Final Evaluation

Group Evaluation

As a group we came up with various ideas in the way we wanted to present our evaluation, we came up with PowerPoint presentations, live commentary, question and answer sessions, but we believed that the best choice for our group would be one that is engaging and not overloading with too many words. So we decided to create our evaluation on Final Cut Express, by using this software we are going to have a split screen where on one side will be the image/footage of our opening thriller sequence and the other will have written commentary to answer the evaluation questions thoroughly. By doing this we hope to engage and entertain the viewer without making them feel bored and want to stop watching. This will hopefully come across as there is a minimum amount of writing to take in without an excess to read, accompanying this are going to be many visual examples and sounds from the beginning process, to production through to the actual opening sequence itself. Overall allowing our evaluation to be interesting and easy on the eye without making it dull and tiresome.

Individual Evaluation

Thriller Opening Sequence Evaluation

1)      Our media product has incorporated some generic conventions, for example the sound track which played throughout the whole sequence was made up of creepy sounds which are typically used in psychological thrillers to create a tense atmosphere. Another typical generic convention of psychological thrillers that is evident in our opening sequence is long shot duration which adds to the suspense, this was when the main character was walking along the path. It also had a number of enigmas for example where is she going? What has she just done? These were developed by the camera work and dialogue. This is also a common generic convention used in psychological thrillers. However our opening sequence does challenge the typical conventions of psychological thrillers, this is because it is located in a public place instead of a remote area.  Another way in which our opening sequence challenges these conventions is because of the main characters costume, her outfit was smart and sophisticated which isn’t normally associated with psychological thriller murderers. The use of most of these conventions makes the sub genre of the movie clear to the viewers, this is because of the slow pace which has been created by long shot duration and the use of slow motion during the editing process. The use of these conventions indicates that the film ‘The Shining’ influenced us during the production of our opening sequence. This is because ‘The Shining’ uses long shot duration for example during the scene where the protagonist is hiding from the antagonist this created a very tense atmosphere for the viewer. So we tried to create this effect. ‘The Shining’ also had creepy music through out most of the film, especially during the opening sequence when the antagonist’s car is driving down the road. The storyline also involves a psychologically disturbed murderer, similar to the one in our film. Another film that influenced us during the production of our opening sequence was ‘Shrooms’ this is because it contains a lot of high angle and low angle shots for example when the antagonist confronts the protagonist, the antagonist is portrayed as in control by the use of a low angle shot . Taking this into consideration we decided to use this in our opening sequence and as a result we used a number of high angle low angle shots to illustrate the main characters vulnerability.  

2)     

The particular social groups that our thriller opening sequence represents are gender and class. However in our sequence, not all of these groups conformed to there typical stereotype. This is because the main character was female and women are usually portrayed as passive and harmless, not as murderers. But at the end of the sequence it is clear that she is being controlled by a dominant antagonist which could be a male, so the sequence both conforms and challenges the gender stereotype. Our thriller opening sequence also challenges the social class stereotype as the main character was middle class and people from the middle class are usually looked up to by lower classes. They also aren’t associated with deviant crimes.  This links to our target audience which is mainly made up of females because they can relate to the gender of the main character.

3)      The kind of media institution that might distribute our product is Paramount Pictures this is because our thriller film is a mainstream movie. Paramount Pictures has also distributed many psychological thrillers which are similar to our product for example Shutter Island. The reasons for this similarity are because it has a similar target audience to our movie, however ours is mostly female and Shutter Island has a mainly male audience. The mise en scene that has been used in Shutter Island is also similar to the mise en scene used in our film this is because the characters are wearing sophisticated clothes and the lighting is very low key and dull which creates a dark, gloomy atmosphere. Our movie could be released as a TV film, broken down in to about 5 episodes this is because it contains a sequence of events that would leave the audience wondering what’s going to happen next. It would be released because psychological thrillers have recently become very popular and it would also offer great opportunities for merchandising, as extreme fans may want to purchase posters, badges, dolls of the main characters or buy the sound track off of itunes, this would dramatically increase the popularity of the film and the profit made.

  

4)      The target audience of our thriller opening sequence is older teenagers ranging from the ages of 16-19. Although national statistics state that males are the main target audience of psychological thrillers, our primary research indicates that our target audience is mainly female. This is because they enjoy watching psychological thrillers as it gives them a boost of adrenalin which they like. The majority of our target audience live in urban areas, our primary research revealed that most of them lived in the town centre, this would enable them to see adverts of the film because posters and other ways of advertising are more likely to be placed in urban areas instead or in rural areas. So they are more likely to want to watch the film or buy merchandise. There hobbies are also listening to music, shopping, swimming and reading. A similar film that may appeal to our target audience is Black Swan. The reason for this is because it is also a psychological thriller, with some gory scenes and has suspense through out the whole film.

