construction 4

After we had completed the first draft we were able to see which shots we had to re-film or add in to make sure the meaning of our opening sequence was easier to understand. on the 1st of march we went back to jacks house during period 1 and 2 to shoot shots that will be added into the dream sequence in order for the suspense to build up as a bigger climax since we realised that the dream sequence was too long and made it harder to make it fast, due to this we managed to film two more shots that were added into the dream sequence in order to allow for fast paced editing to be used and create tension. Once these shots were completed to the standard we wanted them to we returned back at school for period 3 and reviewed the shots to see how we were going to edit them into the dream sequence.

construction 3

Then on the following Tuesday we imported all of the shots onto the MAC and opened up adobe premier pro which is where we edited the shots together to make sure that they were relatable to the storyboard which we created,  once we had edited in the shots which we wanted we got rid of the shots which were wrong or outtakes. after having edited in the shots and making sure we had them all we decided that we would add in title sequences and have the title 'Forsaken' at the end of the opening sequence.
in terms of editing we shortened down shots to add emotion and mood to the opening sequences since shorter shots usual contrast that there is something about to happen however we mislead the audience into believing this so that throughout the opening sequence they would be on the edge of their seats, we also attempted to make shots appear less shaky especially the shot where billy (the main character) is reaching down to pick up the bottle, the way in which we attempted to do this was by putting warp stabiliser over the top however this did not work as well since it zoomed in on the shot making it look distorted.

construction 2

We then filmed on the 5th February at jacks house for p4 and p5. throughout this filming session we fined the majority of shots without any faults, we filmed in the location of the living room and kitchen. When filming these shots we used a tripod to ensure that the shots were steady and didn't seem as if they were jolting, for example when i am walking away from the radio we used a tripod to make sure that the shot stayed in focus without the camera shaking. on the 6th of saturday we filmed the rest of the shots upstairs and done other shots in-between of object which we can cut to in order for the sequences to build tension which is ideal for a thriller.

construction post 1

To start off our opening sequence we began filming on the 2nd of February in DH2, the reason why we chose this setting was becasue of the low key lighting which helps create mystery as the audience will wonder who it is and why they are there. the use of a hoodie also hides the identity of the character to build suspense in the dream sequence.  I believe that this filming session went well since we got all of the shots that we intended to get done without being very time consuming.

(screenshot of shot)

This was our first draft complete.

evaluation 1- in what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

evaluation 2- How does your media product represnet particular social groups?

Mental Illness Within Society

When framing our main protagonists ‘Billy’ it is immediately apparent that he is someone who suffers from mental illness when the framing is paired with the prop of the tablets skewed across the coffee table. This may highlight Billy’s over use of drugs and cosmetics that he feels will lift him from the state The isolation of the tablets within this shot creates a representation on how people who grieve from mental illness are seen as abnormal in comparison to regular society norms that everyone follows. Harmonising this shot with aspects of low-key lighting allows the audience to depict the character as weak and vulnerable in his state, making him unable to sight the fear and danger of the mysterious figure lurking within his home. At the same time, the essence of mental illness or ‘abnormality of mental health’ can be seen in the brothers driven ambition to receive revenge for past events. Using the costume specifically hiding the face of ‘Steven’ allows the mystery of the character to evolve over the time of the sequence. It allows the audience to believe that something may have happened to him in order to cause him to go on this psychotic path of revenge. 

The representation of mental illness in thriller movies is typically a negative one, often being used to explain away the reasons behind the antagonist's killings by depicting them to be 'crazy' or 'deranged', in order to create a villain that acts in ways that are not typical human behaviours and therefore make the audience uneasy. Mental illness is often used to be a source of apprehension in thrillers, as characters who suffer from it are displayed as unpredictable and dangerous. One of the most iconic examples of this is the Joker in the Batman series as, though it is never explicitly said that he is mentally ill, it is clear from both his behaviour, costume and the reoccurring mention of his childhood trauma ("You wanna' know how I got these scars?") that he is not mentally stable. The Joker is a character which kills ruthlessly, and often laughs whilst doing it, presenting him to be a cold-blooded killer and, consequently, presenting mentally ill people to be the same.

