Possible locations

our initial thriller idea contains a scene of a crowded train station at night. So as a possible location we have chosen Brentwood train station when we do so it will be dark and late at night so that our character will stand out against the darkness of the setting and the crowd.


We may encounter some problems filming in this area as it is very open and public so a lot of people will be moving through the area whilst filming  is taking place this may be a problem as much of the footage we are wanting to film is of a thriller theme so this may cause confusion and fear amongst  onlookers.So we may wish to seek permission to film in this area and make anyone in the area during filming what is taking place.


We like this locations as at night the atmosphere can become very early and scary making it a good location for a thriller to be set and conveying to the codes and conventions of a thriller.

Initial opening ideas

Textual analysis of :A Clockwork Orange

As we believe that A Clockwork Orange is one of our main influences we wanted to look at the effectiveness of it's opening.

Immediately, at the beginning of the intro it contains loud and tense music as the audience is introduced to a character, the fact that he is looking straight at the camera conveys to the audience his dominance and power over the audience.Conforming to the conventions of a thriller in that a dominant figure is usually present.

 Which highlights to the audience he is a character of high importance and danger. Furthermore his clothes and apperance convey to the audience he is not a character of  mainstream society at the current time and highlights that the film may be set either in the past or future. As the camera remains fixed on him his eyeline remains directly at the audience without blinking remaining in contact with the audience.


As it zooms from his face he appears in the middle of a larger group which shows the audience  he is a main character of high meaning to  the plot. As he drinks the glass of milk he does so slowly showing he is not being rushed and breaks a stereotypical view of what the audience would expect people to be drinking in a modern day bar. As their environment is revealed it appears most of the characters are male apart from the mannequins which shows they may be living in a society highly dominated by males and that their view of  females may be highly dated. Furthermore the main group of character are situated at the back of the bar this is done to further portray a sense of fear surrounding them in that they are feared or hated by others.



Then a voice over of the main character can be heard as if they are narrating to the audience this has been done to build a relationship between this character and the audience and eliminates any confusion for the audience who may begin to be confused by the complexity of the storyline.At the end of the opening when the character say 'ultraviolence' the consistent soundtrack becomes louder and faster portraying to the audience a sence of forboding for the action of the next scene.

Questionaire Results

Focus Group

We asked three of our peers that are in our target audience to tell us their views on a thriller. This video shows our findings from our focus group. During which we received some useful feedback that will help us develop an idea for our thriller opening. We found that our peers enjoyed thrillers especially Black Swan, Inception and Shutter Island. They also said they enjoy thrillers that do not necessarily have a straight forward story line and that confuse the audience. Furthermore they named elements of the thrillers they did not enjoy such as pictures on the wall and stalking in woods.

Cape Fear - textual analysis

From watching the opening of Cape Fear I realised that the font was bold and italic, this helps the writing by making it stand out against the images that were in the background. The classical music that is played slowly builds up as the titles stop and the film starts.

 

 The images in the background during the titles are distorted images that reflect Robert Deniro's views and how he sees the world. The image of an eagle suggests the main character is a dangerous predator and as it is a reflection in the water, this is how he sees himself. The red used in one of the pictures shows there may be blood dripping in the film. Also the black shadowed figure elements of green suggesting envy and jealousy may occur. There are two different images of eyes during the titles being shown, the first is flickering eyes which look paranoid and nervous, this could be seen as the victims eyes, the second eyes stare and are more controlling, which can be seen as the killers. A reflection of an open mouth which goes dark creates the feeling of trepidation and adds suspense. The water seems calm on the surface but not literally which reflects on the mans behavior.

The woman wears a white shirt which is buttoned up to the top indicating she is innocent and maybe a victim in the film. The man walking into shot automatically displays he is dominant over the audience. The starling photos the audience see whilst he is working out suggests he is a revolutionary figure. There is silence as the same man walks out of jail which suggests he is a feared person and they are scared to say anything. He mentions he has read all his books which shows he is inelegant and has also been in jail a long time as there is many books shown.

As the two characters are focused on for a long period of time we assume they are somehow linked together. As the clip I watched finished I noticed as the character got closer to the camera the clouds and music got faster and louder. The storm suggests a sense of foreboding and pathetic fallacy.

