Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product? (Task 7)

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product? (Task 6)

As a group we got together and discussed the technologies we used and have added annotations to our final thriller describing the range of technologies we have used to produce it. 

Overall, my use of technologies in the process of production have improved drastically from the beginning of the project to the final product. At the start of the production I had limited knowledge on handling a camera (e.g. focusing, zooming and moving it around). However I noticed that during the process, different shots that we filmed, required me to perform different camera techniques. With the help of the crew I was able to cement my understanding of the camera. For example, whilst Naomi panned the camera across the dressing table, I twisted the focus lens so that the camera could go in and out of focus, this was to give a disorientated look on camera. 

Another technology I used and improved my use of was the editing software, Adobe Premier Pro. At the start, I did not know how to cut the clips and add layers; I had a limited understanding of how to manipulate the timeline. But as we went through the editing process I learnt how to use cutting tools, trim clips and as far as editing sound and adding titles. 

The cutting tool I used to cut the clips  

I was quite daunted, by the editing task ahead, however I was able to quickly learn new techniques and apply them in editing my final product.

How did you attract/address your audience? (Task 5)

Hollywood reporter: We are glad to have Mr.Nabeel in the studio today to discuss his latest film ‘Dammia’ 

Mr.Nabeel: Thank you, it’s a pleasure to be here

Hollywood reporter: My biggest question for you today is how did you attract and address your audience?

Mr.Nabeel: We knew what our audience wanted and we made sure our film fulfilled their needs. Firstly, our plot is an open narrative and open to the audiences interpretation. Our audience would like a plot that they can interpret individually. On top of that, the plot requires the viewer to piece it together and is quiet vague. And lastly, it had all the elements thriller audiences want to see, it is uncomfortable, mysterious and creepy.

Hollywood reporter: So what exact genre is the film?

Mr.Nabeel: The film is a sub-genre of the thriller genre, it is a psychological thriller

Hollywood reporter: What other films have been influential to your film?

Mr.Nabeel: I have always been inspired by Hitchcock, so ‘Psycho’ is a definite inspiration and as well the film ‘Silence of the Lambs’, ‘Love Object’ and the TV show ‘Dexter. Audiences that are fond of these films will also be attracted to our thriller. 

Hollywood Reporter: I just love the setting, but I didn’t really know where it was?

Mr.Nabeel: We set it in a bedroom in a boarding house. We chose this location because, the audience would relate with the setting of a girls bedroom, therefore making them feel uncomfortable. I think the audience will respond well to it, because it is a real and recognisable setting, thus the audience will invest time in the plot and character; putting them on edge due to their emotional connection to the film.

Hollywood reporter: It’s amazing how much work it goes in choosing and setting a location. Can you tell us more about your plot line?

Mr.Nabeel: It is about a girl getting ready, until it is revealed at the end that she was being dressed and made-up by a grown man. 

Hollywood Reporter: That sounds so interesting and creepy, but how will this attract your audience?

Mr.Nabeel: The make-up sequence is visually attracting, the reds and pinks against her white skin. The visual elements create soft and delicate images that get interrupted by the overall tense and dark atmosphere. The audience is pulled further in and shocked when it is revealed that the man was doing it all. It sustains the tension until the end when there is a sudden reveal.

Hollywood reporter: And how would this address what your audience is expecting?

Mr.Nabeel: We are approaching this film simplistically with a thriller approach. Our plotline and editing techniques create a vague and intense plot, which the audience needs to deduce, interpret and put together- It is not patronising, like most thrillers out there. This makes the film very engaging with the audience, satisfying their needs for a thriller audience.

Hollywood Reporter: Now that we know about the plot, tell us about the characters, what kind of characters are they and will your audience like them or not?

Mr.Nabeel: Well the main character is the ‘Psychopathic Man’ he is very complex and I think the audience might fear him or be intimidated but will be very interested in his psyche and why he does what he does. There are many supporting characters, the girl is dead from the start and the audience might empathise with her because she is very vulnerable to the man. However, her purpose is to be a tool to engage us with the male character.

Hollywood Reporter: And to what social groups would your film appeal to?

