Audience Research

To find out what type of audience our film would appeal to we carried out research such as questionnaires, interviews and online data collection.

As we thought the age our film will appeal to is 15 to 30 year olds. However most thriller films appeal to most ages for instance Inception. But our main target age group will be 15 to 30 year olds.

The film will include violence, crime and weapons and we thought that this film probably appeal to the male audience. Although that is a typical generalisation our film may also appeal to some females. It is important we don't turn our film into more of a horror than a thriller because then it will definitely appeal to more males.

London and Cambridge will be the locations we will be appealing, we have not targeted any race or culture, we also have aimed the film mostly towards middle/lower class students.

From searching the BBFC British board of Film Certification) guidelines, our film will qualify to be a 15. As it does include violence, some drug use and violence. This is good because there will be no age barrier for our target audience to view the film.

Linking

I wanted to make a post about how successful Thriller films and successful film companies have done specific things and used specific techniques to make their Thrillers more entertaining, and also if we could implement these ideas into our opening scene and what it would give us if we did.

One link that I want to be sure we make is credits. The way some films use specific fonts to help create a certain atmosphere and link it with the story and what the film will be about. A great example of this is the film Taxi Driver, they try to make the font really display what the film is about. If we managed to create a font with an animation that links with our story, I believe it would really give us a huge advantage in the effectiveness of the opening scene and how it looks all together.

A second link I would like to make, is how much more intriguing and successful and Thriller title is, if it continues to flip the story on its head. If what the audience are sure is happening is then flipped and something completely different happens, it really does make the viewer want to see more, and find out what happens and also helps build tension and suspense throughout. Many great Thriller films will give parts away and lead the audience to believe one thing is sure to happen, but the greatest Thrillers always find a way to change the story and shock the audience, which is what I want out Thriller opening to do for our target audience.

Finally a link I would like to make between very successful companies and Thriller films is the endless attempt to build suspense. All great Thriller films are renowned for their great ability to build up tension in all areas possible. One perfect example of this is the soundtrack used in Jaws. It is now so well known for building of tension and suspense because it was used so effectively throughout the Jaws films. I think if we managed to create a great amount of tension and build unique suspense with our opening Thriller scene it would lead to a much more intuiting and entertaining piece.

Drafting (Old To New)

We changed the story for our idea fitting to two elements, firstly we changed it because we realised that we were giving to much away in those 2 minutes. This goes fully against what a classic Thriller opening should be, instead it should give away absolutely nothing but confusion to the audience, it should show multiple events and just intrigue the audience, make them want to know what is happening. Secondly we changed it because we wanted to make it as close to what our results shows from our target audience, we wanted to base it on exactly what they expect and want from a Thriller opening scene.

Some ways in which we have tried to achieve these aims are to firstly review all the feedback we got from our audience research and take into account what they wanted. These factors include build of tension and suspense, also a good soundtrack and finally a good story/plot. We have definitely taken these ideas into consideration and attempted to implement them into all areas of our opening scene as much as we could.

Secondly we wanted to not give as much away with our opening scene, so we have kept the locations and ideas but changed elements within them to create a better story and not give us much away. One example of this is that we have tried multiple times in our opening scene to flip the scene on its head, just when then audience are almost sure on somethings it turns out to be completely different. This will hopefully make the opening scene much more intriguing for our target audience, they will now hopefully be more confused with what is happening and want to watch on to see what is happening and why it is.

Audience Research We've Implemented

I wanted to make a post discussing some of the information we took from the results of our target audience research work and see how we have implemented this into our opening scene.

Firstly the opening scene shows a man having a dream and that what he is seeing in his dream is coming to life. This represents a Psychological Thriller not a Action Thriller. From the results on one of our questionnaire questions we know that over 2/3 of our audience prefer Psychologic over action. So it is clear that we have taken this into account and have based our Thriller scene around what our target audience clearly prefer. This is an attempt to base our opening Thriller scene around what our target audience want and in this attempt we shall hopefully create the ideal opening Thriller scene for our target audience.

