Here are the key points from the interview: - Silence of the Lambs is a liked psychological thriller due to the unpredictable nature of the plot. - Psychological thrillers are appealing because they provide thrills and scares through intriguing case solving. - A short film length of no more than half an hour is preferred to maintain audience engagement. - Murderers and the psychology behind them make for compelling subject matter in psychological thrillers. The 'why' behind killers is intriguing to explore. Thank you for your insights! This information will help ensure my psychological thriller short film covers appealing subject matter and has an engaging length. Focusing on the psychology of murder fits the genre well.

1. Research
Stephen Royle

2. Existing Product Direct address makes the
audience feel involved and that
they are going to go through the
same journey as the character.
Gets them emotionally involved
with the character.
Website gives different ways that
the audience can interact with the
film. It lets them visit the site to
get more information on the film
and gets them excited for the
release date.
Noose rope connotates death and
torture. This makes the audience
want to find out more as there is
lots of foreshadowing of death
and destruction but no reason as
to why. This leaves enigmas for the
audience and makes them want to
watch the film to answer all their
questions.
Being a teaser poster there is
less information which keeps the
audience guessing and wanting
to know more. It also has
obscure clues about the
narrative and teases the plot.
There is no set location but the
masthead and editing of some trees
hint to the main location being a forest
but this is not directly shown. The
audience have to work this out and
guess as it is not given to them. The
silhouette of the forest in the centre of
the poster is also a typical stereotype
of a horror/ thriller genre as a forest is
very isolated and vast.
The character in the main image
has been edited to be merged
within a forest and ropes tied in
a noose. This gives the
impression that the character is
stuck in all of this mess and
danger and is struggling with the
impacts from it.
The editors have chosen the top
half of the face as the eyes can
be personal, but it also shows
the absence of expression in the
characters face. This gives the
audience no idea if she is happy
or scared. They have also picked
a typical blonde hair blue eyed
vulnerable female stereotype as
the victim.
The editors have chosen to use a sepia
colouring. This choice of desaturated
sepia gives off a cold feel but still has
some warmth. It also reflects time and
gives an old feeling to the audience.
This could link to the film maybe using
flashbacks, links to past and deeper
history in the storyline.

3. Existing Product
Medium shot shows enough of
the forest for the audience to
know it is vast and large but
keeps it close enough to not
reveal anything which leaves the
audience wanting to know more.
The poster has been edited in
postproduction to make the
rest of the forest behind the
front line of trees opaque and
shows little of the forest. this
again creates enigmas for the
audience and makes them want
to know what could be further
into the forest.
Some trees are superimposed over
the masthead. This could connotate
that ‘The Ritual’ is deep into the
forest and is dark and dangerous
and should not be found.
Being a teaser poster there is less
information which keeps the
audience guessing and wanting to
know more. It also has obscure
clues about the narrative and
teases the plot.
The masthead is a natural looking
font that is made to look like the
bark on trees with its texture.
This makes the film feel very
natural and that the antagonist
could be a natural danger. The
opacity is also turned down on it
slightly. This could connotate that
, ‘The Ritual’ is one with the
forest or a part of it.
The masthead is also a pale white
colour. This connotates that the
film or the antagonist of the film
could be quite ancient or has
been around for a long time. This
makes the audience think that
‘The Ritual’ is a long running thing
or event that could have caused
traumatic problems and issues for
other people as it is well known
and old.
There is minimal lighting which
adds to a stereotypical horror/
thriller. It also gives off a feeling
that there is no way out and the
forest is vast as there is no, ‘light
at the end of the tunnel’.
The tagline in uses direct
address by using the words ’you’
and ‘your’. This makes the
audience feel as though they are
involved with the film this would
mean they would go through
the same journey and fear as
the characters.
The producers have used Netflix to
target a younger audience to watch
the film as they think that there
target audience would use Netflix a
lot more.

