Evaluation Question 1

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

Genre - 1

There are many conventions associated with action/thriller films, such as a clear stated original motive and the dimension between the so called ‘goodies and baddies’. We found evidence of this in films such as The Disappearance of Alice Creed; Welcome to the Punch and Reservoir Dogs. These films all contained the stereotypical conventions, which allow audiences to associate and relate to a film whether that may be through the trailer or actual product. Todorov’s narrative theory states five components in an action/adventure product. It suggests that the audience follows the characters from a state of equilibrium which turns to disruption and later returns to the original equilibrium. Through the guidance of common conventions and Todorov’s narrative theory, we tried to make sure that our film would follow in the same direction. For example this can be seen in the second act where we see the male characters questioning their perspectives and morals which leads to further disruption behind the narrative theory. This questioning is lead by our main character Mr Pink, who turns against his partners to do ‘the right thing’. This follows conventions as we see in certain films such as The Disappearance of Alice Creed, that a character who is originally portray as bad is changed for the better - their redemption. The  combination of these conventions allowed us to construct an action film trailer. 

Location - 2

The location of many action thriller films is set within areas of urban expanse. This is most clearly visible in Welcome to the Punch, as they use hyper realistic shots of London. This hyperrealism is created through enhanced blue tones which emit the feeling of a modern society. We wanted to use a large variety of locations in order to showcase diversity in the film, and keep the audience interested. Our trailer consisted of shots in a woodland area; inside of a warehouse; and interior shots within different houses. We also shot several scenes on a variety of streets, as we believed it helped to emphasise its London location. As our trailer featured a montage in act 3, the shots we captured allowed for greater scope within the rapid cuts. The use of a montage, adhered to the conventions of action/thriller films where it reflects the fast paced nature of the film. It also allowed us to showcase different elements within the film, thus suggesting what might be in store for the audience if they were to come and see it. We based our film in London, however we mainly used suburban areas such as Clapham. We believed that by basing our film in a more everyday environment, the audience would be able to relate to it in a much greater extent than a hyper realistic city scene. The suburban location also gave it anonymity, making the plot and circumstances much more believable.

To contrast our suburban scenes which primarily featured in act 1 and 2, we filmed in Sydenham Hill Woods. Inspiration of these scenes can be seen in the trailer for The Disappearance of Alice Creed. The woods are presented in Act 3 of the trailer, with the two characters holding a shovel. The composition of these two elements connote a sense of danger and suspense, which help build tension for the film. During our filming we particularly loved the depth of shots and vivacity of colour that could be captured in the woods. We decided to use the woods for our final shot in the trailer, in which our female hostage is threatened with death. As the meaning of this scene is to encourage the audience to question whether or not she will survive, we wanted the location to enhance the feeling of isolation. Sydenham Hill Woods allowed us to do this as even though it is in London, its natural uncontrolled expanse reflected that of untamed woods in the countryside.

The Disappearance of Alice Creed

The warehouse location which is reoccuringly used across the trailer was primarily influenced by Reservoir Dogs,where we see the characters spend a large amount of their time. We wanted a location such as this as due to its large spacing and intricacy of structural elements, it was able to keep the audiences attention. However unlike in Reservoir Dogs where the warehouse is captured during the day, we wanted to convey a sense of mystery and emphasise the thriller element to our film. We used a cluster of spotlights drawn to the centre of the warehouse to only draw attention to the characters, primarily the kidnapped girl. Using the location in this way, we were able to conceal the identities of the kidnappers to a greater extent and hide the expansive size of the warehouse.

Reservoir Dogs

Graphics - 8

Our narrative graphics draw upon the style and impact seen in many action films.  Our graphics were divided into two sets: reviews and narrative.  The reviews were inspired by our main film influence The Disappearance of Alice Creed, which featured rough abrasive lettering over a black background. This suggested blood or dirt, alluding to the latter conclusion of the film. An element of the reviews that we particularly liked was the variation of font size. This allowed certain words of the text to be emphasised, drawing greater attention from the audience. In our own trailer we used this idea, emphasising words such as "exhilarating" and "best British thriller", which allowed us to draw the audiences attention to words of interest. We used a strobe effect on the text which was inspired by another main film influence, 7 Minutes. This effect helped to catch the audiences attention to the content, whilst also helping to build tension when combined with the other elements in the trailer. For the reviews, we chose a plain colour scheme to juxtapose the narrative graphics. We began with a bold block font in white, to which we added effects to give the look that it was worn out and battered. This reflected the rough background of the film making it look more urban.



