Final Draft - Abduction

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

I feel like the opening 2 minutes of the main task went a lot better and has a much more professional look than the prelim task did. This is probably because any mistakes made in the prelim were ironed out and not repeated again, we managed to learn from our mistakes. We also had more time to invest in our main task which is another reason as to why it appears better.

I managed to improve my editing massively because in the prelim task that was the first time we were using that editing program so we learnt more and perfected more techniques for the main task. We had more time to put into editing in the main task so we could think things through a lot more and have more a detailed plan. we especially improved transitions between scenes as we had previously learnt which transitions were best for certain situations. Also I did some research into how to do different styles of editing and found tutorials online for guides as to how to effectively use different transitions and effects.

Whilst I fell like the overall quality of filming improved with more time and care taken for each scene. We got a wider variety of camera angles, there area few pans  We also improved lighting in the main task because in the prelim we had to move one of the lights and you could tell because the scene changes and when you come back the room is brighter. We didn't have anything like this because we learnt that it is easier to darken the footage down at editing rather than making it lighter. 

The main task also fells like it has a more thought through plot with more of an introduction with a variety of speeds and tension is constantly rising whereas in the prelim we just kind of jumped straight into it and didn't think about the conventions of thrillers and didn't allow for any tension to be built up which we now know is a key aspect of thrillers. The thriller production also has much more thought through editing with the sound containing both diegetic and non-diegetic sounds. Also the levels have been adjusted because the wind is very loud and can dominate some of the shots because it was quite a windy day when we filmed however we didn't think it through at the point.

Also the costumes we used were much more thought out and we selected them for the actual thriller task. More suitable criminal kidnapper costumes and thought a lot more about picking out something that a typical middle class person might wear.

Evaluation - What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

When creating our 2 minute thriller intro we used many different types of technology to finish our task. We used a Canon EOS 700D, Adobe Premier CS4 Pro and Blogger.

The camera we used was a Canon it was a great camera that recorded in a good in definition for us and was more than good enough. It was my first time using that particular camera so there was some getting used to any different features and set ups, but we managed to get the camera working and had a little play around before we actually began filming. To help us with the camera we did take a tripod and a shoulder mount. The tripod helped us keep the camera steady on stills to allow our production to look as professional as possible. 

Whilst we were doing all this we were using blogger which many of us were new to the idea of sort of keeping an online diary which held records on what we were doing during our coursework. Some of the features took a while to get used to and isn't as easy to use as word but eventually I managed to get used to blogging.

Also the use of this Prezi was to try and use more better looking and fluid pieces of software, I was going to use PowerPoint, but felt like this was a lot better and more modern. 



Then we used Adobe CS4 Pro software to edit what we had recorded on camera. We used this on our Prelim task so I was already used to using the software and knew what we needed to do. The software helped us pull all the clips we had together and put them in the correct order and then add a few transitions in to help with the flow of the overall production. It also helped us put in our titles over the top of the clips, there was a variety of fonts to use and was adequate for what we needed.

Adobe enabled me to put all of my work together by sifting through the clips to see which of them were the most suitable to use. I also used this software when downloading the music and editing through that because it wasn't the same length as my thriller and I also wanted to time the ups and downs of the song with what was happening on screen.

Evaluation - How did you attract/address your audience?

Evaluation - Who would be the audience for your media product?

Based off of my research a typical thriller watcher could be a young adult both male and female between the ages of 16 and 25. Thrillers are very popular on a whole, especially crime and action thrillers like the opening sequence I have created. During the opening sequence their is violence shown and curse worse are used frequently by the victim which would make the thriller be at least a 15 not considering what could happen after the opening sequence. Therefore we have to aim to appeal to an audience who is over 15 because it would make no sense appealing to an audience who are younger than what can watch it. We tried to appeal to the middle class because often in kidnapping films the victims of kidnaps are upper class and extremely wealthy and they use their money against them, however this thriller is different. We can use the middle class audience and make them feel more frightened than they would because they might realise that it could happen to them. If the audience can relate to the character then they may put more of an emotional investment into the character and pay more attention to what occurs.

Most people will identify themselves as middle class and therefore it is the most representable of all the classes because it contains so many different people. Also middle class people are ones who tend to watch films at the cinema and watch DVDs because it is well within their economy budget. Whereas upper class people may find themselves at the theatre or the opera as opposed to their local cinema. They will have to have a hardy personality type because some scenes of the kidnapping may be found distressing however violence is found more and more in films and the media in general so people have become desensitised to violence and have much higher toleration for it than previous generations.

