Lily Sutherland evaluated her crime thriller media product. She explored how it used and challenged conventions of real crime thrillers. It used suspense music and followed some conventions but challenged stereotypes about protagonists. It featured a female protagonist in a public setting during daylight hours rather than isolated and at night. The antagonist remained faceless. Through research and the editing process, Lily learned how to achieve visual effects like vignettes and the importance of match-on-action editing.

1. Evaluation
Lily Sutherland

2. In what ways does your media product use, develop or
challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
 I have created a crime thriller that explores traditional codes and conventions as well as
attempting to modernise (and therefore challenge) the forms expected by the target audience.
When given the task of creating a thriller film, my group decided to create a hybrid genre
rather than a sub-genre as we felt it would give us more fluidity/diversity over which route to
take, especially when creating a storyboard. Through the research period I became familiar
with the typical associations of a crime thriller and was soon able to recognise these
conventions when watching real media products; I could therefore incorporate these into my
own work as well as including my groups take on how to develop such traits in order to possess
an aspect of originality.
 Sound & Audio
When attempting to find a suitable soundtrack for our diegesis, we looked into the strained
type of music often used to build tension within a thriller (suspense music). The track that
we used is parallel to the action on screen as it enhances the effect of the stutter zoom
through sudden fragments of increased volume. Through our research we found that the
convention of such music is often challenged (more prominently through horrors), for
example the use of children’s music/nursery rhymes is contrapuntal sound in contrast to that
featured within the clip. Although we wanted our product to be unique within the industry,
we decided not to experiment with this as by following the traditional convention of
suspense music we introduced the desired tone early on within the opening shots; whereas
going against this form of audio may have been unsuccessful in doing so.

3. In what ways does your media product use, develop or
challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
 Mise-en-Scene (Cinematography)
Through the use of our female protagonist my group decided that to create a sense
of vulnerability/an element of unprovoked danger we must use aspects of femininity
to our advantage in order to make the main character appear naïve and somewhat
helpless. For example, in real-life thriller media products directed towards teens
such as “Trust” and “Fear” use the female protagonist’s sexuality in order to portray
them as weak and somewhat defenceless.
 A skirt is worn via the protagonist to create a soft and
womanly presentation; the way in which she is seated
with her legs closed further emphasises this through her
ladylike mannerisms and body language.
 Both females are wearing revealing
attire therefore connoting that they are
both physically and metaphorically
exposed to threat.
 Both male figures are wearing shades of blue which are light colours therefore
juxtaposing their true nature; this is done to make them unsuspected by the audience.

4. In what ways does your media product use, develop or
challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
 Mise-en-Scene (Cinematography)
Our product goes against the previously stated similarities within the protagonist/antagonist
attire through both the colour schemes and overall appearance. Unlike the protagonists
featured in both Trust and Fear, the jumper and coat featured in my own product juxtaposes
the exposure of the teenage girls often associated with the victim of a thriller; we have
challenged such a stereotype not only through clothing but through hair colour and style. Hair
tied up connotes a more open approach which contrasts the distraction caused by the mobile
phone; as well as this the darker tones of the hair colour go against the traditional ideal of a
blonde protagonist victim. However, we chose to maintain the clichéd nationality of a white
female with a pale complexion; we done so as a representation of innocence as ivory skin often
connotes ideas of innocence and purity which coincides with our characters nature in failing to
foresee danger/menace.
 Unlike the bright colours featured within the thrillers mentioned,
my group decided to challenge this by going for a less subtle
approach by using dark and mysterious tones to add an obviously
edgy element in which the nature of the antagonist is prominent.
The antagonist (typically of the male assumption) remains faceless
throughout. This challenges medias perception/expectation of the
element of danger alongside creating a somewhat eerie atmosphere.

