Final piece.

What do you feel that you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product? (Question 7)

This opening sequence compared to the preliminary task has much more advanced features in editing, this could be by the kind of transitions used now, the texts I’ve included and the title. I've also created a logo for this opening sequence although I didn't for the preliminary task.

The types of shots has also improved a lot as we use a different range of shots, we also film as many different shots as we can even though we may not use all of them just to see things from a different kind of angle, the camera movement also seems much more experienced as there weren’t much shaking and the camera was stable. 

We haven’t used dialogue in this final product, although we did in the preliminary. We felt as if it was better to leave out dialogue as the sound quality wouldn’t be at its best, and also it fits the narrative of the story as the two characters usually communicate with each other via technology/social networking sites rather than talking face to face or on the phone. 

We’ve developed the use of costumes as the characters were properly dressed this time to suit the kind of characters they were playing, we see the protagonist wearing girly-youthful looking clothes which includes a black skirt and Nike trainers, the lighting in our final movie is also better as the kind of lighting for each scene suits the correct different mood, like having the lighting much darker then antagonist comes on the scene, and brighter when the protagonist is on, this makes it clear to the audience which character is the good one and which is the bad. 

The location is something else that has hugely improved but only because this time we have more freedom of where to film the scenes, whereas for our preliminary task choices were limited as we had to work in school. I have learned of how to look at small details when shooting to make things seem obvious to audiences when their watching, for example, how a character dresses can give away their personality so using the correct costume and props would give the right idea. 

What kind of institution might distribute your media product and why? (Question 3)

Who would be the audience for your media product/How did you attract and address your audience? (Question 4 and 5)

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing the product? (Question 6)

How does your media product represent particular social groups? (Question 2)

In media evaluation folder.

Psychological thriller - subgenre conventions

There are many conventions to the psychological sub genre. An example of a psychological genre is 'The butterfly Effect' 'Shutter Island' and 'Memento' etc. The common convention within this genre are the psychological challenges that the characters have to face, for example, in 'The Butterfly Effect' the character suffers from memory black-outs where he will suddenly find himself somewhere else, confused. In 'Inception' he deals with dreams within a dream, a complicated concept, and this is reflected in the narrative, and finally 'Memento' deals with a character who has short term amnesia, and this in term also reflects to the narrative structure. 

The conventions of a psychological thriller includes a back story which is the history behind 
the situation right at the start of the main story. This deepens the psychological aspect of the story since the reader is able to more fully understand the character; more specifically, what the characters motivations are and how his past has shaped his current cognitive perceptions, 'Memento' would be an example. 

Another convention of a psychological thriller includes the common male
protagonist, it shows a deep focus on the character and their states of mind. This is mainly used in 'The Butterfly effect' which allows the audience to know that he's the main character in the film and we are following his story, we are also able to understand his thoughts. 

A third convention example of a psychological thriller would be the use of enigmas , for example in the film 'Shutter Island' the tagline used is “Someones Missing”. This makes the audience think and create questions in their mind like who's missing? There is often a complex narrative. The music always relates to the emotion of the characters or gages a reaction from the viewer, for example a fast violin is used to represent suspense and creates tension in the atmosphere.

3 opening sequences.

Analysis of 3 opening sequences in terms of:

- Location
- Characters
- Key Action
- Genre

Batman Begins –

The opening sequence of Batman Begins is very effective mainly due to it’s location, lighting and sound. Micro elements such as cinematography, mise-en-scene, sound and edit are used to set the scene and represent the characters. Cinematography, mise-en-scene and sound helped the opening introduce the location to the audience as we see sunlight flickering through trees and soon after a tracking shot of a young girl running through a garden of flowers and a young boy chasing after her. We first hear a voice over of children’s laughter from a distance as the opening starts of with the flickering, however, as the children arrives into the shot, the laughter seems less of a distant. The location is set in a peaceful garden of flowers which was a memory for one of the characters childhood, the garden seemed perfect and colorful almost dreamlike. The lighting in this extract was natural as it was from daylight, although the sky started of bright, it got darker as the opening went on.

