Finished Product - ACE OF SPADES Opening scene

EVALUATION - Use of Technology

Hardware used: HP Omen (personal laptop), RODE Microphone, Sony A7 camera, tripods, old factory lights, Macbook Pro, Wacom Tablet

Software used: Adobe Premiere Pro, Adobe After Effects, Adobe Audition, Garage Band (mac), Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Lightroom, NotePad

Online: Blogger, YouTube, YouTube to Mp3, yahoo mail, imag, Pinterest, google images, Google docs, Dropbox


Flow Chart of how I used technology in my Planning/Research and Post Production process:

In conclusion, I have learnt that the work flow focuses mostly on exporting the media, listening to , and going back to fix it again. I have wasted most of my time working on this process. Sometimes it feels frustrating to fix things over and over again, but then I realized that this is actually something that benefits me and my project. I learned better to listen to critiques and filter them. Sometimes I got harsh comments that are very demotivating, but that does not stop me from fixing it to the point that I think is best.

EVALUATION - How does your product engage with audiences? / How would it be distributed as a real media text?

The theme of my film is not quite the style that lay bombs on the cinema (in terms of the amount of tickets sold and the amount of viewers).

By the way it is at the moment, 'Ace of Spades' seems like more of a crime series. If I could develop it further into an actual mainstream blockbuster film, the plot needs to be very suspensing and mysterious (strong core and plot) like 'Inception'. However, 'Solace', 'Mercury Rising', and 'Safe' with the main protagonist as a child with extraordinary powers does not make it that successful. When I ask regular people on the streets whether they know them or not, not one said they have heard of them.

Therefore, what I think will determine my film between being a blockbuster film and a smaller type of film is how differently I present my plot. If the psychic boy is presented to the audiences the way the X-Men has been presented, meaning that he has his own way of thinking, his own "strong" origin story, his own times to come of age and upgrade his power, instead of acting like a side-kick for the action man as in 'Safe' and 'Mercury Rising', it will make this film into a coming of age themed thriller instead of an action crime thriller. 

The action man doesn't have to save him all the time, let the boy be presented a a genius of his own. Let the story focus on his life more than Victor's life; how he acts at school, how he fights his own chaotic mind to find a solution by himself. Let him prove in the end that he had grown up by himself.

                                     

However, this means that the audience group would consequently follow the trend of younger people who are also experiencing the time where they too, come of age. This widens the audience age group as older men are still there for the psychic action and the thrill of the crime, as well as younger people who are there to watch people their age make a difference.

Below are some of the results from my research on the audiences of movies with similar theme to mine:

The main audience group are men. From the YouGov survey, people who like Inception also like mainstream blockbuster-action movies such as 'The Dark Knight', 'The Matrix', 'Star Wars', and 'Iron Man'. Therefore, to attract these type of audiences, I need to add in particular elements to make my film similar to them.

One tiny problem, though, is that I need to be very careful not to drift the film too far away from the genre of 'Thriller'. With this worry in mind, I researched 'thriller movies for family' on the internet. This is a list I have found:

The results show that there are still quite a lot of audience base for kid/family-suitable thrillers. The movies listed are also well known.

These are the details and conventions in my film opening that may appeal to the mass audience group that may be watching this film:

Then how should this movie be distributed?

In my opinion, to get audiences' attention, this film should be getting awards from film festivals. I think that instead of presenting it directly onto the cinema screen, gaining positive critiques from experts will at least psychologically make audiences believe that the film is a must see. Since my production house is new to the field, not many people know about it, and not many people will give it enough attention too.

By launching it directly onto cinema screen, my 'possible' audience group might not be as eager to watch something that has been shown before and somewhat failed to reach their expectation such as 'Safe' - without knowing that it is different, that is.

Below are some of the most prestigious film awards:

1. Oscars - Academy Awards
2. Palme d'Or - The Cannes International Film Festival
3. BAFTA Awards
4. The Golden Bear - The Berlin International Film Festival
5. Filmfare Awards
6. Film of the Year - European Film Awards
7. Golden Leopard - Locarno International Film Festival
8. Grand Jury Prize - Sundance Film Festival
9. Golden Globes
10. Golden Lion
(credit: http://www.therichest.com/rich-list/most-popular/top-10-most-prestigious-movie-awards-in-the-world/ )

So, how should I promote my film?

Personally, I develop the 'want to see it' feeling from trailers and film pages on Facebook. For Sci-Fi, mainstream blockbusters, and Fantasy movies, I often get attracted to them only by seeing a release on some of their teaser concept arts (This is my case with 'Dr. Strange', The new 'StarWars'(Rogue One), and Ender Game.).

