Audience feedback questionnaire

In order to get accurate feedback from our audience, our group created the following questionnaire featuring questions which we feel are appropriate to our film:

Name:
Age:
Nationality:

What was your overall reaction to the opening film sequence?

What do you think will happen in the rest of the film?

What did you think of the sound effects?

Did you think the text was legible? Y / N

What do you think of the actors' performances?

What genre would you classify it as?

Would you go and see the film at the cinema? Y / N

Audience feedback

Anyone who has viewed our opening title sequence is encouraged to post a comment giving their opinion, criticisms or improvements. The comments posted on our Youtube video are as follows:

perfect :D

mehranclassic

love the underwater slow motion bits! so jealous!! :D

IAmGracesFace

Some really cool shots here, quite intelligent title placement and a great deal of suspence. Well done.

vkolzeev

TASK SEVEN: Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

Obviously the preliminary task was a much simpler task than designing, planning, filming and editing our own opening title sequences, as it was done at such an early stage in the year.

A great difference between the preliminary task and our real thriller was how much preparation we put into the real thing compared to the preliminary task. For the prelim task, we arrived at the media lesson one day aware of what we were going to do, but not sure of how we were going to film it e.g. what order we would film which shots. We realised that even with such a simple script there are still complications and so we decided that we should spend much more time planning the real task, and so for the real thing, we spent weeks planning our storyboards and discussing the order of sequences as a group so that everything could be as perfect as possible.


Of course the designing of our task was very different as all of our ideas were original and scripted by ourselves, whereas for the preliminary task, we used a simple script which the teachers had given to us. The location of the task was also an important factor which needed to be considered. For the prelim task we were given a location on the school grounds, however for our real thrillers, we were able to shoot off-campus. We chose to use Courtney's (a girl in our class' house) however we lacked organisation here as we were not sure what to expect and had only pictures to rely on.

There is a noticeable development from our prelim task to our final project. We used the prelim task as a practice to use the equipment, see how we worked as a team and to test our basic skills. From this we managed to use our practice with the equipment to make sure that  that every shot was perfect when shooting the actual sequence . We also used our increased knowledge in camera work to try out new ways of filming different shots. The best example of this is the tracking shot which was a completely new experience to the group.

There is also a noticeable development in the variation and complexity of camera shots we chose to use in the real task. Here we experimented with slow motion, underwater and the tracking shot, whereas before, most of our shots were filmed as a wide or medium shot with not many close ups or movement of camera. Our development in camera skills definitely helped us to create a more interesting piece the second time round which can be seen when the two videos are shown in succession. 

Although our camera skills noticeably developed, some aspects which worked well from our prelim task we chose to use again in the real task. This can be seen from the two pictures above which both use ECUs to bring the audience's attention to certain aspects of each film.

The preliminary task included some very simple dialogue which, for our thriller, we chose not to include as it can interrupt the suspense in certain moments and we found it hard with the echo of the pool room to get good quality sound. However improvements in the sound used can be seen as we used Soundtrack Pro to include soundtracks and sound effects into our work.

The editing involved in the real opening sequence was also much complex. This was due to the much larger sequence which needed to be edited and also due to the importance of this task over the prelim task, so a lot more time was spent on the accuracy of each edit. The preliminary task was very useful at this stage as it gave us a basic understanding of Final Cut Pro (the editing software) which therefore allowed us to work quicker with what we were doing.

Overall, the preliminary task proved to be very useful in preparing us for the camerawork, sound and editing involved in the real task. However it is definitely evident to see that a lot more care and consideration was put into the real task than the preliminary task.

The above images compared shows how our composition has improved from the prelim task to the real thing. The prelim task shows that a wide shot has been used which does not indicate the urgency that should be associated with a thriller. Through the close up in the real thing, we add suspense as we are not able to see the man's face. 

TASK SIX: What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

TASK FIVE: How did you attract/address your audience?

This screen shot taken from the very beginning of our title sequence shows a sophisticated font advertising the production company of our film. If this were a real and well-known production company which had previously made successful films, then the audience may be attracted to the film to see if it is as good as the previous films.

Again, if Karen Martin were a real director who had produced successful films in the past, then her fans would be encouraged to come and see this new film. This screen shot also shows the main character in a swimming costume which advertises the sporty side of the film.

