Group Narrative***

In order for our group to make a successful opening for our thriller, we have all wrote our personal ideas so that each of them are equally considered. However in order to make the the most successful thriller opening possible, we have critiqued each narrative in terms of advantages. This way we are aware off the elements that could possibly be included and the others that we feel do not work. Consequently, we will create an opening in which we all agree on through doing so. Below is all our individual narratives following with their advantages.

Jasionowska, Jagoda

Characters:

The victim - this character will be portrayed as a fragile young girl which will be achieved by natural make-up and white clothing.The colour white has a connotation of innocence and so enhances the essence of the character's purity. This will convey her to be a vulnerable character that will gain empathy from the audience who will experience her fear and anxiety when she is faced with a series of turbulent events.
The antagonist - this character will only be visible as a dark blurred shadow moving in sharp motions. A hidden identity means the audience will be unaware of who the antagonist is, his intentions unknown. This will create suspense which is conventional to the thriller genre.

Conventions:

• An establishing shot of the room will be shown to familiarise the audience with the current setting as well as set the scene.
• Low key lighting will be used as it is an effective convention that is able to create a tense atmosphere. This will create a dark setting as well as shadows which can be suggestive of the antagonist's presence without providing the audience of certainty. Although a dark setting will be used, the moon light seeping through the window will provide enough light for the character's facial expressions to be visible.
• Non-diegetic music i.e. the background music will be increasing in volume throughout the progression of the opening sequence in order to build up tension.
• Exaggerated diegetic sounds such as the door slam will also be used to emphasise the elements of the scene and simultaneously provide the audience with fear.
• Close up shots capturing facial expression will be used to convey the emotion felt by the character.

    The Narrative:

A young girl being awoken by a gentle voice repeatedly whispering the same phrase which imitates a nightmare increasing in pace. The girl's eyes open and a tear runs down her cheek. Shivering, she reaches over to the bedside table where an alarm clock showing the time is seen. The sound of wind rushes through the room as a dark blurred shadow moves across it. The door slamming shut disturbs the stillness of the night. The girl gets up hurriedly and grabs her phone in which she dials the number 999 whilst struggling to open the door. Her breathing is rushed and uneven. The lighting is dim yet the moon light seeps through the window, creating suspense. As she forcefully opens the door, she sees nothing but a photo laying on the floor. She picks it up, her hands shaking. The photograph is revealed to be of her sleeping peacefully; dressed in the same white gown. The words 'RIP' written across it in big bold letters.

    Themes:

• Psychological trauma : this theme will be emphasised by a rushed heartbeat and heavy breathing of the main character who will be emotionally disturbed by the events. This will also be conveyed by the tear running down her cheek when awoken and traumatised. Struggling to cope with the events will create empathy for the character that will be enable a connection to be established between the character and the audience.
• Horror : this theme will be portrayed by the antagonist's appearance that will cause fear and panic for the victim as well as the audience. The dark shadow means it will be a sudden and rushed appearance which would not have been anticipated.

Advantages:

• The location used in this narrative is a bedroom, a relatable setting for viewers making the scene highly realistic and increases of audience's fear because of this. A bedroom is a convention of the thriller because of impact of affect previously stated.
• In this opening, an enigma is created through a suggested narrative without giving too much information as to who the villain is, what he is doing and why. However, enough information is given to the audience to make them become engaged to the scene, making them want the answers to these questions in the rest of the film.

Gold, Harriet

Characters:

• Stalker/Young Man - My idea for a thriller opening will consist of a young man who will be a stalker and also the boyfriend of the victim. He will be stalking her constantly which will be sticking to the conventions of a thriller as this shows obsession.
• Young woman - I have decided to use a young vulnerable female as the victim that will also be sticking to the conventions of a thriller as this will portray her innocence.

Themes:

The themes that will be presented in my thriller will be stalking/obsession. This will be shown by the boyfriend also known as the stalker constantly watching the victims every move. This can also be shown in the theme of psychological as of the mental instability of him stalking the victim.

