BBFC Workshop

The BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) is an independent company which was set up in 1912 and has the role of classifying films and video games. Due to the Video Recordings Act (passed in 1984), the board is designated to regulate and classify video recordings offered for sale or hire commercially in the UK. This means that their role changed from purely censorship of cinema and games to a larger proportion being classification. The board uses a set of guidelines when classifying, which enables them to successfully classify films to be U, PG, 12a, 12, 15, 18, or R18. Their classification empowers the public to make decisions themselves over the suitability of the media for themselves and those in their care. The classifications also prevent younger audiences and sensitive viewers from watching material that may cause 'harm' or upset to them.

Regulation and classification from the BBFC can have a big impact over the distribution and marketing of a film. In several cases, films have been targetted and marketed at a specific age range, eg 15, only to be given an 18 certificate. 'This is England', for example, was intended by Shane Meadows to be a 15, but was declared an 18. This meant that the advertising and content was aimed at a slightly younger audience than could actually consume it on release in the cinema. In some rare cases, however, local authorities do not comply to the BBFC's guidelines. A famous case of this was Westminster Council's decision to ban Cronberg's 'Crash', which was declared an 18 over the rest of the UK.

New ways of distributing film, such as downloads or through the internet, will be problematic in terms of regulating film. These technologies, such as downloading a film via iTunes will prove very difficult to regulate, as there is no way of proving age when doing this, which will enable younger viewers to access and consume media which they would otherwise not be able to access. Although some services including YouTube and BBC iPlayer have tried to enforce viewers to confirm they are over a certain age in order to view particular media. However, it is extremely easy to ignore, or lie, about age over these services. Other ways of distributing media like Love Film, where DVDs are delivered through the post offers younger people access films classified for older audiences, as there is no way of regulating who is receiving the films.

I found the workshop very interesting, and learnt several new things. One example of a new think that I learnt is that the BBFC is not a government body; although the government has designated it the role of classifying films, it does not have any government funding. I also found it interesting that local authorities have the power to over-rule classifications that the BBFC set, and can even remove films from showing (in the case of 'Crash') The workshop and information I have learnt from it will help with my media course, as it enables me to estimate what classification my thriller would receive, and so base my target audience and distribution possibilities around this. It will also help, as it has given an insight into what makes a film or programme a certain rating, which will help with my TV Drama exam, and also when thinking about audiences and marketing.

The BBFC workshop will also help in answering this question: 'Discuss the issues raised by an institution need to target specific audiences within the media industry which you have studied'. My essay plan for this question:
Introduction -
Role of BBFC in film industry
How ratings may effect audiences, creating specific audiences that need to be targetted
How ratings effect marketing and targeting audiences, examples
Ways that institutions may target specific audiences, examples
How ratings may effect distribution
Conclusion

Radiohead -In Rainbows

On 10th October 2007, Radiohead released their 7th album as a digital download where listeners could chose how much to pay for the release. Upon its retail release, In Rainbows entered the UK Album Chart and the U.S. Billboard 200 at number one; it went on to sell three million copies worldwide in both digital and physical formats.

They began work on the album in 2005, and updated fans and followers on their blog. Before the release of In Rainbows, Radiohead toured major cities in Europe and North America, as well as performing in several clubs and music festivals, such as V. In January 2007, the band began posting photographs, lyrics, samples and videos of their progress, and in June 2007 they posted clippings of the mixed songs onto their blog. Donwood, the artist for the album’s artwork worked with the band since 1994, and also posted daily images on to the band’s website of ideas he had had for the artwork of the album.

After finishing their six album contract with EMI, Radiohead stated that they had several interesting ideas on how to distribute their new material, e.g. releasing all tracks as singles or EPs rather than as an album. The band eventually decided on releasing the album as a download for fans to pay however much they wanted, but ruled out having an internet only distribution, because Yorke believed some fans may not have the technological means to obtain the material. Radiohead retained ownership of the album, as they created it all themselves, and both the download and CD versions were both self released.

In justifying the decision that Radiohead had made to offer a free download of their album, Thom Yorke explained that ‘every record for the last four—including my solo record—has been leaked. So the idea was like, we'll leak it, then.’ The band distributed the record using the website www.inrainbows.com, and used a less-trafficked ZIP file which contained all ten album tracks. If purchased for more than 0 pence, the buyer was charge a credit card transaction fee of 45 pence. The album was only distributed in this format for 2 months – 10th October – 10th December, however the band also released a limited ‘discbox’ containing the album on CD, two vinyl records with artwork and lyric booklets as well as an ‘enhanced CD’ and digital photos and artwork, which cost £40. The album was distributed in hard copies in Japan, Australia, and America.

www.gigwise.com reported that on the day of In Rainbows’ online release, the album had sold 1.2 million copies. Sources have also claimed that around one third of people who downloaded the album paid nothing, but the average price being paid for it was £4. Apparently these sales were more profitable that the total money sales for the band’s previous album Hail to the Thief. On the week of the release, In Rainbows peaked at number 1 in the UK album charts, and reached number 1 in the U.S Billboard chart in the second week of release. In October 2008, Warner Chappell Music Publishing, the publisher, claimed that In Rainbows had sold three million copies since the album’s physical release.

In Rainbows was ranked as one of the best albums of 2007 by many music magazines, including Mojo, NME, Q, Rolling Stone and Pop Matters’. The album was nominated for the short list of the 2008 Mercury Music Prize, the 51st Grammy Awards: Album of the Year, Best Alternative Music Album, Producer of the Year, Best Boxed or Limited Edition Package, as well as three Grammy nominations for the song and music video ‘Houses of Cards’.

The band was successful due to their use of technologies. They used their blog to promote and attract fans and their release as primarily an MP3 download was also using new technologies. The band produced the record themselves, therefore also using recording studio technologies.

After the release of the record, Radiohead embarked on a tour of North America, Europe, South America and Japan, which lasted from May 2008 until October 2008. The album, In Rainbows had acted as a kind of advert for this tour, as this is where the band gained the majority of their profits, as ticket prices were around £40 at a large variety of big venues.

For this reason, the audience was particularly important, as the album needed to impress the demographics enough to influence them to buy tickets for the tour. Radiohead also had to use enough advertising to involve their target audience and to ensure they were aware of the release. This, however, would not have been difficult, as Radiohead have a large fan base, especially as this release was to be their 7th album.

(statistics from www.wikipedia.org)

Audience Profile

From our group's research into audience (audience research 1 and audience research 2) we have drawn up a plan of who will be our film's target audience.

Age Group: From looking at both of our questionnaire results, it is obvious that the target audience for our thriller should be aged between 15 and 25. I think this is obvious, because that specific age group tend to be more attracted to action and able to identify with male lead characters.

Gender: More males would be attracted to this film, due to the action and adventure portrayed in the film, and will look up to the male protagonist. Also results from our questionnaires suggest that more males than females prefer thrillers, primarily action thrillers, to other genres. However, we intend to capture a wider audience, as we have cast a lead female role, and would plan to have our film distributed world wide and be accessible to other countries and continents.

