In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? (part 3)

Conventions that I have used in my thriller

My media product uses different types of conventions. Conventions like the setting; setting is in a good derelict city with markets and multi-story car parks. It’s a busy city, there are many of people in shots which shows how busy the city is. I think that the costumes of each character is correct aswell, the two men chasing seem to be in smart cloths, perhaps under cover policemen, this uncertainty is another mystery aspect who are these men and what connection they had with the murdered victim. The runners costume seems to be conventional run down old jeans, Harrington jacket with shoddy cheap shoes. I used conventions in my shots as well to get a bigger sense across the tension, suspense and mystery. For examples, I used editing the chase scene, it was made to look fast and real time so the editing for this had to be cut quickly to emphasise the fast paced struggle to get away from his pursuers.

There is a sense of mystery in my opening, mystery for the reasons for killing the man in the flashbacks. I like the flashbacks and the affect they have on the opening, they create questions for the viewers. The flashback also breaks up the chase scene which doesn’t make the chase boring or tedious. The flashbacks also seem to obviously link in with why the men are chasing the runner.

There is a cliff hanger aswell which I feel makes a good tense opening. The cliff-hanger is at the end and we wonder what happens to runner after being cornered by two men who look to have a purpose to them.

I used the titles well I thought because there were conventions in them, the titles faded in and then after a period of time faded back out. This represents the memory of the main character – distorted, faded, coming and going.

The music is conventional and fits in with the opening. There are two main types of music in my thriller, there is a more up tempo and faster sound track that links in really well with the chase scene and is used to grab the viewer’s attention and set the rest of the film up nicely. There is also a mysterious and eerie soundtrack that is used well for the flashbacks. I believe the sounds I have are conventional and makes the opening so effective, it shows the viewer’s the struggle to get away and the desire to catch each other. It shows that there really is a chase scene through a city. The music makes the viewer in suspense to see what will happen next in the chase, the quickly paced music helps the viewers come to believe.

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? (part 2)

Films and ideas that have influenced my thriller

Films that have influenced my media project are films like the Bourne films and ‘Memento’. The ideas and conventions I took from this film are the flashbacks from Memento and the action and mystery from Bourne ultimatum and films similar. I used theses ideas and conventions from the thrillers because they are effective, there effective because they create a sense of tension and mystery. The way the chase scenes are put together in Bourne ultimatum are very clever, I studied the range of shots they used, which shots they used more often than not.

I also looked at music and how non-diject sound made the chase scene more interesting e.g. the Watching these films gave me good ideas and what I tried to do with these ideas is take them and make them my own. Just changing them like slightly so that it becomes original. Other films that I looked I also have analysed are films such as: Donnie Darko, The Happening and Memento. I went into great depth in these analytical little essays I have written, I have written analytical essays on the memento, the happening and Donnie darko. I went into great detail in these films so I could see the conventions and ideas they had. Memento particular influenced me in what I thought was a good thriller, it was clever, action filled and had a very good story line to it, well acted, well shot and well edited. This film in some respects raised the bar in my expectations of a thriller.

 

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

Conventions of a thriller

In a good thriller there are many conventions. Conventions are things that make the movie fit into its genre, things like props, setting, costume, shot types, different styles of editing. Good conventions for a thriller would be quick editing when the tension or suspense increase, which is also reflected in non-dijectic sound which is as important for a thriller because it sets a sense of tension or suspense.

Conventions that I would perhaps expect in a thriller opening are:

• Mystery
• Suspense
• Pensive music
• Action
• Something shocking
• Grab attention
• Violence
• Fast paced.

More specific conventions that make a thriller are typical camera shots, location and narratives (story line).

Conventions for a thriller opening are important because you need to grab the attention of the viewers and lay down some sort of narrative for the thriller. It only last roughly 2 minutes so it has to keep the viewers entertained and to watch the rest of the film.

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My thriller director's commentary.

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? part 1

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

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? (part 1)

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

How does your media represent particular social groups?

