Evaluation - Introduction

Explain what your brief was

The content of the AS media coursework required both group and individual work. Individually, we each maintained a blog that recorded our research prior to planning our thriller opening. Such research explores conventional cinematography, editing, sound, character representation and mis en scene. After concluding the findings of the previous research, we then began to plan our thriller opening in order to increase chances of appeal; taking the feedback from our target audience to plan elements mentioned previously. As well as maintaining a blog, we also had to create an opening sequence of a film from the thriller genre, lasting on average 2 minutes with the other members of my group; the result of the research and planning previously done. The opening also had to include a soundtrack over the visuals.

Introduce your group members

The other members of my group were Jagoda Jasionowska and Harriet Gold. I chose to work with Jagoda as a result of her technical ability in working the editing software Final Cut Express which would overall, benefit the final outcome of our product in appearing more professional. Also, her capability to engage other members of the group during the process of editing allowed each of us to gain the knowledge she already possessed and therefore, I feel we all benefited by gaining such knowledge by having Jagoda in the group.  Furthermore, I chose to work with Harriet as she possessed strengths in organisation, thus taking on the role of director. Her organisation skills encouraged all members to be on task at all times as we had created a film schedule, with Harriet taking charge of that. Overall we stuck to the filming schedule very successfully and therefore having Harriet in my group benefited us all as we were time efficient. Furthermore, her organisation skills also ensured that all equipment needed as well as any other materials were prepared and ready for when we had scheduled to use them, thus making sure that all footage was correct according to the storyboards.

Summarise roles in production

Allocating specific production roles to each individual was essential when making a collaborative production, as this ensures that each person is aware of what role they must maintain. If specific roles were not allocated, this runs the risk of a role being ignored thus threatening the final outcome of the product. In order to allocate the right role to the right person, we had to identify what qualities are needed to fulfil the role, and then who in the group possesses these qualities in order to maintain the role efficiently and successfully. Furthermore, the role of a sound technician is also vital in production as it consists of an individual who is in charge of all sound within the film, whether it be music or specific sound effects. Particularly in thriller films, sound is essential in creating a certain atmosphere for the audience and therefore it is key that this role is successfully fulfilled. Considering no one in the group had any prior experience in sound, we decided that all three of us were going to be sound technicians so that support and assistance were available from another group member when needed. Each of us had a good understanding of the conventional sounds in the thriller genre and therefore possesses the capabilities to create conventional sound effects to compliment the visual. Moreover, the role of an editor is vital in the post production process. An editor is responsible for taking the unnecessary footage away in order to create continuity and coherence using digital technology and editing software. It is an essential role in order to create a continuous narrative, rather than an entire footage. However, due to there being only three of us in the group, there wasn’t someone who could solely focus on editing and therefore we decided once again, that all three of us would edit. Each of us will have an approach for the editing style because our other roles are associated with editing i.e. I am a camera operator who provides the shots that are edited, Harriet is the director and will therefore have an image of how the product will be edited and Jagoda is the storyboard organiser, in which she has noted on the storyboards how she thinks it should be edited.  A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in film making. They control a film's artistic and dramatic aspects, while guiding the technical crew and actors. It is vital that the director has the capability to organise people, as they are in charge of the majority of crew. Therefore we felt Harriet was most suited to the role, as she possesses high organization skills to sustain control over other actors and crew. Furthermore, because of he organised personality, she was successful in making sure the rest of the group members are fulfilling their own roles. Finally, the director is also in charge of the 'direction' in which the narrative is going by instructing crew members as to how they want something done. Harriet is very imaginative to explore and expand the ideas in which we have as a group and therefore is more likely to come up with innovative ideas to steer the narrative in the right direction. Additionally, the role of location manager was a role pivotal to the production, as it consists of researching a suitable location for the film and eventually finding the accurate one that is most suited to the narrative. A location manager must possess skill in their ability to research, as well as patience in finding a suitable one that will be eventually used. The location we will use is neither complex nor varied, as the entire opening sequence takes place in the victim's house, and therefore the location manager's responsibilities will not be exercised to the full extent. However, it is still vital that the right location is chosen. After discussing our narrative, I felt that my house would be suited and therefore was able to recognise what the location needed in order to be suitable. Once the group members had agreed after seeing the house, I consequently became the location manager as I showed qualities of initiative. Also, a storyboard organiser is a key role in pre-production stages as they  create and develop the storyboard that represents what is going to happen within the scene. This includes location, camera shot, sound, iconography, lighting, actors involved, editing and narrative description. It is vital that the storyboard organiser is organised and creatively skilled as they are required to sort each element according to when it will appear in the frame. Jagoda adopted the role of storyboard manager as she could effectively elaborate on creative ideas to make them clearer through detail in our storyboard. She possessed qualities that include patience which is suited to the role as it is a lengthy job. This will therefore benefit us as it will be easier to follow when filming our thriller as well as being aware of what the final product will come out as. Lastly, a vital role was camera operator; consisting of someone operating the camera while filming the opening sequence of our thriller. I was the camera operator for the production as I possessed the skills suitable for the role, such as accuracy. They are usually the first people to use the camera's eye piece to assess how all the elements of performance, lighting and positioning are coherent in order to have affective footage that will eventually create a narrative. Therefore, having an eye for accuracy is a vital quality that a camera operator must have, in order to ensure that the footage accumulated is of the best standard, thus to avoid wasting time by re-filming. Furthermore camera operators must of course, have a working knowledge and understanding of the technology they are using, such as the camera and tripod. In comparison to my other group members, I had the most understanding of such technology and therefore was more suited to the role as I will not need to learn anything in order to fulfil it, reducing the time spent on production.  Lastly, camera operators must be able to have good communication skills, as they must constantly listen to the ideas of the director in order to fulfil their vision. As well as this, they also must communicate back to the director in terms of what they think in response to such ideas and therefore, overall I am most suited to this role I as possess the qualities needed to fulfil it.

