Detailed Extensive, Creative and Analytical Research - Characters (Audience Research)

Interview for Typical Characters in a Thriller Film

We asked three different people about the typical ideas and conventions for a Thriller Film. The results were similar and give us a rough idea of what we would like to do for our own opening 2 minutes for a Thriller Film.

What we get from analysing the three interviews are most thriller films have a protagonist and an antagonist. The Protagonist mostly wear formal clothing, to represent the prestige and power that the character conveys, and the antagonist wears mostly informal wear, such as casual clothes, or all black clothing, this gives the sense of mystery for the audience, and keeps the thriller entertaining and suspense filled.

We also got from the interviews that Thriller films are normally antagonist verses protagonist, which adds the sense of suspension and tension with in the film

Interview with the Director talking about Characters

Detailed Extensive, Creative and Analytical Research - Setting/Location (Interview With Location Manager)

Film Settings That Have Inspired Our Choice

Cabin In The Woods 

Re-created Inspired Camera Shots: Psycho

Our Re-Creation of Different Shots from the Thriller Film 'Psycho'

We have re-created six camera shots from one of our favourite thriller films 'Psycho'. We used a variety of different shots, such as close-ups, low and high angle shots and long shots.

Psycho Version                                                                                                 Re-Created Version

The first shot we re-created, is a low angle long shot and is one of the opening scenes in 'Psycho', which is the house the protagonist is staying in. We re-created this by finding a building in a suitable location and taking picture with a camera that was resting on a tri-pod. Once we had taken the picture, we went onto Photoshop, change the picture to black and white, and raise the contrast. By doing this, it gave the effect to the audience that the photo was taken back when there wasn't colour in pictures, suggesting the film that this shot was from may have been old.

Psycho's Version                                                                                               Re-Created Version

The second shot we re-created, is a high angle shot. We re-created this by finding a suitable location and taking picture with a camera that was resting on a tri-pod. Once we had taken the picture, we went onto Photoshop, change the picture to black and white, and raise the contrast. By doing this, it gave the effect to the audience that the photo was taken back when there wasn't colour in pictures, suggesting the film that this shot was from may have been old.

Psycho's Version                                                                                          Re-Created Version

The third shot we re-created, mid shot of two people having a conversation. Normally in a conversation, a shot called a ‘Shot-Reverse-Shot’ would be used, but because this film is old, there are usually just mid shots of the two people having a conversation. We re-created this by finding two people that would model for us, and pretending to have a conversation, while the cameraman takes the photo. Once we had taken the picture, we went onto Photoshop, change the picture to black and white, and raise the contrast. By doing this, it gave the effect to the audience that the photo was taken back when there wasn't colour in pictures, suggesting the film that this shot was from may have been old.

Psycho's Version                                                                                                             Re-Created Version

The fourth shot we re-created, close up shot. A close up shot is normally used when the director wants to shot the emotion on a character’s face; in this case, we had to re-create the shot with someone screaming. We re-created this by finding a suitable location with a blank background, so it all the attention was found on the person’s face, and taking picture with a camera that was resting on a tri-pod. Once we had taken the picture, we went onto Photoshop, change the picture to black and white, and raise the contrast. By doing this, it gave the effect to the audience that the photo was taken back when there wasn't colour in pictures, suggesting the film that this shot was from may have been old.

Psycho's Version                                                                                                     Re-Created Version

The fifth shot we re-created, over the shoulder shot. We re-created this by finding a suitable location and taking picture with a camera that was resting on a tri-pod. Once we had taken the picture, we went onto Photoshop, change the picture to black and white, and raise the contrast. By doing this, it gave the effect to the audience that the photo was taken back when there wasn't colour in pictures, suggesting the film that this shot was from may have been old.

Detailed Extensive, Creative and Analytical Research into Camera Shots - Maze Runner

Maze Runner - Camera Shots

This camera angle is a low angle shot of Will Poulter that plays ‘Gally’ in the film. A low angle shot is used when the director wants to show that one character has more power over another at that particular moment, or throughout the film. The low angle camera shot includes a long shot with in it; a long shot represents the location in which a character is situated, in this case Gally is standing above a cage. This shot is very clever as beforehand it shows a high angle shot of Dylan O’Brien, which plays the character Thomas in the film, a high angle shot of Thomas displays he is vulnerable, therefore with the low angle shot, it shows the perspective of Thomas implying that Gally has more power over him at this point in the film.

This camera angle is a long shot of Thomas through the crack of two shutting walls, this long shot is unique as it displays Thomas as being shut out, implying that behind the two walls there are things of the unknown that have greater power over Thomas, and tells the audience he is, or will be in tremendous danger.

This is a close up camera shot of Thomas, a close up is used to represent the emotion shown on a characters face, as you can see Thomas is looking very tense and concerned, which tells the audience that Thomas may be very anxious during the film.