Occupation: The majority of the film's audience would probably be students, due to the target age range, however no particular occupation has been targetted during the creation of the product.

Ethnicity: We plan to have a mixed audience, as not only do we intend to have a mix of races in our cast, but we would hope to distribute our thriller not only in Britain, in order to capture a wider range of audience.

Aspirations: By looking at our questionnaires, we plan to target audiences that aspire to be educated and to attend university. The vast majority also claimed that they want to travel, which shows that they take an interest in the world. From this, we have decided that our audience will have high aims in life and education.

Interests: Our audience will have stereotypical interests for males, such as enjoying sports, socialising etc. By looking at our questionnaires we discovered that the target audience enjoys action and comedy TV programmes and films, and they will also enjoy listening to music such as pop. Our questionnaires also showed our audience will enjoy listening to the radio, primarily radio stations like Radio 1 and Kiss. However, about only half of our participants said they enjoyed reading Newspapers and Magazines, but the participants who did enjoy reading Newspapers said they did pay attention to the news, therefore indicating some more of their interests. Films that they may enjoy include 'Layer Cake', 'Essex Boys' and television shows such as 'Spooks', as these are all examples o action thrillers, with lead male protagonists.

'The Godfather' Opening Sequence Analysis

'The Godfather' was produced in 1972 by director Francis Ford Cappola and stars actors such as Al Pacino and Marlon Brando.

The opening begins with a very slow jazz soundtrack, which is typical of thrillers. A plain black background, which connotes wealth, death, mystery, and evil, is contrasted with white writing, which has connotations of coldness, fear, reverence, and again, death. The writing simply says 'The Godfather' with puppet strings attached to the word 'father'. This symbolises the control that the godfather in the film has, and, as the audience will discover, how he controls people below him like a puppeteer controls his puppets.

The title disapears and the audience is left with a black screen, emphasising the connotations of the colour black, and also adding mystery and suspense - we don't know what will follow. A male voice-over begins in an italian accent with the line "I believe in America", suggesting where the film is set, and we fade in to see the man (Pacino) who is speaking. The camera begins with a close up as he talks to the camera and the camera zooms out very slowly whilst he tells us about his daughter's rape. This is a thriller signifier as we instantly know a web of crime and corruption will be involved in the narrative. The mise en scene at this point is all dark, with only the man's collar being the only colour of white, reflecting the title screen with white contrasting with black. As we zoom out, however, we discover with the technique of an over the shoulder shot, that the man is infact talking to someone else. The shot now reveals brown mise en scene - a wooden table, with a couple of papers on, making it seem to the audience like some kind of office. The camera stops zooming out, and Pacino begins to cry, and is given a drink by another man (presumably alcoholic) which shows the audience the flaws of the protagonist - his emotion for his daughter, and his drinking habit. This sequence also reveals that our first thought that there was only one person present was incorrect - there are at least three men present, but it is still unknown where this is set and who the men are. The camera then tracks to focus on a close up of the two men whispering to each other, but we are unable to hear what they say.

After this sequence, the camera's position changes to show, using a close-up, the second man that was introduced (Brando). We see that he too is dressed in a black suit, and also can see typical thriller mise en scene, consisting of slatted blinds. The camera moves location again to show the entire scene - revealing four male characters, all dressed in suits, all brown mise en scene, and the only light coming from the slats in the blinds. Another over -the -shoulder shot is used to focus upon Brando, this time as a mid shot, and a red flower can be noticed clipped to his suit, giving connotations of disguised danger. We also see him playing with a grey cat, making him appear powerful as he doesn't give his full attention. The cat connotes cunningness, independance and suspicion, whilst the grey colour has connotations of respect, strength and wisdom.

Throughout the sequence, a range of shot types are used. These vary from slow zooms outwards, which draw the viewer in, to over the shoulder shots which are an innovative way of depicting a conversation. They add variety for the audience, as well as being very effective.

The mise en scene is made up primarily of a brown palette, which represents wealth, fascism, and boldness. The brown palette is very typical of American Gangster thrillers, which hints to the audience the genre of the film. The lighting use is simplistic - only coming from the slatted blinds, and a small light to the right of the frame. The clothes the characters wear are suits, indication wealth, superiority and a kind of professionalism within them. It can be noted that the character played by Brando is the only one to wear a red flower, and also can be noted wearing a wedding ring, suggesting that he is a trustworthy man, even though he seems to be the leader of this group of men, who appear to believe they are above the law, as Brando asks Pacino why he went to the police first to sort out his daughter's rape, rather than him. This, teamed with their accents, make it seem to the audience like some kind of mafia.

Overall, I found this opening very effective, as it set the scene well, and engaged the audience using its fantastic camera work and mise en scene.

'The Bill' Analysis

‘The Bill’ is a television crime drama which follows the police fighting crime in an area of London. ‘The Bill’ is shown at 20:00 on ITV and was first broadcast in 1984. The extract we watched is from the 24th series and is the first part of ‘The Forgotten Child’ story line.

The extract began with an establishing shot, which panned down to follow a car driving down an alleyway, which appears claustrophobic and dark. We hear diegetic sounds of police sirens, and focus on a pastel yellow pub, indicating to the audience that this is where the action is. The camera looks up to the police officers using a high angled shot, as we hear them discuss the time (it is 5 am) and walk towards the crime scene. The mise en scene used here is realistic, as is the lighting, as we see the bleak urban setting. We see police tape, and follow the main investigators as they look on to the crime scene. Point of view shots of the police are used to look at the girl – which tend to be close ups in order to emphasis points to the audience, such as the use of drugs and self harm. The scene is set as the audience would expect as crime scene – dreary, lots of police, police tape and diegetic sounds of sirens and police discussing the situation. The point of view shots used are from the perspective of female detective Jo Masters, and, using the same camera technique, we approach another group of policemen who are interviewing the owner of the pub who appears to not care about what has happened. The point of view shots help the audience to connect and engage with the action, as they feel more involved and as if they are another policeman.

The action then cuts to a 2 shot within the police station where DC Masters and another worker are sifting through files, looking for the girl’s identity. The 2 shot emphasises the pair working as a team, showing the importance that working as a unit plays in the police. However, once the file is found it is useless, as the information reads “Kelly Kong, brother King, lives in the jungle”. The office mise en scene is typical – lots of files and papers, which reflects the female DC as she is quite unorganised – she admits that she didn’t follow up the lead about Kelly at the time.

The camera uses a tracking shot in order to follow the DCs through the building, and a great deal of hand held camera shots seem to be used. The camera changes between being in front of the policemen, being next to them, and being behind. This adds variety, whilst giving the audience an insight into the setting. The mise en scene is typical – straight, bright corridors with lots of people walking. We see one shot through slatted blinds, which is a key thriller signifier, as this episode of ‘The Bill’ could be classed as a crime-thriller, especially as it includes key concepts such as mystery and intrigue, violence, the theme of good vs. Evil, and a shot of spiralling stairs – a more modern version of those used in Hitchcock’s ‘Vertigo’. As the police officers stop, we are shown shot reverse shots in order to follow the conversation and action.

