Question 7: Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learn't in the progression from it to the full product?

Introduction:

   When we began our preliminary task, I had very little knowledge of how to plan, shoot and edit a film. For example, the only practice I had previously undertaken was getting to know my stills camera and when at GCSE level, editing videos for Information Technology on very basic editing software i.e. Windows Movie Maker. Therefore, I had a lot to take in, in terms of skills for use within the preliminary task; however, although at first daunting adapting to new principales, editing software and also overcoming problems, after the preliminary task I was eventually more confident in using and applying these skills to the Thriller opening task. 
   Furthermore, we were put in to groups with people that we have not previously known before, due to the mixing of new sixth form students. This helped me become better acquainted with the students in my class, and therefore when we were planning our thriller films discussing ideas with people outside of our group who I would not usually have spoken to allowed for constructive criticism and  new ideas to consider. 

Continuity Principles:

   Moreover, planning, shooting and editing the preliminary task allowed me to be ready for the preparation of our thriller opening, this is as I learned the importance of shot lists, storyboards, camera angles and continuity principales (i.e. 180 degree rule, shot reverse shot, match on action) prior to a shoot. 

   Match on action is the process of cutting from one shot to another in a different perspective in order to maintain the same motion, whilst engaging the previous shot. For example, within the preliminary task, although we thought that we had considered every aspect of planning at a few points, we forgot to follow the match-on-action guideline making the short task less smooth when played back all-together. Therefore, making this mistake within our preliminary task made me more aware of the importance of following the match on action guideline, and furthermore I had a more focused mindset about executing this principal when it came to planning our thriller opening, in order to allow for fluid shot changes and heightened sense of action. 

An example from our preliminary task, whereby, we didn't
consider the match-on-action guideline and therefore, Chione goes
from a moving motion to being stood still on the right. 

   Additionally, I learnt about principles such as the 180 degree rule, which states that two characters in a scene should always have the same left/right relationship. Whereby, I have progressed in my ability to understand the implications of crossing the imaginary line with the camera, as it can inflict disorientation within the audience, which would lead to less appeal of the action. Furthermore, shot reverse shot is another principle that I learned the importance of throughout the completion of the preliminary task. This technique is used to show two characters looking at each other, whereby, shots alternate of the characters during a conversation. Moreover, after experimenting with this technique within the preliminary task I felt that I gained confidence in the use of it and therefore decided to incorporate it within our thriller production in a way that challenges the natural idea.

Although unclear, an example from our thriller opening, whereby,
we have utilised the shot reverse shot technique between John and the watch.

Research:

White van from "Essex Boys".

White van used in our thriller opening.

   Through researching films, television shows and other texts that convey aspects of the thriller genre we were able to learn the significance of specific conventions portrayed within this genre, and furthermore apply this knowledge to our production. For example, I researched film such as "13 Tzameti", "A Clockwork Orange", "Essex Boys" and "Witness". The in-depth analysis we did in to films such as above helped us gain specific understanding of what is significant and effective within the thriller genre, therefore giving our group a greater knowledge of characters, props, shot types and specific conventions of mise-en-scene that would work well within our production. For example, we took note of the significance of a white van, through the research of "Essex Boys", and used it's link between crime and violence to connote aspects of our story line within our opening and also reference back to our research. This differed from our preliminary task, whereby, we didn't carryout any research into the specific subject, giving me a vague idea of what we actually needed to show. Therefore, I have learnt that research is crucial to understanding how mise-en-scene, characters, story, etc, should be composed in order to relate back to the genre, and furthermore research gave me confidence to contribute ideas about what we should feature within our production in order to establish it as a thriller opening. 

Planning:

    Planning is incredibly important in any media production, and therefore being introduced to this aspect of film making when creating a preliminary task aided our ability to plan a thriller opening; this is as we were able to learn from our preliminary task and take aspects of planning further to make sure that we got exactly what we wanted. For example, when we were planning to shoot our preliminary film, we didn't take costumes into consideration and therefore we just decided to go with what we were already wearing. Furthermore, within our thriller production we took note of this previous simplistic view and created specific costumes for our characters in order to connote the representation of their gender, race, age, etc. This allowed us to link back to conventions of characters within the thriller genre, e.g. John's black hoodie, creating a link between him and characters from gritty, council estate set thrillers.  Which, in turn, would hope to give the characters more meaning and add appeal to the mise-en-scene.

