Prem Task

The purpose of the preliminary task is that it is getting us ready for our real coursework task. This task was 1 minute long and our real one is 2 minutes long. Also by doing the preliminary task it helps in editing our movie therefore, when it comes down to the real thing we will know what we are doing with the editing part of it. It also got us used to filming with a camera and using the tripod in doing so.

I learnt how to edit a movie which will help me in doing my coursework this was all useful by doing the preliminary task. I also learnt how to film a task and use a tripod within the filming part of it.

This will help me with my coursework

Evaluation

•  What is the purpose of a target audience?

The purpose of a target audience is so that you know who your aiming your movie at. A target audience, is a specific group of people within the target market at which a product or the marketing message of a product is aimed at. For example when your creating your movie you need to know who your aiming it at because you need to put an age certificate on the film and you don't want to put the wrong age certificate on your film.

•     what types of research did you carry out and why?

We carried out primary research because we went and got all the data ourselves we went round school and asked different ages of people our questions and they answered.

•         How many people did you survey and why?

      I surveyed 40 people i asked them questions from my questionnaire and they gave me their answers. I choose the number to be 40 because i wanted a wide range off answers from different age groups and audiences.

•          Were the vox pops successful and how will you with planning your thriller film?

      The vox pops were successful because we have got evidence of the answers from the questionnaire on camera. We got members of the publics point of view and what they thought this is also a good use of vox pops.

•          Pick 3 different questions and discuss the results that you received. Explain how your results will assist you and your group with planning your thriller film

          What is your preferred age certificate? 

7 people said PG    7 people said 12/12A    20 people said 15   6 people said 18

         What are your expectations of a thriller film?

3 people said Flashbacks   10 people said Night Scene  15 people said weapons   12 people said Protagonist / Antagonist

        What type of sound would you say works best within a thriller film?

    10 people said Tension building  10 people said Suspense sound  10 people said Horror sounds  10 people said Other

•        Were there any answers that you had to reconsider and why? 

   There were no answers that i had to reconsider.

My research will assist me in planning our thriller film because our group has conducted all the necessary questions that will help us in creating it. We got all our data from the public that we interviewed and we have listened to what they have said and will consider their views when creating it. Hopefully by listening to their views and doing what they have said we will make our thriller appeal to all members of the public.

Pie charts

We used Pie charts to show the results and the evidence of our data and to present them in a clear way for other people to see. It also allowed us too see what people want in their thriller films if they were watching one. I will use these results to help us plan our thriller film, it will also tell us what age group and which gender of characters the audience want to see. This research has helped us in choosing which age range to use for our thriller and who we are going to aim it at and to understand what type of film the general public want to see.

Questionnaire

We carried out primary research in our questionnaire. Primary research is important because we are getting the information ourselves and not from the internet or from books therefore, our results are more reliable because we got them first hand. Questionnaires are important to our study as we can find out what people want in a thriller film and we can then appeal to the publics general needs. We shared this questionnaire with 40 people so we could get a large sample so we can therefore find out our needs to input our thriller film, we shared this between our group by handing out 10 sheets each and then coming together and putting all our answers together.

Narrative Theory

There are three main narrative theories.

The first main theory is by Vladimir Propp, he's idea was that a Narrative is not really important in a film because he believes characters  are more important. He identified a theory about characters and actions as narrative functions. Characters, according to Propp, have a narrative function; they provide a structure for the text.

The common characters that Propps describes are;

• Hero
• Villain
• Donor
• Dispatcher
• False Hero
• Helper
• Princess
• Father

The second narrative theory is Todorovs theory which is that he thinks its not all about characters but about Narrative, equilibrium and disequilibrium. He believed stories began with an equilibrium or status quo where any potential opposing forces are in balance. Todorov suggested that conventional narratives are structured in five stages.

The third narrative is Aristotle's theory he's theory contradicted all the others he thought that  its not about characters, not about narrative (beginning, middle, end) but about the themes of the film. Examples of these themes are; Antagonist / Protagonist and dramatic question.

Our thriller film will follow the narrative theory of Todorov because we think that its not all about characters but about narrative, equilibrium and disequilibrium. We do not think our thriller should be based heavily on one thing and that it should be spread out evenly. Our opening scene is a sleepover with 4 friends that decide to do an Ouija board however, things start to go wrong for them when they do it, the lights start flickering on and off, the t.v. turns off, sounds are being made and worst of all a ghost comes out the ouiji board. Things then take a turn for the worse the ghost then ties the girls up to each other and goes to kill them.

Individual Narrative

Individual Narrative

Target audience = 15

My idea for my thriller is that we create a voodoo doll of Taylor so that when we do anything to the voodoo doll it happens to Taylor for example if we broke the leg on the voodoo doll Taylor's leg would break as well. 

