Evaluation

In What ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Whilst researching different thriller films I found a common denominator in most of them. After watching and trying to de-constructing these films I looked online to find a good definition of the word thriller. “Thriller is a genre of literature, film, and television that uses suspense, tension, and excitement as the main elements.” This research helped me have a clear idea of what a thriller is, what it does and how it can be done. After taking on board what the forms and conventions of thriller was I analyzed a lot of thriller films I saw a clear pattern emerging in what ways the film -makers uses certain techniques in order  to excite, thrill and create tension and suspense. When creating our own opening title sequence we tried to conform to the traditional aspect of making a thriller film. Even though we had the option to subvert from these conventions. I felt that our sequence would create the intended emotions of fear, panic, tension and excitement that all the other great Thriller films have if we followed this model.

In Thriller films usually the music is used to build up tension thus meaning that from the first images seen by the viewer the music may start of slow and then quicken this is to create a dramatic climax. Sometimes the tone takes a more positive, upbeat and lively tone this could be used to make the audience feel one way and then change the feel such as films that have a murder or violence taking place whilst upbeat music plays. A good example of this upbeat music is taken from the film A Clock Work Orange in which Alex puts his “droogs in place.” As he stabs one of his friends whilst (The Thieving Magpie) by Gioacchino Rossini is played. As the viewer I’m put into a jovial mood until i see the images of Alex attacking his friends, this makes the scene even more disturbing as blood is spattered to the beat of the music and the music builds up to the climax. When we were discussing our plans for the film I suggested that we used the same technique and have fairground music playing at the beggining or each time we see Grimaldi. In the end though we went with using music that was more darker,gloomier and could instill a sinster feeling in the audience.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v90KPJ6n4Ew

 Titles

The title of our film (GRIMALDI ) is quite ambiguous it is not a big giveaway on what the audience would expect from a Thriller film but I felt the title gives a air of mystery to the film and would create interest as the viewer would what to know who or what GRIMALDI is.

Bloodfeast font. Our film is not a horro and I thought this font was more suited to horror. The only problem was I really liked it so I went on photoshop and changed it getting rid of most of the blood drops.

This is how i edited it, leaving only a few drops of blood. The colour is red so the audience should be able to recognise that is symbolising blood.

A few examples of diffrent typography styles and diffrent ways it is presented.

Another way in which I followed the forms and conventions of a Thriller was by our film poster. It consists of harsh tones such as black, white and a dark red. I wanted to evoke a cold, distant, mysterious and dangerous
reaction just from the poster. The clown face on the poster which has four of the same clown faces look grim, dark and should be feared. The faces of the clown are not GRIMALDI at the present stage but they are there to show what will happen to him as the film may progress. When creating this poster we all used the Batman/ Joker posters as an influence hence the reason we used the same color scheme. The black is to evoke darkness, uncertainty, coldness. The dark red represents danger, anger and the possible bloody outcome of the film overall. The use of red in the title of the film is also like the posters of the joker in which the phrase “why so serious “is to show the fact that is written in the blood of somebody the joker has killed.

This was one of our many inspirations and we tried to mirror that quality in our project.

Furthermore due to my research of thriller films, especially psychological thrillers I realized that they place a lot of emphasis on the titles films such as The butterfly effect, Sin City, Se7en, Panic room etc.  The titles of the film are usually shown nearer the end possibly to create suspense and it’s also the last thing at the beginning the audience sees so they are more aware of it. The titles are usually always in a bigger size font then the other information of actors/production/editing etc. This could be to show it importance. This is also the reason why in our title sequence we placed the title of the film GRIMALDI at the end with a bigger size font and in a font called (blood feast) which is red.

 Location 

  

The house from the movie Pyhsco.

The setting we used was my house/bedroom. As a group we wanted to create a feeling of somebody being in there house which is private and intimate and then to violate that privacy and intimacy and create a sense of fear. Just like in Panic room starring Jodie foster her and her daughter become trapped in the house that is a home to them, a place of tranquility and supposed safety. When Samantha is in her room the fact that somebody watching her without her knowledge is something we try to establish. This sense of voyeurism somebody watching and gaining pleasure from it is very unpleasant and makes the viewer feel on edge. Another reason we followed this convention is because when I watched Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho , the shower scene is very powerful also the feeling of a place as private as the bathroom and then to have someone not only impose on your privacy but to harm you in a place that is your shelter is very disturbing. This is another reason why we filmed the sequence as Samantha Evans is always being watched, she is never alone and she herself does not know that.

Samantha in bed and being watched by somebody.

Physco shower scene. She is being watched but does not know it.

The props and costumes

We used props in our film which is also a normal convention of films. These props are very significant to the point were trying to portray and also help bring the story to life. In most of the scenes there is Grimaldi our toy clown who is our antagonist in the film. This toy helps develop the narrative as it is a big part of it. The clown is a soft toy for babies to play with and it plays a soothing lullaby. This is the irony of the toy clown that it doesn’t look as dangerous as it is. In fact it looks harmless. Most physcological thriller places a lot of emphasis on their props. Costumes are used in every film/film genre. Costumes are used to illustrate the difference between characters. Costumes are also used to show the distinctive style of dress of a particular people, class or period. With the use of costumes the viewer can also identify the age, gender role, profession and personality of a character. Samantha Evans wears orange hooded top and soft black velour trousers.  The audience can identify that she is a teenager.

Grimaldi. Who looks very sweet and cute. This is diffrent to the Grimaldi that is on the film poster. That is the way he changes throughout the film.

