Research: Results (Miss Begum)

Results:

It is important to get and analyse feedback as it contributes to the making of my thriller and my results will give me a clear understanding of what my audience wants to see.

My results...

Conclusion:

These results have been beneficial because it has made clear what the audience prefer and dislike. By having these results ensures that I will be able to please my audience once my thriller has been created and they will be satisfied. I plan to use everything my audience has stated and avoid the things they disliked. 

Research: Questionnaires (Miss Begum)

Questionnaires:

Questionnaires are primary research in which helps gather information from the public on your chosen topic. Primary research is important because it is your own research that you have conducted and will be reliable because you're not trusting someone else's information.

Advantages of questionnaires:

• Practical - Large amounts of information can be collected from a large number of people in a short period of time. 
• Cheap - Questionnaires are cheap to create and also hand out which then makes it easier to get  information.
• Easy for people to fill out and hand back without difficulty.

Disadvantages of questionnaires:

• No way the researcher can be 100% sure that the public have answered truthfully which may affect results. 
• People may read differently into each question and therefore reply based on their own interpretation on a question. For example, what is good to someone may be poor to someone else also affecting results.

For my research I asked 20 people in a variety of age groups, from below 10 to 26+. This gave me a wide range of people I could gather information from. I also asked people from different genders and different occupations such as student, employed, unemployed and retired to give me a wide range of opinions. The most relevant feedback was from the students as they are the age group who tend to watch more thriller films as it engages them more. 

 My questionnaire...

Name:

Age:    Below 10     10-15    16-21    21-26    26+

Gender:   Female    Male

Occupation:  Student   Employed   Unemployed   Retired 

1) What attracts you to thrillers the most?

    ....................................................................................

    ....................................................................................

2) Would you be interested in a psychological thriller?

                     Yes                 No 

3)  What scares you the most in thrillers?

    Ghosts        Zombies      Possessed children     Extreme violence     Deaths 

4)  Does the idea of supernatural attract you to thrillers, or realistic themes?

                          Supernatural        Reality

5) Would you prefer to watch characters that are students or families?
                             Students      Families 

6) What sub-genres are you most attracted to in thrillers?

                Psychological    Crime    Action    Sci-fi 

7) Should the story line be obvious or unexpected?

         Obvious        Unexpected 

8) What’s the best thriller you've seen based on realistic ideas?

    .....................................................................................................

    ..................................................................................................... 

9) Should the protagonist in a thriller film be male or female?

                            Male       Female 

10) Do you prefer films that have an anti-hero like “Batman” or films that victims have to save            themselves like “Saw”?

                        Hero      Victim 

11)   What’s your favorite themes in thrillers?

  Death   Envy   Obsession    Religion    Revenge  

12) What setting is the most suitable for a psychological thriller? Please state two.

      ...........................................................................................

      ...........................................................................................

     13) What settings would be suitable for a thriller in general?

            ...............................................................................................

            ...............................................................................................

     14) Should the antagonist be male or female?

                         Male    Female 

15) Do moments of silence in a thriller film build tension for the audience?

                       Yes     No 

16)  From the title, which thriller attracts you the most?

 Identity       Silence of the Lambs       I Spit On Your Grave       Scream      Human Centipede 

17) What thriller characters do you recognise?

                  Jason      Joker      Jigsaw        John Doe 

18) What lighting do you think should be used in thrillers?

                      Dark   Light

19) What’s the first thing you look for when watching a thriller?

                  Problems/Conflict      Dark settings     Action    Tension    

20) What ideas would you like to see in a new thriller film? Please state 3.

      .......................................................................................

      .......................................................................................

21) Should the antagonist be wearing a cloak?

                       Yes            No 

22) Which of these typographies would suit a thriller film?

Thriller

Thriller

Thriller

Thriller

Conclusion:

From making this questionnaire it will make it much more easier to plan my thriller. By asking specific questions such as "Do moments of silence in thriller films build tension for the audience?" helps as I will know exactly whether to use music or leave silences to create suspense. These specific questions will make my final product better and more satisfying for my audience.

Research: Typography (Mr Smith)

Typography:

Typography is how the writing is presented to the audience. When analysing typography the elements are style, size, letter case, and colour.

-The typography for Disney films are usually italic, bold, and bubbly. By looking at the "Cinderella" title it is clear that the film is quite feminine from the italic effect and star on top of the letter i.



