Evaluation

In what ways does your media product use, develop or

challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

There are many types of thrillers. There is the thriller of acquired

identity which is based around a protagonist's acquisitions of an
unaccustomed identity. There is the thriller of moral confrontation;
these films are often constructed in terms of elaborate dualities which
emphasize the parallels between the victim and the criminal. There is
the innocent-on-the-run thriller, the victim often finds himself running
from both the villains as well as the police. There is the psychosomatic
thriller... organized around the psychotic effects of a trauma on a
protagonist's current involvement in a love affair and a crime or
intrigue. Finally there is the political thriller, organized around a plot to
assassinate a political figure or a revelation of the essential
conspiratorial nature of governments and their crimes against the
people. These films generally document and dramatize the acts of
assassins, conspirators, or criminal governments, as well as the
oppositional acts of victim-societies, counter cultures, or martyrs.

My thriller mainly applies to the political thriller, despite having aspects

of the innocent on the run thriller. The aspects of my thriller that make
it a political thriller are as followed, there is a plot to assassinate a
political figure as this is the reason that the boy and his father are on
the run. The film does go on a journey of the victims fight for justice
and escape from being killed him.

Thrillers have certain conventions that they go by. The camera angles
used, the sound, the mise en scene, the acting, titling, framing and
editing.

One convention of thriller that is commonly used is the use of a red

herring. The opening scene in the sequence is of the man chasing the
boy through the woods, there is then a gunshot and we here and see
the boy get shot and die. We immediately think that the man is the
killer as he was running through the woods with the boy, just behind
him to make it look like he was after him.

Camera angles and movement are vital in shooting any movie to

create the mood, especially in thrillers. Usually in thrillers the story
opens up with a panned movement up and we get a sort of
establishing shot yet it is moving giving the audience an idea of the
whole setting. One of my first shots is a panned movement up into the
trees as we start the movie, this is effective as we fill isolated, yet
claustrophobic with how many trees and things are around the
audience giving an uneasy feeling. I had a lot of high angled shots on
the boy when he was running showing his weakness and vulnerability;
you generally get this a lot in a thriller for the victim. This convention
of a thriller is one I did not challenge and used to my advantage. I also
used odd, obscure angles which are a common convention of a thriller,
the obscurity makes the audience feel uncomfortable and there is an
eerie sense to the scene.

This high angles shot emphasizes the

difficult situation he is in while he falls.

The title itself shows a lot about the thriller, the title ‘The Executive’
represents the executive branch in government however it is a sharp
quite formal word, so when we see the boy and his father running
through the woods the title gives the sequence an archaic aspect as
we do not know how the scene relates to the title, however as the
sequence goes on we find out that the boy is going to the house of
commons and when the father says “say hello to Cameron for me” the
audience start to link the title to what is happening.

Sound is another vital aspect of film and television that really makes a
difference. Without sound, be it diegetic or non-diegetic the mood
would not be created no matter how well shot or effectual the shot
was. It is vital to have non-diegetic music playing as an underscore in
the film in the opening, so I did this for my opening, my opening is cut
in two different sections with the first section I needed an upbeat yet
uneasy song and the second a more relaxed song. I followed the three
conventions of sound within my thriller as I felt it would help make it
better and create an atmosphere. The diegetic sound was also very
effective with heavy panting over the POV shots to give make the
audience empathize with the characters.

Acting positioning and movement was kept to the conventions just

keeping the characters in the centre of the frame and in the woods
scene when the characters are running I had the characters running
across the entire frame. I also kept the framing of our shot within the
conventions of a thriller, I found thrillers use many close ups, so for
one of my main parts of my thriller I had extreme close ups on the
fathers ring, getting closer and closer. Also the focussing of my shots
were vital, I tried to have a good depth of field. I mainly kept to the
conventions of positioning and framing in this area.

He is positioned in the middle of the shot.

Extreme close up on the ring.

