Final Product: Two Much Pain

I am Carlie Cokell-Smith: 7904

I worked with;

Emine Ibrahim: 7910

Katie Yiacoumi: 6168

Two Much Pain

Evaluation: Question 1) In what ways does your media product, use, develop or challenge forms and conventions?

Evaluation: Question 5) How did you attract/address your target audience?

Secondary research is important in existing films because it is extremely reliable to gather up information. It gives brand new ideas and influences different perspectives which could help appeal to the target audience we are aiming at. From looking at secondary research I collected, it is evident that the target audience for thriller films is aimed at both genders from the age of 15-35 year olds. The target audience isn't a specific ethnicity or occupation as that does not matter. 

From my research into thrillers, I believe that the target audience that they appeal to consist of the following:

Age: 15-45
Gender: Unisex
Ethnicity: AnyOccupation: Any
Hobbies and Interests: Crime, Psychology, etc.

I believe that from thriller films the target audience enjoy the tension that scenes build and the darkness that comes from the thriller film. This comes from the lighting, make up, costume, hair, sound and location in the thriller film. The conventions is what makes a thriller. Further to this, I believe they like to exxperience are fear, tension and uncomfortable. This was good research as it meant that for my thriller i had to consider good music which was scary, an eerie location to set the atmosphere and lighting which set the mood.

Conventions such as tension building and scary music like, when the antagonist is walking towards the victims sleeping or when the music starts off with small sound effects and then builds to louder, more broader music, will be enjoyed by the audience as these factors contribute to a typical thriller film. Our group made sure that we followed these conventions (which include scary music, tension building, etc) in order to portray a similar target audience with their expectations. I aimed my thriller at audiences between the ages of 15-35 from both genders so I can stick to the conventions of a worthy thriller. Conventions that I stuck with throughout the creation of my idea is the simple antagonist/victim approach which is the main event of the thriller and the petrifying scenario which scares the audience.


As part of our primary research, we decided to carry out a questionnaire for our audience to fill out in order to have an idea of what they would like to see in a thriller film. Communicating with our target audience is the best way to make our thriller successful. This is my questionnaire:

4 Key Questions:


My first example is question number 5) what’s the best thriller you have watched and why? This is useful for my group because firstly it’s an open question which gives us all different answers and opinions to come across. Also, it can gives us fresh ideas which we never thought of using, so this question is very beneficial.

My second example is question number 10) Do you prefer supernatural or reality in thrillers? This is useful because it gives my group a basic idea of where our narrative is going. Also, it helps us decide which type of thriller is more appealing to our target audience.
 

My third example is question number 12) would you want the antagonist to have a hidden identity? This is useful because it helps my group create the antagonist character which will attract the audience as the majority of the audience did say they wanted the antagonist to have a hidden identity.

My fourth example is question number 8) would you prefer a psychological thriller? This was useful because at first we wanted to do a psychological thriller but our results showed that our target audience preferred a thriller which wasn't psychological so we changed our idea. 

 

Overall, the primary research was important as it is reliable and because it is yourself. Also, it gives more of the opinions to the specific questions the researcher asked which could be difficult to find through secondary research.

The questionnaire was vital as we got more information about who the target audience was and what their interests were. I believe primary research helped me attract and address my audience. The questionnaire provided many questions for the audience to answer, I believe the more questions I provide the audience, the more detailed answers that bring a various number of opinion I will receive.

One bit of feedback I received was from Lara aged 16. This made me proud because I realised that I have followed the conventions of a Thriller due to feedback.
Another bit of feedback I received was from Ella aged 16. This showed me that there could have been better additions to the narrative.

  Criticism I got was from Trey aged 19. This shows me that I could have made certain things clearer in my narrative.
This positive comment was from Sean aged 17. This shows me that people understood my narrative and liked how the whole thriller flowed.

Evaluation: Question 7) Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

What was the preliminary task and what were its main aims?

