Target Audience Results - Miss Miller

By carrying out a questionnaire, I was able to find out what audience to target out film at, and then discover what the target audience enjoys about thriller films and what they would like to see in one. This helps us create the opening sequence with the target audience in mind, meaning that the opening would be more engaging and effective, as it reaches out to the target audience. I gave the questionnaire to 40 people, meaning I will get the opinion of a lot of people, this helps me get a better idea of the target audience, analysing the results from all of the questions, finding out what I can get from it.

From the graph above we can see that the majority of people we interviewed are 16 to 19, meaning that the people who are more likely to enjoy thriller films are in this age group, because of this I believe that we should choose this age group as the target audience in our thriller opening, this allows us to plan and create it with them in mind, effecting our target audience.

For our second question we found out what gender each person we asked was, from this we can find out who enjoys thriller films the most, this helps us develop the audience of our thriller opening, making it aimed at them. The graph shows us that 60% of the people we asked were male, therefore we can aim our thriller opening at males.

The next question we asked was what age certificates people enjoyed watching the most, from this we can find out what people enjoyed watching the most and we can create our thriller opening accordingly. From this question we discovered that the majority of people enjoyed watching films with the 18 certificates, because of this we can make our thriller film an 18 as they enjoy watching these over the other age certificates.

From this question we can begin to build up which elements people would like to see in our thriller films, in this case we can see that more people liked chase scenes rather than anything else, this helps us develop the understand what people like to see in a thrillers, and can help us when creating our own thriller film.

This graph shows us that 48% percent of the people who answered our questionnaires like to hear sound tracks in thriller films, from this we can tell that sound tracks have the best effect on our target audience, so therefore we can use them to have the greatest effect in our sequel.

For this question the use of 'Mental characters' came out with the highest percentage, however not by the majority as shown by the pie chart above. When asked why people enjoy mental characters the most, the majority of people said because they become more interested in the character.

From the graph above we can see that the majority of people who answered our questionnaire would prefer to watch famous actors, however this isn't possible so we would have the focus on the second highest result which was young actors, this is better as then they can relate to the film, helping us have a greater effect on the target audience with our thriller opening.

For this question we can see that people would prefer a dark forest to be used in a thriller rather than any other setting, this is better for us as forests are easily accessible, helping us have a greater effect on the audience.

How does the opening sequence of 'Halloween' inform the audience of the conventions of a thriller film? - Miss Georgiou

The opening sequence of a film is the first part of the film that any viewer would see, this means that it should have to interest the viewer to watch the rest of the film, set the scene and to give an idea of a narrative, these are the whole purposes of an opening sequence. In the 'Halloween' opening sequence it shows a teenage girl and boy, going up to her bedroom, the male then leaving, and then someone goes into her room and stabs her, it is then made apparent that her younger brother had committed the murder. During this, it begins to inform the viewers of the conventions of a thriller film.

One way in which the film shows the conventions of a thriller film is through the use of cinematography, they use a variety of camera angles to show different effects. One camera angle used is POV, this is used when the killer is approaching the victim, the teenage girl, this lets the viewer see the sequence from his perspective. As he lurks around the house looking inside the windows, picking up the knife from the kitchen and then slowly approaches the bedroom, this implies to the audience that something bad is going to happen because it is building up the suspense in the scene, a key element in the thriller genre as well as a key convention in a thriller genre. Another camera angle used is the zooming out at the end of the scene, revealing that the boy is the killer and also revealing the whole of the setting, this can also represent that something bad has happened inside the house. This could also imply that something had taken control of the boy, this can be inferred from the fact that the POV angle was filmed from the perspective that it was an adult, the long shot then goes onto reveal that the young boy had committed the murder, shocking the audience at how someone so young could so something like that, shock being a key convention in a thriller, and then creating the enigma of why he would do such a thing, making them want to watch on to find out why, another convention of a thriller.

The sequence also displays conventions of the thriller genre through the use of editing, one way in which they do this is by changing the timing of the shot, this is used when the killer makes his way up the stairs, by making the scene slower this builds up the element of suspense, a convention of a thriller genre. This is because the viewers can sense that something bad is going to happen from the previous events, but as the timing of the scene is used as he goes up the stairs it begins to build up to the murder as there is now nothing from stopping him from murdering the teenage girl, really building up the suspense within the viewer.

