Thriller film final edit

Story board for "Fathers Day"

G321 Coursework:

Question 1, In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?


My groups thriller "Fathers Day" was greatly inspired by the edgy, gritty scenes of 'Kidulthood' the real life theme showing life of inner city kids, some misunderstood by others for the way they dress and talk, which inspired our character Stephan "Stevie" Bennett. The heat warming yet gripping and at the same time depressing scene of 'Kidulthood' where the main character "Trife" has been attacked and is dying in his friends arms, This scene inspired our last scene with powerful music and crafted camera work, The darkness and putrid location of the scene brings a sense of reality and disillusion. Our thrillers last strangling scene is a generic feature of thriller films, with such inspirations as in Misfits when 'Curtis' had a plastic bag over his head and was being strangled, the jolty camera work makes you feel as vulnerable and helpless as the character in question, which is a factor we used in our thriller, as Rachel Steele is being strangled by her father Joseph Steele you feel a lot of empathy for the character as you feel as defenseless as Rachel hoping that her friends Stevie, Adam and Mimi get to her aid in time before its to late. Just as in the film Witness the violent attack on the police officer both 'Witness' and 'Fathers Day' giving a gritty location to add to the tension and disgust of the scene, with 'Witness' murder scene being held in dirty toilets and 'Fathers Day' being filmed in putrid back ally's which the audience can relate to. Just as you know the fate of 'Marion' in 'Psycho' you  feel you can predict what is going to happen to Rachel, as the tension builds you know something is going to get her, Rachel does not save the day or is conceived as a Femme Fetal unlike such characters as 'Jackie' in Jackie Brown, Rachel is more based on characters such as Marion, where a seemingly nice and respected man, is not all right in the head, with the Generic stereotype of a woman being helpless and vulnerable. The title of the film 'Fathers Day' links into the film as the killer is the father of Rachel, an overprotective parent who takes it to far, a middle class character who stereotypes Stevie for how he dresses and does not want his daughter hanging around with such misfits. 




Question 2, How does your media product represent particular social groups?


In fathers day, Stevie is judged by people everyday for the clothes he wears, Stevie is refer'd to as a 'Chav' on a daily basis, when he just wants to be individual but also is in a lower class to Rachel, Adam and others so cannot afford to dress like them, so Adam being his best friend decides to dress like Stevie to make him feel like he does fit in, all this is widely linked to the attack on Rachel at the end of the scene as Joseph Steele, Rachel's father has been overly protective since Rachel was born, Rachel tried to break out and go around with boys who were up to no good so she could let out some steam, but unfortunately Joseph finds out and attacks her on the way home, where Stevie, Adam and Mimi run to save her, turning out that they are the ones being judged when in reality Joseph is the one who is hurting Rachel not Adam, Stevie or Mimi who are just being stereotyped. As soon as Joseph gets out his car you can see he is more middle to upper class, as he was wearing a suit and had a teachers badge on, we tried to make this clear to represent how upper/middle class were stereotyping lower class in ridiculous cases. While Rachel is attacked it adds to a genuine stereotype of women, where they need mens help and are vulnerable, which in this scene she does and is. 


Question 3, What kind of media institutions might distribute your media product and why?


Fathers day is a low budget, Indie, thriller film which could attract the attention of low budget company's which are interested in Indie films and creative story lines not big budget Hollywood films, a film company such as 'Warp' which could get us funding, although the chances of 'Warp' funding our film would be very slim, as it does not have the Niche aspects which would not bring in the regular audience that keeps such company's as 'Warp' going. So another more suitable way of trying to get funding and spreading the name of 'Fathers Day' would be by using the internet, with such websites as www.indiemoviesonline.com I could pass it around on there and hopefully get recognition and possibly funding. Another way to get views and recognition would be to post a trailer out on you-tube, which could branch out around the world and hopefully get people excited and willing to see 'Fathers Day'.




Question 4, Who would be the audience for your media product?


The primary audience for 'Fathers Day' would be the age group of 16 to 25, aimed at generic audiences which  enjoy thrillers, female audiences would enjoy 'Fathers Day' as it adds a chilling sense of reality with a storyline which could happen to anyone, the idea that anyone can snap and it you cant trust anyone, adding a horrible sense of fear. Our soundtrack would bring in audiences of both genders at its cold melody sends a chill down your spine which adds to the scene and makes it that bit more terrifying. 'Fathers Day' would appeal to male audiences because the dark paths and grim locations add the affect of it all being a nightmare, as the wind blows the leaves its as if you are in the scene watching Rachel move down the lonely path's in the misty evergreen.


Question 5, How did you attract/address your audience?


The one thing that confused the audience was whether the man who attacked Rachel was her father, Joseph. we were able to rectify this by the girl receiving a text from Joseph saying come home, and also making the name of the film "fathers day" to suggest it was the father, which was what we were trying to suggest in the plot. The fact that at the end of the scene we quickly cut the scene it adds a hook which leaves the ending a mystery of why Joseph attacked Rachel and what happens to them both in the end, which will keep the audience watching. Seeing as Joseph is an overprotective parent it will enable the audience to relate to the character of Rachel, just not in the same extent of being attacked by there father, which adds a shock factor.




