AS Media Thriller evaluation

1. AS Media Thriller
‘Oblivious’-
Evaluation
BY ASHLEY BANGER

2. Overall thoughts on the video
 My thoughts in general of the thriller introduction we made are very positive. I find that our
technical aspects, such as the cinematography, lighting, editing and framing were in general well
done and look good on screen. After many re-shoots we finally got all of our shots to look good
and technically correct, such as no unintended camera movements or shakes. This made our
video automatically look more professional and respectable. I also believe that the lighting for our
video was done well. In our initial storyboards and expectations for this thriller introduction we
wanted a dark colour pallet, to create the darker, more mysterious tone. As a result we feel that
our video does this greatly, due to the effort and thought we put into to get this desired lighting.
We played around with our first setting quite a lot to try and achieve the lighting. The way we
framed our shots, I believe was of a good quality also. After watching our various drafts of
Oblivious, we noticed some errors with framing such as cutting characters heads out of the frame.
To improve this we re-shot and focused more on the frame itself, and what is in the frame. Now
these certain shots look a lot better as the audience can see all of what is happening inside the
frame, ultimately making it easier to interpret information from what’s on screen. So in general, I
am really happy with my groups construction of this thriller introduction, we have paid attention to
the guidelines and have also paid attention to the editing process and video requirements.

3. In what ways does your product use, develop or
challenge forms and conventions of real media
products?
As our product is a thriller, or a political thriller, we have got the generic and usual conventions of such
thrillers in todays film world. These conventions being faster paced music, darker in tone, along with
tripod based camera shots you see in a large proportion of thriller films. Our suspenseful, atmospheric
music is also used in various thriller films trying to get that mysterious, unsettling feel. But just because it
is generic doesn’t necessarily mean it’s not as good, if you use it to a good effect which I think we
have.
One way we have challenged real conventions is that rather than using fast paced shots with equally
fast camera movements, our opening is shot using slower paced shots with little or no camera
movement in most places. This is because we felt our opening has no need for a faster paced
execution, we thought it’s much better for us to construct meaning and interpretations by using
slower camera movements so the audience can take in what they are seeing on screen. In
additionally, we have in a way developed real media forms and conventions by making the theme
of terrorism and radicalism the main source of our thriller. This is less common in thriller films, as quite a
lot of the time thrillers are driven by things such as crime, money, war and so on. We felt like terrorism
and radicalisation can make for a great thriller substance and which is why we centralised our thriller
on this theme, however it may be controversial for some audiences.

4. How does your media represent
particular social groups?
 Although it may appear to be controversial and unorthodox to some audiences, our media
product ‘Oblivious’ is representing the social groups of people that are prone to radicalisation,
and are involved in a secret life that is making them become more willing to inflict terror or harm
upon others. We felt that this is a subject that is under-looked and is actually very serious, so we
thought it’d be an interesting idea to pursue and make it the main theme of our thriller
introduction. To link this with current real life situations, Oblivious can be representing people in
todays world that train undercover and then try to flee the country, to go and fight for
organisations such as ISIS. This is appearing in the news more and more frequently, so it is
understandable to say our plot line in Oblivious could happen in real life, due to the current
nature of some particular social groups. All of these ideas are involved with our main character,
Joseph, played by group member Aayush Joshi. His character is representing these views I have
been discussing. The other people in the classroom are representing the usual, everyday people
in UK society nowadays. In the form of going to school, getting a good education, and then
heading off into the working world. This can be interpreted by them being in the classroom and
looking like they want to learn; whereas Joseph was late to class because he was caught up
more in his private, radicalised life.

5. What kind of media institution might
distribute your product and why?
 In terms of distribution for our media product, distribution and sharing may be limited as a result of
the controversial themes and topics explored in our thriller introduction. I do think however social
media and video sharing giant YouTube will distribute our product, perhaps by some small,
independent film distributing companies with a YouTube channel. This will be advantageous as
there will be no money required, there won’t be any external copyright issues due to all our
material being made by us. They would want to distribute our product to help draw in the
audiences that like to see independent thriller films, or features, that are also willing to see the
more unusual themes of young people involved in terrorism or the process in being radicalised.
Furthermore, small time film distributing companies based on social media giant Facebook may
also want to distribute our product. This is due to the fact that Facebook is one of the best sites, if
not the best for sharing around video links and pictures, and all the film distributing companies are
aware of this. So if the small time film distributor does put it onto Facebook, they may get many
views and shares to raise awareness for Oblivious, this is also a free process and won’t be affected
by any copyright issues. However, no official film distribution companies would distribute our
product because it is too small in scale and we don’t have the necessary production value to
entertain mainstream, larger audiences.

