Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
Our thriller opening went better than I expected from a group of beginner film makers, I feel that we learnt a considerable amount through the whole process of planning, research and production including new techniques and terminology. My general knowledge on film-making has expanded and I can now identify different processes used in various productions using the correct vocabulary, this has helped me to identify conventions that can make up a thriller opening. The strengths that presented themselves in our production were the camerawork, editing, continuity, range of shots and sound. We kept our shots steady when filming them which gave them a more professional look and made the movement smooth and swift. We kept continuity by relating the shots to each other and editing out any other unnecessary shots that could hinder the performance or make it more confusing, continuity was found as the shots led on to each other and the sub-plots of the separate lives of the two characters tied in at the end. We had to make sure that everything was the same when jumping from one angle to another so that no differences could be spotted which loses the effect of the production.
We learnt techniques such as sticking to the 180° rule, this rule states that the camera must stay on the same side of the line of action through-out filming to avoid confusion for the audience involving directions. Shot-reverse-shot is when two subjects are facing each other talking and the camera switches between the faces to show reactions and expressions on both sides of the party, this is all done whilst sticking to the 180° rule, however we did not use this technique as we had no confrontation between two characters in our piece. However we used this in our preliminary piece to show our understanding of the convention, in the scene the camera stayed on the right hand side of the line of action so that when the camera reverses to show the reaction it appears to be on the left, this avoids confusion to the placements of the two characters when being viewed by the audience.
We learnt the phrase match on action which shows a subject beginning an action and then cuts to another shot elsewhere of them completing the action, as a group we took plenty of shots using this technique however left most out to keep to the flow of action throughout our production.
As a group we came up with a storyboard and shot list which we took with us as a hardcopy to our filming location to use as a reference. We divided the tasks equally, tailoring each job to match the person we gave it to.
As a whole I find our thriller opening to be quite successful, however an obvious difference can be seen when compared to the high-budget modern 'James Bond' with many fast cars, gadgets and CGI which we did not have the resources for. I think it fits in nicely to the genre of spy-thriller as it complies with the conventions that we researched, conventions like guns, fast-paced editing and music, suits and male casting. From the feedback we gained we learnt that it was quite a success our peers said that one of our ending shots was too long to make the effective quick pace that we were striving for, to change this
we broke up the shot, cutting to different locations in between; we were told we could've used a few more locations instead of restricting ourselves to a wood, we met this by filming the victim in a house. Other feedback included costume improvements, getting rid of the purple watch on the killer which seemed just out of character and considering more than one use of character. The most common piece of positive feedback was made on the pace of editing saying how it kept it exciting.
To improve we could've done some extra filming to include some shots that we thought would be quite effective such as the spilling of a cup of tea to signify the death of the character and make that more
Sunday, 6 March 2016
Question 6:
What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
We have used a variety of techniques to make our blogs more versatile and more modern, this shows our understanding of modern technology and our ability to adapt it to suit our needs. Doing the research stage I used a combination of moovly, Scribd and Youtube, as well as the Blogger documents provided by the site.
Using moovly was a completely new technology to me, I had never put together a video like that before and I found the technology really easy to use which made the creation fun. It is, put simply, a series of animations strung together to deliver information to the viewer. I used moovly to present what I had learnt about sound and my ability to identify conventions of sound in an opening scene of a thriller. I found that the use of moovly made the presentation more entertaining for the viewer to watch and therefore held their attention for longer, I avoided dragging out cuts for too long so that the viewer doesn't get bored watching one part of information for an extended period of time that is unnecessary.
Scribd was very helpful converting my Word documents or PowerPoints into a file that can be easily placed onto my blog, particularly if those documents included images. However, I found that some of the images came out distorted or partially covering the text as a result. It was very easy to use but the waiting time for a document to be processed could occasionally drag out for too long.
This video was filmed as a vox pop on an iPhone, vox pops allow insight to the target audience's ideals and what they look for in an opening scene of a thriller. We filmed these videos on an iPhone as it is
easily transportable and produces a good quality image for it's size, however YouTube policies restricted us to 720p in video quality, having to pay if we wanted a higher quality.
