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Evaluation: Question Six & Seven

This is my sixth and seventh evaluation of Any Last Words. It was created using prezi.

Look back on your preliminary task, what have you learned in the progression from that to the final & what have you learned about technologies from the process of constructing your product?

I decided to combine these two questions together as I wanted to make comments on how both my development of skills and understanding of technology allowed me to reach a successful final cut.

Evaluation: Question Five

This is my fifth evaluation for Any Last Words. It was created on windows live movie maker.
How did you attract/address your audience?


vo from Amelia Pickering on Vimeo.

Evaluation: Question Four

This is my fourth evaluation for Any Last Words?
It was created using prezi.

Who would be the audience for your media product?

Evaluation: Question Three

This is my third question for evaluating Any Last Words?
It was created using Microsoft PowerPoint and uploaded to slideshare.

What kind of institution might distribute your media?

What kind of institution might distribute your media from amelia_pickering

 

Evaluation: Question Two

Evaluation: Questions One

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

When researching into genre types of title sequences I found www.artofthetitle.com a huge help. It allowed me to look at a variety of different opening sequences and decide on what genre to choose for my own title sequence. Once my genre was chosen I was also able to visually see elements commonly associated with the thriller genre, improving my ideas for my future sequence. Similar to ArtOfTheTitle, I have created a 9 image storyboard of my title sequence that sums up all the most significant parts:

After choosing to base my own opening sequence within the psychological thriller genre, I began my research. This is one of my personal favourite genres and I felt I could create a successful opening that would both create tension and entertain. When researching my chosen genre, I found that many thriller sequences had fragmented scenes with cross fades and jump cuts. I felt this added to the suspense created by the sequences and successfully portrayed the emotions of a psychopathic killer. This is why I decided to use a similar structure in my opening sequence for Any Last Words? Here are a few examples from the titles I researched:

Fragmented scenes - eval one from Amelia Pickering on Vimeo.

In many of the opening sequences I researched, many concealed the identities of the protagonist (usually the killer in a thriller) to create suspense and tension for the audience. This is similar to the close-ups used in my own opening sequence, in which only small sections of both the killer and the victim are shown on screen. In doing this the audience are more on edge, successfully reaching the aims of a thriller, as the hidden identities of the characters on screen creates mystery. As well as this, I followed the conventions of a psychological thriller by using a male as the protagonist in the film. I did this as I feel using a male creates the most successful effect, as they are stereotypically more dominant and masculine - creating a sense of unease and suspense. Here are examples of hidden characters in the sequences I researched and a male protagonist:

hidden characters clip - final from Amelia Pickering on Vimeo.

A common convention I found in my research was the use of gore and blood, especially in the evil dead which had scenes of a chainsaw ripping flesh. However, I was particularly inspired by the opening sequence of seven, which captures a more psychological concept of the mind of a serial killer. Instead of using the common conventions of violence and brutality of a thriller/horror, I wanted to challenge this and create something mainly based on the mind. I feel I did achieve this while still adding excitement, appealing to the audience of a violent horror movie, by including shots of the murdered girl. Here is a comparison of other sequences and my own:

gore and viloence - final from Amelia Pickering on Vimeo.

An element that I included that I did not find when researching opening sequences in the thriller genre was news reports. I wanted to include news reports in my opening sequence to make the story appear more realistic and believable for an audience. This in itself made my opening sequence more appealing towards the audience of a thriller, because the realistic elements heightened the suspense it enforced. Here is my news report in my sequence Any Last Words?:

news reports from Amelia Pickering on Vimeo.

I had originally planned to use contrapuntal music within my opening sequence inspired by that of The Purge. However I later changed my choice to fit more with building suspense until the eventual climax, when the fading music turns into the sound of a digging shovel which continues over my title:


music from Amelia Pickering on Vimeo.
 

When conducting my research I found that an opening sequence which stood out for me and how I imagined my own to look, was the opening sequence for the film Se7en. As a result my opening sequence is mostly inspired by Se7en. I love the way in which it is presented with a variety of crossfades and jump cuts to create a fast paced, jarred movement, much like the mind of the serial killer. This is something I wanted to capture in my own opening sequence, in which I distorted my original clear storyline of the murder, to make it create more suspense and tension. Here is the comparison of my work and Se7en:

se7en comaprison from Amelia Pickering on Vimeo.

Ultimately my research into opening sequences based within the thriller genre, greatly helped me to plan for my piece and identify key conventions to use to ensure it's success. I am very happy with how my final cut turned out and the codes in which I used which can identify it as a psychological thriller.

Until next time,
Millie :)