The beginning of the thriller starts off that brittany is obsessed with taylor and because she is mad and completely loopy she creates the voodoo doll of taylor so if he ever hurts her she has a way to get him back which is very twisted.

Brittany's best friend katie is very shocked that she has come to this solution to try and get Taylor bearing in mind Taylor is wild and has so many birds on the go. Katie is trying to look out for brittany because she doesn't want her to get hurt and doesn't want her to get in trouble for creating the voodoo doll.

Taylor has annoyed Brittany so much that it is driving her crazy seeing him with other girls that aren't her and therefore decides to use the voodoo doll. Katie hears about brittany going crazy and sends her beloved will to go and find brittany and to save Taylor's life and stop Brittany from getting into trouble.

Location: Brittany's house

The clip in possessed when the woman has the voodoo doll of the man that is a good clip because we could create one just like it. I got my inspiration from this film to use a voodoo doll because i think they are very effective in a thriller because it leaves the audience on the edge of there seats because whatever
happens to the voodoo doll happens to the character that the voodoo doll is of.

Age Certificates

1) explain why the bbfc is important to the film industry

The BBFC is important to the film industry as it protects the public and mainly young children from seeing harmful images, also it helps parents make an informed decision on whether allowing children to view certain age certificates. The BBFC is known as a content regulator.

2) reaserch into the different age certificates and define each age group. also include examples to support the points that you are making, by refering to films and scenes

U - Universal, suitable to all.

 There is no discrimination, no reference to drugs, no bad imitable behavior. Only natural nudity. Only very mild language.  Only a little bit of violence, and mild theme. No reference to sexual context, only kissing. Horror scenes cannot cause any anxiety or stress on a child. 'U' films should be suitable for four years and over. Should be suitable for a pre-school child to view alone.

PG - Parental Guidance

General viewing but some scenes may be unsuitable for young children.

Reference to drugs must contain anti drug use message. Frightening scenes must not be prolonged or intense.

No bad imitable behavior  no glamorization of real modern day weapons. Mild language  Natural nudity only. Discreet sexual reference or innuendo. Theme should not condone unacceptable behaviour. Moderate violence without detail.
Children of any age who are not with an adult may watch. A 'PG' film should not disturb a child aged around eight or older.

12/12A - Suitable for children of 12 years and above.

12A is for cinema only. A child younger than 12 cannot enter the movie without being accompanied by an adult.

A 12 means no-one younger than 12 can buy or rent a film this age certificate. Anyone under 12 is not recommended to watch a 12 or 12A.

Discrimination should not be encouraged in any way. Any use of drugs should be infrequent and not give instructional detail. Moderate physical and psychological threat may be present if not prolonged or intense. Dangerous behavior should not be prolonged nor give instructable detail. No use of easily accessible weapons should be glamorized. Moderate language is allowed, strong language such as 'fuck' must be infrequent. Nudity is allowed but must be brief. Sexual activity must be brief. Mature themes are acceptable but must be suitable for young teenagers. Moderate violence is allowed but must not dwell on detail.

15 - Suitable for only 15 years and older.
No-one younger than 15 may see a '15' film in the cinema or buy or rent a '15' rated.

Must not endorse discriminatory behavior.  Drug taking may be shown but film must not promote drug use. Strong threat may be shown unless sadistic or sexualised. Dangerous behavior must not be detailed and accessible weapon use must not be glamorized  Frequent use of strong language ie fuck is accepted but for stronger terms it must be acceptable in certain context. Sexual activity and nudity may be shown without detail, sexual reference is acceptable unless strong. All themes accepted. Violence is accepted but must not dwell on gore or pain.

18 - Not suitable for anyone younger than 18. No one younger than 18 may see an '18' film in a cinema or buy or rent a '18' rated.

Everything is accepted and permitted. A film may not be allowed if it endorses things such as sexual assault and may cause harm to the public and public morals. Also if a film is made with the intention of sexual arousal it is certificated as R18 these types of showings are only allowed in sex shops and licensed cinemas.

3)decide on what age certificate your film will be and why? consider the content of your narrative and your target audience too

The age of my film is going to be a 15 because  i believe that a 15 will not consist of to much violence and my narrative will appeal to this audience too.

