Audience Research results

Group organisation via social media

We decided to create a group conversation between us and the actors on Facebook, to enable us to keep in contact with them. This has been particularly helpful for deciding the shooting dates (which will be displayed on the Production Schedule) and discussing things such as required costumes. During the Cafe scene we will be using different costume to that of the estate scene. 

Final Cut Test #3 (motion)

Here I experimented with motion by reversing video. I later added a zoom effect when reversing to achieve more of a sustained and commercial look (00:14+). After this I increased the speed of which the shot was being reversed and added a flashing effect. I also tweaked colour across the video with the Vignette effect, to give it more of a 'cinematic' style. 

I shot this with my Iphone camera, however my canon 550d will be arriving next week and I will begin planning with this. 

Target Audience Considerations

The target audience of psychological thriller films tends to be a 15+ rating, if not, 18+. There are however exceptions of 12 ratings in some cases. These high ratings are often given due to the excessive violence often displayed and the psychological issues that are presented, which can be disturbing for a younger audience. 

Some examples of psychological thriller films are: 

• Se7en - An 18 rating film; we will not be using this extent of violence. 
• Shutter Island - A 15 rated film.
• The ring - A 15 rated film; psychological thriller with horror elements. 

Our thriller opening will be aimed at an audience of 15 years or older. The actors will be older teenagers (18/19), which will provide a connection between the audience who will be of a similar age. Our thriller will expose the harsh realities of gang culture and will see an interesting psychological twist be presented when a guy confronts his best mate about his involvement in gang violence. The sub-genre of thriller's gives the typical target audience. For example ‘chick flick’ thrillers would target young teenage girls because they can relate to the characters' emotions. However as our thriller is general, this is why we have opted for the 15 rating. We would expect a demographic of 15-25 to watch our style of thriller. 

We are not as dependent on the gender of our target audience, as we are of the age bracket, however it is important nonetheless to create a well-rounded audience classification. Because we need to generalise, we have identified that our opening will predominately be aimed at males because of the masculine features of the film (i.e. violence and building tension.)

Questionnaire

Our group decided to each make individual questionnaires. The point of this was to survey a wider audience, which would give us more concise results. From my questionnaire I will be getting direct information from a potential audience of our film, who will express the conventions of thriller films they favour most. This information will be used when creating the opening scene to 'The Witness'. By using the responses of people and applying them to our knowledge on thriller conventions, we aim for it to overall strengthen our opening film. It is common practice for production companies to carry out audience research prior to shooting a film and hosting test screenings, so we will be doing this same by submitting drafts of our work to achieve the best outcome. 

My questionnaire will allow me to answer my primary audience research question: 
"How can I make my thriller appealing to my audience?"

I did not opt for using a question regarding location. Over my research into thriller films, I have noticed that location does not seem to bare much correlation. Often everyday environments are manipulated to become secluded and volatile. As we also have the two ideal locations planned, this would not be of any help to us.

Title Sequences

I decided to look at the conventions of titles and how they are used in film, to give me an insight into how I can use Titles in my Thriller film.

Titles and title cards can be distinguished as follows:

• A single title card contains one name credit. Typically used in opening titles to display the name of the lead actors and the creative people involved in the movie. Generally referred to as the above-the-line credits.

• A double title card contains two name credits. Typically is used to display the names of supporting actors and additional creative people involved in the movie.

• A triple title card contains three name credits. Typically used to display the names of additional supporting actors.

• A multiple title card contains more than three name credits. Typically used to name additional supporting actors or extras.

• A main title card displays the main title of the movie.

• Scrolling titles are titles that move sequentially in and out of frame, generally used as end titles.

• A lower third is a title placed on the lower-third of the screen (although there might be other screen placements you could consider), generally used to display the information—name and title—of a person being interviewed or a location.

• Subtitles are titles placed on the lower-third part of the screen (or sometimes on the top of the screen to avoid covering relevant information on-screen or previously existing lower thirds). These are generally used to translate dialogue in another language.

• Intertitles are title cards that display the time, place, prologue, or quotes. In silent films, an intertitle is often used to convey minimal dialogue or information that can’t be deduced from the talent’s body language or the scene’s settings.

- http://masteringfilm.com/giving-titles-to-the-types-of-titles/

Here is an example of how Titles are used in the Robert Altman's 'The Player'. As we can see there is continuity in the use of font and colour for the Main title and single titles. 

Titles are used to depict the genre of a film. In the top left-hand corner where the Main title is presented, the use of a scratched font on a back drop of council flats, infers that the film is aimed at a working class audience who would understand what the film is trying to get across. This and the name of the film, 'This Is England', again infer that the film covers the harsh realities of a dark and troubled, urban England.

'Forest Gump' adopts orthodox typography, similar to other 90's films of a similar genre, such as Matilda and Mrs Doubtfire, which all include an underlined moral message. The simplicity of the film's logo is what perhaps adds to its iconicity. The use of this simple font across the title screens infers that this is not your typical horror or thriller film but actually has connotations of happiness.

Division of Labour

Each of us will be involved in the duties of Planning, Research, Filming, Editing and Evaluating.

However as we have recognised, we have each got our strong points.

Here is a brief summary;

Me: I will be doing the bulk of the filming and editing, have a knowledge of using final cut and practising with footage.

Declan: Involved in the planning side of things, including finding the estate location. Also, by having acting experience, will be able to plan how certain shots will be depicted. 

Chris: Acting as a second camera, (effectively, I will act as the glidecam camera) he will get more of the longer and establishing shots during the filming.