Secondly, a question we asked, saying what do you look for in a good Thriller film. The top responses are a good soundtrack, suspense and a interesting and entertaining plot. When planning our idea we changed the full concept twice, in an attempt simply to make the story/plot much better and intriguing to the viewer. Also suspense we have tried to implement throughout our opening scene, when the characters are running at the start and as the they walk into the dark warehouse, we are attempting to make the audience feel locked in. We have take suspense and tension into consideration and have really tried to include it throughout the scene but at the same time not giving to much away. A good soundtrack was another request we had from our results, showing that our audience look for a good soundtrack and want the soundtrack to play a big role in their ideal Thriller film. We took this into account and went into great detail when looking for the best soundtrack. We have found two pieces of music that begin with a very alarming and disturbing low sound then up tempo and transform into a much more fast piece of music, fitting for the opening credits and chase scene in the woods. We new the importance of having a great piece of music to go with our opening scene and new that we had to find the perfect song for this, and we believe that we have done this, we believe we have found a piece of music that will fit with the scene and at the time build suspense and tension showing our focus on the audience research.

Finally what we have learnt from our audience research is that our target audience want fast paced and sharp cuts and a range of quick shots, they believe this is was makes a perfect Thriller opening, fast cutting to build tension. We have no doubt implemented these factors into our opening Thriller scene plan. As the men run through the forest we have planned for many different shots of feet running and fast side on shots to create sharp speed cuts. We have decided that will include a lot of cuts between the running coupled with the quick tempo Drum & Bass music, this should create fast and sharp cuts, creating tension and giving the audience no information why they are running. This will lead to confusion for the audience and will build up elements of suspense. Which is clearly what our target audience want to see in an opening Thriller film. I think it is clear we have fully taken into consideration the results from our questionnaire and have really thought about the feedback and tried in all ways possible to implement these ideas into our opening Thriller scene to make it a ideal opening scene for our target audience.

Facebook Group

We have decided to set up a Facebook group to make it easier to keep in contact with each other. It is a private group with all our members being a part of it. We realised that quite often we could get in contact through Facebook so this would be a great idea to set up and put to use especially with all the dates and times we need to be in contact for when arranging filming.

Booking Equipment

We have now booked out camera 4 for the day of the 26th January. This is the day where we will be filming our warehouse/forest scenes. The picture below confirms our booking out of camera 4 for this time.

Final font choice for title and credits

This is the font that we are going to be using for the title which will be appearing at the end. On top of a black background. However this is going to be in a different color. The color we have decided would work well is red. it will work well on a black background as it will show up very easily.

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This is the font that will be used for the opening credits. It will be shown on a black background as it will be white.

25 Word Pitch

A man begins to be trapped inside dreams, what he sees happens. He enters a path of confusion, misunderstanding and finds struggling to keep reality. (26 words)

Finalised Costumes

The costumes we have decided now for include very casual clothing and very formal clothing.

The main character will be wearing two costumes. Firstly when running through the woods and in the warehouse will be wearing very casual clothing. Secondly when he wakes from his dream he will be wearing normal sleepwear. The costume when he is in the woods in normal clothing to go running in on a windy day, he will also have a iPhone and headphones on to make him look more like he is running for exercise not being chased.

The two other men will be dressed a lot more formally in suits and much more smart clothing. They will also be wearing balaclavas which contrast hugely between the clothing, very formal and balaclavas very criminal like. This will create confusion and create a very Thriller type environment because of the great different.

We hope these costumes will lead to a very fitting Thriller environment and create confusion towards our audience.

Meeting 25/01/2012

During this meeting we spoke about what props we were going to bring in. For example we came to the conclusion that we need balaclavas, baseball bat, earphones. We have also discussed the dates and chosen one which is most suitable for all of us, this will be on the 26th/01/2012. We had to change the initial date due to the fact that one of the people in our group was missing thus meaning we did not have all the correct props and equipment.

