My Genre

My chosen genre is thriller. 

Logistical Reasons:
I decided to go with the thriller genre because it interests me and I wanted to create a scary film. At first I wanted to create a horror film but after careful consideration I realised that horror films conventionally involve violent shots with lots of blood and gore. These shots would be difficult to create and make look realistic with the budget and access to props and location that I have. Thriller relies a lot on tension and suspense and this can be create with a certain type of shots and specific music. I feel like thriller would be the easiest genre for me to create effectively as long as I am able to successfully make my film tense and make the audience feel anxious.

Interest/Passion for the genre:
The thriller genre is designed to keep the audience on the edge of their seats and give the audience a rush of emotions because they are watching and waiting for something to happen. I think that this would be a really fun genre to try and portray and hopefully if I use shots correctly and edit it well then I can represent the thriller genre well and include lots of its conventions.

Access to stock sets/locations/props for it to be convincing as a media product:
I obviously can't create a film with a really specific genre or a film involving advanced sets and props like a sci-fi film because I do not have access to these. The film can't be too technical because I don't have all the equipment that would be needed for advanced effects and settings. Thriller films conventionally involve dark/eerie locations and long tense build up. They can often take place in fairly ordinary locations and the narrative usually involved the protagonist trying to solve a problem causes by the antagonist and the antagonist hopefully being stopped or caught. Often a murder/crime has already been committed and the film involves the protagonist trying to stop the antagonist before they commit another crime. I think this would be fairly simple to create due to the common locations and not necessarily too advanced narrative as long as I plan it out clearly and use the camera shots and other elements effectively.

Genre

Genre is a style or type of media. The genre of a film defines what type of film it is. Films with the same genre have many of the same conventions in them like similar narratives and key character types. Genre can be represented in lots of different ways and simple elements can say a lot about the film type. Stock elements of different genres:

Horror:

• The conventional protagonists in a horror film specifically of the sub-genre slasher is usually the character that survives to the end of the film and manages to live past all the dangers the antagonist provides. Stereo-typically this protagonist is usually the 'final girl' that stays alive.
• The conventional antagonist is the character or creature that drives the narrative forward and gives the protagonist problems to face. In a slasher film this would be the killer who is usually a mad male. In a supernatural film this would be the supernatural element e.g. the ghost.
• The typical stock characters in a teen horror film or slasher horror are the group of friends, usually teenagers, who are at risk of danger. In psychological horror films the stock characters are often the family of the protagonist.
• Narrative of horror films involve a group of people in a quite possibly abandoned location being killed off one by one, this is especially typical of slasher films.

Romance:

• The conventional protagonists in romance films are the hetro-sexual girl and boy, these are usually teenagers who go to the same school or young adults.
• The conventional antagonist in a romance film is the rival love interest or the parent or authority figure preventing the couple from being together. These antagonists usually drive the story forward and create a dilemma within the narrative that the protagonists have to resolve.
• The stock characters within a romance film are usually the friends of the protagonists. These are usually stereotypes like the athletic jock character or the popular pretty girl, sometimes even a gay best friend of the protagonists.
• The stock situations in romance films usually involve the protagonists (usually girl and boy) meeting for the first time, then something happens and they can no longer be together, and they are either reunited at the end with everything being happy or there is a tragic ending for example one of them dies unexpectedly and the other is heartbroken.

Thriller:

• The conventional protagonists in thriller films are brave and intelligent. A lot of the time they may come from a trained background like the military or the police force. This represents the characters skill and ability.
• The stereotypical antagonists in thriller films are similar to the protagonist by the fact that they're evenly matched on skills and training. These antagonists are likely to be from the opposing government/country/organisation as the protagonist. Which sets up the idea that they wont get on and there will be tension between them and rivalry.
• Stock characters are usually the supporting team from the organisation the protagonist/antagonist belongs to e.g. the rest of the police squad if protagonist was policeman. Also the stock character can often be the love interest of the protagonist.
• Often the antagonist creates a problem and the protagonist has to solve it, whether this be stopping the antagonists plan etc. The antagonist constantly provides obstacles the protagonist must overcome to become successful and for the film to have a happy ending.