Narrative:

 In my idea there will be a young couple that have been together for 5 years and have lived with each other for only a year. The woman thinks everything is normal and that they are going to be a happy family with there own children. What she doesn't know is her boyfriend in fact has two identities and stalks her every move while she's out the house. Before they met he'd been stalking her for 3 years, taking photographs, taking pieces of her belongings whilst she was out the house, which was all part of the plan to get into her life. The woman starts to suspect things while she's at work or out for a coffee but doesn't think to mention anything. This then starts to panic her when she finds strange things happening in the house. The last thing she'd imagine it to be is a stalker when in fact she's living with one right under the same roof.

Advantages:

• The theme of obsession is displayed effectively through pictures and belongings of the victim, a conventional theme to the thriller genre.
• Relatable characters for the audience to build a relationship with to become emotionally involved and therefore affected by victim's state through sympathy.

Sutherland, Ella

Characters:

• In my thriller opening I plan to have a young woman portrayed as the victim. By using a character such as a younger female to play the victim, this will stick to the conventions of the thriller genre as the female will suggest innocence through her gender alone. Females are often associated with victims in the thriller genre as this increases their perceived weakness as a character, making them more vulnerable. She is a similar age to our target audience (18) and therefore they can relate to her.
• A male stalker will be used as the antagonist in out thriller opening. He will be shown as having an obsession with the victim and consequently stalks her every movement. Obsession is a conventional factor between antagonist and victim within the thriller genre.

Narrative:

The narrative will consist of a young woman being stalked by an older male as he is shown to have an obsession with her. She is entirely oblivious of the stalker however begins to have dreams of the same nature suggesting she has become a victim. She later becomes suspicious and sub-consciously aware that she is not alone when thought to be. It is later revealed that the stalker is someone very close to her. The scene opens with the victim on her own in her bedroom, when hearing a noise coming from somewhere else in the house. She shows recognition of the noise but does not act upon it, building suspense. She then goes to bed, having a nightmare that takes place in her house, as if it were happening in reality. The nightmare consists of her seeing where the noise came from and seeing a mystery man in her house. She wakes up screaming, running to see where the noise came from but no one is there. Slow editing is used to build suspense. She then turns around and the mystery man is there. Abrupt editing to highlight the shock.

Themes:

a main theme within the opening will be obsession. Obsession will be shown with the younger woman by the antagonist. This is conventional to a thriller to make the audience feel uncomfortable and plays on the venerability of the female/victim.

Advantages:

• Conventional characters that can build an effective relationship with audience.
• Within the thriller genre, dreams are very suggestive of the narrative through imagery and emotions of the character dreaming. However, as it is not real it doesn't give too much information away to ruin the further narrative.

_________________________________________________________________

We have decided on a unanimous group narrative by analysing the advantages our our individual narratives. Below is the narrative of our final thriller opening, that we will start to produce.

Our Thriller

Characters:

we have decided that our characters will consist of young female as the victim as all 3 of us chose this character in out individual narrative and it is also conventional to the genre as her gender will imply innocence. We will also use a older male as our stalker as this is highly conventional and affective in suggesting an intimidating character through the male gender. The conflict between male antagonist and female protagonist is common within the genre as it highlights the power of the antagonist through the contrasting weak female character, increasing her vulnerability.


Themes:

A main theme within the opening will be obsession. Obsession was evident in all three of our narratives as we felt this was a conventional and effective theme to have the narrative based on. The theme of obsession implies that the antagonists is psychologically threatening thus increasing the protagonist's vulnerability. The antagonist's representation can be manipulated so that they appear more eerie and disturbed, making the audience feel on edge. Obsession will be shown with the younger woman by the antagonist. This is conventional to a thriller to make the audience feel uncomfortable and plays on the vulnerability of the female/victim. Themes of obsession can also be identified in other existing thrillers that we have analysed as part of our secondary research such as Obsessed and Prom Night, suggesting that the target audience find such theme appealing. Also, in the primary research we have conducted we have gathered results as to whether the target audience find violence appealing, in which the split between the contrasting opinions was very close. Therefore by having a theme of obsession, this implies violence without dwelling on the illustration on it, appealing to a wider audience.