Therefore, instead of advertising my film on posters and television advertisements, it is considerably cheaper and more effective to do so in social media networks such as Facebook and Twitter. This way, people who are interested in it can easily share the information to their friends and family.

(iamag.com - the place I dwell in for inspiration apart from Pinterest.)

Release date? The release date would probably be around July and August where most students are out of school. This way, families have more time to spend together at the theatre, and there are just higher chances of getting more audiences. However, releasing the film in summer also means that there will certainly be more competitors. It is very likely that well known studios such as Disney, Universal, Warner Bros, or Marvel will launch some of their films around the time too. Instead of choosing the 'Ace of Spades', most audiences might choose to see other movies which they think are more preferable. To prevent this but keeping a large base of audiences at the same time, the Ace of Spades would be released in late August before the opening of a brand new term.

EVALUATION - How does your product use or challenge conventions and how does it represent social groups or issues?

Thriller conventions and what I have achieved check list:

• The antagonist ensnares the protagonist in an increasingly complex web, until the protagonist feels isolated and helpless. YES

The evidences from the dream sequence show the nature of the murderer's ways and crimes. The main characters were then forced to be in a position to solve the mystery. Also, the action man is found staring at the crime board helplessly, unable to draw connections. Who is the Ace? Why are there so many evidences? Are there too many evidences? (Like in the case of the Zodiac killer?) However, rather being alone and trying to solve it all, Scott is there to help him. Still, with little Scott being there, it causes him more concern and a more complexion of life problems to resolve, the fact that Scott is a child and that it is a vulnerable complicated matter.

We can link this to John Statham's 'Safe' (2012) where he needs to protect a young Asian child as well as keeping a top secret information away from the mafias.

• The narrative centres upon a crime E.g theft, murder YES

The Ace is a serial killer, while Victor(the guardian) is a private eye that tries his best to solve it. The story'a theme heavily follows the Zodiac, where there are too many evidences to gather and too many victims in a short amount of time. It is a race against time, there are so many suspects, and the main character (Robert Graysmith in Zodiac) has his own life problems to face as well as the crime.

• The protagonist is fallible and has a Achilles heel that is exploited. YES

The action man's weakpoint is the psychic child, while the child protagonist's weakpoint is how he yearns to be accepted in society and the feeling of negligence. A similar context is portrayed in Marvel's 2017 LOGAN. Old Logan has to look after Laura, a young mutant and makes sure that she escape over the border with safety. The main character threw himself into troubles  - including sacrificing his own life and his long life friends in order to protect his child-figure. 

Laura, a young mutant with a genetic resemblace to the Wolverine faces problem in the world beyond experiment labs. She does not fit with the rest of the world, does not know that she is somehow different from others, and has trouble making friends. Therefore, her main achilles heel is the feeling of care she has for Logan and Charles, and the yearning of a real family.

• Themes of identity are commonly mistaken identity, amnesia and doubles/Doppelgängers MEH... NOT YET

• Themes of seeing, reflection and mirroring-manipulation of perspective YES

The child protagonist dreams of the evidences while the real world is busy with finding the murderer, the viewers are made to believe that the person they saw holding the gun and handling the knifes is the killer through the perspective of the dream. The face had not been shown yet.

• A series of enigmas are set up - only to be solved at the end YES

Who is the Ace Killer?
Who is Scott? What is wrong with him?
What is Scott capable of doing?
Why is Scott, an Asian kid have anything to do with Victor?
Why are they living in a shabby, old apartment?
Where are his parents?
Why does Victor took on the case?
Will they get the Ace?

• The audience is placed in a the ambiguous position of "voyeur" MEH... NOT YET

• Protagonist will be in Peril/danger YES

From the shots with the guns, we know that the antagonist carries a weapon in his hands, while the apartment scene does not seem to be equipped with any visible weapons. The way the child protagonist tries to tell his guardian that the SPADE symbol has something to do with this case also creates a foreshadow that these two characters are throwing themselves into danger.

• The narrative presents extra ordinary events in ordinary situations/settings YES

The child protagonist dreams of a solution to solve the crime in a shabby old apartment which is temporarily converted into a detective office by the action man. The setting of the film is contemporary, therefore, viewers can relate their fears and insecurity with the crime.

The theme of psychic powers can be grouped in with the idea of fantasy and supernatural thirller sub genres. Example thriller films that link supernatural powers focusing on crimes are Solace and iZombie (series).

