Planning a focus group
For our thriller we think its important to make sure we plan and use a focus group. We feel that this research can help us establish exactly what are target audience expect in a good thriller. We will plan our focus group around the target audience age, that being 15. We will also include a few ages above and below this. Roughly ranging from ages 13-18 this will help us see what the majority of young people are interested in.
Were going to set certain questions we can use to prompt some detailed and explanatory answers.
But also add in closed question so were able to establish definite answers when we require them. If this is proven to be successful it'll help the group establish what exactly we should have in our thriller.
We will also create our focus group through a film video and explain the findings to the audience what key specific research we have found.
Continuity error
Throughout our filming process one of our cast members had a hair cut, she got it cut short so you can tell that there is a difference which affects the shots that were previously taken. To overcome this we re-shot the previous scenes in which this cast member appeared in. We should of really thought about it but it didn't cross our minds, meaning it took up extra time re-shooting these scenes.
Another continuity error that we came across whilst filming the final shots was the tissue that wrapped around Amy's hand. This is noticeable as she has a bracelet on. We tried to work around this by keeping her hands out of the last shot.
The 180 Degree Rule
The 180 degree rule
The 180 degree rule is put in place when two or more characters or items are in the same shot. It is used to ensure that the characters or whatever is in shot stays on the same side of the shot. If anything is filmed the other way then this is known as crossing the line. This would be a whole different shot and would be called a reverse angle. When 2 characters are in the same scene/shot they must stay on the same side, looking the same way otherwise it will leave the audience disorientated.
Advertising Our Thriller
To advertise our thriller were creating a Twitter and Facebook page, were doing this as its a great way to publicize our film to a wide audience. Also because we ourselves fit into the target audience for our thriller, many of our friends on Facebook and followers on Twitter are at a similar age to ourselves therefore this is attracting the suitable target audience for our film.
Our twitter page to follow will be called @ChopProductions
and our Facebook page will be called 'Through The Window' Here are some screen grabs of the advertisement we created for our thriller. This was good, as it allowed us to appeal to a wider audience, from doing this now we feel that more people know about our film and this helps promote it. Fans and friends were able to see what the group were doing and could follow us by keeping up to date with when the release of the thriller would be etc.
Fro m using these social networking sites we've gained a larger audience, if in the future the same opportunity to advertise a company or product presented itself again, we would definitely uses these two sites to advertise.
Diary Of A Day Shooting
Day 1
We began shooting on Sunday the 11th of March. The group decided to shoot early in the day, we did this to try and fit in as much filming as possible and less cars would be on the road near the house so there wasn't any interfering noises.
First of all we met up at James' house in Doddinghurst at around 10 o'clock. Myself and Amy got changed into our costumes and put on our make-up. The boys were in charge of getting the required equipment ready. This was making sure the camera was charged and bringing the tripod. We set off walking at quarter past 10 and arrived at the location at about quarter to 11. We set up immediately and began to run through different shots, using the story board to refer back to.
Firstly, we briefed everyone and all said a variety of different ideas we could use for different shots to come up with the best idea for that specific shot. We were able to work well as a team and get things done productively. Also, the majority of the time we made valid and serious decisions. We decided previously not to write a script until after filming, we felt it was better to freestyle and talk as a group about what words could be said. This was a wise decision as we were able to come up with an easy-flowing natural conversational tone in the film.
I was in charge for filming the shots which James Pete and Olly were in. This included the establishing shot at the beginning and multiple mid shots of the characters talking. James was in charge of filming the characters individually, he did close ups of Olly and Pete and filmed myself and Amy.
For each shot we made sure we filmed for about an extra 6-10 seconds. We did this so we could edit out what we didn't need at the end. We also filmed multiple shots from different angels this allowed us to then pick the best shot for the particular scene.
Problems we had whilst filming were due to the overgrown vegetation. As the house has been deserted for many years we found a few places we'd ideally like to place the camera we couldn't, as parts of plants and weeds were in the way.
