G321 Thriller Evaluation; Snatched

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

In order to follow generic codes and conventions of the thriller genre we researched thriller films. Our production, Snatched, was influenced by other thrillers such as Essex Boys, because there is false trust between the characters in Essex Boys; for example when John Dyke and Jason Locke's wife [Dyke's lover] plan Jason Lockes death. This Is England also influenced our production as the locations are unglamorous, urban and isolated, as in This Is England when the skinheads take the Pakistani boy football, they are in an unglamorous concrete area. The use of camera angles and shots were influenced by films such as Sleeping with the Enemy, as there are varieties of shot types; for instance when Laura is in her new home after she has run away from her abusive husband, Martin, she hears a noise and there is a close up shot of her face, this inspired the close up's in Snatched as the close up's suggest tension, and therefore create a tense atmosphere. Although the Third Man also influenced our variety of shot types and angles, the Third Man predominately inspired our lighting because, although the action is readable, and the location is well lit, we used different types of lighting throughout our production; for instance when Harry Lime is standing on the doorstep the chiaroscuro lighting means the audience can only see certain aspects of his face, suggesting a bodiless being. In Snatched when Mary and Tom are in the car the lighting is ambient, this connotes that there is a sinister side to both Tom and Mary, and although the action is readable, the ambient lighting suggest a sense of mystery similar to the Third Man.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Snatched represents traditional stereotypes; the helpless female victim and the scheming female false friend, and the male villain. The stereotypical female is Grace and she is unknowingly misled by her "friend" Mary. In the beginning the audience don't have any suspicions that Mary has another agenda as when Grace collapses, Mary cries out for help; however the audience soon realise that Mary does have a different agenda, as her and Tom place Grace in the car boot rather than in the back of the car and then have a conversation outside the car while Grace is still in the boot. Throughout the entire sequence Grace is portrayed as the unsuspecting female victim which is a traditional stereotype; which is inspired by Sleeping with Enemy and Kiss the Girls, as the women are kept prisoners by men. In Laura's case, in Sleeping with Enemy, she is kept prisoner mentally by Martin, her husband, as she is too frightened to leave him; however in Kiss the Girls the women are kept physically in cells by "Casanova." Also in both of these films the men are perceived as the characters with power, this influenced our production as Tom is a character of power, as he is in control of the getaway car; Tom could leave Mary at the scene, with Grace still in the boot, and call the police and she could get arrested, therefore both women in Snatched-even though Mary is perceived to have power over Grace-Tom has the overall control over both women; hence Snatched reinforces typical gender stereotypes.

What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

Snatched would be considered for distribution by smaller institutions such as Warp Films or Arthouse as the film has an unknown cast and has been financed by an independent British company, MTL; with a plot which conforms to thriller codes and conventions. The choice of DVD or a Multiplex Cinema would be considered, however due to Snatched being a low budget film with an unknown cast an audience would be less likely to pay to see it in a large complex if something bigger and with a bigger budget was playing, such as; Se7en or Clockwork Orange, as these both have well known, popular actors in them, for example; Malcolm McDowell [Clockwork Orange] and Brad Pitt [Se7en]. The internet is another possibility, with the use of sites such as, http://www.youtube.com/, as the film would appeal to an audience that watches lower budget, complex films and there would be opportunity to "virally" market the film with the use of blogs and websites; this is similar to how Cloverfield was marketed and distributed, as the film had unknown actors, an unusual plot and unusual camera-hand held, similar to Blair Witch Project. Snatched could also go straight to Film4, as they finance British films and are known for showing independent British films, such as Trainspotting and This is England. The scheduled time for Snatched would be around 10pm-11pm doe to the complexity and the atmosphere of the film, as the audience needs to be able to watch the film, without distractions, in order to understand and take in the thriller atmosphere.

Who would be the audience for you media product?

