"Once Upon A Kidnapper" Thriller Film Evaluation

“Once Upon A Kidnapper” Thriller Film Evaluation

As part of my task I had to create a two minute opening to a film of thriller genre. I was in a group consisting of four students and we were given a dated deadline to complete the task. Before starting our task we studied related media texts such as openings of thriller films. Our main case study was that of the cult classic “The Shining”. The Shining is a 1980 thriller film directed by Stanley Kubrick, based on Stephen King's novel of the same name. Though not initially successful, the film has had status as a cult film for years. After watching this film I learnt many techniques after watching this film. Techniques such as camera angles and effects that will thrill the audience. I gained many influences from the film as we used flashback effects similar to the film. I believe we as a group benefited from watching this cult classic as it allowed us to discover conventions and themes of thriller films. Techniques such as filming in the rain supported our film. This is because the rain made the film seem more thrilling and signifies the importance of the kidnapping scene.


Source 1 shows an image of actor Jack Nicholson in the film “The Shining”
Source Reference: philzine.wordpress.com/.../
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There are many ways my film represents particular social groups. As the villain is seen wearing what could be described as wearing “ghetto clothing”. This signifies a male from an deprived background may be stereotyped as living in the “slums of London”. The villain is of an Asian background which addresses the stereotype of ethnic minorities being the “hooded criminal”. The two other characters are also other ethnic origins. There are two scenarios of age being represented in the film. Firstly is that of teenagers. During the “past flashback” the characters were in their teenage years. This is presented with the two female characters playing on the swings. Also the villain is wearing “ghetto clothing” which is portrayed in many media texts in the interests of teenagers. Secondly during the “present day scene” the two remaining characters (kidnapper and friend of kidnapped girl) are seen wearing smart clothing or “worklike clothing”. This suggests that they are in the mature stages of their living years. This shows that they have grown and is a sense of “kidulthood to adulthood”.

I believe that “Once upon a Kidnapper” will be distributed via a small UK independent release. This means that it will be shown in a limited amount of screens across the nation. This is because I believe that are film was made for the passion of film making, not the so called “moneymaker hits”. Our film has a hard-hitting thrilling storyline, which will attract a certain number of audiences. If our film is genuinely a success on the screens then plans would be put forward for a DVD release. An example of a small UK independent film is the film “London to Brighton” which critics gave rave reviews.

Source 2 shows an image of the film “London to Brighton”
Source Reference: www.moviecritic.com.au/2008-04/
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I believe the general target audience of the film will be that of the working class origin. This is because the deep-hearted thrilling storyline and genuine locations will appeal more to this audience as it is similar to their real life surroundings. The age I believe will be generally wide, from the age of 15 to the age of economically active people. The youth or teenager will be a strong target audience. This is because of the characters in the film. The behavior and general overall look of the villain can be associated with the youth due to common stereotypes of youths being “ASBOS”. The gender target audience is that of both male and female. This is because there are scenes during the film that will appeal more to the male population and scenes that will appeal more to the female population. The character of “Amy”, the friend kidnapped “Lucy” will appeal more to the female population. This is because females will wish she uncovers the truth behind her disappearance and whether she is still alive. Whereas the male population who are often argued to be more biased will side with the villain. This is because of his gender and they may believe he has reformed. An example of a typical person who fits into my target audience Sameer, a 19 year old student who loves watching films that he can relate to.



I believe our film will attract audiences because of its genuine storyline. Our film does not star any “big stars” which audiences will queue up for the sake of seeing the so-called “star”. However due to the storyline and the natural breathtaking performances by the characters, our film will attract audiences. I believe our film is a typical British film due to its simplicity and honesty. The film will be able to associate with the audience as they may have been through a similar situation. Our main source of advertisement will be the internet. This is because it can reach out to a wide range of people, as the internet is the number one source for publicity. Posters, trailer, information and other forms of advertisement will be displayed on the official film website. A YouTube account has also been created to advertise the film featuring trailers, on shoot interviews and other promotional advertisements.

Source 3 shows an poster, which I created for “Once Upon A Kidnapper”
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After the creation of “Once upon a Kidnapper”, I believe I have learnt more about technologies during constructing the film. Firstly is the use of camera and filming. When filming I learnt how to change the focus of the camera, how to playback footage etc. Secondly is the use of editing software’s such as Final Cut pro, Livetype and Soundtrack. After filming, we used the software Final Cut pro to edit the film. During the time I used this software I learnt how to “log and capture”, shorten clips, add effects etc. I used the software Livetype to add credits during the duration of the film. Whilst using this software I learnt how to change the font of the text, add effects and changing the colour of the text. I used the software Soundtrack to create a soundtrack for the film. When I was using this software I learnt how to add different, sounds, change the focus on certain sounds etc. as this was the first time I was using these software’s I believe I have learnt considerable which will be beneficial to my future projects. I also used the internet during the creation of my film. I had to blog information on the progress of my film on the blogger website. In addition, I had to upload the actual “Once upon a Kidnapper” film and the preliminary task.

Source 4 shows “Once upon a Kidnapper” on the blogger website.
Source Reference: http://thriller08group17.blogspot.com/
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I believe that the preliminary task was beneficial for the creation of Once upon a Kidnapper. The preliminary task allowed the group to understand the use of match cutting. The preliminary task was a short scenario of a conversation between two characters. During the scenario many match cuts were done and a soundtrack was also added. During the task I learnt basic functions of a camera. During editing in the preliminary task it was at first difficult due to the fact that this was the first time in using the software (Final Cut pro). However when completing this task, i got to grips with the use of this software which allowed me to progress in making my actual film.

Source 5 shows a scene from the preliminary task
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