The Preliminary task was a 30 second video which we could practice using the camera, making angles and movements and editing. Its aims was to give us a taster of what its like to film a scene and it would give us the advantage of already knowing what to do before we start filming our final product. It helped us with operating the camera for the first time, how to film on action and it helped us experience cinematography. It benefited our group a lot and saved us a lot of time for when we start our thriller.

Improvements in Film and Editing:

Filming: It is clear that I have improved in filming as I have used a variety of cinematography (shots, angles and movement). When the 2 victims are in bed, we used a high angle shot to make the audience feel like they are looking down on them. This has improved from my preliminary task because we didn’t use angles in our preliminary task so this shows us being more versatile in cinematography.

 

Filming: I have also improved in filming as I was able to take close up shots of iconography that was significant in the narrative. We learnt how to operate the camera when zooming slowly into the main focus of the shot. Although we used a close up in our preliminary task, this shot was more stable and the zoom was a lot smoother.

 

 

Editing: Another thing I have improved on is placing transitions in when necessary. In our preliminary task our transitions weren’t very smooth and the shots were cut at the wrong places making the overall narrative unclear and it didn’t flow as well as it should have. We used the flashback transition to show him reminiscing on his relationship, which showed a clear difference between present, past and future, making it a necessary transition.

Editing: Lastly, in our final product we learnt how to change the shots colour and add effects onto it. For this shot we added the “Camcorder” effect to show a recording of the couple (which they recorded themselves). We also changed the colour of the shot which looked the same as the other happy moments of the couple to show that this is in the past.

 

 

 

Write about the three images that is comparing:

1) Over the shoulder shot – This was improved as when we did the preliminary task, our over the shoulder shot showed a lot of unwanted space on the characters side. This showed poor filming which we did improve in our final product as our over the shoulder shot had no unwanted space and was focused only on the character in the shot. This kept the audience engaged as there was nothing to distract them from the actions played by the character.

2) Two shot – I improved on filming the two shot because in my preliminary task, again, there was a lot of unwanted space around both of the characters. This was improved in my final product because we created a two shot for our two victims which was much more focused and with less irrelevant background that will distract the audience.

3) Transitions – Lastly I improved from my preliminary as my transitions were a lot sharper and cut at the right times. The dissolve that we used in our preliminary was not necessary to the narrative, however, in our final product the transition/effect that we used was much more sufficient. This is because it was fitted into the right scenario of the couple arguing in a very aggressive manner. The effect we used was flashing to show anger.

Sound cloud: Planning became essential after the preliminary task because we had to ensure that all conventions, shots and editing would be at its best in an organized way. We made sure this was possible by firstly, dividing roles in our group, I played the roles of the producer, story boarder and sound maker because I am very organized person and creative when it comes to sound. Secondly, we storyboarded our final product. This helped because it organized our thoughts and helped us structure our cinematography, making it easier when it comes to filming. To finish off our planning, we created pre-production paperwork which allowed us to gain consent from our cast members and other people involved in the making of our thriller, for example, the location. The risk assessment for example, ensured safety throughout filming. This planning meant that our progression increased from our preliminary task to our final product as we knew what to avoid.

Personal Reflection:


I believe I did make a successful thriller which shows and interesting storyline. The thriller is successful because it has good editing, cinematography and sound. The edits are smooth making the overall flow of the thriller smooth. The shots were used sufficiently and a variety of movements, angles and shot sizes were used. For example, close ups were used to show particular shots like when the antagonist was rubbing the gun preparing to kill the victim. Another example, is the panning shot when the victims are peacefully sleeping, when they have no idea what is coming for them.

Personally I enjoyed making the soundtrack for the thriller because it helped me be very creative in making different sounds for the parts of my thriller. Also, it helped me develop my knowledge on the software to create sounds and I found this very interesting.

One improvement that I wish I could have done was spending a little bit more time on the soundtrack because I felt that the amount of time I had wasn’t enough. With more time I believe our thriller would have had a more accurate soundtrack.

Over the whole process, the main things I have learnt is how to edit a 2 minute thriller in a short period of time using the format final cut pro. I also learnt how to use the software logic, which I found very difficult but managed to do and use it very well. I also learnt how to work in a group and widen my communication skills.

