Coursework Evaluation

To being my coursework, I had to decide what I wanted my outcome to be i.e. Film opening, trailer etc. I began by analysing two film openings and trailers to see which of the two products I prefered, aswell as getting a chance to get some basic conventions noted for my chosen genre; 'Psychological'.
Firstly, I had to expand my knowledge of the genre and it's conventions, in order to truly understand how to create a production which falls cleanly into the genre. I would do this by conducting primary research (Researching direct from sources i.e. Films) and secondary research (asking peers and forums their personal opinions). This would give me the parameters in which to work in order to create a high standard production piece.

I started breaking down multiple openings from films such as 'V for Vendetta' and 'Shutter Island' which gave me a clear view of what a viewer would expect to see from my chosen genre, this would give me my first insight into what I could expect my audience to be looking for on a theoretical and analytical basis, this also allowed me to begin thinking of some ideas as to what how I might go about planning and making my prodtuction.

• http://mediaproductiontj.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/genre-research.html- Researching

This then led me to begin my secondary research; in which I used devices such as Focus Grouping, to gain an understanding of what the public at large would expect to find in a Psychological film. I was surprised with some of the results, as they conflicted my earlier research, however after more questioning, my Focus Group showed signs of correlating with my research. Conventions such as introduction of the main character with no dialogue, and country or sad music being used to amplify tension. This ensured me that some of the criteria and conventions that I had analysed were seen by others, and gave me the confidence to begin noting a brief guideline for my production. I also conducted some research into the type of people who would watch my production, this meant going outside my Focus Group and analysing certain figures, as well as interacting with my peers in order to gain an understanding of the people who I need to direct my production towards; this also meant that I could define my specific route of marketing, the most popularly chosen method of which was social network sites such as Facebook and Twitter.
Audience Profile:

• http://mediaproductiontj.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/audience-profile.html

Focus Group Findings:

• http://mediaproductiontj.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/focus-group-findings-1.html 
• http://mediaproductiontj.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/focus-group-findings-2.html   

I was then at the planning stage of my coursework, in which I had to complete my pre-production module. This would be my script, and it went without say that this was an extremely important part of my coursework. I constructed my script with my research in mind, as well as trying to include elements bought up by those in my Focus Group. I found it quite difficult to conform to the conventions and combine my ideas into one piece, this meant that scripting took longer than expected, and was redrafted two times.

• http://mediaproductiontj.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/pre-production-script.html

After recruiting my actor and obtaining the props i needed, we scheduled the first shoot and had a final brainstorm to see whether anything should be changed or altered. Having that discussion led to multiple small changes which I feel bettered my production. The filming took place on a saturday morning, and went smoothly meaning that I had more time to edit the footage.
The editing process was time consuming, and it was a steep learning curve as editing is not my strong point, and this shows somewhat in my final outcome, however the production itself is done to the script and I feel i have conveyed the ideas which both I and my peers conjured.

I posted my production to Youtube in an attempt to get feedback. I posted both the raw draft edit, found below:

As well as the HD enabled, full edit - in order to get progressive feedback from my peers:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfBfsvq5-Y0 - Youtube Link

...and after some minor alterations, my production was complete. I feel that my project went well, and I throughly enjoyed the research and planning stages of my coursework. However, I feel the final product itself leaves a bit to be desired, If I could have my time again, I would have captured more raw footage, meaning that my options in the editing stage would have been broader, and my outcome may have been slightly improved. Nevertheless, i feel my use of diegetic sound, and rough capturing style (which conforms to the conventions of the genre) are the key points of my production, and add to the sense that the main character is being studied by an entity which is outlined in my script. I am extremely please with the setting of my production, and after getting lucky with the weather, I found myself in the perfect setting which I had envisioned during the planning stage of my production. To conclude, my project had a sturdy foundation, and my research and work has culminated into a well structured, if slightly short, production. I feel I have captured multiple conventions of my chosen genre, whilst managing to include my own perspectives and ideas.