Another problem we had whilst filming was having to make safe pathways which we could run and walk through, this was time consuming and now we know next time we go to film we will have to have extra time for certain shots to have safe places to move in etc.
We were there for around an hour as some of the members of the group had arrangements, in this time we were able to film about a third of the film. This was productive work and we got what we needed to get done.
Day 2
On the second day of shooting we arrived at the location at around 1 o'clock to start filming. We firstly, got dropped to james' house where we made some fresh new fake blood and myself and Amy got changed into our costumes, we were also very aware that the boys were wearing the exact same costumes on the previous days of filming to make sure no continuity errors were made.
We ran through shot after shot perfectly, re taking them a couple of times so we could select the best shot available. We also tried shots in different compositions so when we began editing we could again choose the shot most suited for the thriller.
Problems which occurred this day of shooting were placements of the camera, because the house has been deserted for a long time parts of floor in the roof were missing and there were dangerous bits of sharp flooring and bricks around, therefore it made it harder for us to place the tripod onto a stable surface.
Positively most actions went to plan, we were able to shoot the shots we wanted and we got it done in a reasonable amount of time, we had no errors of fault with equipment and everything went smoothly. We've now finished all of the shots we had planned for our thriller, but we need to see how much time we have for the thriller, if we are a little short we may have to go back to the location and add in a few more shots. Vise verse if its too long we will have to shortened some shots.
We began shooting on Sunday the 11th of March. The group decided to shoot early in the day, we did this to try and fit in as much filming as possible and less cars would be on the road near the house so there wasn't any interfering noises.
First of all we met up at James' house in Doddinghurst at around 10 o'clock. Myself and Amy got changed into our costumes and put on our make-up. The boys were in charge of getting the required equipment ready. This was making sure the camera was charged and bringing the tripod. We set off walking at quarter past 10 and arrived at the location at about quarter to 11. We set up immediately and began to run through different shots, using the story board to refer back to.
Firstly, we briefed everyone and all said a variety of different ideas we could use for different shots to come up with the best idea for that specific shot. We were able to work well as a team and get things done productively. Also, the majority of the time we made valid and serious decisions. We decided previously not to write a script until after filming, we felt it was better to freestyle and talk as a group about what words could be said. This was a wise decision as we were able to come up with an easy-flowing natural conversational tone in the film.
I was in charge for filming the shots which James Pete and Olly were in. This included the establishing shot at the beginning and multiple mid shots of the characters talking. James was in charge of filming the characters individually, he did close ups of Olly and Pete and filmed myself and Amy.
For each shot we made sure we filmed for about an extra 6-10 seconds. We did this so we could edit out what we didn't need at the end. We also filmed multiple shots from different angels this allowed us to then pick the best shot for the particular scene.
Problems we had whilst filming were due to the overgrown vegetation. As the house has been deserted for many years we found a few places we'd ideally like to place the camera we couldn't, as parts of plants and weeds were in the way.
Another problem we had whilst filming was having to make safe pathways which we could run and walk through, this was time consuming and now we know next time we go to film we will have to have extra time for certain shots to have safe places to move in etc.
We were there for around an hour as some of the members of the group had arrangements, in this time we were able to film about a third of the film. This was productive work and we got what we needed to get done.
Day 2
On the second day of shooting we arrived at the location at around 1 o'clock to start filming. We firstly, got dropped to james' house where we made some fresh new fake blood and myself and Amy got changed into our costumes, we were also very aware that the boys were wearing the exact same costumes on the previous days of filming to make sure no continuity errors were made.
We ran through shot after shot perfectly, re taking them a couple of times so we could select the best shot available. We also tried shots in different compositions so when we began editing we could again choose the shot most suited for the thriller.
