Media Question 4 and 5

1. Who would be the Target
Audience for your Media
Product? Q4
Our media product would be established in the Physiological-Thriller sub-genre, which
will interest a particular target audience. In the opening of our thriller it contains many
enigma codes, these enigma codes will keep the target audience asking questions, such
as; why has this girl been kidnapped? Who is the antagonist? The opening also contains
false peaks of suspense which will keep our audience on the edge of their seats. As the
audience will be asking themselves these questions they will want the answers to them,
therefore they’ll continue watching. Our media product will be aimed at a target
audience age range of 18-40. As our product contains violence and adult situations the
lower side of the age range must be appropriate. Although our product will be for both
genders there are other factors that may affect what gender prefers our media product.

2. Target Audience Mood board
and Individual Profiles
Both of our mood boards are based on a wide range of ages between 18-40, this is the range that our
sub-genre thriller is aimed at. On the mood boards you can see the typical things that will relate to
members of our target audience. For example: in the mood boards there are a variety of different
thrillers, as our target audience would have an interest in other thrillers. As a group we decided that
we were not just going to aim our opening to those who are a fan of thriller, we wanted to interest a
wider audience. We wanted to expand our audience by interesting those who do not usually watch
thriller films, we tried to do this by incorporating parts of different sub-genres, such as: horror-
thriller, physiological-thriller and crime-thriller. For example; in our opening scene it has convention
of a crime thriller, as the vulnerable protagonist is being kidnapped.

3. Feedback from the Target
AudienceAudience Members
“The narrative of the
opening was very unique,
however it took me
sometime to understand it
fully.”
“Great camerawork and mise
en scene along with a clear
narrative. Could have had
some creepy dialogue
between the protagonist and
antagonist.”
For feedback from the target audience
we decided to use a range of different
ages, this allowed us to know what we
had achieved. The majority of the
feedback from the audience was
positive, although we had some
comments on the complicated narrative.
We choose three main people, each of
the members are a different age, we
choose these three as they show what
they though between the target
audiences age range. Even though some
of our audiences member favourite
genre was not part of thriller sub-genre,
they enjoyed our opening. As a group
we enjoyed hearing the feedback from
our target audience as we worked hard
to create our media product.
“I thought it was well
presented and executed. I
thought it was a good opening
as it had may enigma codes.”
Kasia Cencora
Age: 17
Favourite Genre:
Thriller
Terri Townsend
Age: 36
Favourite Genre:
Comedy
Peter Townsend
Age: 46
Favourite Genre:
Horror -Thriller

4. Discuss issues raised and
Target Audience Feedback
Once we had a clear narrative for our thriller opening we moved onto making a clear plan of what we needed to consider.
Before shooting our Thriller opening we made a plan of everything we will need to consider at the time, for example;
Camerawork, Mise-en-scene, and Sound. After we made a shot list for our opening we moved onto making an animatic.
During the time that we filmed we could refer back to our animatic. The plan insured that we knew what we were doing
on the days we filmed.
Target Audience Feedback
Our feedback from the target audience is an important part of creating our media product as it tells us if we have met our
target audience’s approval. The majority of our audience gave us positive feedback as they enjoyed the false peaks of
suspense and enigma codes. However, some commented on the narrative, as the narrative was complicated to follow. The
majority of the audience gave us positive feedback on the use of camerawork and non-diegetic sound. For example: one
member of the audience Terri aged 36 said “I love close-up shot of the leaf in the kidnapping scene.” The shot we used
was a shallow focus shot, which almost appeared to be a voyeur shot. As a group we enjoyed hearing the feedback that our
target audience gave as we had worked hard to create a media product to appeal to them. In our opening we used a variety
of shots and non-diegetic sound to create a tense atmosphere. Many of our audience members enjoyed the non-diegetic as
the soundtrack alone could make them feel uncomfortable.
Although the majority of our feedback was positive some audience members had criticisms. Some members of our
audience preferred the action-thriller sub-genre, rather than our horror-thriller sub-genre. As our thriller is more about the
meticulous and minimalistic antagonist our thriller is more psychological than action packed. However to provide for
different members of the audience our thriller opening contained some action, for example: when our protagonist was
kidnapped. The action itself attracts a wider audience as well as breaking down the suspense. Some audience members did
not understand the narrative of our thriller; however we can use this to our advantage. If we were to begin our thriller with
a straight forward narrative we would not be able to create enigma codes, which are an important part of a thriller.

