Audience reviews

I went round and asked a few people what they thought of our thriller, this was the response i got.

Rebecca Gilpin - I really enjoyed your thriller, I thought the music was expertly made and was good at creating suspense. The music was my favourite part of the thriller.

Ivo Beckett - I thought that overall it was good, but i think it should have been set in the current day it would have made me relate to the characters more and would have been more unique, however you managed to pull off the victorian theme really well.

Ellie Hemsley - It was good and i enjoyed watching it, I think the lamp post in the end scene especially added to the overall look of the thriller and made it look as if it was set in london.

Ellie De Rohan - I think the most impressive part of the thriller was the titles and how they look faded and burnt, it really put across the old style that it was going for.

Jess Haller - I think the music should have been a bit faster to create suspense more successfully, however i think the settings were good and constant.

Camilla Hampson - The thriller was really good, however could have done with some more close ups of the victims face so i could connect with her more. Saying this i think the one slow motion shot you had was really good and effective.

Isie Marcar - I thought it was really cool! Unique and different

I thanked everyone for their compliments, and will take their criticisms into consideration when i make my next films.



I disagree with the coment that suggested we should make our thriller be set in the current day, the reason for this being that I think the Jack the ripper theme is more believable if we set it back in the victorian era. However, if i were to make this thriller again i would have tried to make it more scary, perhaps by including more close ups of the victims face as she was being killed to allow the audience to feel sympathy for her aswell as see her faciel expressions.

7) Looking back at our preliminary task

When looking  back at our preliminary task and contrasting it with our thriller, it is clear to see how much we have developed our skills in filming as well as editing over this year. I think our preliminary task was much less challenging because for one we had a set story board, so therefore already had a script and a basic story line which we could adapt to. We were also limited in shots that we could use which, when you contrast it with our thriller, is very obvious as in our thriller we were in complete control of our shots and therefore used a variety. (E.g tracking shots, extreme close ups) Where as in our preliminary task we used basic shots such as high and low angle shots, shot reverse shot etc. However, at the end of the task we included a close up of our actors hands to try and make our prelim stand out over the others.  


In our preliminary task we were given an outline of the shots we should use, however we didn't get this when making our thrilling, therefore we had to redraft our shot list many times in order to create one that shows our characters statuses as well as build tension and suspense. When given our story board for our preliminary task we were asked to interpret the script in our own way and come up with a plot, I think the story we came up with was different and unique. However, comparing this to the story line of our thriller i believe that the plot within is much more interesting and shown group creativity and originality, despite it being based on history that has already happened i think we made it more believable and interesting as it is based in a true story.  


Through the mis-en-scene of our thriller you can see what era it was set in, for example the costumes that are use are clearly victorian as well as enable you to guess the backgrounds of the characters. Our thriller was set at Hurtwood House, we asked for all the current day items such as cars people dressed in normal clothes to be vacated as we wanted our thriller to be as realistic as possible. The location also has elements that resemble to the victorian ear, such as Victorian style lamps, a cobbled drive and old bricks. This allowed our thriller to look realistic and allow the audience to realise what era it is being shot in. If you compare this to our preliminary tast, we hadn't got a massive range of places to shoot in, so all the shots are shot in the same areaIn contrast for the preliminary task we had limited use of mise-en-scene as all of our shots were in the same location and so it was very simple as we didn’t have to add anything as it was set in present day. And used actors that were in our school that were free to act.



If you contrast the sound between our preliminary task and thriller you can see how much we have progressed. For instance, in our preliminary task we used the ambience sound of our surroundings, and then when we edited, we cut some of the script in order to fit the plot we had come up with. Comparing this with our thriller, we didn't use dialogue and neither of our characters spoke throughout, however we included sounds such as footsteps and a scream as our victim got stabbed in order to create suspense. We used final cut pro to add smaller sounds such as the stabbing sound of the knife as well as dripping sounds in the dungeon to create the illusion of being completely alone. Other than this we used non diegetic music all the way through, again which built onto the tension you can feel throughout. 