Mr.Nabeel:  We are targeting a male audience of 40+, that is our target audience. We did this by creating a complex narrative which would need a mature and experienced audience with a critical thinking ability to understand the plot and themes of the film. The plot could be too complex for a younger audience. 

Hollywood Reporter: So the soundtrack you used in the beginning, could you tell us more about that?

Mr.Nabeel: We used a non-diegetic soundtrack, it is a soft jazz piece, its slow tempo synchronises with the rhythmic and slow pace of the sequence. It is also contrapuntal to the images on screen, therefore making the viewer feeling uncomfortable, because the music does not fit with the atmosphere of the sequence. The increase in tempo in the music builds the tension as there are more clues revealed that she is not putting on the make-up herself. The name of the soundtrack is 

 “It Hurts to Say Goodbye”, which ironically, fits with the plot line because the ‘Man’ cannot say goodbye to his dead sister.

Hollywood Reporter: You had some interesting people in your titles during the opening sequence, what information did you give and why?

Mr.Nabeel: Well, I followed the general conventions and rules of the industry and placed the directors name first, then studio, then production companies then actors and crew last. Because the film is so confusing, I wanted the audience when reading the title sequence to at least know the basic information of the people in and behind the film, I didn’t want it all to be vague, that’s why the titles are clear and simple. 

Hollywood Reporter: What clues might the credits give your target audience?

Mr.Nabeel: We had new actors and directors that the audience would not know, and would be interested in discovering, for a lot of these actors it was their debut role.

Hollywood Reporter: What editing techniques and style were you going for and how would this attract your audience?

Mr.Nabeel: We wanted to have a basic rhythm throughout the sequence. We used a technique where would count ‘1,2,3’ and then cut, ‘1,2,3’ and then cut. This made the sequence have a consisted pace which balanced the shocking and tense images on screen. The cuts in between transitions were as smooth as possible and also when we cut on action, this was to create a fluid and easy to watch sequence. We did not want to use complicated transitions and effects because we wanted to have the piece as simplistic as possible so that the audience could focus on the plot and detail of the images. The simplistic and raw editing used would also be appreciated by an older audience who are generally not fans of special effects, and computer graphics. We wanted to bring it back to basics. 

Hollywood Reporter: Well that’s perfect, I think that’s all we need, thank you so much for your time. I can’t wait to see it. ‘Dammia’ is out this summer, June 16^th, at all your local cinemas.

Mr.Nabeel: Thank you.

Who would be the audience for your media product? (Task 4)

To work out our target audience for our thrillers we filmed 12 interviews with people of different ages and genders, 2 in each age group. The groups were: 

1. Boys 15-20
2. Girls 15-20
3. Man 21-39
4. Woman 21-39
5. Man 40+
6. Woman 40+

In the interviews we asked each person 6 questions, 3 were simple closed questions so that I could easily place the data into graphs. And the other 3 were broad open questions that I explained and analysed. 

The 3 closed questions were:

1. How old are you?
2. What is your favourite film genre?
3. Do you like or dislike thrillers?

The answers to these questions could be easily analysed and placed in graphs. 

The 3 open broad questions were:

1. Why do you like/dislike thrillers?
2. Who do you watch thrillers with?
3. How do you feel after having watched a thriller?

I later described the answers to these questions because it is not possible to explain these answers on a graph.

If I had more time I would like to have interviewed more people from each age group. Due to the small sample size the data is limited and doesn't give a clear representation of the different demographics.

Below is a series of slide showing and explaining my process in researching, analysing and concluding my target audience. 

Below is a video of the interviews that we conducted in order to find out our target audience. Two of the people we interviewed did not want to be included in the video, however they gave us permission to use their results and data in the analysis and conclusion. 

Video of our interviews

Below is the data collected from interviews which I placed on a bar chart

These are the findings concluded from the interviews which I briefly analysed. 

I then broke down the film genre preferences of all the males and females in the study

When asked "When having to watch a thriller who do you watch them with?", three of the males responded by saying they watch them alone, the main reason was because their family or friends do not like watching thrillers, therefore they watch them alone. The other three males said they watch them with their friends, family or spouse. 

Whereas for the females asked 5 out of the 6 said they watched them with friends and family whilst only 1 said they watched them alone. 

When asked "How do you feel after watching a thriller?"

