Our final Thriller production - Blackmail

Question 7 - Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the main task?

After re-watching our preliminary task, “The pickup”, the first thing I noticed was the quality of the audio. You can barely hear a word that is said! We addressed this in our main task by changing the equipment we used. The camera we used in our preliminary task was borrowed from the school and was not as good as the equipment my partner Linden had at home which prompted us to use these for our second filming session. This was a problem we knew we had to address In our second production and therefore we put a lot of thought into our camera positioning and the environments we filmed in. We knew that with the second production being filmed out doors that external factors such as weather and wind would need very comprehensive planning and attention. We decided we needed to be ready every night in case we had the optimum conditions for our filming that night as we knew we would not have many nights like that within the time before the deadline.

The second thing I made sure to thoroughly think through was the proxemics of our characters. In “The Pickup” we see lots of characters effectively showing relationships through the body language and stage positions. In our Preliminary task all the proxemics were done completely by accident as we had not covered the term in class and none of us had never heard of the word. However, covering the term before the production of our task helped us in a great deal as it allowed us to show relationships again but this time on purpose. During our opening scene Jamie and Linden are not shown in the same frame as each other but are instead shown through the use of parallel editing. Parallel editing allowed us to show the action of both of our characters whilst not showing them in the same frames which is purposely done to show a fragmented relationship between the two boys. The use of a flashback of the two lads together is used to show the separating of the boys as our film shows the story that leads to Linden ending his life. In the start of the narrative, the lads are never shown in a frame without each other which is used to illustrate an inseparable bond between these best friends and then end they are not shown in the same shows the separation of the of this bond and the power this mysterious black mailer has had on the bond.

The next thing we learned about from throughout the year between our preliminary task and our main task is the importance of preparation. Our preliminary task was rushed and done in an hour not long after the task was set, this left us with no time to think about our task or what we were trying to achieve. This is shown through the terrible shot reverse shot that was thrown in during post production as we realised that we had not included it and it was part of our task. With planning that shot could have been used much more usefully and help our story. I believe this mistake did help us with the production of our main task as it showed us the importance of planning, we did shooting schedules, which were very rough as we were at the mercy of mother nature, story boards, character profiles and other key bits of planning to ensure our product went as smoothly as we wished our preliminary task had gone. 

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

Before embarking on this media course I was clueless as to what went into making a media product, even one as simple as the ones students all across the country have made for their AS and A2 courses, so finding out even the simplest things like focusing a camera or cutting and sticking 2 pieces of footage together were new information to me.

During the post production stage we discussed various methods of filming “Blackmail”. Our first train of thought took us down the route of mobile technology, more specifically an IPhone 5S. This would have been useful as me and Linden both possessed Iphones of this generation or higher (Linden had an IPhone 6). This would have been useful also as it was practical as we always had our phones on us which made for ease of filming as and when the weather allowed us, as I have already stated the weather was a massive concern.  It would also make uploading our project to YouTube easy as we have wifi and mobile data meaning it wouldn’t take long to upload. Equipment for phones were provided such us steady cams and tripods, however we decided against using our phones because of the greater mexa pixel camera we possessed which would lead to better shots in our production. The longer battery life of the camera also made it more sensible as Iphones are notorious for having very short battery lives and we both were using ours to communicate with people throughout the filming process. The audio capabilities of Lindens camera also trumped the IPhone audio which helped tip us over the edge in our judgement as audio was one thing I wanted to make sure was as good as possible.

Learning how to assemble a tripod may seem like something trivial to you film whizzes but to me it was a serious lesson that took me longer than I am proud to admit.

Questions 4 & 5

Question 5 – How did you attract/address your audience?

With our thriller being produced by an independent company with relatively no budget our marketing campaign was not very successful, however we did our best to market the film through social media and producing low cost posters and posting them around the local area. We each shared the thriller on our personal facebook and twitter accounts but if we had thought about it a little earlier we would of made a page for our thriller and made as much hype around the thriller before it was finished. 

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

There are 2 different kinds of media institutions that may distribute our thriller “Blackmail”, these are Conglomerates and independent. A Conglomerate is a much larger company made up of many smaller companies known as subsidiaries. This is useful as these subsidiaries make easier film productions as they can do their own special effects and their own make up and props. However, independent film companies are much smaller companies who rely on the help of the finance of larger companies to create their films.

Our thriller would almost certainly be distributed by an independent film company as we do not have a good, well known actor or director associated with our thriller. This would mean that huge conglomerates such as Time Warner are almost certain to ignore us. Our thriller would firstly be introduced to small independent cinema before later, after a large waiting time, be released to DVD. It would not be released on BluRay or in 3D as this is the more expensive and our distribution company is not likely to have that much confidence in our production as it is from first time directors and poor acting (mainly from myself).  In conjunction with this, our thriller would only be produced in standard cinema and not in 3D or IMAX as once again these are much more expensive to produce and we will be doing everything we can too at least break even which will mean a lot of cost saving and sacrificing.