Explain what your role was and what you were responsible for and what you learnt from it

The main role I had during the production stage was camera operator and therefore the actual filming process was my responsibility; for the camera operator controls the camera according to the required shots and angles desired.  To fulfil this responsibility I had to communicate with the other members of my group constantly. Jagoda was the storyboard organiser and therefore had taken note of the camera shot/angles we had planned to use in each scene. When filming said scene, it was vital that we constantly referred to each other in terms of what was planned and what was better suited to the scene. My understanding of which assisted me in the evaluation of better suited shots was gained through the preliminary task, in which I had practiced with the camera. Furthermore, I also had to stay in contact with Harriet, the director of the production. As the director, Harriet was also in charge of the filming schedule and therefore it was vital that was communicated what camera equipment I would need in order to film the scene. This was to limit the chances of forgetting any equipment and making sure it was usable when needed. Overall my responsibility of filming the narrative was reliant on the communication between myself and the other group members.

A close up is used to convey smudged make up/distressed facial expression
so encourage the audience to empathise

During the research I conducted, I gained knowledge according to the conventional cinematography styles that were often used in the genre. The films I analysed to gain such understanding included Scream, Se7en, Prom Night and Obsessed, all of which used similar cinematography shots/angles which included mostly close ups. I learnt that close ups were conventionally used to intensify a moment as it encourages the audience to look at the content being focused on and therefore decided to incorporate this in my own production. When the victim is panicking in the bathroom, I used a close up shot to create a similar effect I had identified in existing successful thrillers. The close up intensified the emotions of the victim to the audience, thus encouraging them to build a relationship with the victim so that they can empathise with her, further encouraging them to engage in the narrative.

It is in this scene where the victim is panicking that a low angled shot is used for emphasis.

Other camera angles that I noticed typically arose in the thriller genre was a low angled shot, conventionally on the antagonist as it enlarges the character on the screen thus implying their dominance and power in comparison to the victim. Therefore this reinforces the vulnerability of the victim, thus further encouraging the relationship between victim and audience to engage them in the narrative.  Therefore I used this camera shot when filming my own narrative, to create a similar effect and conform to generic convention. However, my own narrative did not reveal the identity of the antagonist to create an enigma and therefore I could not incorporate a low angles shot on the antagonist. However I did include a low angled shot of the victim to create a similar effect  as the shot makes the victim rather small in the frame which reinforced her vulnerability similarly to the  high angles shot of the antagonist. By doing this role, I learnt about the initiative needed to overcome obstacles that stopped me from performing the intended shot, which this example supports.