Filming Update

One of our members is now free for tomorrow, 26/01/2012. So we have now planned to film our warehouse and forest scene tomorrow. We want to do this as we want to get a lot of the filming done fast. This will give us more time to edit and polish up our opening Thriller scene. This is the reason why have now decided to film the majority of our opening Thriller scene in Carver Barracks tomorrow (26/01/2012).

Equipment Used (Panasonic HDC-SD9)

Panasonic HDC-SD9 and Tripod

We watched a HD camera test for the Panasonic HDC-SD9. From this we can see that the picture resolution is very good, certainly HD. However this is not the first time we have used this camera as we also used it for the preliminary task, we found that it was very easy to use as well as the initial fitting the camera onto the Tripod. The camera is easy to function due tot he easy layout of the buttons as well as the ergonomics of it. It allows us to upload all our clips in a HD format. it will no only look great but sound great too with the great sound quality it brings.

The Tripod has extendable legs allowing you to customize for your personal needs. it meas we can change the height of the camera easily as well as being very stable when on the Tripod. It has great maneuverability due to the size and the pull out legs.

Equipment Used (Apple Mac)

We are using the iMac to edit all our opening scene on. It is a efficient computer due to the size of its screen. We will use the computer mainly to store and edit and simply create our whole opening scene on, through the use of mac software like Final Cut Express, iMovie and PhotoShop. With the use of the iMac we can quickly and easily upload great quality high definition (HD) vide, there is doubt that the iMac's we have the ability to use will help us create a effective opening Thriller scene.

Final Script

This is our finalized script for the thriller opening.

Shaun Redmond-  "Sir, you're needed'.
Jack Bleake-  "Come now".

Justin Tine- "It was only a matter of time'.
Justin Tine-  "Hand me the bat".

Software Needed

Final cut express is a video editing software. We will use it to edit our final piece, it will allow us to create a high quality opening scene and will give it a much more professional and unique look by including a range of easy to use video and audio effects. It has a very simple layout with a easy to use user interface. We will be able to organise our clips very easily, decide what shots we want to include efficiently and this will lead to a entertaining, effective and organised final opening scene. We can include a range of video transitions and include the suitable fonts to help portray what is happening in the Thriller opening. The program allows us to easily import music files from any authors and will enable us to create a more unique opening scene. Another program we can use is a more restricted and limited piece of software by Apple but will allow us to create our opening scene more easily and efficiently if needed. This application is called iMovie. If we choose to use it we will be able to include a range of themes and video effects which will help lead to a much more entertaining final opening Thriller scene.

Props Needed For 26/01/2012

Josh Hooper-
Baseball Bat,
Fake gun,
Casual clothing.

Jack Carrington-
iPhone,
Headphones,
Balaclava.

Colm Feakes-
Balaclava,
Fake gun,
Suit.

Simon Thornberg-
Suit.

Transportation

We are planning to get a lift with a friend from Newport to Carver barracks at 11.00 Am this gives us about four hours, so we can get a bus back to Newport.

Weather Update

It is raining in the morning of the day we wish to film our outside forest scene and inside warehouse scene. We plan to film on the 26th of January, but from around 11:30 onwards, therefore, due to the BBC weather forecast, it should began to clear up around when we are due to start filming.

Character List & Crew

Actors

Josh Hooper - Justin Tine(main character)
Simon  Thornberg- Shaun Redmond (bodyguard 1)
Colm Feakes- Jack Bleake (bodyguard 2)

Crew

Directed by- Jack Carrington
Produced- Josh Hooper and Simon Thornberg
Edited by- Josh Hooper, Simon Thornberg and Jack Carrington
Written by-Josh Hooper
Casted by- Colm Feakes
Screenplay by- Simon Thornberg

Possible Props/Costumes

I wanted to take some of my own pictures of some props that we are definitely using for our Thriller scene, also some that we could maybe include if it appears necessary.

This is what the two men running will be wearing.

Instead of the classic gun, we could go for a more sinister approach.

We are planning to use this as the main weapon for our scene.

The main character could be wearing these as he is running.

