How Did You Attract/Address Your

Audience?By Sorrel Grundy

Action, Characters, CostumeO The audience demographic for the film ColdCase is 15-24

year old white British females. The action of the thriller willappeal to the audience because it deals with the theme ofstalking and murder. These are appealing themes as theycan be engaged with as they are themes which you hearabout in the media on a regular basis. The fear of stalkingtaps into our collective and irrational fear often stirred upby tabloid press and films such as Peeping Tom.

O The characters in my thriller appeal to my target audienceas my target audience are a similar age to the lead in thethriller and so can identify with her. The target audience willbe able to identify with the character of Sophie becausethey are at the same age as her and have the same worriesand concerns. They could also recognise aspects ofthemselves in the real time characters. The contemporarycharacter of Sophie’s dress code reflects contemporary highstreet fashion. Thus they will engage with the actionbecause they can position themselves with Sophie.

O The target audience will also be able to identify with theSophie and Eve’s costumes. Sophie's costume iscontemporary and so will appeal to women who wearcontemporary clothes whereas Eve is wearing 1950’sfashion and so will appeal to women who like to wear retroclothing.

Lighting, Soundtrack, Camera

O The lighting will appeal to the audience as Iused chiaroscuro lighting which is aninteresting and engaging lighting and so willentice the audience into the thriller film. Theflashbacks will appeal to the film buffs withinour demographic who enjoy spottingreferences to noir classics. For example theaesthetic appeal of chiaroscuro lighting, thetilt shot of Henry which closely resembles heestablishing shot of Harry Lime in CarolReed’s The Third Man.

O The soundtrack will interest the targetaudience because it is enigmatic whichmakes it more interesting and exciting tolisten too. It also helps to build tension,suspense and paranoia.

O The camera angles and movements willappeal to the target audience as we usedthem to represent the character of Sophieagainst the conventions of her age as she isseen as a well educated, hardworking anddiligent. Rather than lazy, moody andapathetic which is the way the most peopleaged 15-24 are represented in the media.

Inter – Textual References O We put many inter-textual references throughout the

thriller opening as homage to many fantastic existingthriller films.

O The most obvious reference is to The Third Man as weattempted to recreate the famous shot that reviledHarry Lime, this inter-textual reference will appeal tothe part of the target market which enjoy classic thrillernoir films as The Third Man is an exemplary example ofthis. We also named the male character in our thrillerafter the character of Harry Lime and called him HenryLime, we did this to highlight the similarities betweenthe two characters.

O Another inter-textual reference is to Once Upon A TimeIn America this reference is not as obvious as we basedour character of Eve Walcott to the character of Eve inthis film. Once Upon A Time In America is a timelessgangster thriller film and so will this inter-textualreference will fascinate the audience as it is not anobvious reference.

Narrative StructureO Throughout our thriller the narrative structure

moves from the past to the present and so whenediting we had to ensure that there was a cleardifference. We had to make sure that theaudience would be able to tell when we were inthe past and when we were in real time. Wemade the scenes in the flashbacks black andwhite to differentiate them from the real timescene which were in full colour.

O This will appeal to our target audience as they areinterested in noir films and also enjoy crimedrama TV shows and films. It will also help themto identify with the time period which are beingpresented.

O The narrative structure is complex, it cuts fromreal time to an alternative reality which could bea memory shaped through flashbacks or therecounting of a story once told. Fans ofTarantino’s Pulp Fiction will enjoy the convolutedplot. The complex narrative will also keep theaudience on their toes and may encourage asecond viewing of the film as audience try tounravel unsolved puzzles.

Cliff HangerO The cliff hanger of my thriller

opening is what will hook theaudience for the rest of the film. Thecliff hanger of my thriller openingincreases suspense and also fear asthe audience do not know what isgoing to happen to Sophie or whyshe is being targeted. The audienceis left with Eve’s necklace in thecentre of the shot to solidify it’simportance and significance butthey still do not know why.

O The cliff hanger intensifies theaudiences want to know what isgoing to happen next.

O We chose to have the final shot withnone of the character in because itadds another layer of mystery as theaudience do not know what ishappening to them.

Audience FeedbackO The audience feedback has helped me to understand what went

well with the thriller opening and what skills I need to work onbefore my next production.

O For the audience feedback I asked women aged between 15-24 towatch my thriller opening and fill in a questionnaire regarding it.

O The majority said that the sequence held their attention and sothis shows me that the narrative structure and editing were goodbut the Mise en scene could have been better. The Mise en scenesection was the section which scored lowest on the questionnaireand so will be a skill which I will try to develop before my nextproduction.

O The average overall score I got for ColdCase was 8/10 which showsme that I could improve. One of the audience members who filledin my questionnaire said “the beginning is vague, who is EveWalcott?” This shows me that I did not allow the audience enoughtime to figure out who the other character was and what hadhappened to her. And so if I was to do this again I would make surethat both story lines were explained although not so much as togive the plot away. They also “whether the thriller was skippingbetween flashback and real life as some parts were in black andwhite and some weren’t”. This tells me that I need to look at myediting and make sure that there is continuity throughout unlessthe inconsistent editing is being use to purposefully confuse theaudience.

Audience FeedbackAGE: 17 Gender: FemaleName of film: Cold CasePlease highlight as appropriate 1= worst 5 = best1) Was the film easy to understand the narrative? 1 2 3 4 52) Did the sequence hold your attention? 1 2 3 4 5 3) How do you rate the camera work and editing? 1 2 3 4 5 4) How do you rate the standard of mise-en-scene, to

include colour, figure, lighting, objects? 1 2 3 4 55) Is the production clearly the opening of a thriller

film? 1 2 3 4 56) Would the opening inspire you to watch the rest of the film?

