Leena Evaluation: Q7: Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in progression from it to the full product?

When we started our preliminary task I had very little knowledge of the whole process. In the preliminary task we had continuity issues, as the the weather would be sunny and bright one day and cloudy the next and we also experienced lighting issues. However, the preliminary task was a learning curve for us as we were able to rectify the mistakes we made, and prevent them from happening in the final media product.

In progression to the full product I think we have gained what we were trying to achieve, which was to produce a effective opening sequence of a thriller.

I have learnt the importance of storyboarding, audience research, and the significance of time planning, and organisational skills.

Leena Evaluation Q6: What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

Throughout this project I have learnt a lot about iMovie. I have not used this programme previously, it was all very new to me. I thoroughly enjoyed it as I now have a better understanding of the processes involved in producing a media product, from filming, uploading, to editing and constructing clips.

Due to an accurate storyboard, and good time management, filming scenes was made easier as we knew exactly what we had to do and the type of shots we needed in order to construct a effective opening sequence.



We faced audio problems as we were not able to hear the caretaker's voice in the actual scene. We resolved this problem by re-recoding the caretakers voice. There were issues of non-continuity, as the weather was different from when we had filmed the previous clip. However, we resolved this problem by only recording the wind so we could have the same atmosphere to use in the actual clip if needed.

Throughout this project I have learnt a lot about the importance of continuity. When we first started filming it was a sunny day, and in order to keep the same atmosphere, we had to film on another sunny day. Due to careful planning and constantly checking weather reports, we were able to tackle continuity issues effectively.

However, we were weaker in some areas, as our victim, Mindy, kept pulling her sleeves up in different scenes which caused issues of non-continuity, unfortunately we did not see this until we had uploaded the clip onto the computer.

Leena Evaluation Q5: How did you attract/ address your audience?

After handing out the questionnaires to my target audience, I was able to get a better understanding of my target audiences preferences, likes/ dislikes.

I found that the people I asked liked unpredictable story lines, as it kept them guessing and therefore engaged as to what will happen next. Our opening sequence has an element of surprise and unpredictability. It is set in school, therefore it would seem unusual something bad will happen in those surroundings. However, we subverted that convention by setting it after school hours, creating a sense of isolation, which was better suggested in the shot of the caretaker locking up, this subconsciously created tension, as there is a feeling of no escape.

Mindy is shown to be in school after hours, suggesting she stayed back for extra credit activities. She is being portrayed in a very innocent and proper manor. The audience sympathise with her as she looks young and vulnerable, and if faced with danger, she will not have anyone close by to help her.

Also I found that my target audience preferred the dialogue to be kept to a minimum in the opening sequence, as they felt it would be more effective, making the audience relate to the characters better. We were able to do this, and I found it most effective, in keeping high levels of suspense.

The fact that the antagonist was introduced in such a mysterious manor, made the audience want to keep watching in order to learn more about his disturbed character, and what exactly his role entails. The connection between the two characters is highlighted from the very start, as each scene tells a story about the next. I think this is a successful way to attract my target audience.

Leena Evaluation Q4:Who would be the audience for your media product?

We decided that 15 + would be the target audience for our media product. In my opinion it is aimed at the right age group as the features and conventions of the product is a reflection upon the target audience’s feedback, this was to ensure the audience and ourselves that we would be able to keep the viewer interested.

The feedback suggests that the audience would prefer to be introduced to the characters through enigmatic shots. Therefore we have featured many shots of the antagonist Stanley in a mysterious way.

• In the laboratory, we are shown the back of him.


• In the car, through the rear view mirror, we can only see his eyes.


• We are shown a point of view shot from the side view mirror (of Mindy).


• As he gets out of the car, we are shown the back of his head.


• Finally we are shown a close- up of his full face, as he pushed her in the car.
  

These shots create suspense for the viewer, they are left wondering about the character’s real identity, as it is not until towards the end that the audience are able to see his full face. I think this is a successful technique as it misleads the viewer.

