Group: Audience Research - Results

In total, 56 people answered our survey. These are the results of their responses.

Group: Audience Research - Methodology

We created a survey using Survey Monkey to research what potential aspects of our opening our target audience would respond best to. With this survey, we aimed to discover if our ideas are appropriate for the target audience and whether these ideas will meet the expectations of the genre.

Full survey here: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/XW3DQ2Z

We then published the survey on Facebook, asking for people to answer the questions. We felt this was an appropriate way to gather the data, as most of the social network users who would have seen that link would be within the age range of our target audience, as horror films attract a core audience of young, frequent cinema goers.

Group: Ideas Storyboard

A storyboard of a few of our initial ideas for our opening for a film of the horror genre, in the slasher/zombie subgenre, including our opening shot, and concepts for titles and style of filming (e.g. handicam)

HR: Opening Sequence Analysis

Scream 2 (Craven, 1997)

• The genre of Scream 2 is horror, the sub genre being a slasher film. In the opening sequence, it takes a tongue and cheek approach by making the film being shown in the cinema (Stab) very similar to the opening of the original Scream film and the actors in Scream 2 criticise it by yelling at the cinema screen.
• This takes a different approach to classic horror films as they are usually set in a dark, mysterious location with a lot of suspense built up whereas Scream 2 takes this generic expectation and turns it on its head, but later in the sequence you see the first murder which makes it more shocking as the rest of the scene has been done in a playful manner.
• The mise-en-scene does not give the impression that this is a horror film because of the bright lights from the cinema and the amount of dialogue used. But this changes when the man goes into the toilet and gets stabbed and the killer disguises himself as her boyfriend which creates dramatic irony for the audience as they know what is going to happen next. As the cinema is filled with people dressed in ghost face masks, it heightens the fact that the killer will be harder to catch, thus creating enigma.
•  There is a lot of close ups of the couples faces to show their reactions to the film and when they get killed. Tracking shots and pans are used frequently to set the scene for the audience so they are more in the action. Background noise and diagetic sounds are also used to set up the cinema scene, but as soon as the killer is present, the music changes to a high pitched melody which is commonly used in horror film openings, so the director has done this on purpose so it creates tension.
• We learn that the woman does not want to see the film as she gets scared easily, but her boyfriend takes her along because he got free tickets. The non verbal language of the woman is tense as she doesn’t know what to expect from the film being shown.

Tears (Khun, 2006)

• There is no narrative in this text, only the diagetic sounds from the surroundings to make the audience focus more on the visual images of the child on the swing and the girl hanged from the tree. The audience are positioned with the child as she is vulnerable and quietly playing on the swing which is an innocent image, also she is isolated as she is on her own in the middle of a desert like surrounding so the audience fear no-one is there to protect her so it makes the opening more emotional.
• The heaving breathing coming from the little girl helps to heighten her feelings of terror of the hanged girl and to create suspense as the audience are on the edge of their seats wondering if something is going to happen to her. The sudden loud high pitched noises makes the audience jump and could also signify the sounds coming from the girl when the arm stretches out towards the little girl’s neck. The fact that no noise is heard when the hanged girl drops to the floor the director does not heighten it on purpose in case the audience were not paying attention and they suddenly see the hanged girl alive, it will make them more scared.
• This opening represents little girls as isolated and vulnerable as she is on her own on the swing with no-one else around her staying quiet as she is confused about what is going on. But this could also been seen in a different perspective. It could represent the child as brave because she is on her own having to deal with this strange situation, plus she doesn’t make a sound or run away which could be represented as brave.
• It does not represent the characteristics of the genre playfully as it has a mixture of different techniques such as handicam (to give a more realistic feel) and obscure editing to give the audience a sense of chaos and loss of control.

Saw 3 (Bouseman, 2006)

