Method 2 – Unit G322 evaluating audience research
Age?
Occupation?
Gender?
aspirations?
who do you prefer to view films with?
What is your favourite film genre?
how do you prefer to watch films?
How much TV do you watch a week?
What is your favourite TV genre?
What thriller films have you seen recently?
what of the following British films have you seen? Essex Boys
snatch
Billy Elliot
Control
Brassed Off
this is England
Trainspotting
Rock 'n' Rolla
Bridget Jones’ Diary
Get Carter
Shaun Of the Dead
What do you think makes a good thriller film?
Who is your favourite Actor/Actress?
Have they featured in any thriller films you know of?
What is your favourite thriller film?
Who is your favourite thriller Director
from this list?
Quentin Tarantino
Michael Scorsese
Steven Spielberg
Alfred Hitchcock
What is your favourite TV Series?
Do you watch any of the following British TV Thriller series:
Life of Mars
Ashes to Ashes
Criminal Justice
Touch of Frost
Midsomer Murders
The Bill
I asked people at random to do my questionnaire that I had compiled for audience research. I asked 12 people to do the questionnaire and the following evaluation is on the questionnaire results.
For my first few questions I got some background information. My participants were 5 to 7 ratio girls (42%) to boys (58%). Most of my candidates were between 16 to 19 years old (66% 16, 16% 46, 16% 17, 8% 19) and were students (83% students). I had 2 other candidates who were both 46, one a carpenter (13%) and one a secretary (13%). Most aspirations were university and higher education, few traveling and one sarcastic comment ‘too late for that’. These questions were to get some bases of their background so I could evaluate what characteristics and lifestyle chose what media. The results and percentage of the demographic would have been one sided due to the questionnaires mainly being filled in and collecting in a school resulting in a high percentage of under 19’s and high aspirations for university which may have not been as high in a demographic taken from a source with more elderly people.
For my second band of questions I asked about viewing and favourite genres. I asked both favourite genres for TV and film.
TV
Film
There is collation between the 2 as my focus group appear to favour comedy as a genre overall but then thriller is favored within film. I think this is due to plots and story which an hour and a half comedy film may lack in comparison to gripping thriller. An example of this may be ‘Borat’ as as a TV programme with a short scene it has more spark than an hour and half long of the same humor in contrast to ‘Pulp Fiction’ that throughout has gripping scenes and fast paced action along with a great story line and superb narrative structure in which it is told.
The next graph shows how people prefer to watch films. This shows how most prefer to watch it at a cinema. I think the advantage of being at home is the comfort of your own home and own control over the film but this is probably out weighed by the quality of picture and sound and grand screen at a cinema and the release of new material all the time.
How do you prefer to watch films?
For the question about how much tv each subject watches a week an average came out as 11.4 hours.
The next questions were on films and actors. For favourite thriller film the results were very one sided surprisingly as this pie chart shows. (Pulp Fiction 42%).
This is backed up by the question on favourite directors.
Where it shows the director of Pulp Fiction being favorite of the 4.
The figures for the question ‘what of the following British films have you seen’ the results were evenly balanced with only ‘Shaun of The Dead’ being the one film that the majority of the subjects had viewed. This shows their support for British comedy and links back to the favorite genre question as comedy was the overall favorite.
The next question that was asked was what makes a good thriller this gave some interesting views.
As seen above the most valuable characteristic to audience in a thriller are the characters and the action. This maybe due to my focus group being able to judge and relate to characters within their own lives. Also they may find it easier to follow action through a film rather than a complex plot . Also such characteristics such as music and lighting are unusually unconsciously recognized by the audience only 8% of my target recognized it as s feature. With few films using different time frames with the exception of Tarrantino’s work it’s not a recognized feature of thriller films.
The Last set of questions asked about TV. The list of British thrillers showed how half of my participants watch Life on Mars showing its success (50%) and then a quarter of my participants watch the follow up series ‘Ashes to Ashes’ (25%) this could show that they did not enjoy the ‘Life on Mars’ enough to watch the follow up series. Out of all the thriller series listed only ‘Criminal Justice’ was not viewed by any of the 12 participants.
I find interesting that 2 of my participants were a couple and same age (46) and much of their data was similar. They had both had watched the same films from the list of British films( all but Rock ‘n’ Rolla), both watched the same British TV thrillers (Life on Mars, Ashes to Ashes), both chose thriller as their favourite film genre and both chose Pulp fiction and Tarantino as their favourite director and film.
It would appear that some answers from participants were influenced by the situation they were in at the moment of completing the questionnaire. Such as the response of wanting to become an astronaut or wanting to watch a film ‘with my eyes’. I think this is due to me handing out a bunch of questionnaires in the study hall to a group of students who knew each other and wanted to make a joke so they wrote these humorous comments.
Also as in my question about aspirations I did not put in options boxes so one reply from my one of my eldest participants (46) was more sarcastic, ‘to late for that’. I think this shows how aspirations die out over years.
