Fairytale Wedding.

Audience feedback on my Thriller 'The Fairytale Wedding' (Wordle)

This Worldle shows all of the words the audience used when discussing their likes and dislikes about my Thriller. As you can see There is a mixture of words.

Evaluation of Q1)- Conventions of Thriller genre.

Here are some scenes from my Thriller, the fairytale wedding. Below i will discuss and show some scenes of films where i found my inspiration for my movie.















As You can see these two images are very similar, this is my inspiration for the door scene. After watching the flight plan, this scene in particular had a lasting affect on me because of the horror on the actors face. I felt i could portray this in my film for a different reason. In The Flight Plan the women's horrific face is due to not being able to find her daughter, whereas in my scene, the wives horror is due to her husband catching her as she is about to escape from her abusive marriage.

Although the abuse shown in my Film is very different to the abuse you see in "The Burning Bed", i received much inspiration from this film. Because this story was also based on a wife being abused by her husband after marrying him. I made sure there were definite changes in my movie from "The Burning Bed" over wise i would simply be copyrighting. For example, in "The Burning Bed" the wife murders her husband, whereas in my film, the wife is still suffering abuse from her husband. Furthermore the abuse in my movie was a scar, whereas in "The Burning Bed" the abuse was bruises and injuries.

















My Door Scene was inspired by this scene in "The Burning Bed", when i saw the mans face, i knew from this moment onwards something bad was going to happen. I was overwhelmed by this feeling and felt the urge to portray such a strong message in my scene. I believed that if i ended on this scene then the audience would be left in suspense to what will happen next, with the grooms face embedded in their minds.

















Here is the abuse scene, my inspiration once again came from the film "The Burning Bed". When i watched the film i was blown away by the abuse, and how the man held the power in the scene, i decided to bring this affect forward to my abuse scene. As you can see the husbands body language shows he has the strength in the scene, he is blocking the wife from view, showing she is not seen as a whole person, she is powerless against the abuse she is about to suffer.











I was inspired by the film "sleeping with the enemy", the way the vicious husband had such a hold on his wife's life. In the above scene in particular, i love the way the mans face appears strong and invasive, and how the woman's face appears timid and scared, i feel i have portrayed this effect in my film well.


















For my Wedding scene, i was inspired once again by "The Burning Bed", the way the newly weds appeared so happy, and then, everything changed suddenly. Its almost as if the minute the wedding dress has been removed and the ring placed on the woman's finger, the husband feels he controls her, i wanted to portray this feel in my film. The contrast between happy times to the present day.

Feedback on my Thriller "The Fairytale Wedding"

What did you think of “The Fairytale Wedding”?
What was your favourite part of the film?
What was your least favourite part of the film?

Critic one:
I thought “The Fairytale Wedding” was a very good film. Although it was only two minutes long and a small part of the full movie, it was so full of action that it left me wanting more. My favourite part of the movie was when the camera travels down the tree to the people under it, it was really effective. The part of the film I disliked most was when the wedding shot was replayed, however, on second inspection I realised it was the other half of the vowels, but I feel this could be hard to see on the first watch.

Critic two:
I was well impressed with the short movie. I loved the title; it contradicted the actual movie so worked well. My favourite bit of the movie was when the music changed when the women tried to escape, and didn’t succeed, the story was left on a cliff hanger, I loved it! The bit of the movie I wasn’t too keen on was when the woman was scolded, as I didn’t get to see the water go over her as much as I would have, it could have been more dramatic.

Critic three:
I loved the film! Because it was unique and showed me a different insight to abuse. My favourite part of the movie was the scolding scene, so shocking!! But so powerful. My least favourite scene was when the women came out of the bedroom; I couldn’t make sense of why she was coming out of a boy’s room with her own luggage?

Critic four:
I really liked the film and would definitely recommend it to a friend. My favourite scene was when the camera went down to the scar on the girls arm! A really powerful shot, I can still see the scar in my mind. My least favourite part of the film the scene where the couple were drinking a class of drink together, they seemed isolated from everyone, on their wedding day!

Critic five:
The film came as a big surprise, I never really thought about rushing into commitment before, the film has really opened my eyes. My favourite scene is when the husband spins the wife around, showing how old times used to be, and the man the woman thought she had married. My worst scene was the abuse, I found it really sad! But, it spoke to me, ill be sure I am 100% in love and aware before I get married!


Critic six:

I was really impressed with this short movie, it was really different, and although something i wouldn't usually watch, i really enjoyed it! my favourite shot was when i saw the scar! Ive never seen a scar like that before and i think it helped portray the scolding scene, the two shots together were really powerful. my least favourite shot was when the wedding was played at the start, i think one shot of the wedding in the middle would have been better, but a great film overall.

Critic seven:
I really liked the film, it was different. My favourite bit was when I saw the scar! And I could not believe it was real! The input that had been put in really made the film above and beyond in quality. My least favourite scene was the wedding, it seemed a big stiff.

Critic eight:
Unique, cool, in-depth, mysterious film! Loved it! I liked the way in the film, the abuse suddenly begun from nowhere! I was shocked how a loving partner could become so possessive! This was really shown in the kitchen scene, where he tells her who she can and can’t talk to! My worst scene was the wedding scene, a tad too long in the middle of the movie, all the other scenes are shorter, it does not add up.


