Final piece thriller - Resentment

Evaluation Question 7

Evaluation question 6

Evaluation Question 5

Evaluation question 4

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evaluation question 3

Evaluation question 2

Poor diversity in our Thriller:

Poor diversity in our thriller:

Evaluation question 1

Evaluation question 1:

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

In our thriller the conventions of a thriller we applied were tension and suspense, editing, sound, cliffhanger, protagonist and antagonist.

I think in our media product we can apply Roland Barthes' action code: 'Applies to any action that implies a further narrative action' this is shown when S Wavey pulls out his gun at Nortz, and because of this action we wonder what will happen next. Also I think we can apply the enigma code because the audience has no idea why Nortz has caused a hit-man to be hired to kill him.

 we compared our film to a film called “Get rich or die trying which stars 50 cent (Curtis Jackson) and Terrence Howard. We thought our thriller was very similar to this because of the way its based on the streets and it involves young black males who all trying to make it in life no matter good or bad.



Evaluating and going through our thriller I think we pretty much conformed to all the conventions of a thriller because I didn't pick up anything which challenged the conventions.

S Wavey is similar to the character of 50 cent in get rich or die trying his character is of someone who gets what they want when they want it because of experiences that they have been through, he is tough and is not afraid to use violence if he needs to. 

Film screening/audience feedback

After all the filming and editing was done we asked a small group to come and watch our finished product and tell us what they thought our strengths and weaknesses were and if they would watch/ recommend the film to other people.

From our feedback we found out:

Our strengths:
1) Editing - our class mates said our editing from the studio ident until the end of the the thriller was very neat and almost flawless
2) Sound - Our class mates also said the use of sound in our thriller was effect

Our weaknesses:
1) Camera - although our camera work was overall well done, our class mates noticed some errors that were quite noticeable which affected the quality of our final product.

Overall our classmates said was quite impressive considering the little experience we had of the hardware and that they would watch the rest of it if it were to be made.

3rd Production Meeting

This picture was taken just before we left to go to Elijah's house to do some filming of our final product.

Designing/Making: Title sequences

We kept our title sequence simple, firstly we put the main actors names after our studio ident, and then slowly as the thriller proceeded we names each actor and what their role was in creating the finished product.

I would say our title sequence is similar to that of 'The Man in Steel' :

first day of editing

Editing 

Today we started the editing for our thriller with the clips that we have. We managed to include all the sound we wanted to and put the beginning clips together for the start. The way we worked as a group using our different skills for making decisions I believe helped make the film as professional looking as possible.

Above is a screenshot of us at work and it was all coming together ver nicely and we are happy with the progress made so far.

Styles of editing

 Styles of editing

There are several styles of editing in film making and media which can all be used to make the filming or work more effective.

Graphic Match:

Graphic matches are an effective trick which directors use for a transition of scenes where the two image of objects are similar usually the shape, like in this example the drain hole and eye both have a circular shape.


Dissolves:

A dissolve is very popular in modern film making, it is usually used to show/cut a period of time for example it may show the sun in the afternoon the you may see a video description saying "4 hours later" and then it shows the sun setting the use of a dissolve is very useful and effective.


Straight Cuts:

Straight cuts are probably the most popular type of cut, it is when one shot jumps to another without any jumps or anything this can make a shot or scene to seem more realistic or relateable. 

Storyboard

Storyboard

Today we completed our final storyboard which can be viewed in our animatic, we are pleased with progress we are making hopefully all the filming goes to plan or better.

Studio Ident

The Studio Ident

We decide to make our ident simple but effective. Our studio ident is called 'Rider Productions' consists of a short scene of cars driving past and a bike that crossed the is like a connotation of our studio ident name. To make it look more professional we sped the cars up to 150% and then transitioned it into 75% and then our studio name comes out when we stop on the bike rider.

First Day of Filming

Today we met up to do our first day of Filming.

For our first day of filming we gathered a few school friends to act and dance, so that we could shoot our party scene. This was successful as everything went to plan with the music and the shooting angles, so it will be shown in our final thriller.

