Research - Questionnaries And Results - Ms Begum

Questionnaire's

 

What Is The Importance Of Primary Research?
Primary research is very important and is more important than secondary research because it is more reliable and is your own research meaning that it is 100% true. Primary research will let you feel more in control of the results and you decide how, when and where your research is administered. This helped me target a specific audience because all questions where related to the conventions, themes and other microelements in thrillers.

 

Who Did I Ask And Why?
I asked people between the ages of 15 years old to 25 years old because my thriller uses characters in their age group, I believe the age reflects from the characters as they relate to their age groups a lot more than characters who I much older or much younger than the target audience. I asked both genders because thrillers can appeal to both male and female, so fair answers will be received from both.

Advantages/Disadvantages.
An advantage for this questionnaire is that it gave me an idea of what would appeal to the target audience the most. So, the making of the thriller idea was an easier/quicker purpose. A disadvantage was the effort of collecting important questions and fitting it into a small and easy questionnaire for the target audience to fill out.

 

Example Of My Questionnaire?

 

Conclusion: How Has This Research Been Beneficial?
This research has been beneficial because it has helped me build my ideas and features that will best suit my target audience and I believe my final idea will really attract my target audience. Also, It helped me realise that certain themes aren't as popular to the public as I may have thought. Personally, it was very beneficial as it gave me an idea of what would appeal to an audience the most.

My Results.

This graph shows me that the majority of people I asked like watching thrillers. This helped me because it showed me that the people I questioned about this topic, will give an honest opinion and will show some sort of experience in the thriller world.





This graph shows me that the sub-genre "psychological thriller" is popular in this generation. This helped me because this directed me to a group of ideas for this sub-genre and showed that my target audience will like to watch this thriller.

 

This graph shows me that the people I asked in this questionnaire, the majority are interested in psychological thrillers on a whole. This has helped me massively because it has led me to an idea of psychological confusion for the audience to feel with my narrative.

 

 

This graph shows me that the audience have a mutual opinion to whether a thriller is better with a supernatural narrative or a realistic narrative. This didn't help me as much as it should have but it did show me that whatever I decide, the audience will like it just as much.

 

 

 

This graph shows me that the age group the target audience will be most interested in for the actors is under 10's. This has helped me because it showed me that the category of under 10's fort he main characters of the thriller will maybe scare the audience more.

 

 

 

This graph shows me that the audience would like the antagonist to have a hidden identity. This has helped me because it showed me that my antagonist would be scarier hidden.

 

 

 

 

This graph shows me that the storyline should be a mystery to the audience in the opening as the audience likes to work things out by the end. This has helped me because it helps my idea of psychological confusion for the audience.

 

 

 

This graph shows that people wouldn't like to see a protagonist in the opening of a thriller. This has helped me because it shows my narrative has a lot of trouble without the 'hero'.

 

 

 

This graph shows that a hospital would be most scariest for a setting in a thriller. This helped me because it related to my idea of a mentally ill antagonist in my thriller.

 

 

This graph shows that the audience think the victim is best suited as a female. This helped me because I needed to decide who would look weak out of the two genders for a victim.

 

This graph shows me that the people I questioned believe that an antagonist will be better as a male. This helps because it shows me the antagonist will be more scarier as a male.

 

 

This graph shows that the more eerie music in the scene, the more scary it is. This helped me because I was stuck to whether I should use a lot of music or not but now I know.

 

 

 

 This graph shows that the title 'alone' would attract this target audience the most. This helped me with a variety of one worded titles for my idea so I can attract an audience.

 

 

This graph shows that there was a 50/50 count of whether moving objects would be scary or not. As this would only be in a supernatural thriller, I will no longer need this in my thriller.



Research - Typography - Mr Smith

Typography

What Is Typography?

Typography is another word for "font". Typography is how the writing is presented to the audience. When we as media students analyse typography, we look at the following things, which is; style, size, letter case, and colour in the font.

Typography And Connotations: Various Genres?

Disney fonts are very bubbly and quite italic, bringing a happy vibe to the title of the film. This can portray a positive atmosphere for the film and audience and makes people happy.

Horror fonts are bold and usually have effects of Halloween to it. This makes the atmosphere eerie for the audience and shows an uncomfortable way in the the font for the audience's eyes.

Romance fonts are italic and have a sweet look to it, bringing a happy vibe to the title of the film. This shows a sweet style of font that is smooth and sets a romantic mood for the audience.

