Vlog Pitch Feedback

1) The questions asked got responses that could help with your opening sequence.
2) The plot is obvious, but how are you going to show the ghost?
3) The locations are suitable for the sub-genre.
4) Maybe you could use a screaming sound effect?
5) Sound used in the pitch was suitable for the ideas being presented.

From the feedback from our vlog pitch (from social media) we could improve our ideas and include more suitable ideas that would positively impact our opening sequence.

Five Key Questions

1) Did the storyline make sense?
2) Did the opening sequence fulfil your expectations of what a psycho thriller should be like?
3) How could the narrative be improve?
4) What about the characters made them suitable for the sub-genre?
5) If this opening sequence was to be made into a whole film would you watch it?

Self-assessment feedback sheet

These photos are the self assessment sheets of what we thought of our opening sequence and how we can improve it.

Audience feedback questions

Who is the boy?
The boy is the best friend of Naomi in 1990 as a eight year old girl.


Why is the older girl reacting the way she does?
She is mentally disturbed through what she has been through in her past.


Why is the girl playing with her?
The younger girl in the present day is playing with the ghost of the boy who was kidnapped in 1990.


What was happening with the man and the boy?
The man has kidnapped and killed the boy, known by the audience by the grave that is shown in the opening sequence.


Why does the sister take a tablet?
The person taking the tablet was the grown up girl featured in 1990. She has become a mother herself and is mentally unstable due to what happened in her past.

Why is she coming back to haunt her?
The boy who was kidnapped and killed has come back to haunt Naomi as an adult because she did nothing when he was kidnapped, even when he was begging for help.

Who is the older woman?
The older woman is the mother of the boy who was kidnapped, who is trying to get answers from eight year old Naomi, who hasn't told anyone what happened to the boy.

Who is the child actually talking to?
The child in the present day is talking to the ghost of the boy who was kidnapped, and the boy has come back to haunt Naomi to create a psychological effect. The boy is essentially back from the dead to haunt the adult Naomi for not telling anyone what happened to him in 1990, or telling anyone what actually happened to him.


Is the little girl your daughter?
The girl who is seen in the 1990s by the audience is Naomi as an eight year old girl. the girl in the present day is the daughter of Naomi, who is the same age as Naomi was when the boy went missing.


Who is the woman at the table?
The woman at the table is the mother of the boy who was kidnapped, who is trying to get answers from eight year old Naomi.

Why is there a forgiving needed?
There is no forgiving taking place in the opening sequence. The boy is kidnapped and says that he will 'never forgive you'.


Why are the other actors present?
Other actors are present to take place in the filming.


Why is the boy carried away in the beginning?
He has been kidnapped.


Are the people being taken the family of the woman and the girl?
The person who is taken is the son of the woman who is featured at the table. The girl is the best friend of the boy. In the scene with the mother and the girl, the mother is trying to get answers about her missing son.


Who is the main character?
The main character is Naomi, as she features as an eight year old girl, as well as the adult. She is also the main character because of what happened to her in her past, with the kidnapping creating an unstable mental future.


Who is the man who took the main character?
The man is a kidnapper who took the boy from the home.

The audience had questions because some parts of our opening didn't seem to present all ideas clearly. These questions will help us learn how to improve our opening sequence and make sure the viewers completely understand what is going on. Generally the audience shouldn't have had these questions, but them having these questions meant that we can now improve our opening. To ensure that the audience have no questions we can change certain things that are in our opening sequence.

Locations and music/soundeffects feedback

1) Locations fit the sub-genre well.
2) Locations can be effective if used correctly.
3) How are you going to make a house link to the Thriller sub-genre?
4) What type of lighting are you going to use in each location?
5) Locations fit narrative and work well with stereotypical locations that you find your characters in.

Sound-
1) Music works well within narrative, but could you foreshadow what is going to happen by using varied music types.
2) Soundeffects are typical of sub-genre.
3) You could use a scream sound effect to make the fear more genuine.
4) Music and soundeffects work together.

Audience Feedback

These are the audience feedback comments that we made about other groups opening sequences. We will use these ideas from other groups to improve our opening sequence.

Analysis of Editing Techniques

Green Screen

Slowed speed and increased speed

Colour isolation

Cropping

Desaturation

Reverse clips

Four way split

For our sub-genre, desaturation, colour isolation and green screen could work as the most effective psycho-trhiller effects. These would make good effects for our opening sequence as they can be manipulated to fit a scene, especially in the haunting scenes. Also with the green screen we can manipulate the screen to give the appearance that the child is there. Four way split can be used to demonstrate the characters feelings and emotions to build on the audiences emotions. Cropping allows us to crop out any mistakes and add things that aren't available to use in our location. Reversed clips can be used to add interest and depth to the scene; it allows us to make characters appear to do things that break the laws of physics. 

Reversed and increased speed would fulfil the audiences expectations as it allows us to be able to manipulate and work with the camera and scenes. 

Social media post

Certificate Ratings

BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) rate movies on their decency towards different age groups, meaning that only certain age groups can see a movie, for example, because of the amount of inappropriate language or scenes for younger viewers or whether certain films will be suitable with an adult present.

