Feedback for thriller opening sequence

This is feedback from our media class in which we asked them questions about our opening thriller sequence. A  t the beginning a class mate says the liked how the suspense is built up throughout leading to the characters death. Another positive feedback was that the credits at the end of our opening sequence were really well done.  The non-diegetic music in our opening sequence also came across as appealing to the audience.  We then questioned whether or not the screen capture that was included was something that was relevant and looked good in our thriller. The responses supported the idea of the screen capture. the voice note that was used in our thriller for the voice of the mysterious caller produced a positive outcome also and fitted in really well, however there were some issues with the volume. 

Our film was inspired by the film Scream and this was obvious to the audience as this was the first film they thought it was similar to also. we questioned our class on whether our lead actress fitted the role. Their replies said she depicted a vulnerable blonde which is typical for thrillers and is a positive piece of feedback as that was our aim. They picked up on the fact that she is alone throughout showing she is isolated foreshadowing something bad to happen. 

there appeared to be controversy about the letter through the letterbox with the words Malice on it which was included to create a subtle hint to reveal to the audience what the film could be about and gives a subtle hint to the fact its also the title. 

Negative feedback was related to the fact that too much slow motion was included in our film consequently making it unrealistic and makes the clips that have this effect too long.

Presenting our film to the class allowed us receive positive and negative feedback that will allow us to make improvements to our thriller and also advise us on what needs to be changed, but also to hear about what they liked in our opening sequence and what they think we did well in editing and filming, indicating whether it would be a success or not.

Evaluation task 7 - What have I learnt in the progression from my preliminary task to my full product

Below displays my preliminary task first followed by final opening thriller sequence:

Evaluation Task 6 - How have i used digital technologies in my production

This is our final thriller opening sequence consisting of annotations explaining digital technologies used and why in my film. I also included annotations of different effects and transitions used along with some annotations on the mis-en-scene.

Evaluation Task 5 - How I've chosen to attract my target audience

Evaluation Task 4 - Who would be the target audience for our own thriller opening sequence

For our opening thriller sequence, elements of mystery, horror and suspense are implemented together to create this genre. I think for this film our target audience would be adults and teenagers with a 15+ age rating which is appropriate for violence, drug and alcohol references, and strong use of language.

Our film is based on a teenager so therefore an audience of teenagers would enjoy it more and could almost relate to the character and would feel more engaged. Young adults would also enjoy this genre and would stay interested in the horror side of the film. Furthermore, our use of mise-en-scene to portray the darkness and vulnerability of the victim will mean younger audiences will not be able to follow the film easily. An audience below the age of 15 may feel scared and frightened from an opening such as this which could potentially cause distress as they may not understand that it isn't real life.

The suspense in the opening scene would keep the audience on the edge of the seat as they anticipate what will happen next. The main character (teenage girl) is presented in a mysterious setting straight away foreshadowing something bad to occur later on.  
    I created my own survey and asked people to respond to get feedback and a sense of whom my target audience will be; shown below. I also created a Facebook profile to portray an example of whom my target audience would be.

A film poster was created in order to attract our target audience by attempting to reveal the characteristics of the character staring in our film. This can be evident from the black shadowy border indicating fear and frightening elements will be involved in our thriller. The font of our title 'MALICE', is large in bold, black capital lettering. This suggests our film includes thrilling and scary elements that will be portrayed both through the film and choice of the film title. Our poster will be exhibited in a variety of places to gain the attention of our target audience. The face of our teenage character is presented central on the poster to attract the male audience. 

Evaluation Task 3 - Who would distribute my thriller

Evaluation Task 2 - How have I chosen to represent social groups in my thriller

Evaluation Task 1 - How have I used matched or subverted conventions in my opening sequence

Target Audience Interviews

These are people I interviewed as these were our preferred target audience. I asked questions related to stereotypical thrillers such as actors, similar thrillers. I also asked about their likes and dislikes about thrillers and discussed whether our thriller idea appealed to them. 

From this I was able to predict that my target audience would be ages 17 onwards and allowed me to whether our film would be successful or not.

Account of editing

To edit my my media product, i used the iMovie software.We had the option of using adobe premiere pro or iMovie on apple. Prior to my final sequence, i used the software Adobe Premiere Pro to edit my preliminary task. I found using this software difficult and time consuming and i couldn't quite capture how to use it. Consequently, myself and my group decided using iMovie would be the easier and better option for editing our final piece. Charlie is good with technology and understood quickly how to operate this programme to make a neat and professional looking film, so he therefore took the leading role in editing. My main role in the group was filming the scenes and Lucie was director. Charlie edited but we all gave our input to help him edit so it would be the best it could be. I helped chose the transition effects and the duration s of each clip. We all gave our suggestions to help out. As a group we worked well together , dividing the roles fairly between us ensuring we all gave input in each role. 

We resulted in filming using a digital camera meaning our clips were stored on micro SD card making it easy to transport them onto the computer. After our footage's were uploaded onto the computer, we chose which one were to be kept and which to be discarded. The ones that were deleted were clips that had interruptions in them, unsteadiness of filming, background noise that wasn't supposed to be there or just clip that weren't necessary for our thriller.   All the clips to be used were dragged onto the iMovie software so we could begin editing. Our storyboard i created prior to filming enabled us to have a rough understanding of how our story line was going to be panned out. This made it quicker and easier to sort out the correct order of the clips. However, there were a lot more clips filmed then we had initially thought of so we had to re arrange the order of our thriller and decide what clips go where.

The clips were cut and placed into the correct order on iMovie and ensued the clips were of the right duration. Once the clips were in the correct position, Charlie began on the sound and SFX. We had to go onto the website 'Royalty Free Music' to ensure we wouldn't come across any copyright problems.

Once the first edit was completed, it was much easier to make changes and visually see what needed to be added or taken away as we were more comfortable using the software. We were then instructed to add in credits in the opening sequence, include transitions, make changes to the non-diegetic music and cut or add in other scenes that fitted the plot better. We also had to create how our title would be presented at the end of our opening sequence. 

There were numerous effects and transitions involved in our thriller. We had a fading effect in which scenes fade into each other, which connotes a passing of time. The dissolving effect shows the transition from scene to another more smoothly. We used a slow motion effect in the sections we wanted to appear more dramatic and quick cuts were involved to show a sequence of events. Our screen fades to black at the end signifying its the end of the opening scene. All these different effects made out thriller more exciting and interesting to watch and made it look more professional as the clips fitted together smoothly and neatly.