Final Idea

The final idea that we had all agreed on as a group was: A psychological thriller that contained a killer who once lived within the hundreds of flats that a rundown estate in a urban area within London contained. The boy is no longer living within the estate and has now grown older, he lives a more established life now however his past still has a major impact on his life and actions today. No one is aware of the past of this boy, no one truly cares. 

At the beginning of the sequence, the area that the boy used to live in as a child will be shown and the bad state of it therefore giving the audience an insight on the boys past. There will then be shots showing the type of life that this boy is currently living and this is when he will be introduced. He will be shown walking alone into his house and going to the bathroom to retrieve items that would help the audience understand the mentally abnormal state that this character is in.

Initial Ideas

Idea 1:

17 year old Dylan is constantly bullied in school and on social networking sites when he goes home; everyone in school (sometimes even the teachers join in with the joke) joins in but there is one main group within the school that contribute and that started off this unfair treatment towards Dylan. (The idea of there being one group who are the main culprits of bullying is from the film Mean Girls) It is not long before the “joke” is taken too far and Dylan dies due to an asthma attack when the group think it would be funny to hide his asthma pump. Dylan comes back to haunt and grimly kill them because of what they put him through when he was alive. The inspiration for this idea was from a documentary "Cyber Bully". It will be set in Barking Abbey School.

Idea 2:

A new student attending Barking Abbey School has a mysterious, unfinished past. Her new friends slowly start to recognise the abnormal behaviour of this girl and start to question it. By the time her friends have done their research on this girl and figure out an explanation for her weird behaviour it is too late. This inspiration of this came from a television show that I watched when I was younger however I cannot remember the name of it. This inspiration was gathered from what I understood and remember of it from when I was younger.


Idea 3: 

A boy is causally walking home from school one day, he walks through the park alone and stumbled across a crisp £5 note on the ground. As anyone would, he picked up the note and found it had been wrapped around a button. The boy is confused but continues his journey after taking the note and throwing the button back to the ground. When the boy gets home he is astonished as he discovers that the same button that had been wrapped inside the note was laying on his desk in his room. It had followed him. Again she attempts to get rid of the button however it continues to follow her. It will continue the theme of supernatural activities. This idea had been inspired from the movie "Drag me to hell".


Idea 4:

A male murderer is hidden amongst many students in Barking Abbey School. No one is aware of the doings of this boy, he is just a "normal" student. He is constantly finding new places to hide his weapon around the school so that he is not discovered. On his weapon blood will be shown to suggest to the audience that this is not the first time that he has used it. He washes the weapon in the boys bathroom when no one is around and then the sequence would end with a zoom in to the boys face smiling menacingly.

Photo Storyboard

Moodboard

This is the moodboard I and my group created to help organise our ideas on the media product we had to create:

Examples of titles

In order to choose the right font for the title we had to carry out some research on different fonts and see which one we felt would fit the genre and style of our media product the best. Below are some of the examples of the type of font texts we looked at:

Evaluation Question 6

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

During the process of constructing our product the hardware we used were a Canon XHAI Camera and tripod. Through using these we learnt how to set up and use the tripod and camera so that it remained secure and steady at all times. If this was not done it’s possible the shots would be unlevelled and not securely taken. We also learnt how to maintain the spirit level and keep it centre so that the camera shots are all level and had to remember that with every move of location with the camera, the spirit level was to be checked. From using the tripod we learnt that if all the legs on the tripod weren’t equal and level the tripod would not be stable and hold the camera upright.


For editing we used Adobe Premiere. From using this hardware we learnt how to import different images and sounds and learnt that we could import images throughout the process of editing. We used the cut tool every time we saw the white board in the shots from this we were able to split up all of our shots and edit them individually. The media technician was there to teach us how to add fades. From his teaching we were able to use ‘fades in’ and ‘fades out’ within shots to introduce the audience to a new location as some shots did not look natural as it would cut to a completely different scene. The fade then made it all flow together and look much smoother.

The special effects used made all the shots look more dull and gloomy helping to relate to the action on the screen and on the narrative of the psychological thriller, we did this by lowering the redness and the brightness of each shot. Throughout editing we used many filming techniques including total shots which allowed us to have a backup in case when editing we didn’t like the way something looked we were able to change it. We also tried to use as many different camera angles and shots to not only allow the audience to see his surrounding but to see things from his point of view.

The key lessons we learnt whilst using the technology and equipment were that the camera is the eye and that the camera needs to be level through the spirit level and the lock of the tripod clips.  We understand that there is a step by step process to ending with the media product we did and that it’s not just the case of picking up a camera and filming the idea that we had in our heads. For example the storyboard and shooting schedule, timetable for the day, actual production and post-production. We learnt that anyone can use a camera and make a film but, we learnt how to use a camera in the correct way and make a film professionally.

Evaluation Question 3

  

Evaluation Question 1

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms of conventions of real media products?

The Logo that we chose to use is overall an impersonation of the main character that I used throughout the entire opening sequence. The fade in to the production logo is used to allow the audience to focus solely on the screen and slowly ease them into the world of the film, diverting their mind completely from the real world. The production logo itself represents the main character in the film. The suit is something that the main character is known for, the audience are not aware in the opening sequence but the main character wears a suit every single day. The hands of the body show the confidence that this character contains and the pill as the head represents the complete other side of the character that the audience are able to slightly make out from the opening sequence. For the opening shot showing the production logo, we chose to use the complete opposite colour to the colour of the logo. A white background was placed behind the mainly black logo. This was done to portray how the character that it represents is also something that stands out from the crowd as the logo does. The same effect was placed on every single shot in the opening sequence; the redness was lowered on every frame in order to make the whole sequence look as though it has a lower key lighting which helps to foreshadow bad things that may be yet to come.

A fade in was put at the beginning of the establishing shot of the buildings so that not only would it match the music that was playing in the background but also that a climax would begin to be built. The establishing shot that was placed at the beginning of the sequence was inspired by the opening sequence of the movie “Panic Room” whereby there are many shots of the tops of buildings of a city. This was used to show the audience that this is set in a suburb of London. The tilt down of a single building focussed mainly on the bad state of it; showing the broken windows and the worn out painting of it and is used to show the audience the run down area that it is set in. The credits used un this shot are placed along the right hand side of the building, similarly in every shot, the credits have been placed in a clear area of the frame, a place where they would not get in the way of the action on the screen or distract the audience. We wanted the audience to focus clearly on the run down area we are trying to show. The long shot showing another block in the distance before the pan leading up to a medium shot showing specific trees is used to show the everyday surroundings of the people who live in this area (the main character included). The use of many different shows of buildings was used to show how the entire area is the same and the low key lighting used to create a gloomy effect on the audience and to show that this is quite a dual and miserable area. The music that is used at the end of this show is placed here in particular as a climax is able to be built leading onto the next show as the next shot of the swing is very significant in the opening sequence.

A heavy beat is dropped on the long shot of the swing and this is to show that the swing itself is significant as it represents a large part of the childhood of the main character. In the background of this shot there are people casually walking past, this has been purposely done as a representation of the feelings of the main character. The swing is moving yet no one is on or around it which is something that is not normal because no one appears to have been pushing it, it is swinging by itself. This portrays that no one in the main characters childhood ever acknowledged his existence. The mix that is then used to merge the next and the zoom-in of the goal again interlinks with the past of the main character. The rainy and dual day helps portray the misery that the area itself contains.

The fade out of the zoomed in close up of the goal and fade in to the road separates the life of the main character`s (who is soon introduced) childhood and life currently. The trees in one of the previous shots contrasts with the fades that were used in the sense that this is his new life however parts of his past are still with him and have an impact on his life currently. The pan of the long shot showing the more established houses that this boy is now surrounded by shows the difference in the standard of life he is living now and then.

The continuity shots that are used when the boy enters the house are used to show the direct journey that he has taken when he enters; he doesn’t stop to go into the living room which is something that people would normally do when returning home. This is an abnormal thing to do and therefore leaves the audience suspicious as to why he has just walked straight upstairs and may also foreshadow something that is soon to come. The over the shoulder shot shows the large amount of ranges of drugs that he is stocking also the show shows the perfectly laid out gloves next to this range and makes the audience wonder why he has so many. His next action of reaching for a specific drug and retrieving the gloves again makes the audience wonder what he is planning on doing with these contents. He then closes the cabinet leaving the audience with the thought that he does not want to leave any traces with whatever it is he is planning on doing.