The next scene takes place outside the police headquarters, as the camera pans down from the top of the tall, gray, urban building to the bleak looking scene at floor level. The camera focuses on the British signifier of a red phone box, and we see two police officers walking down the rainy street towards a woman who is sitting next to the phone box. Diegetic sounds of sirens are can be heard, as well as cars and car horns, signifying that this is set in an urban area. The conversation between the woman and the police officers are shown using point of view shots, with us looking down at the police, and up at the distressed woman. The audience will have the upper hand in this situation, as they will instantly realise that the woman is Kelly’s mother, however tension is built as we can see the woman does not know what has happened to her daughter. When Kelly’s mother tells the officers that Kelly is her daughter, close ups are used to show their shocked expressions.

The audience is then taken back into the police building, and into a childlike room, obviously used to break news to family members, which is emphasised when we see DC Masters and Kelly’s mother here. The shot is set up with DC Masters in the foreground, holding the most power as she has to inform Kelly’s mother that her daughter is dead. The shot uses a mid shot, even when we see Kelly’s mother in tears over the news. The room is silent apart from the woman’s crying, which makes it a lot more intense and emotional. The scene is realistic, using natural mise en scene, and not making the sequence exaggerated or over the top.

Several representational issues are obvious in this sequence at a macro level. Firstly, we see the youth as being victims, seeing as we are lead to believe that Kelly’s overdose was not her own fault. The fact that we see scars from her self-harm also suggests that she was stuck in a situation of which she felt there was no way out – resorting to self-harm as a way to escape her prostitute way of life which she had been forced into. Youth and also Kelly’s mother are shown to the audience sympathetically; we are not intended to blame either of these characters, and instead come to the same conclusion as the police officers.

Another representation we are shown is of the police force. We see that they are organised and modern – using technologies such as power point presentations, and remembering cases they have looked at before. However, they are also portrayed as being vulnerable, and perhaps a little unprepared as DC Masters confesses that she didn’t follow the previous case with Kelly up. DC Masters, along with the other female police officers, are shown as being dominant, which contrasts with the female character of Cartwright in ‘Life on Mars’ who is seen as ‘sweet’ and doesn’t head up action. The women, however, appear glamorised – the majority are blonde, wear a lot of make-up, and wear tight fitting clothes, which is a contrast to the kind of police women that we see every day.

Life on Mars analysis

‘Life on Mars’ is a two series police drama which follows Tyler, the protagonist who is from the present day but taken back in time to the 1970s after an accident. During this episode from series 2, an Irish man, O’Brien, is wrongly accused of planting a bomb.

The extract starts with non-diegetic rock music, as the camera zooms through a washing line of shirts. We are shown typical run-down, working class mise en scene and setting, with the washing hanging out in the street indicating that it we have entered a poor but close knit society. Suddenly Hunt and Tyler drive into the shot in their brown Ford Cortina, which has become famous for its popularity during the 1970s; emphasising the era to the audience. The car is driven quickly by Hunt, and is shown crashing into a bin on the pavement. The characters, however, do not appear to care which shows the arrogant attitude that policemen during the 1970s are represented as having.

The two policemen are shown, in a long shot, tilted to look up to the policemen, both literally and metaphorically, getting out of the Cortina. Tyler, the policeman who is used to modern day practises, lets O’Brien out of the car whilst Hunt walks, seemingly trying to ignore the situation. We view the following exchange in a series of 2 shots and 3 shots, as Tyler rouses Hunt into apologising to the innocent Irish man. The camera shot then changes to focus on O’Brien as he makes bold remarks about the racism that the Irish population were met with. Using a close up, we see his beaten face with the camera slowly zooming in as he gets angrier, intensifying his rage to the audience. This is followed by a focus pull to see him walking away to speak to others who presumably also live in the grotty area. We then return to a 2 shot of Tyler and Hunt, contrasting their facial expressions - Tyler looks guilty, whereas Hunt looks unimpressed and cynical. Tyler’s exasperation is again shown as we see an Asian man proudly taking a television to his new house, which he is only too happy to tell Hunt when he challenges him. This shows his representation of being racist, as not only has he wrongly accused an Irish man, but he is also shown not trusting the Asian man, probably due to his ethnicity. To reinforce this idea, the camera pans round to show the exterior of his house and his wife wearing a Sari. The camera returns to the 2 shot of the two policemen, followed by Hunt’s remark – “Bit parky to be out in just a nighty”, with Tyler’s expression of frustration, and embarrassment. The entire sequence is typically 1970s Manchester – the brown outfits of the characters, the Cortina, the terraced houses and the long hair. A sound bridge is used in order to move from this scene to the next.

Diegetic music from a juke box in a smoky pub is played, as the camera pans up from a close up of a glass filling up; setting the scene. The camera pans upwards to show Tyler walk in. He appears as a silhouette – backlit and bleached out to make him appear as a kind of superhero, and to reinforce the idea that he is from another time period. As the camera pans round to show the rest of the team clapping Tyler, we see a typical warm, cosy pub, with archetypal mise en scene and lighting. We are shown the police drinking and smoking through a series of long shots, over the shoulder shots, and 2 shots. We witness, through the means of a panning close up, the team united in raising their glasses to Tyler. This feeling of the team being united ends abruptly, as we see a focus pull to see a red telephone, and hear the diegetic sound of a telephone. We track Tyler approaching the phone and answer it, hearing sounds of a heart monitor and circling the character. This effect makes us feel as if we, as the 21st century, are trapping him as we presume this phone call is to do with his time travel. The sound of the heart monitor makes the audience believe that it is from the present, and we see this realisation dawn upon Tyler as we circle him.

Throughout the extract, we see several representations of the 1970s. Through Cartwright, we see the sexism that was rife in the police force at the time, as jokes are made about her underwear, and also her comment about having a female prime minister, which is met with a lot of perplexed expressions by her colleagues. At this macro level, we can also see how Hunt is presented as being arrogant, racist and sexist, a complete contrast to both Cartwright and Tyler, who act as police in our contemporary Britain are expected to behave. The piece relies on the audience having enough cultural knowledge to be able to distinguish between the two time periods, as we see the idea of a female prime minister being unheard of, jokes being made about Irish people bombing pubs (which of course did happen), exotic Asian clothing, and a very different style of policing.

Thriller Sub-Genres

Thrillers are a wide genre which often encorporate other subgenres into the narrative. Thrillers are hybrids with a wide range of subgenres; ranging from crime, to western, to comedy. I have chosen to research into subgenres of thriller in order to get a wider, better understanding of it.

Action thriller - Action thrillers generically contain a lot of violence, guns, and explosions. The subgenre often brings a in race against time aspect, and also includes chases which are the obvious action. The subgenre has a key antagonist, with notable action thriller films including : 'James Bond' films and 'The Transporter'.


Conspiracy thriller - The key aspect to conspiracy thrillers is a conflict in which the protagonist encounters an enemy whose true extent is only known by them. Thrillers including 'Three Days of the Condor' and 'JFK' fit well into this genre.