• The target audience of Saw 3 is adult males as the rating of the film is an 18 and there are graphic and gory torture scenes. The probable reading of this text is to terrify and disturb the audience because the protagonist is stuck in a dark room with a carcass having to saw his own leg off to escape. These graphic scenes will make the majority of people feel sick, but another reading of this is that it ties in very well with the title so some audiences may see this as clever and they might like the adrenaline rush of being fearful.
• Personally I think this opening is grotesque and scary but as the target audience is for adult males, I would have a biased point of view being a female teenager as the target audience for females is a romantic comedy. It also depends on your upbringing as well because if you live in a rough area where knife crimes happen currently, you wouldn’t see that as scary as someone who was brought up in a middle class town with very little crime rates.
• Donnie Wahlberg is the first actor you see in Saw 3. He has been in the previous Saw films so by making him in it again, it makes the audience want to come back for more as they want to know what happens to him. Even if people have not seen the previous Saw films, they would be drawn to watch it. This helps to boost box office figures and to create a buzz around the film as a famous actor is in it.
• Twisted Pictures produced this film. It is an American independent film company founded in 2004 by Mark Burg, Oren Koules and Gregg Hoffman. It specialises in the horror genre. It has made a distribution deal with Lionsgate, a commercially successful independent film company.
• Lionsgate wanted to make the marketing for Saw 3 even more gruesome than the movie itself and asked the star to contribute his own blood for a limited run of posters (1,000 prints) to get the deepest blood red possible. The posters were sold for $20, with the first being auctioned off; all the proceeds from the auctioned poster were donated to the Red Cross. Lionsgate also held the third annual "Give Til It Hurts" blood drive for the Red Cross and collected 23,493 pints of blood. The institutional context is evident in the opening as the victim has to harm himself in order to escape from a trap which is basically the whole set up for the film so the audience know to expect a lot of blood and gore.　

　

RA: Opening Sequence Analysis

Scream (Craven, 1996)







Genre

• The film 'Scream' (Craven, 1996) belongs to the horror genre, in the ‘slasher’ subgenre. Within the opening sequence the antagonist (the killer) is introduced, two murders are committed and enigma is created- who is the mystery voice and how and why is he committing these murders?- all of which comply with audience expectations for a film of the horror genre.
• Near the beginning of their telephone conversation, the killer asks the girl, “What’s your favourite scary movie?” This question, along with their discussion of Halloween and Nightmare on Elm Street is self-referential of the genre of the film. However, other than this playful use of dramatic opening and relatively light-hearted beginning, the opening is used to establish the genre of the film in a serious way, as two people are killed in a gory manner, and tension and fear are created.

Film Language

• The sound of the phone ringing is a poignant sound during the piece, as every time the phone rings again the tension of the piece is heightened, creating atmosphere. This compliments the images strongly, particularly the use of close up, showing the girl’s non-verbal language as she becomes increasingly frightened for her life.
• The opening is set in a house that looks reasonably isolated. The lighting is fairly dark as the sequence is set at night, creating a shadowy and intimidating feel, very conventional for a horror opening. Tracking shots are frequently used of the girl as she is walking and running around her house. This gives a feeling that she is being followed or watched, connoting how the killer has trapped her within his ‘game.’
• We learn that the killer is twisted and psychotic through his dialogue, which begins calm but becomes more harsh and angry, including use of expletives. We also know he has a fascination with horror movies and murder, but we know little else. This establishment of enigma codes so early in the film begins the narrative trajectory with unanswered questions, causing the audience to invest in the plot.    

Alien 3 (Fincher, 1992)
http://www.artofthetitle.com/2007/12/01/alien3/

Narrative

• In Alien 3 (Fincher, 1992) the narrative is organised in a series of short clips intercut with white titles against a background of a starry night sky. 
• The opening clips appear to be some kind of flashback, as time is compressed greatly- we only see small and disjointed glimpses of what actually occurred on the spaceship, and the sequence ends with the space-craft crash landing onto a new planet, suggesting this is where the majority of the film will be set.
• The film follows a polysemic narrative style, as the opening immediately presents many unanswered questions. The audience is positioned with the woman, evident in the fact that hers is the only human face properly shown. Big close-up is used on the woman’s face, allowing the audience to identify her as the protagonist.
• 

  The audience is alienated through the use of fast cutting rates and camera angles that show an obscured view of the action, creating enigma, as it is difficult to understand what exactly has happened on the spaceship. This also creates tension, as does the eerie music that plays throughout this sequence.

Institutional context

• Sigourney Weaver plays the protagonist in this film. She was already established in the film industry due to her role in the first two films in the Alien franchise. Therefore it was important for her to return for this film, not only as a bankable star, but also because of her connection with the franchise.
• Alien 3 was produced by Brandywine Productions and distributed by 20^th Century Fox. It was an industrial film, with a budget of $50 million. The marketing included the release of a teaser trailer, as well as all traditional forms of marketing; theatrical trailers, tv spots, posters, billboards. The film already had a guaranteed audience thanks to the first two films of the franchise, and a buzz was created around the film.
• Industrial film making techniques were evident in the opening sequence thanks to the special effects, which were impressive at the time, and the introduction of bankable stars and other recognised members of the film industry within the titles.

