Trails of Water - Final Cut



Target Audience Profiles

Audience Profiles

To help with finding a target audience for our own film and attract more viewers.

Action

Targeted primarily at the male audience aged 15-40. Attracted by the violence, action, adrenaline burst.

 

Thriller

Targeted usually at an audience ages 15+ or 18+ due to the psychological and explicit content. Both male and female audiences who enjoy tension, consistent plot twists, puzzles, questions and more. Thrillers can range in style and theme appealing to different audiences.

 

Horror

Aimed mainly at audiences age 15-30 looking for thrills, scares and jumps. Often people watch them as couples or in groups of friends.

 

Romance

Often aimed at a female audience of a wide age range but often between 13 and 25. This will appeal to this audience due to the light hearted content and first world content.

 

Comedy

Appealing to wide audience depending on the content and subject of the film. Often aimed at a younger audience (30- ) due to light hearted and colourful content along with younger actors to relate to. Can be aimed at an older audience (18+) if the content is more explicit.

 

Drama

Yet again, it depends very much on the subject and content of the film but dramas will often be aimed at older audiences (15+) both male and female. A more intellectual audience will be drawn in to the majority of dramas due to the thought put into the story.

 

 

 

 

 

Film Opening Audience Attraction

Film Openings and Audience Attraction

Film openings need to entice the audience. The film opening should establish the genre it is aiming for to the audience as they are expecting and give them a taste of what to expect later on in the film. If a film has been aimed at a specific audience the opening to the film should reinforce the themes and atmospheres that are expected of that audience.

Usually a film opening will also establish a story or topic for the audience to think about and question before anything is explained. Star cast or characters will be clearly shown in the opening titles so that the audience may be more enticed to continue watching it to see certain actors.

Sound is key in a film opening for the atmosphere of the film to be established. Music should fit film and help fully immerse the audience into the film/film world and the opening should do this best to draw in the audience.

 

A good example of a film opening is Se7en. Se7en uses imagery to convey horror in the opening sequence where it is mainly composed of close ups and extreme close ups of someone doing some things making it difficult to tell exactly what, nevertheless it is all very questionable. It gives away very little about the film but intrigues the audience as to what to expect next. It is a clear horror due to the fast paced/jumpy editing and the sound effects and music that create an excellent tense atmosphere.

Genre

Genre Conventions

After looking at a variety of film openings I have seen many of the key genres and conventions of those genres in film openings. This should give me a good understanding and help with ideas for what will need to be in our own opening to make it appeal to the audience for the genre we pick.

Horror - Scream

Scream establishes its genre with the dark isolated setting with a stereotypical blonde female at home alone at night. There is little non-diegetic or diegetic sound so that the minimal ambient noises can establish suspense. Every noise is emphasised and made to be sudden to offset or unsettle the audience.

The phone call voice is made to sound gruff and eerie and close ups are used on items such as the knife and oven as a convention of horror and establishes a threat before anything even happens. There is also an obvious give away of the genre with the title 'Scream' in red text and blood.

 

Horror films will always feature many convention of their genre in the opening. Other examples of common or stereotypical themes may be dark woods, blood or frightening creatures, ghosts or killers.

Action - Casino Royale

 

Themes relating to the action genre such as guns and fights are shown in abundance in the animated opening titles of this bond film. There are also common themes of targets, blood and explosions of gun going off and a lot of the action is emphasised.

 

 

Much of the opening hints towards the main character getting into a lot of action during the film fighting multiple characters. A fast pace is given to the film from the very beginning to go along with the action genre.

 

There is dramatic music over the top of the opening titles fitting to the action sequences.

 

Most action films will include a lot of key icons to their genre in the openings. They need to start as the film intends to go on with an abundance of explosions, guns, cars and such depending on the style of the film.

Thriller - The Silence of the Lambs

Thrillers can take a variety of conventions to use in their openings depending on the subjects of the film. Silence of the Lambs establishes a random woodland setting/police training ground. It doesn’t give away much until later on to make the audience question what is happening or what might happen next. This theme should continue throughout the entire film.

 

The theme of police or detective investigations is suggested with the newspaper articles and photos. This also establishes the thriller genre, with elements of crime drama and neo noir, as the audience are being shown controversial topics to think about from the start but not very much information about the story of the film.

 

Thrillers are made to make people think and question what they are watching. The openings of thrillers will include some key elements or themes to the film as they can cover a wide variety of topics, they need to establish the subject.