The medium shot of the character sighing allows the audience to see that he is reflecting on something but his continuation of movement after this then shows the audience that despite his thought he will still continue with his journey. The continuity of the high angle shot showing him walk back down the stairs allows the audience to clearly see the drug and gloves in his hand. He has not put them away which may suggest to the audience that he is planning on using them soon for something. The over the shoulder shot of the phone ringing, leading into a sharp cut showing him continuing his journey without the phone in sight shows the audience that he had ignored the call that could suggest that people are trying to contact him however he is choosing to ignore them.

The final fade out at the end leaves the audience wondering what he is planning on doing next; a climax has been built but has not been answered. The blackout that leads to the title of the film gives the audience a little time to attempt to answer or possible think of more questions that they have thought of after what they have just viewed.

A light beat is dropped before the title of the film appears so that the audience are taken by a slight surprise, the title “Feel No Pain” then comes up on the screen. This is the title of the film as the main character chooses to conserve himself despite his rough childhood in the area that was shown at the very beginning of the sequence. He instead chooses another way to get rid of the feelings he has inside. The scratched background of the title shot represents the past of the main character. The dark colours that have been used continue to add to the dark aspects being carried out through the entire opening.

Evaluation Question 7

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

Pre-Production for my prelim task was different to that of my main task. This is because there were different things that I learnt from my prelim task and was then able to correct when it came to the pre-production of my main task. The story board that I created for my prelim task was very vague. Some parts of the storyboard has the type of shot that was supposed to be taken missing therefore when it came to shooting on the day, with some of the shots we weren’t completely sure what type of shot we were supposed to be shooting. This wasted a lot of time when it came to shooting because it meant that I and my entire group had to stop every few shots and figure out what the next shot is actually supposed to be e.g. close up, long shot etc. For my main task I made sure that I and my group created a storyboard that stated exactly what shot was needed. This made sure that not only when it came to filming less time was wasted as we did not have to stop and think about the type of shot we were looking for but it also made it easier for I and my group to picture in our heads exactly what the entire opening would look like in the end as we started to build the shots up in our minds. This taught me that when creating a storyboard it is vital that all the types of shots are included. This as well as the shooting schedule is something that caused a slight issue when it came to the pre-production for the prelim task. When creating the shooting schedule we based the shooting order on the storyboard and the order of this rather than where we would be at the time of shooting and how we could save time and effort. An example being when shooting the prelim task instead of shooting the beginning shot of the empty corridor and then moving onto the shot showing the girls foot, we could have instead shot the corridor shot and then all of the other shots that meant that the camera was in the same position rather than coming back to it later. When creating the shooting schedule for the main task I made sure that the order was thought about carefully so that when it came to shooting there would never be a time when the camera would have to be placed in the same place as once before; saving a lot of time. The timetable for the day when it came to the prelim task was again not as thought out as it could have been. Taking it lightly and thinking that on the day we could just go with the flow was not the best idea. It meant that on the day of shooting the prelim task there were many different factors that had not even been thought about and that disrupted the flow of the time table for the day. Little did my group know how many takes and how much time this would take to film, we thought that we would be able to take constant breaks from filming and this was not the case. There was no time to take any breaks because of the amount of factors that we did not know even existed as we hadn’t thought about it which meant that I and my group did not have time to eat or go to the toilet etc. like we had thought, therefore meaning that a little bit of concentration was lacking as we did not have full energy. When creating the time table for the day for the main task I made sure that we had carefully planned out the timing for everything and also had alternative timings if anything were to go not to plan. For example there was a set time that we would have a lunch break or a toilet break if needed which meant that we wasted no time but also were able to fit in a personal break to relax our minds. I learnt that creating an accurate time table for the day is crucial as having one that isn’t could lead to everyone having no breaks whatsoever which could then lead to a lack of concentration.

