This is the audience response questionnaire. We used a Sony HD Camcorder to record the audience and asked them a series of questions which would help us in the production stages. The questions have allowed us to identify if we are presenting our protagonist in the correct way and how suitable the age rating is. We also were able to identify if our short film is unique and where the audience would watch it. The results have been positive as all of the candidates responded to the question 'What rating would you give the film plot out of 5', with either a four or a five which has given confidence to our production and therefore we can begin filming.
The ages of the candidates range from 17 to 44. In order to allow an even spread of ages we will conduct another audience questionnaire with more people during the production of our film and afterwards.
These are the questions we asked our potential audience in order to improve upon our plot and to see if others were able to follow our story line. It was important to ask the age of the audience and what certificate the would give it as one of our main aims is to ensure the age certificate is appropriate and if that age category would be interested in the film. The story line: Set in a dystopian future where the possibility to experience
other people’s lives is possible. You can cheat on your without even having to do
it. You can rob a store right from your own home. The possibilities are
endless. They are called playback tapes, however they are illegal, and the
country is run by a ruthless dictator. The main character, Vera, is business like
in nature and distributes the playback tapes. She is sent an anonymous package
which contains several graphic tapes. As the film builds tension as to who sent
the tapes, it cuts to a person having just finished watching the playback tape
of the entire film described above. They say ‘it will change cinematic viewing,
can I meet the cast?’ They are led into a room where Vera greets the person and
a pan around the room reveals cameras and a film set.
Please state your name and age.
What Genre would you say our film is?
What age rating would you give our film?
Do you think this film is unique?
What would you expect Vera to wear?
Would you watch our film?
Where would you watch our film?
What rating would you give our film idea out of five?
This is our elliptical editing practice shots in order to perfect them in the real short film. We shot a long journey and edited it so that it was continuity editing and then edited the long journey so that it was shorter and more concise. Elliptical editing is a film technique used to shorten a long clip. For example a character walking could be shortened to show the length of time.
This is the long journey of us walking down the stairs and then retrieving an item.
This is the short version of the same journey edited in adobe premier.
The purpose of a title sequence is to entice the audience into carrying on watching a movie, the film should also establish the characters and the film genre.
Flashback-A scene where the narrative goes back into time usually this occurs to inform us of a key event.
Narrations- This is a way of getting the audience involved in the film from the beginning, this technique is used in order to give background information on what has occurred or who the characters are, this gives the audience an insight into the film
Establishment of the film- Establishments are used in order to set the scene and infer the audience where the dil is taking place
Action scene is a fast paced opening that is highly attractive to the audience as it will get them hooked from the beginning and will automatically show the genre of the film.
Production logo- Always every film shows its production logo and if the film has a high budget this will be reflected.
Animation is used in order to portray the beginning of the film in a creative way and visibly show the difference between the film itself and the opening sequence.
Soundtrack- this is the different use of volume, tone and tempo which will generically start quiet and slow paced.
Generally, films in the thriller genre consist of a battle between the protagonist character and the antagonist, and show justice and injustice (good and evil) When there is disruption in the equilibrium, the story then shows a chain of bad events that begin to build tension and suspense ready for the climax. The protagonist aim is to restore justice while the antagonist seeks to destroy this.
The storyline for a typical thriller will usually be shown from the protagonist point of view following the events of the heroes will over come, this allows the audience to become more involved in the events that are going on and will help them get a close relationship for the character. However some films do show short snappy clips from the villains prospective allowing the audience to see how the antagonist reacts and how they act when alone, and often lets the audience realize why they have become involved in this activity and become party of the evil party. Typically events that are covered in the film are important to the progression of the film and lead directly on from a previous scene , usually there are a lot of action scenes between characters making the audience guess what is going to occur next.
Thrillers are often shown in a film noir style; this means that they would be shown in black and white and using the typical conventions, techniques such as shadows found to be used more extensively in this genre and as a result of this the tension and the suspense has a greater effect, the effect is heightened due to the enhancements of the film noir. The use of cliff hangers create a greater sense of tension and make the audience crave for more of the film. Common conventions of a thriller include.
Low key lighting
shadows
quick cuts
angle changes in shots
black and white shots
montage
The protagonist often is portrayed as a brave male whom seeks to restore equilibrium and the antagonist will have a hidden identity that the audience will uncover as the film progresses, the antagonist often seeks revenge based on past events.
Characters tend to include...
spies
psychotic characters
convicts
innocent people that get dragged into danger
law enforcement officers.
Props Theory of characters.
The villain- struggles against the hero and usually wears dark clothing, this is a juxtapose between the hero and the villain; to highlight their differences. In the film Batman, Joker provides us with an evil presence.
The Helper-This character typically helps fight against the evil, and Robin from batman helps Batman help fight off the evil and destroy the villain.
The princess-This is a character that needs to be rescued from the evil villain
Iconography
Guns
cars
confined spaces
Cinematography in thriller films include a lot of close ups and extreme close ups of the protagonist character, this is done in order to show their emotions and also can be used in order to focus on props that will aid the narrative.
The shots of the antagonist tend to be cut quickly in order to keep their identity on the low, for example a shot of the back of them or a low key shot, or the silhouette of them.
In terms of the editing there tends to be a lot of jump cuts in order to create tension, as the audience will be un aware of what is occurring, but this is essential for the film to make sense. Cross cutting is also key as it is used to build up suspense. Editing conventions are also often focused around creating an uncomfortable or suspenseful atmosphere, camera angles are often disorientated. Tension is key in the thriller genre as it is what keeps the vast suspense at a steady pace throughout the film and then is able to expose with a conclusion of action or an overwhelming resolution which spectators may have not expected.
Sound in thrillers is very essential and the music is also in order yo understand the mood of the characters and convey significant events that will occur in the film, further more the sound adds tension and it will often start off slow and build up to make the scene more dramatic.
High pitched sound is used to make a spectator uncomfortable and shows that the scene will be unpleasant. Other uses of sound maybe that thrillers with dialogue is usually unique as internal monologues or perhaps narrators can be found and this creates a more direct tension to the spectator of the film, as it will make it seem like they are experiencing what the characters are.
Hybrids are often seen in thriller films where you take two or more elements from a genre and include them in one film.
For my analysis of a radio trailer, I chose the trailer of 'Gravity' as it is a Sci-Fi film, therefore is more in relation and gives us a bigger and more benficial insight into what we could include in ours. The trailer begins with incidental music; complementing the mood and genre of the film. The voice over then begins with sequences of sentences that are equally spread apart, to add emphasis and drama to to the tone; to intrigue the viewer into listening about the film to get them interested in viewing it. The spaces between each sentences are filled with extracts of the film, to allow more details to be given to the viewer, however without giving too much away . As the voice over describes the film as 'being film of the year' and 'full of suspense', it builds up to the revelation of the star cast of Sandra Bullock and George Clooney, further intriguing more viewers due to the great star quality of these two actors. The sound throughout remains the same, deep, bold tone, with the same sequence of events, for example the voice over follwed by dialogue from the film. This repetition of the sequence type allows the radio to breifly give simple details of the film however have a huge impact as the use of dialogue give key ideas about the film, genre and the events that take place.
