Vox Pops

My group decided to undertake 4 vox pops as part of my research, in order to further my primary reasearch.




Recording the vox pops themselves went very well, we selected a wide range of ages which gave us a variety of opinions from our interviewees.As a result of us completing this task, my group are able to have an understanding of the types of thrillers that each age category are more likely to watch, and what makes it enjoyable to watch. We can identify what thrillers are popular, what an audience expects to see within, and what unique aspects might attract them. All these features help my group in determining what we need to include within our thriller ,to attract an audience with a wide range of ages included.

Preliminary Task

The main purpose of doing the preliminary task was to test our skills for the first time; the idea of what the scene is going to consist of, thinking about particular codes and conventions that assist the scene, selecting the appropriate location, the range of camera shots used, playing a characters role, how well it is performed, editing techniques and so on.

I found this task very interesting as I learnt for the first time, the correct camera settings to be on during certain features of a scene, in order to assist in portraying different emotions. The use of a tripod to keep the camera straight and in focus during a variety of camera shots. I was able to try out the editing program for the first time, and begin to take in what does what; how to join camera shots together without the picture just suddenly jumping to the next.

Groups Preliminary task














I feel completing the preliminary task is going to help me significantly when making my own 2 minute thriller. I felt this way due to the amount I've learnt about the camera when filming, and the editing stages after. This enables my group to blend camera shots to help create our thriller itself. For myself taking on the role of camera operator, it gave me a better understanding of the range of shots you can use, for the scene to flow nicely. This task also helps myself and my team in learning how use different editing features; knowing what does what. Within this preliminary task I feel we could of thought of a better story line, maybe have spent more time planning; making it more dramatic and serious, although I did feel the shots we edited flowed and complimented each other, making it more enjoyable to watch.

Evaluation

Within this evaluation I will be portraying my findings from my research into target audience. The purpose of a target audience in a thriller is to know the boundaries of what can be included, without causing psychologically disturbance within the audience. When targeting a specific age one has to consider abiding by certain legal rules. For example for adults 18 and above real life situations are allowed to be included: swearing, explicit scenes, violence and so on. Where as for a target audience of young children, none of the above is to be included; only unrealistic and happy scenes. Target audience can also help us to develop certain features that that age group expect to see and want, in order to keep them on the edge of their seats as a result of the suspense built.

As a group we carried out a wide range of primary research, therefore having information that is valid and recent, giving us a good understanding of what our audience would like to see in a thriller. We conducted a 10 question questionnaire giving a range of multiple choice answers of which they could choose from, this enabled us to analyse and record our findings in a simple and straight forward format. As a result of doing this questionnaire we were able to find out appropriate information specifically on thrillers.

Within my group we chose to question 40 people, as we felt it was an appropriate number, in order to enable us to get a good variety of opinions through randomly aged individuals, that then came under certain age categories. Due to our group having 4 members, we equally split and were responsible of conducting and interviewing 10 people. We then combined all of our findings, then created pie charts to portray the information clearly, helping us to analyse the statistics and being aware of the demand for the individual elements of a thriller, that want to be shown by certain age groups.

We carried out a series of vox pops to further our primary research. I feel they were very successful due to being easily accessible information that didn't take up too much time. It will assist when planning our thriller, as I know what features different age groups what to see when watching in order to enjoy, therefore their feedback to friends and family are positive and attracts more viewers.

What do you expect to see in thriller films?
Weaponry   Flashbacks  Gore  Death  Other

The question above was taken out from the questionnaire that we carried out, and the graph below shows our results. Our findings show that the biggest percentage consisted of the answer 'Death' and use of iconography of 'Weaponry'. These two seemed to be the most popular, with flashbacks and gore. Within our thriller it will consist of death but minus the gore. Weaponry is not focused on, but we are still planning to include good iconography which could be seen as a good source, but not used in that context. To compensate, we emphasis on portraying a characters flashback.

What characters do you like to watch in a thriller film?
One main character   Group of people   Young girl/boy   Vulnerable woman

This question above was also taken from our groups questionnaire, and results are shown in the form of a pie chart below. Feedback shows that over 20 interviewees choose to watch thrillers which involve a vulnerable woman to play the role of victim. As a group we took this result on board and responded; choosing to feature a vulnerable female, although of a very young age. We collaborated both of the top choices as we felt it was well suited to our thriller.