Camera work and Editing

In our film we used a few different shots. The main ones we used were close up ( when Samantha sees Grimaldi again and then has some dialogue). A medium close up shot of her standing in her room.  Long shot (When Samantha is shutting her door). We also used a lot of other different shots but these were the mains we used. These shots are also common conventions of a thriller film. We wanted to make the location/setting clear, we also wanted to convey the anger on Samantha Evans face when Grimaldi appeared again and lastly we wanted the audience to feel as if they are a part of the film by trying to keep them involved in the plot. We do this when throughout the film the audience knows where Grimialdi is, the audience can predict what may happen to Samantha Evans, even when Samantha doesn't know what is going on. When it came to editing the film we added some effects such as the blurring of the screen so the audience knows the difference between the days and they understand that the day keeps repeating. We used to main pieces of music and one SFX which was a heartbeat which we used to build tension and fear. This also showed the viewer how Samantha was feeling at the time.

Samanthas facial expressions

Furthermore the way our opening title begins with someone walking into Samantha’s room and watching her whilst she sleeps, this happens twice and the viewer can see that she is tossing and turning possibly due to lack of sleep or a bad dream. From the beginning the audience should be interested in what is going on, they themselves may be unsure of what exactly is happening. Our opening is mysterious yet direct after the first minute it is clear what is going on, that this toy clown keeps appearing. The way our title sequence ends with the Samantha Evans screaming and a large gloved hand trying to get into her house, this should shock/worry the audience. They should be wondering who is this character, what is going on, and is Grimaldi still in the bin???




Another big inspiration is the 1990's slasher film scream. Mainly because Grimaldi is just toy being used by Samanthas boyfriend to play mind games with her. At the end of the sequence when the viewer sees the hand they are left wondering who that is or they are led to belive it is Grimaldi. When in actual fact you find out later on that it is her boyfriend. This is the same plaot as Scream and the film Scream uses this effectively as the viewer is never too sure of who the killer/antoganist is. Their mind goes back and forth passing with questions but there is no real certianty atleast until the end. Our film follows most of the conventions and norms of the typical thriller film as well as borrowing a few convetions and norms from the horror genre.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Our media product the social groups of the "wannabes". The media suggests that in most secondary schools or upper school have social stereotypes such as the geeks/nerds, popular, the jock types, emos and Goths. Samantha doesn’t belong in any of those groups she to me is a "wannabe." These people (usually girls) don’t necessarily fall under any other categories like jock, prep, or emo. So they decide to strive for attention, so that they feel better about themselves. Whether it is a bad boyfriend or getting in trouble, the attention factor usually isn’t a positive one. They tend to try to hard when it comes to ‘popularity’, and later crash and burn socially. The sad part is, these people are usually very insecure, not to mention they are putting a label on themselves intentionally. Samantha to me is kind of like every other girl she has hobbies and friends and on the surface she looks fine but down below she craves attention and wants to be the best, she is always competing and trying to be the best she can be. She watches music videos and reads a magazine she is bombarded with these images of perfection and that’s what she wants. I think that a lot of girls will secretly identify with her or even older women who have experienced this. Samantha is also a product of a capitalist society in which both of her parents work very hard and do not spend time with her, they are usually away on business trips and this is the reason why Samantha is home alone, had her parents stayed at home and maybe invested a bit more time in their daughter the situation she is now in could've been avoided. Samantha is such a real and believable character that if you do not identify with her you know somebody like her.

Samantha Evans on night out. Which the stereotypical norm for age group.

Secondly initially at the beginning of this project I along with my group decided that our target age for a film would be 15 – 25 and over so we felt that it was only right that we try to represent that demographic of young teens and young adults who avidly enjoy thrillers and horrors. Once that age group was identified it was easier to choose the character’s in our film and developed our synopsis around something that would interest that demographic of people. This is way it was important that the part of Samantha was played by a person who could portray and appeal to young teens. Hence the reason we choose our actress (Magnolia Thomas) she has a very youthful and fun look to her.  Samantha is ideally a stereotypical teenage girl but also has her own unique points. The way Samantha talks is also something that young working class/ middle class people can understand she talks in colloquial slang, shortens her phrases. This is due to the fact that she lives in an urban South London area. We wanted to represent as much as the mass population of teens that we could hence why the character in my opinion was understandable, cute and reacts just like anybody else would. The way Samantha talks is the only thing stereotypical about a young teen from South London as we wanted the viewer to identify with her but we also wanted other people not to feel alienated by the slang she uses in the film so we kept it simple a few words to be exact.

A group of 15-20 year olds, having fun, hanging out and coming back from the cinema.

Due to the fact that our film was aimed at 15-25 year olds we thought that it was imperative that we highlight the stereotypical view of students and parties/clubs. Samantha is very sociable and enjoys get together and so are the people who would hopefully see this film together in a group.

What would be the audience for your media product and why?

These pictures are of Billy and Julia they represent the type of people that may watch our film even though they are both completely different.

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What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

The kind of media institution that might distribute our film would probably be Screen Gems. Screen Gems is a subsidiary of Sony Pictures Entertainment's Columbia TriStar motion Picture Group. It has been around since the 1940’s as an animation studio and in 1999 became a film studio. One of the reasons why I have picked this film company is because they mainly produce Thriller, Horror, and action and comedy genre films. Films such as Arlington Road, Snatch, Resident evil, the exorcise of Emily Rose, Underworld, Vacancy and Obsessed. These are all films that I really like and  films such as snatch, Vacancy and Arlington are some of my inspirations they make the audience on edge, scared, shocked and smile and this is the feeling we want our viewers to feel. Also I feel that it is a very credible film company that would market our film appropriately. Also it is very well known. It is also an independent film company which is something it shares another one of my inspirations the Butterfly effect (One cinema).