Lizzy's Evaluation

Amy's Powerpoint Evaluation...

Media Evaluation

I also decided to put a copy of the transcript there for fun....

This is my evaluation of my thriller opening media project, for AS media studies.

Question 1

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

My project uses the conventions of a real media product by having the beginning section in black and white. This is very film noir and is also true in ‘Momento’. I think ‘Momento’ is a very good comparison to mine, because it also uses a voice over and is not in chronological order, like ours. We also went for having a blond girl as the victim, which is quite stereotypical and used in many films to give the sense of innocence and naivety.

We challenged the conventions by having upbeat and modern music, rather than the traditional orchestral music. This is the only way I think we challenged the forms of real media products, however we had the idea of using the sound of handcuffs against metal, but decided that this was too cliché, therefore choosing against it.

We also shot in the day time in a busy public place which is unusual as the location in a thriller film is normally in a secluded deserted place.

Question 2

How does your media project represent a particular social group?

The criminal in this piece has an east London accent with a deep resonance in his voice making him sound like a man who you are immediately intimidated by. This is common in other thriller films as the criminals are often shown as to be rough looking and often have a much e than the other characters.

The victim in this piece is portrayed as being weak and vulnerable, which is a common stereotype for young blond women. She is also an ordinary girl making the audience relate and sympathise with her

Question 3

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

I think that Universal Studios would distribute our product, due to the fact that we share a target audience with the type of films they produce. They have made many different films with the same themes and I think they would be good at making the film, how we want it giving us freedom and advice where appropriate.

Question 4

Who would be the audience for your media product?

I think that the audience best suited to my product would be male aged 1816-25. This is because; the film would be composed of quick moving action but would have intelligent twists. The main character is also young, giving the audience someone to relate to. The background music is quite modern keeping the young audience engaged and entertained.

Question 5

How did you attract/address your audience?

Our opening section was intriguing and encouraged audiences to want more by having good lighting effects and engaging action. We also used informal language to connect with the young target audience.

Question 6

What have you learnt about technology from the construction of this product?

I have learnt how to the use Final Cut Pro and soundtrack pro, which has given me a wider knowledge and understanding of how to creates a successful, engaging opening. This included cuts, fades, split screens, layering, voice over and contrasting effects. I also learnt how to dub non-diajetic sounds onto the timeline.

Question 7

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

I have learnt much more about editing and now feel confident in using black and white, audio dubbing, split screen, transitions and advanced camera movement. We had to think about the artistic style which were going for so using different angles and positioning lighting effectively. I also wanted to be more creative and so the freedom of doing whatever we wanted helped to inspire me a lot.

Overall I think that our media project was very successful and I learnt a lot from this experience.

Media Evaluation

Passion Productions from BDC on Vimeo.

Shot List and Prop List.

Here is a short list of shots that we put together on the 30th of the 11th 2008; however we decided that we would be flexible if we gathered any new ideas that would benefit our opening to a greater deal.

Shot 1
Close up Shot of a Clock (not too much light, out on fade)
Shot 2
Shot of an Ash tray with a Half smoked cigarette (out on fade)
Shot 3
Close up of a smashed photo frame picture
Shot4
Papers mixed up on a desk (some about to fall off, out on fade)
Shot 5
Slowly tracks up a mans body (he is wearing black, Cuts)
Shot 6
Point of view shot, of lift doors opening (out on cut)
Shot 7
Walking pace shot, following a girls foot steps as she walks (out on cut)
Shot 8
Far away shot of girl walking towards her car in a car park (out on cut)

Props include
ClockAsh Tray and CigarettePhoto and FrameFoldersPhone
Black trousers, jumper, shirt and black shoes.

Synopsis of final idea

Synopsis of final Idea

We had the plan for our opening scene a long while ago, but it had only been recently where we settled on a story line interpreted from the opening scene that we had made.

The Film cross links between the past and the present; the present, being an interview between a police officer and a criminal. And the past being led by the interview, telling the story of how his mental illness drove him to commit his crimes.
The opening scene begins in an office, as it pans across the office desk you gather information that adds to the suspense, such as papers being dragged, a phone off its hook, a note pad saying that he needs to meet his daughter, and Origami bird.
The shot continues to pan onto a picture in a picture frame which has been cracked, identifying his daughter to the audience. And further on, you see a dead body on the floor.
The location changes to a Café, and straight away you recognise the girl from the picture frame, looking worried that her dad has not come to meet her. Once again, relating back to the notices on the note pad. A man places the bill on her table, with an Origami Bird, consequently relating back to the paper craft in the original office.
After the opening scene the next scene would probably continue from the events this criminal is exposing to his interrogator.