Typography And Thrillers: Examples Of Thriller Fonts?
These are different types of fonts that would be used in thrillers or horrors. As you can see they are all quite bold and also quite messy in a scary way. They set an eerie mood for the audience.

Analysis Choices I May Consider?
The bloody/slimy font is quite gruesome and is good for a title of  thriller as it sets the scene. Another thriller font example I may consider is the thin, italic one which looks like scratches, this portrays violence and maybe animal-like behaviour from characters in the thriller it is advertising.

Conclusion: What I Will Use And Why?
I will use a bold/dark font because I believe in my thriller that's what will suit the narrative best. If I had a thriller font that was dripping which looked like slime or blood it would suit my themes in the thriller as mine if more psychological than bloody and gruesome.



Research - Age Certificates - Ms Begum

Age Certificates

What Is The Role of The BBFC And Why Are They important To The Film Industry?
The role of the BBFC is to check over films to see if they are appropriate for the age rate it applys to. If not, then they will either ban the film from showing in  cinemas or they will censor or cut particular scenes. The BBFC are very important to the film industry because films cant be shown in the UK without being checked by the BBFC (British Board Of Film Classification).

Different Age Certificates?
U - Suitable for all audiences aged 4 years and over. Set in a positive moral framework and should offer reassuring counterbalances to any violence, threat or horror.
PG - General viewing, but some scenes may be unsuitable for young children. Unaccompanied children of any age may watch. PG films shouldn't disturb a child ages around eight years and over.
12 - These categories are awarded where the material is suitable, in general, only for those aged 12 and over. Works classified at these categories may upset children under 12.
12A - Exists only for cinema films. Noone younger than 12 can watch this unless accompanied by a supervised adult. An adult may take a younger child if they feel the film is suitable.
15 - Content may have some controversial elements to it, but on the whole, there shouldn't be any discrimination, drugs may be touched upon, but not promoted, violence can be displayed but cannot dwell on injury and pain. May be use of bad language but only when appropriate.
18 - The BBFC's guidelines concerns will not normally override the principle that adults should be free to choose their own entertainment. Sexual activity and bad language can be permitted. Violent or dangerous acts are allowed, illegal drugs, erotic behvaiour, sexual violence, and others.

12A rating - Spiderman Case!
12A rating started because of the film spiderman. There was scenes and certain parts of the film which was inappropriate for a 12 rating. But, the comics from marvel where being read by eight years old. So the BBFC decided to make a new rating of 12A so younger children could watch it supervised by an adult.

Thrillers And Their Ratings?
Thrillers tend to get either a 15 or an 18 because of the language and behaviour used throughout the films. But, thrillers like the excorcist where banned for 20 years by the BBFC because of the religious side of the film. Certain scenes in the thriller was mocking religious views and religious audiences could find some of the content in the thriller offensive towards them and their religion.

Age Certificate For My Thriller?
My thrillers age certificate will be a 15 because it isnt going to be too gruesome or inappropriate for someone who is 15 or over. My thriller will be psychological, so not too gruesome or offensive.

Conclusion; What Have I Learnt About Certificates And What Do I Need To Consider For My Thriller?
I have learnt that in the film industry, the ratings of films are very strict due to some incidents that have happened, for example the james bulger case. So, they study carefully into what needs to banned, cut and censored in films so it protects all types of audiences. In my thriller i will consider how far i will go with the amount of inappropriate behaviour i will put in my own thriller, due to being offensive towards audiences.

Research - Opening Credits - Mr Smith

Opening Credits

What Are Opening Credits?

Opening credits are written information presented to the audience on who produced the film, who is starring in the films and other production roles. Opening credits also introduce the themes of the film through shots of iconography, settings and sound used.

What Is Their Purpose?

The purpose for opening credits is to advertise and show appreciation to the makers of the film. This is because people might not be aware of the backstage crew etc. The opening credits are a way of opening up the film and introducing elements and themes of the film, like a taster of what the audience are about to see.

What Information Do Open Credits Provide?

Opening credits mention the producers, costume designer, director, actors/actresses, and many more who helped in the making of the film. These are examples of opening credits.

How Do They Make The Audience Feel?

As opening credits are a taster for what the audience are about to see in the film, it all depends on the genre of the film to what the audience will feel. For example, in a horror or a thriller film the opening credits will be scary so the audience feel tension and fear as this will be a taster of what they will be feeling in the film. Another example is in a romance film, the opening credits will have nice music and making the audience feel all loved up as that is the themes in the film.

