Question 7

Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

Question 6

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

Question 5

How did you attract/address your audience?

I asked my family what things they look for in a Thriller film and these are the words they chose. 



I also asked my parents and grandparents what Thriller films have all these elements in, so I had some idea of what to base my Thriller on.


In order to attract the right audience, I had to insure that our Thriller had all of these elements in it.  Based on previous interviews, I knew what people who watch Thrillers were looking for, like a good story, good acting and action.


It may be quite difficult to attract the right audience because our opening sequence suggests a female dominated film which means that our target audience of males might not be able to empathise with the characters. However, it may be more appealing to a male audience because of the female domination, so it could go either way, which is why we did this survey:

'Would you watch this film in the cinema?'

I interviewed my boyfriend, Josh, 17, who commented:

'This is really good! I would definitely go and see it in the cinema, the music was really tense and engaged me into your film! For only 2 minutes, it has a huge variety of camera shots, I especially liked the running through the woods scene as it was exciting and the different camera shots made it more enjoyable. I did notice that there were only female's cast in it so I questioned how the different characters were going to be used, but it definitely wouldn't make me not want to watch the film just because the female characters are the dominant ones! The radio montage at the end worked really well as it gave a really brief foreshadowing of what was going to happen and it made me want to watch the film to see what was going to happen next. The fast paced editing showed how quickly everything fell apart for the girls which made me empathise more with them. Really good, well done!'

I also asked my cousin, Dan, 23, who said:

'The music box sound is really creepy!! Very effectively used to add an atmosphere to the film! The establishing shot with dartmoor set the scene immediately so I was automatically informed of the location for the film. The scene with the foot stepping on the twig was really creepy, especially as she had a muddy foot and painted toenails to show her gender. The story is such a good idea! Not completely unbelievable like something using paranormal phenomenons, but it could actually happen which makes it even creepier to watch. If I saw this advertised, I would want to watch the entire film!' 

Question 4

Who would be the audience for your media product?

Based on a lot of research, we decided that the audience for our media product would be the age group and gender which enjoyed Thriller films the most and would therefore watch our movie. 

There is a greater percentage of men than women that watch Thriller films, which is why we therefore wanted to add all the correct elements to make it as appealing as possible - for example, scare factors and mystery. 

This is why we decided to mainly target men, because of the statistics.


Our main influence was The Blair Witch Project and this allowed us to make an easy decision of our audience. As you can see, most of the reviews for the film are posted by males further supporting our decision to mainly target men. 

However, we did feel that our film held slightly different conventions the Blair Witch, which is why we thought females would enjoy it as well. It has a good story line and lots of action which is the main two things our audience interviews showed us females enjoyed. Similarly, we used lots of different camera angles, not just handheld POV shots, which gave us variation and probably held more interest for both genders.

We also had to work out what age group we would be targetting. 
This bar chart and most of our other research showed us that the greatest percentage of Thriller watchers was 18-24, however, as most of our friends and relatives were younger than 18 and also enjoyed Thrillers, we lowered our target age to 16-24. 

Here is our audience interviews again: 

Question 3

What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

Question 2

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Question 1

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Final Animatic

Final Piece Animatic

Schedule

Schedule

Final Piece Script

Script

I was in charge of all of the scripting for our film.

EXT. DARTMOOR. 

BLACK screens separating scary and happy scenes. Speech over the top of the black screens.

Kiera:
(regretful)
'We never imagined how badly it could go wrong'

'It was only supposed to be fun'

'Surprising how quickly fun can turn into sheer terror'

'Do you know what running for your life feels like?' 

'Have you ever heard the story of Lily Raven?'

INT. PSYCHIATRISTS OFFICE. DAY.

KIERA sits in a chair opposite the psychiatrist. She's holding a NEWSPAPER. The headline reads 'LILY RAVEN: MISSING.' Psychiatrist looks CONCERNED. 

Keira:
(sobbing)

'we, uh, thought it would be fun to go camping before we went back to school. we knew dartmoor quite well, we had done ten tors a couple of months earlier so we assumed we'd be fine.'

'and then she came. out of nowhere. we had no warning. she was only a child and yet something in her was different... like something had changed in her mind and she only had one goal. to hunt us. we never stood a chance. and now I'm here and they're not.'

EXT. CAR. DAY.

THREE protagonists sit in a CAR. The RADIO playing in the background. Story of LILY RAVEN being discussed.

