Evaluation Question 1- Comparing and Challenging Coventions

Falter

Falter

Saw

This is the very beginning of the scene in Saw 1, where the man who has been caught is trapped. Comparing this convention to our thriller (Falter), we have used a similar technique by revealing just one character at the very beginning of the thriller. The reason we have used this is to create tension by leading the mystery further than say using a wide straight away revealing the whole room. However, we used an extreme close up on our actors face compared to Saw as we believed the less revealed about the characters built the most tension for the viewer. Also, lighting wise, we decided to use the convention similar to Saw by having the lights off and then show the lights being turned on, however, we decided to have the audience know who our main character is straight away by turning them on at the beginning compared to Saw turning them on after about 30 seconds. The camera angles and framing of Falter shows much less mise-en-scene compared to Saw. However, Saw used the contrast of dim lighting which doesn't show much which builds tension, however we decided this would not work as well for Falter, so we used the letterbox technique to remove the pink flicker lines and do an extreme close up on his face.

Falter

Saw

In Saw 1, the victim is able to get out of the area they are sat in very easily. I believe that Twisted Pictures have done this because it creates more action for the audience as this is featured part way through the film. However, as ours is an opening title sequence, we felt it would build more tension to let the audience in gently with the action that is about to unfold. Additionally, our lighting is much brighter than theirs as we thought that having the lights off for just a split second would be more effective for an opening title sequence than it would if the lights were off for longer as the audience may think that the film is not working. 

Saw

Falter

In the sequence from Saw they have turned the lights on for a much longer delay than our thriller. The makers of Saw have done this as the symbol of the beginning of their ‘game’; the lights turning on as it then reveals the next main character and the dead body. However, with our thriller, we did not need to use the symbol of the lights turning on to begin the game as we used a phone instead of a dead body as we felt that would create more tension as our characters are much less vulnerable then in Saw as they know why they are here due to the non-linear opening.  The phone ringing is the beginning of the game as this is where the action starts to take place, likewise with Saw where the lights turn on.

Saw

Falter

Both thrillers then reveal the problem in which the characters have to overcome. In our case it is a phone and in Saw’s case a dead body. We decided to use an extreme close up on the phone as we felt this lead to more mystery by not giving away much of the rooms surrounding, where Saw has done the opposite by revealing the whole bathroom. Moreover, our characters both know they are fighting over the phone as they have been there for a long time, comparing to Saw’s confused characters. The mise-en-scene in the screenshot from Saw is more visible due to the wider angle.

Falter

Saw

In both thrillers a second character is then revealed, both at a mid-shot. However we decided to challenge the convention of our character being asleep/unconscious as opposed to Saw’s awake and scared character. We thought this would add more tension that the characters were both brave, athletic and heroic as opposed to Saw’s scared and deluded characters. Once again, the mise-en-scene is much more revealing to where they are in the Saw screenshot compared to ours where we just show a brick wall due to the fact it is an opening title sequence and we don’t want to reveal too much to the audience. Similarly we used a mid shot to focus in on the character himself rather than a long shot which may have broken the tension that had previously been built. Additionally, we decided to use LED lighting but from under the characters faces which make them look much more tired and drained compared to Saw’s over head lighting. We also thought that the floor lighting would give the audience the idea that the person who has set the characters to do this is not someone to mess with, instantly engaging them into our thriller.

Falter

Alien Isolation

The text from the video game thriller ALIEN ISOLATION is similar to ours in which both thrillers use a black background with white writing to make it clear to the audience what the text states. Black and white is also a connotation of boldness and helps engage an audience. However, we have used a slightly different font to Alien Isolation as our spacing is much closer together as it is called Falter so therefore there can be no mistakes. Whereas Alien Isolation maybe referring to the word isolation in which they are ironically adhering by spacing the letters far apart from each other. I believe that both of these are effective as they both reflect what the film/video game is going to include.