Leena Evaluation Q3: What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

Mainstream companies would distribute our film, as most of our conventions are typical thriller conventions. Companies such as Paramount Pictures, or Universal Studios.

Universal Studios distributed Rear Window one of Hitchcock's finest thrillers, which featured typical thriller conventions, making the movie mainstream. Hitchcock made some of the finest silent movies of his time. Though Rear Window is not a silent movie, in the opening sequence there is no dialogue, therefore we are introduced to each character through visual codes. He uses establishing shots, close-ups, mid-shots, long shots and point of view shots, to portray each character accurately. The absence of dialogue enables the audience to engage and understand the characters without any bias opinions. Although there was dialogue in our product, we decided to keep it to a minimum to have more impact on what audiences see visually.

Although independent films also have some of these mainstream features, they have their own characteristics making them independent. For instance, the narrative structure could possibly be non-linear, subverting conventions, portraying challenging concepts and having alternative or liberal values.


The audience research that took place in the early stages of this project was beneficial as it influenced the conventions and features of our end product. The music we chose to have was influenced by our feedback, as most people preferred classical as appose to pop or other types of music. Another mainstream feature was the mentally disturbed character as the majority of people questioned said they preferred this type of character. For these reasons I believe our opening sequence features more mainstream qualities. The subject matter, is entertaining and engaging for a wide range of audiences. Therefore I believe that if it were on a bigger budget, it would not be distributed by independent companies.

Leena Evaluation Q2: How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Mindy (shown below) is the victim. In preperation of filming, we produced a character profile, so that there would be a clearer understanding of the characters. We have shown Mindy to be a innocent young girl through startorial codes, she is dressed in her school uniform, making her look naive and unaware of her surroundings. She is shown to be in school after hours, indicating that she does well in school and takes interest in after school activities.

Usually in mainstream thrillers, there are reasons as to why these victims are actually the victims. Another psychological thriller which suggests this is Phone Booth, the main character Stu, is shown to be an ambitious person who would go to any extent, and cross moral boundaries in order to acheive his goals. This in turn goes against him, as he then ends up being victimised, and merly escapes death.

In comparison our media product does not suggest this in anyway, the victim is just shown to be unlucky.

Stanley Parker (below) is shown to be the antagonist. To represent Stanley in this way, we decided to have more close-ups of him, focusing on his features so that he remains mysterious to the audience. These shots suggest to the audicene that he will have a negative role in the film. We have used a mid- shot to show Stanley in his laboratory, this scene is in black and white, and shows his working environment, his tools are on bloody white tiles, and his wig is on the side. Thus suggesting to the audience that he is a unstable doctor. Throughout this scene, audience are not able to see his face, as we shot the back of the character, so that he remains anonymous, creating more suspense.

Leena Evaluation Q1: In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Our media product uses and develops conventions of real media products in the following ways. Firstly, typically in a psychological thriller there is a disturbed character, usually male. We have used this feature, as the main character is a crazy gynaecologist. We are shown his spilt personality through his sartorial code, he is dressed as a woman when he is approaching the victim. Also, we have used a young blonde girl to be the victim, this is another typical convention, as females are often shown to be victims in thrillers (Alfred Hitchcock's, Psycho).


We chose to use classical music as the people we surveyed preferred classical as appose to any other type of music for our thriller. The music gives a sense of psychological tension and goes with the visual very well, keeping our media product mainstream.

The dialogue was kept to a minimum again developing on the conventions of a thriller. In the opening sequence of Rear Window (a mainstream thriller), the audience are only shown visuals to introduce the characters, there is no dialogue. I think this is a clever technique, as the audience stay engaged, and make assumptions on certain characters that could again play on their expectations.

I was very pleased with the ranging shot selections as they added suspense and mystery to the opening sequence of our thriller. I especially liked the rear view mirror shot, as we could only see the antagonists eyes making the audience fear as to who he is and what will happen next. The side view mirror shot was also very effective as the audience now see the connection between the stalker and the victim.