Editing & Sound:

   Furthermore, when editing our preliminary task I found the functions of the editing software we were using to be difficult to access and utilise in order to piece all of our footage together. For example, it took me a while to get to grips fully with finding and inserting transitions between shots. However, although editing was hard to come to terms with during the preliminary task, through practice I became more and more confident with the basic skills I needed to edit. This practice helped me significantly when it came to the editing of our thriller film, as I had the basic knowledge I needed to piece the film together, which further allowed me to explore and learn about the more advanced skills that would bring visual and auditory aspects to a higher standard. For example, colour grading in order to alter the look of the footage. Therefore, in completing a preliminary task I was able to build confidence and an overall independence towards editing for our thriller film that I wouldn't otherwise have if I didn't carry out this task.
   
    In addition, within the editing of our preliminary task we weren't introduced and didn't consider the importance of diegetic and non-diegetic sound. Therefore, when editing we didn't fiddle around with sound at all and left all diegetic sound in, which made the mise-en-scene seem realistic but not the situation. However, when planning, shooting and editing for our thriller production we learnt that sound was a top priority in terms of establishing genre and building suspense, we were able to progress in to the task with this knowledge through research into sound from other thriller films. For example, a scene I researched from "Full Metal Jacket" allowed me to understand how non-diegetic soundtrack can add eeriness to the mise-en-scene. Therefore, when shooting and editing our thriller production we made certain that we had a balance of diegetic sound and non-diegetic sound in order to add realism but build suspense. An example of this is when we incorporated the diegetic sound of Bill's van starting up, whilst in an extreme close-up shot of Bill's eyes, this added realism to the mise-en-scene and additionally allowed connotations for what was going to come through the starting of the van motor. Furthermore, we understood how crucial a soundtrack would be in emphasising the action and conveying similar traits to other thriller openings, and therefore we incorporated one in order to heighten tension through non-diegetic sound. Additionally, I learnt that when editing in the soundtrack I could alter the length and placement of it in comparison to the shots, and therefore in order to further maximise the suspense I could allow for the climatic points within the soundtrack to co-inside with tense footage. i.e. matching up pulses within the soundtrack with shot changes.

  
A clip from "Full Metal Jacket" where soundtrack plays a big part in connoting terror within the mise-en-scene.

Camera angles/ shots:

   Additionally, carrying out a preliminary task allowed me to explore the different camera angles and shot types, put them to practice and also learn about the importance of having a strong visual mind-set when going out to shoot. For example, within the planning of our preliminary task we set out a story board, but didn't write a shot list for when we went out to  film. The implications of this were that we didn't have a direct idea of what to shoot as from the storyboard it was quite difficult to interpret the drawings, and therefore it took some time to plan these shots whilst we were out shooting. However, as a result of this, I was able to learn that although storyboards are a well-set visual way of planning, a detailed shot list is easier for me to interpret when shooting. Therefore, when planning our thriller film my group decided it would be better to focus more on creating a detailed shot list along with a basic story board in order to make sure we getting exactly what we were visualising,  and when it came to shooting we found the shot list a lot easier to interpret. This was a result of learning through which planning suited our ideas best, and if we hadn't carried out the preliminary task we wouldn't have discovered this, which in turn, would have made the shooting for our thriller opening take a longer amount of time to complete, via lack of organization. 

An example of a shot that we experimented with,
whereby, John is running to the elevator, quite panicked.
The shaky movement of the camera, and closeness to
the character represents John's startled nature and isolation. 

   
   Furthermore, in shooting our preliminary task I have since gained confidence in experimenting and utilising different types of camera angles and shot types. For example, within our preliminary task we only experimented on a very small scale and although we utilised many camera angles and shots, we did this at quite a simple level. This is indicated through our use of primarily mid-shots, which were quite dull and didn't build up tension.  However, when it came to planning and shooting for our thriller production we were able to understand that we could take this basic practice and further replicate shot types in a more innovative and advanced way in order to increase action/suspense e.g. a variety of close-ups, whilst also linking specific media texts through the use of these shots.


Working within a group:

   Moreover, I've learnt that working within a group when making a media production allows for a high amount of creative input and ensures that the whole process of film making is efficient and well organised. For example, working within a group allows responsibilities and roles to be divided between individuals in order to ensure that every aspect of planning is strong, and one person isn't overwhelmed with having to focus on everything. Additionally, working within group for the thriller opening production allowed for a wide variety of ideas around the conventions that we could use in order establish our production as a product of this genre. This is as we had all each carried out our own individual research in to media texts that conformed to the thriller genre, and therefore we each had thoughts to what could work well when planning our film as well as a greater understanding of how mise-en-scene should be organised.

An example of where me and another group
member alternated shots within the same scene
via the use of two cameras.

