Thriller Evaluation

We began by exploring the forms and conventions of thriller films. This was done to help us understand exactly what a thriller was and what our thriller would need to broadcast to our audience to keep them interested and consequently be successful. Although, our task was to create the opening and not a film, we still needed to have knowledge of a thriller as a whole. But with our task to create a suspenseful opening, we also bared in mind that what we saw and learned about thriller filmed had to be shaped into a successfully opening and not a film.

To commence, we explored the differences with a similar genre, horror. We learnt that thriller films are based on every-day circumstances and are created with the aim of attracting their audiences. We noticed that thrillers also built a sense of tension within our audience’s hearts and minds, to motivate them to carry on watching to the end. In addition, thrillers also introduced sub-meanings and agendas within them, like Arlington Road, she had a political agenda, as well as, an illustration of every-day life. Moreover, a technique of thriller making is to make the audience feel as if they know something the characters in the play do not know. If successfully done, the directors of the film are able to entice the audience further by introducing sub-plots and unexpected scenarios. I learnt that conventional thriller films usually consist of a hero and villain to attract their target audience. On the other hand, horror films follow storylines that are more fictional than real and ordinary. Horror films objective is to make the audience afraid and excited, all at the same time, whereas, a thriller allows its audience to imagine themselves as one of the characters and think about the plots and meanings and how they can relate to their own lives. Although, Horrors are very random, Thriller films show scenarios which are more realistic, and however controversial the topics explored are they relate to ordinary people.

When it came to pitching an idea for our project, we kept in my mind what we had learnt about thriller conventions. For example, we knew we would have to incorporate a range of different shot types to establish location and the characters. As we considered different ideas, we thought of how we could twist a simple, every-day situation into an effective thriller opening. We, as a group, decided on storyline which was simple with enough space for twist to trigger any individuals mind. We knew we would have to show this in our opening to be successful. I feel we did this successful through the repair man asking for tea and as hours pass, he goes to look for the home owner and his tea to find a newspaper that she died years ago, although, she offered him tea hours before. This was a great thriller opening as it was a normal setting, with ordinary working people containing a twist which could result in the main character, ending up being a hero by solving a mystery or going crazy and continuing to hallucinate. I believe our opening allows our audience to think of numerous possibilities for the film and its ending. I feel our opening surely exerts a pull on the audience meaning they want to find out the films conclusion, if it was a film and not just an opening.

In my opinion, an appropriate audience for my thriller film would be for individuals with an imaginative and have an open mind. Meaning they can be old or young, however, it should be someone who knows what it is to hallucinate or see something that may not be there or understand how someone can believe they have seen something, although the world says its not, meaning the target audience cannot be too young. The viewing public could include secondary school students, college students, working people, lovers of the physiological thriller genre and generally members of our society. I feel our film succeeds in attracting the mainstream audience because it meets conventions of a thriller, as well as, being original, while keeping its simplicity. I believe our opening falls into the sub-genre of a psychological thriller with the characters having ordinary jobs and the opening illustrating an everyday scenario, as well as, having a controversial ending.

I feel anyone can have interest in my film from its dramatic, entertaining and twist consisting opening.

For example,

‘25 year old Tommy Daniels from London, A’ levels being highest form of education, permanent job as an electrician, loves to play football and go to the pub with mates on the weekends, shops in H&M and watches TV in the evenings. Enjoys films which make his heart jump or make him feel like his part of something big and they is something else to his life.’

‘17 year old Fatima Boston, American born, studying full time in a London college and currently living with her aunt. Has a part time job at Waitrose and very hardworking. Enjoys reading and watches little TV but goes to the cinema in her limited spare time to watch anything which seems interesting and out of the ordinary, as well as, relating to her life and studies.’

I feel word-of-mouth is our most concrete way of advertising and making sure our film reaches its target audience. Simply because people trust what people they know say, making them more willing to take interest. Additionally, as we don’t have any star appeal or a budget to join up with other companies to reach broader audiences, like high budget, Hollywood films do, I feel word of mouth is best. Moreover, advertising our film may be hassle free as the generation of our target audience is extremely internet orientated and with easy access to virtual marketing, we could promote our film on popular websites such as, social networking sites like Facebook for free through posting trailers on YouTube, where videos can be found and viewed on their also, through vague and ambiguous titles, such as “great thriller”. If we make our trailers leave viewers with enough food for thought, I am sure they would be dying to watch whole film.

Using recognized actors may be a further way of attracting our target audience. Well known actors come with their own fan base attracting a greater audience. Another way of advertising could be through TV adverts. For example, having our trailer in the intervals of sky channels would certainly meet our target audience. But as mentioned above, we cannot afford to advertise on sky, as well as, attract recognisable stars, as our thriller is just a low budget, British film.

A possible media institution that may distribute our media film to begin with could be a small independent UK release association. A motive for this is to see how the proposed target audience will react. If the film is a major hit in the UK, then it stands a chance of worldwide release and having a “must see” caption with big Hollywood blockbuster organizations willing to invest on part 2, or a sequel or just simply advertising the original worldwide. Possible actions after releasing the film to the world could include DVD release. Although, internet publicity could possibly jeopardise the films financial rewards, as many people may rather watch a new film for free, it still would assist in promoting the film and generating hype and press interest.

Making use of the different technologies to create our thriller opening has taught me a lot about film manufacturing. As if constructing 3 minutes of video took my group as long as it did, I can imagine the dedication and patience it must take to produce an entire film. From the simpler tasks of taking hold of the camera to coming up with an idea and planning what you want to film, and the messages you want to portray to your target audience. Moreover, not forgetting the practical tasks of filming and editing which take time, concentration and skill.

I believe I made a great contribution to the final product from the commencing processes with me and the rest of the group learning about shot types and angles through watching famous thriller openings. I used the practice filming to put what I saw in the openings of the film openings, such as, taking various shots from different angles.

Additionally, I learnt the importance of story boarding, as we consistently changed and updated our ideas and shot types. My group didn’t believe storyboards we necessary but quickly realised that we needed to plan, as we couldn’t remember certain shots and so we wasting time coming up with ideas and going with the flow.

Successfully editing our footage proved to be challenging but achievable. Once we had finished filming, we transferred our recordings on to the Apple Mac and used Final Cut Pro, to carry out ‘logging and capturing’ and place captures on time line. This procedure basically allowed us to select the wanted parts from the clips we filmed, and order them next to other cuts to form a continuous moving image until we finished our opening.

This was an enjoyable task, as I was able to work as a team with friends and learn how to use specialist software. I also really enjoyed going to the cinema and seeing our opening on the big screen, I actual feel ours was quite original and distinct, although it consisted of many conventional features of a thriller opening, the fact our opening ended on such a twist really had an impact. Overall, I feel that our group created a potentially great thriller through the opening. In addition, as the opening of Arlington Road kept me attentive and made me want more, I feel our opening captured our target audience and even surpassed their expectations of a good opening to a thriller.