Beckie Jacobs

Evaluation Activity 1.In what ways does your media products use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?The Title of the Film and Font and Style Used.Jessamine was not our first choice of the Title of our Thriller. This is because we came up with around five different traditional and quite long names that we could call the doll. We decided to make the title of our Thriller the dolls name because from getting ideas from previous Thriller movies such as Annabelle, we thought that it would make it more effective and fitted the codes and conventions of a normal thriller which is making an eerie and creepy title that people would be drawn to and would want to see. To decide what our dolls name was going to be we asked our class and a few from the year above who previously had to make a Thriller what they thought would be the best and most engaging name that they thought would look good and match with our plot. The five names that were potential titles were Jessamine, Anastasia, Arabella and Elizabeth. It came to our attention that everyone loved the name Jessamine. They said this because it looked original and they had never heard of this name before. We took this on board and decided that Jessamine would be the most effective Title because it brings mystery as well the name being quite different and engaging. The Font we used for the title was chosen was called Adobe Calson Pro we chose this because it was a simple font and we thought it worked well with the white background and smudged black and grey edges. This was chosen as the background for the Thriller title because the contrast from white to black could connote an innocent young girl being taken over by darkness and evil which is what our Thriller is about.Setting and Location.The chosen Settings and Locations that we filmed in for our Thriller were one of our group members houses Charley Bristow and South Weald Park in Brentwood. We chose these locations because the forests and the bridge in South Weald were a great place to film because we were able to broaden our ideas even more and we came up with more scenes that we could add such as the doll falling from the top of the bridge which then became the most iconic scene of our Thriller. For the doll to drop dramatically like it did, we needed a place where there was a high drop and at the bottom we placed sticks and thorns to create a better impact at the end of the drop. We shot most of our footage in a house. This is because after looking at previous and successful Thrillers we can tell that what they all had in common was that they were based in the protagonists home. The audience watching will be able to relate to the setting because they can imagine what is happening in their own home which can make them even more on edge and uncomfortable which is what we are aiming to achieve as it fits the codes and conventions of a Thriller because a home connotes safety and security and our thriller shatters the idea of this because of the things occurring throughout inside the home which challenges the codes and conventions. The forest then connotes the feeling of isolation and danger which is what we showed through the girl hiding in amongst the trees and dirt which helped portrayed her vulnerability and isolation from the world.Costumes and Props.The costumes and props used in our Thriller were all planned and based around the idea of children and possession. The props we used that showed childlike behaviour were the rocking horse, the swing and most importantly the doll. These met the codes and conventions of a thriller because a swing connotes happiness and enjoyment which we twisted and made the swing go back and forth on its own in slow motion and edited into black and white. This now shows this playground toy as dark and creepy. The rocking horse is quite an old fashioned toy and another thing that people link with children because it is another playground or nursery toy however by it rocking on its own with a shadow next to it on the wall it becomes more of a ghostly figure which makes the house that it is in, unsafe and haunted which then matches the codes and conventions of a typical thriller. The iconic prop which is the doll was the most important prop we used and our costume and prop designers Beckie Jacobs and Charley Bristow had to make the doll look as unnatural and old fashioned as possible. We did this by ruining the doll and cutting pieces out of it and placing pins around it. This made the doll look unhappy and disturbing which matches the codes and conventions of props in a thriller like Annabelle. We asked potential audiences what they thought of the doll and how they feel and the feedback we got back from it was it looks terrifying , it is making me feel uncomfortable and thats very disturbing to look at this was what we wanted the doll to portray and so follows and develops the codes and conventions of a typical thriller because we made the doll more original and different to other dolls like Annabelle which is a plastic Victorian doll whereas ours is a soft toy and we were able to make it our own. For the characters, we just the costumes for the parents around funerals which consists of jeans and a black top for the father whom was played by Nick Wyatt and a patterned black and grey dress for the mother whom was played by Charley Bristow. The colour black connotes death, dark and evil. The reason we chose such dark colours for the parents is because we are trying to show that even after their daughter has died, they are still consumed with darkness in their home. The colour black also matches the codes and conventions of a thriller because of what the colour represents and how most thrillers use the colour black to portray what their emotions are. The young girl who has been possessed by Jessamine the doll and played by Beckie Jacobs wears a white blouse and black skirt. We decided to use a mixture of white which connotes purity and innocence because she is a young girl however the black coloured skirt and tights also show once again how the innocence is being taken over by darkness which is the connotation of black. The make-up used for the girl is white powder to make her skin look very ghostly and non-naturalistic with areas that are black which were the lips and around the eyes. The black around the eyes created a possessed look on the girl and showed the audience that she wasnt any regular little girl. This followed the codes and conventions of a thriller because the make-up made the character look chilling and frightening which is what all horror thrillers want to make a successful film and match its genre.Camerawork and Editing.When filming Jessamine we made Matt Murphy the main person getting all of the footage. When filming we used the IPhone 6 which had a good camera lens and was able to get some excellent slow motion footage such as the doll falling down and the swing moving back and forwards. The slow motion we used was very effective because it helped build the tension and suspense throughout the opening which uses thriller conventions because every thriller needs a good opening so that people would want to see the whole movie. When filming, we also used match on shots which linked all of the footage together without this, the film would look too disjointed and unprofessional. If we did not have the match on shots then the tension would not be as effective because the audience would then become either bored or very confused and so it would not be meeting the codes and conventions. When we came to edit all of our shots together, we looked back at our first storyboard and noticed a lot of changes from this to our final cut and we can see how our thriller has improved from then. Our title sequence had to match the codes and conventions of a thriller otherwise it would not make sense what genre the film is. The title sequence we used was subtle and brought each of the names and roles of everyone who helped us make the film in slowly and were spread across the opening. We also made our entire film into black and white instead of leaving it how it was. By using black and white throughout the cut, it made the entire feeling of the opening more effective as the dark colours show to the audience that it is not a happy movie however the black white challenges the codes and conventions of thrillers because in other thriller movies that are out in the moment use natural lighting or at a low lighting. We were unsure on whether to follow on what we thought so we asked for potential viewers opinions. They thought that the black and white throughout makes the film look like a Thriller and makes it look more sinister and scary.Storyline, How the Opening Sets it Up and the Genre.The story is about a young girl called Beckie becomes possessed when given a doll for her 10th birthday which she named Jessamine. Throughout the film we see Beckie doing unusual things that you would not see regular children do. The young girl runs away from her family home to live in the woods with Jessamine her new companion. The story continues flashing back to her parents where we see them packing away there childs bedroom and looking back through old photos. The story is shown through Jessamines perspective and we see that gradually the Doll consumes Beckie and lives inside her. The iconic scene is when Beckie walks up onto a high bridge and drops the doll over the top of it which shows that the doll is not needed anymore and from then on, more horror and sinister shots surround the thriller making the audience feel uncomfortable and on edge. This storyline follows the codes and conventions of a thriller because of the choice of characters we made such as Jessamine and Beckie whom are both evil and sinister. The opening of the story shows a panning of the family house where they all live and most of the story unfolds inside the house. This challenges the codes and conventions of a thriller because in previous thrillers, the openings go straight to making the audience feel on edge and jumpy however this thriller we bring the suspense in slowly by the house portraying safety and security which changes to becoming haunted and dark making the audience connect with the location and feel uncomfortable and on edge in their own home. The genre of our film is a Horror Thriller and we show this through the music and shots that match the codes and conventions. The music builds up the tension which links in with the eerie feel of the Thriller. How Characters are Introduced.The parents who are played by Charley Bristow and Nick Wyatt are introduced into Jessamine when looking at baby photos of their deceased child Beckie. This shot over the shoulder with them flicking through different images portraying that they are close to the child and are feeling remorse and heartbreak. The death of Beckie is only shown through her parents as we thought this would be more original and mysterious than actually seeing Beckie die as it also leaves it up to the audience to decide what happened to their daughter. The characters are both wearing dark colours which portray their feelings of sadness and possibly loneliness. Although the parents are not the protagonists, they play an important part when linking all the unanswered questions together. The actual protagonist Beckie who is played by Beckie Jacobs is first introduced looking through the front door and posting a mystery letter for her parents to see. You cannot see the character properly however the shadow and blurred effect also leaves a mystery as to why she has returned or also who the figure is. The next time we see Beckie, she is accompanied by Jessamine. Jessamine is what the entire film is based around and the only time we see the doll is with Beckie, showing how they are always attached to each other which portrays a bond and an evil relationship which follows the codes and conventions of a thriller.