-Genre is important for audiences because it allows them to immediately see the style of a film and get hints about it's narrative. Genre is represented clearly throughout the whole film and specific films are full of conventions of the films specific genre. If an audience knows which film genre they prefer then it is easy for them to know which films they would most want to see because of how well the genre they like is portrayed. The audience know what they're expecting when they go and see a film of a certain genre and if this film doesn't have the conventional aspects stereotyped with the genre included then the audience are likely to be disappointed. For example when the audience watch horror films they expect to see some sort of violence and they expect the film to scare them/make them jump, because this is what the horror genre is expected to do. If the film doesn't do this then they will be let down.

-It is important that institutions portray the genre of their films successfully otherwise the film is likely to be unsuccessful. Institutions must make sure that a lot of the conventional aspects of the genre they've picked for their film must be included in the actual making of their film. If the film doesn't live up to its genre and show what's expected of it then it is likely to be unsuccessful and receive bad feedback. This is something institutions need to be very careful of. 

Conventions of Film Openings

Conventions of film openings from COGray

The Matrix Opening

Release: 1999
Directed: The Wachowski Brothers
Genre: Action/Sci-Fi
Studio: Village Roadshow Pictures, Silver Pictures
Box Office: $463, 517, 383
Critical Acclaim: Academy Award, British Academy Films Award, Saturn Award

Narrative:
From the beginning the film is made out to have a very sci-fi based narrative. The computer codes and the protected phone conversations on secure lines represent to the audience that the film may have a secret agent or spy story line. The woman that appears towards the end of the scene is likely to be a main character as the film had a long build up before we actually got to see her. She is being captured by policemen which gives the idea that she has done something wrong and may be involved in some secret spy work or something along those lines. This would tie in with the private phone calls and the decoding of encrypted information we were shown at the beginning of the film.

Camera Shots and Angles:

• Black screen with lots of green codes appearing and moving downwards quickly on the screen like they are being decoded. This gives connotations of the film narrative having something to do with the spy genre. These computer codes are stereotyped with films involving secret agents and undercover work. Codes like these are conventionally seen in spy films and films involving MI6. These codes allow the audience an insight into the films narrative.
• Zoom in on codes being decoded to emphasise both their importance and complexity. Their complexity allows the audience to have an insight into the narrative and the characters in the film because if the codes are very complicated then state of the art equipment would be needed to decode them which represents to the audience that the characters have jobs decoding files and are very good at what they do. 
• Zoom even further as title of film "The Matrix" appears in the same font as the codes were typed in. This font is used to tie in with the films genre and so that the audience can clearly see that the film will be something to do with advanced coding and technology. This is representative of the sci-fi genre.
• The codes on the screen blur into one and the screen starts tilting as files etc zoom past. This makes the audience feel like they are being transported through space via a computer and sets the mood of the film. It helps the audience feel very involved in the film.
• Close up shot of torch light and then mans face. The man looks sneaky and suspicious like he is searching for something or wanting to remain unseen. 
• Medium shot of policeman holding gun out and moving stealthily, this shot shows that he is on a mission or has some sort of scheme planned. This allows insight into the narrative. The idea that he is holding his gun out in front of him shows that there is a clear risk of danger. Danger is stereotypical of the action genre of film.
• Over the shoulder track shot of policeman. Over the shoulder shot is used to create tension as it signifies to the audience that something is behind the character and could jump out at any time. The track helps to give the view of the whole location and establish the story further.
• Medium shot of policeman kicking door down shows off his strength and represents to the audience that he is willing to use force if needed.
• Over the shoulder extreme long shot of criminal. Audience cannot see the characters face which therefore creates the element of mystery. Mystery can cause fear as the audience are unaware of what is going to happen and feel that danger is likely. Mystery also creates tension and surprise.
• Medium shot of criminal raising hands in surrender, she doesn't look scared she looks disappointed yet she looks like she still has unfinished plans. This immediately indicates to the audience that she may be a main character in the film. 

