2. E.Q. 4: Who is your thriller audience?
My thriller opening is more obviously geared towards the ‘science fiction-
action-thriller’ sub category. This niche of films has been quite popular with
films like Inception, grossing $835.5 million in 2010; Super 8, that opened
in June 2011 with a No. 1 ranking in its opening weekend; and The
Matrix, that opened in 1999 and was the top rated R movie of the year.
Thriller films typically have an audience ranging from 25+ in males while
sci-fi thrillers usually have a slightly younger audience of males
From this, my audience would primarily consist of young males from ages
16+
From my audience research, not just general knowledge, the audience of a
thriller film expects to be mentally stimulated and entertained through
constantly being in suspense and wondering what happens next.
3. E.Q. 5: How did you attract
your thriller audience?
As said in the last question, the audience of sci-fi/action movies tend to be
young males from 16+. And from my audience research, they like to have a
lot of suspense, and a well developed plot to support it.
I found out about this audience research by conducting interviews amongst
my peers those younger, same age, and older as well. I asked them questions
such as “What do you expect to see in a thriller?”, “Do you have certain
expectations from thriller films?”, and “How can you tell if a film was good or
not?”.
The findings from my research concluded in me understanding that a well
developed plot is key to a good thriller film. The film should not be
predictable to the audience and there should be a good flow of continuity.
I applied these findings to my opening sequence by having a developed
storyline, taking the pace of the opening into consideration, and putting a
lot of effort into the props and set seen on screen
4. E.Q. 6: What have you learnt about technologies from the process of
constructing this process?
In regards to video cameras, I used a Canon Powershot A810. I considered
using a video camera from school but I chose to use my own camera. I found
that it was capable of the same things as the video camera and in addition, I
didn’t have to take responsibility for damaging school equipment should
something have happened to it. I had also found out that my Canon is very
high-end where batteries are concerned. Normal AA batteries do not last long
with my Canon.
For grip equipment, I only used a tripod. I didn’t need a track for my thriller
sequence since there was not much lateral movement from the cast. I am
familiar with using a tripod, in the past I’ve filmed a few people talking similar
to an interview. This was for a birthday tribute.
As far as problems go, I didn’t have any major issues in my filming. The only
thing was that I had used cheap batteries that were running out quickly which
made me speed up the pace of filming a bit.
5. E.Q. 6: Continued
In editing my opening sequence I gain experience in using a variety of
applications I had never used before. Before this media project I had never
used Garageband, Final Cut, or even Blogger that was used to post my
progress and answer the evaluation questions.
Garageband is an Apple application that allows the user to make
soundtracks either on their own or accompanied to a film clip. It allows the
user to essentially become the composer of their own computer generated
orchestra. Garageband was used to create the soundtrack to my thriller. It
was a new experience that my preliminary exercises in class fortunately
gave me a bit of knowledge of beforehand.
6. E.Q. 6: Continued
Final Cut is a program that is specifically used to edit film footage from various
sources. You can import, export and modify your work with it. I used Final Cut to
edit my opening sequence for this project which could be a challenge at times.
Final Cut in my opinion is more difficult to use than Garageband so often at times
I needed assistance to carry out something. For effects, I used transitions from one
clip to another and I also played two clips simultaneously to produce the effect of
‘double vision’. In order to do that I had to practice it previously which can be seen
in another post here. I think the double vision specifically made my opening
sequence much better. It not only showed accuracy as to how someone would feel
in the situation of having an explosion around them, but it also showcased me
using advanced techniques in my media project.
Blogger is an online social networking website owned by Google. In contrast to
the other two applications used in this media project, Blogger is extremely easy to
use and straight forward. If necessary or even just for leisure, I plan to use Blogger
again in the future. In using Blogger, all you do is type out what you want to post
in a blog and then post it. It is similar to Facebook, which many people use, so it is
not difficult in the slightest.
7. E.Q. 6: Continued
To create my titles, I used two separate methods: Final Cut, and Adobe
Photoshop. For the credits within the opening sequence I used the typewriter
feature available in Final Cut under ‘Text’. I thought this method would be
useful to the thriller opening because in my mind, I would picture someone
writing a report about the Chemistry experiment that took place in the lab
which is standard for all experiments. One of the films I took inspiration of
for that feature was the ending to Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows
when Dr Watson types up what he thinks is the end of his adventures with
Sherlock Holmes.
8. E.Q. 6: Continued
For the actual title for the film, I used Adobe Photoshop to create the name
in layers. The title of the film is A Method to the Madness. In the title
sequence you see each word descend to the bottom right. This was achieved
by entering each layer of text one by one into Final Cut so they became
visible at different times. In order to achieve this, I had to have assistance.
For the production company logo Fish Eye, I used pictures off the internet.
One of a beach view with a fish eye camera lens effect, and one of a starfish
to put on top in a layer. To create this logo I used Adobe Photoshop again.
Throughout the whole project, this has truly been a learning experience for
me. I never use Mac’s or their software, and I do not own a blog. Every step
of this project has been interesting for me since I seem to learn something
new almost everyday.
9. E.Q. 7: Looking back at your Preliminary task,
what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to your full product
From the continuity exercise done at the beginning of the year, I learnt that
very small and simple things can make your film look unprofessional and
amateur. I learnt there is something called a 180˚ rule which states that if you
are shooting something or someone from a certain angle, you cannot rotate
180˚ around them or else it will look like they are moving in the opposite
direction. For a link to explain, click here.
The mistake made during this task was not in the filming, but by myself not
moving far away enough form the view of the camera. I didn’t realize it but
my show had made the shot. Link to the blogpost is seen here.
From this, I learned that when filming, move out of the way.
I ensured that I didn’t make these same mistakes again by having several
people watch my final product. By getting multiple opinions on my thriller
opening, I was able to adjust it accordingly to suit the general opinion.
Specifically, I got my teacher’s opinion on a few things so that I was on the
right path in making it. I wanted to make sure that even if it was a lousy
opening sequence, that would be because of the storyline, not the actual
filming or editing.
10. E.Q. 7: Continued
In order to make my thriller opening, it required a lot of thinking on my
part. I had never made anything so elaborate so I was inexperienced. I
thought of a storyline to go with then made the effort to actually film it. I
needed a lot of help along the way in regards to filming, editing, and
techniques. I put a lot of time into making the final product which I hope
would show through to the audience.
I had been told that since I like Science, I should do what feels comfortable
and base my thriller opening around it. From this, I thought of an idea that
involved Chemistry. I thought of an explosion in a lab and how I could
incorporate that into a storyline. In the end, I came out with the idea of
some teenagers in a lab conducting an experiment that goes wrong.
To be perfectly honest, if I could go back I wouldn’t change anything
because I see the entire project as a learning experience. The only thing I
would tell myself would be to manage my time more efficiently.