What colour of clothing do you expect the victim and villain to be wearing?
Black/ grey and white   Blue and pink   Orange and green   Purple and black

Again this question was taken from our questionnaire, and the results are displayed below. The findings from this question were incredible, as we can see a  vast amount of our interviewees can distinguish the difference of clothing worn by a victim and villain; villain wearing black/grey to portray dominance and authority, and the victim wearing white to show innocence. For our group it is important knowing that they have this ability of understanding which characters playing which role, which enable us to use the typical colours with our characters and not have to worry that they will in any way struggle with differentiation.    

As a result of carrying out the two forms of primary information, we were able to as a group find out exactly what our interviewees like to see within a thriller, so that our audience enjoy our two minute thriller that we will soon be making. Having these results enables us to take into consideration and analyse the findings and include any features that we may have missed out, or emphasis on the ones we have that came back as a particularly popular answer, this is all part of fulfilling the audience expectations. 

Pie Charts

As a group we decided to put our newly found primary information into pie charts. We felt this was a clear way of portraying our findings. The results from out questionnaire are shown below:

I decided to create pie charts, as it clearly portrays my findings from my questionnaire. It shows exactly what the audience expects to see within a thriller, what features they find the most interesting/exciting, and what age category they prefer to watch. As a result my group and I were able to critically analyse our findings with ease, without any added complications.

Questionnaire

1) What gender are you?

    Male     Female

 

2) How old are?
 

    12-15     16-18     19+

3) Which age certificate for a thriller film do you prefer to watch?

 

    12    12A    15     18

 

4) What made you want to watch a thriller film?
 

    Tv advertisements     Recommendation    Posters      Other

5) What do you expect to see in thriller films?

    Weaponry     Flash backs     Gore     Death     Other

6) What type of sound would you expect to hear in a thriller?

 Tension building     Horror sounds     sound effects      other
 
7) What characters do you like to watch in a thriller film?

    One main character    Group of people    Young girl/boy   Vulnerable woman    

8) What do you find shocking in a thriller film?

 

    Types of characters     Plot      Iconography (props)      

 

9) Do you know the common plot for a thriller?

 

   Yes    No

10) What colour of clothing do you expect the victim and villain to be wearing?

Black/Grey and white      Blue and pink     Orange and green        Purple and black 


Questionnaire Information
The questions within a questionnaire have to relate to the task, and be useful information that will potentially help you within the project. For example within my questionnaire is asked 'What do you expect to in thriller films?', along with this I gave 5 options in which individuals could choose from. This question directly relates to my focus of 'thriller films'. It helps he find out generally what features dominate thrillers and what audiences pick up on the most. I chose within my group to question 40 people to collect information for my survey, as I felt that it is a reasonable number to get enough of a variety of opinions from randomly aged individuals. Fairly as there are 4 members in our group, we decided to be responsible for surveying 10 people each. This task is beneficial as it shows that we have undertaken primary research, that is valid and recent, which gives us a good understanding of what people today like in thrillers.

Narrative Theory

Vladimir Propp's Theory

In Propp's theory he believes a narrative is not important within a film, he feels the characters have a narrative function that provide structure for a text.

•The Hero – a character that seeks something
•The Villain – who opposes or actively blocks the hero’s quest
•The Donor – who provides an object with magical properties
•The Dispatcher – who sends the hero on his/her quest via a message
•The False Hero – who disrupts the hero’s success by making false claims
•The Helper – who aids the hero
•The Princess – acts as the reward for the hero and the object of the villain’s plots
•Her Father – who acts to reward the hero for his effort

This narrative doesn't apply to all narratives, usually related to fairy tales based around an adventure. A prime example for this is Shrek. 

Tzvetan Todorov's Theory

In Todorov's theory he believes that a characters aren't important, as he believes a film should be focused around an equilibrium and disequilibrium within an narrative, in order to give a more complex interpretation of film texts. 

This theory follows a specific guideline of starting of with an equilibrium; happy, normal scene that is then followed by the disequilibrium; something bad happens and caused disruption. In recognition of this occurance the narrative is driven to attempt to repair the disorderly interruption.  As a result a new equilibrium is created by the end of the narrative, but does not match the original. 