A handy website that was frequently used as a thriller opening reference was artofthetitle.com, it had a database composed of thousands of films to pick from and was easy to navigate. It helped the process of selecting and finding a thriller opening to annotate or discuss in our research.
IMDB (Internet Movie Database) is a website dedicated to film ratings and reviews. It is home to most known films and the website provides with information such as genre, film summaries, age ratings, star ratings and much more. This was particularly proven useful when researching films where we weren't positive on their genre.
In the production of our opening sequence we used two separate tools to film on, tools such as a camera recorder and an iPhone, each tool had its pro's for filming with the iPhone producing a considerably high quality image and the camera recorder had the ability to film with ease and made the camera movement fluid. With this in mind we decided to use the camera recorder for long-distance shots and the iPhone for the more up close and personal shots that will be needed to be seen in more detail. I was chosen as the cameraman as I could keep my hands steady when filming to create a more professional finish to our production. I made sure to use different techniques and a range of camera-angles such as birds-eye-view shot and tilt shots to create different effects and to make the opening more interesting. To make sure that our opening sequence was as clear as possible we made sure to film in the correct conditions by looking at the weather forecast before finalising a filming date, on the day of filming the weather was slightly overcast which created an even wash of light but wasn't too dark to restrict the light and make the picture grainy. When we were filming on the camera recorder we used a tripod, a piece of equipment that led to ease of movement and prevented the shaky hand-held look that can be obtained form using a camera without a tripod. We used a range of different shot-types, including close-ups, tracking shot, birds-eye-view shot, over the shoulder shot, and a mid-shot. We darkened the lighting in the shots taken bin the woodland area to make it look more eerie, we did this by using a filter provided on iMovie, another filter found on iMovie created the effect of an old camera recorder which we felt was an effective, rustic touch that created a sinister effect.
This is a tilt shot, we decided on using this particular shot-type as we felt that it gave the ability to show in enough detail what is happening as the cigarette is lit but then also allows us to control the camera so that the face does not appear on-screen. This is a shot where the image has been darkened to create the more eerie effect in the woods and to also reduce the saturation and brighter colours of the original video making it more toned down and masculine.
We use a tracking shot here, this is due to the fact that we wanted to show the subject entering the room but in a more exciting way than a static mid-shot of the subject appearing and entering. This also kept to the feeling of anonymity to create the enigma of just who these characters are.
A birds-eye-view shot was taken here as we found it effective to show the environment the spy is working in, the subject of the shot is the spy's hands and shows that he is gripping on to the rock for balance which signifies the uneven terrain he is clambering across as he needs support to hold himself up. It also uses focus effectively with the foreground completely in focus and the background slightly out of focus, pulling the attention to the front.
This over the shoulder shot shows the action of the subject without giving away any distinguishable features, still keeping the identity anonymous. It shows the subject reading from an up-to-date newspaper which is a common stereotype in middle to upper class men. This shot follows the golden mean with the golden mean crossing over the subjects head and the newspaper.
We used a mid-shot here to show most of the subject on screen to show their posture and action whilst still facing away to keep his identity enigmatic. This is another example of the darkened filter used to
create an eerie atmosphere. The main focal point is the killer in position at the far right, the attention is then drawn from the killer down the gun to the centre.
A close-up was used here to show the gun in detail and to emphasise the action of the finger on the trigger, ready to fire. This introduces an imminent sense of danger as the audience recognise the gun and the way it is held symbolising that something is about to end with a gunshot. The rule of thirds is being used here with the main focal points being the hands on the gun.
This is a close-up of the back of the killer, it has been slowed down from its original speed to make it seem more natural as the original movement of the shoulders used to connote a deep breath was too dramatic and exaggerated to be seen as normal. It adds to the suspension as it denotes the killer getting ready to take the shot, bringing the end of a life one-step closer. The rule of thirds has been used here with the shoulders and back being the main focal points.
