Droplet- Final Cut

Question 7

Question 6

Question 4 and 5

Question 3

Question 2

For this question I used Evernote to present it. Please click on the link below.

Question 2

Question 1

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

Some usual conventions of a thriller would be that it is within a dark environment accompanied by discordant and eerie non- diegetic sounds.  During the process of my thriller production I attempted to challenge the forms and conventions of real media productions; I did this by the use of bright lighting for the lab scenes and non- diegetic music that wouldn't usually be found in thrillers.

However, during the party scene of my media product I attempted to develop the expected conventions of a real media production and I did this through the use of low key lighting.  Low key lighting helped to show that the upcoming events in my thriller were about to take a 'darker' turn, almost acting as a pathetic fallacy, the fact that the setting/ environment set the tone of the scene and predicted the forthcoming events, towards the end of the thriller opening as the opening was very pure and innocent until the truth was unravelled shown by the change of lightings between scenes.

Throughout my thriller opening (Droplet) I used many conventions of real media products.  Many thrillers use technical codes this helps to establish the meaning for a product and further engage the audience.  This is why I saw several opportunities in which I could incorporate different codes to use subtle yet clear messages to the audience within my thriller opening.  I chose to use minimal dialect within my media product, in fact, the only piece of dialect came from the science teacher when saying she shouldn't stay too late tonight, I did this to create an enigma code; to build suspense in the fact that nobody knew who she was or what it was she was actually doing and her reasons behind it.  This was to create tension and anticipation, mystery is one of they key conventions for a thriller film, and although sometimes not giving everything away is frustrating it keeps you engaged and allows for more audience involvement within the product.  Another subtle technical code I used was the use of a semic code in how I dressed Alice at the party scene, she was wearing a camouflage jacket, this wasn't done by accident it was to show that she had and was doing this completely unknown by anyone she had the ability to go unseen and simply blended in, no- one knew there was underlying mental health and no- one knew that she was poisoning people, everyone just assumed she was ‘normal’ and therefore she became invisible to them and simply began to fade away into the background, and this was all shown through the use of her clothing.  As well with the white lab coat that showed that others perceived her as very pure and trustworthy, she was just a regular school girl and would never be accused of imagined to do something as sinister as she was, this helped to show that people are often perceived wrongly and are pre- judged, but my thriller helps to show that people can also be pre- judged in a different way, a complete counter type.

I also chose to use more unconventional devices as well though such as having a female villain rather than your stereotypical male villain, this was in an attempt to challenge the regular forms of a thriller media product and develop counter types.

easel.ly

Audience Feedback from First Draft

I decided that in order to make my thriller opening successful I needed to make a first draft and then collect opinions from my target audience which I did:


Jane (age 35) said- "It's looking really good, your ideas that you wanted to get across are portrayed really well at the beginning with the use of slow pacing, and the non- diegetic sounds really add to the tension and from the off make the scene very uncomfortable for the watchers".


Megan (age 23) said- "That's good! I think it tells the story really well just within the first few minutes and helps set the tone for the rest of the film.  It is a very believable and interesting concept one that I personally haven't seen before which would be a major contributing factor as to why I really want to see the full film now, another great aspect was that not too much was given away, like at the end, does he just pass out? Does he die? Does she get caught? I want to see more".


Mr Welch (teacher feedback) said- "A really good idea which you have pulled off effectively. A good range of shots and a strong sense of narrative without issuing a single word.  Some suggestions: add in the ident what you spent so long making in after effects, add some more titles, too long spent on the party montage scene, try and cut that down and see if you can add some subtle music for tension around 1.44".


I took all this feedback on board and my final copy is now finished! It will be uploaded soon so keep your eyes pealed!  Hope you enjoy.

FILMING

Second part of our filming done, can't wait to start with the post- production now!  I hope you're all as excited as I am.

Storyboard

This is my finished storyboard for my thriller opening!

FILMING

Today we started filming the opening of our thriller, here's a sneak peak, so far so good, can't wait to see the final thing now!

Risk Assessments

It's getting real now guys, both risk assessments filled out for both locations ready for filming!  Can't wait to get started in the production stage now, I hope you're all as excited as me!

Audience Mind Map for Thriller Opening

Representation of Audience for Thriller Opening

Designing the Production Company

Today I designed our production company and the logo for it, I decided to go with the name Woodside Productions!  I have already had a few ideas of how this is going to be presented in my thriller opening, but it could be rather tricky, but I'm going to give it a good go.  But I can't tell you my idea that would spoil the surprise, you'll just have to wait and see! 

The Importance of Sound

Sound plays a major role in film- making as it helps to create the tone of the scene and set the pace.  It can help to accompany the meaning of a scene or it could completely change the meaning of a scene, as it helps to accentuate certain situations.  Sound is something that is often neglected in A Level film- making as it is often taken for granted.  And the use of 'bad' sound/s can destroy a scene, juxtaposing the meaning and effectively ruining the production.

Things to consider when making my Thriller opening:

-Dialogue: how to record? Problems with mixing? Voiceover?
-Incidental music/ sounds effects?
-Layering and levels.
-Time.
-What impact/ effect do you want it to have in your film? How much do you want it to be noticed?

- Use for tension, jump scares, use of silences?