In the opening, we are introduced to two characters. One being a young male who goes by the name of Bruce Wayne, and another character, being a young female called Rachel Dawes. Micro elements such as mise-en-scene are used to represent these childhood friends to the audience by the use of their performance as they’re playing around in the garden chasing each other over a rock that they've found. However, later on in the opening, after waking up from his nostalgic dream in a prison, we see Bruce as an adult and he becomes represented as the protagonist of the movie, waking up in jail however confuses the audience as to if he’s an antagonist or protagonist, creating enigma. This is done by cinematography as Bruce was regularly used in shots of the ‘Rule of thirds.’ This makes the character seem more appealing and powerful which conforms a stereotypical protagonist. Editing also represents him as a protagonist by the shot reverse shot of Bruce and another imprisoned character, this build up tension and also allows the audience to see the differences between the two characters, as the other male is presented as tough and dominant with many fighting scars on his face, whereas Bruce is presented as decent and calm although when he did fight back, he was strong enough to overcome the antagonist of the opening sequence. 

A key action takes place in the opening which was of when young Bruce fell down the well, editing was used as we see Bruce fall in a slow motion, this creates a comical as well as emotional affect. As Bruce lands, shot from his point of view, we see a black cave, and a few seconds after many bats flying out of there. This enhances a sense of realism and the audiences involvement in action. This scene foreshadows of what’s to come in the future of the movie as Bruce then becomes ‘Batman’ although this made him develop a phobia of bats. 

The title isn’t clearly introduced into the sequence although they did show Batman’s logo made out of bats in a clear orange sky. This movie has a range of different genres which includes action, adventure and crime. The opening sequence represented the genres of the film by the violence that was used and to know how bats affected Bruce later on in the movie, it represents crime because of the location used in the opening sequence which was a jail in Asia.

Batman: The Dark Knight

‘The Dark Knight’ has a very effective opening sequence that draws its audience in because of it’s uniqueness and originality. Micro elements such as cinematography, mise-en-scene, sound and editing are used to help create this be an effective opening. As the opening starts, we are introduced to the location by an establishing shot of Gotham city, this establishes the relationship between the characters and the location. A non diegetic ticking sound is heard in the background, this creates tension and gives the viewer an impression that something is about to happen in the scene. The music is very quiet at the beginning although it gets louder as the scene starts to unfold. As the location is set in Gotham City, it’s clear that it’s more of an urban setting rather than rural as we see many cars and tall buildings in the scene. As the opening goes on, it’s also set in a bank as there’s a planned robbery going on.

In the opening, we are introduced to many characters, although we don’t see the protagonist

of the movie just yet. We start of by seeing two males in clown masks hanging out a window sliding down to get on the other side of the road landing on the roof of the bank, they are represented as criminals as they are performing a criminal act which is trying to rob the bank, the use of mise-en-scene conforms this by costume and the props such as guns and big duffel bags for holding the money. The costume of these characters are pretty much simple but also clear of what they are meant to represent, they are all wearing different but similar kinds of clown masks, each one wearing a mask which has different facial expressions. 

The shot jumps to a low mid angle to a long shot of a man standing on the sidewalk carrying a duffel bag on one shoulder and holding a clown mask in the other hand. The shot then zooms in on the mask which gives the viewer an impression that the idea of a clown has importance in the movie. By using clown masks to cover up their identity, it creates enigma for the audience as well as tension and fear as one of the common fears of people are clowns, especially ones with the haunted faces, by using this, it makes the men seem more scarier and dangerous. 

The man puts on the mask as he jumps in a car with two other men wearing similar clown masks. It then cuts to a shot of the two males on the roof top of the bank, in this shot, sound is used to represent a specific character, dialogue is used as the two men speak about a character called the Joker, this shows the viewers that these men have been hired and told what to do by a more superior character. This gives a sense of mystery and tension as the identity of this person has been hidden more than the men in clown masks. 

A key action takes place in the opening which involves in finally meeting the antagonist everyone’s been speaking of. After all the men in masks got shot, and everyone in the bank is on the ground, scared, the Bank manager uses dialogue effectively as he says to ‘Bozo’ (main clown) “Think you’re smart, huh? Well, the guy who hired you will just do the same to you.” Through his performance, ‘Bozo’ shakes his head in disagreement. After a few more exchange of dialogue, we see a close up of ‘Bozo’ crouching whilst talking to the bank manager shot from a low angle which makes him seem more powerful and superior. As he takes off his masks, we see who is revealed underneath, The Joker himself, as he says “I believe what doesn’t kill you... makes you stranger.” We see a shot of another close up, without the mask, although we do see a male character with white, red and black make up paint. Through the use of mise-en-scene, make up and costume, this has made the antagonist appear untrustworthy, dangerous and shady making viewers feel unsafe.

The title isn’t clearly introduced into the sequence although Batman’s logo did appear in the middle of a blue fire explosion against a black background. This film is a mixture of a few different thriller sub genres; it has conventions of crime and action thriller, these sub-genres play a big part in creating tension within the film. We can conform it has conventions of a crime genre as they are performing a criminal act and we can also conform it has conventions of an action movie because of all the violence and props such as guns and trifles that are being used. 

Batman: The Dark Knight Rises

‘The Dark Knight Rises’ uses a very effective opening scene which straight away sets the narrative and genre of the film. The four micro elements being cinematography, mise-en-scene, sound and editing helps create an effective opening. We are introduced to the location of the opening in a dolly shot which tracks a car leading to an open space with a private jet. Soon after everyone gets on the plane, it cuts to a bird’s eye shot of the plane as it flies off, this provides a possible interpretation of what could happen on that plane whether it be good or bad. Non diegetic music is being played in the background which has a fast beat rhythm, this heightens the sensations of danger and urgency of the audiences. The lighting of the location was also quite dark which settles for an unstable mood, audience would be able to tell that something bad was likely to happen.

In the opening, we see three hooded henchmen. The CIA Agent on the plane threatens to shoot them before throwing him off the plane if they don’t answer his questions about masked mercenary named Bane. Mise-en-scene helps to represent the mystery of the characters as they all have a black bag over their head, this creates an enigma for the audience as they don’t know who these characters are. Viewers are introduced to the antagonist by a voice over of when he first speaks. The screen shot was on the CIA Agent although we could hear the diegetic dialogue of a character saying “Or perhaps he’s wondering why you would shoot a man before throwing him out of a plane?”. This already allows the audience to know what he’s thinking, helping viewers to empathise with him. After a few more diegetic dialogue being exchanged between the CIA Agent and hidden antagonist, we see an over the shoulder shot as the CIA Agent pulls of the bag of his head which reveals to be Bane whilst saying “No one cares who I was till I put on the mask.” This invites the audience to sympathise for him although it’s not necessary as he has already planned to crash the plane. Mise-en-scene helps present the antagonist that he is as Bane permanently has a mask stuck onto parts of his face which gives him a machinery robotic voice making him sound powerful and confident, cinematography also helps as Bane is shot from a low angle whilst talking to the CIA Agent which makes him look more superior and strong.

 A key action in this extract is when Bane kidnaps Dr Pavel before crashing the plane leaving everyone else to die. This gives the viewers an impression that Dr Pavel has or knows something that Bane wants. “Calm down Dr Pavel, now’s not the time to fear... That comes later”, says Bane with the use of diegetic dialogue, he is foreshadowing of what’s going to happen after the opening as there are going to be many more things to be fearful of rather than being kidnapped.

The title isn’t clearly introduced into the sequence although Batman’s logo did appear on thin ice as it cracks. This film is a mixture of a few different action sub genres; it has conventions of crime and thriller, these subgenres play a big part in creating suspense and tension within the film. We can conform it has conventions of a crime genre as Bane’s performing a criminal act as he’s kidnapping Dr Pavel, we can also conform it has conventions of an action movie because of all the violence and props such as the guns that are being used. This would be classified as a thriller too because of the exciting plot which viewers will find exciting and thrilling, this will keep them wanting to watch more.

Analysis of Thriller Opening Sequences - Past Student work.

A subgenre is a subcategory within a particular genre, for example, Rom-Com, which is of a romance genre, although it has many conventions to also say it is a comedy, an example of this subgenre film would be ‘This means war’ or ‘Friends with benefits’. I’ll be analysing 3 different subgenres from 3 different clips from students’ past work.

