Thriller Opening Evaluation

Megan Harvey

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge

forms and conventions of real media products?

Alfred Hitchcock
Influential Director for our Thriller Opening: Alfred Hitchcock

Born 13th August 1899, Essex England

Film Awards: 2 Golden Globes, 8 Laurel Awards, 5 Lifetime Achievement Awards.
Hitchcock in his films uses the term Voyeurs and also MacGuffins to create suspense, which
appears to be an important part of the plot concerning the characters on screen, however it has less
importance to the audience, it just helps to build the tension, and a recurring theme for Hitchcock's
films often involve the psychology behind different murders that have occurred in a film for example,
Frenzy focuses on a serial murderer.

More information on Alfred Hitchcock Follow:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Hitchcock#Themes.2C_plot_devices_and_motifs

Alfred Hitchcock was one of the most infamous British film directors particularly
involving the thriller genre, and was often called the 'Master of Suspense'.

He has directed many famous thriller films which is why we aimed to use some of
his filming techniques in our thriller, some of his films include: The Birds, North by
Northwest, Rear Window, and Psycho.

Textual Analysis for Psycho:

http://meganharvey5nrp.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/psycho-shower-scene-analysis.html
http://meganharvey5nrp.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/textualanalysis-psychointroductionto.html

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge

forms and conventions of real media products?
Influential Director for our Thriller Opening: Alfred Hitchcock

Alfred Hitchcock was one of the most infamous British film directors
particularly involving the thriller genre, and was often called the
'Master of Suspense'.
He has directed many famous thriller films which is why we aimed to
use some of his filming techniques in our thriller, some of his films
include: The Birds, North by Northwest, Rear Window, and Psycho.

Ideas and Theories:

Camera shots to capture the emotion: Hitchcock believes that the camera is a key way
to show the audience what certain emotions different characters are feeling, and the
camera can be placed in different positions so that it can either increase the intensity of a
shot, where he thought the camera would be able to capture the most emotion. We used
this in our thriller to show the three girl characters shock on their faces when they discover
that a mentally teenage girl has escaped from a near asylum, however they recognise the
girl as they used to bully her as a child. Therefore we used close ups of Hayley, Nicole, and
Megan's face to show the audience that the characters were affected by the news report.

Point of view editing: This technique allowed Hitchcock to show the audience how the
characters react physically and emotionally easier to make the audience more involved
into the film. Again we have included this idea into our thriller as it shows the characters
watching the TV, which is then followed by a close up of the TV, where the point of view
editing ends with a close up of all three characters faces to show the characters
shock/fear.

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge

forms and conventions of real media products?

Two Things Happening at Once: In many of Hitchcock's films he creates two different
contrasting situations in a scene and uses two unrelated situations at once to build tension.
This makes the audience focus on one situation, which is then usually interrupted by
another to take the audience by surprise. We tried to include this element into our thriller
opening, as Hayley goes to check in the bedroom as she has heard a noise and is
therefore going to check whether it is the escaped girl. It is then interrupted by Nicole
walking into the kitchen were she walks passed the window, and the escaped girl is not in
fact in the bedroom she is at the kitchen window unknowingly to Nicole.
Red Herrings and Twists: These are often seen in many of Hitchcock's films so that it
keeps the audience guessing, for example it's used in 'Psycho' when the plot is about the
money being stolen it then changes to Norman Bates murdering Marion, and any others
that get in his way. In our thriller we make it look as if the girl is going to be discovered by
Hayley, and the suspense builds as she walks into the room, however it is Nicole who
unsuspectingly walks into the kitchen, and this then makes the audience feel less tense as
the tension was aimed to be built when Hayley walks into the bedroom. However it makes
more of an impact when Nicole cannot see the girl at the window as it makes it more
unexpected, and also when the girl appears inside the kitchen.

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real
media products?
Knowing who The Perpetrator is: In our thriller the characters know that the girl has
escaped however, Hayley convinces them that she wouldnt seek revenge on them so the
tension drops as the film at this point feels relaxed, however when Nicole later walks into
the kitchen, the perpetrator is standing at the window, and shortly later she appears
actually in the kitchen behind Nicole, and only the audience at this point can see the
escaped girl, whereas Nicole is completely unaware that the girl is behind her.
Music - To set the tone and mood of the film: Our film contains music particularly at
times of high tension for example when Hayley opens the wardrobe door we build tension
through the use of quite high pitched music so that it makes the audience use their
imagination to picture what could be inside the wardrobe, and whether it is the escaped girl
or not. There is also music in the opening credits when the our names appear so that it
sets the mood for the film, as the music will be quite slow and will show that even though
the film when it first opens will have a sense of normality, it will soon involve tension by the
tone of the music at the beginning as the horror/thriller genre will be easy to identify.

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and
conventions of real media products?
Silence is Sound: Hitchcock emphasis the importance of sound in many of
his films, however he also identifies that silence can be just as important to be
able to build tension effectively. In the scene in the kitchen we use silence in
our thriller when the escaped girl (Rianna) is at the window, without Nicole
knowing, and this creates tension as the silence makes the girl unpredictable,
and the audience dont know whether Nicole will turn so she sees the girl or
whether she will jump out, the silence helps the audience to use their
imagination to fill in the gaps as to what could be happening next. Shortly after
the silence however our end credits with the film title appear, and the music to
follow is quite slow and low pitched, as the opening ends on a sort of cliff
hanger for the audience to guess what could happen next.
'Blondes Make the Best Victims': This is one of Hitchcock's famous quotes
involving the casting of his films, he claims that Blondes make the best
victims. Theyre like virgin snow that shows up bloody footprints. In our thriller
we do have two blonde characters, and in at a certain point Hayley looks quite
vulnerable when she goes to check what the noise in the other room was,
however we have also challenged this idea as the real victim is our brunette
character Nicole when the girl is unknowingly standing behind her. However
later in the film all three of the characters are victims of the girl who seeks
revenge from the three girls who bullied her in the past, where she goes on a
bloody rampage for what she has suffered.

