Camera Shots and Angles...

Shots:

Establishing Shot: Usually used at the beginning of a scene which provides a visual of the setting.

Master Shot: This shot is usually taken from a wide angle and covers all the actio ntaking place in a scene.

Long Shot: When filming a person the viewer would see the top of the heads down to their feet.

Medium Shot: Shot from the waist up.

Close-up: Capturs facial expressions, mainly used for conversations.

Extreme Close-up: This has a dramatic impact and may just show the eyes.

Wide Shot: Shows a group of people all together.

Two-Shot:Shows two people in the frame, this is often used for two people in a conversation.

Point Of View (POV): This is used to draw the viewer in and to direct them towards the action.

Angles:

Bird's-Eye View: Used as an establishing shot to view from directly overhead to enable a clear view, leaves the viewer feeling as though they are in a God-like position.

Eye-Level: This is a fairly neautral shot, with the camera showing a view that an actual person in the scene would see.

High Angle: Viewing from above the subject, implying vulnerability.

Low Angle: Viewing from below the subject, looking up, to imply superiority.

Canted Angle: Camera is tilted 25 to 45 degrees to one side, creates an impression of chaos and instability.

Genre Conventions-Thriller...

Thrillers tend to be fast paced with quick cuts. They are full of suspense and tension. The lighting tends to be dark and mysterious. They often like to "play with the viewers minds". A lot of the story is from the killers point of view.

Iconography associated with thrillers:

Mirrors
Stairs
Shadows
Confined spaces
Street lamps

Codes:

Characters tend to look like normal/average people, wearing clothes that any other person would wear. However certain characters may wear certain colours to connote different things. For example, a mysterious character could be wearing black, an innocent character could be wearing white, and a character who is seen as dangerous could be wearing red.

Again the location of a thriller tends to appear fairly normal, this could be in a house or often in the city. Thrillers tend to have regular props, costumes and locations, but have characters that are mysterious or a storyline that gives the audience "thrills" when they watch it.

Managing My Time...

Evaluation of research findings completed 12th July
Planning and drafting completed (including shot lists, location recces, storyboards, mock-ups of layouts etc.) 6th September - at the latest
Production completed (main task) 21st October
Production completed (ancillary tasks) 8th November
Editing completed 25th November
Final audience feedback on production 29th November
Final changes made in response to audience feedback 5th December
Evaluation completed (refer to guidance and ensure you submit a full evaluation, using a range of digital technology)
12th December Final submission 13th December

Audience Theory...

Media Effects Models

Much research has been done into the possible effects of the media on its audience. There is also research that shows how the media and audience affect each other.

Hypodermic Syringe Model: 

There is an argument that the media has a direct and immediate effect on its audience, like a drug being injected directly into a vein. If you watch something violent, you become violent. The following headline from 'The Times' gives an example:

Grand Theft Auto withdrawn in Thailand after copycat killing 

Thai distributors have pulled GTA IV after after a 19-year-old  

killed a taxi driver while recreating a scene  from the game. 

(Jonathan Richards, 

The Times, 4 August 2008)

Cultural Effects Model: 

This model also states that the media has an effect on its audience, However, unlike the drug analogy, it sees the effects as being much slower. Like a dripping tap, the repeated messages of the media slowly enter our consciousness and new norms are set. Certain values and behaviours are 'normalised'. 

Two-Step Flow Model:

This model also accepts that an audience is affected by the media, but this is seen as an indirect effect. Some people are seen as opinion leaders and they interpret the media for others. An example for this in 2008 was when comedians Jonathan Ross and Russell Brand were taken off the air due to thousands of complaints, which were based not on directly hearing their show, but on media opinion of the show. 

Reflection On Research...

I created a questionnaire and handed it out to 30 people. Although I know that the sample I have will not be completely representative of the larger film watching population, the answers given will give me some indication of where to begin.
Below is some analysis on the questions:

50% of the people I gave my questionnaire to were in the age range of 15-18, this will help me when deciding what age to classify my film as. I will probably have it as a certificate 15, as this is what my largest audience is likely to be and I will make sure that the content in the trailer is age appropriate.

I asked my audience what most appeals to them in a film trailer and the most popular answer was 'an engaging story line' so I am going to make sure that I write a script that it is intriguing without giving away too much of the story. Although this wasn't the most popular answer, I want to make sure that there is plenty of suspense within my teaser trailer to make people want to watch it.

The most popular sub-genre of thriller was a psychological thriller, I think this sub-genre would be very interesting to film as it is different from typical thrillers. The suspense is mainly driven from a mental threat, rather than a physical one.
However, the killer sub-genre was also very popular so I will also need to consider this too. I need to make sure that I come to a final conclusion about which sub-genre to choose because they are very different to one another and the moods that are conveyed will be dissimilar also.

The most popular answer given for the location of my trailer was a house, I feel that this will be an appropriate location to film in as I will not need to ask for permission (that is if its in my own house) and I can spend as much time as I need filming it and altering things to make it suit my trailer. I am however likely to use other locations too as I want to make sure that there is a range of mes en scene within the teaser.

I asked my audience whether I should have a cliff-hanger or not and 60% answered yes. I'm not sure exactly how I am going to interpret this into the teaser trailer, but I will try and make sure that I do not give everything away in the trailer and that the audience is left wondering how the story will end.

90% of my audience said that the antagonist should be a male. I think this would be good as it would be following typical stereotypes of the "badies" always being male, however it could also be interesting to challenge this stereotype by having a woman as the main antagonist.

I wanted to also gain feedback for ideas on the poster for the film and most people said that the image on the poster should be like a still from the film, I like this idea as I think that it would really capture the mood and atmosphere of the film, but I also enjoy conducting photo shoots, so I may do both and compare them to which image I prefer.

I asked whether the colour scheme for the poster should match the magazine cover and most people answered yes. I agree with this as I want there to be continuity within my whole project.

Doing this questionnaire has helped me a great deal and I have been able to explore certain ideas and come up with final decisions for my media product.

Questionnaire Results...

Questionnaire...

Questionnaire: Thriller Teaser Trailer

I am a media student currently studying at A2 level. I am going to be creating a thriller teaser trailer along with a poster for the film and a magazine cover promoting the film. I would appreciate it if you could answer my questionnaire and give me any feedback, I will consider all of your answers to help me with decisions for my final media product.  

Please tick or circle your answers.

1. Are you male or female?

Male

Female

2. How old are you?

15-18

19-25

26-30

31+

3. What appeals to you most in a film trailer?

Good actors

An engaging story line

Lots of suspense

Good editing

Other ..........................................................................................................................................

................................................................................................................................................

4. What is your favourite thriller sub-genre?

Psychological thriller

Crime thriller

Mystery thriller

Action thriller

Killer thriller

5. What location would you expect a thriller to be set in?

A house

The woods

In the city

In the country side

A graveyard

Other ...........................................................................................................................................

................................................................................................................................................

6. Do you think there should be a cliff-hanger in my thriller?

Yes

No  

7. What gender do you think the antagonist should be?

Male

Female

8. How should the image appear on the poster?

Like a still from the film

Planned, with the main character in a particular pose

9. Should the colour scheme for the poster match the magazine cover?

Yes
No