AS Evaluation Question 7

Question 7. Looking back on your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression of it to the full product?

The purpose of the preliminary task was to make sure that every member of the group knew how to handle a camera and a tripod. From the preliminary task I learnt how to use the tripod mostly as I already had some experience with the camera. I learnt how to attach the camera to the tripod and how to use the panning shot on the tripod. I also learnt how to show that a conversation is taking place through the use of an over the shoulder shot. These skills that I learnt were incorporated into my opening sequence, especially the tripod which was used throughout.  

AS Evaluation Question 6

Question 6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product? 

AS Evaluation Question 5

Question 5. How did you attract/address your audience?

The primary research that I took out was vital to the production of my opening sequence. The pie chart questions that I used were very helpful as they allowed me to determine what elements should be included in my thriller. I thought that it was extremely important that I got feedback from my target audience because they were the ones that my film was aimed at therefore it had to appeal to them. Using primary research was essential as it allowed me to ask my own questions and therefore make sure I got the feedback that I required, as oppose to secondary research where I would not be able to control what questions were asked.

In order to create my thriller film I had to go through several stages of research. These included analysing thriller films, researching my target audience, researching film certificates and researching conventions of the thriller genre. For each research stage I conducted I created a blog explaining what I had found out and how I would try to incorporate it into my opening sequence. The main research stages that I found helpful was the questionnaires that I gave to members of my target audience, this allowed me to see what they characters, plot, setting etc they wanted to see in thriller films. I also thought that the research into conventions was another helpful research stage that I did. The conventions that I found were most prominent in thriller films were very important in the making of my film, overall they were what made my opening sequence part of the thriller genre. Putting the research that I did into blogs made it easier for me to go back and check what I had found out, this meant when it came to creating and editing the opening sequence I was prepared with what I wanted to include. 

Carrying out research made it much easier when it came to planning my opening sequence this is because I knew what characters, setting, conventions, narrative etc I wanted to include. When I and my group members planned the opening sequence we already had a mental plan of what we thought it would be like, this is because of the research and feedback that we got from our target audience and from watching other thriller films. I took inspiration from the research I did into thriller films. I took the inspiration of using a hidden identity from The Strangers, I thought that it worked really well in this film as it created an enigma aswell as striking fear into the audience, so I decided to incorporate this into my film. I used the idea of a point if view shot through a mask, this inspiration came from Halloween, where Michael Myers is walking up the stairs and we can see through a mask. I thought this worked well as it created a lot of low key lighting and it also gave the audience chance to see things from the antagonists point of view, which I thought was chilling.

AS Evaluation Question 4

Question 4. Who would be the audience for your media product?

It is vital that there is a target audience for a film production, this is so you can direct the film to a certain type of people. There are elements of a film that make it directed at a particular target audience, such as the characters, the plot and the genre, this is what attracts the audience to watch your film. It is important that you know who your target audience is so you can choose what elements you want to include in your film, for example it is no good having a young teenage character for a film aimed at over 50s.

The target audience for my film is teenagers (15 – 19) male and females. I have chosen this target audience as I am of that age and I believe this will allow me to access the target audience and satisfy what they want to see. This target audience is fitting of my thriller as the characters I have used are relatable. A teenage female victim is relatable to the audience as they may have similarities to her or they may know someone like her, this makes it easier for the audience to create a relationship and therefore they become more attached to the character. I also believe that the narrative is very appealing to my target audience, I have opted to use a much simpler narrative compared to the ones that I have seen in other thriller films such as Inception and Memento. I believe this simple narrative will appeal to the target audience as they will not want to have to concentrate throughout the whole of the film. The narrative is also appealing as it is realistic and something that could happen to anyone, this allows the audience to place themselves in the narrative themselves. I believe the mise en scene that I have used is also appealing to the target audience, for example the costume that I have used for the female victim would be appealing to female teenagers watching. I dressed the female victim in stereotypical designer clothing, this is a way of attracting the females watching as they can see that she is wearing the latest fashionable clothes and handbags. Furthermore the attire that I have used for the antagonist is appealing to an audience, the dark clothing I have used with him represents his evil and the contrast of the white mask shows he is unstable, making the audience want to know more about him. 

AS Evaluation Question 3

Question 3. What kind of media institution might distribute your media products and why?

AS Evaluation Question 2

Question 2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?

The first main character in my film is the female victim – Cara Gaffney.

Cara Gaffney is a young attractive female who enjoys going out and spending time with her boyfriend, shes very popular and represents a typical teenage girl. She is dressed in stereotypical female clothes and is the represents the teenage group. This character has been used in my thriller film as I believe she is the best way to emphasise vulnerability and make the antagonist look superior. I have also used her as she is a desirable character meaning that the people watching will want her to be saved and therefore feel more attached when she is in danger. Furthermore using this type of character makes it easier for my target audience to relate to her as they may be similar in certain aspects or they may know someone similar, this will make it seem more personal to the audience and also make it much more relatable.