  
    Furthermore, working within a group allowed the shooting process of our opening to be completed very efficiently. This is as me and another group member each used our own cameras, and therefore when shooting we could capture the same scene but from two different camera angles at the same time, meaning that we didn't have to waste time repeating the scene and gaining all of the shots on one camera. In addition, the use of two cameras also acted as safety when shooting, whereby, if one camera run out of battery or was broken during the shoot we could continue using the other camera. For example, another groups members camera ran out of memory during one of the shooting days and therefore we were able to continue using mine to finish up filming the rest of the footage. Furthermore, the use of two cameras was an idea we had after completing the preliminary task, this is as we only used one for the preliminary task and we learnt that this was more time consuming.

Individual contributions/ideas and responsibilities:

    When planning for the thriller opening our group each focused on an individual responsibility and contributed evenly. For example, one of my contributions was in suggesting the cliffhanger for our film, which was eventually incorporated within our thriller as the boot in the elevator. Furthermore, the notion of this type of cliffhanger was on my mind before we had thought of plot, location, character, etc, as it came to me after we had leant the importance of watching other media texts in order to find conventions, whereby, I then went off and watched "The Shining". This particular film contains a scene where the female lead (Wendy) is seeking security in a locked bathroom and suddenly the main antagonist (Jack) strikes an axe through the door, the idea of thinking you're in safety and then being confronted by something that can tear down this idea came as a terrifying prospect to me, and therefore I believed it would be effective within our thriller. In addition, this thought sprouted into the boot within the elevator door idea when one of the other group members suggested the location of a car park, as I immediately connected with the small, grimy lifts and believed this is where the cliffhanger could take place.  




   Furthermore, In terms of responsibilities, I was in charge of conferring with one of the actors in order to find out when he was available and when he had access to the van that we were using. This is as the actor's van was crucial to his work and as a manager of a company he had to allow for his employees to use the van for completing jobs around the area. Therefore, when planning I discussed with him the days that he wasn't working and the days that the van was available for use in order to feedback to the group what days we could go about shooting our thriller opening, and furthermore create a shootig schedule based upon his actions.  

Audience Feedback:

A completed questionnaire via one
of the students I asked.

   Once we had completed the final cut of our thriller opening, I gathered a small sample of students similar to the specific target audience that we were aiming our film at and gave them each a questionnaire to feedback regarding the various aspects of our production. i.e. mise-en-scene, narrative, camera work, editing, characters and clearness. Furthermore, when I received the completed questionnaires back I was very pleased with the feedback, as it was mainly positive. This overall positive response was a lot better than I expected as I felt that the narrative may have been rather confusing to understand and therefore could of put off our audience, which some participants did find confusing. For example, one participant couldn't understand why the girl was killed and therefore we could have drawn more association between her death and Bill's intentions. Nevertheless, the demographic seemed to enjoy the film for other qualities such as camera work and editing. Whereby, most participants rated these aspects as 4 or 5 out of 5. Consequently, this could identify my progression within camera skills from the preliminary task to our thriller opening as I have developed my knowledge of camera angles/shot types used in other media texts which make the mise-en-scene seem menacing, also, it could notify how far I've gone to experiment with my camera in order to gain a diverse vision of cinematography. 

Tutor Feedback:

An example of tutor feedback, and response to
it within planning. 

   In addition to feedback we received from other students and our targeted demographic, we also received feedback from our tutor throughout all stages of producing our thriller opening. Furthermore, this was very helpful in terms of shaping and re-adjusting our thriller opening as it allowed for encouragement on what worked well and suggestions for how to make aspects of mise-en-scene and story better. Additionally, through this type of feedback i've learnt how to respond in order to not just replicate the suggestions but to go further and expand on the points made about improvements, which I feel has sparked a great progression in my quality of work.    

Strengths of our production:

   Firstly, I deem one strength of our production to be the camerawork. This is as through my own personal extrapolation, the cameras that our group used (DSLR's) give footage a more ever present cinematic edge that poses as aesthetically appealing when watching our thriller production. Therefore, audiences may have been able to engage more with the mise-en-scene as there's an attraction about contrasting depths of field, as they are used consistently within more well known media productions. Additionally, this strength is supported through some of the feedback I gained from audience within my questionnaire as it was rated highly and one participant went as far to comment "Awesome, very professional".  

An example of our utilisation of the DSLR's
capabilities through shallow depth of field.

   Another strength that I consider our thriller production holds is the soundtrack. This is as without it there would be a severe lack of tension, as it helps to build up suspense slowly and effectively whilst fitting in perfectly with the shots from our production. Additionally, the cliffhanger would be much less dramatic and hard hitting without the harsh sting we added at the end, which I feel is a great way to end the sequence.   


