Evaluation - Question 2 - Updated

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

The opening to our thriller film, Torpidity, represents various different social groups. Our film coincided with the stereotype of the criminal youth, we demonstrated this stereotype through camera shots, costume and body language. A common stereotype that the media have of teenagers is that they are rough, aggressive and criminals. Our film shows the stereotype people in contemporary Britain have for young people, an example of when this is displayed is in the UK TV Drama 'Top Boy'.

This image depicts how many people see teenagers and this is the stereotype we wanted to dive into. We chose to reinforce the ideology that people have for teenagers as we believe it would add to the realistic feel we wanted to portray. However as much as we wanted to reinforce and play along with the stereotype we also wanted to challenge it. Our protagonist of the film being Connor's character whom is white and British , the same as the antagonist, we wanted to go against the general stereotype. We did this by focusing on his costume and body language. For example, Connor's
character wears much less intimidating clothes, also we made sure that his body language was much more vulnerable and withdrawn. We decided that the costume of my character, Tom, should fit in with the stereotype of what teenagers are perceived to wear. Therefore we chose my character to wear mainly darker colours such as dark green and black, we also ensured that the costume of Tom should be concealing, so we chose a dark green Nike hoodie. Tom's outfit was chosen to fit in with the common perception and stereotype that much of the public had of today's youth. We took inspiration for Tom's character and costume from the character 'Pest' from the film 'Attack the Block'. This film plays along with the stereotypes that society has for teenagers, as a group of friends from South London mug a young women in the street.

In contrast too this Connor's character, Josh, wore simple everyday clothing that challenged the stereotype of criminal teens. Connor's character represents a completely different social status, the middle class, we portray this through mise en scene and camerawork. Josh's costume in particular is extremely significant, rather than wearing a tracksuit he is seen to wear very honest, non aggressive and non intimidating clothes. As an example he is seen wearing
plain grey suit like trousers and smart grey shoes, this is a clear representation of the middle class. In our thriller we wanted to display this battle in society between the stereotype of criminal youth and sensible, polite and vulnerable youth, this is why we chose to represent two opposing classes in our film. Furthermore, with Josh's withdrawn and sheepish body language we were able to portray the idea that he is vulnerable and a victim. We use binary opposition with an antagonist and a protagonist. The audience is meant to feel sympathy and frightened for Josh's character as he is vulnerable and isolated. Rather than representing different ethnic groups within our piece we focused on another problem for people, mental health. Connor's character is seen as going insane at times, we portray him as extremely paranoid and possibly schizophrenic, we chose to incorporate this within our piece as it adds to the idea that he is vulnerable and inferior. Josh's character has an on going battle in his mind, this mixed with his paranoia that he is being followed creates tension and ambiguity in our opening sequence.

Within the opening sequence of our thriller we only feature male characters, this is done intentionally too challenge and reinforce the stereotype society has for teenagers. However, later on in our thriller film we intend to include a femme fatale character, this would create a contrast in our film as the female character would use her sex to gain superiority over Josh's character, once again deeming Josh as inferior and weak.

Evaluation - Question 1 - Updated

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

The title of our piece is called 'Torpidity' and falls under the psychological thriller genre,we use various general conventions from other thriller movies and incorporate a variety of features from some of our favorites, such as 'The Silence of the Lambs' . As well as following the conventions of many thriller films we tried to challenge them too in an attempt to make it memorable and jaw dropping. For example we used some common mise en scene elements from famous thrillers, such as the location of 'Women in Black' with some sequences taking place in a dark and scary wood. Our film also takes inspiration from 'The Dark Knight' in terms of lighting and tension building, for example the scene with the Joker being interrogated. We wanted to re create the use of low key diegetic light in this scene as it creates immense suspense and feelings of ambiguity.

The Dark Knight - Interrogation Scene

We took inspiration in lighting from this scene shown in Christopher Nolan's 'The Dark Knight'. In which, low key lighting and shadows are used to create suspense and uncertainty.

The Silence of the Lambs - Forest Scene

We took our inspiration for one of the settings from Jonathan Demme's masterpiece 'The Slience of the Lambs' in which the films opening location is a forest, as is ours.

Thriller Film Analysis

Road To Perdition

Road to Perdition is a masterclass in cinematography and acting directed by Sam Mendes in 2002. Produced by Fox and making a gross of $104,054,514. Featuring Oscar winning actors such as Tom Hanks and Paul Newman this film captivated audiences and really stretched the general conventions of a gangster film. With the cinematographer of this film being no other than Conrad Hall this film was bound to be a success. Many reasons for it's success was down to the breathtaking use of lighting and eerie underscore.