Saul Bass
He was an American graphic designer and film maker but is best known for his design on animated motion picture title sequences.During his 40year career he worked for some of Hollywood's greatest film makers, including Alfred Hitchcock, Otto preminger, Stanley Kubrick and Martin Scoresse. He designed title sequences for 40 years, for films such as Sparticus 1960, The Victors 1963, It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad world 1963, and Casino in 1995.

We looked at one of his best title sequences from 'Rear window' we think they are simple and effective and the writing is bold and standout against the background but the colours remain in keeping with the colour scheme of the background.And throughout the title sequence the blinds are slowly wound up to reveal an establishing shot of the scene in which the film is set. We found this a highly unique way of setting the scene of a film.

Analysing opening

To start looking at title sequences we started to research on the website http://www.theartofthetitle.com/. This is a web resource of film and television title design from around the word.They honour the artists who design excellent title sequences.They discuss and display their work with a desire to acquire more of it, via stills and video links, interviews, creator notes, and user comments. On this website we found many videos that supplied us with ideas and inspiration for what we can use for the title sequence of our thriller.
There we watched a sequence entitled 'silence of the lambs' we thought the titles were highly effective. The font at the beginning it dramatic and bold the font is black with a white outline causing it to stand out against the wooded area background successfully.Leading the audience to be focused on both the action of the film and the titles.

The embedded code was unavailable due to copyright issues www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ixv-BQtMZHY

We also watched the title for 'catch me if you can' we believe that this sequence is highly effective  Because the chosen font goes with the overall theme of the music. In that it goes with the jazz style and class of the opening credits.Furthermore we found the animation effective as also the silhouette of the characters went well with the overall theme of the film, and the animation gives the audience an idea of what the film will be about including the  imagery of business men and airports/planes. Furthermore the font is able carry on in certain letters such a 'n' or 'p'to merge together with these animations to create other elements of the animation such as staircases and ladders in the swimming pool. Creating an unconventional and unique title sequence.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3UuLPR5LiM
We were unable to get an embedded code due to copyright issues.

We also watched the opening titles for 'vertigo', we thought that this title sequence was highly effective because we liked it simplicity of reveling elements of a an unknown character which highlights a sense of enigma for the audience that leaves them wanting to know who this character is and why she is of importance to the storyline. And the close up of the eyes highlights a sense of panic and fear among this character also leaving the audience wanting to know this characters situation, this imagery of characters eyes also changes colour to red to highlight a sense of panic and blood conforming to traditional conventions of  thriller this is also when the main title of the film 'vertigo' is shown in a white font causing it to stand out to the audience.Then a swirl appears in the iris of the eye and as it appears bigger the pace of the music  portraying a sense of panic and suspense among the audience The font also has a white outlined background causing it to stand out to the dark imagery of the eye in the background.



We also also looked at the opening credits of 'the Terminator 3' we thought this sequence was effective because the background imagery highlighted the overall theme of the film in that it appeared very high tech and technological computer hardware and software conveying classic elements of a sci-fi thriller. Furthermore the font also supports this futuristic theme, unfortunately we felt as if the font could have been more effective if it was bolder of of a different colour so it could appear bolder and stand out more to the audience. This sequence of computer parts is broken by a clip of flowing lava which highlights to the audience a sense of enigma leaving the audience wanting to know what has caused this and how it is involved within the movies storyline.

Embedded code was unavailable due to copyright issues:  www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-Rj8JHSVSI

The Third man (1949 Carol Reed)

As research for our thriller we watched and analysed  the first three minutes of 'The Third Man.' Immediately an example of composition was shown, this shot contains four male characters in a open top car, the shot is a close up of the two main characters in front with two other men sitting behind. Surrounding the men there is a large amount of background allowing the audience to gather an idea of of where they are in the scene.

There is also a good example of a sound bridge in which music from the scene before is carried across to the next scene to introduce a new male character running up a staircase. This staircase is able to indicate to the audience the wealth and class of the characters as the staircase is large and elegant allowing them to become a main point of focus for the audience. Then a low angle shot on a slight tilt is used composed of both the staircase and another highly grand piece of set design: a large door with detailed frame work subject to the middle of the frame.

Then another male character is seen to be stationary in the frame while the other walks into frame, at the same time a upbeat soundtrack is being played which may be used to reflect that persons emotions or personality. It is important that the main character is reflected to have elements of 'normality' about them so the audience are able to identify with this characters so that they care about the fate of this character within the film.