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real
media products?
Mise-En-Scene:

Our mise en scene was similar to that of Hitchcock's in Psycho as we wanted to make
the three girls look isolated in their own home which is what Hitchcock does well with
Norman Bates' house. And it shows their vulnerability to the situation as they are three
teenage girls put in a difficult situation, and later on in the film plot it shows their
isolation and vulnerability as the phone lines are cut, and the electricity is down. The
house they are in is just outside of town so it makes it difficult as the film continues for
the girls to escape, or receive help. This also follows a Hitchcock convention as the
isolation is in a normal setting and environment, therefore it makes the audience less
likely to suspect what could happen.

Spiral Staircases: In our thriller we did not use this Hitchcock convention of using the
stairs to build tension, he believed this added feelings of confusion for the audience as
they dont know what to expect at the bottom of the stairs. Instead of using a close up
of the stair case to create mystery, we used a close up shot of Hayley's feet when
walking down the hallway as like the staircase it builds tension as the audience have to
guess what could happen next and where this shot is leading to.

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

Typically in a thriller film the villains are usually associated with being male characters,
however we have a female cast in our opening, with the villain being the escaped girl.
However the hero in our thriller film will not be introduced until after the opening so the
audience won't immediately know who the hero is, as he is a part of a police investigation
into finding the escaped girl to try to end her revengeful rampage. We based the idea of a
female villain from the film 'The Ring'. The characters in our film follow the
typical convention of a thriller as the characters are three young girls
who are typically seen as vulnerable as again they are home alone and
shows their isolation and innocence.
Unrestricted Narrative: our thriller opening contains an element of unrestricted narrative
as the audience can see where the antagonist is in the kitchen, however Nicole is
completely unaware that the girl is watching her, which creates more tension, as the
audience won't know what is going to happen, which Hitchcock often liked to use in his
thrillers as it makes the audience fear the protagonist as we can see what could happen
however the characters don't.

We got this inspiration from the film 'The

Strangers' when the antagonist is watching
the protagonist in the shadows without her
even knowing.

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real
media products?
Lighting: In our thriller we use various lighting to highlight different moods and tones to
the opening, for example to start with we use quite bright lighting in the living room to
show that the three girls at this point have an element of safety in the room, as like in
the shower scene in 'Psycho' the bright light to start with makes Marion look safe and
innocent, however the opening lighting becomes darker as the girl becomes closer to
seeking revenge.

We also use bright back lighting when we see a close up of Rianna's face as the escaped
girl as it makes her look more sinister to the audience, and it also helps the audience to
make sure that she is visible as our opening is set at night. We often use quite dull, dark
lighting in our thriller as it progresses, as it creates more of a scary atmosphere to create
tension and uncertainty, as it is unknown to the audience whether the girl could be lurking in
the dark or not.

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge

forms and conventions of real media products?
Sound:

Our film opening involves the use of silence as we use it when Nicole walks into the kitchen
and we see through the window Rianna's face, however we still keep this part silence as it
unnerves the audience as they don't know what to expect next, and whether their could be a
part where the scary character jumps out or not.

We use high pitched music when Hayley begins to open the

wardrobe to check whether the girl is in there or not and to start
with the music is quite slow but it begins to speed up the closer
she becomes to opening the wardrobe. This helps to create
tension, as it makes it look as if something is building up to the
girl actually being in there, however after it is opened the music
stops showing a sense of relief for both Hayley and the audience.

Footsteps and creaking doors is also a convention that we have

used in our thriller, the footsteps are heard when Hayley is walking
down the hallway as it adds to the uncertainty of what the noise
coming from the room was and it also builds mystery. And the creaking doors make the
audience aware that the door in the living room has opened itself, and the noise adds to the
eeriness and isolation.

In the end title credits music is used to show that the film will become a more darker plot
line, and that as the music sounds slow and dark, which fits in with the black background
and writing, which was inspired from the film 'Shutter Island'.

In what ways does your media product use, develop or

challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
Camera Shots: camera shots that we included in our thriller were; close ups, medium
shots, over the shoulder shot, point of view shot, high angle shot, panning shot, extreme
close up.
We based the close up shots of
Hayley's feet walking to check the
noise on the feet walking up the stairs
in 'The Ring' as it shows uneasiness of
what will appear in the room, similarly
we also used an extreme close up of
the door handle when Hayley goes to
check the room.

In our opening we start with a crane

shot sweeping down similar to that
in Scream to set the scene and
make the audience aware of the
surroundings, and introduces the
mood of the current normality of the
scene.

