Q7:Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

Holiday work - screen grab analysis

This is a mid shot showing the character of the joker. The Mask in the characters hand shows a sense of mystery and hidden identity. This implies that this particular character is unknown and has a false identity. The lack of appearance and identity suggest that the character is a villain within the story.

The use of the bag suggests that the character is going to collect something or drop something off. This creates tension because the audience are eager to find out what he is after. The stance of the character suggests that he is a lower class citizen. He is shown as lower class because of his slouched back and lowered head. The setting is shown to be the centre of a busy American town. A busy town is a place of danger and can suggest a tense scene. The use of natural light creates a natural feeling about the scene. It shows the character in shot to be a simple man in a simple place.

 

This is also a mid shot. This shot fits with the thriller genre as it shows some of the popular thriller conventions. The use of the weapon shows that the scene contains action between characters. The shotgun shows that there is death within the scene as one person is trying to kill another. This shot shows the man to be more dominant and powerful. He is shown to be higher above than other characters. The setting in the shot also shows a suggested conflict. The building looks like a bank. A bank is a popular place in movies where a conflict takes place. This could be Bank robbers and the police. These show that the rest of the movie will be action packed.

 This shot is a close up. This close up once again shows a sense of hidden identity. This character in the shot is using make up to cover up his face. The comical element of his face paint suggests an unserious attitude within the character. It implies that the character has a childish mind and is up to no good. This tells the audience that there is more law breaking to come throughout the movie.

 This shot is a medium shot. This shows another masked character. This Once again shows a hidden identity in the character being shown and adds more mystery to the story. This shot also makes this character look more dominant and a lot more powerful. This shot makes the dark character look like a thrilling character and suggests that there will be lots of action following the character. This is also a mid action shot. This shot shows the figure stopping someone whilst trying to get away. This suggests that the character in shot may be a hero in the story and is trying to stop someone bad getting away. This is a classic contrast between good and evil within movies.

This is along shot. This shot shows a setting of some kind of underground warehouse. This setting can suggest that a character is hiding away from civilisation or trying to stat out of site. This adds to the sense of mystery in the story. The way the character is hiding away can suggest a shady personality that may affect the characters in the movie. The vehicle in shot is a black armoured car. This tells the audience that the character is familiar to dangerous conditions and is someone who is often in fights and battles. This shows that this particular character will have much more action later on in the rest of the film. This shot is almost used to try and set the scene for the audience.

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Questionnaire evaluation

Questionnaire evaluation

 

Target audience: 20-35 males who enjoy watching films.

1.    In a thriller, is fast paced or slow paced music more effective in creating a tense atmosphere?

Slow paced – 2

Fast paced - 4

Both – 2

-We asked this question to see which style of music is more effective when making people feel tenser. We’ve found out that most people think that fast paced is more effective, so we will include some fast paced music to increase tension.

 

2.    How do you usually hear about new films?

TV – 6

Newspaper – 1

Internet – 1

Social media – 1

-These results show us the best way to publically release a film. We have found out that people hear about new films mostly from the TV and adverts.

 

3.    What is your favourite film opening and why?

The Departed – makes it look interesting

Gravity – exciting

Rush – wets appetite

We’re the Millers – funny

White House Down – intense atmosphere

Anchorman – funny

Pacific Rim – exciting music

The Great Gatsby – Soundtrack

-The results that we have collected from asking this question lets us see what people determine to be a good opening, so we can draw from famous openings and include some of it in our own.

 

4.    What props would you expect to see in a thriller?

Weapons – 5

Crucifix and holy water – 1

None answers – 2

-We have learnt from this question that people expect to see weapons in an opening to a thriller. We will include a weapon of some kind to our video. We will look at famous thriller openings to see how different weapons are used and compare it to what we can do.

 

 

5.    What is the worst thriller you have seen and why?

Paranormal Activity - 4

Mama

Ghost rider

None answer – 1

- After collecting the answers to this question, we have a wider knowledge of what conventions and themes we should not use in our thriller. The results tell us that a thriller opening similar to Ghost Rider or paranormal activity will not appeal to our audience. We will not create an opening like this.

 

6.    What grabs your attention in a Crime thriller and why?

Good plot

Suspense

Death

Music – suspenseful

Thrilling events

An unknown killer

-We learnt from these answers what will help to grab the audience’s attention in our thriller opening. We found out that suspenseful music will grab the viewer’s attention and will make the thriller more effective. We will also make sure that our thriller opening has an effective plot that will keep that audience engaged.

 

7.    Do your personal interests affect the types of films you watch and why?

Yes – 6

Why? Suspense

No – 2

-After collecting these answers, we found that linking the thriller to people’s interests would make it more interesting.

 

8.    What is your favourite poster for a film and why?

The Departed – 2

Pulp Fiction

Die Hard

Friday 13^th

Star Wars

No answer – 2

-By asking this question we have learned what kinds of things people like when viewing a film poster.

 

9.    What characters appeal to you in a Crime Thriller and why?

The hero

Helpless victim – 2

Vulnerable female

Interesting characters

The killer

Psychopaths

-From asking this question we aimed to learn what people wanted to see in a thriller. We learned that people like a stereotypical hero and helpless victim. We will include a psychopathic killer and helpless victim in our film as a result of this question.

 

10. For a setting, would you prefer:

An isolated building-8                An open area-0         An urban setting-0

Storyboard testing

Story board testing against the target audience

 After creating our story board, we gave it to people that fitted with our targeted audience and asked them what they thought. This is the feedback they gave:

 

·         They didn’t approve with the idea of filming in a built up location. They said that the opening would fit more with the thriller genre if it was in a small isolated location. We have chosen to film in this sort of location because it will appeal more to our audience.

·         They agreed with the use of the table prop in the middle of the room. They said that this would make the character on screen look more mysterious and will create tension as the video goes on. We have decided as a group that this will be definitely be in our thriller and will be one of the most obvious props.

·         They said that another effective prop for our thriller was the lamp on the table. The lamp will light up what’s on the table. Such as the photographs, notebook and gun but will keep the face of the killer hidden. This will make the thrilling nature of the video more effective.

·         The storyboard testers also said that our thriller plot fits well with its genre. They said that it will be successful in keeping the audience on edge and will build tension throughout the 2 minutes.

Thriller openin storyboard

What sub genres appeal to the target audience

 

 

What Sub-Genres appeal to the target audience?