Film companies that would produce our film

Thinking carefully about our target audiences and modern day society we discussed the idea of making our film accessible through the Internet. The main reason for this is because so many people stream movies and films via the Internet and sites such as Netflix and Amazon Prime.

We were very interested in the idea of Hybrid distribution for our thriller film, this was because it would ensure we could get our film out there and accessible through many social media platforms.

  

Film 4 Productions and BBC Three were companies that we were interested in looking at to produce our film as these are rather independent but have a large audience watching their productions. They are both easily accessible on an online platform and could be then further distributed onto movie streaming sites such as ,Netflix.

These type of companies are also suitable for the genre of our film as I have conducted some research and found that there are quite a few films that have been produced by Film 4, for example, that are of the Thriller genre. 

A main reason for choosing online distribution platforms for our film was indeed that fact that the majority of our target audience use online film streaming sites, however, we did take cost into consideration. Smaller and more independent companies would've been significantly cheaper than the larger production companies that our our there producing films for cinemas such as, Odeon and Cineworld. Therefore, the hybrid disctrubtion of our film using smaller companies and online, social media platforms was a much more suitable idea to use in the production of our thriller film.

Differences between a British & Hollywood Film Production

I made these mind maps to highlight the main differences between British Films & Hollywood Films

British & American Production Companies

I found these useful slides on Slide Share whilst I was researching into production Companies.

Link to original source - Slide Share

The Secret Window Analysis

Write an analysis of the opening sequence to 'The Secret Window', paying particular attention to how it attracts and audience.

The Secret Window is a psychological thriller, written and directed by David keopp and staring Johnny Depp. The film begins with the protagonist, Mort Rainy (Johnny Depp) in a car looking frustrated but focused. He then enters a motel room and finds a man and women in bed. Automatically, the audience assume that the woman is Mort Rainy's wife.

The sequence opens with the production and director titles followed by a sound bridge. Initially the sound resembles a heart beat as it is a constant heavy thud. This grabs the audiences attention as they are intrigued to know what the sound actually is. The sound is then revealed to be the wipers on a car which slightly shocks the audience as it is not what they are expecting.

The opening shot is a close up which is focused on the male character who's facial expressions can clearly be seen. He comes across as being focused and aggressive which reflects that there is something on his mind. This creates a feeling of tension for the audience as they want to know what is going through his head. A director would use this camera shot in order to entice the audience and make them feel involved and connected to the characters thoughts and feelings, which are confusion and dispair as he doesn't know whats going to happen to his marriage. The camera stays focused on the main character, 'Mort Rainy', for a long time making the audience question what is happening and what is going to happen next. During this, a close up of Mort Rainy's wedding ring is exposed suggesting to the audience that something is going to happen which may affect his marriage.

The next significant shot of the film  is of the car reversing at speed. His driving reflects his mental and reckless state of mind, This is then followed by a medium shot which shows him looking at a desk to where the motel room keys are stored. This shot suggests to the audience that the character is focused on something and is considering doing something he shouldn't do. This shot also clearly reflects the juxstapositioning of the cold outside and the warmth of the inside making the audience want to watch more.

Usually, an establishing shot is used half-way through the scene to clearly show the location, setting, time and day/weather. The director would use this shot to inform the audience about where the film is set. Also, the fact that the film is set at a 'Motel' suggests that other people are there which draws the audience in, making them want to see who is inside.

The mise-en-scene id this film is interesting. The colour is monochromatic as it is a dark, cold, winters night. There are different shades of blue used, making the red motel doors and taillights stand out. The red that is used for the motel doors could connote danger in the rooms, making the audience feel uneasy about him entering the room.


The open door on his car suggests that he is only determined on one thing, leading him to drive erratically and leave the doors open of the car.

The non-digetic sound of the voice saying "Don't go back", entices the audience as we don't really know who is speaking. It makes the audience question whether someone is in the car with him or is it his conscious speaking. As the sound progresses we can infer that it is his thoughts that are spoke aloud, almost a 'voiceover' throughout non-digetic sound.