Evaluation: Question 6) What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this media product?

Evaluation: Question 2) How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Evaluation: Question 3) What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

Evaluation: Question 4) Who would be the audience for your media product?

Planning - Microelements - Mr Smith

Micro elements

Cinematography is important in films because it helps make the final product, by colliding edits and shots together to keep the audience drawn to the screen. I believe it is important to think about the cinematography especially in thriller films because shot sizes, shot movements, shot angles and the pace of edits is what makes the narrative create a meaning and a response from the audience. We want the audience to feel anxious and nervous throughout the whole of the narrative. Some of the conventional uses of cinematography in thrillers are shots like reaction shots, close ups and extreme close ups to show deep emotion in the action of the thriller. 

Effective uses within thriller consists of conventions such as; a fast pace of edits for a violent attack (for example) makes the audience uneasy as the quick edits from different angles make the attack more thrilling. Also, shot movements can help create tension and fear for the audience and helps follow the tension building narrative.

Medium shots will be used when the audience is shown the 2 injured body's laying on the floor. I've chosen to use this because it shows a clear view of both of the bodies and how injured they are. This is conventional to a thriller because it allows the audience to not only see both of the characters, but some of the scenery.

Long shot will be used for the end to show the last shot of all the 3 characters. I have chosen to use this because it's a shot where we can see all the characters actions in the last shot. 

A high angle will be used when the female victim is scurrying around after waking up from being knocked out by the violence between her and her boyfriend, she is looking for a gun. I have chosen to use this high angle to show the character as an inferior character. This is conventional to a thriller because it shows vulnerability in victims which is usually what is shown in thrillers. 

 

An ariel shot is used right at the beginning when the scene opens and the audience see both bodies laying on the floor. We chose to use this because it will show the bodies and iconography clearly for the audience to grasp the atmosphere in the first couple seconds of the scene.

A close up is used when showing carlie's hand. This is to emphasise the cuts and damage that has happened to her. She will still be bleeding which suggests the violence that has occurred before. This will help give the audience an understanding of what has happened beforehand. This is conventional to a thriller as close ups are almost always used for emphasis to affect the audience.

A zoom out will be used for the shot of carlie's eye. It zooms out to see the rest of her body and also Lashane's. We decided to use this as it would help create a natural flow from the eye show to the bodies then zoom more into a fade to white. These edits work quite well together which helps the audience stick to the narrative.

A shot reverse shot will be used when both the actors are arguing. We will use this to create tension between the two characters. This is conventional to a thriller because it will generate a reaction from the audiences as well as encouraging emotion and helping them withdraw meaning.

An extreme close up will be used when the antagonist is introduced. This will be used to give the audience a clear view of the character entering the narrative. It will show the emotion of the character therefore giving spectators time to try and figure out what her intentions are. This is conventional to a thriller because the extreme close up will also show that the characters has a hidden identity, making the audience feel uneasy.

This is beneficial to my planning because it helps a lot with the camera operator with what shots they are doing before they even start doing the filming. Also, I have learnt that different shot angles and movements add a lot of interest from the scene for the audience.

Sound is important in films because it sets an atmosphere/mood within the narrative. I believe it is important to think about the sound especially in thriller films because the sound is what makes the tension, fear and suspense in the thriller. Some of the conventional used of sound in thrillers are non-diegetic sound of eerie music which brings a scary atmosphere to the scene that is present. Another example is off screen sound, which brings mystery to the audience, for example, a scene in a dark forest and a man is there but is hearing whispers, the off screen sound causes the audience to be nervous of who is in the forest with the man. 

Effective uses of sound within thrillers is all the types of sound because they all bring an effect to the audience. Without the sound in a film, the film doesn't grab the audiences attention as much as the images do. 

Non-diegetic sound is used when the shots are showing 2 injured bodies, this music is very dim but eerie for the audience to listen to. I used this because it would make the audience feel uncomfortable watching the scene. This is conventional to a thriller because in the making of non-diegetic sound you can bring an atmosphere to a certain moment in the scene with an upbeat tone of sound to make the audience jump out their seats. 

