Audience research analysis

In total 35 people filled out my questionnaire.  This is quite a large sample and will allow me to have a goo idea of what people in my target audience want to see within thrillers.

1)  How old are you?

The most common answer for this question was '16 and under' with 47.06% of people. However  '17-26' was the second most popular with 38.24%.  I feel I should of mad the first option' 15 and under', then the second '16-25'. This would be more relevant to my target audience as I feel the majority of the people who chose the first option were 16 as the questionnaire was on my social networking sites - and therefore many of my friends answered it. However the findings from this question show that the majority of people who filled in the questionnaire were my target audience and therefore the rest of the questions answers will be relevant to my thriller opening.

2) Which type of thriller do you most prefer?

The most common answer for this was psychological with 60% of people choosing it. This is relevant to our thriller opening as it is very complex and makes the audience have to think deeply about what is going on. However we also include a Gun scene which relates to the crime section, although it was only !! of the results, we still felt it would add a dramatic feel.

3) Do you like to be left with a plot twist?

Only 20% of the people who filled in my audience research thought that plot twists were not effective. This means that 28 people thought they were effective. Therefore our plot twist at the end of opening will be an effective tool for our target audience. This is due to it adding excitement and surprising the audience, therefore keeping them interested in the film.

4) What characters do you like to see in thrillers?

70.59% of people thought psychopaths were effective characters. We have chosen both Enzo and Freddie to be psychopaths, this is shown through their criminal actions (35.29% of people thought this was effective) and also Enzo's appearance and crazy personality.

5) Suspense is important in thrillers

85.72% of people chose one of the agree sections. This shows we should use lots of suspense in our thriller as it is effective for our target audience. We can achieve this with certain types of music such as ones including rising symphonic scores and large bass tones. We could also use fast paced editing.

6) How often do you watch movies?

The results from this showed that more people watched films every week, therefore they are clearly an important part of everyone's lives. Therefore openings are seen by people all the time, and are a huge influence

7) What type of music would you like to see in thrillers?

This was an open answer question and therefore I recieved a large range of suggestions. However there were some anomalous results (eg. webuyanycar.com) which I will not include in my analysis. The most common answer was classical (six people), this could be due to its large variety of keys and abilities to create suspense and tense moments (which one person suggested).  The answer i was most interested in was 'errie and heartbeats'. This is because I also find these effective. The heart beat over a certain scene, creates a feeling of danger and therefore raises the audiences heart rate as they become engaged. This will deffinetley be a type of sound I will use in my thriller opening.

8) What settings do you expect/want to see in thrillers?

The most popular answer for this was mental asylum (50%), I feel this would be an unrealistic location for us to set our thriller opening in. We do not have easy acces to a location like this, and therefore it is not a plausible location. However the second most popular was everyday settings (47.06%), this has influenced our film as all the settings are familiar to everyone. Firstly a teenage boys bedroom will be familiar to our target audience and will allow them to identify with Freddie as a teenager.

9) Do complex plots interest you?

80% of people said they liked complex plots. This has influenced our thriller opening as it is extremely complex and requires a lot of focus from the audience. Therefore if our target audiences are interested in complex plots, then our thriller opening with engage them.

10) What is your favourite thriller film?

Every answer for this question was different, this is due to the large variety of thriller films on the market. This proves that thriller films are extremely popular and there is somethinf for everyone!

Enzo Trial

During the Half Term we met up and had another longer trail to try and improve out makeup. We didnt only just do makeup, we also wanted to do Enzo's hair trail. Which we curled to make it look messy so it would look like Bellatrix Lestrange from Harry Potter.

 

Enzo's thrid trial

This is our third trail for the make up, that one of our characters will be wearing. Enzo is the character that will be wearing it. We still want to improve in areas.

Previous Student Work

Anonymous: By Jasmine Pickwick, Jazz Bullen, Nikki Willterton.
http://productionsbypbn.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/our-thriller-film-anonymous.html

Narrative:

The narrative here is the guy who is stalking the girl, the first we hear him is when he talks about how he saw the girl at the ruins, he's paranoid she was going to meet someone else and says "you're mine, you belong to me", which quickly tells us a lot about him and what he's trying to achieve and starts off the thrill of the film. Later on as he gets spotted by the girl and hit, it cuts to him burning his photo collection he took of her walking and he questions "is love really important". This makes us think here, do we feel pity for him or are we suppose to think he's a complete creep, was the girl not giving him a chance?