Disappearance of Alice Creed

Welcome to the Punch

For the narrative graphics, we were greatly inspired by those in Welcome to the Punch due to the use of a moving film behind the text. Using a clipping mask, the film featured saturated blue shapes, resembling an almost urban electronic ocean of colour. Furthermore, the blue could be connoted towards the police, reflecting the background of the film.  When planning our own narrative graphics we wanted to find a way of achieving our own moving colour. We found that coloured ink could be used in water to create a similar effect, and so we used deep red ink that flowed behind the graphics. We decided to use red as we wanted to it to suggest blood and danger. 



Title - 9

Title from the It Follows trailer

For the film title, we wanted to create something unique that would catch the audiences attention and would synergise with the conclusion of the music. We were inspired by the trailer of It Follows. The title featured a red liquid that expanded across water, this effect was captivating as it had relevance it had to the storyline, relating to death. Furthermore, the letters slowly appeared from the water, giving the effect they were almost 'oozing' out like blood.

We filmed the backdrop for the title, similarly to the narrative graphics. Our decision to use red ink in water was to insure that the written title would be lifted from the backdrop and would be eye-catching to the audience. The speed of the ink was slowed by a x4 reduction, which created a sinister horrific effect to which we paired with the sound of a slow boom. The duration of the title was set at over 7 seconds to sustain the tension brought on by the visual images. We used a sans serif font to ensure that the connotations of the title were not towards a horror film, which often use serif fonts such as in It Follows. This stand point positioned our design of the title at a cross dissolve between the thriller and action genres, suiting the market audience needs exactly. Following similar action/thriller texts, we used white for the title to increase its vibrance against the red backdrop. Furthermore, the use of white gave it an almost surgical aesthetic to it, displaying clean lines against the random twisted movements of the red water. The presentation of our title overall, greatly differs from that of conventional action/thriller texts, as they are usually white font against a black background. However we wanted to produce a title that would be able to hold its own, and one that could be transferable to our other media products including the poster and the magazine. This would create synergy between the varied mediums and increase the connection between the moving images and the still.



Narrative/Structure - 4

Our trailer follows the conventions of Todorov's narrative theory in which all narratives follow a three part structure beginning with an equilibrium, the disruption of that equilibrium, and a resolution, when the equilibrium is restored. The use of this narrative theory displays the structure in a clear and precise way, allowing the audience to relate to the plot more closely as it is shown in a familiar way. This structure has been used in the texts we have researched such as The Disappearance of Alice Creed. We also used the redemption theory as our protagonist, Mr Pink, looks to correct the mistakes he has made, thus becoming the moral compass for the narrative. Conventions such as these help the audience to follow the story even if the plot is unknown to them. When considering marketing, this is particularly important for our product due to our target of a mainstream audience. Thus meaning that it must be understood by a wide variety of people in order to be successful. Furthermore many recent films such as 7 Minutes, follow this same structure and so a current target audience would be aware of the layout.

Our trailer also follows the conventions of Barthes five narrative codes, in particular his Hermeneutic/Enigma codes offering mystery within a text. Clues are dropped within our narrative, but no clear answers are given. The use of enigmas within the narrative make the audience want to know more, and leave them frustrated if they go unanswered. When researching the structure of current media texts, we found many trailers used sound bridges and voiceovers to explain the plot through various visuals. We decided to use sound bridges in certain places as we wanted to shorten the length of the shots but we did not want cut back on the narrative. However we decided not to use a voiceover, as films that included these appeared to have one core character that conducted this. As we did not have a singular character we believed that it may instead distract the audience and confuse the hierarchy of the characters.

Colour/Style - 6

We wanted to have a great diversity of colour within our film, however we were aware this would be hard to achieve as we did not have the budget of large scale films such as Skyfall. The use of colour within a film can connect with an audience in a way that words cannot. It is a strong visual element, which can evoke different feelings depending upon the colours used. Such as red tones may be used to exaggerate anger or suspense, like in Only God Forgives, in which many scenes feature strong red hues. In contrast a colour palette of blue may be used to evoke calamity, peacefulness or beauty. This meaning is opposed in the fight sequence on a sky scrapper in Skyfall, as you would expect red tones, whilst instead blue is used. This effect is very successful as it is able to convey beauty to the violence, showing how versatile lighting can be if it is used successfully. In our own film, we were aware we would not be able to achieve the large spectrum of colours used in big budget films, however we wanted to push the tonal intensity and colour palette using primarily natural lighting.