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

Social groups have been represented throughout my thriller through mise-en-scene, camera angles, sound and editing. To begin with mise-en-scene has been used representing males as quite a dominant gender. Despite the fact they are bruised and cut, they still show will power to wanting to get to the end of the mission, by retrieving the phone. Additionally, during the fight scene, Mike is able to kill Adam which shows a huge range of masculinity and adhering stereotypes to men being masculine. Also, it adheres to the theory 'survival of the fittest' as each man is willing to kill of the other to get what they want. Despite both characters looking drained and warn out through the mise-en-scene of cuts and bruises and sweat stained shirts, both characters are willing to fight one more time in order to receive the item that both characters seem to want, which is unknown to the audience why they want it, the phone. The sweat stained shirt suggest that both characters have been there for a long and that they are in a hot environment, underground. Additionally, the cuts and bruises suggest that they have both previously been beaten but, by once again, it is unknown to the audience why. As the two characters are between the ages of 30-40, it suggests that they are mature enough to handle what they are doing and are willing to fight for what they think is right.

Camera angles have also been used to influence the different social groups in 'Falter'. For example, the camera shots are originally slow but once the fight starts they are quick and fast pace giving an action vibe and creating suspense. As both of these men seem to be on equal terms, we used lots of mid shots but did not choose to make one more powerful than the other by using high/low shots as it would have given the concept away before it was officially revealed. Despite the fact we used high angled shots during the fight, we used a on level shot with Adam, the victim, to show his perspective whilst getting strangled which made Mike seem more powerful and of a higher status.

The editing was used to show the different social groups in the thriller too. For example, the quick and fast paced editing during the fight scene helped build tension but also showed the masculinity of the two characters, as typically men get into fights and who that they are the most powerful. However, at the beginning of the thriller, we used slow paced shots of Mike. The reason we used this technique is so the audience could get to know that character and feel sorry for him as we originally think he's tied there and there is no way of him escaping. Also, this helped build suspense. The fact we used slow shots at the beginning and fast shots during the fight emphasised the contrast between relaxation and tension and really helped build an tense atmosphere as it was a shock for the audience.

Sound played a large factor in helping create suspense and represent our social group. For example, the diegetic sound of the train at the beginning instantly supported the fact the characters are sweat stained, suggesting the fact they are underground in a hot environment. From the beginning we then started to feel sorry for Mike as we were led to believe that he is the only character there due to the editing. The reason we chose diegetic sound over non-diegetic sound is because we wanted this opening sequence to feel as tense as possible and a soundtrack may have broken this and put the audience at ease which is not what we wanted to do. Additionally, the sudden diegetic sound of the phone ringing made the audience jump in some cases as we were unaware of a phone being there, which once again comes down to the successful editing. Especially as the sound of the phone was louder than it may have been in the real world, to emphasise to the audience that this is important, it contributed to shocking the audience. However, once the characters has reacted to the trigger sound, we were unaware which character held the most power as it was a question to who could break free the quickest which built a large amount of tension keeping the audience grasped and engaged.

However, despite adhering many stereotypes about masculinity, we also subverted stereotypes by having the victims as males. Stereotypically, males are usually the heroes, however we decided to use males because we felt this would shock our audience, especially as our target audience is males, to show that males are not invincible and can get themselves in unfortunate situations too. This therefore supports the title of the film 'Falter' showing how men lose strength and momentum which is contrasted in this scene as both men battle using all the strength they have left to fight for the phone. In conclusion, I believe that my media product represented our particular social group using mise-en-scene, camera angles, editing and sound.

Evaluation Question 3- What Institution would make my film?

I have put together a powerpoint of the institution who I think would make my film as my film idea has changed from before. However, I still believe 20th Century Fox are the right institution to create my film.

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

I have created a Facebook profile to describe the typical target audience of our thriller and who I think would enjoy the film. The target audience is young adult males, age ranging from 18-25. I believe that this age range would enjoy our thriller because it features a lot of gore and action, which is what a typical 'lad' would enjoy. However, I believe that females of this age range would still enjoy the thriller, however it is particularly aimed at young males.

'Callum Smith' who is the made up profile I have created is 19 years old and he is a typical 'lad'. He would enjoys all types of thrillers and enjoy going out with his mates for a laugh. In his spare time he would create films, listen to music or play football. He wants to be a football coach when he's older, but currently is studying Physical Education at University.

The genre Thriller would attract Callum to watch our film as he is interested in Horrors, Thrillers, Comedy and Action films.

Our secondary audience of young females, age ranged between 19-28 would also be attracted to watch the film. This is because some of the actors in it are good looking which would attract a female to watch a film, such as many females would watch a film purely because Channing Tatum or Zac Efron are in it. The plot of people being captured by ex prisoners would intrigue both males and females as it leaves the film open to a lot of action and thrilling sequences. In addition the storyline in interesting so it may attract them to watch the film.