In conclusion I think my question shows continuity between TV and film media and its consumption by the audience and also how people pick out certain points from a film/tv that they find easy to follow.
Saturday, 28 March 2009
Sunday, 22 March 2009
BBFC
1. Explain the role of the BBFC
The BBFC, that use to stand for British Board of Film Censorship but stands for British Board of Film Classification, are an independent classification company. There job is to create regulations and age restrictions on films and video games also giving guidelines to the audience of what is contained within the film. They charge the distributor of the film a fee to empower them to classify their film.
2. How does regulation impact upon the distribution and marketing of a film?
Most films have ask or want to be put within a certain band so there widest potential audience can view it. For instance a Disney film would want a U or a PG so that their target audience could go and see the film. Most companies do not like to get an 18 rating as most cinema audiences are around the age of 15. When a film is being distributed and marketed the distributors and marketing team would want the film to get the rating they would want to make the most money if they do not get the rating they want they may have to re-cut the film to get the needed rating to make the most money but also getting the balance right as they may over-cut the film. One example is the film ‘Veronica Guerin’ in which one violent scene brought the film up to a 15 from a 12 but the if the scene was cut the rest of the film may have been out of context.
3. How might technologies and new ways of distributing film problematise the way in which film is regulated?
With DVD’s widely available the extra’s on the DVD may raise the rating of the film as the extras or extended versions of films have more explicit content within them
4. Paragraph
One thing I found interesting about the workshop was that local branches and administration could overall the BBFC’s decision. This was surprising although in practice I would not have thought many authorities utilise this option.
One thing I didn’t know was that the BBFC was not a government based company. I thought that films would have to be rated under government law so this would lead to the classification company also being under government control.
One thing I can link to my media studies course is our Thriller opening. From our 2 minutes of film that we have shot I would say the film would be a 12 as there is violence but no infliction of pain is seen and also there are scenes of drug use.
5.
• Intro
• BBFC’s work
• Films aim at certain rating
• How a rating can effect distributor
• How a rating can effect potential audience
1. Explain the role of the BBFC
The BBFC, that use to stand for British Board of Film Censorship but stands for British Board of Film Classification, are an independent classification company. There job is to create regulations and age restrictions on films and video games also giving guidelines to the audience of what is contained within the film. They charge the distributor of the film a fee to empower them to classify their film.
2. How does regulation impact upon the distribution and marketing of a film?
Most films have ask or want to be put within a certain band so there widest potential audience can view it. For instance a Disney film would want a U or a PG so that their target audience could go and see the film. Most companies do not like to get an 18 rating as most cinema audiences are around the age of 15. When a film is being distributed and marketed the distributors and marketing team would want the film to get the rating they would want to make the most money if they do not get the rating they want they may have to re-cut the film to get the needed rating to make the most money but also getting the balance right as they may over-cut the film. One example is the film ‘Veronica Guerin’ in which one violent scene brought the film up to a 15 from a 12 but the if the scene was cut the rest of the film may have been out of context.
3. How might technologies and new ways of distributing film problematise the way in which film is regulated?
With DVD’s widely available the extra’s on the DVD may raise the rating of the film as the extras or extended versions of films have more explicit content within them
4. Paragraph
One thing I found interesting about the workshop was that local branches and administration could overall the BBFC’s decision. This was surprising although in practice I would not have thought many authorities utilise this option.
One thing I didn’t know was that the BBFC was not a government based company. I thought that films would have to be rated under government law so this would lead to the classification company also being under government control.
One thing I can link to my media studies course is our Thriller opening. From our 2 minutes of film that we have shot I would say the film would be a 12 as there is violence but no infliction of pain is seen and also there are scenes of drug use.
5.
• Intro
• BBFC’s work
• Films aim at certain rating
• How a rating can effect distributor
• How a rating can effect potential audience
Friday, 6 March 2009
Leon
Leon was released on 3rd February 1995. The film was directed and written by Luc Besson. The film was nominated for 2 awards and had another 8 nominations. The film stars Natalie Portman as a 12 year old girl, Gary Oldman and Jean Reno. The whole story is based around Leon who is and Italian Immigrant who had become a hit man. Mathilda the twelve year old girl live in the same apartment as him. Because of her dads drug dealings her whole family are murdered by Stansfield apart from Mathilda who was out shopping. She meets Leon and they develop a friendship as Mathilda has no family left.
The film begins with a birds eye view of New York City the camera continues to go over the city and then along the streets and finally moves closer and closer to a door at the end of the street. This shot creates a sense of tension and mystery which intrigues the audience and makes them want to watch more of the film. It also helps to establish the genre. The Camera then cuts to inside where two men are sitting down discussing a “job” one of the men is Leon and the other one is leons boss Tony although it is not obvious to the audience at this stage. The two men are sitting in a dark room either side of a table. The lighting in this scene helps to create a sense of mystery. The extreme close ups on Leon helps to establish him as the main character in the film also we do not see his whole face so it builds up tension and makes him more mysterious. Also when he drinks a glass of milk quickly it gives us an in sight into his characters personality although we do not realise this until later in the film. In this scene the camera cuts quite fast to each shot which builds up the tension in the film. Leon wears a pair of glasses as well which help to obscure his face even more. It could also be a quite scary feature as you can’t see his eyes. The shots in this scene are very quick and don’t last for more than a couple of seconds.
The camera then cuts to a man wearing sunglasses walking down a corridor. This is the man Leon has been ordered to kill. He proceeds through the building and enters a room. He speaks to the people who work for him. The light it quite bright in the scene which is a contrast from the previous scene. The man is talking to his men and then you see a close up of a man opening a briefcase. The camera then cuts and move to a shot of the man you saw earlier standing at the front of the building. You then see a shadow cover the man’s face. I think this is the moment in the film when you know that something wrong is going to happen. A shot follows with a man speaking to the guy that Leon is trying to kill and he has a gun to head. You can’t see who is pointing a gun so there is a still a sense of mystery in the scene. The camera cuts and you see blood splattered against the wall. I believe this is the point in the film where the equilibrium is broken. After speaking to his guards to go and get the Leon there is an elevator sequence where there are a series of close up shots of the numbers of the elevator this again builds tension and as an audience you expect maybe to see the Leon come out of the elevator but instead there appears a man bent over dead with blood dripping from him.
The opening of Leon is good because it uses close up shots to build tension and intrigue the audience. The use of lighting with shadows helps to create mystery and tension. This is something I will take into account when making my thriller film.
The film begins with a birds eye view of New York City the camera continues to go over the city and then along the streets and finally moves closer and closer to a door at the end of the street. This shot creates a sense of tension and mystery which intrigues the audience and makes them want to watch more of the film. It also helps to establish the genre. The Camera then cuts to inside where two men are sitting down discussing a “job” one of the men is Leon and the other one is leons boss Tony although it is not obvious to the audience at this stage. The two men are sitting in a dark room either side of a table. The lighting in this scene helps to create a sense of mystery. The extreme close ups on Leon helps to establish him as the main character in the film also we do not see his whole face so it builds up tension and makes him more mysterious. Also when he drinks a glass of milk quickly it gives us an in sight into his characters personality although we do not realise this until later in the film. In this scene the camera cuts quite fast to each shot which builds up the tension in the film. Leon wears a pair of glasses as well which help to obscure his face even more. It could also be a quite scary feature as you can’t see his eyes. The shots in this scene are very quick and don’t last for more than a couple of seconds.
The camera then cuts to a man wearing sunglasses walking down a corridor. This is the man Leon has been ordered to kill. He proceeds through the building and enters a room. He speaks to the people who work for him. The light it quite bright in the scene which is a contrast from the previous scene. The man is talking to his men and then you see a close up of a man opening a briefcase. The camera then cuts and move to a shot of the man you saw earlier standing at the front of the building. You then see a shadow cover the man’s face. I think this is the moment in the film when you know that something wrong is going to happen. A shot follows with a man speaking to the guy that Leon is trying to kill and he has a gun to head. You can’t see who is pointing a gun so there is a still a sense of mystery in the scene. The camera cuts and you see blood splattered against the wall. I believe this is the point in the film where the equilibrium is broken. After speaking to his guards to go and get the Leon there is an elevator sequence where there are a series of close up shots of the numbers of the elevator this again builds tension and as an audience you expect maybe to see the Leon come out of the elevator but instead there appears a man bent over dead with blood dripping from him.
The opening of Leon is good because it uses close up shots to build tension and intrigue the audience. The use of lighting with shadows helps to create mystery and tension. This is something I will take into account when making my thriller film.
Wednesday, 4 March 2009
Titles
For our titles we used a simple block like font with that fades in and out for each credit over a black background. The titles consist of 'Reel Film Production', 'Directed and Produced by', 'Music By' and at the end the film title, 'Safe From Harm'.
Our titles are the focus at the start as they are the only visible object in the mise en scene. The titles are reminiscent of older thriller films such as Alfed Hitchcock's 'Birds' or 'Pyscho' which had little or no activity other than the rolling titles.
Our titles are the focus at the start as they are the only visible object in the mise en scene. The titles are reminiscent of older thriller films such as Alfed Hitchcock's 'Birds' or 'Pyscho' which had little or no activity other than the rolling titles.
Shooting Schedule
Our opening is set in two different locations so we are going to firstly shoot at my house which is the girls house in the film. After we have shot all the shots in my house and alleyway we will go to haulkham beach to shoot the secound location shots.
20th December 12.00 noon - college road norwich, norfolk.
4th January 1.00 pm - Haulkham beach, north norfolk.
20th December 12.00 noon - college road norwich, norfolk.
4th January 1.00 pm - Haulkham beach, north norfolk.
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