Animatic

Animatic of our storyboard:

Initial Ideas

Initial Ideas

we came together as a group and well all suggested what we thought our thriller should be about, and it was a bit of a struggle because we all thought our own ideas were the best so in the end we came up with a rough plan of what we would base our thriller on.

We started of by agreeing about what type of film we all would all like it to be and in the end we decide we all like black, ghetto filmed so we based it on this.Next we thought what people would like to see and we agreed that people usually like films based on real life stories so we used the idea of a rapper who is making music and trying to get out of the hood.

 Storyline:

1) Rapper is becoming famous but has many haters
2) He gets shot
3) His best friend plans revenge
4) Rappers assassin gets released from prison
5) Twist

First Draft/Evaluation

First draft/Evaluation

In our first draft our thriller was looking good except for a few significant errors which determined on if our thriller would be rated as high quality or low quality; for example there is a part where we jump straight from the party scene to Nortz walking away angrily but it dawned upon us that this was a bad edit because there is no way a member of the audience would be able to notice that Nortz had become angry and also it wouldn't make sense for him to all of a sudden go from a party and be confronted with a gun without a reason. 

Second production meeting

Today we had our second production meeting

In today's meeting we completed our planning:

we decided that we were going to film our thriller outside Elijah's house and what time we were going to film, Elijah who is the lad at the back of the photo above. We also decided that we were going to supply all the props we needed ourselves as we had the resources already. As well as this we were also doing our location sheet and the shooting schedule.

Introduction to the group

   

Members

Leon Macauley (Front) - Actor and Camera man
Elijah Smalling (Left) - Camera man, editor, actor
Tino Chimunye (Right) - Actor
Gottfried Nortey (Back) - Actor, Editor

The Birds

The Birds

A girl called Melanie Daniels played by Tippi Hedren meets a man called Mitch Brenner played by Rod Taylor in a pet store set in the city of San Francisco. Mitch plays a joke on Melanie and the two seem to like each other alot. Melanie decides to go with Mitch to drop off a present to his little sister of two love birds, oddly as she is on the speed boat she is attacked by seagull which leaves a cut on her forehead.


As the film proceeds we see there are several bigger and more ruthless attacks on the public including a kids primary school which caused a fatal death of one of the school teachers. The final attack was on Mitch's mothers house where the birds assemble and attack with all their might; with a little quick thinking and perseverance Mitch manages to keep them out but little do they know that they birds have managed to break in the room upstairs. After a while things settle down but Melanie decided to go and open the room which the birds broke through and gets attacked Mitch luckily comes and rescues her before its too late but she is badly hurt so their only option is to take her to hospital surprisingly they manage to get into the car and drive off with any birds moving.


This film fits in with Todorov's theory:
1) Equilibrium - A state of order and happiness
2) Disruption in equilibrium - An event or occurrence cause things to change
3) Realisation of a disruption
4) Attempt to repair damage of disruption and stop it completely
5) Restoration of equilibrium

Unknown

Unknown

Unknown

Released: 18 Feb 2011
Director: Jaume Collet - Serra
Main actors: Liam Neeson, January Jones, Diane Kruger

A man named Dr Martin Jones has had a serious accident and falls into a coma when he wakes up he finds out that someone else has taken his identity and everyone thinks he is crazy even his wife so he sets to prove his true identity and it wont be easy .....

how does Unknown meet the conventions of a thriller?

Firstly there is a lot of suspense and tension created, for example when he has that dangerous accident and the taxi falls into the river and is struggling to breathe and we wonder if he will make it out alive this particular scene almost makes the audience also hold their breathe.

Secondly Dr Martin Jones (Played by Liam Neeson), is a very resourceful hero (protagonist). He is in a country where he doesn't know anyone but still manages to come out on top and survive. As well as this, the antagonists in this thriller have a lot of power money and resources and also the upper hand.

There is also a very big 'red herring' used, because during the process of Dr Martin Jones claiming back his identity the audience is convinced that his name is really Dr Martin Jones but when the film starts to really unfold we find out that 'Dr Martin Jones' doesn't actually exist but is a mere fake identity used by the secret services.