-Romantic films are similar to Disney films. A typical romantic typography would usually be italic. The film "PS I love you" is almost looking like it is written in a girls handwriting as it looks delicate. Also, the colour red suggests the love and passion.



-Comedy films typography's are usually much more fun looking. "The Hangover" title is what someone would use if there was a show about to take place in a theatre. This suggests that the film is going to be lively and dramatic. Also, the shininess and how lit up the letters are suggest the comedy theme.

Typography in thrillers...

-The typography in "A nightmare on elm street" gives off the thriller genre as the first look you take suggests how unpleasant it will be. This is because of certain factors such as the colour. The colour red suggests the blood or the violence that will be featured in this movie. Also, the font is written very sharp and in capitals suggesting seriousness. There is also messy red patches which could also highlight blood and death. The word "a" and "on" are written in a smaller font whilst the word "nightmare" is a bit bigger and "elm street" is the biggest. This suggests that the director wanted to emphasis "nightmare" to highlight that it is thriller themed and also emphasis "elm street" as this is the targeted area in the film. Also, the title is positioned in the center of the plain black background so it is eye grabbing for the audience.




-The typography in "Insidious" also gives of the thriller genre impression due to certain elements. This title is also red suggesting danger. The font of the writing is quite sharp and the arrows on the end of the i's suggest threat and brutality to the audience. There is also messy red patches around the title similar to "A nightmare on elm street" creating the disturbing atmosphere for the audience. The font size of this title is quite big and takes up most of the room on the plain black background. It is clear the director wanted to make the title big, bold, and in capital letters in order to attract the audience.

-The typography in "Saw" also gives off the thriller genre due to the edgy atmosphere it gives off and how disturbing it looks. This firstly is because of the title which is written in black highlighting a theme of death. The writing is quite messy and there are random lines being drawn across which also gives a messy look and the title takes up the whole screen suggesting how the director wanted it to stand out. All the letters are different sizes with "w" being the biggest, giving off an alarming and unsettling atmosphere.

Conclusion: 

In my thriller I plan to use typography similar to the films "Nightmare on elm street", "Insidious", and "Saw". This is because all three create a daunting atmosphere and follow the conventions of a thriller. Personally, I would like to use the font which is used in the thriller film "se7en." This is because I like the shadow effect as it creates a daunting atmosphere for the audience and I also like that the title's colour is white, which is different and unique. This will help me ensure I grasp my audience's attention. 

Research: Opening Credits (Mr Smith)

Opening credits are written information presented to the audience on who produced the film, who is starring in the films and other production roles. The purpose of opening credits are that they are effective in thrillers when accompanied by sound to create tension and fear. Also, it is essential information that helps to connect with the audience so they learn more about the production of the film.

Order of appearance:

• name of studio
• name of production company
• producers name
• directors name
• starring
• films title
• edited by
• music or music composed by
• storyboard by

Audience's response: 
Opening credits are there for the audience to know exactly who was apart of making the film and who is playing in it. This just creates a closer link from the audience to the film as they know exactly what they are watching. Opening credits also give a chance for the audience to take some time before the film to learn and identify what role each person is responsible for. Apart from the directors name, the opening credits tend to go in order allowing the audience to know the most important roles. The audience's response to opening credits are different in each genre. For example, if the audience is watching a romantic film then the opening credits would usually have up beat and happy music and mostly high-key lighting throughout effecting them in a positive way. However, in thriller films the opening credits tend to be more low-key lighting with intense or disturbing music throughout effecting the audience in a more negative way. This allows the audience to understand exactly what genre they are watching immediately and get in the mood for the film.

Thriller scene analysis...

In "Insidious" the opening credits firstly state the production company, a film by, the title, actors/actresses names, costume director, music by, edited by, production designer, director of photography, line producer, co-produced by, executive producer, produced by, written by and lastly directed by. Every thriller film is different which is why the order of appearance may differ, however, they will all include the same credits. It is clear that in this thriller the directors name is mentioned twice. This tends to happen in films as it is the most important part of the credits to express to the audience. Credits are usually included to highlight to the audience who exactly was apart of this film which brings the audience closer to understanding the film.

Conclusion:

In my thriller I plan to include all opening credits as it is important to inform the audience on who exactly is making the film. As opening credits can create a certain atmosphere for the audience I hope to follow the conventions of a thriller film opening credits with low-key lighting, disturbing music and dark colours like black, red and navy.