We have done varying levels of research; using many different sources of information.
For example i found out that the most common audience for popular thrillers is the male audience. We then have planned that the two main characters- the protagonist and the antagonist- are male.
The tempo of the film is also an element that has seen a considerable amount of change from our initial idea. At first we wanted to open with a fast paced car chase and then one of the convicts being chased on foot; now however the film will begin with a computer programmer sitting in his chair talking to his audience. I prefer This opening as not only will it be easier to shoot and organize but also it caters better to what makes an effective thriller.
Through our thorough audience research then we have decided as a group that our Target audience are adult males, between the ages of 18-25. Also this film caters to any one interested in espionage and computer buffs.
Wednesday, 25 January 2012
Audience research
This is a post displaying my audience research. To research I decided to use the method of questionnaires because I felt it was the most effective way to gain as much information as possible. I had gathered this audience research before christmas however, having had trouble creating graphs in Numbers (a Mac program), we eventually decided to transfer our file into Excel. We have since been able to create graphs and display results, as shown below.
This graph and table shows the general consumption of films in different age groups. This shows that people in a variety of age groups are watching more than 1 film a week and with significant numbers in the 7+ category it could be as many as two films per week. It shows that the audience has experience and exposure to a range of film product. There is no correlation beween age and number of films watched per month. This could be because our sample of participants was very small, it included only 20 different people. 14 of our participants were under the age of 26, this was the younger end of our sample. This may have affected our results and prevented them from showing the correlation. However, our target audience for our production is 12-25 so we are not concerned about the skew towards a younger audience.
A massive 18 out of 20 people said that psycological thriller were their favourate, i believe this is because it keeps the audienece on edge and this is what the audience said they wanted in other results. Technological was also quite popular, 8 people said that they like this type of film. As a group we decided that we would make a mixture of these two main choices, that is how we started to develop our ideas for our film.
People expect many diffrent things from thrillers as people have diffrent favourates and opinions. However, people seemed to pic up on the fact most thrillers have fast paced action and cuts so some people selected that, In our production we will be using fast cuts and creating suspense We will build suspense by using fast and slow paced mysterious music and by using fast cuts. Also we shall include a plot twist for a bigger effect.
Many people selected very famous films as their favourate due to the fact it may be the only thriller film they have seen, however, most if not all films above our group have seen and having taken all methods of sound, shots and editing into account. We will use many features that are used in the films mentioned above.
15 out of 20 candidates believe that resolved endings are better than cliffhangers. The main reason for this was that they wanted to know what happens in the end, they dont want to feel like the film was left unfinished. Also many people exclaimed their hate for sequals as they believe there has not been many films that have better sequals than the orginal. 6 out of 20 candidates believed cliffhangers were better because they like the fact you dont know what is going to happen or how it ends because it allows them to create their own ending in their head. Others prefered cliffhagers due to sequals however this was not a very popular response.
This graph and table shows the general consumption of films in different age groups. This shows that people in a variety of age groups are watching more than 1 film a week and with significant numbers in the 7+ category it could be as many as two films per week. It shows that the audience has experience and exposure to a range of film product. There is no correlation beween age and number of films watched per month. This could be because our sample of participants was very small, it included only 20 different people. 14 of our participants were under the age of 26, this was the younger end of our sample. This may have affected our results and prevented them from showing the correlation. However, our target audience for our production is 12-25 so we are not concerned about the skew towards a younger audience.  |
| 15 out of 20 respondents expected a production company to be introduced in a thriller opening. In response to this we will include our production company logo at the beginning of our opening sequence. 13 out of 20 respondents expected actors and actresses to be introduced. From product research I have found that other films, such as ''The Usual Suspects' and 'Rear Window', have included actors and actresses introductions at the start of the film. Therefore, I can see that I am getting the same results out of my audience research and my product research. Which means we should prioritise the inclusion of the introductions. 18 out of 20 people believed that the scene should be set in the opening to a thriller. We hope to do this by introducing main characters, location and plot. 6 out of 20 people decided they expected slow paced music however, 10 out of 20 people expected fast paced music. A further 2 respondents expected music with lyrics. There is a balance between the fast and slow choices, this could be because most thrillers include both as is appropriate. We have decided to choose music that is both fast and slow to reflect our results, this changes the mood and suspense throughout the production. We may use the fast paced music for the more exciting parts and the slow paced music for the more suspenseful parts. |
We asked this question because we were intrigued as to what people most watched on television. Although these results don't necessarily have an influence on our production because they show that a lot of respondents watch comedy and that is not appropriate for a thriller. However, we've learnt that a quarter of respondents watch police dramas and almost half watch documentaries. Police dramas usually have police detectives, a similar character to thriller detectives. Also documentaries are about real life it gives them and us an impression of what the film should be like
This table shows that a massive 14 out of 20 people believed that it is not important for thrillers to be rated 15 certificate because it is mostly about how it's filmed and how good, exciting and original the story is. However, a small 6 out of 20 people believed that a 15 certificate was need in order to make a god thriller film because they believed that it allows the creators to use darker subjects and also make it more scary and realistic.
