Thriller Audiences

The audience is one of the most important aspects of the films success. Deciding what sort of audience to aim our film at is a very important decision, as Silence of the Lambs and No Country for Old Men are considered the two best thrillers in recent memory but are rated as R. This mean that their target audience was probably for the young male and female adults, which would usually be around 18 to 25 years old.

This shows that the thriller movie should be mainly aimed at this type of audience as this would mean that the thriller will have the best chance of success. The film should still be aimed at all ages above 18 as this would again mean that the thriller would be as successful as possible and would mean that all aged people who enjoy thrillers are able to watch the film.

As the table shows from research it does show that the biggest thriller audience is in the older ages, this means that the thriller should be aimed at most thriller movie audience as this would increases the success of the film. The graph also shows that the the under 18 age group makes up a very low percentage of the thriller audience in general meaning that a thriller that is more adult themed would be the best type to do as this would appeal to the older ages and they could relate to the film more.

This graph shows that the genders are nearly equally split, this means that the film should be aimed at both genders to gain maximum success from our audience. It also means that we should have a female influience in the film such as a female character to help widen the range of the film.

Risk assessment

When filming there are many possible risks that could occur, the equipement being used could become lost of broken which would need to be paid for, the cast that we are filming could become injured and vital footage could be lost or damaged in the process.

Risk: Damaging the equipment

How I am going to prevent the risk: During filming and transporting the equipment I will make sure that the equipment is secured properly, such as if transporting the equipment to the location we are going to film, I will make sure that the equipment is securly in the proctective bags and are put in properly. When using the equipment I will make sure that it is used properly and correctly, I will also make sure that the equipment is secured properly.

Risk: Losing equipment

How I am going to prevent the risk: During filming nearly all of the equipment that is being borrowed will be in constant use when filming, this means that I will make sure that I will always know when the equipment is being used so there will be a low chance that I will lose any. I will still check after filming each time that I have all the eqiupment in a secure place.

Risk: Dropping the camera

How I am going to prevent the risk: While filming set parts of the film the camera will be secured properly on the tripod so there will be no chance that the camera will be dropped. During the handheld parts of the film the cameras will be used properly and held securely by myself or Jack. While not in use the camera will be left in the protective case to prevent damage to it.

Risk: Falling over or becoming injured

How I am going to prevent the risk: To prevent this from happening we will make sure that we plan out where we are going to film and where we are going before filming to prevent one of the cast falling or triping over something.

Risk: Equipment being damaged by the car

How i am going to prevent the risk: To prevent this risk from happening I will make sure that the camera and tripod are away from the car when we are not filming and make sure that it is properly placed into the protective bags when not being used.

Thriller Openings and trailers

For the two minuet start of the film Jack and myself are going to be filming I will look at the start of other thriller films and analysing them so that I can use this information within our film to create a real and tense clip.

I have decided to analyise the woman in black trailer as the film is a psychological thriller which we are going to make as it focuses on tension and atmosphere. The woman in black trailer begins with seeing the main charcter standing in front of the house, we can see that there are a lot of black and grey colours being used which could be portraying that the house is evil. Once he steps into the house the black colours are represented all around the house and low natural lighting is used to give black siluettes around the house which makes the audience automaticlly feel that the house is represted with evil and the woman in black. We then see three monkeys covered in cobwebs and low lighting is used again, this shows that the house and everything inside is old which is represented with ghosts and death. Old black and white photos are then shown of the house owners showing the old period of the house, the camera focuses on the background of the house and we quickly see a glimpse of someone in the window of the house. This creates the audience to ask questions about who that was and why they where there which is what the thriller is trying to do, this also helps to add tension and mystery. Low lighting is used throughout the trailer which helps to enhance the dark and mysteriousness of the ghosts in the film. The mysterious sounds used also help to increase tension and fear that the audience are feeling.



This is the teaser trailer for Shutter Island, the main reason you can see it is a teaser trailer as it is only 30 seconds long and does not tell the plot of the film in anyway. I am using this teaser trailer as there are elements within the trailer that can help to influence our film. Such as the different camera shots used to add atmosphere and the music and dark lighting that also helps to add to this.
The trailer starts off with a flash of fire which moves into the institutional logo, Paramount pictures, the logo has been adapted to fit the genre of the film as it is faded and grey.
The non diagetic sound is dialogue from the film. The first shot is a mid-shot of Leonardo DiCaprio this changes to an abandoned island and quickly changes to the gates being opened. A black screen is shown before the institution is shown. A very fast shot of a struggling arm, reaching for a gun, you can see a puddle of blood which links to the genre of the film being thriller. The next few shots are very quick, they then lead into three inter-titles, the first saying ‘Martin’ the second ‘Scorsese’ the third is used to emphasise the director as it says ‘From Martin Scorsese’. There are then more quick shots of the film. This is covered by loud single beats which are used to create tension throughout the trailer. More titles are shown naming previous films that Martin Scorsese has directed. More voice over dialogue which is heard whilst there are more clips from the film. Beats get louder and louder and closer together, other sounds such as screams are added in to enhance the tension and fear the viewers have. A tag line is used ‘a new vision of fear’ tells the audience what genre the film is. the lighting used helps to enchance the outline of the characters and only shows specific features on them in around them, this creates the dark and mysteriousness of the thriller.


