Final Thriller

Thriller Comparison

Do you think you have created a successful thriller sequence and why?

I believe we have created a successful thriller film as any conventions that we have carried out from the thriller genre have been successful in affecting the audience, all of these conventions being stereotypical tot he thriller genre, which defines our film as a thriller.

What micro-element, best shows your creativity and understanding of the thriller genre the most?

The micro-element that best shows my creativity is the use of iconography in the opening, instead of using the stereotypical knife, me and my group decided that it would be better if we used a hammer instead, as this is not a stereotypical weapon. Also because of the fact that the killer in the opening is so mysterious it begins to give away hints at what his personality is like, by him using a hammer it could show that he is a more brutal killer and using a hammer if a vicious way to hurt someone and can cause serious damage, similar to a knife however I think that a knife does not say enough about the killer to have an impact on the audience. In addition, the hammer adds anonymity to the killer as anyone can simply pick up a hammer and use it in that manner, which indicates that the killer could be simply anyone. Iconography is an important convention in the thriller genre as this helps the audience begin to build a fear, for example by the killer using a hammer they can begin to develop a fear for the hammer, as they know what the hammer is going to be used for.

Compare your opening sequence to a successful thriller and explain how your thriller is conventional?

A successful thriller film I can compare my thriller film to is Scream, like my opening Scream is a very conventional thriller film, displaying them clearly. In Scream, like ours, the main character is targeted by a killer for no apparent reason, however there are many other different characters in the film, for example the victim's best friend and boyfriend. This is similar to ours because we have the same idea of having a victim who is seemingly targeted by her for killer for no apparent reason. Another aspect in which they are similar is because of the representations of the killer, and the victim. This is because the killer is represented as deranged, the same as 'Ghostface' in Scream, having no apparent reason  to be after the victim. Both of our thrillers use reaction shots, timing of shots, straight and jump cuts. One factor in which the two films are different are the type of settings used, Scream tends to use more in-side house settings as these are relatable, whereas our thriller uses a forest/street setting, we have used these as these are conventional of the thriller genre and anyone can be there. This allows the audience to become more involved in the film as they can begin to feel the fear of the character as they can think as if they are in there situation. Our iconography is different as they use a knife for the killer's weapon, whereas we have changed it to a hammer. Our costume are the same as the victim is often seen in clothes which are represented as innocent, aswell as our killer dressed in all black, just like our thriller.

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

The purpose of the preliminary task was to familiarise ourselves with the filming equipment and the editing software that we was going to use for my own thrillers. From the preliminary task, I learnt how to edit a clip and put it in the correct order, for example in our preliminary I had to film a conversation between two people, including seeing someone walk in and out of the room, therefore I had to make sure the clips were in the correct order otherwise the conversation would not of made sense. Another skill I learnt from the preliminary which then helped me with our opening was cutting at the correct time for example during walking scenes, when the character is walking through the garages and there is a switch in camera angle. I made sure that the character was standing in the same place before the camera angle switch as well as the same after, otherwise it would of not made sense, I learnt this from the preliminary when we had to film someone walking into the room, meaning I had to cut it at the correct time so we could see the person walk towards the room and then switch to the camera inside, making the editing look more professional.

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

Question 5 - How did you attract/address your audience?

Primary research was essential to my production because this allowed me to have a greater understanding of the thriller genre, this helped me to develop our own thriller film and know how to appeal to our target audience.

There were many stages included in developing my thriller opening, the first being research of existing thriller. I researched mise-en-scene, the conventions, cinematography, the history of thriller films, sound, research into age certificates and the BBFC. This is where I developed my understanding of the thriller genre, learning how different aspects effect the audience differently, and what effects they have, for example a high angle camera shot shows that the character is inferior in the scene and vulnerability whereas a low angle shows that the character is superior. The second stage was research into the narrative theories, the narrative theory we followed was Todorov's. Todorov's theory is not about the characters but the narrative and that they evolve around an equilibrium and disequilibrium, there is a state of equilibrium, a disruption to the equilibrium, recognition of disruption, attempt to repair the equilibrium followed by the restore of the return or the equilibrium. My research assisted me a lot in the planning of the opening as my understanding of the thriller genre developed. From the research into sound I heard that non-diegetic sound tracks have a great effect over the audience, having a big influence on how to the audience feel at that time, for example a suspenseful sound track would put the audience in much more suspense rather than a scene without it, as it puts the audience in anticipation to what the sound track is building up to. I also carried out research into the cinematography used in the thriller genre, I looked at the clip from SAW, from this I found out that "point of view" (POV) camera angles gave the effect that they are the character allowing the audience to build a stronger bond with the character, therefore if you do the POV camera angle for the victim, the audience can begin to feel the fear of the character, making elements like suspense a lot more effective. Due to this I decided to add the use of POV angles in order to appeal to the audience more, a benefit of the research. During the planning of our thriller opening I decided it was best to carry out some primary research, I did this in the format of questionnaires, this was an important stage in the  planning as this gave me the opinion of the target audience on thriller films and let me know what people like to see in thriller films, this included which setting they would like to see and what characters they would like to see. The results I received were that they preferred anonymous killers and a forest setting. From this I based our thriller opening around the results of the questionnaires and it also helped us develop ideas that we already had, benefitting me greatly. This helped me develop the narrative as I now knew what the target audience preferred when watching thriller films, which meant I could incorporate those ideas. 

Question 4 - Who would be the audience for your media product?

A target audience are the people that the product is aimed at, in this instance it is what the audience that the film is made to appeal to the most. My film had the target audience of teenagers, therefore when making the film we made it with teenagers in mind, considering what would appeal to them the most. I chose teenagers as we carried out a survey in which I found they watch thriller films the most, also because we are teenagers, it would be easier to make the thriller more relate able. The narrative of my thriller film was relate able for the audience because of the simplicity of it, a teenage girl walking home on the streets who is then followed by a mysterious figure, this is relate able because of the possibly of it, this could happen to any teenager, anywhere. By having a female teenage victim this means that teenagers can easily relate to her situation, by making it easy to relate it makes the audience more involved in the film, and as the film progresses the audience will start to feel the fear of the character, making it more effective. Another element that made my film successful and would appeal to my audience would be the costume and makeup, this was a big factor in making my film more relate able for teenagers as the costumes that our characters wore were clothes that anyone could wear, this meant that the audience could again become more involved in the film, as they can relate to the clothes that the victim wears allowing them to put themselves in her position. This was also the case with the killer, the clothes of the killer are ones that anyone could wear again, involving the audience in the film again because they think that the killer could be anyone, drawing them into watching on as they wish to find out who the killer is as the assumptions of who the killer is increase.

Question 3 - What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?