Pliminary Target Audience Interview (1 of 2)

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Interviewing people who are my target audience, asking questions which will help me understand the mind frame of my audience and appreciate what they want in a thriller film. Therefore I have selected 2 people; one male and one female who I believe have great interest in thriller films to ask them questions to help me understand in more depth the expectations of my audience.


Questions:

1. What is your favourite sub-genre of a thriller? Why?

I prefer action genre because it’s more attention-grabbing, unlike a horror thriller most of the action thriller films are new and unique where as horror thriller are mostly cliché. I also like psychological thrillers because they are twisted and get you thinking about the plot of the film which makes it fascinating to watch. Lastly I like crime thrillers which are normally combined with the action thriller.

2. What do you look for in a thriller? Why?

I love having explosions a bloody scene in the film as it makes it so much more thrilling, and also I prefer scenarios where there’s a lot of conflict and fighting going on.

3. Do you prefer a male or female as the main role of the film? Why?

I prefer a male as the main character because it makes more sense to have a male character in an action thriller. Also female characters are normally in horror thrillers because of their reputation in being weak and scared therefore I prefer a male character to play the action/crime thriller to make it more believable that they are capable of such violence.

4. How do you prefer a thriller film to end? Why?

I’d like to see the film ending in a twist like psychological thrillers which play with the audience’s expectations and finish the film not in a way you would expect.

5. Do you prefer the bad guy to win or the good guy? Why?

I’d love to see the bad guy win for once because as always it’s the main character who stays alive and kills all the villains therefore I would much prefer it if the director played with that point of view and created something different such as the villains wining.

6. Do you prefer a strong and independent character or a weak and dependent character?

It depends on the type of the film really, in a horror thriller I’d rather see a weak and dependent character to play the role as it makes the film scarier, however in a crime thriller for example id more favour a strong and independent character to play the role as it suits that genre.

7. What’s the most important thing in a thriller film? Why?

The most important thing in a thriller for me is the plot of the film and the enigma as it draws you in, wanting to watch the rest of the film. However all the other aspects of the film matter too as they all play a role in making the film amazing such as the soundtracks and also the mise-en-scene.


8. Do props and clothing make a different?

I don’t necessarily pay attention to props and clothing in an action film unless there is for a purpose, to show the audience a hidden meaning therefore I don’t believe that they have great influence on me.

9. Do soundtracks and lighting make a difference?

However I do believe soundtracks and lighting do play an important role in the film because the music is what gets you heart pumping and gives you that adrenalin and the lighting is what creates the mise-en-scene.

10. Would you see a big company made thriller or a simple thriller film small company made thriller?

The company producing it doesn’t make a difference as long as the plot and the characters of the movie are good then I’m satisfied.

11. What is your favourite thriller film? Tell me a bit about it?

Prestige it’s about 2 male characters that do magic and are close friends however over some conflict separate and lead their own lives, and through out the film they have fights to prove their superior. Long story short one of the characters had a twin brother and there was a whole load of thrilling scenes.

12. What was the last thriller film you watched? Was it good? Why?

Sherlock Holmes and it was great it had a lot of action and amazing scenes.

Sound track of screaming woman

In our film we needed a woman screaming and so we listened to may sounds of woman screaming to get the effect we was looking for...


http://www.mediafire.com/?h0dkgl2kmqo

http://www.mediafire.com/?jjty1zz0lyy

We then decided to use this one...

http://www.mediafire.com/?zzydyinm2tn

Opening sequence and Synopsis to my film

Opening sequence to my thriller film

The location of the film is in a room similar to a shed which is very dark and there is a red light on as if it’s a dark room. The room is covered with pictures that are black and white but also pictures that are coloured as if it’s ripped out of and album as they are torn and stuck together as a collage. The room has a couple of props such a broken mirror that is old and murky but more importantly there are blades and knives covered in blood. A woman introduced with long black wavy hair with bright blue eyes dressed in a long dress that looks very old fashioned and also stained as if she hasn’t changed her dress for a while and her arms are all covered in scratches as if she has self harmed. She is dancing around in a peaceful manner however her movements are exaggerated and she is seemed to be hysterical and hallucinating. The sound she is moving to is bang bang which is a diegetic sound as she is reacting to the music, for example the bit where the song sings “my baby shot me down” she makes her fingers into a gun points at the photographs and whispers bang.

The synopsis to my thriller film

A young women has it all, she’s beautiful and elegant and very wealthy. She meets this great guy and from then on her life cannot be anymore perfect until she gets dragged into his personality. He has such power over her she doesn’t see her life is slowly getting ruined. She gets into situations and deals with people she has never thought of in her life and because these events are happening so calmly and beside the man she loves, she doesn’t realise the destruction. One day she wakes up and realises everything she had has burned to ashes and gets to the scene I have described in the opening sequence.

Evaluation

The use of the forest and a young women running suggests it’s a horror movie and most of the time the audience prefer a women screaming because it’s more high-pitched which could be seen to make the scene more scary for the viewers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oB55bv4B8LQ

The Village 2004 , is an exampleof a film which is composed ,almost entirely of people being scared ...by Things....bad, bad, things..IN THE FOREST. THERE IS A GREAT TWIST AT THE END!

1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products

The camera shots that we used were point of view shots, over the shoulder shots, close- ups, establishing shots and tracking shots. So sometimes we could be looking through the chaser’s eyes or the chased which adds real thrills down people’s backs, which is typical of thrillers to do this.

The forest is a major part of the mise-en-scene. The main character of the film dresses well and her hair is well done giving the audience the impression that she is wealthy and well educated.

Whilst making the opening sequence we researched on varies of sounds that would go with the sequence and preferably diegetic sounds of the forest which reflects on its location. Not only that but the screaming throughout the opening sequence is also used to cause a thrill to the opening sequence. Using diegtic sounds can give it a thrill to the film.

In oppose to diegetic sounds, we have also used non diegtic in the opening sequence which causes suspense and tension which keeps the audience and keeps the audience at the edge of their seats.

The sounds we used were natural sounds of owls, the wind blowing against the trees, all typical for a thriller, especially a horror-thriller. The light from the sun with the forest creating shadows creates enigma and scares the audience. These are all typical aspects of a thriller.

In some horror movies have a forest involved the impact on the characters which are similar as they are more vulnerable and alone since they are no contact which makes the thriller terrifying and brings out their true character as a person which is unexpected since at the beginning of the sequence the woman is reflected as a strong character who is controlling and bossy.
Our sequence follows most of the conventional thriller as in the beginning of the movie, our character is a young and powerful business women who is in her comfort zone but her world is turned completely upside-down when she becomes a young, vulnerable person who is uncomfortable, and I have seen many movies which are like this.

2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Discusing social groups, i believe our sequence is influenced particularly to young adults since young adults do like to watch films that involve power and control as well as watching something that causes suspense to the sequence. In some horror films men are often more dominant than women since they lead whereas in the making of our thriller women are labelled as being more dominant than men since she fired a man employee over the phone which gives it a twist to the opening sequence. Not only that but this gives the audience the impression that she is in control and is stronger than men which changes throughout the sequence. This changes when she is being chased through the forest and shows her vulnerable side and the sound of her screaming backs this up.

Having created the sequence this gives the impression that the main character is an upper class who runs her own business and has control over her employees which sends Gives the audience the impression that she is used to getting what she wants – upper class – selfish, arrogant and rude. Having representing her characteristics this could give the audience the impression that someone would want to harm her.

3. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product, and why?

In my point of view, the opening sequence could be an independent or arthouse film company production with a more limited theatrical release since the plot of the opening sequence gives a good thrill as well as a good warning to girls/women since they are easy targets and gives a good example of reality.

4. Who would be the audience for your film?

The main audience is for teenagers and young adults. The reason why teenagers are allowed to watch are film is because there is not a lot of blood it is more psychological.

5. How did you attract / address your audience?

My audience is made up of young adults. Young adults would like to have a good job or run a business. Young people respect power and control. This film shows a business woman who has power. She is dominant, just like Deborah Meaden from Dragon's Den (below).

The actress is wearing a business suit so can be seen to 'power dress'. The businesswoman is seen as powerful when she is firing an employee on the phone. She is also smoking and showing defiance as nowadays people are generally against smoking. This rebellion would also appeal to modern teenagers. The business woman is using the latest mobile phone, something that young people would recognise and want to own themselves, showing wealth.

The message of the story is that wealth and power should not be abused. The business woman is shown initially as dominant but later on as vulnerable. When she is vulnerable, something she is not used to, she reflects on who could be following/chasing her. Is this someone she has upset in the past? Young people could learn something from this lesson, 'what goes around, comes around'.

In the beginning of the film the businesswoman is firing a male employee, and some of the female audience would like for a change to be dominant at work, so this movie will chalked some stereotype. But it could be a stereotype in films for a woman to be used in horror, especially in the forest all the time as men can be used as well.

