Evaluation Question 7. Look back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the product?

there are a number of notable differences when you compare our preliminary exercise with our completed 'thriller opening' for the film 'Decus et Tutamen.' firstly is the contrast between the two acting examples, with the acting featured within the preliminary exercise being  comparably poorer and less successful than the acting in the thriller opening. this noticeable alteration of quality is also applicable to the camera work and the successful use of a diverse range of camera shots and angles. the preliminary exercise uses very few camera angles and shot types, unlike the final thriller opening which uses a much wider range of shots etc. yet again there is an obvious contrast in the quality of editing with the thriller opening being ultimately more successful and demonstrating greater continuity despite its hallucinogenic demented format. the preliminary exercise enable us, as a group to develop the skills we needed to produce this much better stronger text. we learnt about the importance of continuity editing which gave us the confidence to explore and develop a pervasive editing format whilst still demonstrating a recognizable format and time line in regards to the pieces continuity.  the use of dialog also displays a clear difference in quality between the two film texts. in the preliminary exercise we simply kept the audio in sequence with the video, however in our finalized product we removed sections of video and overlayed the audio taken from the now absent video over over parts of the piece increasing the sense of continuity and helping to explain the storyline to the viewer. overall the thriller opening 'Decus et Tutamen' has been influenced and assisted in its progression by the production and editing of the preliminary exercise  and is a very successful piece.

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

i have learnt allot about different technologies during the production and editing of this film opening. Prior to this media AS i had had no experience working with video cameras or editing software such as final cut and live type.i have been educated and have resultantly developed my own skills further in the use of final cut as an editing software which was utilised to edit all of the film texts produced for this media AS (Vox Pop, Preliminary Exercise, Animatic, Decus et Tutamen). i have also used other softwares such as live type, which was used to create the production company ident that apears at the start of our thriller opening. Other softwares and technologies i have used include 'wordle,' used to produce brainstorms, 'mini DV digital camcorder,' used to capture all of the footage for the film texts i have produced featured on this blog, 'youtube' and 'blogger.' i have also developed my skills in the use of other resources such as google, a search engine which has enabled me to conduct greater, more indepth research on films etc. finaly i have also used facebook on a number of occasions to promote and plan our media product. this media AS has had a bif impact on the amount of media i use and has opened my eyes to the use of media and technological convergence needed inorder to produce a succesful media product.

Evaluation Qusestion 5. '. How did the actress/actor address your audience?'

The actors that took on the roles within our media production were relatively good and produced believable personalities and persona's that are recognizable in the media production. One of the most successful aspects of our film is that the characters are not playing to the camera, by this i mean they refrained from looking at it, unless a shot with direct eye contact was needed, and simply and successfully remained in character. Some of the most successful shots were of the bohemian campsite where the actor and actress’ appear to be totally unaware of the camera and simply played their roles beautifully. Other parts however were not so successful, for instance both murder shots were not in particularly acted out well. This i believe detracts slightly from the finished product, however giving that none of us have had a great deal of acting experience, this was to be expected.

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

After completing our thriller opening we conducted some audience feedback research in the form of requesting people to watch the finished product and to state some things that came to mind. these words have been developed into this image by the use of 'wordle.' ultimately the film as acquired allot of good feedback with many positive statements and descriptions of the thriller opening. we were careful to ask a variety of different age groups to view the product and to feedback in this manner. this ranged from 13 year olds up to 60yr olds. we found that the two extremes of this age range were slightly disorientated and confused by the thriller opening and struggled to understand the concept. however we did find that from the age of 16 up to the age of 45 we received very positive feedback highlighting the most likely audience. the film texts targets the younger generation in its representation and report on the use of drugs and its wider implementations, ie the dealing of drugs, as well as the recreational side. it targets an older generation , middle aged, for similar reasons as they are generally intrigued by the socially realistic representation of drug abuse and the conspiracy element.

Evaluation Question 3. '. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why? (Studio,TV,Web,DVD).'

 I would expect that our media piece would me more compatible for distribution at a film festival or straight to television, possibly on channels such as film 4. Given that we do not have access to the funds needed to release this film into cinema as well as the fact that we have not used mainstream actors or even produced any form of advertising campaign, it is more viable to release the film on television. Channels such as film four focus’ solely on film media and provides a display area for many up and coming directors etc. A film festival would open the film to criticism and is a form of advertising in itself as many production companies scout out new films at these festivals. I believe that both these distributors would show interest in our thriller as it breaks away from the normal format of films, producing a confused and disorientated atmosphere. The issues tackled within the film, such as drug use for recreational purposes and police corruption, are subjects continuously visited by channel four, and its journalistic attempts to expose the real world shows that it is not afraid to confront these issues, instead of just ignoring their existence, hence why it would be an obvious choice i we were to complete the film and have it exhibited. other options could include possibly screening the film as part of an art exhibition. this is not a conventional method of exhibition as the film would be unlikely to produce any return as many galleries are free, however it would promote the film and make it widely available and acessable by the public. 

