The document provides an evaluation of the student film "BLITZED" which is a black and white psychological horror film. It follows an insane man who receives messages from his television telling him to assassinate religious leaders. The evaluation discusses the film's surreal style, its unconventional plot, and how it aims to appeal to fans of experimental independent cinema. Test audiences responded positively especially to the film's use of Thom Yorke's music and its atypical main character.

1. BLITZEDEvaluation By Lewis Costello

2. BLITZED ‘BLITZED’ is a surrealist psychological horror which sees an insane man, possibly a drug user, communicating with his television which is sending him subliminal messages to assassinate religious leaders. Aside from myself, group members were Matt Pick, Alistair Dickson and Kristian Boll.

3. BLITZEDOur film was a horror, specifically a psychological horror. Conventions used include fast paced editing, warped images utilising special effects and minimal dialogue. Also, the suggestion that the TV was inhabited by a poltergeist.These effects were vital in making the films genre evident, and I think we did this successfully.

4. BLITZEDIn the case of our film, it was vital to add something new to the genre to keep it fresh and entertaining. A horror film relies on unsettling the viewer, and if they are aware of what to expect, then this hasn’t been achieved.

5. Our innovations including presenting the film entirely in black and white, creating a more stylized look. This proved to be successful as a good contrast to the manic and surreal storyline.BLITZEDThe decision to present the film in black and white proved to be successful. Upon asking for viewer feedback, it was often commented on as being a good look. It made the film look sleek and stylised.

6. The film is a surreal one which wouldn’t really have a mainstream audience. In creating an independent film, we have represented film fans who look for something different that doesn’t necessarily follow strict story conventions. BLITZEDThere is only one real character in the film, and we made an effort to ensure that this character didn’t really conform to a stereotype. He wears all black to show that he is a dark character, and we used low key lighting where possible to suggest this further. Being a very complex character, we didn’t want to put across any obvious stereotypes but considering his persona, he would most likely appeal to a gothic audience.BLITZEDThe main character somewhat conforms to the stereotype of an insane, dark individual. He wears all black and speaks softly, and the evil laugh used is somewhat stereotypical of a dark character. Despite this, such a quiet and complex main character is a rarity.

7. BLITZEDThe type of media institution that would be most likely to distribute our film would be an independent art-house distributor. A good example would be Sony Pictures Classics, who distribute independent films from all over the world. They have a history of making good profit on the films they invest in. These include Waltz with Bashir and Run Lola Run.

8. BLITZEDI believe that our film would have international appeal. This is because the dialogue is minimal, and the film relies mostly on imagery to intrigue the viewer. I think the storyline would be only slightly harder to follow for international audiences as the dialogue is not the most important part of our film. The crossover potential for this film is certainly visible. I believe they would back it because it is a risky film, and with that comes innovation, something Sony Pictures Classics pride themselves on.

9. BLITZEDThe audience for our film would primarily be;MALE18 – 34Socio Economic Statuses D and E Fans of experimental and independent cinema

10. BLITZEDThe film would have a loyal niche audience. This is good for this type of film as financially it isn’t a big risk but has potential to do well for the parties involved.Secondary target audiences aren’t likely for this film, but in terms of target audiences, male aged 18-34 independent film fans is rather popular. Out of the people who were shown the film, the target audience did react positively.

11. BLITZEDThe film featured a soundtrack from Thom Yorke which I acquired from XL Recordings. As his music is widely considered to be some of the best alternative music available, this will immediately appeal to fans of alternative and independent media.

12. BLITZEDThe equilibrium in the film is essentially the exterior shot of the building, as nothing is yet shown to be disturbing. The disruption is the dark figure talking to the TV, and the re-equilibrium is the TV’s response. Having said that, the film ends on somewhat of a cliff-hanger. This is an enigma. The film is shot chronologically. Despite this, the editing gets gradually more surreal. Voiceovers and captions were used, both as means of communication by the television. When the man is seen on the TV, side

13. BLITZEDIn terms of stars, while none were used in the actual film, one ‘celebrity’ draw is that the opening music used for the film is Analyse by Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke. Thom Yorke is a hugely popular musician and this would therefore interest fans of his work.

14. BLITZEDThe internet was used for research in that we viewed opening clips of psychological horrors on YouTube to have a look at what we should be working towards, and how we can differentiate from the genre to create surprise. Originally, we used music from Moby via mobygratis.com which grants filmmakers the rights to his music, however we decided against this. I felt that it didn’t fit the film as well as Thom Yorke’s music did.

15. BLITZEDThe original plan was to shoot everything in one single shot but this was not possible because of the equipment. The film didn’t look as sleek and stylized in the beginning as we had hoped it to. We were also unable to find a DVD player to display the TV’s response, so we used Finalcut to achieve this. We filmed the test audience actually watching our film and then got their reactions after watching it. This proved to be useful as they had no time to write down a constructed analysis of the film, instead saying what they thought immediately after watching the film.

16. BLITZEDI feel we have come a long way since our preliminary task, and I have used two screenshots to illustrate my point. In the preliminary, no thought was put into what type of shots would be used, whereas the shot displayed from the finished film displays a better sense of angle, using a low angle shot to make the man look more intimidating.

17. BLITZEDIn conclusion, I think this film has been very successful. It looks and sounds professional and the quick editing successfully creates a sleek and surreal feel to the film. I think that a split second could be cut of the TV shot after the ‘Starring Matthew Pick’ caption, but apart from that, I am extremely happy with how the film has developed.