In the end part of the film we get to see the businesswoman in a more venerable situation we show are true emotion which can be linked to the audience. The audience can relate to the character and see the movie differently as everyone has their own experiences when in vulnerable situation.


6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

The camera allowed us to capture our production and tape. The automatic exposure lets us focus on the main character and makes it easier for the camera man as well. The lights were good as they highlighted the character and gave it a Hollywood look. We have learned how to set up lights in a 3 point system. It was very interesting to see what a difference a 3 point system makes when filming. When filming the forest scene we used natural light to give a sense of suspense.

The disadvantage was carrying all equipment and making sure it did not get damaged also it was stressful to film at the same time.

I think we managed to control the camera, but we could have shot the camera more smoothly, also instead of the camera chasing the actors, it should have been the other way round. After looking at the film, we used the camera controls for focusing on characters and we managed to do it successfully which included the tripod as well.

The technical problems were getting the equipment to the forest, so we used a car for transport. The main character got injured and an ambulance had to take her to hospital.

The editing software made it very easy to cut and paste clips, you can change so much of your clip and it is like polishing your shoes that gives it extra shine. You can change the colour of the clips and you can slow motion bits. I was so amazed with the options that came out of editing software 'Final Cut Pro'. During editing the film we did consider using slow motion when she is running.

However it takes a lot of time and effort as it is a long process of capturing the tape on the computer, and cutting the bits from 2 hours of shooting and try to fit it into 5 minutes.
We managed to do the editing well as we spent a lot of time of cutting the clips we wanted and using slow motion lighting effects to emphasize the mood and tension and this contributes to the atmosphere of the thriller.

The effect of adding any type of music is useful as it adds to the rhythm of the beat of the human heart and brain, you feel as if you are there.

7. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

Whilst doing the opening sequence, we tried to capture it all on the camera, but it did not go to plan. Straight away what we learnt was not to look at the camera, otherwise it would look too obvious for the audience.

The initial exercise was rushed and the props were not thought out as we did not have much time, while the main production we made sure that the actress only had some bits of makeup and jewellery came off to make it more realistic as she is running in the forest.
The camera variety shots and the main product as we had more space to shoot. Sounds that we used were the natural forest sounds, those were the non diagetic sound. In the initial exercise we did not think about the natural sounds, we also used the main actress natural sound of her screaming as she fell to give it a more authentic view.

The editing was non continuous system as we start off talking to someone and it goes to the forest, which is a jump cut giving it that bang in your face for the audience.
We also used slow motion to emphasize some parts of the film to give it a Hollywood look.
We have to choose a location that will bring an atmosphere linked to your plot. The costumes have to compliment the social class and status of the character. The makeup should also be the same as the costumes.

After practising with the camera, we learnt how to capture motion on the actress by pressing the exp button, we also used editing software final cut pro for cutting and pasting clips. You can change the lighting and colour, another option is you can add text, slow motion and fast motion for certain clips. All these techniques can be used to emphasize the meaning to the clip and it is a way of passing information e.g. in Gladiator the text was new Roman, suggesting the era of the movie and passing information of the cast and crew. The yellow effect of the beginning clips connotes happy times. This movie gives inspiration for the use of editing skills.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyHMzxJl5Yg

Working as a team is important for sharing ideas and as you get more ideas and you can pick which one the majority wants. The work can be divided to meet deadlines.
I think our product was very good for the budget of money we had we tried to use natural sounds for the non diagetic sounds and used the daylight for lighting in the dark forest.

The professionals have more money to spend on budgets, more manpower, more special effects and more experience and know how.

To do List

Evaluation (Draft)

Interview (Draft)

BBFC Guidelines

Into: The British Board of Film Classification is an independent, non-government body. the BBFC is a highly expert and experienced controller of the moving image and also a service provider for new and developing media film industry. BBFC has classified cinema films since it was set up in 1912 and videos since the passing of the video recording act in 1984.

Universal: Suitable for all

It is unpredictable to us adults what will upset a particular child, but 'U' film should be suitable for audiences aged four years and over. Rated 'U' films not contain any violence, threat or horror, the piece is particularly suitable for a pre-school child to view alone.

Discrimination: No discriminatory language or behaviour

Drugs: No references to illegal drugs or drugs or misuse unless they are infrequent and innocuous, or there is a clear education purpose or anti-drug message suitable for young children.

Horror: Scary and unsuitable sequences without purpose will not be adequate.

Sex: Mild sexual behaviour e.g kissing and references only e.g to 'make love'.

Violence: Mild violence only.

