Research

Thriller Genre Conventions

 



This is a mind map to show the different key conventions that are in the Thriller Genre. I looked into the technical features, props, costumes, narrative, characters, settings and theme to provide an in depth analysis of what I personally believe is a key convention to make a Thriller movie.

 

In conclusion I have found the most important features that are consisted in a typical thriller genre film. In my own production I will need to have key concepts; whilst also making sure that i use my own concepets and ideas of what I feel needs to be in a thriller. By having that my thriller opening will both suprise and have parts that the audeince will expect to see. This will entice the audeince and draw them in to what is happening.

Representation of Characters in the Thriller Genre



I did research into how men and women are portrayed in thriller movies. I looked at Norma from 'The Box' and Arthur from 'The Box.' I looked into how the two characters start off and how they grow and adapt to become the stereotypical characters that the audience expect to see. I then looked at Teddy Daniels from 'Shutter Island' I looked at how he fitted in with the representation of men and if he contradicted or reinforced the stereotype of me. Then finally I looked at a film called 'Crave.' I looked at the two main characters which were Aiden and Virginia. I looked at how Virginia fitted in with the theory that all women are just objects of sex and looked to see if she was more than just a pretty face. With Aiden I looked to see whether he fit the stereotype of men and how they should behave.
By doing this research I am able to learn and understand how different characters should behave in the Thriller genre. I found that sometimes women are shown as more than just an object of sex and can be shown to be strong and in some cases stronger than men. I found that in most films I looked at that Men fit the stereotype that they have always been give which was strong, brave etc./. This task helped me to understand and give me an idea of how and what I would like my character's to behave like and whether or not I wanted them to follow or contradict a stereotype.

 In conclusion to doing this task I have been able to clearly identify and find out that Women are most of the time shown as an object or symbol of sex. Therefore they are shown as weak and easy. Men are shown as powerful and superior to Women with Women being Inferior to Men. I think that when it comes to making my own Opening Sequence I don't want to stick to the stereotypes that have been set in stone because I feel that these stereotypes are not all that true. Therefore I want to contradict them and make my own stereotypes for my own Thriller opening sequence.  

Representation

A representation is the way in which the media are able to present a character/scenario. It is the way that something is presented and conveyed. It is used to make the audience feel a certain way. A representation and stereotype is a way of easily being able to know what a certain group are like.

In this task I will be analysing how men and women are represented in the thriller genre. I will be thoroughly going in depth into the different ways that men and women, are shown and portrayed in the thriller genre.

                I need to know how certain types of people for examples genders are portrayed and represented so that I am able to show that in my opening sequence. By knowing that I am able to show the audience a specific character which they will be able to relate to as they would have seen someone much like them. This makes it easier for the audience to understand the character and will entice them as they will want to know what happens. Representation is very important when it comes to this because it will help show the audience how a specific person is. For example in thriller movies blonde females are perceived to be a dumb bimbo who is weak. This is a representation on women who are blonde in a thriller movie. Another representation that happens in Thriller movies is of men that they are always seen as strong. This is a stereotype and representation that the media has portrayed onto them.

The media use representation to influence their audience. For example they write articles about celebrities they could be slating them (most likely) and tis would influence everyone’s opinion on that particular person. Therefore the media have been able to change that person’s representation of someone or something. This is a powerful technique as the audience are always changing their perception on how they feel on someone or something due to the Medias representation.



 

Theories

 

I am researching whether Toderov’s , Propp and levi-Strauss’s theories fit with the thriller genre. I will be talking about how each theory either fits or doesn’t fit with the specific film that I have chosen which is ‘Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes.’ I’m researching this so that I am able to apply what I learn into my own opening to my thriller movie.

TodeRov –

In Toderov’s theory he explains that each film will follow the same narrative in which there will be a initial equilibrium such as the person or apes in this case are living a normal life. They then have a disequilibrium in which the apes peaceful home in which they live in away from all of the humans is interrupted. A human finds the apes and therefore the apes now have a problem because the humans have found where they are. The next thing that should happen in Toderov’s theory is that there should be a taking action to stop that disequilibrium and repair the situation. In this movie the apes take action by going after the humans and capturing some, whilst going to civilization to attack the rest. Although this is the apes taking action they are also overcoming the disequilibrium but making a new disequilibrium. Then finally there should be a new equilibrium which ends up happier. In this case

Propp –

Propp says that we can see particular character types. For example in each film there should be a protagonist and antagonist. They should also have a princess. In this case in the film that I am looking at you can clearly see the ‘Princess’ as she is the only female in the group in the group that find the apes. In Propp’s theory in the end of the film the protagonist should get the princess and they should live a happy life. He also says that in a film you have the sidekick. This is in every movie because the protagonist always needs someone to have their back. This movie is the same as the protagonist has his trusty sidekick who helps him to the end.  Then you have the less important characters that aren’t shown as much but whether or not the audience notice they are there. These characters include ‘The Donor’ who helps guide the protagonist through their journey. This is an essential character to a story as they are the way that the protagonist is able to progress through their adventure. This character is applicable in my film that I have picked as in the movie a scientist is used to help show the protagonist what to do.

Levi Strauss –

In this film this theory can be applied because there is a fine line between love and hate. In the movie the apes love each other and love their lives that they are living. When the humans appear they hate them for intruding in their land. As the audience we are able to understand the hate because we are able to understand that it is the opposite of love. If it wasn’t different then the apes would have acted completely different to the humans the first time that they saw them. This shows the binary oppositions between love and hate. This is essential for this movie as we need to see the opposition between good and evil throughout to understand what is happening during the film. This is essential to a film so that they story is able to unfold.

