Question 5

We used our research, to find out what grabbed our target audiences attention. We did this by looking at thrillers that were similar to our own ideas and our Vox Pops also helped us find out what the audience wanted.

Typical of the thriller genre, they use straight cuts with a one second of black screen to grab the audiences attention, this was in time with the music to create tension. It was also a good way to introduce new clips because they wont get bored of the length clips and normal straight cuts. it made the audience wonder what was going on because it was going so quick, this created the sense of mystery and confusion, this is what we aimed for.

This shot makes the audience uneasy; this is because there is a mysterious human silhouette on the hill, this makes the audience want to find out who it is. It also shows he is higher than the camera shot, this suggests that he has power and that the protagonist or the audience is vulnerable or less powerful.

Our audience wanted a likeable character and someone they could relate to. We decide that the first and only face you see detailed is the protagonist’s. This is because we didn’t want give much away. When the audience first see this picture they begin to think who this is and draws them in to find what he has done and how he will progress throughout the story. 

From our Vox Pops we found that most of the thrillers that people enjoyed where quite action based. Typical of action-thrillers, there are many weapons. So to get the audience’s attention we added many weaponry references like the gun magazines you see here, the knife and the close up of the gun.

This shot of the newspaper clippings gets the audience’s attention very well. It sets their minds in motion, wondering what has happened and why. It creates mystery and suspension, for what might happen in the rest of the film. They also wonder why some walks over it? Could it be a crime scene? This makes the audience anxious to find out more.

Many of the shot were focused on different things and not the main elements so that it creates tension, suspense and suspicion. They way this shot is show is very eerie because you can’t tell the character facial expression, so it is hard to think what the character is like.

The non-diegetic soundtrack we used in our production worked very well. This is because it was quite slow and mellow, but also not very suspenseful. We choose to do this because it added to the effect, it became more surreal. It also had lyrics that connote to our thriller sub-genres, crime and mystery, for example “bury me” this suggest that some will die in the story. Our thrillers soundtrack is very similar because they both use string and acoustic instruments to create a dramatic track, keeping the audience from getting bored.

The costuming in our production is very typical of the thriller genre and people will immediately connote the antagonists clothing with death because he is all in black. Also the suit and tie show that the antagonist is of a higher status and has authority, his red tie connotes danger and blood. This relates to our story, because the antagonist has authority, this means that he will be able to frame people for murders.

The lighting in the opening sequence was natural and a darker filter was added around the edges to give the film more of a grittiness, also this follows the typical conventions of a thriller film because they are normally very dark.

When we were editing, we tried making the camera shots and the cuts be in time with the non-diegetic soundtrack. Also when filming the camera shots we wanted them to look very eerie, like a fight, assassination or murder had gone on. we used the rule of thirds a lot, we tried to keep most of the objects and props situated in only a third of the screen.

After we had shown our thriller opening to some of our typical age group we got feedback on it. People thought that it was very good and that they like the black flashes to cut up the shots. They then said that the music was good best it was different and it still worked.  They also said that they enjoyed the tension created from the different shots, for example they said they like the shots of the, gun magazines, newspaper clippings, silhouette on the hill and the burred shot of the protagonists face. Another person said that they liked the mystery behind the story and they would like to find out what is going on. 

When we showed this film to a few people, they responded very positively. They liked the cut away shots of the trains, as this kept their attention, and hinted at how the storyline would end, without giving too much information away. They also liked the location of our film, and also felt that the narration worked well, as it hinted at how the plot might develop, but still left some areas down to the viewer’s imagination. Our audience also liked our choice of non-diegetic music.

Our thriller is very similar to the thriller film, Seven. They both use similar camera shots, just like our production they used close ups to get the audience to see key and significant props to the plot, without the audience really understanding it. Also the editing was very similar we used some slow shots and then when the music changed tempo the speed of the shot changes would change. Also the cuts were all straight cuts just like the Seven opening.

It was also similar to the walking dead opening, with the shot types being similar, close ups of objects. The editing was similar, all straight cuts like our production and the sound was also similar because there is not diegetic sound it is all non-diegetic, our music was similar because they both use string instruments, to create tension. All in all I believe that the audience got what they wanted, mystery, crime and the references to weaponry suggest later on in the film they will be used.