SLIDES OF SEDUCTION- Our opening sequence

Slides of Seduction. Our thriller opening sequence.

Evaluation Task (3) Who would distribute my product?

Who would distribute our thriller?

Warner Bros wouldn't distribute our film as we are first time film makers with no previous experience and there is virtually no budget behind the film. So we decided to use Vertigo Films who are a British production and distribution company who have produced and distributed a crime revenge thriller called WΔZ with Tom Hardy and Selma Blair about a female killer. This film is similar to our film therefore Vertigo is more likely to distribute our film.

 We decided if Vertigo accepted our film, we would have to distribute it through promotion and other forms of marketing the film. Possibly, one of the best ways of promoting a film is through word of mouth hype and to create the hype, our film would be played in around 60 cinemas for free for a limited time and ,through word of mouth, help promote our film. People would then naturally become excited at the prospect of seeing a free film due to the prices of seeing a film these days. However, we would still get a budget as the cinemas would have to pay us to show the film. The prospect of the free film would entice more people to see our film and with the film showing at cinemas spread over Britain, the film’s popularity would hopefully grow.  

Other ways of promoting our film were to have the posters on the sides of buses or on the Underground. These methods of promotion are typically reserved for films that are already known to be successful so advertising them in this way, will hopefully persuade people to research and watch the film as they believe it will be a competitor with summer blockbusters.
 Once we have a certain budget, we would probably need to distribute our film further than the UK. Again, we wouldn’t be able to give our film directly to America as it has only been successful in one country. Therefore, we will attempt to distribute our film through Europe. We knew that it was unlikely a European company would pick up our film straight up, so we plan to take our film to different European film festivals using part of the budget made on UK releases through DVD’s and TV releases. Film festivals we intended to release our film at included Berlin Film Festival, Venice Film Festival and Cannes Film Festival where small films such as Antichrist and Only Lovers Left Alive which have all been successful in box office and reception.

We planned on promoting our film here in the hope a European 

film company such as Pathé would pick up our film and wish to distribute it through Europe if we sold the distribution rights to them. Pathé, who are well-known distribution company of thrillers, having distributed films such as Trance, Memento, Centurion and

film company such as Pathé would pick up our film and wish to distribute it through Europe if we sold the distribution rights to them. Pathé, who are well-known distribution company of thrillers, having distributed films such as Trance, Memento, Centurion and Crash. We later hope that should any American companies see the success of our film in the UK and through Europe, an American company (maybe not Warner Bros but a small studio like Summit Entertainment) would offer to buy the rights to the film and would distribute the film through America and maybe internationally with a portion of the box office money being passed to us.

Evaluation Task (2) How have I chosen to represent social groups in my thriller?

How have I chosen to represent social groups in my thriller?

 

Representation through camera, sound, editing and mise en scene

Age

In our thriller we have subverted gender stereotypes, presented Barry (older male) as a naive older man, who is easily manipulated by a younger woman. The camera shot of Barry tied hostage to the bed, demonstrates his vulnerability and weakness in comparison to the dominance of the female. We have suggested that Ava (female lead) is a typical seductive murderess who uses her sexual image as a way of overpowering the susceptible and finally murdering them for something she desires. A shot of Lynne pulling up her stocking in the tracking shot, demonstrates completion of a job she's just performed- in this case murder. She's done what she's come to do. 

An example of this gender transition would be within Anna Nicole Smith and J. Howard Marshall's relationship. In which case she (25) married him (89) for money, using her power of beauty and sexual nature. 

Anna Nicole Smith and Howard Marshall

Gender

The tracking shot, and lack of editing we used in our thriller, was done as a symbolic representation of Ava's determination in manipulating the male in the situation, as if proving the subvert of stereotype. The tracking shot is also able to demonstrate the setting of the atmosphere in the motel, again emphasising the male naivety, letting himself be lured into a tacky motel without suspicions. High angle camera shots of Barry support the aim to subvert the stereotype of male dominance. He is seen to be inferior and weak, comparing to a straight-on, medium shot of Ava suggested her strength over the situation, and declaring her sexual nature. 

An example of the female dominance idea we wanted to achieve, is female serial killer Johanna Dennehy. Dennehy who stabbed 3 men to death revealed she did it "to see if I was as cold as I thought I was. Then it got moreish and I got a taste for it". The difference between this case and our thriller plot, is that our murderess has an objective, with the men as her obstacles- the only thing to do is seduce them and destroy them. Whereas with Dennehy there is no seduction involved, she is driven by pure 'sadistic lust' and is said to have 'no remorse'. 