Originally, this scene was shot using hand held. However suspense was not effectively created due to the unsteadiness of the camera and therefore a tripod was used to achieve this.

When filming the production, I learnt the importance of the equipment provided, particularly the tripod. Although hand held camera is conventional to the genre, it is specifically used at certain points of the film to create a chaotic atmosphere that implies panic and in turn, make the audience feel on edge. During the filming process, I used hand held camera but when looking back on the footage, decided that it was not suited to the content as it was intended to be long and suspenseful. Therefore I re-filmed the scene where the victim is opening the door to the bathroom, the room in which the antagonist is suggested to be in, but using the tripod. Prolonged and suspenseful scenes are clearly evident and conventional to the genre; however the cinematography appeared slow and almost sneaky. Therefore I used a tripod so that the camera would glide rather than shake, teaching me the importance of the tripod. Furthermore, the scene appeared clearer and more realistic which therefore the audience can believe more.

The lighting is too dark for the camera to focus correctly and therefore the lighting would have had to have been increased if we were to do the production again.

Lastly, when filming the scene in which the victim walks through the corridor to the bathroom, the footage appears to blur unintentionally. As low key lighting is a convention of the theme, we incorporated this in our own production to create mystery; however the lighting was so low that the camera struggled to focus, thus causing the content to become blurred. In turn, this may cause the audience some confusion as it may suggest that the camera shot is point of view in which the perspective of the character has become blurred to symbolise injury and mental instability but is really down to the low key lighting. Therefore being a camera operator also taught me that the role also has to consider external factors including lighting to ensure the final footage is of a high quality.


Did your group work well within a group?

Throughout the process of research, planning and production, I feel that we all worked well as a group as we were all aware of what we had to do through consistent and thorough communication. We would often have meetings to discuss each of our roles and the deadlines in which they must be done in order to move on to the next task. Furthermore, each of us were open minded to any suggestions that deviated from the original plan in order to better our thriller opening,  which I feel benefited the final outcome of our product as we were willing to learn from the mistakes we made to improve the quality. Finally, we were effective in assisting other members when struggling to carry out a task. For example, when putting sound effects in through editing, Jagoda often assisted myself and Harriet to gain knowledge and independence that eventually led to us being able to carry out the task ourselves.


Explain if you think you have made a successful thriller by relating back to the conventions to support your points

Before beginning production process, we carried out various primary and secondary researches in order to gain a sufficient amount of knowledge in terms of the typical generic conventions, thus allowing us to incorporate them in our own production. This was a vital process to carry out before filming as it allowed us to understand the genre and therefore make a thriller opening that the audience will recognise as part of the genre, to avoid confusion. For example, if we were to include an element of comedic value, the audience may not associate the opening with the thriller genre as this is not a generic convention and therefore the product will lack coherence. As part of the secondary research, I analysed many existing successful thriller openings to gain understanding of what is typically seen. Such films included Scream, Se7en, Prom Night and Obsessed. From analysing these films, I was able to establish typical conventions of the genre; low key lighting, hidden identity of the antagonist, victim wearing white, isolated location, diegetic and non-diegetic sound, slow paced editing and close ups. In order to establish whether or not the final product was successful in terms of its genre, I compared it to the opening to the thriller Se7en, to analyse whether or not the content and effect differed, to suggest the unsuccessful elements of my own thriller opening.

The opening sequence to the thriller 'Se7en' conforms to the generic conventions of a thriller film by using close up shots. Close ups shots are typically used to emphasis a moment as it encourages the audience to look at something specifically. The use of a close up in the context of the opening sequence is significant in reflecting the 'psychological' aspects of the film. By having a close up of someone scraping the skin off of their fingers, the audience become aware that 'someone' (antagonist) is not deemed psychologically normal or stable. It makes the audience focus of the skin coming off of the person's fingers which makes them feel on uncomfortable as it conveys the intensity of the person's lack of 'normality'. It also suggests that the person takes pleasure in hurting themselves/others which once again, is reflective of the narrative and therefore implies to the audience that violence will take place.

