Suzanne Micael

5) How did you attract/address your audience?

Throughout my opening sequence, I manipulated different conventions that enabled me to attract the specific target audience desired for this film product. As well as this, I was able to specifically use editing techniques to address particular audiences as well as attract them. In general, the horror genre attracts a wide range of people from the ages of 15 - 40 as it contains specific themes that are together appropriate and entertaining.

CharactersThe characters included within the opening sequence were specifically chosen to address and represent different types of audiences. This in turn would also allow an audience to relate to the characters they could identify as similar to themselves. In my opening sequence, two characters were introduced that not only had completely different physical appearances, they also illustrated different personality types the stereotypical Propps character the hero could have.

It is important to mention that the film is based in contemporary London, therefore to truly present how diverse London actually is, I chose to make both my protagonists different ethnicities and class status’. However it was also vital the narrative was realistic which meant their ages had to be similar as it would make the group of characters seem more believable.

Jade

Clarissa

Physical Appearance - Medium height, British African background and ethnicity, long brown hair, modern clothing , natural make-up.Personality - Defensive, loyal, shy, pessimistic, witty & stubborn.

Personality - Flirtatious, funny, caring, organised and responsible.Physical Appearance - Tall in height, White British background. Long blonde hair, modern clothing , more obvious makeup

Jade’s physical appearance attracts audiences as they are able to identify with her in terms of the gratifications theory. Jades behaviour attracts an audience towards her personality as people tend to enjoy the presence of a w itty person.

Clarissa is considerably an attractive female with the use of her mise-en-scene makeup and movement. The male gaze theory suggest that Clarissa could potentially draw in a male audience who could possibly identify her as a sexualised character. Also, her costuming makes her character more easy to relate to as her modern clothes make her seem like a normal girl. The audience then identifies themselves with her as they can then watch this film as a form of escapism and sympathise for her in the rest of the storyline.

Mise-en-scene and LocationOne of the main locations in this film is the forest. This was all filmed in Primrose Hill, one of London's notorious parks . Filming at this precise location could potentially attract British cinema-goers as they are familiar with the location and may be intrigued at the fact the film was set there. The fast paced opening sequence was also a way of in cooperating a variation of camera shots, angles and movements that make this location recognisable.

This particular time-lapse framing shot of the silhouette of a tree is a subtle beginning to the opening sequence.

Mise-en-scene: Props

Creating a storyline that centres around a prop meant I had to consider the way the audience would perceive this. Often in the horror genre, a specific scary prop ranging from a mirror, camera or necklace creates the grounds for the film. As the group stumble upon the book in the forest, this acts as a stimuli for them to understand the actual plot of the film. This attracts an audience as they find connecting the deaths of their friends to this particular prop.

Another prop I used to attract the audience in my opening sequence is the tent featured in a scene between the opening titles. This prop draws attention to where the group of friends will be setting up camp later on in the film.

Editing

Using different software’s , I managed to develop my editing skills to create a fast paced opening sequence that attracts audiences who are watching this film as a form of escapism. This was created by using Final Cut Pro and creating consistent jumps between shots and introducing the juxtaposition contrast of the short fast scenes to the simplistic black and white titles using the software Motion.

VS

I included an element of foreshadowing with my editing using the prop stated above; the tent. In this particular scene, I cut the shot in seconds and inserted a 1 second clip of the tent damaged and placed it into the middle of a shot in which the tent remained fine. This slight glance into what is going to happen makes the audience question why this is going to happen. Somewhat preparing them for the rest of the film.

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1 second