Let The Right One In (Alfredson, 2008)
http://youtu.be/OKHIqHiMnZE?hd=1

Representation and Ideology

• In the opening of Let The Right One In (Alfredson, 2008) children are represented by the protagonist, the young boy. His prevalence in the opening positions the audience with him. The other schoolboys in the extract are shown bullying the protagonist, Oscar, representing young people as cruel and misbehaving.
• During the opening sequence adult men are represented through the old man, who is shown working at a sink; pouring red liquid out of a canister, fixing a torch and putting together what looks like some kind of oxygen mask. We don’t know anything about this man, whether he is a protagonist or antagonist, but his activities seem suspicious. This is enforced by the dim lighting and use of close up of his hands working.
• An anti-bullying ideological discourse is evident, shown especially by the mid-shot of Oscar, the protagonist, after his bullies have walked away, showing his pained and upset non-verbal language. There is also a hint of antagonising of the police force, presented by the rude manner of the policeman in the classroom.
• The characteristics of the horror genre are mostly adhered to, but in a subtle way. There are no murders or gore in the opening sequence, but many enigma codes and unanswered questions are presented.
• Semiotics are used in this opening in the form of Oscar, a young boy, as the protagonist, who represents innocence.
• The mise-en-scene of buildings surrounded by snow creates a slightly trapped feel, metaphorical of the coming themes of the film.

Media audiences

• The target audience for this film, as with any horror film, are frequent cinema goers of 15-24 years old, and mostly male. However, this film also appealed to art-house and white-collar audiences, thanks to its positive critical reception and artistic and detailed filming style.
• The film is Swedish, available in the original and dubbed with English, and thus appealed to the audience of language students, but this also meant that it didn’t reach a widespread audience, particularly in the USA, as many people are more reluctant to watch subtitled or foreign language films.
• The film is based on a novel of the same title, so fans of the book also made up a significant segment of the films target audience.
• The probable audience reading of the text would be to sympathise with the protagonist, and antagonise his bullies, as well as possibly the suspicious old man.
• The opening does not explain much in terms of the plot of the film, but creates enigma, which will be inciting to most audience members. However, audiences who are expecting more of a stereotypical horror opening, with blood, murders, and such, could find the opening too slow paced.
• 

  Old-fashioned viewers may also object to the fact that the boy begins the opening almost naked.
• As a british teenager, I can empathise with the protagonist on a greater level than many adults would. However, as a female, I may have been able to position myself with the protagonist to a larger extend if he were a girl. 

Group: Treatment

The zombie apocalypse isn't happening. It's already happened. And in this post-apocalyptic world of corpses and living-dead, four teenage girls are recording it on their video cameras.

The scene is set with a close up establishing shot of a dead child. We zoom out to see all the other bodies around her. We are outside in a driveway, the time is the late afternoon; it's getting dark and the sun is setting. Then our protagonists walk into shot. We have: Emma, Alexis, Sophie and Imogen, girls in their late teens. They look a bit ragged, in ripped clothes, smudged make-up, but surprisingly put together considering.

After looking around the area, and inspecting the corpses, they decide to enter the house. Inside, the place is trashed. Furniture is broken, glass is smashed, toys have their heads ripped off, and there are bloody hand prints on the wall. The girls explore the house; Imogen and Emma raid the cupboards, laughing and pretending to model the clothes, clearly unfazed by the grave situation they've found themselves in. Sophie, the most timid of the group, awkwardly looks around the house, while Alexis, the leader, is documenting their finds on her camera.

Slowly and quietly, we begin to hear a groaning noise in the background while Alexis is talking into her camera. She notices, opens the next door to reveal a zombie, and the chase starts. Alexis begins to run, shouting a warning to her friends. They all make their way out of the house and down into a graveyard, chased now by three zombies. They run from the graveyard through into the woods, but Sophie is struggling to keep up. She trips and falls to the floor, screaming. Her friends shout back to her, but it's too late. The zombies catch up to her, and start tearing at her stomach. Shot/reverse shot shows the girls' reactions as the zombies rip out Sophie's guts. Cut to extreme close up of Alexis' face, then cut to the title: "GUTTED"

Group: Concept Development

Characters

• Four teenage girls
• Zombie extras
• Dead body extras

Narrative

• The girls explore a house (with surrounding forest). Zombie apocalypse already established. They take a reasonably lighthearted view of the situation, documenting their finds (i.e. use of handicam). Then they discover zombies within the house, run away into the wood, at least one girl is killed (blood and guts)

Props/Lighting/Mise-en-scene

• Girls' cameras
• Crucifix (religious connotations, conventional of horror)
• Blood and make-up effects for zombies and corpses
• Time of day: late afternoon- becoming dark, but still sufficient light for good picture quality

Locations

• Wilderness woods
• Graveyard (Woodbury Park/Speldhusrt)
• House