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

When Hayley goes into the room to check

where the noise is coming from we use a
over the should shot so that the audience
can clearly see the mirror without being
able to see the camera in the reflection,
and it also builds tension as the audience
don't know whether something is going to
come out of the wardrobe and the odd
angle disturbs the audience similar to the
over the shoulder shot seen in What lies
beneath.
We use a close up shot when the
antagonist is revealed, similarly to the
close up shot in Scream as this
immediately scares the audience as the
way the shot is edited, it makes the close
up cut away quickly so shocks the
audience.
When the three girls are having a
conversation we mostly used medium
shots like this shot shown in Scream as it
reflects the normality of the conversation
and it makes the scene look normal, and
therefore when we wanted to create
tension we used a variety of camera shots
that would show the audience the normality
has disappeared and the camera shots
sometimes become more odd.

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

Our thriller uses close up shots to capture a

characters particular emotion similar to that of
Hitchcock's The Birds as we use this to show
Hayley's slight fear as she has to go check where
the noise came from as she was the only one that
heard it coming from the bedroom. Close up shots
are good at capturing emotion as it catches the
expression well making the audience aware of the
characters reactions to events.

Lighting: the lighting in our thriller is very

minimal when the tension begins to build, which
we found inspiration from the horror/thriller
Insidious as we thought keeping the lighting dull
and using very little lighting helps to build the
tension as it creates mystery and the audience
don't know where the girl is going to be, and
becomes the key lighting in the scene behind
Nicole.

For the reveal of the escaped girl we used

lighting on a close up shot of her face, the
lighting creates shadows on her face which
helps to build tension and conceals parts of the
face from the audience, the under lighting helps
to create a distorted effect similar to that in
horror thriller The Conjuring'

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real
media products?
When we reveal our antagonist character (Rianna) and the protagonist (Nicole) in the
kitchen scene we use an inspired shot sequence from the film The Strangers as we thought
it built tension extremely well as it shows the antagonist in one shot, then the camera angle
changes so that the antagonist for a brief moment isn't visible. The camera shot then
changes back to where the antagonist was only to discover they have disappeared from the
shot, which builds tension well as it makes the audience question where the character has
gone, as shown in the following shot sequences.

How does your media product represent

particular social groups?

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Characters: In our thriller 'Asylum' the three girls and the escaped character in the
opening are made up of four teenage girls who are having a typical teenage 'girls night in'
in front of the TV, which means that not all social groups are represented in the opening.
We used this setting as it was an easy setting to show the normality of the situation, and
how this can change into something the complete opposite when put in an unusual
situation. In the horror/thriller genre teenagers are quite common as this age group is also
a big target audience for film makers, and it also shows that teenagers are vulnerable
when put into a dangerous situation which makes them good protagonists in the thriller
genre as a typical convention for characters in thrillers is that they find it difficult to start
with to cope with the situation that they are in and this is easy to show with young
protagonists rather than using an adult character. The setting the thriller opening is based
in is a common, normal setting for horror/thriller films and also for everyday life, however
the situation that they are put in is not common or completely realistic.
Actors/Actresses: the actresses that we used are teenagers as the thriller will appeal
more to a teenage audience, and if the characters are roughly the same age as the
audience then they will be able to relate to them easier, as the characters are doing normal
teenage activities.
Location: the location was chosen based on we wanted to make the setting seem as
normal as possible by choosing to film in a normal house setting, this would then make the
thriller more tense as this situation could happen to anyone.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Music: The music that we have used in our opening doesnt represent any social group in
particular, or follow any stereotypes, the music that we do have is made with the use of
string instruments to create a high pitched sound which creates a sense of panic as we use
this when Hayley checks a noise, and also when the escaped girl is revealed. In our title
sequence we also use music that is again high pitched but it is a much slower pace to give it
a creepy tone to the scene.
Dialogue: there is limited dialogue used in the opening so that it
Does not give away too much information, the dialogue used
includes the news report and a brief discussion as to why the news
report was turned off, which gives the audience a clue that the three
girls know the escaped girl and the reason behind it. Dialogue is
also used for reassurance when Hayley discovers that the girl isnt in
the bedroom, then after this the dialogue is limited as the growing
silence makes it more tense when the girl is revealed at the window.
Lighting: a lot of the lighting in the opening for our thriller is low key
lighting as we wanted to create a contrast of light and dark in the
scenes and to create shadows so even if there was light present,
there would be a darkness hidden away in the shot.

How does your media product represent particular social

groups?
Behaviour:
The behaviour of the three teenage girls is quite stereotypical as we portray them as
doing normal things such as watching the TV and at one point Nicole and Megan are
playing on their phones which fits in with a typical teenage stereotype as teenagers
are seen by others as 'always being on their phones.
The behaviour for the escaped character is clearly unusual behaviour, however if we
developed the film later on the audience would be able to understand why this
abnormal behaviour has occurred, and the backstory behind the three teenage girls
and how the bullied the escaped girl in the past and shows that her behaviour was
once normal, and how that bullying has had consequences in changing her
behaviour, as it has resulted in the girl having serious psychological issues.

How does your media product represent particular social

groups?
Clothing:
The clothing for Riannas character is not very visible in the opening scene, however
we have dressed her in a dull white/grey gown as it then makes it obvious to the
audience that this is the girl that has escaped from the asylum, and is seeking her
revenge on the three girls due to them bullying her at school in the past.
For the three teenage girls the clothing that we have used is just casual clothing
which includes clothing such as jumpers and jeans. We selected this clothing so
they looked stereotypical to their age group. We chose casual clothing as it makes
them look more relaxed in the setting to begin with, and it shows they are
comfortable around each other which shows their friendship.

