Evaluation 1

In what way does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? (i.e. of film openings).
The title of our thriller movie is Isolation. We chose this word as our title as it resembles the isolation of the surroundings our main character is in throughout the opening of our thriller. He wakes up in derelict location, completely lost from the real world. The definition of Isolation means to be separated from everything, for example in this instance life. The character in the opening (David Lewis) was just a normal person in the normal world until his drink is spiked. The word isolation implies hes in a completely different world. We can tell this is the case by his reactions. He reacts as a normal person would when he hears the loud bangs and sees the dead body (Will Mead). When choosing our title, our group were stuck between two different names. One was The Day After and the other obviously being Isolation. We didnt choose The Day After because we felt it was quite boring and didnt really have much meaning to it, whereas Isolation really gives the audience a chill, and in a way foreshadows the story line. The picture below shows our title written as part of a title sequence. We made this title by using the iMovie app. We decided the colours black and grey are very plain and link well with the word Isolation. The font is Copperplate Gothic Bold and we used this because it had a very dark and eerie feel to it.

Setting/Location Our thriller was located in an abandoned barn by Love Lane in Ongar, Brentwood. We wanted to find a place that was in the middle of nowhere so nobody could interfere with our filming and so it could be a suitable environment for the plot of our thriller. We found this quite a struggle because our 4 group members all live a fair distance away from each other. When our partner, David, told us about the barn where he lives in Ongar we decided that it sounded like our best shot to film our movie opening. It was difficult to access the location for some of us due to the distance and time but we managed to get there and film what was needed. The barn was completely deserted, on its own in the middle of a field with only some football pitches and a park to be seen from far away. The outside of the barn wasnt particularly dirty or suspicious looking. It just looked very plain and unmaintained. On the other hand the inside was completely different. The floor was covered with wood and broken glass, and the walls were filled with graffiti. This added to the location as it suggested that it had been used for crime before. This location was very successful because it had a very cold chill to it, and constantly created a sense of tension towards the audience. It was very isolated which suited the plot and is why we titled the thriller isolation. Our second location was a pub called The Rose in Shenfield, Brentwood. This isnt our main location as the filming here only lasts for about 20 seconds. Filming our bar scene was extremely easy because the pub is only a minute walk from the school. This meant we could do it during school hours with our whole group available.

Costumes and Props We thought for a long time on what costumes our characters should be wearing. Due to the fact we only have 2 actors in the opening, and one of them is only in it a little amount we thought a lot harder about what David Lewis, our main character would be wearing. As a group we couldnt decided whether he should look smart or casual. We took into consideration that when his drink is spiked, hes in a bar where people tend to wear smart casual attire. We dressed Dave with a smart black jumper, with a white shirt underneath, black jeans, and formal black shoes. We wanted to use these clothes to portray to the audience that Daves character is just a normal person, although he has been pulled into an unlikely and unfortunate situation. We wanted to convey him as somebody who likes to dress well, and look good and we wouldnt be able to suggest that in a t shirt. As Dave is in a bar when his drink is spiked, his character has to be 18. We also decided to go with the smarter clothing because it made him look a lot older and we wanted the character to be seen as an adult. Making Dave look older in smarter attire had the impact of making Wills character look younger because Will was dressed in a t shirt, jeans and a jacket. We covered Wills mouth with duct tape to film so it tells the audience that hes been a victim in some sort of crime. The elder look on Dave emphasised the younger look on Will to the audience. Like Dave, we also wanted Will to look like his character had been a normal person and led a normal life. Lots of props were used throughout our thriller, and we had to sit down and have a discussion about what props we would actually use whilst filming. The first prop seen in the move is in the opening scene. Its simply just a glass of light spirit seen in the bar (which was actually coca cola). Straight after this the second prop is shown which is tiny which is the drug spiking the drink. We werent actually sure what to use for this so we had a discussion as a group. We decided to go against using an actual drug such as paracetamol for reasons such as money and wastage. The pill is only shown on the screen for 1 second so we decided it doesnt