Narrative:

The female victim will be stalked by the male antagonist as a result of his obsession with her. The female will be in her room when she hears a noise in the hallway and she begins to think it is her mother returning home from a night out. When she calls out to her and hears no reply, she decides she is being paranoid. However, then everything in her room turns off and she decides to check if someone is out in the hallway. We decided to include this in our final narrative as it reinforces the suggestion that someone is there, as well as the vulnerability of the protagonist as a result. When discovering that no one is there, she goes to the bathroom to splash her face. This is a clear indication that the victim is distressed by the situation which builds suspense to an indicated climax. She rings her mum in panic but it goes straight to answer phone which in turn, reiterates her isolation, making the audience feel on edge. She then goes back to her room when someone puts their hand on her shoulder. This will be achieved through the use of shadows as it keep the antagonist's identity a secret, a convention in the thriller genre as it builds suspense. Finishes with her screaming to suggest threat but finishes on enigma as the audience are unaware of the level of threat as well as its source.

Group Storyboards***

After writing our individual narratives we combined elements in order to create a group narrative. Following this, each member in my group created their own individual storyboards portraying their ideas for our thriller opening scene. We then came together and collided our ideas to create a final group storyboard. We allocated the role of drawing to Jagoda whilst I filled out details on the storyboard so that the illustrations were explained. A storyboard is a graphic representation of how your video will unfold, shot by shot. It is vital to create a storyboard as this process makes production easier and quicker, as key elements are already illustrated, ready to be created in production. 

Did you follow your storyboards, or did you make changes?

We followed the majority of our planned storyboard as we shared a unanimous vision as to what we wanted the final music video to look like. For example, we planned to use a panning shot when the victim is going from her bedroom to the bathroom in order to create a suspenseful climax, as it suggests to the audience that someone is behind her. From the planning to production stage we felt this was an effective shot as it worked in the way we had desired. However we also made changes. In the beginning of the opening, we had planned to use a fade to go from narrative, to a black screen back to narrative. But when in the editing stage, this transition slowed down the narrative too much, and therefore the opening was too long. Also, it broke the tension that was created. Therefore we decided to have the credits over the top of the narrative so that the tension was not broken, nor was the opening too long. Overall the changes we made improved our opening sequence.

Opening Scene Narration ***

Our thriller will open with our production name, as this is the conventional way in which most films start so that the audience know which production company the film is by. The production name will be in white font against a black background, creating a dark and eerie atmosphere. The contrast of black and white is often used in thriller films to represent the contrast of good and bad. It also suggests a lack of life due to the missing colour, which may foreshadow the narrative. The positioning of the font is slightly off centre, to appear distorted to the audience which implies the lack of stability and equilibrium in the narrative.

Then, the opening scene will start with the victim (Daisy) shown on the laptop and phone in her bedroom. She is talking to her boyfriend and telling him that she is home alone, making the audience aware of her vulnerable state of isolation and therefore starts to build a climax. She then hears a door shut in the hallway but assumes it is her Mum returning. However when she calls out to her Mum, she doesn't receive a reply and consequently blames her hearings down to paranoia. This creates an enigma for the audience as to what the sound was from the hallway was, and how did it happen if she is home alone, furthering the climax. While this occurs, credits are over the scene in white to symbolise the character's innocence. Camera shots will include mostly mid shot, as this opening section of the scene portrays the stability of the protagonist prior to the intrusion of the antagonist, and therefore the cinematography and editing will reflect this show the alteration of ‘equilibrium’ to ‘disequilibrium’.

