Evaluation Qs 5: In What Ways Does Your Media Product Challenge Or Develop Forms Of Conventions Of Real Media Products?

Evaluation Qs 4: How Does Your Media Product Represent Particular Social Groups?

Evaluation Qs 4 Social Groups

Evaluation Qs 3: What Kind Of Media Institution Might Distribute Your Media Product And Why?

Evaluation Qs 2: How Did You Attract/Address Your Target Audience?

Target Audience: 15+ (Mainly Teenagers)

The first thing we as a group decided is the concept of our thriller opening. The story revolves around a girl being stalked; as mentioned before, the target audience will find this situation familiar as it reflects the reality and therefore they will want to continue watching to see the consequence.

Our protagonist in this film opening is wearing casual clothes that reflect today's generation. The use of costume will attract the target audience as it'll get them to relate to the main character.

As soon as when the target audience is able to identify themselves to the main lead, they'll be able to understand the situation and mood the protagonist is under and therefore reducing the distance between the character and the viewer; this will attract the audience as it'll almost get them to be in the shoes of the protagonist in the given situation.

From the questionnaire results we have gathered, I have found out that teenagers often expect a lot of chasing in thriller films and therefore our opening consists of a large proportion involving the protagonist running down the South Norwood Park and her being chased/stalked by an unknown figure. This adds to the mystery as previous research also showed that my target audience expects to see a lot of suspense and twists and turns therefore by keeping the 'stalker,' under the wraps (or rather under the hood!) and without revealing his face adds to the enigma that is required to attract the target audience as it'll get them to unfold the mystery throughout the film if they wish to continue watching it.

Gunshots seemed to be a common diegetic sound that my target audience expected to hear and therefore it implies what teenagers expect and desire a thriller opening to consist of in fact it also suggests the naive and limited knowledge they have on the thriller genre and therefore we decided to use a gunshot at the climax as it'll keep audience seated to continue watching and guessing the potential story line.

It is a universal fact that the audience of any medium want to feel as if they know and are aware of the conventions of a given genre whilst watching it and therefore by including common hegemonic expectations of the thriller genre (example: gunshots or chasing) will attract the audience as they'd feel clever and articulate about the given genre!

I interviewed several people that came under my target audience to see what they expect and desire to see in the thriller genre. This interview allowed me to discover the knowledge they had on this particular genre and also helped me understand how to attract my target audience.

Evaluation Qs 1: Who Would Be The Audience For Your Media Product?

Evaluation Qs: My Target Audience on Prezi

Thriller Film Research - 'Vertigo,' Analysis.

Thriller Movie Analysis Vertigo

Thriller Film Research - 'Inception.'

Inception:

Throughout this scene, a lot of low-key lightning is used which is a convention that is often used in thriller movies as it conveys the intense mood of the genre.

This scene involves a lot of car chases and action sequences which we expect to see in most thriller movies as usually, in the genre of thriller, there is always someone chasing another which builds up the main chunk of the movie and the action gives the audience at the edge of their seats wanting to know what’ll happen.

The uses of gun shots are ideal for a thriller movie because it brings about the noisy and dangerous atmosphere the characters are in and it emphasizes the thriller genre.

This scene uses a non-linear narrative where there are two incidents happening at once and therefore a lot of cross cuts are used between the two events which connect the two together and shows the incidents in relation to one another. Non-linear narratives are conventional as it creates confusion for the viewers to follow on through till the end of the movie.

The concept of zero gravity action is very unusual and unique that’ll appeal to the target audience as most thriller movies are enigmas for the audience to discover and the mystery is what makes the scene exciting and visually appealing to watch.

The characters in this clip are all unusual and slightly confusing which conforms the convention of characters being morally complex in the thriller genre for example the driver is not aware of how the passengers are until the very end when he manages to survive; this event is very satisfying as after seeing so much action it finally ends with a twist creating a perfect cliff hanger for viewers to carry on watching.

Note that all the characters involved in this scene are all men which conforms to the traditional idea of men being the dominant and powerful figures who are usually the protagonist of thriller genre however in recent years, it has differed where girls are also portrayed as the protagonists of the action & thriller genre like Angelina Jolie in Lara Croft or the recent Bond girls.

The scene uses no dialogues emphasizing the use of action and getting the viewer’s attention on the content of action rather than what the characters are saying. No dialogues highlight the use of non-diegetic sound making the overall scene very impactful. Throughout the scene a lot of the sound have been modified and emphasized like the gun shots and the punches because the pleonastic sound emphasize the action and makes the scene seem more dramatic. These kinds of sounds are typically used in thriller movies which viewers easily identify to as these sounds define the thriller genre.

If you listen carefully, the background score starts of being dull and slow complimenting the intense and suspenseful atmosphere however it increases in a crescendo and builds up with the action which helps the viewers to visualise as well as listen to the action progressing and the sound suddenly stops near the end of scene making the climax very effective as it indicates the end of the fighting scene which shows how the relation between the use of music is used in this clip and the action. 

The poster of ‘Inception,’ says thriller through the various use of conventions that a viewer is able to identify.

The shot used for this poster is excellent, as a long shot establishes the environment the characters are currently in making assumptions of how the environment is most likely to be throughout the whole film. 

The use of unusual graphic background supports the enigma every thriller film holds which is possibly one of the key reasons why a viewer may go to watch this movie in the cinema as they would like to discover the truth behind questionable poster and hopefully overcome the enigma.

All the characters in this poster are dressed smartly and positioned in a powerful pose which conforms to the confidence most characters in the thriller genre possess.

If we look at the typography, the use of red font reflects the usual theme of murder and blood as most thriller genre films are likely to contain some sort of violence. The red seems to contrast with the whole blue theme of the poster very well emphasizing the title very much.

Inception provided a very fresh and unique concept to the audience that differs from a lot of the other existing thriller movies as the movie evolved around idea of a fantasy world of dreams which provided something exciting and unreal however the main conventions are kept the same like most movies within the genre which made the audience seem clever as they were already aware of what may occur in the film. This film managed to open with positive views in the cinemas and proved to be a hit at the box office gaining good reviews and star ratings even being include in several top must watch movies’ list.

For my film opening I would like play with the sounds such as the ones used in ‘Inception,’ as the variety of sounds impressed me and inspired me to make my opening of a thriller film as effective and as dramatic. The sounds seemed to give the edge and what is required in the genre.