Problems which occurred this day of shooting were placements of the camera, because the house has been deserted for a long time parts of floor in the roof were missing and there were dangerous bits of sharp flooring and bricks around, therefore it made it harder for us to place the tripod onto a stable surface.
Positively most actions went to plan, we were able to shoot the shots we wanted and we got it done in a reasonable amount of time, we had no errors of fault with equipment and everything went smoothly. We've now finished all of the shots we had planned for our thriller, but we need to see how much time we have for the thriller, if we are a little short we may have to go back to the location and add in a few more shots. Vise verse if its too long we will have to shortened some shots.
Making the blood
Firstly, we began to research which ways we could make fake blood. We found a lot of videos on the Internet which demonstrated a variety of ways. Many were American, which involved a certain syrup called corn syrup. From going in and out of a few shops we realized this product was only sold in the US.
So, we began to look for other solutions. We tried another way to do it but we found that the consistency wasn't quite what we wanted. Instead I began to try different mixtures to come up with some fake blood.
We put about 5 table spoons of golden syrup into a bowl. Then add 2 teaspoons of water, then mix together. We then added 3 table spoons of chocolate sauce and mixed it together. We then added a few drops of red food dye, mixed it together, and our fake blood was complete.
Health and Safety risks
Initial Risk | Who is Exposed to the risk? | Level of risk ( low-high) | Actions Taken |
Broken Glass | Everyone on set | Medium | Making sure we are all careful, having a first aid kit on set if needed. |
Nails sticking out of the floor | Everyone on set | Medium | Step carefully making sure area is clear before running around etc. |
Broken window | Oliver | Medium | Take extra care when doing the window scene. First aid kit on set. |
Broken ladder to the upstairs | James, Peter and Oliver | High | Go up the ladder very slowly and carefully. Make sure ladders sturdy. Have someone support the ladder and watch you don't fall. |
Holes in the floor | Everyone on set | Medium | Careful where you tread making sure you don't catch your feet or fall in any of the holes. |
Thorn bushes outside | Claire and Amy and Peter | Low | Clear a path free of stinging nettles and thorns before filming. First aid kit on set. |
Lots of wood everywhere | Everyone on set | Low | Watch out for items on the floor and tread slowly. |
Advantage and Disadvantages of primary research methods
Questionnaires
One type of primary research is in the form of a questionnaire. This has many advantages but also many disadvantages, the points following will back this up;
Disadvantages of using a questionnaire would be that the respondents may rush the questionnaire and answer some questions wrongly without any knowledge going into the answer, especially if the questionnaire takes a long time to complete. The common mistake of asking too many questions should be avoided. Also some people may not answer the questions as they believe that they will not benefit from answering these questions.
Advantages of using a questionnaire would be that they are free to make and free to gather the information. The information gathered is collected really quickly and if its a short questionnaire then the public would be willing to give up their time to respond to the questions. Also information can be collected from a large group of people and also a large variety of people. This would be effective as they would get a different view on the subject.
Interviews
Another primary research method is the method of interviewing this has some disadvantages and some advantages, these follow;
Disadvantages of doing interviews is that it is time consuming for everyone involved. Also another disadvantage is that it is very expensive for the company and the interviewee. This is why most people want to succeed in the interview the first time around. Another disadvantage of doing interviews is that the interviewers mind is made up within the first few minutes of the interview with the rest of the interview just backing up the first opinion.
Advantages of using the interview method is that they obtain personal thoughts and opinions on a certain matter. Another advantage for the use of interviewing is you can get a much broader answer and interviewee's aren't forced into a multiple question answer. Also one of the biggest advantages is the fact that you can ask the interviewee to elaborate on their answers.
Survey
The third and final primary research method that i am going to analyze for their effectiveness is the method of surveying. This method has many advantages and disadvantages, these follow;
Disadvantages of using the survey method would be that the issuer, being us in this example, would have to ensure that at least some of the sample of the public will reply to the survey. Another disadvantage of a survey is that some respondents may be untruthful when answering some of the more intimidating questions.