Parental Guidance (PG): Under Parental Guidance

General viewing, but some scenes may be unsuitable for young children. Children of any age may watch 'PG' films but it should not disturb a child aged around eight or older. However, parents are advised to watch and decide if it would be suitable for their child because some children are more sensitive.

Discrimination: Discriminatory language or behaviour is unlikely to be acceptable unless clearly disapproved. Discrimination by a character with which children can readily identify is unlikely to be accepted.

Drugs: Reference to a and illegal drug is unacceptable unless it carries an anti-drug message.

Horror: Scary sequences should not be prolonged and intense. fantasy setting may be a mitigating factor.

Language: Mild bad language only

12/12A: For 12 years and over

The same criteria is used to classify works at '12A' and '12'. these categories are awarded where the material is suitable, in general, only for those aged 12 and over. '12' rated films are not preferred for those under 12 but due to their parents permission could be accepted. However '12A' is strictly for those who are 12 and older.

Discrimination: Discriminatory language or behaviour must not be endorsed by the work as a whole. unless clearly condemned discriminatory language or behaviour is unlikely to be accepted.

Drugs: Any drugs must be brief and should not glamorised or give instructional details.

Horror: Moderate physical and psychological threat may be permitted, provided disturbing sequence are not frequent or sustained.

Sex: Sexual activity may be briefly and discreetly portray. Sex references should not go beyond what is suitable for young teenagers. Crude references are unlikely to be acceptable.

Violence: Moderate violence is allowed but should be not dwell on details. There should be no emphasis on injuries or blood. Sexual violence may only be implied or briefly and discreetly indicate, and must not have strong contextual justification.

18: suitable only for adults

No-one younger than 18 may see an '18' film in cinema or on DVD.

Contains sex, violence, drugs, horror, discrimination and language in as much details as the film maker intended. To buy a DVD or watch an '18' film in cinemas you would have to provide prove prof of age e.g licences.

Distributions

Founding and Distributions

An enormous amount of feature film productions in the UK are carried out by great Hollywood companies such as...

Universal

Universal is the most common Film Production known in the UK. Our group has been looking at this to get ideas and inspiration for our own production.

Paramount

20^th Century fox

Sony Pictures

MGM

The next three distributions are more suitable for younger viewers e.g children and families.

Walt Disney

Warner Bros

Dreamworks

The British industry is relatively small, lagging behind Hollywood and Bollywood as world's main area of feature film production. The films in the UK are often co-productions with other companies, engaging with other sources such as loans and banks.

Working titles is one of the most successful British Film companies for years with it's films being distributed by Universal Pictures, they own 67% stake in the company.

Funding now aims at different feature of the British film industry:

1. Regional Investment found of England: they support 9 regional screen agencies which promote film making skills.
2. Development fund: is aiming to raise the quality of screenplays produced.
3. New cinema fund: aims to encourage diversity in the industry.

Distributions:

Film distributions describes everything that happens in between productions films are advertised in many ways and are viewed on cinemas, DVD or UMD, internet, televisions etc. Distribution involves all of the deals made to get films promoted and shown to possible viewers.

Sound-track

We have decided to use this sound track for our film. The reason being we thought it would be perfect because of the Psychological sound effect. At first it was hard to find music that fitted in with the action within the Mese-en-scene.

file:///J:/media/._01%20Track%201.mp3

Results of the Questionnaire

Results of the Questionnaire

This graph shows how much percentage of people’s gender. 25 females answered the questionnaire and 15 males answered the questionnaire, a total of 40 people.

This graph shows there is diversity of people at different ages who like a thriller.

This chart shows the audience prefers Crime, Horror, Psychological, Spy and Action. These are the five main genres of thriller and they interlink with each other as Spy can be linked with Crime and Action, and Psychological can be linked with Horror, or vice versa.

This graph shows that most people like to watch “15” as there is less blood and violence compared to “18” yet can still give you the same amount of thrills so I think we should make our film certificate “15”.

This chart shows that the three main parts of a thriller are the plot, the location and the characters, but still you need the other aspects to make it even better.

This chart shows that explosions, guns and violence can add to a thriller, but it depends on what kind of thriller you mean as action thrillers would have to have some of this whereas psychological thrillers are more messing with your head.

Sara, Amy and Marwo production

Our Hard Work

View more presentations from sara.

Film company that could Distribute our Production,

We have researched into different studios and film companies and i believe that our film could be a production that "Universal" company will be interested in.

"Universal" has produced many films such as "The Wolf Man" which was catogorised as a hororr/thriller genre which is similar to our film as its a thriller (phychological).

This film has inspired us to produce our film and has helped us with many camera techniques and an over all visual of what we want to achieve.

