Main task

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

Directors Commentary



To create the project, we used simple video cameras which were relatively easy to use. However, some shots with the camera were difficult to achieve, the tripod could not tilt upwards, low angle shots were unachievable in our sequence because of this. However, the camera was easy to use and record with and has good-quality images.

What Kind of Media Institution would distribute your media product and why?

This is a screenshot of the Film4 website which advertises much larger budget films in contrast with our film opening.

Media institutions produce and distribute products to mostly mass audiences, they are slightly similar to media Conglomerates. Examples of Media Institutions are BBC, Sony and Time Warner. Film 4, owned by Channel 4, is a Media Institution formed in the United Kingdom which doesn’t have such a mass audience as larger institutions such as The Walt Disney Company. Film 4 have produced Films with similar themes and genres as our main task. Film 4 also created a small company called Film 4 productions which backed up smaller projects and films from the UK, its first production, named Walter, was directed by Stephen Frears. Stephen Frears later directed films such as Dirty Pretty Things which also has a similar genre to our film opening, which is a thriller. Other films that Film 4 productions have made have become extremely successful for low budget films, such as Trainspotting and This is England.

Our opening sequence and initial media product is based for a small audience and would be perfectly produced by a small company such as Film 4 productions who make successful, simple and small budget films.

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

The genre of the film we have made is thriller. The structure of the opening scene relates to other films of this genre because it is left ambiguous to the viewer, who don’t know what has happen or why it has happened. The film opening also starts with the big event, which is usually at the end of the film. We got our inspiration from the film Brick, which creates a mysterious feeling in the opening scene. The film Brick also starts with the main event of the film first, and then the event is explained in the rest of the film of how and why it happened. In the second half of the story the tone changes from a dramatic, suspicious tone to a more relaxed tone, building into the life of the main male character.


The running sequences are fast-paced to create tension and fear for the consumer.

The score at the beginning of the film opening starts dramatic and intense which is the type of sound track you would expect to hear in this genre of film. The music is that built to a suspense tone at the flashbacks when the female character is running. This is to show that the girl is in danger. This is typical in thriller films as the music often speeds up to an intense level to show that the character is in danger. In the second half of our film opening you hear a sound bridge of the police radio. This fits into the thriller theme as it suggests there is detective connotation. The slow pace piano sound track helps show the slow shifting pace of the male character. The diegetic sound of the video on the internet suggests that somebody has been murdered, but it does not make it clear whether or not it was the male character that committed the murder.


The main male character can be considered typical of thriller films due to his age, appearance and his relatable character for the audience.

The mise en scene relates to other thriller films because the location is in a rundown area and in an unattractive area. Thrillers are usually set in rundown city areas because that’s where most realist crime happens. The male character dress smartly in black again leaves his role in the opening sequence ambiguous, as we do not know whether he is the murder or a detective. The dreary lighting in the sequence connotes danger. In the second half of the film opening the male characters room in neutral which leaves it to the views interpretation of who he is and what his role in the film is.


The video interview in the sequence also sets the plot of the film as a thriller and foreshadows the events of the rest of the film and what happened in the first sequence.

In the opening sequence there a many close ups on the male characters face. This shows his emotions towards the female character as he flashes back to what he remembers. A hand held camera is used when the female character is running to create suspense and to add to the action. When the male character is watching the internet video in the second half of the opening sequence it shows the importance of the video and also it makes the audience feel as though they are there watching it with him. This idea comes from the film Untraceable.

The shot reverse shot links all the events together and shows how the characters are related. The saturation and contrast on the flashbacks suggests that they are dark and also create the idea that she is in danger. In the second half of our film opening there is a slow cut rate, this give a reflective feeling to the film.

How did you attract/ address your audience?

We attracted our audience by using a sound track that starts off eerie and slow paced and then builds up tension and quickens as the story does. This will also confirm to the audience that our film is of a thriller genre. Using this track attracts the audience and also ensures that they pay attention to the film, to see what is going to happen. The suspense music creates a mood which can influence the audience opinion of the film and what is going to happen in the rest of the film and it also creates an eerie atmosphere. We have used quick camera shots and hand held shots to create tension in the opening sequence, this created a mood of fear for the audience, also settling on the genre of the film, that it is a Thriller.


The above screenshot is from the first sequence, effects are used to create a sense of fear as well as making it clear to the audience that it is a flashback.

By placing a significant event at the start of the product we hoped to grab the audiences attention with the fast pace sequence whilst keeping details of the plot scarse (only hinting with subtle items such as the shadow in the above screenshot).
However, the second sequence contrasts greatly with the first. We used slow, harmonious music for the second sequence, hinting Romance in the film between the two characters the audience are introduced to. The music finishes just before the sequence does, leaving the audience on a cliffhanger to the plot of the film. The introduction of the genre of Romance in the film offers appeal to a larger, less- distinctive audience. The genre of the film is similar to the film Brick, creating a larger appeal to a wider audience.