The majority of the answers were "It depends on how the film was, if its a good thriller then it can make you feel scared or shocked, but if it's a bad film then you feel disappointed"

A lot of the answers revolved around the same point, that their level of satisfaction depended on the quality of the thriller and plot. 

One popular adjective used was "thrilled!". The reason so many people don't have a definite answer on how they feel after having watched a thriller may be because there are many sub-genre's within the 'Thriller' genre and due to its wide spectrum of films, it has become an overused genre of film, causing the plot-lines and conventions to have become cliched. Therefore, audiences have become very wary when choosing to watch a thriller. 

As part of the evaluation I created a social media profile on Facebook of our target audience. It is of a middle aged man, with interest and social media posts that reflect our target audience and a mock profile of someone that would see our film.

As you can see our target audience 'Robert' is born March 14th 1970, making him 45 years old, fitting within the 40+ age range.

I used landscape photos that I took to use for the cover art and a free stock image of a middle aged man for the profile picture. 

I also wrote a post on the film 'Psycho' to show his intrigue in thrillers.

I also wrote a short intro of his favourite things, the have a better insight into our target audience.

On 'Robert's page I chose some of his likes, being a man who is in his mid 40's I chose music that reflected the music genre's prevalent during his upbringing. I also chose a lot of rock bands because I thought that stereo-typically people who like, eccentric and aggressive music would also like to watch deep, dark and interesting thrillers. 

 I also wrote posts of him asking "Friends, whats the song in the scene where buffalo bill is dressed as a woman and dancing in the room?" this shows that he has an interest in psychological thrillers (just like ours). It also makes him look like a realistic person, because most of peoples posts are either statement or question based.

I also made him sound older by posting "I love this Facebook" which is not how most young people talk when discussing social media. Additionally, the post included photos from the film 'Memento' another psychological thriller. This further shows his interest into films that are similar to the genre of our thriller. 

To further emphasis his older age, I posted a photo of a dog with a caption "Its okay buddy, getting old aint easy!!! Max's 11th Birthday!" It also was a side post from all the others on thrillers, just to show that he could be a real person with other interests. 

 I also wrote a post advertising our thriller. This was to show that people from our target audience would like our thriller.

What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why? (Task 3 Part 2)

Created with Padlet

What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why? (Task 3 Part 1)

How does your media product represent particular social groups? (Task 2)

In our title sequence, we focused on the representation of two social groups, men and women and how our shots present the male and female characters in the stereotypical roles of their gender. However at times, the girl is seen as subverting the stereotypes of a female (e.g. being clean). Throughout the sequence, the man is shown adhering to male stereotypes of being strong and powerful. We also analysed how age is represented and how being old or young affects the representation of a character within the clip.

Mise-en-scene:

The girl is wearing a white corset, the colour white connotes her purity and it represents her innocence this is an adhering female stereotype because it made the girl appear angelic and soft. Additionally, the white colour drains any warm tones in the shot, making her appear more dead.

When we are first introduced to the man we see him aggressively grab a pair of old, leather gloves and putting them on, the tattered and rugged appearance of the gloves juxtaposes the softness of the girl. The binary opposition between the light and white material on the girl and the dark, heavy material on the man emphasises their contrast and how both genders are represented to adhere to their stereotypes (the man rugged and the girl gentle). 

The man wore a dark long black coat and black clothes to connote a sense of mystery and danger and that he has a dark and evil side. He wore gloves it tells the audience that he wants to leave no trace. The man wore a fedora hat because at the end of the thriller there is a silhouette of him in front of a door, this made him appear as an  intimidating figure.

The role of make-up was extremely important because it not only heightened the eerie and psychologically disturbing factor of the opening sequence but also adhered to societies stereotypical view that females should wear make-up to be beautiful, it discusses the way in which women are controlled (made to look beautiful even in death)

The red of the lipstick being smeared on her lips connoted a sense of danger and blood however it added a subtle element of love, which confused the audience on the intentions of the psychopath whether it was motivated by love or anger/revenge.

 The use of the colour red is extremely striking and contrast the paleness in her skin

In the shot where she is having her nails cut, there is the first instance where we notice a subversion of the female stereotypes because her hands and nails are covered in mud not typical for a girl; we usually associate dirt with men and manual labour. This is not only visually displeasing but as well subverts the stereotype that girls are clean and well-kept; this does make the audience question of where she has been and if the girl is alright.