In comparison to the Se7en opening, my own thriller opening also conforms to the generic convention of using close ups. When the victim has been touched on the shoulder by the antagonist, she turns around and screams; in which a close up shot is used. The significance of a close up shot is vital in encouraging the audience to build a relationship with the victim. When realising that the antagonist is behind her, her facial expressions convey clear fright and shock and by using a close up to frame this, her emotions are intensified to the audience, thus making them focus on the victim's emotions. By having to do so, the audience are made to feel on edge, as they begin to empathise with the victim and therefore feel uncomfortable when she is threatened. Similarly to the opening sequence to 'Se7en', I have effectively used a close up to intensify a specific moment in the opening, as well as creating the conventional effect such shot has on the audience as they are made to feel disturbed. By conforming to such convention, my opening sequence is successful in terms of the cinematography used as it is similar to existing, successful thriller openings.

In terms of editing, the opening sequence conforms to the conventions of the thriller genre by using a 'montage'; in which a series of short shots are edited into a sequence to condense space, time, and information. Each of the short clips are taken from the antagonist writing in his diary, which is heavily evident in the actual film and therefore is reflective of this. A montage is typically edited using fast transitions and therefore the editing of the opening sequence connotes the chaotic and unstable mind set of the antagonist through its fast pace. By representing the antagonist is such way, this makes the audience feel on edge and uncomfortable in regards to such character, another convention of the genre. Lastly, the audience receive a a lot of information at one time because of the montage editing which in turn, may make them feel slightly distorted and on edge to anything 'out of the ordinary'.

Although the opening sequence to Se7en uses montage editing, the narrative of my opening focuses on the victim thinking the antagonist is in her house and therefore slow paced editing will be more suitable. By having slow paced editing, suspense is built throughout the opening while the victim is looking for the antagonist. It suggests to the audience that a climatic event will occur as a result of the suspense built which will make the audience feel on edge. To elaborate, when the victim hears a noise from another room she goes to check what the cause of it may be in the bathroom. When walking through the corridor and going to open the bathroom door, slow paced editing is used to build suspense as it prolongs the revealing of the antagonist. This makes the audience feel on edge as they are unsure as to what will happen next. Although I haven't used the editing style evident in the Se7en opening, I have still conformed to generic convention. By doing so, I have also created the desired effect on the audience that is often associated with the thriller genre; feeling on edge. Therefore, my opening sequence may be deemed successful in terms of editing styles as slow paced editing is used in other successful thrillers such as Prom Night.

The sound used on the opening sequence is highly conventional to the thriller genre for many reasons. The first being the pitch of the sound, as it is very high and almost sounds very similar to screaming. Because of this, the sound creates a very disturbing atmosphere as it appears that there is background screaming, which implies an upcoming disturbing cause. Therefore the audience are made to feel on edge due to the eerie atmosphere created. Furthermore, the sound is also conventional in that it fluctuates and changes in volume. This is a convention of the thriller genre as the sound becomes unpredictable; it will be quiet one second and then loud the next. The unpredictable nature of the music makes the audience feel on edge as the change in volume makes it jumpy and irregular. This is conventional to the thriller genre as it effectively manipulates the emotions of the audience into feeling on edge. However, there is also a monotonous beat included in the soundtrack which sounds similar to a heartbeat; throughout the sequence the 'beat' increases in speed which may influence the emotions of the audience are heartbeats typically speed up when frightened, which may influence them to feel so.

In comparison to the Se7en opening sequence, the sound used in my own production is very similar in terms of style and convention. Conventionally, sound used in thriller film fluctuates so that it becomes irregular and unpredictable to keep the audience on edge, as well as fluctuating at specific points in the narrative to stress a moment. In my own production, I used a storm soundtrack throughout the entire length of the opening to create an eerie atmosphere. The storm highlights the vulnerability of the victim as it is unsafe in both the house and outside, cutting her off from any comfort or escape. The storm fluctuates at specific points in the narrative such as when the victim opens the door that is predicted to have the antagonist behind it. By having the sound increase in volume and pitch, this moment is stressed which makes the narrative jumpy, thus making the audience feel on edge. Although I have used different sound in my thriller opening, the style in which the sound is executed is conventional to the genre and evident in the Se7en opening.The fluctuations in the sound make it irregular which makes the audience on edge and therefore the sound in my thriller opening may be deemed successful as a result.