The mise-en-scene tells you a lot about movie. A thriller has certain
stereotypes and conventions in which they show they are a thriller. I
mainly stuck to this convention with the clothing of the characters, I
had the father (Phillip) wearing a big brown coat, this is a stereotypical,
stalker or villains clothing and when running through the woods this
proved effective because at this point the audience do not know that
Phillip is the boys father so they presume he is chasing him through
the woods. I did challenge the mise-en-scene convention with lighting,
usually thrillers are very dark and light is hard to come by, however
most of my opening is shot in a bright wood, I felt this helps the
audience to empathize with the boy as it is not dark this is also
frustrating because anybody could see him and help him. The setting
of the woods is quite a stereotypical place for a chase in a thriller to
take place; it provokes fear and a feeling of being lost. In general I
stuck to the conventions of mise-en scene in a thriller.
 The brown coat represents a stalker or
villain and the audience give their
character a label as a ‘bad guy’ already.

The last convention editing I did not stick that well to the conventions.
In thrillers there are many jump cuts, of which I do not have nay.
However my thriller was quick editing as it was a chase and it keeps
the audience on their toes never letting them settle.

In general my thriller did stick to the conventions of a thriller and here

it did not I felt it helped the thriller to excite and scare the audience.

Todorov’s theory of Narrative states there is equilibrium within a

thriller. However my sequence does challenge the convention in some
sense as the disruption of the equilibrium comes before the
equilibrium. The equilibrium is the middle class home and family, the
middle class represents security and harmony and this is the
equilibrium, with the chase through the woods as the disruption of the
equilibrium.

Here we see a middle class

house and a content family.
There is a big garden and a lot
of light is coming through again
emphasizing the ‘equilibrium’
 The boy’s room represents his
teenage like aspects, with a
poster on the wall and funny
sign on his door, this make the
audience feel even more
sympathetic as they see him as a
regular child.

I used Vladimir Propp as an inpiration and to try and base my thriller on

his theory. Propp suggested that characters took on the role of
narrative 'spheres of action' or functions. From a comprehensive study
of folktales Propp came up with seven different character types:
The hero, usually male, is the agent who restores the narrative
equilibrium often by embarking upon a quest (or search). Propp
distinguishes between the victim hero, who is the centre of the villain's
attentions, and the seeker hero who aids other who are the villain’s
victims. The hero is invariably the texts central character. The hero is
represented by Callum in my thriller. He is on the run, but also trying
to restore order within the narrative by uncovering the conspiracy.

The villain who usually creates the narrative disruption the villain is the
people behind the attempted assassination; we do not know their
names.

The donor gives the hero something, it may be an object, information

or advice, which helps in resolution of the narrative, the donor and the
helper in my thriller, is Phillip, Callum's (the hero) Father, who aids
Callum throughout the movie and gives him information and advice
throughout the film.

The princess (the victim) is usually the character most threatened by

the villain and has to be saved, at the climax, by the hero. The father's
(who in fairy tales were often Kings) role is usually to give the princess
away to the hero of the narrative's conclusion. He may also dispatch
the hero.
The princess (victim) is also Callum. He is the character most at risk, it
is also the man who is attempted assassinated at the beginning
however, after that the villains attention is entirely turned to Callum.

The dispatcher sends the hero on her or his task. there was no
dispatcher in my thriller, which is one convention of his theory I did not
abide to.

The false hero appears to be good but is revealed, at the narratives

end, to have been bad, there was also no false here.

How does your media product represent particular social

groups?

One social group that my thriller represented was age. I had two
character in my opening Callum (14) and Phillip his father in his forties.
I felt that having a young person to play the innocent victim (Callum)
this would emphasize the vulnerability and fear of the situation as he is
just a teenager. As he is only a boy this also means the audience are
far more shocked which builds the feeling of fear that I am trying to
achieve.
Phillip is in his forties and represents a middle aged man. Again the
audience can relate with this as it is just an average guy and this
phenomenon could happen to anyone.

Callum and Phillip come from a middle class family who live in a fairly
large house in the suburbs. This is shown through the mise-en-scene of
the house, such as the two cars outside the house, showing they are a
wealthy household. Another thing representing this is the sheer size of
the house and its location, the idea of a middle class house and family
is that it is a secure, safe environment which is why I chose this
persona and setting for the movie as Callum and his father are not safe
and all is not well.

