Target Audience

The target audience is the primary group of people that something like an advertising campaign, movie, tv show etc is aimed at. A target audience can be people of a certain age group, gender, marital status, etc. For thriller films it is hard to define a target audience as some thriller movie certificates range from pg to 18. For thriller films the target audience usually ranges from 16-25 year olds and are usually aimed at men although there isn't a great difference between the percenatge of men to womne.This is usually because the majority of actors used are young so youger viewers can follow and relate to the story. I looked at a thriller called 'The State of Play' (2009 based on the british television serial of the same name in 2003). It showed that its target audience was for ages between 15-24 having the highest percentage of 68% and the target gender was males having 63%.

Defining the genre & sub genres

Defining a genre of a fillm can be quite difficult but there are four main ways to define the genre of a film. These being the setting (the environment in which the action takes place), the theme or topic (refers to the issues or concepts that the film revolves around), the mood (emotional tone of the film) and the format ( the way the film was shot). However film genres often branch out into subgenres (a subcategory with a particular genre) For example a 'Chick flick' is a genre but it may include sub-genres such as comedy, tragedy, 'tearjerkers', fiction fantasy etc.

'Back to the future' is defined as a science fiction adventure film. However it includes sub genres such as comedy(in the character of 'The Doc'), romance (between marty mcfly and jennifer parker, and his parents george and lorraine mcfly), tearjerkers (when the doc is shot, when marty believes he can't bring his parents back together) and others. This shows how all films also include sub genres.

Defining a thriller - Thrillers can often be further divided into action thrillers, crime-caper thrillers, western-thrillers, film-noir thrillers, even romantic comedy-thrillers. Another closely-related genre is the horror film genre. Thriller and suspense films almost go hand in hand and are hard to depict as different genres. Normally films classed as thrillers promote intense excitement, suspense, high levels of anticipation, uncertainty, anxiety, and nerve-wracking tension and this is how we can begin to define their genre. Spy film are the best example as they are mainly considered as a type of thriller/suspense film.

Thriller Music

From watching different thriller openings I could begin to establish a pattern in the music used for thrillers. The music crescendos through the opening titles starting off quietly and then increasing in volume throughout the whole sequence. Thriller music tends to use an orchestral dramatic score and includes a lot of use of different strings varying the volumes and intensity to set different moods at different times of the film. The music alone is key to a thriller film and is used for dramatic effect to heighten the audiences mood and the audiences expectations of what may happen next.

I have included the opening sequence of 'Insomnia' (2002), which I believe has used music very cleverly.

Thriller Actors

Matt Damon- He was born October 8th 1970. His career was launched after his success in 'Good Will Hunting' from a screen play he co-wrote with friend Ben Affleck. Matt Damon has been named the 5th best Thriller movie actor to date. He starred in thrillers such 'The Departed' (2006), 'The Bourne Ultimatum' (2007), 'The Bourne Supremacy' (2004) and 'Confessions of a Dangerous Mind' (2002).

Janet Leigh - Was born July 6, 1927 and died October 3, 2004. She was an American actress. She was discovered by the actress Norma Shearer after which she then secured a contract with MGM and began her film career in the late 1940s. She appeared in several popular films over the following decade, including Houdini (1953), in which she co-starred with her husband, Tony Curtis. She is well known for her performance as Marion Crane in Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho(1960). She appeared in other thriller movies such as 'Touch of Evil' (1958), 'The Manchurian Candidate' (1962), 'The Fog' (1980).

Samuel Leroy Jackson- He was born December 21, 1948. He is an American film and television actor. Samuel L Jackson has won multiple awards throughout his career but he is well known for his role in 'Pulp Fiction', where he received several award nominations. He is best known for his parts in thriller films including 'Pulp Fiction' (1994), 'Kill Bill:Volume 2' (2004), 'Out of sight' (1998) and 'True Romance' (1993).

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Directors

Quentin Jerome Tarantino (born March 27, 1963) is an American film director, screenwritter, producer and actor. He has been named as the 5th best thriller director following Alfred Hitchcock, Martin Scorsese, Steven Spiel-berg and James Cameron. Some of his best films include 'My Best Friends Birthday'(1987), 'Reservoir Dogs' (1992), 'Pulp Fiction' (1994), 'Jackie Brown' (1997) 'Kill Bill (Vol 1:2003, Vol 2: 2004), 'Death Proof' (2007) and 'Inglorious Basterds' (2009) His films have earned him Academy, Golden Globe, BAFTA and Palme d'Or Awards and he has been nominated for Emmy and Grammy Awards. In 2007, 'Total films' named him the 12th greatest director of all-time.

James Cameron- Was born Augst 16th 1954 in Canada. He moved to USA in 1971 and studied at California State University. His first professional job was as a art director, miniature set builder and process-projection supervisor on Roger Cormans 'Battle Beyond The Stars' (1980). His first job as a director was in the following year when he directed 'Piranha Part Two: The Spawning'. He is well known for directing thrillers such as 'Aliens' (1986), 'The Terminator' (1984), 'Terminator 2: Judgement Day' (1991) and the 'The Abyss' (1989).

