Thriller audience expectations

As a group we all decided to look at a different genre and then ask people of different ages and backgrounds what they expect from said genre, I am looking at the thriller genre. I came up with a few questions to ask people to get a general over veiw of what people expect from the genre and a film from that genre. Once we had the idea of what people expect from the genre we can decide if this genre is one we would be able to achieve.

1. What genre of film areyou most likely to go and see?
2. Would you go and see a thriller film?
3. Name 5 things you expect to see in a thriller film
4. What certification would you expect to see from a thriller film?

These are the questions I asked 6 people to get an idea of what people expect from their films.

Maxine Saltmarsh- 49

1. Drama
2. Yes
3. violence, relationships, tension, chase, fear
4. 18

Kevin Saltmarsh- 49

1. Thriller
2. Yes
3. Car chase, guns, suspense, female interest, darkness
4. 15

Grace Gillard- 6

1. fairy/children
2. No
3. running, scary men, scared, dark, acreaming
4. N/A

Amber Polley- 17

1. Horror
2. Yes
3. Creepy themes, death, isolation, suspense, darkness
4. 15

Natalie Saltmarsh- 21

1. Rom-Com
2. Maybe
3. Fear, Running, Isolation, Darkness, Death
4. 15

Del Toogood- 56

1. Action
2. Yes
3. Chase, Male Villian, Suspense, Relationships, Fights
4. 15

From all of the answers given I can see that thriller isn't commonly the film that people would automatically go to see but most would be willing to see one. It is obvious that thriller films are aimed at older audiences as everyone said that a thriller film would be at least a 15 and when I asked the young person she didn't really have an idea what a thriller film was. From this I can see that usual conventions people think of when it comes to thriller films are, low key lighting (signified as darkness) a sense of suspense and some form of chase, be it a car chase or having a chase as an ongoing thematic convention. I think the opening of a thriller would be a good thing for us to do as it will be quite easy to build up suspense through editing and location and low key lighting is something we can easilly achieve. I don't think we would be able to create a successful chase but as we are only creating the first two minutes its unlikely that there would be a chase in there so we wouldn't have to worry about that.

Psychological thrillers

Psychological Thrillers

Target audience

http://scorpiocvhsmedia.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/our-target-audience.html
Above is a post I have created about consideration of target audiences.

Initial film ideas

http://scorpiocvhsmedia.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/initial-ideas-mind-map-and-genre-ideas.html
Above is a post I have done about our inital ideas for our film and our ideas about genres.

actor considerations

http://scorpiocvhsmedia.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/common-comedy-film-actors.html

http://scorpiocvhsmedia.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/common-action-film-actors.html

Above are links to a posts I have made about common comedy, action and thriller actors, I did this as further research into genre and popular actors from the different genres. there is also a link to a post I have made that has our final actors we would use in an ideal situation.

http://scorpiocvhsmedia.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/common-thriller-film-actors.html

http://scorpiocvhsmedia.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/final-actors.html

Jelly baby activity

This task was to create a story board for the opening of a film using jelly babies as actors. We did this to cement our knowledge of what different genres require to be succesful. It was also a good exercise to help us start thinking about framing and where actors fit within a frame. It also was a good way to make us start thinking about our openings as a whole and not just the narrative. We have to think about which shots should be used and what shots fit certain genres, for example independent social realism films often have a low budget so have to use simple shots like two shots and close ups to establish the mood and setting where as a high budget action film can use fancier shots like crane shots.

In this task I learnt about the importance of framing, I realised that not only do we have to think about the narrative of the opening but also where actors need to appear in the shot, they cant always be in the center of the screen because then it will be very boring and won't entice the audience to watch the rest of the film. I also learnt that there are very specific conventions when it comes to different genres, A sci-fi film will usually have one lone protagonist at the start to establish isolation as a theme. This was the first time our group really worked together on something creative. It was interesting to find out what people would be good ideas for various genres, this then gave me personally an idea of how ideas I have and how I work would go with how others in my group work and their ideas.

At first I found it hard to understand how we will be able to represent actors and the opening of a film better with jelly babies than with drawings. Once we started though I understood that it was important to use something physical rather than drawings to make things more realistic, by using the jelly babies we could start to understand the limitations we had as we are using real people that have physical limitations not drawings that can do what ever is in our imaginations, we need to learn to adapt.

