Harry Steel Evaluation

After 10 long weeks of planning, filming and editing, our production has finished. We had to create an introduction to a film from the thriller genre. A definition of a thriller is a film with an exciting plot, typically involving crime or espionage. I feel we have created a well interpreted version of this genre, as we have built suspense and mystery without making it look tacky and unprofessional. We have constructed our production using many methods and schemes that famous directors such as Alfred Hitchcock and the Cohen Brothers have used. As Hitchcock once noted, a thriller is the basis of putting an “ordinary person in an extraordinary situation.” We did this by placing our unnamed main character into an everyday situation that everyone goes through, the morning routine, then as the story advances, we realise that he isn’t who we think he is. We also find out that he has secrets that will be revealed throughout the story.

We also used Todorovs theory because we started with a state of Equilibrium, then moved towards Dis-Equilibrium, Realisation, attempt to resolve, resolution, re-equilibrium, then finally a new state of equilibrium. In our production we had the Equilibrium when the main character was going through his morning routine. We then moved to Dis- Equilibrium, when he was having flashbacks of the hostage scene and the letter opening part. We originally planned to do a pull focus on the shot, but it was impractical, as there wasn’t enough available space to do so, so we improvised with an over the shoulder shot. We then have realisation when he opens the letter to reveal the code on the back. This makes the audience realise that the character isn’t the man we think he is. When he storms off screen, you can tell that the natural balance has been disrupted. 

After this scene we would have him trying to figure out what the code means and how he can use it. He knows it is important, because he knows who the woman in the photograph is. We chose not to show the face of the main protagonist because we felt that it would allow the audience to start to create a separate identity for him, and create how they feel he is represented.

In our production we created a motif in the cereal scene, similar to that of the guestbook motif in Barton Fink, this effect was created and used by the Cohen Brothers.

We also used a semantic code in the letter flipping scene, as it connotes mystery and suspense. However it isn’t revealed in the shown scenes what the code is used for, and in our next scenes after the introduction it would show him trying to decipher the code and figure out its meaning.

I feel we have advanced incredible amounts from our preliminary task, because we have become better editors. I felt that I took a commanding role in both filming and editing, and knew it was my responsibility to make sure we kept to our deadlines. It was also of the utmost importance to leave 3 weeks to edit, as we didn’t realise it would take that long, however we managed to finish on the deadline we were given. Our preliminary task lacked use of effects on final cut express, and the shots were basic. We also weren’t using a good enough location to film. All these points we have improved on to make our final production look as professional as possible. We however used the same location filming our preliminary task as we did filming our hostage scene. This location was good because it had a lighting board and worked well in dark conditions which was mandatory for our scene. We used black fabric boards to create a new location as somewhere

I faced problems in the 2 weeks of planning, as I become ill with glandular fever, however I still participated from home, making sure I was giving contributions towards the blogging and planning processes.

In the filming process for our final production, we used my house as the main location for filming, I made sure that over the 2 days of filming that we had the highest levels of continuity as possible, to ensure a steady transition between shots. In our morning scene, we used a variation of fast paced shots of all the parts of a daily routine. This was my idea, as I had seen it been done in the media, and thought it would fit in well with the style of film we were making. These shots were all used in a steadi-cam fashion to simulate being in that location with the character. We faced problems in the editing process because we found that it was difficult to get the timing right with the sounds and the editing. This was the most time consuming part of the editing process. When editing we found that we only had about a minute and a half of clips and it needed to be 2 minutes and we needed to add more.

When it came to naming the film, I suggested the title “Stockholm Syndrome” because it has a meaning that represents our film synopsis. I liked this because of the alliteration effect, it makes the name more memorable.

Creating a soundscape for our film was very difficult, as there was a limitation as to what music we could include, because we needed to keep it copyright free, and we just struggled with basic themes for the sound. We then settled on the idea of having our character turning on a radio in the morning scene and have a radio broadcast in the background. Again this was my idea, and I suggested that during the broadcast that we have a breaking news story about the missing person in the photo. I felt this tied the sound and the images together in a tension building scene. We then sorted out the volume and length of the music clips on garageband, as well as adding a radio tuning noise and effects to give that authentic radio feel.

In the scenes after the ones shown, we would have used Barthe’s Proairetic Code to show the tension building not from the original source of mystery. By this I mean not building tension from what we see, but what we don’t see and know about this character, who is he? Why is he in the situation he is in? Why is he important? Etc.

In rating our film, we looked at the guidelines of the British Board of Film Classification too see what was an appropriate age rating for our film. We settled on having it rated 15, because we would include “sustained menace and threat” and “strong language” which means we could have the film at a 12a rating, but we felt that it would attract a larger audience if it was seen to be more of a thriller. As 12a films are seen to not be as menacing as 15’s, this allowed us to use the 15 rating to attract potential viewers. As ivana stated in her blog post – “Our thriller addresses issues such as kidnap, adultery, violence and danger to such a degree that viewers under the age of 15 may feel vulnerable and find some of the scenes unsettling and damaging. However, I felt that the certificate '18' was unsuitable for our thriller as the potentially unsettling scenes mentioned previously are not presented to such a graphic extent that total teenage viewers are unsuitable.”

If we were to distribute our production to a film company for release, I would choose Lionsgate films, as they are well known for releasing successful thriller films such as “Saw” and “Se7en.” These films are very well known for having fast paced, gripping storylines that toy and manipulate your emotions until the closing credits. I feel that our film could replicate this style and keep with this high tension style of cinema.

I am glad to have worked with the Mac OS software, because I am now capable of using it in the future, I was scared at first because I didn’t know what to do as I’m a windows user. But when it came to it, I took the leading role in editing and creating sound, which helped us create a respectable 2 minutes of well edited footage. I also for the first time, had to take care in my styles of filming, and using effects whilst making the best shots possible. I used the rule of thirds appropriately, and make sure the lighting levels were the same and didn’t attract attention away from the main storyline.

Overall I enjoyed the chance to create a film that was good to manoeuvre around, as the criteria was loosely based, it allowed to us to make the film we thought would be successful, we had a good storyline, location, planning process and most importantly a good team to work with in making sure everyone did their fair share of work. I adopted the role of team leader, and with that role, I made sure everyone was pulling their weight in every part of the production. For instance there was a part that needed re-filming, so I suggested that instead of all of us going to film, that me and Mitchell go and film, and that Ellie and Ivana went to write blog posts about our re-filming. This allowed for maximum productivity, which helped us make that final deadline in time.

If I had more time to make our production better, I would use a better camera, as the ones we were given didn’t look professional, and the fact that we struggled with everyone being free at the same time because of timetabling issues, could hold us back.

I asked Joe Soden, who is a classmate of mine,  for his opinion of our film and he said that he enjoyed the “mystery” of the main protagonist, and particularly enjoyed the opening sequence of morning events because he thought it built a good foundation for creating a reliable media project. He rated it **** (four stars)

We will attract an audience by releasing a teaser trailer on YouTube, and attempt to give it a cult following as this will make people want to know more. Also if we release internet ads  with little information, but with motifs such as “click here if you dare” will get curious viewers to click and be sent to our website. This website will show where the film is being broadcast and will allow them to buy merchandise and pre-order tickets. The internet is the easiest way to get something broadcast to a massive audience, and isn’t as expensive as a TV advert. We will also create posters which will feature the hostage as this is the most anticipated part of the film . These posters will feature very little writing, perhaps a black canvas with the title, release date and website, so that the film can go viral.