5. How did you Attract/Address
your Audience?
The Thriller genre is popular within different age groups as there are many sub-genres associated
with ‘Thriller.’ Some of these sub-genres are; Action-thriller, Romance-thriller, Crime-thriller,
Supernatural-thriller, Physiological-thriller, etc…Therefore we decided on one particular sub-
genre for our target audience. The four sections that we considered were;
 Thriller conventions
 Non-diegetic music
 Similarities with other films
 Media language
To begin we created a plan which included each of these points, when it came to filming the
planning we had done acted as a guide. As we followed the sub-genre (Physiological-thriller) we
made sure that we followed the correct conventions. We wanted to include everything that will
attract our target audience as well as keeping to our sub-genre. For music we kept to the typical
thriller music, which is music that creates suspense and sets up false peaks of suspense. For
example; when our protagonist began to walk faster we layered over music to create a false peak
of suspense. To inspire us we used some of the thriller films we had watched in class, for
example; Copycat, Hand that rocks the Cradle, Leon the professional, and Enemy of the State.

6. Genre Conventions
The genre conventions have four main areas that we had to cover, these were; Narrative, Characters,
Themes, and Iconography. To attract our target audience or any audience for that matter we made
sure that our film contained these four areas. Depending on the genre of the film, depends on how
these four areas of the conventions are adjusted to the genre. Firstly I will be discussing the traits of
our characters (protagonist and antagonist) and how they are typical to the thriller genre.
In a typical thriller the narrative revolves around a enigma which
can usually only be solved by the protagonist. Once the equilibrium
is disturbed within a thriller the conflict between the protagonist
and antagonist begins. Thrillers are usually set in urban locations,
for example: our kidnapping scene is filmed on an off-side road. As
a group we kept within the conventions of a thriller as the narrative
is told through the protagonist.
The props in a typical thriller are usually weapons that are large or
easily identifiable, for example; knives. Knives in a thriller are
commonly used to indicate danger as they are often linked to;
blood, violence and brutality. An example of the use of a knife in a
Psychological-Thriller would be in Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho.
Shadows/silhouettes are used in thrillers to connote a sense of
mystery. They often entice and build the fear within a member of
the target audience

7. Iconography
In our thriller opening the role of the iconography plays a big part in the way we represent our
characters. For example; if we had a girl in a bright red room we would know that she is powerful
and dangers, as red connotes this. The target audience would not be surprised that our vulnerable
character is female as there are not many thrillers with a Femme Fatal.
Shallow focus shot First scene Antagonist's home
Iconography is what the audience sees in each frame, such as: costumes, props, landscape (buildings, field,
etc…) and mise-en-scene. In our opening we planned our iconography as we were filming outside we had to
make sure that our planned frames were not interrupted. In our kidnapping scene we choose an off-side road
where we were unlikely to be interrupted, the mise-en-scene of the road also went with our typical thriller. To
enhance the mise-en-scene we used shots that would use our location as an advantage, for example; the
shallow focus shot of the leaf, when used in the opening appears like a voyeur shot. (Cut to black screen) we
have our first in counter with our antagonist. The credit sequence scene presents the personality of the
antagonist to the target audience; the iconography contributes to the building of a characters persona. (Non-
diegetic music to diegetic music) The dinning is one of the main scenes where the iconography contributes to
the representation of the characters as well as the overall atmosphere of the opening. In our dining scene we
used low-key lighting to provoke the emotion of fear of not knowing what will happen next. The minimalistic
appearance of the room allowed the audience to focus on both the protagonist and antagonist.

8. Narrative
Narrative is a series of events that occur over time, the events are
linked by cause and effect. Although events need a cause and affect
our audience do not know the cause/reason to why the antagonist is
kidnapping the protagonist. The opening of our thriller begins with
our vulnerable protagonist who then gets a threating text message.
The fact that she has her phone on her and many young adults rely
on their phone demonstrates peoples over reliance on technology. As
the protagonist begins to pick up pace as she walks many enigma
codes are created, such as; will she get home safe? Who is the
person texting her? Why is she being targeted? These enigma codes
all contribute to the construction of the thriller genre. Our thriller is
a sub-genre (Physiological-thriller) as our opening plays with the
minds of our target audience. The scene after the kidnapping scene
contributes to the rest of our narrative, if we were to make the rest of
the film we would have the set up to continue.