We were given some story briefs which gave us a genre and what characters to include (one male protagonist, a female progatonist and antagonist) we decided as a group to look at a social realism film. We did this because its a genre we haven't looked at very much but they are known to be made mostly by independent institutes with small budgets. We decided as a group that it would be best to try to see what we could come up within this genre as it is likely we will be making a social realism film opening or a similar genre as we obviously don't have a big budget. It was better to spend time practising and becoming confident whith these genres because we would rather make a top quality low budget film than attempt an action film, for example, which requires the big budget we don't have.

Genre considerations

As I have to decide what genre my film will be soon I have to think about what is actually needed in each genre. Every genre has classic conventions and signifiers that identify the genre straight away. Some signifiers cross over into other genres but each has things found in the films that people automatically link to a genre. It is due to some of these conventions that only big budget institutes can make them. For example a convention of an action film is car chases. It is very expensive to film an effective car chase on a small budget, this means that generally action films can only be made by large institutes with the budget to do so.

Below are a few lists of the conventions of popular genres that I need to consider.
Horror-

• Death- People expect there to be deaths in horror films as death is something people are universally scared of and it gives a clear idea of who the villian and victims are in the situation.
• Knives- The danger that a knife connotes makes it fit well in a horror film. Everyone knows that a knife is dangourous and can cause harm.
• Red- The colour red connotes blood and death, if an audience see's the colour red they will automatically know that the film will contain blood, pain and possibly death.
• Masks- These hide someones identity. When an audience doesn't know who or what they are scared of it can scare them even more.
• Female victim, male hero- Having the female victim and the male hero fits stereotypical gender roles. Horror films are generally aimed at the male market so having the young male as the hero instills a sense of social identification.

This clip of the famous shower scene from Alfred Hitchcocks Psycho shows many of the generic horror conventions. some would say that this fil is a thriller but for the time it had a horror feel to it. This scene shows a definite female victim and although the male isn't the hero he is definitely the more dominant and powerful character, this is one of the horror conventions. Also the knife is the main focus in a lot of this scene and as the man is holding it it gives him more power. The knife then produces the classic red horror colour and although the film is in black and white it is obvious to the audience that is blood. There isn't a mask in it so to speak but the male antagonist is masked in the shadows so this could be another use of the mask convention.
Thriller-

• Low key lighting- The use of low key natural lighting is something that creates alot of suspense which is something that is always a part of thriller films.
• A single protagonist- The use of just one protagonist makes people feel more empathy towards the character.
• Running- Running is a big convention of thriller movies. The visual signifier of someone running connotes danger and fear of something.
• Computers/technology- Often technology helps the progatonist solve the mystery or beat the antagonist, audiences likes this in a thriller because technology is familiar and makes the audience empathise and relate to the story.

This is a clip from the thriller film Knowing. The film stars Nicholas cage which in itsef gives an indication of thriller films as he is a big name thriller actor. This clip does show generic conventions of thriller films aswell though. All the way through this clip there is low key lighting. Even when there is fire that is alot brighter than the general lighting showing that the fire is the cause of the panic and it sets the mood. When people see the plane crashing they all run in a panic which is a thriller convention. Although the protagonist talks to someone on the phone when the event happens and everyone is panicing he runs into the danger alone indicating he is an isolated character.

Comedy-

• Under dogs- In modern comedy films a lot of the time the main character is an underdog, although in the end they turn out to be the hero.
• Stereotypes- Usually in a comedy film there will be a geek, jock popular group and outcast. This is especially common in comedy films set in high schools.
• High key lighting- This gives a light hearted bright feel to the film which gives the impression of comedy.
• Major key music- this type of music automatically puts people in a happy optimistic mood due to the chord sequences, in high school films there is usually pop songs included to fit the age stereotypes.

This clip from the film Mean Girls highlights some of the generic conventions we see in high school comedy films. This scene is based around the different stereotypes found in a high school and how they are segregated, this kind of thing is what leads to most comic moments in high school comedies as the groups compete against each other. The lighting throughout is very high key which gives it the light bright feeling making the awkward images on screen and the voice over even more comical. The pop song further contextualises the scene.

Genre

What is genre?
A genre is the catagory that a film is placed into based on their content and the emotions they provoke. Every genre has specific conventions that a film has to have so it can be classified into that genre. More and more films are crossing the conventions of two or more genres, this is how we get hybrid genres such as Rom-Coms.

Why do we have genres?
We have genres because not everyone has the same taste. Film makers have to appeal to different groups so they have to make sure their films have a variety of genres. Different social groups want different things so films have to be adapted to appeal to these social groups based on the conventions of the film. Genre is also needed as clarification to people. For example, Parents might not want their young children to watch horror films so if a film is given the genre of horror then parents can make sure their children steer clear of it. It also means films can appeal to peoples interests. If someone is very interested in space and aliens then they are likely to want to watch Sci-fi films, if a film didn't keep to the conventions associated with Sci-fi then the genre and film would be lost.

