Thriller Film Pitch

So after our research about target audiences, openings to thrillers etc, we came up with our film idea. Once the idea was planned and we knew what the story line was going to be, it was time to pitch our idea to the dreaded studio executives to see what they thought of it. Here's how it went...




Evaluation
From watching our pitch back, I think our studio came across and confident and knew exactly what they were saying and going to be doing in order to create this film opening. 
Some people found the story line a little complex but once simplified, it was easy for them to grasp the concept of the film. 

When grilled by the executives about details of the film opening, to me as a group we answered them pretty well. None of the question asked were left unanswered and they made sense and gave the executives the answer they needed to understand the process of our film making. As a group when answering the questions, we didn't panic; one of us was bound to know the answer to each question as I feel we had planned the film with everything in mind.

Overall I think our pitch was clear and to the point with good responses to the questions thrown our way. 

Role of a Sound Editor

Pitch over. Now the film work begins. Something that might help us create the film and is a crucial part in creating the atmosphere of a thriller film...A SOUND EDITOR!

So what actually is a sound editor?

A creative professional in charge of selecting and assembling the sound recordings for a TV programme, Motion Picture or even Computer Games. This involves 

playing around, adjusting or recording over sounds created for the above.

Before sound...

All films were silent. No music, no talking and all that could be seen on screen was things like people getting on and off trains (the camera never moved). Someone famous for keeping silent through out a film was Charlie Chaplain. All his films are in silence...except when he gave in to sound in 1931 in the film City Lights for comical effect.

This all changed in 1927 when The Jazz Singer was released with synchronized dialogue and even diegetic music (Music produced by something on screen).

Since this, film and sound have progressed drastically. All sounds are recorded and manipulated to create atmosphere and set the mood of a film. One wrong sound can ruin a film!







Film companies go all out nowadays to make their film the best there ever is. With the development of sound, all different ideas have come about. Recently one new way of filming sound was in the musical 'Les Miserables' where all the sound and singing was live. Below is a video showing the process the sound editors had to go through in order for this idea to work:

Some key things to remember in sound editing are: 

• Dubbing- to remove the sound from an original film shot and replace it with edited sound that has been manipulated and edited to perfection. An example of this is musicals. In most film musicals, they dub the on screen sound to make way for a studio recorded and edited version. 

•  Foley- real sounds created and recorded to dub over a film. Someone called a Foley artist goes out and records all the sounds they have been told are needed in the film and then they get edited and added into the film. Say if someone wanted the sound of a brush sweeping or ball being kicked, they'd go and record it. This allows the sounds used in motion pictures etc to be realistic rather than sounding fake and ruin the whole of the film.

We had a go at creating some Foley ourselves. Take a listen and see what you think of our sounds for walking in the snow, a cat purring and a punch.

We used all sorts of things to create our sounds. 


Walking in the snow was created by...emptying flour into a container then placing a scrunchies in the flour and pressing it down with a stick. (Bit messy but made the sound we needed it to make!)






Cat Purring was made by...Getting someone to make a cat noise down the mic








A punch was produced by...hitting a rolled up news paper off the table.

Role of a Film Composer

A film composer created the music that will go over or be played during the film. Their job is to test out and create music that will bring a film to life. When a piece of film music is composed and played right, it can take a film from being average to outstanding!

One of the most famous film composers is John Williams, composer of the famous Death March from Star Wars right through to the memorable Hedwig's Theme for Harry Potter. 

Here is a video starring John William's himself, talking about the musical genius he had during the  Star Wars scoring.

John Williams has won over 90 awards for his compositions to some of the greatest films of all times. His music is still played from today and most people will never forget things like the Death March and Schindler's List. His is an example of his work from the famous Schindler's List:



Other films he has composed include: 

• Harry Potter
• Star Wars
• Jaws
• Jurassic Park
• Indiana Jones
• Super Man 
• War Horse
• The Adventures of Tintin
• ET

That's to name but a few of the films he has composed on with so many more that could be listed.

Wilhelm Scream

The wihelm scream is known as a 'stock sound' which has been used in over 200 films.

It began to be used in 1951 and usually is played when someone is stabbed, pushed off a building or some sort of violence is shown. Nowadays it can be used for comedy effect or to actually show violence and terror. 

Here's a compilation of the WILHELM SCREAM to show you just how much its used.

Personally one of my favourite sound moments in a film has got to be in Harry Potter, When you hear the first note of the harpsichord playing. It just hooks you in straight way. Have a listen: 



For me it just brings alive the magic and mystery that unfolds within the film series. 


So over all this research is going to help in the creation of my film opening as it allows me to discover all the different techniques and equipment used to create the sound. You can't just record the sound on the camera and be done with it. Some of the sounds might not be heard or could be different in shots filmed in different places. 
In the Thriller film, the music and the sound needs to be carefully produced, chosen and edited to prevent atmosphere kill in the film. 
Our Production team REFLECTION STUDIOS will be designating someone to be sound editor so that the sound for our opening is perfect and creates and serves the purpose we need it to serve.

Target Audience Profile For Thriller

So here's our idea of what our typical target audience would be for our THRILLER....

 

Simon Davies is an 18 year old male is currently in his last year of sixth form at Hydesville Tower School (Private School) in Walsall. For two years he has studied Media, Drama, Business Studies and English and is set to achieve high grades to allow him to continue his Business Studies at the University of Edinburgh.

Simon currently lives with his parents but is hoping to move away when he leaves for university and live in an apartment in which his parents will pay for the rent.
In his spare time, other than playing cricket and rugby, Simon likes to go to the cinema with his friends to see films of the genre, comedy, horror, thriller, action adventure and Sci-fi.