I think that if we are to establish a good relationship between our audience and our main character we must portray to the audience a sense of normality surrounding them also we could do this by shooting them carrying out a everyday task of other imagery which is understood by the audience to make then feel like they now share a 'secert' with the main character.

Analysis of a three minute opening of a thriller: Inception

As we have earlier explained inception is a film we consider to be our high influence to our project which is why we have analysed the opening 3 minutes as a source of ideas and inspiration for what we may include within our thriller.

Analysing opening of Inception

At the opening for inception it begins with powerful music with a strong drum beat setting a tense mood for the clip. Then the stormy sea may act as pathetic fallacy reflection the mood of the film via a violent change in weather conditions.

Then a character I seen to be washed up on the beach immediately causing enigma for the audience as they are wanting to learn how this character has got into this position and why. The distorted dialogue of children playing emphasises a feeling of disorientation and confusion for this character. Then there is another character holding a large weapon and filmed using a low angle shot to emphasise to the audience this characters dominance over the other immediately highly to the audience the two characters may be in conflict with another conforming to a typically conventions of a thriller having villainous enemies and heroic characters in place. Furthermore the fact that the character has a hand gun on his possession suggest to the audience his character is one to be feared and conforms to conventions of a thriller where weapons are often used to portraying a main characters position and highlights a sense of danger and violence surrounding them.

The fact that the group of men in very low key lighting suggests that the group is unknown and discreet. And the fact that the group are speaking of a different language than that of the main character elevate to the audience a sense of secrecy and suspicion among them being kept from the main character and audience.

The close up of the gun on the table may be a stereotypical convention of a thriller but the spinning top highlights a sense of enigma leaving the audience wanting to know how these items are linked and how they are being used.

Then the character is seen wearing scruffy clothes and eating small scraps of a meal while discussing the spinning top suggesting these characters experiences of this object are somehow linked. Then the character looks up and a low and tense music sting is heard as it cuts to the same character but this time in another situation wearing smart business dress and eating fine food, this has been done to contrast between the two lifestyles and leave the audience in a state of enigma as they are left wanting to know why and how the circumstances have changed. All characters then begin to discuss an issue involving highly technical terms leaving the audience in a state of confusion and interest to continue to discover the issue later on in the film.

We were unable to use the embedded code for copyrighting reasons, this is why we have had print screened the sections, to give the reader an idea of what we are talking about.

Inception review and how it relates to our initial ideas

We filmed ourselves talking about Inception and how we are using the ideas from the film to relate to our initial ideas of our thriller. We chose to use Inception as our inspiration because it is different from any other film also because it has had such high ratings and it is a fairly new film.

Audience research 1:Demographics

A common and widely used method of audience research is called demographics. This aims to define certain groups of adult society largely by the occupation that they have.It brakes the population down into six groups and labels in a lettering code to describe income and status of those in each group.

Producers find it important to know the demographics of their potential audience so they can adapt to product they are producing whether it be text or product to appeal to a group with known viewing habits.
For example if producers at a television company were wanting to produce a DIY programme there target audience would be C2 demographic and maybe D.

This does not infact reflect a complete picture. It fails to tell media producers some things they may wish to know, such as each groups income ans how much each has to spend each week.Some skilled manual workers earn the same amount every week as a teacher but they are unlikely to spend it in the same way.

Also these demographics only focus on the main earner of a household and fail to include other member of a household such as younger children

Audience

The term 'Audience' refers to a group of people that come together to experience music, film, theatre or another live event.In terms of media the term audience is used to describe any group of people who receive a piece of media text, and not just people who are all  together in one place

'Audience' is a key term within media studies, because all media products are produced with a target audience already established. In the hope that the group will consume the product and understand and enjoy whatever it may be.

So audience is a part of the media equation- a media product will be produced and the audience will receive it. Television producers need an audience for their programmes, so they can spend more money producing them and make more programmes that the audience will enjoy.

FOUR C'S

The adverstising agency Young and Rubican  created a highly sucessful psychographic profile known as their 4c's Marketing Model  hhtp://www.4cs.com. The 4cs stand for CROSS CULTURAL CONSUMER CHARACTERISATION. They put the audience onto groups with categories that suggest thier positon and role within society.