There are 3 types of conventions

1. Visual conventions. These are conventions you see on the screen, Aliens and space ships would be visual conventions of a Sci-fi film.
2. Audio conventions. These are conventions you hear, gun shots and cars screeching would be audio conventions of an action film.
3. Thematic conventions. These are long running narrative conventions you see throughout the film and the genre, death and fear would be thematic conventions of a horror film.

certification of popular themes with in a genre

Films in certain genres tend to have a certain certification, horror films for example usually have a higher certification due to the violence and language they have in them. Animated films are more likely to have lower certifications as they are aimed at children. I went onto IMDB to look at the highest grossing films of different genres and see what the average certification is. By doing this I would be able to have a better idea who to aim our film at once the genre had been decided.

Horror-

• What Lies Beneath- 15
• Gremlins- 15
• The Blair Witch Project- 15
• Godzilla- PG
• The Ring- 15

Out of the 5 top grossing films 4 of them were certified as 15's. This tells me that if we are going to make a horror film it will have to be aimed at the older market, if we made a horror film aimed at the younger audience it would be very hard to meet the conventions associated with horror films making it quite hard to make it a successful horror film.

Comedy-

• Shrek 2- U
• Toy Story 3- U
• Finding Nemo- U
• Forrest Gump- 12
• Shrek the Third- U

4 out the 5 top grossing comedy films are U's. This gives the impression that big budget institutions gear their comedy films towards children as they know that they are going to pull in the biggest profit. Also a lot of these films came out in the summer, this is when children will be out on summer holidays so they will be going to the cinema with their parents more therefore increasing profit.

Action-

• Avatar- 12A
• The Dark Knight- 12A
• Star Wars: Episode IV-A New Hope- U
• Pirates of the Carribbean: Dead Mans Chest- 12A
• Spider Msn- 12A

4 out of 5 of the action films were certified as 12A. This could be because production companies want their action films to reach the main stream audiences. Action films are usually aimed at the main stream audience so by making them a 12A they will reach the mass audience.

Classification and censorship

Classification is restricting material that can be consumed on the grounds of age, this is the classifications we see on films and games restricting under age people being able to access them. Censorship is cutting or preventing access to films all together, this is when scenes or clips of films are completely cut from a film as they may be obscene or offensive, The Human Centipede for example had 34 scenes cut from it before it could be released to comply with censorship rules. Classification is split into 5 different areas.

• U. Universal, suitable for all
• PG. Parental guidance
• 12A (12 for DVD's). Suitable for 12 years and over
• 15. Suitable only for 15 years and over
• 18. Suitable only for adults

The BBFC is the governing body that oversee's and cerifies all British films (the USA has their own) In 1912 they were given the rights to certify all British films to ensure consistency in veiwing guide lines. In 1984 the BBFC were also given the rightto certify all videos, and later, DVD's.

Film titles

Film titles are very important for a film, they are the first thing the audience will see so they need to be suitable for the genre of the film. They are important because,

• They give a first impression of the film
• They outline the film makers intentions for the film
• They set up the expectations of the film.

If a films opening titles are very plain and boring then the audience may be put off because a bad impression has been given and now the audience is expecting the film to be boring so are less likely to engage and watch. Opening titles of films have changed drastically over the years, its no longer what can physically done, what with the continuous advances in technology its all down to budget. Big budget films now have credits which are described as works of art. Once again this to make a good impression to the audience, to get them engaged and excited about the film due to the exciting credits. A great example of this is Casino Royale

Although there is alot more creative freedom when it comes to opening credits now there are still a few rules that need to be followed. Legal obligation means that everyone involved in the film needs to be credited and there is a special order they need to be credited and a certain amount of time their name needs to be seen  for. The order of the names is very important as the order determines how important that person is to the film, for example you wouldn't have a small part actor's name come before the main character's.

This films titles are very elaborate, this is a very big budget film so they could go all out on them. There is a running theme throughout of card suits. This also links into the film name so just by seeing the title sequence and knowing the name of the film the audience have a very clear idea about some of the themes in the film. As well as the suits being involved in the titles there are also long strings of things coming out around the characters, this shows connotations of gambling and cards being dangerous and engulfing. The actual titles in this opening are quite small and inconspicuous, this could be because the production company spent so much money on this opening and giving the audience ideas as to what themes would be seen in the film they dont want the written titles to distract. The titles are big and central enough to be noticed and recognised but they won't particually capture the audiences attention.

