er films. We used a natural environment and natural lighting, with natural props (twigs and woodland) we didn’t change the set but worked around the trees and natural objects. We chose a forest setting as they are commonly used in thrillers as they are creepy and the audience has probably been in a situation like out victim. Being in a forest, either alone or at night. The props we used in our thriller were mostly naturalistic in the forest scene. In the shed scene we added pictures of our main character, as if she had been watched for a while. We did this to as a disturbing edgy atmosphere to the scene. Example of one of the pictures we took with the main character in differnt clothng, this show how the stalker has been watching her for a while.
Our media product represents a variety of social groups, by the victim being young and female. This makes the plot fit with modern films E.g. Taken, The victim is a young female. We chose a female victim in our thriller as female characters are usually seen as the weaker sex. Because of using a female victim and more vulnerable character, gender is represented in a stereotypical way. We chose to do this as females are seen as the weaker character.
We chose to target a teenage audience of around 15 + as this is the lowest age cetificate which would be sutible. We did this because it was the most convenient way to gather information, because we have experience of what this age group would like in a thriller. And we gained the information from this age group, when we first gathered information for ideas for the opening from a questionnaire we completed at the beginning of the task. We also chose to aim at teenagers as they can relate to the female victim, and the situation is realistic as we used a naturalistic environment. We also used an easy plot, which when we asked the audience at the screen test they knew what was going on in the opening. Also our target audience can relate to the victim as the plot was believable and not extreme. The audience can also find things in common with the main character and their situation. Our opening could be disturbing for a younger audience if we chose to make a lower age band, this would be because a younger age group may be disturbed by the main character being followed and the use of our point of view shot of the antagonist running towards the victim and also the victim being tied up. This would be scary for a younger audience as they may not understand that the story isn’t real and that the characters are actors. We intentionally chose to put the audience in the stalkers perspective through the point of view shot. This put the audience in the privileged position which makes them feel like they should try to help the victim. This helps to create tension and involves the audience.
Our thriller opening can be produced by a major Hollywood Studio, because it has a mass market and similar features of other popular thrillers. One in particular in the break down scene. In the thriller Vacancy and the plot being about a stalker, and being watched unknowingly. Our thriller would be best to be released as a movie at cinemas and the released on DVD. I think out thriller can offer sequels. As the stalker may not have been found. Posters and other merchandise can be made to help to promote the film.
Our film has similar break down scene as the film vacancy which the main characters not knowing where they are, we used some of the same shots as this film uses, by the use of a long shot, over the shoulderand a pan. Apart from their scene had been shot in a darker light and there are two characters. This is a common feature of thriller films, the main characters not knowing their location and being lost.
We didn’t come across that many problems with the equipment during filming. One problem we found when uploading the footage was that it wasn’t very good quality. I we chose to reshoot we could get a HD camera which would enhanced the footage. Apart from that problem the camera and tripod were easy to use. We didn’t come across many problems when filming, apart from when shooting the road scene. There were a few passing cars which made it take longer to get the footage. One other problem we in counted was the weather! When filming the forest scene it started to rain so we had to wait for it to stop! And when shooting the shed scene the wind kept blowing our pictures off the wall!
After using final cut express I have learnt how to cut footage properly. Also by using it to playback scenes and slowing the footage, it helped me to spot things that weren’t supposed to be in the shot. E.g in our first take if the car with smoke coming out of the bonnet you can see the kettle , so we had to reshoot which took time. I also learnt how to add credits to the opening and where would be the best place to put them. As well as learning how to match cut together successfully. I learnt how to use effects to darken the contrast. We did this because we had to do the filming during the day as it would be dangerous at night. I learnt how to add a fade to the end of the opening. This makes the ending look more professional.
Garage band was helpful when creating a unique sound track which helped to add suspense. We were able to make the music start quiet and in the background and then gradually build up when we wanted a tense atmosphere. The only problems we did come across were being able to fit the music in time with the footage and the type of music we wanted. We chose three tracks and put them together to make it fit with our thriller.
When looking back at the preliminary task I think that my skills with using equipment have improved. As well as being more organised and being more specific of what we wanted from a shot. When planning out thriller we already had an idea of the types of shots we would need to show to get a good grade. We chose Point of view shots to show what the stalker can see. We used long shot to show the road and establish a location. We tried to include as much variety of shots as we could to make the opening jumpy and to get as many angles as we could.
I was very happy with the final outcome of the thriller. It was almost how I pictured it would turn out like when drawing the story board. If we decided to re filmed I think we should have filmed it when it was darker. This is what the audience suggested after the screen test.