Sound:

• Non diegetic dramatic/edgy music creates a tense mood in the audience.
• As the title disappears off of the screen, each time an individual letter is deleted then a non diegetic beep sound occurs simultaneously. This beeping sounds like a computer button which helps enforce the narrative.
• As policeman moves closer to danger the non diegetic music becomes more eerie, it sounds creaky and uneasy like something bad is about the happen.
• Diegetic sound of door breaking. This sound is loud and exaggerated to show the force it took to knock it down and to exaggerate the strength of the policemen to make them seem more intimidating. 
• Sound effect of gun being loaded. This represents that the characters are preparing for something to happen, which causes anticipation and fear in the audience.

Mise en Scene:

• Policemen are dressed in police uniform. They are holding guns and their badges are shown clearly. This allows the audience to find out their profession which gives them a chance to interpret the narrative.
• The female character is dressed in all black. Black gives connotations of edginess and darkness which represents her to be an antagonist. Black is also a colour worn by many spies and secret agents because it is plain and they want to sneak around unseen. This could give hints that she is a secret agent or something similar to this. 

Typography:

• Warner Bros logo in green typography matching the green typography the computer codes are written in later in the scene. This allows the audience to interpret narrative even from the very first ident. 
• Warner Bros logo is on a background with a dark cloudy sky. This creates a scary effect and gives connotations of the action genre.
• The title of the matrix is has the same green font as the computer codes which represents that the narrative is certainly going to have something to do with online files and advanced technology. 

The Dark Knight Opening

Release: 2008
Director: Chris Nolan
Studio: Legendary Pictures, Syncopy Films, DC Comics
$1, 004, 558, 444
Critical Acclaim: Won 2 Oscars, BAFTA, Golden Globe, AFI Movie of the Year

Narrative:
This film involves an antagonist or group of antagonists committing crimes and having to be stopped by the protagonist which in this case is Batman. The main antagonist in this film is the Joker, the audience finds this out when the group of bank robbers mention his name and inform the audience that the Joker was the one who created the plan to rob the bank. The film gives us insight from the beginning into the antagonists plan as they are dressed in masks and carrying weapons which represents that they are planning something bad.

Camera Shots and Angles: 

• The Warner Bros logo is the first thing to appear on the screen. The typography of the logo is very blue and black. These colours represent darkness and danger. The logo is made to look dark and cloudy because it helps to represent the genre and narrative of the film. The film is called the Dark Knight so the logo is made to signify a dark knight sky so immediately the audience gets an idea of the mood of the film. The dark sky also connotes scariness and danger and represents the idea of batman flying through this sky to save the day. 
• Establishing shot shows a busy city location with lots of tall office building. This immediately allows the audience to know the films location which helps link to parts of the films narrative. For example in a busy city like this there is stereotyped to be lots of crime.
• Zoom in on specific building where the character is and then zoom even further to a specific window. The character shoots through this window and it smashes. The zoom helped to emphasis the smashing of this glass and it gave cues to the audience that something was going to happen.
• Birds eye/high angle shot of the street from the high building. This exaggerates the height and danger of being this high up. Shows the antagonists off to be dominant and brave when they zip wire across to the other building. 
• Medium shot of woman working in the bank being robbed looking scared and holding her hands up in surrender. This exaggerates her fear and makes her look submissive and helpless compared to the antagonists who are robbing the bank.
• Close up of large bag representing to the audience that the antagonists aim is to steal money from the bank and transport it using large bags. This helps to represent narrative and gives the audience an idea of what will happen next.
• Medium shot of male bank worker trying to stop the robbers. His face looks angry and threatening, this represents him being brave and he is stereotyped as quite a heroic character to the audience.
• Close up shot of grenade being held in the mans hand. This shows he is helpless and can do nothing to stop the criminals or the grenade will go off and he'll be killed. He is shaking, this exaggerates his fear and the close up shot helps to show this off well. 
• Cross cutting between scenes of both the groups of antagonists discussing their plan. This allows the audience to see what is happening at the same time in two separate locations and allows them to piece together the narrative from this. Shows bank robbers in bank and the other villians cutting out the telephone communications. This shows the clever planning put into the robbery and gives the audience a chance to see both sides of what is happening and why. 

