Target audience research

Target audience research 

The research that I collect should be useful for my product and should give me an idea on what I should aim for. It will give me a valuable insight into other people's opinions and the ideas that they may have. It could be useful because I could have missed an error in my work or some aspect of my plot, and other people may realize this and inform me. It is also useful as it could help me to make a decision on a certain aspect of the short film. For example the text that is used for the final cut. I could make three different designs and then ask for the opinion of others on which would look best within the short film. I could design a tally and then ask everyone in the class their opinion, and the text with the highest number of votes could be used in the final piece. This is important as target research can be crucial in order to yield a final product where the audience is satisfied.


Target audience questions 

Which editing technique do you think would be more successful in a thriller movie?

A dark blackout 
I I 
A huge flash of light
I I I

What physical aspect do you think would most clearly identify a psycho/killer/villain in a thriller/horror movie?

A hooded black jacket
I
Tattoo's and a shaven head  
I I I I

An eye patch 


Do you think a character should die in the first two minutes of a thriller/horror movie?

Yes
I I I I 

No 
I 



From this questionnaire I can conclude that a character should die should in the first two minutes of a horror/thriller movie, as this is what four out of the five people I asked deemed to be suitable for the thriller genre. This works well with "Unresolved," as the detective is shot dead by Rob Fisher at the end of the two minute opening. Three out of the five (so the majority) thought a flash of light would be more effective than a dark blackout. For this reason I shall include dramatic flashes of light in "Unresolved," instead of using the blackouts which I had originally planned to use.
Four out of the five people however thought that tattoo's and a shaven head would more easily identify a villain than a hooded black jacket. The villain in "Unresolved," however can not have tattoo's and a shaven head for obvious reasons, so I went with the hooded jacket instead. The hooded jacket was what I always had in mind as the identity of the villain needs to be concealed, and the jacket helps to do this. 

Preliminary Video

Preliminary Video

Preliminary Task

Preliminary task 

Preliminary task planning 

Before we film our main task we have to do a preliminary task, in which we film a short film (of no more than 30-40 seconds), to try and get a grasp of how to use all the equipment correctly, how to direct, and how to edit the clip, so that when it comes to the main task we are better prepared.
We first did a short preliminary task as a class, with help and guidance from the teacher who was present at the time. We were then tasked with making our own preliminary task in small groups, which we needed to produce before making the main movie task.
We brainstormed various different ideas. Some of the ideas we had were a group of people playing a game of cards or a group of people playing a game of rock paper scissors. We would also incorporate longs shots of one of the players walking towards the players and then joining in the game, and then close shots of all the players and their faces. We decided to use as many interesting shot's as possible, and to try and incorporate the 180 degree rule at some point. This was so we included as many media techniques as we could, so we could then evaluate the short film properly and see what we can do to improve these techniques in the main task. 

Evaluating the preliminary task 

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?


Our preliminary task involved making a short video which is a parody of the video "Continuity editing example," in which a man picks up a Rolo and pulls funny facial expressions. We used typical camera techniques and shots, like the 180 degree rule, and over the shoulder shot. These are shots that should be easy to identify for the audience. We used swift continuity editing (typical of a short film), again to make the media much easier to establish, and we made sure that all the scenes fitted together nicely to make the short movie as smooth as possible.

How does your media product represent particular social groups? 

In the preliminary task I feature as a student, who walks into a classroom and begins to seemingly play cards before bringing out a rolo. As well as being humorous, this could be said as representing the life of students, who are having fun and are perhaps bunking out of lessons. The environment that we shoot in (the school) can probably be easily identified as a school by most people. This helps with the presentation of student life that is meant to be being portrayed in the short video. There are no other clear cut social groups that are identified in the short video.

What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

The short film is of the same kind of content as something that would be posted on YouTube, rather than an actual movie which would be distributed by a company such as 20th century fox or Warner Bros. Entertainment. The short film could be distributed from a smaller, independent film studio however. I say this as, watching the short film, it is clearly amateur and not something that would hit the "big screen." A small, independent film studio would however possibly consider making it as the media form fits the criteria for "film" and follows a set structure.

Who would be the audience for your media product? 

From the content we have (which is about 1 minute long), there is nothing seemingly inappropriate, apart from the possibility of gambling (when the line "Place your bets," is said.) This means that the short video and the content could ultimately be suitable for anyone. This puts it under the "family friendly" rating. If it were a film, the rating of it would perhaps be U or PG. It is probably worth mentioning that there is nothing violent within the clip, and nothing that suggests violence or anything inappropriate (apart from the subtle reference to gambling.) Again, this means that the film would receive a U or PG certificate should it be rated by the BBFC.

How did you attract/address your audience? 

The shots that we used within the preliminary task were used to try and convey the set genre. The short film was supposed to be dramatic but cheesy at the same time (as it is a parody), and so we used shots like a dramatic establishing shot and a dramatic close up shot to try and create this effect. We maintained this effect throughout, also using the dramatic music to help create some effect. At the end however the music suddenly changed and the facial expression of me (the actor) also changed to instantly make the video cheesy and to establish what it is that we are making fun of.