Keira:

'god, her parents must be worried out of their minds'

Ida:
(teasing)
'I wonder if any of us will go missing this weekend!'

Keira:
'oh ha ha ha. it's probably just a sick joke'

Teagan:
'yeah, a really sick joke. she's only a child'

Final Piece Overview

Final Piece Overview

Key: Green text: camera work

Purple text = editing

pink text = sound

black text = description

Final Piece Sounds

Sound Effects

                                                                                                            

This sound effect we are going to use at the very beginning of the opening sequence when the words 'Based on a true story. 3 best friends went on a camping trip. Only 1 returned. This is her story' will appear on a black screen with white writing. This creepy sound will emphasize the words on the screen. 

We will use this sound to suggest to one of the protagonists that the antagonist is right behind her. This will create tension and fear within both the protagonists and the audience. Using a natural sound you can find in the woods and turning it to make it something sinister further highlights the terror these girls faced and emphasizes how quickly something innocent turned into chaos and probably death.

The screams will be used quite a lot within our piece to suggest extreme fear and that something has made the girls scream. This is typical of a thriller film and this makes the audience want to know what's happened to the girls. Similarly the screams indicate the antagonist picking off each of the girls one by one which makes it even more horrifying and scary.

This sound effect will be use to suggest fear. It will also increase in speed to suggest anticipation of something going to happen. This sound will be used over the top of a happy scene which will create contrast and this is also typical of a thriller film. By adding this to our opening sequence if further sets the tone of the rest of the film for fear and panic.

This sound will be used when Lily is skipping through the woods to further suggest the genre of the film and to also suggest she's a child which makes the opening sequence even more creepy and tense as there's a child involved somehow. 

Main Theme
 The main theme of our film and therefore opening sequence is going to be a short piano section with the sound effect of a music box which would suggest all that was ever found of Lily was her music box she took everywhere with her. This will make the music sound even more sinister and creepy which is also typical of a psychological thriller and this relates perfectly to the idea of our opening sequence. 
Here is an idea of the kind of thing we'll be looking to achieve.

Influences

Influences

Pitch

Pitch

We chose irish names because they're unusual and mysterious and we didn't know anyone with those names so we wouldn't have been influenced by anyone else.

Audience Profiles

Audience Research

I've decided my target audience will be 16-24. My research has shown that the highest percentage of thriller watchers are aged 18-24 which is 48%, however, my brother and lots of my friends are aged 15-17 so I've extended the age range to 16. I haven't made it any lower as I believe some younger people might fnd some scenes in thrillers scarring as the tyical thriller conventions suggest psychological issues and brutality.
From my research, it shows that 53% of the thriller watcher popuation are male. This is why I will be mainly targeting males, however, females still enjoy thrillers which is why it's important  for me to have conventions such as a good story, good acting and action which females will enjoy to.











Audience Profile

This is Tim. He's 16 years old and goes to boarding school. He's an average boy who wears jeans and designer t-shirts. Despite being at boarding school, he often skypes his friends and when he is home, he often meets up with them. He's very tall for his age and eats his mum and sister out of the house when he's home. His favourite meal is a roast dinner which he often asks for when he comes home from school. He enjoys going to the cinema to see the latest films with his sister as she normally ends up paying for him! He enjoys football, both watching it and playing it. He supports Yeovil Town and has been to see them play many times in all types of weather. He enjoys the adrenaline you get from watching a live football match and this is why he particularly enjoys thrillers.

These are just a few of Tims favourite thriller films. He particularly enjoys thrillers with lots of action and a complicated story line. He enjoys mainstream, popular films also but some of the lesser known ones are some of the best he thinks. He likes a film which puts him on the edge of his seat and that makes his palms sweat when he watches them.

He likes to keep fit and always likes to be busy. He loves dancing so this is why he is kept very fit and healthy.  He really loves playing guitar, playing on the xbox and chatting to his friends of Facebook. He likes the latest gadgets and gizmos to keep up to date with technology, like Ipads and phones.

He loves spending time with his two dogs and likes nothing better than taking them for a walk in the park and blasting out some rock music from his Monster headphones, like Nickelback or Eminem.

Audience Interviews

Audience Interviews

We interviewed lots of different aged people so we could get an idea of what films different generations of people like and what they look for in a film. Lots of the males we interviewed said they preferred action films and the females said a range of comedy, romcom and thrillers. No one said two favourite films the same so we had a large variation of favourite films.