This screenshot gives a perfect example of how shadows and lighting was used in this film. With the film being set in the 1930's, Mendes played around with the Film Noir feel, incorporating it in many shots. With the characters at the bottom of the shot mere silhouettes this gives connotations that they don't want their identities to be shown. Furthermore with the diegetic light coming from the street lamp this draws our focus on the characters in the fore ground, Also, with their being little to no lighting in the scene it gives the audience a sense of scepticism as they are unsure as whats going to happen. The dark night setting gives connotations of mystery and betrayal. The camerawork in this screenshot is fabulous, Hall has used a long wide shot slowly panning upwards displaying the whole street, this is effective because it shows how desolate the streets are. This leads the audience to believe that the men in the shot are of importance or are well known as they are the only people in the whole street, as if no-one wants to be involved with them. The soundscape in this sequence also adds to the effect in the scene, for example the eerie, crescendo underscore partnered with the sound of rain slapping against the road compliments the anticipation created within the scene. These are all common conventions with the thriller genre and more specifically gangster films. The camerawork in this seen gives the feel that we are following the men towards to the car, as if someone is watching them. Also, the fact that there is no-one else in the shot of the whole street except Newman and his cronies could be interpreted as a metaphor for the power and dominance he has.

In this screenshot a clear sense of power is displayed where Paul Newman is walking along in the road surrounded by his men. The fact that it is a relatively low angle mid shot suggests that he has a lot of power and is above the others around him. In addition to this the mise en scene of this sequence is very conventional of Film Noir. For example, the long coats and flat caps are a common feature in most old school gangster films. The rule of thirds is used extremely well in this composition as the main character at the head of the group is on the right side, This draws our attention to him drawing our eye and encouraging the audience to look really observe and understand the characters power. To add to this the deep focus is on the character at the front of the group showing his dominant role.

In the next shot we see an over the shoulder shot displaying a dead man in a car which then switches to a reverse shot of Rooney's expression from inside the car. This piece of camerawork is very clever as displays the characters monotone facial expression instigating to the audience that he has seen death before and is a cold man because any normal person would be shocked or horrified. However, Rooney just looks at the body then turns and looks around him as if nothing had even happened. The score in this sequence is very effective as it is very loud and almost soothing. This contrasts what is happening in the scene as you would expect it to be more fast paced music instigating panic but the soundscape remains calm. Furthermore, the sound of rain cuts out in this shot to make the viewer focus solely the camerawork and plot.

In this next sequence we see the character Rooney turn around and then it cuts to a captivating POV shot. This shot puts us in the shoes of the character instigating a sense of panic as he scans the area for the drivers killer. All we see in the POV shot is buildings consumed by shadows and the dimly lit floor being splattered by rain. This is done for effect as it adds a sense of mystery to the sequence where the viewer and the character both are in the same position, looking for the perpetrator. The low lighting in the scene and the POV shots mixes together to create a panic feeling causing the audience and the character feel a sense of vulnerability.

In the next sequence we see Rooney's henchmen being gunned down from in the shadows, all the audience see is the muzzle flash from the Tommy Gun and his men dropping dead.The use of a low angle mid shot is very beneficial in depicting what is happening in the scene as it gives a view on the panic that is created when the bullets are being fired. To add to this sense of panic Mendes has introduced a louder more frantic piece of music in the background, this perfectly fits with what is happening in the scene as it instigates even more panic. The effectiveness of the prior eerie slow music really comes into play when there is a change in tempo and volume because it shows the change in attitudes of Rooney as a character. He came into the scene confident surrounded by his henchmen, but when the shooting starts and the music gets louder the atmosphere flips completely.

In conclusion the sequence grabs the attention of the audience through various ways. The use of shadows and silence is incredibly important in building tension and mystery within the film. The mise en scene is fairly simple and fits in with the general conventions from a typical Film Noir.

