Final Evaluation - Question 1

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

I believe that my film opening holds many forms and conventions of real media products. One of the ways this is done is through the camera techniques used. Throughout the extract, there are many close-ups and extreme - close-ups of the main protagonists face to help show his emotion to the audience through his facial expressions. In one of the scenes I have used a hand-held shot to track the protagonist through the hallway. A hand-held shot is also used towards the end of the extract on the antagonists weapon - knife. This is shown as he approaches the protagonist from behind. I used this shot to make the scene feel "uncomfortable" for the viewers to watch, relying on them having to concentrate harder throughout this specific scene - a typical convention of a thriller product.
In terms of the editing, I applied low - key lighting throughout the extract. This created a dark and suspicious atmosphere, reflecting the mood of the film - scary, mysterious...etc. This is a typical convention of a thriller product. Throughout the extract, I also used slow-paced editing. This I believe, provides the audience with time  to take in the smaller details shown in the movie that may be of importance in terms of understanding the plot or pre-judgements of what might happen next. Even though this may not deem to be a typical convention of a thriller product, I do believe it helps reflect the mood and pace of the movie, both of which are extremely important aspects of a thriller product.
The score used in the extract I composed myself using apple software, Garage-band. The score itself was composed through the uses of bass, drums and cinematic sounds alone. From this, I managed to create a dark, atmospheric soundtrack, creating the pace(alongside the editing) and allowing the viewers to anticipate what may happen next through the tension and suspense displayed throughout the extract. I also applied "stings" in various points to show when the protagonist spots something of importance or if something significant has changed within the scene, and the audience may need to know about it.
The movie is set at the protagonists home (during the night). This I believe reflects a typical thriller product. Because the film is shot at the protagonists home, it produces a more realistic and believable approach to the movie from the viewers perspective. This is also shown through the protagonists clothing. In this case, he is shown to be wearing a casual shirt, black jeans and boots. These are all examples of everyday clothing, however does display the sense that he may be from a middle or higher class background. The sheer nature of his clothing however suggests innocence, creating a sympathetic mood towards the character in that you know something bat is going to happen to him. The antagonists clothing on the other hand consists of a black hoodie, black trousers and black shoes - all black. Black is a typical way of displaying evil, making this an ideal colour for the "murderer". I felt it would be key to make sure that his identity was hidden throughout the extract, again creating a higher level of suspense towards that character - another well known convention of a typical thriller product.

Final Movie Opening - "ALONE"

Final Movie Opening - "ALONE"

Storyboarding - "ALONE" Movie Opening

Shooting Schedule

Risk Assessment

Risk Assessment

In this section of my development, I will be analysing the various risks that I may have to take into consideration throughout the filming process.

Locations Used

INSIDE

Living Room - FRONT

Stairway

Living room - BACK

Living room - FRONT

Hallway

Hallway door

Actors, Props, and Scene Locations

In this section of development, I will be looking at the Actors, Props and Scene locations the will be used for my final movie.

ACTORS

- Karl Tedder - Main protagonist

- Fernando Rocha - Main antagonist

PROP's

- Knife - Used by Fernando.

- Newspaper - Used by Karl.

- Cigarettes - Used by Karl

- CLOTHING;

             - Fernando - Must be wearing dark clothing - Black hoodie, trousers, shoes.
             - Karl - Casual clothes; Shirt, jeans, boots...etc.

LOCATIONS

- My house;

INSIDE - Living room, hallway.
OUTSIDE - Porch, driveway.

Idea Shooting Schedule

In this section of development, I will be splitting my final idea into individual sections/ stages so that once I begin to film, it will be easier for me to organise each shot.

- Karl is sitting down on the sofa watching the news (lights cigarette).

- Takes a drag from the cigarette and blows out the smoke slowly.

- Hears a noise from outside.

- Puts out the cigarette in bowl and walks towards the door.

- Approaches front door and grabs handle.

- Opens door and looks around (outside).

- Sees that the gate is open..

- Leaves front door open, and walks towards the gate.

- Closes gates, walks back to house.

- Enters house, closes door behind him and walks into the living room.

- Enters living room, closes hallway door behind him and reveals Fernando's position.

- Over the shoulder shot from Fernando's perspective.

- Karl sits down and reads the newspaper.

- Places paper down, revealing Fernando's new position (behind him).

- Fernando approaches Karl from behind with a knife in his hand.

- Grabs Karl and brutally stabs him.

- Karl dies.

END.

Company Logo - "Liforce Productions"

"Liforce Productions" Company Logo

As shown above is my final company logo - "Liforce" Productions. With a company name such as "Liforce" - Life-force, I felt the image itself needed to be powerful in terms of its visual features. For this, I felt a landscape would be perfect. Mountains I believe hold a great sense of peace, which is increases greatly due to the flat stretch of water in front. As a result of this, a somewhat dream-like landscape is produced. Once I had finished this step of the editing, I then applied a life-line to the far left of the image (shown above) This I believe adds a sense of "life" to the image. Once this was applied, I was finished with my company logo for "Liforce Productions".

