were trying to tell was an interview between a police officer and a suspect over the murder of a young girl called Linda Johnson. During the interview, the officer asks a number of questions to the suspect trying to get answers to who murdered the girl.

In the sequence we managed to use all the editing techniques listed:

• Match on action
• Eye line match
• shot, reverse shot
• 180 degree rule 

The eye line match was at the very beginning of the sequence where you see the officer looking through the window at the suspect and the next shot is actually looking into the room at the suspect. After this we decided to include a match on action, this is shown when we see the officer open the door and then it cuts to inside the room, where the action continues and is completed. As the sequence progresses and the interview begins shot, reverse shot takes place. This is demonstrated as each person speaks, so when the suspect speaks the camera is pointed at him and is often a over-the-shoulder shot, this is also present when the officer speaks too. Finally, the 180 degree rule is not broken during any part of our film.

I think we used each technique accurately and very well. We made sure every shot was at a good standard and everything when editing was in the correct place and everything made sense to us. In the filming of the sequence, some mistakes were made but these mistakes was only forgetting our lines, so nothing too major.

Overall, I think our short sequence was very good for our standards and we made sure we did everything as good as it could be. The match on action and eye line match was very good because we made sure the timing was key and it made sense to us all. The only improvement we could make was the editing aspect as we had to rush to finish it all and if we had more time, we could have done some more improvements. 

Evaluation Question 7: Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the finished product?

Evaluation Question 6: What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

During the making of our thriller, we used a large amount of different technologies to help create our thriller, ranging from computer applications to handheld technology.

During the making of our thriller, we used different handheld technologies to create our thriller. We mainly used a handheld video camera which we used all the way through to film all our work as it had great quality and was very easy to use with or without a tripod. We also used a digital camera to take pictures of the locations. We used Apple Mac computers to complete our work on.

After we had finishing film a thriller, we had to edit our film. We managed to edit our film on the Apple Mac Computer using a number of different of applications. We used Final Cut Express, LiveType, and websites to assist us.

Final Cut Express is a editing program which allows film makers to unload their filming and edit it by including music, external videos and also by editing the pace of the film. It allows film makers to make their film make sense and make good quality videos with a easy to use software. We used LiveType to make our ident for our film and it was really simple to use.

From the start to finish of the making of my thriller, I have learnt a great deal amount producing a thriller. I have learnt how to use a camcorder and use the footage i have taken and upload it then edit it. Furthermore, I have leant how to use LiveType and Final Cut Express, using theseprograms i have picked up many skills on how to use these applications and I feel if I was to ever use this program, I can use it with ease.

Evaluation Question 5: How did you attract/address your audience?

My group looked at many different ways to attract our audience's attention from the very start of the film. We considered different factors from what I had included in my previous about the different types of audience who may watch our film. Conventions such as mystery and conspiracy engage the audience from the very start and makes them think about why something happened in our film.

The Opening Scene

I find the very opening to our short sequence, grabs the attention of the audience straight away because the first thing they see is a character of unknown identity is strapped to a chair, looking quite beaten and bloody. Along with the sound of the pulsing heartbeat with the isolated location creates a sense of mystery and makes the audience question what is happening.

 The McGuffin

 Another technique we as a group decided to use was a McGuffin. We introduced this via the use of a letter in our media product. The letter is very similar to the opening of our thriller because it creates enigmas about the film. The audience create questions about what the contents of the envelope are, what the envelope is for, who is "VOODOO". Here, the audience become more and more involved with the movie because they do not want to leave with any unanswered questions as it will linger on their mind. As the plot develops, the character from the opening is seen being given the letter and opening it. This leaves the audience on edge as they beginning to get answers for their questions but still watch on to find out what happens to the boy.

The locations

Having well known landmarks present in our thriller such as Canary Wharf, attracts a audience because they recognise them and become more interested in them as it makes them think about what they may represent in the film such as formality. During the research period, we have found that basing a thriller in a modern urban setting that it would bring about more success because many thrillers are based in the exact same settings.  

Evaluation Question 4: Who would be the audience of your media product?

Evaluation Question 3: What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

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Evaluation Question 2: How does your media product represent particular social groups?

by jack.oxley2

Evaluation Question 1: In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

What are the conventions of the thriller?

