Target Audience

The target audience of a thriller movie is not always the same; the target audience depends on the sub-genre of the film, and the topics it covers.
Films such as 'No Country For Old Men', which was rated R, have a target audience of young males. The action and violence contained within films like these appeals to the male viewers. Moreover, the viewers are generally young as they enjoy the fast-paced nature of the films.
Thrillers that can also be classified as horror films appeal to females more than males. This is because horror films target young women, therefore, thrillers that are also horrors would share some of the same conventions as the horror films.
Political thrillers, such as 'The Manchurian Candidate' and crime thrillers such as 'Se7en' are intended for the older generation - these films are slightly slower in pace, and require more logic to understand.

Our thriller would be quite psychological, and would therefore be aimed at young women. With this in mind, we would cast a female as our main character - this would make it easier for the audience to relate to the character.

Drag Me To Hell, 2009

'Drag Me To Hell' is an American horror that can also be classified as a thriller. The film was directed by Sam Raimi, and depicts the tale of Christine Brown as she fights to stop herself being dragged to hell. After rejected the desired extension of local gypsy Mrs Ganush's loan, the old lady begs for Christine to help her and grant the extension. Christine, who is seeking a promotion, decides to be strict and says no to Mrs Ganush's pleas. Ganush is humilated, and begins to get angry. She rips a button off of Christine's jacket, and hands it back to her after performing a curse.
Christine sees a psychic, who tells her she is cursed and has three day to live. At the end of the three days, the Lamia will drag her to hell. After a failed seance, Christine learns that she must pass the accused button onto someone else. She tries to find a suitable recipient, but fails. The psychic tells her that she can in fact give the button to Ganush, who had recently passed away.
Christine drives to the cemetery, and digs up Ganush's body. She formally gives the button to the body as a gift, and leaves feeling accomplished. The next day, Christine heads to the train station to meet her boyfriend, Clay, who was intending to propose to her. Clay reveals that he found an envelope in his car, containing a button. Christine realises that she gave Mrs Ganush the coin she had bought for Clay. Both items were in white envelopes, and were mixed up during a minor road accident the day before. Christine is horrified, and falls onto the train tracks. Before the oncoming train hits her, she is dragged to hell.

The film creates vast amounts of suspense, and leaves the audience guessing on numerous occasions. The conventions used in 'Drag Me To Hell' are very effective, and inspiration is gained by watching this film.

Our Thriller - Rough Plot

As a group, we have decided on rough plot for our thriller.
Characters:

• Stalker: The stalker will look menacing, and will come across as mentally unstable. They are highly obsessed with the Central Character although he hasn't contacted her yet. He keeps many images of her by monitoring her social networking sites. His obsession isn't sexual; he has no sexual desire. 

• Central Character: The central character will be a ordinary person. They will look normal and act in a normal way. They will be slightly smaller than most people, thus making them more vulnerable than others. They will know the identity of the Stalker, but will not know that they are stalking them. For example, the Stalker would go to the same school as the Central Character, but they would never talk.
• Friend 1: This character will be in the background for most shots, along with Friend 2. They are side characters and are not vital.
• Friend 2: This character is the same as Friend 1.

The plot will include the Central Character and the two friends going into the woods for a night of camping. After updating her status, the Stalker knows about the Central Characters trip to the woods, and sets out to follow them.

The Central Character will then take a phone call, and walks away from their campsite. When she returns, she finds that her friends are gone, and that she is left alone. She then decides to try and find them, and heads back the way she came. She discovers that she is being followed, and is almost caught by the stalker. Our filming will end here.

The rest of the movie, if we were to make it, would consist of the Central Character trying to find her friends, and trying to work out what happened on the night she was nearly attacked. 

Auteur

Auteur refers to the author or creator of the idea that some film directors impose a personal vision on their film. It is argued that Hitchcock stamped a number of creative features on his films, including:

• very high angled shots.
• exaggerated P.O.V.
• creative use of sound (non-diegetic music).
• exaggerated lighting effects.
• precise editing.
• characters who are trapped or imprisoned.
• misleading relationships.
• cameo appearances of Hitchcock himself.

Voyeur - watching something we're not meant to be watching. Also known as voyeuristic viewing.