                            Headshot of Joanna Dennehy                                    Article on Dennehy's case

Disability 

The social group of disability is presented in our thriller, through the fact a serial killer could be labelled mentally ill, as it is argued no one in their right mind could murder more than twice. In our thriller we highlighted one form  of disability. Mental disability was represented through Lynne taking pleasure and exercising her boredom by killing Bob. By representing Lynne as the antagonist, we automatically presented mental disability as a negative aspect of Lynne’s character. However despite this, we represented a type of mental illness which is typically portrayed negatively by the media, namely psychopathic or sociopathic. We represented Lynne as a psychopath rather than a sociopath as typically psychopaths are more likely to cross the line of moral behaviour whereas sociopaths are less of a threat to society. Therefore, by exploiting this fact, it would be unlikely we were ridiculed for representing mental disability as negative. The film 'monster' demonstrates a type of mental illness as it is argued Aileen Wuornos was mentally harmed by her childhood. She grew up with her Grandparents as her mother left and her father was a drunk (who was convicted of sexual offence against children and later hung himself). She was raised with no true aspirational adult figure, and had no way of forming an attachment for development into adult life. She was never loved. There is always a reason why people turn out the way they are, and in this case Aileen Wuornos was mentally scarred.

Representation of Social Class

Overall, our thriller subverts most social class stereotypes. For example gender was demonstrated through our chosen cast- we chose a male and female as our leading roles. Stereotypically, men are seen as dominant in society, going out to work compared to the women, remaining at home to care for children. In contrast to this, our thriller presented the women as passive aggressive, with authority and power of the man in the situation. Generally, in big budget films the male is the leading character, presented as a hero for example, fighting someone/something to save the world for example 'Superman'. We have completely challenged the stereotype by demonstrating the female as a practical, dominant murderess. Hollywood films refuse to present women 'like men' therefore must either be the typical housewife, or a murderess. To gain a position of power, women must adapt the traits and authority of a man.

Male and Female Stereotypes

Age is another social group bought up in our thriller. Arguably we both conform and subvert age stereotypes. One stereotype would be the fact that you would expect someone of an older generation to have control and authority over a situation, however we again have conflicted this, with our female character being younger and with control over the older man. However, we have also reinforced the stereotype with the naivety of an older man, to fall for the seductively deceitful younger women. An example of a real life situation like this would be Anna Nicole Smith, a playboy model who was married to J Howard Marshall- she was 26 years old, he was 89 years old. This is a clear example of a younger woman, marrying as a pursuit of money from a wealthier man.

Disability is also displayed in our thriller, with the idea of a murderer being mentally disable. Ava (female character) is a serial killer, and the only explanation truly for people like this, is that they're mental state is not healthy. We based Ava on Aileen Wuornos, the serial killer who murdered only 7 men. Our thriller fits closely to this representation of a woman.

Aileen Wuornos

Evaluation task (1) How have I used, matched or subverted conventions in my product?

A presentation on how my product has used or matched conventions?

Thrillerwork: Account of editing

Account of editing

Once our stressful shooting had finished, we had expected that to be the hardest bit, with the editing to follow smoothly. We were wrong. Although we previously had had small lessons on how to edit on final cut pro, as a group we were not pros. We began by watching all the clips and making a decision on which shots to keep and which to discard of (put in the unused bin). In comparison to our fellow peers, we had a little amount of shots to sort out (only 4) as the main shot, was one long tracking shot.

Our tracking shots were long and took a great amount of time to sifter through them identifying any errors. We had an original plan of the cuts we would put together, and to begin with it was easy to play shots into the timeline. However,due to the lack of shots we had, we soon realised quite quickly, that some of the cuts didn't work together and so we were in a slight dilemma, as we didn't have any back up shots. We also realised that the angles were wrong, and wouldn't make sense when editing them together- when Lynne lifts her arm, the shot changed and the arm swapped round. To fix this, we had to result in zooming into her face for one shot, avoiding showing the body.