Aspects of the production of the prelim task varied from the production of the main task. A major issue that we faced was continuity when it came to shooting the shots. We didn’t realise that when it comes to editing not everything that we expected to happen would happen. We realised when editing that because for every shot that we shot we did not run the whole clip through that there were parts of the film that were not shot correctly however there was nothing that we could do about it because we were no longer shooting. This meant that once we had put the whole prelim task together after editing it did not look good as it jumped shots. When shooting the main task I and my group made sure that every shot we took and every take, we ran the entire sequence from start to finish so that just in case when editing if we didn’t like the way a shot looked we had an alternative. This taught me that when shooting it is always compulsory for the actors to run the entire sequence through just so that there is a backup in case some shots don’t turn out as planned. The entire prelim task was shot inside so I had no issue with the weather as it did not have a major impact on what we were shooting. The only slight issue that we had was that sometimes when an actor was in front of a window, the sun sometimes shone so bright it made it hard to see the actor sitting in front of the camera clearly. To fix this we had to make the actors sat somewhere that wasn’t the original plan so that the sun would not affect the shot. From this I learnt that it is not the best idea to plan a shot whereby someone is standing in front of a window but if it is needed then to attempt to shoot it at a time when the sun is not shining so brightly e.g. in the evening. In the main task we faced a problem with the weather and the changing of it due to the fact that many of our shots were outside. On the first day of shooting the weather was clear, with no clouds, the sun slightly shining and no rain. We completed most of our outdoor shots on the first day of shooting however we planned to complete the rest the next day. When returning we realised that it had been raining the night before meaning there were puddles on the ground and that it was still slightly raining meaning that there were grey clouds in the sky etc. This meant that our shots would not flow the way we wanted because once it would have been all put together, there would be a clear difference in the weather. In order to fix this, we adjusted the brightness of the camera to make it brighter which made it look more similar to the shots we had taken on the previous day. This taught me to check the weather of the days that we plan to continue to take shots that could be affected by the weather and if it is not similar to the first to finish shooting on that day or plan for another day; if this isn’t possible to then the brightness of the camera shot can be changed to suit the need.

For post production and feedback I and my group had to edit all that we had shot and make it into a 2 minute opening sequence. We then presented our final media product to the rest of our classmates and received feedback on it. Post production for my prelim task was a bit of struggle. This is because of the continuity issues that were discussed above. We did not know what to do and it took some time to figure out a way that out final piece would look decent. Overall it took up a lot of the time thinking of a solution which means time was wasted on an issue that was caused from careless error when shooting and we were then not able to go over other parts of the clip and perfect them. I learnt that timing when editing is extremely important because it allows us to go over other parts of the editing process and perfect them. For this reason when it came to the main task I made sure that many safety shots were taken just in case we were not happy or an error had occurred. This meant that when editing no time was lost on such errors because there weren’t any. We were able to finish editing earlier than the deadline which meant we could spend more time going over different parts and perfecting them to a point we were happy with it all. I was grateful that I learnt this in the prelim task because it meant that I would not make the mistake when it came to my main task and that I would be pleased with my final product as I got the timing of editing right. Once completing editing we presented it to the rest of the class and received feedback from them. In general I think that the entire class enjoyed watching the opening that we had created. Some said that because you usually associate thrillers with urban areas, the idea was really good and “the beginning establishing shot was wonderful” was the comment that one of my classmates. The music was “sick” and the way it matched the action on the screen “was just mad” said another. The fact that the actor showed no emotion was also noticed and appreciated because it helped with the understanding of what was going on and what might be soon to come in the film. One criticism that we received was that perhaps the shots showing the main character walking were a bit repetitive as there were so many from a variety of different angles. This could have been improved by cutting some of the shots that used to show him walking. Other than this overall I think that the entire class enjoyed watching the opening that we had created and thought it was “sick” meaning good.