Advantages of doing a survey would be that you can ask the respondent many questions about a specific topic and have flexibility about how you analyze the information. Another advantage would be that they are relatively cheap to make and in some cases are free.
These three methods would probably be most effective when thinking about research methods for our 2 minute thriller opening.
Advantages of using a questionnaire would be that they are free to make and free to gather the information. The information gathered is collected really quickly and if its a short questionnaire then the public would be willing to give up their time to respond to the questions. Also information can be collected from a large group of people and also a large variety of people. This would be effective as they would get a different view on the subject.
Interviews
Another primary research method is the method of interviewing this has some disadvantages and some advantages, these follow;
Disadvantages of doing interviews is that it is time consuming for everyone involved. Also another disadvantage is that it is very expensive for the company and the interviewee. This is why most people want to succeed in the interview the first time around. Another disadvantage of doing interviews is that the interviewers mind is made up within the first few minutes of the interview with the rest of the interview just backing up the first opinion.
Advantages of using the interview method is that they obtain personal thoughts and opinions on a certain matter. Another advantage for the use of interviewing is you can get a much broader answer and interviewee's aren't forced into a multiple question answer. Also one of the biggest advantages is the fact that you can ask the interviewee to elaborate on their answers.
Survey
The third and final primary research method that i am going to analyze for their effectiveness is the method of surveying. This method has many advantages and disadvantages, these follow;
Disadvantages of using the survey method would be that the issuer, being us in this example, would have to ensure that at least some of the sample of the public will reply to the survey. Another disadvantage of a survey is that some respondents may be untruthful when answering some of the more intimidating questions.
Advantages of doing a survey would be that you can ask the respondent many questions about a specific topic and have flexibility about how you analyze the information. Another advantage would be that they are relatively cheap to make and in some cases are free.
These three methods would probably be most effective when thinking about research methods for our 2 minute thriller opening.
Shooting Schedule
| SHOOTING SCHEDULE | |||||
| DATES | TIMES | SCENES BEING FILMED | Weather | PROPS BEING USED | WHO'S IN CHARGE |
| Sunday 4th March | 1'oclock | Whole thing | Rain /snow | Costumes | Claire |
| Tripod | James | ||||
| Camera | James | ||||
| Make up | Claire | ||||
| Fake blood | Claire | ||||
| CANCELLED DUE TO WEATHER ! | |||||
| Sunday 11th | 2'oclock | Whole thing | Clear, highs of 13c | Costumes | Claire |
| Tripod | James | ||||
| Camera | James | ||||
| Make up | Claire | ||||
| Fake blood | Claire | ||||
| Wednesday 14th | 1'oclock | Whole thing | Costumes | Claire | |
| Tripod | James | ||||
| BACK UP DAY | Camera | James | |||
| Make up | Claire | ||||
| Fake blood | Claire |
We made up the schedule so that it kept us all organised, we knew who was in charge of which props so that we had all of them when we were on set. We decided a time to meet at the house as all of us came from different places so this meant we were all there at the same time and ready to film. By doing this it allowed no room for fault as we made sure everyone had their props e.g camera that was charged and then this meant that we were able to get down to filming straight away.
Questionnaire Results
From our research we can clearly see that the appropriate age range for our thriller is 12-15. We asked participants a question whether they would want to see a supernatural thriller and 12-15 year olds had the highest quantity of potential audience therefore we are targeting our thriller at a BBFC rating of 12-15.
As you can tell from the feedback above not everyone watches thrillers on a regular basis, therefore we wanted to create a thriller which will draw the audience in and encourage them to come and watch our thriller.
From the pie chart above our group have decided to make our thriller as scary as possible as we know that most people enjoy to feel scared whilst watching a thriller. To do so we will make our antagonists eerie and mysterious. We will also incorporate elements of surprise and suspense in order to keep our audience scared.
