7. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel that you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

When we started with the preliminary I didn’t know much about how to use camera and the software used to edit the footage. But the preliminary helped me get the feel of how to use the camera properly and to learn more about the editing software, I was able then to add labels and music to the film to make it more professional. As well as learning this it helped me to understand why different shots were used and the best place to use them.

Before the preliminary I didn’t understand the 180 degree rule and didn’t see the point of it but during this period I understood the reason why it is used.

This diagram shows the 180 degree rule in use. When filming the preliminary and the final product we didn’t break the rule because of the research. I realized that the 180 degree rule has a huge role in the making of a film because if its broken then it could possibly confuse the audience.

6. What have you learnt about the technologies from the process of constructing the product?

The first thing I learnt to do was to create a blog using blogger.com. I had never set up a blog before and everything on the website was new to me but I soon got the hang of it.

I then learnt how to use the camera and set it up with the tripod. The camera was easy to use once I knew how to use it to the best of its capability. We all took turns in filming but when I was using it I found it exciting.

Another thing I learnt to do was to use the editing software on the Apple Mac. The programme used was Final Cut Pro, which I learnt to use and this was used to capture and edit our film. This was used to make sure that our film has continuity and to add titles and credits to the film.

A further piece of software used was Soundcloud Pro, this was used to get music and sound effects for the film so it looks more professional to the audience.

I used Youtube to upload the preliminary and the actual film so that it can attract a wider audience. Facebook was also used to create a group so that users of the social networking site can watch the film and can allow them to leave feedback.

I think with the experience I have using these technologies I would be capable of making another project.

4. Who would be the audience for your media product?

From the start our group decided to aim the production at the age range of 15 year olds up to 35 year old males. As we had a torture scene in mind we thought that this would stereotypically be aimed towards males within this age range, this has helped us create our film.

On our blogs we had a poll in place for people to answer questions about our synopsis and our script, the questions were aimed towards our target audience of teenagers and males ages up to 35, the questions were about our synopsis and the script. We had positive feedback from people that read them and we also spoke to some people and our teacher about it and this has helped us to make the film believable and made sure that our target audience would be interested in the final product.

Before filming we showed our idea to our friends, who are also in the market segment that is targeted and they were interested and were even asking to be in it!

Phil approached two of his friends who do drama about the roles and they were happy to be in it, they also improvised and helped us adapt the script to make it seem more realistic.

As our film will be rated a 15 this means that only people who are this age and above will able to view our film, adults over 35 will be interested but the film isn’t specifically targeted above this age.

I believe males will be more interested about seeing the film as they would be able to go cinema with their mates to see it, although some girls are interested in this particular genre of film they are not going to rush to the cinema with their friends to see it.

Our film is based on the films such as taken and American psycho, despite them being different sorts of thrillers they are within the same genre. The synopsis that I wrote for the film was written after I read the synopsis of both American Psycho and Taken, I thought it would be good to try and mix the two together as these are two of my favourite thrillers that I have seen.

5. How would you attract/address your audience?

As the targeted audience are males ages between 15 and 35 then adverts in men’s magazines such as Nuts, Zoo and FHM will captivate the audience that our product is aimed towards, as these magazines are stereotypically consumed by our target audience. The customer of these magazines may also be able to read reviews about the film, hopefully they would be good but if not then a different magazine may have a different opinion.

Trailers can be shown during intervals in football matches and sports news programmes as these are watched by a high majority of males. Although expensive, television advertising is the most effective advertising as it gives the audience the chance to see and hear what the film is about. Our target audience may not be interested in sport but some might be interested in teen dramas such as Skins, these programmes can be targeted for advertising as these will be watched by the audience that the film is aimed at.

Billboards are also another method of advertising, buses can be used for posters, this is a good method as the target audience will be using buses most days as they have to travel to school, college or work. So wherever they go they will see the advertisement for the film.

Internet and social networking sites such as Facebook have become an increasingly popular method of advertising movies. Facebook has millions of users across the globe and many of our target audience will have an account put to regular use. Users of the social networking sites will be able to click on links which will take them to a site that will show a trailer where people can comment. This takes me to Youtube, videos can be posted on here for the world to see and it’s free. This is a quick, cheap and easy way to advertise as uploading videos is free. And they don’t take long to upload.

