How Did You Attract/Address Your Audience? (Evaluation Task 5)

I have created a sound cloud interview about the thriller opening sequence I have made. It answers the question of how I attracted/addressed my audience. 

Interview

Hi Mia, if you have a few moments I would just like to interview you on your upcoming thriller; Thou Shalt Not
Yes of course no worries

Thank you! So my first question for you is who are your target audience? 
Well we did a lot of research to find out who our audience would be and we found that our film would appeal mostly to males aged 15-20

EVALUATION TASK 4

So what do you think your target audience will enjoy about the thriller you have made? 
Well there are many conventions of a thriller within ours and I think these will particularly appeal. We have things like violence, action, mystery and the threat. Without giving too much away there is also a dominant male character playing the psychopath which I think our target audience of males will particularly enjoy and there is a climactic moment when the victim ends up over-powering the main villain




I know we mentioned earlier that your film is a thriller but which type of thriller actually is it?
I would describe the film as a psychological thriller, which is a sub-genre of a thriller.

Would you say that any films influenced you or inspired your film? 
Yes, I would say there are a few. Films such as Se7en, swordfish, the Dark Knight, Taken, Shutter Island and As good as dead are all films which had an influence on us when coming up with ideas for the film. These were great as well because they helped to appeal to our target audience. Our film played upon these concepts that these films use to make them appeal to the audience that enjoy these films that are similar to ours.

SIMILAR MEDIA PRODUCTS

Where is your film set? 
We decided to set our film in a church

What was your reason for this? 
I think a church is a very different concept because it is a juxtaposition to the very dark and evil narrative as a church has connotations of happiness and worship. However, a church is often associated with something creepy or haunted.




Why do you think your audience would respond to this as a location? 
Well, this location is controversial because the things that the psychopath is doing make the audience uncomfortable anyway but the fact that he is in a church makes it even more sinister. Also, the location immediately raises questions as the audience want to know how he got there and why there are in a church. Its great because it makes the audience feel uncomfortable as the narrative doesn’t fit with the setting.

How would you sum up the narrative/plot of your film? 
It’s essentially about a psychopath killer holding a girl hostage in a church and he gets found by the police.

Why would this attract an audience do you think? 
I think this would attract an audience because it is a thrilling concept and has them on the edge of their seat. With a thriller, the audience will already go into the film expecting to feel tense and on edge and they are waiting to be surprised and engaged and I think our thriller caters to all of these expectations.

Who are the characters in your story? 
There are three characters; the psychopath, the victim and the policeman.







How would you expect your audience to feel towards each of these characters? 
Well I would expect the audience to be confused by the psychopath. The behaviour he displays in the scene is uncommon and so immediately confuses the audience and they are not sure what to think. He is a very split character. Some audience members may love him because he is mysterious and intriguing, whereas others may hate him because he is essentially an evil man and is terrifying because he approaches such a dangerous situation in such a calm manner. I would like to think that the audience like the victim. I wanted them to be on her side right from the start and so the sequence begins with a shot of her, this means that we are immediately engaged and focused with this character and want her to be saved.

Did you use any narrative devices? 
We wanted to create suspense for the audience and so we had the victim with her hands tied up and throughout the sequence kept showing them to hint at her breaking free. We tried to shock the audience with the unexpected reveal of the victim managing to actually break free and stab the psychopath.

How did you use representation to appeal to your audience? 
As our target audience is 15-20-year-old males, we have chosen elements within our thriller that will appeal to this audience. For example, we chose an attractive female to be the victim for the reason that it will not only appeal to a male audience but it also adheres to the stereotype of females being weaker than males. The use of weapon to create suspense and action should also appeal to this audience.

What music and sounds did you decide to include in your film? 
We decided to include a non-diegetic soundtrack to create tension for the audience straight away. This soundtrack gradually builds which would reflect the gradual build in tension and suspense that the audience will feel when watching the sequence. We also used the diegetic sounds of the church bells at the end of the sequence because this reinforces the location for the audience and therefore makes them feel more uncomfortable. The church bells also create an atmosphere for the audience and adds to the drama and the scale of what has happened, making the stabbing at the end more dramatic. Both of these choices are good for the audience because they will offer the tension and the suspense that they will expect to find within a thriller and so it makes the film more enjoyable for them.

Why did you choose to do your titles in the way that you have? 
We have created a low budget film and so we have used up and coming actors but we wanted to give the impression that these are bug names so that the audience will be more drawn to the film. We created this effect by showing the names in the opening sequence without saying what role they played. I think this gives them more importance and in turn makes the audience more intrigued. Similarly, the logo for our institution is the first thing that the audience see on top of the action. We decided to place this in the centre of the shot to emphasise to the audience the important of the company and therefore make them want to watch the film even more.

What editing techniques did you use? 
The most effective editing technique decided on was keeping short shot durations because it is a familiar style for our target audience and it keeps them more engaged in the action. However, we also contrasted this by using longer shot durations on sots that the audience may not want to see for longer, for example, when the psychopath licks the knife and cuts his tongue. We leave this shot for just a bit longer than the audience would want to make them feel uncomfortable and on edge-almost as if they want to look away.

What conventions of a thriller have you used & how have you used them? 
We’ve used the classic convention of a thriller of having a male villain and a male hero-similar to the dark knight trilogy in that way. We decided to use this convention because it is a familiar concept for our target audience and so they will respond to it and as a result be more engaged in the sequence. We also included the typical damsel in distress for the same reasons. The location, although unconventional, is still typical of a thriller as it is dark and creepy.