Evaluation

A good thriller would have a good plot with lots of twists and turns with a variety of characters. Some examples of thrillers are ‘Supernatural thrillers’ which focus on ghosts and characters that aren’t real. Also there are ‘Crime thrillers’ and thrillers that play mind games (psychological). The main concept of our thriller is three teenage girls being stalked by an unknown person who photographs them on different occasions and adds the pictures to a collage of images of young girls onto a wall. Although our concept was basic we tried to make it more dramatic and interesting by including a variety of camera angles which would help build up suspense. For example, we used a ‘High angle Shot’ to make one of the girls look inferior and in a vulnerable position. ‘Worms eye view’ was also used to hid the identity of the person and confuse the audience .Another shot used was P.O.V (Point Of View). This was used when the second girl was on the swing in the park and her phone rings and as she looks down and answers her phone we use P.O.V to put the audience in the characters shoes. Also at the end of the thriller opening we built up tension by the ‘Extreme close up’ of the stalkers eyes.

In ‘Capture’ the audience is represented through the characters and are likely to be very similar. The target audience could be teenagers aged from 13 to early 20’s . I think that the characters used in our thriller ‘Capture’ represents the social group that it is targeted towards. We tried not to be gender or race specific and this is shown through the 3 main types of race used in the characters black white and Asian. Also the use of ‘Mise En Scene’ represent a particular social group e.g. The mobile phone used is something easily associated with teenagers as the ‘must have’ ‘can’t live without’ gadget. In ‘Capture’ the three main characters are dressed casually and their costume is not very over the top but something that the target audience may have in their wardrobe. Also the setting is first identified at the beginning as the establishing shot and through this the audience are able to see the geographical backdrop to the film.

A typical person would have a part- time job in retail such as Marks and Spencer’s because the pay is good and enjoy eating fast food for example ‘McDonalds’ because it is already made and fits in with their manic lifestyle. They may also enjoy watching soaps such as ‘Eastenders’ and ‘The Bill’ especially The Bill because that programme involves solving things and putting pieces of the puzzle together. The audience member may also be stylish, have the latest things and enjoy socialising with their family and friends. Also a typical person that fits into my target audience are achievers and try their hardest to be the best that they can and make lots of money in order to live a lavish lifestyle with the latest clothes.

I think that the best way to advertise ‘Capture’ would be through T.V adverts because more people would be likely to view it. However, this method of advertising is likely to be very costly so I might attend a film festival to get help with funding. Another method of advertising could be through the internet. I think that this way would be very effective because the internet is used worldwide especially among teenagers. We would look to use a famous director to direct a film especially if their past projects has been a success because this may mean that a fan base already exists and we would not have to try and build one but just add to an existing one.

I think that a big Hollywood Studio such as ‘Universal’ would be the most suitable media institution to distribute ‘Capture’. Because of the US global domination of the film industry, it would be much better for us to join them rather than compete with them. Also because ‘Universal’ is a conglomerate and owns lots of small subsidiaries the finance that we would need to finance the thriller would be available. At the same time I think because our thriller is mainly aimed at teenagers releasing ‘Capture’ over the internet, may also be a choice to consider because releasing it over the internet via YouTube or MySpace is likely to attract the teenager audience because these sites are what teenagers find appealing.For me using a camera was a very new experience because previously I had not used one before. As a result, I did not feel that confident in using a camera. Luckily, prior to filming our thriller ‘Capture’ we had a tutorial with Mickey. Here we learnt how to use a camera for example how to put in a tape correctly and other features included on it. Also we were taught how to use a tripod and what not to do with the video camera for example lift the tripod and move around with the camera still attached. The internet was also a key feature used during the duration of the thriller task because we had to blog daily on blogspot.com and we had to upload our finished film onto ‘Vimeo’.

Looking back at the preliminary tasks I feel as though I have learnt a lot for example, I learnt that in order for a film to be successful a lot of planning is needed. In addition, I learnt how to work the camera for example the features included on the camera. Whilst doing the match- cut exercise, I was made aware of the 180-degree rule, which is if you are filming someone/something you must stay on the same side and not cross over because it would look like they are going the other way. Knowing this was very beneficial because it allowed me not to make the same mistake when it came down to our thriller opening. After finishing our preliminary film we had to begin editing, however my group began to experience technical problems and we were not able to put the film we had just done from the camera to the computer, so we had to call Mickey over. After switching computers it was now ok to start ‘Log and Capture’ but after experiencing problems with the computer a lot of time had been wasted so we had to literally rush and quickly ‘Log and Capture’ what we could before the time was up.

If I were to compare my final product to the preliminary task I would say that there were a few changes made in the way we went about each task. For example in the preliminary task I think that we lacked in planning and time. This showed in the end product. So as a result, when it came down to the final product we made sure that planning was a major factor. Also from the preliminary task we were able to see which camera shots didn’t work and avoid them in the final product. Compared to the film ‘Se7en’ I think that ‘Capture’ differs for example the opening to seven is more dramatic and uses dark colours to draw the audience in. Also in ‘Se7en’ the credits are more appealing and eye-catching but moreover the credits are shown over a person doing something but makes it suspenseful is we can’t see the person or what they are doing in detail but we see names such as ‘Morgan Freeman’ and ‘Brad Pitt’. ‘Extreme close ups’ are also used.

Some good points about our thriller which is called ‘Capture’ includes the camera shots used for example when the second girl was on the phone whilst on the swing the stalker takes a picture and that camera shot is the same as the image he sticks on the wall. Another positive is the use of band white shots to show the audience when the stalker is there. Also handheld shots also added to the atmosphere. However, some negatives include the sound at the end not being as dramatic as the beginning. Another negative about ‘Capture’ is that the credits were not as eye-catching as I would have liked and the font and style of writing were too basic. From watching Arlington Road I learnt that not all thrillers have to be ‘bloody’ but can actually challenge you mentally and make you put pieces of the puzzle together whilst you watch it. In Arlington Road the dad looks through a year book and the frame/shot is tight but what makes it suspenseful is the way in which the music builds up and we don’t know if someone is going to pop up from behind him because the frame is tight.

To conclude, I think my group has successfully created a thriller opening that appeals to the intended target audience and this is shown through the characters that are featured in the thriller, they are young mostly female and stylish. In addition, I think that through the use of different camera shots for example, the establishing/long shot at the begin and Point Of View shot of the watch we were able to add variety. Soundtrack was also used from ‘Soundtrack Pro’ and varied to build tension and keep the audience interested. The reason why we concentrated on the sound was because from doing the sound tutorial on ‘Casino Royale’ we realised how significant sound is and if done correctly can make the film a success. At first whilst filming me and my group felt as though we were producing a thriller that perhaps was too basic but as time went on and we began to put the finishing touches together we realised that it could in fact be a good thriller. For me I think that the most challenging part of the whole making of the thriller was the editing because if done wrongly the thriller could look rubbish or unrealistic. Also editing the finally piece was time- consuming but the end result was good. Lastly, when our film was shown to the targeted audience at the cinema the overall reaction was quite positive which shows that our film was a success.