Critic nine:

I was amazed by this movie, it wasn't at all what i was expecting. The amount of thought added into this short film really paid off, for example, the park scene was great! my favourite scene was in fact the park scene as it reminded me of summer with my friends, and how happy we were, my least favourite was the last scene, as i was sad the woman didn't escape, however i like that she didn't escape as it would be an eye opener to that are or have been abused.


Critic ten:
Great! Film. Really enjoyed it and wanted to see more! What a cliff hanger it left us on! I think my favourite scene had to be the last one, simply because it left me wondering what was going to happen, would the woman escape, or would her terrible husband get his revenge for her trying to escape! My worst scene was the wedding scene, I did not like the two halves, but together, it would have been too long!.

Overall, I am very pleased with my feedback, it’s been brought to my attention that the most popular scene was the scar scene, and this was my intention, to show the physical and mental abuse inside a bad marriage. The worst scene in the critic’s eyes was the wedding scene, because it was longer then the other scenes. I am very pleased with my feedback overall and have learnt a lot from the production of my film, if I could change one thing, I would shorten my wedding scenes down, as this is what the audience seen to want most, and I want to please the audience so that I get a more popular film.

Ways in which i made my film a Thriller.

When making my Thriller i had to be very careful, because my film was based on a wedding i had to make sure that my movie did not appear happy. I achieved this by having short, happy scenes surrounded by sad, violent scenes. For example after a scene where the bride and groom are sipping their drinks happily, there is the scoulding scene, showing the happy times in the marriage are no longer present, all that is left is violence and possession.

Furthermore i think my film was portrayed as a Thriller due to the film being seen through the victims eyes. We could see the torture she had to suffer, the interigation, the constant bullying. She had been so happy in her relationship that she decided to get married, but after entering this commitment, she had realised that she couldnt escape, and that she had trapped herself, a possession to her husbands life.

i feel the ending scene helps portray my film as a thriller, just when the audience feel that the victim is going to escape the groom appears at the door, blocking her chance of freedom. this image is very powerful because you can see the escape route yet it is being blocked ! the inside of the house is dark, the victim can see the light, yet she cannot reach it.

Evaluation of finished production.

Now that my media film is complete and has been posted on my blog below i am going to answer the provided questions about my film:
1. In what ways does your media project use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

My film is based on a true story, but with some small changes along the way. I once watched a True movie (Thriller) named "The burning bed" this was a story about a physically and sexually abused wife, who had without her knowledge married into a violent partnership. Over the years her husband constantly prevents her from meeting certain goals in life such as going to college by beating her until she was unable to attend, and destroying her school books so that she could not study. When this women couldn't' escape her brutally tough marriage she resorts to drastic measures, killing her husband in his sleep by covering their bed in petrol and setting it alight with a match. When taken to court on trial, she avoids prison due to the torture she suffered within her marriage, and the countless times police had failed to save her from the abuse she suffered. This story truly touched my heart, i felt utterly devastated that a women had resolved to murder to free herself from the fear that some day her husband was going to kill her. The hate this women must have felt towards her husband contradicted the world i see, where i have a cosy, and happy home life, and never experienced abuse in any manner. When i watched this movie the first thought i had was 'promotion of abuse in marriage'. So this is how i came up with the idea for my short Thriller. My movie is slightly different to The Burning Bed as i did not want to copy the movie, but wanted the message of the movie to be portrayed. For example, in my movie, the bride who is abused is abused for different reasons, her husband scolds her because of jealously, instead of over an education. In both movies there is a power struggle, the husbands feel they need to possess their wives and the wives both try desperately to escape. However, the way the women try to escape is very different, in The Burning Bed, the wife results to physical violence herself, whereas in my movie, the wife runs yet fails to escape. The reason i changed this stage in the story is because i felt the story will be more powerful to the audience if the abuse was still occurring, and a feeling of realisation was felt, that when you enter a commitment and do not fully know the person, it isn't as easy to leave the commitment.

Furthermore, My movie uses conventions of a Thriller:

- Extraordinary events happening in ordinary situations, this is the abuse occurring inside the marriage. One scene in particular this convention is shown is when husband and wife are speaking whilst she is cooking. Her husband then becomes raged with jealously due to her male friends and scolds his wife with boiling hot water, ordinarily this wouldn't have happened.

- Another element is how the audience are prevented from getting close to the characters, so that a mystery is present. I used this effect in my movie, by not letting the audience get close to the husband, there would always be that sense of suspense in what he was going to do, what he was feeling etc. An example of when i added this element in was when the audience begin to see the husbands motionless face within scenes leading up to the present tense.

- An example of the unusual twist i added into my Thriller was the marriage, when a person watches a Thriller they do not expect it to start with a happy setting, a willing commitment, and an innocent couple. I added this effect into my movie because i thought how effective it would be to see a wedding, something different, the audience may even feel they have opted for the wrong genre!

- I also added in the idea of a protagonist with a flaw which is exploited by an antagonist. The protagonists flaw is that she allows her husband to abuse her throughout the movie, and does not even try to defend herself verbally. She has allowed herself to become venerable, so her flaw is her venerability, which is exploited by her husband.

- Finally another convention that supports my film being a Thriller is the near end of a film, where the protagonist is in danger. The scene that represents this is the door scene, where the wife feels she is finally going to escape her abusive marriage and is then awoken by the harsh reality of her situation, as she opens the door, her release to freedom, the entrance is blocked by a powerful and dominant figure. The audience are then encouraged to fear for this woman's life, a change of music is queued in at this point, sensing something bad is going to happen.


2. How does your media product represent particular social groups (gender age sexuality ethnicity etc)

My Film represents Age in particular, due to the topic, young marriage. my film revolves around a couple who have rushed into a rash decision and now both cannot overcome their emotions, the husbands feelings of resentment, jealously and possessiveness and the wife's feelings of fear, regret and powerlessness.

Furthermore, Gender is referred to in my movie. The audience are convinced to see the woman as weak, and unable, in stopping the abuse she is a victim to. We are then encouraged to see the groom as the dominant and powerful character, who has full control over his relationship, and his wife.

I did not refer to topics such as ethnicity in my short Thriller because it would have contradicted the purpose of my film, if i was to make a film with ethnicity involved, i would most likely have to make a prejudice film where violence was used on the grounds of ethnicity. However i believe if i added in too many types of social groups, the meaning of my movie would have been unclear.


3. What kind of media institution might distribute your media project and why?

I personally feel that the institution that would distribute my movie would be True Movies. The reason i feel this to be true is because my movie could promote how abuse occurs, and how once you are trapped inside such a commitment, it isn't always easy to escape, and some never find the strength, and result to drastic measures such as suicide, murder etc.

I do not feel that DVD would be a good way to distribute this particular movie, as a person who is victimised to abuse would not go out and purchase a movie about abuse, but if the movie was on TV, i feel a person is more likely to watch the movie. Furthermore if the movie is a 'true movie' the affect will be a lot greater on the audience, and more emotion will be expressed to what is occurring in the scenes. Finally, when a person buys a DVD or goes to the cinema they are more likely to go see something upbeat and cheery to encourage a positive mood, whereas on sitting indoors, individuals may feel intrigued by the story and the title and therefore watch it. My movie title is "The Fairytale Wedding" which could alternatively trick the audience into turning my movie on, and then the storyline will pull the audience in, making them want to watch more of the captivating movie.

4. Who would be the audience for your media project?

I did not need to use survey monkey to find a target audience for my film because i already has a chosen age range. The age range i chose was sixteen to nineteen years old. The reason i chose this age range is because my film is about a teenage wedding, and the youngest a teenager can get married in the U.K, with their parents permission is sixteen, and nineteen is the last teenage year. If i had chosen any other age to be the target audience then the purpose of my film would not fully make sense. I am not saying that only teenagers in this age range can watch my movie, but they are the key persons who need to see my movie.

5. How did you attract, address your audience?

I reached out to my target audience through using different types of media which are popular around teenagers. Firstly, i used face book to promote my survey, this worked well any many people filled out my survey. I talked about my movie and what it was going to be about, to get people interested, and check if it was the correct approach. Furthermore, i sent emails to some people using hotmail, and gave them the link to my survey so that they could answer the questions and help me in finding the perfect movie topic, and focus inside the Thriller genre. Finally i informed friends and family about my movie and asked their opinions and if there is anything they would change or emphasise more thoroughly.



I feel my Thriller holds the audiences attention because the Thriller allows you to get close to the wife, who is suffering domestic abuse. When teens see this they may feel 'this could be my sister or cousin or best friend' and so will want to be educated about how abuse can occur and ways that you can avoid it. I feel that no one deserves to be abused yet people are so the only way this can be prevented is by remaining unattached until you are certain that the person you want to spend your life with is trust worthy.


I feel teenagers would want to see my film because at this current day and age many teenagers hop from relationship to relationship but occasionally some teens find their 'soul mate'. They do not think about the things they do not know, they just base love on affection, so my movie could promote that love is not always true love. It takes two people to be utterly committed to one another and sometimes commitments can be seen as different in some peoples eyes. For example, in my film the husband feels he must possess his wife, this is what commitment is in his perspective.


I feel the audience would continue to watch my film because the first two minutes are so packed with action that it will leave them wanting more! throughout the two minutes there isn't a dull moment, from scolding scenes to the scene of the scar, an element of surprise is always visible. Furthermore, my film ends on a cliff hanger, the audience is left to wonder, will the wife escape her husband, or will he physically hurt her for trying to escape? I have used young actors in my film, to appeal to teenagers, and i have also included a variety of ages so that the film will be suitable to other ages rather then just my target audience. Finally, i included some unusual factors in my short film such as there is a wedding in a Thriller, this will make the audience want to see more because the Thriller will be different to one they have ever seen before.


6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

When constructing my film i realised that angles are very important, because it is impossible to make a film if there is not a variety of different angles used. Variation proved very important when constructing my movie, because it meant the audience was always surprised, and suspense is very important in a Thriller. Furthermore, a calm setting is needed for diagetic sound over wise a voice over may be necessary. I realised this when i was doing the wedding scene and the background noise was very distracting, luckily i was able to edit the sound levels and the scene came together perfectly. I also found that on making my film, some techniques involved go amiss when we watch movies. When i watch a movie at home i seem to pay attention to the storyline more then i do the certain techniques added into the film such as a hand held camera shot to give the impression of a drunk person, making my film has completely opened my eyes, and now when i watch a movie i am more phased by pan shots, and tilt shots and different ways the producer has portrayed a certain feeling within a scene. Another thing i realised was that editing has to be spot-on in a scene, over wise the film looks rough and unfinished. For example, when the wife was coming down the stairs in the last scene of my movie there was a jolt in the shot, i then decided to cut part of the scene out at the jolt made the films quality decrease, and when i show the audience my film, i want them to feel the realistic feel to my film, and a jolt could interfere with this. In addition, i found it was vital for the sound to match the scenes, because if the sound started too early or too late it made the film seem rushed and that not enough thought and time had been put into the production stage. I suffered when making my movie, and found it very hard to match the non diagetic sound to the scenes as the sound kept on distorting. After much effort, i got the sound to match perfectly with the scenes, i felt it was much worth the effort, and i was very pleased with the outcome of my movie, as the sound helped stress the emotion i was trying to feel at different parts of my film. Finally i learnt how to add sound onto my film, i had never achieved this before as i have never used the software or even made a movie. It was very difficult adding sound onto the film as the software rejected certain methods of adding sound in such as the drag and drop, copy and paste, accessing through files. However, eventually our efforts paid off, and now i can successfully add music onto the software.

Here is a list of the certain technologies i have used and why i used them:


Blogger: I used Blogger to write about my movie and progress. My Blogger discusses the techniques i have learnt since first joining media in year 12. For example, it discusses different conventions of film genre, and shows my preliminary task and the planning i did to make it.


IMovie: This is the software i used to make my film, without IMovie i could not have constructed added music and edited my film.

Mini DV digital camcorders: I used a digital camcorder to record the scenes i wanted to shoot in my film. I then uploaded the things that i had filmed onto IMovie and made changes, and could physically see if there were any changes that i needed to make that i couldn't detect on the camcorder, such as a jolt in the shot when filming.


Youtube: I used youtube to upload my Thriller onto, i then shared my film so that i could view it on my Blogger, this allowed me to see the image in a larger format then uploading it from IMovie.

Still Digital Camera: I used a still digital camera to take pictures of my animatic, and to take pictures of some of the settings that i used in my Thriller. For example i took a picture of the bride and groom to show the costumes on the wedding day, without the costumes the wedding wouldn't have been as realistic.


Google/Wikipedia: I used google and wikipedia to do some research on various film makers. For example i researched Alfred Hitchcock, and found out various information such as the first film he ever made, and the year he was born. This increased my knowledge on other film makers, giving me different perspectives for when i made my Thriller.


Survey Monkey: I used Survey monkey to collect feedback from my target audience, asking them their favourite types of film genre etc. I then included these answers into the making of my film, to make sure the film appealed to my audience.


Wordle: I used wordle to analyse the feedback i got from my Thriller. This helped me see the words the audience had most used, and the things they most liked, for example a lot of people used the world "interesting".

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

In terms of the progression of my film, i feel i have learnt everything, being a new user of the movie making software, i was blown away by the whole experience. I managed well in learning different methods of how to upload sound, edit sound, adapt sound, and alternatively, bring a unique rhythm to my film. Furthermore, i learnt how to add different effects onto my movie such as fade in, dissolve, wash out etc. This was a unique experience as the way certain scenes were edited reminded me of how you would edit an image, but the technology was more advanced. In addition, i learnt how to prepare and make a setting look, to achieve the best effects and get the most out of the scenes. For example, in the kitchen scene, the stove was the centred object, showing the significance of this item in the following scenes and the prior scene. I found it was vital to hold the camera steady (use a tripod unless going for a certain hand held effect) as it makes the image quality seem more advanced, and allows the audience to focus on the shots without being distracted by jolts in the scenes etc. I learnt more about imitation- how to make a certain scene appear as if it is something else. I achieved this by making the green outside my home look like a park, for the friends scene. Finally, i found how to work around faults in the shots, such as the way you could see the fences in my garden for the wedding shot. i distracted the audience from the fences by placing the brides maids against the fence so that the audience would be distracted by their costumes and makeup.


In this scene you can see my preliminary task (left) and my Thriller (right). In both of these shots i was trying to show a conversation occurring, however i feel my technique has improved in doing so. In the preliminary task one of the actors is cut-off and the other ones face is not visible, however in my thriller both actors can be seen and it is clear who is in control in the shot through body language.


In the next shots i was trying to show an action shot of the people walking towards a still person, as you can see in my preliminary shot (right) there is an aquas shot, the wall blocks out most of the shot, giving the impression the actors are being watched when they are not. However, in my Thriller (left) it can be seen that there is a clear shot, and the characters are sentenced, the audiences eyes will be drawn to the characters straight away. Furthermore, the lighting is easier on the eyes and will keep the audience energised and interested when viewing my Thriller.


Finally in the last shot i was trying to draw the attention to one character, however, i feel i portrayed this better in my Thriller (right) rather than my preliminary task (left). This is because in the Thriller, the character is central in the shot, and the attention is on her, whereas in my preliminary exercise the character is to the side and the posters on the wall could pose as a distraction to the audience.

This concludes the seven evaluation questions about my finished production, i hope this clarifies my perspective, challenges and opinions whilst producing my movie.

My Thriller- fairytale wedding

I have finished my film, and i am ecstatic with the outcome, in the short time i have had to make my movie i feel i have learnt so very much. I believe my film will be successful for my target audience because of the vast amount of techniques i have included. There are many effects such as fading in and out of a shot, black and white shots and lengthening a shot for a lasting effect and many other techniques i used. Whilst editing my shots i found some problems that i had to edit out. For example, when the actor was coming down the stairs followed by a tracking shot, the camera jolted, me and my co-worker had to cut this part of the film out. We was a bit worried the scenes would not match up but in the end we were very impressed with the way it connected. It was an amazing experience, being able to incorporate members of my family into my movie and for them to play a different part, to the roles they play throughout my life in reality.

The topic of the movie was very close to my heart, simply for the reason the physical scarring seen throughout my film was real, however not obtained through physical abuse. Part of what made the movie clever was that the scarring didn't actually belong to the bride, it belonged to my brother, the groom. On filming the scene of the bride and then leading down to the scar we had to place my brother behind her, but keep his face and body out of eye shot. To imitate the scarred arm as the brides arm, i had to tuck the brides arm behind her back and my brothers arm underneath the brides elbow. This was very difficult as my brothers arm looked too long for the brides small frame, so i had to use clever filming to make the scene appear convincing. It was important this shot worked as my whole story was based around abuse.

After editing i began to add music and sounds into my movie, i had huge problems when adding in the music. I gave MobyGratis three weeks to get back to me about the music i had requested but they never sent a reply. I then began to search for music on free play, but once i had chosen my music, there were problems with the software which meant i could not add the music onto my film. I tried several techniques such as saving the songs and trying to add them through searching through my files, dragging the songs onto the filming software, and locating the tunes from Itunes but nothing seemed to work. I managed to locate some of the songs through Itunes, but Itunes did not accept all of the songs, i then had to find alternative means through using one song that was already in Itunes, as i couldn't allocate the song i originally wanted. I and my co-worker then edited this song through taking snippets and placing certain parts together, this overall gave the movie a tense and intended feel, i was more happy with the unplanned outcome then i would have been with the song i first wanted.

Overall i am very happy with my movie and feel there are no improvements i could have made. The faults i found helped to make a stronger movie overall, finding ways around the faults helped me to improve in the techniques i learnt and how i could use these techniques to the best of my ability, to make my movie impressionable.

The Wedding scene.

Here are some images of the wedding scene costumes. I feel the costumes help to give the film a feel of realism. The above images show the bride, the groom, the priest and the brisemaids. i am very happy with the way the shots came out, it expressed a happy day. I almost felt as if i was a witness to a real wedding, dispite being filmed in my back garden!!

development of filming:

I began filming my Thriller on Saturday 20th March, and had completed filming all of my scenes by sunday. I experimented with angles and techniques to ensure i was getting the best out of my short film. I believe because the film is only going to be two minutes long, each scene must be impresssionable, and pull the audience it. On Saturday I filmed the Eye Scene, The Scar and The Leaving scenewith my co-worker Rebecca, and on Sunday we filmed the Scolding scene, the wedding scene and the park scene. I was very satisfied with the scenes we had filmed. However returning to the editing suite i was not impressed with two of the scenes we have filmed. These scenes are going to be retaken someday in the week so that we can have more time to edit the Thriller.

My Co-worker and I were not happy with the scolding scene and wedding scene because the lighting was not correct for the filming of the scenes, the impression I wanted to give was not being portrayed. Furthermore, on the scolding scene we were meant to get an affect of fear and it did not seem as if the actor was convincing enough. Furthermore, I am aware that we do not get marks for acting skills, but i feel the rest of the acting was very convincing throughout so i didnt want the movie to look poor because of one scene. Furthermore, with the wedding/glass scene one of the actors looked at the camera during filming and I did not notice, I feel this ruined the illusion of the film.

All that i and rebecca have filmed so far is in the process of being edited, so far I have cut the scenes and placed them into the asscending order. I have made sure the shots are smooth and there are no jolts or inperfections. Once I have re-filmed the last two scenes i will put the shots in asscending order and edit the whole film together so that it flows.

The Target Audience:

After much consideration to what my movie was going to be about i had to decide on a target audience. I achieved this by thinking about who the storyline related to the most.

I conclude that the appropriate age group for my movie (the Target Audience) is 16-19year olds. This is because the youngest a person can get married in the UK is 16, with their parents permission and into the twenties the young marriage title doesn't' really exist. I want to use my movie as a learning curve for teenagers, to teach them that they have a whole life ahead of them, and rushing into such a grand commitment without truly knowing a person is a unforgiving thing to do.

I have made a Questionnaire which only sixteen to nineteen year olds will be required to answer to ensure they are the correct age group for my film... This Questionnaire can be found below

My Survey Results:

This is a question i asked my target audience. I feel this is an appropriate question because observing how often a person goes to the cinema allows you to have an insight on how media affects the average adolescent. As can be seen from my results, a vast percentage of adolescence visit the cinema between 3 to 5 times a month.

My second question was to see if my target audience would go the the cinema to see a thriller. As you can from my graph a massive percentage (99.2%) to be exact voted that they would go to the cinema to see a Thriller.

The next question i asked my audience was, what type of Thrillers they enjoyed. From the results it can be seen that Mystery, Action and Realist are the most popular types of film inside the Thriller genre. When making my film i will make sure to add some of these factors, to ensure the movie is successful to the appropriate age range.












I asked the audience if they were particularly fond of Thrillers. I asked this question because if a vast percentage of my audience did not enjoy Thrillers, then they would not be the correct age range for my Thriller. From my results it can be seen my audience are overall, very keen on Thrillers. At least 3/4 were highly fond of thrillers. Observing my other answers i found many were fond of Thrillers but some people enjoyed Thrillers but not as much as some other Genres. This is why i am going to make my Thriller different, exciting and mesmerising, so that the audience cannot break away from my Thriller, and will be left wanting more.











My very last and what i consider my most important question is asking the audience would they watch a realist thriller. i found from my results that (even though there were more people wanting to see a realist Thriller, then those who didn't') the audience hadn't' been 100% convinced by the idea. For this reason my Thriller will be based on Realism, but it will have an edge, there will be extreme amounts of dramatic scenes, which will express true life incidents, but with an added kick. i Feel the audiences views on Realism are based on everyday situations, and this is why they aren't fully convinced so i am going to make it my goal to open eyes with a new perspective of realism.

Questionaire for my Thriller

Click here to take survey

I have made a questionaire in an attempt to find out what is the audiences main interests in the Thriller genre. I will use the feedback from my questionaire to make my movie more appropriate for the target audience.

Treatment for the Thriller (Fairytale Wedding)

Outline of ideasThe film is based on abuse. It flashes back to their 'Fairytale wedding' when everything was going right. This contrasts between then and now and the regret will be souly focused on. I will also focus on how a decision is very had to go back on. Divorce may not always be an option when feeling are involved. Both parts may have different inputs.

What resources will you need?

Actors: Priest, Groom, Bride, Bridesmaid(s)

Settings: Garden, Park, Kitchen, Hall way (stairs) and shower

Props: Saucepan, Flowers (Bouquets) and Bag(suitcase)

Justification of ideas in relation genre

I feel our film will have a relation to the genre (Thriller) because there is plenty of action involved when concerning the 'chase' of emotions and the 'chase' of escaping a disastrous marriage. The film will be thrilling because the full story will not ever entirely be revealed but as part of the puzzle connects, the audience will the will be in suspense of the true ending, leaving them wanting more.

Health and Safety Risk Assessment

A health and safety risk assessement is important when making my thriller because highlighting the risks will make me more precautionate when filming and therefore less errors will occur.

• No filming in inappropriate locations
• Check safety of locations, for example roads
• Minimise risk of theft of equipment
• When filming on location make sure the teacher or the adult responsible knows where you are and have a telephone number and the time you will return
• Check all equipment is working before you leave
• Ensure you have permission for filming if necessary
• Always film with at least one other person
• Ensure you have the permission of those you are filming

Thriller conventions

• A crime at the core of the narrative (often murder, but not necessarily)
• A complex narrative structure with false paths, clues and resolutions
• A narrative pattern of establishing enigmas which the viewer expects to be revolved
• A protagonist who is systematically dis-empowered and drawn into a complex web of intrigue by the antagonist
• Extraordinary events happening in ordinary situations
• Themes of identity
• Themes of mirroring
• Themes of voyeurism
• Protagonist with a 'flaw' which is exploited by the antagonist
• Titles of reflect an aspect of the pro/antagonists psychological state
• There is often a scene near the end of the film in which the protagonist is in peril
• MISE-EN-SCENE which echoes/mirrors the protagonists plight

Thriller Storyboard/ Animatic

This is my Thriller Storyboard/ animatic, it discusses the main stages of which will be in my short Thriller. i am now going to annotate the stages above so it can be fully understood what my Thriller is going to be about:

Picture one: This is a zoomed in shot of the Actors eye, of which will be streaming with tears. This will confuse the audience, what i feel an effective opening scene. Suspense will start to build up at this point, the beginning of the story, which is related to abuse and misery.

Picture two: The next shot is a flashback, a wedding. This will allow the audience to comprehend the distraught persons life, but not enough to fully understand what is happening. At this stage, the relationship will appear to be loving, so the audience will not assume the reason the person is upset is because of their marital partner.

Picture three: The next scene will be of another flashback, of where the couple are happily joking and messing around freely with their friends. The first image will be ticking in the audiences head at this point because they will be confused about why the last two scenes are happy and upbeat. This may cause them to assume the partner of this woman has passed away and she misses him grandly.

Picture four: The story will slowly fall into place when this next image is seen, it will be of a husband and wife, having an argument over a boiling stove. The audience will begin to see that cracks are showing in the marriage and that the possible problem is linked to one of the partners reaching their limit and hurting the other. I feel at this point my film may prove effective, because the audience will be wondering if the woman attacked her husband and this is why she is so distraught or whether her husband physically abused her. There will also be the distraction of the pot boiling on the stove, tensity will begin to build up.

Picture five: The audience will then follow the woman running into the garden in a fit of anger, wanting to escape the argument, there will then be a flashback of the couple walking down the isle together, contradicting what was once a happy relationship.

Picture six: The Next image will help sum up what is happening, the audience will see the husband in the relationship take the boiling pot and releasing the steaming liquid over his wives arm. This shot will be effective due to mixed emotions, shock, anger, fear, revenge.

Picture seven: The Audience will then be lead back to the first image of the eye, but this time, something extra will be revealed. The reason for the woman's streaming eyes. A tracking shot will be used which will follow from the woman's eye to her arm, where a scar will be revealed.

Picture eight: The very last scene will be of the woman trying to escape the domestic violence she has silently suffered, running down the stairs, the audiences attention will follow the woman's relieved face as the walks towards the door, ready to escape.

Picture nine: The very last image will be of the woman opening the door, just when the audience thinks she has escaped an all to familiar face will come into focus. the shot will end on the mans angry unforgiving face and the woman's fearful expression. A uncertain ending, what will happen, will she escape, will he get his revenge?

Alfred Hitchcock

Who is Alfred Hitchcock?

Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980)was an English Filmaker and producer who created many techniques in the suspense and the way Thrillers played in a persons mind. After a successful career in his native United Kingdom in both Silent Films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood.