Parellel sound is used when the flashbacks are happening with the couple, you hear their voices and what they are arguing about. I have chosen this so the audience see and feel what the characters are feeling through their words and passion in their voices. This is conventional to the thriller genre because it shows violence in the characters and the situation itself which is needed for the audience to have an understanding.

Diegetic sound is a sound that is part of the film world  and will be used during the flashback scene of the couple arguing. The audience know exactly where the sound is coming from and is important for the audience to hear the dialogue between both characters. This is conventional to a thriller film as without diegetic sounds the audience will not understand the film.

On screen sound will be used when carlie is arguing with lashane and objects are being smashed about, e.g. the glass and frames. The audience is able to hear the smashing and see exactly where the noise is being created.

Off screen sound will be used when the gun is used to shoot someone. You will not be able to see where the gunshot is coming from but you will have it. We have chosen to use this because it is very conventional to a thriller, by the way it will leave the audience in suspense and it will encourage the theme of mystery.

This planning has been beneficial because it allowed us to use and have a variety of sounds used within our thriller opening. I have learnt that sound is a big reason for the atmosphere to be set in films especially thrillers, so having a choice of different types of sound helps in the making of the tension in the thriller for the audience to feel themselves.




Editing is important in films because this also sets an atmosphere with the pace of edits brought together to make the scene, the edits add a lot of interest to the scene as well with different editing techniques, for example; straight cut, fade to black, wipe cut, dissolve, etc. I believe it is important to think about editing especially in thrillers because without editing the film wont be put together in a unique way which will engage the audience, the pace of edits build an atmosphere in the scene. Some of the conventional uses of editing in thrillers are the techniques used like straight cut, jump cut and fade to black which is used to go from shot to shot.

Effective uses of editing within thrillers is all the types of editing technique which adds interest to the scene. Jump cut is used to effectively to show sharp movements in antagonists and other dangerous characters that may occur in thriller films.

Fade to black is used when the production company's name comes up on a black screen and edits into the next shot of the hand dripping with blood. I have chosen to use this edit because it runs smoothly with the background of black in the first edit.

Fade to white is used when we're doing a flashback scene. We used the fade to white as this symbolises the reminiscence of what had happened. This will give the audience a clear understanding that the scene is going into a flashback.

Straight cut is used when showing different shots of the bodies. This is used because it is a simple transition from one shot to another, also making It a quick transition .

This has been beneficial to planning because it helps with understanding what edit works with particular shots, and also helps with letting each shot run smoothly with each other. I have learnt that editing the images helps add interest especially with the technique and pace of the editing.

Planning - Shotlist - Ms Begum

This is the camera shot list for my groups thriller opening. Camera shot lists are important for the camera operator and director to have because it gives them a clear guideline of what needs to be filmed and the shot size, angle and movement. Here is my groups camera shot list:

Planning - Preliminary Task - Mr Smith

Purpose of a Preliminary Task
The purpose of the preliminary task is to give us a taster of a simple 30 second scene filmed and edited by ourselves. This is so we can have a flavour of the work we have to do before we start our thriller openings. This is also to show us what we need to do to improve and create in our thriller openings. Also, this allowed us to see what the roles in the production consists of and how hard the job is. The preliminary task also taught us how to share roles out.

 

The Scenario
The scenario in our preliminary task was two girls talking about a party coming up. One of the girls invites her friend to come along to the party with her but she doesn't seem to want to go. In the conversation, shot reverse shot is used to show the 2 girls having a conversation clearly. One of the girls say something offence to her friend and this makes a reaction shot to convey the emotion on her face.  Long shot was used when both characters were travelling towards and away from the scene. In the editing process, we used a fade from one scene to another to show continuity. At the end of the scene we used a fade to black to show the scene coming to an end.

Group Roles
In our group we shared the roles out fairly:

Director - Katie.
Katie was director because she has very good leadership skills.
Camera Operator - Emine.
Emine was camera operator because she has experience in filming and holding the camera.
Editor: Emine and Carlie.
Emine and Carlie both edited as they have some experience in using the editing software.