Reflection: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LKBaxc1Tsw&safe=active

One of the subgenre is a crime thriller, this opening sequence is called ‘Reflection’ which relates to the story line very effectively. This subgenre is represented through the use of micro-elements such as cinematography, mise-en-scene, sound and edit. For example, a close up camera shot of a male character closing the door in front of him looking directly into the camera conforms that it is a thriller, as you can see a clear expression of his face that connotes a bad event is to occur, however, this also conforms it’s of a crime genre too as the male character is a police officer, although he seems like an antagonist.

Mise-en-scene is also used as a representation of crime/thriller as the use of props and performance conforms this. For example, the mirror in the kitchen shows a reflection of the ‘Police Officer’ going through the woman’s drawer without permission, this of course is a suspicious behaviour of a police officer which shows that this is a thriller genre as police are usually the one’s to solve crime, not create them.

Non diegetic music is also played when the police officer closes the door, the music is slow paced and quite spooky, it helps build up tension and creates confusion for the audience on whether the police officer is an antagonist or protagonist. This conforms the subgenre crime and thriller as at first audiences will think that a crime is going on as a police officer shows up at a woman’s door although the thriller starts coming along when the door is shut and the music starts playing.

Long duration takes of the police shows what he’s doing around the house whilst the female character makes him a hot drink. This shows the audience that he’s up to something as he’s looking around things that is an invasion of privacy. This conforms that it’s a crime/thriller as it is a crime to invade people’s houses without permission.

Pathogen: - http://www.youtube.com/watchv=E7A0FUvzM4&list=PL426C4E4F7D73EE3A&index=5&safe=active

An example of a different subgenre is medical thriller, this opening sequence is called ‘Pathogen’ which audience can assume that it is a type of virus or disease. Cinematography represents the subgenres as we see a tracking shot of a few dead bodies lined up on the floor with white sheets over them, this creates an enigma for the audiences as they will wonder what could have caused this. This however, doesn’t conform that it’s medical, as it looks more like it could have been a crime scene, although it does conform thriller as it’s thrilling to the audience.

Props are also used to represent the subgenre, like for example, we see a shot of a sign that says “Mask up” on a door, and behind that door we see a dead body covered in a white sheet. This conforms the idea of it being a medical thriller as the dead character could have died from a contagious disease or virus, which is why people entering the room must wear a mask to prevent themselves from catching it.

Micro element sound is rarely used in this clip as we only hear non-diegetic music and nothing else. However, although we don’t hear much except from the music, the music strongly conforms that this clip is of a medical/thriller genre as it’s a sharp and eerie soundtrack. We hear sharp sounds within the music that can make the audience think of sharp objects used to operate the body with.

Edit plays a big part in representing this subgenre as the effects used in the opening sequence clearly conforms the clip being a medical thriller genre. For example, we would see very quick and flashy shots of blood and cells which has to do with the human body, which relates to the whole genre.

Firewall: - http://www.youtube.com/watchv=UP5ZBp4Pxr0&list=PL426C4E4F7D73EE3A&index=17&safe=active

A third example of a subgenre of a thriller would be technical thriller, which has to do with computing, secrecy and agents. This subgenre was represented by the use of cinematography, we see a tracking shot of the computer wires which conforms the fact that it relates to technical.

Mise-en-scene micro element is also used by props, for example, we see a written letter to the president, and an agent bringing the president into a safe setting. This also conforms the subgenre of it being technical as this has to do with secrecy and agents. However, this gets the audience thinking of how a computer hacker can have relevance to the President, this could conform the thriller genre as it’s more serious than any other computer hacking schemes before.

The non diegetic music in the background whilst having shots of the computer, wires and keyboards on screen conforms that it’s a technical thriller as the music sounds techno-like, a simple song that could easily be made on the computer which has relevance of what they’re trying to show us. 

Se7en.

In this essay I will analyse the film Se7en and the aspects that makes this film a thriller genre. I will discuss the audience, narrative, genre and representation which are all shown by the use of mise-en-scene, sound, cinematography and editing. 