This is a close-up of the tools and props laid out on the killers table. The use of a close-up shows the props in detail, particularly focusing on the lethality of them. A filter has been paced over the image so as to create a camera recorder effect ad therefore a more sinister atmosphere as though the killer took the video himself to show off his extensive collection of weapons and information about his target.
We have used a variety of techniques to make our blogs more versatile and more modern, this shows our understanding of modern technology and our ability to adapt it to suit our needs. Doing the research stage I used a combination of moovly, Scribd and Youtube, as well as the Blogger documents provided by the site.
Using moovly was a completely new technology to me, I had never put together a video like that before and I found the technology really easy to use which made the creation fun. It is, put simply, a series of animations strung together to deliver information to the viewer. I used moovly to present what I had learnt about sound and my ability to identify conventions of sound in an opening scene of a thriller. I found that the use of moovly made the presentation more entertaining for the viewer to watch and therefore held their attention for longer, I avoided dragging out cuts for too long so that the viewer doesn't get bored watching one part of information for an extended period of time that is unnecessary.
Scribd was very helpful converting my Word documents or PowerPoints into a file that can be easily placed onto my blog, particularly if those documents included images. However, I found that some of the images came out distorted or partially covering the text as a result. It was very easy to use but the waiting time for a document to be processed could occasionally drag out for too long.
This video was filmed as a vox pop on an iPhone, vox pops allow insight to the target audience's ideals and what they look for in an opening scene of a thriller. We filmed these videos on an iPhone as it is
easily transportable and produces a good quality image for it's size, however YouTube policies restricted us to 720p in video quality, having to pay if we wanted a higher quality.
A handy website that was frequently used as a thriller opening reference was artofthetitle.com, it had a database composed of thousands of films to pick from and was easy to navigate. It helped the process of selecting and finding a thriller opening to annotate or discuss in our research.
IMDB (Internet Movie Database) is a website dedicated to film ratings and reviews. It is home to most known films and the website provides with information such as genre, film summaries, age ratings, star ratings and much more. This was particularly proven useful when researching films where we weren't positive on their genre.
In the production of our opening sequence we used two separate tools to film on, tools such as a camera recorder and an iPhone, each tool had its pro's for filming with the iPhone producing a considerably high quality image and the camera recorder had the ability to film with ease and made the camera movement fluid. With this in mind we decided to use the camera recorder for long-distance shots and the iPhone for the more up close and personal shots that will be needed to be seen in more detail. I was chosen as the cameraman as I could keep my hands steady when filming to create a more professional finish to our production. I made sure to use different techniques and a range of camera-angles such as birds-eye-view shot and tilt shots to create different effects and to make the opening more interesting. To make sure that our opening sequence was as clear as possible we made sure to film in the correct conditions by looking at the weather forecast before finalising a filming date, on the day of filming the weather was slightly overcast which created an even wash of light but wasn't too dark to restrict the light and make the picture grainy. When we were filming on the camera recorder we used a tripod, a piece of equipment that led to ease of movement and prevented the shaky hand-held look that can be obtained form using a camera without a tripod. We used a range of different shot-types, including close-ups, tracking shot, birds-eye-view shot, over the shoulder shot, and a mid-shot. We darkened the lighting in the shots taken bin the woodland area to make it look more eerie, we did this by using a filter provided on iMovie, another filter found on iMovie created the effect of an old camera recorder which we felt was an effective, rustic touch that created a sinister effect.
This is a tilt shot, we decided on using this particular shot-type as we felt that it gave the ability to show in enough detail what is happening as the cigarette is lit but then also allows us to control the camera so that the face does not appear on-screen. This is a shot where the image has been darkened to create the more eerie effect in the woods and to also reduce the saturation and brighter colours of the original video making it more toned down and masculine.
We use a tracking shot here, this is due to the fact that we wanted to show the subject entering the room but in a more exciting way than a static mid-shot of the subject appearing and entering. This also kept to the feeling of anonymity to create the enigma of just who these characters are.
A birds-eye-view shot was taken here as we found it effective to show the environment the spy is working in, the subject of the shot is the spy's hands and shows that he is gripping on to the rock for balance which signifies the uneven terrain he is clambering across as he needs support to hold himself up. It also uses focus effectively with the foreground completely in focus and the background slightly out of focus, pulling the attention to the front.
