Thriller Evaluation - Callum Horncastle

(I've put all the questions into one blog post, just to neaten up the blog itself.)

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

My project uses the conventions of thriller films by using many commonly used features in thriller films, such as low key lighting, and enigmas.

The opening scene very quickly brings an enigma as the two characters discuss the assassin, the detective’s boss explaining that “she has no name, no records, no trace, she’s a ghost killer.”
From that sentence, the main enigma of the thriller is brought into question, who is this woman?

Most thrillers, such as Seven, open with the protagonist, who is normally a character with a dangerous job, such as a policeman or detective.
The whole film tends follow their progression, and show the challenges that they face, they are seen as primarily intelligent characters who are well dressed to show their importance in the film, for example, the James Bond films show the protagonist in smart clothing, such as a black and white suit.
If not smart, the protagonist at least wears casual clothing, such as the film Memento where the main character wears smart trousers and a shirt.
In our production of Shadow Shot we also followed the main character, who is the detective, and has a good posture and smart clothes.

Thriller films tend to show the protagonist to be injured at some point in the film, and then to make a fast recovery to proceed in creating a good ending in the film’s plot.
Shadow Shot also does this, during the end of the project, where the protagonist is shot in the leg by the antagonist.

     

Throughout the production we used a good combination of editing and sound together, using fades and dissolves to show the progression of time, and cuts during scenes with a faster pace to increase the tension.
We also took camera angles and shot sizes into account, using extreme long shots for some scenes, other shots close ups, rarely did we use medium shots.
We used high angles and eye-levels for the ‘client’ to show his vulnerability, which later showed he was indeed vulnerable, as he was shot by the assassin.

In two scenes we also used canted angles to show the lack of control from the good characters, the first canted angle was a POV from the dead client, this was to signify the antagonist taking the briefcase.

The second canted angle was when the detective was shot in the leg, this showed how he was now completely vulnerable and defenseless.

    

We did not just use the main conventions of thrillers, but we also challenged them.
We did this with our antagonist.

Most thriller antagonists are male, who are powerful and strong, and are a very difficult opponent for the protagonist to face head on.

In Shadow Shot, our antagonist is a female, who relies on stealth and deception to sneakily dispatch her targets.

       

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

Our production represents a few social groups, such as social class.
Our characters have a relatively high standard of class; they are well spoken and wear casual – smart clothes, opposed to tracksuits and hoodies, which would show a lower class.

One of the characters who was not overly important in the thriller had a lower class, showing he is more insignificant.
He wears jeans and a hoodie, this could also possibly be another social group, ethnicity, as he is the only black person in the production, and was the lower class character, and the only character to die.

Question 3.

What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

Technology and the online world has become the centre of most things now, I would distribute my media product via online means, so it is easier to see, and more likely of gaining popularity.

YouTube is the best example and choice for distributing my media product.
The video is free to watch, meaning many people will come to watch it.
With monetization, YouTube pay me to display adverts on top of my video.
So overall, it’s a win-win situation, as I pay nothing, but get paid over time.

I can also use Facebook as a means of distribution.

Sharing links between friends would get the video seen quickly, and it can be shared over and over again.

The original link would direct back to YouTube, so it still counts as a YouTube viewing, meaning I can still be paid for advertising.

Question 4.

Who would be the audience for your media product?

Our thriller is aimed to teenagers and young adults, primarily males.
This is because our thriller contains action and a relatively fast pace, unlike some thrillers that rely more on enigmas and a slow, tense pace.

Our production is straight to the main enigma of catching the antagonist, without the psychological elements of some thrillers.

This makes our production ideal for young men who are hungry for guns, fights, and action.

Question 5.

How did you attract/address your audience?

I attracted my audience with sound and mise en scene mostly; the opening music for example, was fast paced and made to sound like a thriller / action film.
I had the music professionally made by a friend of mine, who is a musician.

As for mise en scene, I used many different elements to bring the thriller to life.
Costume, the characters all had different, yet fitting clothes, shirts for the main characters, a hoodie for the side character, and a black leather jacket for the antagonist. These different costumes portray the personalities of the characters, allowing the audience to understand who they are better.

Hair was also a big element used, our characters hair were rather out of the ordinary for the antagonist and protagonist, the antagonist’s hair being long with a crimson colouring, and the protagonist’s being natural brown and shaved on the sides, but the top and fringe is bleach blonde.
 

 

These hair styles / colours stand out and are outside the box, making the characters more interesting and captivate the audience more.


Body language also played a part, mostly during the scene with the client as he exits the wooden double doors, his nervous facial expression and shifty movements showed he was afraid of something, most likely the assassin.

 

 

Lighting was very extraordinary. 
Even though the production is a thriller, we used natural lighting during the middle of the day, we didn’t rely on darkness and shadows to create tension, instead we positioned the characters in certain places to make anticipation.
  
For instance, the assassin going up the stairs to go indoors, we don’t know where she goes after that, leaving an enigma.

When the detective finds the client’s body, the assassin is nowhere to be seen, so there is another tense moment of not knowing where she is. 

 The music creates a level of uncertainty, and the sound of the mobile phone ringing creates another enigma, the assassin remaining hidden all the while.

This use of positioning created the same level of suspense and tension as any other thriller that relies on darkness for tension.

Question 7.

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

I have learned a great deal since the preliminary task, mostly in sound and camera work.
For sound, I’ve learned how to properly use music and Foley sounds to their best extent.
I learned how to properly use volume control to make the music easy to hear, but not so it overtakes the diegetic sound in the actual video, along with controlling the Foley sounds, for instance, in the scene where the protagonist is shot in the leg, the gunshot is much quieter than the first shot in an earlier scene, this is because the gun is located further away.

In regards to camera work, I’ve learned a whole lot more about good angles and shot sizes.
The preliminary task “The Interrogation” had a very small variety of shots.
The majority of the shots were medium shots, with constant shot-reverse-shots.

  

The full project had a much larger variety of shots, with a greater range of angles and shot sizes.