Romance

Will always show many elements of love in the opening, with common themes of weddings, dates, hearts, red, pink and more. One or both of the main characters may be established and will often focus on one of the main characters lives’ and give the audience a vision into their world or worlds to allow for that to change when they meet their love.

Comedy - The Pink Panther

The Pink Panther uses animations for a more random and amusing opening. A sequence of random slapstick style chases ensue between the established animated version of the main character and the pink panther which is represented as a real pink panther rather than the jewel as in the actual narrative.

 

The opening animation is very colourful and vibrant to reflect the light heartedness of the film. The animations themselves are similar to that of cartoons to again establish a comedic genre.

Certification

Certification

To help with classifying our own film opening and getting a target audience in mind for our film.

U – Universal – Suitable for all

A U rated film classifies a film suitable for people ages 4 and older and it should contain miniscule violence, language, threat, behaviour, discrimination, drugs, nudity or sex. Any of such content included should be mild and be countered within the film.



Example: Finding Nemo (2003)

 

PG – Parental Guidance

A PG film is suitable for general viewing but it is advised that young children are accompanied to ensure they are not unsettled by any of the content of the film. The content of the film must be mild and all unsuitable is unlikely to seen or will be uncommon. Some mild violence, language, nudity is allowed. Any reference of illegal drugs must carry an anti-drug message.

Example: Ghostbusters (1984)

12/12A

12 rated films are suitable for persons of the age of 12 or up. In the case of 12A, people below the age of 12 are allowed to view the film with accompaniment from an adult. Content of a 12 rate film is more lenient but still very limited. Mild – Moderate but discrete sex, violence, nudity, language, and behaviour is allowed. Illegal drug references should be infrequent and countered appropriately.


Example: Inception (2010)

 

15

A 15 rated film is suitable for persons aged 15 and over. The content is more frequent and moderate, a lot more is acceptable. Reference to illegal drugs should not be promoted and consistent violence, threat etc. may be acceptable. Sadistic or arousing content is unlikely to be acceptable. All content should be somewhat justified and put into context.



Example: Deadpool (2016)

18

18 rated films are suitable for people aged 18 and over and are likely to contain considerable amounts of all explicit content. No one below the age of 18 should be allowed to view the film. Adults should be allowed to choose their own entertainment. Content is only limited when it relates to illegal or criminal activity or pornography.



Example: Predator (1987)

18R

 

18R classifies a film with questionable and over explicit content. It is given to film to ensure the viewer understands is content and may choose not to view it. The content of the film is very unrestricted so the rating restricts the viewing of the film.

Opening Timelines

Opening Timelines

To give us an idea of timings of opening titles in films and show us the generic structure of openings.

Film 1 - The Italian Job 1963

0:00 – Paramount Pictures Logo

0:59 – An Dankurst Production

1:03 – Micheal Caine

1:06 – Noel Coward

1:10 – In The Italian Job

1:15 – Also starring Benny Hill – Raf Vallore

1:18 – Tony Beckley – Rossana Brazzi

1:21 – and Maggie Blye

1:24 – with Irene Handl – John Le Mesurier – Fred Emney

1:27 – Micheal Standing – John Forge Horn- George Innes – Harry Baird

1:32 – Robert Powell – Derek Ware – Frank Jarvis- Stanley Caine

1:36 – written by Troy Kennedy Martin

1:39 – Director of Photography – Douglas Slocombe

1:42 – Production Design Disley Jones

1:45 – Associate Producer Bob Porter

1:47 – Music by Quincy Jones

1:50 – Edited by John Trumper

2:00 – Production Manager Derek Kavanaga – Camera operator Chic Waterson – Art Director Micheal Knight…

Film 2 Godzilla 1998

0:01 – Tristar Pictures Presents

0:06 – A Centropolis Entertainment Production – A Fried Films and Independent Pictures Production

0:12 – A Ronald Emerich Film

0:17 – Godzilla

0:29 – Mattew Broderich

0:34 – Jean Reno

0:38 – Maria Pitollo

0:44 – Hank Azaria

0:53 – Kevin Dunn

0:58 – Micheal Lerner

1:02 – Harry Shearer

1:07 – Arebella Field – Vicki Lewis

1:18 – Doug Sevant – Malcolm Danare

1:22 – Casting by April Webster C.S.A. – David Bloch C.S.A.