This over the shoulder shot shows the action of the subject without giving away any distinguishable features, still keeping the identity anonymous. It shows the subject reading from an up-to-date newspaper which is a common stereotype in middle to upper class men. This shot follows the golden mean with the golden mean crossing over the subjects head and the newspaper.
We used a mid-shot here to show most of the subject on screen to show their posture and action whilst still facing away to keep his identity enigmatic. This is another example of the darkened filter used to
create an eerie atmosphere. The main focal point is the killer in position at the far right, the attention is then drawn from the killer down the gun to the centre.
A close-up was used here to show the gun in detail and to emphasise the action of the finger on the trigger, ready to fire. This introduces an imminent sense of danger as the audience recognise the gun and the way it is held symbolising that something is about to end with a gunshot. The rule of thirds is being used here with the main focal points being the hands on the gun.
This is a close-up of the back of the killer, it has been slowed down from its original speed to make it seem more natural as the original movement of the shoulders used to connote a deep breath was too dramatic and exaggerated to be seen as normal. It adds to the suspension as it denotes the killer getting ready to take the shot, bringing the end of a life one-step closer. The rule of thirds has been used here with the shoulders and back being the main focal points.
This is a close-up of the tools and props laid out on the killers table. The use of a close-up shows the props in detail, particularly focusing on the lethality of them. A filter has been paced over the image so as to create a camera recorder effect ad therefore a more sinister atmosphere as though the killer took the video himself to show off his extensive collection of weapons and information about his target.
Question 5:
How did you attract/address your audience?
To make our opening appeal to our target audience we complied with the conventions that we had learnt about spy-thrillers through research.
In this screenshot a handgun can be seen protruding out of the corner of the shot, we felt as though we did not need to include the full image of the gun on the screen as it is obvious as to what object it is and we thought it could be more mysterious by leaving out details and using close-ups. The gun symbolises violence and death and is a commonly expected prop in spy-thrillers held by both antagonists and protagonists. A red wash can be seen covering the screen as it connotes danger, a must-have theme in a thriller.
The victim can be seen and identified as male, this is because a spy-thriller's cast is majorly composed of men who are seen as tougher, stronger and more brave than females. This shows that we are following the conventions of a spy-thriller by keeping to a male cast. His identity is not yet revealed, keeping it enigmatic. The mise-en-scene shows a file on a supposedly deceased character creating a suspicious feeling about him but he is also in quite homely, innocent surroundings making the audience question the hero's motives towards killing this man.
The killer is shown in this screenshot holding an air rifle in a woodland area, far from civilisation; this keeps with the all-male cast and the feeling of isolation and no help commonly found in thrillers. He is holding a gun which, again connotes violence and death and is a common prop found in this genre. The composition was formed so that the camera is positioned just so that his identity is kept out the frame and is therefore unclear but certain features are still distinguishable except facial features, this is to keep the audience in the dark about who this man is.
A document is held of a profile of a man claimed to be dead, but from the features that can be seen in the profile the connection could be made to the killer the audience saw previously. Documents like this are often expected in genres like these as they are a form of identification of enemies or allies. The word 'DEAD' stenciled across the profile is indicating that the spy is deceased and is quite unnerving, the red symbolises danger and blood.
This screenshot is a close-up of the tools and props found on the killers desk, included in these props are a screwdriver which can be used as a weapon in some cases and is also symbolic of manual labour that the job entitles, an aeroplane ticket which connotes a job that is well-travelled, ammunition can be seen in the corner as it suggests that a gun is nearby which represents danger, the end of a scalpel can also be seen which is a sharp small object which can be used as a weapon in close-combat. There is a red wash over this shot as it connotes danger.
Our audience responded positively to our opening thriller saying that the pace of editing kept it exciting and how the individual shots worked together to create an interesting plot. One viewer said they found the shot of the killer setting up the gun in the middle of the woods and then taking a shot was very disturbing, which was positive in our eyes, setting up the gun in the middle of the woods and then taking a shot was very disturbing, which was positive in our eyes.
