Evaluation

Our final media piece had to be the start of a thriller movie, lasting approximately two minutes. This is a genre we looked at in and out of lessons for ideas and inspiration. Our piece seemed very similar to the pre-title sequences from the James Bond films. We took inspiration from the shots in these films, namely Goldfinger (1964) and Diamonds are Forever (1971). Like these films, our piece featured establishing shots of locations, as well as mid shots and long shots of the main protagonist.

Goldfinger- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVg23yjKl1g
Diamonds are Forever- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hct75nr-WUc&feature=related

In our media piece, we only had one main protagonist, who was the escaped criminal, played by Mark White. In our film, we stereotyped the criminal, by making him use bad language during his escape, and also made him act very shady when in public. It also added to the thriller genre, as he blended in with society and was not easily noticed by any passers by. This would add a bit of fear to the piece and an audience by making the situation as realistic and real to life as possible.

Our media piece fits in as part of the thriller genre. This is a genre mainly aimed at older people, but is still made by most of the main film companies. This means that most film companies would happily distribute this film as they know they have the target audience out there. Unfortunately, as a thriller, it may prove hard to advertise as they would not want to give away too much of the plot while also not wanting to use parts of the films that are seen as inappropriate for daytime advertising. Therefore, I think only the major film companies would take the chance of distributing this, as there are risks to it making little profit due to limited advertising.

As a thriller film, the audience is mainly adult based, but also includes some older teenagers. In this age bracket, there is also a target market of people who specifically enjoy thriller movies. To attract the audience, the beginning left a lot of mystery which could be later explained by the full movie. By keeping the audience in the mystery, they would be more attentive and excited by the rest of the movie.

For our main task, we used a digital video camera to film our piece, using a standard tape as opposed to a HD ready tape. This made files easier to convert and put onto the computer when we edited our piece. To edit our piece, we used Windows Movie Maker. Originally, we were going to use Adobe Premier but, as it was very complicated to use and understand, we didn’t.

After showing our piece to several people, they thought the shots of the protagonist being watched made the audience uneasy for the protagonist. They also thought that the music also helped reflect the mood in the piece, implying when the real mysterious moments are. However, they felt that maybe the final shot was not needed, instead implying the protagonist was dead would keep up the tension as the film starts. Due to this, they felt the story was finished in the 2 minutes rather than only started. If given the chance, i would edit the piece to seem more like the start of a thriller than a whole thriller story.

Since the preliminary task, our work has certainly improved. Our preliminary was poorly organised, with characters being played by more than one actor and a lack of imagination when choosing locations. We also did not keep very loyal to our original storyboard, changing some shots and adding others. Our main task was much better planned, making sure we filmed with the right people in the right places, making it more consistent and looking more professional. We planned the locations better, looking for good places to film before actually filming and using where we filmed to good effect. We also planned a plot and storyboard more thoroughly before as well, making sure that everyone had a good idea of what was being filmed and why. Although we did still change things late on, I still feel that our main task showed some dramatic improvements compared to our preliminary.

Main Task

For our Main Task, we have to create and film the beginning of a thriller film. Like the preliminary, i will be working with Chris Birch and Mark White again.

We recently story boarded our ideas, and compared to the preliminary, there are more of them, representing more scenes and more action in the piece. There is also a better range of shots used this time. We have produced a shot list as well as a storyboard:




















We've used several close ups to establish emotions of the protaganist, from paranoid to surprised. Long shots and establishing shots are used to show locations, as well as show the protaganist is not alone in the street scenes. Several tracking shots are used as point of view shots to show the protaganist is being watched and followed.

http://circuitchase.webs.com/AS%20Media%20Shot%20list.pdf


We also spent a lesson looking for suitable locations to shoot our piece. We took several photographs of potential places we could film our final piece. One ideal factor of them is they are all on the school premises. They are also all public places, making the piece seem realistic and add to the tension as these places where the events occur in our piece are used frequently by the public.

We now have our main task video filmed and edited.

Preliminary exercise

For my preliminary exercise, we are to film a sequence involving a character or characters entering, and eventually leaving, a room.

I am working with Mark White and Chris Birch.

We have been discussing plot, and storyboarding our original ideas to make something suitable for filiming. We have now uploaded all our storyboard, showing a range of establishing shots, close ups and even a shot/reverse shot for the conversation.

*some time later*

We have now filmed, but due to absences and a tight schedule, roles have changed. Originally, Josh was bringing Mark into the room. However, now Jamie is leading in Josh in the next scene. A lot of the shots we originally planned to use were not used, and most of the film features the basic "shot/reverse shot" for the conversation. Here is the final video: