Evaluation (Text)

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? 
We challenged the typical conventions of a thriller film as we used both a female antagonist and protagonist, which is unusual within this genre. We made this choice in order to attract a wider female audience, in addition to trying to keep the interest of a general thriller audience. We also wanted to flip the stereotypes that are common in such films; for example that the male character has the most power, whereas any female characters are usually love interests or have smaller roles. 
Although breaking these conventions could be a risk, we decided to make sure we did include some typical thriller conventions; such as a dark setting for the attack scene, tense music to create suspense, fast cuts and a variety of shot sizes. We also used a particular font and choice of colours to establish the genre of the film from the very start. The titles were in lower case to make clear to the audience that this film is different to other thriller films they may have seen in that it focuses on smaller details about the characters life as well as on the overall 'action' plot.
This is shown in the fact that we chose to use a voiceover of the main character narrating some of the scenes, rather than open with just an action sequence. I think this immediately brings the audience closer to the main character as we can hear the fear in her voice.


How does your media product represent particular social groups? 
Our product mostly represents women or teenage girls as the character shown in the opening 2 minutes are all female, however over the course of the film we would have introduced some male characters. We realise that the audience for thrillers is predominantly male, however we wanted to portray strong and intelligent women who the audience can relate to, or empathise with regardless of gender. We have a variety of representations - from young women in party clothes having fun, to a female attacker, to a woman who protects herself from an attack. The style of clothes they wear also range from jeans and a t-shirt, a dark hoodie to a short, modern playsuit. This may also help us to capture the interest of a female audience, who often feel unrepresented by this genre of film.
We had to think about representations of ethnicity in our film very carefully, and were eager to avoid too many stereotypes. We realised the fact that the antagonist was played by a black actress may bring up these stereotypes, however the plot of the film would later make clear that she was forced to take these actions by somebody with power over her.  Our protagonist (main character) was played by an Asian actress, which is unusual for a thriller film. We tried to represent her as an independent, modern woman who was able to defend herself against the danger that faced her. Although her state as she came out of the party could be seen as a negative representation, we wanted a relatable character celebrating her birthday!
As far as age goes, most of our cast are between the ages of 16 and 20. We asked the cast to bring their own costumes in the hope that it would be a varied and accurate representation of young people today. Our characters wore various currently fashionable clothes, none of which I think would be a negative representation. Although we showed them at a club and some of them were drinking, which is somewhat stereotypical. Also, the fact that the main character seems unaware of the dangers walking alone at night, and the picture of a hooded teenage attacker play to stereotypes.  


What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why? 
After watching our film opening, and researching into our genre, we looked at various film distribution companies and wanted to find the one that was the best fit for our film. Eventually, we decided upon Columbia Pictures due to the fact that they are not only a well-known and respected company, but have released many successful films within this genre before.
They have released the hugely successful Da Vinci Code and Angels And Demons. These films combine mystery and thriller seamlessly, whilst including a psychological element to them. Also, Columbia have released quite a few of the main recent thriller films with female leads
Some examples of these would be The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, a thriller released in 2011, Salt, an action / mystery thriller released in 2010 and Panic Room, a suspense thriller released in 2002. We also liked the representations of the female characters in these films, and this further encouraged use that they would be the right fit / interested in our film.


Who would be the audience for your media product? 
The audience for our film would be teenagers and adults from the age of 15 - 25. We decided that the film would be rated 15, as we think it would be inappropriate for younger ages to view the scenes of violence and drinking. Our film includes young characters, in a club and city based setting that would probably be familiar to this audience. The costume and choice of music would also appeal to this age range.
The violence in our film is not explicit, and we think an 18 rating would be too high because it would restrict the audience for our film too much. This is one of the reasons why we decided to use the flickering attack sequence instead of showing the entire attack, because we thought it would be just as scary, whilst leaving some of the details to the imagination of the viewer.
Our film targets those who are interested in psychological thriller films that mix elements of horror, thriller and drama such as Along Came A Spider, Panic Room and Se7en.


How did you attract/address your audience? 
The first thing we did to attract our audience was using actors and characters in the film that were the same age as them – teenagers and young adults. This would help the audience to relate to them and put themselves into their position more easily. We also attracted our audience through the use of props and costume to stylise the film as ‘young looking’. For example, in this shot our main character is wearing high heel shoes at a party, the attackers costume echoes current youth culture concerns and the party clothes could currently be seen in shops / in popular culture.
This would attract our target audience as most teenagers this age would wear heels like these and go out with friends to parties. Teenage parties are very popular in today’s society and our location therefore links to this.  The clothes being worn by our main character are also very trendy and fashionable. We intended to use social networking sites as our main marketing strategy, because we know that young people spend a lot of time on these sites, therefore allows us to attract a lot of people in this age range at once without spending a lot of money on advertising.
We would post trailers and a ransom style video on YouTube, make a Facebook fan page and use Twitter's trending topics. We would also make Facebook profiles for some of the characters to allow the audience to interact with them and relate to them further. It would also allow discussion of the film and help encourage people to go and see it that otherwise may not have, so that they can be part of this discussion


What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
We have learnt how to not only operate the lighting, but use it in a more creative way. For example, we placed it behind the character in a dark room to create a silhouette effect and used spotlights in the club scene to make it more realistic. 
We began filming with limited knowledge of how to use the cameras, however through the process, we learnt not only how to record, zoom and pan, but also how to use the camera with other equipment like a tripod and a dolly track to make the footage more smooth and professional. 
We also learnt how to use video editing software, such as iMovie and sound editing software, such as GarageBand. Within iMovie, we cut and edited clips, adjusted the colouring and experimented with placement of each scene. Then, after we had finished, we used Garageband to detach the audio, insert and replace sounds and mute some unwanted background noise. We also used audio bridging to help our scenes flow together.


Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to full product? 
When we look back at our preliminary task, we realise how much we've learnt throughout this process. One of the biggest things we learnt from our preliminary task was the importance of planning. Creation of a storyboard, drafts of the script and taking photographs of possible locations helped clarify our ideas for our film opening. Whereas in the preliminary task, we hadn't thought it through as carefully, and were unable to follow our plans that well. 
As the person who operated the camera, I definitely learnt how to better use the equipment available. In our preliminary task, we didn't use any extra lighting and weren't yet confident at using the tripod. This resulted in some parts of it not being smooth and a kind of dull look as far as colour goes.
In our final product we used drama students who had more experience with acting on camera. This meant we had more convincing performances and the characters more realistic. They were reliable and stuck to the shooting schedule as well as being easy to contact.


Strengths of film:
One of my favourite parts of the opening was the footage we shot in London and the composition of the shots. Also I thought the flickering attack scene added tension and worked well with the genre of the film.
We choose the right actors for the parts and I am glad we put a lot of thought into this as it made the scenes more convincing. They were very reliable to work with and dedicated to the filming. 
Within the club scene, we used a variety of angles and I think this worked really well along with the lighting to create atmosphere and realism. Also I like the voiceover in the attack scene as it brings the audience closer to the character.


What we disliked/could improve:   
The quality of the footage especially in the final scene was grainy and it would of looked better if we had used a HD camera like the one we used at the beginning in the quote scene. It would’ve looked more professional if the colouring had been even throughout the entire opening. 
I think we should have filmed the club exit scene at night with lighting to create more contrast and to make it more realistic. This would’ve allowed the audience to see the characters expression more clearly.
I think that in the final scene when the main character is kneeling down could have included more of a variety of angles and shot sizes to highlight her reaction to seeing these photos. When she is running away, we could have included a close up of her heels, or a shot of her from the front too.


by Lauren, Rebecca and Rana

Evaluation (Video)

by Lauren, Rana and Rebecca

Marketing The Film

Film promotion

by Rebecca

City Lights Opening 2 Minutes

by Lauren, Rana and Rebecca

The Club Scene - Problem solving

After sending out an invitation to ask people to come to the filming of our club scene, we ended up with a cast of 10 people. At first, we did not think that this would be enough people to make the scene look convincing, especially since we were not actually filming in a club setting. However, we started to think more creatively about the shots we were going to use and realised that the only important thing was that we keep the shots zoomed in enough, and also that we make the frame look busy.