Costumes and props

Shooting Schedule

Treatment

Psycho

Psycho is a film created and directed by Alfred Hitchcock in the year of 1960. Starring Anthony Perkins, Vera Miles, John Gavin and Janet Leigh.

This film, is based on the story of a girl who worked at the bank, but one day a man came in with a large amount of money which she knew what her future husband needed, so she decides to take it and run off to start a new life but things do not go so easily when she is continuously followed by a policeman. After a long night of driving she decide to stay at a motel for the night what happens no one could have predicted.

How does this film meet a thriller?

This film meets the criteria for a thriller because of the way it builds up tension and suspense and they way there is a total twist in the plot of the story. Throughout the film, Hitchcock makes the audience feel as if they have figured out the mystery before the film ends but continuously puts a twist in the story causing the audiences tension to increase until the end.

Also the film has an antagonist and a protagonist, in this case the antagonist is the motel keeper and there are several protagonists firstly, the inspector, the girls sister and future husband. 

Rope

Rope

Rope is film which was made in 1948 by the famous english director Alfred Hitchcock. It comes under the category of a thriller and a psychological crime thriller to be more specific.

This film was based and inspired by the real life murder of Bobby Franks by Nathan Leopold and Richard Leob.

Suspense
In rope there is a lot of suspense, Hitchcock put the professor in a position where everything was said made him suspicious but its suspense is there because as the audience we know that a murder has taken place and every time we think he is close, Leopold and Leob seem to find an escape and we wonder how long it will be before they get caught.

Hero and Villain
The obvious Villain(s) are Leopold and Leob as they have committed a crime for no other reason than self satisfaction. and the Hero is Rupert Cadell although in a way he slightly has a part in the murder, but he still investigates until he found out and gets justice by indirectly calling the police.

Pacing
The awkward thing about Rope is that the for a thriller, it is very slow which you would think is bad but in a way it help even more with the build up of suspense because they only get caught right at the end, and the whole slow pacing builds up to that blood pressure increasing moment.

Red herrings/Cliff hangers
In the particular example of a thriller, there aren't really any red herrings or cliff hangers it was more the audience new exactly what happened and were waiting to see how close and when the characters would realize.


Hitchcock has used invisible cut perfectly fine as they have ended at the same person or item and began exactly where it left off. The characters  don't know but for the audience that do know it makes them a feeling of being thrilled as if they were there while the murder took place and witnessed a murder.
Rope is a perfect example of a timeless thriller.

Sound Exercise Evaluation

The aim of this task was to create a short film and putting into practise the different sound components that we learnt which were diegetic, non-diegetic, off/on screen, parallel and contrapuntal.

PRODUCTION

Our production went very well. The plot of the story is based on a drug deal gone wrong because a 'snitch' sets up two drug dealers but little do they know that they are both going to be caught by a dirty cop.







 Non-Diegetic sound

Non-Diegetic sound was used when Leon was getting ready to go to meet the drug dealer and he was walking, the track by Dr. Dre was playing and he could not hear it and it was off screen.





Diegetic sound

There is diegetic sound shown when Leon and Gottfried are having a conversation about how good the drugs are.

Off Screen sound

Off screen sound was displayed when Elijah was talking to talk tinez about the setup and you could hear the sound of little kids playing in the playground but you couldn't see them.




On Screen sound

On screen sound is when the sound made on set and we can see the object making the sound for example seeing a fire truck or police car and hearing the siren, I think in this attempt we didn't  manage to include on screen sound.

Modern thriller openings

History of violence

History of violence meets a lot of conventions of a thriller through the use of suspense, pacing and and sound. 'Suspense' is used effectively right from the beginning because there is not a lot of sound and we feel suspense because there is a lack of knowledge of what is going there is no indication of what the film is about. Also there is the use of 'slow pacing', which made this thriller effective because it added to the suspense building up until we found out that the two men are murderers. Last but not least he use of sound was effective because they used mainly diegetic in the opening scene which helps give a primary feel of the tense atmosphere in the scene.