What works well in a student film?

After watching and analysing student films in the thriller genre I have come to the conclusion that the best thing to do when making a film open is to keep it simple!
The best film I saw was the one where the least happened. The makers kept it simple and focused on introducing the characters, just giving a hint at the narrative and concentrated on making sure the conventions of the genre were met and focused on making the credits accurate and interesting.

I think by keeping things simple as a group we can add more in the post production stages like using the Foley effect, it might be more time consuming but over all it will reduce hum and noise and give the whole piece a higher quality feel. Also spending more time on things like lighting will give the piece a higher quality more professional look. In one of the films a looked at there was camera glare due to lighting on the location. If we look at things using different ratios of natural and unnatural light I think we will be able to get a good balance and will need to spend less time editing it and less time later re filming parts giving us more time to find good editing effects and music to use. I think the use of voice overs worked well to build suspense within the thriller genre and to give an eerie feeling, although if we were to do this I don't think it would be a good idea to have someone over dubbing it as it will be really hard to get it perfect and if its even slightly out it will look unprofessional and messy.

One thing that I didn't think worked well in student films were fight scenes. They always looked messy and very staged. we have to remember we have a very small budget when making these films so shouldn't over aim. The film will look a lot better if its made well but the content is simple than if we try something really outgoing, dont have the budget or resources to make look professional and it ends up looking poor quality. Another thing that we need to make sure we do well when it comes to making our film is casting. Although we only have the people available to us we have to make sure that they are compatent actors and that they fit the part we are casting them for. For example if we are casting the lead male protagonist for a thriller film it is unlikely that the character is going to be short and skinny, to make the genre obvious we would have to go with someone who is tall and well built so they fit the audiences pre conceptions about characterisation.

The fight scene in this film looks quite messy and unproffessional and like they haven't spent much time working it out. To make a sucessful fight scene it would need to be very well planned so everything flows and looks like a natural fight. Also the camera angles used highlights the fact that it is a fake fight as its clear that the hits don't reach, if they had used more shots that were directly behind someone the fight would have looked more realistic.

Student Film Analysis Three (Thriller)

The third film I am analysing is called Impunity

Once again this film has a lot of thriller conventions that make it succesful but it still has some issues that the other films also had.

This film is very continuous, it starts telling a story from the off set and continues with it through the whole opening, this makes it feel more like an opening all together. It introduces the characters and gives us an idea of whats to come. Having the man running down the stairs for a lot of it builds suspense as it makes the audience want to know where he is going and why is it so important, as he didn't wait for the lift. The close up on the bag at the start makes the audience think that it is going to be important so makes them look out for it at the start, it also doesn't show the owner of the bag's face, this could imply that he is going to be the antagonist of the piece as it is a convention of thriller films that the antagonist stays hidden and the protagonist is trying to unmask them. There is some good camera work in this film, ther are a lot of pan and tracking shots used. Sometimes in student films these can be tricky to do well but for the most part in this film they were consistant in speed and were steady.

There is a lot of noise in this film, this mixed with the high tempo loud music makes it hard to listen to and follow, by using the foley effect the makers could have muted the clips and later added the sound to make it easier to listen to and sound more professional. The credits start off well, the production companies and the main actors names are shown at the right time but then no other credits are given, this is bad as it not only doesn't fit the thriller genre it doesn't fit film openings as a whole. In the car park scene there is a light behind the protagonists head which causes some glare on the camera, this makes it hard to see and understand whats going on. To make things clear they could have rotated the scene slightly so the light wouldn't have caused glare but still maintained the 180 degree rule. They could have also moved the scene, a car park is a connom setting in a thriller film but they could have done it somewhere like a warehouse or alley way and it still would have fit the genre but it might have just made it easier to film and for the audience to understand.

Student Film Analysis Two (Thriller)

The second film im analysising is called Find Me

This film also shows a lot of the conventions associated with thriller films but as it goes on it seems to cross over into a horror film. This film, however feels more like just an opening than the previous one did.

This film has some good editing and camera angles in it. When the girl is running away at the start the editing on her makes her look very ghost like and starts to build suspense and gets the audience to ask questions. The quick cross cuts at the start establish the setting and having the body in the middle seems very out of place in the location, this is a good way to establish the genre as once again it makes the audience question things and it sets up the fast pace, synonomous with thriller films. The flash of the young girl puts the audience on edge and makes them look out for her in the dense wood once she dissappears. The fact that not much is given away in this film is good it leaves the audience wanting more, the cross cuts to different scenes causes confusion (although possibly too much) and confirms thoughts that the whole situation is wrong. The credits are quite good in this film most of them come at the right time in the right order but the font colour is white and in the bright forest where most of them come up its very hard to see them, also the film title comes right at the end of the opening which is a common mistake but a mistake none the less.

