Audience Feedback

My group presented our ideas so far for our opening to a group of people who we perceive would be in either our primary or secondary audience (females 15-24, males 15-24), and asked them to give feedback.

Many people, both male and female, liked the idea of going against typical thriller stereotypes by having having a female protagonist, antagonist, AND victim. Using similar graphics to Se7en was also a highly popular idea, as was the use of a handheld camera. However, although using diegetic sound was praised, it was suggested that we use non-diegetic sound together with diegetic sound to create a creepier effect. Our group has decided to follow this advice, so although diegetic sound will be an important part of our piece, non-diegetic sound will also play an important part.

Our audience seemed to understand the plot of our film and opening, so it must be comprehensible for them, although some were confused as to whether it would be a mainstream or independent release. I think this partly comes from the fact that our group hadn't really discussed this ourselves, but once we did, we decided it would be a mainstream release.

So far, our opening seems to appeal to our target audience, so, after making a couple of tweaks, we feel more confident about going ahead with creating our opening. We will try out a test screening when we've created our opening with more people from our target audience to check we're making the right choices, and change anything we feel needs changing once we've received their feedback.

Due to the positive attitude we received, it seems we've correctly judged our audience. This will help us to make our film seem as attractive as possible to them. We know that this age group tend to spend more time than other age groups at the cinema, so cinema posters and trailers are a good way to start. However, we need to make sure we pick out elements that will not make these biased towards one particular gender. For instance, in the posters for the film 4.3.2.1. , the females were made out to be sex objects, which made the film less attractive to females. We don't want to make the same mistake. We also know that this age group (females in particular) tend to be very active online, especially on social networking sites such as Facebook and Myspace. It would be sensible to create pages on these sites (and other similar sites) in order to promote our film. As for tv adverts, we should target these at certain shows that are popular with this age group. This includes reality tv shows (e.g. The Only Way Is Essex), talent shows (e.g. The X Factor), teen dramas (e.g. Skins), and some comedy programs that tend to attract the younger audience (e.g. Family Guy, Mock The Week). Considering the genre of our film, it may also be a good idea to advertise during similar themed tv shows (e.g. Dexter, Prison Break) in order to appeal to people who particularly like this genre of film.

Screenshot Inspirations

Here are screenshots from films which have inspired elements of our film:

Representation



This film inspired us because it uses a female protagonist which breaks the stereotype of thriller films. We are going to have a female victim, protagonist and antagonist, which completely breaks the typical representation of females in thriller films.

Titles and Graphics




We liked this font because it has a creepy effect and sets the mood for a thriller film. We decided this type of font would fit in well with our film because we want it to jump around the screen and put the audience on edge. Our title also has numbers (443336) and we like the way the number has been incorporated into the title.

Camerawork



Extreme close ups allow the audience to see certain, important details, but leaves out other potentially important details, leaving a mystery around the scene. We plan to use these in our opening scene on the mobile phone, so you can clearly see the number 443336, but not much else.



Establishing shots will also be used to show the setting. This is important as we intend the victim in the opening sequence to move from and open space to a more closed in space, and we want to clearly show this change in scenery in order to build suspense.



Fish Tank uses a handheld camera in the opening scene, which gives it a "real" sense. We want to include an element of social realism in our film, so we intend to use a handheld camera to capture this.

Sound



We intend to use purely diegetic sound, like in Scream, as this 1. gives it a sense of realism, and 2. builds suspense as we can clearly hear the diegetic sounds. The scream we will use at the end of the opening sequence is the most important of these.

Mise en Scene



The mobile phone in our piece will create an enigma code via the number you can see on it. What does the number mean? Who is it who's texting the victim? These are the questions we want our audience to ask.



We will use plenty of low key lighting in our opening sequence, which is highly typical of all thrillers, as we tend to be more scared of the dark and we can't see things quite as clearly.



Continuing the element of social realism we want to include, we will use urban clothing for the costumes of our characters. This is typical costume for social realist films, especially for the age range of our cast and audience, teenagers and young adults.

Editing



We will use continuity editing in our opening, like in Fish Tank, to help the element of social realism we want, and to show the run up the the victim's death clearly.

Conventions Of A Thriller

For our coursework, our group has decided to make a thriller film. In order to do this, I've researched screenshots from famous thriller films to find the conventions of them.

Inception



The gun gives a sense of danger, as it could result in somebody being killed.

It looks as though a chair/stool has been thrown into the bath in the background, suggesting there’s been a lot of movement (most likely violence) prior to this screenshot.

The lighting is natural, and as it’s filmed inside, this makes it look quite dark for the daytime.

Psycho



The woman is naked, and this makes her appear more vulnerable.

Her screaming face also shows the audience that she’s feeling scared and vulnerable.

In the background, you can see the shadow of a raised hand, which gives the impression of somebody about to stab her, but it’s more of a mystery as you can’t see the real hand.

The Silence Of The Lambs



Contrary to the previous slide, this woman is shown using a high-angle shot, making her look more powerful (which is also unusual in thriller films).

Again, there is a gun involved, which immediately adds a sense of danger.

There is only low-key lighting, which makes it seem more dangerous as you’re less able to see everything that’s going on.

Se7en




The lighting in this screenshot is even more low-key, again making the situation seem more dangerous.

The man on the right has a red stain on his tee shirt, which suggests that someone has been injured badly.

There are three people watching the two men in the background, which gives the impression that they’re always being watched.

Fight Club



Who wrote the writing in the background, and why? This is an example of the enigma code.

The man is looking at something out of shot, but the audience can’t see what. This is an example of the action code.

The lighting is again low-key.

Jaws



The mast has fallen over, leaving the man hanging dangerously over the sea.

There’s a shark’s fin in the background, which also adds to the sense of danger, although it’s not as obvious as the mast.

Yet again, there is an example of guns being used.

Die Hard



The lighting is very low key once again, meaning the audience can’t see the details as clearly.

Again, there is a gun involved, adding the element of danger.

The man is holding the gun and the woman is at the other end of it, making her the victim, typical in thriller films.

Sin City



Although there is no gun in this screenshot, there is a knife, another type of weapon, so the danger is still there.

Yet again, the lighting is very low key.

However, the woman seems to have more power as she is bearing the weapon in this case.

Pulp Fiction



The blood stains on the man on the right’s shirt are a very obvious sign that violence has been going on.

The two men are blocked closely together, making them appear stronger.

They are also both wearing suits, making them appear authoritative, and therefore more powerful.

Conventions Of A Thriller

For our coursework, our group has decided to make a thriller film. In order to do this, I've researched screenshots from famous thriller films to find the conventions of them. This slideshow shows my findings: