Post-Production: Audience Feedback.

Audience feedback is the comments that the audience give after seeing a movie. This can be good or bad, and can sometimes include positive criticism on what could have been better. Audience feedback is important because then the movie producers will know what was good about their movie, and what needs to be improved upon if they consider making another movie of the same genre, or even a sequel to the movie that has been viewed.

We screened our thriller to a focus group firstly. This was beneficial, because we found out people’s views on out film, and how things could be improved before screening it to the rest of the public.

 

 

 

 

Ruth aged 18 said “I liked the editing effects of the torture scene. It made it look more realistic and scary.”

This was beneficial because we realised that we had used our editing techniques effectively.

Kinga aged 18 said “The acting was really believable which made it more creepy.”

This was beneficial because it showed us that we had done well in picking actors that are/were drama students, so they would give us the best results.

Brandon aged 18 said “The setting was so scary!”

This was also beneficial because we knew we had got the desired emotion out of the audience, and we had done it through and eerie setting.

 

 

Jake aged 18 said “The soundtrack could have been louder in the build up to the scarier parts.”

This helped us to understand that the soundtrack needed to actually scare the audience by making the soundtrack go from such a high volume to literally nothing when the action kicks in.

Amy aged 18 said “Sometimes the lighting was a bit too dark to see clearly.”

From this, we learnt that when low key lighting is used, it needs to be really low, but not low enough to make the scene hard to see.

 

From receiving the feedback, I feel that overall we have created a successful thriller.  This is because we followed most of the generic conventions of a typical thriller,  and we received good feedback on most of these.

Post-Production: Soundtrack.

Soundtracks are important in a film because they add emotion to a scene. A good, appropriate soundtrack can make an audience feel certain emotions depending on the type of scene. A movie without the sound would be unsuccessful, because the audience would not be able to connect with the narrative as much. For example, a horror or thriller movie without sound is much less scary, because it’s the eerie soundtrack and unnatural silences that strike fear in the audience.

A conventional soundtrack for a thriller movie would be something which has ups and downs in tempo and volume that match the action in the scenes. Moments with high action levels, should   have a soundtrack that increases in volume and tempo, so the audience are left feeling on edge and the adrenaline will kick in.

We used garage band to create our soundtrack, because it is very easy and straight forward to use, and as a Music student, I have had previous experience in using the software, so I knew how it worked already.

 

 

 

We created a very dark, melodic and dissonant soundtrack. The reason for doing this is because it represented the dark intentions of the antagonist. Also it is very uncomfortable to listen to so the audience would feel much more worried for the victim. The inspirations for this came from thriller movies like ‘I Spit on Your Grave’ and ‘Mirrors’. These movies are great examples of really effective soundtracks.

Our thriller soundtrack was effective because along with the action and editing, the sound helped massively to make it seem real and much scarier than what it would have if there was no soundtrack.  The actions scenes make audiences feel quite uncomfortable watching, because the soundtrack has very dissonant notes that don’t sound normal to listen to.

 

From making this soundtrack, I have realised that our thriller seems much more conventional because the audience is more likely to feel afraid from watching as they do not quite know what to expect. I believe that this soundtrack was quite successful because it works well with the scenes and it highlights the dramatic irony of the narrative.

Planning: Storyboard.

A storyboard is a breakdown of all the scenes that happen in a film. It’s basically a plan that everyone can follow, so they will know what they are doing.

The advantages of having one are that everyone will know what they are doing, and when they will be doing it. This will keep everything flowing, and organised as all the cast and crew will know what needs to happen in a scene. For example, people will need to know what actors are needed on set during each scene, when they enter and how long for. The storyboard will tell that information, along with other things such as the editing technique that will be used, the type of sound that will be used, and the actual camerawork that will be used during one scene.

The key conventions that need to be considered when designing a storyboard are the following:

·         Shot number

·         Duration

·         Scene

·         Cinematography

·         Lighting

 

Overall, this process of storyboarding has been beneficial to my group and I because we have been able to stick to a plan throughout the process, and each of us has know what to do, and when it needs to be done. As the sound technician, the storyboard helped me to understand what type of sound needed to be used during each scene, which music that needed to be included, and when it needed to change to something else.

Planning:Preliminary Task.

The purpose of this task was to become familiar with the elements that would be needed in order to create the final thriller. For example, we were not sure how to use a camera effectively in terms of shots, movements, and steadiness. Upon doing this, we then knew the best shots to use to create different effects, and to use a tripod to hold the camera steady unless a shaky effect is desired. Also, we became familiar with Final Cut Pro which is the software used to edit the clips.
This will help us to get the best out of our thriller as we now know how to create tension, fear and suspense within a clip. This is a combination of camera shots, movements and angles, sound, and editing techniques.
We will now know to use fade to blacks, and jump cuts to show that time has passed and a handheld effect to give the impression of being drunk, or unsteadiness.

Planning:Location Recce.

Planning: Production Schedule.

Planning:Risk Assessment.