Foundation Portfolio - Evaluation By Timothy Creedy

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

Our opening to a thriller film has used many different devices and techniques to utilise, expand and ultimately challenge the many forms and conventions of real media products. When deciding on which forms and conventions to incorporate, as a group we viewed many different media texts, mainly thriller films but some other genres too, in order to develop a wider understanding of how to use these and the effect they give. Thriller films, in particular, incorporate specific forms and conventions that consequently create a tense and exciting atmosphere. One such example is the technical aspects. These focus on digital features and their portrayal, including camera shots, camera angles, camera movement and sound. More specifically when viewing the different media texts we noticed similar recurring shot, angle and movement types and sound variety. We focused closely on When a Stranger Calls and 28 Days Later as we enjoyed the nervous but exhilarating situations that were created. The prominent shot types we noticed were close up shots, point of view shots, and over the shoulder shots, and we have tried, where possible to use these in our film. An example of an extreme close up is when we see the unknown, male characters faces, looking downwards towards the picture of the girl. The extreme close up shot is not a natural viewpoint that we see everyday and so helps suggest voyeurism. This is useful as it puts the audience at a personal level with the potential kidnapper making them feel uneasy and disorientated. Furthermore, we have included a point of view shot during the bedroom scene as our unknown character looks at the picture frame of the girl who is about to be kidnapped. This is important as it constructs an anxious audience. Another example is when we see through the eyes of our kidnapper as he is crouching and hiding in the bush, watching and waiting for the female character. This is vital as it plays with the audiences emotions, thus building apprehension. This sort of point of view shot is used many times throughout When a Stranger calls for this reason.

Point of view shots can closely link in with camera movements. In our film it was essential to use static shots, however to create the desired effect we also used hand held camera movement. We decided to use this form after viewing The Blair Witch Project as we wanted to display the same kind of on edge situation. An example of this is when we see through the eyes of the kidnapper as he closes the boot door, after throwing the girl inside. These fast paced, quick movement shots help create a more realistic and gritty setting. After this shot there is a point of view shot form the girl as with absolute fear she stairs into the eyes of the kidnapper as the boot door comes crashing down around her. This helps reinforce her feelings and emotions supplying a connection to the audience. This also creates a motive way of filming. Other camera movements are that of pans, tilts and tracking shots; these are used in order to follow our female protagonist. These also help create continuity in the film.

Throughout our investigations into forms and conventions, we learn sound was a very important tool as it can create varied mood and atmospheres. The non-diegetic score we used was typical to the genre. It was modern and contemporary but also tense, helping us to establish a gritty urban London. Furthermore at the beginning of our film, we took advantage of the silence option. In fact our clip was not totally silence as we decided to include some minor background noises but it helped in creating an eerie atmosphere.

Another important aspect of the forms and conventions of the thriller genre is the mise-en-scène. These focus on on-screen features and their portrayal, including character types, character dress and setting and location. In order to establish our desired character types we viewed media texts such as Derailed and Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho. These two films were focused on when deciding how we wanted our female character to be cast. In Derailed, Jennifer Aniston plays a femme fatale showing a much stronger and in control character type. We decided against this representation as we wanted too follow the more stereotypical path therefore we cast a female as the person to be kidnapped. In thriller films, women are generally portrayed as being more vulnerable as well as physically week. We have used this stereotypical idea, rather than a femme fatal, to portray a much weaker character. All of the unknown characters are male, thus so is the kidnapper. This is also stereotypical as men are usually seen more as strong, dangerous characters, and in this case, likely of kidnapping. In terms of character dress the female character is much more sophisticated than the males. All of our male characters are dressed with hoods up, thus stereotyping those who wear hoodies to be the sorts of people to kidnap a girl. Moreover the setting and location show a modern, urban and gritty setting and this can therefore be argued to show a more conventional thriller film. These are typical conventions of a thriller film and we have used these settings to develop this idea. It may also be argued that the film has element of historical thriller, meaning it uses some of the same styles as much older thrillers like Alfred Hitchcock’s.

Upon feedback, one of the criticisms of the film was that it was very close to the subgenre of horror-thriller; this being due to some of the scenes, but also the music. 28 Days Later is a perfect example of a horror-thriller. In order to distance ourselves from this we changes the music style to reflect more the thriller genre and even reshot some of the scenes. The camera movements we used during the kidnapping scene were mostly handheld in order to create a more realist approach and to portray the action of the scene with a point of view shot from the girl. The difference we created between our film, Obsession and 28 Days Later was the fact we used no bloody or gory scenes. We have tried to challenge some of the thriller conventions, such as the age of the characters, which is not the norm for thriller films. This helps create a different atmosphere and perspective from the audience.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

When investigating the forms and conventions of thriller films we looked at the different character types and styles that would be best suited to our film. There are many different social groups and forms of representation, these are: gender, sexuality, race and ethnicity, age, class and status, regional identity and disability. During this we found out about the different stereotypes of social groups. The gender and contrast between men and women is shown as our vulnerable female is kidnapped by an unknown male character. The stereotype for a woman is to be weak and vulnerable and we have used this to our advantage in our film. The other stereotype we have used to do with gender is that males are the stronger and more dominant sex. This is shown as the kidnapper is a man, and he forces the girl into the car boot.

We do not attempt to portray sexuality and race in our film; however age is a big issue. The actors all range between the ages of 16 and 18, therefore not the normal age of a kidnapper, however we believe this works well and should be used my more directors, production companies and casting agencies. It develops a new level of insecurity as someone so young is able to carry out a criminal act such as this. Class in the film is also shown, quite subliminally by the setting and clothing. A dodgy railway line, backing onto an estate suggests a lower class to the characters. This helps create the gritty urban setting and location of London.

