My Final Product: "Homecoming" - a Thriller Opening Sequence

Evaluation Question 7: Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

Preliminary Task





Final Thriller Sequence



I have posted my two coursework sequences; one from the beginning of the course, and one from the end. This shows my development as a film maker which I will go into more detail on in the Prezi below.



Evaluation

Evaluation Question 6: What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

In answer to this question, we have annotated our Thriller on YouTube, mentioning any relevant details linked to our use of technology during the entire production process.
See below...

Evaluation Question 5: How did you attract/address your audience?

Radio Show Episode



SCRIPT

I am going to look back over my finished product and evaluate specific areas that I believe attract and address my target audience, focusing on the pleasures that they can take from it.

When establishing those pleasures, I will be using the “Uses and Gratifications Theory” [Bulmer and Katz, 1974]. This model suggests that a media product has to fulfil a specific pleasure for an audience when they choose a form of media to interact with.

Genre

My film opening is a Thriller, with influences from Horror and Psychological. Thrillers like these entertain the audience in a way that builds them up to an intense climax of shock multiple times throughout the film. Certain people (our target audience) enjoy this type of journey, along with having to think, as an audience, and solve the mystery themselves. Our thriller causes the audience to ask a huge number of questions within just two minutes, while also building the tension and their heart rate up to the climax of revealing the dead body in the bed. There are other products similar to this that have already achieved great success. For example, TV programmes, such as Dexter, Murder She Wrote, and the Agatha Christie’s series’, begin by displaying the body within the murder scene during or after the event, and then the detective is introduced to the case and solves the mystery with a few plot twists on the way.

When a product like our thriller forces the audience to ask so many questions, the discussion or debate for the answers to these are inevitably going to be passed around the viewers. This makes for a product that spreads around the public faster which helps for marketing purposes.

Setting

The setting of a standard country home, helmed by a teenage boy, is not a particularly pleasant one. However, the idea of being in his position (i.e. having the house all to himself) is one that we know is very popular, thanks to our target audience research, within the youthful community. This position is also one that viewers can relate to which gives them an attraction to the film on a personal level.

This setting educates the unknowing audience on how most male youths would live there life, if they could have it their way forever.

There are various inserts of irony, during our opening sequence, when looking at the set. For example the student had been rolling cigarettes with tobacco using a family photo as a table. There is also enjoyment in the mystery that is gradually unravelling in front of your eyes. As it’s the very first scene, no one has any information on what is going on. Therefore, every member of the audience is in a unique position of total confusion, but as we travel through more and more of the house, we are able to piece together the puzzle. Once the dead body is revealed, the audience can then be satisfied by what they noticed during the run up to the reveal, while still having loads of unanswered question on why the person is dead etc.

Narrative

The story is very blurred as not much is revealed, even after one sees the dead body. This leaves the audience asking questions, which is what thriller-fanatics love.

There is only one single present character in the sequence, and unfortunately, he is dead. This cuts off a certain strength in connection between the audience and the character, despite a huge amount of empathy heading his way. However, this empathy is also sub-consciously being sent to all the family and friends that have been linked to the victim through the photos dotted around the house.

Representation

In general, I believe our sequence is most appealing to young men, preferably students, with a loving family and a happy home, who may have been caught up in some trouble along the way. The youth and his family represent a working-middle class family with close relationships and an importance of morality (which may have actually gone a bit astray with the teenager)

Music

Our soundtrack utilises the combination of the build up of tension in classical music and the answer messages. I doubt our target audience would really enjoy recreationally listening to the actual music on repeat. However, it does add a very powerful eeriness and scare to the sequence, which is due to the well-suited and perfectly timed execution of it. As well as this, there is a lot of variation in the musical part of our soundtrack which keeps the audience’s ears interested while their eyes are fed large amounts of info.

Titles

We featured all of our names presented with our main role in the production of this sequence. This included director, editor, composer and costume etc. We made sure to place each title in a section (time and area of screen) where there was little going on in order to not distract the audience.

Editing / Film Style

We used a simple yet effective long, single, journey-like shot that was used to showcase the set with all its thought provoking items. The final shot was a birds-eye-view zoom out of the dead body on the bed. As cameraman, I did the best job I could do on keeping the camera as steady as possible throughout the shots despite having to use a handheld rig. As the video editing did not play a huge part in our production process, any pace variation etc. that we wanted to include had to be added as part of the shot and it was my job to include enough variation in pace, framing and complexity to keep the audience entertained, but being careful to not over-do it. Any effects we wanted were only added to the audio (message recordings) as we kept the video simple as we wanted the POV look to it, which is an appealing view for an audience to experience.

