Target Audience and Film Rating

Within the psychological thriller genre the typical elements that are displayed often contain more adult themes. For example tense action sequences, emotional trauma and mature moral story lines are often prominent. Characters also often battle their own minds which is an element that we are introducing into our own production. Another popular theme for this genre of film is the concept of a character being threatened with death, being forced to deal with the deaths of others, or faking their own deaths. The typical audience for many psychological thrillers are of 18 years of age or older, often because they include strong violence and psychological elements that may be considered too disturbing for younger audiences. 
Our production will also be containing more mature elements and themes as our main character experiences emotional trauma within the opening of the film, and the audience visually experiences the deterioration of this girl. There will also be hints of violence and death. These aspects may be considered to be inappropriate for younger audiences however the characters that we are presenting in our film are around 16 years of age. Therefore by giving our film a rating of 15, we can be inclusive of audiences that will relate to our characters and whilst still being able to include many of the traditional elements of a psychological thriller film. 
Our targeted audience will be young adults; primarily between 15 - 20 years old as the characters in our film will be relatable to this age group. By sticking to this age group we will have to ensure that the content is not too explicit. Psychological thrillers often follow a narrative in which the protagonist has to overcome personal emotional distress, in order to conquer a bigger issue and there is also usually an element of mystery incorporated into the film. In order to appeal to our target audience we will have to make sure that this narrative is included in our opening so that it is both appealing and enticing.  
By giving our film an age rating of 15 according to the British Board of Film, we will be able to include, strong violence and strong language. 

We hope to make our film appropriate for both genders within the age ranges of 15 and 20. To make sure that our film is suitable for this age range and both sexes we designed a questionnaire in which we asked 6 people inside of our target audience a series of questions. 

From these results I can conclude that the overall plot of our film will sit comfortably with this audience, as the story does not include much strong language if any and the idea of false reality (which this film is based around), appears popular with this audience. Also the thriller genre seemed to be fairly popular. However when we refine the smaller details of the of the plot I will take into account that explicit violence and very strong language should not be included as they may offend and deter our targeted audience. 

Second Preliminary Task

For our first preliminary task we decided to stay within a simple plot as not to deter from our main focus of the production, which was to practice key film concept such as match on action, the 180 degree rule and shot reverse shot. However for this task we wanted to practice filming under the typical conventions of a thriller film, as this is what our final production will be. This short film follows the plot of two young girls running away from an ominous figure. They meet and believe that they are safe until they look up to see that the figure looming over them.

I worked with the same group of people in this task as in my last preliminary project (Molly Braggins, Jessica Underwood and Lucy Scanlon). Again, myself, Molly and Jess volunteered to be actors in this project as we felt that it worked well in the previous task, and again we all contributed our ideas regarding camera angles/shots and the post-production stages were a combined effort. Discussion became more important in this task as we were following a slightly more complex plot and we were also trying to remain within the typical conventions of the thriller genre. This meant that we each contributed even more so during this project as it was important that we each considered this film as being a thriller. The conventions that we were mostly focused on were featuring a protagonist and an antagonist, a moody and frightening setting and tension and suspense. The hooded figure that Jess played in this film was our antagonist while myself and Molly played the protagonist characters. We represented this by following the two girls at the beginning and including POV shots representing their perspectives, therefore building some sort of understanding and remorse between the characters and the viewers. Jess (the antagonist) was represented through moody lighting in the aim of presenting her as an evil or dangerous character. We also used the prop of her hooded jacket to introduce an element of enigma to the character as her face is never fully revealed to the audience. We also introduced elements of suspense and tension through the mood setting and tone of the scene which we edited in the post-production stage. We also used fast cuts and camera movements to increase the pace of the film and therefore maintain anticipation within the audience regarding what will happen next. 

During the filming process we decided to include a variety of shots and angles as we felt that, due to the fast pace of the sequence, it would appear more interesting to watch and would build suspense. Therefore we included tracking shots, over the shoulder shots, POV shots, close ups, long pans, low angles and high angles. This helped to increase the tension of the film as it meant that the viewer was more involved in the story as they were seeing different perspectives of the action as it played out. For example when the mysterious figure looks down on the two girls, we decided to use a high angle shot to present her dominance and therefore bring more mystery and danger to the scene. 

Although I feel that this task was somewhat successful in identifying with the themes of a thriller film, there were aspects that did not go as well as I had hoped. For example due to the limited time allowance we were given to make this film, we were not able to shoot the same scene from a large range of different angles which had a negative effect on the continuity of our piece. This also meant that we broke the 180 degree rule in the final product which may have caused confusion within the audience as the perspectives of the two girls were distorted. To prevent this from happening in my final piece I will ensure that I have planned where each shot will be and what angles I will use for each one. We also had issues in making the shots look fluent and professional. An example of this can be seen in the opening shot where the camera shakes as it is turning. I will ensure that this problem does not re-occur in my final piece by repeating shots and scenes until they are fluent and look the best they can. 