Question 6, What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing the product?


I have learned to use lots of different technologies while constructing my film, the one thing i have learned most about is the importance of close ups, in no other institute except from camera and film can you use close up, which shows the little details you would not usually be able to see, you can not go to a play and see a close up of the faces of the actors involved, but with the use of close ups in films and tv shows you can show a characters facial expressions and lets you into the mind of the character adding tension and bringing you into the scene with the character, we used close ups while Rachel is being attacked, to show the fear in her face and the anger in Joseph's while he is trying to kill his daughter. Another thing i have learned about technologies while doing my thriller is editing, we used all different types of editing until we came out with a final edit of "fathers day" with things like cross dissolves lacing scenes together so well. And adding a soundtrack into the film.

Question 7, Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to your full product?

There were quite a few things wrong with our preliminary task, including no one in our group feeling comfortable with being on camera, which led to the whole thing being very unnatural and rushed, but this made us all get together and work on the camera angles and editing of the scene, which helped us understand media terms and how to use them such as the 360 degree rule and over the shoulder perspective shots, with all the decisions on editing and camera angles being agreed by the whole group.

Audience feedback for our film was fairly good, with most participants saying they would like to watch the film to the end. One problem we came across was the audience not understanding the situation between Rachel and Joseph, but we anticipated this and tried to deal with it as well as we could, one way was naming our thriller "Fathers day" trying to eliminate the possibility of it not being Joseph who was attacking Rachel.

Joseph Steele

Name: Joseph Steele

Age: 47

Actor: Glyn Cadwallader

Background:

As a Head Teacher at the local high school, Joseph expects a lot from his students. He expects even more of his daughter. He is very controlling over his family and his wife has been submissive to his demands for their entire marriage. When he was a child, his parents were very over-protective of him which has led to him doing the same to his daughter.

Strengths/Weaknesses

• Hard-working
• Tough
• Appears to be a stable, hard-working member of society.

• Over-protective of his daughter
• Egomaniacal
• Looks down on everyone

Reasons for character name
The name is the English translation of one of the most infamous men in world history. It was chosen to show a similarity between the character and the real Josef Stalin, both being very determined to make their vision of the future come true.

Reasons for choice of actor
We chose the actor because he fits the description, middle-aged and respectable looking, of the character profile. He is also in the same profession as the character so he was able to play the character convincingly.

Character Inspiration

This character is based on James Cromwell’s Dudley Smith in the 1997 noir thriller, L.A. Confidential.

Rachel Steele

Name: Rachel Steele

Age: 17

Actor: Hannah Gibbs

Background:

Because her father is very protective of her, she led a relatively sheltered life until she began high school. She decided to lash out and has become involved with several unsavoury characters, including her boyfriend, Stevie his best friend, Adam, and Adam’s girlfriend, Mimi.           

Strengths/Weaknesses

• Kind-hearted
• Loving
• Determined

• Easily misled
• Vulnerable
• Naive

Reasons for character name
The name Rachel means “Lamb of Innocence”. This is to connote the potential her father saw for her when she was born.

Reasons for choice of actor
She has previous experience in acting and was able to look the part when she wore character appropriate clothing. The four teenage actors are very good friends so they have a good chemistry.

Character Inspiration

The character is based on Matilda from Matilda who has very protective parents but decides to lash out.

Stephen "Stevie" Bennett

Name: Stephen “Stevie” Bennett

Age: 17

Actor: Harry Fowler

Background:

He feels he has been severely misunderstood by adults for most of his life, preferring to live life for fun rather to achieve something academically. He is often judged by how he dresses, seen by many as a “chav”. Despite this, he is very loyal to his friends and holds a deep love for his girlfriend.

Strengths/Weaknesses

• Loyal
• Loving
• Passionate about his lifestyle

• Seen as a misfit within society
• Negative attitude towards education
• Likes to annoy others

Reasons for character name
We wanted a name that sounded relatively common but wasn’t something like “John Smith”. Stevie was chosen because it is the kind of name a teenager would choose as a nickname because he doesn’t like his birth name.

Adam Peyton

Name: Adam Peyton

Age: 17

Actor: Will Haynes

Background:

Adam doesn’t seem to be the kind of person that would associate himself with Stevie, due to his middle class family and above average intelligence. Despite this, he has been Stevie’s best friend for most of their lives and he has often convinced Stevie not to go through with something that could end up going wrong

Strengths/Weaknesses

• Intelligent
• Loyal
• Morally knowledgeable

• Troublemaker
• A “disappointment” to those who thought he would excel at school
• Doesn’t react well to authority.

Reasons for character name
This name was chosen as it sounds more middle class than the other male character but still sounds fairly common. The spelling “Peyton” over “Paton” was used to emphasise this aspect of the character.

Reasons for choice of actor
He was readily available for filming shoots and had the clothing that the character required. He also played a similar character in another media project. The four teenage actors are very good friends so they have a good chemistry.

Character Inspiration
This character is loosely based on the James McAvoy’s character, Steve McBride, from Channel 4’s hit TV show, Shameless.