Our media product challenges thriller conventions in terms of the setting. In the thriller Psycho, there is a sense of pathetic fallacy as we are shown bad things taking place during the night, when women are most vulnerable. However, our thriller is shown to be set in the daytime, making it less dramatic and more unusual for negative things to take place, playing on the audiences expectations. Also the fact that we see a young innocent girl in school, we do not expect such a thing to happen, again moving away from the typical conventions, and surprising the audience.
This scene suggests to the audience that Mindy (the victim) is vulnerable as she is shown to be by her self. The audience automatically end up sympathising for her as she is in total isolation.

Phoebe Hibbert evaluation: Question seven

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

Looking back at our preliminary task i can see how much we've improved. when first making the preliminary, i had never used the camera given to us, you can tell that niether of us was very experienced when you watch the preliminary back, there are bad panning shots, lighting is different and peoples clothes are differen in some. This show bad continuation. Because of the mistakes we had made in this, it allowed us not to do the same in our final product. although saying this, we still had a slight problem with 'Mindy's' top sleaves in our product as she was costantly pulling them up and down in between filming.

Audience research

Phoebe Hibbert evaluation: Question six

what have you learnt about technologies for the process of constructing this product?

Throughout the making of this product, i have had to learn how to use an imac computer. This was difficult at first as i generally use windows xp. We created our product on imovie. When first starting to use this program, i found it difficult as i had missed a day where our teacher had shown the class how to use it, but after practising with it for a short while, it became easy and straightforward. This proves how easy making a movie at home really is. During using imovie, i have learnt how to import film from the camera to the mac, cut clips, edit clips e.g. adding fades in and out, i have also learnt how to add audio onto the audio lines, which are for music, voice overs and extra sound effects. The imac allowing to audio lines proved very helfull as there was a point when filming that a piece of dialogue from the 'caretaker' wasnt clear, as he weather wasnt the same, we couldn't re-shoot, so we had to re-record the lines spoken outside with the camera and upload it onto the second of the 2 audiolines.Imovie offers several titles for credits, with many different fonts, so when chosing a font for our credits we had a large variety. when picking the type of credits for anatomy we chose, bold red cappital letters that appeared in the centre of the screen. We wanted to keep it simple, so it looked more proffessional as a thriller, also by having the titles appear on the centre of the screen for each allowed the credits and the music to blend very well. The reason for the bold red capitals, was because we thought it appropriate for a thriller, especially ours in perticular as we show blood in ours and red normally symbolises this.

Phoebe Hibbert evaluation: Question five

How did you attract/address your audience?

To attract our target audience we created questionaires and distributed them to people aged 16+ in order to collect information from them. By doing this it gave us the knowledge of what they expect when they see an opening of a thriller. we found out which music they preffered, wether they preffered the main character to remain enigmatic or not, if they preffered the antagonist to be innocent or mentally disturbed and if they preffered the opening to be symbolic, a narrative voice or enigmatic. The information gathered helped alot when making decisions, we now knew what our target audience preffered to see in an opening of a thriller and just had to work on achieving it.

Phoebe Hibbert evaluation: Question four

Who would be the audience for your media product?

We decided from the begining that we wanted to aim our product to target audiences aged 15 and above. After making this decision we created questionaires and handed them out to both male and female who were aged 16+, because of this we were able to tally our results and give the majoirty of our target audeince what they prefered. From our audience research we gathered that most prefered classical music in an opening of a thriller. We had difficulties finding classical music to fit our product, this was because most of the music we wanted had copyrights. we overcame this problem by using original music that a classmember had created.

Phoebe Hibbert evaluation: Question three

What kind of media institution might distrbute your media produt and why?