We used the typical conventions of a spy-thriller such as fast-paced music and editing to create suspense and an element of tension. We stuck to the stereotypical all-male cast to connote strength, action and violence as they are the most common roles seen in projects such as this. As a group we manipulated a sound file we found on iMovies of a hockey stick hitting the puck, this made a loud piercing which we edited slightly to create the sound of the gunshot. The props we used had sinister connotations often being seen as lethal weapons such as the child's gun we spray painted black to make it seem more genuine, a scalpel from a tool set and some bullets.
To make our opening appeal to our target audience we complied with the conventions that we had learnt about spy-thrillers through research.
In this screenshot a handgun can be seen protruding out of the corner of the shot, we felt as though we did not need to include the full image of the gun on the screen as it is obvious as to what object it is and we thought it could be more mysterious by leaving out details and using close-ups. The gun symbolises violence and death and is a commonly expected prop in spy-thrillers held by both antagonists and protagonists. A red wash can be seen covering the screen as it connotes danger, a must-have theme in a thriller.
The victim can be seen and identified as male, this is because a spy-thriller's cast is majorly composed of men who are seen as tougher, stronger and more brave than females. This shows that we are following the conventions of a spy-thriller by keeping to a male cast. His identity is not yet revealed, keeping it enigmatic. The mise-en-scene shows a file on a supposedly deceased character creating a suspicious feeling about him but he is also in quite homely, innocent surroundings making the audience question the hero's motives towards killing this man.
The killer is shown in this screenshot holding an air rifle in a woodland area, far from civilisation; this keeps with the all-male cast and the feeling of isolation and no help commonly found in thrillers. He is holding a gun which, again connotes violence and death and is a common prop found in this genre. The composition was formed so that the camera is positioned just so that his identity is kept out the frame and is therefore unclear but certain features are still distinguishable except facial features, this is to keep the audience in the dark about who this man is.
A document is held of a profile of a man claimed to be dead, but from the features that can be seen in the profile the connection could be made to the killer the audience saw previously. Documents like this are often expected in genres like these as they are a form of identification of enemies or allies. The word 'DEAD' stenciled across the profile is indicating that the spy is deceased and is quite unnerving, the red symbolises danger and blood.
This screenshot is a close-up of the tools and props found on the killers desk, included in these props are a screwdriver which can be used as a weapon in some cases and is also symbolic of manual labour that the job entitles, an aeroplane ticket which connotes a job that is well-travelled, ammunition can be seen in the corner as it suggests that a gun is nearby which represents danger, the end of a scalpel can also be seen which is a sharp small object which can be used as a weapon in close-combat. There is a red wash over this shot as it connotes danger.
Our audience responded positively to our opening thriller saying that the pace of editing kept it exciting and how the individual shots worked together to create an interesting plot. One viewer said they found the shot of the killer setting up the gun in the middle of the woods and then taking a shot was very disturbing, which was positive in our eyes, setting up the gun in the middle of the woods and then taking a shot was very disturbing, which was positive in our eyes.
We used the typical conventions of a spy-thriller such as fast-paced music and editing to create suspense and an element of tension. We stuck to the stereotypical all-male cast to connote strength, action and violence as they are the most common roles seen in projects such as this. As a group we manipulated a sound file we found on iMovies of a hockey stick hitting the puck, this made a loud piercing which we edited slightly to create the sound of the gunshot. The props we used had sinister connotations often being seen as lethal weapons such as the child's gun we spray painted black to make it seem more genuine, a scalpel from a tool set and some bullets.
Question 4:
Who would be the audience for your media product?
Our target audience is mainly the younger generation (teenagers, young adults) as they are stereotypically seen as thrill-seekers which is what a thriller can provide for them. It is mainly aimed at the male gender as the cast is made up of strong male-figures and archetypal conventions to suit the male gender such as weapons and themes such as violence. Our age range is 15 at the least as we have researched ratings on the BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) the age certificate of 15 allows us to include "strong violence, frequent strong language, portrayals of sexual activity, strong verbal references to sex, sexual nudity, brief scenes of sexual violence or verbal references to sexual violence, discriminatory language or behaviour and drug taking", taken from the BBFC, and have deemed this rating most appropriate for viewers as any younger than 15 may be too naïve and narrow-minded to be appropriate for the themes and understand the plot. There is no limit to our production however we have approximated that the age range for this particular thriller will be about 15-45 year olds, we have chosen the boundary of 45 as we feel that they will still enjoy a spy-thriller having been brought up with the 'James Bond' franchise. The demographics we are aiming at are the lower bands (C2, D, E) as they may feel a need for escape and excitement in their lifestyle. The interests of our target audience would typically be interests in weaponry and cars as they are recurring props in spy-thrillers and always manage to capture the attention of male viewers. As previously stated they may enjoy other well-known thrillers such as 'James Bond' or 'Mission: Impossible' or television series such as 'Spooks' or '24'; they may also be interested in comedy spoofs of spy-thrillers such as the newly released 'Spy'. The magazines that could be linked to our target audience would most likely fall into the category of tech magazines such as 'Wired' or 'Gadget', this would be due to the fact that they advertise modern gadgets that could be influenced or similar to those found in the spy-thriller films. The psychographic that our target audience would fit into would be explorers and mainstreamers, as they would be seeking escape from their everyday lives so would be looking for something they can be engrossed in that allows them to forget the reality of life they would be explorers as they would have that need for action and suspense to get the heart pumping and adrenaline surging; explorers are often the first to try out new products so they would be keen to see new thrilling movies that keep you on the edge of your seat. Mainstreamers would also be interested as spy-thriller is a very popular and common favourite among the film categories, particularly recently in the wake of the new 'James Bond: Spectre'.
From the use of vox pops we found out that the target audience liked the use of music to create tension and atmosphere within the scene, special effects to show the budget of the film and if it is a high-budget mainstream Hollywood film or a low-budget film, enigmas to create mystery and to leave the audience wanting to know more, drawing them in, they look at characters and actors to see if they are highly commended and if they are specific to a genre then they may be an ideal and recognisable character for a role, plot twists to create something different and to help avoid clichés, it also gives the element of surprise, tension which keeps the audience on the edge of their seat and interested in what happens next.
Our target audience is mainly the younger generation (teenagers, young adults) as they are stereotypically seen as thrill-seekers which is what a thriller can provide for them. It is mainly aimed at the male gender as the cast is made up of strong male-figures and archetypal conventions to suit the male gender such as weapons and themes such as violence. Our age range is 15 at the least as we have researched ratings on the BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) the age certificate of 15 allows us to include "strong violence, frequent strong language, portrayals of sexual activity, strong verbal references to sex, sexual nudity, brief scenes of sexual violence or verbal references to sexual violence, discriminatory language or behaviour and drug taking", taken from the BBFC, and have deemed this rating most appropriate for viewers as any younger than 15 may be too naïve and narrow-minded to be appropriate for the themes and understand the plot. There is no limit to our production however we have approximated that the age range for this particular thriller will be about 15-45 year olds, we have chosen the boundary of 45 as we feel that they will still enjoy a spy-thriller having been brought up with the 'James Bond' franchise. The demographics we are aiming at are the lower bands (C2, D, E) as they may feel a need for escape and excitement in their lifestyle. The interests of our target audience would typically be interests in weaponry and cars as they are recurring props in spy-thrillers and always manage to capture the attention of male viewers. As previously stated they may enjoy other well-known thrillers such as 'James Bond' or 'Mission: Impossible' or television series such as 'Spooks' or '24'; they may also be interested in comedy spoofs of spy-thrillers such as the newly released 'Spy'. The magazines that could be linked to our target audience would most likely fall into the category of tech magazines such as 'Wired' or 'Gadget', this would be due to the fact that they advertise modern gadgets that could be influenced or similar to those found in the spy-thriller films. The psychographic that our target audience would fit into would be explorers and mainstreamers, as they would be seeking escape from their everyday lives so would be looking for something they can be engrossed in that allows them to forget the reality of life they would be explorers as they would have that need for action and suspense to get the heart pumping and adrenaline surging; explorers are often the first to try out new products so they would be keen to see new thrilling movies that keep you on the edge of your seat. Mainstreamers would also be interested as spy-thriller is a very popular and common favourite among the film categories, particularly recently in the wake of the new 'James Bond: Spectre'.