Representation in a of media is when you get certain social groups that are stereotyped into what Representation is conveyed in characters, clothing (how you would expect them to look) and the way their portrayed should be in a thriller. In this picture on the right Jason Bourne is portrayed as a typical man trying to stay low in society by wearing black jeans, black jacket and general dark cloths and is obviously carrying a gun. I have tried to use this is my thriller because how effective it is, the same type of character in my thriller opening is dressed in a dark Harrington jacket, dark jeans and dark top.  

The way I used effects was important because again I tried to portray the idea of fading memory with some of the shots, the edges being faded and all distorted showing his struggle to remember things. The fast paced music is also representing what I want it to, its showing the struggle to get away and the heavy breathing and panting could suggest that he is exhausted and it could be for life and death situation.    

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

For my thriller I will use ''Warner bros'' as my media institution because they would be able to fund my film and effectively. Another reason why I have chosen Warner bros is because they have made lots of successful films from all genres. A major reason is their background in the thriller genre they have produced films like: Rush Hour, The Matrix, Final Destination and many more.

 Warner Bros are an American company they are very popular and make billions a year. This is a good reason to use Warner bros because I would be well funded and get good publicity. There global distribution is excellence there logo is noticed all over the world and their films reach around the world as well.

Revenue

US$11.7 billion (2007)

Who would be the audience for your media product?

My thriller’s age category will be a 15 and over. I have chosen this for a few reasons, it’s so I can show an average level of violence and still have a relatively large target audience. There a few swear words in my thriller opening, this also makes my opening clip a 15.

I have looked at the BBFC ratings and have found that the 15 age rating is correct for my thriller. Was appropriate for my thriller because of these reasons I have listed below.

Suitable only for 15 years and over

No one younger than 15 may see a ‘15’ film in a cinema. No one younger than 15 may rent or buy a ‘15’ rated video work.

 

Discrimination

The work as a whole must not endorse discriminatory language or behaviour. My opening has no sorts of discrimination.

 

Drugs

My thriller opening has no drug taking, but later on in the film.

 

Horror

Strong threat and menace are permitted unless sadistic or sexualised. No real horror, but horror may intervene later on in the film. 

 

Imitable behaviour

Dangerous behaviour (for example, hanging, suicide and self-harming) should not dwell on detail which could be copied. Easily accessible weapons should not be glamorised. Weapons are used a lot and use of the weapons is in a violent nature.

 

Language

There may be frequent use of strong language. The strongest terms may be acceptable if justified by the context. Language is at a very poor standard so that’s why I have made this a 15 rating.

 

Nudity

Nudity may be allowed in a sexual context but without strong detail. There are no constraints on nudity in a non-sexual or educational context.

Sex

Sexual activity may be portrayed without strong detail. There may be strong verbal references to sexual behaviour, there is no sex in my thriller and wont be throughout the production.

 

Theme

No theme is prohibited, provided the treatment is appropriate for 15 year olds.

 

Violence

There may be detailed verbal references to sexual violence but any portrayal of sexual violence must be discreet and have a strong contextual justification. There is a lot of violence in my opening and definitely deserves a 15 age range.

The BBFC stands for British Board of Film Classification. A highly expert and experienced regulator of the moving image (especially film, video/DVD and video games), and also a service provider for new and developing media. They decide on film ratings for example if the film is 15 age and above or a 18 age and above. The age categories are 'U' 'PG', 12, 12A, 15, 18 and 18R. Its against the law to release a film without the approval and the classification of the BBFC. An example of a film that they have rated is Rush Hour and they have rated that as a 12. 

I found out in my questionnaire certain things that have helped me choose my final idea due to what people think is best in a thriller opening. For example I found that people want to see flashbacks in a thriller opening. I gave 10 people the questionnaire and I found out that 90% of the participants like to see flashbacks in a thriller opening. It was said that they add suspense and mystery straight away and ''grips you into the story''. I also found that 3 minutes is the recommended time for a thriller opening,. In this way the questionnaire was a success. Lots of action is a good way to grab the viewer’s attention that was the reaction we got off this questionnaire.

