Photos from Filming

These photos were taken as we filmed and give a sense of how we approached the task.

Preparing the casserole / stew

Adjusting the camera

Adjusting the tripod

Directing the cast

Setting up props

Getting the right angle / distance

Finding the right location

Using props effectively

Using the tripod flexibly for different effects

Top Grossing Genres 1995-2012

Top-Grossing Genres 1995 to 2012

		Movies	Total Gross	Average Gross	Market Share
1	Comedy	1,751	$44,792,158,044	$25,580,901	23.48%
2	Adventure	521	$38,199,674,469	$73,319,913	20.03%
3	Drama	3,132	$33,621,012,632	$10,734,678	17.63%
4	Action	570	$32,066,637,809	$56,257,259	16.81%
5	Thriller/Suspense	561	$15,495,734,985	$27,621,631	8.12%
6	Romantic Comedy	403	$11,286,883,357	$28,007,155	5.92%
7	Horror	329	$9,093,205,812	$27,638,923	4.77%
8	Documentary	1,076	$2,063,950,710	$1,918,170	1.08%
9	Musical	113	$1,865,013,970	$16,504,548	0.98%
10	Black Comedy	85	$781,440,299	$9,193,415	0.41%

As you can see from the table the top grossing genres from 1995-2012, thriller films are fifth and horror is seventh, taking up 8.12% and 4.77% of the market share respectively. They also totalled at $15,495,734,985  and $9,093,205,812. This is a good amount for films to make, as you can see these two genres are popular and have a market, meaning the target audience enjoy these films and can be relied upon to come and watch them. We hope that our film, which has elements of both, will attract both target audiences.

Research Into Target Audience

Target Audience

As our film is a psychological thriller film, I feel realistically the audience should range from 16 on wards up to mid 30’s. It is a sub-genre of horror and the younger generation seem to enjoy watching horrors, as they are popular. However it does depend on the individual's opinion and taste.

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20111122152523AAxunY1

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080207123002AAHmoLg

Although these are not serious research answers, there are some interesting points about why the teen audience are the key one for this genre. There seems to be a general idea that they are at a point in their life where being scared is a good thing because they have not experienced these strong emotions for real. There is also a bravado element. I think thse opinions have some value.

The target audience  doesn’t depend on age in some circumstances. It can depend on what genre you like or would like to watch. There is no particular reason why older people would not watch our film, but there is a tendency for the genre to be preferred by younger people, perhaps because for the reasons above.

I personally think once you get to the age where you can follow a complex narrative and understand films which have a twist, which is generally from around the age of 16, these films become more appealing to you. ‘Black Swan’ is a psychological thriller and I personally really enjoyed it, as it does have a twist and it’s horror but in a different context. You also have to concentrate to follow the twists and turns.

I believe girls are more likely to watch a psychological horror than a boy as girls might find a movie with a meaning is much more appealing then a  horror film based around violence without much depth to the plot. However, this is quite old-fashioned gender stereotyping and the success of films such as "Cabin in the Woods" might suggest that the horror demographic is changing. 

The graph shows that the horror movies are most popular within the age range of 18-24. We also find over 50’s enjoy watching the horror films. I believe this is because most horror films have a twist or a hidden meaning which the audience love to try and figure out.

The pie chart shows women like watching these types of thrillers more then men. Women adapt more to psychological thrillers then men as there is more effort to think and adjust your mind to the film with what is going on.

These type of films are the same price as the other types films as it is only one of the many genres that can be released. However it may not be an all round popular film as some people just do not find watching scary moments appealing, especially the older generation (60+) who may have lived through scary moments of their own and may not enjoy seeing fictionalised versions.

This is an article from Ian Kingsley.

http://www.iankingsley.com/articles/007-psychological-thrillers.php

I mostly agree with  what Kingsley states. We wanted to get the character thinking and adding clues up together to form their own conclusion as it makes them more involved and engaged into the film. We see our thriller to be what he explains as the appeal of the genre. Having different characteristics for the antagonist will make more of a thinking game for the audience and give more to discuss after the film which can generate new audiences who want to form their own opinion of what everybody else is talking about.

Research Into Target Audience

Please see my presentation on slideshare:

<iframe src="http://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/embed_code/15530808" width="476" height="400" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no"></iframe>

Target Audience is quite a difficult thing to think about. Although I did a small scale survey among my friends, I am not sure this really proves much. Researching who the target audience for your film is is actually quite an odd thing to do - film producers already know who their audience is. Of course they research them, but not in the same way - they are looking for what appeals to this audience and how they can match that. Often they are just using the established audience for another film that was a similar genre. It would be more realistic for us to say who we are targeting and then see how our film appeals to this group.

