My Opening Scene

This is my AS media studies opening scene that I have produced using the media skills I have learnt
 throughout the year.

 

 

This is the final version of my opening scene. Throughout the process I have had people watching the video to help to make minor improvements such as the length of time that the credits appear for as well as the sound effects and music I have used. Making these improvements was beneficial to me as I was also gathering feedback from the audience. I felt that the improvements I made helped to ensure that my opening scene fitted into the thriller genre well.

Evaluation Of My Opening Scene - Question 7



Evaluation Of My Opening Scene - Question 6

Evaluation Of My Opening Scene - Question 5

"How did you attract/address your audience?"

 

I attracted my audience by uploading my opening scene onto YouTube and verbally telling people about my opening scene. As well as this I uploaded it here onto my blog so that people interested in things featured on my blog would be able to see it. I felt this was the best place to attract my audience of 15+ years old as YouTube is a common place for them to watch videos and enjoy different types of media.

 

I collected responses by text messaging and verbally asking people if they would mind leaving me a comment suggesting what they like about the opening scene as well as any constructive criticism that they may have to offer.

 

Here are some of the responses that I received:
 

 

 

Evaluation Of My Opening Scene - Question 4

Thriller evaluation question 4 from bectansley

Evaluation Of My Opening Scene - Question 3

Evaluation Of My Opening Scene - Question 2

Evaluation Of My Opening Scene - Question 1

Requesting Permission

As I was using an Arctic Monkey's song 'The View From The Afternoon' I made sure to request their permission to use the song. To do this I researched their record label and from there emailed to request permission.

 



The Editing Process

This is  a screenshot from the editing process where I was able to insert all of my shots and fit them together the way I wanted so that I could create my thriller opening scene. The software I used was Adobe Premiere Pro.

Researching Into Websites Of Upcoming Films

Firstly I searched on the Odeon Cinema website to research what films were coming soon to the cinemas.
From this I saw that there were many new types of films coming to the cinema from lots of different genres.
I then decided to research some of these films alone and find out what the websites did to promote each of the films individually.
I found common themes throughout the websites and have listed these below.



The Kung Fu Panda 3 film was promoted on
the DreamWorks website who are an animation studio involved with the Kung Fu Panda series.
On this website it enables you to connect with the film via social media, get tickets to see the film, see the video game, watch videos to do with the movie as well as other things to do with
the film itself.

On 'The Boy' website you are firstly welcomed with a large film poster as a background which catches the attention of the viewer straight away. Whilst on the website you are able to: buy tickets to see the film, watch the trailer, submit fan art, read the backstory as well as being able to see images, fan art and watch videos to do with the movie.



Both of these websites promote the films by including images relating to the film itself which makes it immediately recognisable for if a viewer was to see the images anywhere else. The websites are also interactive and enable the viewer to click on different areas to be directed to things such as trailers and video games which may persuade them to go and see the film when it comes out. However, I found that both of these films did not provide release dates so the viewers may not be aware of when they come out in order to go and see it.

Average Ratings For Films In The Thriller Genre

I researched into average ratings for the films that fit the genre I am studying which is thriller. To do this I looked on the website Rotten Tomatoes. I researched into 10 film ratings listed below:

Shutter Island – 6.6/10

Taken – 5.8/10

The silence of the lambs – 8.5/10

Spectre – 6.5/10

Jurassic Park – 8.3/10

Deadpool – 6.9/10

The Maze Runner – 5.9/10

Legend – 6/10

San Andreas – 5.3/10

The Purge – 5.1/10 

Average Film Rating – 6.49/10

Research Into Real Audience Tastes And Trends

For me to research into real tastes and trends I designed a questionnaire with the following questions:

• What is your gender? Male, Female
• What is your age?
• Would you choose to watch a thriller film? Yes, No, Sometimes
• Are there any specific actors you would associate with the thriller genre?
• What sub-genre of thriller would you prefer to watch? Psychological, Crime, Action, Disaster, Other(name)
• What do you associate with the thriller genre?
• What type of music would you expect to hear in a thriller film? Tense, Orchestral, Dark and Eerie, Whispers and Screams

I have shown the results in the PowerPoint presentation below using SlideShare

Research into real audience tastes and trends from bectansley

The results showed that the most common actors associated with the thriller genre were Liam Neeson, Christian Bale and Leonardo DiCaprio. The audiences preference for a sub-genre of thriller would be psychological and they expect to hear tense music throughout the film.