Crime thriller - These films tend to focus on the criminals rather than the authorities, and are made up of action surrounding crimes or failed crime plots, including crimes such as murders, robberies and shootings. Examples include 'The Godfather', 'Reservoir Dogs', and 'The Asphalt Jungle'.

Disaster thriller - This hybrid features a main conflict of some kind of natural disaster, such as an earthquake, volcano eruption or flood. The 1974 film 'Earthquake' is a good example of this genre.

Drama thriller - These tend to be slower paced and involve a much more character development and plot twists than typical thrillers. Some examples are: 'The Illusionist',and 'The Prestige'.

Erotic thriller - Since the 1980s this genre has been on the rise, taking aspects from both genre. One key erotic thrillers is 'Fatal Attraction'.

Horror thriller - These films are based on the theme of fear; for both the characters and the audience. These films tend to be from the point of view of the soon to be victim, making the audience directly feel the fear. Recent examples include the 'Saw' series and '28 Days Later'.

Legal thriller - These involve narratives in which lawyers have to confront their enemies both inside and outside the courtroom in order to let 'good' prevail.

Medical thriller - Films such as 'Awake' are involved in this genre. The protagonist tends to feature as a doctor trying to solve an expanding medical problem.

Political thriller - The film 'Agency' encapsulated this genre, which features plots etc within the government, and the protagonist working with or against these and trying to ensure the stability of the government.

Psychological thriller - Numerous Hitchcock films fit into this genre, as well as films including 'The Talented Mr Ripley'. The conflict between the main characters exists mentally, emotionally and psychologically as opposed to being based around physical feelings.

Spy thriller - These tend to be based around some kind of government agent who is required to fight against threats such as terrorists. The 'Bourne' series is a good example of the genre.

Supernatural thriller - Supernatural thrillers are based around conflict between the protagonist and some form of creature with paranormal force or powers. It encorporates some aspects of basic horrors, but does not focus on the theme of fear. 'Torchwood' is a television series which fitted this genre.

Techno-thriller - Techno-thrillers typically focus on the military, but essentially just technology, which needs to be understood in detail in order to follow the narrative.

After researching these subgenres, my group and I held a discussion in which we chose to focus our thriller on being an action-thriller, as we intend to use signifiers such as chases, guns etc.

(list of thriller genres from www.wikipedia.org)

Final Product

After a lot of time spent researching, planning, filming and editing, this is our final production!

Story Boards

In order to be able to film effectively, we chose to draw up a storyboard which planned the shots, the shot lengths and effects we would use. This helped us greatly with our filming process as it helped us film efficiently.

Evaluation

There are lots of typical features of thriller films which I have been able to establish during my research into the genre. These features include chiaroscuro lighting, a femme fatale, rain lashed streets, and claustrophobic settings. The genre also typically uses twisting narratives, full of mystery and intrigue. In order to create an effective thriller opening, we tried to use several thriller conventions. We planned to use action to begin our thriller, like in ‘Layer Cake’. We chose to begin with a chase in order to create a similar dramatic effect. Once we had began editing we changed the colours of our shots to black and white in order to create the effect of chiaroscuro lighting, as a tribute to film noirs of the 1940s. We also used realistic naturalistic settings, mise en scene, and lighting, which is common within British cinema and thrillers. We were heavily influenced by the urban, processed music that is used in the opening credits of ‘Sin City’, and so found a similar breakbeat record which would fit with the urban location we had scouted. ‘Layer Cake’ also influenced us in the style to use in our chase scene. Like in ‘Layer Cake’, we used hand held camera techniques rather than using a tripod for some of the shots which adds to the style of our piece. Throughout the piece we were hoping to explore the ideas that having a lead female role would bring, as well as focussing on exploring the theme of the working class and stereotypes within this.

In order to challenge generic thriller conventions, we decided to have a female, rather than the typical male, protagonist. This meant that we also based the entire narrative around the female protagonist, which is extremely uncommon within thrillers. We wanted to challenge this typical aspect of the genre because, as a group of two females, we decided that we wanted to show women in a different light to the typical femme fatale character. We intended to display the female role as a strong character, as opposed to the sexual characteristics that typical femme fatales possess.

Unfortunately, our media product tends to use stereotypical representations of characters. We use young people from lower class backgrounds as the violent people mixed up in the web of crime and corruption, which is typical of what people believe of the lower, working classes and of young people. Our thriller sees both the lead male and lead female as criminals, but, as we see it from the point of view of the young woman, we see her as the (anti) hero and the male protagonist as the villain. This demonstrates the positive representation we are giving to females, which challenges the conventions of generic thrillers. We show, however, both roles as being strong characters in every respect, and are often not sure who holds the most power.

I believe that a company that would be suitable to distribute my thriller would be a company such as Pathé Distribution, as it focuses on distributing independent British cinema to a wider audience, which is perfect for an independent unconventional thriller, such as my own. I would intend for more art house cinemas such as Cinema City - to exhibit my thriller, because I think it would appeal to the art house audience more than the mainstream one. However, it would be interesting to see how successful a British thriller based on the working classes would be at a mainstream multiplex cinema, such as The Odeon, which tends to air mainly Hollywood Blockbusters. I would also like to try out screening my thriller on the internet, to achieve a wider audience of people (from other countries etc) who may otherwise not be able to view it, by using a method of downloading, via a movie website such as Love Film. I also think this method could be very successful with the younger end of my target audience.

I believe that, like a lot of thrillers, our thriller ‘Iniquity’ would be targeted at a predominantly male audience. From my audience research, it is apparent that these males would be between the ages of 15 and 25. This is because, according to my research, males of this age are attracted to the action and adventure that thrillers include, as well as being able to relate to the male role. These males would have typical interests, such as playing sport, watching television, and enjoying films such as ‘Layer Cake’ and ‘Essex Boys’. Because we have used a female as our lead role, I believe that more young females would consume this film; as they would find it easier to connect with it. If ‘Iniquity’ was to be distributed on the internet, this would widen the target audience as it would be accessible to more than just the British audiences. An international distribution, if used, could also lead to world-wide distribution which would make it accessible to many more audiences.

In order to attract a suitable audience for our thriller, we had to plan several things. We chose to base our thriller at a block of flats, which may appear attractive to lower class groups of people, as they would be able to relate to the reality we attempted to portray. However, I think it would appeal more to middle class citizens; giving them an insight into a world that they probably don’t have much experience of. For this aspect we were influenced by ‘This is England’, which is set in a rundown estate in Grimsby, and also had a similar class of audience as we are intending. We tried to hook our audience by using naturalistic lighting, settings and mise en scene, which would enable audiences to relate to our narrative and film. Although in the filming we didn’t develop the characters, we used a young girl and a young boy as our leading roles; making it easier for both of the sexes to be addressed by our film, especially as we have used a female as the protagonist therefore challenging conventions and attracting more female viewers. We also used a narrative that would be appealing to our audience, as it is full of twists and turns to engage and engross the audience. We intended to hook and address our audiences using a first person narrative and voice-over; encouraging the audience to identify with the character.

