Question 6

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

I learnt many things about technologies from the process of constructing this product.

Firstly, I learnt how to change the zoom, focus and exposure on the film camera. This was useful for filming outside in the grave yard when we changed the exposure so that the scene seemed darker than in reality. When we were inside filming the candles, we did a pull focus and experimented with changing the focus to create interesting shots.

When we filmed the protagonist in the dark room, we changed the exposure so that the lighting wasn't so intense. At one point, we had problems when trying to focus the camera. This was resolved when we changed the settings so that the focus was on manual. This gave us full control over what the camera focused on.

We used a dolly and track to create interesting shots for the introduction of the man wearing the mask. This made the shot more interesting than if the camera was stationary. A limitation about the track is that it is hard to move position. We had to carry it down Wem high street and back and then assemble it and get it in the right position. All of this took quite a bit of time to set up. Something that went wrong is that when moving the dolly up and down the track, occasionally it would slip off the end of the track.

I learnt how to use Final Cut Pro when editing. I learnt how to edit using video filters, colour correction, cropping, adding music and deleting sound. These were all very useful skills to learn as I now know how to use them for future projects.

Limitations of using Final Cut Pro is that I didn't have much experience in using the program. This meant that I had to often get help and advice from the teacher or other pupils who knew the program better than I did.

From using these different techniques and skills that I have learnt through making this project, I know that I can develop them further and will be able to use them more professionally next time.

Question 5

How did you attract/address your audience?

Question 4

Who would be the audience for your production?

Question 3

Question 2

Here is my answer for question 2.

Question 1

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

The thriller opening that my group has made is about a young man who has schizophrenia. The audience gets to see his split personality and the problematic situations it causes. My media product has used conventions of a thriller. These include dark lighting, dramatic music, enigmas and costume.

Titles

The title sequence fits the thriller conventions. As a group, we decided to call the film 'Psychosis' because it relates to the idea of the protagonist having mental issues. This instantly brings enigma into the storyline as the audience want to know more about how the character deals with the psychosis.

Credits

The credits introduce the most important creators and actors within the film. Most film openings show credits. This is why my group have decided to include a few credits within the thriller opening.

Sound

The use of sound is very important in films. It is used to influence the emotion of the audience and influence their opinions on certain events or characters.

We have used an underscore to create an uneasy atmosphere. A member of my group made it in Garageband and I have imported it into Final Cut Pro to use in the opening.

There is one line of dialogue located at the end of the opening. The protagonist says 'bang'. The little amount of dialogue highlights the importance of the word in relation to the event.


Characters

There is one character in our thriller opening. He is a young man who has schizophrenia that has brown shoulder length hair and black clothing. We decided to use a character in our opening because it helps create enigma and move along the story. Our character fits the typical conventions of a thriller protagonist. He holds enigma and adds to the creepy atmosphere of the film. We decided to use a dark and mysterious character because we created a survey that asked people what kind of protagonist they preferred in thrillers. The majority of people preferred a creepy and mysterious protagonist.

Costume and Props

We have used a number of props in our thriller opening.

We used shots of candles to add to the creepy atmosphere of the indoor scene. The opening shows the candles being lit and then blown out nearer the end of the opening.

Another prop that we used was a mirror. This was used for a shot of the protagonist looking at himself in the mirror to highlight his split personality.

We used red paint for blood when the protagonist smears blood down his face. This was to create enigma within the opening as the audience don't know who's blood that he's smearing down his face.

A knife was used as a prop when the protagonist pulls it out of his pocket. This links to the mystery of the blood because it makes the audience wonder if the protagonist killed someone.

The costume of the protagonist includes a black trench coat, black skinny jeans, black Converse, a black hooded jumper and a mask. All of these pieces of clothing add to the dark and mysterious look that the protagonist is supposed to portray. The mask creates enigma and keeps the audience wanting to watch more.

Real media products give a lot of thought and attention to props and costume. They are visual aspects within films and therefore are important to looking the part and fitting in with the theme of the film.

Use of Enigma

The use of enigma is very important in thriller films. This is why my group have thought very carefully about how we could include enigma into our opening.

We have used enigma in several places. These include moments when the protagonist is smearing blood down his face, when he pulls out a knife and why he is wearing a mask. It makes the audience want to carry on watching so that they can find answers to why these events happen and why these unusual details have been highlighted.

Camera

We have used shaky camera movement to add to the uneasy atmosphere of the opening. It is a typical thriller feature that will automatically indicate to the audience that the character is uneasy and imperfect. It also gives a sense of realism to the scene. We used a variety of camera angles to hold interest and to give extra effect on the protagonist's actions.

Editing

When editing in Final Cut Pro, I cut the clips so that they are short and fast to hold attention and add to the flickery effect. I changed the saturation of the clips so that they are dull in colour. I also added a video filter called 'Bad Film' so that it gave a flickery effect to the clips.

I changed the speed of some of the clips to create an interesting pace of how the opening plays out. Some clips have been slowed down to 50% and some increased to 200%. This added to the feeling of slight disorientation of the thriller.

Final Thriller Opening

Rough Cut

Here is the rough cut for my thriller opening.