1. Who would be the audience for our media product?
Question 4
Our thriller opening features a high standard of suspense and holds key
enigma codes, engaging the audience, making them want to watch more.
Our product could be established into the crime thriller subgenre which
could interest a large sample of the target audience. Personally, I think that
the target audience of this product should be young people above the age of
16 due to the swearing and graphic violence. Also, crime is a currently a
huge issue in society, therefore, teenagers could relate to the movie.
2. As you can see, the mood board contains typical things that teenagers around
the age of 16+ may be interested in, for example, sports, music and/or shopping.
This connotes that the audience of our opening are teenagers of different
interests. The film Conjuring is on the mood board, which may signify that the
audience have an interest in horror/thriller films, therefore our opening is
applicable for them. The character profile presents a typical teenage girl that
likes watching horror and thriller movies. It is likely for her not to be interested
in sports or cars, but in shopping and socialising. Her favourite TV programme
would probably be something like Gossip Girl or Breaking Bad, as it is hard to
guess.
Target audience Mood Board & Individual Profile
3. The narrative
is very clear.
The
camerawork
portrays the
story very
well.
The music
gave the
opening more
tension and
eagerness.
However, the
chase scene
could have
been more
tense, maybe
by the use of
editing.
The
opening
definitely
suits its
target
audience.
It kept me
hooked.
I love the
twist at the
end, when we
find out that
he is the
policeman. It
gives the
story a better
meaning.
Feedback
4. Discussing Issues Raised and Target Audience Feedback
Before producing the opening, our major concern was the gun, as we could
not take it outside of the school building. At that point we have already
created our story board, shot list and animatics. However soon we found a
solution as our teacher advised us to film the shot in school. So we found
background that matches the previous footage that we already filmed and it
turned out great.
Target Audience Feedback
Some of our friends gave us great feedback after viewing our opening.
This was vey useful as it allowed us to see if we met our targets of
meeting the likes and dislikes of our target audience. The majority
gave us positive feedback which is great to know that our effort and
hard work was appreciated and realise by the audience. Many of our
audiences enjoyed the narrative, and said it was engaging. However,
some commented on the technical difficulty of the chase scene, which
we ourselves admit could have been better. Receiving negative
feedback is also useful because we get the opportunity to learn from
our mistakes and find out our weaknesses.
5. Question 5: How did we attract/address our audience?
Personally, the thriller genre seems to appeal more to teenagers
as it has a buzz that young audience appreciate. Consequently,
we had to consider some factors that would make it more
applicable for them. Those were:
• Genre Conventions
• Media Technical Language
• Music
• Similarities To Other Films Enjoyed By Our Target Audience
After planning these, all was left to do was to produce the film,
and make sure it fit the standards of our target audiences.
Although our film was not packed with action, CGI and special
effects, we focused more on making it gender friendly; girls
could relate to the girlfriend while boys to the boyfriend. This
therefore meets the standards of our target audience.
6. Genre Conventions
Genre consists of four conventions:
• Characters
• Iconography
• Narrative
• Themes.
Firstly, I will discuss the characters in our opening and how they fit the
genre. This also relates to iconography due to their costumes.
In this shot, the characters are
walking very close together and
are holding hands which
symbolizes love automatically
telling us that they are a couple.
They seem like nice, generous
people which makes the audience
like them. Their clothes make
them look high middle-class
which is why the robber may have
attacked them. Also, the girlfriend
is wearing fur which is typically
associated with wealth and
success.
7. This shot makes the robber look
unusual because he is wearing
glasses. However, if we look at classic
gangster movies like Get Carter we
notice that they were wearing
glasses. It is also said that Michael
Caine made glasses ‘cool’ as before
they were seen as geeky.
This bottom shot is the first shot we
see the robber in. Due to his face
being covered, the audience cannot
trust him which suggests that he is
the antagonist (at this point in the
movie the audience are unsure if he
is). He is also wearing black clothing
which is foreshadowing murder and
crime. This is how the thrill is
created, because the audience are put
on edge as soon as the film starts.
Clearly, iconography plays a massive part in establishing characters. The film
follows typical thriller messages and values as the robber and protagonist
(boyfriend) are both male, while the damsel in distress is a female.