The first shot we chose to film was from above the heads of the actors, this not only gives us variety and a party atmosphere, but it also makes the 'club' look very busy and energetic.

The second shot we used was a simple medium shot, where we could see the characters from the waist upwards. Although this could be seen as a boring choice of shot, we thought that it would be great to cut into the other shots to keep the scene fast paced. It also allows the audience to see the body language of the actors in addition to their facial expressions.

Finally, we shot from lower down by tilting the camera upwards because this put the lighting behind the heads of the actors, creating the look of glowing silhouettes. It makes it look like there is a lot of movement, as people pass in front of the light.

By Rebecca andLauren

Revised Storyboard

By Rebecca and Lauren

Revised script

1.) Ext Night

Shots of the city at night. Cars moving, neon lights and traffic.

2.) Int Night

Quote stated by protagonist. Dark room lit from behind. Silhouette of the main characters face.

3.) Int Night Inside of club & Ransom pictures shown

Loud music plays. People are dancing, standing, carrying drinks and laughing. Lighting is dark but faces are clear. The focus is on the main character as she moves through the crowed. She carries a drink, greets the people that she recognises and moves closer to view.

Antagonist prepares the photographs of the main character. Lays them out on the table and writes on the back of them. Different angles cut in with club scene.

4.) Ext Night Alleyway

Main character leaves nightclub. Walks out of door and down alleyway. The music fades as door closes and we move further away from club (POV shot). Camera follows her down the alleyway, she slightly stumbles on her shoes and does not pay attention to surroundings.

5.) Attack scene & voiceover

Flickering images in attack scene. Black screen when character is talking. The images cut in to interrupt the voiceover.

6.) Ext Night Ransom photos revealed

Protagonist leans against wall and kneels next to the dead body of the Antagonist. Picks ups photographs individually and looks at them. Main character runs into distance.

by Lauren

Attack scene - New Ideas

For our attack scene, which was initially going to be filmed in a similar style to our other scenes (eg, the club exiting scene), we have had another idea. We were concerned that there would be a lack of atmosphere in our fight scene, and that the suspense would not be enough to leave the audience wanting to see more. Therefore we thought that the best thing to do was to add a more mysterious feel to the fight and leave some things unexplained.

A good way to do that would be to have 'black gaps' in the fight scene , where the suspense is built and there is a more threatening atmosphere. Therefore we thought that we would take still images of the fight and transform it into a flickering fight sequence with a voiceover. We were inspired by the style of this music video...



... , especially the way in which it cuts different angles of the same scene together using the flickering of white and black screens. It also carries a chilling, eerie atmosphere, which fits in well with our film and may help to maintain a sense of mystery and tension throughout.

by Rebecca

Call Sheet

by Lauren

Shooting schedule

By Rana 

Equipment list

by Lauren, Rana and Rebecca

Working Title Films - Budget, Gross and Success

Four Weddings and a Funeral;

Budget of $4.5 million and grossed $244 million worldwide, meaning a profit of $239 million. The film is a romantic comedy, and at the time of release in 1994 it was the highest grossing British film of all time.

Shaun of the Dead;

Budget of £4 million, grossed $13.5 million (£8.6 million). The film is a horror comedy, starring Nick Frost, Kate Ashfield and Simon Pegg and was released in 2004.

Johnny English Reborn;

Budget of $45 million, and grossed $8 million, meaning a loss of $37 million. The film is an adventure comedy, starring Rowan Atkinson, Rosamund Pike and Dominic West and was released in 2011.

He's Just Not That Into You;

Budget of $40 million, grossed $165 million, meaning a profit of $125 million. The film is a comedy/drama/romance, starring Jennifer Aniston, Jennifer Connelly and Morgan Lily and was released in 2009.

Notting Hill;

Budget of $42 million, grossed $247 million, meaning a profit of $205 million. The film is a romantic comedy, starring Hugh Grant, Julia Roberts and Richard McCabe and was released in 1999.

Bridget Jones Diary;

Had a budget of $26 million, grossed $71.5 million, meaning a profit of $45.5 million. The film is a romantic comedy, starring Renee Zellweger, Colin Firth and Hugh Grant and was released in 2001.