When editing our preliminary task we had only used simple shots so therefore it was much easier to edit them as well as cut them on action. In contrast, our thriller used more complex shots, and therefore made cutting and editing a lot harder than we had thought. When cutting our preliminary task all we had to do was use simple tools on final cut pro, despite the tools being basic it gave us a good foundation for when it came to editing our thriller.   Within our thriller we used advance editing tools such as slow motion and cross fades. Not only this but we made our own titles using Photoshop and 'After Effects'. In photoshop we created the paper and titles as well as burning them at the edges to create the illusion that the paper had been set on fire. Then, in after effects we made them turn and create movement such as burning at the edges and tearing. The reason for going through all this effort for the titles was because if we hadn't it would have ended up looking unrealistic and un- unique. 



In conclusion I believe the preliminary task gave us a great foundation into how to use the camera, edit the shots, work the programs, and use sound and mise-en-scene to add atmosphere to the shot. I also feel as though doing our thriller after this allowed us to build on these skill, meaning that in the future we will be able to take on more challenging tasks. 

6) How we have used new technology in our thriller...

5) How we attracted our target audience

4) The perfect audience member for my thriller

The perfect audience member for my thriller would be over 16 and would come from a middle class background. Due to our thriller being a historical drama they should have good knowledge of history. I think both genders would enjoy our thriller as we have a lead male and female role, meaning that they could relate to both sides. They would be a mixture of 'Rahs' and 'Geeks'. The reason for this being that they would have to be interested in Jack the Ripper and know a bit about him as well as be drawn to the historical features of our drama. Their music taste would be either classical or alternative - alternative including bands such as Bombay Bicycle Club or Bastille and the classical something along the lines of Mozart or Bach. They would enjoy television dramas such as 'Cold case' or 'Criminal minds' as they are unpredictable and have an element of mystery about them. Their favourite films would be those such as 'Gladiator' as they include a lot of tension and have a lot of violence in them. After they have left school they might study subjects such as Phycology, focusing closer on Criminology as prestigious universities such as Oxford or Cambridge. Once they get their degree they may move on and be a crime investigator or work as a Behavioural Analysis Unit for the FBI National Centre for they Analysis of violent crime.












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Rahs' - The definition of a 'Rah' is someone who has attended a prestigious university and has previously either studied at a well known private school such as Eton. They are also stereotyped to live in pleasant areas in London as well as having another house somewhere in the country side. In short, a Rah is someone who has been brought up in an upper class background and has much financial assistance from their parents.

'Geeks' - Someone who is considered different and has non mainstream interests such as stamp collecting. They are also stereotyped to be very good with computers as well as working very hard.

3) What institution would make our film?

We have decided that the institution 'Warp' should make our thriller, the reason for this being that they make low budget british films. They have also released films in the horror/ thriller genre which is the same genre as ours is. For example 'Kill List' and 'Dead man'
  Warp is a highly respected independent film company, they are based in Sheffield and have spread to Melbourne, Australlia. The fact that they are based in London is convenient as it is local and easy to get to, therefore we would be able to keep close contact with them at all times. The fact that they manufacture low budget films is good, as our thriller is low budget, so therefore they would be more likely to help us.
  Warp usually take on low budget films made by first time film directors as well as musicians. Despite having a smaller target audience they have still come out with some well known films such as Submarine.
  They would get money from advertising our film in places such as small film festivals or at schools, therefore when it came out on DVD there would be a profit. Warp also have connections with film 4, therefore giving a bigger advertising opportunity and would enable us to premier the film on film 4 which would increase profits.
  Warp does not specialise in genres such as comedy or romantic films, however the main genre they concentrate on is thrillers. Warp films appeal to all kinds of audiences which is good for us as we are trying to attract a wide audience including younger and older generations.
  Warp is respected in the filming industry as they have grown but kept their independence. They keep an eye out for new british talent and support some of the well known british films which is why we think they would consider helping us with our thriller.
  Warp specialise in british based films as their smaller audience can relate it more. This again helps us as our thriller is based in victorian england, therefore sticking to their usual setting as well as genre. Warp believe that people starting film making need help and are happy to help upcoming film makers. They also work with film 4 and lottery funding to co-produce and distribute films, this is important as we could work with film 4 could help find our target audience by giving our film an optimum release. Our film would probably be played to a smaller audience, perhaps being shown in art house cinemas.