Who would be the audience for your media product?

The target audience is the group at which are film is aimed at, this is often a age group or gender. It determines how we will make the film and what we will involve in the production of it.

The audience we have targeted with are media product is of a teenager age range of 12-19 years of age. As a result we have used actors and characters that are relatable to this age group. To begin with, in the opening sequence the female character is clearly a 15-17 year old teenager, this makes her relatable to the audience and will increase the like hood of attracting the audience at which we are targeting. The costume she is wearing is something a teenager would be expected to wear at her age showing this. The male character being of a similar age group adds to the effects of this.

The genre of film is thriller, this is a genre that is very popular among the teenage population this makes it very appealing to the age group as it will be similar to other films they have seen in cinema’s of the same genre. It particularly will appeal to couples as it would (if we continued the project) of contained a element of romance to it.


The film may also appeal to a more broader audience. Particularly those who liked films that share similar traits and of the same genre, the most similar film is ‘brick’ as it has a similar opening sequence and storyline as a result we may also attract fans of similar films. Similarly, as the audience is likely to be much smaller we are aiming for a niche audience. As we are not aiming to attract a massive audience of people of many different ages. Thrillers are also more popular with niche audiences, due to their complex narrative.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

The female character as at first underdeveloped, but relatable to the target audience due to her age and appearance.

The way our media product represents social groups is rather typical of the genre. The female lead is presented as a victim with lots of high angle shots on her body giving the audience the impression her character was weak and vulnerable. She is also presented as a scared character running away from her pursuer, instead of fighting back like a stronger female character would have. The female character in our product is essentially a stereotypical woman victim, however the use of shot/reverse shots between her and the man connote they have a relationship and therefore her significance.

The male character is not typical for thriller themed films, he is a calm but secluded character.

The male lead is represented in an un-stereotypical manner for the thriller genre, instead of dominating the scene and ordering an investigation he is instead seen as a solitary character throughout, he is clearly troubled by the girl’s body but he remains calm and calculated. Due to this performance his motives are unidentifiable by the audience. In the second scene he is shown living by himself in a lonely setting, this is unlike the conventional protagonist in detective films who is usually portrayed with a family and as a outgoing cheerful character. The protagonist in our product is portrayed as calm and reflected, much like the protagonist in the opening of the film ‘Brick’.
The use of a young protagonist will also draw in a younger audience to the genre, as most crime-thriller protagonists are older males it is unconventional to have a teenager play the lead detective.
Both of the characters in the product are also White British, this is insignificant in the narrative and was just a case of the actors available for the piece.

Looking back at preliminary task, what do you think you have learnt from the progression from it to full task?

In the Preliminary task we learnt two main techniques used in film, the first is being 180 degree rule. This ‘rule’ is simply to ensure that the audience and viewers do not confused, as braking the rule can switch characters placements from right and left side of the screens. We slightly broke this in the task in a over the shoulder shot with the teacher character, we used the experience from this to ensure we did not brake the rule in are main task, this was done by ensuring we kept the camera on the same side of a character throughout a scene and checking that we did not break the rule.

The second lesson we learned from Preliminary to main task was continuity, this is a simple concept in media that means characters, mise en scene, editing and sound fit the scene throughout all the shots. For example, in are film during the first sequence, the bag that the victim throws on the ground while running remains in the same location throughout the sequence, additionally shots after this the character no longer carries the bag. This ensures that the scenes flow in a continuous motion and attempts to prevent confusion in the audience.



A major difference between are Preliminary Task and are main task will be the sound involved. In our prelim we only included the sound that was recorded on the scene with the camera as we still hadn’t learned the full extent of the editing software we use (Finalcut Pro 9). This is a major difference as in our main task we have used a custom soundtrack, and recorded diegetic sound to be used in the film. The soundtrack ( made using Garage band) runs throughout the opening sequence while the sounds where added to give realism to the scene. The most obvious example of this is the heavy breathing in the flashback of the girl running.

In addition to this we are using much more transitions, particularly fades which are used to show a passing in time in our film opening. This is combined with special effects to show the audience which are the flashbacks and which are in the present timeline. For example, on the flashbacks we used two effects called de-saturate and contrast, this makes the scene much darker in the more shaded areas. Also, we have used a white fast fade, this enables the viewers to clearly understand the difference between the flashbacks and present.