Sound:

• Dramatic non diegetic music of drum beats cuts in at the same time the Warner Bros logo appears on the screen. This creates tension and contrasts well with the dark dramatic way the logo is designed. From the beginning this music indicates to the audience that something bad is going to happen and the tension is created as they are watching and waiting for it to happen. 
• Non diegetic action-filled music cuts in when vehicle pulls up and antagonist gets in. This hints that the antagonist in the shot in planning something because the music is loud and exciting. 
• Diegetic sound of antagonists footsteps as they are sneaking into bank building. This signifies that they are trying to not get caught and to surprise the people working in the bank so they can do nothing to stop them from stealing the money and getting what they want.
• The sound effects of the gunshots followed by the scream of a woman indicates to the audience that the antagonists are dangerous. The sound effects exaggerate the sound of the gunshots and represent the danger of them even more. Danger is stereotyped with the action/crime genre so the gunshots help to represent this well.
• Non diegetic music gets louder as the antagonist runs down the steps and gets closer to the volts where all the money is. This signifies that the money is a key part of the narrative and that the criminals are closer to reaching their aim.

Mise En Scene:

• The antagonists are all dressed in similar costume. They all have clown masks on. Clowns have been represented as being scary and dangerous in many action/horror films recently so this connotes to tha audience that these characters might be bad. The idea of them wearing masks represents them wanted to hide their identity and hints to the audience that they are going to commit a crime and don't want to be caught for it. Masks are stereotyped with a lot of robberies as the robbers want their identities to stay hidden so this signifies that the antagonists may be planning a robbery or something similar.
• The antagonists are holding guns as props. Guns are often stereotyped as a weapon that a lot of common antagonists carry. Guns are associated with danger and violence which are both stereotyped with the action/crime genre. The guns also hint at the story line of the film.
• The clown faces the antagonists wear look menacing and evil which gives hints at the narrative and at the antagonists intentions. 

-The typography follows a similar theme. All of the idents are typed in black or blue darkly coloured fonts that light up on a black background.

-Right before the first shot some blue smoke/flames appear on the black screen. Flames are associated with danger and violence. Then in the flames a dark bat symbol appears and fades away quickly. This gives an idea of the narrative to the audience. 

Jurassic Park Opening

Release: 1993
Director: Steven Spielberg
Studio: Amblin Entertainment
Box Office: $1, 029, 153, 882
Critical Acclaim: BAFTA, MTV Movie Awards, Grammy Award and Saturn Award
Genre: Sci-Fi/Action/Adventure

Narrative:
From this opening the audience discover that this film has the narrative involving dinosaurs. It is not until towards the end of the clip that the first shot of a dinosaur is actually shown. However from the location of a jungle area and the main character wearing a safari costume it indicates that this film will have the plot of a dangerous creature being a risk to people and the main protagonist having to protect people from this creature or stop it escaping.

Camera Shots and Angles:

• The smokey effect in the medium shot of the trees rustling gives a spooky effect. The smoke blurs the audiences vision slightly and makes the shot seem mysterious as they are unaware of what is lurking behind the trees and curious to see what it is. Mystery makes the audience nervous as it provokes the element of surprise. 
• The close up shot of the mans face looks scared and surprised. This indicates to the audience that danger is on the way. Danger is stereotyped with adventure.
• The Medium shot of the man looking serious whilst holding a gun, this makes him appear powerful and like he's ready to fight the creature in the cage if needs be. He looks like he is used to handling weapons which allows the audience to have an insight into the narrative of the film
• Shot of the cage with strong bars and metal reinforcements indicates that there is some sort of dangerous creature being held in there, this gives an insight into the narrative.
• The extreme close up of the characters eyes looking into the cage and being scared and backing away quickly, exaggerates the characters fear. Using an extreme close up really shows off the fear in the characters eyes. Fear gives connotations of the adventure genre.
• Zoom shot to animal cage in the background of the picture. The zoom passes all the other characters quickly and still only focuses on the cage. This exaggerates the cages importance in the story line, and tells the audience that they should focus on it. The animal cage containing a dangerous animal gives connotations that the animal, in this case the dinosaur will be a antagonist in this film. It indicates that the narrative will involve the dinosaurs escaping and the protagonists which will likely be the humans, will need to stop them.