This shot shows our main girl who was, at this point, filmed in slow motion. The slow motion is an indication of the tension of the film and would attract thriller fans who enjoy being put in suspense when watching films. Slow motion is also very impressive, especially when in HD as every detail of the action can be seen clearly.

 This tracking shot, combined with the non-diegetic drums, adds tension to this particular part of the sequence as well. This attracts the thriller fans as the lack of identity of the man is scary and the build up is intense, and so the audience would be willing to know what is going to happen.

TASK FOUR: Who would be the audience for your media project?

Our film fits into the genre of thriller. The main audience for thriller films would be from 15 to 22 years old. Obviously, other age groups would also come and see it but the rating would be a '15' due to its scary nature. It is specifically targeted for thrill seekers who come to the cinema to be scared.

The film may also attract sports fans who are interested in the girl's dream to reach the Olympic Games or who are interested in the swimming aspect of the film. The film won't specifically target rich or poor people, however if it was released in the cinema, then only those who can afford to get to a cinema and pay for a cinema ticket would be able to see it.

The Olympic games is obviously a worldwide event and so, even if our film was distributed by an independent film company (like Vertigo) then the target audience could stretch beyond the UK and on to other countries too.

TASK THREE: What kind of media institution might distribute your media project and why?

My media project's aim was to produce a successful and adrenaline pumping opening sequence to a thriller. I think that we have successfully achieved this through the build up of suspense through our tracking shot, in which only the feet of the suspected enemy of the story can be seen.

Out of the film companies that we have studied (Warner Bros Pictures, Warp Films and Vertigo) I think that Vertigo is the most likely to distribute my media project. Vertigo is a British independent film company which creates a wide variety of films. Our group decided that our thriller would be a 'CSI' type of film which had a number of murders linked together (possibly by the idea of The Olympics). Vertigo has, in the past, created 'CSI thrillers' (an example being ‘WAZ’) and so my film would fit into a genre of film which has previously been a success for this media institution, meaning that they would possibly be interested in another. 

Vertigo also aims to balance social realism with films of a mainstream intention which is perfect for my thriller. The storyline which would follow on from our opening sequence would be of an aspiring Olympic swimmer whose dream is to win a gold medal, but she is kidnapped by her competition (either another swimmer or another swimmer’s trainer). 

TASK TWO: How does your product represent particular social groups?

This screengrab of the young girl swimming was chosen to represent the social group of teenage girls. 

We chose to shoot this underwater shot fairly close to our actor (Bethany) in order to make the audience feel uneasy as if they are swimming alongside her. The point of the underwater shot was to emphasise her isolation. As anyone who has been swimming will know, when you are underwater, what you hear gets distorted and is much quieter. Therefore, for the case of our thriller, as the man approaches her in the pool, she had no idea that he was coming as she was underwater and could not hear him.

This picture shows the vulnerability that is often associated with teenage girls through the idea of her wearing only a swimming costume. Nowadays there is a stereotype for the kind of girl who is considered vulnerable in society. This girl, in general would be:

-alone

-distracted (perhaps by an iPod or mobile phone)

-dressed provocatively

-often around 15 or 16

This particular screengrab accurately shows aspects of all of these signs of vulnerability amongst teenage girls. The girl in the pool is:

-alone

-distracted (focused on her swimming and beating her best time)

-dressed in few clothes (because she is swimming)

-around the age of 16

It can therefore be seen that our main character in the opening of the thriller is the perfect target for a murder (which will later be the main plot of our thriller) and the screengrab represents the social group of teenage girls.

This is a screengrab from the film 'Scream' where, in the opening sequence, the girl gets stalked and eventually killed by a mysterious masked figure. This girl is similar to the girl in our thriller as she is also alone, young and at first distracted by the cooking. 

The main difference is that she is not shown to be dressed provocatively, however this film was made in 1996, at which time it was not such a craze as it is today (2011) for teenage girls to go out in clothes showing a lot of skin.

This film was a great success and a number of sequels were produced. This suggests to me (due to the large number of similarities between this film's opening sequence and my own) that my film would also be a success as it meets social stereotypes of teenage girls which prepare us to be scared.

TASK ONE: In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

These nine images are all screen grabs taken from our thriller which I feel adhere to the genre of thriller. The pictures are in chronological order and show the build up of tension starting from the beginning and and reaching a climax at the end. Looking at each individual picture, it is possible to analysise its relevance to a thriller film:

1) As seen in a number of thriller films, dark water adds a sense of the unknown which makes the audience nervous as they do not know what is coming. The stillness of the water is eerie and makes the audience uneasy, preparing them to be scared when the girl breaks the water with a dive.

