Question 5

Q5. How did you attract/address your audience?

Audience’s Expectations by Bradley Waterhouse

For some research into our target audiences and what they expect from our thriller, we decided to carry out a Vox-Pop for a personal insight straight from the people. We learned that our audience expected, primarily, tension and enigmas. Commonly used examples were 'Quantum of Solace', 'Se7en' and 'Fast and Furious 7'. Each of their openings set the scene but also create many enigmas to be answered later on, which is a convention the audience expect from our thriller. In particular, it was highlighted from Fast and Furious 7 that there needs to be 'some enigmas, points of interest and overall something that will interest'. What is meant by this is that we should highlight key props or locations, using framing, clever camerawork and effective miss-en-scene. In doing this we are expected to create enigmas in highlighting these 'points of interest'.

The first image I have selected is one of the opening shots, of our character in empty field land taking a single road. This already creates enigmas, which is what the audience desire. It leaves the audience wondering where he is going, why he is going that way and possibly what will come of him. We used a younger character to attract younger audiences but offered a plot that was also relative to an open variety of audiences.

We used a long shot to set the scene of and convey how alone the character is and establish the surroundings, we have also edited the filter of the image ever so slightly to show that it is a flashback to show how the character/victim got to be where he is later on since flashbacks and breaks from chronological order are conventional in thrillers.

Due to feedback from one of our Vox Pops we saw that long shots and extreme long shots are conventionally used to establish the setting in thrillers. An example being the opening of Se7en as it shows New York skyscrapers and city life, or more closely related The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and the rural farmland that stretches endlessly. We believed we attracted the audience perfectly with the use of this shot.

The next shot is a close up of the weapons table, being menacingly overlooked by our antagonist. We wished to capture shots of them being almost entertained by the selection of atrocious tools of torture and express a more improvised make-do-and-mend style of method with the use of workmen’s tools. We included a pistol, crossbow and knife to portray imminent death and express that there is a possibility of it. With this tense thought running through the head of the viewer we know that we attracted them well by capturing a psychopathic, and psychological introduction of torture.

There is no filter on the shot to show that it is now present time, and we have broken chronological order since at this point we still have not shown how the victim got there. This was mentioned as a response for Fast and Furious 7 regarding enigmas based on situation. A common answer in our Vox Pop was wondering how events transpired during the opening of Fast and Furious 7 so we formulised our own psychological style scenario based off that response.

Next, in my opinion a shot of a weapon closely held to the victim leaves the viewer on the edge of their seat instantly making them want more. At this point we didn’t gain inspiration from any specific film but actually used a cliché that we knew we could effectively use. In any tense thriller, gore or slasher movie a victim is always held face to face with the killer’s trademark weapon, or any lethal weapon that makes the viewer believe the victim is right about to die. Instead of carrying on the cliché and merely killing the victim off, we came to the mutual decision that the viewer will feel almost teased by the use of a close-up to capture both weapon contact and reaction. We asked a number of members of our year group and a common answer was prolonging the tension and teasing the viewer amounts to a better reaction to a conclusion since they want it more.

At this point our selected music begins to climax, and percussion begins to fill out the track and show that this scene is a tense one. Our intent was to leave the viewer panicking and wondering if the character was going to die, whilst being increasingly pressured and unnerved by the music.

Next we show an out of focus long shot of the victim walking away in the distance, focusing on the antagonist stepping in wielding a bat. At this point the music begins to pick up and increase in pace, adding to the already tense atmosphere. This is where we let the viewer know that it will be revealed as to how the victim got into the scene of torture and begin answering all of the enigmas the viewer has been anticipating. Since we put a blunt object in the frame and do not increase the tension of the music, death is not implied so our audience don’t get confused. This is the part we believe hooks our target audience most since it is exactly what they want in terms of a conventional thriller, it creates and answers enigmas, the music matches the action, it is tense enough for them to be asking for more and most importantly isn’t too cliché in the manner of which we filmed. It has the potential to attract the diverse audience in which we intended it to by merely being a traditional, tense and conventional psychological thriller.

Our final shot of the film is a complete match on action sound, as the bat drops there is a screech of some sort. Not only does this signify the end but also this is the part that implies major physical harm or even death. It is an effective cliffhanger that leaves the viewer with only one question ‘did the victim survive?’ The answer to this question will of course not be revealed which, as stated, leaves the viewer desiring more of the film to answer it. This means we gave the audience exactly what they asked for in terms of atmosphere, enigmas and conventions and that we successfully attracted our intended audience. Towards the end of the film we favoured close-ups, POV shots, over the shoulder shots and even the select few distorted and out of focus shots that add to the tension marginally. As the pace of the music increased at the end we formed a sort of montage or compilation of the torturer examining his tools and teasing his victim, tempting him into death and giving in. That is where we took a hold of our target in unnerving the viewer.