 After this, the power in her room cuts off (including light, phone and laptop) suggesting to the audience that there is someone present, as the darkness of the room connotes the darkness of the villain's personality. It also furthers her vulnerability as she has lost contact with people therefore lowers her chances of escape and builds tension. She holds the phone to her face, the light reflecting on her face will symbolise the innocence of her character. She then goes to the hallway to check if someone is there creating more tension. Credits over scene again. The camera will follow Daisy so that the audience feel as if they were in the same position, which builds suspense as they feel as vulnerable as the protagonist.

The victim checks the hallway for the sound she heard previously while in her room. The camera will emphasise her lack of ability to escape through tightly framed shots. Slowly, the victim walks in to the hallway, checking around the corner of where she can't see which creates tension as she is unaware of what she will see. Slow editing is used to build tension. The audience are again reminded that she is alone in her house from process and therefore recall her vulnerable state and make them feel empathy for her. Credits over top of each scene.

After hesitating to open the bathroom door due to the tension of the emotions felt by the victim, she then turns the bathroom light on and relieves her emotions so the audience are made aware of them. She begins to talk to herself, attempting the calm herself down and suggests that she is mentally disturbed and affected by the events around her. She also puts her hair up, suggesting she is distressed and paranoid and further develops the empathy felt by the audience. Further credits over the scene. The camera will follow Daisy’s movement to create disorientation through sharp, quick movement.

After this, the victim holds her head in her hands displaying her misery and panic, this consequently progresses the audience's empathy and relationship with her. She then goes to the sink and wash her face with water to 'cool' herself down from the stress felt. After, the victim grabs a towel and wipes her face. As a result of this, her eye makeup becomes very smudged, suggesting the victim has also been crying due to her vulnerable state. This scene effectively creates empathy for the character and her emotions are fully displayed to the audience through the events described above and therefore matures the relationship between the two. Credits over the scene. The cinematography is simple, following the movements of Daisy to highlight her lack of mental stability at this moment.

The victim attempts to call her Mum on her phone to come home as a result of her defencelessness in this situation. However, the audience then hear that the phone call goes straight to answer phone, suggesting something has happened to her Mum which further builds the tension and isolation of the character. The victim is shown as distressed by this and after, the door appears to slam by itself. This again, creates an enigma as to who the suggested character is within the house. There aren’t any credits so the audience focus on this scene.

The victim then opens the bathroom door, and then slows herself down when walking down the corridor to intensify the tension built while approaching her bedroom. As a bedroom is a location the audience can relate to, this suggested invasion causes disturbance with the audience and makes them become involved with the climax in this scene. The camera then zooms into the victim's hand when opening the door to increase tension. The victim is then seen walking in to the bedroom and the audience can also see her reflection in the mirror. Credits over the scene.

The camera shot then changes so that the victim's shadow is in the middle of the frame, symbolizing its importance to the scene. Shadows are often used in thrillers to create mystery and suspense. After this, a mysterious hand appears in the frame and is placed on the shoulder of the victim. The use of low key lighting creates shadows and therefore this hides the character's identity. As the identity of this person is hidden, this creates enigma as to who they are and what are their motives.

The victim then turns around and screams in fear of the unknown character's presence. The facial expression of the protagonist appears very shocked and scared to highlight the impact of the hidden antagonist, which the audience are able to engage with. Again, the audience do not see who the antagonist is so that this creates an enigma to keep them on edge and lack knowledge. After a climatic build up, the suddenness of the scream makes the audience feel on edge, which is conventional of the thriller genre. The build of the relationship throughout the opening causes the audience to also feel afraid as the victim does.

The opening ends with the title obsession, which is suggestive of the narrative of the film. The style of title is explained in the Credits blog.

Thriller Film Comparison***

As part of the evaluation process in terms of my own thriller opening success, I will compare the final version of my thriller opening to the opening I had analysed as part of my research; Se7en. By comparing it to an existing successful thriller opening, I will be able to identify whether my own thriller opening would be deemed successful in regard to the thriller genre as a whole, as well as the film industry. Throughout the analysis I will focus on the micro elements such as mis en scene, cinematography, editing, sound and character representation. By addressing all of the main aspects of each opening, I will be able to efficiently compare the two openings to establish the success of my own.