Shooting Schedule

Shooting Schedule –– “Feel No Pain”

Location:	Shot Number and Shot Details:	Props:	Character(s) in scene
Top of block- Gascoigne Estate	Shot 1- pan of all blocks- Production Logo Slides in from left Shot 2 - High angle shot, tilt down of one specific block (starring actor, Bradley Wallace-Prince)-credit sliding in from above Shot 3 - (camera starts off tilted up) Tilt down whilst pan of a block in the distance from the playground in the school Shot 4 - long shot of a park, swing swinging by itself Shot 5- Tilt down to the ground of the park(music by Ashleigh Archer) Shot 6- High angle shot of floor, tilt up to gate, gate opens and in the entrance (costume/makeup Kim Stewart and Alec Taylor)-credits slide down Shot 7 -track onto the court (in the goal, screenplay Savvy)-credits already in the football goal	No Props	No Characters
(Savvy’s Road) Sheringham Road	Shot 8 - Pan of the road that the boy lives on (halfway down the road to the house) Shot 9 - Camera moves as though from the boy who is walking point of view (walking to his house) Shot 10- Long shot of the outside of the boys house	No props	Bradley
Inside Savvy’s house	Shot 11 - Tilt up of house from a low angle (as he walks up the stairs in the house) Shot 13-High angle medium shot (showing him walking up the final three steps of the stairs) Shot 23-High angle medium shot of the boy walking back down the stairs Shot 24 -Once reaching the bottom of the stairs, over the shoulder shot of the boy reaching for his pocket and pulling out his phone Shot 25 -Pan showing him putting the phone on the stairs Upstairs – Shot 14 - Pan of the boy walking to the door of the bathroom Shot 15- Cut in to a close up of the boy reaching for the handle of the door Shot 16 - Cut away to a long shot of him walking into the bathroom Shot 26 -Long shot of him walking out the door of the house Shot 17 -(inside the bathroom) high angle medium close up of the boys feet continuing to walk into the bathroom and to the cabinet Shot 18 -Pan of him walking to the cabinet and opening it Shot 19 -Over the shoulder shot of what is inside the cabinet Shot 20 -Close up of the boy choosing the specific medicine Shot 21 -Go back to a long shot within the bathroom of the boy looking in the mirror Shot 22 -(again in the boy`s point of view) tracking of the boy walking back out of the bathroom Shot 26 -Long shot of him walking out the door of the house	Mobile Phone Medicines Plastic Gloves	Bradley
Outside Savvy’s house	Shot 27 -Medium shot showing him out the door Shot 28 -Long shot showing his back out of the exit (title of the film, “feel no pain”)-title dissolves onto screen	No Props	Bradley

Evaluation Question 4

Who would be the audience for your media product?

The target audience for the media product that we created would be between the ages of 17 and 25. The reason that this specific aged audience was chosen was because we wanted an audience who were balanced between the factors of understanding exactly what is happening in the film and why it is happening but young enough to be able to relate to the main character. The interests of our target audience would range from computers and new types of technology to people who actually lived in urban areas like the one shown at the beginning of the sequence. Being interested in computers would mean that they would be able to understand the technological part of the film that would appear later on; this is shown in the opening sequence through the type of text that was used for the credits. We targeted specifically males who fit this role because something that was picked up from research when coming up with the idea of the film was that the majority of characters that our main character was inspired by were male therefore attracting more males as they are more likely to be able to relate. Stereotypically white people in society have a more “forward” way of thinking; they are very modern whereas Asians and Africans are usually thought to be ones who have a more “traditional” way of thinking. It is for this reason that we chose to target an audience who are quite diverse, e.g. mixed raced black and white audiences or particularly white audiences. The main character of the film is someone who has had a tough upbringing and one of the reasons was because his parents were divorced which in itself is something that wouldn’t stereotypically be expected from an African or Asian family. The expectations that our targeted audience would have would be: cliff hangers-cynical effects, leading to a build-up of many questions, dramatic irony, mysterious murders which leave them having to think and try and work things out for themselves, conniving killers and a lot of fast paced scenes.

 The order in which we chose to present the shots and the music we chose to place over it would lead the audience to think the film would be similar to “Kidulthood” or “Adulthood”; films set in urban suburbs of London which show audiences life within the area. However when the shot showing the boy walking to where he currently lives is shown, the audience`s view is changed as they become aware that it is not. The plot twist is something that would attract the targeted audience. There is more to the film than the audience think at first and this makes them enjoy it even more. People in general enjoy watching things that they can relate to and that is something that this film has to offer. People who live or have lived in similar areas to those that are shown in the opening sequence. Being able to relate allows the audience to escape from the real world and enter a world that isn’t their own and therefore being able to forget about all their problems for a little while and learn about someone else’s (the main character).

placed somewhere on the poster would not only allow the audience to again gain some understanding on what the film could be about but also attracts those who are interested in such themes.On the film poster for this film we would put on of the shots that clearly show the suburb that the main character was bought up in as it represents the past of the character and it is this past which leads him to be the killer he is. This would then perhaps be mixed with a shot of something that represents the characters new life. This would be done so that the audience are immediately able to make out what the film could be about. The main character would also be on the poster so that the attraction from male characters would be made. Another thing that would be able to attract the target audience that could be placed on the film poster would be something that represents the psychological state of the main character. Something along the lines of a row of  drugs placed somewhere on the poster would not only allow the audience to again gain some understanding on what the film could be about but also attracts those who are interested in such themes.

 The targeted audience would also enjoy watching true movies. They would enjoy very realistic movies; movies that perhaps represent events that they would be aware of in the past. Examples being “The Human Centipede” and “Saw”; films that are very technical when it comes to the type of violence and murder it contains. They also look to watch films that have a strong and meaningful story behind all the action on the screen. “Run all night” is also a film that they may have watched because it offers the theme of death which is something that the audience may be interested in.

Evaluation Question 5

How did you attract/address your audience?

The audience would be expected to know about genres similar to the one that the film is. A psychological thriller is the genre of the media product we created therefore the audience are expected to have watched shows and movies such as Criminal Minds where they would have picked up knowledge on certain issued of psychological murderers as the main character is. “The Dustbin Baby” is a film that the audience may have possibly watched as it also shows the difficulties that a girl bought up in an urban area and has had a rough upbringing faces. They should have basic understanding on how people with an abnormal psychological state would think, types of crimes they would commit and also what kind of problems they could have possible faced that led them to the state they are in. The drugs in the cabinet that the boy retrieves along with the perfectly laid out gloves beside it foreshadows the types of problems that are yet to come and also allow the audience to assume what kind of problems this boy has as what he is doing or what he is about to do is not normal.

There are different themes that run through the media product that we created.

·         Death being one of them, death itself is something that would normally be expected to be shown in a thriller. The drug and gloves that the main character has collected enable the audience to come to the conclusion that the character is about to go and do something that could possibly be as bad as death to someone. 

·          Isolation and loneliness is another theme that is in the film. The pan of the long shot of buildings then leading to a medium shot of trees is something that was used to create the effect of isolation. It shows that this is all that surrounds the residents of this run down area; this run down site is something that surrounds them. The fact that the boy returns home and he is alone allows the audience to gain an insight to the loneliness of this character. “Orphan” is a film that offers the theme of isolation as it shows a girl/woman who has struggled with isolation as she has constantly been an orphan but then also offers the theme of internal madness as later in the film the audience become aware that she is not a normal young orphan.

·         Internal madness and psychological issues is another. The main character is someone is obviously does not have the normal mind set of those within a normal, calm society.

·         Mystery and secrecy is also another theme. The audience are not aware as to who and why this boy is doing what he is, they are not aware as to why this boy has stacked drugs within his cabinet and why he has gloves laid out so perfectly directly next to these drugs. This makes them wonder.

·         Corruption as shown through the run down area that is shown at the beginning of the opening.  “White House Down” being an example of a film that the targeted audience may have watched before as it also contains this theme as it shows the corruption of the American Government and bases its action around it.

·         Trust is another theme as shown when the boy rejected the private number that he received on his journey out the house.

   

All of these different themes that the film has to offer are what helps attract the targeted audience. They are able to take these different themes and not only try to figure out what and why things are happening throughout the film but are also able to relate to what is happening. They may know someone or they themselves may have been through something similar to the main character of the film which would make them feel like they in a sense are connected to the main character which attracts them to the film in general.