AS Level Media Studies: January 2012

Thursday, 5 January 2012

We have now collected all of the feedback from our questionnaires and it has become clear that certain features are regarded important when creating a Thriller film opening.

Firstly from our feedback we have learnt that multiple people believe that a thriller movie opening must be gripping and exciting so the viewers get hooked and wish to carry on watching. Also multiple people believe that the characters and story/ plot must be introduced early on. Referring to the feedback gained we have included a scene in out thriller opening where a victim, is being tortured, this will hopefully grab our audiences attention and make them want to watch on. We have also introduced the story/ plot and the characters early on, to do this we have a scene where a police report appears and then a victim answers questions related to the report slowly teaching the audience about the plot of the thriller.

Also for the feedback we have learnt that multiple people believe that a thriller opening should occur in a secluded/ isolated location. Taking this into account we decided to film out thriller opening in a secluded/ isolated location. The location we chose was a shed, we chose a shed because it is isolated from the outside world and they are very eerie and mysterious.

Also in out questionnaire we had a question about lighting, the question was “what sort of lighting would you expect to find in a thriller opening?”. From the feedback acquired we have decided to film out thriller in a dark, dim, shadowy setting, we will be using a single light source so we can create an eerie dim setting which is preferred by most people who filled out the questionnaire.

Monday, 2 January 2012

How will our audience research affect our production

Before we decided what thriller opening we were going to film we created a questionnaire and handed it out to students in our school so that we can get a good idea of what they think of thriller movies and what features should be included.

The feedback from the questionnaire will give us an insight into what features people are expecting to see in a thriller movie. This gives us an advantage because it allows us to tweak our idea so that we can aim it at what people prefer too see in a thriller movie, for example if multiple people have suggested the same thing then it would be in our best of interest to incorporate it into our thriller opening.

Rationale behind our idea

From the start of Media Studies this year, we as a group have wanted to create a sense of loneliness and fear through our intended Thriller Opening. Our first idea was to create a post-apocalyptic setting in which we could incorporate a threat similar to ‘Zombies’. This was soon cut as an idea when we performed our pitch to the rest of our class, as we realised that it would take a lot of effort and time to literally piece together a post-apocalyptic, destroyed-city type area in which we would film. One of our other pitch ideas was a simple, yet effective take on an interrogation scene. It started as just an idea to flesh-out our pitch, but it then became our final idea when we were given some constructive feedback on how to effectively pull-off this newly found idea. Many people said we should look to film this sort of thing in a dark, secluded place away from the hustle and bustle of natural and man-made life. After we had set on our storyline and plot we sent out questionnaires looking for more ideas and feedback to fill in the cracks on our Thriller Movie Opening.

Some of our key findings are listed below:

· Approximately 85% of the people we gave questionnaires, said they actually enjoy watching Thriller Films regularly.

· Here are some Key Features that people suggested we should include:

o Blood

o Screaming

o Introduction to main characters

o Evidence of crime

o Gripping storyline, to keep the audience enticed

o Violence

o Dismembered body parts

o Guts

o Good introduction to the story from the opening

o Interrogation

· Here are some ideas for Locations to film at/from:

o A desolate suburban area

o Dark, secluded places

o Anywhere that feels very isolated

o Abandoned buildings and streets

o Alleyways

· Some Key Lighting Techniques to use:

o Film Noire (Black and White)

o Dim, with some rays of light, to create a sense of being trapped

o Shadows, and/or shadowy figures

o Flashing or Strobe Lights

o A single bulb hanging in the middle of the room, the only source of light

o Dramatic sharp tones

o Low tones in the background (under-the-radar)

o Gloom/gloomy

o Intimidating bright lights

These results have helped us to refine our Thriller Opening and it now hopefully appeals to more people, having included many of the suggested ideas.

We have incorporated many of the conventions typically found in a Thriller film as to hopefully make our opening as much like a real Thriller as possible. One of the conventions we have followed is to create a strange and sometimes scary and horrific aura about the characters in the opening. The character portrayed by Toby Phillips is meant to be a Cop or Detective, that has been removed from a case as his Agency have deemed the case as a waste of time. However, the Detective has continued the case in his own time to uncover the mystery.

Here are a few Key Features we wanted the Detective to have:

· Intelligence – The character is a Detective, therefore he should be very intelligent and a quick thinker.

· A Sense of ‘Right’ and ‘Wrong’ – A Detective works for the Police Force or an Agency, therefore at the forefront of what happens in the Country, so he should be a very moral citizen.

· Determination – The Detective, despite being discharged from the case, continues to find sufficient evidence to resolve the case.

Thriller Opening Action Script

Action Script for Thriller Opening

[Lewis' head is pulled out from a bucket of water by Toby]

[camera scrolls through the our names (Callum, Lewis and Toby) while images of murders appears on-screen]

[a light is turned on and the word "ROGUE" appears in the center of this light]

[Toby ties Lewis' hands behind his chair and walks round to his front to move the bucket of water of camera]

[while walking back to his previous position behind the chair, Toby begins to speak]

Toby: "So, why did you do it?"

[short pause, as he continues to walk]

Toby: "I said, WHY DID YOU DO IT?!"

[said with much more aggression, as Toby pushes on the back of Lewis' chair]

Lewis: " Alright, I'll tell you."

[said very reluctantly]

[the camera scrolls over various murder documents and photos linked to Lewis]

Lewis: "It wasn't my fault, I was set up."

Toby: "Well the evidence here tells a different story."

[camera cuts to left side shot Lewis looking up at Toby]

Toby: "Who else was involved?"

Lewis: "I don't know, it was an inside job."

Toby: "Well then, it would appear your of no use to me."

[camera cuts to right side of Lewis, with Toby initially excluded from shot]

Lewis: "What do you mean?"

Toby: "Well with you gone, there's one less criminal on the streets."

[Toby pulls a gun to Lewis' head just after "well with you gone"]

[Lewis looks up to find a gun pointing at him]

[scene fades to black, and ends, credits roll]

Thriller Opening Locations

Below are a few locations that we had in mind for our thriller opening. If we do decide to use these locations we wil probarly use them with our Post Apocolaptic Thriller Opening idea.

These locations are good settings for a thriller film, as you could film effective chase scenes using the long, ruined roads and alot of tension can be created by the tight and immediate surroundings. The house is a good location to capture the fight for survival amoungst a group of characters.

Document File used in Thriller Opening

Thriller Story-Line and Plot

Thriller Opening Storyboard

Thriler Opening Questionnaire

Questionnaire

1. Gender?

Male [ ]

Female [ ]

2. Age?

10-13 [ ]

14-18 [ ]

19-24 [ ]

25-30 [ ]

31-40 [ ]

41-50 [ ]

Other [ ]

3. Do you enjoy watching Thriller films?

Yes [ ]

No [ ]

4. What should be the key features of a Thriller Opening/Opening Credits? (Please Comment)

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

5. What sort of victim would you most expect to find in a Thriller Film?

Male [ ]

Female [ ]

Child [ ]

Elderly Woman [ ]

Elderly Man [ ]

6. What sort of locations would you expect to be featured in a Thriller Opening? (Please Comment)

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

7. What sort of lighting would you expect to find in a Thriller Opening? (Please Comment)

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Thriller Opening Pitch

Prelim Action Script

Toby plays the 'Elusive Man'.
Callum plays the 'Contact'.
Elusive Man: "So glad you could join me, Mr Cole."
Contact: "The pleasures all mine."
Elusive Man: "I have an important job for you. Make NO mistakes this time..."
Contact: "I can't make any promises with a job like this...you know that."