What kind of media institution might distribute your media

product and why?

I think that my thriller would be distributed through mainstream

multiplex cinemas. I think it would distributed this way as thrillers are a
very popular genre of movie and are generally released in cinema to
bring in profit. ‘The Manchurian Candidate’ is a thriller much like mine;
it is political thriller and an innocent on the run (with a hint of
psychopathic thriller). This was released through the mainstream
cinema.
It would not be released through art house as my film is not an arty
one, it has an upbeat narrative and is more about keeping the
audience biting their nails rather than appreciating how it is made.

Most thrillers are distributed through mainstream cinemas and

multiplexes; they include ‘The interpreter’ and ‘The International’. I
feel my thriller like others of the genre would be released as a
mainstream movie; it holds all the aspects of a hit blockbuster.

Who would be the audience for your media product?

I feel that my thriller would appeal more the male sex and to an age
brand of 16-40. In general political thrillers are preferred by the elder
generation as they can understand more of it however because my
thriller has aspects of innocent on the run thriller and has the potential
to be full of action so would be more popular within the younger the
people, so because of this I have chosen 16-40.

I also did a focus group in which they believed the target audience
would definitely be a male audience with a lot of action, and a very
male cast; however all of the women watching liked the sequence and
believed that some women would like it. The age band was believed to
be from about 16-30, with quite a quick paced movie and a lot of
action which would appeal to this age.

I feel young adults and teenagers can relate with Callum (15) which
will make the movie popular within this sort of age bracket. Also the
father appeals to the average mid-forties man who is not always
represented in thrillers so this could give a new edge to the film.

In The Manchuirian Candidate the target audience in my opinion would

probably be an older American public because of the violence and the
historical references in the film.

How did you attract/address your audience?

I opened the sequence with a point of view shot which immediately

engages the audience. The use of point of view shots engage the
audience because the audience can empathize with the character, in
my sequence the use of certain effects to make the viewer really feel
like they are running through the woods makes the audience feel
uneasy and sympathetic.

The use of a red herring had he audience on edge and anticipating

what would happen next. In a thriller a red herring is often used, it
creates an atmosphere and the audience are asking questions making
the m want to know what happens.

The ambiguity of the opening sequence also makes the audience want
to watch on, there is a young boy running through the wood being
chased by an old man, there is no dialogue and the audience do not
know why he is being chased and who they are.

The fact that we find out the man chasing the boy is actually the boys
father makes the audience want to know what happens next. They
have just seen the man chase the boy through the woods then he is
eating breakfast with him, it is mysterious making the audience want
to know what happens next.

The use of a child creates anxiety within the audience as the child is
very vulnerable and you feel more sympathetic and worried as the
child is almost helpless against the adult.

I attracted my audience by using my blog and I made a Facebook

page. I set up a Facebook page of which the people in the group could
comment on the video of what they liked and disliked, this is it below.
I got comments telling me how they feel it worked and which other
thrillers they compared it to. I also was told about the use of point of
view shots and how they helped with the sequence.

I also used a focus group to gain knowledge and advice about my

thriller. I used a selection of volunteers of all ages and genders. They
said that they would change how complex it was. There were moments
in the movie where an easy mid shot or two shot could have been
effective where i have put in a fancy shot or effect. (I have changed
this).
The all gave what they thought was a correct explanation of the
narrative; they all described the story very well. All believing in short
that it was a story of a young boy on the run with his father after he
has seen an attempted assassination of a politician. It is about them
trying to uncover the truth but stay alive at the same time.
In general all of the people saw the film as a thriller. They felt it
represented the main conventions of thriller with the way it was shot
and edited but they also said that the narrative represented one of a
thriller. They believed it represented more of an innocent on the run
thriller than a political thriller despite the story being based on the
corruption of politics

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of

constructing this product?

Throughout the process of filming and editing my thriller, I have learnt

many skills in technology in working within the film industry.

I used you tube to find music and help me compare my own thriller to
others. With the use of you tube I could also find videos about ways to
edit and tutorial about filming.