We continued to encounter minor setbacks (just as great editors of Hollywood would!) Sound caused us trouble with the video and sound coming out of sync which we had to ask for assistance to fix. We also had to add an extra louder sound of the ticking of the film so it was a lot more obvious to hear. We had to smooth transitions between clips as the volume of some scenes were louder than others, so we had to louden the speakers and listen carefully as to where the volume altered. We couldn't manage them to get on an equal volume with each other, so we decided to use  a pre-recorded clip of the sound of a projector film. Once the significant background sound was applied, all that was left was the credits, which ended up being the most stressful aspect of the editing. We had to choose a specific font that related to the content of our thriller (finally choosing 'Cochin' font). We had to be careful with our choice as we wanted our title sequence to look professional so the process required our total concentration. Once we'd chosen the font and written out all the credits, we then had to accurately position it, all with the same details as to where it was placed on the screen.

We were close to finishing however, realised the thriller sequence lacked something and we concluded it was music. Although we were initially told that we couldn't use music due to copyright reasons unless we wrote it and produced it ourself. However, we decided that if the music was unknown we could use it, and it really was crucial that our thriller had music in it. We therefore sent Tobi on a mission to pick a track that suited the flow of everything that takes part in the clip. The music and 1 line we gave to Lynne, differs from our original decision of having the thriller in complete silence. We presented Tobi with a cd: Burlesque and Beyond. The music on the album was jazzy and quite abstract, creating a seductive atmosphere perfect for the sexual tension in the scene. 

Meanwhile we continued to edit the thriller, Tobi explored 20 different songs on the album, narrowing it to 10. He then presented them to us and we picked track 12. We then transferred the the music onto our timeline but the format was incorrect, and so Tobi in all his genius used his I.T. skills to change the format and import it onto our timeline. Once the music was cut and pasted onto the timeline, we decided to add some extra noise and background sound such as cars and mopeds passing outside and the bustle of party near by.We were so relieved once we'd finally touched up any faults and we had completed our thriller. We have put a lot of hard work and effort into this thriller, and we hope it pays off, receiving the marks we deserve at the end.

Thriller work- Thank you actors

Thanking the actors for their participation

Dear Lynne and Bobby,

Just a huge thank you for taking part in our thriller on Wednesday, we really appreciate the amount of patience you had with us. You were so fabulous as our characters and we're so glad you were apart of it.

Thank you again

The crew: Beth, Matt, Flora and Tobi

Thriller work- Account of shoot day

Account of shoot day

When we arrived in the editing suite, the day immediately began not following our preparation. We were told that the set drawing and description hadn't been given to the set designer and we therefore had to build our set in the studio that day, meaning we must search around the school for the props and furniture we needed. Due to the lack of time to collect things, we had to alter our idea of a 'expensive looking hotel' to fit with things that we had. We decided to use a funky, neon lit setting with the idea that we could change our target audience to a younger generation. We finally adjusted to the idea, and the mysterious darkness linked to the thriller genre we wanted to create. Beforehand, we lacked certainty of day plan, however once the set was built we had confidence in what we were doing. Instead of the hotel room, we nicknamed our set 'the sex palace' as it finalised as was hugely seductive with the dimmed lighting and fur covers on be bed and settee. 

The set completed

Using the studio gave us dominant decisions on the details of the thrillers setting and (would have) given us a variety of choices for the environment. The Mise En Scene was a little mixed up, but we concluded that the opening  would be abstract helping the audience to wonder questions for the rest of the film. We originally made a list of props we wanted, but due again to time issues we didn't get all we desired. Instead, we grabbed as many things as possible that could be included into a possible story line- these included: old fashioned camera, ashtray, whiskey bottle and glasses, lighter, lipstick, 'rude' photograph slides. Tea coasters were used to portray the woman's changing emotions- moody, shocked, sexual. 

The scene begins with a continuous tracking shot following over all the props on the table (dressed with purple material) leading onto half a dozen slides stuck to the light box, suggesting the raunchy setting with what's portrayed in them. The track then takes us to the settee with a blazer and tie swung over the arm, leading the camera down to the foot of women, tracking upwards to follow the stocking being pulled up the leg. This lead to the image of a hand roped to the bed, following onto the dead face of Bobby. 
This whole tracking shot took a good 15 takes to get right, as the camera HAD to follow the path we'd decided without stopping. It took a long time to rehearse and we knew this, so instead of getting the actors in early morning we chose the time to set up lighting and so on and also as rehearsal period. Once the track had been perfectly rehearsed and memorised, the actors arrived after lunch at 2.00pm. 

