Extra Info / Screenshots

Screenshots of all media i used in production:

-Particles overlay: 






-Action essentials atmosphere overlay: 








Colour correction settings (sony vegas pro 10):

Character

The character i was trying to create was as ''normal'' as possible with no exceptional or extraordinary features. This was done by showing a lot of the location (3 rooms) and how relevant and similar they are to everyday life. The character was intended to be similar to any other person in terms of his reactions to scenarios and how he dressed.

The villain I was trying to portray was based upon the character of Gabriel Gray or 'Sylar' from the TV show Heroes. Sylar is a serial killer and usually takes a stealthy and methodical process for his kills which is the exact type of character i was trying to create for my coursework.

Soundtrack ideas & Sound Effects.

As my idea for the plot involves the infiltration of the main character's home, I will use a siren that sounds every few seconds for the opening titles and opening scene. The pace of this score will quicken and end with a long drone as the movie title shows.

The initial idea for the sound was to use a siren similar to a air raid siren, this was to give the idea of panic but i realised it didn't not fit well with my genre and plot. The actual sound used was still a siren,the difference being it gave of a more sinister feel and built up to a sort of finale.
The image above shows the increase in sound from start to finish.

The actual soundtrack:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_iJByeG_Vk&feature=youtu.be

AS Media Evaluation

Daniel Jorgenson.

In which way does your media product use and challenge the typical conventions of a movie opening?

In order for my film opening to be noticed and recognised to be a psychological thriller by my target audience, I had to implement certain conventions that apply to the genre. I also have to differ some of the conventions to make sure that my opening was unique and not seen as ‘generic’. A psychological thriller concentrates on the character, particularly the mind of that character and their fear of the unknown. To enforce this in my opening I have made sure that the audience can witness the danger, but the character is in a state of mystery. The tile of my movie opening is ‘Eliminate’; this suggests that there will be a certain degree of drama and a possibility of murder in the movie. It is located in my own house; I chose this because my genre is a psychological thriller and a relatable setting adds to the thrill and makes the movie less fictional and more a possibility. For the titles I used a font called ‘Bebas’, shown here in its raw style:

I chose this font as I believe it is simple and effective, also because the genre has no specific font style, whereas the horror genre has fonts such as ‘chiller’ that are associated with it. The font is easy to read which is the most important factor and works very well with the effects I applied to it.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

My media product is intended to represent the middle class as the characters in psychological thrillers are typically come from that class. The movie intends to be relatable and the majority of viewers would be of middle class, therefore it is the most effective class to represent. If for instance the movie was centered on a multi-millionaire businessman, the viewers would think the events of the movie to be a rarity whereas with my plot they will think it very much a possibility in their lives. In knowing this, I made sure my character was similar to the chosen social class. The setting and character’s appearance also contribute to the idea that this movie is intended for middle class people. The contents of the fridge are what would be expected from a person with an average wage and a simple lifestyle. The clothing is also standard medium priced high street clothes that are commonly worn. The posture of the boy is very casual and unsuspecting of his environment. He is not aware of any danger in his home, as nobody would be if they had just walked through the door. By relating as much as possible to the target audience and making the character as similar as possible I have connected them to my product. This works well as the viewer can relate to the character and does not feel excluded from the movie.

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

To find an institution that might distribute my product, I first researched a company that either used the same type of media, or specialised in that area of media. I chose a particular movie that was similar to mine, Law Abiding Citizen.

Law abiding citizen is classed as a thriller, as there is much more drama and action involved. Although it does implement a large amount of impressive mystery and intellectual twists. The company that distributed the movie was Overture Films, a sub-company of Liberty Media. I looked further into the company and found that they distributed a lot of movies of the thriller or similar genre. I believe they would be the best choice for the distribution of my movie as the company’s business model is designed to attract a higher quality of film projects, filmmakers, and talent. They also perform collaborative relationships with filmmakers and empower them to produce quality films that take creative risks and break new grounds.

Who would be the audience for your media product?

My target audience is predominately males. I believe this is so because of the genre I have chosen. A thriller is watched by males as it contains a certain degree of action and shock which is preferred by men. I believe it is also targeted at the middle class of people between an age of 16 and 40 years. This is due to psychological thrillers including a confusing and interesting plot. The viewer will need a certain degree of maturity and intelligence to understand and enjoy the video’s complex twists. In my opinion a female would prefer to watch a more light hearted genre such as ‘Rom-coms’ or ‘love stories’. The viewer of this movie would most likely have a profession ranging from labour worker to an office job. They could work a range of times such as shift work or a typical 9-5 job as the movie would be watched in their leisure time, although thriller movies are stereotypically watched in the evening.

