Evaluation - Question 7

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

As a production team I truly believe we have come very far since our preliminary task in terms of our editing, technical skills and in my opinion our most developed area, planning. 

The preliminary task provided us with the opportunity to exercise skills and develop new areas the seriously needed developing. For example prior to the preliminary task I was clueless as to how to use lighting and camerawork effectively to connote different feelings and engage the audience.

The preliminary task taught me about the various rules we must follow and stick to when filming to ensure a believable and professional film, such as the 180 degree rule and the 30 degree rule. Also, the preliminary task was my first time properly using any sort of camera equipment or shooting anything close to what could be deemed as a professional film sequence. In addition, we were given the chance to learn and use the new technology that we had been provided such as a DSLR, a tripod and a microphone. This meant that when it came around to filming our thriller we had some degree of knowledge and understanding of the equipment. In terms of the kind of skills we learned when completing the preliminary task we established how to use camerawork such as mid shots and shot reverse shot, this I feel we did very successfully. As well as learning from the elements of the preliminary task that we did well we also thoroughly learnt from our mistakes and errors. For example, in our preliminary task we failed to demonstrate any essence of continuity or ambition, in the sense that we played everything very safe. By only including two or three different camera angles we limited our piece, but we learned from this and in our thriller we included a variety of shots which gave our piece depth. As you can see here in this screenshot, we demonstrated our ambition that we just didn't have in the preliminary task by using a close up accompanied by low key, diegetic lighting immersing the audience in the mystery of the plot and character.

This is a screenshot from our thriller
displaying Tom's character in low key
lighting through a close up shot.

In terms of continuity we made sure that we did it right this time, as in our preliminary task we failed to execute this, as we changed the mise en scene between shots. Furthermore, in our preliminary task we included large amounts of unnecessary clutter, creating a messy mise en scene and an all round unprofessional sequence.

Compared to our preliminary task I feel like our planning for 'Torpidty' is amazing, we display our in depth knowledge of the genre conventions and show our complete thought process when deciding each key part. For example, our mind map of initial ideas is extremely thoughtful and displays how we considered various plots and genres before choosing our current one. Also, the planning process, as seen through my blog posts displays our fantastic level of teamwork and group discussion. Compared to our preliminary task where each of us would randomly come up with ideas and incorporate them, with our thriller we systematically went through possible ideas and asked for each group members input on each idea.

Evaluation - Question 6

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

Research and Planning

Prior to filming we chose various platforms to document, record and present our research and planning. For both our research and our planning stage we consistently used blog posts, as they are the simplest, easiest and most effective way to display our work. By using blogs we were enabled to present our findings in different formats such as presentations, images and videos thus demonstrating our professionalism and improving our works clarity. In addition to this the use of blogs meant we could constantly update, improve and rewrite our work and add any improvements highlighted by our teachers comments. Another key piece of technology we used in our research is YouTube, by incorporating video clips into our work we were able to capture screenshots of certain camera angles and narrative techniques then annotate and incorporate them into our thriller piece. Furthermore, YouTube allowed us to watch clips from films in the thriller genre and gain knowledge on powerful techniques such as shadows, soundtracks and flashbacks which we could mirror in our film. In addition to that the video clips of films from the same genre allowed us to gain knowledge of the genre and it's general conventions, stereotypes and representations. However, I am yet to mention the most important and useful piece of technology that was key to our thriller research and planning, the internet. Websites such as IMDB and Rotten Tomatoes were extremely useful in gathering key information on conventions and styles. For example, without the use of the internet our production team would never have come up with the idea to incorporate a key piece of camerawork taken from the film 'Inception' where we see an extreme close up of Josh waking up. Without the use of the internet we wouldn't have been able to use the sound effects we used or soundscape, which would result in a very dull sequence. As well as this, without this piece of technology we couldn't have used the website DaFont, which would mean we couldn't research around what type of typeface to add to our film.

Production

During our filming we used DSLR Camera's which are vital in making our film professional and clear. One of there key features is that there is they allow instant playback, meaning we can see the footage we just shot and evaluate to see if the lighting, sound and angle is perfect thus making our film making process faster, easier and more efficient. Another key piece of technology we used in the production of our thriller is a tripod and a stabilizer. Firstly, the tripod allowed us too get steady and focused establishing shots and mid shots and prevented any sort of camera jolting resulting in a smoother sequence. Secondly, the stabilizer is a piece of equipment that our production team had never previously worked with, this piece of technology allowed us too do smooth, fast paced and steady tracking shots. For example the tracking shot we used of Josh sprinting, without the use of the stabilizer then the clip would have been much to frantic and chaotic.


