Analysis of completed thriller section 12

Within our media group, we were asked to create an opening scene for a thriller film. My group consisted of Sophie Robinson, Megan Lyons and Natalie Worthington. For our film to be successfull we needed to understand what a thriller film was, and what it required for it to be good, therefore we did some research. We watched and analysed several thriller openings such as Jaws and American Psycho. From this we learnt that a thriller opening shouldn't give too much information away but give just enough to persuade the audience to carry on watching. We commented on the types of music that were used and the mise-en-scene as well as the on-screen graphics which we learnt to be quite simple. For our storyline we looked through newspapers and on the internet for something true to base our film around. The realism of the storyline adds to the genre of the thriller as it can make the audience empathise with real life situations.

Before we could decide on our storyline, we needed a public analysis on what they thought would make a good thriller film and the types of film they enjoy the most, thus we created a questionnaire. We distributed 40 questionnaires to 40 different people over the age of 16. With the information in the answers we received, we then could brainstorm some ideas for our thriller film, thus creating the storyboards and script etc. In order to create our thriller opening, we needed to find people who were willing to give up their time to participate in the making of the film and act for us.

After researching the codes and conventions of a thriller film, we came up with the idea of using a knife in the opening to create a 'scary' atmosphere, because from the research we uncovered we realised that death was a popular choice of genre amongst our questionnaire answers. Also after studying other thriller films and watching their openings, we realised that something which connotes death is often used to create the 'thriller' atmosphere. We also used Pascal Bonitzers' idea of partial vision when we see the knife but not the person to whom the knife belongs. The use of dramatic music also adds to the thriller genre.

We received quite positive feedback from the audience (class), for example the use of the blood on the hand was effective as it is typical thriller 'behaviour'. Also the camera shots when Anna was putting on her coat, and the separate shots at different parts of her body made it more interesting to watch as opposed to just having a full body shot. Negative response was expected with the props, for example the blood was not as realistic as it may have been. Also the tracking shot was penalised as it wasn't as smooth as it should've been, so taking this into consideration I can then improve these on my next film making attempt.

I think our film fulfilled a thrillers expectations as it involved murder, but the storyline could've been improved as well as the script. Our films main theme was jealousy, which I believed was a good theme as it perhaps could be something a lot of people can relate to, but we had to exxagerate the jealousy for it then to turn to murder. The basic idea for the film was good.
We chose to use a male killer in our sequence as it was typical of a thriller, and also use weapons such as knives and blood for props.

Within our film we chose to represent women as vulnerable and the men as the obsessive type, we did this because it reflected real life situations as women tend to be more vulnerable than men. We chose the people we did to star in it because we felt that they looked appropriate for the particular character they were representing. One person does die in our sequence, and it happens to be a male. This tells us that this person was perhaps in a vulnerable situation and done something which motivated someone to kill them.

In my opinion, I believe our film is not quite up to the standard of the cinema institution and would therefore end up being shown on ITV for example, as they tend to provide the public with dramas. I do not think the idea is creative enough or unique enough to be shown in the cinemas so next time I am creating a film, on order for it to be even more successful I would need to thing of a more imaginative idea. The pros of an unscreen distribution is that it would cost less money to run but the cons of not having it in the cinema are that it would not be as popular, and not make as much money.

The main target audience for our film I think is women, as it has a hint of romance which appeals more to the female audience. The certificate we gave for our film was a '15' as it involved violence. I think the film has potential to appeal to people instead of women as men could also enjoy the violence side to it.

We knew that the elements of our film would appeal to the target audience because of our questionnaire. Through our questionnaire we discovered that the main interest of people was violence and sex, therefore we chose to use both in our film. We wanted to make our audience feel uncomfortable at times and perhaps scared.

Making the film involved me using equipment and software that i have never used in such detail before. For example, the use of the cameras and Adobe Premier Player which helped us to add graphics to our film and allowed us to add a soundtrack but it also created a problem for us whilst editing. Although it did cause problems for us, it made our film appear more professional. We unfortunately lost some our of shots somehow and found it difficult to get them back together again, but we managed to solve the problem by keeping the files together in one folder. The cameras again were quite difficult to use, and the audience picked up on this when in one particular scene there are some 'jerky' shots. Feedback from the audience was that "the graphics and the soundtrack were perfect". We did have a problem with sound during the editing as we lost volume in a few shots. Unfortunatly we were unable to fix this as we just could not understand why it happened and the computer prohibited us from solving it.