2) This screen shot adds an element of time. The counting stopwatch helps to add tension as the audience think of each second as a second closer to a disaster e.g. in this case, a second closer to her encounter with the strange man.

3) The underwater shot of the girl doing a tumble turn creates the feeling of isolation. When she is underwater, she is completely unaware of what is going on above water in the 'real world'.

4) This shot shows the girl swimming towards the stopwatch. I chose to include this in my nine screen shots as it is a good example of the titles. We chose to use a sophisticated font, conveniently placed in an easy-to-read part of the screen. We chose to use this subtle font so that it is not blatently a thriller e.g. red writing. This in a way, subverts audience expectation.

5) This is a picture of the slow motion tumble turn. There is a lot of splashing water moving very slowly which obstructs the audience's view of bethany, causing confusion. Slow motion can also be linked to sports and swimming, as races are often replayed in slow motion to exaggerate any successes or failures.

6) This slow motion breath adds tension and it is at this point in the sequence when the build up to climax really begins. The breath which was added in during editing (due to slow motion having no sound) sounds like a desperate gasp which exaggerates the girl's determination in beating her time.

7) This screen grab is the second of two quick underwater shots which were added to create confusion and tell the audience that something is about to happen.

8)This screen grab shows the tracking shot which is accompanied by the beating of drums. The fact that the person's identity is concealed adds an element of suspense. The way the camera follows the man also shows that something is about to happen.

9) This final screen grab is of our title. The title is accompanied by eerie music which scares the audience and the actual title of 'Immersed' keeps the audience guessing what the film is actually going to be about.

Audience and genre

Above are two print screens of a Powerpoint presentation I made which show the target audience intended for our original thriller's storyline.

Vertigo Films are a British independent film company which we have learnt about in our lessons.

Vertigo would be best positioned to sell our thriller because, as a company they create a balance between social realism and films of a mainstream intention which is suited, in my opinion, to our storyline.

Evaluation of the Shoot Day

In general, the shoot day went according to plan. We were finished in time, we got all the shots we wanted and all our actors performed as we had hoped. There were obviously aspects of the day which we had not been able to anticipate beforehand – most of these were to do with the location as we had only pictures and word of mouth to go by. The photographs Courtney had taken were accurate and therefore we did not encounter any real problems. The only slight problem was the problem of condensation on the glass however we managed to incorporate this into our film sequence as it made the vision of the stalker less clear and therefore much creepier.

 In some ways, the shoot day went much better than I had thought. We hadn’t even thought of using slow motion until we were actually on location, and we were all really impressed with the results. The tracking shot was also really impressive and (although it took a few takes) we got the perfect shot in the end.

Overall I am really pleased with how it all went. Our group worked well together, with everyone getting a go at all the different skills we had learnt in our lessons, and at the end of the day, we all felt as if our hard work had paid off.

Shooting day

The date our group was given to shoot our opening title sequence was Friday 28^th January. We gathered all the equipment needed and set off to our location in good time.

Our Location

We were shooting at Courtney’s (a girl in our class) house which took about half an hour to get to by mini bus. As we arrived at the location, we didn’t take long to adjust to the surroundings – we soon learnt how to turn on and off the swimming pool lights and the fan in the room, which we had to keep the same throughout the shoot to keep up the continuity. We set up the light behind a glass door, with light shining in on the pool, highlighting Bethany (our main actress) as she swam up and down the pool. The whole of our shoot was shot in one location which meant we could spend time getting the shots perfect.

The first shots we decided to get (out of the water) were wide shots of Bethany swimming up and down the length of the pool. Before this, we used the camcorder in the underwater case to film some underwater shots of Bethany. For example, for one shot the camera is underwater filming as Bethany dives over the top of it. We also got some shots of Bethany as she reached the end of the pool, doing a tumble turn in slow motion. Before we took a lunch break, we set up the tracks for the spider dolly to move along, giving the effect of a sweeping shot.

After lunch, we put the tracks into action, moving the camera along with Adam’s feet as he paced up the side of the swimming pool. 