The thriller film 'Se7en' falls into both crime and psychological sub-genres, and therefore uses conventional iconography such as weapons. In the opening, a weapon is evident in the picture as a man with an arrow through his head, which implies to the audience that the narrative will consist of violence or possibly torture. Both of these are regular themes that are focused upon in the thriller genre, as they make the audience uncomfortable and on edge. Such iconography is also reflective of the antagonist as it suggests that they are psychologically imbalanced in order to do such act. Furthermore, this also highlights the conflict between victim and antagonist as it suggests a similar/possible outcome between such two characters, thus building suspense.

The opening to Se7en uses iconography such as weapons as the narrative is based on graphic and violent crimes and therefore effectively reflects the narrative.  My production is focused on the psychological aspects of the thriller genre rather than crime and therefore weapons are not suitable iconography to include in my opening sequence. Although my iconography used may not be considered conventional, it plays a key role in creating a conventional effect on the audience. At the beginning of the sequence, the victim is on her phone and laptop which are methods of communication. However, they suddenly stop working which disables her from contacting anyone for  help. This effectively cuts the victim off from any external help which therefore isolates her. Therefore the audience feel more on edge as they are made to feel that the victim leads an inevitable path of being captured by the antagonist. Conclusively, the iconography is not conventional to the thriller genre as it is not typically associated with it; however in using such iconography I have been able to create an isolated victim in which the audience can empathise with, which is a convention of the thriller genre. Therefore the iconography can be deemed successful in terms of it's effect on the audience.

In the opening to Se7en, the identity of the antagonist is not revealed to the audience which is conventional to the genre. By having the identity of the antagonist hidden throughout the audience are made to feel more on edge as they suspense is built in the run up to the revealing of said identity. It creates an enigma as to who the antagonist is which keep the audience engaged to find out. Although aware of the percussions of the antagonist, the lack of knowledge in terms of their identity makes the audience more vulnerable, as they are not all knowing like the antagonist. This is an effective and conventional method in which thriller films typically make the audience feel on edge. The sole indication of the representation of the antagonist is the frame in which someone is scrapping the skin off of their fingers, which the audience assume is the antagonist because the person appears distorted, mentally unstable and takes pleasure in hurting themselves/others; qualities that are associated with a conventional antagonist in the genre.

In the opening of my thriller, the audience only see the victim. Grace is a conventional character often found in the thriller genre, particularly because of her gender. Females are often portrayed as the victims in thrillers, who are victimised by male antagonists. Conventionally, the male antagonist is portrayed as threatening and powerful whereas the female victim is represented as weak and vulnerable, thus heightening the audience’s empathy for the protagonist, and creating an innocent representation. Her innocent representation is also reinforced by her costume. The victim is wearing white, a colour that connoted innocence and purity. Conventionally, victim often wear white to reinforce their innocence and vulnerability to the audience so that they can build a relationship. The victim also appears to be a typical teenager in that she is on her phone and laptop, talking to her friend. This creates a representation of the character which the majority of young adults can relate to, as they have probably been in a similar situation at one point. Her representation overall appears to portray a typical teen who is innocent in the situation.

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Overall, there are many similarities that I have identified in both my opening and the opening to Se7en. This alone would suggest that my opening is conventional to the genre, as it is very similar to an existing thriller film in terms of the micro elements. Not only this, but my opening sequence has created a similar effect on the audience, that the opening to Se7en had. Through prior research into the thriller genre, I can also notice that such effect is evident in other thriller such as Prom Night and Scream. Therefore my opening appears to fit in with other thriller films, suggesting that it is conventional to the genre. In terms of success, this can be measured by the effect the opening had on the audience as it is vital that it not only engaged the audience, but manipulated their emotions into feeling disturbed and on edge. Theoretically, by including conventions of the thriller genre, my opening sequence should also effect the audience in the desired way as a result. For example, by using slow paced editing, a convention of the genre, this should build suspense that leave the audience feeling on edge. Therefore it is logical to assume that the opening is successful as not only have I compared the conventions evident in both opening, but also the percussions of such convention. However, to establish the true success in terms of our target audience's opinion I conducted focus groups to receive positive and negative feedback which will be further discussed later.