Thriller Evaluation

Improvements to the evaluation of 'In to White'
To create our thriller opening sequence 'In to White' we used different media texts for influence, helping us to challenge the media conventions and to develop our own further. From the way our final piece looks it is clear we used 'A mother's son' for inspiration, after studying this text we felt that the location of the sequence was hugely effective and felt our own thriller would benefit from this type of setting. For our piece we shot on a location similar to the one we studied, it was an isolated, rural setting on the coast which had a long single track that the boy could walk down. To challenge typical stereotypes of the thriller convention we decided to use a young boy as the main character instead of a young girl that is typically used in all the thrillers we studied. As reference to this we studied a film called 'Hide and Seek' where the main character is a young innocent girl, who finds herself in danger and to show our understanding of the convention we chose to cast a naive boy with similar characteristics as the girls character in Hide and Seek. Our other character in the sequence was cast as a threatening elder male, we chose this because in the film we studied it had an elder male as the antagonist and showed us that it fit with the typical thriller conventions and we felt it helped to develop our ideas of the convention further.
To add a sense of familiarity for our audience we used a young person as our victim and an elder person as the antagonist, this is a typical form for the thriller convention as proven through our case studies. We also dressed our victim in white to show purity however if given the chance again we would have dressed him in red to show danger.

Evaluation

Technology

Why have attendances increased?
They increased due to new technology, and would believe that seeing a movie in 3D would enhance their overall viewing experience, therefore more people went to the cinema to watch these 3D films because they couldn't get the same experience from watching it at home. The cinemas started to show popular television programs and big sports matches such as Wimbolden and Strictly Come Dancing increasing audience watching as the cinemas provided more. New technology seeks to enhance the overall experience for the viewer such as HD, 3D, IMAX and HFR. These technologies have helped to increase audiences throughout cinemas, as the chance for someone to see something new and of a better quality is appealing to a greater audience.

What is DFP and the VPF?

DFP- Supports small and medium sized cinema operators who seek to digitise their cinema.

VPF-A Virtual Print Fee is a fee paid by a distributor to the third party – the idea

behind it is that the distributors save money by shipping digital, rather than

35mm, prints, and so these savings are used to contribute towards the cost of

the equipment.

What may happen to those who don't use the DFP?

If cinemas don't use DFP in the future, eventually they won't be able to receive the new films. Also they won't be able to screen the new ideas such as showing popular television shows. 

What problems face 'alternative' content?
It becomes too expensive because the BBFC have to go through a certification process with anything shown in the cinema which costs extra money which they won't make back.

The challenges of moving to Digital Cinema

Steve Perrin- Chief executive

Financial 

• Costs- around £50k per screen plus finance and other costs
• Major distributors unwilling to accept any lower standard
• No or minimal support
• Current funding mechanism(Virtual print fee) is complex and very difficult to access for small,individual operators
• General banking and economic environment

The VPF explained

• The VPF is a sum of money paid to a cinema when a film is played on a VPF supported system on the release date of the film (a 'turn')
• So, if a cinema plays enough first run films over the funding period, say 10 years, then it covers off about 75/80% of the equiptment and finance costs
• A good proposition for major, commercial operators e.g. a national circuit
• But, what about the smaller cinemas who play second run, or repertory-types programmes!

The digital funding partnership solution

• A 'co-operative' of some 400 screens covering all types of independently owned cinemas
• Collectively and in aggregate have sufficient first run programming (turns) to enter into VPF  deals on the same basis as major circuits
• DFP acts as a 'quasi circuit' and has a fully financed deal with a third party whereby that party will receive sufficient VPFs to pay back all relevant costs
• The strategic beauty is that all cinemas benefit and none lose
• Scheme supported and backed by all studios, major UK circuits, BFI and Minister of culture.

Technical and Logistical

• Competition for equipment and technical expertise for physical instillations
• Space and facilities required in projection booth (e.g. aircon, power, ADSL connectivity, Portholes, etc..)
• Training and 'mind-set' issues 
• Loading and playing out content
• Security, unlock keys for encrypted content...etc...
• Basically a complete new way of operating

Maintaining the model

• Todays business plans are built around existing and historical distribution practices
• This needs to remain as the predominant methodology for at least 8/10 years to allow cinemas the time to recoup their outlay and take full ownership of the equipment
• New practices e.g. early VOD, restricted copies, may challenge the model and make life very difficult for a number of the cinemas over the period
• So, conversion is just the first step into what may be an uncertain world.

Case Study

Serious Sequence

Camera- In this part of the sequence the camera angles are very close up to emphasize the issue and how close it is effecting the character. The girl is very ill and the male is trying to comfort her so the camera moves back and forth between over the shoulder shots giving a perspective on each characters view points of the situation. I feel that these up close and personal camera shots and movements are used to increase the intensity of the issue and to show how much this is affecting them.

Editing- Within the sequence the editing cuts fast between camera movements while the characters start to argue however as they calm down so do the shots and they become slower and more relaxed to enhance the feel of the scene by mirroring the atmosphere.

Sound- In this section there is no music or other sound other than the characters voices and movements, I feel this was done because it highlights the discomfort of the characters and how there isn’t anything else to help them overcome any silent moments. The atmospheric sound is slightly muffled as if to show that something is hidden such as the danger the male character is putting the female in, also showing that he is harming her and affecting her health.

Mise en Scene- The atmosphere in this sequence is very awkward; this is helped to be perceived by the audience from the silent, intimate shots and movements. The lighting in this sequence is given from a small piece of natural light coming from outside suggesting, that if light represents life then it is behind her now and she can’t escape the dark shadows of the room. The colours are very grey and dank within the room as if they are in the shadows hiding from the outside world.

 
Light hearted sequence

Camera- For this the camera is further away showing less intensity than the last bit, the shots are slow moving following the characters movements.

Audiences and Institutions

• I agree that audiences do have a high level of self-determination when it comes to the nature of their response; because no two people are the same and have not had the same experiences in life therefore will not feel the same about the same image. Someones class and gender is a basic way to prove that a piece of media wont be interpreted the same way twice as it may not be understood or may not be deceived in the same way that it was intend to be. However i feel the statement that "Zombies" are not formed when looking at audiences response to media may be wrong as i feel people can easily follow the crowd when a certain image is perceived, for example something that may be found to be funny to someone would also appear to be funny to everyone else because others around wan't to 'fit' in with others in their social class.

Opening Sequence of Anna Karenina

The technical features of Anna Karenina in the opening sequence show that the theme is proven and introduced from the start for example the sound is started by the audience hearing the orchestra warm up and then it begins with typical theatre orchestral music. This theme is also recognized by sound when you can hear the 'hustle and bustle' of an audience seated waiting for the show to begin at the theatre. The editing shows that a date is given for when the play is set leaving nothing for the audience to guess with a time period for the film. It moves between close up more realistic shots to over sized movements such as ones performed by theatre actors very quickly, highlighting the play and film aspect of the movie. The film is shot very clearly with stage lighting and not natural light helping the audience to understand where the film is set. The costumes set a scene and help reiterate the date the film was set in and where, they are very bold costumes that are shown typically in plays. Within the Mise en Scene it is clear that the movements of the characters are bold and over exadurated like in a play so that the audience can see from afar what is happening.