Whilst doing research with Linden on two possible distribution companies we discovered Hammer and Brain Damage films.  Hammer specialise with physiological thrillers which would complement our film as our film has a lot physiological factors and a dark and mysterious story line which Hammer would certain help us to perfect and do too full effect. Brain Damage films however are a Independent distribution company who specialise in Horror and physiological films.

The positives of working with an independent company is that it will apply to a much more invested niche market, which means our customers will be much more committed to the film and its franchise meaning we will benefit from increased sales of merchandise such as action figures, props and costumes.

However, there are negatives to working with an independent company. One of those is the lack of trust in the film can be de-motivating for the producers of the film, this is portrayed by the independent films being only shown in small cinemas and in standard cinema screens: not in HD or IMAX.

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

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

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

Our media product does not use the conventions of real media products, for example Vladimir Propp’s character types. This theory states of 8 types of characters in a typical film; The Hero, The Villain, The Princess, The Dispatcher, The Donor, The Helper, The Father and The False Hero. However, in our thriller project many of our characters defy this or even fall under two different categories. Our main characters (Jamie and Linden) would be expected to be the hero’s, on the other hand they break the law several times in the start of the film through underage drinking, driving under the influence of alcohol and man slaughter.  Also with our Villain, he transitions from being a victim of the 2 main characters stupidity to being the ruthless villain. Our thriller also rejects this previse by completely ignoring the other 6 character types and not including them in our production.

Our production also rejects Tvetan Todorov’s narrative theory around the structure of a thriller. This theory states that films start and end with a equilibrium. However our story starts at our most intense, suspenseful part, before a flash back occurs and the whole film is shown as a flash back. This remains until we catch up with the point where we started which is at the highest point of disequilibrium. The peaks between Equilibrium and disequilibrium throughout keep our film interesting and this is why we decided to reject the theory.

One theory that our thriller does agree with is Levi Strauss’ Binary oppositions. This theory states that all films work on a contrast between good and evil. Our thriller does agree with this theory as it is all about the battle between the two teenagers and the evil mysterious figure black mailing them into doing these disgusting acts of law breaking and violence.

As for the use of codes, the entirety of my thriller opening will be using an enigma/ Mystery code, this is because they will know of Lindens suicide and of Jamie’s horror towards this but they will not know of any details as to why he has done this. This will become clear in the full film and the enigma will be resolved. Incorporating action codes may be a little harder but will do this by a close up shot of Jamie tying his shoes laces and throwing on his coat, this will be an action code of Jamie getting ready to travel somewhere quickly. We will be using Semic codes in the form of smashed glass and empty pill packets, this will be a semic code for suicide and death which is the semantic field throughout our thriller opening. Code of opposition will be difficult to portray in our opening as the villain does not actually feature until much later on in the film. However, should he of featured we would portray this through the use of darker lighting and use of music, if he enters the scene, we would dim the lights and introduce a deep slow score of the top of the scene. This would be in contrast to when the young lads are in the scene where we would be using slow depressing music to give the audience a feeling of empathy towards the agonists in our opening. 

Vladimir Propp

Vladimir Propp – Character types

The Hero – On a quest

The Villain – Works in opposition to the hero

The Princess – What/Who the quest is for

The Dispatcher – The one who sends the hero on the quest

The Donor – Someone who assists the hero by giving them things

The Helper – Assists the hero on his quest

The father – Rewards the hero

The False Hero – Appears to help the hero but is later on unmasked as a fraud.

 

Genre Theories

Genre theory

Genre is the classification of any media text into a category or type: e.g. news, horror, documentary, soap opera, docu-soap, science-fiction or lifestyle etc.

Genres tend to have identifiable codes and conventions which have developed particular expectations, which may either be fulfilled or denied/subverted by the producer.

All Genres have subgenres. This means that they are divided up into more specific categories that allow audiences to identify them specifically by their familiar and what become recognisable characteristics.

Social realism – The realism of what someone has gotten themselves into.

Daniel Chandler’s Genre Theory

NARRATIVE - similar plots and structures, predictable situations, sequences, episodes, obstacles, conflicts and resolutions.

CHARACTERS - similar types of characters (sometimes stereotypes), roles, personal qualities, motivations, goals, behaviour.

THEMES - topics, subject matter (social, cultural, psychological, professional, political, sexual, moral), ideologies and values.