Viral marketing is the most crucial advertising method to have as once people have seen the film then its important that they enjoy it so they can tell their friends and family who will be interested in seeing it as they will trust their opinion more than any company that try to advertise it.

Evaluation

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

Our media product fits into the genre of a thriller film.

Film Title

The group all had an input for the name of the film as we all came up with different ideas. We ended up with the name In Justice, as this fits into the feel of the film as its about a corrupt lawyer who tortures and kills the clients he believes are guilty. The name of the film appears at the end of the opening sequence. We decided to have it at the end as we didn’t want to interrupt the audiences attention towards the scene as the name could distracts them from the film itself.

Location of filming

As a group we tried to think of a location that would make the torture look realistic and connote to the audience that this is a serious scene. I ended up asking my friend if we could use his garage as it’s a bit untidy and grotty and looked a true to life location that a torture would take place. He ended up agreeing to us using it so we booked the camera and was ready to film. The garage was a great location as its spacious and allowed us to film from good angles to entice the audience. We also decided to use a deck chair as the chair that the victim was sitting on as we thought that this added to the uncomfort of the victim and made the lawyer look more weird and crazy as it looks like hes just improvised with the surroundings.

The first shot of the lawyer, or Michael Goldberg his name, walking into the garage and pulling the pillow case off of the victims head sets up a tense atmosphere and connotes to the audience that this is going to be a thrilling opening as this torture technique is seen in many gangster films and films in a similar genre.

We used a pag light filming the opening sequence to allow continuity through mise en scene.

Throughout the torture scene we hear the victim (Johnson Payne) screaming and trying to tell the lawyer that he has a family and he doesn’t know what hes talking about as he believes that he didn’t kill the woman who hes being accused of killing. As a group we thought that the build up of aggression and frustration of being accused would be taken out and Johnson ended up retaliating from the accusations by insulting the lawyer who reacts by shooting him in the leg.

We decided to use a gun in the scene as we knew that we could edit it to make a real gun sound and add to the reality of the scene. As we didn’t have the access to good make up and realistic props that the experts have we decided to use the gun which is not normally used in torture scenes as it seen as ending it quickly so we had the lawyer shoot the victim in the leg so the scene wouldn’t end as fast.

The torture scene shows typical conventions of a thriller, such as the scene where the lawyer is shouting at Johnson asking him if he likes the pain, which is kind of similar to the torture scenes in Reservoir Dogs and James Bond Casino Royale.

In Reservoir Dogs we see the torturer having a laugh and a joke with the victim after he has been serious with him. We decided to follow the basis of this torture scene as this is voted one of the best thriller/gangster films of all time.

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

I have decided to compare our protagonist, the psychopathic lawyer Michael Goldberg to Mr. Blonde from the Quentin Tarantino film Reservoir Dogs.

These characters are represented as being psychopathic mad men as they have the ability to be crazy and commit horrible actions on people.

In the Reservoir Dogs Mr. Blonde torture scene we see him turn on the radio and torture the police officer in a jokingly sort of way by dancing and playing around with a knife. As a group we thought this was a good idea as it goes against the typical conventions of a torture scene in a thriller film but it still manages to grab the attention of the audience.

We decided that the lawyer should joke around and tease the victim but no to the extent that Mr. Blonde does as we aren’t capable of filming to that sort of level.

In Reservoir Dogs Mr. Blonde is a character who is open and doesn’t really care for anyone else but himself, the character Michael Goldberg is also represented in this way in out film as the victim is begging him to stop by saying he’s got a family but the lawyer doesn’t care which is similar to the police officer in Reservoir Dogs who begs Mr. Blonde not to kill or hurt him.

There aren’t any real differences in the two characters apart from the obvious difference in storylines but I think we created the same mise en scene by the clothing of both characters and the way that they both torture in the two scenes.

But overall they both represent men who have a mental problems and psychopathic but strong minded ways about them. They both have issues and problems that they take out on other people, in these cases a police officer and a client of a crazy lawyer.

In both films there isn’t any attempt to make the character mysterious, which is what sometimes occurs in thriller films and especially in torture scenes. We did think about trying to hide the identity of our protagonist but we decided it would be too difficult, as we don’t have the filming skills to maintain the mystery.