Aristotle's Theory

Aristotle believes all that is needed within a film is themes. Headings that are frequently used by producers and screenwriters that are similar to Aristoles himself are:

• Inciting incident
• Dramatic question
• Character goal
• Antagonist/protagonist
• Stakes
• Resolution
• Sympathy/empathy

Aristotle was most famous for his unities of time, place and action with his most complete analysis of tragedy, that is now the basis of most serious drama.

Which theory relates to my narrative?
My thriller opening relates most to Tzvetan Todorov's theory; the theory that states a film should be focused around an equilibrium and disequilibrium. I feel this suits my thriller as the story relates; a child innocently walking her dog (equilibrium) to suddenly being attacked and murdered (disequilibrium).

Group Narrative

Groups Members:
Jenna Van Bergen

Ruby de-Gallerie

Sam Pearl

Sam's idea: 

The beginning may start with an obscured chase scene with the male chasing the female. She may hide and think the male has disappeared but he appears behind her and abducts her and takes her to a room that is abandoned/alone. The man goes downstairs to make a cup of tea. The girl is unconscious and wakes up in the room that has pictures of her all over the walls. She can then hear him walking back up the stairs and each footstep is more and more defined. Then then the door may fly open and it will end.

ADVANTAGES: Easy to obtain.

DISADVANTAGES: Too cliche.

Ruby's idea:

The beginning of my thriller will start with two girls walking there dog in a forest in a small town, however hours before a murderer has just escaped from prison and was last spotted by the forest the girls are walking their dogs. whilst on the walk the murderer comes up and takes the girls to a deserted house basement and torches the girls. The murderer leaves the basement and the girls are left. one of the girls has a key in her pocket which she uses to cut through the thin rope slightly to eventually pull it apart. Both girls struggle toward the front door where the murderer is close by. one girl manages to run out of the door but the other one is too weak. As the girl is running away she hears the gunshot of her friend being killed.

ADVANTAGES: Easy to carry out.

DISADVANTAGES: Unlikey features.

My idea:

Grandmother sitting her granddaughter down and telling the story of her mothers disappearance as she begins to wonder what happened to her when she was 8. A traumatic experience that was never understood as a child and her curiosity kicks in as she starts to question. A video of her mother happily playing with their pet at the crime scene as a young girl herself. Flashback of one mid-evening dog walk the grandmother and mother in their well known fields, a strange appearance of a farmers tractor parked randomly. To avoid they enter the woody section and noises from unknown locations causes confusion and the mother is taken from behind, as her mother tries desperately to get her back but it unable to. Police are called and she is never found.

ADVANTAGES: Detailed, expanded story line.

DISADVANTAGES: We wont be able to include all elements e.g tractor within her ideas.

Group Idea

Mother sitting down gazing into a photo of her daughter. This is followed by a flashback of the mothers memories; the events that occurred on the day of her daughter disappearance. The flashback consists of her daughter in white clothing, walking their dog in the fields down the road from their house. She comes across clothing with blood on it, with a knife beside. Deciding to redirect her route, she enters the dark forest. The fact that she goes from high light to low light  forebodes that something bad is to come from this decision. Sounds are heard from an unknown direction and she panics, the dog is released and Ruby, the daughter begins to run, then stops to phone her mum. During this occurrence she is taken from behind and is dragged through the forest. The mother picks up the phone call and hears screaming. Immediately she goes to find Ruby. Ruby is shown to be dead and the villain, wearing dark clothing turns off the torch that she let go of when being dragged. This portrays to the audience that he is covering up the evidence. This is the final shot that puts an end the thriller as it creates an enigma. The fact that the victim and villain are in conventional clothing colours gives a clear differentiation of who is who. The variety of shots used to show the representation of the character match their role; victim is often shown a a high angle to make her seem small and vulnerable. The villain when passing through the trees is shown at a low angle, so that it makes him seem like the dominating character. The location is isolated therefore making it conventional as the victim can not be heard.

This narrative builds a relationship with my target audience as it connects to the conventions of the age category 15 thriller. The fact that the victim and villain are in conventional clothing colours gives a clear differentiation of who is who. The variety of shots used to show the representation of the character match their role; victim is often shown at a high angle to make her seem small and vulnerable. The villain when passing through the trees is shown at a low angle, so that it makes him seem like the dominating character. The location is isolated therefore making it conventional as the victim can not be heard.