• The micro-elements are used to build suspense YES

The voice over sounds and the sounds of news reporters are used to create a sense of confusion and chaos. Also, the track shot of the camera following the child protagonist through the dark, abstract doorway indicates the fact that there may be unseen danger up ahead. 

This is similar to how the Zodiac creates tension in the basement scene. The setting is dark, and the micro elements create additional tension. How the guy from the theatre was portrayed (dark shadows over his eyes indicates evil) in the dim lit basement enforces the idea of suspicion towards the audience. The moment I got to this scene, I was convinced that this man is probably the murderer. It is not said whether the footsteps Robert heard were real or not, but viewers can most imply that there was tension and fear of being murdered rising in Jake Gyllenhall's facial expression as he decided to retreat.

Using existing conventions?
The fears generated in this film follows some of the society's fears, for example, the fear of death, the fear of being tortures. It also follows the fears of a child, such as NIGHTMARES, monsters, and negligence from friends and family. Lastly, it portrays parents' fears of not being financially stable, of losing their child, and of being fired from work

Also, I used the convention of low key lighting. The dream sequence is dark and dingy while the apartment scene is set in the middle of the night. I also applied vignette to the color grading process to make it a bit darker.

The nightmare challenges the protagonist (Scott) into overcoming them and think sensibly of the evidences gathered, while the murderer challenges Victor in catching and exposing him while putting them both in danger. This creates a double layered thrill.

I used a lot of close up shots to capture the characters' reaction shots. This follows the thriller conventions that I have researched early on.

A gun and a knife is used as mise-en-scene in the dream sequence. This is merely the use of props to create a sense of intimation and that the protagonists should be scared of the antagonist.

Challenging existing conventions?
The roles of the main character swapped. The main protagonist is Asian, while the action man (more of a side kick) is a Western man. Also, this movie follows the child protagonist instead of the male, grown-up, action man.

Movies with Asian side kicks and white male protagonists:

Dr. Strange

The Green Hornet

The Killing Fields

The Walking Dead (Series)

The Maze Runner

The color palette used in the apartment scene is also more colorfully vivid, in contrast to darker earth tone colors usually used in Thrillers.

Representing Social Groups? Issue?

THE CHARACTERS

The child protagonist is an Asian. This use of actor portrays the stereotype that the Eastern World is full of myths and supernatural orient. In contrast to the Western world where science develops, the East held the feeling of tradition and ancient civilizations of over thousand years, where there are martial arts, cultural beliefs in spirits and the world, mysterious aura of the sceneries, and various ancient ruins. In the Ace of Spades, Scott is a young Asian boy who has the ability to see evidences of a murder case committed by a serial killer. On the other hand, Victor only believes in what he sees and only follows logic (not instincts) until he decides to trust Scott for once.

Here are some examples of Western films that portray this stereotype:

Tomb Raider

• An adventure in the ruins of an ancient Asian civilization with traps and labyrinths.
• words of wisdom from an Asian monk

Dr. Strange

• A white man journeys to the Eastern world and learns the secret of the Ancient One

Safe

• The Asian girl has the mental ability to remember a secret code and is the prime target of the antagonists

The Mummy - Tomb Of the Dragon Emperor

• The protagonists fight Chinese mummies, resurrected back to life
• Went to the mythical world of Shangri-La 

Another social portrayal that can be seen from the opening is of the representation of teenagers. Children at around this age (12-17) needs love and affection from others. In this case, Scott is neglected from the people around him due to his 'weird' powers and personality. At the same time, his guardian, Victor, is bias towards the side of his work, towards finding a job more than caring after him. This presents a current issue in today's society. Parents are more concerned about their finance that they do not spend enough time with their children. As a result, this could later on leads to juvenile delinquency when teenagers follow the wrong paths. 

Maybe... in an alternate universe, the nightmares are caused because of Scott's inner feeling of being tossed aside from the society, and not only because of his powers.

EVALUATION - Skills development

ABILITY CARD (/5)

I have improved a whole lot of my skills from this project. One of the biggest improvement I have is my responsibility. Because this is a project that requires evidences of the journey rather than the finished product, I taught myself to constantly keep track of all the things that I've done. I know well not to cram things at the end, and it does make my life easier considering the other course works I have at the same time. 

My camera work had also increased, since I have no one to rely on for the camerawork. I have to do researches of how to shoot photography in the dark and went around asking other people how to adjust things on my camera. My editing skills had also improved. I learnt a lot from watching tutorial videos on YouTube.