The BBFC rate films under 7 categories:

U (Universal) - suitable for all ages
PG (Parental Guidance)
12A - when in cinema release, suitable for 12 year old with an adult
12 - unsuitable for any child under 12
15 - suitable for 15s and over
18 - suitable for 18s and over
R18 - adult works of licensed premises only


I think that our opening sequence would fall under a BBFC rating of 15, as the age 15 falls into our target audience.

Thriller Production Companies

Hammer Films or Hammer Pictures.

• A British film production company based in London.
• Known for creating a number of titles such as 'The Women in Black'
• Is an extremely successful production company gaining more and more interest with each film.
• It was in 1934; it must be successful to still be up and running.
• James Watkins, John Pogue and Matt Reeves have worked with this production company as directors in order to produce films.
• The film 'Let me in' had an estimated budget of $20 million.

Warner Bros.

• An American entertainment company that produces film, television and music entertainment.
• Known for creating a number of titles such as 'Inception'
• This production company has a high success rate and is well known all over the world for creating multiple superhero films and the Harry Potter series.
• Christopher Nolan has worked a lot for Warner Bros over the years as a well known director.
• The film 'The dark knight' (2008) had a budget of 180 million USD.

Dimension Films.

• A major American film production company- formerly owned by The Walt Disney Studios.
• Known for producing 'Spy Kids: All the Time in the World'.
• This production company has successful produced a number of films.
• Wes Craven and Robert Rodriguez have worked with this production company.
• The film 'Spy Kids' had a film budget of 50 million USD.

If our film happened to be big budget the company most probable to create our film would be hammer films as it generally tends to create psycho films or horror films. This means that this company is well experienced in our sub-genre and likely to produce the film effectively.

Pitch Feedback

1) We will use these titles to inspire out font choice and gives us ideas on what to include in our own titles.
2) Our target audience is 15-20 year olds of both genders.
3) The props we will use are children's toys, a weapon and a shopping trolley.

1)The props we will use are children's toys, a weapon and a shopping trolley.

2) 

3) It will be filmed in multiple locations, for example, a graveyard and a supermarket. 

1) She allowed her to be killed and harmed and she didn't tell anyone what happened due to her psychological issues.

2)It will be filmed in multiple locations, for example, a graveyard and a supermarket. 

3The props we will use are children's toys, a weapon and a shopping trolley.

1) The locations will fit the sub-genre because they are psychologically interesting.

2) The film will be set during both the day and night.

3) The film will be called 'Family Ties'. 

Vlog Pitch

Harry Potter Mise en scene

The 'Harry Potter' Studios used mise en scene aspects, such as demonstrating the 'great hall', with the props and costumes. Examples of the props used include plates, cutlery, wine glasses and the floating ceiling candles.
Characters costumes were also placed at the end of the hall. Other props which were displayed include goblin masks, photos of newspapers, locations, such as class rooms and a small version of Hogwarts and make up types.

(pictures from: https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=harry+potter+studios+mise+en+scene+images&biw=1708&bih=814&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiHjMf1oIPQAhWqLcAKHecsAeUQ_AUIBigB&dpr=0.8#imgrc=xgdg1cUU99OVFM%3A)

(Pictures obtained from: https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=harry+potter+studios+mise+en+scene+images&biw=1708&bih=814&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiHjMf1oIPQAhWqLcAKHecsAeUQ_AUIBigB&dpr=0.8#imgrc=xgdg1cUU99OVFM%3A)

Audience Research

- UK trailer - Girl on the Train

The use of dark colours and a red streak down the centre of the advertisement creates the suspense and mystery that something dark will happen to one of the main characters, as well as giving the audience the idea that there will be a mystery involved.
Also, the fact that only half of Emily Blunt's face gives the audience the sense of awareness and that she will play one of the main character who is affected by what ever happens in the film.
The font of the writing also creates mystery as the font is slightly disorientated.

 - UK poster - Girl on the Train

I think that 'The Girl on the Train' is targeting older teenagers and adults. It can target anyone in a variety of catagories, such as education, race and income levels. I also think that 'The Girl on the Train' targets teenagers aged over 16, and female as I think that that the use of Emily Blunts face on the poster and trailer encourages people to see it.

However, I think that people who want to watch horror films with a  mystery would choose to see this film, and targets people who enjoy this type of thriller.

Audience Research

This task was made to make me think about the factors that are influenced by marketing. I learnt that by maximizing the amount of peer feedback given, I could input suggestions to our group that would please the general public as well as still be in the psycho thriller genre. This is then going towards our opening sequence as the feedback given and suggestions presented by my peers have been included in our storyboard, therefore pleasing to our target audience.

Blood Father:
Can fit into any demographic since it includes a variety of different themes. Blood Father probably fits into the mainstream pshychographic because it follows a typical action-thriller narrative.

This helps promote the target audience because its graphology suggests that it is an action-thriller. The close up of Mel Gibson’s face conveys worry, anxiety, and anger, this is then conveyed to the audience, they are then intrigued and want to know more about the film.

The way that the page has been laid out makes it easier for the reader to work their way through the information given.  In the top left hand corner there is a poster for the film and then next to it in the centre of the webpage is the trailer. This makes it very simple for the reader to identify what film it is and then find easy access to what the film is all about. 

The Facebook page similarly follows the webpages format. The large font suggests that they want to attract the reader’s attention and draw them in to the page, this continues throughout the Facebook page and so entices the reader more and more until they decide that they want to go watch the film. This technique used by the page designers is very common and so conforms with the mainstream psychographic.