Tobi takes control of the camera for the tracking shot- Lynne awaits direction

For Ava and Barry we chose recommended actors. Lynne Whitehead was said to be actress, and she seemed hugely keen to be in the thriller. She was perfect of the part, as she could play a seductive murderess easily, with her mass of curls and the red lips we gave her she looked just the part we wanted. Although she played the evil character, she was hugely likeable to an audience as she added a type of humour to the character. Lynne was wonderful to work with, and hugely patient with our inexperience with filming so we thank her for that. Bobby Genower was picked at the 'dead man' who lays, murdered on the bed. We chose him, again, out of recommendation and he looked perfect for that old fashioned, wealthy yet gullible man. I cannot explain how fabulously patient he was being roped to a bed for nearly 2 hours. Both were fantastic and had a close friendship as colleagues so worked great together. 

 

Break for tea and biscuits- Flora admires the set

We borrowed outfits from the college's costume cupboard for our actors. We decided in alteration from our original idea of not knowing Ava was female from the beginning by dressing her in full black. However we resulted in giving her a lace dress as it would then make sense pulling stockings up. The dress also gave her that younger, typical beautiful murderess character we wanted for the target audience. Bob wore a shirt and black trousers, demonstrating his wealth and superiority that has now been stolen by a dominant female. 

Bobby awaits direction- patiently!

Lighting was dimmed, with the neon lights presenting different emotions in the scene. We had strip 
lights underneath some of the furniture. Red light was placed under the desk to show a frustration of Ava looking for something through the objects (a particular slide). Purple was placed under the sofa and blue on the bed to symbolise the coldness of death in the atmosphere. Apart from the coloured lights, we used a natural looking light, suggesting a seedy room at night attempting a chiaroscuro setting of light and dark. On the third and last shot was a close up in which we were originally going to use a projector for light, to link to the theme of film and slides, however when the projector was off, the light on Lynne's face was perfect with a blue glow, making the mood hugely intimate and mysterious creating an anticipation for the audience.

We planned to have no sound in the sequence, to add to the tensity, and to make it a little different from other thrillers, as they'd usually use music.  Instead however, we decided on having a film projector playing- for the light and the sound. The continuous  ticking noise was like a stopwatch for time, forming suspense. All this, helps the audience to ask frequent questions of what'll happen. We decided to pre record with the mic, the natural sound of the room to add over during editing, so the sound on the film recording isn't empty and dull.

In the production we took turns in roles of direction, calling camera roll and camera control although we seemed to adapt a certain role although none were in control. We worked as a team. I enjoyed directing our actors, as I was able to put forward my own ideas, and have them accepted. I took the role of telling Lynne when to pull up her stocking for a shot, which was a pretty precise and accurate job. I had to watch the tv in which the film was shown, decide a moment for her to begin pulling them up in the tracking shot and indicate with a hand gesture. It doesn't sound a lot but each little thing counted. As a team, I think we finally, after the many months, began to merge in ways of 
thinking to bring ideas together. Matt got the responsibility of continuity for the actors (assuring Lynne was in the right place, and Bobby was tied to the bed tight enough), Flora called' standby, rolling, action, cut!) Tobi controlled the cameras movement on the tracks and the rest of the shots and I just tried to assure our actors were happy (with tea, coffee, biscuits etc.)

Assistance in getting the focus with the tracking shot

As a group decided on 1 tracking shot, to create that slow anticipation of a thriller genre, and two quick shots, making the audience ask questions on who was in them and what was the purpose? It's 
intriguing. It also meant the day was spent focussing on what shot, which was a lot less stressful than multiple shots. All the features we included: moody lighting, slow shots, ticking of the film, the seductive setting, the young women, all helped to form the thriller atmosphere that our target audience would hope to see. 

Despite the stressful start, and continuous changing in ideas, as a whole we are thoroughly pleased with how the thriller turned out, with the main shot day actually going entirely smoothly and easily. Obviously, through assistance, we have created a great thriller that people would certainly enjoy at the cinema. The Mise En Scene wasn't what wanted, but due to understandable circumstances we made it work, although if I'd got the chance, I would have reverted back to the original setting. Overall we are very happy with the result and are looking forward to editing it. Thank you to everyone who assisted in our thriller filming: prop providers, actors, extra crew, we did it through your help, so thank you.