Final Product - Thriller Opening

Pahirthana Anusriskumar- Question 7, Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progession from it to the full product?

Looking back at the preliminary task, we improved significantly by improving on the storyboard and the detail of the storyboards. We realised from the preliminary to how important the storyboards are and to what extent of detail we should achieve whilst making them.

Due to the experience we had from the preliminary, we knew how time consuming filming would be and timetabled our filming days out. This enhanced on our teamwork and communication skills which made the group feel more comfortable at making the thriller opening.

Editing was the most difficult process of the project, as we had to make sure all of the footage was intact, as this project was longer than the preliminary, it was far more time consuming than the preliminary.

However, compared to the preliminary, our strategies and teamwork improved significantly and gave us a great outcome of the final project being how we expected it to be.

Pahirthana Anusriskumar- Question 6 What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing the product?

Pahirthana Anursriskumar- Question 5, How did you attract/ address your audience?

We attracted our audience in many ways which were most easy for us. From the audience research we found out that majority of the young audience preferred a thriller convention movie which can be related to the students daily lives.

The key areas in the media we used to attract our audience was setting, storyline, mise-en-scene and character.

SETTING

Our setting for the movie is based in a school, this would attract our young audience as they preferred a setting they could relate to and they thought it would be more interesting for them.

STORYLINE

The storyline revolved around a young school girl who gets bullied in school, then gets imprisoned by her school janitor. We thought this would attract our young audience as every school has young students and every school has janitors, this would be story the audience could watch with particular interest.

MISE -EN-SCENE

The costumes were only a school uniform and a janitor's suit. This really influenced the storyline as it bought the storyline to life. This attracted the audience as it really gave them a sense of belonging as the main protagonist was a young school girl herself.

CHARACTERS

The young school girl really would attract a young audience as they can relate themselves to her, also the fact that she is young and vulnerable would enhance the audience to empathise the protagonist.

Pahirthana Anusriskumar- Question 4- Who would be the audience for your media product?

Pahirthana Anusriskumar- Question 3, What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

 As preferred, we wanted our media product to be mainstream production, as we felt the audience we aimed at would prefer to watch a movie which was distributed by a distributer who is well known.
 If we were to use independent institutions, our audience we aimed for wouldn't know who the distributers are and our movie may even be aimed at a niche audience.
I think our movie would be more successful and well known if it was distributed by a mainstream audience other than an independent institution as the movie would be well know to every age group.
The stereotypes and media conventions within the film would work best in a mainstream production as it can be related to everyone and is a wider preferred choice.

Pahirthana Anusriskumar- Question 2, How does your media product represent particular social groups?

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

Throughout the product research, there was a frequent pattern in how thriller movies were shown, for example the use of extreme close ups, jump shots, quick transitions between scenes. Throughout our opening sequence we used various media conventional shots and camera angles as our product was mainstream.
Example of a thriller conventional opening sequence:

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Camera angles:



The use of this shot was to show the environment the protagonist is based in, to create an obscure feeling for the audience.
the low key lighting was very useful as we were able to create a dull and lifeless feeling to the opening.

This mid shot was introduding the main protagonist to the scene, the dirty mirror created confusion and you can't see her face properly, this is to imply she is hidden and lost within her emotions.
Her hair loose is to imply her sense of insecurity, this shows her loneliness and gives the audience an idea of what her problem may be.

The flashbacks



We distorted the lighting for the falshbacks to differentiate between the past and the present. The distortion of lighting in the flashbacks made it easier for the audience to tell the difference between the shots.

Location - chosen to suit the characters of the storyline, also the storyline was mainly aimed towards students, therefore it was taken in school in the toilets to show the main protagonist recollecting on her event of the bullying. The drama room with the low key lighting was used to show where the protagonist was kept in.

This particular location became very useful for us as we wanted the protagonist to be isolated in a room with her being the centre of attention on the screen. The low key lighting and shodows created eerie atmosphere for the audience. Also the effect of the protagonist enhanced upon the eerie feeling.

The toliets was the other location we mainly filmed in, this was to isolated feeling for the protagonist. The midshot was used to show how the protagonist is presenting herself to the audience, from her facial expressions you could imply how she is feeling.









Props - the props used were to combine with a school girl and a janitor, therefore the school girl had to wear her uniform and the janitor was made to wear the full suit, and push a red trolley.

 The full suit for the antagonist was mainly used for the audience to know who he is. Also his duty in the school. This camera angle of the janitor, we used a low angle shot, this was to show how in this particular situation he is superior to the protagonist. This shot makes him look like a threat compared to a mid shot.

The protagonist's uniform is to imply her innocence, as she is a young school girl. This then automatically created a link between the antagonist and the protagonist as they were both in the same school. This mid shot makes the protagonist look more vulnerable. Also the dirty mirror foreshadows the protagonist's emotions.

Font of Titles - the font of the titles were done so it would suit the storyline. We used the colour red to bring out the affection that the antagonist has for the protagonist, vice versa.

Sound - An increasing and decreasing drone throughout the whole opening sequence  Except for the title, the sound used was metallic and sudden. This was to create suspicion and tension whilst watching the opening.

Using the props and location, we tried challenging the thriller convention as it was based in a school of a student being bullied by the older students. This then made opening have a sense of innocence to it until the last minute to the opening where we see the protagonist tied up and the antagonist walking through the door, you then understand there is a twist to the story. I think the outcomes were quite positive as we were able to bring our thoughts and ideas onto screen, the only thing that I would say could've challenged the thriller convention a bit more would be the lighting in the toilets, as we wanted it to be a normal school day.