SETTING - geographical and historical;

ICONOGRAPHY - echoes the narrative, characters, themes and setting, a familiar stock of images or motifs, the connotations of which have become fixed. Includes décor, costume and objects, certain 'typecast' performers familiar patterns of dialogue, characteristic music and sounds,

FILMING TECHNIQUES - stylistic or formal conventions of camerawork, lighting, sound-recording, use of colour, editing etc.

 

 

Todorov

Tvetan Todorov’s narrative theory

 

He stated narratives are led by events in a cause and effect format.

·         The narrative starts with an equilibrium

·         An action/Character disrupts the equilibrium

·         A quest to restore the equilibrium ensues

·         The narrative moves to a confrontation or climax

·         Resolution/Equilibrium is restored

 

This is a simple structure, and some texts defy the idea of a resolution or return to equilibrium, as they seek to challenge audiences by offering open-ended narratives that require the audience to interpret what they understand by the ending.

Other resolutions are far from a ‘return to equilibrium’ – the audience comes to realise that the only resolution will be a tragic one and there will be no return to equilibrium for the main characters.

Our Thriller would adhere to Todorovs narrative theory as we start with an equilibrium, which is then resolved through the use of flashbacks until the film returns to the disequilibrium.

Editing

On the 7th of March me and Linden met up once again to edit our thriller opening, Blackmail. I arrived at Lindens around 4pm and we straight away began the editing, he started by showing me the clips we had and we discussed what order we wanted the clips to be shown in and reverted back to our story board to help settle debates. The editing was a much shorter process than the filming, due to the distance we had to walk during the filming process, resulting in us being finished by around 7pm. The editing was simple to do and Linden most of it whilst allowing me to do bits every now and the so I could learn how to do this for future reference. The titling was done with minimal effort and the cut and stick was done in minutes

Filming

3rd of March 2016

A sneak preview of "Blackmail".

We filmed our entire film on the 3rd of March. This involved over 4 hours straight filming in the cold and the darkness. The day started at my house when Linden arrived at around 5 o'clock. We requested the help of Jon-Joseph Murtugh from the other media group to assist us with our filming and the lighting. We begin by getting the first few shots, in and around my house and garden. As time went on the darkness set in and the batteries began to wear thin. We had to get all of our shots today as there would be no other time that all 3 of us were free for long enough to get the shots. We obtained all of our shots in the order they are shown in the feature film as it shows a journey which we actually made, so this was the most effective way to get the footage. Parallel editing is used throughout our opening to show Jamie's best attempts to reach Linden in time whilst also showing Linden preparing for the end.

Character profiles

Our thriller will apply to our chosen target audience of boys aged 15-24 by the following things.

Boys of this age like films that are:
1) packed with action
2) don't linger on
3) always has something happening
4) has a concept of there life at the moment, so drinking, driving, etc


How our film links to these factors:
1) our film will never stop having action in it, as when it first starts it shows someone running. Then someone being hung. Will then cut to two years before where there is a party. and etc...
2)our film will always follow a story line and wont contain boring bits in it.
3) our film will never have a blank boring scene, it will always keep the audience focused on the film.
4) our film focuses on the life of two 18 year olds, so will represent the life of our target audience.

Brief summary of the opening scene

The opening scene starts off with a shot of a phone with a message from Linden, saying something along the lines of “it’s too much now, goodbye.” this then cuts to Jamie and shows the extreme shock in his face. He then checks find my iPhone to find the location of Linden, and starts running towards that location. When arrived it shows shots of all the items he has used associated with suicide, then slowly pans up to a shadowed figure hanging from a tree. Jamie then falls to his knees, and it fades into a 2 years before shot. After this a quick intro of two years before happens to establish what happened.

Story Board

This is our first attempt at a story board. This is a general run through of the story line of our thriller opening. It also includes the short types and the sound we are planning to include in our thriller. We start with an establishing shot of my house. We then move to a mid-shot of me laid in bed playing fifa. We then see a close up of my phone, illustrated in picture number one. Several different shots are then used to show Jamie walking over to his phone, unlocking it and reading his text. A low angle shot is then used to show his phone drop to the floor before a high angle shot and a zoom are used to allow the audience to read the text. We then use a variety of shots to show Jamie's journey from his house to the place where Linden has hung himself. Low angle shots are used to show him hopping fences and close ups of his shoes to show the pace at which he is running. We then use an establishing low angle shot of the floor to show the state of the area he arises at. Razor blades, smashed glass and bleach bottles are scattered around the floor as well as other items associated with suicide. We then use a close up of the rope around the neck, a high angle shot of the suspended feet and a mid-shot of Linden with rope around his neck to symbolise the hanging. We then cut to a title screen and a screen that reads "1 year later" we then see the boys playing happy and drinking beer at Jamie’s house.

