AS Evaluation Question 5- How did you attract/address your audience?

Primary research was essential in carrying my production as it gave many successful ideas that I can corporate into my opening sequence. Without primary research my opening sequence wouldn't have been as successful. I carried out many different research methods to help/influences us when creating the opening sequence. I analysed many different opening sequences to provide inspiration for my own opening sequence. For example when researching into cinematography I chose the film prom night as there were many conventional camera angles used such as close ups and over the shoulder shots. Another film I analysed when researching into sound was silence of the lambs as in the scene there was many different types sound used such as non digetic, parallel, digetic and on screen sound.

By researching into films I could see the generic conventions and how they have made their thriller successful. If  I didn't analyse different films I wouldn’t have understood what conventions in thrillers are successful and what conventions to add into our opening sequence. I analysed many different opening sequences of thriller films to help see what generic conventions are used so I could use them into my own sequence. I also analysed many different opening sequences to see how different narratives can still create the same effect on the audience. By analyzing different opening sequence I could also see what shots are important to use, ideas for our mise en scene, what sound to use, what editing styles  and characters I should incorporate.

 A shot that inspired us to use from analysing prom night was a close up because it was very effective because it showed how the character especially the victim felt meaning that it allowed the audience to build a relationship with them as they felt sorry for that particular character.  It also built suspense for the rest of the scene. The film we analysed to look at the mise en scene was saw VI. From analysing saw VI we took the idea of using low key lighting throughout the whole of the scene as this is conventional to the thriller genre because it creates adrenaline for the audience as it hides part of the scene. I also saw that the characters were set in the middle of the scene so when creating the film we put the character in the middle. From analysing silence of the lambs we incorporated many different sound techniques such as non digetic and parallel sound into the opening sequence to make the opening sequence interesting and to keep the audience at edge. I used a non digetic sound track throughout and parallel sound of the door opening and crunching leaves as she walks through the forest. By using different sounds it creates a tense atmosphere which is conventional to a thriller film. By using the parallel sounds it makes the film seem more realistic and creates a sense of realism.

 The editing styles that I saw was conventional and decided to incorporate into the opening sequence was to use a straight cut. I  used a straight cut from a different location to another to create suspense as the audience can’t see what is going on. The straight cut was from the girl getting ready to the globe. I used a straight cut to build tension as the audience cant see what is going on. I also incorporated timing of shots; we chose the timing of shots to be slow at the beginning of the sequence and quicker towards the end to build up to the climax. By doing this is will create an element of excitement and make the audience engage with the film more. I also looked at age certificates to see how films are assessed and to see what audience I should set my opening sequence at and what conventions would interest them.

 By looking at age certificates I found out that the rating 15 would be a perfect rating as 15 films allow strong violence, frequent bad language, sexual activity, nudity, drug taking and discriminant language or behavior. I also created a questionnaire to give out to different individuals whom were different ages to get unbiased results. I asked much different type of questions, i asked opened open and closed questions to get different results that will help me create my thriller. For example we asked ‘What gender are you’ to see what gender I should target my thriller at. Another question I asked was ‘What do you expect to see in thrillers?’  I asked this as an open question and got many different responses to give us a wide range of results to help create the thriller. By doing a questionnaire I found out what audiences look for in a thriller film which helped to create my opening sequence as the answer influenced our choices. Research definitely helped when creating the opening sequence as it gave many inspirations which made my opening sequence successful. It helped to add in many generic conventions. 

Without doing any research I would have struggled and wouldn't have been able to create a opening sequence at all. From the age certificate research I decided to categorize my opening sequence a 15 as the conventions in our opening sequence is typical for that rating. I also took inspiration from many different opening sequences such as seven, silence of the lambs and prom night to add in a non digetic sound track as it builds tension successfully. Another main inspiration I took was to use different camera angles to keep the audience interested; I found this out form the questionnaire and by analysing many different opening sequences. It assisted with planning our production as we then knew what shots I am going to use, the age certificate I am going to use and the different conventions I am going to add into my opening sequence.