Sound: 

• Non diegetic drum sound cuts in when first title comes up. The drum beat sound gives connotations of the sound of a loud dinosaur foot hitting the ground. This gives subtle hints to the audience about the narrative and ties in well with the sci-fi genre of the film.
• The sound gets louder when the actual title of the film appears. The drumming sound connoting a dinosaurs footstep is louder than the others signifying that the dinosaur is getting closer and the tension is increased, this is then followed by non diegetic sound of other music that sounds like jungle/tribal music which represents the location of the film and the films narrative. 
• Diegetic sound of the bushes/trees rustling. This creates a tense and scary effect as the audience worries something is going to pop out from behind the bushes. Wind rustling through trees is a common sound effect used in films to create an eerie mood. The fact that this is one of the beginning shots represents that the director would want the audience to feel uneasy and curious during these first few shots.
• The sound effect of the dinosaur growling from within the cage is used to create tension within the audience. This effect is used before we actually see the animal and we are therefore unaware that it's actually a dinosaur. This effect gives hints to the audience about what the creature might be which also gives hints about the narrative. The growling is used to make the audience aware how powerful and dangerous the dinosaur is.

Mise en Scene:

• The mans costume provides narrative to the audience. The man is dressed in safari gear indicating that his job is something to do with animals in a location like the jungle. The man is carrying a gun which represents that he works with dangerous/big animals and he needs to be armed for safety. He is dressed differently to the other characters who are all dressed in a workers uniform. This connotes that he is more powerful and possibly the leader or in charge of the workers. He stands confidently and shouts orders at the workers which backs up this theory. 
• The other characters are dressed in uniforms and hardhats indicating that they are workers but are socially lower than the man dressed in safari gear as they are all made to wear the same thing and accept the commands the man orders.

Typography:

• Universal idnet is the first thing to appear on the screen. /This is conventional of almost all film openings.
• The font is like safari style writing, like writing that is typically written on the side of safari jeeps etc. This represents the narrative of the film and the idea that the location of the film will be somewhere exotic and open.
• The typography shakes in time with the sound effects of the drum beats. This backs up the idea that the drum beats are representing dinosaur footsteps because the font shakes every time a drum beat occurs to give the effect of the earth moving. 

Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Opening

Release: 2001
Director: Peter Jackson
Studio: WingNut Films, The Saul Zaentz Company
Box Office: $871, 530, 324
Critical Aclaim: Won oscar for best cinematography, best effects, best makeup, best music.
BAFTA for best film.
Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy

Narrative:
The film begins with a voice over giving a background to the story. The story is focused around one corrupt ring that has the power to turn innocent people evil. The scene shows how the other rings were made to keep peace and power among the different races. However the bad ring was created in the fires of Mordor for an evil purpose. The opening scene later shows people fighting over the ring and it causing destruction which proves that the ring has the power to provoke evil.

Camera Shots and Angles:

• The opening starts with the idents of the studio that produced the film, this was New Line Cinema.
• The clip starts with a plain black screen, the black screen stays plain for a long time whilst the voice over is being spoken over the top.
• The typography then fades in on the black screen, the typography is golden and it appears on the screen like it is glowing. I think this glowing is meant to represent the ring and it ties in well with the films narrative. The font looks like writing from an ancient scroll. This style of font is stereotypical of the adventure genre as it looks quite like writing from an old map and many adventure films are based around the idea of going on some sort of quest. 
• The font fades in on a black screen and out from the black screen. The golden colour stands out on the black background and helps exaggerate the glowing effect on the writing. 
• The first proper shot is of fire. Fire represents danger and danger is a connotation of action adventure films. 
• Medium close up shot of woman wearing ring. Her hand is in the foreground of the shot, it is the focus and is showing the importance of the ring in the story line. 
• Group shot of men all wearing their rings and moving simultaneously. This shows the connection between this group and gives the audience an insight into the narrative. 
• The shot of the men fades to a black screen and then it cuts to the shot of an old looking map. Maps are a connotation of the adventure genre and the idea of going on a quest to achieve something. This indicates to the audience that the main characters in the film may have to go on some sort of quest and it will most likely have something to do with the ring.
• Minimal slow track over map shows the whole image and gives the sense of movement around different locations on the map. This also backs up the idea of having to travel on some sort of journey.
• Close up shot of the location of "Mordor" on the map indicates that this is a main part of the narrative. The close up represents the importance of it in the story line.
• From the map it cuts to a shot of a foggy spooky looking mountain. The mountain is dark and smokey and there is fire blazing all around it. This has connotations of danger and represents to the audience that this may be the location the characters have to travel to on their journey. This shot of the mountain gives connotations of danger and represents stereotyped opinions of what 'hell' looks like.
• Close of of masked figure with metal mask and sharp points. Extreme close up of eye holes, they are thin and slitted. The eyes look dark and evil, this shows the audience that this character is likely to be the antagonist in the film.
• The antagonists face is then engulfed in flames. The flames are used to cut to the next shot.
• Long shot of the antagonist standing on the edge of a ledge below a sea of lava. The figure is represented as being powerful and not afraid. This shows the audience that he is hard to defeat.
• Slow motion shot of ring being thrown into fire and sustaining burning. The idea that the ring is associated with fire shows evil and strength. This is a key part of the narrative.