5)       One of the ways we attracted our audience was by using micro areas that many psychological thrillers don’t have. For example during the editing process we made our opening sequence black and white to add a creepy atmosphere, this would attract viewers because they will think that it’s a scary film. This also made the lighting dim which creates the same effect. We also attracted our audience by using facebook this is because facebook is very popular with teenagers and is a good way to advertise a product. We could also attract potential viewers by producing adverts on the TV and radio. This is because one of our target audience’s main hobby was listening to music so it is very likely that they will hear the advert on the radio. Another reason is that stereotypically teenagers watch a lot of TV so they would also see the advert. There are some points in our film that would terrify children and younger teenagers especially girls. For example throughout the rest of the film there will be some gruesome scenes. But I think this would appeal to most teenage boys as they usually enjoy watching films from the same genre. Elderly people and sensitive adults may also find some elements of the film disturbing so it wouldn’t really appeal to them. The audience is asked to put themselves in the position of the main character which at the beginning of the film is seen as an antagonist but as the film progresses you will discover she is a protagonist. This is because she is being controlled by a psychologically disturbed man. With the use of point of view shots the audience can easily put themselves in her position as they are able to see what she is witnessing. Another camera technique used that allows the audience to put themselves in her position is the use of close ups. This is because it shows her facial expressions and the emotions that she is feeling. It also emphasizes the little details that she is experiencing. So it enables the viewer to be put in her position. The audience is being allowed to witness how devastated and distraught she feels when she is forced to kill a number of people. This would have a massive impact on the viewers because not only would they be anxious during the film from the creation of suspense they would feel emotionally attached and sorry for the main character. However this is not a common generic convention of a psychological thriller as the audience usually isn’t asked to put them selves in the position of the person who is doing the killings. But on the other hand in other psychological thrillers the audience typically puts themselves in the position of the vulnerable protagonist, so you could say that this is a common generic convention of psychological thrillers.

6)      Whilst making our opening sequence I learnt how to use lots of different, new technologies for example garage band when we created the sound track. Another technology that I learnt how to use was Final Cut Express. I learnt how to select the right clip, shorten it to the bit we wanted and how to add different types of transitions. Another new technology that I learnt how to use was Photoshop. I used this to produce the logo and I used a number of the tools on Photoshop such as the bulge and distortion tool. During the filming process there were a number of problems that we faced. These were making sure that pedestrians didn’t walk through a shot and if they did we had to make sure that they was there throughout the next couple of shots. Noise from aeroplanes, houses, cars and pedestrians was also an issue. But we overcome this by filming when aeroplanes weren’t flying over. We also changed the volume of most of the opening sequence and added a soundtrack to it. This made sure that some ambient sounds were still evident without effecting the overall quality of the sound. Another problem we faced was the weather this is because one of the days we filmed on was sunny and the other days were cloudy. But this problem was overcome by changing the colour of the sequence during the editing process. However the sunny weather also caused a couple of delays as in some shots we could see the shadow of the person filming but we filmed those shots again to make sure that this could no longer be seen. The strengths of the filming were that everyone got an equal opportunity to film and we were able to get the camera in the position that we wanted to, which allowed us to capture shots with the right feel that we was looking for. The weaknesses of filming were that one of the shots was filmed on a slope making it very awkward to get the camera straight. However we were eventually able to straighten the camera out by adjusting the tripod. The editing software that we used was final cut express. During the editing process we added a number of transitions for example dissolves, fade in and fade out to both the text and the scenes. This was a very useful effect as it made the opening sequence look more professional and made it flow a lot more smoothly. We also adjusted the speed in some parts of the opening sequence for example on the establishing shot and when the main character was walking along the path. This was also very useful as it added tension to scene as well as long shot duration which is a common generic convention of psychological thrillers as it creates suspense. To create the sound track we used garage band. This was also very useful as it had many sounds to choose from which allowed us to create a creepy sound track. However we wanted to put breathing or a heat beat during the point of view shots to add realism and to engage the audience even more.

7)      The preliminary task allowed us to practice different shot types and enabled use to perfect them. This was a very useful process as we were able to get used to using the camera and tripod. It also allowed us to practice editing on Final Cut Express and gave us some inspiring ideas on what editing techniques we could use in our final opening sequence. By researching psychological thrillers it made our task a lot easier as we knew what kind of effect and narrative we wanted our opening sequence to portray. During the research process we made a story board, test shots etc. This helped us because we knew what shots would work and what shots didn’t. This enabled us to improve the shot types we used. The story board helped us because we knew exactly what we were going to film. Overall I feel confident with our final product and I think that it was successful.

FINAL PRODUCTION

The Editing Process

Through out the editing process we decided to add a number of different transitions and effects in order to create a tense, thrilling atmosphere. For example we altered the speed of parts of the sequence by making it slower. This added to the tension and gave it a surreal feel. We also added a number of cross dissolves, fade in/outs to the scenes, logo and credits and finally a fade to black during the last scene. This helped the sequence flow alot better and made the credits look alot more professional.

Our Poster Feedback

After asking a number of people from our target audience what they thought about the groups poster I found that they thought that it was very distinctive and easy to remember. This is because of the bold, unique images used. As a result of this they wanted to watch the film. The target audience also stated that the title of the film stood out as the font is a bright colour on a dark background, which drew their attention to the poster. They also menioned that the style of the font and the images used helped to portay the genre of the movie. Another thing the target audience said was that the poster is layed out very clearly and that they thought the sentence that says "sometimes there is never a way out..." was very appropriate to the name of the film and that this also encouraged them to want to watch the movie even more.

Film Credit Research

In order to find out where to put our opening sequence credits I have done some research by watching the beginnings of some professional psychological thriller films. During this research I discovered that the majority of film openings went in the following order:

1) Production companies name and logo.
2) A scene containing the antagonist or protagonist.
3) The names of the producers.
4) Directors name.
5) Name of the person who made the music.
6) The names of the main actors.
7) A shot containing an enigma for example blood.
8) The title of the film.

Psychological Thriller Poster Analysis

This is the poster for the psychological thriller film, Dream House. Although the poster doesn't contain bright colours or bold images it does draw people in. This is because it contains an unusual image which attracts potential viewers of the film. The picture is also very easy to remember and this may encourage people to watch the movie. The image used also indicates that it is a psychological thriller as it plays tricks with your mind. There is also a sentence that matches the image of the two girls which hints to potential viewers what the film is about.

The font that has been used on this poster is made up of neutral colours which goes well with the rest of the poster. The title of the film stands out because it is white on a dark background. This draws peoples eyes straight to the name of the film.

Strengths and Weaknesses of Filming

The production of our opening sequence has been quite successfull, although there are some weakenesses to the filming there are also many strengths which overide them. For example:
Strengths:

• The weather conditions on filming days were perfect and helped emphasize the thrilling atmosphere as we filmed on dull, cloudy days.
• The mise en scene in the sequence looks very realistic and adds to the realism of the piece. For example the main characters outfit suits the situation very well as she is on her way home from work.
• Every member of the group had an equal oppertunity to film.

Weaknesses:

• During the filming stage one of the main problems we faced was getting the angle of the camera straight. This was because the first couple of shots were set on a steep slope.
• Also the point of view shot isn't very clear as you can only see the main characters finger tips instead of all of her hands. This may cause confusion for the viewers.

But overall I think we worked well as a group to try and reduce the amount of weaknesses.

Rough Cut Feedback

After seeing the opening sequence would you want to see the rest of the film?
Yes
Is there a thrilling atomsphere?
No, not in the rough cut but as the sequence progresses it may start to get more thrilling.
How well do you think the location relates to the sub-genre?
Yes the idea of having it by a grave yard was good.
Do you think the sequence flows?
Yes the sequence flows well.
Is there anything you would do differently?
I would slightly change the shot where you can see the main characters finger tips by filming more of her hands, so its clearer to the viewer that its her point of view.

Choice of Location

During the decision of the location, cooperation as a group was an issue. Because the location used wasn't my first choice as I didn't think it had the right atomosphere for the sequence. This is because it is a very busy area and is situated next to a noisy, childrens park. Therefore the aura of the opening sequence wasn't as tense as it could have been some where else more remote. This would have also cut down on the disruptions and obstacals during the filming process. However, overall the location was workable but just took a lot longer than expected.


The location that I suggested to use is illustrated in the pictures below. I wanted to film at this location because it has a creepy and appropriate atmosphere for a psychological thriller, it is also remote, dark and has only ambient sounds.