Sound:

The sound used throughout is very effective and sets the atmosphere as it shows us the creepy stalker and the photos he has taken of her. It's very slow and dark. As we see the girl as he is following her the music turns mysterious and we wonder what will he do now? what happens if she sees him? Then when it goes to the next day and he's following her again the music suddenly turns tense and we now something is bound to happen and the suspense rises when she starts running away from him, as she stops to hit him its gets very high pitched as something finally happened like we suspected. The music here is a little too stereotypical although still effective.

Camera Work:

The first thing we see is a shot of the boy walking into his room and place another photo on his bulletin board with his collection and then an over the shoulder shot so we get a good close up of what's on the board. Next we see a close up of his face, although not full clear because of the dark lighting which is very clever as we instantly know this is the antagonist of the movie. The most effective and rememberable shot for me was when the camera zooms into a photo of the girl walking and then it fades into a shot of the girl walking just like in the photo which was probably the best part. The rest is filled with lots of close ups and far away shots to see what is going on and to see the detail of important bits too.

Mise-en-Scene:

Firstly the costumes here really create the character's personality's as the antagonist is wearing all black and his hoodie over his head to create the mysterious, creepy feel whereas the girl is wearing the opposite. Lots of bright colours and prints to show the clear difference and maybe the innocence of her character compared to the boy. The setting of the room is dark, small and creepy whenever we see the boy, however when we see the girl the setting is outside and a lot brighter. There is not much props except for the boys photos and lighter when he burns them and his camera to take the photos.

Editing:

The editing here is very clean cut and well done which shows they worked hard and were good at using Final Cut Pro. The best part of the editing is the scene where it cuts from a close up of a photo of the girl to the girl walking on the street. The title at the end is very simple as it shows the title Anonymous in black and white and nothing else.

Deadline by Carla-Rose Smith and Ruby Gibson.

 http://www.coobee16.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/final-of-our-video.html

Narrative:

We see the dad who is the main character of this movie in bed peacefully sleeping, until he wakes up to realise he's home alone and sees a note to read that his children have been taken and he has a deadline to get them back. He has no dialogue within this but instead we hear his thoughts out loud to know how he's feeling and what's running through his mind.

Sound:

The movie starts off with no music whatsoever, leaving audience clueless to what the atmosphere is and if something bad is going to happen or not. We only hear diegetic sounds that are within the movie so far like the dad running. It's not until the we see a close up of the note left on his kitchen table do we hear music play, that is very low yet tense and speeds up which indicates the time that he is running out of. It's suddenly quite as we see the kidnapper about to kill his children and it's too late for the dad, and then when the title appears of the name the music is tense and fits in the with the theme perfectly.

Camera Work:

The camera work here is very simplistic with lots of different types of shots. The most effective part was when we see a shot of the dad pick up the note on the table and a close up of him reading, yet we cannot see what it says yet, then it cuts to him running and dropping the note and the audience is clueless until it cuts to the note on the floor. The note reading 'park house barn 10:00am or your kids will die'.

Mise-En-Scene:

Costumes are simple, and not really the main focus here as the dad is just in his pyjamas and the again the antagonist in all black. The setting is simple too in a house and then also a creepy dark barn which is great for what's happening inside and the purpose of it. Only props we see hear are the note, the dads car and the murderers bat.

Editing:

Again, editing very simple yet still effective. There's a lot of cutting to different scenes and a wide range of different shots. The beginning was clever as it starts off blurry then clears, just like a persons vision when they first wake up in the morning.

Behind the Net Curtains by Caroline Louise Autey, Eleanor Rose Brown, Jack Marcham.
 http://backdoor-productions.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Film%20Opening

Narrative:
In this 2 min clip we see a normal everyday Nan doing her usual routine which takes a turn for the worst as she gets a knock on her bedroom door and is pushed down her stairs and left alone, as we only see the feet and a brief clip of the murderer walk past the window.
Sound:
The sound isn't too complicated, very simple with the same continuous song over a woman singing low key throughout. The beat does some to sound a little loud as the action begins and then soften again as she has fallen down and her vision is all blurry.

Camera Work:

Camera work includes plenty of close ups of food, her hands and mouth, only once do we see her full face.
Then a good shot of the Nan at the bottom of the stairs and slowly lifts up to reveal the murderer at the top of the stairs.

Mise-en-Scene:
Costumes appear to be the Nan's everyday wear and simplistic with just black and white colours. The antagonist we see is wearing black boots and jeans, nothing else as we dont see all of them. Setting and location are just in one ordinary house. We don't really see props, just a lot of food, old photographs of the Nan and her husband, her lipstick.

Editing:

Everything we see is quite slow paced here, until it picks up as the Nan looks out the window, feels unsafe and walks up the stairs. Nothing too unique except a good shot of when she falls down the steps and we see the camera go down and the screen go all blurry just like her vision would which was cleverly portrayed. 

Story Board

1. Our first scene consists of Freddie and Enzo discussing the stolen items that are in the room. The caseworker enters and is confused who Freddie is talking to - this is the first indication that Freddie is imaginary. Freddie will be wearing a mixture of black and white to show his contrast in personality and to make it unclear whether he is good or bad. Enzo will be in all black with freaky make-up and messy hair to imply her insanity and how she is an imagination.
2. He then goes to meet his friends and there is a clear divide within the group. Friend 1 and two (wearing pink and white to show their innocence) are supportive, where as friend 3 and 4 (in black) don't like Freddie very much.
3. The scene featuring the explosion will clearly show how much of a bad influence Enzo is on Freddie, and also her insanity.
4. We have used a phone as a prop as it relates to our target audience and is an item everyone will be familiar with.
5. The scene in friend 1's house is demonstrating how they want to help him (friend one and two)
6. The last night scene is when Freddie finally reaches his breaking point
7. The plot twist at the end will confuse the audience (as thrillers do) and lead to them thinking that Enzo was real all along as she has the gun.

Mise en scene

Mise en Scene.

 

Mise-en-Scene is a French word that means 'to put in the scene'. Everything that the audience can see on the screen is a part of Mise en scene.

Mise en scene plays  massive role in film because it has so many branches. These branches contain; costume, location, setting, scenery, props, lighting, actors, framing. These are all very important in films because it helps the audience understand and see what kind of atmosphere it is.

 

Costume: What a character wears is very important. It has a massive influence on how the audience will interpret the character. For example, someone wearing dark clothing would be seen as a bad character as darkness and  black are associated with evil whereas a character wearing bright or white would be seen as good because white is associated with innocence. For our movie we have decided to put all our bad characters in dark colours and all our good characters in bright colours for this very reason.

 

Bad

 

Good

 

 

Location: The location is the place in which the action takes place. It can be anywhere around the world. It can either be in a natural environment or in a studio. Natural environments are better because it gives it more of a real feel however, studios can be better because the director can have everything how he/she wants. We have decided to film ours in natural environments so it is easier to relate to.

 

 

Settings and scenery: The setting is very important. It helps the audience identify the genre and atmosphere. Scenery is also important because set dressing can make a scene look a particular way. We have set ours mostly in a forest which is very stereotypically freaky and uneasy.

 

Props: Props are vey useful in films because it adds a certain look to a character depending on what the prop is. For example someone holding a teddy is going to look much more innocent than someone holding a knife. We have a scene where out antagonist has a gun. This obviously shows them as bad.

 

Lighting: lighting is key in films - especially in thrillers. The lighting on a scene can manipulate the whole thing into looking something different. We are going to film in slight dark and then we are going to edit it all to be darker. This will give a mysterious effect.

 

 

Actors: casting the right actor for their part is crucial, not just for their acting ability, but also for the 'look' they bring to the character. I have the darkest hair and the least innocent looking face in the group so we decided it would be best if I was the antagonist.

 

Framing: The positioning of actors and props within the setting is important so that the camera picks up exactly what is needed to get meaning across to the audience. We have decided that in most of the shots the antagonists will b trailing behind being sneaky.