Opening Credit From A Thriller, What Is It Like?

I analysed the opening credits for "Se7en" and the first thing I noticed was the music in the background. I wouldn't even call it music, the sound was so uneasy and random sounds was added to make an effect for the audience to feel uncomfortable. Also, images of newspapers and extreme close up shots of fingers and weapons made the audience have a taster of the sort of iconography used in the thriller. Se7en's opening credits uses the names of the actors/actresses, directors, producers, co-producers, and others.

Conclusion; What Information Would I Use In My Thriller?

In my thriller, I would definitely start with mentioning the actors/actresses of the film, then the producers, directors, music composers and editors. Everything needs to be mentioned.

Research - Censorship - Mr Smith

Censorship

 

Who Are The BBFC And What Is Their Role?

The BBFC stands for the British Board Of Film Classification. From the website, it quotes "The BBFC's income is derived solely from the fees it charges for its services, calculated by measuring the running time of films, DVDs/videos and other works submitted for classification. The BBFC is not organised for profit, and its fees are adjusted only as required to cover its costs." This means their role is to control the target audience in films and checking over the film to see if certain scenes are suitable for showing cinemas for their audience. In the BBFC, examiners view the submitted works, write many reports and recommend a category decision, cuts or other actions. Many people across the UK complain about the BBFC's decisions of rating films and what should be cut etc. The American film classification is called the MPAA (Motion Picture Association Of America).

Why Is The Role Of The BBFC Important To The Film Industry?
The BBFC is important to the film industry because it manages the films released in a way that is appropriate for the publics eyes. The public cant be exposed with particular scenes, themes and ideas that come from film directors, as some are too extreme to be published to the world of film.


What Things Get censored And Why?
There are a list of themes that the public shouldn't see for multiple reasons. Themes are collected together which are in a film and then judged whether it should be banned or cut, such as; violence, graphical representation and realism, corrupt the young, controversy and the press, sex and nudity, sexual violence, religion, class, language, shock, drug abuse, culture, race and true events. These themes are too inappropriate for the public eye and can be offensive to the public too, so the public are protected from such shocking and traumatising images.


Difference Between Films Being Cut Or Banned?
For a film to be banned, it is to be taken away from cinema viewing completely due to indecent, harmful or offensive material. But for a film to cut, it is edited or has had scenes taken out of it to make it appropriate for viewing to the public eye.


Forna Vs Kemode Debate, My Own Opinion?
Forna's argument was for censorship, whereas Kermode's argument was against censorship. Forna believed that by things not being censored would make people be influenced by behaviour and actions in the film, for example, in the 1970's-80's, the case of james bulger really shocked the world. The fact that a couple of 10 year old boys was influenced by chucky to go and kill a 3 year old made people realise that films influence peoples actions in todays society. Forna also believed that being against censorship would allow directors to express ideas in a way that's beyond what is classified as 'safe' for the public eye. Kermode's argument was against, and he started his argument with, I quote, "Your an idiot; stupid, weak, impressionable, easily led and unable to distinguish  between fiction and reality. If you're and adult you're probably an immature one and if you're a parent your a very bad one". This indicates that whoever gets influenced by fictional films are too immature to watch content at an 18 rate. Kermode believed that having the BBFC censoring films was giving limits for directors with brilliant ideas for films, in fear of freedom in ideas. Also, Kermode believed that cutting or editing a directors finished piece could potentially change the meaning of the film and probably ruin the whole concept of the film. In my opinion, I am for censorship (Forna) because protecting the public from other people being influenced is way more important than maybe having a couple of ideas cut as they are too extreme or offensive to the public. People who are mentally disturbed can watch a film and be influenced so easily, its dangerous for the public.


Conclusion; what have I learnt about film regulation? What Should I Consider For My Thriller?
I have learnt that a lot more films that I ever thought would be censored have actually been cut and banned a lot in the past century simply because a couple of scenes or themes was too inappropriate, harmful and offensive for the public eye. This has made me think about my thriller in a way that I should make a psychological theme to it, making disturbing ideas and thoughts for the4 audience without actually showing content in a disturbing and obvious way.

Research - Mise En Scene: Iconography And Setting - Ms Begum

Iconography And Setting

 What Are Setting And Iconography? Why Is It An Important Convention?