9. Themes
The main identifying theme of a thriller is often based on something that society is concerned about
at the time, these can range from isolation and kidnapping to the act or terrorism and is affects. The
main concept of the narrative is shown through the protagonist perspective, for example; the P.O.V
shots puts the target audience in the protagonist position. The dark colour schemes and low-key
lighting in thrillers connote mystery and suspense. The low-key lighting used in thrillers enhance the
isolation and vulnerability of the protagonist. In our kidnapping scene our protagonist is isolated,
even though the protagonist has her phone, the technology that she once relied on has turned against
her. The typical protagonist in a thriller will face death and save another, while the typical antagonist
has a stronger force than the protagonist. Overall the typical narrative of a thriller is in the possession
of the protagonist. In a thriller the non-diegetic music is typically eerie, mysterious and suspenseful,
this allows us to provoke different emotions from the target audience.

10. Media Language –Types of
Shots
The media language we have learnt has been incorporated into the opening of our thriller using
key concepts, such as; representations, audiences, framing, narrative, genre, etc…Commonly the
audience will distinguish a shot between the framework and mise-en-scene. In our opening we
used a wide range of shot types, for example; Shallow focus, P.O.V, Close-up, Pan, Match on
Action etc… The variety of shots we have used provoke the different emotions we want from our
target audience. For example: the P.O.V shots put the target audience in the protagonists position,
making them feel vulnerable. Throughout our opening our antagonist is not revealed, however we
have used P.O.V shots in our credit sequence scene. Once our target audience realise what the
antagonist is doing to the protagonist it a makes the audience question their own morals. Other
shot types we have used build tension and make the audience feel as if they are the one stalking
the protagonist, such as; voyeur shot.

11. Editing/Music
Using the ‘Adobe Premiere Pro,’ as a group we
tested the effects that we wanted to use on our
shots. This allowed us to get an idea of what
our finale shots would look like as a part of the
opening. For example; we used the blur effect
on the P.O.V shots, this allowed us to
communicate the confusion that the
protagonist was feeling to the audience.
However, we also used the software to create
our match on action shots, foe example; we
used one when the antagonist placed the food
down onto the dining table.
Using the ‘Adobe Premiere Pro,’ we layered
music over the scenes we wanted to provoke
emotions from the audience. Depending on
what music we used was the emotions that we
would provoke from our target audience. For
the music we kept to the typical thriller; eerie,
mysterious, suspenseful, etc.. In the kidnapping
scene we used music to build suspense as the
audience waited in anticipation for what will
happen to the protagonist.

12. Similarities to Other Films
Our initial idea for our thriller opening came from the show ‘Hannibal Lector,’ therefore
some aspects of our film relates to this show, as well as some other films. Instead of us
copying the main narrative of ‘Hannibal Lector’ we changed the narrative so the thriller
opening became ours. For example: in ‘Hannibal Lector’ the narrative does not show how
the protagonist got into the antagonist house, to define our narrative we incorporated the
kidnapping scene at the beginning. Although the idea behind the narrative was similar we
used a different range of shots, which we believe as a group makes the narrative more
chilling. Unlike the show ‘Hannibal Lector’ we do not use dialogue to create tension and
friction between the characters. Instead we use music to provoke the emotions we want from
our target audience.

13. Unique Selling Point
Our thriller is in the sub-genre, psychological-thriller meaning our main aim for the target
audience is keep having enigma codes. These enigma codes keeps the audience guessing, for
example: ‘Who is after the protagonist?’ ‘What will happen to her?’ this will appeal to the
audience as the narrative will keep the anticipation of the thriller going. In our thriller
opening we do not have any dialogue which allows the audience to focus on the relationship
between the protagonist and antagonist. The audience are also able to focus on the characters
personality while slowly discovering more about their exposition. As our thriller is not
action packed or jumping from character the protagonist and antagonist becomes the target
audiences focal point. This makes our thriller unique as it is more about the relationship
between the characters rather than the crimes committed.