During this clip I have chosen a range of sound tracks and added them to the same clip.  This is to help show the importance of sound within a clip.  The use of different music can completely change the meaning of the clip, and this is why it is so important to select the appropriate sounds to accompany my thriller opening.
- The first sound track I used was a sound track that helped to create tension and action within my scene, it helped to create a sense of anticipation within the clip and generated the overall effect from the audience that was intended of the clip.
- The second sound track I used was the Benny Hill theme tune, this added a comical feel to the whole action scene, completely changing the whole tone, meaning and pace of the clip; completely juxtaposing what was intended of the clip.
- The third sound track was the Indiana Jones theme tune, this created a sense of adventure into the scene rather than a high action chase scene, again not an appropriate choice of sound for what I was intending the audience to feel when they watched the clip.
- And finally, the last sound track I added was a euphoric ukulele soundtrack, which made the cause scene seem light hearted and completely disregarded any tension that the clip was intending to build up.

This clearly shows the importance of picking the correct sounds and is something I have thought about for my thriller opening and have included into my planning.

You may also notice that during this clip I attempted to use some after effects, this was purely for a bit of practice so I can get it right and make it effective for my thriller opening.

One Page Pitch Video

'Key Director' Case Study

To prepare for our thriller task we were instructed to conduct a case study into a famous film director. I have chosen to conduct a case study on Steven Spielberg.  Steven was born on the 18th of December 1946, he is an American director, producer and screenwriter.  He is considered as one of the founding pioneers of the New Hollywood Era, as well as being viewed as one of the most popular directors and producers in film history.  He is also one of the co- founders of Dream Works Studios.  Some of his more popular films he has directed are: Jaws, ET, War Horse, Schindler's List, Jurassic Park, War of the Worlds and many more.  
Spielberg won the Academy award for Best Director for Schindler's List and Saving Private Ryan, as well as receiving five other nominations.  Three of Spielberg's films- Jaws, E.T. the Extra- Terrestrial, and Jurassic Park- achieved box office records, originated and came to optimise the blockbuster film.

This is Steven Spielberg.

Steven has a total of 7 children and has still managed 

to direct many successful films, how AMAZING is that?! (Now there's no excuses for me!)

This is one of the many films Spielberg has directed.

Se7en Textual Analysis

https://sway.com/lTjCxAdDqKsgYW0Z?ref=Link

Viewing and marking external students 'Thriller Openings'

During our media lesson we took on the role of examination.  We were shown clips and given a mark scheme and were told to give each thriller opening a score out of 60.  This enabled me to get a better perspective of the mark scheme and what the examiners will be looking for in my thriller opening, it shows me of the high standard I need to execute all the three stages of production to enable me to reach the higher marks within the level 4 (top) band. This thriller opening scored 46/60. There was some good aspects in this thriller opening however there were many areas that let them down and therefore reduced the mark they got. One aspect I particularly liked was the titling used in the opening 45 seconds. It looked extremely sophisticated and fitted the narrative that this group were clearly trying to portray, it made me want to carry on watching the rest of the thriller opening, it was planned in great depth and executed to a high standard. Also, there were some good uses of camera shots used in the first 45 seconds which I believed would set the tone for the rest of the opening. However, after the first 45 seconds it starts to loose some quality. For example, the phone scene lets it down in my opinion because it puts an end to the tension that the opening 45 seconds creates, so that was disappointing. Also, the scene towards the end where the masked man with the chainsaw comes up behind the girl is another aspect that lets this thriller opening down because it is completely unrealistic and is probably one of the reasons this thriller opening didn't score higher. This thriller opening scored 56/60, so it got a better score than the previous example, which I believe should have been the case, but I don't feel that this should have been the highest scoring of all three. However, this thriller opening is very worthy of it's high score due to the excellent use of editing in terms of the flashbacks that were repeatedly used. This engages the audience as it provides rhetorical questions surrounding the man and why he is doing what he's doing. I also personally liked the use of contrapuntal sounds used when he is handing the plastic toys as I feel it provides a complete contrast between the sounds and what is actually going on in the video, which was clearly the aim. However, there are aspects of this thriller opening that I feel could've been better. For example, the mise-en-scene was disappointing because in his workshop there was a bottle with a hand written 'poison' label which made it feel unrealistic because in a proper thriller film it would be a printed label rather than a hand written one.

Another example:



This thriller opening scored 52/60 and I believe this is justified for many reasons. One being that her titles were excellently done. They were not necessarily complex yet they fitted perfectly with how the video was flowing, they met the aim of 'using titles appropriately according to institutional conventions' perfectly. However, I believe she could've slightly improved her thriller opening if she would've used a few more editing techniques e.g. more shot reverse shots. Nevertheless, this was a great example of a good thriller opening and one that she clearly worked very hard on; it has shown me that I do not need to overload my thriller opening with loads of fancy effects to get a high grade, the effects that I use just need to make sense in relation to the clip and don't cause the audience any sense of confusion, keeping a clear aim of what I want to achieve with the trailer of my film Droplet.

BBFC Regulations

http://prezi.com/6o94q41iybdh/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy

In my opinion these regulations set by the BBFC are fair and easily justified.  The criteria is simple and easy for film makers to follow, in order to create a film for the correct age range this is because the ratings clearly state what is acceptable and unacceptable to show during their film.  This can also help to establish and collect data from their target audience to ensure that the film is a success.

I think that the film which I am producing 'Droplet' would be rated an 18, this is because the main focus of the thriller is inflicting pain on others without reasoning to gain a sense of power over others, something which Alice has never felt before.  She enjoys inflicting pain on others due to her severe mental illness which no-one else is made aware of until the very end.  And because the main theme is mass murdering and the infliction of pain my thriller could not be rated anything below an 18.

Production Tips for Thriller Opening