Evaluation Task 5: How did you attract/address your audience?

Pleasures our target audience can take from our opening Sequence:

Genre

Our Thriller is a psychological thriller therefore attract people who like the unknown aspect of the sequence and the questioning of what is going to happen next. Psychological thrillers often incorporate elements from the mystery genre as well and feature intense action in the plot as well as in the characters' minds so people would enjoy the mysteriousness of our opening.

Narrative

The whole concept in the opening is about an Indie rock band rehearsing therefore men into this genre of music would really enjoy it. Woman who are interested in this genre would enjoy it as well but mainly the men domain as they dominate the rock industry. The story of Max getting beaten up unexpectedly would attract males as they normally enjoy violence in films more. Also the fight scenes that would be in the actual film would interest males as they think they are cool and interesting, adding some tension and drama.

Characters

The characters are in their teens and boys so people from the teen age bracket could relate to them and would enjoy watching boys their own age. Males may think the characters are cool and hip, maybe even some inspiration for them as they are talented, good looking and stylish. Females may be attracted to their looks and therefore enjoy watching them in the film. The attacker could be seen as scary and someone who brings tension to the opening therefore could be liked by males as they like this aspect. Females generally prefer the lighter hearted films however they would like the way our opening has a little cliff hanger and leave the audience wondering.

Social Groups

The indie rock band vibe and the characters involve all adhere to the stereotype and this is what we hoped for. They all dress and act stereotypically. Therefore males into music and rock vibe would enjoy the opening, technically speaking. Moreover, they are all young therefore Max comes across as even more vulnerable when getting beaten up but the attacker. People would feel sympathy for him and connect with him as a character if they have the same interest.

Titles

We had limited titles in the opening as we believed the titles would distract from everything else going on, like the music practising and the unexpected beating. Therefore we put the two very important titles at the beginning and then the title at the end. We displayed them in an interesting font that pushed on the 'cool' music side of it and was quite effective; it was a modern type font. We also made them white to stand out and so that the companies and title could be easily noted. The company could be a pre sold element, if the film were to have the right budget for it, therefore it needs to be noticeable in the titles. The actors names could also be however, as I mentioned, we didn't want to show them. On the same token, the title comes up shaking slightly when the shot cuts to black at the end of the opening and this adds to the mysteriousness of it and suspension. It also makes the audience feel slightly distorted.

Editing/ Film Style

We used fast paced shots and a lot of movement in the music practice section so that the shots could flow with the music and it just makes the opening a lot more exciting. We cut to closeups of the musicians faces and instruments so that the audience could clearly see whats going on and highlight the grungy parts of the seen, setting the film. It makes the opening seem a bit like a music video, and they generally aim to make the song even more impressive by adding an effective music video with cool shots and colours. We were sort of aiming for this but less false as we had in mind it was a practise and there needed to be some sort of dullness to it. The shot looking at the phone got the point of view of Max and it worked because the audience would've liked that feeling of fear Max would've felt. Moreover, when shooting from behind the two characters at the end, Max and the attacker, tension would've been built as there is dramatic irony at that point and the over shoulder shot shows this. Max's vulnerability is at it's highest point and the audience would have sympathy for him.

Conventions 

We used quick cuts, tension and fast pace shots in the music practise bit. We also used loud rocky music which made the film seem a bit darker. The quick shots also built up the suspense and pace of the opening. When Max goes outside, the audience have no idea what is going to happen then the minute the shot of the attacker comes on, the eery deep music is playing and then audience can feel the suspense rising and know something is going to happen; it's very mysterious. However, they don't know why and what Max has done. They just see the baseball bat draw behind Max's head and they wait for the hit but there is a black out and then the distorted title comes on.