We also found out that the most popular BBFC rating for films were 15 so this gave us a clear idea of the content for our films.

There was a mixed response about good vs evil plot lines so this was interesting as a lot of popular films contain this factor.

Thriller Films

Thriller Films

Cliffhanger 10/01/14

This film is about some cliff climbers who end up caught in a robbery. A plane crashes with all the money in and they end up caught in a race to the top.

The start of the film is increibly tense and had my palms sweating as the main protagonist tries to save a women from falling off the cliff, but she has gloves on so he drops her. It's an incredibly exciting way to start a thriller and because there wasn't a lot of gore in it, I found it more exciting.

I really loved it and I would watch it again.  

9/10 

Donnie Darko 18/01/14

This film was about a boy who had visions about the end of the world.

I was a bit worried about this film as I'm not a big fan of psycho related films, however, it was really twisted and very complicated which had me deeply absorbed by the film.

It questioned about changing your future and controlling your own destiny. You felt very sorry for the main character and this made the ending all the more sad.

It had lots of big and unanswered questions which you never found out the answer to, even after the film finished.

Overall, it was a much better film than I thought and I really enjoyed it, however, I don't think it would be as interesting and absorbing a second time. 

8/10

 Vantage Point 25/01/14

This film is about an attempted assassination on a US president. The same 23 minutes are replayed 6 times from different peoples points of view and this makes the film very confusing and tense.

It was very engrossed by the film and I really wanted to know how the film ended. 

The actors were all very convincing and really into their characters so this made the film more convincing and enjoyable.

Overall, I thought the film was fantastic and I would definitely watch it again.

10/10 

Safe House 03/02/14

This film is about a man who is being hunted for wanting to leak CIA secret information about a traitor. He has to give himself in because he's being hunted by another groupt too. He ends up in a safe house with the main protagonist but the house gets attacked and they have to go on the run.

This film is very clever and very emotional as you learn to trust the traitor and end up liking the antagonist. 

The editing was very fast which kept up the tension of the film and it's purely about how the two main characters relationship develops. It's centred around the theme of truth which makes it very difficult to know which character is good and which is bad.

It has very good acting and it's a very emotion stirring film. I thought i was fantastic and I would definitely watch it again.

10/10

Blood Diamonds 14/02/2014

This is a film starring Leonardo DiCaprio who plays the main protagonist, Archer. He becomes a main businessman in conflict diamonds and this is where is all goes wrong. 

The editing is very smooth at points but with the sudden change in mood, the editing follows the panic and chaos caused by government loyalists and insurgent forces fighting during the Sierra Leone Civil War in 1996–2001.

It's a very emotional and relevant story which makes it a lot more enjoyable.

I would definitely watch it again as it really questions morals and whos side people play for.

9/10

Jack Reacher 20/02/2014

This film is about the character of Jack Reacher setting out to prove the certaintity of a muderer's guiltiness. But it ends up in a big gun fight and him fighting for his innocence and life.

The music is very good and made the film a lot more enjoyable. The editing used lots of jump cuts and this really quickens the pace and further highlights the tension and fast paced action going on on screen. 

It could easily be a true story which makes it a lot more easy to relate too and I think it does the books justic. 

I would definitely watch it again!

9/10

Whitehouse Down 08/03/2014

This is a film about the Whitehouse being taken over by terrorists and it's up to John Cale to save the president of the United States. It's an incredibly tense and action packed film, which is also stirs lots of emotions through using John's child as a hostage throughout the film.

The editing was very fast to keep up with the incredibly fast paced action happening on screen with helicopters flying through the roof and lots of gun fights.

It was absolutely amazing and I'm going to watch it again! 

10/10

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire 15/03/2014

This is the second film in The Hunger Games series. Katniss and Peeta have to go back into the arena for the second time and to try to kill to save themselves. It's really emotional and you get introduced to lots of new characters.

I'm a massive fan of the books, so the films had a lot to live up to, but they are definitely amazing! The music is fantastic and makes the film as good as it is. The editing varies between slow and fast depending on what's happening on screen. The slow editing builds up tension before action happens which makes the film have sudden pace changes.

It's one of my favourite films, so I'm definitely going to watch it again.

