Planning - Audience Research

Audience Research - Questionnaire 


Below are questions which we asked in the survey : 

1.What kind of narrative would you prefer to see in a thriller film?
Explicit
Enigma 

2.How do thrillers make you feel ?
Tense 
Nervous
Confused 
Other (please specify)

3.Which of the following fonts appeal to you?

Bebas Neue 

Futura

Mom's Typewriter 

Courier New

DK Poision Ivy

Comic Sans

4. How old are you ?

11-14

15-18

19+

5.What is your gender ?

Female 

Male 

Non-Binary

Gender Fluid

Prefer not to say

Other (please specify)

6.What was the last thriller film that you watched ?

(write answer) ------------------------------

7. How often do you watch thriller films?

Never

Sometimes

Occasionally 

Often

8.Which colour scheme appeals to you ?

Monochromatic 

Brights

Pastels

Darks

9.Would you like to relate to the protagonist in the film ?

Yes 

No 

Unsure

10.Would you prefer an ambient soundtrack or something more musical?

Ambient 

Musical

Mixture

Unsure 

11.Which title do you prefer ?

It's the movement

The Movement

Movement

The Tape

Other (please specify)

12.Order your favourite thriller conventions ...

Ambiguity

Protagonist vs Antagonist

Mysterious narrative

Crime

Death

Espionage

Weaponry 

Mysterious soundtrack 

13.Which colour scheme would you like on the background and titles/credits ?

Black and white

Black and yellow

Black and red

White and orange

White and pink

Other (please specify)

14.What's your favourite thriller film?

(write answer) ------------------------------

15. To introduce characters which shot type would you prefer?

Close-up

Extreme close-up

Mid-shot

Long-shot

Extreme long-shot

Pan

Tilt 

Tracking

High angle

Low angle

Crane

Planning - Initial Brainstorming and Audience Research

My partner Megan produced this.

Brainstorming:

Below is an image of the initial planning carried out for the production of my thriller film. I am working in a pair with Chloe Spencer as I know she is reliable and has a decent work ethic that compliments my own. As we both see each other on a regular basis and can communicate and meet up together easily we believe this will enhance our thriller film. 

As seen in the documents we began to establish basic characters,shot types etc after consulting out blogs for initial research. We did this to ensure our thriller film would incorporate enough conventions of thriller films making the genre of the film distinguishable. We began to discuss basic plot lines with others to see if they would be interested in a narrative we had begun to create. We decided to then utilise primary and secondary audience research as we wanted a clear target market which could understand and take their preferences into consideration. 

The documents seen on this post illustrate our initial stages of basic planning which we decided would be best developed after conducting an audience survey. We wrote a rough draft of an audience survey that utilises our initial ideas which can be seen below. After writing up rough questions regarding the audience and the narrative of our thriller we decided to produce the questionnaire asap to receive responses that are required to develop our planning. 

Planning - Audience Research Initial Ideas

My partner Megan produced this.

Audience Research Response - Initial Ideas

After creating our first audience research survey to receive responses regarding our initial ideas, Chloe and I evaluated the responses and progressed to create a storyboard and narrative that had been developed from audience feedback. Below is my evaluation of the initial feedback :

 

Planning - The Narrative

My partner Megan produced this.

The Narrative:

In order to begin planning the narrative for our thriller opening myself and Chloe consulted our audience research to determine our narrative type and content of the opening. We found that our audience would prefer a narrative that includes various aspects to create both tension and ambiguity. Below is a plan of our narrative and various scenes :

             


The narrative ideas were generated after we evaluated our audience response to our initial ideas and decided if we met their preferences. We looked back at previous research including analysis of other thriller openings and took inspiration from these to ensure our initial planning was of a good standard. As we have planned our narrative we are now going to progress and develop our project by planning further aspects of the opening.

Planning - Storyboard and Script

My partner Megan produced this.

