The document summarizes the research and planning the author did to create a successful thriller film opening scene appealing to their target audience of 15-25 year olds. This included genre research on conventions like shot types and pacing, analyzing mise-en-scene elements like colors, and conducting textual analyses of films like Fight Club and American Psycho to inform creative choices. Primary audience research also provided feedback on desired narrative elements and action. Additional research covered costumes, sounds, music and logos typical of the thriller genre.

1. Part 1 - What research & planning did I do in order to create a successful production
in appealing to your target audience?
To find out the key aspects which thriller films are built around I did numerous research
tasks. I believe that this influenced my ideas allowing me to successfully create a thriller film
opening scene.
Genre Research - By doing genre research it allowed me to understand what was going on
throughout the thriller genre to create the feeling of suspense and excitement. I found that often they
have fast paced scenes which contain lots of action, A range of camera distances are used, to show
stressful emotions close ups are used, and for less dramatic shots long shots are used. By doing this
research it allowed me to work out my target audience of between 15 and 25. This helped me make it
relatable to this age group and target audience.
Mise en scene analysis - Looking into mise en scene helped me explore different colours and
grading which is appropriate to the thriller genre. The colours used in thriller films are often dark.
However, they are usually quite saturated. The saturated colours bring out the strength and emotion
from the dark reds and blacks. Contrasting colours are also used, this is the influence which I used for
the colour scheme of my actors outfit. This was composed of whites and blacks, these colours also
create a feeling of uncertainty.
Fight Club Textual Analysis - In this textual analysis I took inspiration from the fading in and out of
the logos. It also brought to my attention how effective pulling focus on extreme close up shots is.
From this i figured that the opposite would have the same effect, this is where i had the idea for when
the runner was moving from a close up to a long shot whilst moving out of focus.
American Psycho Textual Analysis - This texural analysis brought to my attention the importance of
the score of music that is played in the background and introduction. The music in American Psycho
begins with discordant violin plucks every time a drop of sauce appears on the screen, this is almost a
jump scare, but not quite. The jolty unexpected stabs in the sound track thickens the score. I included
a similar aspect in my production with the alarm sound to try and recreate the jolty exciting jumps
which the watcher craves
Primary Audience Research -
My primary audience research showed me that i needed to up my antics to make the film come
across as a thriller film. From this feedback I worked out that I needed lots of narrative and contrasting
shot styles to keep the fast paced scenes fresh. My target audience will also be expecting some
action, which meant i had to make the scenes as action packed as possible.
Costume & Prop Research - The 15-25 age group of my target audience, will be expecting similar
costumes to what they wear every day. My research showed this because the audience want to be
able to relate to the characters.
Sound Research - Sound effects and an ambient soundtrack are majorly important in the thriller
genre. Often a classical score is used in the background to distinguish a level of calm in the
background before a more upbeat ambient track is introduced to keep the pace of the film going.

2. Occasionally loud non diegetic sounds are used to break tension and add excitement in a similar way
as horror. I intend to use a building up soundtrack, once this has built up i will add loud non diegetic
sounds to add tension.
Logo Research - The research i did on logos showed me what i needed to include for my film. This
included large fonts in bold contrasting colours to their background. They also needed to be animated
to fade in and out. This research meant that i produced logos which were appealing to my target
audience whilst keeping inline with my genre.