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

. Our thriller opening represents a small number of social groups these being, Undercover Police Officers, Drug Dealers and Bohemians. All three of these social groups consist of people who keep low profiles, who either because of their profession or chosen lifestyle have to be reclusive and withdrawn from society. The undercover police officers as so that they do not break or jeopardise their cover and therefore their safety, the drug dealer, as he is dealing in illegal drugs and so needs to keep a low profile as to avoid arrest, and the bohemians as their chosen lifestyle, that is living care free lives beyond the constrains of indoor spaces, is prone to prejudice and discrimination form outsiders. In this case the bohemians are utilising recreational drugs in the form of ecstasy pills and weed, smoked through a shisha pipe. This may seem to be a discriminative representation of their lifestyle however we chose to include this as it links incredibly well with the story line of the rest of the opening and it also allowed used to experiment further with different camera and editing techniques as we try to demonstrate the effects of drugs on human perception.  

By utilising a corrupted policeman within our piece we have challenged the idea of conspiracy and whether we can trust this staple organisation. This is a slightly extreme perspective and statement to introduce in a film; however it is used to entice and draw in the audience. The minimal dialect and conversation featured within this opening between all the characters, in particuly the policemen helps to portray the minimal social interaction.

Looking at the drug dealer now, we have almost stereotypically used a hooded figure. However this works well within the piece as the hood is from a coat rather than a sweater and the overall appearance of the drug dealer is relatively smart. Here we have tried to break the mould of how small time drug dealers are represented.

Obviously this thriller opening revolves around money, money that in this case is being generated through the distribution of illegal substances. We have managed to include both the selling and consumption of these recreational substances  and how easily it is possible to get caught up in  situations beyond your control when allowing yourself to be part of this cycle.

Evaluation Question 1. 'In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? (Conventions of the thriller genre- compare with real films).'

our media product successfully follows a number of the conventions of the typical thriller as well as altering them and breaking away from the mould.

There is a crime at the centre of our narrative, in fact there are actually multiple crimes. The murder of the two characters, the taking of illegal drugs, the corruption of the police officer, the dealing of drugs, the possession of a fire arm.

Our media production also has a complex narrative with two separate events happening at the same time before combining together in a single event. False paths exist in the way that there are shots of the bohemians running through the Forrest whilst they are tripping on the drugs they have taken. The viewer is lead to ask why they are running.

There is not a clear protagonist in this piece, instead there are different events simultaneously taking place in which each a crime is committed. This breaks away for the traditional conventions of a thriller and in a way adds a new dimension.

There are a number of enigmas established within the opening of this thriller, for the questions are posed ‘how and why have such socially reclusive characters ended up in the same place, it chance?

Why is the undercover police officer corrupted? Why is money so important? Why do people take drugs?

also corresponding to the conventions of a thriller is the way in which we have included extraordinary events occurring in an ordinary space, in our case, woodland.

there is also several themes of identity, with a number of social groups being represented within our finished thriller opening. These social groups are bohemians, undercover police officers and drug dealers. In conjunction with these social groups there is a theme of mirrorism in the way that all are breaking the law in what they are doing, and voyeurism in the way that the bohemians flee from the likes of the drug dealer and corrupted police officer.

Although there is no clear antagonist, there is a clear protagonist, this being the corrupted police officer, and the drug dealer. They exploited not only the trust of the partnered police officer, but also the vulnerability of the bohemians.

the style of editing etc. of our film can be comapred succesfully with the film, the balir witch project, as it utilises alot of hand help cnematography and point of view shots. interms of the issues it focuses on, it is more comparable with the film trainspotting as this two is a film they documents drug abuse etc.

Sound Editing

allot of attention was payed to the audio within our thriller opening. it was vital that we got it right in order for it to work with and correspond with the footage editing. one of the first things we did was to remove all of the audio from a number of shots at the start of the thriller. this audio was detracting from the atmosphere we were attempting to produce as they were disrupted by the sounds of passing airplanes, PE lessons and conversations that were not part of the film. however allot of the audio in the footage excluded what we already removed worked successfully with the style of the editing, producing irregular sounds that added to the jarring discontinuous effect of the editing. we did however have to alter the volume of this as so that the dialog within the piece could be heard along with the soundtrack without it being to full and overpowering which would detract from the piece.

one of the major pieces of editing that took place, in regards to the sound, was the complete removal of a piece of footage whilst holding back the audio, which was then overlayed over a second piece of footage.( where the police officer is murdered by his partner)this audio track explains the reasons as to why the individual is being murdered linking in the audio to the portrayal of the story.

another piece of sound editing that had to be done was the importation of a soundtrack and the way that it corresponded with the footage. we imported the soundtrack previously chosen by Connor dyer, before setting about its configuration. we had to cut it so that the final gunshot replaced the first beat of the bar as this is the beat that carries the most emphasis. we also chose to very gradually bring in the soundtrack leaving the film ident silent along with the opening shot, this helps to build up the suspense of the piece, something that is also continued by the soundtrack as it begins with only a very thin texture which gradually increases before reaching a climax at the point of the first murder.