Thrillers would be more likely to attract males, however now-a-days many females are going to the cinema to watch thrillers. Despite this, I believe that males are more likely to watch the film over females.

His Facebook profile, showing a picture of jigsaw from 'Saw' and a post describing the latest thriller he has just watched.

Callum Smith is currently 19 years old

Evaluation Question 5- Voice Recording on 'How did I attract my target audience to my thriller?'

Here are the notes I used to produce the voice recording:

What will my target audience enjoy about my opening sequence

young adult male 18-25

action

tension- built through sound and filming

suspenseful

unanswered questions

the gore, blood and cuts and bruises

masculine

genre

crime thriller

films such as dear hunter, bronson, saw 1 (location), taken

small location, claustrophobia , we attracted our audience by the thriller, 

men attracted to dirt and grit 

so far from society, train sound makes it feel more claustrophobic and far from society. 

different men, athletic, committed, guys have been there a while, kidnapped, straight into scene. 

first scene is linear scene, non-linear narrative. start with a scene from the near end of the film. characters, engaging. attract audience as they want to know what happened before and why they are there. older audience want to try and work it out. 

media representation

we are appealing to the young adult males (social groups) 

middle class males

must be interested in non linear narratives 

with dirty sweat men wrestling to death

we haven't used music as we but used sound effects instead as this gives more hints about our narrative instead of creating the scene to create more tension. for example we start with sound of the train at first with the writing at first to create mood and atmosphere before introducing the chatactes. we believed that not using a soundtrack would be effective as it would take away from the atmosphere of the film which would not work especially as it is a scene which would be replayed during the rest of the film. 

we gave the name of clockwork productions and roulette films as they are the money funding the film. We then went on to name the director and finally the actors. As we just named the main actors at the begining, we believe that as 20th century would create the film, a list actors would be used such as dicaprio mconohay and tom hardy. big budget big scenes but still slick. jennifer lawrenece 

what editing techniques did you use?

slow at first , fast during fight scene

extreme close ups and close ups to show gore

conventions

mise en scene

continutity

masculinity

grit

danger

tension

mild gore- realistic

appeals to middle class as its slick

how have you used them?

gripping story

extreme close ups

train sound, claustraphobia

did not challenge conventions

phone call adds massive tension, whose on the end, why did he kill him to get the phone?

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

We have annotated our thriller explaining the different techniques we used in constructing our product.

Evaluation Question 7 - Preliminary to Final Thriller

Student Feedback

We combined our two classes to review each of our thrillers by watching everyones in the class and reviewing each others. Whilst observing everyone's opening title sequences, we wrote feedback to theirs. This is the feedback we received from the students in our class..

Example 1 of feedback sheet

Lucy Farrow

 What do you think the basic plot of this thriller is?

"Two men being held hostage, one kills another".

What do you think are the key strengths of this thriller and why? 

"Very skin crawling, makes me feel sick". 

How do you think this thriller could be made even more effective and why? 

"Make the murder slightly more realistic". 

James Purdy

What do you think the basic plot of this thriller is?

"They got kidnapped and they are fighting for survival." 

What do you think are the key strengths of this thriller and why? 

"How it isn't very obvious but it cuts and we find out what the call was about."

How do you think this thriller could be made even more effective and why? 

"if could be."

Poppy Hopson

What do you think the basic plot of this thriller is?

"Two people locked away". 

What do you think are the key strengths of this thriller and why? 

"The phone creates suspense". 

How do you think this thriller could be made even more effective and why? 

"Clearer plot line."

Rosie Lumbard

What do you think the basic plot of this thriller is?

"Two men who don't like each other tied up and in the same room together, both needing to get out."

What do you think are the key strengths of this thriller and why? 

"The lighting worked really."

How do you think this thriller could be made even more effective and why?

"We should've been given more info as to why this situation occurred."

Anna Martyuyuk 

 What do you think the basic plot of this thriller is?

"The plot is about why they thought they were locked in that room. And that phone call was someone who gave them instructions." 

What do you think are the key strengths of this thriller and why? 

"It's quite tense and I like that it cuts when he picks up the phone."

How do you think this thriller could be made even more effective and why?

"The setting, especially the wall is not really convincing, and the fight scene as well (Not convincing)". 