5. In what ways does your media product use, develop or
challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
 Mise-en-Scene (Cinematography)
My group and I decided to challenge the stereotypical forms and conventions of the
setting in which a crime would take place. For example, the traditional atmosphere in
which teenagers are warned to consider as a potential risk are typically areas of low
lighting and far-removed from public eye.
 This is the commonly presumed setting associated
with crime and victimisation. This type of
atmosphere is often addressed within thrillers to
create a sense of mystery and induce
fear/anticipation within the audience. The lack of
natural lighting (e.g. daylight/streetlamps) creates
the allusion of shadow within the image, typically
where the danger is often lurking.
 In contrast to stereotype, my group and I decided to locate our action setting in
an open public area with natural lighting in which turns high-key within our main
close-up. The protagonist is viewed near a public road in which cars can be seen
within the background. This reinforces the concept of mental illness as the attack
is based on impulse and is not carefully pre-planned. The consequences are not
considered which emphasises the antagonists loss of touch with reality.

6. In what ways does your media product use, develop or
challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
 Camera and Lighting
Through the choice of our untraditional setting we were then able to experiment with the lighting of the
atmosphere. Although we decided to break the convention of a secluded location lacking in natural lighting,
we altered that of our own more open/natural setting in order to create a dull background light. Due to
some difficulties we faced as a group regarding weather changes and filming at different periods throughout
the day, such alterations also helped us to maintain an element of consistency throughout our clips. Natural
lighting is prominent throughout all of the clips filmed on Chalfont St. Peter Common to emphasise the
unsuspecting nature of the protagonist. However, when attempting the high-key lighting it was unsuccessful
as it was difficult to differentiate between the natural and the high-key lighting due to the natural lighting
being so bright. We attempted high-key lighting through the use of reflectors and tried to enhance it
throughout the editing process; the high-key lighting was ideally supposed to feature within the close-up of
our protagonist- this was to allow the audience to make the conscious graphic match between the girl in the
pin-board photos to the protagonist featured. Low key lighting was heavily prominent within the clips
featuring the antagonist in order to create a sense of mystery and possibly induce some sort
of anticipation throughout the audience.
 Due to the unsuccessful attempt at high-key lighting, we decided to use the rule
of thirds when featuring the protagonist pin-board close-ups; we did so in order to
emphasise the importance of her role within the sequence. As well as this, by
featuring the protagonist on the left of the screen, an uneasy atmosphere is created
in which diverts the attention away from the hand of the antagonist and focuses
more on that of the slightly canted (slanted) angle in which the desired effect would
be a sense of distortion and danger.

7. In what ways does your media product use, develop or
challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
 Editing
Upon entering the editing stage of production my group and I already had some
ideas in which we’d researched how to achieve to the extent/effect in which we
were aiming for. We watched many tutorials on how to achieve a “vignette” effect
in which the edges of a clip/photograph are blurred and shaded in colour, increasing
in both brightness and focus as the image becomes more central. We decided to
present our antagonist through this effect as the subtle fade into the image
connotes an eerie nature; this is reinforced through the fact that when editing we
decided to cut certain clips short in order to allow the antagonist to remain
faceless. There were many ways in which we could introduce the vignette effect
through our software (Premiere Pro) however we decided to do so through the
creation of a ‘title sequence’; this was due to the ease in moving and lengthening
the effect to consistently match the action
 One difficulty in which resulted in the reshooting of numerous clips was
the match-on-action. For example, one clip on the common must tie in
with the next- if there is a car about to pass within the first and is not
present within the second, there is a lack of consistency between shots.
Another example is when the antagonist was walking and would pause
mid-way on the pavement in order to cut to the next clip, we had to make
sure she re-gained a similar pace in the exact same location as when the
previous shot was cut short. Within the editing stage of production many
scenes were cropped due to extraneous variables such as the passing of
cars/pedestrians in which would discredit our opening sequence.