Hitchcock directed more than fifty feature films in a career spanning six decades! Hitchcock was often seen as the greatest British filmmaker.

Hitchcock came first in the 2007 poll of film critics in Britain's Daily Telegraph newspaper-
which said: "Unquestionably the greatest filmmaker to emerge from these islands, Hitchcock did more than any director to shape modern cinema, which would be utterly different without him. His flair was for narrative, cruelly withholding crucial information (from his characters and from us) and engaging the emotions of the audience like no one else."

I Feel Alfred Hitchcock made a mark in the film industry, so i have decided to watch one of his films named "Shadow of a doubt-1943". I will discuss techniques that Alfred has used and input my own opinion.

The opening of "Shadow of a doubt" strikes me as very effective. Beginning the film with the Waltz contradicts many Thrillers, and striaght away grabs my attention. The persons in the scene Waltz to The merry Widow song, this proves significant as the film revolves around a Merry widow muderer. The film will be about a man who marrys widows and then kills them for their deceased husbands fortune. From the Waltz, the type of shot changes from general (long shot) to a particular (close-intimate shot). This allows me to see a closer inspection of what is happening in the scene, costumes and props will be alot more visable allowing me to be aware of the type of setting and time the film is presented in.

Uncle Charlie, the main focus, is then introduced in a very unique way. The shot Distances from the Waltz onto a grubby looking location, unclean children roam the streets, polluted rivers surround the area. Suddenly, an image of money comes into focus, i am then directed towards a frail looking figure on the bed. The Mysterious person seems quite wealthy due to the large amounts of money surrounding him, however, he seems unphased by they money due to it being on the floor. another sign of the mans wealth is due to his immaculate complection, his hair is neatly gelled backwards, and he appears to be wearing a tailored suit. At this stage i begin to see that this man contradicts the scene.

Right from the point when Uncle Charlie is introduced i begin to realise Hitchcock he has a unique approach. Alfred expresses who the characters are visually instead of through dialogue. I feel this is an effective way of portraying a film as it allows me to gain my own perspective of the film. I am not being told what is happening, i am being directed. For this reason the film will be more indepth and allows me to be interactive with whats happening in the scenes.

When the maid pulls the blinds shut in Uncle Charlies room he seems to come to life, this symbolises that he is a dark and mysterious person, im being kept in the dark and do not fully know or can trust this man. Uncle Charlie then smashes a glass against the wall, this represents that he has bottled up violence and untamed anger.

Uncle Charlie soon decides to leave his home, as he walks past two men, they begin to follow him. I begin to see how clever charlie is when he escapes the men tracking his movements with a gun. I begin to see without Charlie even speaking how smart, sharp, quick and clever he is, but also begin to see that there is a dark side to this man, and wonder is he as inocent as he appears?

I begin to see a Softer side of Uncle Charlie when Little Charlie is introduced, straight away i could see how fond Uncle charlie was of his niece. This could be seen through the phone call Uncle charlie had to his sister, asking to give little charlie some kisses from him. Little Charlies location contradacts her uncles, she lives in Santa Rosa- california, a location considered to be the perfect american small city. However this is where the differences end. We are introduced to small charlie with a graphic match, she is laying on her bed exactly as her uncle was, mirroring who he is, showing their simularities and that she will be a main focus in this Thriller alongside Uncle Charlie.

AS CourseWork:- Thriller

-(The Brief)-

-My Task is to make a new fiction film in the Thriller genre to last a maximum of 2minutes.

The Thriller will be worth 50% of my Overall Mark for year 12. My maximum group size will be four however, i may have as many actors as i want, as long as i have their permission to be in the film.

-The production will be worth 60% of the filming mark, and my blog will be worth 40% of the mark.

-The other percentage of the marks are:

*20marks Planning research

*60marks Construction

*20marks Evaluation

- Each candidate must have thier own Blog, and a storyboard and animatic are the only information that can be shared amugst a group.

- The Blog should include:

*The brief and research into simular media texts/ who is the target audience.

*planning the production

*Constructing the production- technical decisions/ revision (changes,reasons changes are made, shots used)

*Evaluation of finished production.

-Marks are rewarded for demonstrating excellence in the following criteria:

*Holding a steady shot (only use hand held camera if wanting a certain effect, overwise use a tripod)

*Framing a shot- Mise en scene'- what is in the scene.

*Using a variety of shot distances.

*Shooting material appropriate to the task set.

*editing- so the viewer can understand the meaning.

*Different shot transitions.

*Captions appropriate to the task set, i.e 5years later if film showing what happens further in the future as without this, audience may become very confused.

*Using sound with certain images, projects a greater understanding.

- planning process before filming:

1. organise in groups (group sheet)

2. undertake some research into the genre (research sheet)

3. prepare treatment (treatment sheet) planning of two stages

4. final stage- one per group- storyboard and animatic before making film.

(cannot make film to i have completed the above)

-Begin my thriller with the following information

* text written in Times Roman in white with a black background.

(AS media studies coursework G32, Foundation portfolio in media, Robert clack school 12127, Names: Rebecca Fenlon and Gemma House, candidate numbers: 12AS)

-Then the opening titles: The name of the film, directors, Actors etc.

-I should: Choose suitable music for the film and suitable titles.

- The sound balance shouldnt drown out the dialogue- sound should vary in volume when dialogue present.

Diagetic sound should be present, i.e. cars, footsteps.