Yes No Undecided7) Can you suggest anything that could improve the appeal?The beginning was very vague, who is Eve Walcott? I assume the story would unfold as the thriller went on.8) Were there any aspects that you find offensive? i.e representation of race, gender, age, culture.The stereotype that women are always the victim could be seen as offensive to some viewers.

9) Was there any part you found confusing or hard to understand?Whether the thriller was skipping between flash back and real life as some parts were in black and white and some weren’t.10) What is the best feature/s of the production? Please circle:Camera work, lighting, action, performances, editing, soundtrack, cliffhanger; other –explain…………… 11) Does the sound track effectively reflect and enhance the mood & action?

The track added tension to the piece as I felt it would lead up to a big crescendo.12) Rate the overall production (1 = low, 10 = high)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10Any further comments:Thank you for your assessment

AGE: 17 Gender: FemaleName of film ……………Cold Case………………………………Please highlight as appropriate 1= worst 5 = best1) Was the film easy to understand the narrative? 1 2 3 4 52) Did the sequence hold your attention? 1 2 3 4 5 3) How do you rate the camera work and editing? 1 2 3 4 54) How do you rate the standard of mise-en-scene, to

include colour, figure, lighting, objects? 1 2 3 4 55) Is the production clearly the opening of a thriller

film? 1 2 3 4 56) Would the opening inspire you to watch the rest of the film?

Yes No Undecided7) Can you suggest anything that could improve the appeal?8) Were there any aspects that you find offensive? i.e representation of race, gender, age, culture………………………No………………………………………………..

9) Was there any part you found confusing or hard to understand?…Not really……………………………………………………………10) What is the best feature/s of the production? Please circle:Camera work, lighting, action, performances, editing , soundtrack, cliffhanger; other –explain…………… 11) Does the sound track effectively reflect and enhance the mood & action?

……Yes………………………………………………..12) Rate the overall production (1 = low, 10 = high)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10Any further comments:Thank you for your assessment

AGE: 16 Gender: FemaleName of film………ColdCase………………………………………………………………Please circle as appropriate 1= worst 5 = best1) Was the film easy to understand the narrative? 1 2 3 4 52) Did the sequence hold your attention? 1 2 3 4 53) How do you rate the camera work and editing? 1 2 3 4 54) How do you rate the standard of mise-en-scene, to

include colour, figure, lighting, objects? 1 2 3 4 55) Is the production clearly the opening of a thriller

film? 1 2 3 4 56) Would the opening inspire you to watch the rest of the film?

Yes No Undecided7) Can you suggest anything that could improve the appeal? No8) Were there any aspects that you find offensive? i.e representation of race, gender, age, culture…Both of the females were shown as weak and as victims…………………………..

9) Was there any part you found confusing or hard to understand?………No…………………………………………………………10) What is the best feature/s of the production? Please circle:Camera work, lighting, action, performances, editing , soundtrack, cliffhanger; other –explain…………… 11) Does the sound track effectively reflect and enhance the mood & action?

……………………………Yes…………………………………………..12) Rate the overall production (1 = low, 10 = high)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10Any further comments:Thank you for your assessment

AGE: 17 Gender: FemaleName of film…Cold Case…………………………………………………………Please highlight as appropriate 1= worst 5 = best1) Was the film easy to understand the narrative? 1 2 3 4 52) Did the sequence hold your attention? 1 2 3 4 53) How do you rate the camera work and editing? 1 2 3 4 5 4) How do you rate the standard of mise-en-scene, to

include colour, figure, lighting, objects? 1 2 3 4 55) Is the production clearly the opening of a thriller

film? 1 2 3 4 56) Would the opening inspire you to watch the rest of the film?

Yes No Undecided7) Can you suggest anything that could improve the appeal? No8) Were there any aspects that you find offensive? i.e representation of race, gender, age, culture……………………No………………………………………………………………..

9) Was there any part you found confusing or hard to understand?…………………No………………………………………………………………………10) What is the best feature/s of the production? Please circle:Camera work, lighting, action, performances, editing , soundtrack, cliffhanger; other –explain…………… 11) Does the sound track effectively reflect and enhance the mood & action?

………………Yes………………………………………………………..12) Rate the overall production (1 = low, 10 = high)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10Any further comments:Thank you for your assessment

AGE: 18 Gender: FemaleName of film………………ColdCase…………………………………………Please circle as appropriate 1= worst 5 = best1) Was the film easy to understand the narrative? 1 2 3 4 52) Did the sequence hold your attention? 1 2 3 4 53) How do you rate the camera work and editing? 1 2 3 4 5 4) How do you rate the standard of mise-en-scene, to

include colour, figure, lighting, objects? 1 2 3 4 55) Is the production clearly the opening of a thriller

film? 1 2 3 4 56) Would the opening inspire you to watch the rest of the film?

Yes No Undecided7) Can you suggest anything that could improve the appeal? No8) Were there any aspects that you find offensive? i.e representation of race, gender, age, culture……………………Not really no……………………………………..

9) Was there any part you found confusing or hard to understand?……………………No………………………………………………10) What is the best feature/s of the production? Please circle:Camera work, lighting, action, performances, editing , soundtrack, cliffhanger; other – explain…………… 11) Does the sound track effectively reflect and enhance the mood & action?

…………The soundtrack added suspense and anticipation...........12) Rate the overall production (1 = low, 10 = high)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10Any further comments:Thank you for your assessment