Anything missing???

If there is anything missing please tell me mrs in the comments, I think ive got everything but I had problems reading your list and you may have missed something off it, I will keep checking back until our lesson on Wednesday to see if you have put any comments. Thanks for your help with both pieces.

Audience response to our opening (draft & final)

The overall rewsponse was good, everyone liked the topic area (webcams). They also liked it because it was different; no dialogue or music, they all thought that it made the audience concentrate more on what they were shown than what they could hear. They liked the fact it ended on a cliff hanger and that the audience were told very little about the characters and wht happened to Tom's character. After seeing the first draft some thought some of the scenes were too lng, mainly the mid shots of Sam so we cut those down. Also the printer shots were too long and this affected the tension and suspense by slowing it down, making the audience drift away a little. We rectified this and when they watched the final version they all thought so too.

Storyboards

Audience research into the thriller genre

I asked 10 people aged 16-18 firstly wnat they thought of film in general and then about what they like and what they expect from the thriller genre of films. I asked this age group as they are part of the age range that thrillers target, which I knew already. I also divided up equally for men and women, so I asked 5 of each. I knew a lot about the thriller genre already, through personal taste and what we had done in class so I based my questions on what the audience like in the genre, not what you expect in the genre as I had a very good idea about that aspect already.

1)How often do you watch a film?

• 0/1 times a month - 0
• 2 times a month - 1 female
• 3 times a month - 1 male
• 4 times a month - 2 male 2 female
• 5 times a month - 2 male 2 female
• 6+ times a month - 0

2)How often do you watch a thriller film?

• 0 times a year - 0
• 1-3 times a year - 1 male 1 female
• 4-6 times a year - 2 male 3 female
• 7-9 times a year - 1 male 1 female
• 10-12 times a year - 1 male
• 12+ times a year - 0

3)what sub genres of thriller do you like? (you can choose as many as you like and remember many films fall under more than 1 category)

• action - 5 male 1 female
• romantic - 4 female
• conspiracy - 4 male 2 female
• crime - 5 male 1 female
• disaster - 5 male 4 female
• dramatical - 1 male 5 female
• psychological - 4 male 5 female
• science fiction - 5 male 2 female
• supernatural - 5 male 1 female
• spy - 5 male 2 female

4)What do you like in a thriller in terms of story

• complex - 3 male 5 female
• twists - 4 male 4 female
• confusion - 1 male 1 female
• suspense - 5 male 5 female
• mystery - 3 male 4 female
• danger - 5 male 3 female
• to be active/ have to think - 3 male 5 female
• hero vs villain - 5 male 3 female
• cliffhanger - 1 male 3 female

5) what do you expect from a Thriller opening

• intro to characters - 4 male 2 female
• creation of mystery - 3 male 5 female
• establishment of atmosphere - 3 male 3 female

Those were my questions. The answers the two genders gave me link in with what sort of thrillers they like. So take intro to characters, men expect that more because they like action thrillers more and the story is based around the hero.

Lets start at, you've guessed it, the start.

Our narrative and story has stayed roughly the same since the idea was first brainstormed. Obviously some things have been changed and redesigned along the way and we've added bits and taken bits out. For example we added in the flashback to give the audience better understanding about whats happening in the present timing. This was influenced by the flashback in the opening of Casino Royale.

Once we planned it we then started storyboarding it. We took time over this and did 2 versions. I think we were the last group in our class to finish it but it was worth it.

We then started filming and the problems kept on coming. We first had technology problems with basically everything we needed (pc, internet, printer) and during 1 of the filming sessions the camera ran out of battery after only just over 30mins and we were supplied with the wrong charger. But its now all aparrently done.

The search for sounds went well and I found many useful sounds for the enhanced diagetic theme we wanted.

Idea Development

We made the choice to base our film on webcams, which was 1 of our 3 ideas. At that stage that was all we made the decision on because we thought it would be diferent and would attract the thriller target audience (15 - early 20 yr olds). Oviously a lot of developing went on between then and filming. I came up with and subsequently made the 'top secret document' which is slightly cliched I admit but we did put a modern twist on it, as a everyday civilian has it and also it is sent digitally via MSN. As a group we also decided that the character who sends it (Tom) should get taken away and that the audience should know very little about what has happened and the background of what has happened. The rest of the film would address these, going into the past about waht had happened up to the point of the present, which they are shown in the opening and then what happens to the characters in the present throughout the story.

First lesson brainstorming session

In the first lesson we did come up with several ideas and before the end of the lesson we decided on the idea based around webcams, which we then developed in the following lessons. Heres the other ideas we had:

• basing a film in an office/bank setting - someone breaking in, taking something from the office/bank then escaping - we thought this was a good idea, but it would have been complex to film for various reasons; actually having the location available and then permission to film, also actors (you would have to use adults for a start)
• basing it around a police detective - we didn't know what could happen to the character, we did't want anything too cliched and also we had similar problems to above with it

Costumes, Props & Locations

The costumes are just typical of what teenagers wear, it is one of the advantages of targeting a teenager audience because we are and our actors are teenagers. In the film it is just Sam and Tom's typical everyday clothing, which creates realism, if they were wearing suits or really expensive clothing it would not seem right.

The props are very much to do with technology. In the film we obviously needed 2 webcams and 2 computers (with the usual bits & bobs; keyboard, mouse, screen), these are the main props used. However there is also another prop used. I may add that it was a stroke of genius to do so. The other prop it is the drink (which at 1 point Sam gets up to get) and we see him drink from several times in the opening. This adds a whole new element of realism and shows that we really thought about realism, which is very important in the thriller genre. I mean the number of times I sit on MSN with a cup of tea in my hand, I even know people who take this 1 step further and eat their dinner while on MSN.

We originally planned to have 2 locations. These were Sam's bedroom and Tom's bedroom. We also originally planned to actually film top with the camera also but decided against this. In the actual video the 2 characters are in different locations, but Tom is actually only in the next room from Sam, who is in the spare bedroom in his house and Tom is in Sam's bedroom. Going back to a point I mentioned earlier we actually didn't film Tom in the end, we were going to film him like we film Sam; as though our camera was the webcam. But after seeing Tom through the webcam on Sam's computer we thought it looked really good so we decided to carry that on through the whole opening. So we actually only film from 1 location. We decided to do this with Tom as the quality of the webcam image was good, but not as good as an actual video camera and because of this it adds to the concealment and mystery of when Tom gets taken away.

target audience

Why do films target specific audiences?

• To generate maximum revenue (its no good having a film with a teenage subject matter with a 18 rating).
• To appeal to the biggest audience possible (often mass market).

How do they do it?

• Themes and issues that are raised (eg characters identities).
• Methods of advertising and marketig (place and type).
• The rating/certificate they intend to gain.

Our audience is 15 - early 20 year olds. This is partly because of what would happen in the whole film would earn the rating of 15. The context is also key, the opening is highly reliant on new technologies, which relates to our target audience and is something they are interested in. Also the thriller genre as a whole is aimed at this sort of age range.