This is possibly one of the most important questions that we asked our audience as we needed to know what they enjoy in a film so that we could adapt our ideas to fit what they believe makes a good thriller. What we got out of these results was that tension and a good story line is most effective in a thriller. As a group we sat down and all gave our ideas in so that we could create the perfect thriller with ideas from all of us.
Again the results above show us as a group that we need to create a psychological or supernatural thriller. The two sections of the pie chart dominate our chart and are by far the best two categories in the Thriller industry. In our opinion, we believe that there will always be a gap in the market for thriller/horror films.
In this particular question and pie chart, 50% of the audience feedback was covered by the answer ‘scary’ this shows us that we had to have something different about our antagonists making them stand out and really bringing our thriller to life.
In this answer, we were quite unsure as to what to do as the feedback we received is nearly split evenly between the answers. As a group, after seeing these results we decided to do a mixture of some of the answers.
Setting and Location
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This is the location of our thriller, a derelict house in Swallows Cross, Doddinghurst. This is a perfect setting for a thriller as its abandoned and creates a feeling of suspense for the audience. The garden could be used as an extra location because its over grown and could give the spirit extra places to hide. Audiences are also familiar with abandoned houses because they can be used as key iconography for any thriller film. The location is also a convenient setting as Olly, James and Pete all live in Doddinghurst, whereas I live in Brentwood which isn't a far distance to travel to reach the location. The positives to our location:
The negatives to out location:
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Poster Idea
This is a possible poster idea. We really like the poster as it fits in with the name of the thriller and what happens in the film. It also fits in with the genre of the film, which is a horror/thriller. The poster was created using the software Gimp which is an image manipulation program. We found that we could create a better poster using this program, rather than the software we can use in the school. This poster was made using some images from the Internet. The reason we created this vision is so that we knew how we wanted our poster to look, so that when we go out to take our photos we know what ones we need to take.
This is a possible poster idea. You can see that it is very similar to our original idea, as we all really like that idea and wanted to recreate it as best as possible. One thing we aren't to sure about it the empty two windows at the top, we feel that there should something should be there.
We tried to fill up this empty area with some extra hands, this fits in with the story as there a two antagonists, the two girls. However some people say that the extra hands is too much and they like the poster without the extra hands.
This poster can be used to advertise our film.
Questionnaires
From our questionnaire results we were able to gain valid information that could help us develop our initial ideas. We were then able to put these results into pie charts. This allowed us to view quantitative data in a simplistic form so we could analyse our results and then develop our ideas accordingly to our results as it shows what a majority of people look for in a thriller. We used both open and closed questions. The open questions allowed a more detailed qualitative answer to be expressed. This was important as it showed what individuals thought and we were then able to as a group go through ideas we knew our target audience would be interested in.
Fonts
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Here we've produced different fonts of our title to our thriller. We used the website http://www.dafont.com/ this allowed us to try a variety of fonts which are suitable for a thriller, as you can see we tried different sizes and positions of words. We feel the most effective font is 'tractt' which is the font with the word window in a bigger font, this gives emphasis on the word window and hopes to grab the audiences attention. Our second favourite font is the bottom one this is effective as the end of the letters are pointed, this gives us a sense of danger because it could symbolize a knife. |
Poster Inspirations
We created a mood board which consisted of a few film posters which we believe were successful when promoting their thrillers. We did this research so that we could develop our potential thriller ideas for our film. We like the composition on the 'Insidious' due to the boys stance and the mystery in his eyes. We also liked the colours projected in 'The Rings' poster, we felt that these dark colours created an uneasy atmosphere. We liked the last exorcism characters costume which influenced us to go out and buy our costumes for our thriller. We liked the concept of the window in the poster for 'The uninvited' thriller. We felt that we should incorporate a window in our own thriller seeming that our thriller is called 'Through The Window'. However we felt that we can include and incorporate ideas from the posters above to assist us in creating our successful poster.
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