We want to use a iPhone/iPod for our main character to listen to music through.

We want our main character to be wearing headphones for the music effect we will use, (music lowers as headphones are taken out, appear like he is listening to the opening music).

These are the more preferred headphones because there are smaller.

We want the two men in suits to be not just smart, but fully formal characters, a tie will create this image.

Possible Credits

Here are some credits that we could include in our opening scene:

- Name

- Companies involved

- Directer by

- Actors

- Produced by

- Edited by

- Written by

- Music

- Casted by

- Costumes

- Director of photography

- Screenplay by

- Story by

- A film by

- Executive producers

Timetable (Jack)

I though it would increase efficiency if I were to post what times I am free onto the blog. Now if someone needs to see if I'm free to talk to me or to see if I am available to film, they can, (Grey = Busy).

Permission

We have received permission to use a warehouse to film in.

Company Logo's (In-Depth)

I wanted to look at some very successful big production company logos, simply to see what they are trying to reflect about the film they have produced and why they are so eye-catching and unique.

This is the Dream Works company logo. The boy fishing of the moon is hugely well known for Dream Works, this is a hugely recognised company logo. Things I think they did well is firstly keep the colours in the background all very dark and pasted a huge 'DreamWorks' over the top in a much more bright and cheerful colour, shiny out from the dark sky background. This makes the name fully stand out and is in a very clear font coupled with the colours creates a unique and eye-catching name. As for the boy fishing of the moon which is shown in the opening animation at the start of all Dream Works films really can reflect what is coming up in the film. Dream Works mainly aim their films at the target audience of younger people. Their films are often animated and almost always aimed for children. The boy fishing of the moon in the clouds in the sky in a very calm atmosphere as would be more so seen in a children aimed animation film, so not only is the logo eye-catching and eye-pleasing, it also includes a reflection on what is due in the upcoming film. These elements are a few I really want to be sure we can include when we finalise our company logo, I want to be sure we create a unique yet reflective company logo as effective as the one used by Dream Works.

Possible Title Font

I wanted to see what would make a good font for our title, I used the website 'DaFont' and found three fonts that went well with our title '3:13'.

The reason I like this font is because it represents quite a sinister feel as the numbers rise up, it includes a sharp feel.

This font is even more associated with a very sinister horror feel, it is a font that can be easily defined as a classic 'Thriller' font.

The reason I like this one is because it has a digital theme to it, it shows the numbers as if they were taken straight from the alarm clock, it definitely fits in with the story line the most.

The main reason I want to get the font perfect for all of our titles/credits is because very successful films all have fonts that are linked in with the main theme of the story line. Also if fonts are one of the first things the audience see, I think it is important to be sure they are eye-pleasing and start to introduce the rest of the film well.

Possible Dialogue (Scripting)

It is important to think about many different possibilities for dialogue. There is only twice when we will be using dialogue, firstly, when the two men catch the main character and secondly when the main character addresses the 'blacked out man in the warehouse'

Two men catch main character

- Sir, we need you
- Sir, your needed
- Sir, it has happened again
- Sir, please, we need to speak with you
- Sir, come with us

Main character addressing unknown character

- Well, it was only a matter of time... give me the bat
- Finally!... give me the bat
- Your sure this is him?... give me the bat
- Look what we have here... give me the bat
- Karma is a great thing, isn't it?... give me the bat

Credit Draft

Update

One of our group members can now no longer make our filming date on the 25th January. So we have decided to reschedule to the next week, on tuesday the 31st. We have decided it will be best if we go to film the forest/warehouse scenes at a later date because it will be more efficient with all members from our group there.

More practice logos

I decided to make some more practice logos to experiment.

 

 

Things To Consider

It is important to think about and evaluate certain things to consider whilst filming our opening Thriller scene to help them scene come to life and at the same time be very entertaining.