In the process of constructing this product, I have learnt a lot about technologies used in the creation of media production. In terms of filming, I have learnt about steady use of the camera, as well as using focus pulls, panning and zooming effects. By creating the film, I also learnt about the importance of editing, using Adobe Premiere editing software. I have become able to use transitions, special effects, and edit colours within the sequence. I also had to learn how to cut clips of the film and how to make the overall piece effective and professional looking, as well as learning how to edit and insert titles. The final aspect of technology I learned was editing music and sound, which had to be down to the voice-over, the music, and for the final gun shot. I had to edit the volume of the sounds, as well as cutting the music and using effects upon it in order to make it fit better with my film. Although my group faced very few problems or limitations to overcome, we did struggle with ensuring the voice-over was clear and easily understood. For this reason we had to record several times, and edit the result to make sure it was comprehensible.

Overall, in the progression from the preliminary task to the final product, I have learnt a lot about the entire process of production. The preliminary task prepared me for the method of planning, shooting and editing, but which needed to be done in a lot more depth for the final thriller film. By working in a group I have learnt how to compromise and share ideas, as well as manage our work load and time effectively. In general, Lucy and I worked as a team; coming up and working on ideas together. I suggested using a voice-over, but we both worked on the script and recording and editing the sound. This tended to be how we worked together – suggesting an idea, and then together developing and helping in making the idea part of our production.

In order to understand the weaknesses and strengths of our thriller, we asked an audience to watch and grade our production. From looking at their responses, I think it can be said that the thriller was effective as we got a majority of 9 and 10 out of 10, with comments such as "liked the way [titles] faded out", "liked the music", "liked the long shot when they're running", "good steady shots", "perfect", "great locations", and "got me hooked!". This shows that we were successful in selecting suitable and effective locations, mise en scene, music and shot types. Out of all of the audience feedback, we only got two 6 out of 10 grades - one because it is slightly unclear whose voice is in the narration, and the other because they "didn't like transitions of titles". It can also be noted that the "voice fades out a bit". These weaknesses that were pointed out I completely agreed with, but was very pleased by the positive comments we received. I believe that the weaknesses are just as the audience pointed out - at some points the narrative is hard to understand, and the voice over is sometimes unclear, as we struggled to make it easier to hear. I think the aspect that I am most pleased with is the use of hand held camera as I think it is effective, and works well with the music and overall setting and mise en scene.

Overall, I really enjoyed producing the film, and am impressed by the result that my group and I created. I think during the course, the most important thing I have learnt about the production process is working as a team, how important planning is and how to use the technologies provided.

This is England Research

Research into Film Distribution

Audience Research 2

Audience Research 1

Working Title Films

Working Title Films
Working Title Films was founded in 1984 by Tim Bevan and Sarah Radclyffe and is a British film production company, based in London. It produces feature films and some television productions.

The company gained mainstream success after the Four Weddings and a Funeral. Working Title Films aims to produce British cinema and independent art films. Working Title Films is famed for its Richard Curtis-scripted romantic comedies, and Coen Brothers' films, but has in recent times moved into many other types of film and genre.

Working Title Films made a profit of £17.8 million in 2004. As of 2007, all its films are distributed by Universal Studios, which owns a 67% stake in the company, and many of its recent films are co-productions with StudioCanal. The remaining shares are owned by the company's founders, BBC Films, and private investors. Eric Fellner and Tim Bevan are now the co-owners of the company.

The film company also has a smaller low-budget film company, WT2 (Working Title 2) which has produced films such as Billy Elliot (2000) and Shaun of the Dead (2004).


Films produced by Working Title Films:
A Kiss Before Dying, A World Apart, About a Boy, Ali G In Da House,
Atonement, Bean, Billy Elliot, Bob Roberts, Bridget Jones's Diary,
Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, Burn After Reading, The Big Lebowski,
The Borrowers, Captain Corelli's Mandolin,Catch a Fire, Chicago Joe and the Showgirl,
The Calcium Kid, Dakota Road, Dead Man Walking, Definitely, Maybe,
Diamond Skulls, Drop Dead Fred, Elizabeth, Elizabeth: The Golden Age,
Fargo, Fools of Fortune, For Queen and Country, Four Weddings and a Funeral,
French Kiss, Frost Nixon, Gone, The Guru, Hidden Agenda, High Fidelity,
Hot Fuzz, The Hi Lo Country, The Hudsucker Proxy, Inside I'm Dancing,
The Interpreterm, Johnny English, Libestraum, Loch Ness, London Kills Me,
Long Time Dead, Love Actually, Map of the Human Heart, Mickybo and Me,
Moonlight & Valentino, Mr Bean's Holiday, My Beautiful Laundrette, My Little Eye,
The Man Who Cried, The Man Who Wasn't There, The Matchmaker,
Nanny McPhee, Ned Kelly, No Worries, Panther,Paperhouse,Pascali's Island,
Personal Services, Plunkett & Macleane, Posse, Pride & Prejudice, R
obin Hood, Romeo Is Bleedingm Rubin and Ed, The Rachel Papers,
Sammy and Rosie Get Laid, Shaun of the Dead, Sid and Nancy, Sixty Six,
Smokin' Aces, Straight To Hell, The Shape of Things, That Eye, The Sky,
The Tall Guy, Thirteen, Thunderbirds, United 93, What Rats Won't Do,
Wild Child, Wild West, Wimbledon, Wish You Were Here, The Young Americans,
Year of the Gun, 40 Days and 40 Nights

(information collected from www.wikipedia.org and www.workingtitlefilms.com)

Skins

Skins is a series that is broadcast on Channel 4 and E4, and has a mainly teenage audience. It is a comedy teenage drama, in which each episode focuses on one particular character and the problems and troubles they are facing. Despite being the subject of a lot of controversy due to its depiction of youth culture, with alcohol sex and drugs playing a major part, the series is currently airing its third series.

The extract I will analyse is from an episode focussing on the character Cassie and her problem of anorexia.

The extract begins inside a bus with realistic mise en scene, and typical looking people. The camera moves closer to the back of the bus where Cassie is sat by a window and we observe her finding a post-it note. We cut from a long shot of people on the bus eating, to Cassie’s expressions, to close ups of the post-it note which reads “EAT!!” This emphasizes to the audience Cassie’s illness. We then view a small child who is sat in front of Cassie reaching out to offer her a biscuit. The child’s hand looks like a silhouette, and the slowness of the hand reaching out contrasts with the fast moving bleached colours we see of the outside through the window. The image this creates is reminiscent of part of Michelangelo’s painting at the Sistine Chapel where God is reaching down to man. Throughout this sequence non diegetic music is playing, which makes the sequence less realistic, but more dramatic and stylish to the audience and of the representation of Cassie.

The entire beginning of the extract focuses on the representation of Cassie and her anorexia, and is full of contrast. The images of adults, children and teenagers eating both healthy and junk food are juxtaposed with Cassie, who suffers from anorexia. Cassie is shown in a pretty white dress, which, with her long flowing blonde hair, makes her appear like an angel which again is contrasted with the other passengers on the bus. She appears much more innocent and beautiful than the other people on the bus, which perhaps helps the audience understand her illness – she seems more attractive than everyone else, and is the only person not eating. Although this concept of ‘not eating makes us more attractive’ is not one to encourage, it helps us understand Cassie’s way of thinking.

