. Is able to show mild nudity
. Adult and offensive language can be used moderately.
. Explicit scenes of violence can also be used moderately
. References to drugs are slightly restricted
The eighteen-year-old film category provides film makers with the ability of having to follow limited to guidelines which is why films which fall into the eighteen year old category are those which utilise all of the points mentioned above frequently. Our groups main goal was to focus on finding out what audiences looked for in a thriller, what scared them what did they expect of the killer, how would he or she strike, what would be their motive and finally who or how would their downfall come about if it even would.
To gain insight into the mindset of our target audience myself and my other group members conducted research in the form of the questionnaires. We issued our questionnaires to fellow sixth form members and in addition we also issued them to cinema audiences at the Odeon cinema Marble Arch, London at the first screenings of the new Bruce Willis thriller, “Hostage” due to the fact that are specific target audience would be present at this film. Through the use of the questionnaires we were able to gain relevant information such as the fact that almost seventy five per cent of the twenty people we asked preferred a murder mystery scenario rather then a more intense thriller scenario. We also found from our questionnaires that a good sixty per cent of the people we questioned expected the villain to be male.
In our assignment we have utilised audience theories in order to assist us in the planning of my foundation production. We selected the signs and signifiers theory in order to produce a more concise and coherent piece of work. The sign and signifiers theory consists of this; a sign is a physical form to which we associate meaning to. Social and cultural backgrounds can determine the understanding of a sign. For example, the swastika represents tyranny, evil and genocide to the world especially those of somatic heritage. A signifier is a physical form, which we can see or hear such as a gunshot, symbolises danger and the laughter of a child symbolises innocence.
Part 2: Planning the Production
In order to create a thriller or any movie one must realise that much planning is needed in order to produce an effective and enjoyable film. Firstly each member of the group produced their own ideas and after much deliberation we as group decided to pursue the idea, which consisted of a young female being stalked and then horrifically attacked by a hooded individual. Once we as a group had decided to utilise this idea for our actual film. We then each produced storyboards, this enabled us to gain some sort of insight into what our film would like and laid to rest any insecurities any group members may have had about the idea. Once we produced our storyboards we established that our film would consist of about twenty shots and would run for about three to four minutes. Although we had already decided what route our film would take and were we would film our killing scene (dark drama room) we as a group were having difficulties on deciding out for the stalking location. We were torn between two locations an alley in Church road or set of private garages in St. Johns Wood. Eventually we decided as a group to exclude the stalking sequence from our film due to the fact we were having difficulties in deciding where to film and in addition we were begining to fall behind schedule in our overall production plan. We had decided that our film would be filmed at night in order to make the film appear more sinister, this is due to the fact that people associate darkness with fear and evil. Throughout our production time we encountered difficulties in ascertaining a video camera, which actually worked properly however we eventually were able to secure a working camera. the group had decided that filming would take place at any available time slot in which all group members would attend. Our first day of filming was set for Thursday the tenth of March.
The uses and gratification theory is a vital segment of the planning of the production section of the essay. Firstly let us establish what is the uses and gratification theory. Many argue that this is the most difficult theory that we as media students must learn. We all have different uses for media and we make choices over what we want to watch. In other words, when we encounter a media text its not just mindless entertainment it does actually convey a message towards the individual viewing it, he or she may not no it but they may subconsciously be being influenced by what he or she view, read or hear such is the power of media. What makes our thriller a thriller is the fact we have utilised various aspects of other thrillers. Firstly we decided to utilise the theme tune from the nineteen seventies classic, ”Cape Fear”. We as a group decided to utilise this due to the fact the audience will be able to immediately identify our film as a thriller due to the theme music which is so widely associated with fear and terror.
Part Three: Constructing the Production
The actual, construction of our production presented are group with many obstacles, which hindered our progress. Although on March the tenth we’d had been able to secure our filming location and props we suffered a major complication on our first day of filming, the fact the camera we had been issued only filmed in black and white posed a major problem and in addition to further complicate things after we had finished filming the killing scene we realised the next day our camera hadn’t actually recorded any footage which meant we had wasted a day of precious filming time with our deadline looming we faced an uphill struggle to get our film completed. We were able to secure a working camera the following week and filmed the killing scene. In our production we utilised various props in order to make our film appeal more realistic and sinister, such as a pair of hedge trimmers, rope and perhaps the most significant prop of the entire knife, which would also be the murder weapon. We decided to select the knife as our murder weapon due to the sign and signifier’s theory because the audience would associate a knife with danger and death. One of my favourite shots is a p.o.v shot of the killer removing his tools of torture from his bag and assembling them on a table whilst the audience is able to hear the victim struggling in the background. I feel this is one of our most effective shots. We had finished filming our the main section of our film however we were nearing our deadline and still had not begun editing so it was important for us as a group to focus at this time and work hard. We were able to complete the majority of editing in the space of two solid days of hard work. In our editing we cut down many segments from our shots in order to make our sequence appear more fluid and professional. We didn’t utilise many special effects in our production, our emphasis was on simplicity. By simplifying the film the audience is able to understand what is happening and therefore gains a clearer insight into what message we are trying to convey to the viewer. We utilised two fade in and fade out’s in order to demonstrate to the audience
how systematic the killer is and also to create further tension because the audience at that period of time is unaware of what will happen to the victim thus maintaining the audiences attention which is what an effective thriller should do.
We completed the construction of our film on the 15th of April. We filmed our final shot which consisted of the killer walking down a busy road without a care in the world, this was to represent how easily the killer could infiltrate your society and leaves the audience with a daunting message no where is safe!
Part Four
In the evaluation of our finished product we found that we had many faults within our work. This stems from the lack of co-operation within our group. It is quite evident that certain group members minus the group member who was on holiday at the time had prioritised other things instead of this media assignment and were more dependant on other group members completing the assignment however when they realised that marks were awarded on group effort and compatibility they attempted to make some sort of contribution which resulted in plunging the groups work into jeopardy. I can admit myself that my contribution and perhaps my understanding could have been greater however I know that its not my responsibility to consistently chase and Harry group members who are not focused on producing a coherent and exciting piece of work thus if they were unable to work then that responsibility fell to those who were focused. One of the primary faults within our “completed” work was the how the lighting was inconsistent. One shot in particular were the lighting contrasts completely to the previous shots is the close up of the killer caressing the murder weapon along the victims face. The audience is able to distinguish easily that the ambient has become much brighter which has a negative effect in our attempt of conveying a dark disturbing image towards the audience. Another fault within our work was the fluidity of the shots within our film. Initially during editing, group members who had worked on the editing process had been able to give the film a dynamic perspective due to the way the shots just flowed and seemed natural which added to the disturbing nature of the film however after a certain group member had realised that their contribution in the eyes of the other group members had been minimal and in fact the certain group member had hindered the groups progress. The lack of fluidity is made evident in the last shots of the film when the camera zooms out from the victim. This shot focuses to long on the victims face and then cuts to he same shot, it doesn’t make sense and confuses the audience.
One of the positive comments, which can be drawn from the, “Silent Knife’ production is the use of sound. The theme music utilised in our production is effective in capturing the audience’s attention and also in creating tension through the use of the ominous orchestral music. One wonders after hearing that music what lurks beneath the floorboards of in the closet. Also I must comment on the victims acting, It enabled the audience to gain a degree of insight into how she is feeling at the time, her cries add to the disturbing nature of the film. In conclusion the groups finished product is not necessarily bad however it had the potential to be great and was not due to the immaturity and lack of focus within the group.