As you can see in this shot, it is a low angle shot of Thomas Brodie-Sangster, he plays the character Newt in the film. A low angle shot is used when the director wants to display a character or an object as having more power over another, in this instants, Newt has greater power over Thomas. Within this low angle camera shot there is an over the shoulder shot of Thomas, implying that Newt has greater power over him and informs the audience that Thomas could be in serious danger.

This is a bird’s-eye-view shot of Thomas, a bird’s-eye-view shot is used when the director wants to show dramatic effect or to show a different spatial perspective. This bird’s-eye-view shot is used to show a different spatial perspective, as it informs the audience that Thomas is in grave danger and shows him almost falling off a ridge of a rock, which could have possibly lead to serious injuries, or death.

Audience Research Into Music

Audience Research Into Music

We asked two members of the public what type of music they would expect to see in a thriller film. As you can see in the video, they're very intrigued by the cause of tension and mystery as the music gradually builds up. One way in which the music producer rewards the audience with tension, is to gradually increase the volume and have a faster beat. This puts the audience on edge and captures them into the film. Often music producers, have an anticlimactic ending in the trailer or in the opening two minutes of a film, in order to do this music producers either suddenly stop the music, or suddenly have a change in music, this also puts the audience on edge as they will not know what is about to happen.

The two people we asked also mention the ways in which the editor puts a drone noise in the background of the music. This will also create tension for the audience and again, put them on edge. By putting an audience on edge either at the start of the film, or in the trailer it intrigues the audience to want to watch more of the film as they want to discover the mystery that will later be unfolded.

What we can gather from this information is the audience wants to always feel part of the film, and want to know more about the film. This can be done by using music that gradually builds up and/or having a drone noise in the background of the dialogue or the music, to aid the increase if tension.

Filming Schedule

Filming date -> 13th/14th January
Filming location -> Gosfield Woods
Filming time -> 15:30-17:00 (before dark/just getting dark)
Equipment needed -> 1 camera
                                 1 tripod 
                                 Costume (for one female protagonist)
                                 Prop (silver bracelet)

We will use one actor in our film, a female protagonist, but there will have to be three people present at the filming; the actor, the person with the camera and someone to be the antagonist, who is off camera but we do need his height as there is tracking shots designed to show that he is following her. There will be two people managing the filming and the cameras. We will start editing on the 15th January onwards. 

Storyboard

Detailed Extensive, Creative and Analytical Research into Camera Shots

Inception - Camera Shots

The Inception trailer starts with a High angle shot of Leonardo DiCaprio which is a the character 'Cobb' in the film. The high angle camera shot represents Cobb as being vulnerable at this present moment, he appears to be staring at something that is in the air, which suggests that there is something of greater power that Cobb. During the high angle camera shot of Cobb, there is a close up of his face, the close up shot represents the emotion that is shown on Cobb's face, which is tense and anxious.

As you can see in this clip, there is what appears to be a building that is moving further and further towards Cobb and Ariadne. Ariadne is played by an actor called Ellen Page. During the scene of the building there is an over the shoulder shot of Cobb and Ariadne with a low angle shot of the building moving towards them, this implies the building has greater power over these two characters, also suggesting that Cobb and Ariadne could be in tremendous danger.

In this shot, there is a close up of Copp's face. A close up represents the emotion that is shown on a characters face, as you an see Copp is very tense and concerned, which suggests to the audience that Copp may be very anxious later on in the film. In the shot there is a city with in the background, this shot is extremely clever as it has been editing to connote the colour blue, which can signify sadness or depression, also suggesting that during the film, Copp and the citizen's of the city will be depressed of sad in the film. During the close up shot, the camera pans around Copp's face, and shows the overlooking city that is behind him, this suggests that Copp has greater power over the citizen's with in the city, implying that Copp may be a danger to everyone that lives in the city.

This is a long shot of Copp standing at the bottom of two staircases. A long shot is used when the director wants to show the location in which the character(s) are situated. As the scene continues, there is water that floods in from the roof, there is a low angle long shot of Copp at the bottom of the two staircases, this suggests that the location of which he is situated, is a danger to him, and puts the audience 'on edge'

Detailed Extensive, Creative and Analytical Research into Storyline

Se7en

A film about two homicide detectives on a desperate hunt for a serial killer who justifies his crimes as forgiveness for the world's ignorance of the Seven Deadly Sins.

The movie takes us from the tortured remains of one victim to the next, the killer chooses his victims according to the seven deadly sins. The sociopathic John Doe addresses to Detectives Sommerset and Mills one sin at a time. The sin of Gluttony comes first and the murderer's terrible capacity is graphically demonstrated in the dark and quiet tones characteristic.

The seasoned and cultured but exhausted Sommerset researches the Seven Deadly Sins in an effort to understand the killer's modus operandi while the bright but naive and impulsive Detective Mills mocks at his efforts to get inside the mind of a killer.

