In producing the opening to our thriller production we were drawn to certain points that needed to be followed to create the atmosphere required in order to create suspense. One of these elements required is enigma, enigma code refers to the devices used by a narrative in order to create questions in the mind of the viewer. The main questions that were raised from our production are “what happened to the female character” and “how did she die?”. While in the church the main character experiences a series of flashbacks showing him walking through a wood with his girlfriend, the viewer is given an impression that this is where the female character died however her death is not shown during this opening. We originally intended to show the murder scene during these flashbacks but then decided not to as it leaves the audience with unanswered questions that will be revealed if they continue to watch. This technique is called restricted narration, where certain aspects of the narrative are omitted to the viewer in order to create intrigue, as opposed to unrestricted narration which allows us to see everything that happens.
Mise en scene is a very important part of any thriller as it helps to establish the mood of the scene, the costumes of the characters in the church helped to show that it is a sad occasion as all of the characters are wearing black indicating that it is a funeral. It is also clear who the vicar is, as he is dressed in a black robe, dog collar and carries a bible. The mood is sombre in the church, created by the music and the facial expression and body language of the characters.
We used shots of different features of the church including the image of Christ on the stained glass windows and the golden statue of the eagle are used as iconography to give dramatic effect as the window signifies the death of Jesus by showing his crucifixion and by the eagle being a large bird of prey.
The main protagonist is the main character who experiences the flashbacks of his girlfriend, at the end of the opening he makes an early exit from the funeral suggesting that he is determined to resolve the situation. The antagonist does not make an appearance in the opening so is yet to be exposed which adds to the enigma. Black and white was used for the flash backs to make them distinguishable from the present and also to suggest that not all of the events are clear to the protagonist.
How does your media product represent particular social groups?
Our product generally represents white, British, young adult citizens. Both males and females take part in our production, one of the female characters is only present during the flashbacks and it is clear that she is in a relationship with the main protagonist. This is shown by them holding hands while walking through the wood, the male characters reactions during her funeral which indicate that he has strong emotions for her and the lyrics in the music “This is you and this is me” strongly define their relationship.
From their appearance during the flashbacks they look like two very ordinary people, we represented them in this way in order to raise further questions in the viewers minds as to why she was murdered, and also so the audience may empaphise with the death of a seemingly innocent person.
All of the actors in the church scene are wearing black which shows that they have respect for the deceased girl, their facial expressions during the ceremony backs this up and gives the impression that they are good people.
After each flashback that the main protagonist experiences his body language shows his increasing distress as a result of the events that he is reliving. This tells the audience something very important about this character, that he will not let it rest until there is justice. This is also where the binary opposition becomes clear between the protagonist and the antagonist who has not yet made an on screen appearance.
What kind of media institutions might distribute your media product and why?
Two of the thriller films that we researched in order to make our product were “What lies beneath” and “Se7en”, These were distributed by 20th Century Fox, DreamWorks and New Line Cinema. This shows that these distributors would be good distributors for our product as they take films from this genre, however these are very large distribution agencies which means that it is unlikely that our thriller would be distributed by these companies. On the other hand Pathé have distributed films such as “The Blair witch project”, this is a low budget production which used amateur film footage, showing that they are interested in more than just high budget, high profile film makers. Internet distribution is also a possibility for our product, for example it could be uploaded onto Youtube. This is completely free and gives the film a global audience and the opportunity to become recognised and possibly sponsored.
Who would the audience be for your media product?
The main target audience for cinema is 16-24 year olds who are predominantly male, meaning that this would be a good age range to target. Also because of the psychological elements of our product as well as the murder scene shown later on in the film it would be suitable to give it a certificate 15, however the content is not overly violent and there is an element of emotion which could attract the female audience as well as males.
How did you attract/address your audience?
We aimed to target both males and females between the ages of 16-24 as this is a popular age group to view films in this genre. The fact that all of the characters present in our production were between these ages, should help to achieve this as they would be sympathetic to their peer group. Viewers may also be drawn in by the mystery of what happened to the female character (how and why she was killed) etc, and therefore may want to continue watching in order to discover the facts. The audience may also sympathise with the situation of the main character after he loses his girlfriend which may attract them into watching.
What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
I feel that my knowledge of filming and editing has improved as a result of constructing this product. I used a dolly for the first time while filming which allowed us to film tracking shots of the character much more smoothly than if it were a hand held shot. I also feel that my skills in editing have developed as my understanding of continuity has improved. Although we did not use Garageband in our final production we did experiment with it which taught me many things about the program and its value as a tool. My ability to use the different features on iMovie has increased, for example I now know how to adjust the different volume levels of each track in the video.
Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
I feel that the general quality of our work has increased since the preliminary task, the planning for the foundation production was much more in depth and thought out more thoroughly. We spent longer choosing appropriate locations to shoot our footage and paid more attention to mise en scene aspects such as character costume and body language. A higher variety of shots were used to make the product more interesting, for example the tracking shots. One very important thing that we made sure of was to film each shot more than once, this was essential as it allowed us to choose the shots that fit together continuously and that were to the standard that we wanted. A problem that we encountered with our preliminary task was that the camera wasn’t white balanced at all times, so we made sure to check this continuously during the filming of our final product.
Luke Hawkins
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