 Bella and me filming the tracking shot

The idea of this is to make the audience believe that the stalker has entered the building and is, in some way, going to harm the girl. Just as the camera stops moving, Bethany and Adam reach the end of the pool at the same time (Bethany swimming and Adam walking). Bethany looks up, scared, exclaiming ‘You scared me!’. This is the first dialogue included in the story and adds an element of shock. When we had got all of the shots we were happy with (focusing on Bethany) we moved on to Ted (the stalker). The idea is that Ted is outside the window just watching Bethany swim up and down. The windows in the pool room got more and more condensed as the day went on, so when we filmed Ted looking in from the inside, it gave a scary effect as none of his features were clearly visible through the glass. The next shots we got of Ted were close ups of his hand slamming against the glass, and later sliding his hand against the glass. As all of this is going on, Bethany is still swimming up and down the length of the pool (training).

The final shots we got at the end of the days shooting were taken from above of Ted peering through the window. 

 Me filming Ted from above on the balcony

In order to get these shots, we had to stand on a balcony and move the camera along as he walked, finishing with a focus pull. We also decided to shoot some POV shots of the stalker walking down the outside stairs. In order to do this we had to lean the camera on a member of our team’s shoulder and get them to carefully walk down the stairs – giving a shaky impression.

CAST

Name: Bethany Quinn

Age: 16

Role: swimmer

We chose to cast Bethany as our swimmer as she has a past in swimming and therefore has a swimmer's physique. She also studies theatre studies as one of her AS levels, and so has experience with acting. We have asked for her consent and she is happy for us to film her in a swimming costume.

Name: Adam Grant 

Age: Early thirties

Role: plays the mysterious man who enters the swimming pool

We originally chose to cast Adam as this character as the mysterious man is later revealed to be the father, however we decided that this reveal was not necessary in the opening sequence. Adam was chosen as he could play a young father (as he is a father himself), has previous experience acting in media videos and is willing to be a part of our video. As it turns out, through our editing process and the changes we made, it was only essential to see the feet of this 'mysterious man'.

Planning

Whilst planning our final idea we looked at my original idea and questioned how well we would be able to pull off all of the ideas.
The main thing that we changed was the idea of the stalker drawing in the condensation on the window, and also the idea that the stalker comes inside to the swimming pool area. Instead of this we thought about deceiving the audience. By this, we meant that instead of the stalker coming in, another character enters the room. The audience will see his feet pacing up and down and assume that it is the stalker. When the girl comes up from swimming she screams before looking relieved to see her father standing over her.

After we had all agreed on a storyline that we were happy with, we decided to start on the script. The majority of the scene will not have dialogue until the end of the sequence when the swimmer exclaims "You scared me!" followed by "Supper's ready" spoken by the father and then "I'll be there in five". The rest of the scene will be the swimmer swimming up and down lengths of the pool with shots showing the stalker through the window.

Our idea of the storyline is therefore quite basic which means that we will be able to concentrate on getting interesting and different shots to what would normally be seen in an AS level project, for example the underwater shots of the girl swimming.

Once we had the script sorted, it was time to start storyboarding. This involved thinking of all the shots we wanted and adding in all the details needed for each shot. For example, the time each shot lasts, the lighting in each shot and any movement in each shot. Our first storyboard only showed our first ideas and did not need to be particularly neat. We continued to edit it until we reached our final storyboard.
Below is our final story board:

Our Group's final idea

Each person out of our group - Talisa, Bella, Laura and I, chose our favourite idea out of the ideas we had come up with on our own. We sat in a group and discussed the pros and cons of each idea and how easily they could be made into a film. A few of the things we had to take into consideration were:

1.) Location - we needed somewhere which did not take too long to get to and somewhere which we had permission to use. The ideal would be the studio which is actually on school property, however we decided that a short journey to a local location would be fine.

2.) Costs - anything which would cost too much money is out of our hands. This is because we are only a group of four college students and therefore, money is limited.

3.) Permission - if we want to film in a public place, then permission would be hard to get hold of so, if possible, we want to find somewhere where permission is either easy to acces (e.g. in a friend's house) or where permission is not needed (e.g. in the studio at school).

4.) Actors - preferably we want actors from our school. As we are members of a school specialising in drama, hopefully it will not be too difficult to find willing actors. However because they are students, it will be necessary to get permission from their teachers to leave their classes for the day.