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Joel Schumacher- Was born 29th August 1939 in New York City. He is known for directing thrillers such as 'The Number 23' (2007), 'Veronica Guerin' (2003), 'Phone Booth' (2003), '8MM' (1999), 'The Client' (1994), 'Falling down' (1993), 'Flatliners' (1990) and his most recent 'Town Creek' (2009). Joel Schumacher directs a wide range of films including comedies, dramas, sci-fis and has even directed a musical (Phantom of the Opera). He is also known for writting 'The Wiz'.

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180 degree rule

This diagram shows the axis between two characters and the 180° arc on which cameras may be positioned (green). When cutting from the green arc to the red arc, the characters switch places on the screen. This enforces the 180° degree rule so that whilst filming actors alway remain on the same side of the camera every time.

Editing and end outcome of our prelim task

Today we began editing all of our prelim tasks. We used Final Cut Pro to edit our prelim tasks. We began inserting our discs where we took all the footage we needed and began refining all of our material. We had to ensure all our footage was named appropriately so that we were able to distinguish what material we needed to place and where. When we started to piece this all together we had to ensure all the shots were continuos. After we had edited our material we began to add appropriate music to our prelim task. We used Soundtrack Pro to add music to our prelim tasks. The clip following is the end product to our prelim task.

I found using Final Cut Pro quite difficult as I have never used any type of editing program before. When using Soundtrack Pro I found this easier as I have used a type of program like this before. When editing at first we lost all our defined footage so Ben and I had to do this all again. Once we had refined our material using Final Cut Pro got easier and I got used to using this program more. I enjoyed editing my prelim task as I could begin to understand how Final Cut Pro works and how important it is to get several different shots of the same thing so when we are refining our work we have more shots to chose from.

Continuity prelim task

Today we were told we would have to film a sequence of at least 10 shots making sure that there was continuity. We talked about how sometimes when you watch films there isn't continuity, for example someone will be sitting in a scene talking to someone and then when the camera angle changes they will be standing talking instead of sitting so there movement isn't continuous and viewers will wonder how they change position so quickly. Alice asked us to create a sequence of movements using about 10 shots to show continuity and include a shot reverse shot. She wanted us to film a conversation between two people, using shot reverse shot (match on action) and film one person going through a door to get to the other person ensuring the shots were continuous. I was in a group with Gervais and Ben. We decided that our story would be Ben as a 'dodgy dealer' going to meet one of his suppliers, but he meets the wrong person, who looks at him confused and isn't listening to him anyway as she has her head phones in, when he realises its the wrong person he gets up and leaves in a hurry. We decided to use 10 shots of which included:

1. Long shot of ben walking down the corridor

2. P.O.V shot looking at Bens phone

3. Match in action shot of the door handle

4. A shot of Ben walking through the door

5. P.O.V of Ben walking into camera

6. Over the shoulder shot of Ben looking at the other person

7. Shot reverse shot

8. Low angle shot of other person

9. Over the shoulder shot of Ben in confusion

10. P.O.V shot of Ben

Whilst filming we changed some of these shots as they didn't quite work and another shot was suited better. However, we ensured we had continuous shots and used shot reverse shot to document a conversation.

Looking at past students examples

Today we looked at past students projects. The best one we watched was called 'End of the line'. The reason this was so successful was that they used clever action shots, their location complemented their story well, and not too much was revealed in the first three minutes so it kept you really interested and wanting more. We also looked at others one of which included 'Taken'. This was not as successful as the plot was really rushed and within a minute the whole plot had been told, so there wasn’t really any suspense and they didn’t use a lot of different camera angles so their shots didn’t have a great effect. By watching previous students work we could establish what made some openings successful and some openings not.

End Of The Line from BDC on Vimeo.

Taken from BDC on Vimeo.

Prelim Task

Our aim today was to film a journey. Our groups (Gervais,Ben and I) idea was to film Gervais on a journey trying to escape. Alison taught us how to use the cameras so we can just get confident with them. We began learning how to turn it on, record, put the tape in, zoom in and out, focus etc. We also learnt how to use the tripod and how to make sure the camera was stable on it.

We used a variety of different shots to capture the essence of Gervais being imprisoned. We started by filming a long shot of Gervais in a gate place we found which resembled a prison. Then we did a close up of Gervais in the prison, then an extreme close up of his eye. After this we did a birds eyeshot so Ben went to the top of stairs looking down on Gervais who was walking around his cell. We also filmed people abusing Gervais at the bars, and from inside Gervais cells we filmed the people shouting so there was an inside and outside view of the people. We then decided gervais would escape when Ben came to get him as the prison guard. I filmed an over the shoulder shot of Ben walking towards Gervais cell. Then we filmed a high angle shot of Ben standing at the gate door. This was followed by an over the shot shoulder of Gervais going to see Ben at the gate. There was then a fight scene between Ben and Gervais, which we used a long shot for. We then experimented by Ben holding the camera and Gervais slow motion hitting it as if it was Ben. Then our final shot was a worm’s eyeshot of Gervais as he was running away, of which the shot showed his feet then as he ran further the rest of his body emerged. This was a really effective shot and probably one of our best which was good as it was our final shot.