Audience Questionnaire & Analysis

I wrote up a questionaire to discover what my target audience liked in their films and that would appeal to them if they wanted to watch a thriller film.

What age group are you in?

0-10 (1)

11-15 (2)

16-26 (6)

27-37 (0)

38-50 (1)

50+ (0)

I asked more 16-26 year olds because they are more of my target audience and are the kind of target audience that would watch a thriller film.

What film genre do you prefer? (2 choices)

Thriller (7)

Romantic (4)
Comedy (5)
Crime (3)
Action/Adventure (1)

I had asked 20 people to pick two of their favourites genres of film to contribute to my thriller research. The thriller genre got the most votes out of the five genres, thus proving that it is most popular for 16-26 year olds in this case.

What sub genre of thriller films do you particularly enjoy?
Crime Thriller- (2)
Action Thriller- (3)
Medical Thriller-(7)
Sci Fi Thriller-(3)
Psychological Thriller- (3)
Other- (2)

The research shows that a medical thriller is most popular, this means maybe including disease or infection in the film. This could possibly help our ideas for the opening scene of the thriller we make.

How often do you watch films?
Daily (1)

Weekly (11)
Monthly (8)
Yearly (0)

What was the last film you saw at the cinema, out of these films? (as many as you’ve seen)

The King’s Speech (6)

Love and other drugs (4)

Tangled (3)

True Grit (2)

Black Swan (14)

The Fighter (12)

Black Swan is the highest picked film with 14 votes, Black Swan could be classed as a thriller which proves it is the genre of film people will want to go and watch.

Thriller Research: Genre & Popularity

The genre of thriller has changed a lot through the generations and divided into sub-genres. A thrillers main elements are suspense, tension and excitement, they aim to leave the viewer sitting on the edge of their seat.

The sub-genres include: Crime thriller, medical thriller, psychological thriller, mystery thriller, religious thriller or supernatural thriller. There are more but these are a few of the main sub-genres. Thrillers are very similar to horrors, the main difference is that horror is to scare whereas a thrillers aim is to build tension and suspense. Thrillers are usually to mess with your thoughts and confuse whereas horrors are just to scare.

Thrillers usually involve a villain and then a hero trying to save the day and solve any mysteries that are left standing.

Thrillers have recently become popular as people are being to enjoy the suspense and mystery when going to see a film, instead of being scared; thrillers give them the adrenaline rush.

Thriller Researching: Definitions

Opening Sequence

The beginning of a film is called the opening sequence or opening titles, it uses important information to draw the audience in. It includes logos for distributors, names of directors and actors; if the audience recognise the name as being popular then they will continue to watch the film. It is also used to establish the setting/location of the film and get them intrigued before the main film begins.

Trailer

Trailers are used to advertise the film before it has been released into the cinemas. It would be shown on TV and also in the cinema if it relates to a film that is already out, this way it is more likely to attract the right audience and it will encourage more people to see the film, if it intrigues them. They usually pack a trailer with all the best parts of the film so that it will make a film look really good even if it really isn't, however this can also ruin a film because you've already seen all the best parts.

Thriller Research: Conventions

A thriller film needs to stick to a certain set of conventions; this way it will keep the viewer watching and on the edge of their seat. These conventions include:

• Suspense and tension needs to be built up throughout the film to keep the viewer guessing what will happen next.
• Each film will usually have a victim for the view to sympathise/worry about throughout the film; usually a women or child.
• The beginning of the film will usually foreshawdow what is going to happen later on in the film.
• The lighting is normally darkened and muted, to give a sinister and eery effect.
• A narrative enigma
• A sinister villian adds extra tension to the film.
• Usually a crime for a core narrative to film to keep it dark.
• Usually over the top and extraordinary events occur.
• Set in atmospheric dark places.
• A twist throughout or at the end that will throw the viewer completely of track.
• A protagonist with a problem can be exploited by the antagonist and the protagonist must solve it.
• Non diegetic soundtracks add suspense to a film which can nerve rack a viewer.
• Title sequence sometimes reflects on the character's psychological state.
• There is often a scene near the end of the film where the protagonist is in danger and this makes the audience wonder if the protagonist or antagonist will win in the end.
• Antagonists are predominant through the genre of thrillers.
• Sometimes films are left at a cliff hanger to leave the audience on the edge of their seat.

Thriller Research: Sin City

Directed by Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez (2005)

Mise En Scene

The opening scene quickly shows the audience a lot about the film, that it is in black and white, apart from the colour red. A woman appears first who we may see as the “femme fatal” like in a film noir. Her dress is red and is the only item that appears in colour, the red suggests something maybe seductive. Also her red lipstick shows up brightly on the black and white surroundings. A man then appears to talk to her and is dressed formally in a suit with his hair slicked back suggesting the two of them are at a formal dinner party or out for the evening. After talking for a while the couple go in for a kiss, as they kiss they become a white silhouette, this suggests that the two characters are close to one another so they have been joined. They also stand out from the backdrop of a very dark city.

Editing

Editing is used well in the opening scene of Sin City, because of the black and white. Everything is in black and white apart from red, the womans dress in the opening is red. This implies that red is an important colour for the film and will be significant throughout the film. It could stand for seductiveness of all the women that are involved in the film, it could also stand for lust that the men have of these women; hence the name of the film sin city. Finally it could stand for murder and blood throughout the film making it perfect for a thriller as it's sinister and mysterious.