8. Secondly, I will discuss the iconography in our opening and how it fits
the genre. Iconography is everything within the scene, also known as
mise-en-scene.
The graffiti is visible in some scenes,
especially at the beginning. This lets
the audience know that the area is
run-down and dangerous, which
therefore may give the audience an
impression that the area has a high
crime rate.
The rubbish on the floor also signifies
that it is a run-down, horrible area.
This makes the audience dislike that
area, and expect something bad to
happen there. It also signifies the
situation as it is a big mess.
9. Thirdly, I will be discussing how the narrative fits the genre.
A narrative is essentially the storyline: it is a series of events that happen
over time and later on link together by a cause and effect. Due to the fact
that this is simply just an opening, the narrative is not as rich as it would
be in a full movie. The murder of the girlfriend is a cause and effect itself
as that causes the boyfriend to decide to take revenge; we see this when he
clenches the bandana in one hand and holds the police badge in his other
hand. This arouses the enigma codes, making the audience ask questions
like did he mean to kill her? Who is he? Did he know the couple? This
consequently creates the theme of murder and crime, relating to the ‘buzz’
that thriller themes create among the teenagers allowing us to reach our
target audience's standards.
10. Lastly, I will discuss how the themes form the thriller genre in our opening.
Themes are formed by the narrative; they are the messages and values of the
film.
As I mentioned before, our movie fits the subgenre of crime thriller therefore
the themes may include murder, crime, depression, stalking etc.
Throughout the opening we have the theme of love contrasting the theme of
murder. The theme of love is shown when the couple are walking together, very
close and holding hands. Also, during the scene when the girlfriend is dead in
the boyfriend’s arms because he cries; the close-up shows his melancholia. The
theme of murder appears when we see a close up of the gun, and hear the
diegetic sound of the gun.
11. Media Language
Media language is simply the technical effects that make the opening take
place. This can be done through camerawork and special effects/editing. If
done well, they make the opening have a flow and run smoothly.
These areas do not control storylines, but they emphasise the genre
conventions in the opening.
Camera shots manipulate what the audience are supposed to look at and
pay attention to. They allow the audience to see the movie through the
director’s eyes. Therefore, in our opening we used a variety of camera shots
to create suspense and make it very interesting for the audience. Many
times the camera pans and tracks, for example, we see a tracking shot of
the boyfriend running after the robber. This makes the shot more exciting,
as movement usually creates tension and panic.
12. Special Effects/Editing
Among other editing, we have used shot reverse shot during the
scene of the robber shouting to the couple. It makes the film run
more smoothly and makes it all fit well together. Shot reverse shot
is where one character is shown looking at another character and
then the other character is shown looking back at the first character.
However, in our film the couple does not turn around at first, as
they are frightened and want to keep walking.
13. Music
The first non-diegetic incidental music playing throughout the opening creates
suspense and adds more action to the film. It makes the audience curious
because it is mysterious and slow, just like the robber.
The second non-diegetic incidental music that plays is quick and drives the action
on. It puts the audience on edge as they hope that the boyfriend will catch the
robber. It drives the action forward and puts the audience on edge.
14. Similarities With Other Movies:
Batman Begins
The robber in Batman Begins
portrays a lot of the same
characteristics as our robber
because in both films their faces
are hidden. They both pick and
shoot an innocent victim and are
both dressed in the same way.
15. Other characters that share
similarities with our characters
are batman’s parents. Like the
couple in our film the woman
hides behind the man and
seeks guard, whilst the man
lives up to his stereotype and
tries to protect her and calm
the criminal down. However,
in batman both of the parents
die but in our film it follows
the more typical view of the
male seeking revenge after his
girlfriend is shot.
16. Unique Selling Point
Due to the film being a usual crime-thriller with typical
characters, it may appeal well to the audience because they
know exactly what they’re gonna get. Also, the fact that the
Batman film is a classic makes our film seem like it is going
to fit the genre and be popular amongst its target audience.
It is a crime thriller therefore it can be popular amongst a
lotof people, even ones that are not part of the target
audience, due to the thrill and suspense it creates.