Zodiac

Zodiac meets the conventions of a thriller through tension and suspense and stimulates the viewers mood. During the first scene suspense was built as an element of surprise and fluctuates because at first everything seemed fine even though the girl seemed a bit uneasy for coming late, then they reach the mountain edge and they are happy but when the the black car pulled up suddenly caused a feel of worry especially when the girl would not say who it was, then when it came back there was an very high suspense as the driver of the black car came out but we could not see what he looked like and walked towards them and killed them, Th beginning is quite fast paced except those moments of high tension and suspense.


No country for old men

No country uses suspense and sound quite differently. Suspense is very predictable in this thriller, it starts off quite innocent after the guy gets arrested but as soon as escapes and starts using the police car and stops a man for no reason and suspense builds as he walks up to the man with an oxygen tank type of weapon. Sound is all  mainly diegetic and except when there is a guy who does a voice over at the beginning.

How to film a thriller

How to film a thriller

The thriller conventions that I managed to detect that are in this film:
parallel & digetic sound, low-key lighting and fast editing as well as a variety of shots.


Low key lighting

The use  of low key lighting is like a connotation of how unclear the mystery is and how its very eerie.











Fast Editing

I could not create a gif but in this part of the clip there is a lot of fast editing. Fast editing is a good signal or sign that something sudden is about to happen and the speed that is used can show you how fast its going to happen. it can also suggest that the character(s) are afraid.








Close-Up

Using an extreme close up is useful because it gives the audience a strong relation of how he is feeling according to his facial expression and the way it takes up the majority of the screen not giving the audience a choice to look somewhere else.









Low Angle

The use of this shot is that it give the audience an idea of what the creature maybe without revealing for example from this shot we assume the creature is a snake or something close to the ground.











Extreme Close-Up

Using the technique of an extreme close up  is helpful for adding a dramatic feel to a certain scene.

First Production Meeting

Working title:
In my group:

Gottfried Nortey // Writer and Editor
Tino Chimunye (me) // Producer
Elijah Jace Smalling // Director
Leon Macauley // Camera man

ACTORS:

Gottfried Nortey - Main Character (Victim)
Tino Chimunye (me) - Killer (Gottfried's Shooter)
Elijah Jace Smalling - (Gottfried's Avenger)

Extra's
Leon Macauley
Denis echessa
David Awabona

Our storyline is based on a famous rapper named 'Nortz' who happens to have a lot of beef and a lot of haters. Nortz has a very close friend called Eze, Eze has sworn to protect and watch Nortz's back at all times, but soon these words are put to the limit when Nortz is shot dead by a hit man while he is on tour how will Eze get revenge?, does he have the time the courage to do so?

Shot list

Risk assessment

Locations planning

Preliminary task

Preliminary task

Evaluation

In the preliminary task, me and my group (me, Leon, Elijah and Gottfried) created a scene where there was a boy who's at school. This boy is very hungry and keeps asking for food, but no one wants to give him any. Can this day get any worse? He soon discovers the answer to this when he finds out one of his friend is talking to his sister!

Match on action
For our match on we used a clever idea where Gottfried (the hungry boy) was staring at his watch waiting for lunch time, and then the watch turned into an Oreo which his friend was eating. We thought this was useful as it resembles how he's hungry and things seem to turn to food the more and more he thinks about it.

Eyeline Match
For our eye-line match we had Gottfried looking at his watch and then we cut it to a birds eye view of his watch.

Shot reverse shot
The closest we came to doing a shot reverse shot was over the shoulder, when Gottfried was asking me for the an Oreo.

180 degree shot
In our task we 'forgot' about the 180 degree rule and as you can see we switched sides accidentally


Personally I think out of the three our 'match on action' was very accurate because we got the right same size and shape looking objects and it was relevant to the plot of the story.

Our 'Eye line match' I also thought was pretty accurate but could have been improved it by cut back to Gottfried's face.

Next our 'Shot reverse shot' was weakly accurate could have been significantly improved by have the characters looking at each other off screen, to have a better effect of 'Shot reverse shot'.

As I said our 180 degree shot was very inaccurate as we switched side so next time we need to remember the rule when we are filming.

The most positive elements of our preliminary task was our 'match on action' and 'eye line match' and we should improve our 'shot reverse shot' and '180 degree shot'.