Conclusion

In conclusion, I believe as a group we have successfully made an appealing thriller opening sequence to all, but especially to our target audience. We have all learnt a lot over this production process and I hope you can all learn something from this, and enjoy our thriller as much as possible.

Thank you very much for listening and I hope you have enjoyed this episode of Jonty's Audience Radio! See you next time!

Evaluation Question 4: Who would be the audience for your product?

In answer to this question, I interviewed around 10 random people, of different ages, genders and ethnicities, during a radio show, on various questions related to thriller films and my thriller. They gave me feedback on my own thriller and their own personal likening to the plot idea I explained to them. This gave me an idea of the type of person that would enjoy my thriller the most. And so, to conclude, I made a Facebook profile of that ideal viewer. See below...

Radio Show




Conclusion

Evaluation Question 3: What Kind of institution might distribute your media product and why?

Which institution would make your film, based on your film idea as a whole?

"LIONSGATE FILMS"

As a group, we chose the Lionsgate Films Studio as the institution to produce our entire feature film. Lionsgate is the largest and most successful mini-major film studio in North America. It has one of the biggest teen audiences of all the studios which is ideal for releasing a thriller that is especially directed at young-men.

"With its blockbuster Hunger Games and Divergent franchises leading a broad portfolio of films, Lionsgate has generated an average of $2 billion at the global box office each of the past three years, ranking among the major studio market share leaders.  In addition to its annual slate of approximately 15 mainstream wide releases, the Company has expanded its motion picture portfolio to encompass more than 40 films a year across multiple labels."

https://www.lionsgate.com/movies/

"Lions Gate is an ideal platform for launching rapid and exciting growth in the independent filmed entertainment world. We are a nimble and entrepreneurial young company that will opportunistically target and consolidate fresh assets, grow our core businesses and become the first new independent mini-major in years. Instead of competing directly with the major studios, we intend to capitalize on the competitive vacuum in the mini-major arena by creating edgy, provocative and distinctively independent content in our films, television programming and new media initiatives."

http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/lions-gate-entertainment-corporation-history/

Which institution would make your film based on what you actually made?

"Slingshot Studios"

This is a recently formed, UK, production and distribution company that specialises in low-budget brit and foreign-language films, directed at younger adults.

"Founded in 2006 by Arvind Ethan David and Arts Alliance Ventures. Slingshot raised private equity, strategic multi-picture investment from public bodies (BBC Films, Screen West Midlands, UK Film Council) and structured an output relationship with "Pathe" through which to distribute its movies.Described as “one of the most interesting players in the UK production and distribution scene” (Variety, 2007), Slingshot was one of a new vanguard of British film companies working to reinvigorate the industry and launch a new generation of talent.  Slingshot now functions as the producing vehicle for Arvind Ethan David and Cavan Ash, including projects set up at BBC Films, Lionsgate UK and the BFI."

http://slingshot-studios.com/

Explanation

Evaluation Question 3 from Jonty Harrison

Evaluation Question 2: How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Our Thriller Opening Sequence was based around a few key ideas. One of the main ones was the planting of mise-en-scene items throughout the set acting as little hints to the audience that all circum to sense once the dead body was revealed at the end. All these items that we featured are an obvious representation of age, gender, class, and regional identity. 

For example, the stereotype of a teenage boy is messy, unreliable and lazy. This is clearly portrayed throughout the house in the way we messily dressed the set, leaving worn clothes, towels, shoes, food wrappers, dirty crockery and even cigarette buts in certain areas of the house. When these items are noticed, the idea of a stereotypical teenage male being the main inhabitant of the house is immediately implanted into the audience's brain sub-consciously, however it is not obvious why all these items are in the house until nearer the unveiling end.. As well as this, it is very typical of a family house to have family related objects. We displayed this using various items including mock-up family photos, a calendar, and even fridge magnet letters. This represents the stereotypical family home combined with the teenager living there.