Cinematography

The opening sequence to the thriller 'Se7en' conforms to the generic conventions of a thriller film by using close up shots. Close ups shots are typically used to emphasis a moment as it encourages the audience to look at something specifically. The use of a close up in the context of the opening sequence is significant in reflecting the 'psychological' aspects of the film. By having a close up of someone scraping the skin off of their fingers, the audience become aware that 'someone' (antagonist) is not deemed psychologically normal or stable. It makes the audience focus of the skin coming off of the person's fingers which makes them feel on uncomfortable as it conveys the intensity of the person's lack of 'normality'. It also suggests that the person takes pleasure in hurting themselves/others which once again, is reflective of the narrative and therefore implies to the audience that violence will take place.

In comparison to the Se7en opening, my own thriller opening also conforms to the generic convention of using close ups. When the victim has been touched on the shoulder by the antagonist, she turns around and screams; in which a close up shot is used. The significance of a close up shot is vital in encouraging the audience to build a relationship with the victim. When realising that the antagonist is behind her, her facial expressions convey clear fright and shock and by using a close up to frame this, her emotions are intensified to the audience, thus making them focus on the victim's emotions. By having to do so, the audience are made to feel on edge, as they begin to empathise with the victim and therefore feel uncomfortable when she is threatened. Similarly to the opening sequence to 'Se7en', I have effectively used a close up to intensify a specific moment in the opening, as well as creating the conventional effect such shot has on the audience as they are made to feel disturbed. By conforming to such convention, my opening sequence is successful in terms of the cinematography used as it is similar to existing, successful thriller openings.

Editing

In terms of editing, the opening sequence conforms to the conventions of the thriller genre by using a 'montage'; in which a series of short shots are edited into a sequence to condense space, time, and information. Each of the short clips are taken from the antagonist writing in his diary, which is heavily evident in the actual film and therefore is reflective of this. A montage is typically edited using fast transitions and therefore the editing of the opening sequence connotes the chaotic and unstable mind set of the antagonist through its fast pace. By representing the antagonist is such way, this makes the audience feel on edge and uncomfortable in regards to such character, another convention of the genre. Lastly, the audience receive a a lot of information at one time because of the montage editing which in turn, may make them feel slightly distorted and on edge to anything 'out of the ordinary'.

Although the opening sequence to Se7en uses montage editing, he narrative of my opening focuses on the victim thinking the antagonist is in her house and therefore slow paced editing will be more suitable. By having slow paced editing, suspense is built throughout the opening while the victim is looking for the antagonist. It suggests to the audience that a climatic event will occur as a result of the suspense built which will make the audience feel on edge. To elaborate, when the victim hears a noise from another room she goes to check what the cause of it may be in the bathroom. When walking through the corridor and going to open the bathroom door, slow paced editing is used to build suspense as it prolongs the revealing of the antagonist. This makes the audience feel on edge as they are unsure as to what will happen next. Although I haven't used the editing style evident in the Se7en opening, I have still conformed to generic convention. By doing so, I have also created the desired effect on the audience that is often associated with the thriller genre; feeling on edge. Therefore, my opening sequence may be deemed successful in terms of editing styles as slow paced editing is used in other successful thrillers such as Prom Night.

Sound

The sound used on the opening sequence is highly conventional to the thriller genre for many reasons. The first being the pitch of the sound, as it is very high and almost sounds very similar to screaming. Because of this, the sound creates a very disturbing atmosphere as it appears that there is background screaming, which implies an upcoming disturbing cause. Therefore the audience are made to feel on edge due to the eerie atmosphere created. Furthermore, the sound is also conventional in that it fluctuates and changes in volume. This is a convention of the thriller genre as the sound becomes unpredictable; it will be quiet one second and then loud the next. The unpredictable nature of the music makes the audience feel on edge as the change in volume makes it jumpy and irregular. This is conventional to the thriller genre as it effectively manipulates the emotions of the audience into feeling on edge. However, there is also a monotonous beat included in the soundtrack which sounds similar to a heartbeat; throughout the sequence the 'beat' increases in speed which may influence the emotions of the audience are heartbeats typically speed up when frightened, which may influence them to feel so.