Obstacles and Disruptions During Filming

Considering the location that was chosen by other members of the group I knew there would be many disruptions and obstacles as I repeatedly mentioned to them, but cooperation as a group was an issue. Not only is it a very busy part of Windsor, being the town centre, it is also very noisy as it is situated directly behind a childrens park and secondly underneath the flight path of Heathrow airport. So there is a constant flow of pedestrians and aeroplanes. Which would cause a number of disrtuptions and major obstacles during the filming process. This would also have a huge impact on the pscycological atmosphere as childrens laughter may be heard in the background. Another disruption that was evident in our opening sequence was loud music coming from a residentual building which dramatically affected the scene containing dialogue. However the noise problem can possibly be resolved, as the audio can be muted during the editing process. But this is a different story for the problem of civilians with shopping and many business people interupting filming, as the location is commonly used as a short cut. Although the location caused many obstacles we have managed to eliminate most of the obvious ones and I hope this doesn't affect the quality of the sequence too much.

Individual Roles in Filming

Throughout the filming process of our opening sequence each member of the group had an equal opportunity of filming and directing the piece. This should of enabled us to complete the filming within a couple of hours, however the choice of location caused a few disruptions and at times delayed the filming. Whilst filming we tried to add a mixture of shots to help portray a tense and thrilling atmosphere, for example I filmed a high angle shot of the main character walking along the path. This shows that she was in a vulnerable position and also indicates that she is being controlled by an antagonist which would be introduced to the film later on. At the begining of the opening sequence I also filmed the low angle shots of the main character, when she was walking up the path and also the shot of her feet, this portrays that she was in control of the situation at the start however the circumstance changes as she approaches the presence of the antogonist and the high angle shot illustrates this. Another shot that I contributed to this opening sequence was the close up of the blood on the girls hand. Not only did this act as the enigma to the piece, it also adds tenison and anxiety to the scene. I also filmed the final shot of the gate closing, by using a medium shot and then zooming out. This indicates that she is psychologically and physically trapped, not only does this go well with the psycological theme it also goes well with the name of the film. I also filmed the over the shoulder shot, this gives the characters point of view aswell as showing part of the character. Lauren filmed the point of view shot as she played the main character this gives the viewers an insight of what the character experiences. Lauren also filmed the establishing shot of the location. Lucy filmed the close up of the list of names and contributed to the remaining shots.

Possible Title Ideas

As a group we sat down and thought very carefully about what we were going to call our thriller opening sequence. We wanted to create a title that reflect our theme and the actual narrative itself. So below is a list of our possible ideas:

• No Way Out                         
• Through The Phone
• GateWay
• Paranoid
• Anxiety
• Control Freak
• Captured
• Hidden

After thinking about all the above names, we went with Lauren's decision of No Way Out because we thought it went with our storyline that we had written. The title empahsises our narrative of not having anywhere to escape to as the characters are mentally traped by the antagonist which goes well with the psychological theme. When choosing a title for our thriller opening sequence we thought about how we were going to convey the storyline by just knowing the title itself. We wanted the title to be self explanatory to the audience BUT not giving anything crucial away, and that's why we decided to pick "No Way Out". Lauren and Lucy thought that picking this name would be easy to remember as its short and to the point, without seeming boring or dull. "No Way Out", we believe, is an appropriate title to echo the thrillers chilling narrative. It empahsises the main characters dilemma and how she is trapped in a situation so difficult and complex that she has NO way of escaping. Overall "No Way Out" fits in with the narrative we have created.

Filming Schedule

We shot our opening sequence on the 9th of March, below is a detailed schedule of what happened on the day:
3:00: We left school after making sure we had all the equipment we needed to ensure we would have everything so that we could film.
3:30: We arrived at our location, and got ready to set up, also put all the props that we needed into place.
3:55: We begun to film the first shot, doing this shot a number of times because it was near a road and a number of people were walking in and out of the frame.
4:30: We were halfway through filming, we had to make sure we filmed a number of the shots so that we got the right shot that we wanted.
4:45: Had just started the last shot, we had to do this one about 10 times because the disruptions. Also the props that we had to use for this shot were not in the right place or didn't go where we thought would be good.
5:15: Finished Filming every shot that we had on our storyboard and began to pack up.
The whole afternoon/evening of filming was very successful although we had to change a couple of shots from what we had on our storyboard because when we got to the location the shot that we wanted to do just didn't look very good through the camera.

