T1-27 THRILLER FINAL

Final cut feedback

Today our class viewed our thriller title sequence and left us some feedback on it. We are proud to say that we only received ONE negative comment. Some of the comments were...

- "looks very professional - great clips and editing. Good use of everything."
- "Really good, look like a real opening. Titles are really good. Music matches the action well."
- "Good use of shot types. Appropriate music."
- "Didn't know what was happening."
- "Good music. Good filters on camera shots."
- "Moonlight is amazing - great thriller shot."
- "Eye shot is great - gives really eerie feel."
- "Music is original."

Overall we're very happy with our feedback. Our only negative comment isn't that bad as mystery and ambiguity is very important in our thriller. We didn't want to give too much of the plot away too early, so it is understandable that some people may be unclear about what is exactly happening at certain points. We are thankful to everyone that gave us feedback, everyone was very generous with the positive comments.

final cut

Today we put the finishing touches to the final cut of our thriller title sequence. All that was left to do was apply video filters to a couple of shots, adjust the soundtrack a little so it mirrors the visuals, and obviously check that everything else was completed and we were happy with it. When watching our finished product, our group was quite impressed with what he had achieved in so little time. I think that our planning gave us a considerable advantage, as it helped us make sure we stuck to our deadlines, and got everything we intended to do, finished. Overall, i have probably enjoyed the editing stage of production most, as you're able to play around with effects, speed, filters, etc, on Final Cut, to see what works best with each individual shot. Putting all of the footage together in a sequence is also quite fulfilling as it gives you a sense of what the finished product is going to look like, as well as giving you a greater idea of how to move shots around, in order to achieve the effect you want. This project has helped me familiarise myself with Final Cut, and i now have a greater understanding of what tools to use to create certain effects. In our title sequence, the part i am proudest of is probably the editing, as it gives our film a bit of an edge, and techniques like darkening the shots makes the thriller genre more prominant in our creation.

Draft evaluation questions

1. We have included many typical thriller conventions to convey the genre of our opening sequence, almost immediately. For example, darkness, mystery, and suspense are all conventions of a thriller, and we have included these as much as possible to intrigue the audience and indicate what's to follow in the rest of the film. However, we didn't want to make our thriller opening completely unoriginal, therefore, we tried to include different shots that added diversity and made our film differ from the typical thriller setup. We have also included the theme of voyeurism, (the repeated blinking eye shot), to accentuate the stalking part of the plot. As well as illustrating the actions of the antagonist, and indicating to the audience the details of the protagonists plight, the montage that makes up the title sequence also gives the audience a hint of the main character's identity. For example, we have shown the main character as the villain when he is doing things such as putting up the polaroids of the girls he has an obsession with, but we have also shown him reading a book. This is to humanise his character, in order to make him different to the typical 'bad guy' stereotype employed in most thrillers, and to make him more believable and his problem realistic.

2. Contrary to who the audience may think is the main character in the opening sequence of our thriller, the plot actually centers around the victim, who is a woman, (not shown in the title sequence). The victim is portrayed rather stereotypically, as vulnerable, weak and basically, a damsel in distress. This is explainable since she is being stalked by a madman. Our villain is also conveyed stereotypically at first. He is shown to be mentally unstable, violent, and menacing. However, during the rest of the film his character will be more realistic and he will be portrayed as an actual human being with a problem, rather than a monster with no personality or humanity. The villain does mainly fit in with the media's typical idea of a stalker, which allows his character to be compared with various villains in other thrillers that relate to our own creation, as well as real stalkers that have been publicly exposed in the past.

3. The kind of media institution that may distribute our media product is a film company. Thrillers have proved to be a popular film genre for many years, and are constantly being made by top Hollywood film companies. Therefore, new ideas are in popular demand, making our product ideal for maybe a fledgling, independant film company.

4. The audience we have aimed our thriller sequence for is 15+, male and female, with an interest in the thriller genre. As our film contains violence and most likely bad language, it would be deemed unsuitable viewing for anyone under the age of 15. The content and plot of our thriller makes it aimed more at teenagers/adults, and predominantly those of the male gender.

5. We addressed our audience by making the genre of our film clear from the start. We also included an intricate plot that appeals more to adults rather than children as a child may not understand what's happening and may be distressed by the content. The use of violence and suspense conveys the thriller genre, therefore addressing an audience that has an interest in this particular film type.

6. Since embarking on this project, i have increased my knowledge about Final Cut. For example, i have learnt how to use features such as video filters, adjusting the speed of footage and adding effects to clips. I have also learnt how to use GarageBand to create soundtracks with many layers as I hadn't used the programme much before this project. Lastly, i have learnt about the significance of factors such as sound, lighting and mise-en-scene that all add up to the effect of your final product. I have realised that each of these factors needs to be addressed separately, in order to make sure they all combine well to make the desired shot work.

7. The main thing i have learnt in the progression from the preliminary task to the full product is the importance of time-keeping. It is common to underestimate the amount of time you will need to complete tasks such as making titles, filming enough footage and editing each bit of footage to your exact specification. Planning is incredibly important during projects like this as it helps you to be able to get on with your main task, having already prepared props, costumes, locations, etc. Also, i have realised the significance of taking your time over things such as filming and editing. It is very important to make sure you have enough footage, so you can select the very best of it to include in your final product. And issues such as avoiding a 'shaky camera shot' is very important, as you need to make sure your product looks as professional as possible, making sure that flaws like the aforementioned doesn't lose you vital marks.

Evaluation

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

Our project was about a girl being stalked, we used fast images which could relate to stalkings; for exapmle cameras, also we thought since nowadays the internet is very well developed that the stalker would probably have used the internet to look things up about her, so we used the computer aswell

2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Our project has not a wide range of social classes in many ways. Firstly the girl who is being stalked since she is the victim the audience will place her in the vulnerable group. where as the stalker he is not innocent so people will place him in the antagonist group.

3. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

I think ...

4. Who would be the audience for your media product?

I think everyone could view our film because the content is suitable for everybody. It does not have any unsuitable language or violence.

5. How did you attract/address your audience?

We attracted our audience by using quick fast shots to make the audience feel tense and get more into the project, because they want to find out what it is about; They want to see the end.

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

I have learnt new ways of putting in the tittles, i learnt how to blur the text, how to slow down the footage, and how to use garageband and finalcut.

7. Looking back to your preliminary task, what do you feel that you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

I thought that as we had more lessons and got to learn more about final cut and garage band, our projects got better and also we found out we had to use the tri pod to decrease shakey footage and not just hold it with our hands.

TEACHER FEEDBACK

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