1:28 – Costume Design Joseph Porro

1:32 – Godzilla Design Patrick Tatopoulos

1:37 – Visual Effects Volker Enged

1:43 – Co-Executive Producers Rob Fried – Cary Woods

1:48 – Co-Producers Peter Wither – Kelly Van Horn…

Film 3 - Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom 1984

0:00 – A Paramount Picture

0:06 – Paramount Pictures Presents

0:10 – A Lucas Film LTD. Production

0:17 – A Steven Spielberg Film

0:28 – Starring Harrison Ford

0:33 – Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

0:38 – Kate Capshaw

0:43 – Co-Starring Amrish Puri – Roshan Seth

0:48 – Philip Stone – Roy Chiao

0:52 – Introducing Ke Huy Quan as Short Round

1:39 – Associate Producer Kathleen Kennedy

1:43 – Costume Design Anthony Pourell

1:50 – Production Design Elliot Scott

1:57 – Director of Photography Douglas Slocombe

2:03 – Editor Micheal Khan, A.C.E

2:10 – Music by John Williams

2:14 – Executive Producers George Lucas – Frank Marshall

2:20 – Screen Play by…

Film Opening Analysis +

 



Django Unchained

 

More analysis to see how different genres of film make good film openings. Key conventions of film openings are reinforced by looking at a larger variety.

Django Unchained opens with a clear establishing shot of the environment of the Wild West with a barren desert with many rocks and mountains surrounding the valley. The Wild West theme is reinforced with the Django theme song with a strong Wild West sound/feel.

 

The titles that appear are also influenced by classic Wild West films and are stylised as such.

 

The time period is establish with obvious representations of slavery which was most common during the time of the Wild West around the 1800’s most likely.

 

Following this more establishing shots are used to emphasise the Wild West theme and setting, showing the vast open valleys and other landscapes with the slaves being led by some men on horseback.

A main character is established as the camera focuses on one slave out of the group and follows him during the majority of the opening.

It is also made clear that they have been journeying for some time as it cuts to different seasons as they travel from location to location. This is done to show how much traveling they have done and how much they’ve endured along with the marks on their backs from being whipped as slave tend to be shown.

Blues Brothers

Though not featured in the clip I watched on YouTube, The Blues Brothers starts with some establishing shots of the prison and long shots showing one of the main characters being escorted through said prison. The tracking shots on him establish he is a main character.

The prison is an indication of the characters background and preludes to criminal activity being a large part of the film. It also could foreshadow the place the characters end up at the end of the film.

The film takes a semi serious tone with hints of humour as the opening starts off very realistic while adding some element of amusement the way the prison guard, like other characters later on in the movie, talk (in this case about his clothing and belongings).

The clothing is made very bold by the fact that he reads out the list of them at the beginning of the film and links to the fact that these are the clothes the two main characters wear for almost the entire film.

 

More establishing shots show the prison and the car (Blues Mobil) to make it one the key elements of the film. It is focused on from the very start of the film along with the two main characters. The fact that it’s a police car is rather ironic too and this is referred to in the next scene as they are fugitives of sorts later on and they happen to be driving an old 1974 Dodge Sedan Police cruiser.

 

This will become a common sight throughout the film as many of the same model of police car seen later on in the film. One of the films main focuses is the police chases. The cars in the film also establish the time period of the 70’s or early 80’s.

 

The second main character is also established, driving the car. The two main characters are also shown with their names tattooed on their knuckles and this is focused on for both of them during the opening. When the two meet there is an even clearer indication of them being the main characters as the names of the actors appear as titles at this point and the title of the film is shown.

 

The music also kicks in at this point and the theme of blues is made obvious alongside the title of the film. It is also worth noting that there is a bright glow behind one of the characters as he leaves the prison which could indicate towards the supernatural elements of the film or could relate to the 'mission form god' that they embark on.

Terminator 2

Terminator 2 instantly kicks off with establishing the large amount of action in the film with fire and explosions as the titles start. The titles use a serious font and are somewhat sci-fi orientated trying to establish the sci-fi genre in the film alongside the action.

 

There is a sombre tone heard in the theme tune of the film along with clear elements of military march sound. This hints towards the narrative of the film a lot without giving away any information about what actually happens.

 

A park is shown in the flames to represent a sombre tone and connote to the sad ending to the film and narrative of the events that occur. The camera pans slowly across the park and there is no fast paced editing to be found either to emphasise the sadness.

 

Then there is the obvious icon of any sci-fi movie when the terminator robot appears from the flames. His red eye that is focused on clearly show the evil intent of the machines in the film and the skull like design foreshadows the main goal of the terminator, to kill and terminate. The terminator is also established here as the main character or object in the film.