The digetic sound of the car is loud and overpowering. The audience can see and hear the car moving. The car screeches showing that he is driving out of control, reflecting his state of mind, this makes the audience question whether something dangerous is going to happen to him. This is also taken from the fact that he is driving very quickly in snow and icy conditions. The director portrays Mort Rainys state of being and his out of control attitude throughout his driving. 

It is evident from the opening of the film that there is a sense of continuity editing with slow cuts between each shot, particularly the first and second shot. This makes the audience focus on Mort Rainy making them feel focused just like him.

From watching the film, I have found one continuity error. This happens when Mort Rainy gets out the car and goes into the building. The audience can hear the car door being slammed shut, however, when the following shots shows the car again the door is seen to be widely left open.

Analysis of the opening of Cape Fear

Cape Fear is a psychological Thriller directed by J.Lee Thompson which was released on April 12th, 1962. The film was shot in the American state of California using the outdoor areas and Univeral Studios in Universal City.

The film is set in an urban American state where there is a sign of wealth and a busy working environment. Therre are lots of high rise buildings and palm trees which help to establish the setting and environment.
The film begins with a series of establishing shots in order to show the mise-en-scene which sets the scene of the film. The establishing shots also follow the male antagonist which creates the impression that the film is based around the male characters.
In the opening of the film males;in particular, the antagonist which is shown, are represented as having high authortiy and arrogance. The high angle shot on the stairs shows this by making it looklike the male character is looking down at the female character. This is then followed by the juxstaposed shot of a low angle, which represents how women feel in a male dominated environment.
The panning shots that are also used give the audience and insight into what the character is seeing and who he is in a room with. This is also established through a P.O.V shot, however, in the court scene for example, the panning shots cover a wider area of the room to ensure the majority of the characters in the scene can be seen in the one shot.The panning shot also continues to follow the antagonist as the etsbalishing shots did at the very beggining of the film.
The sound during the opening of the film subverts the traditional conventions of a thriller film. This is due to the sound being contrapuntal as even though the non-digetic stringed instruments can be heared,it is quite a cheerful tune to open a film of the thriller genre.
As the film opening progresses the non-digetic music increased speed resulting in a build of tension, this is more typical of what you would expect in a thriller film, therefore, the sound doesn't continue to subvert the conventions. However, the sound is still contarpuntal as the high pitched, tense stringed instruments don't match the action on the screen. This happens when the antagonist enters the court room. The tense music could foreshadow possible danger that happens in the court but in the present time it is contrapuntal.
There are a few digetic sounds that can be heared in the opening of the film such as, people talking and the cars passing by, this adds to the image that the area is quite a busy place and there is a lot going on. Digetic sound of people talking and moving about is also heared in the court scene.This adds to the realism of the film.
Continuity editing is very fluent in the opening to this film. Time flows uninterrupted and there is a persistant flow which follows the mian antagonist from outside on the streetrs into the court building. There are not really any quick cut edits so therefore, the editing is calm and well paced. This creates a feeling of verisimilitude.
Overall, Cape Fear intrigues the audience from the very start of the film due to subverting some of the traditonal conventions in terms of thriller music and editing. Also, the use of establishing shots that follow the antagonist draw the audience in and make them interested in the character shown.

Short Analysis of Existing Media Thrillers

Captive - AS Media Film

The opening of this film begins with an establishing shot which immediately refers to the title of the film, "Captive", as the shot shows the male character ( which is the protagonist) tied up.

The digetic sounds, such as, breathing and water drops are used to present realism however, there is non-digetic sound, such as, intense and high pitched stringed instruments. This is a typical convention of a thriller film.

The fast paced editing is used is parallel to the intensity of the sound which is used, creating an opening which flows and feels like a thriller. The montage of shots used are also quick and match the action on the screen.

The title of the film flickers when it is shown, this technique continues for the titles throughout the rest of the opening of the film.

It is evident from watching this film opening that there has been a substantial amount of money spent on costumes and make-up. This makes the film look realistic as the character is covered in blood and bruises which have been made using high quality make up, this adds to the realism of the film.



Excemption - AS Media Film







This film is an action thriller which consists of many features which are typical of a film from the thriller genre.