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

Evaluation - How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Evaluation - In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Planning - Filming Schedule - Task 10

Date	Actors needed	Location	Extra details
5/4/16	Freddie Hunter	Outside his house	Will film the start of the scene where he locks his front door and then proceeds to walk down the street.
6/4/16 (back up for 5/4/16)	Freddie Hunter	Outside his house	If it is raining so we cannot film or if circumstances mean Freddie can’t make it then we have set aside this day also.
8/4/16	Harry Lowe and Harry Smith	In the car	This will be the scenes that are shot from inside the car where they are on their way to intercept the person being kidnapped.
10/4/16	All actors	Alleyway, roads leading to park and Toton Park	The other scenes will be filmed on this day where they first see the kidnappers chasing him and when he is running away through the park.
12/4/16 (back up for 10/4/16)	^^	^^	If the weather isn’t desirable for filming then we can film the rest on this day also. If it is raining heavily or too sunny then we wont film. We are looking for a bland overcast day to film.

Planning - Risk assessment - Task 9

Risk	How it may occur	Prevention	Rating (5 is the worst)
Camera falling off tripod	Not placing the camera on the tripod properly	Taking the time to check the camera is properly placed	3
Strangers	If someone you don’t know approaches you	Be aware of potential strangers	2
Falling over	During the running chase scene the runner might slip over	Be careful and check that there are no objects in the way	4
Bashing heads whilst being chucked in the boot	When the character getting kidnapped is thrown in the boot they may get hurt	Don’t use any unnecessary force whilst putting him in the boot	3
Tripping over the tripod	Someone may not be paying attention and then walk into the tripod	Make sure that everyone is paying attention when they are around the tripod	2

Planning - Storyboards - Task 8

The name of the thriller used is going to be abduction, because it fits in with what is going to be occurring during our opening sequence. After the third shot there will be a fade to black and then the title will show over a black screen for 3 seconds and then it will fade into the next shot.

The first few shots will have small fade to black transitions in and the music will start at the same time as the first shot. The production company logos shall come slightly before these, however the music wont be playing at that point. The shots get shorter and shorter as the tension and suspense rises and the editing should be put together at a fast pace. During the first few shots titles appearing with names of actors, cinematographers and production designers will be appearing. 

During the fourth title in to this storyboard the close up shot the character will say something like "oh shit" as he recognises what is going to happen to him and then he will run off at pace. Titles will also be played during every other shot during this phase giving recognition to producers, executive producers and the editor.

The blacked out shot is going to be where the camera is turning as if it were the character who is being abducted and then a jacket will be placed over the camera for the same effect as having a bag placed over your head when being kidnapped. Also the shots towards the end will be extremely fast paced only last between 1 and 3 seconds as he is grabbed and bundled into the car.

Planning - Shot plans - Task 7

The first few shots are going to be filmed outside someones house and will include close ups, establishing shots, a pan and a tracking shot. These will be combined together to start off with a variety of angles from mid to low to keep the audience interested from the start. The tracking shot will follow the young man who is being kidnapped as he walks down the street and will look over his shoulder as he walks.

The shots that will be filmed in the car will be filmed from the back seat whilst the two kidnappers are in the front and we will try to keep the camera as steady as the drive permits. If the camera moves around to much from being in the car then we may have to get rid of these scenes.

When the car catches up to the person being kidnapped more over the shoulder shots will be used so that the audience can see that the car is approaching whilst the character cannot. Then a shot from the side will be used to show the car pulling alongside him and will almost be from his point of view. The final shot in this sequence will be filmed from the drivers perspective so that we can get a close up of the character who is being kidnapped and the emotion in his face.

Whilst he is running away the camera work will use more tracking shots and pans to follow the character as he runs away and to keep him in the centre of the screen to show that he is important. Different shots that may be used could involve the use of tracking him again whilst he is running and following him at all times. The camera could do a 180 degree turn to follow him as he runs past the camera.

During the scenes where he is being bundled into the car he should seem open to being snatched and will be placed in a alleyway which will add to the sinister nature of the operation. Both sets of characters will come from opposite ends of the alleyway. The shots will portray the action from a variety of different angles and from different sides to add to the fast paced nature of the final scene.

Planning - Practice movement shots - Task 7

We just carried out a few practice shots so that we could get used to the camera and editing them together. We got a new camera that we hadn't worked with before so we needed to test it out.

