Evaluation

Our thriller film uses conventions of a thriller as we filmed it at night, just before it got pitch black so we could brighten it making it look slightly foggy, we also filmed parts of the film under a street lamp to use a range of lighting without editing and tried to film our shadows, we thought filming at night would give our film a feel of natural tension. As it was so dark we were quite fearful ourselves so we could really get into character and act up to our roles better. We chose to do our thriller as a direct attack, building up tension before hand, rather than psychological making the audience wondering what’s going to happen, our film made it quite obvious from the start what was going to go on.

Our media project represents a particular social group aimed at youngsters; our film may be a thriller however it is trying to show that when youngsters go out drinking with their friends then end up by themselves at the end of the night things can go horribly wrong, we chose to do a kind of kidnap scene with a twist, as a warning to people not to be alone when drunk walking around in the dark, we tried to make our film as thrilling as possible with the things that we had to use, the villain wore a mask to create more horror and suspense to the film as well as attempting to show people you don’t know who’s out there .. Who’s the man behind that mask?

The audience for our media thriller film would most likely be youngsters, couples and groups of friends, people who like films that scare you, build up tension and stay on your mind for a while would probably choose to go watch our film. In our film we chose not to have any text, as we figured it would make it more mysterious; however we did add music to provoke tension. 

The location we chose to film our movie was around the duck pond in Albrighton as we figured it would be a perfect place because youngsters hang around there a lot to chill and it was a realistic destination, it also provided street lights and a rural, isolated background. We chose the duck pond as it also had street lamps and different areas of the duck pond had different shades of lighting so we wouldn’t have to do much editing, it would look more natural. The characters we chose were a villain with a mask to hide the identity, and a victim who was totally oblivious to what was going to happen. The sound we chose was music that built up tension and added suspense to our film as we didn’t have any text because we figured a silent film would be more scary and mysterious.

The strengths of our product would be the fact the music was made to suit our film, it is effective in the sense it creates tension and it is fit for the purpose of a thriller genre, another strength would be the fact we filmed it at night so it looked more natural and we didn’t have to edit much. However the weakness of our film would be the fact the scenes were very short as we kind of left it last minute to perfect it.

Looking back at our preliminary task we feel that we have learnt a lot since then and evolved our skills. We have leant how to use final cut express, and how to use the camera, camera work, camera angles like panning, zoom in track out, and close ups, the preliminary helped prepare us for our final film and made us realise what we did well and what we didn’t so we could learn from our mistakes.

Film reviews

Psycho

Infamous for its shower scene, Psycho has been called ‘the first psychoanalytical thriller’. The sex and violence in the film were unlike anything previously seen in mainstream film. The film often features shadows, mirrors, windows and water. The shadows are present from the very first scene where the blinds make bars on Marion and Sam as they peer out the window. Initial reviews of the film were thoroughly mixed. 
 
While the film did not conclude satisfactory for many critics they did commend the cast’s performances as ‘fair’. The public loved the film, with lines stretching outside of theaters as people had to wait for the next showing. It broke box-office records in Japan, China and the rest of Asia, France, Britain, South America, the United States, and Canada, and was a moderate success in Australia for a brief period. It is one of the largest-grossing black-and-white films and helped make Hitchcock a multimillionaire and the third-largest shareholder in Universal. Psycho was, by a large margin, the top moneymaking film of Hitchcock's career, earning $11,200,000.

Cast list for our media film


Jessica Marsh
Natasha Jayne Moss
Emily Dixon
Mike Phillips

Thriller film coursework questions

1. What is the purpose of the opening to a film?

The purpose of an opening to a film is to establish the mood and visual character of the film. It sets the scene and gives an overall idea of what the film is about.

2. What techniques can a director use to create suspense in a film?

Directors use techniques such as music and lighting to create an atmosphere and suspense.

3. How do you think a thriller film is defined?

It’s a film in which ordinary objects, places and people become more sinister.

4. What films can you think of that would fit into the thriller genre?

Shutter Island

Identity

Panic Room

The Lovely Bones

Aliens

5. The thriller film can be divided into sub-genres- what different types of thriller films do you think exist?

The sub-genres include murderous passion, psycho traumatic, identity, political, innocent on the run and film noir or neo noir.

Age certificates for films

 Suitable for ages 12 and above except when accompanied by an adult

Exactly the same criteria are used to classify works at ‘12A’ and ‘12’. These categories are awarded where the material is suitable, in general, only for those aged 12 and over. Works classified at these categories may upset children under 12 or contain material which many parents will find unsuitable for them.
The ‘12A’ category exists only for cinema films. No one younger than 12 may see a ‘12A’ film in a cinema unless accompanied by an adult, and films classified ‘12A’ are not recommended for a child below 12. An adult may take a younger child if, in their judgement, the film is suitable for that particular child. In such circumstances, responsibility for allowing a child under 12 to view lies with the accompanying adult.
The ‘12’ category exists only for video works. No one younger than 12 may rent or buy a ‘12’ rated video work.

 Suitable for age 15 and over

No-one younger than 15 may see a ‘15’ film in a cinema. No-one younger than 15 may rent or buy a ‘15’ rated video work.

Suitable for age 18 and over

No-one younger than 18 may see an ‘18’ film in a cinema. No-one younger than 18 may rent or buy an ‘18’ rated video work.

The History of Thriller Genre

A genuine, standalone thriller is a film that provide thrills and keeps the audience cliff-hanging at the "edge of their seats" as the plot builds towards a climax. The tension usually arises when the character is placed in a menacing situation, a mystery, or a trap from which escaping seems impossible. Life is threatened, usually because the principal character is unsuspectingly or unknowingly involved in a dangerous or potentially deadly situation.

Thrillers mostly take place in ordinary suburbs/cities. Though sometimes, they may take place wholly or partly in exotic settings such as foreign cities, deserts, polar regions, or the high seas. The heroes in most thrillers are frequently ordinary citizens unaccustomed to danger. However, more common in crime thrillers, they may also be "hard men" accustomed to danger, like police officers and detectives. While such heroes have traditionally been men, women lead characters have become increasingly common.

Media thriller n tht 

Setting in my back garden
hot tub - blood
supernatural
cutting up veg - tomatoes - resembles blood
silhouettes
rocking chair


PEACE OUT, 'A' TOWN