My full research, notes and planning can be found here, along with the questionnaires which were handed to my Focus Group and peers. -

• http://mediaproductiontj.blogspot.co.uk/

(Pre-Production) Script

Setting: Rainbow bridge, early morning (sunrise), calm se
-Establishing shot- pans right across rocks to ocean.
-Mid-long shot- Protagonist perched on a rock looking out to see, he is silhouetted but can be seen looking around.

• Camera pans back - countered to the establishing shot, before jumping back to the character

-Prop usage; Spray paint, Mobile phone-

•  -Close-up- Protagonists lower half, and hand in frame - rough camera shots - he is spray painting the concrete beneath him, however what he is painting is not in frame. The camera then pulls back to the same shot, only now we see all of the Protagonist as he continues painting.

=Spray Can=       

• Protagonist is now shot from the front with his back to the sea, again he is                silhouetted/shaded. He is looking down at his image which the viewer still can not see.

-In frame; Protagonist, Image, Sea, shade+light-

• The Protagonist then seats himself in the middle of the image. The audience see it is what looks like a jaunted crosshair. As he begins to seat the camera jumps to another angle further back, giving the viewer a greater sense of what's around.
• -Low Angle Shot- As though the camera is lying on the ground, we now the see Protagonists face in detail, we see that he is a teenager; sporting a hoody, glasses and jeans/chinos.

-Music fades in: 'Top Of The World' - The Carpenters-
-Prop Usage; Mobile-

• -Mid-shot- The Protagonist stirs and reaches into his pocket, he pulls out his mobile phone.
• -OTS shot- The Protagonist looks at his phone for a moment, before returning it to his pocket. She shot then jumps to a mid-long angle, as the Protagonist rises.

-Prop Usage; Rock-

• -Close-up/Mid-shot- The Protagonist is now rooting through rocks, we see only his torso down as he pushes rocks aside for a moment before selecting one of decent size.
• -Mid-shot- The camera is now facing away from the sea towards the image in which the Protagonist was sitting. Protagonist brings the rock over and places it in the middle of the 'crosshair' before turning and walking away from the concrete slab.

Setting: Promenade Path
-No Props used from this point onward-
-Attempt to capture the public, random joggers/cyclists etc.- (Authenticity)

• Protagonist begins to walk from the previous location across a long path, the sun is still shining as we track the Protagonist from behind. (Attempt to capture passers-by). Then the same shot length only from infront, the Protagonist sweeps past the left side of the camera - ending up behind it. (Again, try to capture the public)
• -Mid-long shot- Railway bridge, all of the archway is in frame, behind it is the sea. Protagonist continues and walks to the left side of the camera.
• -Mid-long shot- Underpass, the Protagonist is silhouetted due to lack of light, however the walls are still vaguely visible (Urban settings)

Setting: House
-No props used-

• The Protagonist walks down a street and stops outside a house. He is looking into the garden for a moment, before shaking his head, sighing, and walking in.
• -OTS shot- Protagonist walks into his garden. We see a car, and the colours are very vibrant as the Protagonist drudges in.

-Final establishing shot of surrounding environment i.e. houses and park-

Planning - The rest of almost all of it.

Risk Assessment -

I have to take into consideration the safety of not only myself, but of my actors and assistants whilst I capture my footage. Certain shots will put us in difficult situations which will will have to deal with maturely in order to ensure the safety of the people on site.

Firstly - the Angel Bay shots will often be shot on uneven surfaces and from high angles atop rocks. To ensure the safety of my actors, I will select the where the camera shall be placed and worked myself based on how easy the position is to negotiate and how safe it would be for an assistant and myself.

Secondly - A couple of shots in my production involve aggresive physcal contact. I must take care to script these actions both on paper and when we come to film the shot in order to make sure there are no accidental injuries.