The audience for this type of thriller would be male and female and would be aimed at a wide age range, 19-40, as there are different levels to the production that wide age groups of people are affected by; for instance, drug taking and hoodies. It would also appeal to a large audience because of the time that the film is shown, the complexity of the film and if it was distributed by Film4. We researched the thriller genre and many are classified at 15, but some, such as "Kiss the Girls" are certificate 18 due to the issues that are dealt with; for example, Government corruption, rape, murder. The audience that Snatched is aimed at would watch films and TV dramas, such as Whitechapel, Frost/Nixon and Valkyrie as these all deal with complex and deep issues; Snatched explores the themes of kidnapping and substance abuse, which are deep issues that affect not only the victim, but also involve the victim's family, and create an intense emotional level, a kidnapping especially-this is influenced by the "Kiss the Girls" in which kidnapping and murder are prominent themes throughout. Snatched would be aimed at males and females in the middle class and lower classes demographic because these are the demographics that are affected predominately by substance abuse and live in areas in which this type of abuse occurs, especially those in urban areas, therefore they would be able to relate to theses issues better than people from an upper class background might. The personal aspirations of the audience would be individuals as they would be more likely to try something different and are predominately the target audience for Film4. Our production is different as the kidnapping that takes place isn't a conventional kidnapping that audiences often associate with abduction, a person being taken from the streets by a complete stranger. Grace knows Mary and to begin with the audience aren't suspicious as to Mary having a different agenda, this makes the kidnapping different as it isn't suspected and the involvement of another character isn't suspected either, therefore making the kidnap a surprise, as the audience knew something was going to happen as it was connoted in the title however didn't know what exactly, adding suspense, and leaves the audience asking questions as Mary and Tom clearly aren't at their final destination.

How did you attract/address your audience?

The title initially draws the audience in as it gives just enough away to intrigue them; Snatched, the audience know that something is going to happen, possibly a kidnapping or a robbery, this makes the film appear mysterious, tantalising and intriguing as the plot of the production is left to the audience's imagination. The involvement of drugs is relatable to the audience as it is a contemporary problem and drives theme thus showing appeal to audiences who are concerned about this issue. We would arouse interest and keep the sense of mystery about the film by using viral marketing to begin with, both word of mouth and on the internet, as this is an effective and cheaper way of arousing interest about the film; this is influenced by Cloverfield as this film was marketing virally. As viral marketing isn't infinitely sustainable in its most basic form, the way in which it was done would have to be thought out carefully due to limited funds, making a large advertising campaign impossible, and to make the advertising tantalising and intriguing to the audience.

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

Throughout the project, I have learnt huge amounts through using Premiere Elements 2 on the computers and have learnt how to edit a film effectively and have learnt to ask myself questions, such as: would flashbacks work better? Using effects has made it easier to emphasis’ action such as, when Grace faints in the beginning of the sequence, and make them more dramatic; the effects, such as the cross dissolve and additive dissolve add confusion and tension and make the action more potent within the film. With practice the camera has become easier to use and understanding that different shot types and camera angles suggest different moods to the audience, for example: a canted shot will connote confusion whereas a long distance shot may suggest isolation and loneliness. When Mary and Tom are sitting in the car, after putting Grace in the boot, we used a medium canted shot, this connoted that there was confusion and animosity between Tom, Mary and Grace's relationship.
Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
The preliminary task has given me a wider understanding in planning when to shoot and edit the film, and with the help from the group this has been done quickly and constructively. Working within a group with different personalities was helpful as we all had different perspectives and different ideas and different skills, for example: Emily and Matthew were stronger at the computer editing and adding the soundtrack, through them I was able to learn a new skill in editing. Whereas I was stronger in the acting and planning and I was able to help Emily and Matthew with this. In order to make our film the best it could be, we looked over our preliminary task and studied people's strengths and weaknesses within that shoot, and we concluded that Matthew was better at filming and using different shot types/camera angles at appropriate moments, whereas Emily and I were better at the acting. Our original ides of film didn't go to plan due to miscommunication, i.e. lack of variety of shot etc, however due to quick thinking on my behalf and many discussions were managed to shoot 15minutes of raw footage and managed to write all the planning down for a second attempt at a thriller film, this time with a different plot and a different cast. Throughout the planning, shoot and edit we spread the responsibilities, all contributing to the casting considerations. We all decided that Emily and I would be appropriate to play the two girls, this was for convenience as we had problems with our last attempt having lots of people that were outside the group; we only used on extra person, which was Andrew Drane, who we cast as the villain because he had what we were looking for, he looks innocent but also as though he could have a sinister edge to him. Matthew was camera man as he had a good knowledge of the camera and can use a wide variety of shots when filming, he would also reshoot certain parts more than once in order to get as much usable footage as possible.

The entire group contributed with the edit, with Emily and I searching for the soundtrack, we eventually found some unsigned music on http://www.youtube.com/ with assistance from Ms Barton and with the help of Emily we were able to retrieve it from http://www.youtube.com/ with the use of Audacity.