Target audience

The target audience of a thriller varies depending on the film, and also if the film in hand has a specific sub-genre. Traditionally the target audience is said to be males, as stereotypically the tension and plot lines thrillers have are more appealing to that gender. Usually the age would start at 16 and end at perhaps late fifties. I think this because children under the age of 16 probably wouldn't enjoy a thriller, they might find it too scary, and the certificate may be out of their age range. Older people tend to enjoy more mellow genres, but quite a few middle aged people enjoy Thriller films (For example..My dad).

The film Phone Booth is a good example of how the target audience can change depending on the film. Phone Booth doesn't contain hardly any gore, and is more suspense building than scary. This means it may appeal to a younger audience, but also an older audience because the plot lines are clever and twisting. This illustrates that thriller films can capture any audience depending on the subject.


A completely different example would be the film The Dark Knight, which is often classified as an action thriller movie. However, because it is based on Batman, and has many famous actors which a younger generation are more likely to know, it therefore appeals to a younger audience as well as an older audience who would probably have seen the original Batman movies and would have been curious to see the new take on the story. This shows how film remakes can also contribute to a different target audience.


My final example is the film Memento. The opening scene of this already has blood and gore included, which following a stereotypical view of genders might mean that female and younger viewers would be immediately put off of the film and switch it off. The film also has a lot of clever twists and turns to it, which is why I think it would be more likely to appeal to an older male audience.

Sub genres

Sub-genres are similar to hybrids. Often, a film genre has traits of other genres mixed in with them. For example, a rom com, a mixture of romance and comedy. Thrillers are often hybrids with other genres. Examples of these are:
- Action thrillers
- Crime thrillers
- Western thrillers
- Horror thrillers
- Film-noir thrillers

An example of a film in the horror-thriller sub genre is the film 'Memento'. This is because the beginning of the film opens with blood and is quite gory. Thrillers often don't have blood and gore, they are known for suspense which tends to be more subtle than horrors.

Shot reverse shot and the 180 degree rule

A shot reverse shot usually shows a conversation between two actors. It usually is filmed as an over the shoulder shot, and has too have a least three switches between the two actors.

The 180 degree rule is shown in the diagram below. It means that if the camera films a conversation between two people on the left side of the room, the camera can't then switch to the right side of the room and continue filming because then the people on screen would be backwards as to how they were in the previous take. This rule is put in place to save confusion among the audience.

First prelim task: 23rd September

Today we got into groups of three and filmed a short journey using as many different camera shots as possible. My group decided to film the journey of Joe going too the toilet. This allowed us to use many different shots such as a wide panning shot, and a worm’s eye view shot.

We began the lesson by looking at the equipment we would be using, the cameras and tripods. We had to learn how to load a tape, switch the camera to VCR or Camera mode, film footage and zoom. We also had to learn how to adjust the legs and many different parts of the tripod.

As Paige and I had used the cameras before in our GCSE media lessons, we were quite comfortable with it. We used the tripod for the wide panning shots and used a hand held technique for worms eye and close up shots. We didn’t find it particularly difficult to think of different shots to use, but learned in the process how useful tripods are. Many of the hand held shots had to be re-filmed several times because the shot was shaky or slightly out of focus.

We also faced the problem of continuity. One shot was filmed with the bags put on the grass in a certain way. We moved the bags before we realised we needed to re-do the shot. This meant we had to re-watch the footage and try and line the bags up exactly as they had been before.

We enjoyed using the cameras and coming up with different interesting shots, for example, when Joe was coming down the stairs Paige sat at the bottom step and managed to get a low angle of his feet. We also managed to get a birds eye view of Joe walking through the foyer by standing on the balcony which was above the foyer.

Overall it was quite a successful project, as it reacquainted me and Paige with the cameras and tripod, and allowed Joe to use them for the first time. Once we corrected the problems we had we managed to get the prelim finished to a level which we were satisfied with.

An introduction to shot types, angles and movements

There are many different types of shot types, including:-
Close up (CU)
Big close up (BCU)
Extreme close up (ECU)
Medium close up (MCU)
Extreme long shot (ELS)
Medium long shot (MLS)
Medium shot (MS)
Long shot (LS)

Different types of angles include:-
Low angle
High angle
Worm’s eye
Bird’s eye
Canted
Eye level
Two shot
Over the shoulder shot
POV

Movements include:-
Panning: The horizontal scanning of a scene.
Tracking: A shot in which a camera is mounted on a cart, which travels along tracks.
Crabbing: The camera moving sideways, but the shot staying the same. The camera doesn’t follow the action.
Zooming: Altering the focal length of the lens to give the illusion of moving closer to or further away from the action.
Tilt: Tilting the camera up and down.
PED: The camera moving up and down, but remaining at eye level.
Hand held: attempting to imitate a steady cam but by detaching it from the tripod and carrying it.
Steady cam: attaching a camera to you, needs a license for it.