4. Existing Product The Masthead is in bold
uppercase letters. This is done to
make the title stand out to the
audience and to give a hint as to
what the film could possibly be
about. The same black and white
element is also used.
The dark rough background
represents how the film is a
thriller/ horror, due to black
representing darkness and danger.
This is a typical stereotype of this
genre. However it contrasts with
the white to show that there is a
split side in the film, hence the split
down the middle of the character
and the poster. This makes the
audience want to watch the film to
answer all these questions.
The character is also wearing a
contrast of black and white which
again links to the colour scheme
and the story and morals.
The 50/50 split down the middle of
the poster could represent binary
oppositions, white people fighting
against black people.
The characters facial expressions
also represent the film as a
horror/thriller because his face
looks extremely terrified and
emotional. This makes the
audience want to know what or
who is making the character feel
like this so they will want to
watch the film to answer this
enigma.
The character appears to be
scratching the arm of the chair
he is sat on. This could be a
convention for a psychological
thriller genre as it shows he is
emotional and worked up about
something. Therefore he is
nervously and aggressively
scratching and breaking the chair.
There has been a website made
for the audience to visit and to get
more information on the film. This
would get them excited to watch it
as they can see teasers and other
features by visiting it.
The tagline uses direct address to
involve the audience. This is done
by using the word, ‘you’re’. This
has been done to make the
audience feel involved and will feel
like they are going on the same
journey as the character.
The white also has a stained
texture. This connotes that the
innocence has been tarnished.
This makes the audience want to
know why.
The characters eyes are not
looking at the audience. This gives
us no connection to him in any
way. The character is looking up.
This could mean that someone is
above him which would represent
dominance and power over him.

5. Existing Product The main image is two characters,
that are within proximity to one
another, are positioned almost as
if they were back to back,
symbolising a potential
friendship/working relationship.
The characters faces are both placid,
this adds a sense of ambiguity to the
film as we are unsure as to whether
they are protagonists or antagonists.
The photograph of the two characters has
been edited so that the image is semi-
transparent by turning the opacity on the
image down. This is effective as it integrates
the two characters into their surroundings
which shows that they are connected to the
environment in some way. They appear
enigmatic and difficult to decipher which
adds a peculiar appeal to the audience who
wish to discover more about the characters
and the plot.
Both characters are using direct
address, this establishes a
connection between the audience
and the characters on-screen. Their
intense, penetrating gaze may also
symbolise their careers and make
the audience feel like they are being
tested as well.
The misé-en-scene of the poster
hints towards both character’s
careers. The character on the left
appears to be young; he has a
moustache and beard which maybe
interpreted as a way of trying to look
older and wiser in attempt to be
taken seriously in his career. The
second protagonist also has a
moustache and is wearing an
overcoat. This symbolises the second
character on the right as a wiser
more experienced character.
Moustaches were very stereotypical
for the year of thus film. It was seen
as a very powerful and intelligent
thing to have back then.
The colour scheme used for the poster mainly
consists of rusty oranges, deep reds and
vibrant yellows. This palette is effective as the
colours connotate danger. The colours used
suggest a fire-like appearance, potentially
used to emphasise these two characters
being caught up in the heat of an event or to
indicate them being at risk.
The red slash through the list of sins may
suggest blood and death, indicating the tragic
result these sins are about to provoke. The
red slash may also represent the blood of
those killed as a result of each sin being
committed. This also clearly shows the
audience the genre of psychological thriller as
it conforms to stereotypes such as murder.
The masthead is in a scrawled
handwritten font in the colour
white to represent some sort of
hope and purity in all the mess
and danger.
The tagline is placed below the title. The
repetition of ‘Seven’ and ‘deadly’ reflects the
key themes in the poster and film: the seven sins,
and the danger surrounding it. This tagline is a
reference to the biblical stories surrounding the
seven sins where those who commit the sins die.
This suggests to the audience what the plotline is
based around and adds a foreboding sense to the
outcomes of those seven people who the two
characters will be attempting to save in the film.

6. Research Analysis
• What common features do the researched products have?
– All the products I have researched have some common features such as
gripping titles. The products all have a short but impactful title. For example
titles like Get Out are very clear and strong about the motive of the film. The
title also immediately makes the audience ask questions about why the
character needs to get out and what is stopping him because the phrase
implies that someone is keeping him trapped away. This is similar for the ritual
as the audience want to know what ‘the ritual’ is and if it is bad. The forest is
also very simple and is linked to ropes tied in a noose making the audience
want to find out why they are tied like this and if this is going to have a
devastating effect on any of the characters.
• What aspects of the research will you include within your own work?
– I will use some aspects such as, short impactful Mastheads in my product to
get the audience gripped immediately from the start. I also want to use
aspects such as post production editing in some of the main images to give
the audience some more information on what is to come and to give them
questions that they may want to answer. I also want to include aspects such as
different colour schemes that draw the audience in as they can link to the
genre of a psychographic thriller or connote different ideas or iconography.

7. Questionnaire Analysis
Survey link

8. Audience research
• Observation: 61% of females answered my survey however only 38% of males responded.
• What this says about my audience: This means that females may prefer Psychological
Thrillers more than men.
• How will your product appeal to this audience: My product will appeal to this audience as
I will cast more female roles into my product to give the female audience more of a
connection to my product.