Weaknesses of our production:

   In terms of weaknesses, although our production seemed clear to our group on paper and when shooting, my tutor and audiences struggled to understand what was specifically happening in terms of plot and narrative. This is as we had been so immersed in the idea that we knew what was happening but failed to make this entirely clear to the audience, we could have better done this through drawing more association between John and Hanna, Bill's objectives and Hanna's watch in order to portray a better formed narrative. However, it was hard to go back and do this due to limited access to the location we were filming in and availability of cast. 

   Additionally, there is a scene within our film that we discovered after uploading to our computers and reviewing with our tutor seemed very unclear because of the lack of light that inhibited it. Therefore, this weakness distorted the action and has evidently lacked the appeal of audience e.g. A participant in the questionnaire I conducted responded to a question about improving the appeal with "lighting". In the edit, I attempted to improve this scenes appeal by increasing the brightness, however, in doing so the brighter I pushed it the more distorted the mise-en-scene became. Moreover, the logical way to improve this would have been to go out and shoot again whilst considering a source of non-ambient lighting to introduce within the scene. 

   Consequently, I have learnt from these weaknesses and therefore when going on to make other media productions I can bear these in mind in order to keep appeal at it's highest. For example, I recently produced a very short film where I made lighting my key priority. This is not in a dissimilar way to the progress I have made from my preliminary task, whereby, I learnt from my mistakes and ensured they wouldn't occur within the thriller production.

What is the most important aspect of film making you've learnt about that you didn't know before?

   I can conclude that the most important thing I've learnt about film making is planning, this is as it is very important that you know exactly what you want to convey before a film is made. Furthermore, if planning isn't enforced then the whole notion of film making doesn't have a structure as, when filming without a plan it's most likely that scenes won't connect with each other due to a wide variety of different ideas, and therefore it's important to condense and compile these ideas in to a well structured visual narrative. Consequently, with the knowledge that planning is crucial to the film making process I have learnt that considering audience when at pre-production stage is essential, as if they are not depicted as a vital part then you may make a good film; however, audiences may lack appeal due to inability to relate with the content. 

Question 5: How did you attract/address your audience?

   Once I had finished the edit for my film, I was required to hand out questionnaires to other students in order to gain feedback for our thriller opening. Furthermore, I decided that the best way to get specific feedback that was relevant to our production, was to ask our target audience; therefore, I asked mainly males, aged 16-21. However, I additionally decided to ask two females aged 16-21, as I wanted to see how the results may differ based on gender. Therefore, my sample consisted of 3 male participants and 2 female. 

Audience Feedback - Thriller Film

   From the results of the questionnaire, there were both positive and negative parts of feedback that I received in the response to our group's thriller opening. In terms of positives, most participants found the narrative very easy to understand giving it either 4 or 5 out of 5, with only one person giving as low as a 3. This is most likely because of our use of a linear narrative, whereby, events take place from the beginning, going through the middle, and ultimately reaching the end in a sufficient order. Therefore, the audience may become more fixated within the action of the film as they are constantly anticipating what is going to happen. An example of a thriller film with a linear narrative would be "Essex Boys", as we are placed at the beginning of Billy's story and follow it right through to the end.

      Furthermore, when it came to a question of how participants would rate the camera work and editing, all included in the survey rated this aspect of the highest ability, giving it either a 4 or 5 out of 5. This is most likely because of our group's decision to use DSLR's in manual focus, as shooting with these types of cameras gives the film contrasting depths of field, which in turn allows a cinematic look which may have appealed to the audience in terms of the more professional feel, perhaps reflecting a film they have seen made with a higher budget. Additionally, we decided to colour grade the film by decreasing saturation and adding a green tint, this may have captivated the audience as it gave the mise-en-scene a more gritty and dirty feel, which in turn, could add to the menacing action.

   Thirdly, all participants agreed that the soundtrack was an effective reflection and enhancer of the mood/action in our thriller opening, with some participants going on to describe the soundtracks relation with mise-en-scene as "very grim" and "excellent". The soundtrack may have been great appeal to the audience as the particular track we used introduced faster playing instruments as it went on. Therefore, in collaboration with the action occurring within the mise-en-scene, created a strong build up of tension which kept the audience gripped, edging to see what was going to happen next. Additionally, audiences may have enjoyed the soundtrack as it reflected crime thriller such as "Drive". 

The scene in our thriller opening, that lacks
clear meaning through not considering lighting. 