How does your media product represent particular social

groups?
Comparisons With Other Thrillers:
The Strangers: The Strangers is a similar film to ours as it tells the story of
a woman who is isolated in a cabin in the woods by a group of assailants
who terrorize her. We the idea of isolation of characters from this film as it
really builds tension well, and also the genre of this film is a horror/thriller
the same as ours. The film is also the same certificate rating as ours so
then we could see what sort of content we were able to use by looking at
the content in this film as it showed us the boundaries of how far a
horror/thriller can go. We also used a similar shot sequence to that in The
Strangers as mentioned before in my evaluation, we used a similar shot to
this as we felt it built tension incredibly well as the character appears in one
shot then disappears in the next camera angle.
The Ring: we compared The Ring to our thriller opening as like ours it
emphasises the vulnerability of teenage female protagonists in thrillers,
which is a typical convention in many horror/thriller films. In this film opening
however there are only two teenage girls, whereas our film features three
different teenage girl characters. The characters in The Ring also have
American accents, and the film is set in America whereas our opening
doesn't. We used our normal accents as this would make it more of a
British film which would most likely be aimed at the independent film
industry, rather than a major company.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Black Swan: The film Black Swan can be compared to our thriller as
there is a real emphasis in the film on the different types of lighting
used to create tension. The lighting in Black Swan portrays the
difference between good and evil particularly well in the opening scene,
the Swan is in bright, white lighting to show her innocence, whereas the
evil swan is shown in dark, shadowed lighting clearly shows the
audience what the characters are like. We use a similar idea to this as
at the beginning of the opening, the three girls are in a much lighter
environment compared to when Nicole and Hayley go into other rooms
where the escaped girl could potentially be present. The lighting in the
bedroom and kitchen is therefore much darker than the living room as it
portrays the difference between safety and danger in the setting.
Shutter Island: In Shutter Island the film deals with how psychological
issues are portrayed, and so we used this portrayal to base our
characters and look at the behaviour of people with psychological
issues, and how people can change from normal behaviour for them to
be seen as abnormal according to past situations. In the film the
character Teddy Daniels has discovered his wife has murdered their
children which sets of a psychological trigger in his mind which changes
his state of mentality from the trauma. In our thriller the escaped girl
was bullied by three girls for many years which triggered her
psychologically resulting in her being taken to an asylum, which is why
she escapes to seek her revenge as the bullying she suffered affected
her mentality long term.

What kind of media institution

might distribute your product and
why?

What kind of media institution might distribute your

product and why?
Film Companies: I have researched a variety of different film companies both major
companies such as 20th Century Fox and Warner Brother Studios, to what sort of films they
produce and distribute. I also looked at some independent film companies some of those
including Film 4, Momentum Pictures, and Big Talk Productions. For our thriller opening I
think that a smaller independent film company such as Film 4 would be more likely to
distribute our product, we think that this company would be more appropriate and suitable
for the target audience as the film is aimed at a teenage audience and features teenage
characters. Film 4 have had success with teenage aimed audiences with films such as: This
is England, and Attack the Block.
Film 4: Film 4 is a British independent film company which is owned by the Channel 4
Television Corporation, and often provides funding for many independent films. In 1998 the
company name was changed and was previously known as Channel Four Films and also
Film Four International. According to the Film 4 website, their innovation for backing and
creating film is to work with established and emerging talent, supporting them to tell unique
stories and connect with audiences in new ways. They aim to engage audiences, find
innovative talent, and those that may try to explore the media, and possibly challenge the
traditional media.
http://www.film4.com/film4-productions/innovation-at-film4

What kind of media institution might distribute

your product and why?

Momentum Pictures:
Momentum pictures was is now part of a conglomerate with Entertainment one, and are
one of the biggest distributors in the UK, we think that this company would be more likely
to distribute our thriller more than others as they have distributed various thriller films
which are aimed at an audience of 15 and above which is what our target audience is,
therefore it would be more successful. They have distributed thrillers such as The Woman
in Black 2: Angel of Death and Insidious: Chapter 2 which is the same horror/thriller genre
as our opening.
http://www.momentumpictures.co.uk/

What kind of media institution might distribute your product

and why?

Cinema:
The types of cinema that our thriller could potentially be shown could include:
Multiplex, Megaplex, IMAX, or Independent Cinemas. Multiplex cinemas are
ones which contain will include roughly around 6-10 screens, which gives people
more choice when going to consume films.
Independent cinemas however contain only a few screens, and are usually
known for showing more independent films so that it gives them an opportunity
that they may not have with a multiplex cinema, there are very few independent
cinemas compared to multiplex cinemas, however an example of one of the
more known independent cinemas would be Cinema City. If we were able to
choose which cinema we would distribute our film in we discussed that a
multiplex cinema such as Vue or Odeon would be better for film distribution as
they would gain a bigger and wider audience than what am independent cinema
would as there are more multiplex cinemas across the UK and would give us
more of a chance to create success as the box office if we had the right funding
rather than an independent as it may not receive the same size audience.