The most recent film Simon has been to see was Gravity with his mates from school. However he prefers the old school thrillers such as Psycho (the original) and Vertigo.
Even though his parents are rather rich, Simon has to work on Saturdays and Sunday at the local shop, stacking shelves and serving customers. His parents don't always give him everything so he has to earn some money for outings to the cinema and buying DVDs when they're on offer at his local ASDA. Simon also has to get himself places in his Black Mini which his parents got him for his 17th Birthday; he only recently passed his driving test after failing first time round.

When he's not watching films at the cinema or at rugby training, Simon likes listening to his music, especially Indie, Rock and some Pop Bands such as Arctic Monkeys, Fall Out Boy and Linkin Park. Simon's friends don't agree with his music taste and so has to socialise with his mates about films and games consoles. His friends love the film genres he is into and so they all go to the cinema in their free time; mostly Wednesdays.

Target Audience

When Identifying our Target Audience for the Thriller Opening we will be creating, we had to do a little research as to what sort of people would watch our film. 

We thought that our target audience would certainly consist of a male audience. We then came to the conclusion that it would be males between the age of 17-25 as these are the people we feel are more likely to go out and buy the film or go to the cinema with their mates and watch the film. 

Classification-

When creating a film, you have to take into consideration the classification (age rating) of the film. This all depends on the content of the film e.g the violence, sexual content, the number of times certain swear words are said etc. This is all taken into consideration and the rating is chosen accordingly to match the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC). 

So what are the BBFC? 

These are the people that decide the rating all films created in Britain from the soppiest love story to a blood- curdling horror. They have criteria for each film rating and depending on the content of the film they rate the film appropriately. The BBFC officially decide the rating of the film following the guidelines set for each rating. 

Here are the ratings and what makes them...what they are:

-Stands for UNIVERSAL. This rating is deemed suitable for 4 and above however there are children's programs suitable for children younger than 4.

-Mild language such as 'Bloody' and 'Bugger' can be used and the even milder use of 'damn' and 'hell'
-Characters in the film may kiss and sexual behavior may be implied

-No illegal drugs are to be shown in a U              

-Parental Guidence. Most of these films are suitable for a young audience however some may contain inappropriate themes for younger children.

-Mild bad language such as B**** and S*** can be used but the way it is used defines whether it is a PG or the next rating up. If
it is meant in an aggressive way and is repeatedly said at one time it may be considered a 12.

-smoking and drinking shall not be promoted and encouraged in a PG.

-Sexual references can be made but not shown full. 
-no detailed violence is allowed. Blood is allowed but the cause of the injury is not permitted to be show in detail.
- drugs can be spoke of and shown but not focused upon unless it is an anti-drug film
or has an educational message that children over 8 will understand.

- bad language such as f*** can be used, however it cannot be frequent. moderate words such as B**** and T*** can be used.

-Aggressive racist and homophobic comments and language used is not accepted and will mean the film is classified higher.

-Sex can be briefly and discreetly shown. 

-Comedy can be used to create crude comments and lesson the impact of the sexual content. Brief nudity allowed.
- violence can be shown but cannot be shown in detail.

-Sexual violence can be implied but not shown in detail. (must be justified)

-Dangerous behavior can be shown but should not dwell.

-Drugs can be shown but not frequently.

Whats the difference between a 12A and 12? 

12A follows the same rules as a 12, however this classification rating is for cinemas. The A stands for 'Accompanied' or 'Advisory' which applies to those younger than 12 who wish to see the film. 

-15's are stronger than 12A's. Suitable for 15 and over.

-Strong violence

-frequent use of strong language such as f***

- sexual nudity is prominent. 

-Strong verbal sexual content.

-brief scenes of sexual violence or verbal reference to sexual violence. 

-racist or homophobic language or behavior
-scenes of drug taking

-Extremely strong language

-Frequent use of the 'F' word and use of very strong language such as the 'C' word.

Strong sexual activity and violence

-Strong horror

-Strong blood and gore

-Full nudity allowed as well as crude and explicit sex references.

-Extreme racist and homophobic language allowed

                                 -drugs shown and used but not to be promoted.

- specialist category and a legally restricted classification for explicit materials.

-Only shown in specially licensed cinemas. 

for more information visit British Board of Film Classification

and so after considering the rating rule of the BBFC, we've decided to rate our film a...

This is due to the implied violence and horror that isn't likely to be suitable for young children.

We then came up with a basic idea of what our target audience would be like. 

Age: 16-25

Gender- Male

Ethnicity: White British

Income Levels: Students with casual jobs

Education: Sixth Form and University Students

Film Tastes: Thriller, Comedy, Horror, Action, Adventure

Class: Class DE of the classification system

Ways of viewing the film: Cinema, Internet Streaming (Love Film, Netflick, etc), DVD's if on offer in local supermarket.

Where would they find out about our film: You Tube (Trailers before video they are watching on you tube), TV adverts, When looking on cinema sites to see what film is on. Adverts at beginning of film in the cinema.

 Similar Film Analysis

Now, here are two films below. Both of them are Thriller films with a similar age rating.

American Hustle and Oldboy support our target audience choice. Their main audience is male and around the age of 16- 25 which is what we chose as our target audience.
The classification of these two films are slightly different to our film in the way that their films are aimed at AB (higher working
class people).
Other than that our Target audiences are almost identical.
For more examples of films and their audience viewing percentage click the link below.
 Pearl and Dean's







The next post will be the TAP (Target audience profile) of someone likely to watch the thriller we are going to create. Using the research collected here, a typical target audience profile can be made.