What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

We have learnt a number of technical skills while working on this task. My team has gained a wider knowledge of how to use the camera, and how to edit the set material on iMovie. This means that when we get round to making our main film, we will have experience and as such it should be easier to produce. I personally worked on the more creative aspects of the short film, such as the acting and devising the story. However I was still taught how to use a camera, and was given advice from my teacher on what kind of shots to use and how to make the short film intriguing and visually impressive. 

Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

As mentioned in the previous question, I have learnt more about the technical aspects of filmmaking. I have also however practiced my acting skills, and as I will be acting in the real thing I feel this is important. When we went out and filmed we made a few small changes to the original ideas that we had planned. By doing this we were improvising. We might have to do this within the real thing, and I think on a small task like this it can be important to be flexible and allow certain changes depending on changes in mindset. Because of this I feel we practiced our improvising skills, and I feel that we were successful with this. 

Filming locations for "Unresolved."

There are two set filming locations that will be used in the production of "Unresolved." These are the interrogation room and the woods where the detective is being held hostage. The woods where the detective is being held hostage should be dark, and the exact spot where he is being held hostage should contain a lot of tree's (so no real background is visible, like a field or a road.) If the environment fits this criteria then it will give a sense of the detective being trapped in the woods (as if the detective can not escape and is trapped within the confinements of the camera shot.)
The interrogation room that we shoot in should be darkly lit, with few windows. The room should be fairly bare and empty, to avoid distractions. The walls should be empty, and there should be a light above the table where the detective and Rob Fisher talk, to create atmosphere. This also attaches importance to that table, and not the surroundings of the detective and Rob Fisher. The room should be fairly large to allow space for multiple camera shots, and to add atmosphere (the scene will be more effective if the whole room is shown rather than just the table.)
The darkness and emptiness of the filming locations will reflect the genre (which is thriller/horror), which of course is important for the audience as people are likely to enjoy the short film more if the genre is clearly understood and recognized.

The filming locations I chose

The filming locations I actually got around to filming in are a little different to the planned areas. In many ways the interrogation room reflects my original, anticipated ideas for what the room should be like. As stated in my planning documents (above) the interrogation room is dark, is void of distractions, and only has one window. I believe I ticked off the most important criteria with these elements, and did a good job of displaying the room as eerie and having something "not quite right," about it. However, the room we shot in did not have much space. I originally planned for the room to be of a decent size to allow space for multiple camera angles, however the room (which is located in my house) is fairly small and clustered. In some ways I believe this is a good thing, as it creates a claustrophobic feeling for the detective, making it seem as if he is trapped there in the room with Rob, who is getting more and more disturbing by the second. However it did mean that there was little space for lot's of different camera angles, and so during the filming I chose two specific camera spots and stuck to them. I think the two camera angles I chose were good at showing the contents of the room, whilst also being at a good position to capture both the detective and the back of Rob's head (remember his face is never meant to be shown.) However it does mean that the final edit did not have as much momentum as I originally planned, and visually speaking is not as dynamic and interesting.

(Above- picture of interrogation room.) 

The second scene, in which the detective has been taken hostage and is tied up, differed a lot more from my original plans than the first scene did. I had planned for the detective to be tied up against a car, surrounded by trees. In the real thing, the detective is handcuffed to a cupboard, against a car roof box, in what looks like a garage (it is up to the audience to interpret where they think the hostage situation is taking place.) The reason for this change of environment was partly due to weather and partly to a change of heart. After filming the interrogation scene it was pitch-black outside and was too dark to film, however I could have chosen to film this scene before the interrogation scene when it was still light. However I thought it would both be easier and more effective if we changed the environment to an indoor setting (such as a garage) which is more noticeably eerie and depressing. I thought the inside of my garage looked like the perfect setting for the scene which I was filming, and so decided to change the filming location to here. The car roof box was a deliberate prop used to constitute for the car which we would have had if we filmed in the woods, to make it somewhat more obvious for the audience that the detective has been kidnapped. The car roof box offers itself more as a metaphor for the kidnapping though, rather than the car which we would have had which would have blatantly told the audience that the detective has been driven somewhere else.
I think the garage setting opens up more speculation for the audience than the woods would have (for example why is the detective being kept in that particular room, or how far has the detective been taken from his interrogation room?) This act of creating more questions fits perfectly with the subject matter and it's title, "Unresolved." It also makes the scene within it's genre seem less cliche.
Admittedly, the woods environment would have been more aesthetically pleasing, and would have perhaps created a somewhat more urgent atmosphere (Oh no the detective must be in the middle of nowhere! He needs to escape and get help now! But how will he do this!?)

(Above- picture of hostage space.) 

Overall I am pleased with the final filming locations that I chose.