10/10 

Now You See Me 20/03/2014

This film is about an FBI agent and an Interpol detective as they try to track down four magicians called the Four Horsemen who pull off a bank heist during one of their performances and they reward their audiences with the money. It's a really tense film and it's also really surprising as their are twists and turns you don't see coming. There is also car chases and fight scenes which I wasn't expecting.

The editing is really fast in some places but when the Four Horsemen are performing on stage, the editing is slow so the audience can try to work out each trick as they perform it.

The sound effects and music were both good but not as good as they could've been I thought!

Overall I thought it was really good and I'm going to watch it again.

9/10  

Die Hard 24/03/2014

This film is about a man called John McClane, who is an officer of the NYPD. He has to try to save his wife Holly Gennaro and other hostages taken by the German terrorist Hans Gruber during a Christmas party at the Nakatomi Plaza in Los Angeles. It was such a tense film and had loads of action which I really loved! 

The music was really fitting to the film and made it much better. Also, the editing was really quick and there was loads of jump cuts to keep up with the action on screen.

I am definitely going to watch it again!

10/10

Clear and Present Danger 02/04/2014

This film was made in 1994 and Harrison Ford plays the main character, Jack Ryan. He is drawn into an illegal war fought by the US government against a Colombian drug cartel and ends up fighting to save his life and the lives of the few remaining US Soldiers illegally sent into Columbia.

It started off quite slow and took a long time for the action to get started, but that was essential for the storyline.

There wasn't a lot of music during the film and in places it needed some, but it had an amazing plot line and the acting was brilliant! Right from the start you knew who the bad guys were and the film made me really angry as so many people betrayed one another.

I really enjoyed it, but I don't think I would enjoy it as much as I did the first time.

8/10

Walking with Dinosaurs 3D 07/04/2014

I took my 6 year old cousion to see this and I didn't know what to expect, but for a U rated thriller, it was actually very good. It's a story where an underdog dinosaur has to battle his way through the toughest age in history to survive and ends up triumphing to become a hero.

The effects weren't the best I've seen, but the story was very clever and also really interesting as the narrator explained what each type of new dinosaur was.

It definitely wasn't the best film I've seen, but for a U and for children it was very good.

7/10

Captain America: The First Avenger 17/04/2014

After being deemed unfit for military service, Steve Rogers volunteers for a top secret research project that turns him into Captain America, a superhero dedicated to defending USA ideals.

I love marvel and this one did not disappoint. It had action and was very emotion stirring in some places which made it a really enjoyable film.

The music was amazing and made the film even better to watch! There were some places when the effects weren't very good as I could tell there were wires and fake limbs used. However, it didn't make the film any less enjoyable and I am definitely going to watch it again.

10/10

Source Code 25/04/2014

An action thriller centered on a soldier who wakes up in the body of an unknown man and discovers he's part of a mission to find the bomber of a Chicago commuter train. It is really tense and had me on the edge of my seat. 

It is quite repetitive which made me zone out every now and then, however, the editing was amazing because it was really quick and therefore quickened the pace of the film.

The music worked really well with the on-screen action and the continuity was very cleverly done and I didn't notice any errors.

I would watch it again, although I don't know how tense I'd find it a second time.

9/10

Knowing 29/04/2014

M.I.T. professor John Koestler is presented with a group of mysterious numbers which he ends up linking to past and future disasters and he sets out to prevent as many deaths as possible. 

This film was unbelievably tense! I was on the edge of my seat throughout the whole thing. The music was amazing and the editing worked really well with all the fast paced action on screen.

However, it did make me cry as lots and lots of people die which detracted from the amazing graphics and quality of the film, and because of this emotional factor, I won't be watching it again, but it was a really amazing film with an epic storyline.

8/10

National Treasure 06/05/2014

A historian called Ben Gates races to find the legendary Templar Treasure which has been a conspiracy theory for hundreds of years before a team of mercenaries he once called friends.

I love this film! I love the integration of historical factors with the action, it made it really enjoyable.

The sound was really good and worked amazingly with the on screen action. Similarly, the editing was relatively simple, but it didn't need to be any more complicated to make the film amazing! However, there was one very tense scene with a lot of action so the editing quickened which made the film even more enjoyable.

I will definitely watch it again.

9/10

Preliminary Analysis

Preliminary Analysis

Preliminary analysis from tbgsmedia1314

Film Classification Prezi

Film Classification

Preliminary

Preliminary

My preliminary won't imbed!!