   However, there were a few criticisms and suggested areas for improvement. Firstly, although the overall majority rated the standard of mise-en-scene (i.e. colour, figure, lighting,objects) to be of a high standard, a few participants rated this aspect as 3 out of 5, which seems a pretty average mark. One of the participants went on to say that "lighting" was an aspect that could be improved, and in a further conversation they brought up that they couldn't see  John properly when he went down to pick up the watch. This particular scene is an example of how if the mise-en-scene is dark and unclear unintentionally, it can throw off audiences interest within the action. Therefore, to hold audiences' fixation with the film, we should  have considered using additional lighting during the shoot.  

A still from our opening, showing Hanna dead in
the elevator. 

   Furthermore, although all males that participated within the questionnaire answered that the opening would inspire them to watch the rest of the film, both female participants answered that it wouldn't. Additionally, one of the female participants then went on to write in a question about the offensiveness of the film "why was the girl killed off first - stereotype". This result suggests that the female audience for the questionnaire lacked appeal whilst watching our thriller opening, and that the reason behind it could potentially be due to the fact that Hanna, the female within our production, was ultimately the only person murdered within the opening. Furthermore, if our group had another chance to shoot the thriller opening, we could alter the cliffhanger in order to make the film more attractive to a female audience. For example, instead of just having Hanna dead in the lift, we could have had her in a bad state, whereby, John attempts to resuscitate her.    
   In addition, the film that we produced is primarily dominated by male roles, this could be another contributor to why the female audience wouldn't consider watching a feature length version of our opening. However, the fact that all of the males that participated in the questionnaire agreed that they would like to watch the rest of the film, suggests that utilisation of specific characters and techniques reflects the target audiences interests well. For example, the use of a predominantly male cast and portrayal of the main role as an ethnic minority (aged 17) could have hooked the male audience as they are able to identify with the characters.

   A few other points were raised when particpants were asked to note anything they thought was confusing or hard to understand. Firstly, a participant wrote in response that it "was a bit confusing as to why the girl was killed", and another participant commented saying "who was the girl?". These comments identify that we may have not made it clear enough that the female role within our film (Hanna) is meeting up with John for an exchange; if we were to shoot again, we could have instead used a close-up on Hanna's mobile phone showing a text from John regarding the meeting time. However, although this may make the girl's presence less confusing, I would deem that the introduction of this aspect in a re-shoot would take away some of the enigmatic tones from our opening.

   Furthermore, another participant commented regarding "the association with the watch" as a confusing/hard to understand aspect of our thriller production. Moreover, the watch was intended to be an important part in evoking fear and building suspense within our thriller opening, and if the audience were unable to understand the association then some of that tension is taken away. Therefore, when our group were shooting or if we were given the chance to shoot again we could have introduced more relation between Hanna and the watch. For example, a flashback of John giving her the watch as he picks it up within the car park, this would have portrayed a stronger connotation as to what had happened and additionally shown a stronger bond between John and Hanna as characters.    


   In terms of addressing our audience, we have positioned their involvement with the film in a very detached way. This is as there is no specific character that the audience can immediately identify with as there's no real introduction to the character of John, this differs from how some other films address their audience. For example, in "Essex Boys" the film opens with a voiceover from Billy Reynolds, therefore audiences are positioned with this character and begin to identify with him. Furthermore, our thriller opening relies more upon the use of action in a combination with diegetic and non-diegetic sound in order to communicate the storyline. The reason that we decided to address the audience in this way was so that we could throw them straight into the action, allowing for tension and grittiness to be our main advocators. For example, our soundtrack begins whilst the production credit is present in order to immediately address the audience via the use of non-diegetic sound. This credit then quickly cuts out and the audience are introduced to a tracking shot of John, whereby, he is walking up a rather decrypted stair case. The combination of consistent camera movement, non-diegetic sound and aspects of location within the mise-en-scene all address to the audience that they are being told the story as an interpretation of visual and auditory composition, eliminating the need for dialogue via narrator.
        

   Furthermore, we used specific conventions of the thriller genre in order to attract our audience, the reason being that conventions are expected from an audience and therefore we had to utilise this idea. For example, creating tension is an imperative notion to inflict within the thriller genre, as it is what keeps audiences on the edge of their seats wanting to see what happens next within the film. Moreover, we applied this convention to our thriller opening via the use of a soundtrack that built tempo through the introduction of different instruments in a combination with close-ups cutting together quickly in a linear sequence. This allowed the pace of our opening to gain speed as it went along and further increase audience fixation as the motion is evidently connoting a climatic point. An example of where we have inflicted this idea is apparent between 0:50 - 0:58 seconds, whereby, a short a sequence of close-ups occur in rapid succesion in sync with the soundtrack.   