Our product would be distributed my a mainstream institution. If given a larger budget to work with, a company such as Warner Brothers, who have released thrillers such as A clock work orange would distribute our thriller. Our film Anatomy includes conventions of thriller films, although independent films also use the conventions of thrillers, they use them in a more original way. Such as The tracy fragments , which is distributed by an independent institution.
After conducting our audience research, we were able to come to a final decision as to wether our product would be aimed at a mainstream audience or independent.
















WARNER BROTHERS.

Phoebe Hibbert evaluation: Question two

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

When casting for the role of Mindy our protagonist, we looked for a blonde female aged roughly between eleven and thirteen. The reason being, that she needed to come across to the audience as innocent, vulnerable and a victim to our antagonist Stanley. We achieved this with her sartorial codes; she is in school uniform to show that she is young, and helpless when faced with the antagonist. She is shown as a “good girl”, as she has stayed after school hours for extra curricular work.








When casting for the role of Stanley, we looked for a middle aged male. We did this so that when he faced our protagonist, he would be able to over power her. To show that our antagonist is mentally ill, his sartorial codes were women’s clothes. We purposely used close ups of Stanley where his face was hidden, as we wanted his identity hidden until later on in the opening, we used this technique to leave the audience in suspense.



The shots in the lab show representation of doctors, we did this to hint to the audience that he works in that field or a similar one. Blood is shown on the tiles of the lab; it is left to the audience on how they perceive the situation, it plays on fears.

Phoebe Hibbert evaluation: Question One

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

Our production develops conventions of real Thrillers, but doesn't challenge its conventions. The reason being, that we aimed to appeal to a target audience, so we had a guaranteed audience, rather than trying something original. The actor we used as our main protagonist is the classic blonde, innocent type. This is seen in a lot of thrillers, because the “Blonde” is stereotyped as being the more vulnerable. In our production we used long shots of our protagonist to show isolation, this is a common convention used in thrillers, such as Psycho and Birds, by Alfred Hitchcock. In our opening we establish each character separately to the audience. This is done by showing individual shots of the characters.

The music used hints to the audience that something negative is about to happen, the isolated setting also does this.

Our antagonist, ‘Stanley’, meets conventions of a psychological thriller as he is mentally disturbed. After collecting information from our audience surveys, we saw that nearly half of the people asked preferred to hear classical music in an opening of a thriller. Thrillers such as Panic Room, use this to attract they’re target audience.

Altima Kaisamba's evaluation: Question Seven

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

Our preliminary task taught us about the necessity of storyboarding shots in detail. We also learnt the importance of organisation and planning ahead of time. During the preliminary task, we encountered lighting problems, we hadn't used the correct filter setting in the camera. This was a vital lesson to learn and during the filming of our final product we avoided filming inside buildings. We were able to familiarise ourselves with using the camera and the tripod and we also became aware that some of the ideas we wanted to shoot during our final piece would be not be possible. The preliminary definitely put our planing and ideas into perspective.

Altima Kaisamba's evaluation: Question Six

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

During this production I have had to familiarise myself with using iMac. It took a few days to become comfortable with using the software as I only use Microsoft on a daily basis. We used iMovie to create our opening. Using iMovie to create our film proved how easy and accessible film making was for people. Although the software is complex and there is a lot to learn and remember, the film making process is a straight forward one. I learnt how to import filmed material, edit, cut and arrange filmed material. During the very time consuming editing process we encountered some problems with the dialogue during the gate scene. In order for the viewer to hear what the care taker was saying we had to re-record his voice outside, in order to match the atmospherics, and synchronize the audio with the video. This is shown below.

I was especially pleased with our filming. Due to careful storyboarding, the filming process was easier as we knew exactly what we wanted to shoot. Some of the shots were difficult to construct however, with careful positioning, sometimes awkward, we managed to shoot what we wanted.

As well as learning how to create the opening of our film with iMovie, I also learnt how to use Logic Pro. As we were not allowed to use copyrighted music, we had to compose our own music. I was kindly allowed to use my neighbours studio, and create a piece on Logic. It was a very complicated software to use, however, with some assistance I managed to create a short piece that matched our opening. Unfortunately, the rest of my group didn't like the music, so instead we looped an extract of a piece one of our classmates composed for us.

Finally, I learnt to export our finished product, convert the file and upload it onto YouTube. It was my first time uploading a video on to YouTube and it made me aware of how easy it is to share projects such as my own. Overall, I learnt a lot about using iMovie and operating apple software which enabled our group to produce a finished opening to the best of our ability.

Altima Kaisamba's evaluation: Question Five

How did you attract/address your audience?

In order to attract our target audience, we created a questionnaire and distributed twenty of them. Our audience research informed us of what to include in our opening that would appeal to our target audience. From our results, we were able to identify which type of music was prefferable and how to present and introduce our characters. The majority of people prefered classical music and an unclear understanding of the characters. We used this information and applied it to our opening.

We used simplistic shots and transitions to convey the realism in our opening. In order for our audience to relate to the characters, Mindy was represented as an average innocent character. By doing so our audience is enabled to understand the narrative and empathise with Mindy.

In order to recieve audience feedback, we posted our film on to YouTube and Facebook. We recieved positive feedback from our target audience, one person commented on facebook and said "It had in absorbing sinister twist to it, I liked it.If this was an opening to the film, it had me hooked." We had successfully targeted our audience due to the initial research.

Altima Kaisamba's evaluation: Question Four

Who would be the audience for your media product?

We aimed to target our thriller to people over the age of 15. In order to successfully attract our audience, we conducted some audience research which consisted of handing out approximately twenty questionnaires. With our feedback we were able to make informed decision as to what to include in our thriller that would satisfy our audiences expectations and preferences.

According to audience feedback, our target audience preferred to be introduced to the characters through enigmatic shots as well as having an innocent protagonist. As shown in the screen grabs, we used close-ups of the back of Stanley's head to create a sense of enigma. This is an example of the types of shots we used to introduce Stanley. On the left, only part of Stanley's face is revealed through the rear-view mirror, while this was a really difficult shot to compose, we felt it was important because it confuses the audience about the gender of the character. 

Altima Kaisamba's evaluation: Question Three

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

Our film would be distributed by a mainstream distribution company such as Paramount Pictures if it were to be made with a bigger budget. Paramount has distributed the classic Hitchcock thriller, Psycho and recent mainstream films such as Along Came A Spider, Primal Fear, Zodiac and Kiss The Girls. I believe that Paramount has the vital experience, derived from marketing and distributing previous thrillers, of when to release the film, where to distribute it and how to successfuly market our thriller.

Similar to the mainstream films Paramount produce, our product features most of the conventions of a Thriller, therefore it would not be distributed by an independent institution. Although independent films still feature conventions of thrillers, they would use them originally or try to subvert the conventions in some way. For example in Andrea Arnold's Red Road, there is little dialogue or other diegetic noise. The silence reflects the CCTV imagery and draws attention to the visual omniscience. The lack of sound restricts the viewer solely to what is seen and not heard and discreetly addresses some of the issues of the surveillance culture. The audience is also invited to criticise the protagonist for abusing her position and engaging in illegal voyeurism.

Our decision to aim our opening clip at a mainstream audience was a result of our audience research. We decided to adhere to the conventions they expected to see in a Thriller such as classical instrumentation of contrasting piano notes and repetitive violins to create tension, an innocent protagonist and an enigmatic presentation of the antagonist.