Camerawork in Inception

Cinematography in Inception

In a psychological thriller such as Inception, camerawork is imperative to making the audience feel unnerved or shocked; fast jump cuts, stunning establishing shots, beautiful close ups all add to the perplexed feeling that compliments the plot so well.
Inception is a film about a thief, who steals corporate secrets through the use of dream-sharing technology and he is given the inverse task of planting an idea into the mind of a CEO. As well as an intriguing plot and breathtaking cinematography, Inception displays a masterclass in acting through the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Ellen Page. With being directed by arguably the best director of his time Christopher Nolan, whom directed the Batman trilogy and various other huge blockbusters. Nolan's concentrates on making a film really special, he makes huge films and makes them as personal as he wants. He himself said 'I have an opportunity that very few filmmakers get, to do something on a huge scale that I can control completely'. This amazing film won four Oscars and with a budget of $160,000,000 and a gross of $292,568,851, this incredible film was extremely successful.

The first piece of camerawork I am going to be analyzing is a low angle shot at around 0:07, which displays five characters of the main plot line. Firstly the reason this shot is so exquisite is because of the connotations and feelings that are created by it. Due to it being a low angle shot we get the sense that the characters are incredible inferior to their surroundings linking in with the plot line that these characters are in unfamiliar territory, they are that unease and scared. This feeling is also complimented by the actors looking up at whats around them. In addition, to these feelings, loneliness and isolation is conveyed through the tall buildings around them. Furthermore it is a wide shot which sets the scene perfectly and displays the vastness of the dense city. This camera shot takes place whilst the characters are brainstorming and thinking, the isolation and lack of people in the sequence is a metaphor for the characters clearing there minds from all clutter and noise, focusing on brainstorming ideas. This is evident use of how Nolan has integrated the plot with the camerawork perfectly.

The next piece of camerawork is an astonishing sequence at 0:48 in which a downward pan is seen, this is extremely effective in the sense that it plunges the audience into Leonardo DiCaprio characters shoes as he looks down over the edge so does the camera. This shot is outstanding because it uses the shadows to draw the focus on how high up the character is. This shot really plays in with the psychological thriller genre, it makes the audiences extremely on edge and creates tension.

Inception - Close up

In thrillers close ups hold huge importance, they create a sense of relationship and personal feeling with the character. For example in this scene we see a close up of Leonardo DiCaprio's character as well as this it is an eye level shot reinforcing this idea of a relate-ability. This piece of camerawork is simply beautiful as the camera slowly gets closer leading to an extreme close up of his face. This ties in perfectly with the characters thoughts and feelings in the scene. For example, as the camera zooms closer, the character gets closer to figuring out the puzzle, then finally when the camera is at eye level and at an extreme close up the shot ends.

A common convention in thriller films are motifs, at the end of the scene we see a spinning top which is commonly shown throughout the film. The shot begins at a mid shot focusing on the main character but then slowly changing its direction to a small spinning top on the table, it then moves into a close up, drawing focus on the particular item of great significance. The audience is led to believe that the spinning top will come to an end, the score in the background leading to an end and the zooming in on the item, however Nolan throws us off here because instead of the spinning top stopping it carries on and then the film ends. At first this may not seem like the most amazing piece of camerawork however, it is extremely clever. With it being an extreme close up on the spinning top the viewer suspects that something would change, such as it falling over but it doesn't leaving the audience asking questions.


 Written by Thor Forster

Thriller Planning - Inter-textual Refrences

For our film, our production team really went deep and researched around Psychological thrillers, their conventions, motifs and plot twists. Psychological films are amazing at playing with the audiences mind, playing around with people feelings and creating illusions. It was vital to us as a group that we incorporated clever and complex ideas into our film. We took inspiration from various films such as 'Inception' and 'Harvey'.

Our first inter-textual link comes from the incredible Christopher Nolan film 'Inception'. This masterpiece creates illusions and makes the audience really take a step back and think about the film, this is the exact reaction we wanted the audience to have to our film. The link derives from the plot itself which is based around the idea of reality and nightmares being inter changeable, through which the main character is in a never ending nightmare. As well as our thriller linking with the plot of 'Inception' we were also influenced by one of their breathtaking sequences in which Leonardo Di Caprio is seen in a extreme close up waking up. In our thriller we will replicate this scene to show an inter-textual link very early on, as well as demonstrating our knowledge on the subject this sequence fits perfectly with our thriller. This use of an extreme close up is very important as it lets the audience differentiate between what is a dream sequence and what is reality. Furthermore by using this shot it will show our skills in camerawork.