The sound in the sequence also helps inform the audience of the conventions of a thriller film, one way in which it informs is by the use of parallel sound. The teenage girls scream being emphasised as she is stabbed, this shows the pain that she is feeling and shows the viewer the brutality of the killer, creating the enigma to think who could do such a horrible thing, shocking the viewers, a convention of the thriller genre. Another use of sound is contradiction sound, this is used when the killer is finally approaching the bedroom and the teenage girl can be heard humming a happy tune, showing that she is in a good mood, contradicting the whole sequence as the viewers can tell that she is about to be killed. From this we can infer that she is clueless to what is going to happen, showing that she is innocent, this portrays the victim convention of the thriller genre.

The sequence is build up upon the narrative, creating an enigma from the very beginning of the scene, caused by the fact that we don't know who the killer is because of the POV camera angle, this entices the viewer to watch on to see who it is and what they are going to do. There is also the factor that it seems the mask takes over the killer, once the teenage male has seemingly mocked the mask the killer then goes onto kill the teenage girl once he has put the mask on, which could show that he has been taken over by the mask, this also begins to show that the mask has some resemblance in the film and could come into light later on in the film, showing another convention of the thriller genre, iconography. The audience can begin to build up a fear for when the killer has the mask on, knowing that whenever he has the mask on that he is going to do something bad.

Another way in which the sequence informs the audience of a thriller film are through the representation of the characters. Showing the parents as confused at the end of the sequence to why, what seems like there son, has a knife covered in blood in his hand. It also displays a stereotypical young teenage couple, oblivious to the killer and what is around them, and a child as the killer, showing that even though he looks small and innocent he has a dark side shown by the murder he committed. Another representation used of the killer is the fact that he is wearing a clown outfit, this is used because clowns are a common fear of people, this is used to involve the audience and build up a fear by using something that they are already scared of

Overall there are many conventions used in the clip for example a young, blonde, innocent and attractive victim, a child (the killer), a dark isolated setting, you can see there are no houses beside it at the end as the long shot reveals the scene in an American suburb, which gives the viewer a false sense of security. More conventions used are an enigma, the use of suspense, shock, blood and violence. With each of the conventions use having an effect on the audience.

From this, I can conclude that the conventions used in the sequence all have there own effect on the viewer and do this effect well, clearly informing the audience of the conventions of a thriller film from the very beginning.

Inspirations for Opening Scene - Miss Miller

Throughout the research, I have analysed the various techniques used in a thriller clips, because of this I think that certain aspects of the thriller clips can inspire me to include them in my very own thriller opening. We need inspirations in order to give us ideas, and to better them.

For the element of sound in our thriller opening, I analysed a clip from the 2007 remake of the original 1978 thriller 'Halloween' looking at a scene where Michael Myers, the killer in the film, escapes from the mental institute he is being held in. We have taken inspiration from this clip in the form of soundtrack, which successfully builds up the suspense until the point of action, this sound track starts as soon as his name is heard, we are going to use this very same technique in ours, making sure that the sound track starts playing as soon as the killer is seen in the scene.

When researching editing styles I looked at the film 'The Human Centipede', this demonstrated the use of straight cut in order to create tension and give more than one perspective in a scene, this was effective during the chase scene. Due to this, it inspired us to use straight cuts during our chase scenes, as this speeds up the scene, which then creates tension in the scene which is a vital element which is going to be used in our thriller sequence.

We also got inspirations from researching the conventions in a clip from the film 'Scream'. Where a masked killer named 'Ghostface' chases after the victim through a house, this is where our group got the inspiration for the use of a masked killer, this is a key convention in the thriller genre. By using a masked killer you can begin to create an enigma around the killer themselves, by having the identity hidden, the viewer becomes more intrigued in the identity of the killer, which then leads them to be more interested in the film.

When looking at cinematography I looked at the clip from the film SAW, this used a lot of mid shots, this shots revealed a lot about the location that the character is in, however still allows the audience to see the emotions on the actor is showing. This is one of the most often used camera angles and works well, this then inspired us to use it in  our thriller film as it can effectively allow the audience to see the expressions on our victims face, and still shows the background of the scene.

Another micro-element I looked at was the mise-en-scene from again the film SAW, this showed the use of setting, th

Research into Sounds in Thrillers - Miss Miller

In this essay I shall explore the use of different sound techniques used, what effect they have on the audience and how they relate to the conventions of a thriller film. I shall be analysing a clip from the 2007 remake of the original 1978 thriller 'Halloween', this clip shows how Michael Myers, the murderer from the film, escapes from the mental institute he is being held in.