What kind of media institution might distribute your product and

why?
Advertising Campaign:
To help to promote our thriller we would need to use advertising to generate an
audience that may be interested in our film. Advertising is a powerful tool into getting
audiences to be persuaded into viewing a product, and can be done so by using a
variety of ways. Marketing methods from major film companies will include things such
as using TV interviews with actors that star in the film, radio broadcasts, trailers on TV,
posters, billboards, and social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook to attract
audiences of all ages. Independent companies however will use some of these
marketing campaigns as well, however if they cannot receive the same funds that a
major company will usually have then they have to look at other methods of achieving
audience interest. For example they will use viral marketing as a way of gaining interest
as it is a cheap way to do so, and can be accessed by a variety of potential consumers.
Again like major film companies, independents will use social media sites to promote
their film as this can be also be accessed by a wide range of audiences.
For our advertising campaign we would use TV, posters, and radio broadcasts so that it
could be accessed by all different age, or gender audiences as well as using the internet
and social media sites such as YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook. Using the internet is a
fast, and cheap way to promote and distribute the advertising of the film, and therefore is
a good marketing tool to use as we want as many different types of audiences to see the
promotion of the film as possible.
Megan Harvey

What kind of media institution might distribute your

product and why?
Examples of films that have used viral marketing:

Toy Story 3: This film released in 2010 used viral marketing

to help promote the release of the film, to do this it released
viral video campaigns that contained footage of old and new
characters from the Toy story films to create interest to the
audiences, there was then a Facebook application which
allowed people to buy tickets in advance through a website
and whilst doing so the information would be posted to their
friends on Facebook so that it would market the film further.
This was a successful viral marketing campaign as it
collected more than $1 billion in sales. Pixar also used
billboards, posters and trailers on YouTube which has
received 1,325,791 views, as well as trailers on TV.

Paranormal Activity: Released in 2009 this also had a

successful viral marketing campaign, using Twitter as one of
its biggest marketing tools. The film was produced with a
reasonably small budget of $15,000 however with help from
it's hard hitting marketing campaign it grossed over $193
million, Twitter was used to encourage users to 'Tweet their
Screams' which meant writing reviews of the released trailer. If
the film received enough online interest the film company
Paramount would then launch the film nationally, which
created a lot of interest within audiences.

Who would be the audience for your media

product?
We think our media product 'Asylum' would be given the age rating of a 15 by
the British Board of Film Classification as the film is aimed at a teenage
audience, and features teenage characters, however with the horror/thriller
genre we think that it would not be suitable for anyone under the age of 15.
http://www.bbfc.co.uk/what-classification/15
At 15 there can be strong threat and horror as long as there is no
sustained focus on sadistic or sexualised threat.'

There is a strong threat in the opening so that it can emphasise the danger
that the three girl characters are soon to be in. However throughout the film
there is not focus on sadistic or sexualised threat.

'At 15 violence may be strong. It should not dwell on the infliction of

pain or injury, however, and the strongest gory images are unlikely to
be acceptable.'
In the opening there is little physical violence however there is a slight
threat of violence from the scary character as the audience will realise that
the character will potentially put the three girls in danger if the girl is near.
Violence will become stronger as the film continues however in the opening
we felt that using the threat of violence would make enough impact on the
audience and it wasnt necessary to show it in the first few minutes.

Who would be the audience for

your media product?
Discriminatory Language
There may be racist, homophobic or other discriminatory language,
and the work could explore themes relating to this.
However, at 15 the work as a whole must not endorse discriminatory
language or behaviour':

In 'Asylum' there is no use of any discriminatory language as the theme of

our film does not relate to being able to explore the use of this language
therefore it would make it inappropriate to our thriller, and also to the age
rating. The theme of our film is about a series of murders that happens
when a girl with psychological issues seeks revenge.

Behaviour:
'dangerous behaviour such as hanging, suicide and self-harming
should not dwell on detail which could be copied. Whether the
depiction of easily accessible weapons is acceptable will depend on
factors such as realism, context and setting.'
Our thriller opening as well as the rest of the film doesnt contain any theme
relating to hanging, suicide or self harming, therefore it doesnt give
vulnerable audiences particularly teenagers the opportunity to be able to
copy any potentially dangerous behaviour if it is depicted to vividly.

Who would be the audience for your media

product?
Language:
There could potentially be a great deal. At 15 there is no upper limit on the
number of uses of strong language (e.g. f***). Occasionally there may be
uses of the strongest terms (e.g. 'c***'), depending on the manner in which
they are used, who is using the language, its frequency and any special
contextual justification.
In Asylums opening we do not include any strong language as we feel that it
would have been unnecessary to do so at this point in the opening, making it
inappropriate however if we continued to make the film then we would have used
stronger language to depending on circumstance and context as this can be
applied to this age rating, but at the same time we dont want the language to be
too influential to teenage audiences.
Sexual Content:
At 15 sexual activity can be portrayed, but usually without strong detail.
In the opening there is no talk of sexual content, and it also isnt portrayed as
sexual content would have no relevance to our opening and would there for make it
inappropriate to our opening. Later on in the film if continued there would again be
little sexual content as it doesnt relate or surround the theme of our thriller as it is
a horror thriller so focuses on the murders by the escaped girl.

Who would be the audience for your media product?

Comparison of Films Rated 15:
The Ring: The Ring is similar to our thriller as it is set in a house setting, we also have
a house setting and similar locations, and like our thriller there includes a disturbing
character that creates a thrill for the audience. We chose to look at this film as it also
has a 15 rating, therefore we could see the boundaries of what content could be
selected particularly in areas where violence and threat of violence were concerned.
For example we use the threat of violence as we see the escaped girl outside the
kitchen window, then when the camera shot changes she appears in the kitchen
behind Nicole, the scene then goes silent followed by a black screen with the credits
appearing, and a scream which shows that there is a threat however it is not shown
which lets the audience use their imagination without depicting it in detail.
Sinister: Sinister is the same sub genre as 'Asylum' and so we could again see the
sort of content that would be deemed as acceptable in the horror/thriller genre as this
type of thriller is particularly prone to the use of violence, and swearing etc. in Sinister
there is a series of murders which would be similar to ours if we continued with the film
as we also have a series of murders in our plot. In Sinister there is a weapon that is
being carried however it is not actually depicted as being used which makes it
appropriate as it is then not imitable behaviour for an audience and if we continued to
make the film past the opening we would use a similar technique of using weapons
however we would not allow the audience to see it being used so that it could not be
copied or influence any audiences.