This is why i believe "Universal" company could be interested in producing our film as its something they have done before and also the fact that our film is not cliche which plays with the expectations of the viewers.

Choosing the Classification,

Video certificates are there to give you the chance to make the right choice!

Suitable only for 15 years and over.

no one under the age of 15 may see a "15" film in cinemas.

no one under the age of 15 can rent or buy a "15" rated video.

Film that are rated "15" contain fairly adult themes and may contain scenes of violence, sex, drugs or swear words. With clear consideration we have decided that our thriller film is going to be a "15". This decicion is based on the content of our film, as it contains violence and mild sex scenes which will be unsuitable for children under the age of 15. This allows us to attract more audience as we are not restricted to an "18" but we also created a film which is thrilling enough to stop age "12" to watch which are the younger ages that expect a milder scene.

Discrimination
The work as a whole must not endorse discriminatory
language or behaviour.

Drugs
Drug taking may be shown but the film as a whole must not
promote or encourage drug misuse. The misuse of easily
accessible and highly dangerous substances (for example,
aerosols or solvents) is unlikely to be acceptable.

Horror
Strong threat and menace are permitted unless sadistic
or sexualised.

Imitable behaviour
Dangerous behaviour (for example, hanging, suicide and
self-harming) should not dwell on detail which could be
copied. Easily accessible weapons should not be glamorised.

Language
There may be frequent use of strong language (for example,
‘fuck’). The strongest terms (for example, ‘cunt’) may be
acceptable if justified by the context. Aggressive or repeated
use of the strongest language is unlikely to be acceptable.

Nudity
Nudity may be allowed in a sexual context but without
strong detail. There are no constraints on nudity in a
non-sexual or educational context.

Sex
Sexual activity may be portrayed without strong detail.
There may be strong verbal references to sexual behaviour,
but the strongest references are unlikely to be acceptable
unless justified by context. Works whose primary purpose is
sexual arousal or stimulation are unlikely to be acceptable.

Theme
No theme is prohibited, provided the treatment is
appropriate for 15 year olds.

Violence
Violence may be strong but should not dwell on the infliction
of pain or injury. The strongest gory images are unlikely to
be acceptable. Strong sadistic or sexualised violence is also
unlikely to be acceptable.

There may be detailed verbal references to sexual violence
but any portrayal of sexual violence must be discreet and
have a strong contextual justification.

Subject matter and representation issues

Subject matter and representation issues

The genre of our opening sequence will be a horror thriller causing crime and mystery, which is based on a young woman who is in her posh dress running away from someone making the audience question about who or what is chasing her.

The first time we see her is as a business women who is firing someone. Her business clothes make her look professional yet she is very powerful which contrasts her being very weak in the forest.


Why would someone be running away through the forest? (audience questioning on the opening sequence)

Young women- vulnerable, always appear as victims in thriller films

Young, rough clothes – lower class (gives a contrast)

Formal wear – dress, appears attractive – easy target. Tell the audience her social class which is upper class.

For the first bit of the opening of our thriller a woman is running through the forest wearing a nice, smart dress which is supposed to contrast with her surroundings. As the dress is a vital tool in the scene to create enigma and an effect, we needed the right dress.This was our choices for the characters costume.


Where the film is set – forest – creepy, causes shadows, unfamiliar place, causes suspense to the audience


Camera shots – Point of View shots

Sound track – forest – nature sounds, eerie sounds,

Films we have been influenced by – the village,

Choosing the location,

The location of our film is the most crucial thing in our film and we had two different ideas, one was to shoot the film in an open space with a few trees but with a big lake because most of our shots are close ups. Our second option was to shoot in a forest full of trees to have no empty spaces.

This was our first option, however we realised that because we are shooting in daylight the fact that the park is quite empty will not help create the scene we are looking for.

This was our second options and this is the one we decided to shoot in because it had more character and it was suitable for a thriller.

Choosing the location,

We decided to shoot our whole film outside which ment more focusing on the details because the surroundings are natural and we had no access to lighting, tracks etc. firstly we debated about the time of day because most thriller films are at night or at twilight however due to our access we had to choose a bright but dull day to create the film. The advantage of this is our film is that the film will be more individual and also the audience will be dazzled as its playing with the expectations.

This is one example of a thriller film who has used the
darkness and special effect lighting to create the scene.

We chose to use the idea that this women is running through a forest in early in the morning will be more effective because the audience will question it and this will create a great enigma which will attract the audience into the film right before we cut to her normal life.

We decided to set up our scene like this: