Group Vlog Week 4

Its week 4 and this is our reflection on the current state we are in with research and planning for our film opening.

Production Logo

This is our audience expectations of a thriller vox pop. We have decided to ask men aged 18 - 30 on their opinions regarding expectations from a thriller, this is because this age range is also our target audience so all their feedback is relevant in shaping how we are going to create our 2 minute opening to a thriller film.

Audience Expectations From a Thriller Vox Pop

This is our audience expectations of a thriller vox pop. We have decided to ask men aged 18 - 30 on their opinions regarding expectations from a thriller, this is because this age range is also our target audience so all their feedback is relevant in shaping how we are going to create our 2 minute opening to a thriller film.

Possible Location Shots For Our Thriller Film

After a recent trip to London I felt it would be good to get some location photos that we could possibly use for our thriller film. THESE ARE NOT THE FINAL LOCATIONS WE HAVE DECIDED TO USE. I will discuss with the rest of the group regarding feedback on the photos and if they make a suitable location for our thriller film. The location shots look expensive and are part of the adult world, which are very iconic of a thriller.

Parity Re-make Titles & Shot List

To help us save time for shooting our parity re-make I have compiled a list of shot lists, with camera angles and movement to help speed up the shooting of the video. Also by doing this, it gives a more accurate feel so our re-make looks like the original.

0.00 - Blank Screen
0.06 - T1 - Production Logo
0.12 - T2 - Film Production
0.22 - T3 - Film Title 'Parity'
0.41 - S1 - Extreme Close-Up on eyes and forehead of murderer
0.43 - S2 - Medium angle shot of knife in murderers hand
0.48 - S3 - Low angle shot of bin and dead person with blood on white shirt, blood on the wall
0.50 - S4 - Medium angle shot of murderer
0.53 - S5 - Match on action medium angle shot of knife dropping from murderers hand
0.54 - S6 - Other the shoulder high angle shot of murderer and dead person
0.56 - S7 - Match on action with medium close-up of with murderer on the left side of shot
1.00 - S8 - High angle shot on murderer with match on action of him going into toilet
1.03 - S9 - Medium close-up of murderer looking into mirror
1.09 - S10 - Graphic match with quick cut and flashback of murderer with knife and victim
1.10 - S11 - Medium close of murderer washing hands and looking in mirror
1.11 - S12 - Medium close-up on murderer washing face and steps backward
1.15 - S13 -High angle shot of murderer moving side to side
1.19 - S14 - Medium close-up of dead body and murderer, dead body is the main focus and drags body
1.21 - S15 - Close-up on knife and shoes, and murderer kicks knife, stops and continues to drag body
1.26 - S16 - High angle medium close-up on murderer with dead body positioning him and leaving cubical
1.32 - S17 - Medium long shot of murderer moving mop bucket to blood stain.
1.36 - S18 -Close-up on blood stain and then murderers wipes blood from floor
1.43 - S19 -Medium close-up on blood on wall and is wiped from wall
1.47 - S20 - Long shot of murderer wiping floor and puts mop into bucket and puts it to the side
1.54 - S21 -Medium long shot of knife and murderer picking up the knife
2.00 - S22 - Medium close-up on murderer looking around and then putting knife into suit pocket
2.05 - S23 - Medium close-up of back of murderer with him opening door and exiting, ending at 2.13 of door closing

Final Film Ideas Moodboard

This is our final film ideas mood-board that influenced our choice in making a crime thriller film along with all the ideas and concepts that we have incorporated into our film idea. The use of power and control through conflict along with the theme of conspiracy is re-current within all the films we got our ideas from(JFK, The Man Who Knew Too Much and Enemy Of The State). We also felt looking at all three films that the ideas of power and government were achievable to show through a low budget film and was realisticly able to be created by us.

Scene Walkthrough

Here is a brief overview of how each scene in our film will be shot and look as a final product.

0.00s - S1 - Conspiracy website with headline - 'Government’s Assassination plot'. - T1 - Production company presents.                                  
0.05s - S2 - Conspiracist rummaging through files. - T2 - A Dangerous Dealings Film
0.09s - S3 - 0.15s Newspaper with headline 'Government Corruption cover-up!' - T3 - Film Title     
0.12s - S4 - Shot of eyes. - T4 - Actor1                       
0.14s - S5 - Corpse on floor with blood on. - T5 - Actor2
0.16s - S6 -Close-up on conspiracist clicking with mouse, then gets frustrated. - T6 - Actor 3
0.19s - S7 -Close-up on train station logo. - T7 - Actor 4         
0.21s - S8 - Conspiracist walking casually out of train station. - T8 - Director of Photography
0.26s - S9 - Conspiracist suspiciously glances at hard drive and hides it in jacket pocket. - T9 - Producer
0.30s - S10 - An agent is talking into mic saying 'we have him in our sights'
0.33s - S10 - Suddenly receives a text; "RUN THEY'RE AFTER YOU" - T10 - Production Manager
0.40s - S11 - Starts off walking fast which turns into a sprint. - T11 - Editor
0.45s - S12 - POV shot of an agent watching conspiracist talks into mic. - T12 - Screenplay
0.50s - S13 - Another armed agent appears, cocks gun and sprints after conspiracist. - T13 - Lighting
1.15s - S14 - Conspiracist and agent in intense chase. - T14 - Camera Operator
1.20s - S15 - Conspiracist sees random bystander (journalist) and hands him disk drive. - T15 - Sound Mixer & Effects  
1.30s - S16 - Conspiracist running down alley.                                        
1.36s - S17 - Agent follows, saying 'dead or alive' and nods. - T16 - Musical Score
1.40s - S18 - Heavy breathing from conspiracist. - T17 - Make-up Artist
1.44s - S19 - Conspiracist falls down, due to exhaustion. - T18 - Costume Designer                        
1.55s - S20 - Agent slowly walks towards him (smugly smiling).                        
2.05s - S21 - Agent says you can't beat us, we own all the information, the citizens and the shoots conspiracist with gun. - T19 - Director
2.15 - S22 - Close-up on hard drive the journalist empties from pocket when he gets home.