Filming: Day 2

Our second day of filming was on the 11th of January. On this day we aimed to get as many flashback scenes filmed as possible. We spent the whole day filming and began by preparing the actresses' hair and makeup. We filmed the happy flashbacks at the beginning of the day with the girls wearing pretty, simple makeup and we could then later distort this makeup for the darker scenes. At the end of the day we had filmed all of the flashbacks that we would need. Our next step is to combine the clips into a rough draft of our final product and then ask people within our target audience for feedback. After this we will see if there is anything that we have missed or could improve on and then we can plan one last day of filming. We can also see if there is anything that we need to re-film if it is not up the quality we expected. 

Planning Storyboard

Before filming, myself and Lucy sat down to discuss ideas. We produced the storyboard below, as a reference so that we would know exactly what scenes we would be shooting and what shots we use for this.

Preliminary Task

We were set the task of creating a film clip that includes: 

• A conversation between two characters 
• A character entering a room 
• Shot reverse shot
• And demonstrates an understanding of the 180 degree rule 

For this preliminary task we followed a basic plot line in which two friends meet in a school detention. We have used the 180 degree rule, match on action and shot reverse shot in order to establish our basic understanding of film making. We also used a range of editing cuts in order to create realism and continuity within the film. 

Evaluation:
For this project I worked with Molly Braggins, Jess Underwood and Lucy Scanlon. Myself, Molly and Jess all volunteered to act in the film as it was too short notice to search for other people, however we were all still involved in the directing process and deciding on the positioning of the camera for certain scenes. Working in a group enabled us to discuss ideas during both the post and pre-productions stages. Jess, Molly and I helped all contributed to the positioning of the camera and decided the shots that we would use and Lucy record the scenes and controlled the camera.  We also edited as a group so that the final product was something that we had all fairly contributed towards with each of our varying ideas and skills. 

To show our understanding of camera work and film making we used techniques such as shot reverse shot, match on action and we also conformed to the 180 degree rule. Our film also included a variety of shots including close ups, medium shots, POV shots and medium long shots. We also used different editing techniques to set the overall mood and tone of the film. Although we used simple cuts to transition between the shots we some different transitions in suitable places such as at the end where we used a fade to black transition to finish the film. We also edited the lighting/colouring of the scenes in the post-production stage. We used cooler tones in order to make the scenes appear slightly more dreary in order to convey the character's feelings as they all do not want to be in their detention. 

Although I feel that the quality of this film is fine for the task that we were set, I would like to be able to make my final production at a much higher standard. One of the difficulties that we faced when making this film was that, due to the limited time that we were given, we were unable to use a high quality film camera, therefore we use an Ipad camera instead. This worked well for what we were doing but it was tricky in some areas to use different techniques, such as a deep focus etc. An example of how the Ipad effected our final product can be seen in the scene where the two characters discuss why they are in detention. Due to the microphone not being as accurate on this camera it is very difficult to hear what is said. However in my final production I will be using a reliable microphone for the scenes that include dialogue to ensure that this issue is not repeated. 
Another difficulty that we had was trying to film a large variety of shots, and deciding where the camera would be positioned, in a short space of time. Although this did not seem to damage our end product, I feel that perhaps if we had had a larger collection of clips, the post-production stages may have run a lot smoother. Again I will avoid this being repeated in the production of my final film by ensuring that I have a clear idea and written plan of where the scenes will be shot and what camera angles and shots will be used. This will also help me to ensure that I include a larger variety of camera angles than I have done so far in this project as i feel that it will give the film a much larger visual impact. 

What is Narrative?

Planning: Choosing an Idea (Brief)

We must create a 2 minute film opening that conforms to the conventions of the thriller genre. As this is an opening for a film we have decided to follow an open narrative in which the story does not have a clear conclusion at the end of the 2 minutes.

After researching thrillers and other film openings within this genre, we have been able to select certain aspects of other films that will fit our own narrative. For example from my research on the opening of the film 'Black Swan', I have found that by altering the Ident of the production company, making it ominous and more appropriate for the film type, the tone of the film is set early on. This is something that I will definitely be considering using in my own production as I found that it provided considerable impact on myself as the viewer. This film also used dreary and suspenseful music that created tension and made the scene appear more daunting and theatrical. Costuming was also important in this opening as it represented the character traits of the dancers. This is something we will include in our own production as black connotes death and grief and our protagonist will be wearing this colour as she begins to deteriorate.
I also found from my research on the film opening of 'Cabin In The Woods' that ambiguous film openings are very effective in this genre. By confusing the audience with a dual narrative is sets an uneasy tone to the beginning of the film as you are not sure what will happen next. Although we will not be using a dual narrative in our own production we will be juxtaposing pleasant memories with sad and more desperate ones in order to create a similar sort of confusion within our audience, as has been done in this film. This narrative technique creates a false sense of security within the audience and creates a greater overall impact when the truth is revealed later on in the film.

Our film will be following two main characters, both acting as the protagonist. The characters are both female and around 16 years of age. We will follow their friendship through a series of flashbacks, beginning with fond, happy recollection then leading into arguments and dark scenes. Through this time line of events the audience will see one of the girls deteriorate. Through the use of make up we will make her appear more vacant and ill. In later scenes the other character will begin to blink in and out of existence, leading the audience to question her authenticity. The opening ends with the first girl sat alone. As she looks into distance we see that she has significantly changed, looking run down and terrifying. She looks into the camera, blinks, and then screen flashes to black.