Thriller Survey

I have decided to do some Thriller research and have proudced a Survey and i've posted the links on Twitter and Facebook so i can get many different reposnses back.



Also please if you have any spare time, could you fill in my Survey?

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/BH2GP3M

Past student work - Outspoken

I liked this opening as it was effective in creating mystery and intriguing the audience. However I feel it was not as successful as other past student work i have seen. This is down to the very long title sequence which led to the actual opening being very short. There were also some continuity errors. On the other hand it did follow many thriller conventions such as crime, power and mystery.

Narrative

      You see a flash forward of a woman killing a man, we can tell this is a flash forward because the scene then rewinds back to two people in a bed. We see close ups of needles then heard the phone ring, the man answers it and has to go to 'warehouse 12' at '1900'

Camera shots

  Over the shoulder of the woman in fur coat and the man, it shows he is intimidated by her and therefore shows who has the power

 Close up of the drugs/needles - indicates danger and that the woman may not really be asleep, but instead dead. This is also crime and therefore a common convention of thriller films

Close up of the location/address - shows it will be important later on and seems very suspicious as little information is given about it

 Mid shot of her holding the gun - makes it clear she is an antagonist and is killing someone. This is another convention of thriller films

Sound
Exaggerated gun shot (added post filming) - This makes the audience jump even though they expect it to come, and therefore this adds tension and keeps the audience engaged

Sonically exaggerated phone ringing - makes it seem like its from the perspective of the two people as it is very loud, and that's how sounds feel if you are woken up by them; the phone ringing therefore makes it more realistic. Also shows that it is very important

Diegetic speech - Gives the audience information about whats going on, but not enough so the audience will still be confused.

Editing

The effect where the woman is a sepia effect but her lips are orange - this attracts attention to her lips

The rewind from the killing to the bed scene makes it obvious that the scene was a prologue. This then indicates to the audience that they during the film will find out how and why that situation occurred.

Cross cutting between the phone conversation creates a clear link, but also does not tell us much about the man who initially rings.This creates mystery as the neither the man or the audience know who he is or what he wants. This therefore keeps the audience engaged as they wish to find out what he wants.

Mise en scene
The woman is wearing a fur coat - this is a sign of wealth and therefore power. Females are not usually power rules within thrillers so this is an example of variation used to attract a female audience. However she turns out to be an antagonist so may not actually appeal to women.

Drugs have been used in this opening to indicate that the two characters are not good, however we sympathize with the man when he is killed and therefore we become unsure if they are good or bad. This is common of thriller films as it creates a complex plot.

A gun has been used as a murder weapon, this is also another common feature in thriller films and indicates crime.

The First draft of our storyboard

This is a very rough first draft of our story board. We have done this very rough as we were trying to get an initial idea of our scene outlines. We achieved this and will next develop a more detailed storyboard. 

Media social classes and Target audience grouping system (TAGS)

In our lesson we used a mixture of media social classes and TAGS to group the characters from the Simpsons. We did this to make it clear who our target audience is and what their interests/dislikes are. Our target audience will fit into 'The Young Hopefuls' which are from 15-24 and make up 19% of the population.

Shot list

Scene one - bedroom

1) Over the shoulder (OTS) of Freddie talking

2) OTS of Enzo talking

3) OTS of Freddie talking

4) Mid shot of Freddie pulling a box out

5) Close up/ Point of view (POV) of stolen items

6) Long shot of knocking at door

7) Mid shot of Freddie hiding box

8) Mid shot of care worker (CW) talking

9) Mid shot of Freddie and and CW talking - until CW leaves

10) Close up of Enzo saying 'lets go'

Scene two - Train station/park

1) Wide shot of Freddie and Enzo walking along the path

2) Close-up of Freddie with Enzo behind

3) Wide shot from behind of Enzo and Freddie - You also see the friends in the distance by the train station

4) High angle of conversation between the group 

5) Close up of the friends annoyed/confused

6) POV from Freddie of Enzo saying about their plans

7) High angle until Freddie says 'me and Enzo'

8) Close up of Freddie confused 

9) Close up of Friend 2 'shut up thats fine'