How did you attract/ address your audience?

In my opening I used lots of conventions of the genre to help attract the audience that I wanted. I used conventions such as mystery, suspense, pensive music, action, something shocking to grab attention, Violence and fast paced. Things that would appeal to my audience in my thriller are face paced action, some early intent of danger and mystery, plenty of signifiers to danger and what there is to come in the rest of the production. So the narrative is already in place when the flash backs show why the man is being chased and there is a cliff hanger is when you don’t know what happens to the criminal when he is cornered on the rooftop.  Camera work was used effectively because there are quite a few point of view shots, which makes the viewer feel like there actually there and experiencing the action. The mise-en-scene of my thriller is typical to the genre because it starts off all dark and mysterious and with a murder scene straight in to it, I took this idea from memento because in memento like my thriller you as a viewer are trying to work out what has happened and why it has happened. I want the audience to feel engaged with the opening to my thriller so that’s why I have used the point of view shot almost straight away in my opening, with the man running, its a lot to take in and that’s why I feel it grabs the attention and throws the viewers into the narrative.

 I have met the viewer’s expectations I feel by meeting the criteria of a thriller, using conventions and taking certain ideas from successful thrillers that have great effects that are effective in this genre. The BBFC has influenced my thriller production slightly because I was looking to deliver a production that was a rating 15, so I had to look at the criteria that made the 15 age band and I adjusted my thriller to suit the 15 age range.

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

To construct my project I have used iMovie, from iMovie I took the footage that I filmed on the camera I was given and imported it onto one of the apple Mac’s. From there I edited, created effects, used garage band and imported sounds. All these things help go towards my final product. I got better at using the Mac’s as time went on, learnt new skills and different ways to create more effects and better visuals for my production.

My shooting skills were increased I feel through this production because in my group we all had a long go at filming, we all did a variety of shots: point of views, long establishing shots, action shots, pans and many more different types of shots. We did have some problems at points throughout the production, lighting in the flashbacks was an issue but then became irrelevant because we found that our camera had a light with it, the effect we got from that light was perfect because it showed an almost distorted image which would be perfect for our flashback effects.

Importing and placing the music in the production correctly was also a challenge because getting the music in the right place was crucial. For example, the chase scene kicks off with a bang, a sudden start of music which helps draw attention to the fact that the man is being chased not going for a casual run for instance. We also had two types of music, the chase scene music and the flashback music, this was hard to fit in together. We overcame this problem by trying it out in different places moving the flashbacks in different places in the chase scene. This worked until we found the right balance for chase music and flashback music, when music was finished being put in place I was very happy with what we had at the end of it. I made the music in a programme called garage band, this was hard to do because I never used this programme before so it was challenging. I was very pleased with the end product of my garage band tasks. I created two music sound tracks that I used for my thriller product on garage band this is an example of one of them, I created them and then imported them into my footage in the correct places.

Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

My Preliminary task went really well. The video footage I had to work with and edit was really good, this made editing much easier. In my prelim my group was me Jacob and Will. Worked well together and all had different jobs. The finished footage was around 2 minutes long, which I think is good for a length of time for something like this. The basic plot of the prelim was a man starts off walking and then is followed by two thugs, during the man's walk around a building there a variety of shots. There is plenty of mystery in this task, it then comes to a shot where the man call's for a lift and the thugs are mysteriously in there before him waiting. They assault him where it pulls to another similar shot of the lift where the thugs run out and leave a body in the lift. I think it went well overall and that if we were to do it again I think I would get more talking involved perhaps, and make it slightly longer but i think that was down to the time I was given. I learnt a lot from this experience of shooting and editing and I enjoyed it. Strengths I think I took from the prelim were things like camera shot types, editing and directing what I wanted out of the time we had to film. I believe the skills that I have learnt in the prelim helped me tackle my main task, gave me some experience towards editing and using imovie was useful finding out all the effects I could use.