Only God Forgives

Skyfall

We wanted to have a large colour variation as we believed it would give the appearance of a film on a much larger scale. For the scenes in the woods, we only used natural lighting, as we wanted to make the audience feel like the situation was real and they were there present with the characters. Using natural lighting could have been a challenge, however on the day that we chose to film, it was bright and clear allowing us to achieve our full potential in the woods. In contrast to this, we wanted to include as much chiaroscuro as we could, to create mystery and enhance the various locations. We primarily achieved this in the warehouse where we focused the lighting onto a single spot, creating an unknown expanse to the room and putting the audience in the position of the girl, in being unaware of her surroundings or captors. The style of our trailer is relatable to action/thriller audiences due to our use of low-key lighting and high levels of chiaroscuro to which the antagonists emit an ominous effect. We allow the audience to relate to the trailer from the start, as our first shows our female characters hands tied. This also sets the tone for the rest of the trailer, suggesting to the audience what may come to be. We tried to continue this sinister undertone through the graphics, by using red text with moving footage rather than the common white on black. The movement of the graphics resembles running blood, suggesting to the audience of a death that may occur.

Character/Costume - 5

Typical conventions for characters in an action/thriller genre film are very similar as we see the same construction of characters replayed across different films. Although a film may stand out more if these conventions were used, its success is predictable. Therefore, we decided to adhere to the conventions as we decided it was important to have the intentions for each character that were easily identifiable for mainstream audiences. Films in this genre often revolve around the theme of the 'good guys vs. the bad guys'. Our characters Mr Blonde and Mr White were the antagonists adhering to the category of the 'bad guys', whilst Mr Pink was the protagonist reforming to the 'good guys'. We moulded the battle between the characters on The Disappearance of Alice Creed and Reservoir Dogs as we wanted to establish the characters as all morally ambiguous from the start. This strategy then allowed the audiences initial view on the characters to be balanced, as all of the characters decided to rob the house in the second act. We established a leader through Mr White due to him being the eldest character and appearing the most controlling. This created a known threat, which allowed for the audience to make judgements on the other characters. The establishment of the leader, also allowed for comparisons to be drawn between the protagonist and the main antagonist, exaggerating their actions. The initial establishment of the leader was through his external presentation, as the actor is naturally tall and facially mature. Through camerawork we used low angle shots to emphasise his power over the group; whilst also giving him the majority of the lines to show he was in control. One common convention of action films is that one character moves from beginning as the antagonist to becoming a protagonist through the events that ensue. We decided to follow this convention due to tapestry of collisions between characters it can bring. This allowed us to create further tension by controlling the editing of the scenes between contrasting characters. To establish the status of the protagonist, we used multiple mid angle shots to suggest him as an equal to the audience. Furthermore in certain scenes we emphasised his vulnerability, such as through a singular close up and a long shot of him crouching next to the captured girl. This humanised the character, increasing the level at which the audience could relate to him, which further dehumanised the main antagonist.

Characters in Reservoir Dogs

Editing - 7

A key similarity in thriller trailers is the build up of tension created through a montage that peaks 3/4 of the way through the trailer. This build up of tension in the edit when combined with the sound, can affect the way in which the audience feels when viewing a trailer. This effect can ensue the success of a thriller trailer as it suggests it is suspenseful and entertaining. We used Final Cut Pro X to edit our trailer due to the capability and advancement of the software. For the editing, we took our main influences from The Disappearance of Alice Creed and Welcome to the Punch, this was due to the trailers ability to successfully build suspense yet convey the narrative to the viewer. Both trailers featured a slow collaboration of shots at the beginning, lasting for an average of 3-4 seconds, which increased to 0.5-1.5 seconds during the montage. This cutting of shots, connotes the action on screen as it becomes more fast paced, whilst also advertising to the audience the wide variety of shots featured in the film. By doing this, the trailer is able to advertise it product to the best degree an entice viewers into seeing it. We followed the same structure in our own trailer, featuring a build up to a montage in the third act. We found the montage challenging due to the sheer number of shots needed to convey a strong sense of action. However, after multiple re-edits, we were able to move the narrative around to create an interesting variation between the layers of the plot. 

A screenshot of our editing timeline

Sound - 3

Prior to selecting our sound, we conducted research into similar media texts. We found that multiple layers of sound had been used to create the final piece, most commonly they featured three acts of music, much like the visuals of the trailer. The layers included the use of foley sound, backing track and dialogue; which together was able to enhance the effect of the visuals. In our own trailer we used original sound created by our friend, who we briefed to ensure it would fit the trailer. After receiving the track, we made multiple edits to the sound by repeating certain beats and heightening the sound to suit it to each individual shot. This included cuts on sound corresponding with visual cuts to the trailer, which intensified the effect.  On top of this main track we also recorded our own foley sound as during editing we discovered that certain areas, such as a shovel digging up earth, needed strengthening. We also added a cinematic boom with the appearance of the title which we slowed down to create a haunting eerie effect.

Our trailer timelines

EJ