Saska Kirina 

 What do you think the basic plot of this thriller is?

"Plot film is about a serial killer, who kidnaps two men and makes them fight, who stays alive". 

What do you think are the key strengths of this thriller and why? 

"Make-up, clothes, sound"

How do you think this thriller could be made even more effective and why? 

"ending."

Danel

What do you think the basic plot of this thriller is?

"-The story how the guys ended there, flashback".

What do you think are the key strengths of this thriller and why? 

"Phone ringing made the audience being interested in who is calling".

How do you think this thriller could be made even more effective and why?

"The person, who picked up the phone would be better to say something".

No name given".

 What do you think the basic plot of this thriller is?

"two men are captured in some saw-esque torture game",

What do you think are the key strengths of this thriller and why? 

"I think the shots are very well cut together and creating an excellent scening of tension". 

How do you think this thriller could be made even more effective and why?

"Music to add more tension." 

Katie H. 

 What do you think the basic plot of this thriller is?

"Two men get kidnapped, and they have to fight to death in order to get out.- Will follow story of the people who are in the room." 

What do you think are the key strengths of this thriller and why? 

"Good suspense as we don't know how either of them got there or who was on the phone./The set was really realistic."

How do you think this thriller could be made even more effective and why?

"A bit more fighting, wouldn't die that easily/ The idea of that being to end wasn't clear." 

Agata Shwajcouska 

Example 2 of feedback sheet

What do you think the basic plot of this thriller is?

"People fighting for their life, having to kill others to survive". 

What do you think are the key strengths of this thriller and why? 

"Mystery and tension is built, I like how no dialogue was there." 

How do you think this thriller could be made even more effective and why? 

"The blood on the feet look unrealistic."

Ksenia 

What do you think the basic plot of this thriller is?

"The plot may be about these two killers. So, the story can tell us about what happened before this". 

What do you think are the key strengths of this thriller and why? 

"Phone ringing- the fact that we don't know who was calling." 

How do you think this thriller could be made even more effective and why? 

"I don't really like the background which was chosen. Looks not real."

Angel Sandelson 

What do you think the basic plot of this thriller is?

"Two people get kidnapped and try to escape". 

What do you think are the key strengths of this thriller and why? 

"Costume & makeup." 

How do you think this thriller could be made even more effective and why? 

"More realistic fighting."

Victor Treptow

What do you think the basic plot of this thriller is?

"Two men are tied up and have a fight to the death to grab the phone". 

What do you think are the key strengths of this thriller and why? 

"Great editing- feels fluid/ phone ringing adds intensity ." 

How do you think this thriller could be made even more effective and why? 

"Longer fight."

Ollie Tennant 

What do you think the basic plot of this thriller is?

"Non- linear, goes back to who is on the other end of the phone". 

What do you think are the key strengths of this thriller and why? 

"The set." 

How do you think this thriller could be made even more effective and why? 

left blank. 

Georgia McKnight 

What do you think the basic plot of this thriller is?

"Non linear- How do they get there?". 

What do you think are the key strengths of this thriller and why? 

"Setting, character proxemics." 

How do you think this thriller could be made even more effective and why? 

"More realistic fighting."

Tyler Byrne 

What do you think the basic plot of this thriller is?

"About the escape of the man who got out of the situation". 

What do you think are the key strengths of this thriller and why? 

"-The use of makeup/-The set is realistic." 

How do you think this thriller could be made even more effective and why? 

"More realistic fighting."

Alexander Goh

What do you think the basic plot of this thriller is?

"The killer is going through a bunch of challenges to get his family back". 

What do you think are the key strengths of this thriller and why? 

"The lighting used was very realistic/ The use of make-up i.e blood." 

How do you think this thriller could be made even more effective and why? 

"More realistic fighting."

Crerer Antony 

What do you think the basic plot of this thriller is?

"People have been taken as prisoners/ are wanted for something perhaps information ". 

What do you think are the key strengths of this thriller and why? 

"The vivid realism of the room they're in. + the uncomfortable blood shots/feet etc." 

How do you think this thriller could be made even more effective and why? 

"The fighting was awkward + slightly unrealistic."

Bertie Clarke

What do you think the basic plot of this thriller is?

"The search for who killed Adam". 

What do you think are the key strengths of this thriller and why? 

"Make up, acting." 

How do you think this thriller could be made even more effective and why? 

"Fighting."