 Iconography is a particular item which is highlighted in a scene, which also brings significance to as scene. Setting is what the surroundings are in the scene, e.g. abandoned house, forest.


Typical Settings For A Thriller?
A lot of thrillers use settings which are dark and abandoned like a forest, house, alley way, etc. These settings are ideal for thrillers because it is the main reason for it setting the scene. For example, in the film "Would You Rather" it is set in an abandoned house in the middle of nowhere, This sets an atmosphere which makes an eerie effect for the audience. Another example, is in the film "Cabin In The Woods" the setting is a forest which also makes a scary atmosphere for the audience as it is isolated from the rest of the world.


How Are Settings Dependant On Sub-Genres?
Different genres are dependant on the settings because certain genres need an atmosphere to set the mood. For example, in thrillers an eerie atmosphere is needed to set the scene, so a setting like an abandoned forest or house is needed to make the audience feel uneasy and scared. Another example is in comedies, where settings like a bright house in the day time or a busy, bright place will set the mood of happiness and makes the audience calm/relaxed.


Typical Iconography In Thrillers?
A lot of thrillers have significant items/objects which are highlighted in scenes. For example, blood, knifes, funs and other weapons signify the actions made by the characters in the scene. Iconography in thrillers gives obvious indications to the audience, helping construct the plot line and promotes the feelings that were meant to make the audience feel a certain way when watching a thriller film.

How Is Iconography Dependant On Sub-Genres?
Different objects/items are dependant for sub-genres because they signify the actions in the film which make the genre what it is. For example, objects like money, guns, knifes, etc, would make up elements to a crime-thriller. Another example, objects like shadows, running water, street lamps, bars/covers from windows and fences, are some of the elements which make up a psychological thriller (I looked this up on google and found this information from this page; http://prezi.com/fp0ccjdjxezc/symbols-signs-and-iconography-in-a-psychological-thriller/).

Thriller Scene Analysis; The Use Of Iconography And Setting.
The setting is in the little boys room, this is a flashback seen of the house but in real life at that moment this room is abandoned. You can see the contrast of it as when its the flashback the setting is brightly coloured and fresh representing the normal life they had in that bedroom. It also sets a scene of childhood. The iconography isn't presented that well in this scene, but the sense of childhood is shown in the child's toys which he plays with.

Conclusion; What Type Of Setting And Iconography Am I Now Planning To Use And Why?
In my thriller, the main settings i am thinking of locating to is either a forest, dark street. house or abandoned park or any sort of abandoned place. This will be useful because it will be one of the reasons for a scary atmosphere to be set. The iconography i would use will be significant to the characters in my thriller. For example, depending on the narrative, i will include weapons or certain objects which a character could use against another character. Other objects like maybe a book or an item which hides a mystery or some sort of information to the thriller would be unique and mysterious.

Research - Mise En Scene - Costume, Body Language And Facial Expressions - Ms Begum

Mise En Scene - Costume, Body Language And Facial Expressions

Costume, Hair, Make Up, Body Language And Facial Expressions are all important conventions to films in general. They are important because they express characteristics and emotions thoroughly through the characters in the films and relate to other films in their genre. This can help with character representation because it can illustrate characteristics easily in the way they dress, and how tidy their hair and make up is.

Costume, Hair and Make Up can all be similar in particular genres in the film industry. For example, in horrors, all female victims look similar in this particular bit of mise en scene, (normal clothing, pretty neat hair and girly/natural look to their make up, this shows innocence in their personality). Another example is in action films, the protagonist is usually in smart/casual clothing with neat hair and generally quite attractive for the audiences eyes, this is for the audience to like the protagonist as he is the hero. A typical antagonist costume would be quite rough clothing with messy hair and usually wears heavy make up or a mask to hide his real identity, this is so his identity is hidden from the public of the film world and the audiences eyes.
                               

Body language is important to films characters. It shows the audience a lot in the character and how a character feels towards a particular event which takes place in the film. For example, usually, when the victim is being attacked, hunted down or chased, their body language portrays them as weak, this is shows through their posture. Another way the victim shows its weakness is through the way they move.  On the other hand, antagonists are generally quite upright and strong when doing their business in the scene as they do have power over the weak victim a lot of the time.

Facial expressions show the characters personality and emotions a lot. The meaning that is given to the audience through facial expressions gives off a lot from the characters. For example, a stereotypical victim in a thriller would show fear and sadness whilst being attacked, this effects the audience a lot as it makes them feel what the victim is feeling. Another example of facial expressions shown through thrillers, is the antagonist because that character shows so much evil, hatred behaviour. But, still the antagonist is so calm in its facial expressions which scares but interests the audience.