The nails are then painted a bright nude pink, the colour pink connotes the innocence of a child and a non-threatening nature this is adhering because it shows her as girlish and calming.

In the shots where the girl was present, the lighting was much brighter, for example, the shot with the nails above. The use of soft lighting diffuses shadows on her skin and also connotes a natural and silky quality. On the other hand, the man was lit by Ultra-low key lighting which accentuated the contours of his face, this heightened the sense of isolation felt by the viewer. We can see that the lighting used represented the actors  adhering to both stereotypes the female was presented as soft and natural whilst the man was dark and obscure. 

The girl is always facing the camera, this position creates intimacy and invites the audience to empathise with the character, she bonds with the viewer, this adheres to the stereotype that females are warm and nurturing. 

On the other hand, the man has his back to the camera, which suggests his alienation from the world, it also makes the viewer guess what the man is feeling inside which highlights the sense of mystery. He is mainly framed at the top of the frame which connotes his power and authority, this adheres to the male stereotype that men are strong and dominant; additionally, it adheres to the stereotype of older age, where elders are seen as having more authority and control over younger people.

The props used in association with the girl are the make-up brushes, lipstick, mascara and eyelash curler. All of these props are mainly used by women and connote femininity, youth and beauty these associations adhere to the stereotypes that are associated with women. In the shot of the nails being cut with sharp scissors, the viewer feels uncomfortable because, stereotypically, we do not associate a violent prop (scissors) against a woman’s skin, this makes the shot feel creepy, because the semiotics of the scissors suggest danger and that’s not an association we generally make with females in the media.

Camera:

The camera angle in the shots of the man all had a low angle, this made him appear as if he was towering above the viewer and connoted his controlling figure this is also adhering to the male stereotype that a man leads a woman and controls her. 

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Low angle this was the direction and how the camera was directed at the man

The girl had a mixture of close-ups and extreme close-ups these shots were used for dramatic effect and to contrast the medium shots of the man. The cuts to the close-ups, surprise the audience and heightens the intensity of the sequence, this is an unnatural shot that discomforts the audience and hints at the unsettling nature of the sequence. 

The shot of her brushing her teeth was intentionally framed, in order to appear as if she was brushing her own teeth. This shot gives enough detail from the skin and lips to connote that she is female this shows that the gender is obvious to the viewer. Additionally, the extremely close shots of the eyes, make the subject appear very vulnerable and susceptible to harm, which is an adhering stereotype because the female is being represented as weak and fragile. 

In the shot where the mud in the girls hair is being washed off, the camera has a high angle, looking down at her. This is a binary opposite to the low angle shots of the man where he is being represented at powerful, compared to the high angle on the girl where it connotes that she is subservient and lower than the man, which is an adhering female stereotype.

Editing:

The shot durations on the girl during the make-up scenes were longer. This connoted the adhering stereotype that women take and spend longer amounts of time to get ready to become more attractive. 

All the transitions were straight cuts, to sustain the tension and build the pace throughout. The shots with the man putting on the glove had very fast straight cut transitions this connoted that the man is precise, decisive and angry all of which are adhering stereotypes of the male gender.

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 Most of the shots were of long duration because it drew out the suspense and limited the information given to the audience.

The order and composition of the shots were carefully organised in order to limit information given to audience. For example, Mud in hair → nails cut → eyelashes curled → man putting on gloves. These shots were strung together to subliminally connote that the girl is in danger and is a victim which adheres to the stereotype that women are weak and powerless.

Sound:

The use of the non-diegetic sound of the record player connotes that the man is much older, this contrasts the young girl. Viewers usually associate older age with power therefore, we used sound to adhere to the stereotype that older people have more power and control in society.

There is the diegetic sound of hair being brushed, the sound is unsettling to hear. The sound of the brush passing through the hair is soft, this is then associated with the girl which represents her as gentle which is an adhering stereotype for women. However, the sound of the hair brushing is a subversive stereotype for the man because the soft brushing connotes that he is gentle and caring for her, which are stereotypes not associated with men.