Storyboard

James Bond Quantum of Solace

Having seen this film at the cinema, this film is certainly in the 'Action thriller genre'. Practically non-stop from from beginning to end with car chases, aeroplane chases, fights, murders, burning building and more. It is exciting to say the very least. A classic bond with women, action, tension and style.

Clip of trailer:

As you can see from the above clip it is very fast paced whereas our thriller opening is slower, quieter and more thought less action. A different style of thriller.

The Times gave it 4 stars and said "Bond is no longer a work in progress, he is now the cruel, finished article".

The Telegrapher said "Quantum of Solace offers next to no solace, if we mean respite, but in plunging its hero into a revenge-displacement grudge mission, t has the compensation of a rock solid dramatic idea, and the intelligence to run and run with it."

Thriller Sub genres

Here is a list of the sub genres with an example of each:

1. Action Thriller- James Bond
2. Conspiracy Thriller- The chancellor's manuscript
3. Crime Thriller- Seven, The Godfather
4. Disaster Thriller- Stormy Weather
5. Drama Thriller- The illusionist, the prestige*
6. Erotic Thriller- Basic instinct, Fatal Attraction
7. Horror Thriller- Psycho
8. Legal Thriller- The innocent man
9. Medical Thriller- Awake
10. Political Thriller- The day of the Jackal
11. Psychological Thriller- The Talented Mr Ripely
12. Spy Thriller- The Bourne Identity, Mission Impossible
13. Supernatural- Unbreakable
14. Techno-Thriller- The Hunt for Red October

*The illusionist and The Prestige are drama thrillers. Traditionally a slower paced thriller with elements recognizable to a drama film eg. character development. Some of my two favorite thrillers they keep you thinking from the start to the end. I hope we can give our thriller the same thinking, working it out feeling. We hope to achieve setting the scene to this with the origami swans subtly placed in both situations. Making the audience work to make connections.

Description of our thriller opening

Our thriller piece is entitled 'Origami'. It opens with various shots of an office, things have been disturbed e.g. the phone is off the hook, papers are scattered, a smashed picture frame is on the floor. Just amongst the paper weights, post-its and various other usual desk items is a origami swan. It doesn't look out of place and you barely notice it. During the whole scene, a voice mail is playing in the background from a girl who was yesterday left waiting at a cafe for her dad who didnt show. It seems unlike him to miss it so she is just ringing to check on him. It all suddenly seems more sinister as you see a foot on the floor the shot then pans up the dead man's body, but does not reach the face.

The screen then abruptly turns to black, as you her a police interview, the man being interviewed mentions a young girl, Emily.

Then it flashes back to watch his daughter Emily waiting at the cafe, she gets the bill and on top of it is a tiny origami swan. A connection has been established whether the audience have noted it or not at this early stage of the film.

Titles

When deciding on the opening titles, it was very tempting to choose some fancy font, or flashy effect, with the credits bouncing or swooping across the screen. However, we soon learnt the rule "less is more". 

The effects and fonts we initially loved seemed extremely tacky and detracted from the power of our piece.

Making you take more notice of the credits than the opening. Which therefore made our piece look very amateur. So we then decided to make the credits as discreet, pure, simple, clean, neat and unnoticeable as possible. No bright colours. No fancy fonts. No wishes washy effects. 

Working with Soundtrack Pro

We both found working with this program quite hard. But after a lot of practice, we managed to create a successful soundtrack suitable for our Thriller opening.

Soundtrack Pro is a full-featured professional audio application that has been designed specifically for audio post-production work on video and film projects. As we started to use this program more frequently, we started to find more sounds that would fit into our Thriller appropriately.

We found a short piano piece,which is really appropriate but does come in with a beat which distracts the audience. We struggled to find the effects to make the sound get louder or softer but after asking loads of people and searching about, we found the fade in and found out controls. For a while, we also looked at trying to cut the drum beat out of the track but were unsuccessful.

In the final edit, we used a drone to give the piece atmosphere and then added in the piano piece to give it an inoccent feel, making the audience feel sorry for ther girl. In the second section, of the film, we left it silent with just the diajetic, cafeteria sounds.