What is a Thriller film

1) define and explain what the codes and conventions are. Also relate to film examples
2) saw clip and answers
3)thriller analysis of a thriller film opening
4)summary of post

Codes and Conventions

• Enigma- A mystery is always set in a thriller
• Representation of characters - victims are represented as being weak
• Violence - when people are being killed
• Dramatic Irony - audience knows the victim is going to get attacked
• Intensity of sound - when killer approaches the sound goes up
• Lighting - low key lighting creates shadows,  high key lighting creates a happy scene
• Editing - to build suspense and tension
• Iconography - props, weapons, chains, ropes
• Non-Digetic sound - creates tension, hear sound when you cant hear where its coming from
• Mirrors - To show persons reflection

SAW OPENING SCENE

Normally in opening scenes there are a common conventions of a thriller film one of them being Enigma this is because they instantly draw the audience's attention to the events taking place, and further enhance the ambiguity surrounding the reason as to why the victim is the target of the attacker. In the opening scene of Saw there is Enigma because the mystery is being set in the thriller. It happens when the man is in the bath and all of a sudden he wakes up and he is chained to something and when he try's to see who is dead in the middle of the cellar he cant because he cannot reach that far.

There is Non-Digetic sound in the opening scene because it creates tension, it happens at the start when the man comes out the bath and he starts talking and he can hear a voice in the background at this point the viewers cant see the other man in the cellar with him they can just hear his voice.

The intensity of the sound increases when the man is in the bath and the blue light is appearing and the sound goes up and up and up all u can hear is a swirling sound like something is  drowning or being lost. Intensity of sound is used for when a killer approaches then the sound would go up.

The lighting in the opening scene is very dark u cant really see that much at the start of the scene this is called Low key lighting which is used to create shadows. However, when the man suddenly adapts to his surroundings a light turns on and he sees another man chained up like himself this is high key  lighting. When the light comes on it is used to shock the audience because they don't expect it.

The location for the film is an abandoned bathroom, you can tell it is abandoned because the walls are all dirty and the man says, “no one can hear you” this shows that the bathroom is abandoned. The Iconography in Saw is the chains which are attached to the mans leg when he try's to get to the middle of the room seeing another man laying there dead. Also the gun laying next to the dead man in the middle of the room because it makes the audience assume that he killed himself with that gun because of the surroundings he was in.

The representation of the character in saw is presented as being weak he screams alot when he comes out the bath and sees the body of the dead man.

Mis en Scene

Mis en Scene - Prom Night 

Mis en Scene is split up into 5 categories;

• Settings and iconography
• Costume, Hair and Makeup
• Facial expressions and Body Language
• Lighting and Colour
• Positioning and characters

For Mis en Scene i analysed the film Prom Night. Mis en Scene is a french term meaning what is put in the scene. First of all i analysed the Setting in the film, which was a hotel and a party was being held and it looked like they were enjoying themselves and they were left in suspense because they were just about to announce king and queen and have been told to leave the hotel which makes the viewer think straight away that something has gone wrong. Settings play an important part in film making and are not just backgrounds. The iconography in the film was that the killer has used a fire distinguisher to smash through the door of the hotel and when he gets in he has a knife which he is going to try to kill the girl with. Iconography means props. This is conventional to a thriller film because it makes the viewers assume that he is going to try and hurt her.

The second point i analysed was costume, hair and makeup. This is an instant indicator to us what a characters personality, status and job is. The costumes that are used are unique, they are all dressed very smart. In Prom Night the identity of the killer is covered / hidden, he's wearing a hat and dark clothes this represents he is mysterious and he is trying to hide his identity. This is conventional to a thriller film because it is not letting the viewers see or get an idea of who the killer is.

The facial expressions that are used in the thriller vary throughout because at the start they are enjoying themselves but when they are told to leave the hotel they are all in shock and do not know what is going on, the girl that is going to be attacked is worried at the start because everyone is being escorted out the building but she doesn't know why however, she doesn't leave the hotel and goes upstairs to get something out of her hotel room her mood dramatically changes when she comes across the attacker because she is fearing for her life. The killers face however is zoned in because he knows what he has to do. Facial expressions and body language tell the audience how the character is feeling. The girl is upset and is crying because she thinks she's going to die and she sees a dead body under the bed where she is hiding from the killer her facial expressions are of  her trembling because she is so scared.


The girl was always the centre of attention within the camera shot because she is the one being hunted down by the killer. Both of them are in the same camera shot when he is looking through the peep hole and so is she, he scares her because she thinks that is an escape route and he comes out of no where and is directly in front of her, this is called the "two shot". This is conventional to a thriller film because it makes the viewers think that something is going to happen and leaves them on the edge of their seats.

Colours create meanings through denotation and corritation. The colours in the film were bright and very eccentric at the start because the prom clothes where a main feature of the shot however, the colouring goes much darker when they are escorted out of the hotel into the night sky where there is flashing lights from the police cars that are outside, the killers face is covered by his hat at the start and dark lighting which shows that something could go wrong for the girl and gives the audience a feeling of nervousness so it leaves the audience in suspense. The killers face is then seen clear to shock the audience and make them aware of who the killer is. The lighting within the hotel room was low key. Low key lighting helps the identity of the killer be unknown and leaves the audience on edge.