9. Audience research
• Observation: 53% of people that answered my survey were under 18.
• What this says about my audience: People under 18 prefer watching Psychological Thrillers.
• How will your product appeal to this audience: My product will appeal to this audience
because I will use a younger cast in my product to make the audience feel more involved. I
will also include a couple of cast members in the 45-54 year old category as 19% of people
were that age meaning that this age was the second most common age that watch
Psychological Thrillers.

10. Audience research
• Observation: 50% of people most associated an abandoned house with a Psychological
Thriller. However nearly 27% of people thought a forest was most suited to the genre.
• What this says about my audience: This says that an abandoned house or forest would
create the most tension for the audience.
• How will your product appeal to this audience: I will try use an abandoned house in my
product and also a forest to please my audience and get the best outcome from them.

11. Audience research
• Observation: 88% of people would associate dark green, black and red colour
schemes to a psychological thriller over 11% of people that think white, blue,
yellow and grey suit better.
• What this says about my audience: This says that my audience would react better
to a product of this genre with a dark green, black and red colour scheme.
• How will your product appeal to this audience: I will predominantly use this colour
pallet in my short film and the various posters that I will be making. This is too get
the best possible reaction and review from my audience and to make them feel
like the product was made for them.

12. Audience research
• Observation: 46% of my audience believe that a short film should be 15-20
minutes long compared to 26% of people who think they should be 5-10 or 10-15.
• What this says about my audience: This says that my audience want to watch a
short film for a long period of time so that they can fully submerge into the
characters stories and problems.
• How will your product appeal to this audience: My product will appeal to the
audience as I will try get to the 15-20 minute mark to captivate the audience fully.

13. Audience research
• Observation: 73% of people think that a psychological thriller should break
stereotypes as apposed to 26% of people think that they should be conformed to.
• What this says about my audience: This says that my audience are diverse and
think that stereotypes are to be broken.
• How will your product appeal to this audience: I will not include typical
stereotypes or I will do the opposite of some popular stereotypes.

14. Audience research
• Observation: 50% of people think that heartbeats should be used the most out of the effects
in a short film of this genre. However 15% of people selected other. Two of the responses
were all of the above when needed.
• What this says about my audience: This says that my audience enjoy tension being built from
sound effects and get engaged when they are used.
• How will your product appeal to this audience: My product will appeal to my audience
because I will regularly use heartbeats in my short film but I will also use all of the other
sound effects as that appeals to all of my audience and they can all bring different effects.

15. Audience research
• Observation: 65% of my audience wanted too see a non linear timeline compared to
34% who wanted a linear timeline.
• What this says about my audience: This says that the 65% of my audience believe that a
psychological thriller would be better off with a non linear timeline (dispersed order of
events.)
• How will your product appeal to this audience: My product will appeal to this audience
because I will be using a slightly dispersed timeline to keep my audience on there feet and to
keep them guessing.

16. Audience research
• Observation: 73% of people would associate a scary soundtrack with a psychological
thriller, however one person thought that an eerie soundtrack would be best fitting.
• What this says about my audience: This says that my audience would react a lot
stronger to a product of this genre if it included a scary soundtrack or an eerie one.
• How will your product appeal to this audience: My product would appeal to this
audience because I will be using a scary soundtrack in some parts of the product but I
will also be incorporating an eerie one either into the soundtrack or at different places.

17. Audience research
• Observation: 46% of people linked shadows to psychological thrillers over most of the other
named iconography pieces. However confined spaces had 19% of people.
• What this says about my audience: This says that most of my audience would be nervous if
they saw shadows or they would possibly be scared if they saw this in my product.
• How will your product appeal to this audience: My product will appeal to my audience
because I will be using iconography such as shadows and possibly confined spaces. This is to
get my audience fully engaged with my product and to give them a connection to the product
as the audience could have similar fears of the specific pieces of iconography.

18. Interviews

19. Interview 1
1. Name a Psychological thriller that you like and why?
– Silence of the lambs because it kept you on your toes and you never new what was going to happen
next.
2. What makes you want to watch Psychological thrillers and why ?
– Because I like being thrilled and scared and the outcome is always thrilling by the way they solve
cases.
3. How long do you think a short film should be and why?
– No more than half an hour because you don’t want to lose the audience.
4. What subjects or conditions do you think Psychological thrillers should cover, if
any and why?
– I think they should cover murderers and the process that they go through to catch them as I find it
fascinating.
5. Do you think the use of sound effects and music help to add to psychological
thrillers, if so what and why?
– Yes because it creates suspense and keeps us as an audience on our toes.