For more Information follow the link:

http://www.bbfc.co.uk/what-classification/15

How did you attract/address your audience?

Questionnaire:
We created a questionnaire on Survey Monkey which aimed to help us find out what type
of audience we should be looking at when deciding on what sub genre we wanted our
thriller to be. We used the questionnaire to see what audiences preferred best and
whether our ideas would work with specific types of audiences as we included questions
which asked people how old they were and their gender so that we could see what
different age groups and genders typically like in thrillers. We also asked which sub
genres people preferred so that we could get some inspiration of which sub genre to
choose.
In the questionnaire we also ask whether an audience prefers the antagonist and the
protagonist to be male or female or whether they do not mind as we wanted to see what
gender would suit the characters that we were going to have best. The results showed
that most people didnt mind who was the protagonist and the antagonist, however there
were a few who voted for the protagonist as being female which we eventually decided to
go with.
We also asked how much dialogue that an audience prefers, and if they prefer the title
sequence in the opening or closing scene, and responses that we had were that people
usually preferred the credits in the opening scene, and it didnt matter how much
dialogue was included in the opening sequence.

How did you attract/address your audience?

Questionnaire Results: For this question it showed us that 60% of our audience
wouldnt mind if the antagonist was either male or female, and those that did prefer a
specific gender was also balanced out, therefore it gave us some freedom on who to
choose as the majority of the audience didnt mind.

How did you attract/address your audience?

Questionnaire Results: This question shows that 40% of the people we asked didnt mind
if the opening credits were in the title sequence, and another 40% preferred them at the
beginning. Only 20% preferred them in the closing sequence which helped us to decide
that we were going to put our opening credits in the beginning of the opening.

How did you attract/address your audience?

Questionnaire Results: from the people that we asked we discovered that most people
like the horror/thriller sub genre best as it received roughly 65% of the votes, with
psychological and mystery thrillers following closely. This then helped us as before we
released this survey we were considering basing our thriller sub genre either on the
horror/thriller or psychological thriller sub genre.

How did you attract/address your audience?

To attract and intrigue and audience to our thriller

opening we used close up shots of Hayley walking to
attempt to keep our audience intrigued when she goes
to check the bedroom. We used this shot in particular
as we hoped it would be an effective way to create
tension as it would create a sense of danger as it is
unclear were she is walking to. We also used a similar
shot to create the same effect with the close up of the
door handle which again was used to show that this
was a part where we wanted to create tension.

Another shot that we have used to attract the audience is

a high angle shot when Nicole walks into the kitchen, as
even though Hayley has called out that it is safe, with this
shot it still makes it look as if a presence still exists and
creates a small amount of potential threat as someone
could be watching her.

How did you attract/address your audience?

In the opening we use a news report on TV which we filmed
separately so that the audience would know clearly that the girl
has escaped and the reason behind why the three girls are in
danger as they bullied the girl for many years previously. The
news report hints at the audience that the characters could
potentially be in trouble if the girl is spotted in a near area. The
lighting in the news report is quite dark and it is set up in a
graveyard which adds the tense effect.
The sound that we have used in the thriller changes pace
according to the tone that we wanted to create in a particular
scene. For example when Hayley looks in the wardrobe the
music becomes slightly quicker and more high pitched so that it
puts the audience on edge more. The music when Nicole is in
the kitchen is more low pitched and slower as we wanted to take
the audience by surprise and make it look as if Nicole is a more
safer situation than Hayley was, however as soon as the
escaped girl is revealed at the window the music once again
becomes quicker and more high pitched.

How did you attract/address your audience?

Panning Shot:
To introduce the setting we used a panning
shot that comes down from the ceiling in the
living room so that the audience can get a clear
view of the surroundings, and introduce the
three characters in the scene.

Point of View Shot:

We have included a point of view shot when the
three girls are watching the news report, as we
wanted to emphasis the importance of the
information that the audience need to see from
the report, as it gives a clue to what could
happen in the plot line.

How did you attract/address your audience?

Close Up Shot:
When Hayley goes to check the noise we used a
close up shot of her so that the audience could see
her emotions and that even though she seems brave
by going to check, there is also a clear sense of
uncertainty which is shown well by using this shot.
Medium/Close Up Shot:
We used this shot so that the audience would be able
to see Nicole standing to the side and also so that the
audience could see the window as in the previous
shots the girl was standing near where Nicole is so it
surprises the audience when the camera shot
changes to this and the girl has disappeared.
Long Shot:
This shot was used as it allowed the audience
to be introduced to the three main characters of
the opening as it again sets the surroundings
for the audience and it also shows clearly that
these characters are teenage friends as it
shows there clothing and behaviour well.