At the beginning of the scene there is a non-diegetic sound added in to the film, this is the calm and simple soundtrack being played before the phone is picked up. This implies to the audience that the situation is under control and everything is well, this relates to the thriller genre as there is always calm before the storm, meaning that there is always a plot twist and something bad is going to happen, this begins to build the element of suspense within the scene. The music then stops as soon as the warden picks up the phone, this implies that something has interrupted the calm situation that was present, because of this the viewer can begin to think that something has gone wrong or is going to go wrong, with the silence initialising the start of what is going to happen. As soon as the name 'Michael Myers' is mentioned, the non-degetic sound then kicks in again however this time with a sinister tone, this reveals to the viewer the sinister character that Michael Myers is, and the viewer can begin to build a fear for this character themselves. This relates tot he thriller genre as it begins to build up suspense in the scene. These sounds can be heard from 0:00 to 00:58.

During the clip at 1:04, another non-diegetic sound can be heard, this time it is a deep and dark soundtrack used when he is walking down the corridor as he is being escorted to his cell. This sound again reveals more of the character to the viewer, again building upon the already existing fear of  Michael Myers. The sound used is also very repetitive, again the viewers get a sense that something is building up and that something is going to happen, building the suspense within the clip, a typical convention in the thriller genre. This sound is played up until 1:43, when the prison guard opens one of the doors.

During the film there is also the use of diegetic sound, this is the sound of Michael's chains as he walks through the corridor, this emphasised as the sound of his chains are clear and above the sound of the non-diegetic soundtrack being played. They have put emphasis on this because it shows clearly that Michael is locked up, but then begins to imply that he is evil as the viewers begin to wonder why he has so many chains on him and what he would have done to cause the use of so many chains, this is an enigma, another stereotypical convention of the thriller genre. This can be heard from the beginning of the corridor scene at 1:04 until the point where Michael stops moving at 1:50.

Again there is another non-diegetic sound used however this time it is used as a sound effect. This can be heard at 2:18 to 2:22, during the fight scene. The sound effect used when Michael is smashing one of the guard's heads up against the wall, with the sound effect putting emphasis on the sound of his head hitting the wall. By putting emphasis on this it shows the viewers the brutality of Michael, and reveals more of the mysterious character, this also brings a sense of excitement into the scene as well as tension, as the villain is escaping.

Overall from this essay I have discover that the use of non-diegetic sounds is an important factor in building the suspense within a thriller, it is also used within thrillers so that some scenes have a greater effect on the audience, for example without the use of non-diegetic sound in the beginning of the clip when the guard recieves the call, it would of had little to no effect on the viewer. Due to this I believe that I should use non-diegetic sounds in my own thriller clip in order to enhance the effects on the audience.

Research into the history of Thriller Films - Miss Georgiou

Research into the history of Thriller films

Introduction

Films which belong to the Thriller genre are films uses suspense, tension and excitement as the main elements (reference from Wikipedia). Thriller films often create these elements by using conventions typical to the genre, for example having a chase scene where the victim is chased by the killer, usually masked, and gets away, this creates the element of tension and excitement.

Thriller film timeline

1920s-1930s - In 1928 the first ever thriller film was released, a time when films were still black and white, as well as silent. Named 'The Lodger' the film was directed a Alfred Hitchcock, about a serial killer named 'The Avenger', who was murdering blonde women, meanwhile a landlord has a unusual acting lodger, who only goes out on foggy nights and has a picture of a blonde women in his room. Right from the first ever thriller film we can see the initial thriller conventions being used, a blonde female victims, a mysterious killer and an enigma. Alfred Hitchcock then went onto being dubbed the 'Father of Thrillers', directing many classic thriller films. He then directed a thriller named 'Blackmail', this was not only his first film with sound but notably the first British film to use sound. There were many other British directors making thriller films, including Walter Forde, Victor Saville, George A. Cooper and Michael Powell.

1940s

During this period Hitchcock began to thrive in the thriller genre, releasing Oscar award winning 'Rebecca', and 'Foreign Correspondent' in 1940. However his first well known thriller film was 'Suspicion', which largely focused on the relationship between a married couple, this was the start of a new sub-genre, named 'psychological thrillers'.

1950s
Hitchcock began this period with another classic, named 'Strangers on a Train', where as the title implies two strangers meet on a train and trade murderers, with one wanting his wife murdered in order to marry another woman, and one stranger wanting his father murdered, this introduced that there could be more than one bad person in the film and also introduced the use of more than one perspective. Other non-Hitchcock thriller films included 'Niagara' directed by Henry Hathaway featuring Marilyn Monroe as the wife who plans to murder her unstable husband. The majority of thriller films released in this period are crime based, and often contain a conflict between a married couple.