6. Who would be the audience for
your product?
 Our main target audience, realistically, would be people of both genders ages 16-24+. We feel
this way because our themes and ideas in Oblivious are considerably mature themes and are not
to be taken lightly. We need our audience to take this thriller introduction seriously, due to the
fact that similar situations are occurring in real life today, as seen from occurring news stories
about ISIS and people leaving to go to Syria. The acts of violence and terror presented in our
thriller are also extremely criminal; nobody should be watching this and getting the wrong
message out of it due to the viewer being less mature or a younger age than required to see the
feature. In terms of this thriller becoming a full film, it would be rated ‘15’. This is because the
certain themes, concepts and on-screen content is mature and can be deemed extreme. So
definitely the lowest age limit to see Oblivious should be 15.

7. How did you attract/address your
audience?
 I find that one of the main reasons audiences will be interested in our product is simply due to the
explicit, controversial theme of our thriller. If our target audience heard there is a thriller feature
revolving around the idea of terrorism and radicalism, I think they’d definitely be intrigued as a
viewer and as a member of society, once again linking back to current real life events. So to
really attract our audience, the main thing we needed to do is just state our plot lines and the
themes presented in Oblivious, which are explicit and is the type of thing audiences are looking
for.
 A main way we addressed audiences is due to the reality of the situation; of a young man
becoming radicalised in a secret life of his and joining into the forces of terrorism. He also plots to
blow up his school, which when you think about it, is a terrifying idea and could make our
audiences think about if they ever had a similar situation happen to them or their school they go
to. This is an idea that wouldn’t leave their mind straight after watching it in my opinion, I think it
would stay with them for a bit, which is also how we attracted our audiences.

8. What have you learnt about technologies
from the process of constructing this product?
 When it comes to technologies in the construction process of our product, I have learned that
getting the exact camera shots needed can be tricky. During our initial shoots and re-shoots, we
found many times that the footage we recorded was not good enough in the sense of camera
movement and placement. This made us re-shoot various times in order to get the exact camera
shots we required. This made us a group question what kind of camera distance to shoot at, the
duration of the shot, the way the camera will move and so on. At first it seemed challenging but
after getting the hang of it we knew what exactly we were doing. Also, although I didn’t have
any direct participation in the editing process, I know from Benoit and Jamie it’s a tough and
enduring process; all the details need to be just right when it comes to which shots are next to
each other, the sound, diegetic or non diegetic, and also the colour correction. The editing
process was one of the toughest aspects in the production of Oblivious, but I can definitely say it
payed off well.
 We have been required to pay more attention to what is in the frame, and why exactly a camera
shot is needed. For example, in previous drafts we had the camera moving in a slight pan in the
classroom scene, but then after some constructive feedback they asked what is it for? We then
changed our approach to framing and said only to do something if it’s justified and it is
appropriately needed.

9. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you
feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the
full product?
 Our preliminary task taught us how to properly film, edit and composite a successful match on
action. We knew exactly what we needed to film in terms of getting the shots to be continuous
and to flow into each other, and then we edited it so that this all came to work and the footage
flows continuously. Therefore, we did the exact same thing when it came to shooting and editing
Oblivious. But however it was more challenging to do with Oblivious compared to the continuity
edit preliminary task. This is because the camera shots in the continuity edit were simple; just either
close up shots or medium shots or long shots, there wasn’t too much camera movement.
However in Oblivious we had more things to think about, such as the way the shots transition to
each other when the shots are panning, tilting, zooming and so on.
 Overall, we have learned that making a feature thriller introduction can be very hard work and
requires extensive planning, and consideration when it comes to the way we executed certain
shots and scenes. We also learned that even though we planned exactly how we would shoot
come shots; when it got to the day of filming we thought we would change it, due to us realising
the old shot was impractical maybe due to it’s length, angle or just being out of place. Instead
we had to change what shot to use and decided this based on how well it fits in to the scene,
and if it looks good and clean on-screen.