Next we cut to an external shot of Cassie arriving at her house, and then follow her entering her house. The first thing we notice is the diegetic sound of her mum and dad kissing, and see a baby looking on. We follow Cassie through to where the baby is looking and switch between Cassie’s unimpressed blank expression to her mother and father. The audience is shown Cassie’s father asking Cassie if she ate breakfast. Cassie clearly lies, but it is obvious her father is far more concerned with having sex with his wife rather than listening to his daughter. We then see a repeat of this attitude from her mother, as Cassie has to remind her that it is her last day at the clinic. Cassie then is left the duty of feeding her baby sibling and changing its nappy. Whilst she is doing this, the camera cuts to a portrait by her father of her mother giving birth which indicates that Cassie’s parents are ‘hippies’. This idea is also hinted at in the sequence of Cassie arriving at her home, as we see a ‘hippy van’ (a Volkswagen Transporter) parked in the drive. As Cassie sits with her baby sibling in the bright childish nursery, there are diagetic noises of her parents having sex. We follow Cassie as she receives a text from an anonymous number, and then close up to the message: “EAT!!” After this we see Cassie take a pill and drink out of a child’s bottle, and then cover up the sound of her parents having sex with music from a child’s mobile toy. The extract finishes with a point of view shot watching the mobile spin round.

This part of the extract focuses more upon representation of adults and the family, and also again on Cassie’s illness. Although the meanings of the piece are all polysemic, it is clear that the target audience will view Cassie’s parents in a similar way. They are shown to be overactive, which will make the audience cringe, and also typically patronising ; calling Cassie ‘Kiddums’ and acting as if she was a child, despite giving her responsibilities of looking after the baby. We can see from their ‘hippy’ nature that these parents are highly embarrassing for a teenager, and the majority of the audience will be able to relate to Cassie’s situation. The audience can also grasp some ideas of reasons for Cassie’s anorexia by looking at her environment - her family are shown dressed all in white and acting childishly. We see her parents caring more about sex than important issues (such as going to the clinic and their daughter lying), which some would argue is behaviour more acceptable for teenagers. Cassie’s illness is hinted at is a way for her to take control in an area of life, and is a kind of hobby which enables her to block out her embarrassing parents.

The two scenes here are used to represent anorexia and reasons behind it, as well as family life. By using unobtrusive editing, neutral lighting and familiar mise en scene, these representations are highly believable and help the audience to engage and understand the ideas and images that are being portrayed by the director. The ideas shown throughout the piece, (family life, parents, problems with eating and weight etc) are very common within the target audience, and the director is successful in exposing these problems through realist drama conventions.

Continuity Task

Before creating my thriller, my group and I practised shot types, editing and camera skills by creating a short film, just filming a conversation and a character walking in and out of a room.

We used and practise shot types that we intend to use in our thriller opening, and I feel that we are now a lot more confident with our camera skilles, and have had a good chance to get a feel for the editing program.

Thriller Openings- (Miller's Crossing, Layer Cake, Essex Boys)

In order to get more inspiration for my own thriller opening, I looked at the openings to a couple more typical thriller films.

Miller's Crossing

Firstly, I looked at the opening of the Coen Brother's 1990 thriller - Miller's Crossing. The film begins with diagetic typical noises of being in a bar, whilst we see, in a close up, a glass being filled up with ice and a, presumably, alcoholic drink. The camera then pans with the glass onto a table, whilst a man in a suit talks into the camera. We see classic american gangster brown mise en scene, aswell as slatted blinds. We are shown a man sat to the side, making him appear laid back and powerful. The camera starts as a long shot, and then, to add variety, uses a mid shot of the same area to zoom in and get closer to the action. Evidence of shallow focus is used through out the shot, which then changes to an effective worm's eye view of trees, which pans down and follows as we see a hat fall on to the grass, which is extremely simple yet effective. The hat connotes upper class masculinity, proper-ness, the era the film is set and manners, however the way in which it is blowing away suggests that these characteristics are forgotten and pushed aside throughout the film.

During the opening credits, the mise en scene is excellent. The brown suits that the male characters wear, teamed with the crystal glass tumblers and brown mise en scene all add up to create an excellent depiction of typical american gangster thrillers. The lighting and setting reflects the naturalistic, realistic effect that the director is trying to create for the audience. The camera work is stylish, which compliments the overall style of the piece.

Just within the opening sequence we are drawn into the narrative, and already establish some of the key themes the film intends to explore - gambling, deceit, loyalty and betrayal. From seeing this opening, I intend and hope to use a similar style of having simple yet effective shots, and also have learnt new, more interesting, camera techniques which will add variety.

Layer Cake

Another opening that I watched was Layer Cake. I found the opening to this film very effective and different to all the other thrillers I have watched and analysed so far. The film openings with a black screen, split down the middle, leaving the audience to guess what it is. As the camera pans down and zooms out, it is made clear it is the back of a van, which then explodes; creating drama for the audience, and hooking them into the action. I found this a brilliant way to start a film - beginning with action straight away. The shots following the explosion are slowed down in speed and show the chaos that has been created. The camera then pans and we enter a new scene of hippies smoking and taking drugs. The mise en scene is very stereotypical of hippies and the 60s and 70s, making it seem more realistic for us. The camera pans to follow a girl only wearing pants, showing the girl as a kind of femme fatale- sexual yet dangerous, and changes into a scene in a typical prison, where the same hippies can be seen as prisoners which icreases the continuity of the shots and helps the narrative structure. The camera pans again and we see a man walk down an aisle filled up of FCUK products, which change as he walks down the aisle, adding a modern, stylish feel to it. We follow this man, assuming he is the male protagonist who is also doing the voiceover which engages the audience and helps to build the narrative, and watch him buy something, and then walk in to an 'every day' looking house. Here we see him with 'Clark' weighing and boxing up cocaine, in a dark, dingy room which looks surprisingly clean and medical.

Throughout the piece, we see naturalistic setting, with suitable mise en scene in each setting, for example in the scene with Clark boxing up cocaine, there is a lot of white, clean, sterilised looking mise en scene, aswell as characters wearing surgical masks, which creates a very medical modern look to the film. We also see suitable lighting in each setting, with the prison being brightly lit showing how modern it is, whilst the hippies' room is dingy and smoky, giving us the impression that they are stereotypically smoking cannabis. The shots are extremely well done; showing the action using panning shots, whilst the voice-over first person male narrator is very successful in engaging the audience.

The whole sequence uses brilliant editing which makes it appear to be done all in one shot. The editing also gives the opening a very stylish feel, which i hope to capture in my opening. I also enjoyed the voiceover, and hope that I will also encorporate this into my production. I also liked the credits that the opening used, as they were inobtrusive as they were written in small writing and were incorporated into the action.