Difficulties Encountered Whilst Filming
Difficulties whilst filming was the continuity in the scene, for example, in the last shot a chair is in show, when it wasn't there before.

Difficulties Encountered Whilst Editing
We found editing quite hard as the majority of the group because we haven't got much experience in the editing room. We had to figure out how to cut shot sizes and how to add effects. We was all new to the software (except for Emine) but still got the hang of things on the computer and was learning new skills off of each other whilst editing the preliminary task.

What Have I Learned?
I have learnt how to use the software for editing in the editing room, whilst learning new skills on the computer. Also, I learnt how to vary in shots for filming to show different angles of a film. Another thing I learned was what shots fitted best in particular scenes and the reasons for movement/angles.

Conclusion: How Has The Task Beneficial?
The preliminary task was beneficial for my group because it gave us a taster of what its like to shoot a scene with all the filming techniques and how to operate the camera properly. Also, this helped us understand the process and how hard it is to get every shot correctly and the meaning of taking repeated shots to have a multiple choice in the editing room. This saves time in the process of filming the actual thriller opening because we have already practiced the filming process beforehand.

Planning - Preproduction Paperwork - Ms Begum

Introduction: We need the paperwork for our thriller because it helps us schedule and organise the filming times and dates and what we need to do in the process of filming. Also, it helps us confirm with the location and actors/actresses in the making of the thriller, which is professional.

Production Schedule: Summary of exactly what is going to happen in your filming schedule, which is the time and date. Also, the advantage of doing this is it organises the team/production, allows/provides meaning and understanding for the audience. This document should be given to everyone in your filming team and cast so they have all the information they need about your thriller (times/dates).

 

Location Recce: A summary of the location that you have decided to use for your thriller. This document should be given to everyone in your filming team so they all have the information.

 

Risk Assessment: An analysis of your location, and you need to identify what risks might arise and how you plan to overcome them. This document should be given to everyone in your filming team so they all have the information they need to about location and risks. This is a legal document. Need to show an analysis of your location and calculate the risks.

 

Client Release Form: A legal document that discusses the terms and agreements for any actors in your thriller. This document should be given to everyone who will be a part of your cast. Need to show an analysis of your location and calculate risks.

 

 

Location Release Form: A legal document that discusses the terms and agreements  for the company/council/people that are allowing you to film in their location. This document should be given to company/council/people to show that you have agreed to the terms and conditions. Need to show that you have understood yours and their rights.

Planning - MES - Mr Smith

"MES" (Mise en scene) is very important to actors in the film industry. It gives each character their own flavour and style and sets up their personality in the film.

Setting; ordinary black room in a house, both living room and bathroom, we picked this location because we needed low-key lighting and an enclosed area to suit the scenario. 

Iconography; Blood, to put on the bodies to show traces of the violence that took place beforehand. Glass and frames to show the damage of items that were violently used by the main characters. Lipstick for the antagonist to represent her as a confident, feminine character. Finally, guns to show the final violent part of the opening, Which is a major item for all the characters in the thriller.

Character 1: Carlie.

•Costume - Grey, casual clothing. 

•Natural make-up, smeared mascara etc.

•Curly big hair.

Character 2: Lashane.

•All black.

•Hair and make-up is all natural as it's stereotypical for a man in reality to have a natural look, no matter what make character it is.

Character 3: Zelal.

•All black. 

•Dark lipstick/nails.

•Straight, long, attractive hair.

The lighting is low-key, forming a smokey atmosphere for the audience. Light resources like dim lights and candles create this effect for the audience. 

Colour throughout the opening consists of dark colours like black and grey to represent evilness, negativity and violence.

This is beneficial to our thriller because it helps us show our target audience a major difference between each character in the scene and shows their personalitys in a clear way.

Planning - Character Representation - Ms Begum

Name: Carlie Cokell-Smith

Character Role: 1

Age: 21

Gender Stereotype Of Role: Female, attractive, innocent.