Altima Kaisamba's evaluation: Question Two

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Mindy, (Jessie Roberts), as shown above, is a naive young blond female. Through her sartorial codes we have lead the audience to believe that she is innocent, vulnerable and a victim. She is dressed in plain school uniform which indicates that she is a well behaved student. The commonly assumed stereotype of blond characters in Thrillers lead the audience to see Mindy as an innocent victim. Alfred Hitchcock features blond women as victims throughout many of his films. We have employed this representation to ensure our opening credits were conventional of Thrillers. The fact that Mindy is shown staying behind at school represents her as dedicated to her school work and a good student.
Our antagonist, Stanley (David Gibbs) is shown through enigmatic shots during the first half of the opening. The opening shots are enigmatic due to close ups and the fact that Stanley's face is not shown. This represents Stanley as a untrustworthy character. Scientists are represented through our opening as unsafe and mentally disturbed.
This is a mid-shot of a laboratory scene featured at the beginning of Anatomy. The bloody instruments suggest that they have recently been used which leads the audience to become suspicious of the situation. The medical environment plays on the fear of doctors within the audience. This is conventional of Thrillers we have studied and looked at, for example A Clockwork Orange and Gothika both portray medical scientists as unstable characters. In this way our film clip adheres to the conventional portrayal of scientists.

Altima Kaisamba's evaluation: Question One

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

Our production adheres to many of the conventions of Thrillers. Our protagonist, Mindy, is a blond-blued eyed female and is portrayed as a damsel in distress; we used this convention featured in films we have studied such as Alfred Hitchock's Birds, Rear Window and Psycho, Urban Legends and Scream. Our use of enigma is also typical of Thriller opening credits; we drew an examples from the opening credits of the film Se7en. The use of the enigmatic shots of the doctors laboratory confuse the audience. These shots create tension among the audience as it plays on the audiences fear of doctors and surgical appliances. In addition to this, the enigmatic shots also convey the gynaecologist as disturbed. The feature of a disturbed character is very typical of Thrillers; A ClockWork Orange, Gothika, Psycho, all feature a disturbed character at the centre of the narrative.

We used long shots to establish Mindy as being isolated, a technique commonly used in thrillers for that effect. As well as this, the use of this long shot establishes the setting. Through these shots, the audience become aware of the school which connotes the innocence, vulnerability and youthfulness of the protagonist.

According to our audience research, just under a half of people asked thought that classical music was the most effective genre of music for creating a tense atmosphere within the opening our thriller. Therefore, we did not challenge this convention and aimed to target our audiences preference. As a consequence the intense, repetitive music was typical of mainstream Thrillers.

Altogether, the intense music, the enigmatic shots of the disturbed character and the innocence and isolation of the protagonist, all hint at the narrative. Audience feedback shows that they had an understanding of the narrative, which indicates that we constructed the opening credits clearly. The hinting at the narrative to create tension is also a convention of a Thriller that we adhered to.

Progress

Hopefully tomorrow we can re-shoot the over the shoulder shot. Unfortunately we have had problems with music, the person whos computer I was using has had a family problem and had to leave the country. We have not made a plan b but I am trying to find a way in which we can find music that does not have copy-right that will be suitable for the film. It has proven quite a challenge and I am finding myself to be panicking as the due date approaches.

Re-record Mr Meade's voice at gate

Today we manged to record the caretaker (Mr Meade's)voice at the gates.
We had to re- do the voice over as we were not able to hear his voice in the previous clip.
There were issues of non-continuity, as the weather was different from when we had filmed this clip previously. However, we resolved that problem by only recording the wind so that we can use that sound in the actual clip.

To do list- 25/03/09

1. Re-record Mr Meade's voice at gate.
2. Re-do over the shoulder shot.
3. Re- Edit walking before mirror.
4. Shoot hands and scalpel - (p6 25/3/09)
5. Adjust music (leave until last)
6. Credits (next week)

Progress

We have now edited most of our material. Tonight I am planning on putting together a few samples for the backing music. After consulting our teacher, we are deliberating on whether to make our opening longer. If so, we may need to film some extra material. We also need to re-shoot some of the shots due to sound problems and acting. 

I have watched some openings to get inspiration as to how to fit our credits into our production. I have found a very good example,

This is the opening credits from Se7en. What I particularly liked about this opening were the enigmatic shots and the hand-written style of the credits.