From the use of vox pops we found out that the target audience liked the use of music to create tension and atmosphere within the scene, special effects to show the budget of the film and if it is a high-budget mainstream Hollywood film or a low-budget film, enigmas to create mystery and to leave the audience wanting to know more, drawing them in, they look at characters and actors to see if they are highly commended and if they are specific to a genre then they may be an ideal and recognisable character for a role, plot twists to create something different and to help avoid clichés, it also gives the element of surprise, tension which keeps the audience on the edge of their seat and interested in what happens next.
Question 3:
What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
Our production company goes by the name 'DMLN Productions' which is a combination of the groups initials. For our logo we found an image of a silhouetted head and inside that we placed come cogs to represent the brain thinking and creating the fantasy worlds, just like the company is in film production. We replaced some of the cogs with the letters 'DMLN' to incorporate the title of the production company into the logo. Production companies help the funding of the production, they can do this by fundraising or seeking help with a partner or parent company, they also take charge of budgeting, scheduling, scripting, the supply with talent and resources, the organization of staff, the production itself, post-production, distribution, and marketing. The ident of a production company is the associated logo, to create an effective production company ident, bright colours and bold images are often used to draw in the attention of the audience. An effective image that is used for a production company ident is a simple yet unique image that can immediately be associated with that production company, for example Disney is the Disney castle. The idents that we took inspiration from were 'New Line Cinema' and 'Spyglass Entertainment' this is due to the fact that they also use silhouettes to create an effective production company ident. We also liked the profile image of the man in 'Spyglass Entertainment' as it shows a being that the audience can relate to rather than an abstract image such as 'New Line Cinema'. There are blue tones in both idents keeping the images cool instead of warm, blue connotes peace but can also connote negative feelings such as sadness and depression which isn't what we are aiming for in our genre so we did not continue the blue theme into our ident.
A production company promotes the film and the audience often have favourites or loyalties to a specific production company; so new production companies will have to create a successful blockbuster film to be recognised and increase their following.
The production company I have chosen to produce my thriller if it were made would be 'Heyday Films'. This is because they have proven to be successful in the thriller genre, producing movies such as 'I Am Legend', 'Gravity' and 'Page Eight'. They have a wide range of genres which they produce showing their flexibility when it comes to production, this means that they have the experience of other genres as well so that a hybrid genre may be made successfully (action/thriller). They are a British company, I chose this because the demand for British television is becoming increasingly popular, British production teams are highly valued by Hollywood and I would like to stick to traditional British production. The company has been around since 1997 and is based in London. It is a fairly young company and is therefore fresh and futuristic, also shown by the sans-serif font on the logo, this means more up-to-date ideas that are modern and suits the ever-changing public views.
Heyday could fund the production through private investors or through their partner, Warner Brothers, whom they have produced numerous successful films including the Harry Potter film series.
To fund our production we will have to ask for sponsorship from various other film companies and we can also get sponsorship from companies outside of the cinematic world and in return use their products in the film using a technique known as 'product placement', which is used a lot in the James Bond series, advertising a lot for Aston Martin cars and Omega watches. We could create merchandise such as posters that the targeted audience can buy and advertise and promote these products through various types of media.
The titles in an opening sequence acknowledge the major job roles that have been carried out, allowing recognition of the crew and advertising any big-name celebrities that could appear in the production as well as the main stars. The order that these names appear in usually starts with the production companies and carry on in key role order. The names will usually be superimposed onto the image now that technology has advanced enough to allow us to do this it is becoming more and more common. Our titles followed the conventions as they listed the most important job roles in order and are accompanied by music that reflects the genre giving a sense of what the film is about, the title of the film is shown at the end as it is presenting the action to follow.
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