need to look exactly the same, and also the majority of the audience wont know exactly what an illegal drug will look like. In the end, we actually broke a chewing gum in half, scraped the outer shell off and rounded it into a circle shape. This meant we avoided using extra money as we already had some chewing gum, and it didnt waste drugs which could be needed like the paracetamol. The next visual prop shown is the piece of paper that has been laid down next to Wills dead body which states You Did This! This prop has a huge impact on the twist of the plot. It gives the audience an idea as to whats happened but theyre still not sure. This creates a lot of tension. To use this we just simply wrote the words on a piece of paper in red and scrunched the paper up a little. We used the colour red because its connotations are blood, death and violence which has clearly happened in our story. We drew red splodges by the writing as well to make it look like its been written in blood, and some has dropped onto the paper. The phone plays a big part in the scene as well as its shown straight after the piece of paper in the thriller. Daves phone goes off with a text message alert during the shot. He receives a message from a unknown number saying were watching you. A phone alert going off at this point in a horror/thriller movie is a very typical and common thing to see. We didnt want to include many things that would be seen a lot in this type of film, although we figured that we dont want it to be too different that it doesnt look good. We know for a fact from real movies that things like this do work and cause a lot of tension for the audience.

Camerawork and Editing

A large variety of different shots are used throughout our thriller. The first scene opens with a close up of a drink inside a bar. We chose the close up because it emphasises whats happening the actual scene. The bar and beer taps can be seen in background as well which helps to inform the audience of the location at the start. Our thriller uses a lot of close ups for the same reason as the first. They emphasise the twist and the plot in the opening. Over the shoulder shots played a huge part when filming our thriller. We used a lot of them because we believed that they created a real sense of tension in the opening. It also has the same kind of effect as a POV shot, as it shows what the character can actually see from their point of view. This meant that we could use both shots and create the same effects. There are lots of POV shots in our film because they emphasised the props that we had to use when filming. The pieces of paper which use POV shots state you did this and youre next which builds a relationship with the audience as it puts them inside the main characters shoes. We only included one high angle shot in our movie. This was because we decided that theyre used very commonly throughout this type of film and we didnt want to overuse the shot in a matter of 2 minutes. We used the high angle shot as it shows Daves surroundings and it makes it very suspenseful. It tells the audience that the character being shown is in a vulnerable and dangerous situation as they already know, and the shot allows them to believe this even more. Match cuts are the main piece of editing we used. The match cut shows the continuity editing of the film and allows each shot to flow from one to another. This is why its used in all movies, not just ours. To keep each shot flowing well we didnt always use a cut. Transitions are used for example as the thriller moves from the bar scene to the next to show there is a change in the location. The dizzy, swirly and blurry look of the transition also refers to how to character was feeling as his drink was

spiked. He wakes up in the next scene confused, with a blurred vision of what happened the night before. The music we picked to put over our thriller had a big impact on the jumpiness and the tension built in each shot. As expected each different type of music had a different effect on the movie. Before choosing which music we would actually use we listened to a whole range of different tracks. We even just mucked around with it and tested our own iTunes library, which of course wouldnt have been suitable although it did completely change the feel of the film. The spooky music is extremely important to us. This is because the majority of our opening has a very quiet and scary atmosphere, hence the choice of our title Isolation.

Story and how the opening sets it up

When planning the story line for our thriller, we had lots of different and unique ideas on what we could do. We discussed as a group on what the plot for our thriller should involve and decided that we wanted to create something that was very realistic and intriguing towards the audience. We didnt want it to be too common for example a kidnapping in the film Taken, although at the same time we didnt want it to be over the top such as films like Star Wars and Lord of the Rings. Our group experienced many difficulties throughout the process of filming as well due to having to change locations which had a knock on effect of having to change our plot. In the opening shot of our film, the audience are shown a close up of a drink getting spiked which is quite clearly seen in a bar/pub location. The fact that the drink gets spiked first thing in the thriller foreshadows to the audience with what could come later on, although they dont know what. It instantly makes them think only bad can come, which helps to build tension and suspense. The following shot shows our main character, David Lewis, lying unconscious on a dirty, ruined floor to suddenly be woken up by a loud bang. The bang that he wakes up to creates vulnerability to the character because hes in such an isolated area, which suggests he isnt the only person there which implies danger. He walks around to look at the isolation of his surroundings shown by the over the shoulder and POV shots only to come across a dead body. His legs and arms tied with rope and duct tape covering his mouth. The use of prop here suggests that this was planned and somebody must have done this which keeps the audience on the edge of their seats as they want to know more. The final shots used in the opening show Dave frantically running away from where he is, into another small nearby derelict building. Props are once again a main part in these shots as well, because on the walls of this building he finds pictures of himself hung up all over the place. These are pictures of just his normal life for example walking down his road, outside of his school etc. This proves that whatever has happened has all been planned and our main character has been targeted and thats where it ends because a lot more can go on from there that the audience will want to know about. Its left on a cliff hanger.

