HOW DID YOU ATTRACTYOUR AUDIENCE?

BY LAUREN SHIELS

In order to attract my audience to the biggest potential I researched various other Thriller Films such as its codes and conventions. This helps when my planning my own Thriller Opening Sequence because I have the research and understand what appeals an audience the most to a Thriller Film.

Some of the features that would attract my audience would be the use of sound. My group was given the opportunity to have a composer (external from the school) to create a soundtrack for our opening sequence which we noted him regarding what instruments we wanted to include in their as well as their tempo and structure. Music is an integral part of Thriller Films nowadays because it helps to provide extra tension and suspension that are key within this genre. I analysed the use of sound in 2 thriller films ‘Sky fall’ and ‘Furious 7.’

My groups composition used throughout the sound of a heartbeat which resembles the fear in Ella’s mind, again increasing tension in the film. At various parts of the music the instruments drastically changed in pitch and tempo which also replicates tension and suspension in ‘The Broken Glass.’ At the beginning of the opening sequence, we have the sound of birds and nature for approximately 10 seconds. This not only sets the scene but puts the audience on the edge because this is a thriller film and nature is not usually found within the thriller genre. This provides the audience with curiosity as they fear that the content and atmosphere will soon switch later on.

I have also attracted the audience through the editing process. This is because during this period I used transitions on the flashback such as dip to fade as well as effects such as blurring the screen and ghosting the screen. This puts the audience on edge because it builds anticipation as they don’t know what will happen next.

Another way I attracted the audience was through the background of the film itself. This is because the film is a twisted version of ‘Cinderella.’ As my target audience is based on the age category of 18-25 this means that when they were younger they watched films like this. Now they are a lot older they are more likely to watch thriller films because they enjoy the suspense and tension provided with them. In addition, as ‘The Broken Glass’ is based around Cinderella it also attracts this age category because it is a mixture of tension and suspension that they enjoy now and a platform based around what they used to watch.

Other codes and conventions I used was a range of camera angles and shots (such as close-ups and wide shots) which help to include factors of films that influence and tension provided. I also researched the typography and used a font that is similar to that found in a fairy tale which corresponds with the twisted theme of ‘Cinderella’ which is of course a fairy tale.