1960s
The 1960s saw the release of one of Hitchcock's greatest films, 'Psycho', this combined the aspect of previous thrillers, using shock, an intelligent story line, and strong emotions between the characters. The film is about a woman who stays in a motel owned by a male, who is being controlled by his mother, however one of the most famous scenes in the movie is the shower scene where the mother murders the female, with the use of over 50 cuts and over 70 camera angles involved, it has been named a masterpiece by many.

1970s - 1980s
This period saw the end of Hitchcock's directing days, with his last thriller being released in 1976 named 'Family Plot'. However during this period there was the release of Steven Spielberg's 'Duel', about a travelling business man being chased down the roads by a crazed truck driver, meanwhile exploring the travelling business man's life, this gained a cult following. This time period also saw the increase of violence used in the thriller genre, and because of this it sparked more exciting and extreme narratives used in the films.

1990s - Present
During this period there was a strong theme of obsession in many of the thriller films released, for example, 'The Talented Mr. Ripley' featuring Matt Damon and Jude Law, and 'Malice' featuring Alec Baldwin and Nicole Kidman. However this period also saw the increase in detectives hunting down a serial killer. This theme was used in the Picture Winning Thriller 'Silence of the Lambs' directed by Jonathan Demme, about a detective who seeks the advice of a imprisoned serial killer in order to catch another.

The most successful thriller film ever made was 'Hannibal', making a total lifetime gross of $165 million dollars. The film is set after the film, 'The Silence of the Lambs', where Staring attempts to catch Lecter before his surviving victim captures and kills him. The reason it could be the highest grossing was because it is a sequel of an already a very successful film, therefore audiences would wish to go and see it to find more out about the killer, this could be why it was so successful. The film was aimed at teenagers as it was highly promoted in the media, something that teenagers are interested in and would therefore go to see the film.

The second most successful thriller film made was the prequel to Hannibal, 'Silence of the Lambs', this was the first out of the two films, grossing at $130 million overall, the plot follows a detective looking for the advice of a serial killer, Hannibal Lector, in order to find another serial killer 'Buffalo Bill', I believe the film was so successful because of the interesting plot, something which had not been done before, therefore interesting audiences. The target audience being the same as Hannibal, however because of the more complex plot it easily attracts older audiences.

Another one of the most succesful thriller film series is the SAW series, making an overall gross of $230 million, the series follows a character called 'Jigsaw' who places people in traps for various reasons thinking they would imporve them, trying to show them the importance of life, these traps being very gory. This series done so well because of that fact that the plot is interesting however the gore side of the films interested, because its something they don't see everyday. This is also very successful because of the wide target audience, aimed at young teenagers to younger adults, whereas the gore side of the films would not interest older audiences.

Summary
From this research I can see that over the years, even though the themes of the thriller films have changed, for example a wife wanting to murder her husband and vice versa, to detectives hunting down serial killers, the main objectives of the thrillers has remained, with them all using the elements of surprise, tension and excitement. I have also realised that the themes used in each year of the thriller films are themes which can relate to the person watching the film, for example there was a lot of domestic abuse around the same time as the theme of husband murdering his wife and vice versa, I believe this has been done in order for the viewers to relate to the film even more, and begin to feel the character's fear.

Research into Conventions of the Thriller Genre - Miss Miller

There are many conventions used inside the thriller genre, in this essay I will explore the use of different conventions of a film from the thriller genre, I shall be using a clip from the film "Scream". I chose this clip as it clearly portrays conventions of a thriller, and uses them well in the clip.

One convention used in the clip is a chase scene, this happens once the male is murdered, the killer then proceeds to chase the female around the house. This is used often in films which belong to the thriller genre as it brings the element of excitement into the scene, this is because the viewer never knows whether she is going to get away, she is then chased to a dead end which builds the tension within the scene as the viewer would then believe that she is going to be killed, this is then followed by her falling from roof. This is when the viewers really think that she is going to die, she then falls onto a boat with a cover on top which stops her fall. This is a good use of the chase scene convention.

Another convention used in the clip is masked killer, this is often used in thrillers as it hides the identity of the killer, making you want to watch more in order to find out who the killer is and as the film progresses what his motive is, bringing a sense of enigma to the film. It also lets the viewer engage with the film because the fact that it could be anyone behind the mask, even someone they knew, making them more involved in the film.

