Question 5 How did you attract/address your audience?

My Target audience is males aged 15-21. In order to attract this audience I included various aspects of misé en scene that this audience could relate to. Items such as alcohol, cigarettes and an ipod humanise the character and allow the audience to relate to him. My audience can also relate to the feelings of anger and betrayal displayed by the protagonist. By allowing my audience to have a connection to the main character I have created a means for them associate themselves with the film.

As my target audience are males I also included factors that relate to masculinity. For example the motorbike has strong connotations of masculinity as do the leather jacket and gun. Furthermore the shooting scene shows a direct display of one male dominating another which again connects back to the idea of masculinity. Furthermore the way in which this macho behaviour has been presented suggests that to act like this is heroic allowing my audience to aspire to be like the protagonist.

This male empowerment is enhanced by the tense music which progressively builds in tempo and creates an aggressive atmosphere. The blunt sounds of the motorbike and gunfire create a charged ambience, especially the final shot which has no complimenting music thus enabling the gun to be the focus of attention.

I also attracted my audience by allowing them to empathise with the protagonist’s friend. We can’t help but feel sorry for this victim of circumstance. His confused, irritated and ultimately demoralized voice makes us want to discover what is going to happen to him and how he ended up in this situation.

Finally I ended on a cliff hanger. The black screen leaves us in the dark as to what has happened, we as an audience believe we know what has happened but it is impossible to tell until we see the rest of the film. This factor is commonly used in films either at the end of the opening scene or at the very end if the film has a sequel.

Question 4 Who would be the audience for your media product?

In order to research the audience for my thriller I had several groups of people watch my thriller and make a quick evaluation. As expected it was more popular with the male audience of various ages – however all under 30. Furthermore I looked at similar the reception of similar films such as Leon. IMDB tells me that Leon was most popular among males under 18.

My thriller is likely to attract a predominately male audience between the ages of 15 and 20. As the protagonist falls into this category the audience is able to relate to him and the feelings he harbours – i.e. anger, aggression and betrayal of friendship. Furthermore as a heroic figure he represents what many teenage males aspire to be.

Another character who male teenagers may relate to is the friend of the protagonist. In this opening he is seen as the victim and we as an audience can’t help but pity this boy who has been taken hostage, tortured and ultimately even had his friend turn against him. The feelings of betrayal and being placed in a compromising position can be related to by the audience. 

There are no female characters in the opening scene of my thriller which backs up the idea that my thriller is likely to attract a mainly male audience.

The antagonist of this film is in his mid to late twenties. For this reason you may argue that my film may also attract people of this age however the character being portrayed is not easy to relate to and it is unlikely that people would aspire tolerant that be like him. Furthermore people may actually see him as a negative representation of adults which would further attract a younger audience as they could relate to the concept of being at odds with older people.

In my film I have specifically placed misé en scene that could relate to this audience. For example on the protagonist’s desk we see a phone, an ipod, alcohol, coffee, cigarette packets, etc. all of these items create a link to a teenage audience as it humanises the protagonists character and subsequently makes him easier to relate to.

The action aspect of my thriller traditionally appeals to male audiences as it represents a display of masculinity. For the same reason the motorbike scene would also appeal to a male audience. Furthermore the sub-genre of my film (crime thriller) attracts male audiences more than female audiences. This can be seen by looking at almost any other film of this genre on IMDB, for example Reservoir Dogs, No Country for Old Men and Leon were all most popular in males under 18.

A film which has close themes to mine is Leon. For this reason I used Leon as a basis to find out what other media my audience may consume. Amazon tells me that people who bought Leon also bought: The Usual Suspects and Wasabi above anything else. Both of these received the highest user ratings from the males under 18 category on IMDB. This further backs up my belief that I will attract a male audience between 15 and 20.

Question 3 What kind of institution might distribute your media product and why?

While my thriller boasts some qualities of an independent film (for example the way I have challenged character stereotypes) it is on balance more mainstream than independent. For this reason it is more likely that a multiplex cinema would show my film than an independent company. In order to get my film shown my first intention is to present my thriller at media events such as the Edinburgh Fringe or the Exposure festival in Manchester. These institutions are likely to present my film as they both seek to encourage young media produces and generally do not require their applicants to have any previous film creating experience. Another place to start would be to make my film available on websites such as Youtube. There are no requirements necessary in order to put a film on Youtube, this way I could reach my audience straight away, especially as my target is likely to use this website. From here I could branch out onto other websites such as xbox.com and download sites such as Amazon. Both of these sites are appropriate for my target market (15-21 year old males) and are suitable places for short films.

I would like my film to eventually be shown by the larger multiplexes if I were given the opportunity to complete it. In order to receive funding for my film to be completed I would appeal to companies such as Stealth Films. Stealth Films is a small British film company who produced titles such as Kidulthood and Adulthood. I would ask this company as their previous films reflect the same balance of mainstream and iconic that my own film does. In the same way as in Kidulthood my film puts younger people in older scenarios reflecting an innovative idea in a mainstream plot. For this reason Stealth Films would be a suitable place to distribute my film from as their audience is appropriate for my thriller. Another company who I would appeal to is Working Title because they would have the connections needed to get my film into the multiplexes however are still small enough to consider a script from a young writer.