 

 

Strauss and Barthez

Levi Strauss – Binary oppositions

 

Levi Strauss was less interested in the order of events in narratives and was more interested in the themes underneath. Levi Strauss argued that narratives depended on binary opposites or conflicts between two terms, for example good and evil.

·         Binary oppositions can quickly establish who the good and the bad characters are in the text

·         The idea that we cannot conceive the concept of good without the concept of bad with which to compare it to and therefore compare it against.

·         Binary oppositions are obviously present in narratives because fundamentally a narrative must be based on the conflict of two forces.

 

 

Barthes – Narrative codes

 

Action code: The audience will recognise in an action code in a media text as it’s used to indicate what next logical step is. It advances the narrative e.g. the buckling of a gun belt in a western film signifies the start of a gun fight.

Mystery code or enigma code: This code is used to explain the narrative by controlling what and how much information is given to the audience. It grabs the audience’s attention by setting up an enigma or problem that is resolved during the course of the narrative e.g. someone’s murderous hand in the opening sequence – who does it belong to?

The semic code: Basically, this code is all about signs and meanings in a text that tells us about the narrative and its characters e.g. in a horror film, the supernatural would be signified by the fear of light/ garlic, an increase in body hair etc.

The cultural code: This code is used in order for the narrative to make sense to a culturally and socially aware audience. It makes references to elements form the real world that the audience will recognise e.g. Aston Martins and Martinis in James Bond films

Code of oppositions: This code refers to a narrative that relies on binary opposites e.g. Black vs White, Hot vs Cold, Nature vs Civilisation, War vs Peace etc.

 

“The good, the bad and the ugly” – Codes.

The placing of the rock on the ground is an action code as it shows him emptying his hands for what is about to come. We can presume what is about to happen by the cultural code of the cow boy hats wore by both men, stereotypically cowboys settled there in differences via a dual and we presume this is about to take place by the presence of these two codes. The cultural of the environment is stereotypical of western films as it is set in a dry deserted waste land, the pre dug graves is also a code as it represents death and the death of at least one of the guys in the scene. The code of oppositions is shown through the facial expression of the good guy the scene in comparison to the bad guy. The hero’s facial expression rarely changes throughout the scene, he looks confident and assured through the clip. Whereas, the villains look nervous which is shown through the sweat on their brows and the constant unnerving looks towards each other through the clips duration.

 

One page pitch

Screenplay essentials

1. Story and Character A screenplay starts from a High Concept idea, from the development of an unforgettable character, or in the best case from both.
2. Outline Before Writing Know at least how the story ends, begins, as well as the screenplay’s five major plot points before writing the script.
3. Three-Act Structure The experts can debate sequences, but all agree the story is told in three acts, with a turning-point to end Act I and II.
4. Original Voice Clear and concise writing is key, keeping action description at four lines or less, but the action should still sound original.
5. Screenplay Form Professional screenplay format is a must as well as correct page appearance: lots of white space, no “I” pages, and block pages.
6. “What happens next?” All scenes must move the story forward, reveal character, or both. Any scene that does neither are not necessary and should be cut.
7. Short Scenes A screenplay must move fast, so three pages should be the absolute maximum before you cut to a new location. Half a page is typical.
8. Brief Dialogue Remember, film is a visual medium. You show the story. Never tell it through verbal storytelling. Keep lines of dialogue short.
9. Under 120 pages One script page equals one film minute, so a drama is about two hours (120 pages); a comedy is closer to 90 minutes (90 pages).
10. Know the Logline In one sentence, you must be able to pitch “what the story is about,” and make a comparison to other successful Hollywood films.
Source: http://thescriptlab.com/screenwriting-101/screenplay/what-is-a-screenplay/636-top-ten-screenplay-essentials

Se7en Textual Analysis

A Se7en textual analysis. The music used in the sequence starts off spooky and slow paced. As the title scene carries on, the music picks up pace and becomes more intense. This increases suspense and makes the scene seem sinister. Something being scratched is heard over the music which sound a lot like screams. This adds to the suspense of the opening. The individual scenes are cut together using a variety of transitions. Some of the clips are nicer transitions such as fades but then some are flickering and jumpy. This represents the unpredictability which could reflect on the characters. The majority of the camera angles are close ups and extreme close ups, this is used to show the attention to detail that the killer in the films puts into everything. It also shows his dedication, by shaving off his finger prints he is leaving less evidence at all his crime scenes. We see him doing this through an extreme close up. The whole opening scene is dark and eerie, this is used to create an area of discomfort for the viewer. It also emphasizes the character that the killer is that he is comfortable in the areas that are designed to put us in an uncomfortable demeanor