8. In what ways does your media product use, develop or
challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
 Editing
Within the editing process my group and I decided it would be an effective use of
the audiences conscious engagement with the product if we were to identify the
characters featured through a graphic match. However, in order to challenge this
technique we experimented with the idea of an identifier- the antagonist remains
faceless throughout however the graphic match is still able to take place though
the association of the black coat and stiff stance/body language. The sequencing
of the protagonist’s close up within both the pin-board scene and the cross-cut to
the common scene are both positioned on the left third of the frame; this effects
both the composition as well as the focus of the audience. It can be argued that
by consistently positioning the protagonist on the left whilst maintaining a more
central diegesis for the antagonist connotes a sense of dominance/threat through
the cloaked figure.
 PROTAGONIST  ANTAGONIST

9. How does your media product represent particular
social groups?
 Due to my media product targeting audiences of a younger variety e.g.
15-25 year olds, the protagonist displays similarities in which the
audience can arguably relate to. For example, my group decided to take
a more modern approach by emphasising the use of advanced
technologies such as apple products (iPhone & Headphones). The
teenagers present within our clip rely heavily on such components; this
could be seen as a current day social issue as the protagonist is put in a
position more susceptible to threat due to her lack of spatial
awareness/alertness and misdirected attention. Due to all of the
characters featured in our piece being of a white racial status, my group
has followed the stereotype of the typical modern day teen. Mental
illness is often portrayed through media via the imagery of a white
middle aged male e.g. ‘Clean, shaven’ and the popular series ‘Dexter’
which may or may not cause some controversy; however our antagonist’s
gender and age are both unspecified which hopefully conveys the
message that danger has no identity and therefore cannot be generalised
to a specific ideal. The majority of our audience are expected to be
within a working class status; this is addressed through the clothing of
the antagonist and her friends as the costume choice is that typically
associated with young people as well as sporting a sense of current
fashion/trend.

10. What kind of media institution might distribute your
media product and why?
 Initially I had no idea how I wanted my product to be distributed; I originally wanted our film to
be an independent film however through my research I learnt that such films do not often thrive
within the young people community (our target audience). I then considered the possibility of our
media product not being featured in cinemas but going straight into the format of a DVD. I
decided against this as this would decrease our publicity considerably as the product would be
advertised less therefore resulting in less sales. When researching companies that could
potentially distribute our product I looked into companies that are typically associated with the
thriller genre. Through doing so, audiences acquired through previous releases in the
same/similar area of interest would be drawn in through familiarity.
 An example of horizontal expansion is the Sony Corporation of America as
it is affiliated with Columbia Pictures, Sony Picture Classics, Sony Pictures
Animation, TriStar Pictures and Screen Gems. Each incorporation specialises
in the production of different areas of films e.g. independent/foreign releases,
animated releases and genre releases.
 Sony Pictures Entertainment has distributed a variety of different film
categories including the marketing of many hybrid thrillers such as comedy
thrillers and horror thrillers- both in which are directed at teen audiences.
Black Dawn is an example of a crime thriller produced by the company;
however this product was not very successful- least so within the younger
audiences.

11. What kind of media institution might distribute your
media product and why?
 Silver Screen Pictures assisted in the production of Die Hard- one
of the film openings that my group chose to analyse/depict. When
entering their website I found that it was very straight forward to
get a quote for such distribution and I learnt that they marketed a
variety of different media products therefore meaning they are
not limited to just film- however this also means they do not
specialise in one specific area of media.
 My final choice is Lionsgate Productions. The majority of their
leading film titles belong to the thriller category; additionally
their most successful media products belonged to a hybrid/sub-
genre category- e.g. John Wick (Action Thriller), Reclaim
(Suspense Thriller), Addicted (Erotic Thriller), Exists (Horror
Thriller), Dying of the Light (Crime Thriller) etc. Lionsgate is a
“mini-major” studio heavily recognised in both the production and
distribution industry; the company has expanded horizontally
through their ownership of Summit Entertainment and alliance
with independent company Roadside Attractions.