In my presentation I looked at broad demographics, but this article is interesting because it suggests there is a manipulative quality to the way the teen audience are seen by the film industry:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2012/apr/07/cabin-in-the-woods

That means that teenagers such as ourselves making psychological thrillers / horrors is even more strange as we are making a film in the genre that punishes us. I think the real reason we are drawn to this genre is explained here:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/filmblog/2012/apr/10/cabin-woods-horror-universal-genre

This article  says that everybody likes films that end in death and chaos because bad things happen in every society and we all need a way of dealing with it.

Researching the Target Audience and Genre

Researching the Target Audience and Genre

The target audience for our film would be people who love psychological thrillers, often seen as in the age band of 16-34. This target audience is perfect for our film because if they were any younger they may not understand it and get too scared, and if they were any older they may not find it as impactful and scary as younger people who generally seem to prefer this genre.

http://www.rps.psu.edu/probing/scarymovies.html

This article suggests the scare factor appeals more to teens as they are still in the sensation-seeking stage of their life. Horror (violent and bloody) seems to appeal more to males according to the article, but the psychological factor and upping the suspense rather than the violence increases the appeal to women.

These genres are so popular because they reach out to a wide range of audience; they appeal to males and females and to people of all different ages.

This chart suggests there is still a slight gender gap, but it is not as big as it might have been a few years ago:

I think this might be changing, however, as gender roles become more difficult to define and cross-over.

Anyone could watch thriller films, whatever social or financial status they are. Often the victims are middle to upper middle class, as it is probably more satisfying to watch someone who has everything struggle than someone who is already struggling, but I don't think this affects the social class of the target audience.

Thrillers are popular in the box office. In 2009, out of the 503 total films released in the UK, 31 were thrillers, taking 4% of the year’s box office earnings with £42,578,104. 

Our chosen genre appeals to our target audience of males and females ages 16-34 as it is everything people that age love. It's exciting and provides an adrenaline kick and suspense. Younger people prefer high tension films as it keeps them on edge and is full of action. Also from my own research I asked some friends what their favourite genre of film was, and the majority said thriller/horror therefore I knew that if we aimed our film towards that target audience and used that genre it would be more likely to succeed. Thriller films often put you in the situation of thinking 'What would I do if I was there?' making you put yourself in the film and analysing and judging what the characters do. This  shows that by creating a thriller film you are capturing the audiences full attention, as they put themselves in the situation making it more frightening.

http://www.iankingsley.com/articles/007-psychological-thrillers.php

I found this article about 'What makes a Good Psychological Thriller?' and I agree and disagree. For example, he says that the audience should build a strong relationship with the protagonist. I completely agree with this, because if we do not build a relationship with the protagonist, the audience will get confused and not know who is the hero of the film. Also we need to feel sympathy towards them so that the audience can side with them and feel the emotions they are feeling. On the other hand he says that the antagonist should have likeable and dislikeable aspects. I disagree with this as I believe the antagonist should just have dislikeable aspects to make them fully the 'baddie' and so that the audience can build a hatred towards them. If you make them slightly likeable people may end up liking them destroying the point of even having protagonists and antagonists.

Researching the Film Industry

Researching the Film Industry

The Film Industry is a very general term, however there are many stages within the film industry that help to create a successful film.

Production

• Production companies read the scripts sent in to them and if they like it they will completely change it so it is more commercial, and so that it will sell. The production companies main objective is to make the film generate as much money as it can by making it appealing to the audience.
• The production companies also raise money to make the film if they don't have enough finance to fund it themselves. They would do this by approaching other production companys and ask them for money so that they can have a slice of the profit.

Also:

• The production company provides the director  who directs the actors and film crew in film making. They also provide the director of photography  is the chief over the camera and lighting crews working on a film, and responsible for achieving artistic and technical decisions related to the film.
• They do the casting of the film, find locations suitable, provide equipment  props and costumes. All together the Production companies are the most important part of the 3 stages, as without them there would be no film.
• There are many production companies but I have chosen two to research.

