Target Audience For Our Thriller Opening

By Joseph Cocklin

Our thriller opening is a psychological thriller, this type of movie would attract a certain type of audience. From researching other psychological thrillers such as:

Seven

This thriller portrays the exploits of a deranged serial-killer. His twisted agenda involves choosing seven victims who represent egregious examples of transgressions of each of the Seven Deadly Sins. He then views himself as akin to the Sword of God, handing out horrific punishment to these sinners. Two cops, an experienced veteran of the streets who is about to retire and the ambitious young homicide detective hired to replace him, team up to capture the perpetrator of these gruesome killings. Unfortunately, they too become ensnared in his diabolical plan.

Memento

Memento chronicles two separate stories of Leonard, an ex-insurance investigator who can no longer build new memories, as he attempts to find the murderer of his wife, which is the last thing he remembers. One story line movies forward in time while the other tells the story backwards revealing more each time.

Silence of the lambs

Clarice Starling, a young intelligent FBI trainee, has been sent to the Batlimore state hospital for the Criminally insane to interview an inmate Dr. Hannibal – the cannibal – Lecter. A brilliant and renowned psychiatrist turned serial killer. She must match wits with Lecter to gain clues in the search for “Buffalo Bill” – an unknown psychopathic serial killer.

All of these following three films have certificates of fifteen to eighteen. Seeing as our thriller movie has content of a young girl being stalked by a older man, and content which is not suitable for young children, I would say our certificate would be round about the same as the other movies fifteen to eighteen. I would see adults watching this type of movie as it has mature themes and will be testing the audience's intelligence with the plot and they will have to have a open mind watching the movie.

Shot List -Thriller Film Opening Sequence

SHOT LIST- THRILLER FILM OPENING SEQUENCE



1. CU radio (hear static noise at first, fades to music playing)

2. MS young woman drying her hair

3. MS of the dressing table, pan to show her putting on lipstick

4. Multiple on-screen shot-
*left half of screen~ woman standing in front of her wadrobe, opens it
*top right of screen~ CU of glass of wine
*bottom right of screen~ MS of her makeup scattered on the table

5. Bird's eye shot- woman getting her shoes on

6. Worm's eye shot- of her feet, leaving the room from the gap in her door (she goes out of shot, light turns off, door slams)

7. CU of clock ticking

8. ECU of scattered makeup

9. LS of kitchen, hear the tap dripping, see the flash of car lights going past window

10. Low angle shot from the banister at bottom of stairs (hear scratching, the door opens, shadow of man is seen)

11. ECU light switch, light comes on

12. MS (from doorway, looking at the man's back) man walks to kitchen

13. LS establishing the kitchen

14. MCU him putting gloves on

15. CU of him dragging his finger along the worktop

16. POV checking his fingers for dirt

17. MS (side on) opens fridge, slowly reaches in

18. (cut to) Over the shoulder shot, him reaching into the drawer for knife

19. MS (side on) him lifting up the knife- it shines slightly in the light

20. Bird's eye shot of the knife cutting grapefruit, he puts his fingers in the juice, lifts hand to mouth

21. ECU (slow motion) wiping the juice from his mouth

22. MS he throws the gloves into the bin

23. Low angle MLS- his legs are seen as he goes up the stairs

24. MS from the gap in her bedroom door, stillness and silence, his face suddenly appears in the gap

25. Worm's eye shot- door slowly opening and he comes into the room (see his feet)

26. LS from behind photo frame. He is out of focus. His head turns, he comes into focus. He rushes towards the photo

27. POV, he lifts up the photo

28. ECU of his eyes, he stares intensely

29. Over the shoulder shot (but slightly further away than the shoulder) he puts the picture down gently. Sudden turn of his head, half of his face is seen

30. Low angle MS slowly reaches for the hairbrush on the table, holds it still and pulls a hair from it. begins to wrap it around his little finger lovingly. Hear her come in, see his reaction. Stillness as he waits for her, we hear her coming up the stairs on the phone, getting nearer. He looks up at the door

31. LS of door from the bed where her purse is, door swings open, she enters the room. Moment of stillness, grabs the purse, turns to go and notices ensuite light is on. She goes to the door

32. CU of her hand on the door handle

33. Two Shot- the door splits the screen, he is stood hidden behind the door and she is on the other side, she reaches for the light switch

34. black screen END SCENE

Locations, Set designs, Costumes and Props. Why are they important?

Locations, set designs, costumes and props are very important to a thriller movie in transferring messages to the audience and building tension. The location of a scene can be what makes the difference in how scary it is, props included in this. With locations also comes set designs, this equally helps to make the location more tense or more how the director himself pictured it. The easiest way of explaining how important all of these are is by analysing a scene from the movie 'Jaws', the first attack, as Spielberg during filming was very Specific and at points cryptic.