I made sure I considered all of these responses before planning my opening scene because these are what a real audience like to see. They were also in the right age group the target audience I was using for my opening scene. The target audience I am aiming my thriller opening at is ages 15+ and my questionnaire was given to ages above 15 up to one 24 year old.

Pitch

Missing

 

It all seemed like a usual morning for Owen as he awakes in his home. This all takes a turn for the worst when he realises he has been reported as missing. After seeing all his family have disappeared from his home Owen is welcomed by a member of the army who kidnaps him and takes him to an unusual location. Throughout the film the reason for Owen's disappearance will be unravelled.

Owen meets people at different stages throughout his journey and finds out information on why he is in fact missing and what has caused his family to have left so suddenly.

Basic Plot
- Owen wakes up and goes into the bathroom
- He hears his name on the radio and hears that he has been reported as missing
- He then checks the whole house for his family but they cannot be found
- An army soldier comes to the door and kidnaps Owen
- He then takes Owen to an usual location in the dark
- Owen then manages to escape
- He calls the police but they hang up
- Owen then meets a friend who also heard the missing persons report


The target audience for this film would be teenagers of around 15+. This is because they are old enough to understand the storyline and keep up with the many twists and turns. However, it probably wouldn't be interesting to some adults as they may find it unrealistic and not like that there are young actors involved that they cannot relate to.

Sub-genre
I would say that the sub-genre of my film is an action thriller because of the suspense leading up in the opening scene until the army soldier comes to the door to kidnap him. After that Owen's home is entered by the soldier and he is taken to an unknown location where he will manage to escape and be on the run from people similar to many other action thriller films such as Taken and The Maze Runner.


Opening Titles Order

Production Company:

Spyglass Entertainment

Distribution:

Columbia Pictures

Director:

Rebecca Tansley

 

Producer:

Dan Carnell

 

Actors:

Starring

Owen Lawton

Liam Best

Screenplay by:

Charlotte Heap

 

Film Title:

Missing

 

The reason I have listed the names of people in this order is based on order of importance. The first names listed are the production and distribution companies as they are the people who have invested the money into the film being made and it is important for them to go first. I chose Spyglass Entertainment because they are well known within the thriller genre through films such as Instinct, The Sixth Sense and The Insider.  The second name shown is the director they are also important as they are the people who create the film and ensure the process runs smoothly so that the film can be successfully made. Shortly after this the producers name will be shown I chose to put this third because they are also an important roll within the making of the film. The actors I chose to put next because it would draw in the audience as usually they would know actors and choose to watch films if their favourite actor was part of it. The screenplay name will come after this as they are the most unlikely people to be recognised within the film making industry. Last I chose to put the title of the film. This is a typical convention of the thriller genre and I wanted to follow this pattern within my own work.

Call Sheet

Call sheet from bectansley

Reece Shots Of Locations and Character Profiles

Reece shots of locations from bectansley

This is my reece shots of locations and character profiles for my thriller opening scene. I will be following this throughout my film making process.

Story Board

 

Animatic Of My Storyboard

 

Production And Distribution Companies

A production company might be directly responsible for the fundraising for the production or it may be accomplished by a parent company. It handles budgeting, scheduling, scripting, the supply with talent and resources, the organisation of staff, the production itself, post production, distribution and marketing.

The distribution company is usually different from the production company. The distribution deals are very important in terms of financing a film. The distributor might set the release date and decide which method of viewing the film has. For example, the film may be available directly to the public through cinemas or for home viewing on DVD or TV.

There are many production and distribution companies within film making. Many of them are known to be associated with a specific genre of film. I have done some research into what production companies are known to be involved with the thriller genre. Firstly, I researched some films and noted down the common production companies. The first company I researched was 20th Century Fox as they produced films such as Taken 3, Gone Girl and Poltergeist (2015). The second production company I researched was Warner Bros who have in the past made films such as Inception, The Prestige and Godzilla. Another production company was CBS Films who have made thriller films such as The Woman In Black, Afflicted and The Last Exorcism Part II. The final production company I researched into was Spyglass Entertainment who produced films such as Instinct, The Sixth Sense and The Insider.

All of these production companies above are involved within the thriller genre as they have each produced a number of successful thriller based films.