The Editing Process

Timeline, rushes and footage displayed on a Mac

After shooting our thriller, we used Adobe Premier to edit. I was slightly unsure how to use this software at first, however I was quickly shown how to use it and the shortcuts that were included. The first stage was looking at all of the shots we had taken (the rushes), picking our favourite ones that we were likely to use and placing them in the log bin. From this we started putting the log bin footage onto the timeline in order of our storyboard. From watching the footage, we had already encountered a problem, in which the way the footage was recorded onto the SD card did not load properly, and therefore we had pink flicker lines at the bottom and top of the screen. However, this did not stop us from being able to edit. After placing the log bin footage in order, we began to cut certain sections together, for us being the car scene (little did we know that this would fully be removed from our thriller at this point). We used the letter 'c' to get the cutting tool, 'v' to get the mouse, 'a' to move all the clips either left or right down the timeline, the mouse to move clips around and to control the screen. After getting to grips with this, I was able to fully cut parts of the car section together. Following this edit, we began to cut from what we thought would be the beginning of the thriller, by opening with a wide. However, once we had edited about 30 seconds of footage, I soon realised that there was little tension created due to the fact we had revealed everything in the first shot by starting with a wide.  Therefore, after shuffling some clips around, I was able to place the close ups on our first character at the beginning to shot him waking up. This created a lot more tension than before as for a first time viewer, we are unaware of where this character is, who he is and why he is there. Due to the mystery factor created, it generated tension. One thing that was important to look out for during the editing process was continuity, in which we had to make sure, for example, that the character was not holding the phone in his right hand in one shot, and then his left hand in another, which would have distracted the audience and likely break the tension, making our thriller look very amateur. Continuity is an important factor to any film, but especially a thriller as if a large mistake is made, it can break the tension, and not make it an enjoyable watch for the audience. Once we had placed all of the clips we wanted in order, we realised that something wasn't working, and the tension was being broken somewhere. After re watching what we had created a few times, we realised that it was the car scene clips that was breaking the tension and putting the audience at ease. Following a large debate, we soon decided to cut these bits altogether, which miraculously gave a new life to our opening title sequence.

The timeline before sound effects

After the editing of the clips had been done, we started on the sound production to our opening title sequence. I started thinking about what is happening a mile away from this situation, outside the room and inside the room. As we wanted this space to feel claustrophobic, I decided on the setting to be an underground basement, next to a train/underground railway. Therefore, I searched the sound effects bin and found a perfect train sound of a train coming into the station and then pulling away again. Once placing the sound onto the timeline, it brought our thriller to life. However, it sounded like the train was coming from inside the room, so I edited the sound to make it seem as if the sound was coming from outside of the walls and therefore sounding muffled, which created a more naturalistic atmosphere. In the screenshots I have taken, it shows two sound bar clips, one of these is from the microphone on the camera and the other is from the detachable microphone. After listening to these thoroughly, I realised that the detachable microphone sounded the best and the most natural and therefore I deleted the sound which was picked up on the microphone on the camera. Once this was finished, I then started editing the ringing effect on the phone. After I had found a sound effect of both a ring and vibration, I then edited the sound of the ring to be louder in some clips and quieter in others, depending on how close the shot is to the phone. To do this, I extended the clip, zoomed in very far and used found the first shot of the phone ringing. I would then heighten the sound if the shot was on the phone and lower it if the shot was on a character at the other side of the room. This effect really emphasised the naturalism of our thriller. Additionally, after this was finished, I added heart beats that gradually got louder and faster to emphasise the tension and the fight.

Log Bin, Rushes and Editing Cuts

Once the final edit was made, I started editing the titles to our thriller. We used a blank screen at the beginning by putting the institutions first and then fading it in to our first shot of the lights being out. From the intuitions we had the directors name and following that the actors names. The credits were rolling throughout the thriller until the phone ring as we felt if credits were featured during this, they would become a distraction and break the tension for the audience. Additionally, once the thriller had finished we used the cutting feature of fade to black where we revealed our title 'FALTER'. The reason we decided on this title is because of the non-linear opening, and this shows how the characters in this situation had made some sort of mistake to get themselves into this situation, as well as this being the final part to the film, as they have lost all strength and momentum. Overall, the editing process was a massive learning curve for me, as I feel I have improved on my editing, sound and titles as well as keeping an eye out for continuity.