Another inter-textual reference we have made in our film is from the 1950's film 'Harvey'. The inter-textual reference being that the main character in the film is insistent on the fact that he has a six foot tall rabbit as a best friend. Whilst this film seems to have no resemblance to our thriller what so ever. We actually got the idea of not being able to see Javier Martellini's face in the thriller from this film. In our thriller only Josh Masterson see's Javier, this is exactly the same as in Henry Koster's film where main character Elwood is the only one that can see his best friend. I believe that this inter-textual link whilst being very alternative is a very clever idea from our production team.

These inter-textual references displays our knowledge of the genre and film, but also shows we are able to use various ideas from different films and incorporate them into our thriller piece.

Written by Thor Forster

Thriller Planning - Title Sequence

 The typography of a film is key, it gives you a sense of the film creates an atmosphere. So when choosing the font to use in our title sequence we decided that we wanted to create a dark and mysterious atmosphere. By using this kind of typeface it allowed us to initiate and connote feelings of uneasiness before any footage was actually shown. Rather than using a simple font such as Arial which doesn't connote anything special, we aimed to use a serif font with medium point size. As for the colour of the typeface we have decided on using reverse type too grab the readers attention. The common typography used in thrillers is a predominantly clean, condensed and thin typeface.

An example of a possible font that we could use in our thriller is 'Supernatural Knight' by Matthew Walters taken from the website 'http://www.dafont.com'. This font is simple, easy to read and gives connotations of the supernatural and whilst our film is a psychological thriller it does contain elements of the supernatural in the form of dreams.


The font 'Angelface' gives connotations of happiness and elegance, this font would be most suited to a romance or feel good film rather than a psychological thriller.

The font here is 'Typographica' it is a sans serif font giving connotations of boldness and intimidation. This typeface is very easy to read which contrasts the opening sequence of our film which is uneasy and confusing.

After much consideration as a group we chose the font 'Avenir Light', we decided on this font as it is clear, simple yet holds many connotations. For example, the thin typography and wide kerning grabs the audiences attention. The connotations of this font is that it provides clarity and simplicity to a very complex opening sequence, this contrasts perfectly.

Overall, we want our font to give connotations of mystery, uncertainty and create an uneasy atmosphere.

Written by Thor Forster

Thriller Planning - Actors

In terms of acting, as a production team, we wanted to ensure that the standard of acting was up to a high standard because it improves the overall complexion of the film as it makes it less 'amateur'. Reflecting upon our Preliminary Task, our focus on that task was based solely around narrative and less so the technical components of the film, so for our thriller, we wanted to strike a balance between narrative and technical aspects such as lighting, mise en scene, camerawork and sound.

Connor Southwell - I decided to act in our thriller as alongside my studies of A Level Media Studies, I also study A Level Theater Studies, which means naturally, I put myself forward for the acting and as a production team, we decided that my experience with acting and study of theatre allowed me to play the role of the main character with flexibility and professionally which doesn't decrease the quality of our film. I play the role of Joshua Masterson, who is the main character in the film, and a character who needs to be presented in a way that shows mystery and illusion towards the opening of our thriller.

Thor Forster- Thor plays the role of the films antagonist in Xavier Martinelli. Thor is excellent for this role, because he is able to characterize really well, which is needed when playing a character who relies solely on body language and movement to play this character, as throughout the opening, his face is completely hidden which is in relation to not being able to see people's faces with in dreams.

Written by Connor Southwell

Thriller Planning - Explanation of Planning Process

Our first step as a production team was too create a mind map of initial ideas which gave us a base to brainstorm various different ideas. Our groups consisted of Connor, Robert and I, immediately our focus was drawn to creating a psychological thriller as this particular sub genre seemed to appeal the most to us. This is because a psychological thriller really allows you to play around with different plot lines, camera shots and soundscape. For example, by choosing to make a psychological thriller we could use an eerie underscore and really let the audiences imagination run wild. After choosing our genre we moved onto making a plot and script, which is crucial within a psychological thriller film. With our ideas from our mind map myself, Connor and Robert devised a plot for our film, this is where we really came into our own, we devised a creative narrative based around the idea of dreams. After developing the plot and putting it in script form we went into production, whilst collecting shots we analysed and edited our script, perfecting and refining it. Throughout the whole of our planning process one thing we stayed true to was developing and changing sections of our script as a group. Each decision was discussed and thought about carefully, despite the script being written by Connor, I would very much say that it was a group effort. Overall as a group I believe we performed exceptionally, each of us contributed to everything, whether it be camera shots, types of lighting or dialogue. In addition to this we shared out the tasks evenly each of us adding our unique touch to every part of the thriller.

Written by Thor Forster