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Media Evaluation (draft)
1) A thriller is a film which contains suspense and tension. A sense of threat is introduced
gradually in the Mes en scene with suggested symbols and images. It is surrounded by
mystery and suggestion and is slowly unveiled as the film progresses. Shock can be
created by a sudden unveiling of the threat e.g through murder or sudden frightening
images. Horror can also be involved in thrillers.
Thriller sub-genres include,
Action, conspiracy, crime, disaster, forensic, mystery and psychological themes. ‘The
Bourne Identity’ trilogy has aspects of a number of these genres e.g it begins as a
mystery and unveils a conspiracy with the main character being the victim of the plot to
kill him. The film is filled with action. Other films that use tension, mystery and
conspiracy, there was also a sense of enigma and a sense of problem solving and also
may have a twist at the end, such as ‘The Conversation’. We chose the psychological
thriller because we found it gave us a variety of ideas we could all use from examples of
psychological thrillers which we wanted to explore.
An audience’s expectation of this genre, they’d like to relate to the central character and
recognise the threat. They’d expect tension and mystery which they would recognise
psychologically. We used the title Alter ego as we thought it linked well the storyline.
The location we chose was in my house, it helps give off the impression of a normal
atmosphere. This gives the audience the impression that it’s too normal, putting the
audience on the edge of their seats waiting for something to surprise them. We used
one character that played both roles, the normal girl and the mad girl. A thriller film we
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were inspired by was Black Swan. The story of Black Swan tells us how an innocent girl is
influenced by the pressure of being the best dancer and how it effects you mentally and
emotionally. The normal version dresses very casual, to give an innocent approach. The
images show a contrast of the same character, the left image show Nine from Black
Swan looking fragile and frightened with her frightening reflection in the mirror, this
reflects the other side to her personality which is also shown in the image next to it. The
mad version dresses in all black this gives a dark impression of her character. We used a
large variety of shots for different effects, we wanted the audience to feel like they were
witnessing the act in great detail. We needed the audience to feel the tension where it
was intended and to feel on the edge of their seats. The close-ups were a good use of
camera work because it helps add tension and the audience gets an idea of what the
character is feeling. We used a few long shots and mid shots these created a similar
effect that it made the audience see an overview of the scene and could see clearly
where it was all going to take place. The storyline has a clear message once you’ve seen
it. The opening shows a very normal girl reading through a fashion magazine that goes
through a lot of beautiful models and how it effects the girls that read it.
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These screenshots are from the physiological thriller Black Swan. The two images show
a contrast in personalities. They clearly show the two sides of her personality. Similarly
like in our thriller it also shows both sides of her personality. You can tell the good and
bad side relatively easily. The image of the left shows her without makeup and looking
innocent and frightened, whereas the image on the right shows her with slightly gothic
makeup with the very pale skin and with the red eyes. She looks very serious and
fearless.
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Comparing our thriller to black swan, it shows the
two different sides of her personality. The good and
the bad. The good side I found would be wearing light
coloured clothes be wearing subtle makeup and
would show signs of vulnerability in her facial
expressions. The bad side would often be wearing darker colours and be wearing heavier
makeup and would look quite striking.
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2) I’m comparing the image of Elle (the main character) to the main character (Nina) in the
Black Swan. I noticed there are clear similarities to these two character and their roles.
They both look like bad characters due to the way they’re presented with the use of mes
en scene. The lighting of the shots appears to look cold, this helps to the tension
because it suggests they have a cold personality. They both look gothic from their
makeup in particular. Dark eye makeup and pale skin is good for this effect. By looking
at these two images you would think that they were the villain because of the way they
are presented.
The main actor of Alter Ego identifies with the front cover model of magazines, she is
obsessed with the criteria needed to take on the role of a front cover magazine model in all
of that she identifies with the ‘perfect image’ of an attractive woman who is perfectly
beautiful. In all of this image the reality of the manufactured, photo shopped beauty;
perfectly made up with all the aspirational makeup products, clothed in couture. And limbs
and body and face photo shopped and air-brushed to promote the perfectly unobtainable
image presented by the glossy magazines that she is obsessed by.
In ‘Black Swan’ the main character, Nina aspires to become to achieve the prima donna role
of Odette in Swan Lake. It is the ballerina’s golden chalice. Just as the front cover of a
fashion magazine reflects every girl’s aspiration.
Both films focus on the characters as successful young female roles. The characters on the
surface are heroines. However in both films the characters are deeply flawed within and
there are very dark psychological tones. Both characters are borne from aspirational middle
class white families. This speaks across the Western community. The status of both
characters is indicated by a comfortable home environment; the mother in black swan
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compounds this aspirational quality through her loving and encouraging motherly figure.
This emphasises the power of the external pressures from the ballet corps on Nina. This is
suggested in Alter Ego by the collection of magazines that surround the main character in
Alter Ego, she is surrounds by these images there is no escape.