Genre and how the opening sets it up

Our film focuses on the mental, scary and very jumpy side of a thriller, which meant that it was very important to us to make sure that there was always a sense fear throughout the opening. This is also why we categorised it in the horror section for thrillers. We tried to make it as if there was a constant, never ending flow of tension and suspense that will always keep the audience on the edge of their seats. The derelict, disused location suited well with the conventions of a thriller. The change from the normal pub/bar into a completely isolated and abandoned barn emphasised how well it did link with the thriller conventions. Graffiti, smashed glass and empty beer cans all played a part in suggesting that its a very commonly used location for criminal activity. The mysteriousness and creepiness of the pictures hung up on the walls towards the end of our opening really created the anxiety and the chill the audience would feel which is seen very often in horror thriller movies. We left the killer anonymous and it leaves a cliff hanger for the rest of the story on to carry on which helps to create excitement for the audience. We also left the killer unseen because we wanted to emphasise the normality of the other two characters shown throughout and how theyd been dragged into such an unfortunate situation. The costumes we dressed the characters in portrayed that they were normal as they were just casual clothes that are seen every day by anyone. The rope tied around Wills legs and wrists and the duct tape covering his mouth proved that there must have been somebody there to do it to him. This let the audience know that more is to come of this and it keeps them on edge wanting to find out. The music we used was a very important aspect of our thriller. It made the opening very spooky and eerie. The variety of pace and intonation of the music the audience feel uneasy to watch it.

How characters are introduced

We only had 2 characters starring in our thriller, and one of them was just a very small part. The main character of our film is introduced as just a normal person in a very unusual situation. He is first seen picking up a glass of drink inside a bar, although this shot only shows his hand and doesnt introduce the character. He is first shown by using a high angle shot of him lying on a rough, graffiti covered plank of wood. The fact he is knocked out and the use of the high angle shot suggests his vulnerability in the situation and foreshadows the danger that is yet to happen in the thriller. The element of surprise and shock he also has when he wakes up implies that he doesnt know where he is, what is happening or whats happened. This again makes the audience believe that he is in danger. The dirtiness of his surroundings in this shot suggests how the character is feeling at this point in time. Graffiti is a criminal offence therefore he knows hes in a bad situation, and maybe surrounded by criminals themselves. Our second character plays such a small part in thriller but has a huge effect. We made it like this because we wanted him to be anonymous because it added to the mysteriousness and eeriness of the whole film. Will Mead played the role of a dead male, and is introduced with an over the shoulder shot of our leading role David Lewis. Due to the fact that Dave wakes up without remembering a thing of his night, his finding of Wills body gives him his first clue. This tells him that he isnt on his own and that somebody must have done this and set them up although because its only the start he doesnt find out as yet. This leaves the audience on a cliff hanger and intrigues them to watch the rest.

Collage of photos from filming

This is a collage of screenshots put together from the final piece of our film. Each of these photos in different ways, challenge or develop the thriller conventions. Due to the fact that the majority of them are in the same place, they do fit the conventions of a thriller location. The one that challenges the location conventions is the picture of as drink inside a bar. A bar isnt the typical place for a thriller to be filmed therefore this made it unique. In all pictures it seems as if crime has taken place and the character seems very paranoid which develops the codes and conventions. The two characters are just innocent victims which also develops the thriller conventions. Murder has quite clearly taken place, which is very common in a thriller. Everything else in the photos challenges the conventions because the criminal is anonymous whereas in a typical thriller film, theyll be shown to the audience.