Task 3 What kind of media institution might distribute your media product?

The media institution that we used to distribute our thriller Doppelganger is Lionsgate. Lionsgate produces both small and big budget movies and are well recognised. Lionsgate has produced films such as Harry Brown (2009) 300 (2006) and American Psycho (2000). Lionsgate films usually contain the themes of murder, action and an intricate plot; all of the themes of which appear in our opening sequence. We were unsure on how sucessful our thriller would be so Lionsgate was an obvious choice. We thought that Lionsgate would be interested in Doppleganger as it correlates with it's production values, budget and themes. Lionsgate would also be a great marketing tool for our thriller because it is a widely recognised company which would intice the public to watch our thriller.

Task 2 How does your product represent particular social groups?

The killer in our thriller wears a hoody and stabbed the victim with a knife. This relates heavily to the problem of knife crime in the UK. The killer is also a representative of Britainsn youth culture; many teenagers today are involved in gang violence qwear hoody's and carry knifes. Youth culture is also portrayed negatively in films such as Kiidulthood (2006), Bullet Boy (2004) and Adulthood (2008). The other subgroup featured in our thriller is that of the victim. Our victim is also a teenager, however he is not shown wezaring a hoody; this is to apeal to the wider audience of Mother's etc. who will feel strong sympasthy toward's a child. The idea that the victim and the attacker are the same person initates a fear in the audience of themsleves because they become aware that they are capable of such a terrible crime; this will ask the audience to consider taking action against crime in the UK. The killer/victim ultimately symbolises our fear of our own actions and their consequences.

Task 1 - In what ways does youer media product use, develop or challange forms and conventions of real media prooducts?

Our thriller is very classic as the sequence consists of a chaase sequence after a stabbing. The thriller ends with the victim and the attacker face to face and it is revealed that the attacker is the same person. We took the stereotype of a victim being chased by an unknown phycho then inveteted this convention by making the attacker a doppelganger of the victim; this challanges the convention of phyco killer. Our sequence's inspiration was from The Tenant (1976), Saw Franchise and Scream (1996). The key inspiration was from The Tenant as it is also revealed that the killer is himself. Therefore, we used this idea to give our thriller an unexpected twist, which is not typical in horror/thriller's today.

Post Production

Since the preliminary task the group has learnt a great deal about the filming and editing process; particularly the editing process. When we began editing during the preliminary task, our group was uncertain as to how to go about the whole process. However, through trial an error, we managed to use the program to its full effectiveness. When we filmed the preliminary task, it was extremely basic as we only used one location for filming. In comparison our thriller was filmed outdoors in a large location with difficult terrain and we used a significantly greater number of shots. This effected how long we spent on our editing significantly and we used a greater number of tools on the program to aid our editing; therefore we learnt a great deal. The preliminary task in comparison consisted of slower cuts as the pace and mood was much slower paced. The thriller in contrast is more erratic and frantic in pace to symbolize the victims panic; this creates dramatic tension. During the post production process, we cut several clips that we thought didn’t benefit the sequence. We found that there was a considerable amount of film that we didn’t need thought the editing process. Our film is a chase sequence, so cutting down a lot of material was necessary as the film would have been too long which would lose the tension and attention of the audience. We filmed approximately forty minutes of footage. There were many great shots that we had to cut out as a result to reduce the sequence to three minutes; however we believe that we chose the best and necessary shots and ended up with a tense and fantastic opening sequence.We used a combination of diegetic and non-diegetic sound. We used the diegetic sound of Dan rustling through the bushes and the sound of his panting. We used non-diegetic sound from soundtrack pros range of sound clips and tracks. The sound track we chose sounds like an electric organ; we believe it successfully builds tension throughout the sequence. We combined this sound track with the sound of leaves rustling as Dan walks/runs, Dan panting as he runs and the sound of wind between the shots of the victim and attacker; the overall effect is an exciting and tense atmosphere. Lionsgate, the distributor company appears first as it is the biggest influence on the film because the film could not have been made without the distributor’s financial help. The production company appears next because it has the next biggest influence on the film in terms of finance. The pace of the titles is one second because it is long enough to read them and satisfy the company but not to slow down the pace of the sequence.