The conventions of the thriller genre consist of things with the categories of characters, themes, devices, and iconography. Devices used within a thriller are Macguffins, red herrings, fem fatale, and cliff-hangers. Characters can be soldiers, spies, secret agents, criminals, and convicts. Themes used in a thriller are suspense, terrorism, assassination, and crime. Iconography in thrillers include cars, weapons, face paced editing, twists, and low lighting.

Macguffin

A Macguffin is a object or device used in films or books which serves as a trigger for a plot. In our thriller coursework, we managed to use many different types of conventions to make our film a thriller in which one was a macguffin. During our film, we included a letter which was handed to the boss' henchman which the audience had no idea and what were the contents were. We decided not to show the audience what was in envelope as it would create a sense of suspense. The use of a Macguffin helped define our film as a thriller.

Relation to real films

Psycho

Psycho (1960) used an envelope filled with money as a Macguffin. This inspired us to use a Macguffin as it really strengthens the thriller and really drives the thriller forward.

Cliffhangers

A cliffhanger is a plot device which features a character stuck in a precarious or difficult dilemma towards the end of a film or a TV show. In our thriller coursework , we used a cliffhanger at the very end of our opening because we wanted the audience to go away from it and think about what may happened to the boy. We watched many thrillers to which gave us the idea that it would be useful to include this in our thriller.


Relation to real films


The Italian Job (1969)

This is a very famous and probably one of the best cliffhangers in a film. This highly inspired us into ending our opening to a thriller with a cliffhanger as it gives the audience a lot to think about such as the one in "The Italian Job".

Enigma Codes

An enigma is a question, character or action, which is often put into a thriller to give the audience something to think about it and answer why it has been placed there. Enigma codes tend to be difficult to explain when they first appear but as the movie plays on the answer is slowly revealed to the audience.

In our thriller, the passing of the letter to the protagonist creates questions for the audience to think about. As the short sequence, questions begin getting answer throughout and towards the end they understand what is happening.

The passing over of the letter during the thriller.

Relation to real films

Casino Royale (2006)

This scene from Casino Royale inspired us to use enigma codes as we wanted the audience to ask questions about what is happening. This scene from Casino Royale was completely out of the blue and I know during this scene I was asking questions during it as i was curious of what happened.

Rough Cut

Analysis and Justifications of Film Title

Within our group, there was discussion about the appropiate name for our film. Originally, we had planned to call the film Pursuit; this is because the remainder of our film is based on Trevor's (the character who died in our opening) brother being in "pursuit" of the people that did this to his twin brother. Therefore, this would be an effective and clear title and relates well to the content of our film.

However, in the process of filming and developing our production, we ran out of time to film the part where the pursuit happens, so we decided to go through another naming process where we came up with the names Rancour and Animus. We came up with the idea of these two titles because many people may not have heard of them and thus would intrigue our audience when they come to researching the two words. After a number of discussions, we came to the decision that both these titles were strong and effective. 

We decided to go conduct a group vote and 2 of us out of 3 preferred Animus to Rancour and from that point our filmed was named Animus. 

Studio Ident

This is the ident we have used for our thriller.

Filming: Aveley: Torture

22nd Febuary 2014

This is the date we filmed the section of our film where Trevor the main character of the opening section of the film has been captured for being in possession of the envelope and has been tied up to the chair. We wanted to show the brutality Trevor has been through with the use of face makeup and fake blood to show that he has gone through trauma. We used a wide variety of shot types and angles to further show our choice of location which we believe is effective because it is abandoned with an urban feel to it and we believed that this worked well with the genre of our film being a thriller.

Filming: Cutty Sark: The handover

14th January 2014

Today we managed to film the exchanging of the letter between Trevor and Claudius. We decided to film this part of the film because we wanted to show one of the main events happening in the opening sequence. Also, we decided not to reveal what was written on the letter because it gives the audience something to think about. We decided not to use sound until at the very last part where Claudius phones "The Boss" to tell him the letter has been given.

Filming: Michael's house: The opening of the letter

3rd January 2014

This is the date we filmed the section of our film where Trevor the main character has received the letter  and in this scene we show Trevor opening the letter and being shocked. We wanted to film this shot because we wanted to give the audience something to think about as they do not know what is on the letter at all. We used a variety of different shot types to show the shock Trevor as been out to.