Some websites where i can find some ideal music for my thriller:

www.mobygratis.com

www.unsigned.com

www.newgrounds.com

-I should:

* try to vary the shot types i use.

*use a mixture of long shots medium shots and close up shots.

*use the whole of the frame- dont leave heads sticking out of the bottom of the frame. should film people in the centre of the shot.

*Always use tripod, unless wanting to achieve hand held point of view such as someone running.

-i do not need a closing title, i should fade out to black.

* The film should be around two minutes in lengh, a minimum of a minute and a half and a maximum of two minutes thirty.

- I will be alocated an IMac- (Number 9)

- i will be given the password to access and upload my filming, and must not tell anyone who isnt a media student this password.

-i will edit the footage using the Imovie package.

This information will help me in making a movie which fits the appropriate requirements.

Preliminary Exercise

Whilst making my preliminary Exercise i realised that :

It is Vital to wear the same outfit and have the same hairstyle etc whilst filming. If filming takes a few days then the same outfit must be worn. I found this out when i did some filming over two days and my outfits were different, this would have been very confusing for an audience to watch. It

Another thing i realised is that you must always check the position of the camera. In a section of my filming i did not check the position of my camera on the tripod and cut the top of a persons head off. I am grateful for the preliminary exercise because when i make my thriller i will be aware of making sure the person in the shot is centred during filming.

A variety of shots must be used to convey a good film. By using different shots it allows the audience to see different perspectives of what is happening and not feel isolated to one position. Furthermore, it allows the audience to see that the camera person is skilled and aware of different types of shots. Shots portray different things, for example a tracking shot portrays action.

Furthermore the scene cuts must connect smoothly. I learnt this during my preliminary exercise as the scene was cut short too early. This made the editing look very rough. i will remember how important editing is during my thriller movie, as i feel the editing is what determines the outcome of the film.

I learnt the dialogue must be clear, the audience must be able to understand what you are saying. Nerves can make a person speak slightly fast and therefore make their speech hard to understand. i will use my preliminary exercise as an experience, and will consider ways in which i can clear my dialogue, such as speaking louder and slower.

Another problem i faced on my preliminary exercise was finding a room that was vacant for filming. during my thriller i will make sure the setting where i film is free. i had to refilm my preliminary exercise because the room i was filming in was needed for a lesson, and the next day i had the dialema of wearing a different outfit.

When scenes are seperately filmed it is vital that they must be connected exactly so that the shootings match and the filming doesnt look like it has been roughly slotted together. when i film my thriller i will be sure to make the shots connect smoothly together. my preliminary exercise taught me that alot of hidden mistakes can be made whilst filming and may not even be indentified untill the film is put together and examined. For this reason i will thoroughly check the scenes that i film before putting the film together, this will ensure a much smoother finish and overall a better film.

Gemma House Thriller Blog

What is a Thriller ??
A Thriller is a broad genre, there are various types of thrillers such as a romantic thriller, a action adventure thriller etc. A thriller Comes in two forms, as a movie or as a book. Thrillers are capturised through fast pacing, frequent action and resourcful heroes who must thwart the plans of more powerful and better equiped villians (this can be described as a power struggle).

A villian will always start off as the most powerful charcter in an attempt to exite the audience, of the action that will occur. The problems that a thriller will present are not small problems such as a few items going missing from a shop, but more like a murder investigation.

One of the main ingredients of a Thriller is suspense (will the person die or will they live) Red herring (the audience being mislead, Cliff hangers, (where could the storyline possibly go from here, will the hero escpape?)

Hitchcock says that Thrillers allow the audience "to put their toe in the cold water of fear and see what its like"

Thrillers often take place in an exotic setting such as in foreign cities.

The hero in a Thriller will often be a "Hard man" who thrives off of danger, such as a policeman. Although some heroes can be an ordinary citizen who gets drawn into the danger by accident. Statistics show that most heroes are infact men! however women lead characters have become increasingly common, for example Alien's (1979) main character is Sigourney Weavers who plays the character of Ripley.

Thrillers often overlap with mysteries. A mystery and Thriller differ because in a mystery, the person who commited the crime is only found out at the end of the film. Whereas in a thriller the crime commited and normally the person who commited it is known from the start, and then the audience wonders not who did it, but what can be done about it. In a Thriller the audience knows who is going to commit the crime. A Thriller is more significant than a mystery because crimes are grander, meaning the person who gets murdered/hurt etc is more significant (i.e. the president) or more quantities of people are hurt (the crime isnt' resticted to an individual)

Thrillers possess alot more violence then Mysteries.

If a thriller is influenced by film Noir then a hero with flaws may be killed.

A Thriller may be defined by the primary mood that they elicit: fearful exitement. (if it thrills then its a Thriller)

Different types of Thrillers: Romantic Thriller/ Legal Thriller/ Action-adventure Thriller/ Spy Thriller/ Medical Thriller/ Historical Thriller/ Political Thriller etc.

Action Thriller- race against the clock.

Conspiracy Thriller- Hero confronts a large, powerful group of enemies whose true extent only he or she recognises.

Disaster Thriller- Hurricains-Earthquakes-World is coming to an end-e.g "Stormy Weather"

Erotic Thriller- Erotica and Thriller.

A Thriller triggers an intensity of emotions, exitement and breathlessness/ fear and intrigue- must must must! thrill.

-The End-

WELCOME!

This is my Media Studies blog, through my opening course i will be making a short thriller.