One of my highest improvements is the editing skills. I had some knowledge initially, but it had heightened by the time I finished my coursework. I found myself clicking on different effects and adjusting things quicker than before, that is, all of the things I've seen on the Internet, I remembered quite a few. The skill that I think improves the most is color-grading. At first, I had no idea that my color scheme is too bright and vibrant. The only thing I knew was : "Hey? I like colors, so why not?"

Finished coursework

There are two alternative finished version of my opening. The first one is made considering how my friends like it; plain, full of mysteries, no tense. The second one, however is made according to my parent's preference. They both like the last scene where Dan turns around to look at the crime board as it is more interesting and creates a more effective suspension before fading away.

                                          

(Alternative Version)

A Field Trip to the real filming session (6/2/2017)

I have the opportunity to go and find out for myself what it is like during a filming day. My brother has to act in a Television series, and this is the day they're planning to film on some of the scenes to his episodes.

My parents are not vacant to take him there and my grandmother requires company, therefore, the director said it was okay for me to be there with my brother instead.

The series is going to be released on the 5th of December, and photography of the actors in their costumes is strongly prohibited at the moment. However, I did took some photographs of the setting-up of the team around me and some equipment they used in filming.

("DO NOT take photographs of the actors in their Character costumes and post them on Social Media websites.")

We started the day off waking up at 4:00 am in the morning. Samut Prakan is a province southeast of Bangkok and close to the sea. It is quite far, and we need to pick my brother's modelling manager up along the way. It was still dark the moment we got there. Some of the crews had arrived. One of the staffs said that some of them arrived since 3:00 am to set up the place and make sure that all equipment are ready for action.

(Looking out from inside the car when we arrived - pitch black)

I was given a planning assessment sheet the crews had made in advance. It tells all the details of the scenes they were going to be filming today and the time they were going to do it. The Director's right hand man said that they'll try to make the processes as accurate as possible to prevent delays and the team's exhaustion, but there are no guarantee that they'll manage to film all the scenes they planned to take today.

(They even put in the temperature and the weather forecast)

(When it starts to get brighter)

(My brother before dressing up in costume)

                                          

(The camping area and the dressing room for the actors)

The director didn't allow me to follow them into the filming area, however, he did allow me to look at the shots through a monitor where some of the assistants had started to work on sample color grading. The actual filming setting, different from how I did my Media coursework, was consisted of big, big, light stands. There are many black screens too - to block out some of the light paths and to create a first hand cinematic light effect and in some cases, acts as a green screen.

The director was also very strict about the mise-en-scenes. My brother acts as a prince, therefore, he has to have his hair cut to look like the hairstyle in that period. At first, it wasn't much of a different, however, when the director saw it, he was furious. He said that the correct hairstyle to that period is not like that. By having a longer hairstyle, my brother's character indicates that he's already a grown man, and not a small child anymore. Until the age of 14, all children has to have their hair shaven except a small knot on his head. 

(A table with paper works - in case there's a change of plan/ scripts/ payment)

("Stay behind the camera")

(Trucks that carry light stands and equipment)

(Light - standby in case of a change)

(The director calls everyone (including the actors and actresses and the sponsor people) to look at how they act/look on camera on the monitor screen.)

Being with the production team, I got a free pass into the studio. The studio is actually a museum that keeps all the artificial version of the important architectures in Thailand called 'Meung Boran'. Here, archaeologists recreated once destroyed cities of the Siamese kingdoms and put them together in different zones and sections. The palaces, the scenes, temples, villages, all of these are rebuilt in this place. Therefore, it is a perfect location for a shoot out scene, since the Kingdom of Ayutthaya has been burnt to the ground hundreds of years ago. 

I took my grandmother on a bicycle and wheeled through the studio. It was not as hot in the morning, therefore, we traveled around the country in 80 minutes.

(somewhere in the studio, far away from the filming area)

Originally, there was another scene where my brother and his companion need to jump into the lake and emerged to the surface again as a grown version of himself (played by another professional actor). However, the lake is not very sanitary, and there was an alligator-sized monitor lizard (About a metre 50!) swimming in there. The local keepers said that there are a whole lot more under water, some even bigger than the one we saw. Therefore, the director made a change of mind and decided to film that scene somewhere else on another day.

(Very long tail!)

In conclusion, the day was nevertheless exhausting but worth it. I experienced the feeling of waking up at bizarre times in the morning and going back home late at night. The staffs were all very nice and friendly as they tell me all I want to know upon asking. The one thing that kind of scare me is the director. He was very strict with the crews, but very nice with children at the same time. One time we were sitting further away from the filming area and some of the staffs were laughing on a joke. He shouted 'QUIET!' so loud, all the way from the other side of the field, that we all just stunned.