Sound:

• The first sound begins with a voice over. The voice over starts with quiet whispering. This whispering creates build up. Whispering indicates signs of tension and anxiety. This could signify some of the narrative.
• The voice over then cuts between whispering in a different language and talking at normal volume. The voice is slow and calm. As the voice is describing the story line it increases in volume when describing the crisis in the narrative. This increase of volume makes the voice sound more panicked and serious, this represents the seriousness of this bad thing happening. The voice over is used to explain opening narrative to the viewers but also to increase tension and excitement when it is needed. 
• Non diegetic music begins playing in the background of the voice over. The music has an old ancient style to it which helps represent the films narrative. 
• The non diegetic music gets louder and more intense as the shot of the antagonist is shown. The antagonists importance is significant and the volume increase in the music helps to point this out.

Mis En Scene:

• The antagonist is wearing a metal suit with sharp spikes. This shows him to be dangerous and feared which are typical traits an antagonist should have. 
• The characters are wearing long robes which indicates to the audience that the film may be set in the past because people no longer dress in long robes.
• The woman is wearing a long posh dress showing her to be wealthy. This costume makes her look important and high class. 

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Gone Baby Gone Film Opening

Title: Gone Baby Gone
Release: 2007
Director: Ben Affleck
Studio: The Ladd Company
Box Office: $34, 209, 788
Critical Acclaim: Boston Society of Film Critics Award, National Board of Review Award, Satellite Award etc.

Narrative: 
The main character's job is to find missing people so it is likely that he is a policeman. The film is set in a rundown city, the houses are shabby which indicates that the characters in the film living in this neighbourhood may not have that much money. There is graffiti on the streets and shots of gang members included in the opening scene which gives connotations of danger and a high crime rate. The policeman is holding a picture of a young girl and showing people it to see if they recognise her. This along with the original idea that the characters job is to find missing people, tells the audience that the little girl in the photo has gone missing and the policemen are looking to try and find her. Despite the neighbourhood being fairly rundown, the film still expresses to the audience the importance of family life and being together. This again backs up the idea of the little girl going missing and her family being worried about her.

Camera Shots and Angles:

• The establishing shot is of a city house. The house is fairly shabby and in a street of houses similar to it. This shot immediately represents the location of the film and gives some connotations of the narrative due to stereotypical ideas of he type of people that would live in poor city houses. It tells the audience that the types of people living in these houses may be of a low class.
• The long shot of a middle aged/elderly man stood outside an old/poorly cared for house with an American flag in the background gives the audience an even wider idea on the location of the film.
• The long shot of a sign in a shop window saying "Free Bread" backs up the idea that the film is set in a city where the characters are not very wealthy. The sign proves the characters in this area are poor as they can't even afford to buy their own food.
• The medium group shot of a group of boys gives connotations of them being in a 'gang'. Gangs are often stereotyped with big and slightly less wealthy cities. 
• The close up shot of the young girl smiling helps to back up the narrative and mood of the film and the ideas centered around the importance of family life. 
• The introducing shots are very emotional, they create a mood within the audience that backs up the mood associated with the narrative.
• The opening shot fades in from a black screen.
• The track shot of the main character walking through the city and seeing all these different families together experiencing different things. The shot is used to show his movements and the idea that he is connecting with all these people and its like a community. 