Taking into account all of these possible problems, we decided that for our group's final idea, we would choose my idea called 'The Deep End' which was the idea involving a girl swimming in a pool while a stalker was looking in on her from outside.

Thriller opening sequence - ideas

My ideas for a thriller opening sequence:

1) Location: Empty hospital

Camera travels down empty hospital corridor. Bright, artificial lighting flickering. Little girl standing at end of corridor soaking wet with seaweed in her hair. She says nothing, but turns and walks down corridor - wet footsteps left on floor. Background noises of hospital machinery e.g. beeping heart monitor, then silence followed by a loud noise, then the girl starts to run (looking behind her at the camera). The camera shakes. She screams then it freezes on her face and cuts to title of film.

Problems: 

Location - we would not be able to film at a real hospital (as it would be impossible to shut off a corridor)

Actor - it might be hard finding a little girl who is willing to walk around all day acting covered in cold water and seaweed.

2) Location: Swimming pool

One girl swimming lengths alone in a pool. Cuts to an underwater shot as if we are looking up at her from the bottom of the pool. The camera then cuts to outside to a shaky POV shot from someone looking through the window. We can hear his breathing. The person spying then draws something in the window (e.g. a heart or "hello") in the steam. Quick matched cuts between girl swimming and man dragging his hand along the window, leaving a trail of blood in his hand print. Underwater shot shows girl swimming with her head under, unaware of stranger, however the audience can see the man through the water. As she reaches end of length, she comes up and we hear her scream. Cut to film title.

Problems:

Location - We would need to find someone who has an indoor pool with glass windows looking in from outside. They must also be okay with a large group coming to film there all day.

Steam - the steam which the man draws in would be on the inside of the glass, not the outside. We could get around this by him breathing on the window (making steam).

Underwater shots - we would need to get hold of an underwater camcorder or a camcorder case (preferably that shoots onto a HD memory card)

Actress - would have to give her permission for us to film her in a swimming costume. 

3) Location: School

Everyday situation - real life and easy to film on location. Camera starts filming inside classroom, quick glimpse of something running past the window. Later on a group of girls are talking and walking towards the toilets "did you see that thing earlier...?" etc. We then get a POV shot of someone behind a tree with deep breathing. The girls reach the bathroom and are looking in the mirror when the bathroom door opens and reflected in the mirror is a man covered in blood holding a knife.

Problems:

School - we would have to make sure that no one was around or being loud while we filmed, which is hard in a school of 300 people. 

4) Location: Beach

Windy day on an English pebbly beach. There is a wind toy in the pebbles which turns when the wind blows and the camera focuses on this before a couple emerge from the sea. A focus change from the fan to the couple is made, the couple kiss and the camera focuses on the girl as she walks up the beach. There is no one else on the beach and she turns round playfully to smile at her partner but he has gone. Camera zooms in on his footsteps in the sand which just stop in the middle of the beach. His scarf is tied to a groyne (wooden fences on beaches) blowing in the wind. The girl screams and sinks to her knees through fear as her partner has been taken and she is all alone.
Problems:
Location - Firstly, getting to a beach would take up quite a lot of time which could be spent filming if we chose a different location. Also getting permission to film on a beach and also making sure that the beach was empty would be hard.
Pebbly beach - this would mean that the idea of the man's footprints in the sand would not work as well because there would be pebbles not sand.
Weather - as it would be filmed outside, there is no guarantee on the weather.

The History of Horror

In this lesson, we watched a film about the history of horror films.

In 1925, the silent version of Phantom of the Opera was released. The lead role, played by Lon Chaney was a key topic in regard to this film. Lon Chaney who was nicknamed 'The man of a thousand faces' used his own make up skills to create state of the art make up for that time.

However the first horror film which started the huge phase which swept the nation was Dracula. This was the first horror film made with sound. The film itself followed Gothic tradition and soon afterwards the film of Frankenstein was made.

In 1935, a new version of Frankenstein was made by James Whale. This time, the film was called The Bride of Frankenstein and added a new twist to the original film which horror fanatics previously loved. As James Whale was such an inspiration to the horror genre, a film was later made about his life (called Gods and Monsters).

Yet another Frankenstein film was made in 1939. This time the film combined Dracula and Frankenstein together and was called The Son of Frankenstein.

Both of these films (Dracula and Frankenstein) are considered to be the starting point to Horror films which are still, to this day, so popular.