When it came to the answer phone messages, which mainly contributed to the tension within our sequence, there are multiple examples of how different age, genders and regional identities are represented. For example, the teenage girlfriend is played by a teenage girl, and her script is very stereotypical of a needy and clingy girlfriend, which is common in relationships at this age. The mother is obviously older and very caring in that stereotypically motherly way. For example, she reminds him to keep the house tidy, what she's up to on holiday, and notifies him of the severity of the situation if he was to have a party, still in a typical high-pitched and squeaky 'mumsy' voice. As well as this, the father is the stereotypical laid-back parent while his wife frets about everything.All members of the family have strong accents that portray a lower-class-origin aspect to the family, with the dad having a strong Birmingham/Midlands accent, and the mum clearly originating from Essex. As well as this, the house itself represents an average working class house in the country, especially when you notice the dog flap and food bowl, and the standard utilities and accessories within the house.
We wanted to add a feel to the one-shot take we used in the sequence that placed the audience into the film as an investigative character. Using the handheld rig to shoot gave us a more shaky and human feel to the shot. This also emphasises the messiness (and maybe even intoxicated) of the stereotypical. As well as this, we varied the pace of the movement through the house so that when a mise-en-scene element was shown, we slowed down and focused on it in order to emphasise the importance of the object, while speeding up during the transitions between objects simplifies the general feeling of a journey through the house.

The editing in our sequence was a straight forward process due to the small number of shots (2) and little to worry about when it came to continuity.  When adding the titles, we used a San Serif white font. This font was crisp and clean which juxtaposed the messy scene behind the titles. For us, the white represented purity and innocence of the house. Gradually, the scenes became worse and darker. As it builds in negativity, finally the dead body is revealed, and the final title, "Homecoming", appears in a dark red form of the font. 

Unfortunately, I feel that the general representation of the classes, ages and genders have been too stereotypical and al most negative. In understanding of this, I would have preferred to have worked harder on crushing the stereotypes for each character, just in order to send a subliminal thought on the topic.

Evaluation Question 1: In what way does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Evaluation Question 1 from Jonty Harrison



"Homecoming"

"Insidious"





"American Horror Story"

Thriller: The Editing Process

Key Decisions

1) To create tension through each part of the media text.

2) To vary pace throughout the text.

3) To create a smooth, flowing media text.

Expectations

The majority of post-production work needed on my group's sequence will be with audio. Once we get the main picture edited, we will begin composing the soundtrack with the messages, sound effects and music.

Intended Outcome 

To create and fluid sequence that creates tension and powerfully affects viewers psychologically, while only allowing the audience to fully understand the circumstances within the film by the end of the piece.

The Editing Suite

Expectations:

• Struggling to find enough time to get the sequence finished by the deadline.
• The ability to use professional quality, industry standard equipment.
• The help of the media department on editing techniques and changes.

Technology:

• Video sequencing software: Adobe Premier Pro
• Sound sequencing software: Logic X
• Colour correction/grading: DaVinci (possibly)

Playback and Review

• We reviewed all the rushes from the shoot day. 
• This is important as it gives us an overview of the all round quality of our shooting while showing our improvement as cameramen/directors as the day progressed. 
• It also allowed us to select the best "one-shot" take, and the best "bird's eye view shot" take.
• The quality of the speed and framing of each take was very important to us in deciding which were the two best takes.
• We used the timeline in the video editing software to compile the two shots and trim the in and out of each shot. 
• We renamed the folders/channels/clips to make it clearer for us as editors to know which shot/channel was which.

Editing the Clips

• We trimmed either end of the two shots to great accuracy in order to acquire the best entrance and end.
• We used the razor tool to make separations in the shot where we need to change the speed.
• We cropped the bird's eye view shot so that we could then automate a zoom out later on.
• It was easy for us to arrange the shots in order as we only had two to work with.

Sound and Titles

• Once the simple sequence was arranged, we began adding titles.
• We chose a simple white font in the Premier title creator and inserted each title in a section and moment of the shot where the wasn't much to look at
• This was so that the audience's focus wasn't pulled away (by a name) from something that was important to notice.
• I began editing the soundtrack by compiling the answer messages we had recorded. 

• Then I added a "telephone EQ" and a distortion effect called "Bitcrusher" to give the sound of a voicemail message, played through an answer machine.
• It was at this point that we decide that the messages would be in the form of non-diegetic sound instead of it typically being actually played from an answer machine within the house.
• I then added a phone beep sound effect in between each message.
• I had to arrange the messages in an order that gradually built in tension, from relaxed to emotional and terrified, while making sure the timing between the messages and beeps sounded exactly as if an answer machine was playing them.
• Luckily, there was no diegetic sound that we wanted to include, so we could just erase that from the project.
• I then searched on copyright-free music sites on the internet and found a piece of tense film music that I could use as the backing track, and mixed it into the audio project.
• I then added percussion sounds and programmed them in while adding reverb and echo to build more tension and create a climax point when the dead body is revealed.

Continuity

• As we only had two shots in our entire sequence, we only had to make sure that everything on set went untouched during the shooting process, and that our actor, playing dead, didn't move out of the position either.