- Props, we need to be sure what are the best props for what scenes and how will they be used

- Clothing, this is important as clothing will give an impression of a character and may stereotype them

- Location, we have agreed already on what location we will use to fit the 'Thriller' criteria

- Lighting, this is important because if the lighting is bad, say its to dark then it could ruin the whole scene, it must fit to the screenplay

- Dialogue, we need to make sure the dialogue is no more than needed, but enough to introduce what is happening

- Sound, this is so important because if the sound is muffled, you can hear the wind, of some dialogue is not clear enough, it could really effect our opening scene

- Best Shots, we want to be sure the shot we are using is not only appropriate but also the absolute best for the actions

- Angles, can be used to help create the scene

- Framing, very important we don't include to much unused area of miss out key features, therefor ruining the framing, it would have a huge effect on how professional the scene looks

- Credits, we need to be sure that these are consistent in matching with the story line of our opening scene

- Editing, we need to be sure that we don't have to much silence that hasn't been edited out creating gaps, or that we have cut a clip to short

- Effects, if any are used have to link with the story line and be effective and entertaining

Props/Costumes Needed

Props


iPhone (with music we are using on it)
Headphones
Baseball Bat
Guns (x2)
Alarm Clock

Clothing


Main character dressed casually
Two men together dressed formally (suits/ties)
Balaclavas (optional)
Smart accessories for men in suits (watch, etc)

Animatic Storyboard (Video)

This is the video version of our Animatic Storyboard.

Logo

This is the design we have come up with for our logo. It shows a galaxy, linking to our name and is also coupled with a very effective looking font to help make the logo look unique. Our logo creates a link between the background picture and our group name.

Other Companies Logo Research

I thought it was important to look up some other big companies that have been very successful and look at their logos and examine why they are so effective, and why they are unique and eye-catching. This will help us make our logo better, which is important to how professional the opening scene look.

All of these logos include some sort of picture linking to the words, for example para-'Mount' and 'Dream'-works. By linking an effective picture with a unique font creates a simple yet very eye-pleasing company logo, I think these elements are important to consider when we make our logo.

In Association With Logo

I wanted to plan some 'In association with' company logos. This is what I came up with.

Progress Report

We have now fully finalised our idea. We are all sure on what we all have to bring props wise, and how we all have to dress if acting in the opening scene. We know what day we are going out to film, and have planned to see what the weather will be like to be sure it is fit to help set the scene for our opening clip. We all know what we need to film, when, where and how this can be done. Future progress reports/updates will be posting containing information on what we have filmed and what we still need to do

New Idea

Our new idea is based on flipping what the audience think is going to happen, and keep confusing and shocking them.

It will start with a man being chased through the forest by two men in suits, the normal cliche of a Thriller film. Drum & Bass music is used to build speed and try to build tension. Then the main character will take his headphones out and begin to look around, then get fiercely grabbed on the shoulder by the two other men. However instead of what the audience think will happen, him being jumped, instead they will say 'We need you'. Implying after all this, it was not a chase as much as these three men are together, this is an attempt to flip the story on its head and set back whoever is watching.

Then it will cut to the men as they begin to enter the warehouse locking themselves into this dark room. They will walk towards the character sitting in a blacked out corner of the warehouse, and begin to engage in dialogue between each other. The main character asking for the baseball bat and instead of then going to hit the man in the corner, flipping the story again he will turn and hit one of the two other men. This will be done in a P.O.V shot so it feels like you are being hit, which will startle the audience and confuse them more, in a effort to not give away any of the real story and what is actually going on.

Finally the man will wake up who swung the bat very hot and in shock. He will continue to look at his alarm clock, which will read 3:13 AM, then the screen will go black and all the audience will be able to hear is a knock at the door. This will let this audience know that this time/number will be significant in the rest of the film and will create a good, intriguing end to a entertaining first scene.

Weather

I wanted to confirm what the weather would be like on the day we plan to film outside. I used BBC Weather to define what exactly the weather would be like. It is clear that on the day we are planning to film we have perfect weather. Firstly it is not raining, this would almost make it impossible to film if it was to occur. Secondly that it isn't sunny, it is cloudy, so this helps set the scene to a more dark and gloomy location instead of a bright and more happy location, which would affect the way the opening scene is perceived.