This is very typical in a Thriller film as there is one detective that wants to get to the bottom of the situation as quickly and efficiently as possible, and the other cop that mocks the efforts and doesn't really care about his own work. An example of this is in the film ‘Bon Cop, Bad Cop’ which has the typical ‘Good cop, bad cop’ scenario with it. Having ‘Good cop, Bad cop’ with in a Thriller film creates a tension with in the audience, which provides for a fantastic Thriller film.

Detailed Extensive, Creative and Analytical Research into Storyline - The Prestige

The Prestige

In the end of the Nineteenth Century, in London, Robert Angier, his beloved wife Julia McCullough and Alfred Borden are all friends and assistants of a magician.

When Julia accidentally dies during a performance, Robert blames Alfred for her death making them fierce enemies-for-life and consequently jeopardizing the lives of everyone around them. Set against the backdrop of turn-of-the-century London. The rivalry is so intense that it turns them into murderers.

When Alfred performs a successful trick, Robert becomes obsessed trying to disclose the secret of his competitor with tragic consequences.

 ‘The Prestige’ includes two friends that turn into enemies after a disaster occurs amongst them. This is typical in a thriller film where two friends become rivals, an example of a film that is similar is Jenifer’s Body which there are two friends, one of which becomes a zombie and starts eating friendly civilians including her friend. This creates an interesting plot of which can cause controversy and keep the viewer engaged with the film.

Thriller Questionaire and Research Into Target Audience

In order to collect first hand and reliable information about our target audience, we conducted a questionnaire asking various questions about the thriller genre and who watches it. Many of the people we asked were aged seventeen to eighteen, although to make our questionnaire more reliable we also asked some older and younger participants. The youngest participant we surveyed was 15, purely because thriller films mostly contain violence and include unsettling or discomforting scenes which would be inappropriate for anybody under the age of 15 by law. This tells us that the target audience for our film would have to be over 15. 

Findings of our Questionnaire

We surveyed 10 people and got them to answer the questions above, 5 were male and 5 were female to make the questionnaire fair and to give us a clearer understanding of what conventions males and females feel are most important in a thriller film. The age range of the people we questioned were between 15-25. 70% of the people we surveyed preferred staying indoors than going out and about which could suggest that they were more likely to watch more films than the 30% that preferred going out and about. The most popular genre of film was comedy with 40% of the votes 2 male and 2 female picked this, the second most popular was thriller with 30% 2 male and 1 female picked this, horror was third with 20% of the votes with 1 male and 1 female and rom-com had 10% and it was a female that chose this. This conveys that more males are likely to watch a thriller than females. There were only three sub-genres that had votes from our survey: mystery thriller with 30% 2 female and 1 male, action thriller with 40% 3 male and 1 female and crime thriller with 30% 1 male 2 female, these results highlight that the sub-genre which appeals the most to the audience is action thriller. For example of different genders being attracted to different types of films, females are more likely to be inclined to watch a film with a leading female role like Salt (2010) as it means they're more likely to connect and engage the audience with the protagonist.

The most appealing convention of a thriller film was the next area we explored, compelling characters and challenging story lines both received 40% of the votes with both having 2 male and 2 female select it and suspense and tension received 20% of the votes again with an equal 1 male and 1 female, this gave us a good understanding on what an audience wants from a thriller film, and with equal votes we are able to attract both male and female into our thriller film. The most important feature of a thriller film was the final question we asked; characters, costume and props, acting and camera angles were chosen. Characters received 20% of the votes both being female, costume and props also received 20% of the votes chosen by 1 male and 1 female, acting received 30% of the votes with 2 male and 1 female and camera angles also had 30% 1 female and 2 male chose this, we will take into account the answers given to us and focus on the areas that our audience will find the most appealing to make our thriller film more exciting to watch.

Focus group of target audience: what they expect from a thriller,

opinions on our film idea.

From our focus group and our questionnaire we can see what 16-18 year old expect from a thriller and use this to make our thriller film more effective; as mystery thriller had the second most votes as the best sub-genre of a thriller film we have decided to create a mystery thriller mixed with crime and psychological to make it more appealing for our target audience and we felt this was the most appropriate to create with the resources we have. Compelling characters and challenging story lines both had an equal amount of votes and were themes highlighted in our focus group , so we will include both of these and focus on them more than the other conventions that were on our questionnaire to connect with our audience and show that we are taking into account their views and opinions in order to make our film better. Camera angles were the most voted feature of a thriller film in our questionnaire and again we will focus a lot on our camera angles to give the audience the right atmosphere, and having a good actor was mentioned a lot in our focus group, so we can make the role believable. These results show us what our target audience expects from a thriller film, and we will focus on these to make our thriller film more effective. 

After pitching our idea to a focus group of the target audience, they suggested using a prop to add depth to the storyline and to add opportunity for different pathways for our film to follow. As they said, a prop could offer a whole new twist to the storyline such as a weapon. We have considered this idea and decided to include a discarded bracelet in our storyline, in order to create further mystery. We found a focus group to be a very helpful way of gathering new ideas and considering different options of where the storyline should head.