Costume Analysis

Male analysis (Opening sequence):
As shown in the image, we have presented the character to have a relatively strong degree of intelligence by the way he dresses. He is shown wearing a tie and shirt. We also used many dark colours (mainly black) on his costume in order to show he is mysterious and the role in the film is unknown.
His Clothing included:
-Black Tie
-Black Coat
-Dark grey shirt (was originaly purple as seen in photo but was changed afterwards)
-Dark coloured jeans
-Black, formal shoes
The characters dark hair also helped in the sequence.




Female (Opening Sequence) :
The female character in the opening sequence wears simple clothes, she wears dark colours as lighter coloured clothes would make the sequence seem brighter. We aimed for the sequence to be dark and mysterious. Her bag is important in the sequence as she drops it on the floor, implying afterwards that she was possibly mugged as the male character looks over to it. While we see her body, her knees are covered with blood. This is important in the scene as it shows she has fallen over. Also, there is blood on her hand to show that she was murdered after she fell.
her clothing includes:
-Black top
-Grey pants
--Blooded (knees)Grey Pants
-white trainers
-Black bag

Male (2nd Sequence):
In this 2nd sequence, the character is wearing clothing that is expected to be worn during the moarning, he starts with the first scene wearing legging perjarma's. This fits the scene as the character has only just woken up. In the following shots he is shown wearing a dressing down, yet again this is suitable for the scenes as it is early in the moarning and he has just awoken from his sleep. Clothing included:
-PJ (legs)
-Dressing gown

Anamatic with Commentary

This is the Anamatic that includes commentary explaining the scenes to give a general idea of what we are hoping to achieve in each scene and shot.

Storyboard Anamatic

Here is the storyboard for the first 40 seconds of our main task without the directors commentary. The sequence shows the basic idea of the man analysing various aspects of the girls dead body whilst visualising the events leading to her death.

Location Shots

The location we have decided to use for our opening is a littered field in a suburban area, We have chose this location because it is very gritty and under the bridge is a realistic place for a murder to take place. This fits in with are location idea for are main task plot.

Main Task Shot List.

This is the shot list for our main task, each shot will be between 3-5 seconds in length.

First Sequence

-Establishing shot of area.
-Long shot of the man standing over the dead girl.
- High-angled and overhead shot over the man next to the girl’s body.
-Close up on man’s face.
-Eye line match on the girls face
-Close up on man’s face.
-Insert on girls shoes.
-Long shot of the girl running (flashback - side View).
-Medium shot of girl running (flashback – Front View).
-Close up on man’s face.
-Zoom insert of the girls bag
-Medium shot of the girl running and dropping bag (Flashback-front View)
-Close-up of the bag falling on the floor.
-Close up on man’s face.
-Insert on cut on girls knee.
-Medium shot of girl running (flashback – Side View).
- Hand held camera – her point of view shot. (Flashback)
-Medium shot of girl tripping (Flashback – side view).
-Close up on girl hitting the floor. (Flashback – front view)
-Birds eye view on girl lying on floor.
-Close up on man’s face.
-Medium shot of man standing up and walking off camera.
-Medium shot of him from behind, looking back at her.
-Shot of her full body
- Title

Second Sequence

- ‘Seven days previous’ title
-medium shot of male character in bed, then sitting up.
-Close up of his feet as he steps on the floor, getting out of bed
-Over the shoulder and mid shot of the male character
-Close up of him washing his face
-Over the shoulder and mid shot of the male character walking out of the room
-Over the shoulder shot of male character on laptop
- Close up of the laptop screen
- Over the shoulder shot of him answering the phone
-Close up of laptop screen

Main Task Outline

For our main task we are producing the opening two minuets of a thriller/detective film. The opening centres around a man staring over a dead body of a teenage girl with giving details as to how she died using a voice over during cuts between the present scene and her final moments, it remains ambiguous as to if he is the detective or the killer.
We plan to shoot this in a Run down suburban area to give it a gritty realistic feel.

Brick opening analysis

The opening begins with close up shots of the scene, panning across the area. The camera then comes to a male character, starting at a close up of his shoes as he kneels at the edge of a tunnel. There is a blue hue throughout the opening to imply sadness in the scene. There is an extreme close up of the male characters face, which is out of focus at first then fades into focus, this shows the viewer that he is confused and sets the plot of the film as a murder mystery as there is a full establishing shot of the tunnel, the male character and a females body.
There are more close ups in the sequence, from the male character to parts of the females body to show she is lifeless and that it is his point of view of what he is looking at. These shots continue as shot/reverse shots on his face and different parts of the females body, such as her legs and her covered face, which does not allow the viewer to know what she looks like, adding to the mystery of her death. The close up of her arm and the blue bangles she is wearing is shown in the next scene, we know it is before the opening because she is alive and places a note in a locker. The sound of a school bell runs through both of these scenes as a sound bridge.
There is a blackout as a simple title screen is shown with the word ‘Brick’ on it in black and white. There is a subtitle on the screen as the camera shows the male characters shoes again walking to the same locker, it also starts out of focus so that the viewer focuses on the title; ‘Two days previous.’ We see the note she placed in the locker fall out, he picks it up and a close up shows the note which says where he should go. The note sets the next scene where the male character waits by the road until a telephone nearby him rings – we know it is the female character who died in the opening of the sequence due to the key props used. We know little about the characters in the opening sequence, although we know that it is a murder mystery and that the two characters know each other.