Filming Schedule

It is important to always be sure when and where we are filming, one way of doing this is to post this information on the blog.

We have agreed that we will be filming both the warehouse scene and the forest scene Wednesday 25th January between 11am-2pm.

Credits Font

This is the font we have chosen to use when displaying the credits. This fits well as it is not to loud, it lies in with the actions on screen without standing out to much, but is still an effective look to help make our opening scene eye-pleasing and unique.

Animatic Storyboard

Here is a detailed view on all the shots we will be using and how the scene will be created from a storyboard.

Sounds Planning

The music we want to use when you first see the main characters walking/running. We want to use a Drum & Bass piece of music from the website FreePlayMusic.

http://freeplaymusic.com/search/category_search.php?t=s&i=68

We are choosing the either

'Data Disco' (2:03) - Found on Tech Grooves Vol 1.
'Ice Shiv' (6:22) - Found on Techstep Vol 2.

we will decide upon what music we will use when we try both out when filming and see which sounds the best and what fits the most to help the 'chase' scene come to life.

The other sound we want to use, is when the three men walk into the warehouse, we wanted a low bass sound to help it seem like the audience are being trapped inside with them.

We have chosen a sound from the website FreeSound.org.

http://www.freesound.org/search/?q=rarexport

This will help bring the scene to life and build tension.

Music/Sounds

We have agreed that we want 2 main times in our opening scene to introduce sound to the clip. Firstly to open the scene with opening credits and as the main character is being 'chased' through the forest. We want some Drum & Bass music here to build tension and create a fast tempo for to open the scene. Also later on we want to a very low bass sound to be a hard hit to the audience as the three men walk into the dark warehouse, this will help set the scene and add tension as the shutters to the warehouse are closed and audience feel 'locked in'.

Shotlist

It is important to consider the shots we will use in our opening scene to plan and keep the scene running smooth, this will add to the all round how professional the scene is and will help make the scene easier and clearer to film. Here is a list of shots we want to include:

Establishing shot of the forest
Pan of character, as he runs through forest
Close up of people shoes as they run through the forest
Close up of character on iPhone
Close up of headphones
Over the shoulder shot as two men approach the character
P.O.V shot from main character as he is running
Close up on hand as they grab his shoulder
Two shot of two men
Establishing shot of the warehouse
Close up on hand opening door
Match cut to wide angle shot of them closing the door
Low angle shot as the walk into the warehouse
Two shot of men in suits
One shot of main character
Close up of main character
Over the shoulder shot of the baseball bat being handed
P.O.V as character gets hit by baseball bat
Close up as he wakes
Close up of clock

Location

Location is a key factor of the thriller because without a good location it would not set the scene for the thriller. it is also key because it could build the tension most of all more than the characters.

we have a few key locations, the first is on Newport road this is because it is a casual setting and it makes it seem like everything is normal and nothing strange going on but then this is where the main character gets taken hostage and is chucked in to the boot of a car then the next main scene is the warehouse this is opposite carver barracks this also sets the scene because the warehouse doesn't have a lot around it so it is a key part in are thriller to get an establishing shot of the area and the final key location is in the bedroom when he wakes up this is key because it could change the thriller completely and make it a really good thriller or a really bad thriller this is also the point that you find out that it was all a dream but that was until he sees 3.13 on the bedside clock next to him.

Costumes

 The clothes you wear could set a thriller or destroy a thriller it could create the atmosphere you want and keep the consumers on the edge of there seats.

I have thought for a 2 min filming clip that there should be a variation of the clothes that people wear because the person who you think is the main character wear's casual clothes like tracksuit and trainers this is to make the person seem average and normal like nothing is going on.

the other two main characters will wear suits this is to make them seem from a higher class than the other man it is also to give authority to them and it gives them a higher social economic class and this is with out saying a word. They will also wear balaclava this is to hide there identity and to make them seem mysterious and this is good because it does create the tension in the film.