Storyboard:

After deciding on our narrative myself and Chloe sat together and produced a detailed storyboard and script which describes shot types, sound etc. We used A3 paper to ensure our illustrations and annotations are clear. The storyboard and script can be seen in the images below :





I will be creating an a presentation and more detailed storyboard to clearly illustrate the scenes and depict the working narrative before a focus group is conducted to evaluate our narrative and shot ideas.

Planning - Location Recce Shots

My partner Megan produced this.

Location Recce Shots :

My House exterior.

Chloe and I decided to incorporate the location of an average household that depicts social normality which will be interrupted by the action taking place in the opening. The location also allows us to incorporate mundane objects during our title sequence in an ambiguous style. We decided to evaluate the bedroom spaces available to us as two of our scenes will utilise this type of room, as we wanted a large room which clearly depicts the age of our protagonists we decided to specifically evaluate our own bedrooms and those of our siblings. Once the location has been decided a filming schedule will be decided,created around the availability of the locations. This document will be located on my partner, Chloe Spencer's blog.

The decided locations:

After much deliberation, we decided to use my house for all shots,including exterior shots and some in the hallway, bedrooms, and garden.We decided to utilise the space in my house as it is 
easily accessible to those acting in the opening and to my partner. As the main shots of the opening will be in bedrooms we evaluated the advantages of the ones located in my house.

Bedroom one Images

Bedroom one:
The two rooms we will use let in a good amount of light that can be easily manipulated with blinds and fairy lights to create the desired low-key lighting.
My own bedroom has a central bed which creates a simple layout allowing for use of the 180 degree rule which will be effective in our final piece. The props we wish to use in this location are all found in my bedroom which makes the narrative more convincing and clearly illustrates the protagonist's role as an average teenage girl.

Bedroom two:

Bedroom two images

We then moved onto the other bedroom which will feature in the opening, the room belongs to my brother who does not permanently reside in the house meaning the room is spacious and will not be used when filming commences. The room has plain white walls with minimal posters making the desired ambiguous atmosphere easier to achieve. A bed will make the positioning of both camera and actor easier to determine because the various shot types for the scene require some movement. Lighting in the room is airy and plain as there is a large window that lets in a good amount of natural light. Some rearranging of the room's layout will take place to achieve the desired set-up but this will be easily completed. 

Stairway,Hallway and Front door:

Stairway

Doorway

Hallway

Another area that will be featured in the opening will be the stairs and hallway found in my house. These locations will not play a major part in the opening but will link various scenes and will play large roles in the transitions of shots. Because of this, we wanted the stairs and hallway to appear as an average household would including props like a front door, coat hooks etc. We decided using the same house will allow for easy continuity and ensures lighting will be natural and low-key due to the many windows and few available artificial lights. The interior of these locations is light and neutral keeping the atmosphere of social normality and the ambiguity of the narrative. 

Garden:
This location will be utilised for a flashback scene that will explain some vital points of narrative to the audience. We decided to use the garden as it is a dreary landscape with that appears as a somewhat neglected household garden. The outdoor furniture will allow the character in the scene to be positioned in the ideal way that will depict to the audience that the action took place at a separate time to the introduction of the character. Images of the garden are below.

Driveway:The last location is my driveway, the driveway was chosen as we wanted a character to walk past the house after the camera had transitioned through the front door. The driveway faces a main road which will reinforce the setting of an average family home and will create a sense of ambiguity in the narrative to keep the audience on their toes. 

Planning - Shot Plan

My partner Megan produced this.

Shot plan:

I produced an Emaze of our shot plan which explores all of the shots which will be utilised in our thriller openings. The plan illustrates the shots used in other films and how they look with a short explination of how the shot will be used in the opening. We decided the shots during brainstorming and trasnlated these with more detail in the storyboard.I decided this format would show the shot plan well as images and text in an organised and clear manner.

Planning - The Script

Planning -The script

The script :

Scene 1:  

      (Kathleen on the phone approaching house)

Kathleen:I don't know she was acting really weird today.
(Close-up of locking door when inside house)

         Okay, I'll see you in a bit.    (Ends call)

                   Hey mum...

 Emma:  Good day ?

Kathleen:Yeah, it was alright. I'm gonna go and get ready.  
(Walks upstairs)


Scene 2:

   (Puts bag on bed after playing record, sits on bed before rummaging through bag to find the tape. Headphones inserted into walkman, listens to tape.)

Scene 3:

        (Sitting on bed, presses record on tape device)

Mirabelle: I don't know how to say this, but it's time. i'm about to ask you to do something ... But you're not going to like it.

Scene 4:

    (Flash back, split screen- Mirabelle sits in garden, answers phone call with Larreh who talks in unknown location)

Mirabelle: Hello ?

Larreh: It's been long enough, it's time. For the movement. 

Scene 5:

(Kathleen still in room, removes headphones and finds note)

Emma: Kathleen McCann, I've been shouting you for the past five minutes, your dinner is ready. 

(Exits room, walks downstairs, camera goes through door to reveal Mirabelle who walks past house)

TITLES ROLL

Planning - Titles Write Up

My partner Megan produced this.

Titles :

Below are the titles which will be seen in the opening of our thriller film, they will read as below and be dispersed over various shots with fonts tested through audience research. We found 'Mom's Typewriter' and 'Bebas Neue' to be the fonts most favourable so we will definitely utilise these in the titles seen in the opening. Some titles which illustrate production company studios and the film title will be seen at the start of the video and cast members names will be seen at the end of the opening.

   

 The titles:

Chlogan  (Production company logo seen in titles post)

Rencer Studios (Studios logo seen in titles post)

Presents ...

THE MOVEMENT 

Emma Russell

Chloe Spencer

Megan R

Ben Ward

Sophie Buxton 

Ellie Byers

and R Turner 

Planning - Audio

My partner Megan produced this.

Sound for our opening :

After writing our script and producing a storyboard we decided to assess the audio that would compliment our shot plan. We understand that our audio must come from a copyright free source, this could be a copyright free website like free sound or sound bible or possibly be produced by ourselves. As our audience research concluded that our audience like both musical audio and ambient sounds we decided to incorporate copyright music that sounds like it could be playing from the record player and also create some of our own ambient sounds using computer programs and everyday sounds that can be manipulated to be ambiguous and build tension. 

After evaluating various thriller openings I found that tension building audio is both percussive and low in pitch. The music will increase gradually in tempo and possibly include some long pauses to increase the intensity of the scene. This style of music would be appropriate for our thriller opening so I will try to find music like this or create my own before the final draft edit is completed. 


The following styles of audio are contenders for the non-diegetic sounds in our film :

https://www.freesound.org/people/zagi2/sounds/342300/
https://www.freesound.org/people/Setuniman/sounds/346272/
https://www.freesound.org/people/mikobuntu/sounds/361118/


The incidental music will be musical as it will seem like the music is coming from the record player which will be distorted later in the scene. Our audience research found a mixture of sound is preferable for a thriller film audience so we have decided the following style of music would be suitable :

http://www.bensound.com/royalty-free-music/track/tomorrow
http://www.bensound.com/royalty-free-music/track/rumble

The last sound we will incorporate is ambient, we decided white noise and everyday household sounds with a suspenseful twist would be a good option, below are some possible sounds we will use :

https://www.freesound.org/people/johnnypanic/sounds/32676/
https://www.freesound.org/people/waveplay/sounds/196595/

We will be deciding which sounds fit the best during the editing process as we can grasp which sounds are most effective in the edit and trial this with our audience. 

 

Planning - Storyboard

My partner Megan produced this.

Planning - Titles

When planning our thriller film we found that the use of production company and studio information is essential in our opening as this is a convention found in all successful thriller openings. After researching thrillers we found the above titles to be the most effective and common throughout the genre, because of this we decided to analyse them and ask our audience to decide which is their favourite. 

Votes :
Paramount x 3
Lionsgate  x 3
Universal x 2
Fox x1
Disney x1 

The Paramount title alongside the Lionsgate title were the most popular of the titles, both of these utilise a landscape and minimal font style as this is simple but clearly show the production company's name which is recognisable and well known. As this was voted the most popular within our audience we decided to create a simple logo which would be aesthetically pleasing yet impactful with a bold font. 

The second favourable logo was The Universal logo, this also uses an image that involves nature and an image seen by many before. The font stands out like the other production company logos which were voted the most popular within the audience. We have decided to utilise the bold font over an atmospheric image as this is a popular but minimal style. 

We have produced a few options for both studio and production comapny logos, these are below : 

 The majority of people chose the following as their favourites which will be used in our opening :

 

Planning - Actors

Megan

We have decided to have Megan as our Protagonist #1. This is because we need a character who is a sufficient actress, female, and a teenager. We have taken on board that Megan fits all requirements as she is a teenager and has acting abilities, as well as being able to take the role seriously. Megan has the common atributes needed for a thriller film, as well as having an innocent and teenage complexion and features. She also contrasts well with the protagonist as she will be wearing casual costume and due to her good relationship with everyone else in the casting group, she will be reliable and very able to work well with them all.

Chloe

Me and my group have decided that I will be the role of Protagonist #2. This is because we needed a female character who is able to act professionally and fit the requirements of being a teenager. We chose to cast me as this character as I am a teenager and have acted before in filming. I also fit this as I fit the role of being fairly mysterious but not dangerous. This is due to my atributes as my personality is very introverted and discreet. I have a good relationship with the other casting members so I will be extremely reliable and able to act well and sufficient with them.

Ben

We have chosen to cast Ben as our antagonist. This is due to the fact Ben is a reliable source and can act well with everyone else. Because you do not see his face, we did not have to assess this greatly apart from asking if he has access to the dark hoodie we need him to wear. Because he is a teenager, his height and voice will fit the requirements needed. He has history of acting in his GCSE and A-Levels so he is independent and this enables him to use his expertise in our thriller film and take on his role well and will be able to share his talent and be in the shots we need him in.
 

Emma

Megan and I have chosen Emma to be the mother of Protagonist #1. We quickly decided on Emma as she is actually Megan's mother and will be able to act well with Megan. Because she is actually a mother, she will be reliable and will be able to act nurturing and motherly to Megan naturally. We also chose Emma as she is late 30s and will fit the atributes needed for the mother. She represents innocence, nurture and care which we needed for this character.











 

Planning - Filming Schedule

We have devised a filming schedule to ensure we have a sufficient timetable for filming that all casting members are able to stick to. We have included editing and sessions for re-shoots to allow for extra time we may need that will not affect the quality of our product.

Risk Assessment

Megan and I have assessed risks which are potential during our filming process. Due to this assessment, we have taken on board these possible hazards and have written down how we will avoid these and take the preventative measures. This allows our filming process to be safe and secure due to the possibility of these risks after we have prevented them.

Planning - Costume

Protagonist #1

In our planning process, we have decided that our main character (played by Megan Russell) will wear a casual band t-shirt and denim ensemble. This is because she is playing a typical teenage girl and this means that she must be casual and informal. This will convey to the audience the purity and innocence and how she is not the antagonist nor anyone who is anything but sinless and virtuous. This costume that she will wear contrasts with the antagonist (Larry) as his costume is anything but innocent and it represents his danger. My group decided to incorporate teenage characters which is clearly depicted through their costume as the age group surveyed most was age 15 to 18 years who wanted to be able to relate to the protagonist.

Antagonist

During our planning process, my group decided that our antagonist (played by Ben Ward) will be wearing dark jeans and a black hoodie which represents him being an intimidating, dangerous character. His identity is also concealed as in the shot we have chosen to have him in, his back is to the camera and the audience cannot see his face. The black clothing is a typical convention of a thriller film as it does not inform the audience of his personality much as it is not at all expressive, but instead more intimidating and mysterious. Because he is dressed fairly casual, this also suggests he is youthful and this makes him even more intimidating as stereotypically youthful males with hoodies are associated with crime and violence. This could also allow the teenage audience to relate or understand due to them being youthful and probably have a higher understanding of the male character.