One way in which we could have improved the stereotypical representation of social groups is through race and ethnicity. Stereotypical views inform us that a black man is seen as more likely to commit a crime than a white man, therefore if we cast our male kidnapper as a black man this would be fulfilling that stereotype.

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

When researching into different film genres we also looked at the different types of film in terms of production and different media institutions that might distribute our product. There are two main types of film, and these are: mainstream and independent (Art House). Mainstream film are those big budget films mainly of a Hollywood style whereas independent films tend to be low budget and gritty in style, and in this country they are usually British produced. Our film is more of an independent British production than a mainstream Hollywood film. The grittier style of these productions is also influenced by the less expensive Digital Video or DV cameras as the colours are not a bright, leaving a duller and more realistic look.

When looking at the different ways films could be distributed we found out five different ways this were possible. The most obvious one would be cinema, however these can either be major cinema chains such as Vue and Odeon, or they could be independent cinemas such as the Savoy Cinema, situated in Penzance, Cornwall, the oldest cinema in the United Kingdom. Another way of getting our film distributed would be via film festivals, such as Sundance Festival that specialises in independent films. There are more major film festivals, such as in Cannes, Toronto or London. Other ways of distributing that could potentially reach millions of people is through the internet or video sharing websites and video on demand. It is possible to pay to see a film on the internet or it could be uploaded free to a site such as YouTube. Lastly, it may also be possible to get the film put on a Community Television channel or other low budget Television channels, generally on cable television channels. The type of media institution that would distribute our product would probably not be major cinema chains, unless our film became very popular, and it is possible for this to happen. A recent example of this would be the Danny Boyle film Slumdog Millionaire. It would more likely be independent cinemas. However the only way of getting our film to the cinemas is to distribute it and an easy way to gain popularity and recognition is to show it at a film festival.

Who would be the audience for your media product?

After we understood how to distribute our film to audiences around the world and in the closer community we decided to focus on how to target our audience. We looked at this through the planning stage as some of the context we wanted to include may not have been suitable for some audience demographics. The British Board of Film Classification or BBFC decides on an age limit in the form of a certificate to give to the film which is dependant on the content. We decided we wanted our film to be a certificate 15 in order to allow older teenagers and young adults to be able to watch it. This does mean that nobody under the age of 15 would be able to watch the film. However this is not a serious concern for us as our target audience does not include anyone under the age of 15. I would agree that this is a suitable certificate for our film reflecting an honest appraisal as some of the scenes, such as the kidnapping may not be suitable for those younger than 15. One of the ways we constructed our film to make it appeal to our target audience is to use characters of those ages. All of our characters are between the ages of 16 and 18 and so it should therefore be easy for the audience to relate to the characters, adding realism. The results of audience feedback showed that it fitted in with the age group however some minor adjustments, such as the music would make it better, which were made.

How did you attract/address your audience?

In order to create a successful film we needed to be able to attract our target audience and gain popularity. We were able to construct our film and make it appeal to our target audience through very useful class discussions and feedback from class members and friends. After addressing the fact that many of our friends were interested in the thriller genre, we developed scenes that we thought would be of interest. An exhilarating kidnapping scene should raise tensions and keep the audience engaged, and it did. Another method we employed to attract our target audience was through the use of character ages. The character that we portrayed we at the same age range compared to our target audience. This is an excellent device to use as it means the audience can easily relate to the characters on-screen. The results from audience feedback on addressing the audience were very positive.

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

Throughout research into the film industry and thriller films in particular, we have learnt about many different technologies such as Digital Video Cameras (DV) and the difference between those and the cameras they use in Hollywood, those of actual film celluloid which creates a different effect. The Hollywood cameras are much brighter, creating a perfect environment and pick up vibrant colours very well. They are used in programmes such as Hollyoaks and American television programmes like Ugly Betty to create a more surreal atmosphere. However the DV cameras are grittier with dull colours, and promote a much more realist approach. In the United Kingdom, these are generally used in soap operas such as EastEnders and Coronation Street thus displaying a more realistic world. Therefore this is why we used DV cameras to capture our film. However the DV cameras we did use were not of the best quality and had built in microphones which did not capture sound very well, and had a lot of feedback. In order to avoid this we used as minimal diegetic sound as possible and as much non-diegetic as long as it suited the clip. Another way of getting around this would have been to use plug-in microphones that would have given a much better quality sound.

Furthermore we also learnt about different editing software, and used iMovie HD, which is non-linear editing software. This is very useful as you can edit a clip without destroying the original so if you make a mistake you can easily fix it, or start form scratch. Editing software such as this was also very easy to use which was helpful. New media technologies have helped us as we have managed to download a copyright free score for our film. Also known as “Royalty Free”, this music can be downloaded from a special website for the purpose of use in our film as we were not allowed copyrighted music. This is the same for sound effects. We have been introduced to the website http://www.blogger.com/ in which we have documented our research and production stages. Further new media technologies have allowed us to upload our finished product onto a Video Sharing Website such as YouTube.

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 the preliminary task, we have realised how much it has helped us progress throughout our main coursework task. We learnt many new techniques that we have applied when filming. We learnt about: the 180 degree rule, shot/reverse shot and match on action and all of these were useful when positioning the camera in our film, especially the 180 degrees rule; we kept it in mind while filming, especially the bedroom sequence as without this the scene would have not looked right. We have also learnt the importance of organisation and planning and using our time efficiently and different filming techniques such as tracking. However we did encounter a few problems in terms of lighting. As all of our scenes were shot at dark, and we were filming in November, it is crucial not to film too late, before it gets too dark as it is then harder to see the action. However iMovie allowed us to make some scenes brighter. Overall our main task is a massive improvement compared with our preliminary task and the skills we have learnt will help us produce excellent works in the future.