Editing Our Thriller Opening

allot of time and effort was invested into the editing our thriller opening. we were looking to achieve a very high standard. we have aimed to capture a very confused and disorientated collection of shots which when pieced together, although chronologically correct and well ordered, are hard to follow and therefore work to bemuse and simultaneously intrigue the audience. an example of how we achieved this was through breaking up and splitting scenes by adding only a single frame of a separate event between them. we also utilized black frames in a similar fashion. this allowed us to bewilder the audience further, as it is unusual to include sections where there is no footage in the opening sequence of a film as it is normally packed full to try and entice the audience. however by introducing black frames and breaking the mold we are able to grab the attention of the viewer as it is something new.

another example within our piece is when we have taken the audio from one piece of footage and configured it to play over the top of a separate piece of footage. ( this occurs when we witness the murder of the police officer) this method utilizes the audio to tell the story of how the story has reached this point and why.

further editing include the use of a graphic match in the way that i have linked the movement of the bohemians spinning to the circular motion of the camera in the following shot.

one of the most successful pieces of editing in this opening takes place towards the end when one of the bohemian characters is running away from the drug dealer. here i have edited in singular frames of a clock, representing that the characters time is almost up.

another successful part is at the end when the footage cuts to a black frame with the title displayed in time with the final gunshot marking the end of a life and the start of the rest of the film.

Our Final Filming Sessions

our final filming session was of the drug dealers and undercover police officers. we shot the police going to and meeting the drug dealer, as well as the police officer murdering his partner and closing a deal with the drug dealer. this was a very successful filming session in which we captured some vital and very strong shots, in particular, the communication between the police officer and the drug dealer.

Our Second Filming Session

In our second filming session we chose to film all of the bohemian scenes with the help of actors, Harley mason and Gorgia Wigley. for these we utilized miss en scene to create a scene, using colorful fabrics, old travel cases, a shisha pipe and old books. this was produced to resemble a bohemian camp, somewhere where it would be possible to live reasonably comfortably. we shot scenes were they bohemian group are sitting and recreationally taking drugs, reading and playing music etc. we also shot scenes where the bohemians were running, tripping as a result of the drugs, and running away from the drug dealers. this was a very successful shoot, producing some of the best scenes and shots within our thriller opening.

Our First Filming Session

after deciding on our filming location, we returned and set up the area, clearing the area of obvious rubbish, and setting up the tripod and camera. the shots taken in this first shoot were mainly establishing shots, setting the scene and taking in the environment and setting in which our thriller is based. we included shots such as, a slow zoom in and out, a shot looking upwards through the branches of the trees capturing the contrast and almost creating a silhouette, another also upwards through the trees but spinning at a steadily increasing rate.

Conventions of a Thriller

1. A crime at the core of the narrative (often murder, but not always).

2. A complex narrative structure, with false paths, clues and resolutions.

3. A narrative pattern of establishing enigmas (problems) which the viewer expects to be resolved.

4. A protagonist who is systematically, disempowered and drawn into a complex web of intrigue by an antagonist.

5. Extraordinary events happening in an ordinary situation.
6. Themes of identity.
7. Themes of mirroring.

8. Themes of voyeurism.

9. Protagonist with a "flaw" which is exploited by the antagonist.

10. Titles often reflect an aspect of the protagonist/antagonist's psychological state.
11. There is often a scene near the end of the film in which the protagonist is in peril.
12. Mise-en-Scene which echoes/mirrors the protagonist plight.

Planning of Character Filming

as with most films, it is not efficient or time effect to film in chronological order, especially in a film such as this where the film will be constantly crossing between two events. instead we decided to group similar shots together, ie we have chosen to film the two events separately on different occasions.

this would then allow us to re sequence the shots in the editing process afterwards.

we decided that we would capture on film allot more footage than was actually required, this would enable us to edit more freely further along the line as we would have a selection of shots to choose from if we felt, that after carrying out what we had originally planned, that the shots did not work in particularly successfully together. as a group we understand that commercially this would not be an option, film and time costs money, something that has to be controlled in order to produce a successful film.

Props and Mise en Scene

for our filming sessions we have sourced the following props and accessories to try to make our film seem realistic and plausible;

Bohemian camp site:
colored and patterned fabrics
large blanket/dust sheet
picnic case with flasks and containers
old vintage books
shisha pie
crate
alarm clock
watering can
shoes
violin and bow
vintage 35mm SLR camera and case
tablets(paracetamol to represent illegal drug use)
bag

Drug Dealer
bag X2
gun(bb gun to represent a firearm)