Equipment -

I have my own equipment which I will use to film my production, the equipment lists as follows:

• Toshiba Camileo X200 HD
• Tripod
• Lens Cleaners
• Remote Record

This equipment should be all I need to create my piece. manipulation of Audio/Video will (obviously) take place after the recording of my production in it's entirity.

Planning - Almost of it.

Name - 

When I looked at the names of Psychological films - I found myself attracted to the titles of the more popular films, the likes of "V for Vendetta", "The Shining", "Shutter Island" and so on, I realised that the titles include hints as to the stories progression or idea. This is something I will have to take into consideration when writing my film as it will have to work in tandem with the title and vice-versa.
My film contains elements of standing up to the powers that be, and not being afraid to point out the flaws in a world which conform to them, it also contains elements of standing out from the crowd is better done behind closed doors nowadays, it also includes an individual outcast.
I would LIKE my title to be something representing a message being delivered and the feeling of isolation or being alone.
The following are words and ideas for titles I have thought up:

• The Courier 
• Locked Out
• Raise The Flags
• ...Within A Circle

Reasoning behind the possible titles:

• A Courier carried important messages back and forth for days on end all alone.
• Locked out from both Social and Mental normality because of their opinion.
• Raising a flag implies showing strongly your beliefs through simple acts which aren't aggressive.
• Within A Circle, as the old phrase goes, "A square within a circle", pretty self explanatory. 

All of these titles hold relevance and are enough to draw you into look at the film whilst still conforming to the conventions of any Psychological title. I will choose my final title later.

Locations -

The locations which I have in mind are easily accessible and are very common settings within Psychological. Nevertheless, I visited the places I had in mind and took notes on elements such as Risk, Themes and the time of day which would be best to film in the condition the environment left me with.

- Angel Bay - 

Establishing shot angle

This is an enclosed bay which faces away from the sunrise leaving most of the bay itself in shadow, whilst providing a pretty sunrise as the background. The risks here are minimal, paths are clearly marked with safety rails, so getting to and from this location will be easy. This location also offers the theme of isolation, as any actors will appear completely alone and cut-off from the world.

- Bryn Elian - 

Exterior Shot

This is the school I attend, and to create a teenage character, I feel it appropriate to introduce him to the environment where I have spent my teenage years to ensure authenticity. The school has long corridors and a stereotypical bell, both of which are things I need to portray my character.



These two locations are the only ones which spring to my as essential at this point in time. My production will be filmed in these locations, however other shots I need can be shot in a number of environments around where I live. The two above remain the most important locations.

Sound -

The sounds used in my production will largely be diegetic (waves, talking, footsteps etc.) as to add to 1, To add to the theme of isolation in my Angel Bay shots, as only diegetic sounds will enhance the effect. 2, To add to the sense of authenticity of the shots in my High School, I want the shots to be as believable as possible.

However, non diegetic sounds provide more of a challenge. The opening shots of my production involve a voice over being layered over footage, the facilities I need to gain access to in order to record this should be relatively easy, as I am aware of 2-3 organisations who would welcome us to record in high quality at very low rates.
As for music, I have permission from my friends band to use one of their songs in my production, this will be the only song in my opening but it will add to the High School aura as the genre is very guitar heavy - something synonymous with High School students.

The only aspect of this which are not set in stone is the Name.

Planning - Initial Plan . . .

Now I feel comfortable in my research, I can move onto my planning stage. This is purely for my peace of mind that somewhere I will have a list of what to do - 

• Name of Film
• Locations
• Sound
• Characters/Actors
• Equipment
• Risk Assessment 

I will add to this if I need to.

Focus Group Findings #2

Based on the responses I recieved from my second questionnaire - I now feel comfortable in my knowledge of the genre, and feel more than happy to continue on to the planning stage of my production.