I feel my knowledge of filmmaking has improved since our preliminary task (walking through the door). I am now more comfortable using the camera and I can now edit films more confidently and add graphics to certain shots with ease. Also my ideas I feel have developped. Next time I create a film, I would spend more time coming up with a more creative idea and spend more time editing the film so it looked more professional.

brainstorm of content and classification of film

Name: Anna
Cert: 15

Within our group, we decided that the most appropriate certification for the film we could give was a 15. Our reasons for doing so is due to the feedback we received from our questionnaire. The majority of the people in question stated that they watched films of a high certificate such as an 18 but we felt that an 18 would be too high as there were no gory scenes and no hardcore sexual scenes. After studying this, we settled at certificate 15 as the film may contain scenes of a sexual nature and also strong taboo language and death.

After we brainstormed a few ideas of what our thriller film should be about we decided that we should base it around envy. Our main character Anna has a secret admirer who happens to be her best friend Joe. By making the secret obsessive kill her best friend, this adds surprise to the film but he is not revealed until towards the end. We decided this after reviewing Pascal Bonitzers' theory of partial vision, which agains adds suspense to the film.

THE BRITISH BOARD OF FILM CLASSIFICATION
The BBFC says there may be few frequent taboo words allowed in the film. BBFC also allow nudity in a sexual content however it is probhited if it is in strong detail. However allows all nudity in an asexual content. Violence is allowed to be strong however it should not show sexual violence. Dangerous techniques should be discreet for example hanging, self harming and suicide. Strong menance and threat is permitted however it should not show the strongest gory images. Drugs can be shown however we are not allowed to show people taking drugs or promote the use of drugs.

recce and location sheet

The second scene of our film was the first scene that we recorded. This was because all of the appropriate equipment was available to us at the time. The place in which we decided to use was in a back alley-way in Warrington town centre. It was a quiet secluded area so we would be able to shoot without any distractions.

production schedule

Name of film: Anna
Director(s): Sophie Robinson, Natalie Worthington, Megan Lyons, Kimberley Sutcliffe
Location(s): Winmarleigh St; Henry St; Sankey St. (Warrington)
Crew: Kym Sutcliffe Natalie Megan Lyons Natalie Worthington and Sophie Robinson
Equipment: Camera, tripod, tape.
props: Knife, cups, cigarette.
Actors/actresses- Justine Bound; Matthew Hunt and Nathan Foster.

questionnaire

Within our project, we were asked to create a questionnaire to find out what the crucial elements of a thriller film are. The questionnaire is as follows:

Q1 do you think that jealousy is a good enough motive to kill?
Q2 what is your favourite film genre?
Q3 what was the last film you watched? Was it good? Why?
Q4 is there anyone you would do absolutely anything for?
Q5 have you ever been in love? Have you ever had a first love?
Q6 what do you think a thriller should involve?
Q7 are you protective over the things you treasure the most?
Q8 do you prefer films with a twist or do you prefer the film to be in chronological order( basic storyline through out)?

Some of these questions could be deemed ''inappropriate'' as they concern personal matters. For example ''have you ever been in love?'' does not really relate to that of the thrill genre.

audience feedback (questionnaire)

Do you feel the sequence used appropriate soundtrack and soundbridges?

The feedback we received from the audience concerning the soundtrack and soundbridges was quite positive. The audience felt that it was appropriate as it was dramatic.

Do you think the continuity worked well?

Judging by the audience feedback, the continuity worked quite well. For example the match on action show was good as it flowed well together.

Any negative feedback?

The only negative comment was that the shots could have been improved a little as some were quite 'jerky'. For example the panning shots weren't as smooth as they could have been.

Location Sheet
The location we decided to use was Warrington Town Centre near the Pyramid Centre and Par hall. We filmed in a public alley way for two of our scenes and in a house off Winmarleigh Street.