   Another convention that we utilised within our thriller opening was the use of enigmas. The purpose of enigmas are to create mystery and get audiences speculating as to what they can be perceived as, this in turn creates a more developed interest within the action of the production and therefore a more attractive appeal towards the overall film. We applied this convention via a few enigmas, one of them being the assumption of what Jon is carrying in his bag. The introduction of this enigma gets audiences asking questions such as, what is actually being delivered between Jon and Hanna? Why does Bill have such an interest? How does it relate to the wider story?. 

   Moving on, the cliffhanger is important in hooking and inspiring the audience to continue with watching the feature-length film; we have utilised this aspect within our thriller opening in order to create attraction of our film for audiences. For example, at the end of our film Bill's boot stops the elevator door from closing, leaving John trapped with him. As seen from the target audiences' response within the survey I conducted, the cliffhanger that we have created seems to be effective in inspiring the male audience to continue watching the film. This is as it leaves many unanswered questions at the end of the sequence, and as a part of an audience's nature, if they are captivated by the opening then the cliffhanger will evoke curiosity making them want to watch on.
   
   Overall, the surveys seem to reflect that we have been effective in addressing and attracting our audience. This is as none of the participants gave a mark lower than 8/10 when rating the overall production, and therefore it seems that we have appealed to the particular demographic. Additionally, although the female audience weren't to attracted to the idea of the female role being killed off first, they still rated the overall production highly, showing how although some ideas can be off putting and perhaps offensive to specific groups, other aspects of mise-en-scene can bring about a balanced opinion.  

Question 1: In what ways does you media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Transit:

   Our film, Transit, aims to fit in the genre of crime thriller. This is as it revolves around the activity between two characters that seems subsequently illegal, and once we bring a third character (the antagonist) in to the equation suspense is built via his interest in their exchange. Furthermore, we researched and used conventions from films/TV dramas of the same genre in order to form the film into a piece of media that well reflected the crime thriller genre.

Location:


An exterior shot of Anglia Square car park, showing it's
resemblance to the council estate on "Kidulthood" 



London council estate, "Kidulthood"

   Within a thriller opening, location plays a key part in setting the scene and allowing the action to flow naturally. Our group decided that in order to properly connote the action of Transit, we should set the opening in an area that was old, unglamorous and urban. This is as we wanted to give Transit a gritty and un-nerving feel similar to that of "Kidulthood" and TV drama "Top Boy", whereby, the action takes place primarily in council estates. Therefore, we decided to use Anglia Square car park as the location for our opening.This is as the car park has not been renovated since the early 1970's, ultimately leaving it as a derelict and degrading building. Additionally, the multi-storey car park was closed down, therefore leaving it completely empty. Both of these aspects are the reason that we chose this location; it portrays ideas of bleakness and isolation which are common within media texts such as "A Clockwork Orange" and "Essex Boys".

An interior shot of the stair well in Anglia Square car
park, showing the boarded up level connoting
the claustrophobic and corrupt aspects. 

   Furthermore, in using the location of an empty car park we were able to portray generic conventions of the thriller genre . For example, the fact that the car park was empty connotes John's isolation within the location, additionally, the derelict nature connotes the corruption that follows. This is similar to films such as Peter Weir's "Witness", whereby, the murder scene takes place in a train station toilet, of which portrays dirty and claustrophobic connotations, similar to that of Anglia Square car park.  



   Additionally, the main influence on our choice of location was the music video for "Angel" - Massive Attack. This is as it is set out as if it were a thriller film and executes the notion of being followed brilliantly, whilst also providing great examples of chiaroscuro lighting. 



Lighting:

A close-up of Hanna from our film, Transit,
showing our use of chiaroscuro lighting, the dark shadow
could connote Hanna's imitate fate.  

An example of chiaroscuro lighting from "13 Tzameti".

    Our thriller opening uses generic conventions of lighting in order to establish the thriller genre, this is as within the car park we utilised the availability of artificial/non-ambient lighting, which in turn acted as a great source of chiaroscuro lighting. Noir or chiaroscuro lighting is commonly utilised within the thriller genre, particularly in classic crime or neo-noir thrillers in order to increase drama and suspense by engulfing most of the mise-en-scene in darkness and lighting subject matter, connoting that the character is surrounded by threat. For example, in french neo-noir thriller "13 Tzameti", chiaroscuro lighting is used in a scene where there is a russian roulette game between 13 men. Through the use of this type of lighting within our thriller opening, we have referenced films that influenced our decisions when researching and planning.  