Question 2 How does your media product represent particular social groups?

My film primarily represents teenage males. This is because the majority of the characters (including the protagonist) fall into this category.

There are no female actors which means that this group has received no representation from my thriller opening, however this does not mean that there is no potential for representation in the full production.

The way in which teenage males are represented through the protagonist is heroic and hedonistic. On the other hand he also breaks the traditional role of male hero as in the end he is seen turning the gun on his friend after his “betrayal” is revealed. Traditionally the hero would never do this regardless of the situation.

Teenage males are also represented as victims through the protagonists friend. This character is taken hostage, tortured and loses his only hope when his friend turns on him. This represents the vulnerable side of teenagers, a side that others can feel pity for.

My film also represents males in their mid twenties through the antagonist. This character breaks the conventions of a leading member of a gang; he is portrayed as nervous and defenceless and subsequently does not last long when confronted by the hero. This is in stark contrast to the stereotypical gang leader characters such as Don Vito Corleone (The Godfather) and Harry (In Bruges) who, despite being very different characters are presented as equally confident and ruthless. As a result of this character’s features males in their mid twenties are seen to be weak and corruptible - he is part of a criminal gang.

All of my characters are of the white British ethnicity. For this reason it is difficult to compare the way they are represented with other ethnicities however ultimately they are seen as corrupt figures.

The location of the action (suburban house) represents a working to lower middle class. Furthermore it also challenges the stereotype that crime only occurs in extravagant settings such as mansions or underground bases by making a crime scene out of a suburban house.

Question 1 in what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Before creating my own thriller I spent a long time researching the genre. This involved watching and analysing a wide selection of thrillers as well as identifying the conventions seen throughout the genre. When it came to creating my own thriller opening this research inspired many of my themes, shots and other aspects of my media piece. The conventions and ideas that I analysed in other films are reflected through my finished film.

My thriller opening uses shots inspired by other thrillers. For example the scene where the main character arrives on the motorbike was similar to the shot in Kill Bill volume 1 where Beatrix was pursuing the Crazy 88 gang. The character in this wore a similar costume creating a familiar look to the scene. Also the camera in both scenes used mid level shots from the side of the actor. Finally the music in the two shots picked up at this point to show that action was about to take place.

The opening of my media piece used some of the conventions inspired by Requiem for a Dream. We see an extreme close up of the characters eye as it widens. This shot is often used in Requiem for a Dream to show the body’s response to the drugs. I wanted to show the characters response to what he is hearing in the same “shocked” manner.

In “The Lives of Others” we see a shot of the surveillance room in which we zoom in on various pieces of surveillance equipment. In the beginning of my thriller we see a similar shot as the camera zooms in on various images and apparatus. As the theme here (i.e. an interrogation) is what I wished to create I used a shot resembling the one in The Lives of Others.

The camera angle after the antagonist has been shot once was inspired by V for Vendetta. The camera is in a low angle position looking up at the antagonist as he takes his second shot. What this resembles is Natalie Portman lying on the ground in V for Vendetta looking up as she inspects the guards. It is this ground level shot seen in V for Vendetta that also inspired one of the final shots, where the protagonist’s friend looks up at the gun pointed at him.  

Another aspect of the thriller genre reflected in my work is the appearance of the characters. The costume of the protagonist shares the same style as Beatrix’s in Kill Bill (as previously mentioned) this allows the audience to identify the character as the hero. The antagonist’s costume was supposed to share some of qualities seen in films like the Godfather. The smart shirt, cigar and hat are all conventions of classic mob thrillers like Scarface. On the other hand my thriller challenged this association with mob films by making this character act in way which is not associated with mob leaders, i.e. he acts nervous and weak as opposed to the more conventional strong in control leader. 

The sets appearance is not stereotypical of the thriller genre, whereas most thrillers conventionally use large mansions or run down areas for their locations, I used a common looking suburban house. However to gain an effect similar to other media of this genre I shot it at a time when the natural lighting hid the unconventional area. The idea of using common looking areas like the one seen in my thriller was inspired by thrillers such as “Death Note,” this thriller uses very common looking housing to make the base of the sinister crimes appear innocent and an unlikely area for them to happening.

Finally the plot of my thriller was strongly influenced by Leon. A young person out for revenge because of the brutal killing of their family is the running story in both my thriller and Leon. As such some of the shots of the main character were made to resemble Mathilda in Leon. For example in the opening to my thriller we see the protagonist in a slumped depressed pose while smoking. This is very similar to the various shots we see of Mathilda in a slumped position as she smokes. 

Cast

Sam Sleight (voice) heard over radio.

Sam Stronge, protagonist

Alan Rattenbury, Antagonist

Tom Reeve, protagonists friend

Thriller Opening