The answers I have recieved were what I expected and play strongly to my visions of my production. Firstly, when asked, everyone in my Focus Group stated that they would expect some kind of outcast entity as the main character; some even pointed out (my personal opinion) that to have more than one companion more often than not distracts you from the Protagonist. This means that planning my characters is now 100000% easier.
Next up, my group pointed out that Symbolism was a key concept and responded well to the idea of it's inclusion in my production. They also stated that within the first 5-7 minutes, they would expect to:

1. Be acquainted with the Protagonist and his day-to-day life
2. Understand the idea around which the film will be made 
3. To be "swooned" by the camera shots

These criteria will now be at the foundation of my planning stage, and have given me a structure by which to go about my pre-production work.

Finally - The group divided on opinion of the Protagonist proclaiming that he should be a lovable character but remain unhinged. This to me made zero sense. My Protagonist will instead remain untoward creepy, with a likable exterior.

Focus Group Questionnaire #2

This is the second and final questionnaire I will be handing to my Focus Group - In essence, this is the final information trawl I need before I can begin planning my production.

Focus Group Questionnaire 2

1. In your opinion, does the main character of a Psychological film seem more like an social outcast, or does he/she have friends, is he high up in the popularity hierarchy?


2. Would you expect to see devices such as Symbolism or Misdirection in a Psychological film?


3. What would you expect to be introduced to within the first 5-7 minutes of a Psychological film?


4. How do you most commonly feel about the Protagonist? Do you prefer to find him creepy? or would you prefer, for instance, a sadder or brighter character?

These last few points will give me time to make final adjustments to my "Planning Action Plan".

Audience Profile

The audience for Psychological films varies in many ways - mainly dependent on the sub-genre of the film in question. For instance, Psychological Thriller films, and Psychological Horror films differ in many ways, but as I'm now sure that I will be making a Psychological Thriller, I will now go into detail regarding the type of person I expect will watch my film.

Audience
My audience has an age range of 15-40 years of age, and in my eyes only certain groups of people will watch these films. To evaluate this, we must first look at the conventions of a Psychological Thriller:

• They can often have difficult or complex storylines
• They are quite dark in atmosphere
• They are often used in popular culture by youths 
• There should be a message to the film

These conventions imply that the people who watch it should have a certain level of intelligence, to put it bluntly, nobody who falls under the stereotype of chav or white trash, rather someone who may be perceived to be dark, for example Donnie Darko has a big following among the Rock Music Community as well as a more mature audience.

So I now know that I have to make my film appeal to 15-40 year old people, who are members of the Rock Music Community, who have followed the genre for a long time, Who have the capacity to understand and appreciate my film and who can't enjoy the film without asking questions.

This seems rather vague, but to me it makes life slightly easier.

Focus Group Findings #1

I based my first focus group questionnaire on the very basic of topics; The Protagonist and the Antagonist. I composed my questions in a way which I felt would give a yield of good and useful information from my Focus Group. Whilst most of the answers remain varied, there are some quite surprisingly common answers.

Protagonist based questions
Most of my questions were based more on the aesthetics of the character, however, when looking at my results we can understand that the group wanted a dark protagonist, as all bar one said that he should were a mask. This I find interesting, as it can be taken to either mean 'Superhero' or 'Darkhero', another recurring theme is that the protagonist should be alone, and conform to a stereotype. In my eyes, Donnie Darko springs to mind - a sort of outcast teenager, however in my production he himself would be the villain.

Setting
The ideal setting for most of the group is dense woodland. However, taking into consideration their other answers, this notion (for the most part) doesn't make sense because the idea of a teenage protagonist demands an urban environment. This issue will be debated when I next meet with my Focus Group and also when I reach the location scouting stage.

Villain
When I wrote this question, I did not have an actually entity in mind, in my eyes it could have been a seperate person OR part of the Protagonist himself. With that in mind the aspects which have been mentioned throughout the questionnaire depict the Villain to have the mirror opposite features of the Protagonist, this could be played towards by the use of mental illness or something of the like.