In Alter ego the main character represented is both heroin and victim. Just as Nina in black
swan is have both good and bad in her. The characters appearance in alter ego reflects the
dichotomy of the character the light clothing representing the good side and the darker
clothing representing the bad side. Nina’s sweet character in black swan is picked up by her
fluffy pastel pink coat and toning scarf; her dark character is represented with the darker
clothing and makeup. The camera angles used to show anxiety extreme close ups, zooming
in and out very quickly. The impact of these camera angles makes the audience feel the
tension of the character, the extreme close ups are used to make you feel as though you are
in the characters zone and you feel what they are feeling.
Our media product represents particular
social groups. Particularly to girls that feel
differently when they are faced with things
that make them feel insecure. Its suggests how
girls may cover up the way they really feel.
The main similarities of this are innocent side of the main character and the villain side of
the same character.
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3) Our production company name AMOA stands for the initials of our group’s surnames.
We thought this would be appropriate as it shows that we worked together well as a
group. It’s also very feminine and its linked to the meaning love. The tone of the logos
inspiration from film noir, due to the black and white font shows classic thriller film
types. The logo shows a tree with all the leaves blown off it. The logo I drew by hand.
We got inspiration by looking at key things that symbolise a thriller film. We thought this
would be a good symbol of a thriller because it gives off a daunting impression and a
sense of mystery which symbolise a thriller.
A production company is in charge of what goes on when making the movie from the start
to the finish. A production company is responsible for supervising the filming from concept
to completion, and they hold the sole legal and financial
responsibility of the movie as a whole. They are also
responsible for if the movie was bad they will be the
once responsible for it. Lionsgate is known for doing
good thriller films. Just as a lot of production companies often do specific genres which they
have been successful for. We set the roles of a director, a producer, an editor and a costume
and makeup designer.
If we could select a distributor for our short film we may consider a small, international
company, such as the ‘Little Film Studios’ based in California. This might be an independent
company. It has a small management structure, to include Alexia Melocchi, Alexandra
Yacovlef, Harry Lowell. They are involved in developing small films for on an international
platform. For example Alexia has had a successful career in the international marketplace,
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as both a sales agent and buyer’s rep for eleven territories, giving her diverse exposure to all
types of films and functions in the entertainment industry. As consultant she works on
packaging films, securing co productions and arranging for US and International Distribution
of several projects of her clients using her expertise in international sales, pre-sales,
international acquisitions and a global film marketing approach.
The money to fund small films like our one could possibly come from one like the BFI.
They’re the largest public film fund in the UK. They work alongside companies such as The
NET.WORK partners are Creative England, Film Agency for Wales, Northern Ireland Screen
and Creative Scotland. Film London will also deliver a number of targeted development
programme. The BFI network provides a platform from which new and emerging talent in
film making can share their work. This means, writers, producers, directors can show some
examples of their work which can they can air amongst a broader film making community
who might pick up their talent. They have creative centers Brighton where peoples work can
be shared along side other film makers. Larger film organizations include companies such as
Lionsgate. Such institutions would eb ideal and distribute our film on a broad, international
scale. This would be an outreach to expose our talent, and obtain an opportunity to extend
our film making careers.
Such short films as ours, might be funded by the BFI lottery fund which awards fund for
small films. Our film shows names of the people that brought it all together. It is tradition to
show who stars in the film at the beginning as that is often the main attraction, the middle
showing are the ones who did the makeup and editing etc. And finally the really important
roles such as the director and producer come towards the end of the titles.
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They use various names as titles of films of actors, directors or producers. They do this
because if the audience recognizes a name of one of these they may be more inclined to
watch it because the name of one of these is a sign of a good film.
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4) Our target audience was aimed mainly towards young girls, this is because the film
symbolizes the extremes of how some girls are effected when perfected supermodels
are shown all of the media. The kind of age group is often teenage girls as they are the
main audience for this.
Audience profile
Here shows a perfectly normal teenage girl. She is the kind of audience member we
targeted, looking carefully we can see she has a vulnerable look to her, by the way she is
looking, by what she’s wearing and the way she’s sitting. Her very fresh faced appearance
shows her real self, she seems to be looking very sad, by the way she’s sitting curling herself
up implies she’s insecure. She appears to look sad in this photograph, we can assume from
this that her media usage may consist of relaxing perhaps sad music taste. Thriller films look
as though they would appeal to her, as a thriller
consists of adrenalin which she could be
interested in. her insecurities may have been
caused by the media as shown in our thriller, she
would read fashion/celebrity magazines. By the
way she is dressed she doesn’t appear to be too
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high matiness about how she dresses, black trouser and a grey short sleeve t-shirt, these
dull colors suggest she’s feeling negative. The type of film genres she would be interested in
would be of Chick flicks, romantic, a lot of these types of films are targeted mostly for girls
like this.
Questionnaire
1) Are you male or female?
2) What is your age? 12-14,15-18
3) Do you like thrillers? Yes/No
4) What type of genre of thrillers do you prefer?
Crime thriller
Action thriller
Psychological thriller
Medical thriller
Romantic thriller
Other
5) Who do you watch thriller films with?
Friends
Family
Other
6) Where do you watch films?
