In my final piece I use a variety of techniques to attract my audience. There are many moments of suspense and unanswered questions which were designed to draw in the audience and allow them to piece together the narrative.
The piece begins with foreboding music, immediately setting the tone as a mysterious and potentially dangerous one. As the protagonist sleeps, there are two flashbacks at 0:22 and 0:24, with the suggestion that this is what the character is dreaming about, as she wriggles around in her sleep and jerks awake at 0:28. This also acts as a foreshadow for the antagonist, leaving the audience wandering who he is and what connection he has to the main character.
The foreboding soundtrack also ceases at 0:28, coinciding with the character jerking back to reality. However. normality does not last long, as at 0:47 the audience sees the ghost for the first time. The soundtrack fades in once more, and the audience are left wandering who this character is, and why the protagonist does not notice them.
The whole conversational scene that follows, with dialogue lasting between 0:58 to 1:19, is also very ambiguous, with hints of knowledge that the audience do not know, but perhaps will be revealed to them over the course of the film. The main character is asked the question, 'How have you been since-?', hinting at a past traumatic event that will affect the current narrative. She is also hesitant to expose her current whereabouts after she had 'moved out', stating simply 'just a small rural town'. This is sometimes a convention of a reclusive character, out of touch with mainstream society. This theory can be backed up with the protagonist's startled reaction to her old friend, with the suggestion that they some time has passed from their last meeting, perhaps due to this suggested past event and the fact that she had 'moved out'. There is also the suggestion that the protagonist has temporarily returned to this original location, perhaps to help her confront her troubles. This can be supported by the remorseful and empty way she looks out into the world at 0:53, perhaps remembering the time that she spent here. That would also explain why she had just bumped into her friend and later on, why the antagonist also catches up with her. All of this hinted activity before the events of the film attract the audience as it invites them to imagine the possibilities and how this affect the current narrative. It may also act as foreshadowing if these events are explained further on in the film.
At 0:16, the screen cuts to black and the audience hear a diegetic scream. The events that lead up to this scream are undisclosed, again leaving the audience in the dark about the exact details of what they are experiencing. The scream is also quite sudden, and this shock factor, or the ability to 'thrill' is popular in attracting thriller audiences
A slow pan at 1:48 reveals the antagonist, previously only seen in a flashback/dream sequence. This was seen by the other character, suggesting that the current character in screen is not familiar with the antagonist. This also suggests that her implied death moments later is through no fault of her own. The slow pan creates tension, and draws in the audiences' attention. As the antagonist approaches, the foreboding music abruptly stops and only a heartbeat can be heard, which represents the killer's adrenaline, the victim's fear and exhaustion and the audiences' tension. Fast editing is also used in this small sequences, adding to the heightened tension of the scene. A similar technique is used as a transition, as the screen once again cuts to black at 2:00, sparing the audience the gory details of the character's implied death, as the heartbeat is also instantaneously cut at this moment. This can also contribute to lowering the age rating of the film to accommodate a wider audience. However there are also suggestions of a comeback for the character, as she may be subjected to a fate such as the ghost seen nearer the beginning of the clip.
Once this sequence has finished, the audience return back to the protagonist at 2:01, who stops for a breath just like her friend. However at 2:07, both her and the audience hear the diegetic sound of snapping a branch, alerting her of the presence of another person. It is heavily implied that it is the antagonist and that perhaps they will have a confrontation of sorts. The title card appears at 2:09, cutting this scene short. The audience, after being startled by the branch snapping, and now left to wander the outcome of the presented situation, creating intrigue, hopefully strong enough to compel audience members to watch on.
The piece does not address the audience directly, as it is unconventional for films to break the forth wall. However there are other more indirect ways that my films achieves this. One way is through representation, as there are both male and female characters in the piece, as well as an ethnic minority. The piece ranges a cast from 7 to 18 years old, but does not go beyond young people. Through my audience research I concluded that a lot of young people watch thriller films and make up a considerable part of the overall audience, and so addressing them through representation can also attract them to the piece.