Planning - Costumes - Task 6

To comply with thriller conventions the first kidnapper will be wearing dark clothes with a big coat on to make him appear more muscular. He will also be wearing a balaclava that I have borrowed so that he can wear it to mask his identity. This is something that is very important to play the role of a kidnapper because the audience shouldn't know his identity to add to the mystery. 

The second kidnapper will be dressed in all black, which importantly contains a black jacket with a hood to conceal most of his face. Also a snood will be warn that I already own that covers the mouth and the lower nose area so similar to the other kidnapper only the eyes can be seen. This again is to add to the mystery surrounding the kidnapping which is a main feature of a thriller and one that we want to incorporate into our thriller. 

The final costume that has been selected will be warn by the innocent kidnap victim and will contain the black jeans and the grey hoodie. This is to try and pass him off as someone who is middle class and just an ordinary guy. This is important to the thriller because we want to create the idea that it isn't just upper class people who are kidnapped for ransom money, so as to trigger a more frightening response from the audience. The audience need to really make an emotional connection with this character which is why we have made him appeal to our target audience. These clothes are also typical of young adults who do like to watch thriller which we discovered from our target audience research. 

Planning - Actors - Task 5

The first actor selected is going to be Harry Lowe who has done drama for a few years and is very comfortable in performing as he needs to. He also has a black car that he can drive to be used as a vehicle for the kidnapping with a big enough boot to put someone in. He will be playing the driver and the main kidnapper who will be filmed as part of the roles. 

The second kidnapper will be played by myself and this wont be as key a role so I will still be able to play a part in directing other scenes. I have been put in front of the camera before in other roles for media coursework and am comfortable playing this role. My main role will be when assisting the other kidnapper bundle the innocent character who is being kidnapped. 

The final actor to be played during our thriller will be Freddie Hunter who will be playing the character who gets kidnapped. This is the most key role which is why we selected Freddie to play it. He has been used in many media productions in the past year or two and has featured behind the camera whilst filming music videos with his band. He will be able to play the character well because of his smaller physique on comparison to the kidnappers which is also important to allow the audience to make a connection with him. 

Planning - Location recce shots - Task 4

This is the first location we are thinking of using and if for some reason we can't use it on filming we have a back up that we can use that is very similar. This is going to be used for the first few shots that set the scene. This is a typical house used to portray our middle class character and is in a nice area to again support this character role.

This is the second location and this is where he will be walking along and then the car containing the kidnappers will appear from down the road and then come out from the side to show themselves in full for this first time. This is a suitable area because it is quiet and we can use it for 20-30 minutes before we are interrupted also it is only around the corner from the final setting so we don't have to travel too far. It is also a long street so the car can appear from far away and get close from over his shoulder if we want to.

This is the final location and the car will be parked up in a similar position to the car in the picture and this is the end that the kidnapping will happen at. We will also be filming down the alleyway which you can see to the left of the picture which the victim will run down and stop just around the corner, so he cannot see the car and neither can the audience. 

Planning - Props - Task 3

This is the car that we will be using, we couldn't be particularly picky about which car we were going to use so it is good that he happens to own a small black car that we could use. The actor who needs to fit in the boot can easily fit in so it is also suitable in that sense as well. 

This is the black bag that will be placed over the victims head whilst he is being put in to the boot of the car, which will be suitable for the job because it is black so it will carry on with the dark theme which we are creating with the kidnapping.

Planning - The narrative - Task 2

The narrative is going to follow a young innocent male as he appears to go about his daily business until the introduction of two masked kidnappers appear who are driving to intercept him in a car. Once the two parties see each other for the first time the innocent male will have to run for his life to survive. In a separate scene of events you will follow the two masked kidnappers as they drive to intercept the young man which will be filmed from inside the car. Then when he thinks he has got away from them they appear from the other end of an alleyway and bundle him into the boot of the car and speed off.

Planning - Brainstorming - Task 1

Some of these ideas are ones that can be put together into one thriller by combining the ideas. An example of a combination could use kidnappers tracking down and chasing an innocent person by then catching them and abducting them. Some potential props that could be used to kidnap someone that we could easily get hold of could be a bag or someones jacket. This was just a small brainstorm of ideas for a thriller that we would like to film. We decided that we wanted to use a crime/action thriller that involves a chase on foot and a kidnapping.