I feel it appropriate to apply these techniques to our opening. We could film enigmatic close-up shots of medical instruments in a lab. This would increase the tension as the audience are invited to understand the disturbed nature of the character. I feel it could also get rid of the humour that I am anxious about having created. I am concerned about the abduction scene as the gynaecologist is dressed up in ladies clothes, instead of it looking like a genuine disguise, I am worried about it looking like a joke.

Filming on 18th March

Progress

Yesterday, we covered most of our shot for the abduction scene. Today, Phoebe and I filmed the gate scene. We were a bit anxious about the weather and the effect it would have the lighting, however after uploading it we realised that it's not insurmountable problem as there isn't that big of a difference in the lighting. We also experienced problems filming the car scene due to the reflection on the body, however we shot the car at an angle where little reflection is noticeable. As planned, we have now begun editing so we are on schedule. However we are a little anxious about the length of the opening. Hopefully we will not have to add to the storyboard as we have filmed everything as planned. We also think the narrative makes sense with what we have filmed.  

Reflection on progress

So far we have got all our actors, we will continue filming tomorrow. We have organised our props which Phoebe has posted. I will comment again on our progress tomorrow after filming. Hopefully we can begin editing on Thursday with all our material.

Props List

Stanley the gynacologist.
1. Wig
2. Long skirt
3. Long scarf
4. Black top

Mindy.
1. School uniform
2. Large backpack

Classical music - Panic room

After doing our audience research, we found out that audiences prefer to have classical music played in an opening sequence. In the opening sequence of Panic Room, they have used this Genre of music. It Consists of a very powerful string section, we aim to have something similar for our opening.

Storyboard

These are samples from our storyboard. By storyboarding our opening sequence we now have a sense of direction and a plan to follow. We may along the way change some shots, they may either be too difficult to construct or turn out different to what we expected. However, we are now ready to begin shooting. We have to meet with out actors to discuss suitable times to meet up.

Progress report: Week beginning 02/03/2009

This week we have finished storyboarding our opening sequence which will be posted on Monday. We have also found the car we will be using, an actor to play the Caretaker and Mindy. We haven't however found a person to play the disturbed gynaecologist as it has proven quite difficult to persuade someone to play that role due to the type of character and the necessity to dress up. However on the whole, we are happy with the progress made and are due to start shooting next week.

Character Profile

We have produced a character profile so that we are able to have a clearer understanding of the characters.

Mindy

• 14 years old
• Dressed in school uniform - long skirt, dolly shoes, bow in hair, blonde hair
• Bright student, teachers favourite
• Polite, pleasant, well spoken
• Sometimes stays after school to help out

Stanley Parker

• 30 years old
• Qualified gynaecologist
• Living in central London with his ill mother
• Fathers absences leads to deep rooted frustrations
• Obsession with young females

The care taker

• 46 years old
• Introvert personality
• Has been working as the care taker for nearly 20 years
• Very layed back

Treatment

After recieving feedback from the previous Treatment Leena and I have come up with the second and final Treatment.

Stanley Parker is a 30 year old qualified gynacologist living in central London with his terminally ill mother. His traumatic upbringing in the constant presence of his mother's frequent lesbian lovers and lacking a father figure lead him to his present obsession with female bodies.

In the basement of his Edwardian house where he spends most of his nights, is a private laboratory in which he undertakes indepth research and inhumain opperations. His usual subjects being young innocent girls.

Progress and plan: Week beginning 02/03/09

So far, we have completed the Treatment, composed a character profile for the two main characters, storyboarded the openning sequence and completed our audience and product research.

This week the plan is to have the Film treatment posted, along with the character profile. We also want to begin to approach people asking them to partake in our production. Due to our character profile we have a firm idea of what type of person we need, this has made desicion making clearer and we have a good idea of what exactly we are looking for.

We will also begin to collect props, and organise which teacher's car we can use for our shooting.