Costume: Grey clothes, casual.

Hair and Make-up: Big hair, ordinary make-up, quite pale.

Body Language and Facial Expression: Confidenr, upright, slightly weak, and vulnerable.

Represented As: Angry girlfriend who is hurt about her boyfriends actions.

Role Within Narrative: Arguing with boyfriend as hearing he has cheated, attempts to kill him as he is unconscious. Stopped by mystery girl who walks in.

Name: Lashane Williams

Character Role: 2

Age: 21

Gender Stereotype Of Role: Male, attractive, dark side.

Costume: All black clothing.

Hair and Make-up: Neat hair.

Body Language and Facial Expression: Confident, masculine, strong, built, superior, angry, frustrated.

Represented As: Sly boyfriend who denies his wrong actions of cheating.

Role Within Narrative: Argyes with girlfriend (Carlie) over him cheating, denies his actions and gets the girls caught up in a bad situation. Almost gets shot by Carlie and Zelal.

Name: Zelal Keskinbisak

Age: 21 

Gender Stereotype Of Role: Female, attractive, intelligent, arrogant, selfish,

Costume: All black clothing, choker, hoody hiding identity. 

Hair and Make-up: Long, straight hair, dark lipstick, pale, nails dark.

Body Language and Facial Expressions: Upright, confident, bland, mysterious, emotionless.

Represented As: Crazy girl in love with character 2 (Lashane), trying to get rid of girlfriend in violent way. 

Role Within Narrative: Getting ready, looking good/proud as she is going to attempt to kill character 1. However, audience doesn't know if she succeeds. 

Planning - Production Roles - Ms Begum

Production Roles.

Emine has the roles of being a camera operator, location manager and editor. We put her for these roles because firstly, she has experience with operating cameras because she done her work experience at a photography shop and they showed her how to use the camera effectively. Secondly, she is location manager because where we are filming is all at her own home so she is responsible for this. Lastly, we put her for editor because she done a lot of editing in her music gcse and she was successful in doing this due to her final grade.

I have the roles of producer, storyboard maker and sound maker. This is because I'm good at keeping great communication amongst the team. Also, I was responsible for the storyboard because my narrative was most creative and organised out of the 3 of us. Finally, I have experience in mixing music for my dance lessons and dance sets, so I have ideas on what is suited best in certain areas of the scene in the sound category. 

Katie has the roles of director, lighting, costume hair and make-up. We put her for this because firstly, as a director she is very good at organising and making sure her vision is clear for the actors and she is very good at managing the scene. As for the lighting, she has helped In showcases when they needed help for lighting so her experience is good when it comes to this. She also has a steady hand to hold the light for a long period of time at a certain angle. Finally, she is very creative when it comes to costume hair and make-up and with experience of practicing on other people she knows how to do hair and make-up correctly in a professional way. 

 

This is beneficial for our group because it gives us an equal amount of jobs to do so we can get things done in a more quicker and organised way. This will help our thriller become very successful and our experience as individuals will make our thriller a lot more professional. 

Planning - Storyboard - Ms Begum

Storyboard

This storyboard shows the narrative in different camera shot and angles in an effect way, showing the thriller in a thrilling and scary way. Here is some images of the storyboard me and my group have created. 

Planning - Final Idea - Mr Smith

Final Idea

 

Narrative/Plot: Pictures and images of the crime scene scattered across the floor, showing victims and their families. The sound of flash on camera's, whispering and sirens are muffling in the background. Then, the scene changes to a girl in an interview room being interviewed by the police. The girl is hearing whispers in her head and she looks messed up but confused in why she is in this room. Her hair is messy and her face looks pale. the police is talking to the antagonist and asking her questions, this voice eventually muffles as all she can hear is the voices in her head. Tension increases, the voices get faster and louder in her head and she eventually has a fit. When she wakes up, she's on a chair with her hands cuffed, she hears her own thoughts in her head about what she done and how she feels. When she's done with her thoughts, she's hears a door open in front of her. Audience sees flashback of girl killing her boyfriend saying "Our love died so I guess he had to."