In comparison to the Se7en opening sequence, the sound used in my own production is very similar in terms of style and convention. Conventionally, sound used in thriller film fluctuates so that it becomes irregular and unpredictable to keep the audience on edge, as well as fluctuating at specific points in the narrative to stress a moment. In my own production, I used a storm soundtrack throughout the entire length of the opening to create an eerie atmosphere. The storm highlights the vulnerability of the victim as it is unsafe in both the house and outside, cutting her off from any comfort or escape. The storm fluctuates at specific points in the narrative such as when the victim opens the door that is predicted to have the antagonist behind it. By having the sound increase in volume and pitch, this moment is stressed which makes the narrative jumpy, thus making the audience feel on edge. Although I have used different sound in my thriller opening, the style in which the sound is executed is conventional to the genre and evident in the Se7en opening.The fluctuations in the sound make it irregular which makes the audience on edge and therefore the sound in my thriller opening may be deemed successful as a result.

Iconography

The thriller film 'Se7en' falls into both crime and psychological sub-genres, and therefore uses conventional iconography such as weapons. In the opening, a weapon is evident in the picture as a man with an arrow through his head, which implies to the audience that the narrative will consist of violence or possibly torture. Both of these are regular themes that are focused upon in the thriller genre, as they make the audience uncomfortable and on edge. Such iconography is also reflective of the antagonist as it suggests that they are psychologically imbalanced in order to do such act. Furthermore, this also highlights the conflict between victim and antagonist as it suggests a similar/possible outcome between such two characters, thus building suspense.

The opening to Se7en uses iconography such as weapons as the narrative is based on graphic and violent crimes and therefore effectively reflects the narrative.  My production is focused on the psychological aspects of the thriller genre rather than crime and therefore weapons are not suitable iconography to include in my opening sequence. Although my iconography used may not be considered conventional, it plays a key role in creating a conventional effect on the audience. At the beginning of the sequence, the victim is on her phone and laptop which are methods of communication. However, they suddenly stop working which disables her from contacting anyone for  help. This effectively cuts the victim off from any external help which therefore isolates her. Therefore the audience feel more on edge as they are made to feel that the victim leads an inevitable path of being captured by the antagonist. Conclusively, the iconography is not conventional to the thriller genre as it is not typically associated with it; however in using such iconography I have been able to create an isolated victim in which the audience can empathise with, which is a convention of the thriller genre. Therefore the iconography can be deemed successful in terms of it's effect on the audience.


Character Representation 

In the opening to Se7en, the identity of the antagonist is not revealed to the audience which is conventional to the genre. By having the identity of the antagonist hidden throughout the audience are made to feel more on edge as they suspense is built in the run up to the revealing of said identity. It creates an enigma as to who the antagonist is which keep the audience engaged to find out. Although aware of the percussions of the antagonist, the lack of knowledge in terms of their identity makes the audience more vulnerable, as they are not all knowing like the antagonist. This is an effective and conventional method in which thriller films typically make the audience feel on edge. The sole indication of the representation of the antagonist is the frame in which someone is scrapping the skin off of their fingers, which the audience assume is the antagonist because the person appears distorted, mentally unstable and takes pleasure in hurting themselves/others; qualities that are associated with a conventional antagonist in the genre.