This food for thought has given me my first true insight into what my Target Audience want, and after the release of my second questionnaire for my group, I feel I will be ready to begin planning. However, I will first construct and audience profile based on my Focus Group.

Focus Group Questionnaire 1

This questionnaire will be given to the 5 members of my focus group, and will hopefully give me a deeper insight into what the consumer wants from a film of my chosen genre.

Focus Group Questionnaire 1

1. In your opinion, which gender is more commonly the protagonist? What does he/she wear? Doe she/she conform to a stereotype?

2. In which setting would you most likely expect a Pyschological Horror/Thriller to take place?

3. How many characters would you expect to find in the generic group which are together at the start of the film? Or would you prefer the protagonist alone?

4. What is the "Villain"of the film? Is it a person or something else entirely? What does it wear? How does is act?

5. Which features of a "Villain" shock/scare you the most? Which aspects would tell you that he/she is the "Villain"?

These questions are relatively long-winded, and force the focus group to give me lots of detail with regards to what they expect to find in a film of my genre.

 

Basic Questionnaire Findings + Focus Group Selection

Having given out 20 of my Basic Questionnaires, I decided the best thing to do would be to combine my findings with the first stages of my Focus Grouping into one Post.

My Questionnaire was handed to people of around my age (i.e 15-18) as I have already established that this age range will be the group most likely to see my product. The results I obtained were quite surprising, as I expected no-one to say that they preferred Psychological films, however one person did answer so.

Based on my findings, I now know what people expect to find in both Horror, Thriller and (in one instance) Psychological films. These are my findings;

1. Males are more likely to watch both Horror and Thriller - This data IS accurate, as i distrubed questionnaires equally between genders. However, both boys and girls agree that the protagonist (regardless of genre) survives until the end of the film.
2. 70% of the people who were given my questionnaire said they preferred Horror or Thriller - and they all said that they would expect to hear some variation of Rock, Piano or simply "Creepy" music in the film.
3. Every single person answered "Yes" or "If it drew me in enough" when asked if they would watch a film again if they did not understand it. This means that in order to create the re-watch factor, I need to make my piece quite challenging to the viewer, aswell as making it good to watch.
4. 80% of the people I asked to fill in the Questionnaire said they DO like films which make them jump. This means I will have to research the Horror genre to understand how and why this is done.
5. When asked what their biggest fear was, many people answered with something along the lines of being alone. This is interesting as it plays very well towards my genre.

This information gives me an insight into what the public at large would want from a film. And I now know the criteria I need to fill for those who perhaps do not often watch films of  a Psychological Horror/Thriller nature.

Focus Group Selection
Based on the results I obtained, it was relatively easy for me to choose which people I would include within my focus group. This is an important stage, as I want views and opinions which are both specific to genre and public opinion. My Focus Group is as follows.

- Callum Bates
- Kelly Baldwin
- Kirsty Roberts
- Phillip Roberts
- Elliot Parkes

These people will give me an accurate and relavant insight into what viewers want from Psychological films. This information will be invaluable when at the planning stage of my course.

Basic Questionnaire

This questionnaire will be distributed to 15-25 people that I know. Based on their individual results I can group my target audience into a Focus Group. This will later lead to the production of my Audience Profile.
 
Basic Questionnaire
 
1.What is your preferred genre of film?

 
 
2. Are you more likely to watch a film alone or with friends/family?
 
 
 
3. If you do not understand a film, would you watch it a second time?
 
 
 
4. What genre of music would you expect to find in your preferred genre?

 
 
5. Why do you like the genre? Which elements of it attract you?
 
 
 
 
6. Do you like films which make you jump?



7. What is your biggest fear?




This questionnaire is designed to establish which genres people enjoy; I am looking for those who enjoy Horror, Thriller or Pyschological so that I can build up a profile for my genre based on the genres it derives from.

