Evaluation Question 5: 'How did you attract/address your audience?'

What pleasures can an audience take?

The audience for my thriller was attracted threw a number of different, yet carefully calculated means. Firstly, the audience could take a number of pleasures from our opening sequence:

• the inclusion of a female character (seen as either attractive or inspiring)
• young and relatable characters
• modern clothing
• recognisable yet mysterious urban setting
• tense atmosphere and circumstance
• peculiar lighting
• atmospheric rain sound effect
• tension and suspense
• unnerving monster noises
• a possible jump-scare
• the storage container being attacked
• indication of plot progression with the group deciding that they have to move on

What type of film is it? Which other films might be influential?

Science Fiction Thriller (sub genre)

Supernatural Thriller (sub genre)

Horror Thriller (sub genre)

Super 8 (science fiction thriller)

Attack the Block (science fiction comedy-horror)

Jurassic Park (adventure science fiction)

Jurassic World (adventure science fiction)

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (science fiction)

Cloverfield (found footage monster horror)

10 Cloverfield Lane (psychological thriller)

The Mist (science fiction horror)

Setting - why does this appeal to your target audience and why?

A storage container is a mysterious yet relatable location as most people have found themselves within one at one point or another, yet it is not a regular setting to find oneself in. Equally, they are always filled with the most wonderful and strange assortment of items, indicating the possibility for anything to occur.

Narrative - why does this appeal to your target audience and why?

• Youths breaking into a storage container.
• Mild delinquency.
• Poor weather outside.
• Night time.
• Atmosphere of sneaking about - hiding.
• Who are the three characters?
• Why must they be quiet?
• What are they doing in the container?
• Why are they making weapons?
• What makes the noise and why are they scared of it?
• Plot twist of the container being rammed into.
• Why do they get out a map?
• What are they looking for?
• Where are they headed next and why must they leave?
• Linear narrative with single plot twist to build tension.

Which social groups are we appealing to and how?

• Teenagers of both genders.
• The characters are of a similar age and thus relatable.
• The inclusion of a monster element.

Sound - why does this appeal to your target audience and why?

• rain sound effect; sets dark and tension-filled mood.
• eerie and creepy atmosphere.
• large and unnerving monster sounds; an exciting prospect.
• earsplitting crashing sound; shocking.

Editing/film styles - what editing techniques did we use and why do they appeal to your target audience?

• Cross cutting between characters to create tension.
• Slowing down of pace in order to build suspense.
• Close-up on narrative centric props, indicating importance.
• Eye-line match to increase tension.
• Dark atmosphere created through lighting.

Conventions - why does this appeal to your target audience and why?

• Classic use of thriller conventions.
• Quick cuts.
• Suspense.
• Fear.
• Tension.
• Fast pace (and juxtaposition of the slow pace in between).
• Rain SFX.
• Ambiguity and mystery.