The third convention used in the clip is the use of an isolated/dark location, we can see this at the end of the clip where the female is hanging out of the window and then falls. By using the isolated location this creates the sense that the character is helpless because there are no other houses and etc nearby. It also creates the sense that she cannot escape because there is nothing nearby, this would give the viewer the impression that she is going to die, therefore creates tension as the viewer wants the female to escape.

The fourth convention used in the film non-diegetic sound, this is again used throughout the scene. Non-diegetic sound is sound which is not part of the film, in this instance is it the sound track played throughout the scene. During the chase scene the music builds up as the chase progresses, because the music is building it makes the reader feel that something is going to happen, it keeps on building until the female escapes onto the roof. This when the music dies down but is still playing, this leaves the viewer in suspense as they definitely know something is going to happen. The music then bursts out as the killer grabs her hands through the windows, this would shock the viewer even though they knew it was going to happen. This brings the element of shock into the clip, however without the music they would not be able to use the shock to its full effect.

From the conventions used, I believe that the use of a soundtrack is used well in this clip as it without the sound track the element of suspense, action and tension would have been alot harder to create without it. I believe by that using the sound track that it has a much greater effect on the viewer, because of this I would take this onboard when making my own thriller opening. However during the clip

Research into Age Certificates and the BBFC - Miss Georgiou

The BBFC

The BBFC, which stands for British Board of Film Classification, is an organisation funded by the film industry which is the responsible for the classification and censorship of films in the UK. Before the film is released, the BBFC have to watch the film through in order to give it an age rating, and an insight telling the viewers something about the film which may make them not want to watch it. There are seven different classifications in which every film in the UK falls into, each film is given a certificate, this determines which age they find appropriate to watch the film. This is in order to protect younger people from watching certain content.

One of the seven certificates is "U", this stands for universal and means the film is suitable for everyone over 4, however it is impossible to predict what can upset a child at such a young age, because the U is made for four and over some films are given the special BBFCinsight which says the film is suitable for 4 and under, for example Teletubbies and In The Night Garden, however they are still given the U certificate.

The second of the seven certificates is the "PG" certificate, this stands for parental guidance, this is given to films suitable for general viewing except some scenes may be unsuitable for younger children. They should not upset children 8 and over. Some films are given "PG" however are not made with younger audiences in mind, except all of the content in the film are suitable for audiences of eight and over.

The 12a certificate is given to films, this certificate is only used in cinemas, this is used for films the BBFC find unsuitable for very young people. This means people under the age of 12 must be accompanied by an adult of at least the age of 18 throughout the whole film, although they recommend that you should be 12 to watch. Anyone over the age of twelve are allowed to watch the film unaccompanied.

There is also a 12 certificate given to films however they are only used for home entertainment, for example DVDs. The majority of 12a films in the cinema are given the 12 certificate, as they have the exact same guideline rules, however are sometimes given a higher certificate because they have added content.

The fifth certificate is the 15, meaning no one under the age 15 can watch at the cinema, buy or rent the film. There is no theme prohibited in any 15 films and they can contain strong violence, frequent strong language, portrayals of sexual activity, strong verbal references to sex, sexual nudity, brief scenes of sexual violence or verbal refences to violence, discriminatory language or behaviour, and drug taking, however the BBFC do not allow films to dwell on the details of dangerous behaviour as the harm it may cause to impressionable teenagers e.g. hanging, suicide and self harming.

The next certificate up is the '18' certificate, this means you have to be 18 or over to watch it, meaning that you need to be an adult in order to watch it. Consequently there are no themes prohibited, some adults may even find some of the themes touched in the work offensive. Films with the 18 certificate can have the use of very strong violence, frequent strong language, strong portrayals of sexual activity, real sex, discriminatory language and behaviour, aswell as strong horror, blood and gore. The only things which are cut from films with the 18 certificate is material that could damage the public's morals e.g. promoting drug use and making rape look appealing, the material is in breach of criminal law or explicit sexual scenes which cannot be justified by context. For example the SAW series of films were given tghe 18 certificate because they are strong horrors, having a lot of gore and blood, as well as strong violence.

We are going to make our thriller opening have the 15 rating, this is because it means more people can watch it, making the film more availible for the target audience. Also our sequence will not include the content in order to make it an 18 rated film. However it will contain brief strong language and implications of strong violence.