Film Questionnaire:
Name: ___________________________________________
Age: _______________
Gender: ______________________
Occupation: ______________________________________
What typical Film genre do you watch?
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What film genre do you not like and why?
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If a film is shown on T.V would you not watch it if it was on a certain channel?
Why?
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From watching the film what is your initial response?
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What elements of the film, have you enjoyed?
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Which part of the film did you enjoy the most? Please Circle…
Acting
Music
Editing
Camera Techniques
What did you think of the actors, in the film?
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Overall, did you enjoy the film? Why?
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If you could offer any improvements what would they be and why?
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Thank-you for taking the time to fill out this questionnaire.
For our first piece of media work we had to produce a piece of practical film work and surrounding written work , Our brief was to create the titles and opening scenes to a new thriller film, we had to show different camera shots and a good use of the editing tools we had available to us. It also had to be a maximum of two minutes.
The research for this project consisted of watching films, trailers and looking at the different music for thriller films, we had to look into the background of the thriller genre for example: what makes a thriller film a thriller, the different techniques and aspects we could use to achieve our brief. We watched film’s such as; ‘Memento’, ‘No Country For Old Men’ and ‘The Maltese Falcon’. I also watched the trailers for the following films; ‘The Alphabet Killer’, ‘Knowing’, ‘The Unborn’, ‘The Uninvited’ and ‘Friday The 13th’. Watching these examples of thriller films gave me a good idea on what a good thriller film needs to have within it. We also discussed and looked at different styles of filming and the different techniques that directors use to create the genre of a thriller film, for example ‘The Maltese Falcon’is a good example of a film noir, but this is a huge contrast compared to ‘Memento’ as it only uses the technique to show the flash backs during the film. Also in ‘Memento’ the director has changed the time line, the film is going in reverse. This technique is very good for a thriller as it makes you ask more questions as you watch it. We also looked at the music that is used in thrillers, the way it is needed to build suspense and feeling during the film. I found out that music is very important and influential toward the audience as it can make them feel the way the director wants them to feel.
We started planning our practical by thinking of some different ideas and then writing a detailed synopsis which explains the whole film. We chose the name ‘Role Of Fate’ as the killer has a dice which he uses to chose his next victim with, The title is very important as it ties the film and synopsis together. After we chose the title we had to chose the location, which is just as important as we wanted to get the right feel to our film, we chose to film at a location that was easily accessible when we needed it. We had to plan all the shots out into story boards, this helped me visualise the types of shots I would have to use in this project to successfully fulfil our brief. At this stage in our planning we had decided to use the tripod for some shots how ever in the final product we had used all hand held shots, this in turn helped build the suspense needed in the first scenes in our film. We also had to chose the type of shots we were planning on using for example long shots, close up, mid-shots and point of view shots.
The production of our project started by us actually planning where and how we could film the shots we needed, after we had discussed the different possibilities we started filming. During the filming we used a range of shots but we used a lot of point of view shots, as this shows what the killer can see.
I feel that the first scenes that we had filmed for our film is more of a horror genre however the synopsis explains the whole film and it is a thriller.
After we had finished filming we started to edit the shots we had, we used the computer programme ‘imovie’, this made the editing process very easy.
During the editing we decided that we would use a transition called ‘fade to black’ to create some more dramatic effect, as this causes suspense half way through the first scenes of our thriller. We had to correctly order the clips and then cut them down to what we needed, the first scene of our thriller just simply shows a dice rolling across the table and then the title comes up in a deep red, blood red, this could possibly give a deepen meaning to the title as it could show the audience what lies in the film. It has an underlying meaning. Also in the first clip i used the slow motion function to slow the dice down as it builds tension and suspense. I have also copied the first shot and used the reverse function so it looks like it comes back to the person that has thrown the dice. I have also made the first shots black and white as part of a series of flash backs the killer has in the duration of the film. This is an example of a film noir.
For the music and sound effects we decided that we would take the sound out of all the clips, after we did this we listened to a lot of different sound tracks to other successful films such as the ‘Halloween’ theme song and some of the music from ‘The Shawshank Redemption’, the music that was used in ‘The Shawshank Redemption’ was very successful as it created suspense and fear for the audience. The track I thought would have been a good choice was ‘An Inch Of His Life’ as it was a very under lying track and it was very subtle but effective, however as we removed the sound from the clips we had to have music that would be noticed and have an effect. We finally decided on ‘Persumed Innocent’ by John Williams, we chose this track as the music speeds up in the most important part of the first scene, this builds suspense and feeling where it is needed most. in the first scenes of our film there is only one line that is spoken ‘‘Five down, one to go…’’ this is at the end of the scene, i feel that this sets up for the following scenes.
The target audience for this film I feel is teenage to early thirties, this is because of the content of the film. The audience are attracted by the relevance the film has to them, i feel that the young cast shown in the opening scenes will attract the desired audience I want for this film. Also I feel that the story line will appeal to the younger generation. I think that the social group our film represents is that of a ‘mad man’. I feel this because of the way the story depicts the ‘killer’ also I feel that the way the filming was edited and changed has shown different time frames, this gives the film extra intrigue and suspense.
In relation to Todorov’s Theory the disruptive force is that the killer starts stalking and killing his victims one by one which causes the disequilibrium. The restorative force in our film the killer feels peace at heart as he has gotten his revenge on his victims however at the end of the film the kill commits suicide which can be considered another disruptive force.
Vladimir Propp believed that there were 31 narratemes that made a story and there were also seven characters in each story. I feel that our story relates to this in the way that the characters match the ones he uses in his theory, however our film does not incorporate all these characters in Propp’s theory.
I feel that the media influences that will distribute my media project will be channels such as Channel 4, BBC1 or BBC3. However the film will have to be shown after watershed due to the content of the film and the certificate given to it. I have chose these channels as the content shown on them are more experimental compared to channels such as ITV and BBC 2, this is a good aspect because it will be more willing to show the product on their channels as they have a wider range of audience. Plus I also think that this product would sell well as a dvd which I feel would be a good idea to develop the film as a DVD because it will be more accessible to the public, this will make the product more widespread and more profitable to the distributor.
If I look back at the preliminary task I feel I have learnt a lot as I have got used to the equipment and I have learnt a lot about the different techniques, through trail and error. I have learnt new aspects of the filming industry and the different ways things are done. I also feel that I have became more confident and experimental with my filming. I think this shows in the finished product as there are different shots and techniques used in it.
I feel that my first media project was a success as it fulfilled the specification and the brief however I feel that the first scenes of the film I made was borderline on the horror genre, but it is a successful thriller as it does make you ask questions and it does make the audience feel the way I want them to feel while watching the product that I have made.
I also feel that this project has made me more confident in my work, I also have learnt how to do a lot more things and how I can portray characters by the different shots I use and how I edit the final product. I have learnt how to pan and track while filming and how to use the shots efficiently and effectively. I also learnt how to use cuts and transitions well so it created pace and feeling. I feel that I used the techniques that I saw used in other films and trailers for example the film noir that was used in ‘Memento‘ the black and white scenes that were used in the film showed more emphasis on what the director was trying to achieve during a small time frame, it made us ask questions and think a lot harder than we would have if the flash backs would have been in the usual colours.
I also think that the techniques of editing in this project has been shown through the the first scenes of our film, the use of black and white, cuts, transitions and all the other techniques that were used in the editing process.
I learnt some of the narrative theories and used the principles while writing the full synopsis, the use of binary opposition also the use of a equilibrium. The use of this is important as it shows my understanding of the thriller genre and the conventions needed to create a successful product. Over all I feel that my product is of a good standard, how ever I still feel that the practical work shown is more borderline horror in the opening scenes of the film, I think that if I could re-do this work I would stick to the same storyline however I would change the opening sequence so it shows it is of the thriller genre. On the otherhand I do feel that the project was an overall success as I have shown my knowledge of the thriller genre and tried to protray this through all of my practical and theory work.