I analysed the scene from the thriller "would you rather" where they all try and escape and their was big commotion. The hair and make up was overall messy and smudged because the things they had to do in the rounds and how the group of antagonists were treating them was aggressive and rough.
This showed a big difference from the start and to then because of how they was tidy and then the outcome of the torture they was facing. Also, the costume was smart and neat at the start but by this scene their costumes were ripped and had blood stains from the torture. This shows the audience what they have been through in the film.


Overall, hair make up and costume do make a big difference to the film. It shows characters personalitys and their way of representing themselves. This particular part of mise en scene shows characteristics and how much the character has been effected by the events of the film. I will think carefully about what sort of style i would like my characters in my thriller to have because its important for the characters to have this. I would like my antagonist to wear all black and a mask or hood to hide their identity. Finally I would like the victim to wear bright clothing to show signs of innocence and vulnerability.

Research - Narrative Theory - Ms Begum

Narrative Theory

What is narrative and why is it important to audiences?
Narrative is the structure of the storyline (beginning, middle, end). Every film needs a narrative otherwise the story generally has no meaning to it. The audience needs meaning and a structure to follow in the film so they have a clear understanding to what is going on.


There are 4 elements allowing the audience to find meaning; genre, characters, structure, connotation and denotation. These are important because it gives the audience characteristics to the narrative make the storyline. You need these 4 elements for a good storyline to engage the audience well.


Propp..
He was mainly interested in narrative folktales. He believed that folktales were about the same basic struggles, therefore had the same characters. He believed that character have a narrative function; they provide a structure for the text. The characters that propp based around his theory was a princess, hero, villain, dispatcher, helper, doner, father.


Todorov..
He believed there was three stages in the narrative of films; equilibrium, disequilibrium and new equilibrium. This was otherwise known as start, middle and end. Equilibrium means the beginning, where the characters are introduced to the audience and appear stable. Disequilibrium means the middle, where something disruptive happens towards the characters and a change occurs which needs to be resolved, there is a big climax and disequilibrium usually. Lastly, New Equilibrium means the end, where usually the disruption which occurred in the disequilibrium  is resolved, and the narrative is closed. This usually is a happy ending.


Aristotle..
He believed that there was importance in the plot. He believed it was important to arose emotion from the audience and this is mainly within tragedy (fear and emotion). Only focusing on the thought and meaning in the emotions through the film. This evokes emotion through the themes.


Barthes..
He believed there was semiology within the narrative. In his theory, symbolic meant connotation, semic meant denotation, and cultural understanding meant events which can be recognized as being part of a culture.

Thrillers tend to take Todorov's theory because it has a simple beginning, middle and end (equilibrium, disequilibrium and new equilibrium). This helps films have a more wider range of where the story can go and how it starts and ends.

In conclusion, the narrative theory that I would use is Todorov or Aristote because I feel they give me a nice structure to make a psychological thriller.

Research - Narrative Themes - Ms Begum

Narrative Theme

What are themes? Why are they important to identify for the audience?

Themes is a prominent or recurring ideas in a film, also an idea that is often repeated in a piece of art or literature. Themes are important to the audience because it shows a contrast between genres and shows how films are categorised through themes as certain films have similar themes.

Themes are dependant on genres because there are certain themes that make the genre, for example, thrillers aren't what they are without evil, rivalry, hatred, violence, and some sort of death. Themes are important to all genres and there is always a wide range of themes to a film.

This is an example of themes for some popular genres we see in the film industry today:

Rom-Com	Action	Thrillers	Crime	Sci-Fi	Historic
Breakups	Conflict	Death	Fighting	Space	Fighting
Love	Fighting	Mystery’s	Money	Supernatural	Battle
Loyalty	Crime	Evil	Drugs	Disaster	Land
Happiness	battle	Supernatural	Greed	Science	Ownership
Marriage	Revenge	psychological	addiction	adventure	Hierarchy

The audience has a big impact because they bring a meaning and response from the film. Furthermore, the audience identify/learn ideas, conventions, expectation and anticipation.

In conclusion, the main themes I'm going to use in my thriller opening is supernatural and psychological because I am very interested in these sort of films and I feel I can do a lot with these themes and the ideas will be unique compared to the rest of the thrillers.