Product research

After watching the opening sequence of Gothika several times, I noticed the use of camera movement and long shot duration were used when introducing Halle Berry, the protagonist. We have decided to adopt the long shot duration, panning movement and mid shots in order to introduce the character. We feel that not only will the mid-shot set the setting and act as the establishing shot, but it will also allow the audience to familiarise with Mindy.






Although I am aware I was requested to discussed one film only, The Collateral demonstrates good use of sound (2.28 minutes into the clip). As our opening sequence includes a car we are likely to borrow this technique, we feel the sudden silence would add greatly to the atmosphere and act as a symbol for the isolation Mindy is about to experience. This will also provide us with the opportunity to contrast the silence with louder music to indicate danger as the car is shown driving off.

Audience research

We each composed a questionnaire in order to find out what our audience find appealing in the opening of a Thriller. We have decided that our Thriller would be certificate 15, therefore I handed out my questionnaire randomly to 13 people aged between 16 and 37 with an interest in Thriller movies. My results are as followed:One of the questions asked "What type of music do you find most effective in creating the atmosphere in the opening of a Thriller?" They had a choice of Classical, Current, Pop and Incidental music. No one chose Pop, whilst the majority chose classical. This will influence the desicion we make when adding music to our opening sequence. "Q7. Do you prefer to have an understanding of the main character or do you prefer them to remain enigmatic. Please state why" The majority of the people asked prefered the main character to remain enigmatic.

Other people said "I prefer to develop an understanding as the film goes on. You don't have to understand everything about the character- some should be left to interpretation" and "I think it's useful to have a little understanding of the main character but for there to be an element of their personality/ history to remain enigmatic and mysterious"

This question has informed us at to what dialogue to include in the opening sequence, It has also influenced our choice of shots.We have decided to allow the audience to familiarise with the victim in order to encourage the viewer to feel sympathetic towards them, the protagonist, who is psychotic is left enigmatic to the viewer. However if the film where to continue then his history and background (as written in the Treatment) would be uncovered.

The majority of people said they preferred a mentally disturbed character. Meanwhile one person said the preferred if the character was "three dimensional," as they where "believable". Although it could be argued that 'Stanley' the protagonist is not entirely believable (according to the Treatment) nothing dramatic happens in the opening sequence and nor do the viewers obtain a good opinion of him that could suggest his character in not believable.

Our questionnaire allowed us to make informed decisions, with the audience research available we can now ensure we cater to the wishes of the viewers.

Half-Term: Treatment

Unfortunately after receiving feedback from my teacher I've decided to start my treatment again. My treatment does not show any features of a psychological thriller. I misunderstood the purpose of a treatment, I later learnt that it is to show the director in a bid to sell the script to them. Below is the first draft of the treatment:

Mindy is a young enthusiastic student, always coming top of her class and offers charity in her free time. Mindy Brown, one of three children to Elizabeth and William Brown (both successful doctors) spent the first five years of her life in east Africa whilst her parents worked voluntarily for the impoverished.

However despite being a bright young girl, coming from a humble background. Mindy's naivety can lead her into grave danger.

Once a week on a Thursday, Mindy stays behind to tidy up after book club. She is usually the last person to leave the school and eventually Mindy befriends the caretaker.

Preliminary task

Up to this point, we have been watching thrillers in class in order to become familiar with conventions of the genre. The films we have watched include Memento, Usual Suspects, Rear Window, The Birds and Pacific Heights. We are about to start filming our preliminary task and have already created an initial story board and have begun practising filming these shots. 

Our first day of filming the initial story board went fairly well. However we did experience some lighting problems inside the building; filming outside also proved to be a challenge when we had to re-arrange our shot due to the positioning of the sun. We also encountered a problem when we couldn't use the tripod; this lead to us having to hold the camera by hand which meant that our shots were not steady. Finally, we were please to have filmed all three shots planned in the short time given.