Columbia Pictures

• Columbia Pictures Industries Inc. is a production and distribution company.
•  It used to be called CBC Sales Film Corporation and changed its name in 1924. 
• It was formed in 1920 and is located in California. 
• Created films such as 'The Smurfs' and 'Men in Black'
• Has a range of film genres to its name
• Has global reach and obviously a lot of money behind it

Aardman Animations

• British animation studio based in Bristol
• The studio is known for films made using stop-motion clay animation techniques, particularly those featuring Plasticine
• It is famous for films such as 'Wallace and Gromit' and 'Flushed Away'     
• Shows that British products can do well, although obviously not suitable for our film                                     

• As the film producers of our film we would have to raise money to create our film to the best that it would be, so it would make as much profit as possible. We would also have to conduct research into what people like to watch in thrillers to make it for the audience, also to increase the revenue.

Distribution

• A distribution company responsible for marketing the film. They deal with when people see it, how it is seen and who it is seen by.
• Distribution companies decide the release date of the film, whether it is in the cinema or on the internet. They decide what websites it is promoted or shown on and what cinemas it will be shown if for how much and for how long.
• They also decide the DVD or Blu-ray release dates and are also in charge if the films accumulate and they decide to make a box set.
• Distribution companies deal with getting the film out to people to make it a worldwide film.
• I researched two distribution companies that highlighted these factors best.

Kaleidoscope Film Distribution

• Launched in November 2008
• Located in Soho, London, United Kingdom
• Released more than 250 titles to date
• Small local company so could be interested in our film
• Relatively new company so looking to make their name

Arrow Films Distribution

•  Distributor of classic, horror, and cult films
• One of the UK's leading distributors of world cinema
• Distribute films to small target audience, they specialise in films that are for one group of people.

• When we distribute our film after its theatrical release it would be on DVD/Blu Ray as they are the current most profitable things to present our film on. Also many people  still buy DVDs. DVDS are giving way to online storage and distribution, but many people still like to own a film and will buy the hard copy, especially if you make sure there are lots of extras and special features that would not be available online.

Marketing

• Marketing companies are responsible for all merchandise and advertising to do with the film. Their aim is to create an image to connect with the audience.
• Trailers, posters and other merchandise are essential to a marketing companies success as it creates a artificial link to the audience and also creates a profit, especially if the film is well known.
• They are responsible for the film promotion, and viral campaigns such as interviews with the actors/stars, premiers anything that boosts the films audience and makes people anticipate the film.
• A film that used extensive marketing was the 'Harry Potter' saga. The film was made into a brand that everyone knows of. Merchandise was created to capture and amaze the audience and it did successfully which is why I believe that the film has achieved so much.
• Posters were created leading up to the films, creating anticipation and alerting people that the film was coming out. The trailers that were created captivated the audience and made them restless to see it.
• 'Harry Potter World' was created in Orlando, and the studio tour was built at Leavesden studios attracting fans from all around the world.

• I would hope that we would market our film, however not to the extent as 'Harry Potter' as thriller films tend to not have a large marketing potential. However I do believe that marketing advertises the film, and makes it look more attractive. Therefore some marketing will be done to attract people's attention and to get them to watch the film.

Research into target audience

Researching the target audience

• Researching our target audience didn't seem complicated at first but once we had explored our film deeply, there was a lot that needed to be taken into consideration about the type of audience we wanted to target. 
•  Although we could categorise our target audiences to an extent, using age and gender helped us to narrow our search down. It is essential that we do not have a narrow target audience as this then leads to less profit income, but at the same time, we know that psychological thrillers do not appeal to everyone and we need to make sure we attract our key market to make the film a success. 
• Originally I thought that we would have quite a wide range of viewers, as the target audience could stretch to young adults and further ages. Our film wouldn’t be a suitable for younger than 16 year olds, this is due to our film having a psychological/horror genre behind it. However, I think thrillers are mainly targeted at a younger audience, maybe 16 - 34. Obviously older people still watch these films, but I think the main campaign would be at the younger end of the market as they seem to be the audience who most enjoy being made to jump.
• http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/filmreviews/9220992/The-Cabin-in-the-Woods-Seven-magazine-review.html
• This article is interesting because it shows three things:
• the implied audience of these kinds of films is teenagers
• however, there are older audiences out there who like the anarchy of horror (and our film is on the borders of thriller / horror as the mother murders a lot of children before the end)
• The continual use of 'fanboys' suggests that the writer sees a largely male audience
   
• A common sterotype is the thought that men prefer to watch blood and gore. However, we think that the horror / thriller hybrid widens the appeal as at least two thirds of our film will be setting out the mystery and tension building. Overall men and women both enjoy an outstanding thriller, which fits into the genre of our film.