20. Interview 1
Observation: Audience member likes being scared and
likes to work out how and why characters in this genre of
film do what they do.
What this says about my audience: This says that my
audience is an active one and like to be kept on their toes
to work out the cases for themselves.
How will your product appeal to this audience: My
product will appeal to this audience because I will be
using lots of enigmas and I will be keeping the audience
guessing and wanting to find out what is happening.

21. Interview 2
1. Name a Psychological thriller that you like and why?
– One flew over a coocoo's nest because it had good acting and suspense right up to the end with a
dramatic twist.
2. What makes you want to watch Psychological thrillers and why ?
– Because I like the suspense especially the jump scares.
3. How long do you think a short film should be and why?
– 20 minuets because it keeps me gripped and any longer I would get bored.
4. What subjects or conditions do you think Psychological thrillers should cover, if
any and why?
– State of ones mind and the reasons for their actions because it fascinates me.
5. Do you think the use of sound effects and music help to add to psychological
thrillers, if so what and why?
– Yes and the more haunting the better e.g. some orchestral scores

22. Interview 2
Observation: The audience member likes to work out the plot and
what could possibly happen. They also like to be scared and kept on
their guard. They think that it should not be any longer than 20
minuets or they will get bored.
What this says about my audience: This says that they are an
active audience member who likes to be surprised with different
plot twists.
How will your product appeal to this audience: My product will
appeal to the audience because I will not make my product any
longer than 20 minuets and I will keep the audience guessing and
keep them on their toes with some unpredicting actions.

23. Audience Profile
Category Demographic Content to appeal to this audience
Age Range
15-24 • Younger cast so that a younger audience can
relate.
•
Gender
Female • I will include more of a female cast to
connect with my audience and so that they
can relate.
Psychographic
Type A • I will include things actors that are
concerned about how their actions effect
the world around them, to involve Type A’s.
Social Status
Middle Class • I will include characters from a middle class
background. I will show this through there
job or how they speak and dress.

24. Research Evaluation

25. Research Evaluation
• Give an overview of how you conducted your research. Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of each method
– Product Research
Conducted
I found similar existing products that I thought could reflect some key things that I wan tin my product. For example films of the same genre
or films with similar locations or values.
Strengths
• Finding some more ideas that I could use.
• Getting a better idea of what my product could reflect.
Weaknesses
• Takes a long time to find similar products and then talk about them.
• Difficult to find some similar products that you could reflect on.
– Questionnaires
Conducted
I used survey monkey to create a survey with ten questions about a short Psychological thriller. I then sent out my survey to various people
and put it on various social platforms to gain results from people.
Strengths
• A good collected way of getting results and information about my audience.
• Can gain some good feedback and ideas for my product.
Weaknesses
• Can be time consuming and take time off actually making my product.
• Some people could lie and give unfair and untrue answers on the survey which could effect the results and the different percentages on
my survey.
– Interviews
Conducted
I asked 2 different people 5 of the same questions and I compared the different answers and what there answers said about them as an
audience and how my product would appeal to them.
Strengths
• Can collect information in one place together.
• Helps to get more inspiration and ideas.
• Can gain some good feedback.
Weaknesses
• Takes time to collect results which would mean less time making the product.
• Could possibly get false or unclear answers as they may feel like they are on the spot as it is face to face.

26. Research Evaluation
– What sort of a response did you get?
Overall I collected 26 survey responses. I gathered that 62% of females answered
and 38% of males answered. Due to this I will be aiming my product at females
slightly more than males. I also gathered that 53% of people were under 18
therefore I will also be aiming my product at a slightly younger audience as well.
46% of people thought that a short film should be 15-20 minuets long so I will be
aiming for about this sort of timing in my product. Overall the survey responses
helped me to see my audiences views in a better light and to collect some very
useful information which will help me to make my product a lot more accurately
based on the data that I have been able to collect.
– How did you distribute your survey? Give an advantage and a disadvantage
I distributed my survey by copying the link for my survey through survey monkey
and then sharing it out on social media platforms for people to fill in. this gave
me an advantage as I could collect multiple results from lots of different people
with different views. However it also gave me a disadvantage of getting some
false results as anyone had access to my survey meaning some people could give
false or untrue results. Overall I believe there were mostly advantages in
distributing my survey to the public.