The film Se7en was directed by David Fincher, and released on September 22nd, 1995. David Fincher is also known for directing other films such as 'Fight Club' and 'The curious case of Benjamin Button.' This means he is well known which helps promote the success of the film because of his previous experiences. This film was distributed by New Line Cinema, which is an independent institution that has made other films such as 'Final Destination 3' and 'The Notebook.' This movie has a budget of $33,000,000 and produced a gross of $316,400,000 worldwide. Se7en has a use of many well known actors such as Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman, this would have an effect as they would have brought in a wider audience.

 

Seeing as Se7en is a thriller, the primarily target of the audience would be the fans of the thriller genre. This would make the target market mainstream. The target market would also be fans of Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman and David Fincher, furthermore, the audience could be people who can relate to David Mills and William Somerset as their jobs are to be detectives. However, the primary target audience is more likely to be men as the male gender is significant in this media text. Detective Mills has a wife who he loves very much and would do anything for, some of the male audience could relate to this, although the secondary target audience would be females who are attracted to Brad Pitt. Primarily the target age for this audience is middle ages, partly because the film is rated 18 but also because of most the actors played in the movie are played by adults who has a job and a family. There wouldn't be a specific ethnic target as the protagonist, Detective Mills and Somerset are both of different race. 

Se7en follows a linear narrative, there are only four stages of this film, although some can argue that there are really only two as there isn't really an equilibrium at the beginning or the end of the movie as nothing is ever stable or calm, however they did solve the case of finding out who the murderer was. This film links to the thriller genre because of the mise-en-scene and the narrative devices that are being used. For example: The props used in the title sequence gives away the genre of the movie. At the very beginning of the title sequence, we get shown an extreme close up of an open hand book which the pages are being turned, this could connote that this is the opening of the story. It then cuts to a black and white picture of two crooked hands with a red line going between them, this red line could represent the danger and death in the theme of this film. Later on in the title sequence, we then see the character cutting out the word 'God', which could be another theme of the film as it has to do with something religious. All of these small glimpses of what the character is doing creates enigma as it leaves the audience wondering what they are doing, and why. The director also uses different techniques of editing, one of which, where it jumps from shot to shot, this is used so that the audience can get a rough idea about what the movie is without revealing everything leaving the audience wanting to know what all the props such as the blades are used for, as it resembles death or pain. A non diagetic sound is then heard, which is of creaking to create an uncomfortable atmosphere. The sounds also sound sharp and dangerous like it was done by the instruments used by the character (the blade). This once again, relates to the theme of death or pain. 

        

       

    

During the 'chase scene', the director uses mise-en-scene to build up mystery. The antagonist's identity is kept hidde, this is an enigma code of a thriller. As the identity is hidden, it creates a sense of the theatre of mind for the audience. The audience doesn't know who the antagonist is or what they look like, the costume of the character is evident, dressed in black which connotes death, evil and mystery. The director uses cinematography, a steadi-cam shot in this scene which makes the audience feel like they're part of the movie. As the scene is fast paced and tense, the audience can feel the suspense David Fincher is trying to create. During this scene, incidental music is played and diegetic sounds of a woman screaming, this increases more tension. This is then followed by a surprised gun shot, the prop being the gun itself is a convention of a thriller. The scene contains low key lighting which strengthens the mystery of who the antagonist is. In this particular scene, Detective Somerset is represented a calm and sensible character as he doesn't go straight into the chase. Whereas Detective Mills is represented as aggressive  determined and impatient as he chases the antagonist straight away. An example of mise-en-scene is Mills's performance, he presents himself as confident and strong, however in reality he's weak and vulnerable. The fact that the chase is set in a busy everyday location adds to the idea of realism. Also, the weather reflects on the mood of the movie, as it constantly rains which makes it seem sad and depressing.

In the 'ending scene' cinematography shows that all three main characters are involved in this scene. The weather has changed to a much positive and brighter vibe, as there is no more rain and only sunshine. Whilst they are in the car, different sides of each characters are shown which creates confusing for the audience. For example: Mills aggressively picks on Doe, this could suggest that Mills could be a mix between protagonist and antagonist in this movie. It is another convention of a thriller when the protagonist is used as a red herring, Mills gets annoyed by this though Doe carries on manipulating him. This represents that Doe has control over Mills. When Doe says to Detective Mills that he has a souvenir, a low angle shot is used, this enhances that in this scene Doe is superior to Mills. Mills as this point is at rage, and continuously questions Detective Somerset "Whats in the box?" which is an example of verbal codes as well as theater of the mind. During Mills questioning, he raises the gun to the antagonist's head, this is an example of visual codes, and it's shown through his body language. When Mills has the gun against Doe's head, it's shot in a low angle which now shows that Mills is superior to Doe. 