We have noticed a pattern in that the most successful Working Title films are romantic comedies or comedies of another type. Therefore Working Title probably would not be an ideal choice of production company for our film. However, we have noticed that recently they have expanded into the thriller and drama genres more - with films such as Contraband and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.


by Lauren, Rana and Rebecca

DVD Cover

Idea for our DVD cover. If we were to make a final copy, we would replace the girl's face with the face of our main character. I created this on photoshop by reducing the opacity of the photograph in the foreground, contrasting it with the bright city lights in the background. I thought that this worked with the storyline of our film - the character being lost into the chaos of the city. I chose to use this font to match in with the font of the titles and credits in our opening. I also added in the age rating we had decided would be appropriate for our film.

by Rebecca

Music created for the club scene

Media Club Scene by beckyd

I have created this track to use as the music in the club scene using Sony Acid X software. We decided that we should create our own music in order to avoid any issues with copyrighted material, and so that we could make sure that the music was a perfect fit with the mood we wanted for the scene. The music needed to be fast paced with a darker feel than usual 'dance' music, therefore I added deeper tracks in the background to add atmosphere and also so that the suspense is maintained.

by Rebecca

Test Shoot - Alleyway scene

When we shot our alley way scene it was light outside, however when it comes to filming the real thing we will be doing it at night time using lights. It was difficult to edit the outside lighting on iMovie. We used lots of long shots in this scene, but when it comes to the actual thing we will use more close ups, medium close ups and extreme long shots as the character is walking by. During the fight scene we might film parts of it from the point of view of one of the characters. We muted the natural sounds as it did not fit with the clip, therefore we will add music at different volume levels whilst the character walks further away from the club, this will fit the scene more. The main character walking drunk will not walk as unstable as she did because it looked to staged and not real.


by Lauren, Rana and Rebecca

Filming Locations

Opening City Shots 


For the first few shots of our opening scene, we needed long shots of a city, preferably a busy London location at night. There were a few locations that came to mind when we began to think about iconic London locations; the Millennium Wheel and South Bank, Trafalgar Square, Oxford Street and being a few of them. However, the practicality of filming in these places has to also be considered and we will have to visit them one evening to see if it would be possible to get the right camera angles and shots.

By Rebecca


Inside of the Club 

For the interior of the club, we have two options to consider.

• Firstly, we could travel with our main actor to a real club and film the shots of her moving through the crowd. The benefit of doing this would be that the background / settings would be completely realistic and believable, it would be easy to create the correct atmosphere and also the lighting would be that of an actual club. The disadvantages would be that it may be difficult to transform the filming equipment and get it into a club, clubs have age limits and some of us are under 18 and also we would have to consider a lot of safety factors. Also, we might find it hard to get the exact shots we want because obviously we could not direct the crowd at the club.
• Secondly, we could use the interior of our school's theatre. The benefit of this would be that we could select all of the people that were there and could therefore give them directions to make sure that we get the best possible outcome. In addition to this, more factors would be under our control, such as costume, lighting and the design / layout of the location. However, there would be much more organisation required in order to create a club look and atmosphere inside of a theatre and we would have to find quite a lot of people to act in this scene.

By Lauren

Alleyway / street scenes and the attack 


After thinking about the kind of feel that we want the alleyway / attack scenes to have, we decided to film the scenes near to an old looking brick wall. We then had to decide whether we wanted to find a suitable location within the school or whether we wanted to film outside on a public street / alleyway. There were many factors that affected our decision - how we would transport equipment to the location, the lighting of the scene, safety, travelling to and from the location and the amount of control we had over the surroundings.

• If we filmed in a more public place, we would be unable to control people walking past and outside noise. Also, it would be difficult to transport the equipment and find places to plug in the lighting. Safety would also be an issue, especially having the actors travel to and from the location and the security of the equipment. However, it would be much easier to create the look of a real alleyway and maintain the atmosphere of a street at night. 
• If we filmed inside of the school, we would have to figure out how to make it look like a convincing alleyway. Although we would have more control over the look of the surroundings, we would find it more difficult to get a specific location where we could create a realistic looking scene. Transporting the equipment would be much easier, and we wouldn't have to worry about travel to and from the location.

By Rana