Account of the shooting day

We were not sure exactly how we were going to execute the film. However we came up with a clear plan as soon as we investigated the terrain of the location. We compared our shots to our storyboard; they were not completely the same but it was very similar; the only thing that was different was the ending. The main shot choices that we used were fast tracking shots and close ups. The main tracking shots we had were towards the beginning of the film. We follow the victim running through the forest. The close up is scene at the end in which the attacker is about to stab the victim. The final shot was a POV which shows the camera running through the woods as if the victim is running away from the attacker. This was the hardest shot to take as there was twigs, obstacles etc. in our path which kept tripping us up. We were lucky in the fact we go to school in a heavily forested area of Surrey, we filmed in a nearby woodland area; therefore we walked, saving money traveling by walking. We had chosen a great location as we were on a hill which received a lot of light and we didn’t come across the public, so it was very easy to film. We chose a deserted forest because it is a primary fear as it is dark and sinister and vast majorities have fears of woods being haunted etc.Our actor had a lost of experience working with cameras which was extremely lucky.We used a large amount of fake blood which was used to full effect as Dan put a large amount in his mouth, spat it out, to make it look as if he was suffering from internal bleeding. We also applied a large amount to his stomach to make it look as if he had been stabbed.We used natural lighting which made the film seem more real. The whole film is about instinct which is something which occurs naturally, so we thought adding light to the film would be hypocritical to our idea. We did not film sound on the day; we added sound in the editing process. My role on the day was very important as I was the Producer. I had to make sure that everything was planned and all our arrangements for equipment etc. had been meet. I also helped with camera work and filmed several sequences. We got on well as a team which made it easy to work together; this enabled us to give each other ideas on what to do on the day with the camera and how we could film it. For example, I came up with the idea to shoot the attacker wearing a hoody walking towards Victor. Before we decided on the ending, we were originally going to have a POV shot of the victim being stabbed by the attacker (himself). However, Victor wore a hoody and Dan also wore a hoody so that it looked like the attacker is about to stab the victim again. We then got Dan to pull down his hood to reveal that he was the attacker all along. During the editing phase we cut to the titles when the audience realizes that the attacker and victim is the same person.

Final Discussion of the Effectiveness of the Pre Production

The ideas we came up with as a team were very creative. The idea that we chose was not very problematic. There have been problems with communicating our ideas within the group, however it has ultimately been well planned and we were all confident about film day. An advantage in the pre production process was that our team learnt to listen to each other and we have worked well together. We worked well within our specific roles.

Victor: Director
Myself: Producer
Sophie: Cinematographer
Adam: Sound Engineer

Unfortunately this project has not come without its fair share of disadvantages. This was nearly everyone’s first time of doing a project like this and we found it hard finding research materials. Adam, however, did this last year and he helped us immensely which has helped the group to function faster. Overall the pre production process has been extremely positive.

Account of props and costumes required and where these will be sourced from

We only needed a knife and clothes which the actor wore. The environment in which we are filming is the forest. The dark and sinister forest symbolizes evil, which is reflected within the attacker chasing our victim. The knife is used for stabbing the victim. The clothes we chose for the actor was dark clothes in correlation to the foreboding atmosphere; we also realized that black moving through the forest was very visible.

Discussion of what kind of institution would produce your film and why

The kind of institution that would produce this kind of movie would be a small budget company as the film we are shooting would be a fairly low budget film. Examples of studios that we would use for this film would be Electric Studios and Lionsgate. Lionsgate is an option because the company has a history of recognized films such as American Psycho; it is also renowned for producing low budget films. We would also use Twisted Pictures which produced SAW and Miramax. Miramax also produced films such as: Kill Bill, Pulp Fiction, Heavenly Creatures and Shakespeare in Love; all very well-known films.

Our target audience

The majority of teenagers go into a film expecting to see something exciting not necessarily something that is of ‘quality’. For example, a group of victims getting killed in numerous different ways e.g. SAW is enough entertainment for the average teenage male. The amount of money that the franchise the film has made is a perfect example of how explicit violence, blood and gore is attractive to the teenage eye.

Account of how you then began the process of producing a written version of the technicalities on your storyboard

We created a story board and decided on a list of effective shots. We agreed the shots we used were relevant and would be easy to shot because we had a simple concept; a victim running through a forest being chased by an attacker. We considered that filming the chase sequence in the forest could be problematic because it could rain and make it easy to slip; however we decided that using the right equipment we could easily overcome any of these problems. We decided to have a good looking and well built man who would appeal as the victim and attacker because we had plenty of people we knew who fit the description. Also a good looking victim would inspire more sympathy and it would appear peculiar for the attacker to appear weak.

Account of our first production group meeting

We spent the lesson discussing our ideas for our opening sequence.We chose the simplest opening sequence; we were then able to discuss camera shots, props, actors, locations etc. and the accessibility of each.We decided that Victor’s idea was the easiest to go ahead with, as it only needed one location, the forest. Considering the fact that there are plenty of forests in the Surrey area, this was a fairly easy choice to make.

What is a horror film? - Thriller

A Horror Film serves many purposes:

1) Personal - The audience can identify with the fears and threats of the narrative using primal fears; for example darkness and mutilation. The audience envoy’s this because they can feel the thrill of danger from a safe distance.

2) Ideological - The implicit or explicit messages in the narrative. Themes of punishment/redemptions/revulsion at any subject which deviates from ‘acceptable’ thinking with textual messages (The ‘good girl’ surviving at the expense of her rebellious friend) and developing into more subtle 'fears' of strangers/hitchhikers/religion/power of science.

3) Financial/Industrial - without a doubt, one of the most profitable genres to continually exploit is horror. Horror franchises frequently stretch beyond other genres in terms of sequels, spin offs and re-makes because of the profit.