However, the Joker is not the only character that is a representation of mental illness in thriller movies. There are also several other films which feature mentally ill characters in the role of the villain - such as 'John Doe' in Se7en, who goes on a mass murder spree that follows the seven deadly sins. This is another common type of mentally ill characters, as they are often presented to be obsessive, often over niche things or topics. For example, John Doe with the seven sins, or the Joker with his scars. These strange obsessions are used to cause the audience to feel uneasy, as they are often strange obsessions that many people do not have, and therefore contribute to the character's strange behaviour. Although having an obsession alone is not necessarily dangerous behaviours, thrillers often turn these obsessions into it -- an example being, once again, John Doe. In addition to these examples, another common issue with the presentation of mentally ill characters is that they are often very two-dimensional when it concerns their mental illness. It is rarely explained what they have, how it was caused, or anything that could be used to allow the audience to understand the character's motives. Whilst understanding the character's motives would not necessarily make them a sympathetic character, and they should not be one, this absence of explanation translates badly on the representation of mentally ill people, as it causes them to be seen in a similar two-dimensional light. They are often defined by their illness, and many people are uneasy around those with mental illness because of the violent mentally ill characters found in movies. However, one example that challenges this in some ways is Kevin Katchadourian from We Need To Talk About Kevin, which closely follows his childhood and relationship with his mother and therefore what caused his issues later in life. However, this challenging of conventions does not extend throughout the whole film as, at the end, he commits a mass murder at his school.

Finally, one last example of the representation of mental illness is Vincent Grey in The Sixth Sense, who is a past patient of Dr. Malcolm Crowe. Unlike the Joker, John Doe and Kevin Katchadourian, Vincent Grey is presented in a less stoic, cold-blooded way, instead being presented as both mentally and emotionally unstable. This therefore presents him in a more sympathetic light, due to the fact he is sobbing and apologising, but it does not change the stereotypical representation of him in the fact that he shoots Crowe. Much like the other characters, Grey is also a dangerous mentally ill person and, regardless of whether he is reluctantly dangerous or not, he still remains an antagonist of the movie. This therefore contributes to the on going theme in the presentation of mentally ill people, especially due to the fact that although he is not stoic or cold-blooded he still behaves in an unusual manner -- such as the fact he is not wearing clothes, and that he broke into Crowe's house.

Working Class Male

Our opening sequence to the thriller film 'Forsaken' represents the young, working class male as having poor punctuality, being messy and disorganised. However, the character is not portrayed in a particularly bad light, and Billy's behaviour is relatable and typical of a young male his age. 

Through the use of this shot, we start to construct the representation of a young, working class male as being somewhat uncontrollable and sporadic. This is because he is shown sleeping on the couch, even though by the appearance of the house, it would be expected for him to have a bed. He is also shown holding alcohol in this shot, suggesting that he passed out, possibly late at night, after drinking. This, along with the close-up of the pills, adds to the construction of Billy having various problems in his life. 

Another representation constructed of white, working class males is that they are lazy and procrastinate. This can be seen in this shot as there are many dirty dishes visible that Billy seems to have neglected and not taken any interest in washing up. This may show his distraction in his work and how his monotonous lifestyle has taken up any free time he may want when coming home. This way of life may have cause Billy to become depressed with himself and the amount of work and pressure on his shoulders that he always seems to put before his social life away from work.  

Another representation constructed of white, working class males is that they are routine and live normal or average lives. To develop this idea that our character is average and doesn't live a special or privileged life, the morning routine is shown of our character getting ready. He does this in a normal manner and his clothes are not over extravagant. This helps with the aspect of the audience being able to relate to the character, and how he is just a seemingly ordinary person, but these events still occur.

Young working class men.

 young working class men are typical represented in thrillers as following a usual routine which they stick to doing throughout the movie scenes. these types of people are usually social towards work colleagues or friends who are around them, they would be social with work colleagues at bars or clubs after work or during a work break. These people are seen to be busy and have not much time to themselves which in thriller genres will usually leave the character becoming distressed leading them into depression since thriller films have conventions which include a charter who is abnormal compared to other characters in the film to give the movie an edge to it. 

An example of a young working class man in a thriller movie would be patrick Bateman in the film american psycho, the reason this film relates to the stereotypical young working class men is because the main character  is a sophisticated man who has a well paid job in new york during the day but in the night he turns into a serial killer who murders random people that anger him either at work or during the day, this reflects the frustration that high end jobs create for people and as you are lead to believe that he is a normal man due to the suit and appearance of him however the film takes an alternative view which makes the thriller more shocking

First draft analysis of opening sequence