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of

constructing this product?
Hand Held Camera Movement:
l
When we filmed Nicole walking through into the kitchen we
used an over the shoulder shot and walked behind her without
the support of a tripod as we wanted to try to create a slight
shaky movement behind her as this shot then looked as if
there was still some sort of danger present, as there could
potentially be someone walking behind her as it follows her
footsteps. We could have also used a tripod to make this shot
however again we wanted to create the effect as stated above,
and we believe that by doing so it would create more tension
for the audience despite the camera shot being a few seconds
long. Also the tripod would have been more difficult to use as
the hallway was too much of a tight space to get the tripod in
the position that we would have wanted it to go.
l
Often in our thriller we used this type of camera
movement/shot as we thought it created a good tension
building effect in the scenes that we needed to, and we believe
that it worked well when it was used. However we also think
that if we did this project again that we would make more use
of the tripod so that we could use it to make more zoom shots
and keep it steady at the same time as this was one of the
drawbacks of not using a tripod, and it will also make it look
more professional.

What have you learnt about technologies from the

process of constructing this product?
Tripod:
We made sure that we used the tripod for some of the shots
for our thriller opening as it allows the camera to be
completely still in a variety of shots, whilst keeping its
sharpness and clear definition of a shot.
The tripod was particularly useful when trying out panning
shots in both the preliminary task and for our thriller opening
as it allowed the shot to flow more smoothly than being held
free hand. However for the panning shot that we used in our
thriller opening turned out to be quite steady by using the
camera free hand so we used this method instead of the
tripod.
The tripod also became useful in creating the perfect frame for
the news report as it allowed us to keep the medium shot
looking professional so that it looked more realistic rather than
holding the camera free hand.
For the close up shot of Hayley's feet walking through the
hallway, we were going to use the tripod to do this and then
zoom in so that it was closer to the floor however we decided
to balance the camera on the floor as it gave us a more
sharper shot instead of using the tripod to zoom as it was
closer.

What have you learnt about

technologies from the process of
constructing this product?

What have you learnt about technologies from the

process of constructing this product?
Disadvantages of a Tripod:

The tripod was useful for panning shots to keep the

movement steady however it only had a limited
range of movement and could not create a full pan
on some shots meaning that it would have been
difficult to use this shot if we had wanted to.

If we had used the tripod more it would have also

been more time consuming when filming as they can
be quite heavy and awkward to adjust to get the right
height, and position correctly and so this was one of
the main reasons that we did not use it that much.
There are also many different types of tripod which
would have meant if we used them regularly that we
would have to get used to setting up the tripod every
time we used it which would again slow us down
instead of being able to use the same one, as other
groups may have needed to use the same tripod so
availability of the tripod was also a factor that we
needed to consider.

What have you learnt about technologies

from the process of constructing this
product?
Mirror Filming:

In one of the parts of our thriller we filmed Hayley looking

into the wardrobe as she has heard a noise coming from
the bedroom, on the wardrobe there is a mirror so we had
to take into consideration how this shot should be filmed
without getting the person filming or the camera in the
reflection of the mirror. To do this we had to film it at an
angle so that only Hayley could be seen in the mirror, which
also built tension as it may have looked like another person
was in the mirror before she opens the door. We used this
angle as we thought it was the best way to keep the person
filming out of the shot. We had tried various other shots
beforehand with the mirror for example a high angle shot
however we soon saw that this didnt look as good as the
shot we used from the side angle. We also tried getting the
shot from behind Hayley but there was no way that this
would have been successful as from wherever we stood
the person filming would be in the way of the shot so
eventually we chose to stand on the left hand side with an
angle so that both Hayley and part of the mirrored door
could be seen in the shot.

What have you learnt about technologies from

the process of constructing this product?
Editing:

To edit our thriller the software that we used was Adobe Premier Elements.
Firstly we uploaded the files onto the computer, so that we could filter through
all of the clips which we needed as we had several outtakes of some shots in
the opening. After we found all the footage we needed we then transferred and
uploaded into the software so that the footage could be arranged in the correct
order which could then be edited using the software and it's various tools.
Editing Tools:

Different editing tools that we used and were available to us in

Adobe Premier Elements included the use of being able to cut
down and place together various different shots that we needed so
that we could take out the unnecessary parts or merge shots
together. Adobe also allowed us to be able to slow down or speed
up shots, as well as being able to change the sound by increasing
the volume or muting certain parts, and highlighting specific
sounds we wanted the audience to hear. And the lighting in certain
shots were also changed using this software so that it could create
tension when needed and create different themes.

What have you learnt about technologies from

the process of constructing this product?
Timeline/Arranging Footage:
The timeline in Adobe Elements was the most useful tool that we used as it allowed us
firstly arrange all of the footage that we had and separate all the clips that we didnt
need, as it allowed us to drag the required footage so we could then begin the next
stage of cutting and editing the footage as well as being able to see how long the clips
were for our thriller in case it was too short or too long.

What have you learnt about technologies from

the process of constructing this product?
Lighting:
In our thriller we needed to edit some of the lighting as some of the shots had a red-like
effect on them and so we needed to use the software to change the lighting to how we
wanted it to be like. The tools available allowed us to make different shots darker and
lighter, as well as being able to change the colour all together, without having to do any refilming as we were often happy with the shot, but not the lighting. In the shots we had to
make sure that the lighting matched up with the other shots as otherwise the colour would
have looked odd and have different colours in various shots which wouldnt have looked
good. In the opening were we wanted to create tension we would often make the lighting a
lot darker, and when the scary girl character appears we would emphasise the lighting so
that it was specifically on her.