Conclusion –

In conclusion I feel that Toderov’s theory is the most relatable to the film that I have chosen because I am able to clearly identify the equilibrium etc. This is due to the fact that every film follows this basis therefore it is the easiest one to pick out. I would have to follow this basic structure in my opening so that I am able to follow the structure that is set in stone. By following this structure I am able to make sure that my audience know what will happen next.

 

BBFC (British Board Of Film Classification)

 

 

Title Sequence Timeline

 



Audience Profile

 



 


A target audience is the specific age range, gender, socio-economic grouping, psychographic grouping etc. that as a film producer and distributer I would want to try and sell my product to. A target audience is important so that I am able to easily choose certain elements to put in so that the target audience will like it and want to buy it.

I decided that I would want my opening sequence to appeal to both male and females. This way I will be able make sure that I am able to sell the product that I want to. I decided that the age range should be between 15 and 30. By having a fifteen year gap between the two ages I am able to use conventions that the older audience would like, whilst also including newer conventions in order to entice my audience. I feel that appealing to the younger adult audience that I am able to get my audience to relate to the people who will be in my production. I want to use actors/people who are within the age of 15-30. By having people of this age I feel that I am able to easily get people of the similar age to like the film or feel like they would want to watch it.

I think that mainly most of my views or uses of my product will come from people whom are in school, college or studying in University. I want to appeal mainly to this audience as they are the younger audience members of my target audience. I think that these people would be the ones who are the most likely to be the ones who would watch my film. These types of people would listen to current music and would like to spend lots of time with their friends and would use social networking and technology a lot. I feel that because this era teens are so heavily influenced by the media that by promoting my film on a social media site or by making a trailer to go on Youtube for example. I am able to appeal to them due to the fact that they would be seeing it. Although that some older people use Youtube or technology as well I know that I would be mainly targeting the younger audience members.

I want to appeal to the UK mainly due to the fact that the film will be filmed in the UK. So therefore I would expect my main demographic views to come from the UK. However I would also like to appeal to the rest of Europe. I want my film to appeal here so that I am able to have a broad region in which I would like or my film to be seen. Possibly my second biggest market that I would expect my film to be popular in the USA. I would want to appeal in America due to it having a huge influence over the film industry and would be a crucial area for if I wanted my film to be successful.

 

Title Sequence TimeLine

 

 This is my timeline for the opening sequence for Juno. I watched the opening sequence and then created this timeline of the events that happen in it so things such as when the names appear and what they say. This has helped me to realise what I need to include when I come to making my own title sequence.

 

 

 

In conclusion from doing this task I have found that in an opening sequence there is a lot of things that need to be included. It also helped me to analyse how many different people there are that go into making a film, such as the director, producer costumes etc. The reason for having a title opening sequence is so that everyone how is in the film or had an input into helping with it gets recognition for what they have done. In my opening sequence I would like my names and things to stand out so that everyone who has helped has a chance to have recognition for what they have done.

Film Institutions

 

Conclusion-
 

In conclusion I feel that for my film it would be best for me to use funding from the BFI. I feel this because when I look at most of the other institutions they want me to produce a film which will benefit them. However I would rather make a film that I am passionate for. Therefore I feel that by asking for funding from the BFI I am more likely to be able to produce the film that I have an innovative idea for. Although the BFI have strict guidelines to follow I still feel that I would be able to complete those guidelines as I would want to have most of those things sorted before I went and asked for funding anyway. I feel that the more you have planned and the more developed your idea is the more likely you are to receive funding and it would also make your idea stand out more against other people’s ideas.  Another reason why I feel that they are the best institution for me is the fact that they are the biggest public film fund in the UK.  This would help me appeal to my target audience due to the fact that my audience is mainly the UK.  Therefore the BFI is the best institution for me to get to fund my film.

Film Distribution

Film Distribution is the selling and marketing of a film.  It is the process in which a company tries to sell a product in order to achieve a profit.  In order to e babel to distribute this company’s sell and advertise the product so that they are able to achieve the profit that they set out to achieve. They advertise the product by using websites such as social media in order for them to appeal to a younger generation due to the fact that the younger generation use social media. This is a specific way in which they are able to market an audience type.  The distributers want to be able to find the best way to target the audience so that the can receive the highest amount of profit possible. This way the producers are able to see that they have successfully been able to appeal to the target audience that they want to.

In my film I feel that for my target audience (15-30) it would be best for me to distribute my film through social media. Social media advertising is advertising that occurs on social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook. I feel that social media is one of the world’s largest websites and I know that if I advertise on there that people will see it. Henceforth why it would be the best place for me to advertise due to the fact that lots of younger people (teenagers) use social media so I would easily be able to target them. Although I know that there are other ways to distribute my film I feel that I would be able to make the most profit if I advertise my film on social media.  I also want to publish my film onto DVD’s so that I am able to achieve maximum profit capability. I know that in this day and age people don’t buy as many films/DVD as they did a few years ago due to things such as piracy now becoming a much bigger industry which would mean that I wouldn’t be able to sell as many copies as I would hope to. However by selling DVD I am able to show my film in Cinemas which means that my profit capacity increases.

Auidence Focus Group

I asked Lauren, Jack, Ameera and Sophia to take part in our focus group for our audience feedback I asked them questions about our idea for our thriller opening sequence and in turn they responded. Becky then took another group of people out which consisted of Beth and Holly and asked them similar questions and they responded. This piece of research is crucial to our group because then we are able to know that our target audience like our idea, thus meaning that we know that we are appealing to our target audience.

Thriller Film Market Analysis

 

This is my research into the thriller film. In this piece of work I look at what films are successful and how much gross profit the thriller genre made in the year 2012. This task is essential to be able to make sure that my idea will fit in with the ideas already cemented with the thriller genre. It also shows me which films are more successful and what works and what doesn’t giving me an idea for my opening sequence.