In the opening of my thriller, the audience only see the victim. Grace is a conventional character often found in the thriller genre, particularly because of her gender. Females are often portrayed as the victims in thrillers, who are victimised by male antagonists. Conventionally, the male antagonist is portrayed as threatening and powerful whereas the female victim is represented as weak and vulnerable, thus heightening the audience’s empathy for the protagonist, and creating an innocent representation. Her innocent representation is also reinforced by her costume. The victim is wearing white, a colour that connoted innocence and purity. Conventionally, victim often wear white to reinforce their innocence and vulnerability to the audience so that they can build a relationship. The victim also appears to be a typical teenager in that she is on her phone and laptop, talking to her friend. This creates a representation of the character which the majority of young adults can relate to, as they have probably been in a similar situation at one point. Her representation overall appears to portray a typical teen who is innocent in the situation.



From this comparison do you think you opening is successful and conventional to the thriller genre?

Overall, there are many similarities that I have identified in both my opening and the opening to Se7en. This alone would suggest that my opening is conventional to the genre, as it is very similar to an existing thriller film in terms of the micro elements. Not only this, but my opening sequence has created a similar effect on the audience, that the opening to Se7en had. Through prior research into the thriller genre, I can also notice that such effect is evident in other thriller such as Prom Night and Scream. Therefore my opening appears to fit in with other thriller films, suggesting that it is conventional to the genre. In terms of success, this can be measured by the effect the opening had on the audience as it is vital that it not only engaged the audience, but manipulated their emotions into feeling disturbed and on edge. Theoretically, by including conventions of the thriller genre, my opening sequence should also effect the audience in the desired way as a result. For example, by using slow paced editing, a convention of the genre, this should build suspense that leave the audience feeling on edge. Therefore it is logical to assume that the opening is successful as not only have I compared the conventions evident in both opening, but also the percussions of such convention.

Target Audience Feedback***

Explain why audience feedback is important to a production?

Receiving feedback is a vital stage in post production in order to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the final outcome.This is done by the target audience commenting on mis en scene, cinematography, editing and sound and whether or not they feel it effectively contributed to the making of a successful thriller opening. By receiving feedback, we can recognise whether the products were successful in appealing to the audience which in turn, will show if the research we did prior was valid and accurate. Not only does the feedback assist whether the products were successful but will also help us as media producers in the creation of our further products. If the feedback was negative, an analysis of the entire production process would be taken out so that we could improve this. An example of this is to ask a wider sample of our target audience to provide a increased source of feedback in regards to accuracy.


How did you receive audience feedback from your target audience?

Prior to the production stages, we asked different individuals that varied in age to complete a questionnaire as a part of the planning stages of our production. The questionnaire addressed the main components of a thriller which accumulated their preferences on such components as a result. Therefore we had gained the main elements that our target audience preferred, which logically should increase the appeal of our thriller opening.  It is important to receive target audience feedback prior to production stages so that we can establish what they prefer and therefore do not create a thriller opening sequence that they do not enjoy and therefore unsuccessful. We also received feedback after the opening sequence had been made to evaluate its success amongst them. To accumulate feedback from our target audience, we screened our production within a media lesson to an audience of aged 15 and above. After the screening, we held a focus group which gave our target audience a chance to share their opinions. This gave us the chance to have direct and immediate feedback which is vital in establishing the initial reaction of our target audience towards our thriller opening. This way, we were able to evaluate whether or no the opening created the desired effect we had intended. Furthermore, our media class consists of individuals that fall into our target audience in terms of age and therefore we were also evaluate whether or not the opening is appealing to them. This is so the production was viewed by our target audience and therefore we received valid feedback. We also put the production on YouTube. This benefited us as YouTube is easily accessible and used by many across the globe, therefore we could receive live feedback from a variety of viewers. As the viewers are personally unknown by us, they didn't have a connection to us that could possibly generate bias feedback. Also, they would have watched the production in a natural environment which may enhance the desired effect of the thriller as they are made to feel uncomfortable in their natural environment.


