Question 5 - How did you attract/ address your audience?

I feel that there are a few in which we have made our production appeal to our audience. These being the narrative, different camera shots, editing techniques and sound. Here are some screen shots of shots I feel are appealing to our audience.

  

I feel that this image would attract our audiences attention simply because it is a shot which enables the viewer to see the sheer beauty of the building and the size of it. When you see this shot you can see that the building is derelict, that is not cared for and is completely abandoned.  In our questionnaires we discovered that the audience wanted something abandoned, as this is what they relate thriller too, so this is what we have done. This shot is also intriguing as it makes us want to see more of the building, the inside maybe. Also how the trees are in this shot makes all of the viewers focus go straight onto the building, it is the main focus of this shot.

Again I feel that this shots shows a few things that the audience would be attracted to. I feel that the audience would again find this shot appealing as it shows the size of the building against one of our main actors Jake Anderson. This shot also shows the state of the building. From our research we found out that the audience wanted a thriller to be based in somewhere that is abandoned. This has worked well in our thriller opening. From this shot you can establish that the building is literally falling to pieces. You can see that there is no roof on the building, no windows, no doors and is completely overgrown. This meant that we had to take careful consideration when thinking about shooting due to the health and safety of everybody involved. This shot is at the beginning of our production, it is a long clip to give the audience chance to see the scale and state of the building, along with introducing our main character. This shot also helped us build a sense of mystery, it makes the audience wonder why Jake is there and kick starts our production well.

As the building was abandoned there was different barbed wire all around the building, this made for a great camera shot. This shot also gives our production a sense of reality. It shows the wire has been put up to stop people from getting into the building, but why?. I also like this shot as the focus is completely on the wire, and when our main actor just steps over it, this could imply that nothing will stop him from getting into the building to look inside for himself.

This shot was a ironic shot for us. As you can read it says 'this is my happy place' on the wall, but the fact that we have included the broken glass from around the window pretty much undermines this statement. As this was already on the wall when we arrived it was also something we wanted to use. As we were shooting a psychological thriller, where a child got abandoned by his father in a burning building, we thought this shot could tie in and add another sense of dramatic tension.  In this shot the statement on the wall is clearly the main focus, our main actor comes across it and proceeds past it, and this shot is more for the viewer than it was for the main actor. This shot would also attract the audience as it just shows that the building is abandoned, and there has been people inside the building. This is a scary thought and one that may appeal to the audience.

As the opening progresses we decided that it would be a good idea to layer clips on top of one another and edit both clips together. This helped build tension dramatically. As you can see above we put different images a clip of our actor simply walking down a corridor. This also gives the viewer a good insight into what could happen later on in the video. I feel that these clips worked very well to keep the pace of the thriller opening and also meant that tension was built through a very simple method.

This is in my opinion one of the best and most dramatic shots of the production. For this shot, we thought that it would be dramatic to use a close up, point of view shot. This shot is near the end and happens after our main actor find this man rocking backwards and forwards in his chair. When Jake turns the music off to try and communicate with the man it triggers him into standing up and killing Jake. I also feel that this shot is an awesome shot to build the tension up to. I feel that this shot grabs the audience's attention both because of the visual and the audio that is playing. We thought it would be appropriate to put a scream a second or so after Kieran’s face appeared. This was a very dramatic end to the production and is not one to be forgotten in a hurry. This also represents the death of Jake. The makeup idea is something that has separated us and made us seem extremely professional. Although it looks great it took around 1 hour to do in Kieran's kitchen on the morning of the shoot.

Another thing that we took a while working on is our credits. As we was going with the old styled movie with a child like song we thought that having our credits in the old style would only be right. As the history of Nocton Hall is military based we decided to use this in our credits. We decided that we would all dress up in an old style uniform and hat. We would then put theses onto the computer and add our names at the bottom in a typewriter font, this also sticking with the time period. We then tea stained these photos and put them on the wall of the room we used at Nocton Hall. We also did this to engage the audience and again make them wonder about what is going to happen. The credits are as shown.

I feel this shot is effective in a few ways. This is the final shot in our production before our title 'The Lost Project' I feel that this will keep the audience thinking like a conventional thriller does as previously in the clip we have had both these shots before. Earlier in the production we had reversed the clip of driving away from Nocton hall to look like we was arriving, we used this within our titles. Later on we then say our main actor, (Jake Anderson) wiping rubble off the photo. This shows both clips are used again but in a different way, this time we are driving away from Nocton hall, and the picture has blood dripping onto it, this could imply that Jake was killed or seriously injured when the man approached him from behind. This is a good closing shot as it rounds off the opening in an effective manner.

Upon finishing our production we have recently put it onto YouTube and Facebook, this is to get feedback from our audience. Some feedback that I have already gained comes from asking people to write down what they thought of our production after they has seen it.

Julie Smith - 'After watching the lost project, I thought that overall it was great. I thought the film looked extremely professional and that the use of different camera shots to create tension worked well. The editing must have took forever, I say this because throughout the whole video the music is in sync with the production and the different shots work well next to each other. The overall result was fantastic and I would love to see the complete movie.

Morgan Arnett - 'After watching this thriller production I thought it has a very good start instantly making you want to know more, the shots taken were very precise and creative in terms of the angles and the projection of the story itself. I also think the location and transitions of shots used were very appropriate and added to the suspense and story line. Overall very good, seamless between shots, great build up alongside the dramatic effects and fantastic creativity. Naturally making the viewer wants to continue watching more.'

Kingston Capes - 'I thought the thriller really kept to the typical thriller conventions, using creative shots - especially through the hole in the wall. The mise-en-scene really fits the theme you were going for. The music also gives a very eerie feel to the whole production, building tension in a number of places. Overall a really good thriller production 5/5'

Joseph James - 'I like how you used a panning shot to set the scene when the video first starts to set the scene very well and from different angles, the smooth movement of the camera really enhances the types of shots too. The music suits the video and helps build up to the climax of the thriller. The way in which the video clips have been edited and the colours in the video clips enhance the fact it is set in an old building, almost a vintage effect. Overall a very good thriller, with a modern twist.