The second main character in my film is the antagonist – Myself (Daniel Armstrong).

The antagonist is a strange masked man who stalks young females and kidnaps them. He is dressed in all black to represent the darkside that he has and he wears a mask to hide himself from his victims. He carries a knife which he uses to execute the victims once he has them hostage in his abandoned shed. This character represents the evil in my thriller and the mask he wears also represents the enigma. This character has been used in my opening sequence as a symbol of evil and to strike fear into the audience. Using this type of character makes it easier for the audience to imagine who they would expect the antagonist to be as he is wearing a mask and it is therefore left to the audiences imagination. The antagonist is also the main technique that I will be using in order to make the audience feel tense.

Gender within my characters has been used in a stereotypical way. The fact that the victim is female is important to the way in which they are portrayed to the audience. Making my victim a stereotypical teenage girl makes her seem much more vulnerable to the audience, therefore the audience want her to be saved. Making her a stereotypical female is also important as it makes her easier to relate to for the audience, this means the audience are able to put themselves in her situation and the sequence seems more realistic and terrifying.

I think that the characters used in my opening sequence are very appealing to the audience. The female victim (Cara Gaffney) is very attractive, this makes her seem appealing to the audience as she looks desirable, this further means that they would be tense when she is in any sort of danger. Making her a stereotypical teenager makes her furthermore appealing to the audience, this is because a relationship can be made between the character and the audience. The antagonist may also appeal to the audience, this is because he looks scary and the use of the mask allows the audience to recognise the antagonist. His scary appearance is appealing to the audience as they are watching the film to be scared, and the antagonist is the main way of doing this. As I previously said, putting the antagonist in a mask makes it easier for the audience to imagine who they would expect the antagonist to be. This makes him appealing to the audience as they can make it more personal to themselves.

AS Evaluation Question 1

Question 1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

There are many generic conventions that feature in the thriller genre, these include, low key lighting, hidden identity, tense music, female victim. The generic conventions of a thriller film are the elements that make it fit in that genre. The generic conventions of a thriller film are used to set the scene, create suspense and make the audience feel uneasy. We see strong representations of these conventions in the following thriller films: The Strangers, in this film there is a strong focus on the hidden identity convention, all of the antagonists are dressed in strange masks. This convention allows the audience to imagine who they want the antagonist to be. There is also a strong use of conventions in Shutters Island, this film shows a lot of low key lighting and there is an enigma that runs throughout. The low key lighting is used when Leonardo Di Caprio is walking through the prison and there is very little light, this is used to disorientate the audience making them feel lost. The enigma that runs throughout this film is also another strong convention of the thriller genre and it makes the audience want the character to solve the mystery.

To ensure that our opening sequence followed the generic conventions of the thriller genre, we analysed the most successful thriller films and looked at the most prominent conventions. We found that the most generic conventions that featured in these films were tense music, an enigma, female victim and low key lighting. We tried our best to fit these conventions into our thriller but at the same time we didn’t want to over use the conventions. We decided that tense music was vital to our thriller film, this was used when the antagonist was walking down to the shed and there is a tense disturbing non diegetic sound used. We wanted this sound to go parallel with the unsteady movement of the camera, to portray that the antagonist is unstable. The next convention that we decided to use was a female victim in the form of Cara Gaffney. We noticed that a female victim was prominent in most of the thriller films that we analysed and we thought it would be a good way to create a relationship with our target audience as well as depicting our victim to be vulnerable. To make our female victim seem as vulnerable as possible we tried to enhance the fact that she is isolated and gave her stereotypical clothing.

Our opening sequence defines the thriller genre as it includes a lot of the codes and conventions of the thriller genre. It makes the audience feel tense through its hidden identity and tense music, and it also shows a superior antagonist compared to the vulnerable victim. It does what you would expect a film in the thriller genre to do, it thrills the audience, leaving them wanting to know what is going to happen next. Our opening sequence uses a variety of different micro elements in order to define its genre. There are a lot of different camera shots used in order to emphasise the positions of each character, for example low angle to make the antagonist seem superior. The opening sequence is also packed with different edits to create suspense and tension.