Common Psychological Thriller Sounds

Many psychological thriller sound tracks are made up of classical instruments and sounds such as screams, people crying, shouting, doors creaking, scratching and screeching. So we decided to use some of these noises in our sound track.
 

Throughout the soundtrack of our opening sequence we will be aiming to create the music that's parallel to the scene itself. We shall be using many diegetic sounds to create a realistic atmosphere, for example dialogue, footsteps, vehicles and more. To produce the diegetic sounds for everyone to hear we will be trying our best to allow them to come across as best as possible whilst filming, but if not we shall edit them on using GarageBand. As well as diegetic sounds we shall be using non-diegectic sound, including the soundtrack.

Shrooms Opening Sequence Analysis

Throughout the first 40 seconds of the opening sequence of Shrooms the audience is informed of the production companies and the main actor.

Camera work:
The camera work that has been used in this opening sequence is as follows: Tracking, when the girl is running through the woods. This adds tension and a fast pace to the scene, it also acts as an enigma as it draws the viewers in because they want to find out why she is running.
There is also an establishing shot of the building which sets the scene, however the shot isn't stationary as it has also been flimed using tracking just slower than the previous one. Then there is a close up of a bucket on the floor with black liquid pouring out. This plays with the audiences mind as it makes them wonder what it is and why its there. Then there is an extreme close up of the black liquid again. During this scene there is a circle over the lens to make it feel as if it is a dream or a flashback. Next there is a point of view shot going down the corridoor this also makes the audience think that it is a dream or flash back. Then there is a shot that is out of focus of a mysterious man, this makes the audience anxious as they dont know who he is.

Editing:
The editing used throughout this opening sequence is cross cutting of when the girl is running and the closeups of the black liquid. This builds up the tension and creates antisipation for the audience.

Mise en scene:
The lighting throughout most of Shrooms opening sequence is very low key. This creates a creepy, mysterious atmosphere. However there is ambient lighting coming through the windows, down the corridoor. This adds realism to the scene as well as creating natural shadows an this gives the sequence a gloomy atmosphere. This opening sequence is set in the woods which is a classic location for psycological thrillers to be set. There is also a building which looks deralict and very run down. Both of these are usually asscoiated with thrillers and have a big imapact on the sequence.

Sound:

The sound used in this opening sequence is classical and mainly made up of low pitch instruments. This creates a very scary, intense atmosphere. There is also ambient sound of the girl breathing heavily, this adds realism.

Titles/Credits Analysis

Sweeney Todd Opening Titles:

The first credits that are shown are who directs the film, which is then followed by the main actors that feature in the film. All the names of the actors are shown on a rolled up newspaper, the font of the names are bold and in the black which makes all the names stand out and they are on the screen for about 2 minutes at standing point but throughout the title sequence you can still see all the actor's names. The colour scheme of the whole sequence has a natural tone and creates a grim atmosphere. The title of the film appears after the last actors time, but the title appears as a headline story with a sub line underneath.

Batman Opening Title: The title is revealed before anything else. The whole way through the opening there is the background of the where the film will be mainly filmed at. The background is dark which helps make the text look more prominent as the colour of the text is a bright yellow this causes the audience's eye to be attracted to the text more than the background. The production company's name is revealed first, and then followed by the main actor's names. The font is in capitals the whole way through, this adds to the suspense of the film.

Photos of Filming

 Below are the photos of us filming our test shots. We all switched roles to see which had the best outcome and showed the right techniques that we had said we wanted to use.

 

Logo

To choose our logo out of the ones we each individually made, we asked a number of people from our target audience to select which logo they liked the best and thought looked the most appropriate for the production company of a psycological thriller film. After gathering the results, they revealed that Alices logo was the one that we are going to use. The members of the target audience that we asked said that it looked eye catching and was very easy to remember and recognise.

To create the logo Alice used photoshop as it contains all the tools necessary. Then I got an image of a blood splat from the internet and I distorted and changed the image to make sure it portrayed the right look that I wanted it too. I then used that as the foundation of the logo. Next I added our production companies name over the layer of the image of the blood. After finding the right font and ensuring that I had the right font size, I then decided to blur out the top of the first line of the name and the bottom of the second line of the name. To create a unique but mysterious look, next I distorted the font and used the bulge tool to give the logo a slightly 3D appearance.This also makes the writing seem like it is moving and causes the logo to look more like it belongs to a thriller production company.