RESEARCH FOR THE FINAL TASK Jada Stalling Questionnaire

RESEARCH FOR THE FINAL TASK Jada Stalling

Questionnaire

Questionnaire

AUDIENCE ANALYSIS After reviewing the questionnaires I got back, it was clear that audiences craved some type of action in a movie. Though all of people I surveyed happened to fall into the youngest category, this is reflective of the demographic that our film will be targeting. All participants chose genres known for being action packed, and even cited that in the opening of a film they would like to see an explosion or police chase. These things easily grab the attention of the audience and, if done well, hold them throughout the movie. Interestingly, each participant chose a different aspect when asked what they like about their favorite genre in regards to actors, directors, and plot. This told me that no one component was more important to a good movie than another. All of these things must be strongly present in a film to capture a wide audience and get them to truly enjoy the film. We will try to incorporate this as well as the action they crave in our opening.

NOTES ON FILM OPENINGS • • Back to the Future Only sound is the ticking of clocks Tracking shot as camera moves right, parallel to the clocks and moves around the room Starts with one long take instead of many quick cuts Talking from an off-screen radio joins sound of clocks Foreshadows the importance of time to the film Credits appear in thin white lettering No character established until halfway through opening and character is not fully visible for the entire scene

NOTES ON FILM OPENINGS • • • Trainspotting Starts with action as the camera follows men who appear to be running from something Fast, exciting music plays A main character is quickly established through the cameras focus on him A monologue cuts in and out of all events of the opening A variety of shots, scenes, characters and locations are shown Ends with cut to title

NOTES ON FILM OPENINGS • • A Nightmare On Elm Street Loud, suspenseful, villainous music starts immediately Starts with tracking shot of a characters feet Follows character creating the weapon that will be used by the villain, confirming who the character is to the audience Dark colors are used throughout the room

Conclusion on Film Openings We have come to the conclusion that a films opening is much more heavily dependent on introducing the plot of the movie through characters than the genre in most cases. Every film opening was unique in the elements it combined, carefully setting the mood for the rest of picture. Each opening I viewed while researching was able to reflect the characters overall attitude and was able to establish main characters by the end. I could see that the openings were not meant to convey genre, but instead bits and pieces about the character the audience would be following throughout the film. No real conflict is introduced, but the viewer is able to gather just enough information about the main character to feel connected to them in some way. The viewer is left asking questions about the characters and feels the need to continue watching in order to receive answers.

FILMS THAT INFLUENCED US We were influenced by the dynamic seen in films like Dumb and Dumber, where characters of abnormal intelligence are thrusted into rough yet comical situations and must problem solve on their own terms. We were also influenced by films like Trainspotting that use monologues to, in a way, narrate opening scenes. We thought that it may be a clever way to add humor to our film and took it out of the context of drama that it is usually used in in favor of comedy. I was also pleased to see the way the title was displayed at the end of the opening, as this was something I wanted to do with our opening originally. We were influenced by Back to the Future when the character blew up an amp that blasted him across the room and may use a comical event like this to incorporate action into our own opening.

WHICH FILM COMPANY WOULD PRODUCE OUR FILM? Universal Studios would be the company to produce our film. It has produced influencers like Dumb And Dumber To in 2014 and other successful comedies like Pitch Perfect 2, Bruce Almighty, and Ted. It has also produced many action and thriller movies like Jurassic Park, many installments of the Fast and Furious series, and Jaws. This is a company that is known for amazingly thrilling films and its notoriety happens to be with our target audience. Working with Universal our film would have the chance to be successful both domestically and internationally.