Protagonist #2

Whilst we were planning our thriller film, we decided that our second protagonist (played by myself) will, just like the first protagonist, wear a costume which consists of casual black jeans, a band t-shirt and a flannel shirt. This enforces teen youth and allows the target audience to relate to the protagonists in the film extract as we discovered in our survey that they desired. Due to the dark colours of my costume, the audience will convey it as mysterious and incomprehensible. Our group decided that this character would need the mysterious element from the antagonist but also the slight amount of purity from the first protagonist. There are no elaborate shapes or obvious amounts of self-expression and this adds to the secretive nature of this character.

Mother of Protagonist #1

This character (played by Emma Russell) will be wearing a casual typical 'mother' costume as my group decided. She does not appear for long in the extract, however, she is a vital character who adds to Protagonist #1's innocence and purity as she still lives with her mother and also because the mother is presented as nurturing and caring. In the shot which this character appears in, she is presented as very kind and concerned about her daughters' welfare. Because of this, the costume we have chosen for her will be stereotypical of mothers. This will include a casual light coloured t-shirt and light coloured trousers. The light colours will enforce the carefree and loving personality we have chosen this character to have. The audience, as they are mainly teenagers, will also relate to the protagonist #1 even more as they probably can understand their own mothers' personalities and how they are similiar to our characters.

Planning - Props

Tape
The tape in our extract is the main prop. This is because it is what fuels the narrative. It will appear to the audience as an unknown and peculiar object. When the tape plays in the walkman, it is presented as a vital prop in our film and therefore the dominant and overall ruling prop in our extract.


Suitcase
This prop is used to get the audience to guess that Protagonist #2 (me) is leaving and that she has been forced to by the antagonist. The suitcase is vital to represent this situation as being significant to the plot and perhaps the end of it. The suitcase also allows Protagonist #2 (Megan) to be sympathised by the audience as she is clearly affected by the whole plot.


Record player
The record player is the first significant prop in our extract which highlights importance and presents Protagonist #2 (Megan)'s personality as being music orientated. The music will be diegetic music (although we are actually editing this in so the quality will be much better). The instrumental music will be melancholy so the audience will be aware that the film will not be comedic or in any way joyful but instead quite sombre, thrilling and mysterious.


Walkman
The walkman will be used when the tape is put on. The walkman will play the tape and as soon as this is turned on, it instantly cuts to Protagonist #2 (Chloe) which highlights its significance in the film and that it allows the film to be continuous and flow. The walkman is clearly very significant to the extract as it plays the most dominant prop and allows the film to continue the plot.


Polaroid
Polaroid images are used at the end of the film as it scans through multiple photos including the suitcase, the tape, the post-it note and a photo of Protagonist #1 and #2. These images allow the audience to understand the most significant props used as well as the destroyed relationship of the protagonists. Thes images will be in black and white which enforces the distorted and thrilling atmosphere to the film as well as exhilirating music being edited in during these images being displayed in shots.


Post-it note
The post-it note is displayed in the over the shoulder shot once the tape has finished. Protagonist #1 finds the post-it note inside the envelope once the tape has finished and this enforces the fact the crime Larreh (antagonist) is involved in which is hidden and concealed from everything else. The post-it note will be clearly shown in the over the shoulder shot and it allows the audience to understand that Larreh is the antagonist of the film and therefore place this character as the hooded man later on in the film.


Headphones
The headphones are shown when Protagonist #1 plays the walkman/tape and inserts the headphones inside. This enforces secrecy and that she clearly wants to keep this to herself. These headphones are therefore significant to the film as they reinforce the hidden situation and the audience then try and piece together everything. The headphones are also there blocking out the outside world to the protagonist which could also reinforce her teenage rebellious nature and that she does not enjoy socialising.