'The Usual Suspects' opening seqeuence

The Usual Suspect is a thriller genre film that appears to be detective investigation of a murder. This is shown in the scene as a character is killed.
The credits consists of a pan of the camera going over water, this is often associated with murder as frequently murders hide body's in water areas. The time of day is clear as the water is dark and lights can be seen reflecting off the surface.
After the credits we see a lighter with a close-up of a lighter which then cuts into a mid show and moves upwards as he lights his cigarette allowing us to see his facial features and clothing. He appears to be expecting someone to kill him as he is calm and relaxed when the appears on the scene later in the sequence.
We then see a key prop of a leaking barrel which appears to be leaking petrol or some other flammable material this fore shadows and explosion or major event. After the victim attempts to light a trail of the oil the camera tracks it's progress before it is stopped by the villain.
The camera at this point is at a low angle and gradually moves upwards to look at a man standing above the trail. This makes him seem powerful and he is later shown moving down the stairs by a still shot of a shadow moving downwards. This is typical of a thriller genre as it doesn't show who the is or what he looks like.
The next shot is an close up on his feet moving along the deck of the ship before it cuts to an mid-shot of his body but is still careful not to reveal the facial features of the character. He is shown to be wearing full black clothing and a trench coat. This gives the impression that he is about to commit the murder and this is later when he pulls out a pistol from his coat.
The victim seems relaxed and calm, this gives us the impression that he was expecting to be killed.
After this the camera cuts to two still shots of parts of the ship as gun shots can be heard in the distance (diegetic sound). This confirms that there has been a murder.

Evaluation of preliminary task

In the production of our preliminary task we learnt how to set the cameras up in different angles for effective shots including the use of tripods to hold the camera in place and maintain a steady shot, we also learnt how to use the different features of the editing software such as importing video, edit the shots together continuously and how to add titles and transitions such as fades.
During the filming and editing process of our Preliminary task what worked well was that we filmed more than we needed per take so that the editing process was made much easier, and as we continued to experiment more with different camera angles and edits we gained more confidence in our ability’s and learnt skills we hope to carry into the main task. We also planned in advance by making a detailed shot list and rough storyboard so when we came to filming we wouldn’t be stuck for ideas, however the final video was slightly different to the shot-list because they were too difficult to shoot correctly.
On the other hand things we could have improved on were the continuity of our piece, for example before the character entered the room at 00:26 he is seen wearing a bag, but when he enters the room he is not wearing the bag. This continuity error can be avoided when we complete the main task by paying more attention to the props and costume of our characters.
We also had some issues with the camera positioning during shooting, for example during the over the shoulder shot at 00:34 the Teacher character goes out of shot when she turns around.
This could have been improved on by being more careful with out positioning of the tripods.
Our preliminary task uses different elements of camera and editing techniques to make it look effective.
There is a shot/ reverse shot sequence when the teacher and the student talk, starting on her shoulder, cutting to over his shoulder, an insert to her picking up the book, then cutting back to his shoulder. This shows that the two characters are interacting with each other and shows their reactions.
We also used Matched cuts during the editing process to make the editing look smooth and continuous. We managed to achieve this by filming more than we needed to during each take so we could edit the shots together more fluently An example of this is when the student is seen walking down the corridor from 2 different angles then as he reaches out for the handle it cuts to his hand reaching it and opening it, then a shot of him coming through the door on the other side. The smooth editing helps to keep the audience involved in the text because they are not distracted by poor editing.
We also made sure we did not break the 180 degree rule by keeping the camera on one side of the action at all times so as to not disorientate the viewer, however during the shot reverse shot sequence we accidentally shot over the wrong shoulder of the student, slightly breaking the 180 degree rule. We now know to be more careful during shot /reverse shot sections when shooting our main task.

Preliminary Task: Running Late

AS foundation portfolio brief.

Hello and welcome to our blog.
This is where we will post the planning and evaluation of our preliminary and main tasks for the course.
The preliminary is a short clip to test our continuity skills and to help us learn the basics of filming and editing.
The task is to film a character opening a door, crossing the room, sitting down in a chair and exchanging dialogue with a second character using examples of shot/ reverse shot, match on action and the 180 degree rule.
We will then evaluate the task and take the skills we learn from the production into the main task which is to shoot the 2 minute opening of our own film.