 Warp get money from the BFI to help support new young talent in the film industry. We are new talent so hopefully they will have money to spare on us as they help us with our film. If it had a small cinematic opening, the niche audience that watched it could create a word of mouth spread, therefore allowing more people to to hear about it and resulting in a bigger profit. However, if that did not happen there are other alternatives such as selling it to Vimeo or Youtube and making people pay to watch it, either that or selling it to amazon. 

This is england was made by Warp films. It is a period drama that is set in the 80's, our thriller is also a period drama, how ever it is set int the 1980s, despite this we are hoping that this will make it more likely for them to help us. 'This is england' is a very british film that portrays british patriarchy. Our film deals with english history, which again is some more similarities, hopefully appealing to the same audience. Not only this, but they both involve violence which is typical of a thriller genre.

2) How does our thriller represent a particular social group?

In our thriller we wanted to show men in a bad light and woman in a good light. We followed up the gender stereotypes that woman are more vulnerable than men by making the woman the victim and the man the criminal. We wanted our thriller to be based on a true story so we chose Jack the ripper. Jack the ripper went around murdering prostitutes in the victorian era so we followed up that idea as we wanted our thriller to be based on normal stereotypes so that more people could relate and understand it.   Our thriller also shows the factor of mental disability as the man killing all the prostitutes must have a mental handy cap. This again falls into another stereotype that society may have on people with mental disabilities which is that they are dangerous. This is controversial as there are no clear signs as to what his reasons are for killing the girl in our opening sequence but some people may jump to the fact that he's mentally unstable.
Examples of other films which use the same genre is 'drag me to hell' which uses the same basis of an evil male lead and a vulnerable female lead. This conforms to the stereotype which we tried to portray in our thriller which is that men are more powerful that women and therefore have more control over them.

Serial killers are also represented in our thriller. You don’t see Simon, our actors, identity the whole way through, this is similar to Jack the ripper as to this day still no one knows who he was. The reason as to why serial killers become murders are placed into four categories; Visionary which is when they suffer from psychotic breaks and find it hard to know what is reality and what isn’t. Hendonistic, which is when they seek thrills and enjoy killing people. Lust which is when they  sex is the main reason for killing the victim, they see themselves as ‘ridding the world’ of an undesirable person, such as prostitutes.  We only see one killing that our murder commits, however it is clear from the context that we see it in that he is planning on killing more. You can tell due to his calm and even passed walk as he stalks his vulnerable prey as he feels he is in full control of the situation. This suggests that he is not planning on stopping here and that he plans on committing more murders as he will not be satisfied with just one.  The contrast between the two characters is further shown through camera work, as he is calm and composed, shown through his steady and composed shadow, which further emphises his mysterious identity and the victim is vulnerable and frantic, you can see this through our use of slow motion on her face as she turns around and you can see her panicked face.

Ripper street is similar to our film and deals with Jack the Ripper killings as well as all the social groups we have running through our thriller.

1)How does our product use, develop or challenge conventions of real media products?

My thriller followed the conventions and expectations of real life thrillers products. In all of our areas we conformed to the popular thriller ideologies of a damsel in distress and a dominant male figure.

Editing - We created smooth cuts and used various other editing devices to create an easy flow throughout, this created the illusion of a believable diegesis. The audience therefore suspended their disbelief which caused them to feel sympathy for the victim in our thriller. This allows them to feel apart of it and get drawn in. We used techniques such as shot reverse shot to allow the audience to see things as the character is seeing it, this immerses them in the thriller.

After filming we changed our editing pace by using slow motion, this causes the audience to watch a scene for longer than they feel comfortable, causing them to feel like they need to escape and resulting in tension and suspense. Examples of this are in the shower scene in Alfred Hitchcocks shower scene in 'Phyco'



Sound - The non diegetic music that we created on final cut pro created suspense throughout, it made the audience suspect the obvious, which was that the woman would end up being murdered. Not only this, but it created an ambient soundscape to achieve verisimilitude. Our synchronous sounds, for instance, footsteps on gravel created an eerie suspense.


Camera - We chose what the audience could and could not see by the composition and framing of each shot. Though suggesting danger, we tried not to give away the plot within each scene, by doing this we share the womans vulnerability with the audience.  Again, a good example of this is the shower scene in Phyco.

They different camera hight showed the power which the man has and the vulnerability of the woman, for instance, we used a low angle shot as he stood over the her body. We juxedapposed the shots to show the binary opposition. Using the close ups and slow motion helped us show the victims facial expressions, body language and costume.




Mis-en-scene - The costumes which we used helped show further binary opposition. The girl is wearing white, showing innocence, and red which connotes promiscuity. In comparison the man is wearing all black, connoting a malign presence.
The lighting throughout was dark and sinister, we also used many shots of dark shadows which foreshadowed the darker events which were to follow.


We used fake blood when the woman died, the red represented the lust leaving her body. Not only this but it showed up on her pale skin and showed her serious injuries.
The knife that the murder used help signify his violence and allow the audience to know that he is dangerous. We used a butchers knife so that the audience could understand how dangerous this man was and give a hint as to his background.
We used a variety of different areas to shoot in, for instance, a deserted area outside which could connote that there is no where to escape or anyone to help her.

Accont of our editing

The first time we went to the editing suite we were reminded how to check in and out of our thriller. After this we sorted our shots into different bins - rush and log bins. The log bins were for the shots that we thought were effective and that we would use and the rushes were those which we didn't think we would use. We didn’t want to delete any shots because we thought they might come in use when we are editing our thriller. Most of our shots looked dark and eerie because we thought they were the ones that were most convincing to use in a thriller.

Once we'd sorted out our shots, using our story board, we got the basic story line in terms of shots together.  We began by using a tracking shot as we watched the victim running up the stairs. We then cut back to the same place but with a man who is walking the same way. We then did a close up of the knife in his hand so that the audience knew that this man was a villin. We continued this, and followed her running through a courtyard, again being followed by this man. After we had the skeleton outline of our thriller, we went back over it creating quick cuts and creating tension.

We used a variety of techniques to make our thriller stand out. For instance, we had the problem that the audience may not connect with our victim as you mostly see the back of her as she is running away. Therefore, we had a clip where we used slow motion, of her turning her head around and allowing the audience to see her face as well as her scared facial expression. To match this we also used slow motion on our criminals shadow, almost as if he is shadowing her movements. This also emphases that you never see his face throughout, giving him a mysterious element about him.

Once we had our thriller perfectly cut and synchronized we decided to add some special effects to it such as emphasized sound. For instance, we have added the stabbing sound at the end as the victim gets murdered, and at the beginning as she is running though the corridor you can't hear anything other than her footsteps as well as the artificial dripping noise we added, creating the illusion that she is all alone.

Leading on from the sounds we decided that we needed back ground music. The music we would use would have to create lots of tension. To create the music we took two songs that final cut server provided and cut them and elongated some parts to create our own sound track. It worked very well and i think it goes well with our thriller.

Finally we had to make the titles, to do this we looked at other title sequences in order to get the titles correct and then adapt them to our own. As our thriller is set in Victorian times we decided that we would have to make the titles look worn out and old fashioned. To do this we got some paper effects and transferred them to Photoshop, after doing this we used the burn tool to make it look as if the paper had been set on fire. We then used an italic font and a blur tool, this meant that we could elongate certain parts of the letters, making our style more unique. We then went onto 'After effects' and put the two together. To finalize it we created movements which the words would follow, making the paper slowly burn holes it in whilst turning. We then saved it and pasted the final product into our thriller.