Looking at the opening sequence to 'Seven'

Film: Seven (1995)

Lead actor(s): Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman and Gwyneth Paltrow.

Director: David Fincher

Titles: The titles look extremely creepy and eerie, combined with the sounds of screaming and the flickering of images. The font of the titles looks scratched and hand written. Seems as if it’s through the eyes of the murderer, obsessive collection of clippings and drawn over pictures of children. Presents a psychotic and disturbing feeling after such a normal and naturalistic beginning. The titles look really constructed in contrast to the slow and still first scene.

Shots: Fade into medium shot of the main character in his kitchen. Shows him getting ready from work, he’s wearing a suit. It switches to the dead body/crime scene after such a normal start. There are lots of two shots so you can see the characters reactions. It’s quite claustrophobic, lots of close ups. Gives a feeling of intensity. As they walk down the road, the camera follows the two characters. Makes you feel as if you are walking with them, part of the scene.

Movement: There aren’t any dramatic camera movements, it’s quite still and slow. There is quite a lot of slow zooming onto characters.

Generic themes: The rain reflects the mood of the film, and of the theme of the film – murder. Rain – constantly trying to clean out the city, like the police officers. As the two characters walk down the street, Morgan Freeman has a hat, walks dominantly. Brad Pitt is out of his comfort zone; he gets knocked by someone walking and is trying to shelter himself from the rain. When Morgan Freeman asks about the children involved in the murder, the other officer gets angry and accuses him of always asking those questions. This suggests Morgan Freeman is compassionate towards the feelings of the people involved, rather than just getting on with his job. In the opening sequence, Morgan Freeman appears to be very neat and independent. He has the sounds of the world around him, but within his own space his world is very different. This gives us an insight into the kind of character he is playing.

Sound: You immediately hear sirens in the distance before you see a picture. Gives us an idea of location and a feeling of mystery. The opening scene is quiet, empty and hollow, there is no music playing.

Mise-en-scene: The shots are quite dark and normal. Wearing a suit, and the way he dresses shows he takes care in his appearance. Prophetic fallacy, it is raining as the come out of the crime scene. The rain creates an ominous feeling about the city. The rain gives us an idea of the urban city location. A linear sequence, they don’t play with the narrative. Very naturalistic and gritty look.

Looking at the opening sequence to 'Memento'

Film: Memento (2002)

Lead actor: Guy Pearce

Director: Christopher Nolan

Titles: The titles are in a light blue font, all in capitals. They fade from one too the next slowly, fitting with the music in the background. The blue font helps to emit a cold feeling. The darkening of the font as it fades makes us sense a dark storyline. Colour connotations.

Shots: Close-up of the Polaroid, allows us too get a clear view of the picture. The shot makes us wonder who is holding the photo, builds suspense as the clip lasts a long time. Quick editing of the bullet and change in colour makes us realise the beginning is a flashback.There are lots of close ups to replicate the feeling of intensity, disorientating as you can’t see the full room. The high angle shot allows us to feel that we are watching/spying on him. Makes the audience feel powerful, as we have the ability to watch a murderer. The high angle makes him appear vulnerable, as does the black and white…the colour has gone from his life and so on.

Movement: The camera stays still for the first shot of the Polaroid, but is at a canted angle so we feel disorientated. It moves smoothly, zooms slowly and follows the character.

Generic themes: The film plays with narrative order, the end at the beginning. The first scene goes backwards inside of forwards. Introduces a sub genre of action with the gunshot, introduces a sub genre of horror as you see the blood. You only see the corpse partly, presenting a feeling of mystery. The beginning offers a range of narratives for the film, it could be a dream, a flashback, what happens in the future. The lead male doesn’t seem panicked as he waits for the Polaroid to develop, despite the fact he just killed somebody. Makes you wonder what his job is. You know the beginning scene is the end of the film because the man he kills is alive in the next scene.

Sound: Diegetic sounds such as the Polaroid being shaken, the gunshot, the bullet hitting the ground. Non-diegetic sounds such as the music in the background. Tense and sad music, rises to a climax as the first clip of the Polaroid is shown. Realistic in terms of sounds and small details, traffic outside, Polaroid being shaken. This introduces the main male character, as you see what he sees and hear what he hears. Creates a set up of the story.

Mise-en-scene:The beginning scene is gritty and grey. The costumes are… He appears in a grotty hotel room, appears anonymous and quite poor. Props such as guns and cameras present us with a feeling of mystery.