My opening sequence vs. Scream

I believe that my opening sequence shows similar codes and conventions in comparison to the film Scream. Both sequences have used the convention of a hidden identity for the antagonist. In the case of Scream, the antagonists face is covered with a white eerie looking mask, my antagonist is similar to this with a white mask. The reason the masks have been used is to symbolise who the antagonist is, making them more recognisable to the audience. Another similarity of both sequences is the use of the female victims, both films have a blonde attractive female victim. The victim is used to symbolise vulnerability, and therefore it is important to portray them in this light. As a result of this both sequences have used a female to represent this vulnerability. There are differences between my sequence and Scream, the most notable one is the location. Scream has used a typical location for a thriller film, a family home, this enables the audience to relate much easier as it is a relatable location. This makes it seem as if it could happen to them. I decided to use a much less conventional setting for the first half of my sequence, an underground car park, I opted for this as it is unique and although it is not a convention of the thriller genre I believe that it is an eerie location. In the second half of my sequence I wanted to use a much more conventional location, like Scream, so I used an abandoned shed. The sound that is used in Scream is very typical of the thriller genre, there are a lot of jumpy non diegetic sounds used when the antagonist appears. My sequence also uses these sounds to strike fear into the audience and make the antagonist seem far superior, as if he could jump out of anywhere at any time. 

AS Thriller Evaluation

We was asked to create a two minute opening sequence to a thriller film. This opening sequence had to demonstrate our knowledge of thriller conventions, our use of editing and we also had to include characters. On top of this we had to create blogs explaining each stage of our planning and research.

In my group was Me, Joe Smith and Reggie Witham, and we had to occupy the following production roles, director, director of photography, actor, editor, producer, costumes and music. In our group I had the role of an actor (antagonist) and director of photography. In the role of an actor I had to play the antagonist, this meant that I was responsible for striking fear into the audience. During this role I have learnt how to portray certain emotions across to the audience using the conventions of a thriller such as weapons and masks. In the role of the director of photography I had to plan and film the shots that would be used in our opening sequence. This role required someone who could use a camera well and I felt I was most experienced with a camera in our group. I was responsible for every shot that we would be putting into our opening sequence, to make sure we had a variety of different shots to choose from I decided that we should film each shot at least three times. From this role I have learnt how to create a certain atmosphere through the different types of camera shots that can be used, for example a low angle shot makes a character look superior.

Overall I thought that the communication within our group was very good, we organised group meetings once a week in which we discussed how well the project was going so far and what we felt we needed to improve on. We also used a meeting log that recorded every meeting we had and what was discussed, this allowed us to keep organised. Assigning each person within the group a certain production role was another good way of keeping everything organised as it meant that each individual knew their responsibilities and what they had to do to contribute.

In my opinion I believe that as a group we made a very successful thriller film, we included a lot of thriller conventions in our opening sequence.


Characters - Firstly we had a young female victim which is a strong convention of the thriller genre. Using this convention enabled us to make our victim look vulnerable and therefore make the audience feel although she is in more danger. This victim also allowed us to make our audience relate with  the victim as they are in the same age bracket. Furthermore we also used a hidden identity for our antagonist, this convention creates an enigma for our audience. This encourages them to watch on to see if the killers identity is revealed. Furthermore, I believe that using an hidden identity has made our opening sequence even more successful as it creates fear and suspense for the audience.  

Soundtrack - In addition, I believe that the soundtrack that we used within our opening sequence made it successful as it was an eerie soundtrack. The sounds we used were disturbing and went really well with the bad tv effect. I also believe that the soundtrack that we used connoted danger, this enabled the audience to be aware when something bad was going to happen and therefore created suspense.

Editing - In my opinion the editing of our thriller was the most successful aspect. Using the effects and cuts that we did made our thriller seem much more conventional and added a professional touch. I also believe that the editing we did, such as the bad tv and recording camera created suspense very well. The transitions that we used worked very well however I believe that we could have improved on the speed of cuts during the execution scene.

Lighting - I thought that the lighting we used contributed to our thriller success. We used a lot of low key lighting as our opening scene was set at night, this created tension and suspense among the audience. I liked the amount of lighting that we had surrounding the antagonist, it was enough that you could see him, but there was still an aspect of low key lighting to leave the audience in fear. 

Iconography - Finally, the iconography the we used in our opening sequence worked well with the plot. We used a mask for the antagonist, this enabled the audience to identify that he was evil, and it also kept his identity concealed leaving the audience wondering who he is. We also used a lot of iconography surrounding the female victim such as mobile phone, handbag and a girly outfit. All of these are stereotypical objects you would expect a teenage girl to have, this enabled the teenage audience to relate with her and therefore feel more tense when she is in danger.

Thriller Comparison

Do you think you have created a successful thriller sequence and why?
I believe that the thriller sequence that we have created is very successful as we have made it very conventional but at the same time it portrays the modern aspects of a thriller film. This has enabled us to create a thrilling and terrifying thriller sequence. Furthermore I believe that we have attracted our target audience very well by including a relateable character as a victim. By doing this we have appealed to our audience as they will be able to put themselves in her situation. I believe that by including this typical aspects of a thriller film, we have created a very successful opening sequence. In addition, we have included an enigma which urges the audience to continue to watch and see what happens.