    Furthermore, we were able to make intertextual links through the use of lighting, which in turn, allowed us to stronger connote the consequent actions of our opening via the reference of "Essex Boys". For example, when Bill is driving up the car park ramps, a bar of light is reflected on his windscreen. This references the opening of "Essex Boys", whereby, Billy is driving Jason around and when going through a tunnel, light is reflected in the same way. The reason that we utilised lighting in order to create this link was to forebode the same meaning, whereby, in "Essex Boys" the light bars connote that Billy is most likely to end up in jail as a result of Jason's actions, and within our thriller opening Bill's actions would most likely result with him going to jail. 

An example of our intertextual link from Transit (left) to "Essex Boys"(right) 

Camera angles/ shot types:

 

 

The opening shot from our thriller, Transit.



Tracking shot of Josh, used near the beginning
of "Animal Kingdom".

   In order to best reflect the action, we used a wide variety of camera angles and shot types in our thriller opening. For example, when our film opens we used a a tracking mid close-up from behind Jon of him walking up some steps of the exterior car park. The tracking notion of this shot connotes the possibility that John is being followed thus increasing suspense. This specific shot was influenced by Australian crime thriller “Animal Kingdom”, where the camera tracks Josh (the main character) up a similar staircase. This intertextual reference adds further information about the character.  Like Josh, John seems to be walking into a dangerous, predatory world of thugs and gangsters. In terms of story, Josh walks up the stairs just after his mother has died beside him from a drugs overdose.  Like Josh in Animal Kingdom, John in our film Transit is isolated and possibly confused, and like Josh has some hard lessons to learn. We used tracking shots in our thriller film in order to position the audience with the character, and although not a generic convention of the genre, I feel it was effective in centring the action around the protagonist. 

Extreme close-up of Beatrix's eyes from "Kill Bill"



Extreme close-up of Bill's eyes from our thriller
opening, Transit.



   Furthermore, we used a range of close-ups in order to keep the mise-en-scene tight and therefore increase the pace of the action, additionally; we used them to connect the audience with the characters emotions. For example, we used an extreme close-up on Bill's eyes as an introduction of his character to the film. Using this type of shot we were attempting to make Bill appear more threatening, therefore establishing him as a more intimidating character. Although extreme close-ups are not restricted to the thriller genre, they are often utilised in order to engage to audience with the characters feelings. For example, "Kill Bill" is an action thriller that frequently uses this type of close-up in order to establish Beatrix's anger. 

 

Tilt, Birds-eye shot used in our thriller opening.

    

Tilt shot of Harry Lime's shadow, "The Third Man".



    We also used a tilt shot in order to convey the location as nightmarish and dangerous. For example, when John is starting to walk up the interior steps of Anglia Square car park, we used a bird-eye tilt to show his hand on the rail. Using the tilt allowed us to portray the idea that John was now trapped (indicated by the array of out of line stair rails in the mise-en-scene) additionally, the birds-eye view connotes that John's vulnerability. Furthermore, through the tilt shot we have used generic conventions of the thriller genre, this is as the tilt shot is often used to disorientate and confuse audience in order to connote fear within the mise-en-scene. For example, noir thriller "The Third Man" consistently uses the tilt shot in order to emphasise Harry Lime's alienation in a foreign environment. However, I would argue that we have challenged the generic tilt shot by portraying it from a birds-eye view, which further connotes the nightmare of the character. 

Soundtrack:

   Our soundtrack was inspired by the crime thriller, "Drive", specifically from the opening getaway scene where music plays a key part in building tension ("Tick of the Clock" - Chromatics). The reason that we chose a soundtrack that resembled this was that we wanted to slowly build tension, and much like in "Drive" our opening soundtrack utilises this via the introduction of percussion instruments. Furthermore, within the soundtrack "Tick of the Clock" the music dies down near the middle to symbolize the tension reaching a climatic point and then becomes louder to symbolize the tension returning to is previously built form. This similar style is portrayed in the soundtrack that we picked "For Whom the Bell Tolls" - Oliver Ledbury, and therefore we picked this to convey the same meaning. For example, the first time John see's the white van some of the instruments cut out, making the mise-en-scene seem eerie and suspicious.

http://www.audionetwork.com/production-music/for-whom-the-bell-tolls-3_61166.aspx 
Our soundtrack, "For Whom the Bell Tolls" - Oliver Ledbury

"Tick of the Clock" - Chromatics ,the song that influenced our choice of soundtrack.