The sound at the beginning consists of digetic breathing which makes the film feel realistic, this also makes the audience know that the boys who are breathing are possibly in danger.

There are a montage of shots at the beginning which include, E.C.U, P.O.V and C.U shots. These shots make the audience feel what the boys are feeling, it makes us more involved with their emotions and thoughts.

The titles are simple and effective, they are shown between camera shots with a black background which fades in and out. This means that the titles do not distract any of the action on screen.

Quick, fast paced editing is used to create and build tension, however, this doesn't happen until one of the characters stabs the pen into another characters leg. This is when the boys start to run, therefore, the perfect moment for the editing to speed up.

There are times during the opening where the continuity needs to be looked at in more detail, for example, when they are running across the grass, the camera cuts away and then shows them running again, when the camera returns to them running the positioning might be slightly off.

Audience Survey - Thriller Films

In order to see what people want to see in a thriller film I created a survey online using Survey Monkey. I then asked ten people to answer my survey so I could collected a range of answers.

Shown below are the results to my survey and analysis of each question:

The first question I asked on my survey was 'What is your age?', this was so I could see what age range of people were answering my questions. From my results I can see that 40% of the people who answered my survey were aged 16 to 19. This was followed by 30% of people who were aged 12 to 15. 20% of people who answered my survey were aged 20 to 23 and 10% of people were aged 24 to 27. This information is very important to consider whilst thinking about the target audience for my thriller film as I need to make sure that my film appeals to the age range which wants to watch thriller films.

My second question asked participants what gender they were. Similar to question 1, this information is important to look at when considering my target audience. In the results there was an equal split for each gender, 50% were males and 50% were females. 

My third question asked about sub genres of thriller films, and what were peoples favourite. From my results I can conduct that the least liked thriller sub genres was religious thriller, and the most popular sub genre was crime and psychological both with 30% each. This is important as the thriller film that myself and Caitlin are planning on making is going to be a hybrid of a psychological and crime thriller.

In this question I asked, "What are the most effective features in a Thriller Film?". There were a range of answers to choose from which were, Music, Actors/Acting, Mise En Scene/Setting, Editing, Titles and Camera Angles/Shots. When I collected my results I could see that the most popular answer was music and acting both with 30%. The least popular feature was Titles which had 0%. Therefore, from looking at my results I now know it is vital to carefully consider what music we use to ensure that the film fits the theme of a thriller also, it is important to choose good actors who can portray realism throughout the film. The next most popular answer was editing. We will have to carefully edit our film to make sure it all runs smoothly. All this will appeal to the audience and make it a much better film to watch.

In the previous question titles had an answer percentage of 0%, however, I am going to need to include titles on my film to inform the watcher of the director, producer and actors ect. Therefore, I then asked about the colour of the titles. Once again there were many options to choose from but the most popular was white with 40% of people choosing this answer. Red and black both had 20% and then grey and blue had 10%. Therefore, from these results I think that the typography colour for our titles will be white and this was the most popular answer but also, I think it really stands out, especially if there is a dark background behind it. 

Question 6 asked "What narrative is most effective in Thriller Films?", The most popular answers were supernatural, Kidnapping and Murder all with 20% each. This is quite relevant as our film is going to based on a murder, therefore, it is good to know that a murder narrative would be popular. Having a really good narrative is vital to ensuring that the film is popular and works well with an audience. Stalker and chase only had 10% each, I think this is becasue they are quite typical and struggle to be multi stranded narratives. 

My last question on my survey asked about intense openings to thriller films. 90% of people said that they think that it is importamt for a thriller film to have a quick and intense opening whereas only 10% of people said that this aspect was not relevant. In my opinion, I think it is very important for a thriller film to have a quick and intesne opening as it draws the audience in and makes then want to watch the film. Enigma codes are also a massive part of an opening of a thriller film and this can easilly be acheived throughout a quick and intense opening. Thriller films make the audience think and the opening is the vital part to grap attention of the audience. This will make me want to have a quick and intense in the opening to the thriller film that we are making. 

All of my results from my survey are very helpful and will assist me in making my film successful and will help me to back up my reasons for my target audience and the decisons I have and will made.