Sound:

• The non diegetic music played over the top of the film  is dramatic and slow. This creates tension as the audience want to find out more about what's going to happen. The slow speed of the music gives connotations of a sad story line and potentially a serious and maybe hard going narrative. The sound along with the slow shots makes it clear to see the emotion of the film. 
• The voice over sound is key in showing the audience the emotion of the film and giving them an insight into what it's about. The sound track is more emotional as the audience feels like the main character is actually speaking directly to them. The voice over explains the importance of family and the place that you live. It then leads into talking about missing people and gives the audience a precise explanation to the narrative of the film. The voice over makes the audience immediately feel sorry for the missing girl and for her family, it draws them into the films plot line
• The silence up until the voice over cuts in creates drama and makes the audience curious. It also creates a slightly eerie feel as if you are watching knowing something bad is going to happen. The idea of it being silent indicates to the audience that something is wrong because they feel uneasy. . 

Mis en Scene:

• The costumes the characters are wearing are cheaply branded items of clothing. The gang of boys are all wearing tracksuits and backwards caps, this connotes the social group of 'gangs' and stereotypical city teenagers who cause trouble.
• The woman in one of the first shots is wearing unbuttoned jeans and a top showing her stomach. Her stomach is tattooed. This costume shows her as being quite rebellious and not really caring what others think. The unbuttoned jeans and the fact that she is showing off a lot of her body could be interpreted as her being slightly promiscuous and irresponsible. This fits in with the idea that the character lives in an un-classy and 'common' neighbourhood.

-The atmosphere of the clip as a whole is very serious and sinister. It starts off showing families being happy together but then later it turns slightly harsher and everyone looks very unhappy and worried. 

-The lighting in the clip is very dim to connote the solemn narrative.  

-The typography appears in plain white text at the bottom of the screen. They are of a fairly simple style and shape, I think this simple text has been used because the voice over already represents much of the narrative of the film and therefore the titles don't need to be too elaborate.

Skills I need to develop

I definitely need to work on my editing skills whilst using Final Cut. I struggle with the editing of films as I find it hard to show continuity and timing between shots. If I want to make a successful film trailer then I'll need to work on my editing skills a lot. I also need to use more advanced camera shots in my work and to make sure that all my shots appear in a logical order and do not seem out of place in the timeline of my film. Editing is the main thing I need to advance on more, however I believe with practice I will become much more comfortable with editing using Final Cut.

Successes and Challenges of the Preliminary Film Task

After me and my group discovered that our original film had not been saved properly, we showed initiative and had to think of a new idea quickly. The film that we created was not as advanced as our original but still showed a range of shots,  including some advanced shots such as the eye-line match shot. We worked well whilst filming together and used the resources we had effectively. A challenge that we faced was the editing part of the film, none of us were that familiar with Final Cut so we found it hard to edit our film and to show successful continuity between shots and angles. LiveType also proved to be a challenge to us at first as it was difficult to pick out appropriate fonts.

Evaluation of Preliminary Task

My group consisted of me, Shane, Jade and Tab. I think we worked well as a group because we all had a range of different ideas on what our film plot should be and if this would be appropriate in showing a range of shots. The first two films we made were not saved properly on the computer and we therefore lost all our shots. At first we thought this would be a huge problem and put us behind compared to the rest of the class, however we worked successfully as a group and quickly came up with a new idea and went to re-film.

Preliminary Film

About Me

I'm Charlotte Gray a 16 year old AS Media student. I decided to take media studies because I studied media at GCSE and really enjoyed it. Also when I went to the Chenderit Sixth Form induction evening for year 12's I looked at the media course and it appealed to me. So far this year I have really enjoyed media studies lessons, in particular the TV drama section as I watch a lot of TV dramas so it was interesting to learn about how representation features in them. I'm excited to start this project as I feel it will be an interesting experience to create my own film and to try and successfully represent the thriller genre of film. However I'm also nervous about creating my film trailer as I feel my continuity and editing skills are not as advanced as I would like.