• Psychological films focus on the unstable emotional states of characters as well as mystery; this is often the elements of psychological films in which people enjoy watching. This film would be aimed at people who enjoy a nail biting thriller, where there is always a mystery conveyed.
• The main aspect that attracts the general audience to psychological films is the suspense that is built up throughout thrillers, this is to draw the audience into the action taking place.
•  An example of a psychological/ horror film which is similar to our film in many ways is ‘Women in Black’ this is where the film is based a lot around thrill and suspense.
•  As seen in most horror/psychological films there is always that panic that the characters have about dying or being killed, these fears are usual confronted later on in the film.  
  
  
  
    
• In the first two minutes of our film, our aim is to catch the audience’s attention and keep them on the edge of their chair throughout the film. Our main purpose would to be to grab the audience attention allowing the audience to continue viewing our film, rather than turning it off within the first two minutes of the film being screened.
  
  
  
  
  
  
   
  
  

Animatic

This is our animatic, made by photographing our storyboard and importing it into Final Cut Express. Then we were able to make each shot last the approximate length of time we feel it will take when filmed properly. We were also able to experiment with using Livetype for the titling and to think more carefully about the timing of our work. In fact, we have storyboarded an extra scene because this task made us realise that we might not have enough content. We were so anxious about not putting too much into the sequence, which we know is a major problem with a lot of opening sequences for this task, that we did not really take into account the speed of the action. Overall, this has been a really useful task which has given us a much clearer idea of how our coursework will run and has allowed us to make some important adjustments.

The Film Industry - Lewis Todesco

Researching into the film industry

Filmmaking is the word used to describe the process of making a film in its entirety. This however involves many different smaller jobs underneath three main stages.

The first stage of the filmmaking process is Development/Pre-production.

‘Development’ is when the producer selects the story that he/she wants to make a film on. After the story has been chosen the producer will then hand the story over to story writers who take the current story and adjust it so that it becomes commercial and will be easier to sell and be more pleasing to the audience.

Next, a screenwriter will then take the altered story and then will produce, after several months, the screenplay for the film. Most of the time, once the story has been established and the screenplay has been written, they will make a pitch to other companies to help with the financial side of the film.

Now it moves into the ‘Pre-production’ stage which is still part of the first main stage of filmmaking. ‘Pre-production’ is when the budget of the film is established and the producer hires its crew for the film. The size of the crew and the nature of the film are all decided by the budget of the film, so for many Hollywood Blockbusters they will have a crew of a few hundred, but for a small independent film it will have a crew of around ten people.

The second stage of the filmmaking process is Production.

This is the stage where the film is actually filmed and depending on how smoothly the Pre-production and the Development stages this stage should go just as well as the shots, locations, cast and crew and script should all be established already.  More crew will be recruited at this stage, such as the property master, script supervisor, assistant directors, stills photographer, picture editor, and sound editors.

Some examples of production companies are; Universal Studios, Warner Bros. Pictures and Columbia Pictures.

The final stage of the filmmaking process is Marketing or Post-production.

This is where the film is edited and made into the final product. It is also the stage where the film is advertised by posters, trailer etc. And is distributed to the cinemas, theatres, DVD, the internet etc. A lot of film marketing is done over the internet as this is easily accessible to many people ad can spread very easily. It is also very cheap and easy to do.

Examples of Production companies

Legendary Pictures, Inc. is an American film production company based in Burbank, California. The company was founded by Thomas Tull in 2000 and in 2005 the company concluded an agreement to co-produce and co-finance 40 films with Warner Bros.

All of the films they have produced have been co produced by another smaller company for example ‘Syncopy films’ and have been distributed by ‘Warner Bros.’ Legendary Pictures have been responsible for films such as ‘300’, ‘The Hangover’ and the Batman trilogy.

 

Syncopy Films is an American-British motion picture production company founded by director, writer and producer Christopher Nolan and producer Emma Thomas (husband and wife, respectively).

In 2005, Syncopy Films partnered with Legendary Pictures to produce Batman Begins (2005), The Prestige (2006), The Dark Knight (2008), Inception (2010), and The Dark Knight Rises(2012) for Warner Bros. Pictures.

They are a private production company and have not made any films by themselves but have joined with other production companies. The main company that Syncopy groups up with is Warner Bros.

