The Seven Evaluation Questions
1 In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
I inspired myself from a very famous film director called Alfred Hitchcock. He was a master of suspense and psychological thrillers. Like him, I tried to create a psychological thriller based on two characters: a vulnerable protagonist and one villain. My movie: “The Watcher” is silent. The title prepares the viewers to expect some uncomfortable unknown moments. It is simple and bold at the same time. After a few shots I included some flash backs that introduce the second character: the killer. Those fast pace shots disrupt the movie. I wanted to include some sort of voyeurism in this two minutes show. It forces the viewers to get engaged with the plot as soon as it starts. I also framed the shots of the killer to maximise fear and anxiety, those shots are very short less than a second each. I had a lot of editing to do. Those are meant to disturb the viewers. Like most modern media I used colour in my movie, but as a nod towards Alfred Hitchcock the villain only appears in black and white. The manipulation of light adds to the expectation of the viewers. I wanted the clip to be modern too so I did not give much away regarding the story line or narrative. I created time gaps in the story to create disruptions in the clip. For example, we do not know if the characters have ever met or where they live. Like in any thrillers, we can sense the danger before it happens. For example, the victim looking behind her shoulder, running, not showing her face, hiding showing vulnerability. I wanted to keep the audience guessing, wondering what was about to happen. I believe the effects would have been more effective if I had a chance to develop this movie a little longer. It was a challenge to portrait an atmosphere of fear within the two minutes given, as well as this being my first trailer I’ve ever created. I am also a fan of silent, old black and white movies. Dialogues are left to interpretations depending on the viewer’s state of mind. Silent movies are not used any longer but for this short clip I thought it was well suited to the atmosphere I wanted to create. I also used classical music that is gentle and eerie to add to the suspense.
2 How does your media product represent particular social groups?
One of my main goals for my media product was not to portray any particular social groups with any labels attached. By keeping such information I meant to allow for a more diverse group of people to be able to relate to the characters.
The killer is represented as a person with a blowtorch and mask. This could represent people who work in the steel and heavy machinery department as frightening as an unintended effect. There was no intention in the filming of the trailer for it to single out any groups, but rather all different groups of people from all walks of life.
The movie is filmed in the countryside, not in a city as you can see from the main character walking in the woods near a reservoir. I did not give any clues about the locations either, but if we look at the population statistic of North Devon showed for 2016, the white population was at 95.99%, Asian 0.6%, Black 0.2% and other minorities at 0.2%. This can allow us to presume that the murderer is white due to the local statistics.
In my short trailer there is no conversation between the characters, so there is no indication of the killer’s ethnic background, or where he comes from. I purposely covered his face and body so that his identity is hidden from the viewers. However, the only clues are his height and built so it is simple for the viewer to presume that the killer is a man.
3 What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
They are different ways of promoting and distributing movies. I created a very short small-scale thriller that has a tiny budget. Movies are usually shown in cinemas, television or on DVDs but it is expensive to market and produce. Websites are relatively easy to create now and can target a younger audience. The web is a good tool to increase attention and to make people aware of your work. I believe this trailer could be transformed as an advertisement for crime prevention and used by local councils. The way to promote it would be to send emails to local film festivals to see if they would be interested in showing it during festivals seasons, art galleries that want background visual effects on their walls during an exhibition.
If I could have developed it further I would have had to approach a media institution to get funding for my project then my product could have been distributed to small movie theatres to target local audiences and gain some publicity.
I could promote it myself using viral marketing: U Tube videos that might attract a small independent British Company specialised in Thrillers. I looked at companies that might be interested in small budget production movies. I looked at one called Metrodome that was known to give small British films a chance but they close down in 2016.
I also discovered a website called: www.film.London.org.uk and it introduced me to Microwave schemes that are low budget schemes for movies. It was created 10 years ago. They fund films, develop them, select film makers, support the production and distribution. They also offer intensive training. I would send them a trailer and hope to be selected. It only requires a small amount of money and the movies are usually filmed within 18 to 20 days.
4 Who would be the audience for your media product?
When I created my thriller, my main idea was to introduce a younger audience to the old classic thrillers. I did some research on the way the classic thrillers were constructed. I had to think what would appeal to different age groups. I used a lot of editing and some effects to involve the younger viewers, I tried to make it more modern so younger generations will also be interested in watching it. I also wanted to attract the attention of people that are not fun of thrillers by using the flash back effects, the transition of colours to black and white and a fast pace story board to get the viewers full attention. I realised that actually my primary audience are people of different age group. From very young to elderly, anyone can take something back from my trailer. It is a thriller but it is not gruesome. Depending on the viewer’s opinion, they may see it as a warning to people to be safe when alone, or they may find it as an interesting take on the work of Alfred Hitchcock. Primarily, though I believe that cinephiles of any age will recognise his style in my trailer.
Due to the percentage of people in our area (Devon), I would want to advertise it primarily towards people in our community. In turn, it makes sense that I will try and tailor my product to my particular audience to give it a higher chance of returning profit. It is also interesting for local people to be able to recognise and visit the locations of where it was filmed. I would rate my movie at 12 so young adults could watch it too.
5 How did you attract/address your audience?
The very opening of a movie must entice the viewers to get involved with the movie. My media product “The Watcher” is short; within the first seconds I had to make sure from the first shot that whoever was watching would be interested in watching it until the end. First, I tried to appeal to a certain target audience 20 plus but after talking within a group of students I realised a lot of 12 years old viewers also love thrillers. I did not want to restrict the audience age or the genders.