Screen shot taken when researching thier website

Audience research 2:Psyschographics

This aims to describe and define an audience by lookind at the behaviour and personality traits of its members.Psychographics labels a certain type of individual and makes a assumption of their viewing a spending patterns/habbits.

Probably the most likely selection for a pyschographic for a thriller would be explorers as they will be more likely to choose and experience different and allternative style of film or thriler. They also value differnce and andventure meaning they may be more willing to buy different film styles which is what we are aiming to create for our thriller opening somthing unusual. Furthermore thay are steroeotypically the younger generatin (mainly students) which is a audience we have allready labelled as our main target audience for the thriller we are wanting to create.

Questionnaire
We constructed a questionnaire to access what our target audiences expectations of a thriller and a thriller opening are and the various conventions they would expect the be present within a thriller.

We have recently been advised on using the cameras by a couple of students from year 13 during which we were advised firstly on how to attach the cameras to the tripod and how to use it such as using the leaver to pan and how  move the camera up and down.

We were then taught how to firstly turn on the cameras and the various buttons so we knew how to record and put the camera on standby.

We were also taught how to put in the tape for recording and this goes in automatically so we we warned to to force it.

We were then taught how to record something and then switch the mode to playback so we were able to watch it back using both rewind and fast foward.

They then warned about the various mistakes they had encountered when they were filming such as forgetting to charge the camera, not loading the tape and accedently leaving the cameras battery to be drained by leaving it on standby

BBFC research

A U rating would mean that the film is aimed at and viewable by only those aged 4 and above a film rated using this label would not show any images threatening or distressing for a audience of this age such a gore horror or drugs and violence as we are creating a thriller this would obviously not be the correct rating.

A film rated as a PG is usually aimed at and suitable to children aged 8 or above. And PG stands for parental guidance which can suggest the film contains scenes that may be unsuitable for that child such as mild language.They will not however contain extreme violence as they may be a danger of the child replicating action seen.No sexual content and no extreme cases violence or scenes of a frightening nature.This obviously may not be a suitable rating for our thriller as scenes may be of a frightening nature and contain to much gore for an audience of this age.

A 12 film is aimed at and will be suitable for children of only 12 and above. Usually within these films dangerous and violent behaviour should not appear regularly and sexual activity has to remain brief Mature natured themes are acceptable but only moderate violence and scenes of gore are acceptable. This may not be a suitable rating for our thriller we believe this audience may be too young to show the scenes of threat, weapons and gore that will be featured within our thriller.

An 18 rated film is viewable by any adult unless this film has been created or sold illegally. An 18 may contain horrific images drug use and scenes of a sexual nature.

We have decided to rate our thriller as a certificate 15 viewable for people of only this age and above because we feel that the scenes being shown are not violent and horrific enough to be considered as a 18 only suitable for adults. But we feel the content will be suitable for a teenage audience because we feel this is the target audience for most thrillers.

Analysing the Brighton rock Film Poster

By looking at the poster firstly there are quotes from various sources such a the daily mail giving the film a  high sense of credibility as the daily mail may be an opinion in which we trust. These quotes have obviously been added to attempt to encourage people to see it, and unlike other thrillers the main actor is not very well known so the film poster may need to rely on these quotes rather than appealing to existing fans of the main actor.Similarly the poster states the film is from the producer of 'atonment' which was a highly successful film making people who enjoyed this film more likely to see Brighton rock.

The iconography on the poster highlights the audience to the setting of the film images like Brighton pier and the seagulls highlight the icon location in which the film is set.

Also the font on the poster is blue white a red which are not only the colours of the union jack but of the mod target associated with the time period in which the film is set highlighting the genre of the film colours rarely used for thriller posters who usually stick to the colours red, black, and white.

 The presence of a dark figure who appears to be the main character may challenge the conventions of a thriller poster as it is unlikely for the villain to be the main subject it is normally the hero like on the poster taken (which appears on our previous mood board). Similarly the blood drip at the bottom of the villains image highlights the audience of the movies thriller theme.

Selection of collected images in a mood board exploring thrillers we have seen and been interested by to be used as research and influence as to what we can create for our thriller.Most of the images shown appear to display the typical conventions and codes of a thriller containing mostly male characters using weapons and  ultimately conveying the stereotypical conventions of crime thrillers.