9 PANICHPHAKDI Tara 3335

The Jar.
Evaluation
By Tara Panichphakdi
Media conventions
‘The Blair witch project’ trade
marked its shaky, handle
documentary style which depicted
realism. When released in 1999 it
caused controversy as many
believed it was true. it is the story
of 3 student film makers which go
missing.
The actors in ‘Blair witch’ improvised

all of their scenes which intensified
the horror and gave a stronger sense
of reality. In this scene Heather
breaks down on camera, she is
filming herself and her guarded
exterior finally comes down. Similarly,
all our actors improvised. However
we did have a brief idea of what
would happen in each scene.
Media conventions
• ‘Sin city’s’ graphic novel adaptation that still
relies largely on the same contemporary
aesthetic that frank miller uses. Frank miller
collaborated with Rodriguez , perhaps this is
why ‘sin city’ remains true to its comic book
form.
• ‘Sin city’ is set against a mainly, gritty black
and white back drop, where there are
occasional splashes of characters.
• ‘The Jar’ mimics this style. It is black and
white with a few key splashes of red, which
we choose for its many connotative
meanings e.g. violence and lust. However,
our back ground is reflective of our villains
darkness. The key splashes of red which
instantly updates our film and makes it
appear more modern, it is also symbolic of
the violence that follows him and taints
world.
Media conventions
• we attempted to keep our killers
identity ambiguous drawing on a
typical horror convention.
• However, we did not use a mask

but rather used extreme close ups
that focused on one feature of the
killers face e.g his mouth and
eyes.
Media conventions
• Independent films have been largely inspirational and has influenced much of our technique and
ideals. We wanted our film to retain much of the low budget quality and quirk of independent
cinema . We felt it was important that our storyline was individual yet realistic so we based our
film around a true story of a cannibalistic killer.
• We wanted the keep the realistic, anti Hollywood feel so avoided the more polished look and
opted for the more obtainable documentary, style of Blair witch. This adds to the atmosphere of
the film and creates tension whilst juxtaposing black and white with red, the film will be in black
and white with some key splashes of red. Two opposite styles of film are also contrasted, the
polished mainstream appeal of ‘sin city’ with the typically indie Blair witch.
• Our films aesthetic which mimics both the documentary style of ‘Blair Witch’ and the more
contemporary ‘Sin City’, updates the film and makes it more relevant.
• Our film toys with the more stereotypical horror conventions. the one in the ‘predatory’ position is
male, this reflects the power dynamic within our own society and shows that patriarchy is very
much at large.
• Although our film depicts violent images, we show that the killer has a purpose that he thinks
condones his actions. Unlike the ‘horror porn’ genre our film is not violent for the sake of being
violent.
Social Groups
• We attempted to make a rather generic idea ‘the cannibalistic killer’ more contemporary by
changing the aesthetic and giving him a more humane feel, by showing his struggle with mental
illness. He is a escaped war veteran that has a tainted religious view that he believes condones
his killing. During war he was damaged by the inhumanity of his own actions and believes in
order to become ‘pure’ again he must kill and eat the of the innocent, from the religious
perceptive the innocent and untouched are virgins.
• Patriarchy is shown in the power dynamic between the killer and his young victim. Our film
reflects the power dynamic in society. The young girl is in a subordinate position, whilst the older
male is in the ‘predatory’ position.
• We attempt to draw on modern cultural fears, innocence is threatened and shown as the generic
blonde, who is young and typically pretty. It is likely that the film would be an 18 rating, so it
would be specifically threatening to an older audience that would think of relatives and of
children, triggering a particularly emotive response.
Distribution
• ‘lion’s gate’ distributes highly controversial, low budget horrors and thrillers such as ‘Hard
Candy‘, in which the difficult subject of paedophilia was shown on screen.
• It would be a largely low budget and independent production similar to Blair Witch which was
made for $25000 and made $248 million world wide. It would also be distributed in some film
festivals, perhaps like ‘Sundance’ that also screened ‘Blair witch’.
• Our film would probably be given a 18 rating for its violence. However like during our opening
most of the violence is implied for instance when the killer wipes his mouth with his blood stained
hands, cannibalism is only implied. However, the shots of the organs are explicit.
Marketing and our target audience
• The audience for our film would be 18+. Our film would attract an audience in their early 20’s
because of its explicit violence.
• Our film may attract an older audience of 30+ as our film is based on true story which may give it
more credibility.
• An older may attend more films festival in which where our film would be advertised.
• We would market ‘The Jar’ using its ambiguous title to intrigue our audience. We would give away
little information about the plot for shock effect.
• As mention before, we would try and yet our film screened at renowned film festivals like ’Cannes’
or ‘Sundance’. We would attempt to build our reputation on word of mouth for example ‘Juno’ and
rely on good reviews to attract our audience.
• Before our final cut we would have a free screening to test the audiences reaction and try to see
what images or scenes they find the most memorable and use them for trailers and advertising.
• We would emphasise the back story of the killer (his life in china and his struggle with his mental
illness) to highlight that our film is not ‘horror porn’.
What we learnt about technology
• I have learnt about using and experimenting with the camera. We all experimented with the shots
to create our documentary- like style. We learnt not to rigidly follow the conventions of filming and
create our own style.
• We learnt that the role of the director can be shared amongst the group, so everyone can have
there creative input. Everyone learnt about how to use the camera and had an equal role in
constructing our film. Also, having a different person directing each scene meant that our filming
was efficient and we finished in two days.
• I learnt about editing and adjusting the color schemes on the Mac’s.
• I also learnt to use the equipment. I also learnt that you should always carry the Tripod in a
protective case- it is very fragile.
Our preliminary task
• I learnt how to use all the equipment for the first time (such as the camera) which meant our
filming day was more efficient and we could spend more time on shooting.
• We learnt the different techniques involved in editing, which we found very helpful and allowed us
to become confident when editing our film- we were able to experiment with different techniques.
• It was our first time working as a group, we learnt who best at what. From this we deiced that we
all should edit, as we are all quite creative and we wanted our film to convey this.

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The Jar.

The actors in ‘Blair witch’ improvised

• However, we did not use a mask

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