To address my audience and maintain their interest I used some key features when I filmed “The Watcher”. My camera movement mimics my protagonist’s fear, attempting to illustrate her emotions and make the viewer bond with the character, feeling empathetic for her, because I use an innovative form of film editing. The killer only appears for a few seconds, engaging the viewers to try and figure it out, but they have very little time to. It appears only for a few instants at a time, because people tend to make monsters in their head a lot scarier than monsters they see clearly. This was done on purpose as the main character sees them as a monster, which I wanted to relay into the mind of the viewers. I emphasise on the gender of the victim by using close up. I did not want to give away too many clues, I kept the details unclear and to a bare minimum, there are no dialogues, the victim is not really showing her face. We cannot see the feature of the murderer either. The audience would have to be involved in the movie and start asking themselves questions such as: What is going to happen? Who are those characters? Why cannot we see the timeline? I wanted to keep their attention and drawn them until the end. The audience had to bond with the main character, relate to her, and feel sorry for her not knowing why she seems to panic. Not knowing all the details the viewers do not know if the female character is really a victim or if she is paranoid, the fear could be self inflected.
I wanted to attract viewers who like suspense, mysteries. I created key moments when the female protagonist starts looking over her shoulder, walked faster, ran, come home banging the door. The use of red blood on the white sheet, the white soiled with red. The way the last shot was taken. The music that I used is classical. There are many reasons for that: I wanted to give it a feeling that this was happening in the past and not present day. I prefer using classical music to my trailer it is happening outside and not in a club or busy building. The music also does not contain words, as classical music is said to portray emotions better when there is no dialogue going on at the same time. One of the reasons why music in horror films scares us is the harsh sounds tap into instinctive fears. That is also one of the reasons that I introduced, between the slides with the murderer, the change of colour that instinctively creates the idea of ‘Danger’. Filmmakers have long relied on disturbing sound tracks, screeching violins and drums to heighten suspense and terror. Scientists have shown that harsh or unexpected sounds such as the violin used in thrillers and horror movies imitate the screams of frightened animals. Moviemakers tap into deep instinctive fears. I tried to use those techniques in a more subtle way.
6 What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
I have learnt that in film making, technology plays a massive role in the production of a film. In the start of making my trailer, I had over 3 minutes in video screen time, which I had needed to shorten down to two minutes and get rid of the unwanted shots. Through editing I was able to cut the 3 minutes down into 2, compacting it, but also making it easier to understand but it created a faster pace. The images I used to flash across the screen (of my villain) were edited in Adobe Photoshop in order to make the image appear in black and white as well as more frightening. Using Premiere Pro CC, I was able to cut down and connect parts of scenes in order to make multiple scenes into one scene. I also learned how to embed music to my trailer. I used my personal camera a SONY RX 10 camera to film the entire movie. I tried to use our family CANON camera but I did not like the way the movie looked, it was not very clear and I had to re-film the entire 2 minutes twice. I invested in a moving tripod on wheels to follow my protagonist on her walk. It was a very useful tool to allow the camera to be stable. I used for all the editing and special effects software called Final Cut Xpress and After Effects. I did a lot of cuttings to make sure the sequences were flowing well. I did not feel everything the same day so the weather condition had to be the same or it would have looked weird. I had never used Final Cut Xpress before so I spent some time at school to practice with it and asked an older student for some tips. Final Cut Xpress helped me to put all the sequences together to cut and edit the shots so the movie will flow well. ADOBE PHOTOSHOP was a useful programme to crop and edit pictures. I was a bit more familiar with it as I use it in photography.
7 Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
From my first idea to my final product I learned valuable Media techniques. Like in Photography class I made myself a Mind map to brainstorm my ideas, the techniques used and the outcome of the product created. My preliminary task kept me focused how to plan, shoot the movie and how to edit it. It was a step-by-step guide to follow to enable me to know what to do during the process of filming “The Watcher”. My first task was my storyboard. I had to think of an idea that would work for a short trailer, and still be entertaining and engaging with the audience. I wanted to keep it basic and easy to follow for the viewers. Preparation was key. First, I thought the story line was the main ingredient of the movie but it was not, everything was based on details, organisation of thoughts and processes to make the movie fluid, the preliminary task helped me to avoid making mistakes or repeats, the movie had to make sense. The movie was not made through several days but the characters have to wear the same clothes, the locations have to have to a transition, the weather.
My second task was shooting proof, watching the movie, made the right cut at the right place without creating flows. Respecting the sequences and editing was something that I was not familiar with. I thought it was just a question of cutting scenes. I learned the basic of Final Cut Xpress this is great software to use and helped me gradually to build up my movie.
I also learnt that the setting and the surrounding the use of various locations or arrangement of props: clothes, blood, helped to express emotions, feelings, set the atmosphere even if your movie is short. I spent many days looking for the right locations It was hard as they were always people walking around and I wanted my character to be on her own to look more fragile. In theatres they call it the “Mise en Scene”. While I watched the unedited version of my movie I understood the role it plays in the development of a good thriller.
Working on my own I had to learn many skills within a short period of time. I re-watched some old Thrillers like the “ 39 Steps” or “Vertigo” that inspired me to mix black and white and colour, I wanted no dialogues to build up the tension silence makes people uneasy. The hardest part was to respect the amount of time given to make the trailer within two minutes long and cutting from one scene to another. I had to create a build up of emotions then abruptly and sadly end it quickly.
I believe I missed the experience of working with a team, share ideas, knowledge that could have been useful for my movie. I realised I also need, in the future, to spend more time to learn shot variation techniques, lighting, that creates tensions, pushes the audience to be more involved and create perceptions and atmospheres. I showed my movie to an older Media student who gave me some good analytical critics such as improving better transitions, working on my title presentation and credits, adding music.
Through this whole process I have learned that the theme, the narrative must be clearly expressed and structured otherwise the effects and the audience can be lost. It was an interesting process and I realised now how much time, techniques and efforts it takes to make a good movie.