Thriller Evaluation - Q5

1. Having established the audience for the thriller opening ‘Homeless’ as
primarily young people (15-24) we aimed to attract this group with a cast
comprising entirely of people of this age group, allowing the audience to
better engage with the action as a result of their ability to relate well
with the situation being portrayed. The theme of homelessness and
poverty is one that a young audience will be able to identify with and so I
believe that it was appropriate to incorporate characters who the
viewers will feel a likeness to.
Sam, as a character will be particularly appealing to our audience who are most
likely suffering similar problems to. The fact that we make such close reference to
a social issue that affects our target audience means that viewers will be flattered
by the fact that they feel represented within the media, thus creating great
support and interest from this area of the market. This is further maintained by
the fact that the audience follows Sam throughout the entirety of the opening;
something which an audience able to relate to the character will appreciate, as it
gives a fair and realistic portrayal.
Another media text that provides a representation of youth culture is the TV
drama ‘Skins’, in which this representation is built from the perspective of this age
group. As a result, according to IMDb statistics, it overall has a greater appeal to
the under 18 age group. This shows that audiences far greater appreciate a text
where the characters portrayed are similar to them, and so therefore our thriller
opening is specifically targeting a young audience as a result of the fact that the
characters involved are young people.

2. We tried to make our thriller opening ‘Homeless’ appeal to an audience who enjoys
viewing thriller films, and are fans of the genre. This is evident through the many choices
we made regarding the mise en scene of the opening in which we attempted to
incorporate as many generic aspects of the genre as possible.
Costume
Norma’s costume is one way in which we tried
to make our thriller opening appealing to an
audience who enjoys watching and has a good
knowledge of films from the thriller genre. By
mildly referencing the costume and attitudes of
a femme fatale character, seen notably in film
noir productions of the 1930’s, we were able to
make ‘Homeless’ a production which has an
appeal to a more intellectual audience, who will
appreciate the reference to such an iconic era in
film production.

3. Cliff hanger
We continued to target our audience at the cliff-
hanger, when we are still in the shoes of Sam as he
is violently attacked by Norma. This climactic event
gives an uncensored presentation of British youth
culture, in which our thriller opening represents
the idea that young people in Britain actively prey
on one another. This was a key factor in how we
addressed our audience, being set around a
representation that they will hold a strong view
on.
Lighting
The lighting in our thriller opening makes reference to
similar thriller texts in which its use is to create tension
and suspense, as well as highlighting significant characters.
We use chiaroscuro lighting in our thriller opening to
similar effect as that used in ‘Nosferatu the Vampyre’
where Count Orlok is highlighted for dramatic effect. For
example we use chiaroscuro lighting when establishing
Norma, something which fans of the thriller genre will
recognise as a generic element, thus targeting this
audience.