Essex Boys

I also watched the opening of the British thriller Essex Boys, which is based on a true story. The film begins in the pitch black, and then we hear the diegetic sound of a garage door opening. Light from outside the garage shines into the shot, creating chirascuro lighting, as a tribute to the old black and white film noirs. The garage creates a very claustrophobic atmosphere, making the audience feel trapped, and we see the male protagonist pushing aside spiderwebs, which are a very gothic element, yet not out of the ordinary. We follow the protagonist get into the car using close ups, long shots and panning and tracking, and view him driving out of the garage as if we are the passenger, making the audience feel engaged with the action and helping us relate more to the protagonist. Throughout the sequence there is an internal monologue in an essex accent which sets the scene. We follow the protagonist in his car, and see the thriller convention of rain lashed streets, and also a lack of colour through out the scene, which makes it appear to be noir monochrome lighting - another tribute to the classic film noirs of the 1940s. We continue with a point of view shot and enter a tunnel, another enclosed claustrophobic space which appears like the barrell of a gun, giving an indication of the kind of ideas the director is planning to portray throughout the film.

I really enjoyed this opening, because I thought it appeared very realistic, and was easy to engage with. I felt that many people would be able to relate to the protagonist, and also would like to see common, everyday settings. I thought that the chirascuro lighting and claustrophobic settings were highly effective, and would like to use these ideas in my own production.

Analysis of film posters

Film posters have been used in the advertising of films since the earliest public exhibitions of films, and since then they have been fighting for our attention. Film posters have to be noticable enough to catch our attention, if only for a split second. They need to grab our attention, then hold it long enough for us to digest the information they contain. Graphic designers are constantly working to make the most noticable, most eye catching, and most attention holding poster. Film posters can be seen wherever we are - buses, magazines, billboards etc, it is hard to escape them, but the majority may not even register with us, despite the amount of money spent on them. Thousands and millions of pounds are spent on film posters, with, according to the OCR Media Studies textbook, 50% of the money pumped into a production going on promotion rather what is seen on screen.

I am going to look at 2 different film posters advertising thrillers and analyse them in order to discover how different companies advertise and attract their target audience.

Firstly I chose to analyse the film poster for the 1960 Hitchcock classic - 'Psycho'.

The poster is quite attention grabbing; only using a few colours - blue, yellow, red, black and white makes it stand out and draws attention. Obviously these colours have been picked for a reason, as red connotes feelings of anger, danger, passion, masculinity and power. In this poster the colour red is used to tint the males, which gives a suggestion of the image that Hitchcock will put across to his audience in the film. The graphic designer has chosen to tint the female and title in the poster as yellow, which connotes feminity, dishonesty, cowardice, hope and deceit, which straight away suggests how Hitchcock intends to portray females and his film in general to the public. It should also be noted that studies have shown that a yellow and red cloth enrages animals, which can suggest even further the ideas that will be shown in the movie. The blue background suggests truth, peace, harmony, strength, and calmness. It is obvious here that the film will cover up these feelings, just like in the poster, and replace them with much more negative feelings - those that red and yellow connote.

The characters shown in the poster are also used to attract audiences to the film. This is clear because the woman is shown as a clear femme fatale; wearing only underwear, but still looking attractive to the male audience. On the other hand, a male character is also shown without a top on, which is used to attract the female audience, and also to act as a role model and someone to connect to for the males.

The layout of the poster uses photos which look roughly cut and stuck down, which can reflect the uncertain and confusing narrative viewers of the film will be faced with. This layout also uses diagonals to attract and draw attention to the poster, and the point of the picture of the woman points downwards, highlighting the director's name.

The writing used on the poster is large, white, thin font, which gives the impression that it is modern (which it would have been at the time the posters would have been used). The font used for the title, 'Pyscho', is in capitals, is bold and yellow in colour, and looks as if it has been ripped and then stuck back together. This draws alot of attention to the title, and helps it to stick in our minds.

The other film poster I am going to analyse is the poster used to advertise "Wanted", a British thriller directed by Bekmambetov.

Straight away the audience's eyes are drawn in towards the guns, which are highlighted by the lighting, and symbolise death, anger, power and masculinity. The guns look modern which also gives us an idea of the kind of era the film will be set in. It should also be noted that, in the foreground, it is a woman who is holding the gun, which, especially with her tattoos, make her seem alot more masculine but still enables her to have the danger aspect which makes her similar to femme fatales; typical of thriller films. Looking closely at her tattoos, we can see "XIII", roman numerals for 13, which can be linked to North American gang culture, where members of the white supremacist gang, the Aryan Circle, use "13" as their symbol. The fact that she has the word "tear" written boldly on her arm could also link back to American gang culture, where tears are drawn to represent the number of people a person has killed. The word also obviously makes links to unhappiness. Her other tattoo is of different patterns of the numbers 0 and 1, which suggests it could be written in binary code, again linking to the modernism that will be expected to be seen in this film.

Despite seeing the woman in the foreground looking maculine and strong in her powerful stance, we can see behind her a man holding two guns; one pointing towards her and one pointing in our direction. This suggests that the man still holds more power than the female character. The background for the two characters is flat land below, making them seem superior to everyone below on the ground. It also makes them seem stronger and kind of Godly ; looking down on the world, with laws not applying to them. The whole poster is tinted with yellow, meaning the two colours are primarily yellow and black. The yellow aspect connotes hazards, intelligence, dishonesty, greed deceit and death. The colour yellow also used to be used to symbolise the devil. The black within the photo adds feelings of modernity, power, mystery, evil, death, unhappiness and unarchism, which can be reflected in the ideas that the poster suggests.

The font used to advertise the film is big, bold, sans serif, and a similar shade of yellow to the colour used on the poster. It easily grabs attention and the word, "wanted", sticks in our minds. The only other script used on the poster is in the same style as the title and simply tells us the date the film comes out.

By looking at these two film posters I have learnt how graphic designers intend to catch our attention, and how much these posters really tell the audience about the films.

Warp Films

Warp Films is responsible for creating some of the most new, different and exhilarating pieces of British film since being set up in 2002. Warp Films has won numerous plaudits and awards (including three BAFTAs) in the last 5 years.

'My Wrongs 8245-8249 and 117', directed by Chris Morris, was Warp’s first short film and won the BAFTA in 2003 and for its television premiere on Channel 4. More than one million viewers tuned in to watch it, and 22000 DVDs were sold after its premiere, making it the first DVD single in the UK market.

Shane Meadows’ 'Dead Man's Shoes' was Warp's debut feature, and received a record eight British Independent Film Award nominations, including Best Film, Best Director and Best Achievement in Production. ‘’Dead Man’s Shoes’’ was also nominated for a BAFTA and won the Southbank Award for Best Film.

Warp’s next film, directed by Chris Cunningham, was ‘Rubber Jonny’, an experimental 42-page book that shocked and amazed audiences. Warp’s next venture was ‘Grow Your Own’. This film written by Frank Cottrell Boyce received critical success, and tackled the subject of immigration. 2006 saw Warp Films creating their most successful film to date: Shane Meadows’ ‘This is England’. The film received rave reviews and has won numerous international festival awards as well as winning Best Film at the British Independent Film Awards and Best British Film at the BAFTAs.