Textual Analysis

For my textual analysis I decided to watch American Psycho starring Christian Bale as a psychopathic killer. 

The audience are captivated by the director from the very beginning as we see the protagonist Patrick Bateman speaking to a lady in a rude manner, we then see his daily routine of getting ready which perceives him as being a psycho. 

His first killing is performed in a disgusting way as is all his murders. The way he treats women throughout the film is derrogative, he believes that he is the best. 

Patrick Bateman is also a very competitive man, he competes with his work colleagues over silly things like business cards. 

Another main part of the film is the sex scene between Patrick and two other prostitutes, he films himself with them and we see him flexing his muscles in the mirror which makes him look vain and flash. One of the women find some of the tools that Patrick uses on his victims, she tries to escape from the flat but he hunts her down and manages to throw a chainsaw down which kills her. 

Patrick then begins to go mental, he tries to put a cat into a ATM machine to which a woman passer by sees, he shoots her in the chest and runs away from the police and manages to escape, he signs into a flat and enters it crying, still crying he makes a phone call that goes straight to answer phone, we hear that its his lawyer, Patrick leaves a message confessing to all the murders and sick things that he has done. 

In the morning after his confession he puts on a surgical mask and then goes into the wardrobes to clean all the dead bodies out, but the place is clean and its been repainted white.  

we then see Patrick talking to his lawyer the next day, he questions the lawyer about the answer phone message but the lawyer says it isnt possible that he has committed all these crimes. 

The next scene shows Patricks secretary going through his note book and finding some sick drawings page after page.  

The film ends with a narration of Patrick talking about whats happened and when the camera zooms in to his eyes at the very end we see a sign behind his head which reads, This Is Not An Exit. 

My Role

In our group we all shared responsibilities for each component of the film. We decided to do this to stop arguments and so that will all had an input. Each person in the group shared 33% of the work. 

Script

• LAWYERS GARAGE. NIGHT

• The twenty six year old twisted lawyer, MICHAEL GOLDBERG, is standing up with an angry look on his face as he is ready to begin torturing and interrogating the client who he believes is guilty.

• JOHNSON PAYNE, the unlucky client, is tied to a chair in his underwear, with a mysterious look on his face, and is being beaten up by Michael Goldberg.

• JOHNSON

What am I doing here? I haven’t done anything wrong?!

(emotional worried tone)


• MICHAEL

You know why you are here you prick!

(punches Johnson in the face)

You’re a murderer! And what goes around comes around.

(Continues to beat up Johnson and then begins to play with some tools he could use to torture him further)

• JOHNSON

I have a family! Why are you doing this to me? I haven’t done anything wrong!

• MICHAEL

Shut up Johnson! You think you can kill a woman and get away with it you scum?!

• JOHNSON

I didn’t kill her! I came to you to defend me but now you want to kill me you twisted prick!

(Angry tone to his voice as he gets frustrated)
(Tries to get out of the chair but is unsuccessful)



• MICHAEL

Your not gonna get out the chair dickhead! Your gonna die here!
(Begins to use some tools on Johnson)

• JOHNSON

(SCREAMS and still tries to get out of the chair)

• MICHAEL

(Laughs at Johnson trying to get out the chair and tortures him to his amusement)

• JOHNSON

NOOO! I have a family please …please… Don’t do this to me!

• MICHAEL

(Laughs)

Look at you, your pathetic, you took someone’s life and now you can’t take it so you cry about it.

• JOHNSON

(Cries and gives up hope)

• MICHAEL

(Turns away to look at the tools and picks one up)

You know what I hate most about my job Johnson?
Are the bastards like you that get away with it!

Preliminary

American Psycho

Patrick Bateman, a young, well to do man working on wall street at his father's company kills for no reason at all. As his life progresses his hatred for the world becomes more and more intense.
Patrick Bateman, lives Wall Street by day and his nights are spent in ways impossible to fathom. He's a soul-less, modern monster whose zealous materialism and piercing envy fuels his homicidal activities.
Patrick Bateman is handsome, well educated and intelligent. He is twenty-seven and living his own American dream. He works by day on Wall Street, earning a fortune to complement the one he was born with. At night he descends into madness, as he experiments with fear and violence.