 

Narrative structure: Todorov, Aristotle - provoking emotion which is conventional to a thriller.

 

Characters: Antagonist (teenage girl), 2 police officers, nurses, dead boy on the floor.

 

Mise en scene: (Lighting)  Low-key/under lighting (when she wakes up) , top lighting (interview), Colours should be dark, however interview room should be white. 

(Settings) Hospital, forest, police station.

(Body language & facial expressions) Antagonist physical appearance is quite petite however can come across quite confident.

(Costume, hair & make-up) Costume of antagonist = dark colours to represent evil. Police and nurses will wear uniform like reality. Hair of antagonist is messy, curly, big, etc. Her make-up is pale.

(Iconography) Blood, knifes, ropes, pictures, and medicine.

 

Film influences:

Memento
Identity

Se7en
Shutter Island

 

Why is this opening conventional to a thriller? This is conventional because it sets a frightening and uncomfortable atmosphere for the audience and the rest of the thriller. Also, the narrative revolves around an investigation, leaving the audience confused and wanting to know more.

What themes does your thriller present?

Psychological 

Death

Obsession

Envy

Crime

Violence

 

What response will you get from your audience? The response I want from my audience is to be curious, frightened and disturbed. I would like the audience to be attracted to the narrative and enjoy watching it. Also, to be intrigues in the narrative in deep thought.

Planning - Inital Ideas - Ms Begum

Initial Ideas

 

 

In my group, we have 3 members meaning 3 of us had different ideas to what our opening to a thriller could have and also what the narrative was about. Even though our ideas are quite different, there are a couple of similarities like with the antagonists and what they look like and portray themselves.

 

IDEA 1!

Narrative: girl being interviewed by the police, she killed both her parents.

Sub-Genre: crime-thriller.

MES: White room (police station for the interview room). Bedroom (for killing).

Characters: 2 police officers, teenage girl, parents.

 

IDEA 2!

Narrative: crime scene, someone's dead, eye witness cant explain what they saw? mental person, schizophrenia, controls him.

Title: the unknown.

Sub-Genre: psychological/crime thriller.

Characters: victims/antagonist, no protagonist, maybe the police?

Narrative Structure: Aristotle, importance of plot structure, arouse emotion, within tragedy.

MES: forest, abandoned places, dark, blood, knifes, tools, low-key lighting, back lighting.

 

IDEA 3!

Narrative: a young girl who loses her way in life and ends up spiritually possessed.

Title: the red flag.

Sub-Genre: psychological thriller.

Characters: female victim, children, crazy man, police.

MES: urban setting, city, flashing lights, dark, leather clothing.

 

In conclusion, this has helped us all as we discussed each others ideas and plotted each idea out to see what works well and what doesn't. Then we linked them to see what works with each other and what could make a unique thriller within the 3 ideas. This has helped us create our final idea.

 



Planning - Open Scene Narration - Ms Begum

Open Scene Narration

 

My thriller opening scene will start with pictures of a crime scene, with police tape, evidence of the killer and people investigating the crime. Someone is dead on the floor covered in a white sheet showing that they are officially dead and has not been identified yet to the audience. The audience can hear picture shots and sirens in the background, with some non-diegetic sound of eerie music. Then there is an interview scene with a medium shot of the antagonist, wearing dark colours. The police is talking to the antagonist however she is not listening due to the voices in her head, this shows that maybe she is going crazy and has something wrong with her mentally. The voices get louder and she starts having fits and cannot control herself, this builds a lot of uncomfortable tension for the audience. She eventually can't take the noises anymore and faints which fades to black. When she is awake she can hear shuffling noises and is tied down to a bed or to a chair in a room. The girl starts seeing flashbacks of the crime she committed. The first one is of her boyfriend dead and her sitting in the corner shaking and panicking. Then the scene goes back to her sitting on the bed again close up to her face to show her panicking after what she did. Then the second flashback shows her actually killing her boyfriend and ending the scene with her smiling and saying "Our love died so I guess he had to." This ends for the mystery of what she meant by that sentence.



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.