Audience Research & Guidance

Se7en is a thriller film that was released in 1995, directed by David Fincher and stars Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman. This is the chart of ratings and the percentage of people that have voted for various values (1-10) in terms of rating for the film Se7en. As you can see this film has received quite high ratings with the highest percentage being 33.6% of people rating the film at 9. The overall average rating of the Se7en is 8.7/10 from 501,695 people.

Here you can see the user ratings of the film and the average rating they gave. It is clear that males are the target audience of this film. The main age range target seems to be men aged between 18 -29. Looking at the theme of violence that is involved in this crime thriller, along with the fact that the two protagonists are men explains how men aged 18 - 29 are the main target audience. Also the fact that the film has an 18 film certificate means that the film inevitably cannot be targeted towards teenagers. Mostly everyone in the film is also an adult so the characters relate more to an adult audience. Also the highly suspenseful plot the film follows as well as Se7en's mind-twisting enigma codes wouldn't really be something that children can understand. This once again reinforces the fact that the film is only suitable for adults.

Memento is a thriller film released in 2000. It is directed by Christopher Nolan and stars Guy Pearce and Carrie-Anne Moss. This is the chart of ratings showing the films rating and percentages of people who have rated it from 1-10. The highest percentage of the films rating is a 9, in which 30.5% of people voted showing that the film is highly rated amongst many people. The average rating of Memento is 8.6/10 from 458,885 people.

This is the user ratings de-constructed for Memento showing the ratings from people in various groups. Looking at the gender section men seem to be the main consumers of the film. Specifically men aged 18-29 are the biggest age group the film is rated by and seems to be Memento's target audience. The film has a certification of 15, meaning that obviously all those aged under 15 are not targeted. Looking at the protagonist of the film, he relates well to the films target audience as he is aged around 18-29 and a man as well. This allows the target audience to identify with the main character. The films confusing enigma codes as well as non-linear narrative inevitably means that the film cannot be directed towards a younger audience as they wouldn't understand. All main characters of the film are adults, so children and teenagers cannot really relate to them either. Drugs, violence and strong language also means that younger people (under 15) cannot be targeted as an audience as they could not watch Memento.

Shutter Island is a thriller film directed by Martin Scorsese. It stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Ben Kingsley and Mark Ruffalo. This is the chart showing the percentage of people who voted for various ratings of the film, the ratings being from 1-10. The highest rating from people is an 8, in which 30.4% of people voted for. The average rating of the film is an 8/10 from 329,631 people.      

This is the user ratings from various groups, looking at age and gender it is clear to see men aged 18-29 are the main target audience of Shutter Island. The film has a certification of 15, inevitably meaning those under 15 will not be targeted for the film. Mostly all characters in the film; as well as the protagonist are male adults who relate well to the target audience of 18-29 males. The use of flashbacks, non-linear narrative, and confusing enigma codes - Shutter Island would be to confusing for children and young teenagers to understand. The use of nudity, strong language and disturbing violence also guarantees Shutter Island to be unsuitable for an young immature audience.

 From looking at the target audiences of all these thriller films, they mainly target men aged 18 -29, which is also similar to our films target audience (18 - 30). Studying the films it is evident how they contain confusing storylines and mature themes, therefore only appeal to mature audiences.

Iconic Thriller Directors

 David's Work 

Alfred Hitchcock also known as 'the master of suspense'  is one of the most prolific and influential directors of all time. His first fully completed film as director was The Pleasure Garden (1925). His films were often thrillers in which sex, suspense and comedy were combined. Hitchcock's first big film was The Lodger (1926), other popular works by him include: Vertigo (1958), Rear Window (1959), North by Northwest (1959), and Psycho (1960). His films often involved a young blonde woman who experiences some form of violence due to their actions. He also regularly had cameos in his own films. Here is the trailer for his famous film Psycho.

Toby's Work

David Fincher, (David Andrew Leo Fincher),was born on August 28, 1962 in Denver, Colorado, and  is famous for his ability to direct film's and music videos (mainly thriller genre)  in a original dark stylish way. David became known as an influential director after the production of the film ,Se7en (1995) , starring Brad Pitt. Which got great reception and reviews from an audience's perspective. After Se7en , David went on to direct worldwide famous thriller films such as : Fight Club (1999), Panic Room (2002), Zodiac (2007) and The Girl with the Dragoon Tattoo (2011). David owns a recognizable style in each of his films through the consistent aesthetic style and his direction of cinematography , elaboration of camera moving shots for transitions, style of close - ups and lots of pretty original visual shots. All these elements put together in a production instantly tell the viewers its a Fincher Film. Here is the trailer of Se7en.

Toby's Work

Born in march 1963, Quentin Tarantino, up till now he has received many awards, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a bafta and the Palme d'Or. FIlms he has directed include, reservoir dogs (1992), Kill Bill (2003,2004) and deaf proof (2007). He often portrayed his films in his view that the world is a dark place that is full of greed, this may be considered a theme of his work. His films often involve high amounts of energy and action which has lead to high critic and IMDB scores. The video shows a trailer for Kill bill, one of his earlier films he directed.

These three iconic thriller directors (Hitchcok, Fincher and Tarantino) all use various techniques whether it is parallel editing, a gun shot or  dark lighting in order to create suspense. As all of us have watched their films we plan to apply their techniques and use them in our thriller film opening. For example, 'Kuleshov effect' in which Alfred Hitchcock uses to create suspense.