The Da Vinci Code



Titles:

The film begins with simple title scenes from the makers of the film, these are mainly black and white making them easy to understand but already starts to add an atmosphere as they appear on the screen slowly and have a dark background. This allows the film to start in a dark room which instanly adds mystery to the film and draws the watcher in.

Camera Work:

The first opening shot starts with a fast panning shot to the right which shows a old picture on the wall which immediatly sets the scene for where we are and brings the audience in as it quickly turns from slow title sequences to a fast pace. The next shot is moving down the hall way towards a worried looking man which shows to teh audince that someone is after this man and adds tension to the scene. We then have a quick tracking shot of behind the man which makes us question why he is running and makes us focus on the mis en scene.

There is then a slow zooming shot from the other side of a room and shows that the man is alone and this helps to add to his fear and makes the audience feel anxious about what is going to happen to him. The last shot we see is a slow moving backwards tracking shot of the man running down a dark hallway, and we see another mans shadow. This again adds to the tension of the opening sequence, and it makes the audience ask a lot of questions in a small amount of time which is what we will need to do within the start of our film.

Editing:

The editing throughout the opening sequence is very fast paced and is mostly quick blunt cuts. This really helps to add a fast paced tension to the start of the film and draws the audience in as it creates tension and makes them question what is happening and why.

Mis En Scene:

The empty museum type location that the start of the film is set in is important as this is assoicated with isolation and quite creepy due to the dark shadows that are cast from the things that are in the museum. This helps to add tension and gives a dark feel to the opening sequence while adding a mysterious atmosphere.

The man is dressed in a sterotypical type of clothing for someone that is high up in the museum and shows that he is some way important to where the opening sequence is set.

Sound:

Analysing Thrillers

 What is a Thriller?
Thriller is a broad genre of literature, film, and television programming that uses suspense, tension and excitement as the main elements. Thrillers heavily stimulate the viewer's moods giving them a high level of anticipation, ultra-heightened expectation, uncertainty, surprise, anxiety and/or terror. Thriller films tend to be adrenaline-rushing, gritty, rousing and fast-paced. Literary devices such as red herrings, plot twists and cliffhangers are used extensively. A thriller is villain-driven plot, whereby he or she presents obstacles that the hero must overcome. The aim for thrillers is to keep the audience alert and on the edge of their seats. The protagonist in these films is set against a problem – an escape, a mission, or a mystery.


There are many sub genre thrillers which could be used to influence the type of film Jack and myself decide to make, these are:
Conspircay thriller in which the hero/heroine confronts a large, powerful group of enemies whose true extent only s/he recognizes.




Crime thriller, this particular genre is a hybrid type of both crime films and thrillers that offers a suspenseful account of a successful or failed crime or crimes. These films often focus on the criminal rather than a policeman. Crime thrillers usually emphasise action over psychological aspects. Central topics of these films include serial killers/murders, robberies, chases, shootouts, heists and double-crosses.

Psychological thriller, in which until the often violent resolution the conflict between the main characters is mental and emotional, rather than physical. Characters, either by accident or their own curiousness, are dragged into a dangerous conflict or situation that they are not prepared to resolve. Characters are not reliant on physical strength to overcome their brutish enemies, but rather are reliant on their mental resources, whether it be by battling wits with a formidable opponent or by battling for equilibrium in the character's own mind. At times, the characters attempt solving, or are involved in, a mystery. The suspense created by psychological thrillers often comes from two or more characters preying upon one another's minds, either by playing deceptive games with the other or by merely trying to demolish the other's mental state.

Spy thriller, in which the hero is generally a government agent who must take violent action against agents of a rival government or in recent years terrorists. They often revolve spies who are involved in investigating various events, often on a global scale.

These are the main types of thrillers though there are others such as, eroitic, supernatural and techno.

For this part as a class we looked at the starting two minuets of three different thrillers, and looked at how each one made the audience ask questions, what questions these were and how each thriller captures the audiences attention and intrigues them into making more. We looked at Seven which created tension with the use of shadows and dark twisted images that engage the audience by making them ask questions such as: what is happening? Who is this? Why are we seeing these images? this is an occurring theme in all of the thrillers that we looked at in the first lesson as all of them created similar questions at the beginning of the films. Seven also used the music to create tension and mystery at the beginning with the use of loud percussive sounds with metallic screeches that gives the start of the film a mysterious and dark feeling to it. The other two films that we looked at were Fargo and Inception. These started differently to Seven and showed that interest from the audience can be captured without starting with something dark or or disturbing but needs to be mysterious which causes questions to be asked. 

 

Contributers to Thrillers

 

Alfred Hitchcock

Gregory Hoblit

Stephen Hopkins

John Huston

Philip Kaufman

Stanley Kubrick

Billy Wilder

Peter Jackson

Christopher Nolan

Phillip Noyce