Home
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Cinema
Other
7) Do you find music to a thriller more effective when loud or quiet?
8) Do you prefer old versions of thriller film or newly made ones of e.g. Pshyco?
9) Do you like thrillers to have a twist on the story to clear the whole way through?
Are you male or female?
MaleFemale Are you Male or Female?
What is your age?
13-1415-18
Do you like thrillers?
YesNo
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I did a questionnaire with some people I know and I asked them these questions, the
results show a lots of people like a variety of different thrillers and liked different
elements of them.
In order to preserve its independence, the BBFC's
income is derived solely from the fees it charges for its
services, calculated by measuring the running time of
films, DVDs/videos and other works submitted for
classification. The BBFC is not organised for profit, and its fees are
adjusted only as required to cover its costs. I chose the rating of age twelve, there are no
violent scenes. The music sets the scene of the film and tells you how to feel. The blood
poured over the ripped magazine and the mad side of the main character revealed at the
end may be unsuitable for people young than this age.
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5) We posted our film on to Youtube and showed it to numerous people in and outside the
class. There received feedback form people clearly. Most of the feedback we got was
positive, a lot of people liked the storyline and thought it sent out a good and clear
message. I was given useful critical feedback too, that I would have been better if we
used more diegetic sounds as well and non-diegetic sounds.
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6) Here shows the different technologies I planned to used when planning
how we were going to make our thriller.
Blogger is the first one, I used this to do all my research and planning.
This is a very useful website when making a thriller, it great because I was also able to
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look at other team members blogs so we could all see how we were all planning it. On
blogger we could upload videos, pictures, notes and detailed analysis’s of planning and
research.
Youtube is another useful website I used a lot, it was useful because I was able to do
research when looking at other thriller opening scenes to see what specifically was
effective and why etc. we were able to see which convention were useful and which
ones were not.
The Apple mac’s provided and Imovie were what we used to cut out what we didn’t
need in the scenes and edit them. We could experiment with it by looking at different
sound effects, different fonts of the titles.
We used my IPhone 5c to film it, we found the camera quality to be good
and we were still able to use a range of shots from extreme close up to long shots. Some
difficulties did occur for example keeping the camera stable so it didn’t shake whilst
filming, we practiced with different strategies of keeping it stable but we kept it all
stable in the end.
Making sure the camera was always on focus was another difficulty but we managed to
keep it on focus when filming, we had to make sure the lighting was sufficient enough
for it to focus properly which is partly the reasoning for filing in the day. The film we
deliberately wanted to build up the tension as the film progressed, we did this because
with the research we did when looking at other thrillers and when asking other peers, a
lot of people agree that its more exciting if tension is gradually built up as the film goes
on, this keeps the audience on the edge of the seats and makes them want to keep on
watching it.
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We used specific camera angles when we wanted to create different moods on the
audience, we used extreme close ups for the more frightening scenes, this makes the
audience feel what the character is feeling as they feel the tension
with music and you’re seeing exactly what the character is
seeing, this keeps the audience interested and want to
see the rest of it.
7) Looking back at our preliminary task, I feel we have improved largely towards the final
product, I have learnt a range of new skills using different websites and throughout the
research, using what I’ve learnt by looking at other thrillers and which types and shots,
lighting, mes en snece was effective.
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When making our preliminary task, one thing
we noticed is that the camera quality wasn’t
good. It was difficult to make clear what was
going on when filming because of this. So in
our final piece we used an iPhone with a
better quality camera, this made it a lot easier
to focus and specific things. I used a range of
different shots, editing and techniques. I have
also developed a lot of editing skills, we made
sure we didn’t over-do it with editing, such as
adding too many sound effect or transitions
when they are not needed so that it still looks
realistic to the audience.
Sticking to the 180 degree rule we always kept
in mind, we kept going back and checking we
stuck to this rule. The location we filmed at my house in the day time so the lighting
would be better to film in. the weather was dry and cloudy but we filmed in a
conservatory, this was a good place to film in because it was so bright it meant the
camera quality was good. We tried to use a large range of shots to create different
moods on the audience. We did a lot of planning just before we filmed, we had to make
sure the phone we were going to film with was a fully charged and
as we were going to be using the camera the whole time we had to
be careful that it didn’t run out of life. We had planned the
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storyline and decided what shots we were going to use beforehand but we did make
changes as we were filming, like adding in extra shots.
learnt that checking location, and lighting is has to be checked before filming.
This shot is also effective, it shows a
bird’s eye view on the selection of
fashion magazines covered in blood
or ripped up. This sets the scene
well because it implies how badly its effected the girl.
I think this shot is very effective because
it tells a lot of the storyline, we made the fake blood
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Overall think the filming of our thriller went quite well. We used a range of shots throughout
the filming and everybody was involved. The location worked out very well for us and there
was convenient for everyone. I’ve learnt that filming a short film takes a lot planning and
research, it takes everyone a lot of time. From looking from our preliminary task to our final
film we learnt planning carefully is key, I with food colouring and golden syrup and dripped
it over the magazine for one of the scenes, a close up was used to show the audience clearly
what it was.