As shown on previous post are my 3 other ideas that helped me lead to my final company logo

Company Logo - Idea Generation

Idea 1

Idea 2

Idea 3

9 Shot Movie Opening Analysis

9 Frame opening analysis - The Strangers; Annotation from left - right.

Frame 1 - The first frame (shown above) displays the introduction of the movie. In this frame, I have highlighted the production company of the movie - "Rogue Pictures". This I believe is a vital part of a movie introduction, whether it is shown directly before the movie (shown above), or during the beginning of the movie itself. As a result of this, I feel that for me to produce a successful movie opening, the production company name will need to be mentioned.

Frame 2 - In this frame, I have highlighted a specific area that makes this movie unique. The frame says; "What you are about to see is inspired by true events". If I were to produce a movie opening that is based on true events, I feel that this will have to be stated clearly sometime throughout the opening - preferably the start. In this case, they have used a narrative voice to read this statement out to the audience, making sure that anyone that may not be looking at the screen at this particular time will most definitely hear it. This can also intensify the atmosphere of the movie dependant on the tone of voice. In this case, they have used a deep and direct voice, creating a dark and suspensive mood. The sound used in this scene is a combination of both ambient and non-dieagetic sounds. Instead of using a background score, they have used dialogue from a previous time, displaying a phone call that the main woman (protagonist) made to the police during the event of the crime. This again adds suspense and a dramatic atmosphere to the movie

Frame 3 - I felt that this scene in particular deemed important to the movie. It ultimately begins the story off where it ended, displaying a group of young boys finding a run down, broken home where something awful has just happened. The frame itself shows a close - up of a blood stain on the wall, followed by a close-up of a knife covered in blood. This builds suspense towards the viewers, displaying small clues and suggestions that leaves them questioning what has happened. I believe that this is a very strong way to grasp the audiences attention, keeping them enticed to the movie and wanting to watch more.

Frame 4 - In this frame, the story goes back to the beginning. As shown, both the man and woman are at their home. I felt that this scene was important to the movie as it allows the audience to get a feel for the setting, allowing them to observe the home and characters too. This is displayed through medium and long shots from both within and outside the house.

Frame 5 - In this frame, both characters have returned to their home having been to an engagement party. As shown, both the man and woman are back at their home. I felt that this scene was important to the movie because it helped display their relationship in various ways. One of the ways this was done was through their dialogue. This was shown through various uses of shot - reverse - shots, also helping the viewers read their expressions on their faces. As a result, the viewers begin to understand the characters better, generating a greater sense of emotion towards them both. This will gradually intensify as the audience already know that something bad is going to happen to them.

Frame 6 - In this frame, both the man and woman are alone at their home, eating dinner at the table. I felt this scene was important to the opening of the film as it allowed the audience/ viewers to now understand their relationship. Shot reverse shots allow the viewers to follow their dialogue, which in this case was subtle and slow, adding a level of romance to the scene. This I believe creates a higher level of emotion towards both characters, knowing that they are soon to be in a great level of danger.

Frame 7 - In this frame, the first sign of danger happens. This is shown through a loud knock on the front door, followed by fast paced editing between both the man and woman. Close- ups of their facial expressions allow the viewers to see their change in mood, resulting in the great change in the atmosphere of the scene. This I believe is a very effective way of exploiting shock through fast paced editing, and may consider using this for my final movie opening.

Frame 8 - In this frame, the main protagonist (woman) is left alone in her home whilst her lover has left to check outside. I believe that this scene is important to the opening of the movie as the woman is now left unprotected by her lover, making her vulnerable to attack - creating greater suspense. A close up is used as she tried to dial her phone for help. This allows the viewers to understand what actions the woman is taking during this struggling situation. I feel that this is key, focussing on the props used in the scene so that the viewers are able to identify them when and where they are used during the movie.

Frame 9 - This frame shows the first revealing of the cereal killer. The scene consists of very many shots, alternating from a medium close - up to a medium long-shot. The medium long-shot allows the viewers to establish the setting and the body language of the woman. During this time, the cereal killer (antagonist) slowly emerges them self from the dark at the far left end of the room. The way in which this is done in terms of the context of the scene creates a strong sense of realism to the scene, therefore making the movie more realistic. Also, because their is no score or non - dieagetic sounds used, this again creates a more realistic and believable situation, reflecting the genre of the movie more intensely to the viewers - Thriller. This I believe is a vital element that needs to be shown throughout my own movie opening - the more realistic and believable, the better.

Target Audience (Audience Profile)

Before moving onto producing my movie opening, I must first gain a strong understanding of what the Target Audience of my movie will be. To do this, I will analyse a movie within the same movie genre as mine - Psychological Thriller.

The Strangers - THRILLER


- AGE CERTIFICATE; 15

AGE/ GENDER/ CLASS %

Conclusion - From both charts shown above, it is clear that a higher percentage of males are interested in watching this movie in comparison to females - 61% males, 39% females. This has provided me with a strong guide as to what the overall target audience will be for my movie opening. The second chart also provided me with a wide variety of age ranges that are interested in seeing the movie "The Strangers" - shown through an average percentage. As you can see, the highest percentage of viewers that are interested in seeing the movie are between the ages 15 - 24 - 65%. This is followed by the ages 25 - 34 - 26%. From this, it is almost certain that my target audience will vary between the ages 15 - 34. Overall, I feel that my target audience will be rather niche, attracting a higher range of males than females, all mostly between the ages 15 - 34.