Enigma:

   Many thriller films and TV Dramas use enigmas within them in order to keep the audience guessing what's going to happen, they build suspense and evoke twists within the plot line. Utilising these enigmas can be particular effective within the opening of a thriller film, as it can fixate the audience and hold their interest for the entirety of the film. This is why our group decided to introduce a few enigmatic ideas.  

   Firstly, the antagonist, Bill, can be seen as an enigma as the only visible shots of him that are featured in the opening are the extreme close-up of his eyes, and his boot in the elevator. This leads the audience to only assume Bill's appearance as there is no clear interpretation of him; we created Bill as the enigmatic character in order to give the assumption that we don't know why he's provoking the other two characters. Furthermore, we were inspired to form this enigma based on the antagonist in "Kill Bill", this is as within the first film you don't see Bill but only potions of his body, such as hands and feet; therefore, we wanted to reference this through the use of the same name and idea.  

For example, Bill's boot in the opening of "Kill Bill" on the left.
Additionally, Bill's boot from our film, Transit, on the right.



Vince Vega looking in the briefcase, "Pulp Fiction"

    Secondly, we decided to use a bag in order to connote the idea that an item is being delivered between John and Hanna. However, we decided to not reveal what this was in attempt to create an enigma that would leave the audience puzzled and wanting to watch a feature length version. This idea came from "Pulp Fiction", whereby, a briefcase is carried around in the film and the contents are never actually reveled, in fact we only ever see a few of the characters looking in to the briefcase in surprise. Additionally, we can assume that Bill is after the bag and therefore another enigma is created as to why he would want it.   

John having a look at the note on Hanna's body.

   Thirdly, the most puzzling enigma that we have placed in our film was the card/ or note placed on Hanna's dead body near the end of the opening. We see John pick this up and look at it, however, the audience are never actually informed to what is written on it. The reason that we utilised this idea was in order to leave the audience wondering more about who's actually involved in the action, in an ambiguous sense, it may not only be Bill involved, or maybe John's in the wrong. All of these questions are what an enigma sparks and therefore become a talking point of thriller films, leaving the audience mesmerised and engaged in the action.  

Conventions of the opening to a thriller film:

   In order to best establish our production as the opening to a thriller film, we had to take into consideration the placing of the titles, soundtrack and cliffhanger in order to keep the audience watching.
   Firstly, we decided to begin the soundtrack during the opening production title. This technique is used in films such "Once Upon A Time In America", whereby, "God Bless America" - Irving Berlin plays during the opening credits. The reason for utilising this is in order to establish that the film has begun, connecting the audience with the mise-en-scene before the footage is actually on screen. Furthermore, this is effective in delving the audience straight in to the action, particularly with our thriller film, as the soundtrack pulsates once when the production credit shows and then a second time as the action begins. 

   Secondly, we used a bold, sans serif font in order to portray the names of the cast, crew and producers of our thriller opening. This is as we felt serif fonts would take away from the grit of the action, as the tailed letters looked quite traditional and sophisticated, additionally, we made the font bold in order to make it seem more threatening. Our choice of font style was influenced by the opening credits to thriller such as "A Clockwork Orange" and "Essex Boys", both of which use bold, sans serif fonts within their opening sequence. In addition, we placed the credits within the first few exterior shots of the location, this was in order to properly establish that our film was in fact a thriller opening as apposed to a trailer for a feature length film. Furthermore, thrillers such as "Se7en" and "Jackie Brown" place the credits within the opening scenes of the feature length film. 

   Thirdly, we placed the title of our film on the cliffhanger of our thriller opening. Although, in doing this there was a risk that our production may look like a trailer for a feature film as apposed to an opening, however, I feel that the title is a lot stronger at the end of the sequence in comparison to the middle as it throws the audience right into the film. Furthermore, other thrillers such as "Pulp Fiction" have utilised this technique and therefore we took influence of this in considering our title placement. 

   Finally, we felt that a vital part of our opening sequence would be the use of a cliffhanger. This is as cliffhangers keep the audience on edge, wondering round the next corner, which leads to a further fixation with the film. After discussing with each other, our group decided that just a shot of Bill's work boot in the elevator door would be most effective as it could leave the audience with a further interest in Bill's identity and a wonder of what's going to happen to John. This convention is commonly used in the opening to thriller films and TV dramas, therefore we believed the utilisation of it would be key. For example, TV drama, "Utopia" opens each episode with a thrilling cliffhanger as a point that is going to be developed in the episode.

Unfortunately, the clip cuts out before the title appears. However, the cliffhanger 
from this episode of "Utopia" is whether or not the emotionally detached hit man,
kills the young school boy.