The piece begins with foreboding music, immediately setting the tone as a mysterious and potentially dangerous one. As the protagonist sleeps, there are two flashbacks at 0:22 and 0:24, with the suggestion that this is what the character is dreaming about, as she wriggles around in her sleep and jerks awake at 0:28. This also acts as a foreshadow for the antagonist, leaving the audience wandering who he is and what connection he has to the main character.
The foreboding soundtrack also ceases at 0:28, coinciding with the character jerking back to reality. However. normality does not last long, as at 0:47 the audience sees the ghost for the first time. The soundtrack fades in once more, and the audience are left wandering who this character is, and why the protagonist does not notice them.
The whole conversational scene that follows, with dialogue lasting between 0:58 to 1:19, is also very ambiguous, with hints of knowledge that the audience do not know, but perhaps will be revealed to them over the course of the film. The main character is asked the question, 'How have you been since-?', hinting at a past traumatic event that will affect the current narrative. She is also hesitant to expose her current whereabouts after she had 'moved out', stating simply 'just a small rural town'. This is sometimes a convention of a reclusive character, out of touch with mainstream society. This theory can be backed up with the protagonist's startled reaction to her old friend, with the suggestion that they some time has passed from their last meeting, perhaps due to this suggested past event and the fact that she had 'moved out'. There is also the suggestion that the protagonist has temporarily returned to this original location, perhaps to help her confront her troubles. This can be supported by the remorseful and empty way she looks out into the world at 0:53, perhaps remembering the time that she spent here. That would also explain why she had just bumped into her friend and later on, why the antagonist also catches up with her. All of this hinted activity before the events of the film attract the audience as it invites them to imagine the possibilities and how this affect the current narrative. It may also act as foreshadowing if these events are explained further on in the film.
At 0:16, the screen cuts to black and the audience hear a diegetic scream. The events that lead up to this scream are undisclosed, again leaving the audience in the dark about the exact details of what they are experiencing. The scream is also quite sudden, and this shock factor, or the ability to 'thrill' is popular in attracting thriller audiences
A slow pan at 1:48 reveals the antagonist, previously only seen in a flashback/dream sequence. This was seen by the other character, suggesting that the current character in screen is not familiar with the antagonist. This also suggests that her implied death moments later is through no fault of her own. The slow pan creates tension, and draws in the audiences' attention. As the antagonist approaches, the foreboding music abruptly stops and only a heartbeat can be heard, which represents the killer's adrenaline, the victim's fear and exhaustion and the audiences' tension. Fast editing is also used in this small sequences, adding to the heightened tension of the scene. A similar technique is used as a transition, as the screen once again cuts to black at 2:00, sparing the audience the gory details of the character's implied death, as the heartbeat is also instantaneously cut at this moment. This can also contribute to lowering the age rating of the film to accommodate a wider audience. However there are also suggestions of a comeback for the character, as she may be subjected to a fate such as the ghost seen nearer the beginning of the clip.
Once this sequence has finished, the audience return back to the protagonist at 2:01, who stops for a breath just like her friend. However at 2:07, both her and the audience hear the diegetic sound of snapping a branch, alerting her of the presence of another person. It is heavily implied that it is the antagonist and that perhaps they will have a confrontation of sorts. The title card appears at 2:09, cutting this scene short. The audience, after being startled by the branch snapping, and now left to wander the outcome of the presented situation, creating intrigue, hopefully strong enough to compel audience members to watch on.
The piece does not address the audience directly, as it is unconventional for films to break the forth wall. However there are other more indirect ways that my films achieves this. One way is through representation, as there are both male and female characters in the piece, as well as an ethnic minority. The piece ranges a cast from 7 to 18 years old, but does not go beyond young people. Through my audience research I concluded that a lot of young people watch thriller films and make up a considerable part of the overall audience, and so addressing them through representation can also attract them to the piece.
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