Media evaluation – Question 1JOE COQUET

Introduction

Our film is a part of the thriller genre, with some elements crime in it too. This is a typical sub-genre. In most parts, out OTS is typical of the thriller genre and complies with the established conventions of this genre. We took inspiration from the film‘Se7en’ as it focuses on an ordinary man trying to find an antagonist, but instead of working for the police force and hunting the criminal for justice reasons, our protagonist is doing it for revenge after a crime is committed against him and his family. Our character and story are typical of the thriller genre because there is a very normal setting with extraordinary events occurring.

SCREENSHOTS

Title of the film: The Hunt [frame 1]

Our film is called ‘The Hunt’, which is a short and mysterious name. The title could give the audience an idea of the storyline as they would probably start thinking about hunting and what that involves. The title does fit well with the story line of our film, with the protagonist continually ‘hunting’ the antagonist so the name fits well with the storyline. The word hunt also suggests that there is a predator and a prey, in this case our protagonist and antagonist, and in both cases the predator intends to kill it’s target. This works better than other titles we thought about like ‘The Chase’ as this doesn’t sound as violent or sinister.

Setting/location(s) [frame 2]In our OTS there are 3 main settings, a house, a forest and a park. These locations are all typical of the thriller genre because all are ordinary, everyday places. The house and a park are places associated with safety, but the situations they are used in take this feeling of safety away.The forest is a typical thriller setting as it is mysterious and scary with a feeling of isolation. When our character is walking through the forest, he is looking around showing how he is anxious in the given situation.Our OTS is set in the afternoon/evening, with the protagonist walking in the forest while it is light, giving a false sense of security but when he arrives at the house it is dark, which adds an edge to the scene.

Costume & props [frame 3]

Our protagonist is wearing normal everyday clothes, which again shows a normal person in an extraordinary situation. They clothes also suggest his age as an adult, not a child. At the start of the OTS, our character isn’t wearing a jacket, but as it progresses he puts on a coat, which shows he is prepared for what he is about to do.The props we used were mostly used in the house scene, with lots of dirty cups and plates alongside empty alcohol bottles and rubbish show how the character has lost his way. In the other shots the character is holding a gun, which gives him power. It also shows that he is prepared in the same way with putting his coat on.

Camera work & editing [frame 4]

Our OTS includes lots of different variations in the camera work to show different shots. In the frame shown you can see a close up of the laptop, which will give the audience a clear view of what is happening in the frame. The people editing the piece did so that it was non-linear, which meant lots of flashback were shown in black and white, and also were filmed without our character present, to show them as memories.

Title font and style [frame 5]

The font style that was chosen was bold with a clear line through it, which was there to represent violence and make it look cooler. When the titles appear they come up and shake, before changing colour, from white to red. This could show or represent a character dying.

Story and how the OTS is set up [frame 6]

Our OTS is linear as it shows the protagonist after the crime has been committed, but before his own actions. He is in a clear bad place which shows the audience that he may have been through a traumatic experience.The story of our film is dark and mysterious, with elements of mystery which make it a typical thriller story.We included family pictures in the OTS, to give the audience a better idea of what could have happened.

Genre & how the OTS suggests this [frame 7]

The genre of out OTS is thriller, which is shown in the piece in many different ways. Our character is a normal guy in an extraordinary situation, something that happens in thriller films consistently. The locations used in our OTS also help show that our piece is a part of the thriller genre, with a secluded forest, keeping the audience on edge, and a dark house, a place that is meant to be safe but instead due to the dark, make it scarier.

How characters are introduced [frame 8]

Our character is introduced in a dark room on a laptop. This suggests he is a normal man, but as you see more and more of the room, you quickly see that he isn’t a normal character. You don’t see his whole face for a good portion of the OTS, which adds a mysterious aspect to his identity. His name also isn’t disclosed in the OTS.The antagonist is briefly introduced at the beginning of the OTS, with the audience seeing his twitter profile, his name is Duke Greene, but the character isn’t seen in person in the OTS and it’s unlikely that the audience would be able to see the picture and the name.

Special effects [frame 9]

Multiple fading special effects were used in our OTS, to show the character having flashbacks, and being confused about what is reality and what isn’t real. Other effects like our titles being shaken and the title coming up with a gunshot was also used. Due to the fact that our film was low budget, we wanted to keep this feeling so stayed away from big special effects to stay true to this style of film and keep it realistic.