How did you attract your audience?

To know how to attract my audience, I created a questionairre for my college peers on their preferences in various areas of life ranging from favourite genre of music to their favourite political party. I chose one member from the answers that worked best with my genre choice and talked more to understand their interests and lifestyle. This allowed me to gain an insight into their likes and dislikes, furthermore I could transfer this information into my product. I also chose to speak to an older family friend that also enjoyed my genre selection, this allowed vareity in my movie opening and I knew I had to incorporate both views of the audience as my target audience was 16-40.

I used the method of mystery to attract my audience. Stories that include mystery challenge the mind and I knew that this would interest my target audience. By not revealing and major events of the story, the viewer would be intrigued by the complicated narrative and wish for it to be revealed, forcing them to keep watching. By choosing to abruplty cut the opening before the character reveals the danger, the viewer is left in the unknown and the rest of the movie is instantly more appealing to them.

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

The story of my movie opening is that someone is being tracked and followed. I used the satellite tracking idea to create the feeling that the person tracking the character is powerful and determined. The satellitle scene was created by  placing various overlays onto a google image photo. T o zoom into a closer image I put the zoomed image in the centre of the screen and then used keyframing to gradually bring it to full size, in sync with the target overlay.

The scene then cuts into a shot inside of the house as the character enters. As he passes the camera, a mysterious figure appears to be standing where he just passed. This was done by a simple cut shot where I walked up to the camera, covering the whole frame. The recording was stopped and the other character moved into position, the recording then started again and the end result looked like a flawless movement. Any time between the pause and continuation of recording was simply cut out in sony vegas

 I used the program Sony Vegas Pro 10 to edit the video. I had the option of using an Adobe program but I was already familiar with most of the Vegas program so opted for that. The camera I used was a Panasonic HDC-SD60 with tripod which allowed me to record in full HD (1920/1080). The tripod allowed my camera shots to be more versatile and I could easy adjust height, angle and distance. The editing program influenced my project the most as I was able to create the titles, add colour corrections and synchronize the non-diagetic mood music with the introduction. To make the titles more effective I added a particle overlay and for the title of the video I also added a smoke injection overlay. I believe these effects make the titles look less refined and more rugged which is what I was aiming for. I also used an effect called ‘bup map’ which creates a spotlight effect on the text coming from a selected direction. The music used in the opening is a siren type noise which represents panic and danger. The music gradually gains volume and reaches a higher pitch before a loud thudding noise comes in with the title of the movie. Without this technology I would not have been able to apply the effects to the video such as colour corrections or fade in/out transitions.

What have you learnt in progression from you preliminary task to your final product?

Looking back at my preliminary task, I can see my understanding of the media movie scene has increased greatly from the time that video was produced. Although it is a well shot video, the simpleness is not to my liking and the narrative is rather tedious. From this,  I have learnt that to produce a good piece of media, lots of planning and preperation must be used in areas such as plot, location, target audience and technology. Without these factors, the product does not appeal to the audience. My understanding of what appeals to viewers has developed and I believe that shows in my final product, this was helped by the audience questionarre I distributed.

Overall I am very pleased with how my movie opening has turned out. I feel I have created it to a high standard that would be enjoyed by many viewers. I have followed the conventions well, which will allow my opening to be well recognised as a psychological thriller movie to my audience. I also feel I have a good knowledge of my target audience and will be able to attract them to watch my opening.

Finished Movie Opening.

My Audience.

My target audience is predominately males. I believe this is so because of the genre I have chosen to do. A thriller is watched by males as it contains a certain degree of action and shock which is preffered by men. I believe it is also targeted at the middle class people of an age between 16 and 40. This is due to phsycological thrillers having a confusing and interesting plot. The viewer will need a certain degree of maturity and intelligence to understand and enjoy the video's complex twists. Females would probably enjoy the more light hearted genres of 'Rom-coms' and 'love stories'.

Titles Ideas.

I have decided to change the titles of my opening. I have opted to go with a 2D title sequence instead of the current 3D ones. I will add a vignette to the text to create a gloomy effect. I will keep the same title and use a font from http://www.dafont.com/