At the start of the film there is alot of back ground wind noise this makes the film seem quite ammature, it would have been better to mute all sound from the clip in editing and then added the bird sounds artificially to make it sound cleaner and more high budget. The sudden cuts to different places like the girl in her room and the church dont make much sense in the context it makes it seem quite discontinuous and confusing which isn't something usually found in a thriller film, they are usually continuous as they are telling a story and following a character. This film comes across more like a horror than a thriller in parts. The creepy voice over is less intreauging and hooking but more scary. Also as soon as the opening cuts are over the pace is very slow, this lowers the suspense and makes it seem more like a horror film as in a horror things usually start at equilibrium and get worse whereas thrillers are usually at disequilibrium from the off set.

Student film analysis one (thriller)

The first film I am analysing is called Blackout

I think this film is a good thriller film, it has alot of the conventions you would associate with the thriller genre. I especially thought that the editing and some use of camera angles is really effective when building suspense.

The steady beat of the music gives an intense feel and also gives the sense of someone running from something, the drum beat on the first beat of every bar gives te feeling that somethingis getting closer and increases suspense, the music is also in a minor key, this automatically sets a sombre tense mood. The editing really sets the intense and fast pace. all the cross cuts to different parts of the boys body and seeing him run to different areas creates confusion and draws the audience in. There is good editing on the male antagonist throughout. By the use of high camera angles on him and the balaclava he wears it hides his identity, this is a convention of thriller films, by hiding the identity it makes the audience intreged and want to know why its hidden and who is behind the mask, encouraging them to watch further.The quick cuts throughout gives a sense of time passing. The location of this film is quite good in my opinion, the fact that its set in an average house on a normal middle class street means people are more likely to empathise with the characters, situations and relationships.

Although this film meets alot of the criteria for a thriller film the film itself feels more like a whole short film rather than a film opening like its meant to be. The credits started off well by having the production companies first, the title came on screen at the right point but possibly a little early as ususally it would be shown between 30 and 40 seconds whereas in this film it was at 18 seconds. The rest of the credits such as music and editing came right at the end of the film which is very wrong when it comes to film openings, this also makes it look even more like a whole film. Although most of the camera work is good sometimes the pans are very shakey, this indicates that a tripod wasn't used or wasn't available. It would have been better to reduce the amount of pans used instead of having shakey ones as they aren't all shakey, it makes the whole film look slightly less consistent. As there was so much narrative introduced in the opening (chase and fight scene) it could make the audience feel less involved as its harder to empathise with the characters or get to know them.

Student Film Analysis introduction

The next three films I'm going to analyse are student thriller films from Gurnsey Grammar media and film studies channel on youtube.

I expect to see from the thriller films, Alot of low key lighting and minor keyed music so suspense can be quickly built from the start. Something that could happen is that some student may forget that they are only making an opening and effectivly make a short film. Students need to remember to not give too much of the narrative away and, especially in a thriller film, not kill off a character too early especially if they seem to be the main character because then it will definitely have the feeling of a film opening.

Catch me if you can time line

To get a better idea of how timings work in a film opening I looked at a couple of different openings and created time lines which showed what titles were included and the timings of them so I can better understand the order that titles have to go in and to understand the amount of people that need to be credited and how I'm going to credit them in my film.

Forrest Gump timeline

To get a better idea of how timings work in a film opening I looked at a couple of different openings and created time lines which showed what titles were included and the timings of them so I can better understand the order that titles have to go in and to understand the amount of people that need to be credited and how I'm going to credit them in my film.

Film opening research

Hairspray (musical comedy)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzYdtStk-b0
To watch this clip, click the link above

This Film opening doesn't give much away about the story or the characters. The song that plays throughout starts of quietly which gives the impression of it playing on a radio, this gives an idea that the narrative is meant to give a sense of reality. It isn't established that the film is a musical but its possibly hinted at from the setting. This comes from the tv studio and due to the fact it comes from the 80's which is when alot of musical film came out. The narrative isn't given away but the board that the girl moves connotes that themes will include competition and decite. Although many characters are introduced in the opening its not really clear if they are main characters or not, we don't see any personality from them or any insight into the type of character they are so the audience can't really tell if they are important characters.