Arctic Monkeys are also connected with Warp Films as they have produced two music videos for the band, and collaborating on the short film ‘Scummy Man’, which one an NME award for best music video. A feature length live film of the Arctic Monkeys has recently been directed by Richard Ayoade.

Warp Films currently have projects with directors Shane Meadows, Chris Morris, Chris Cunningham, Richard Ayoade, David Slade and Lynne Ramsay. One of their aims is to seek out new voices; which is reflected in their latest projects of promo making and their new venture, Warp X, a digital studio fuelled by imagination, innovation and a digital business model that rewards everyone involved in all aspects of the creation of the films. Their financiers have agreed that creative talent should share in the gross revenue of any film once the commission and expenses of distributors and sales agents have been deducted. Warp X intends to build and improve on Warp Film’s excellent reputation for combining originality with success.

Chris Cunningham started working with Warp Records in 1995 and has directed multiple unique, innovative videos for the likes of Squarepusher, Bjork, Madonna, Portishead and Aphex Twin. With Warp Films, Cunningham has created several films, including 'Rubber Johnny'. Cunningham’s music video, 'Africa Shox' is extremely shocking in its portrayal of America and how white Americans treated Black African/Americans. The camera follows a black man walking through the streets, gradually getting more and more broken at the fault of the white characters, whilst noone, apart from one white man in a heaving urban city, even attempts to help him. There are many examples of similarities between the music video and Meadows' 'This is England'. Firstly, we see in each white characters ignoring the problems and racism that ethnic minorities face. Both of the films are also set in urban lower class areas, and try to show the reality and make it alot more hard-hitting for the audience. Overall, both are extremely successful in engaging their audience and spreading their messages to the public.

(basic information collected from www.warpfilms.com)

Progress Made on Our Thriller

Alot of progress has been made on our thriller, as we rapidly changed from one idea to another and had to repeat the whole process. We quickly location scouted and discovered an urban block of flats which are very modern and symmetrical, and which suit the style of our thriller completely. During this process we also quickly discovered two much more reliable actors - Guy and Mary, who both have drama experience and who would co-operate and stay focused.

After re-planning our new thriller, we started filming. We concentrated alot more on establishing shots and mise en scene, using generic thriller signifiers including spiral staircases and a white van. We had two filming sessions with our actor and actress and one alone in order to create good focused shots. In general, the shooting went well and we achieved alot in the sessions.

Once we were happy with the shots that we had collected, we recorded our voice-over. We decided to have a female voice as the narrator, despite the female character being a femme fatale. We felt that this would go better with our shots and opening in general, and wrote the script as follows : 'It wasn't the first time I've got mixed up in a deal like this. For some reason something went wrong, and the rest is kind of a blur. All I remember is those flats and being carted away in that white van. Everyday I find myself walking back there, hoping that somehow I can change what happened.' We chose to keep the speech simple, and intend to separate it into sections to fit with relevant parts of the film.

As well as adding the voice over, we have chosen a break beat piece of music to add to it during editing. So far we have made great progress with our editing. We have changed the colour scheme to black and white in order to reflect chirascuro lighting and to give it a thriller-ish feel, whilst appearing more stylish. We have also used both fast and slow paced editing where necessary to create the desired feel. We interspersed the chase scene with clips of the femme fatale walking, to suggest a spiralling narrative, full of flash backs and intrigue. We have begun to add the credits along the bottom left of the film. We intend to add the final touches of the film title at the end and minor tweaks as soon as possible.

We have also decided on a name - "Iniquity", which means, according to 'Google' definitions - "Gross immorality or injustice, wickedness. Often interchangeable with the noun, “sin”". We felt this was a fitting, and catchy name for our thriller.

Conventions of Thriller

During the Media course so far, I have learnt about the thriller genre and key conventions of this genre. I have learnt about these conventions by watching different thriller films and have used them to help create an effective opening of a thriller for my coursework.

One key signifier of a thriller is to have a narrative based on crime. One example of this is in the film noir thriller, "Third Man". This has crime as the basis of the narrative as we discover that Lime, who leads the authorities to believe he is dead, has been effectively murdering children as he has been diluting the penicillin which they have been prescribed. We have encorporated this convention of the genre into our thriller, as our plot is based around a drugs scam.

Another convention of thrillers is that the resolutions to the crime are often ambiguous. There is a clear example of this at the end of 'Chinatown' as Gittes, the detective is arrested, whilst we see Katherine being taken away by Cross, meaning we never know if Cross gets away with his crimes. In our thriller plot synopsis we intend the film in a similar way, with the main protagonist being shot, and the audience never knowing if anyone ends up paying for their crimes.

Thrillers also include the aspect of the protagonist being disempowered and drawn into a web of intrigue by the antagonist. This is key in "Third Man" as Holly Martens, the protagonist, is obviously drawn into the intrigue and is completely out of his depth. If we were to make our entire thriller, this would be vital in our plot as we see the protagonist getting caught up in a downwards spiral of drugs and gangs.

In thrillers, ther protagonist is often flawed, for example in "Pulp Fiction" Jules, a hitman with a brutal past, redeems himself by turning to the fundamentalist church. The flawed protagonist is often presented in thrillers as a male with an obvious drinking and/or smoking habit. The protagonist within our thriller will be flawed as he works in the underworld of the city - in the drugs trade.

Extraordinary events in ordinary situations often occur in thrillers, with an example of this being in "No Country for Old Men" when Moss, who is out hunting, stumbles upon several cars full of dead bodies and $2 million. Our thriller synopsis doesn't really include this convention, although the fact that small-time drug dealers get lucky and end up in control of a big drugs deal could be classed as this.

Themes of voyeurism are also very common within thrillers, as the majority include several scenes of focusing souly on a scene or character, giving the impression that we are watching the action. A good example of this is in the opening of "Psycho". Our opening aims to include this theme within it.

Another convention of thrillers is the fact that elements of mise-en-scene reflect the protagonist’s emotional state. This is clear in a scene from "Vertigo" as the spiralling staircase represents Scottie's state of mind. The dark rainy stylised streets shown within "Sin City" connotes corruption in the characters, aswell as reflecting their emotions. We hope that our thriller opening we create can show examples of this, by using staircases and dark settings to show the characters' emotional states.

Thrillers often begin and / or end with the protagonist in peril. This is clear within the television series "Spooks" where the characters are often endangered and agents are often killed. In our thriller, we begin with a chase scene involving the protagonist, and end with a gun pointed to the protagonists' head.

Another feature of thrillers which we have chosen to encorporate is the presence of femme fatales, glamorous, seductive and dangerous women. "Double Indemnity" is a good example of this, as is "The Black Dahlia".

We also hope to embrace the convention of blur between good and evil in making our thriller, and think that our narrative will easily be able to show this. A good example of this is "Pulp Fiction" with the protagonists killing multiple people, even an innocent bystander, yet saving and stopping a shooting at the end of the narrative.

Twisting and convoluted narratives are also a convention of thriller genre films. The narrative within "Chinatown" reflects this, as does the majority of thrillers, including the good example "Double Indemnity" in which the narrative loops round, and features a lot of flash backs, which reflect the the character's state of mind and the twisted morality the protagonist has.