Final Cut pro is the program I used to edit and finish my final cut of the
thriller, it was an excellent piece of software and this process has
taught me how to use it. It was good for a thriller as the effects are
very useful and the editing functions are vital. It can import music
which was made easy because of the program.
Before I made my opening to the thriller I only had basic skills on Final
Cut Pro. The process of editing the thriller has improved my skill
greatly, before it I could only cut and nothing else which made the
things I was making quite unprofessional. However as I went on editing
my thriller I picked up on skills, putting in very effective video filters,
such as ‘view finder’ which makes a handheld camera appear on the
screen, and certain glows and light rays which I used consistently for
all of my point of view shots, the use of these effects added to the
realism and authenticity my thriller obtained throughout the sequence.

The camera I used was a Sanyo Xacti which was a brilliant piece of
equipment. It is full HD and has a very good zoom. However its only
microphone is at the front so you have to position the microphone at
the person you want to hear, it also picks up surround sound quite
badly.

Finally the blog. The blog has been my way of showing the world how I
am doing, posting my ideas and process of creating my thriller. It has
been very useful, people can comment on the blog and give their
opinions about what work I have done and what I can improve on. The
blog is also useful as it is a good way store the work I have done as I
can constantly check back and see what I have done and use the
research I did.
Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you
have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

My preliminary task, performed with Harriet and Georgia was the start
to making my thriller. We were asked to show off our understanding of
the 180 degree rule and shot reverse shot. It was a simple task
however I have come a long way since then.

We were asked to storyboard the preliminary task using pictures and

descriptions of each shot. The use of a story board enables you to
know what shots to do and when, you can add and take away shots
from the storyboard but it is best to stick to it where you can and treat
it as a guideline in which to film your movie. In my actual sequence I
used the storyboard to help me through the process of editing and
filming the movie. It helped and makes the process a lot easier. The
storyboard also helped me as I had the right amount of shot as the
more shots the better the sequence as there is many to choose from.

I feel I have learnt more about the how shots should be placed and also
about the shot after the one I am performing, by looking ahead to
future shots it helps with the continuity and the flow of the sequence.

In the preliminary task we were simply asked to perform match on

action, shot-reverse-shot and stick to the 180 degree rule, this showed
me how to do the basics. My camera angles I used developed greatly
throughout the process, while I used a lot of point of view shots, I also
used obscure angled shot, like when the man and boy are running
through the woods it shows the shot behind the leaves on the ground
really giving the scene authenticity and something different. The shots
I sued in the house were also a lot more advanced than my preliminary
with Ariel shots and the use of depth of field, when Callum is at the
door and his father in the background.

This is my use of depth of field with Callum

in the foreground and his father in the
background. The perspective has an uneasy
sense to it, which most thrillers tend to use to
make the audience feel uncomfortable.
Sound is something that was not taken into account in the preliminary
task as we only had to film people talking, however throughout the
process I have become more sound aware, for example I chose the
woods I did as it is a quite isolated location so you cannot hear cars or
people, I wanted to emphasize how isolated the boy was as this makes
the audience feel even more sympathetic and anxiety about if the boy
will get away. In the preliminary we were not told to think about the
sound, however the fact that I am thinking about sound and where to
position the camera due to the microphone when shooting shows how
much I have learnt since the preliminary as before that I would not
have even thought about it.

My editing for the preliminary task was basic. I was only meant to use
match on action and shot reverse shot and not break the 180 degree
rule, this is basic and since then I have improved greatly in my editing.
With many effects and clever cutting shots my piece look much more
professional, I also thought about editing conventions of a thriller
about having quick cut shots which do not let the audience settle.

I feel since the preliminary task I have learnt a lot. Not only about the
way to film a thriller but about thrillers themselves and the
conventions they must stay with to be considered a successful thriller.
The whole process was a good opportunity to get experience in filming
and having the responsibly of filming, directing and every other job in
this sector. I feel the experience I have gained has improved my
interest for the genre, my skill in creating these sorts of media
products and in the knowledge I now hold about the industry.