Post Production

After gathering all of our necessary clips and footage we moved into the editing stage, for this we used the professional editing program, Premier Pro. This program allowed us to reshuffle our clips organizing them, edit the colour adjustment, the lighting and the sound. One major aspect of Premier Pro is flipping shots and organizing shots to maintain continuity, this is vital as your thriller film must maintain a consistent narrative and make sense. Another key feature we used from this program was editing sound, we were able to alter the volume, tempo and length of the soundscape. This software also allowed us to input our chosen soundtracks and sound effects into our film with ease. Another aspect of Premier Pro that we utilized was being able to add in credits, we could change the fonts and colour of the text. For example we could change and edit the kerning, the point size and typography of the font. This enabled us to make our credits and title sequence much more personal and conform with the general conventions of the thriller genre.

Evaluation - Question 5

Q5 from Thor Forster

Evaluation - Question 4

Evaluation - Question 3

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

There are various different distribution companies in the film industry that are experts in distributing certain types of films. For example, CineMANX specialise in distributing huge blockbusters with extremely large budgets, some of there biggest successes being films such as 'The Hunger Games' and the 'Twilight' franchise. This company would not be a very good choice for our film in terms of distribution as ours is small budget and independent. Furthermore, in relation to cost, paying CineMANX to distribute our film would be an extraordinary amount of money that Ronnor Productions simply doesn't have.

So, when deciding as to which company would be the best institution to distribute our film there are various factors that we must consider and take into account.

When discussing whether or not our thriller can be considered as mainstream, we must first explore the concept and term mainstream. Mainstream, by definition, means the ideas, attitudes or activities that are shared by most people and regarded as normal or conventional.

Torpidity would be perfectly suited to be distributed by a company that has experience in distributing art house, largely independent and niche films. Furthermore our film would suit thrive most in the independent British market, so a company such as Film Four or Picturehouse would be ideal. When considering which distribution company would suit, we must also take into account the production company. For us, there is a clear winner in this dependent, this being Working Title. Picturehouse would be an ideal company to distribute our thriller for various reasons. Firstly, they have experience in distributing low budget UK films such as 'F' which is a thriller with an extremely low budget of £150,000. Furthermore, seeing as Picturehouse have distributed countless films that are similar to ours, it is clear they have the expertise to ensure our film is distributed successfully.

In terms of exhibition, I personally believe that cinema city would be ideal as our thriller would appeal to an art house, niche market, rather than a mainstream demographic. Also, another reason as to why Cinema City would be perfect to exhibit our film is that they appeal to a young adult demographic, such as University students, with this is being our primary target audience a relationship between our film 'Torpidity' and Cinema City would be perfect. In addition, Cinema City specialises in exhibiting independent low budget films, this is why Torpidity would suit perfectly to their exhibition. We did consider the possibility of putting our film straight on to DVD, but we feel that our film would thrive in a cinema due to our use intense soundscape and beautiful camerawork. 'Torpidity' in our opinion, is made for the cinemas, we want the audience to pay tentative, close and careful attention to all the elements of our psychological thriller to make sure they experience our masterpiece to it's fullest potential.

New technologies would offer different ways to view our thriller film, whether it be through YouTube, iTunes or VOD. If we were too upload our film too YouTube we would be guaranteed to get a larger audience and get our production companies name out there. However, there are some problems with this; if we uploaded our film to YouTube we would lose out on a huge amount of money due too the fact that people could use YouTube to MP4 converters and make copies of our film. Another technology that we could utilise would be social media, such as Facebook or Twitter as we could create a page and get people to raise awareness for it by sharing it. In addition we could pay for the website to advertise our film or company, this could start to create a fan base and an audience for our thriller film. One reason as too why social media would be a great option is that it is simple, effective and has a massive market. For example, there are around 1.86 Billion monthly users on Facebook, this shows how huge the potential audience is, therefore if we can utilise websites such as Facebook and Twitter we can generate an active fan base for our thriller product.

With our thriller being an independent, art house and student produced film there are various opportunities that could provide our film with distribution. These opportunities come in the form of competitions that have been created to encourage young people to enter into the world of film and for students too demonstrate their potential in the form of film production. One company that is very keen to invest in young people films is Cinema City, this company has held many competitions and events to encourage youth into the film industry. One example of an event that Cinema City do is Creative Futures; this is opportunity gives students aged 15-19 who are interested in a career in the creative industries to work in said industry. An event like this would give our production company the opportunity to exhibit our thriller and showcase it too an actual company. Competitions like these are incredible opportunities for first film makers to get experience, possible distributors and recognition for their independent, small budget films. Events and competitions are another reason that Ronnor productions would love to be associated with Cinema City.

Getting a film distributed for any company can be difficult, but when you are small, independent and unknown it's even harder. If you can't manage to get a designated company to distribute your film then you are in a bad situation, for example you can't get your film exhibited in cinemas, meaning your profit is going to be very minimal. Considering we are students we face even more problems, such as we don't have the funds to pay a lot of money for distribution, but it's not just money issues. Due to our age, experience and skill we are vulnerable to exploitation, unfairness and prejudice. In terms of raising publicity and awareness for our film this is much easier, this is due to websites such as Facebook, we are able to share and get our film onto the internet where it can be viewed and digested by people and companies.

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.

Introduction

Hi, i'm Thor Forster and this is my media blog