Steven Speilberg is another auteur. His trademark techniques included ordinary people confronted by extraordinary situations. This was in films such as:

• Jaws.
• E.T.
• Schindler's List.
• Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

Analysis of Past Student's Work

Today in class, we were shown three thriller openings from the previous years AS Level students. We were asked to critique them, and discuss what we liked, disliked, and what grade we would award the thriller with. Furthermore, we were also asked to give the thriller and mark out of ten for the following categories:

• Idea
• Cinematography
• Sound/Music
• Performance

This thriller was my favourite from the three shown. I enjoyed the build up of tension, and the various shots used. I thought that the storyline was not predictable, and was kept on the edge of my seat during the action scene.Idea: 8/10Cinematography: 9/10Sound/Music: 8/10Performance: 8/10

I thought this thriller was slightly lack-lustre in comparison with the first. I thought the storyline was slightly confusing, as I wasn't sure who the girl was in relation to the flashbacks.Idea: 7/10Cinematography: 7/10Sound/Music: 8/10Performance: 6/10


This was my least favourite of the three thriller shown. I disliked the use of only one piece of music, as it made the piece seem repetitive. Moreover, I didn't like the use of the old-fashioned black and white, as it looked rather cliché.Idea: 7/10Cinematography: 6/10Sound/Music: 5/10Performance: 7/10
Overall, I think each thriller isn't perfect, and I feel as though I can take inspiration from all three pieces, and hopefully produce a thriller of a high standard.

Codes and Conventions of a Thriller

Lighting

• Low level lighting
• Shadows/limited view of a character
• Often at night/dark/eerie
• Dim colours - red is also used

Setting

• Isolated/deserted/exotic - desert, ranch, old warehouse.
• Confined locations - lift, phone booth, cellar, train. (Generic feature of a thriller is entrapment, thus claustrophobic spaces are key.)

Editing

• Quick cuts/fast pace - enhances anxiety and confusion.
• Jump cuts - shows erratic tension.
• Match cuts - links two ideas.

Cinematography

• Camera angles low/high - plays with and highlights the roles of authority/power within the film.
• Point of view shot - demonstrates what the character sees.
• Establishing shot - setting the scene.
• Close ups - highlight sense of anxiety and tension. Emotions are clearly seen.
• Frantic camera movements - portrays tense environment.

Non-diegetic sound

• High pitched music - heightens suspense.
• Ambience music - helps to create the correct atmosphere.
• Fast pace music - essential for action scenes.

Diegetic sound

• Creaky doors/wind/tap running/footsteps - sounds that alert the audience that something is about to happen.
• Silence - thought provoking.
• Heavy breathing
• Whispering

Characters

• Criminals, stalkers, assassins, down-on-their-luck losers, innocent victims, dark pasts, psychotic people, terrorists, private eyes, drifters.
• Ambiguous roles - are they good/bad?

No Country For Old Men, 2007

No Country For Old Men is an American crime thriller, set in West Texas during the 1980s. Due to the setting, the film can also be classified under the sub-genre of 'Western'.
The film itself is based around the characters Llewelyn Moss and Anton Chigurh. After breaking off his end of the deal, and killing anyone else involved, Chigurh accidently misplaces the money he sought. Moss then finds the money after seeing the scene of Chigurh's crime.
Then begins the 'cat and mouse' style chase, resulting in a heavy load of violence and large amounts of blood.

The film is different to many other thrillers and the villain in the main character; the villain is central to the plot. Moreover, the villain prevails, rather than the 'good guy'. This makes the film unique and more interesting than other thrillers.
My favourite scene from the movie is the scene in which Chigurh visits Moss' wife. The scene is extremely tense and we are unsure whether Moss' wife dies or not; the director only hints at it.

Filming Certificates

Across the world, films are certified so that they are suitable for their audience. For example, a violent horror film is not appropriate for a small child, thus gaining a higher certificate, such as  certificate 18. The British Board of Film Classification regulate the certificates for films shown in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1912, the board aim to make the films age appropriate, whilst still allowing the target audience to span a wide range of people.
Some production companies have been known to alter or cut scenes so that their film can be awarded a lower certificate. One example of this is the film 'Mean Girls' in which a sex scene was scrapped, as it alone would have increased the certificate from 12A to 15.

The Strangers, 2008

'The Strangers' is a horror/thriller film that depicts the struggle Kristen McKay and James Hoyt go through to survive, after being stalked by three masked villains.
The film uses a wide range of thriller conventions, including hidden identities, chiaroscuro and the build up of tension. This creates a large sense of mystery throughtout the film, and leads us unsure of who the antagonists are, and why they are after the protagonists.The idea of masks would be interesting to implement into our thriller, as we are covering stalking too.
Also, as we do not find out who the antagonists are, there is a strong possibility of a sequel. The use of unanswered questions could be put into our thriller opening, as it would entice the viewer to watch the rest of the film.