In conclusion, the thriller opening sequence does mainly show adhering stereotypes of gender and age for both male and female characters. Although, there are a few moments where these stereotypes are subversive and we see male and female representations shift and oppose the stereotypes created by society. . 

In what way does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? (Task 1)

Media evaluation task 1 from Amr Nabeel

Post Production - Editing

Film editing is a process in post-production. The footage collected is placed on an editing software and gets edited into what becomes the final film. In our case after having finished the production stage ( shooting the opening sequence ) we began editing our footage using Adobe Premier Pro. 

During the process I had to make a few key decisions, the first was deciding with my team on which shots to use from the library and which shots not to use. The other was deciding on the shot order, although we had a shot list, due to some continuity issues and the shots available I had to re-arrange some of the shots so they moved fluidly and to maintain continuity.

Before starting the editing process we had to recognise the need to allow everyone in the group to have a chance to edit. We also had to manage our time and the process which we carried our editing in order to finish by the deadline. To do this, during our first session we selected the footage from the library then organised them in bins so that they would be easy to find. Additionally, we placed all the shots in order before editing each individual clips. This was to facilitate the editing process and allow us to produce a finished thriller opening sequence .

These are the raw clips shot they are in the library

When beginning the editing there were certain expectations established for each member in the group. As co-director during the shoot, I was involved in the editing process and took final executive decisions if the group or project came at a crossroads[A3] .

Our first session

The first thing we did was reviewing and selecting the shots. This was so we knew which shots we had took during the shoot, some scenes were filmed multiple times so we had to choose the best clip from the selection of shots. We then dragged the best shots, that met the shot list and we placed them on the timeline, in order.

The shots selected were then placed on a timeline. A timeline is an interface that allows you to place the footage on. It is a foundation for editing and producing your thriller. It allows you to place your shots in order, edit shots and view the time of the shots .

 This is a zoomed out shot of the timeline

During the process it was important to name and re-name clips because it made it easier and quicker in selecting and finding shots in the bins. It let us mark the shots we liked and wanted to use. 

Editing the clips

When editing there are various tools available to use. One of which is the ‘razor’ tool, it allowed us to cut a clip into two separate clips , for example in one shot we had ‘Mike’ put on a pair gloves however we found that during the shot there was a long pause before any action resumed; therefore we used the razor tool to cut the clip and trimming it down so that we had two good shots of him putting on a pair of gloves .

This is the 'razor' tool

We layered the shots where 'Mike' is putting on the gloves so

 that we could match on action. We did this using the razor tool.

When cutting and compositing the shots we had to make sure it was cohesive and cut from one shot to another fluidly. If we cut on action we had to make sure to match on action for a smooth transition between shots.  

Decisions made to the sequence of order of the shots

We used the timeline to display our shots and bring together all of out selected footage. The timeline helped with the issue of continuity. It let us view them sequence. We were able to put the shots in order according to our shot list and make sure that the storyline was understandable and coherent from the audiences perspective, whether they understood it or not. When arranging our footage we used 3 layers but in other places we used 4 to create variety. The layers allowed us to layer clips and have a higher degree of accuracy in transitioning between clips and adjust how they blend into each other .  

 Both these images show how we layered the clips on our timeline

Mastering Continuity

During the editing there were many instances where we had to match on action. In one scene ‘Mike’ has to exit the room, it starts with him walking to the door it then cuts to a close up of his fingers flicking the light switch which cuts to him opening the door with the camera dead on him from the back (exposing his silhouette), it lastly cuts to a profile shot of ‘Mike’ whilst he leaves the room. It was important on cutting the shots at exactly the right time in order for them to run smoothly through each other and make it appear seamless.

Technologies Used

To edit our footage we used Adobe Premier Pro CC. Premier Pro is a video editing software, it was the platform which we used to edit, it’s various functions and tools allowed us to edit and compose our thriller opening sequence.

Overall, we have completed the major editing work, all we need to do is to make some final clean ups and add sound, effects and titles.

This is an intro video on Adobe Premier Pro CC from the Adobe website

Overall, we have completed the major editing work, all we need to do is to make some final clean ups and add sound, effects and titles. The editing process helped me develop my time management skills and as well helped me breakdown the process so that we could work step by step efficiently.