Which micro element best shows your understanding of thriller conventions and creativity?
In my opinion the micro element that we have used to its potential the most is editing. I believe that we maximised the editing, such as using the bad tv effect and the recording camera effect. Both of these are examples of how we have understood the thriller conventions as they both add suspense and an enigma to our opening sequence; the recording camera poses the question as to who is recording and why. The bad tv effect creates suspense as it is disturbing and leaves the audience on the edge of their seat. Furthermore, the editing that we have used in our opening sequence have demonstrated our creativity as they make the film more interesting to the eye and also make the film seem more professional.

This microelement has proved our understanding of the thriller genre as it demonstrates that we are able to strike fear into our audience and also generate tension amongst them. In addition, the use of editing has enabled us to make our film resemble many other successful films in the thriller genre such as Sinister and Paranormal Activity which both use similar effects to us. This gives evidence that we as a group have a strong understanding of the thriller genre.

Compare your opening sequence to a successful thriller and explain how your thriller is conventional.

I will be comparing our thriller to Sinister.

Our thriller has parallels to the film Sinister, which is a hugely successful thriller film of the past decade. Both our opening sequence and Sinister have used the theme of innocence in order to generate a reaction from their audience, we have used an innocent teenage girl who is helpless in order to gain the audiences concern. Similarly Sinister uses children as their victim in order to gain the audiences concern. Both of these has aspects of innocence and the victims are inferior, therefore the audience feel although they need to help the victims and they are therefore more attracted to the films. This use of an inferior female victim has also made my thriller conventional to the thriller genre; a female victim is often used in the thriller genre as they are a symbol of inferiority, making the antagonist seem even more scary.

In addition, both Sinister and our opening sequence have used an enigma. Our enigma is in the form of our antagonist who has an hidden identity through a mask. Sinister have also included an enigma in the form of their antagonist, who is often blurred out in the shots and also wearing a mask. Using an enigma in thrillers attracts the audience as they want to find out who the antagonist is and why they are doing what they are. An enigma is a convention of the thriller genre, this therefore means that my opening sequence is conventional to the thriller genre. An enigma urges the audience to watch on as they will want to find out what happens. Enigmas are also used as a way of creating suspense and tension among the audience, as they leave the audience wondering what and why?

Finally, the soundtracks that have been used in Sinister and my opening sequence are similar. Both soundtracks are disturbing and connote that something bad is about to happen. Tense music is a convention of thriller films as they attract the audience and leave them on the edge of their seat. Both thrillers use the soundtrack to engage the audience and get their attention.

Audience feedback

Explain why audience feedback is important to a production?

Audience feedback is important as it allows the audience to comment and give feedback on any improvements they may think the film needs. This enables the product to be at its best before its released. Feedback from the target audience is even more important as it is they who the film is aimed at therefore they will be able to inform you on what they want to see in the film, this ensures the film will have all the features that attract its target audience.

How did you recieve audience feedback from your target audience?

We collected our feedback by screening a rough cut of our production to our target audience (older teenagers) , after this screening we asked them to comment on  what they thought was good about the film and what they thought could be improved. We also asked these focus groups questions about our film in order to gain the necessary feedback. We focused mainly on the negative points in order to improve our final opening sequence.

How would this feedback benefit your production and the industry?

Collecting feedback from our target audience benefited our group and production as it highlighted the negative aspects of our production, this allowed us to go away and make improvements on them. Furthermore this feedback from our audience would benefit the film industry as it would allow us to make our film as best as possible, this would increase the popularity of films and therefore generate more money for the  film industry as a whole. 

Three positive comments from our audience:

• The setting - Joe Waugh said that the setting we had used in our opening sequence was good as it was conventional to the thriller genre as it was extremely isolated creating and eerie atmosphere.
• The characters - James Barry thought that the characters we had used were a positive point of our opening sequence, as he could relate to the age of the victim and the antagonists costume generated fear.
• The editing - Hannah Mahoney said that the editing that we used in our opening sequence made the film more scary and conventional to the thriller genre, for example the effects of the Bad TV.

Three constructive comments from our audience:

• The cinematography - Shaun Mcfarlane commented that the cinematography we used was limited and that we could include more camera angles.
• The length - Scott Arbukle commented that the length of the opening scene before the shed scene was a bit too long and it could of got into the action quicker.
• The lighting - Cara Gaffney said that the lighting in the first half of the opening sequence was not bright enough.

Overall, we followed the aims of the brief in creating our two minute sequence. We did this by taking all constructive comments on board and making improvements and using the positive comments to create more conventional parts to our opening scene. This enabled us to make a conventional thriller film.