Sound

The opening scene starts with non-diegetic sound, jazzy formal music that shows the age of film and also the romantic like setting. This music continues to when the two characters kiss which shows the romance. There is also a narrative from the male character, which takes the audience through what he is doing as he is talking to the woman on the balcony. This makes us feel that he could be one of the main characters but could either be the villain or hero of the film. The narrative and music sets up the rest of the film as being dark and mysterious because we aren’t really sure as to what is yet going on.

Camera Angles

The scene starts with an establishing long shot of the woman walking to the edge of the balcony, this sets up the audience with the fact that she is the focal point of the opening scene. The red dress makes her seem seductive and maybe slightly mysterious to viewers. They start with shot reverse shots of the two characters to show maybe they don't know each other yet and aren't at all close. But by the end of the scene the two characters are in a two shot, showing that their relationship has grown more intimate, which shocks the audience when he shoots the women at the beginning of the opening sequence.

Titles

The titles show the different characters but in a comic book cartoon theme, which shows where the original story was from for the film, but also as it’s in black and white it makes it look more sinister and interesting. It helps the audience to discover the traits of each character before the film has even begun. By showing each characters actor or actress in the titles shows the audience that it has quite a few big names in it, therefore they may become more interested and inclined to watch the film.

Thriller Researching: SE7EN

Directed by David Fincher and Written by Andrew Kevin Walker

Seven (1995) is a american thriller/horror film based on the seven deadly sins: Gluttony, Envy, Lust, Pride, Sloth, Greed and Wrath. It's packed with gory, graphic and sadistic murders that two detectives, David Mills (Brad Pitt) and William Somerset (Morgan Freeman) must solve before it gets out of hand. To keep the effects of the creepy side to the plot line, the way the film is made and all it's details must be perfected by the creators. There are four important factors that contribute to make the film more authentic to it's genre; Mise en scene, sound, camera angles/shots and Editing.

Mise en scene

Mise en scene is important to completing the entire look of a film, making sure it completely fits to it's genre so it doesn't confuse the audience. The film SE7EN is deep, dark and mysterious it shows throughout mise en scene as settings are all very dark and secretive places, to confuse but intrigue the viewer.

This screen shot is part of an apartment corridor from the film, however you wouldn't expect it to be this dark and dirty in reality. The shadows add even more effect that something may be being hidden from the characters and watchers of the film.

The costumes of the characters are also very important. Pitt and Freeman are both dressed insmart work clothes, they also have guns and badges which will help the viewer to realise they have something to do with the police. The costumes they are always wearing always seem to be dark, there are never any bright colours involved which implies that overall feel of the film is a deep dark secret, even for the "good guys".

During the opening titles of SE7EN, the bible is implied to be a main part of the film as it is a person flicking through a bible. It is important that the colours in the opening sequence are dull and dismal because it portrays the entirety of the film being dark and mysterious; keeping the viewer scared before the film itself has even began.

Sound

In the small clip from the opening credits that is attached, the sounds implies the genre of the film very subtly.

The non-diegetic sound, the track playing; Nine Inch Nails - Closer is very sinister and almost confusing. It messes with your thoughts as it has different types of sounds playing together that you wouldn't usually put together in a track.

With this being the beginning to the film, it implies that what is coming up in the film will also being sinister and confusing, therefore it is foreshadowing the future of the film. This music is key to making this film a thriller because it gives a sense of tension, nerves and slight panic.

Sound is important throughout the film SE7EN as it plays with the viewers mind, keeps them confused and guessing until the final twist to the film. Without the soundtrack in SE7EN it would not be as eerie and mysterious as it is, it plays a very important factor on making sure it is a thriller film.

Camera Angles/Shots

In the opening sequence for SE7En it shows somebody flicking through pages of the bible methodically, looking at photos and somebody cutting his own thumbprints off.

However it is the close up shots that help the viewer to understand what will happen later in the film, as it focuses onto somebody crossing out certain words in the bible.

There are also many shots of photos being cut up and stuck down into a book, this could foreshadow that a character may be stalking another character. It could also imply the idea of a serial killer picking out victims, which will start to make the viewer feel nervous about what is to come, this helps the film to fall under the genre of a thriller.

Editing

The cuts in the opening titles are quite fast straight cuts that go well with the background music, they also fit well to the person flicking through the bible quickly. It also has flashes/shutter effects between each shot, implying confusion of whats going on to build the nerves of the audience. Editing is important between each shot because it shows sinister parts with quick cuts, implying something bad is happening fast.

Titles

The titles for the film reflect what is going to happen in the rest of the film, it is foreshadowing that the entire theme is something to do with a religion as someone is using a bible. It also implies that somebody has committed a murder or crime, because they are cutting of the tops of their fingers to remove fingerprints. Everything included in the titles implies something to do with crime, murder and religion which helps the viewer to understand what they are about to watch.

Editing Preliminary Final Video

Firstly we editing all of our footage into the different scenes and gave them all names. This way when we came to putting all of it in order it was simple because we had named each section. After cutting all the pieces into sections we'd put them into the right order and added in dissolves and fades so that it wasn't all straight cuts from scene to scene.

Some of the effects added made Sam seem more sinister and Kit looking more worried and vulnerable.

Finally we added some audio to each scene that gave the scenes and eerie feel when Kit was on her own, whereas when Sam was speaking we left it silent so that all the focus was on her.