10) OTS of Enzo and Freddie

11) POV from friends (you can't see Enzo) - carries on as they walk away

12) Close up of friends confused

13) Mid shot until the scene ends

Scene three - bedroom

1) mid shot of Enzo talking
2) mind shot of Freddie talking
'shot reverse shot conversation'

1) Close up of phone

2) POV from Enzo of Freddie on the phone

CROSS CUT 

3) Close up of Freddie talking to friend over the phone

CROSS CUT

4) Mid shot friend talking back to Freddie over the phone

CROSS CUT

7) mid shot of friend 3 not wanting Freddie there

8) mid shot of friend 1 saying they want him there

time passing

8) Long shot of door when its being knocked

9) Long shot friend 3 walking away

10) Mid shot of Friend 2 opening door 

11) OTS behind Freddie when door is opened till "can we talk"

12) Close up of Freddie's feet walking in (Mud)

13) Mid Shot of walking into rooms

20) Long shot of sofa

14) Wide shot of room with the friends sitting down until *Freddie gets up and runs out*

15) Close up on Friend 1 

Scene Four -  Field

1) Wide shot of the location

2) Varied shots of Freddie going insane (e.g. Long shots, Close up's, Mid shots and POV)

3) Mid shot of Enzo and Freddie meeting

4) POV from Enzo walking 

5) Mid shot of Enzo talking

7) close up of Enzo saying "get rid of them"

8) Mid shot of Freddie stepping back

9) Close up on Freddie being distressed 

10) POV from Freddie looking down at his pocket 

11) Mid shot of Freddie and Friends

12) Mid shot of Freddie shouting till "No shut up'

13) Close up of Freddie on trigger

14) Close up of his eyes

15) Close up down the gun

16) Black screen when gun goes off ( pause 3 seconds)

17) Birds eye view of Freddie on ground

18) Pan up to Enzo 

19) Long shot of Enzo with the gun

Past Student Work

The Witness From Lew Parker

Narrative

This has been the best opening that i have seen out of all them as its very effective and draws the audience in.     We see a lot happening in the opening in a short space of time. We witness firstly a guy driving past some people in his car. We then can tell its about a guy telling the story of him witnessing the man getting beaten up by these people in a mask. Using this male teenage character will draw in a big target audience as people will be able to identify themselves and connect with him. However we don't witness any female characters in this opening.

Sound

During this opening we hear many different background sounds that build up suspense and a lot of tension for the audience. We firstly hear this high pitched squealing sound that makes us very uncomfortable throughout. However we only seem to hear this sound during the scenes while the beating is going on.

 We then witness a non-digetic heart beat which comes in which we are at the high point of tension because the guy is running away. This gets the audience painted as we are connected to this character and don't want him getting hurt as we feel he is a protagonist.

Camerawork

We see a vary of camerawork taking place in this opening. The first, I spotted was the POV which is a key convention in a thriller because it shows us what the character is seeing and we feel apart of him. We see this when the boy is running and the heart beat is playing. 

We also see Close ups being used and this is to show us the facial expression of the characters. However during the conversation between the guy and his friend we see him struggling to get it out therefore we get to see his expression which helps us figure out whats going on.

We then see a mid shot being used of the gang beating the guy and kicking him to the floor. This shows us the relationship between the characters, however we see this isn't a nice relationship between the characters therefore we are on edge all the time.

Mise En Scene

During the opening we see that the mask is a key part of the costume for the gang, and we see this by never seeing their faces which creates mystery. Also from them wearing black also helps us tell that they are the Antagonists.

On the other hand we see this other guy in normal teenage everyday clothing which helps us figure out he is the protagonist. Also because he is wearing teenage clothing, the teens can relate to him more and therefore feel like it could happen to anyone which makes it more realistic.

    

Editing

Editing plays a huge part in this opening as we see a blurry effect over the top. This helps the audience figure out that it has happened in the past and its a memory, that he is telling someone else. Therefore the audience don't feel that confusion as much. We also feel tension because it is in the past however we still see that he could be targeted. This is also in slow pace as its a memory that he is telling however when he is running the pace picks up and this is where we feel the highest tension.