Film Analysis Findings

I have obtained a few useful points to take into consideration with regards to the technical aspects of a Psychological film. Firstly, I now know that camera shots and angles play a large part in creating the "re-watch" conventions of a Psychological film. Moreover, I must pay attention to detail when constructing my shots to include subtle hints or points of interest, which will be overlooked when my piece is watched for the first time.

Secondly, I have gained a greater understanding of just how important the protagonist(s) is within my chosen genre. My knowledge stretched as far as to know that they were the foundation of the film, but i have learnt that they often convey a certain message or feeling to the audience via either a journey or action. This means that when scripting my piece, I will have to take into consideration the characters I cast, and what they will mean to the production itself and how they convey messages to my audience.

From this point, I will begin to write my basic questionnaire which I aim to hand to 20-30 people in order to establish a focus group who enjoy my chosen genre. This will then allow me to question this chosen group deeper, and begin to construct useful documents which will help me at the planning stage of my production such as Audience Profiles.

Film Analysis: Shutter Island

Shutter Island                                                                                                        


Shutter Island is a Psychological Thriller film. As the film opens, we are met with mid-to-long shots of our protagonist on a boat in what appears to be the middle of the ocean. This decodes the protagonist as a lone wolf figure, and who is on his way to somewhere in the middle of nowhere, this in itself connotes danger. He is then joined by an accomplice, who we are introduced to shortly after he joins the lone wolf. At this point we see two-shots still at mid-long range, maintaining the backdrop of open ocean. This alters our point of view, and now regard the protagonist as someone who doesn't work alone. This is then reaffirmed when we are enlightened to the fact that our protagonist is a detective. They share a conversation, in which the protagonist appears the more eloquent and mentally strong as opposed to his co-worker who conforms to the stereotype of a typical New-Yorker, accent and all. As the opening scene comes to a close, we see the same two-shot, mid-to-long range shot but from behind the duo. This shot is of a high angle, and depicts Shutter Island before them. This shot conveys the effect the island has. It belittles the characters and blows away any shred of power they have, and makes it seem as though their skills are irrelevant. The inclusion of open ocean in the shot is also interesting, as it adds to the theme of isolation which is apparent throughout the film.

Extra Notes
The way in which the director adds the Psychological "re-watch" convention is quite interesting. He makes the audience believe that the protagonist is the hero of the film, who's only motive is to find a murderer in a prison full off them. He is built up to be pure, aside from a few foul techniques. However at the very end of the film, we are told he was in fact a murderer who was set for lobotomy, as he kept regressing the memory of his crimes. This calls the audience to watch the film a second time - upon doing so they notice little hints throughout the film which when watching for the first time, seem like simple conversation, but the second time appear very obvious and clever. This gives the audience pleasure, as they feel they gain a better understanding of the film itself
An example of this future referencing:
Leonardo is trapped in a tomb as a storm rages outside. The security then appear outside to help him back to the prison. The guard on the megaphone can be heard to say-
"Come out detective . . . we know you're in there"

Film Analysis: V for Vendetta

Taking into consideration the amount of time which my production shall be (3-5 minutes) I have decided it would be better to "properly" analyse the opening to both of my selected films, and make points and notes referring to conventional information I feel I should include in my research.

V for Vendetta

The film begins with a dramatic speech being given from a television, the man appears passionate and gives key points which the films characters both oppose and defend. We are given two different settings - One is an apartment room with an attractive woman getting dressed. Because she puts on a black dress and looks as though she is going to somewhere fancy, we assume that (aided by the harsh tone of the speech on the television) she is going to come to harm. The camera then switches to an extravagant, almost theatrical setting in which we see a man put on the iconic mask. We never see his face due to the camera's angle. This is encoded to make the audience feel as though they shouldn't know who he is, and that he should be feared as he does not have a true identity, and that he wishes to remain anonymous. This man is listening to the same speech as the woman in the apartment which implies a relationship right from the start, even though they are unaware of each others existence.

As the speech is about to end, the speaker becomes more and more enraged until finally the woman switches off the television and vocally expresses her defiance to what the man says. We are then shown shots of the streets of London at night, with close-ups on what appear to be speaker systems on lamp posts. This implies control of the populace, and the fact that she is the only one in the street only amplifies the desired effect. We are then made aware of the silhouette of a man walking down the street towards her, this long shot implies distance between the two, but the close-up of her face shortly after displays fear. She the ducks into an alleyway and is met by two untoward looking men. The use of high angle shots in this seen makes her look small and helpless and sets her up perfectly to be the damsel of the text.  She then tries to mace one of the men, showing that she has fight in her, she is then disarmed. The man in the mask then steps into frame and gives us a quote from the bible - connoting purity despite our immediate impressions of him being someone to be feared. He proceeds to show heroic qualities as he beats up the rapists and helps the woman to her feet. The two shots used then make the couple seem close although they have only just met, and also connote that this is the first time that the two main characters have met.

Extra information
The protagonists mask and costume implies both nobility and mystery. Although he is dressed as Guys Fawkes - he had a decorum about him that gives little away to the audience of his past. The mask implies that he is something to be weary of, and that he wishes to remain anonymous to everyone, even to his counter-part whom he falls in love with throughout the course of the film.

Genre Research

Most Psychological films are coupled with another genre and very few films focus souly on the Psychological aspect of a media text. i.e Psychological Horror and Thrillers are becoming very popular in recent times and I must therefore take into account sub-genre when planning my piece.

Films such as "V for Vendetta" or "Shutter Island" both have strong Psychological conventions, whilst maintaining an aura of both separate genres listed above, so I will analyse those two films further into my research stage.

Psychological films are encoded by directors to make you as an audience, want to view it more than once, as when you do, you find yourself noticing things which previously you  have missed. This demands a lot of attention to detail of the producer's part, and a strong and well written script.

Another trait of Psychological films is a protagonist who is often shrouded in mystery or who has quite a high status role such as a detective or a doctor. Conforming to the conventions of Psychological Horror means that the protagonist should survive despite the situation being extremely dire. Whereas the Thriller sub-genre usually depicts the protagonists journey towards a goal or improvement for the greater good; this does occasionally result in the death of the protagonist, although he/she does (most of the time) survive the ordeal.

Psychological films use camera trickery and special effects to achieve their preferred readings, such as using two shots occasionally to identify a pair midst the plot, which will later come to fruition. This is used to also ensure the multiple watch convention - as by using clever camera shots, prop placements and so on, a director can achieve huge messages being carried by a single item. 

This is my basic knowledge and research into the genre thus far, this will no doubt be changed as I learn more about the genre and it's conventions.

To-do List

This is just a list to remind me of which tasks i have completed and which still need to be finished - i.e I'm unorganised.

• Technical Research - Genre specific
• Film Analysis - Genre specific (Complete)
• Initial Questionnaire - Gain understanding of peoples views and specify Focus Group
• Focus Group - 1. Questionnaire - for specific and fine detail 2. Discussion - Explore deeper feelings towards the genre

I'll add to this if I need to.

Details Of My Production

I have decided to create a film opening of 3-5 minutes. This opening will conform to the conventions of the Psychological film genre, and will include all the elements of the genre which come to light in my research stage.

Introduction

Over the course of the next few months, I intend to create a Media production piece based on research I conduct into the industry. To create my piece to a high standard, I will need to research all aspects which are relevant to my chosen genre "Psychological"; This includes criteria such as Audience, Conventions and Technical aspects such as Camera Work and Mise-en-scene.
I will use tools such as focus-grouping to identify the main audience for my selected genre, but also to gain insight into what they as an audience believe the conventions of the genre are. After my research I will begin to plan my piece, taking into consideration risk assessment and location scouting and other technicalities in order for the making of my piece to go as smoothly as possible. 
I must also complete a pre-production piece, which in my case will be a storyboard, in order to gain higher grades and results when filming my piece.