Bag
The bag Protagonist #1 places on her bed is very important to the extract as it is what carries the important props such as the tape, post-it note and envelope. The bag isn't in the shot for very long as she is just rummaging through it before finding the items. This enforces secrecy as she is clearly knowledgable that the envelope and other items are in there and because they are concealed, shows that she is keeping these to herself.


Bed
The bed is not a significant prop to the extract apart from the fact Protagonist #1 places the bag onto it. The bed just represents that the room she is in is in fact a bedroom and hers. It is reconigisable so that the audience can associate it with the room and that it is a place which offers comfort. This contrasts with the fact the atmosphere is dark and thrilling.


Envelope 
The envelope is a vital prop to our film as it is what conceals the tape and post-it note. On the envelope is written 'KATHLEEN' which enforces that Protagonist #1 is named Kathleen and that it is her property. Because the envelope conceals the main props, it is also associated with being very vital and reinforces secrecy and darkness involved with the type of crime in the film. 
















 

Prelim

Group Planning
As a group, we brainstormed a variety of ideas for our prelim task. For example, we made a mindmap of all our ideas we had which included our main prop being the briefcase as we believed that the fact the briefcase is clearly hiding something. We agreed that the mysterious aspect would make our sequence much better and hook in our audience. We decided that all four of us would feature in the opening so that we would all get a chance to film and act. We all had relatively equal amounts of spotlight and we all filmed very equally. Our costumes were casual and classy due to our extract being about business arrangements. Our other prop was the LED handheld stick lamp in our briefcase when Elliot opens it to give an element of importance to the mystery item(s) in the briefcase. We all put our ideas into the script when we wrote it and ensured we all had enough to say and do. Our script was solemn and this links to the typical thriller conventions. Because we were all GCSE Media students, we were all very experienced on filming so we trusted each other well enough to understand what we each wanted to accomplish.

Storyboard
We created a storyboard once we developed our script so we would understand what we were going to do and where we were going to be, including posture and composition. Our storyboard was quite detailed and drawn accurately so we would know exactly where we would be and how. Although not exactly artistic or blatant who was who, we understood quickly enough and this helped us a lot during our filming process.


Filming
During our filming, we were all educated on how to use the camera seeing as we were all GCSE students so we were not struggling at all. Our filming process was quick and we used the right compositions and there were no errors in filming. For example, after the split screen ended, Vicky was positioned in the right place at the side and I was positioned at the other side. This worked very well so that she was hidden until the split screen ended. I liked this part as it gave a sense of slyness and danger as it was very clear that I was going against Elliot in our plot and was working with Vicky to scheme against him. Also, I liked when there was multiple over-the-shoulder shots of Elliot and Rachel due to the angle and composition to be how we initially wanted it to be.



Editing
During our editing process, we brainstormed ideas of how we were going to make our extract much better. We all agreed to add in sound effects to create a much bigger effect and to add in a split-screen which thankfully worked very well. It was not a long and difficult process as we didn't do too much editing seeing as we wanted it to look as natural as possible. Unfortunately, we decided to cut out one part of our filming. This was a shot of Elliot handing Rachel a photo. We did not include this shot because we ran out of time to do the editing. However, I enjoyed the shot as it was over-the-shoulder and very well in focus.



Evaluation 
Our strengths in our film would definitely be the quality of the filming. We were all very equal in who filmed and took it in turns to do this. We did the right compositions we wanted so there was no errors in this. We ensured focus and the correct length of each shot. I also believe that our editing regarding the split screen worked extremely well and the quality of this was by far the best part of our extract. 
Our main weakness would be at the beginning of the film when it quickly cuts from Rachel walking to immediately her sat down. This could have been prevented if we would have shot one more scene of her actually walking then sitting down in one shot, however we didn't as we ran out of filming time. However, I am very happy with the way our extract turned out and I believe I have learnt many different ways of editing including how to use split screen and how to speed up wipes and fades. 



Final Prelim