Cast List

Cast List

Miss Devlin: Mother

• We chose Miss Devlin to act as the psychotic mother as she looks innocent, but she has a dark side. She also looks like the two girls playing the daughter, making the family look much more believable. Her makeup would be dark around the eyes, to make her look abnormal and creepy and as if she had no sleep. She would need her nails to be painted red to signify danger and to show her dangerous side. Also whenever you see the red nails in the film, you will instantly know it is the mother, so it leaves clues allowing the audience to put the pieces together themselves. Props that will be needed for Miss Devlin are a bunch of flowers that she can drop on the grave and a pot that she can put a lambs heart in to look like she is cooking it.

Shannon Leahy: Older Sister

• We decided as a group for me to act as the older sister, as I look like I could be Miss Devlin's daughter, and I also look quite vulnerable and a victim. In past prelim filming I have been used and I was happy to act in this one. Also because the younger sister is my sister, we look alike therefore making it more realistic and making the casting more effective. No props will be needed for my character, as in our story board no props are used. The costume for the character would be  a young outfit to make me look younger than I am.

Erin Leahy: Younger Sister

• We chose my younger sister to play the younger sister as she looks like me and also similar to Miss Devlin making the family look more believable, therefore making the film much more frightening as it would be more effective. Also she has a vulnerable look and the audience will sympathise towards her as she looks weak and would not be able to stand up for herself. Erin would wear really young looking clothes as she is quite young in the film. The only prop she will need would be the love letter from her sisters room, with the name of the film handwritten on it in a shaky font 'The Door.'

Film Industry

Researching the Film Industry

• Film production is the process of making a film, which takes place all over the globe and is a very lucrative business that doesn't seem to have been too affected by the recession.
• There are three main stages which occur in filming production such as pre-production where the preparations are made for the shoot beforehand, this would be hiring the crew, finding the location and once this has been arranged the sets would be created and built.
• The second stage is where the final production is filmed.
• Once all of this has been created and developed the last stage would be post production this is where the film is edited and  followed by adjustments to the sound, visual effects such as music and dialogue.
•  Once the film is finished the producers look into sales and distribution this is where the film is screened for buyers and then picked up by the distributors to reach the Cinemas and home theatre. This could possibly be followed by DVD box sets, film sites and sold at local libraries, for example this was used for the Harry Potter films.
• In the film making industry there is a wide range of jobs such as directors, managers, photographers, choreographers, composers, art directors, hair and make-up designers and storyboard artists.
• Marketing is another important factor such as trailers, posters, merchandise and promotion. These are not all done by the same organisation for example the producer would not create the trailers that is screened on television.
• There are often sequels before or after the film has been screened for example having the characters on a monopoly game, allowing people to be drawn in.
• The main team is made up of supervisors, assistant directors, still photographers, picture editors and sound editors. The team that has been recruited to manage these stages are important members to the production company as films depend on these stages.

“When you partner with us, you’ll discover how we’re combining our vast experience with the latest state-of-the-art technology to provide an incredibly diverse array of production support services managed by the most talented professionals in the industry.”

•  Paramount Picture is an American film and television production company; it has been running since 1912 and is one of the oldest existing film production companies around today.
• Paramount Pictures have been running for years but not only are they the eldest company; they have been consistently the top production company.
• This film distribution company also offers the best production facilities in the world and shows great talent and commitment.
• This company produces films for a variety of genres from ‘Mean Girls’ to ‘Twilight’ looking at past horror an psychological films they have also used Paramount Pictures.
• The technology used is superior and advanced. This would be a great company to help produce our film, as every other film that have used this company has been successful. It could provide as big budget and backing for a promotional campaign.

• On the other hand I also looked at ‘The Wolf Man’ who used the production company of Universal Pictures. This is a horror film so close to our genre. 
• This production company was founded by Carl Laemmle and has also been going since 1912.
• This is an American Production company and has been strong for many years; therefore people continue to use this company as it has been successful in the past.
• This would also be a good production company for making our film as it has been known to spend hard work, time and money to help small budget films and help achieve the films full potential - "The Wolf Man" had quite high production values for a horror, which tend to be produced cheaply, and we think our film would benefit from that too.
• Overall Paramount Picture and Universal Pictures have both been running for a number of years and have many successful films to their name.
• These companies are not British but they distribute their films internationally, which Ticktock production wants in order to expand our audience.