Who would be the audience for our media product? Question 4

Our thriller opening features a high standard of suspense and holds key enigma codes, engaging the audience, making them want to watch more. Our product could be established into the crime thriller subgenre which could interest a large sample of the target audience. Personally, I think that the target audience of this product should be young people above the age of 16 due to the swearing and graphic violence. Also, crime is a currently a huge issue in society, therefore, teenagers could relate to the movie.

As you can see, the mood board contains typical things that teenagers around the age of 16+ may be interested in, for example, sports, music and/or shopping. This connotes that the audience of our opening are teenagers of different interests. The film Conjuring is on the mood board, which may signify that the audience have an interest in horror/thriller films, therefore our opening is applicable for them. The character profile presents a typical teenage girl that likes watching horror and thriller movies. It is likely for her not to be interested in sports or cars, but in shopping and socialising. Her favourite TV programme would probably be something like Gossip Girl or Breaking Bad, as it is hard to guess.

Target audience Mood Board & Individual Profile

The narrative is very clear.

The camerawork portrays the story very well.

The music gave the opening more tension and eagerness. However, the chase scene could have been more tense, maybe by the use of editing.

The opening

definitely suits its target

audience. It kept

me hooked.I love the

twist at the end, when we find out that he is

the policeman. It gives the

story a better

meaning.

Feedback

Discussing Issues Raised and Target Audience Feedback

Before producing the opening, our major concern was the gun, as we could not take it outside of the school building. At that point we have already created our story board, shot list and animatics. However soon we found a solution as our teacher advised us to film the shot in school. So we found background that matches the previous footage that we already filmed and it turned out great.

Target Audience FeedbackSome of our friends gave us great feedback after viewing our opening. This was vey useful as it allowed us to see if we met our targets of meeting the likes and dislikes of our target audience. The majority gave us positive feedback which is great to know that our effort and hard work was appreciated and realise by the audience. Many of our audiences enjoyed the narrative, and said it was engaging. However, some commented on the technical difficulty of the chase scene, which we ourselves admit could have been better. Receiving negative feedback is also useful because we get the opportunity to learn from our mistakes and find out our weaknesses.

Question 5: How did we attract/address our audience?

Personally, the thriller genre seems to appeal more to teenagers as it has a buzz that young audience appreciate. Consequently, we had to consider some factors that would make it more applicable for them. Those were:• Genre Conventions• Media Technical Language• Music• Similarities To Other Films Enjoyed By Our Target

Audience

After planning these, all was left to do was to produce the film, and make sure it fit the standards of our target audiences. Although our film was not packed with action, CGI and special effects, we focused more on making it gender friendly; girls could relate to the girlfriend while boys to the boyfriend. This therefore meets the standards of our target audience.

Genre Conventions Genre consists of four conventions:• Characters• Iconography• Narrative• Themes.Firstly, I will discuss the characters in our opening and how they fit the genre. This also relates to iconography due to their costumes. In this shot, the characters

are walking very close together and are holding hands which symbolizes love automatically telling us that they are a couple. They seem like nice, generous people which makes the audience like them. Their clothes make them look high middle-class which is why the robber may have attacked them. Also, the girlfriend is wearing fur which is typically associated with wealth and success.

This shot makes the robber look unusual because he is wearing glasses. However, if we look at classic gangster movies like Get Carter we notice that they were wearing glasses. It is also said that Michael Caine made glasses ‘cool’ as before they were seen as geeky.This bottom shot is the first shot we see the robber in. Due to his face being covered, the audience cannot trust him which suggests that he is the antagonist (at this point in the movie the audience are unsure if he is). He is also wearing black clothing which is foreshadowing murder and crime. This is how the thrill is created, because the audience are put on edge as soon as the film starts.

Clearly, iconography plays a massive part in establishing characters. The film follows typical thriller messages and values as the robber and protagonist (boyfriend) are both male, while the damsel in distress is a female.

Secondly, I will discuss the iconography in our opening and how it fits the genre. Iconography is everything within the scene, also known as mise-en-scene.

The graffiti is visible in some scenes, especially at the beginning. This lets the audience know that the area is run-down and dangerous, which therefore may give the audience an impression that the area has a high crime rate.

The rubbish on the floor also signifies that it is a run-down, horrible area. This makes the audience dislike that area, and expect something bad to happen there. It also signifies the situation as it is a big mess.

Thirdly, I will be discussing how the narrative fits the genre. A narrative is essentially the storyline: it is a series of events that happen over time and later on link together by a cause and effect. Due to the fact that this is simply just an opening, the narrative is not as rich as it would be in a full movie. The murder of the girlfriend is a cause and effect itself as that causes the boyfriend to decide to take revenge; we see this when he clenches the bandana in one hand and holds the police badge in his other hand. This arouses the enigma codes, making the audience ask questions like did he mean to kill her? Who is he? Did he know the couple? This consequently creates the theme of murder and crime, relating to the ‘buzz’ that thriller themes create among the teenagers allowing us to reach our target audience's standards.

Lastly, I will discuss how the themes form the thriller genre in our opening.Themes are formed by the narrative; they are the messages and values of the film.As I mentioned before, our movie fits the subgenre of crime thriller therefore the themes may include murder, crime, depression, stalking etc.Throughout the opening we have the theme of love contrasting the theme of murder. The theme of love is shown when the couple are walking together, very close and holding hands. Also, during the scene when the girlfriend is dead in the boyfriend’s arms because he cries; the close-up shows his melancholia. The theme of murder appears when we see a close up of the gun, and hear the diegetic sound of the gun.

Media LanguageMedia language is simply the technical effects that make the opening take place. This can be done through camerawork and special effects/editing. If done well, they make the opening have a flow and run smoothly.These areas do not control storylines, but they emphasise the genre conventions in the opening. Camera shots manipulate what the audience are supposed to look at and pay attention to. They allow the audience to see the movie through the director’s eyes. Therefore, in our opening we used a variety of camera shots to create suspense and make it very interesting for the audience. Many times the camera pans and tracks, for example, we see a tracking shot of the boyfriend running after the robber. This makes the shot more exciting, as movement usually creates tension and panic.

Special Effects/Editing

Among other editing, we have used shot reverse shot during the scene of the robber shouting to the couple. It makes the film run more smoothly and makes it all fit well together. Shot reverse shot is where one character is shown looking at another character and then the other character is shown looking back at the first character. However, in our film the couple does not turn around at first, as they are frightened and want to keep walking.

Music

The first non-diegetic incidental music playing throughout the opening creates suspense and adds more action to the film. It makes the audience curious because it is mysterious and slow, just like the robber.The second non-diegetic incidental music that plays is quick and drives the action on. It puts the audience on edge as they hope that the boyfriend will catch the robber. It drives the action forward and puts the audience on edge.

Similarities With Other Movies: Batman Begins

The robber in Batman Begins portrays a lot of the same characteristics as our robber because in both films their faces are hidden. They both pick and shoot an innocent victim and are both dressed in the same way.

Other characters that share similarities with our characters are batman’s parents. Like the couple in our film the woman hides behind the man and seeks guard, whilst the man lives up to his stereotype and tries to protect her and calm the criminal down. However, in batman both of the parents die but in our film it follows the more typical view of the male seeking revenge after his girlfriend is shot.

Unique Selling Point

Due to the film being a usual crime-thriller with typical characters, it may appeal well to the audience because they know exactly what they’re gonna get. Also, the fact that the Batman film is a classic makes our film seem like it is going to fit the genre and be popular amongst its target audience.It is a crime thriller therefore it can be popular amongst a lotof people, even ones that are not part of the target audience, due to the thrill and suspense it creates.