90 minute Synopsis

A lawyer who is a psychopathic killer, tortures and kills the clients that he believes are guilty, depending on the seriousness of the crime that they have committed. Despite being a psychopath, the lawyer is very good at his job, he always manages to get people off.
The beginning of the film shows his latest client to be tortured in the lawyers grotty garage, the lawyer is beating the man and interrogating him. The man manages to escape from the torture and goes on the run from the lawyer, who has to find him and kill him before the man tells anyone about the lawyer’s psychopathic side. The man can’t go to the police about the lawyer though as he is already facing a murder charge so he will have to fight against the lawyer himself. The man will also have to protect his family from the mad lawyer who goes after them. the layer manages to take the mans family hostage, there is then a chase to get the mans children back.

Target Audience

It really depends on the kind of thriller film. Like all genres, there are sub-genres and to really give an accurate answer to your question you would have to specify what kind of thriller film.

Silence of the Lambs and No Country for Old Men are considered the two best thrillers in recent memory, and they're rated R. Their target audience was probably for the young male adults.

Meanwhile, there are those thrillers that are border line horror films, such as The Sixth Sense, Signs, The Village. Since they're close to horror (and horror films target teenage girls), the demographic would be slightly different, probably younger and more female based.

And then there are legal thrillers (Fracture, Runaway Jury) and crime thrillers (Memento, Se7en) that target a more mature audience and classic thrillers (any Alfred Hitchcock film) that are rated PG, but are intended for adults.

But if you just need a target audience for a generic thriller film, I'd have to say the young adult demographic from 18-25. For our film we are aiming it at a 15-25 age range, as our film will be rated a 15 certificate we would be aiming it towards this segment.

2 minute Synopsis

The beginning of the film starts with an establishing shot of the grotty garage where the twisted lawyer tortures and kills his guilty clients. We hear a narrative of the lawyer saying “you know what I hate most about my job…are the ones that get away with it”. There is a close up of the mans horrified face as we see him tied to a chair in the garage. The lawyer is beating him up and interrogating him. The man somehow escapes and the credits begin once the lawyer has tried to hold him down.

Definition of a Horror

Horror Films are unsettling films designed to frighten and panic, cause dread and alarm, and to invoke our hidden worst fears, often in a terrifying, shocking finale, while captivating and entertaining us at the same time in a cathartic experience. Horror films effectively center on the dark side of life, the forbidden, and strange and alarming events. They deal with our most primal nature and its fears: our nightmares, our vulnerability, our alienation, our revulsions, our terror of the unknown, our fear of death and dismemberment, loss of identity, or fear of sexuality.
Whatever dark, primitive, and revolting traits that simultaneously attract and repel us are featured in the horror genre. Horror films are often combined with science fiction when the menace or monster is related to a corruption of technology, or when Earth is threatened by aliens. The fantasy and supernatural film genres are not synonymous with the horror genre, although thriller films may have some relation when they focus on the revolting and horrible acts of the killer/madman. Horror films are also known as chillers, scary movies, spookfests, and the macabre.

Definition of a Thriller

Several characteristics help to define a thriller. Thrillers also have a lot of action, which is often chaotic, and they typically feature resourceful heroes and exotic settings. The plots of thrillers can vary widely. Some are supernatural, for example, centering around mystical antagonists. Others are scientific or medical in nature, forcing their protagonists to contend with biological agents or mysterious scientific happenings. Some are simply straight mysteries with clever, horrific, or intriguing antagonists, while others be focused on the inner workings of the legal system, environmental threats, technology, or natural disasters. One long-established thriller genre is the spy thriller, featuring an often heroic and dashing spy who must confront whichever enemy happens to be popular at the moment. Some thrillers are extremely intellectual and of very high quality, encouraging more educated people to enjoy them. Many such thrillers incorporate a psychological aspect, forcing people to examine the motivations and back stories of the characters to figure out the plot. Others are more simplistic, in the vein of the penny dreadful and designed to appeal to a much wider audience. Many thriller books are adapted into movies, and thrillers can also be turned into comic books and television shows.