12. Who would be the audience for your media product?
 Due to the nature of our product, our target audience
is young adults/teenagers. Due to the nature of most
thriller films, the percentage of viewers between the
ages of 15-25 take up over 80% of the audience ratio
on average. When analysing the results of our survey
it became clear that the 15-20 age range was most
popular. More specifically to my own product, I feel that
younger people will be more easily engaged through
our storyline due to the main character being a modern
youth; I feel this would captivate the attention of a younger audience
as they could relate to the persona of the protagonist inducing feelings
of empathy- creating a strong character/audience relationship. This
corresponds with the results received from our first initial survey in
which majority of the responses were also from young adults. Our
product is not directed at any one specific gender, however the
responses we received through verbal feedback as well as those
received within our final survey suggested that our storyline would
appeal more to the female category.
 When later questioning the cause of this, we came to the conclusion
that due to the majority of characters being female as well as the
obvious victimisation and element of vulnerability, males may not relate
as strongly as they are not as often targets of such crimes.

13. How did you attract/address your audience?
 When discussing how to attract our audience we came across the debate of what age rating to
distribute our film as. Some members of the group felt that due to our target audience being within
the 15-25 range that the film itself should be rated ’15’ in order to draw attention to (and therefore
directly reach out to) those within that age range.
 However, due to the lack of violent nature shown within our clip and the absence of explicit content
we came to the conclusion that it would be unfair to make such a classification as we would then be
restricting our general audience to those above the age of 15. We came to the conclusion that the
rating of ‘12’ would be more audience appropriate as well as maintaining a more general view on
those who might watch our film.
 Due to modern society’s fashion culture, we decided that the characters featured within the
clips were to be visualised as everyday citizens following common trends, typical routines and
struggling with teenage hardships. A deleted scene within our video showed the protagonist in
contact with her father via text; within the shot a text could be seen that read “on my way
home”- the idea of a curfew and over-protective parents summarises the issues a teen has to
face on a daily basis. However, this scene was not effective as we were then limited to an
audience specifically engaging with a student lifestyle. To relate more to the younger viewers
we decided to introduce an aspect of technological advancements such as the use of an
iPhone5 and headphones; as well as this the concept of a stalker heavily relates to ideals
presented within todays media in which social websites such as Facebook and Twitter are being
criticised for their easy access to personal information- most prominently available through
their younger users. We emphasised such issues through the use of our pinboard, in which
pictures stating who the protagonist was with at certain times are made visible to the public.

14. What have you learnt about technologies from the
process of constructing this product?
 Although my role within the project was not heavily focused on the editing side of production,
through visual and verbal guide given to me by Matthew Hersey and Matthew Bainbridge I have
gained a sense of confidence through the software of Premiere Pro. My abilities and understanding
of such software has been broadened to such an extent that towards the end of the coursework
period I took on the responsibility of adding in the title sequences, allowing me to experiment
with the opacity independently. As an individual I have had no previous experience of film before
taking this course and therefore possessed no advantage in relation to the construction of our
thriller opening. As somebody who had little knowledge in this area I feel as though the
development of this project has widened my abilities to be a group leader as well as to make
independent decisions in order to keep the project moving forward. Within some of my free
periods I took it upon myself to work out how to use a tripod as well as to learn the basics of
camera technology which were initially self-taught. Unfortunately my group and I felt very limited
when using the school resources; the quality of some shots were discredited due to the lack of
equipment available to us as students. However, Matthew Hersey brought in his wider knowledge
of photography and provided the group with a high quality DSLR camera in which he enabled us to
use for the benefit of our product. When looking back at my own personal progress from my
technical abilities present in the creation of the preliminary/continuity task to my current
working level, it is obvious that I have improved- not only through knowledge and experience but
through comfort and confidence growth.

15. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you
have learnt in the progression from it to the final product?
 I myself am very proud of my progression from the preliminary task to the final product.
Through the construction of the preliminary task my group and I came across many issues
in which helped us to create a clear plan of action for our real product in order to prevent
these from happening again. For example, when filming our preliminary shots it was
prominent within the group that our schedules did not correlate with one another,
therefore causing us to struggle with the issue of time. Another issue we found was the
inconsistency of location- some locations were available for us to film at the beginning of
the project however were then inaccessible for use mid-filming. These were major
drawbacks which put us behind schedule by 2 weeks; we decided to respond appropriately
to the issues presented to us therefore resulting in delaying our editing process in order to
re-shoot majority of the scenes. Through doing so, other issues (such as inconsistent
costumes/props) arose due to unplanned filming/unforeseen difficulties i.e. lack of
equipment, various subject deadlines and group member illness. When reflecting upon
these set-backs my group and I felt it would be beneficial to organise a timetable in which
we set aside periods of time to film as well as giving us time to dedicate to the research
aspect of the product to keep it moving forward. We also learnt from the continuity task
that relying on somebody outside of the group when filming was irresponsible- this
resulted in us changing our final product protagonist from Stephanie Jones to myself.

16. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you
have learnt in the progression from it to the final product?
 Matt Hersey and myself worked together to form a 1st and 2nd draft of both story-boards as well as
him directing me in the creation of both animatics. Through the construction of the animatics I
was able to learn the basic programming of the Premiere Software in order to cut clips, insert
audio, adjust shot length etc. allowing me to be more confident in my abilities when applying
them to our final piece. In relation to the story-boards, it became apparent within the
preliminary task that it was almost impossible to strictly follow the layout we had chosen (due to
some shots not working or being more difficult than initially planned)- this was an issue for some
group members, including myself, in which we became very dependent on our original idea/plan.
This resulted in our adjusting of the storyboard by the time of our final product as we used our
knowledge of cinematography (such as the difficulty of a steady amateur tracking shot) to replace
certain frames with a more simplified version in which the same effect could be achieved.
 Initially when joining the AS course we were asked to assign ourselves a role in relation to our
strengths in certain technical areas- I categorised myself as a group leader/planner. When
applying for the role I did not truly believe I excelled in this area however my lack of knowledge
in both equipment and software left me with no other option in which I felt comfortable with.
However, though the process of both the preliminary task and the final production I feel my group
work and team participation skills have been highlighted- not only to others but to myself also. As
well as this my leadership skills in which I was not aware I possessed were made predominant via
the pressure and stress of our given deadline; such pressure caused me to make independent
decisions such as planning meet-ups and taking control of certain issues within the group-
however, a personal criticism of this in which I have yet to overcome is the fear of being disliked
for being imperious.

17. Survey Results
 Due to 100% of our audience
feedback stating that the storyline
was understandable my group and
I consider our overall plot to be a
success, arguably suggesting that
it may be a success within the
industry after distribution.
 50% of the responses stated that it was
‘very likely’ that they would view our
film in cinema whilst the other 50%
selected the option stating they were
‘quite likely’. This result contributed in
our decision to go against the idea of
going straight to DVD.
 The responses received for an overall
opinion of our film opening ranged
from ‘good’ to ‘excellent’- we received
no negative feedback.
 When querying the true nature of the film
(hybrid/sub-genre) we wanted to have an
idea how viewers would classify our thriller.
The results for ‘crime’ were over 80%- the
rest psychological.

18. Survey Results
 As a group the main aspects of film production in
which we feel we challenged tradition/stereotype
were elements of mise-en-scene, costume,
character choice and lighting. The majority of
responses received corresponded with our own
viewpoints therefore reinforcing our take on the
thriller genre/desire for originality. However, it
was also suggested that the conventions presented
through camera angles (cinematography) also
challenged the expectations of the genre- this was
unintentional.
 According to our responses, no viewers
felt like we followed the codes typically
associated through costume. However,
<20% felt the character choice and
mise-en-scene were not prominently
challenged as well as <40% stating that
the audio and camera angles did not
steer from the expectations of the
thriller genre. Much to my agreement,
<70% felt that the camera angles were
traditional to the thriller stereotype.

19. Survey Results
 By knowing what the audience
found effective it allowed us to
take it into account for future
productions as well as having a
deeper understanding of what
worked to the desired effect and
what did not.
 Within our survey there was an opportunity to write a comment for some
of the questions. When asking for feedback on what could have been
improved, some of the responses were very similar to our own personal
critique, however some comments displayed a sense of engagement in
which the viewers found themselves asking questions in relation to the
characters; this allows us as a group to infer that these viewers would
have continued watching if this were a real media production.