Planning - Music - Task 1

A clip that shows the music that I have selected to use from many that I found that were suitable in the fact that you can freely use them for non-profit education purposes. I really like this track because it builds suspension really well and then once tension is broken towards the end the music mellows out and a noise similar to a symbol is used. This can be timed to the end of the video and also to when the victim first realises that he is being followed and the chase scene is initiated.

Planning - Titles - Task 1

These are the two titles that I am thinking about using, however I decided that the second image below is more suited to a production title that will appear before the thriller starts. I decided to choose this one because I feel like the style of the font is more suited to my thriller and the image above is a bit too perfect and quite plain. The titles are going to swipe in from the left and then be held on the screen for about 3 seconds before they swipe away again to the right.

This is an example of some titles that I am going to be using throughout my production and they will appear normally at the bottom left or right of the screen, wherever is most appropriate for the shot that they are played over. I have decided against having any fancy transitions because it may make the thriller look silly and have decided that they will just standardly appear on the screen and then leave after about 2-3 seconds.

Research - Thriller audience internet research - Task E

After looking around the internet I found that a typical Thriller fan could be male or female and between the ages of 16 and 19. Thrillers however have a wide variety of sub-genres this target audience can change, such as horror-thriller will have a different target audience to a crime-thriller, because not as many people enjoy horror films and just try and stay away from them. We should try not to make ours into a horror-thriller because it creates a more specific target audience and may limit who would watch your film.

A key aspect of thrillers is the tension and suspense which builds up during the film and if you can add them both in then it will get a much wider target audience and if reviews like the addition of the suspense then people are more likely to want to watch our thriller. Also another key aspect of thrillers that people love is the constant plot twists, it will be hard to add them in to a 2 minute opening, however it will be good to just be aware of them as this will help when targeting our audience.

Another point to bare in mind for thrillers is that they are often rated "R" or as an 18 for example both se7en and Black Swan so often their target audience all have to be above that age rating and most thrillers are at least above PG-13. So you are showing that thrillers are at least aiming for someone who is 13+. These age ratings are often the case because thrillers use a lot of violence and sometimes have scenes of disturbing natures. 

Research - Market research - Task E

I asked seven people more specific questions to ideas that we already had to see if what we have been planning is on the right lines. This was to see if we should change any ideas or add to them with what the audience would prefer. 

Three characters is a solid number and works out well for us because it isn't too many so we should be able to get some competent actors who can feature in our thriller. We may limit it to two characters depending on if the actors are available. 

Either way we would've been fine however I personally think a male protagonist will be easier to cast for us.

A chase on foot will be much easier for us to film if we decided to implement one into our thriller because we can control much more whilst on foot as opposed to a car chase on the streets. We may have had to wait until out of peak times like during the night and at that point the shots may not come through well because of the lack of light.

During the day is much better if we are filming outside because then we wont need to worry about our own light and it will make it much easier for us. However if the idea we run with does really need to be filmed at night then perhaps we may have to go against the research.

An idea that we have been thinking about could be a kidnapping and based on the feedback we have received we think we are going to use it. We can implement many of the ideas that have been suggested from our questionnaires that we have carried out.

Research - Second questionnaire - Task E

	Age?	What is it you most like about thrillers?	What is your favourite type of thriller?	Do you think you could name your favourite thriller?	Would you prefer a male or female antagonist?	Do you have any good ideas for a thriller?
Person 1	19	Suspense	Action	Taken	Male	A kidnapping could occur where someone is snatched on the street.
Person 2	22	Frightening	Horror	Final Destination	Female	I would prefer a chilling scene that is dark and myserteous.
Person 3	17	Suspense	Action	Bourne series	Male	If it is shot well then it will have plenty of suspense and action
Person 4	34	The twists in the plot	Conspiracy	The Da Vinci Code	Male	A  deep plot with characters that you can
Person 5	24	Tension and suspense	Action	Die Hard	Male	A car chase is vital to a good thriller and has all the components that make up a good thriller with suspense and tension.
Person 6	47	The thrill	Crime	Goodfellas	Male	People can really connect with police officers who are solving crimes. On the other hand sometimes you can find yourselves rooting for the bad guys.

This was a small sample of a few people who like thrillers so that we can see what different types of audiences like in a thriller. This has given us a good idea for some potential ideas that we should pursue and has helped us to invest more time in others whilst dropping some. Also it has helped me to choose between thriller sub-genres because obviously there are many so our idea could go one of many ways. However this one used a very different sample with a much more varied sample which means we now have a much better sample.