A narrative convention is used when we see a different side of the character, which is when Detective Somerset slaps Doe. Throughout the whole film the audience would have learned that the two detectives are binary opposites towards each other as Somerset is calm, experienced and old, where as Mills is aggressive, a rookie and young. Cinematography creates anticipation as the close up of the box is shown, however the audience cannot see what's inside the box which creates suspense, this is an example of theater of the mind, which is another convention of a thriller.

To conclude, thrillers maintain surprising evens and se7en abides by this. However, there are some unconventional aspects of a thriller, for example the 'Chase Scene' is a convention of an action movie which goes against the typical conventions of a thriller. Typical conventions of a thriller would include: Red herring, theater of the mind, cheap surprises and sounds that gives tension. The use of mise-en-scene creates a mysterious mood which gives away to the genre, the use of cinematography develops the narrative device and the use of sound effects boosts the audience's emotions. It is clear from my analysis that the aspects combines in this movie is to make this film a genre a thriller. David Fincher's message about this film is to show how dangerous and unexpected society can be with all the crimes commited by many unexpected people, it tells us that we live in a dangerous society and Fincher is trying to make the audience think about the 'Seven deadly sins' that they have commited.

Preliminary task.

Our brief was to make a short media artifact that demonstrated we understood continuity techniques. The continuity techniques we had to demonstrate were match on action, 190 degrees rule, shot reverse shot, dialogue and open and across the room. We used these techniques in our video to practice them and to show that we understand how to use them properly. 

During our production, there were a few challenged that we had to overcome, such as during the pre production, there were problems of loosing the story board, which made us lose time on filming as we had to re-draw it again although it didn't take too long. There were no problems organizing props and costume as we wore our own clothes and got a useful 'detective badge' from the drama department. However, the setting was a problem as the first room we were using to film in had to be used which resulted in us having to find another room, making us lose more time. The second room we were filming in too had a problem as the lighting in there was odd, it shows this by seeing one scene lighter than a different shot of the same scene. This caused a problem for filming as it didn't make the scene look as serious as it should have, there were also problems with the acting as there were some laughter and actors accidentally looking into the camera. Also, the actors weren't too sure when to start acting as the director didn't give proper instructions or directions. Thankfully, there were no problems with technology or organisations.

Next time, to achieve a better task, we should plan out what room to film in and make sure it's free rather than losing time looking for another room. It'd also be a good thing to keep organize and not lose the storyboard so we can get straight to filming next time instead of having to draw another rough and quick sketch. 

- Unfortunately, for the moment, I am unable to upload the video onto my blogger and I'm not sure why although I will keep trying. 

Media Consumption.

Media consumption is the sum of information and entertainment taken in by an individual or group. It includes many activities such as interacting with new media, reading books or magazine; watching television or films; listening to radio and so on.

We all use many different kinds of media every day, it would include little things that you would do as a daily routine, such as using your mobile phone, listening to the radio, watching TV and even surfing the internet.

One of the many things that I do which involves the media would be watching films, either on television or the internet. I would usually prefer to watch horror films, or sometimes comedy depending on the mood. One of my favourite horror films to watch would be Nightmare on Elm Street, this film is a hybrid as it has three genres; thriller, horror and mystery.  Another one of the things I do which involves media is listening to music. I do this either through my phone, the internet (youtube, soundcloud), or the TV. I listen to many different type of genres, some mainstream and some subculture, such as Dubstep for example. Although dubstep is my favourite genre, my favourite artist is an R&B singer, The Weeknd. The third example of what I do which involves in using the media is I occasionally read gossip magazines for entertainment purposes, such as Heat, Ok!.. etc. The last example of another thing I use/do which includes media is generally using my iPhone which has many socialising apps such as Instagram, WhatsApp, Twitter and Tumblr.