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of

constructing this product?
Title Credits:
To edit in our title credits we simply froze the opening shot for a few seconds, then we
added some text and changed the colour and font from the standard text. We changed
the text colour to white so that it stood out on the low lighting background. We then
used the animation tool so that the title text for would fade in and out, so this along with
the sound creates more tension. The three different cast names were placed in different
positions on the title screen the first name appears on the left, followed by the second
name on the right then the final name at the bottom of the screen also fades in and out.

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of

constructing this product?
Fade Screen:
In one point of our thriller, we needed to show that a short amount of time had
passed and so to do this we edited a shot so that it faded slowly to a black
screen so that the next shot could begin completely separately from the
previous shot, and therefore it wouldnt confuse the audience as it made it clear
that time had passed in the scene. We also edited it this way as it built tension
slightly as it was left on a cliff-hanger as the previous shot was when it was
discovered the girl had escaped. To do this we selected the transitions option at
the bottom of the timeline then we selected the dip to black option to create the
effect.

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of

constructing this product?

Audio Change:

In some of the scenes we wanted to either emphasise a piece of audio, or we

wanted to make a specific noise quieter. For example when Hayley walks into the
bedroom we wanted to emphasise the creaking door as the door already creaked
so to do this we increased the volume of this particular sound to build tension. And
again we used this to increase the sound of the dripping tap. This was a useful tool
as it allowed us to edit specific pieces of audio without having to re-film any shots
as we could use the sound we wanted in the clips we already had. We also wanted
to use this tool as we wanted to keep in some diegetic sounds as well as nondiegetic sounds in our thriller which was added in later over the top of some of the
clips.

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of

constructing this product?
Sound/Music:

To add sound to our thriller we selected music that we thought was appropriate to build
tension and to fill in the background. To do this again we used the timeline to add
different sounds and pieces of music, which we were also able to shorten and blend in
to the shots to fit together by using the cutting tool.

Audio Bar

Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you

have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
Preliminary Task:

Our preliminary task helped us to get used to using the camera and also with using
the editing software as we had never used either before to create a project like this
so we thought that this task was extremely useful. It allowed us to begin trying out
different camera shots that gave us some inspiration in 'Asylum'. We also had to
learn the 180 degree rule which is a basic filming rule which involved to
people/characters having to have the same left and right angle as each other,
otherwise it breaks the rule and makes the shot look odd.
Problems with the Preliminary Task:

We had to film several of the shots again as many of them to start with broke the
180 degree rule as to start with we were unsure how it worked, however after a while
we grasped the concept of the rule.

Another problem that we faced is with the continuity as we had to make sure that we
had the same clothing as we had on the first day of filming as we filmed the
preliminary tasks over the space of a few lessons which held us back to start with,
as we originally did not consider that we'd need to look back at the footage so that
we could pick out these errors.

The setting for this task was in the school, therefore it didnt really help us to be able
to experiment with creating tension etc. as it was a completely different mood/setting
to what we wanted to create in our thriller.

Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have
learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
How the Preliminary Task Was Useful:

The preliminary task helped us quite a lot as we had never created a project like this
with a camera, or used the Adobe Premier software, so the preliminary task helped us
to practice a variety of shots both with and without a tripod.

We learnt how to execute certain shots, which helped us to decide which shots to use
in our actual thriller as we particularly liked using the close up shot of someones feet
walking which we used in both the preliminary task and the thriller opening, as we
thought this created tension well.

The task also helped us to think about things such as the fine details that need to be
included in our thriller so that there wouldn't be errors with shots such as breaking the
180 degree rule, and also preventing any continuity errors, as we realised the
importance of each needing to be planned carefully for it to work successfully.
Development of Skill:

The preliminary task helped me to develop my skills a lot as I had never used the
editing software before, and so this taught me the ability to be able to edit the footage
we had for both the task and the thriller opening.

The software showed me how trim the different clips from the footage and put them
together so that they flowed without clear continuity errors, and I also did a lot of the
title sequence and credits editing, but both me and Hayley took part in the editing
process as we were both unsure how use the software well, so we mostly used the
preliminary task to experiment with editing tools so that it would develop our skills.

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

By experimenting with the software and editing tools it helped us to be able to create appropriate
sounds and being able to change the lighting so that it suited the tone of the setting. By having
experimented it allowed us to use the skills to build tension, and I believe that even though we
werent completely happy with how our thriller turned out we could see that we improved our
editing/camera skills compared to the preliminary task.

To start with we had Nicole, Hayley and myself in a group however the group became reduced to
just me and Hayley. Despite developing our editing skills we did have a lot of issues with the
Adobe software and at one point all of our footage had deleted, which we then had to re-upload
and edit again which happened at quite a late stage in the production. Despite this however we
did manage to recover all the footage enabling us to eventually finish our thriller, however this did
hold us back quite a lot. Overall we were happy that we managed to get our thriller completed
even if the final product didn't turn out exactly the way we wanted it as we had many issues.

If we were to do the project again we would know how to avoid having all the footage deleted so
then we would have more time again to be able to focus on the editing and of our thriller. However
I am happy that my editing and camera skills have developed through producing the thriller
opening, and if I were to do something similar to this again I would have learnt from our mistakes
and would keep a back up of the footage so that the same situation would not occur.

Another issue that we had was that often we would be filming and the battery would quickly run
low and so it limited the amount of filming we could do as we would have to keep recharging it.
Therefore next time we would make sure to use a different camera or change the battery regularly
as this prevented us from trying to film a large chunk of the footage we needed in one go.

Megan Harvey