Tuesday, 24 January 2012
Weather Report
Whether report for the day of our filming- 31st January 2012
We will be filming between the times of 10:00-12:15 so we will have good light from the sun. The low temperatures will not affect us because we are filming inside. However if it had been raining we would not have the same effect needed by the sun.
We will be filming between the times of 10:00-12:15 so we will have good light from the sun. The low temperatures will not affect us because we are filming inside. However if it had been raining we would not have the same effect needed by the sun.
Risk assessment
Potential risks
Risk 1- In order to film and get between the different scene locations we will be driving. This obviously comes with a health risk to the group.
Precautions- A precaution we will take to ensure group safety is to ensure everybody has their seat belts on when traveling.
Risk 2 - In our scene there are a lot of loose wires etc. These could be potential trip hazards to the group.
Precautions- To ensure nobody trips on the wires we will highlight the trip hazards ensuring everybody is aware of them and we will try and clear any unnecessary hazards.
Risk 3- In another one of our scenes we are filming on a road side. This could potentially mean a crash hazard.
Precautions- To ensure our safety we will have somebody looking out for vehicles and ensuring they are aware of our presence.
Risk 1- In order to film and get between the different scene locations we will be driving. This obviously comes with a health risk to the group.
Precautions- A precaution we will take to ensure group safety is to ensure everybody has their seat belts on when traveling.
Risk 2 - In our scene there are a lot of loose wires etc. These could be potential trip hazards to the group.
Precautions- To ensure nobody trips on the wires we will highlight the trip hazards ensuring everybody is aware of them and we will try and clear any unnecessary hazards.
Risk 3- In another one of our scenes we are filming on a road side. This could potentially mean a crash hazard.
Precautions- To ensure our safety we will have somebody looking out for vehicles and ensuring they are aware of our presence.
Monday, 23 January 2012
Our title font decision
We have researched a selection of similar fonts to see which would be the most appropriate for our film. Using our previous font research we decided that the best fonts were the simple block writing. The cubism effect makes it appropriate to the gaming aspect of the story.
Above are the 3 options we chose for our font title. As our group had mixed opions on which was the best font we decided the best approach was to ask the target audiecne and see which was their favourite font. From doing this we deduced that the most appropriate font was option 3 as we ruled out option 2 because it was to science fiction and not enough thriller and the target audience preffered option 3.
Update
During the editing process we found out that we were unable to use the fonts that we had chosen so we reconsidered an came up with some new possibilities. This was our final choice of font.
http://www.1001freefonts.com/Discognate.php
 |
| Option 1 |
 |
| Option 2 |
 |
| Option 3 |
Update
During the editing process we found out that we were unable to use the fonts that we had chosen so we reconsidered an came up with some new possibilities. This was our final choice of font.
http://www.1001freefonts.com/Discognate.php
Friday, 20 January 2012
Considering Mise-en-scene
In this blog post i will look at possible items of clothing and accesories we could use to best portray the idea of what a certain characters back story might be. Mise en scene and symbolism are massive parts of any mysterious thriller, by using smaller everyday objects the mystery behind the object is increased as it is not immediately obvious as to what is so poingant about this item.
Most of our scenes take place in one location so alot of the props you will see on screen will be related to that of a computer programmer. For example when the camera is on the computer programmer the audience will see him surrounded by a few screens and lots of electrical equipment. We wanted to create the idea that the creator is completely immersed in the game that he has created; as if it has consumed him. So by putting him in the middle of 3 screens all showing different things related to the product, it gives the immediate impression that he is going to play the God character. Maintaining comeplete control of the game, at all times.
In the thriller 'Die Hard 4.0' there is a computer hacker that plays a very similar role, although bruce willis-the rogue cop- is causing alot of damage and seems to be in control of the whole situation it is made out that he is a puppet for most of the film to what ever the programmers demand. In this film we get certain glimpses into a setup a professional hacker may have and alot of the times they are very similar they will have several wrap around screens and a massive jumble of cables.
This was the best example i could gather.
Also something that i know another member of my group has considered is how each character should be presented, for instance a stay at home all day programmer may look scruffy and wear really casual clothes; whereas a government official may wear smart clothes and look clean and pruned.
Most of our scenes take place in one location so alot of the props you will see on screen will be related to that of a computer programmer. For example when the camera is on the computer programmer the audience will see him surrounded by a few screens and lots of electrical equipment. We wanted to create the idea that the creator is completely immersed in the game that he has created; as if it has consumed him. So by putting him in the middle of 3 screens all showing different things related to the product, it gives the immediate impression that he is going to play the God character. Maintaining comeplete control of the game, at all times.
In the thriller 'Die Hard 4.0' there is a computer hacker that plays a very similar role, although bruce willis-the rogue cop- is causing alot of damage and seems to be in control of the whole situation it is made out that he is a puppet for most of the film to what ever the programmers demand. In this film we get certain glimpses into a setup a professional hacker may have and alot of the times they are very similar they will have several wrap around screens and a massive jumble of cables.
This was the best example i could gather.
Also something that i know another member of my group has considered is how each character should be presented, for instance a stay at home all day programmer may look scruffy and wear really casual clothes; whereas a government official may wear smart clothes and look clean and pruned.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)