Jaws: The Second Attack (Loacation, set design, costumes and props)

We first see a young boy walking up the beach, a tracking wide shot slowly zooming in follows the boy. We see the design of the beach crowded to make us wonder which one of the many people all in summer clothes will be the victim. The boy who walks up the beach is wearing red swimming shorts, the red could symbalise blood. Next, Spielberg focuses on Brody; showing us his concern for the public’s safety, but in the background we see empty guard towers as if Brody is on his own protecting the people, this I believe was deliberate set design adding more tension to the scene. Straight away there is a cut away from Brody as we see a young boy chucking a stick for his dog into the water, The stick is a deliberate prop which is chucked into the water so we the audience can see how the dog one of our two victims in this scene enterd the water. This gets the audience working; thinking. Cutting back again we see the boy entering the water. From then on in the scene cutting back between boy and dog, we now know they are going to share the same fate, and we see the location in a empty sea where they both are isolating them both, Spielberg shows dog and boy in similar positions using a parallel plot with parrellel location in the scene.
We then have a mid shot of the sea; we see a black bump moving towards the shore, this is a dilberate prop used to try and fool the audience into thinking it is the shark. We hear no music as it is just an old man swimming. Finally the music kicks in; we know the shark is there. A low angle shot under the water from the point of view of the shark is used, using under the water as the location for this shot and having the set under water be packed with kicking legs it adds more tension. The attack is seen in the distance a wide shot is used, this shows the boy as helpless. We don’t know how big the shark is as the view is very limited, Spielberg forces the audience to use their imaginations. Finally we end the scene with a high angle shot of the wrecked Lillo being washed up on to the shore with the boy’s blood. The boy’s blood and the yellow Lillo contrasting in the water, this is deliberate set deign with the blood in the water and the yellow lillo being used as a deliberate contrasting prop.
The costume was very selective as Speilberg uses yellow alot, yellow being a summer colour, bright and coontrasting to the scene. The only person with their costume not yellow is the boy who we see killed by the shark. The costume really helps to add to this gripping scene.
The location of the scene at a busy beach in broad daylight really helps to add extra tension at the start of the scene, especially as we don't see the shark in the attack the locaion makes the shark more frightening, how could we not of seen the shark in broad day light?

This is a really good example of how all of these things can be used to help make the thriller run smoother and make it much more thrilling.

Target Audiences

A thriller as a genre has its own target audience. I would think that the majority of people that watch thrillers are from teenagers upwards, I don't think that younger children would want to watch a high tension complex thriller to a disney movie for example. However certain thrillers are aimed at percific people:

Death Proof - For example, 'Death Proof' (2007) I feel is aimed at a certain group of people. The movie is full of good looking under dressed girls and full on fast car violence. In one scene the leading male Kurt Russle gets a lap dance off of a drunken half naked young girl, deffinantly atracting a male audience, also includig references to drugs and sex. I feel this movie is aimed at Male teens to late 20's, it has all the stereotypical likes of a young male. When writing and directing for what was to put on to the screen I feel Quentin Tarantino was creating the movie for that type of audience.

However if you compare this to another thriller movie like 'The Davinci Code' then the target audience changes. 'The Davinci Code' is a smart intelligent mature religious thriller and is based on a best selling novel. I highly doubt that the target audience for this movie is the same as 'Death Proof', I would say that this movie as it is more maturer it will be for a older audience and will attract people of culture and intelligence, so you can imagine the content of the film will be more challenging for the audience to watch. This would also appeal to people of religion and people with interest in art and books, where as 'Death Proof' does not show any signs of wanting to attract that type pf audience.

Depending on the content of the thriller the target audience can change completely, it depends on what type of people the writer, director and the producers want to attract to. Thhis will also see a massive difference in advertising between movies of a different target audience.

Music to a Thriller Movie

Why does a thriller movie need music? The music helps to create the atmosphere, with out the music the scene we see on the screen would not be as thrilling for one or capturing. Loads of thriller movies usually go down the same route of having music play quietly but effective in the background, possibly a low bass.

One Movie that comes to mind when I think of thriller music and building terrific suspense is Jaws. The music in Jaws really helps to create a eerie atmosphere, from every 'F' to 'F' sharp as the shark locates its pray. With long and fast string notes the music really helps to draw in the audience watching.



Another great soundtrack to a thriller is the one from The dark Knight. For me this is because its not like any other soundtrack to a thriller movie, it has a very distinctive melody which repeats throughout the movie to help keep the tension. The strings in the music play quick fast notes to compliment the fast action on screen, this works really well and makes the action on screen even more thrilling! Using percussion to underline the bass giving the music a dark feel and almost has a epic feel to it making the drama on the screen bigger also.



The music theme for Kill Bill is to put it in my own words amazing! It suits the type ppf thriller it is so well! It helps to build the climax and the struggle which Uma Thurman will face to get her revenge on Bill. The use of brass helps to dramatise the music making the music feel more epic and helps to make Uma Thurman look more invinsible.

Thriller Directors

Christopher Nolan -

Top Four Thriller Movies
1. Dark Knight, The (2008)
2. Memento (2000)
3. Insomnia (2002)
4. Prestige, The (2006)

Chris has directed some of the best thriller films in this decade. Starting with Memento in 2000, this Blockbuster blew me away the first time I watched it. I thought it was really clever how the movie is filmed in pieces and is put together when Guy Pearce starts to remember his memory. The second Insomnia made in 2002 about Two Los Angeles homicide detectives are dispatched to a northern town where the sun doesn't set to investigate the methodical murder of a local teen. The third, The prestige made in 2006. The prestige is about Two rival magicians up against each other to make the perform the better tricks, but the main trick on their mind is the transporting man which draws in the crowds. This Movie is high in drama and is a different kind of thriller, by watching the tricks on screen we are literally hanging on to see what will happen. And the last in 2008 with The Dark Knight. This movie is truly inspiring to all comic book movies is sets the bar for me and Chris developed the concept of Batman in a realistic mature thriller movie.

Quentin Tarantino-

Top Four Thriller Movies

1. Pulp Fiction (1994)
2. Kill Bill: Volume 2 (2004)
3. Reservoir Dogs (1992)
4. Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2002)

Quentin Tarantino has always been a controversial director with the critics and his viewers, however for me he has made one of the best sub-genre thrillers in Pulp Fiction. Pulp Fiction shows a great story of mob gangsters and the people surrounding them. With great performances from Samuel Jackson and John Travolta.

Not forgetting the Kill Bill volumes one and two which exploded on to the movie screen in 2002 and 2004. Both these movies are jam packed with action and gory fight scenes, with tight thriller suspension and our leading lady Uma Thurman tries to track down Bill.

Steaphen Speilberg -

Top Four Thriller Movies

1. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
2. Jaws (1975)
3. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
4. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)

Steaphen Speilberg is a world wide known name for his fantastic directing. For me these are his top Thriller movies, with Indiana Jones Raiders of the Lost Ark being my favourite of the Indianan Jones movies. With Thrilling action.

Jaws also is one of my favourite movies of all time, it has such suspence and thrilling to watch. For me it does not matter that the macanical shark lacks authentisity, especially as Speilberg chooses not to show the actual shark til the very end oof the movie! My favourite thrilling scene in jaws is the scene where Brody (Roy Schneider) looks through the book of shark attacks and we here the music kick in every time he turns the page.

Sub - Genre

'Scary Movie' is a sub-genre of a spoof comedy thriller. This particular movie bases its story line on 'Scream' a thriller movie made in 1996. Using the thriller techniques to build the suspense like in 'Scream' but instead of a bloody frightening outcome the movie has a comic out come. This idea of a spoof comedy thriller was very popular with its audience as the 'Scary Movie' brand has gone on two make a second, third and fourth. My favourite scene in this movie is actually the opening one, when we see the killer and the victim face to face, the killer has a knife at the ready and our victim beside her has a tray of deadly weapons and a banana, instead of picking up the a weapon to defend herself she picks up the banana.





'Reservoir Dogs' is a sub-genre of a crime thriller. The movie mixed with lots of thriller techniques and suspense also has a plot of crime. This is a very common sub-genre with such movies as 'Eagle Eye' and 'The Inside Man' also made in this style. Reservoir dogs is a fantastic movie and did well as director and writer Quentin Tarrantino's first film, however the end of the movie did cause a lot of criticism. My favourite Scene is this movie is when we see Mr.Blond dancing and singing to "Stuck In The Middle With You" as he slices the ear off of a helpless policeman.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eiU2pKQ683s (Stuck In The Middle With You)


'The Dark Knight' is a sub-genre of a action crime thriller movie. Christopher Nolan the director did not take the similar route to other Batman movie directors before him and take a comic book like outcome, but instead he tried to make the film more of a thriller and more realistic. 'The Dark Knight' I think has suspense and a great 'villain' and is epic and thrilling but also has the crime story line, and of course has loads of action fighting and car chases (What Batman movie would be complete without it!). My favourite scene in this movie is when the Joker has one of the mob gangsters up to a pool table with a knife and he is telling him how he got the scar's on his face.