Include 3 positive comments and reflect on them

From the feedback we have received, we have decided to take a few of the comments directly on board to evaluate whether or not the target audience found the opening appealing. Below are some of the positive comments we have received and a reflection on them. It is important to also evaluate the positive feedback as this is how we can establish how our thriller opening is successful:

After the screening of the opening, we interviewed Lauren Vale who felt that; “the typing effect of the production company title effectively links to the opening scene and therefore made the narrative more coherent and easier to understand. The narrative itself was clear.' As a narrative based visual it is importance that the audience can follow the story in order for it to be understood and deemed appealing. Therefore this feedback is vital, as it establishes that the audience could understand the narrative which is important, as confusion toward the narrative may disengage the audience. Also, Lauren commented on the typing effect used on the opening credits, as being coherent with the narrative itself. We chose this effect as we felt this made the audience increasingly similar to the victim as they have a similar perception in terms of what they are seeing. Therefore the audience can relate to the victim more to create a mutual vulnerability between the two. Another comment we received whilst interviewing our target audience was stated by Max Heath, in which he claimed; “the shadow of someone’s hand reaching towards the main character adequately reflects the thriller theme. The use of low key lighting that created the shadows made the narrative more eerie.” Shadows and low key lighting are conventional to the thriller genre as it creates a mysterious atmosphere which keep the audience on edge due to their lack of knowledge and comfortability. The audience are aware that the antagonist is present through the use of shadows but are unaware of their identity because of this. We decided to create this because we felt it would make the audience more on edge, which Max has confirmed we have achieved through his feedback. Furthermore, Max stated 'the shadow of someone's hand reaching towards the main character adequately reflects the thriller theme' which also confirms that the target audience were able to recognise that is was a thriller, thus implying they understood the narrative as well as feeling on edge which is expected of an audience watching a thriller film. This feedback was positive as it implies that the target audience felt emotions that are often stimulated when watching a thriller film i.e. feeling uncomfortable. Furthermore, we also asked Emma Harris for her feedback during the focus group meeting. She said, 'By not knowing who the antagonist was, I felt more on edge because I didn't know who to look out for. I felt that I could relate to the victim more because of this which also made me feel vulnerable.' Keeping the antagonist's identity a mystery is a convention of the thriller genre, which we identified through the research and analysis of exisiting and successful thrillers such as Se7en. Therefore we planned to conform to this convention and not reveal who the antagonist was, but imply they were present to keep the audience on edge, much like the thriller Prom Night. Emma's feedback has confirmed that this was effective in keeping the audience on edge, as she claims this is how she felt by not knowing who the antagonist was. Also, she said that this assisted her in relating to the victim which is an effective method in making the audience vulnerable as well, increasing their emotions of feeling on edge. From the research I have conducted, successful thrillers achieve this and therefore as my own thriller opening does as well, it is fair to assume that the opening is also successful amongst the target audience.


Include 3 constructive comments and reflect on them

As well as evaluating the positive feedback we received, we also analysed the negative feedback we received in order to identify what elements of the opening were deemed unappealing amongst our target audience.This allows us to recognise where and how we went wrong to ensure that the nest product created increases in appeal, thus improving our production skills. Below are the negative comments we considered directly and a reflection on how they could have been avoided, as well as how they could be improved. When interviewing Daisy Morecroft, she claimed, “the sound effects seem rather basic and could be improved upon.” The sound effects we used consisted of a storm effect, to imply to the audience that something bad was going to happen. Also, creates as eerie atmosphere is it is both threatening inside and outside the house, thus making the victim more vulnerable which makes the audience feel on edge. However, Daisy has an important point as the sound effects in the thriller genre are vital in the manipulation of the audience's emotions, as it can make them feel more on edge. From the research I have conducted, I found that fluctuations of the sound often occur to make the visual more 'jumpy', in order to make the audience feel more on edge, evident in the thriller 'Obsessed'. However although the sound effects did fluctuate through the use of thunder, it did not match the visual to stress a certain moment, making it 'jumpy'. Therefore if we were to make a similar product again, we would ensure that the sound effects differed thus not to remain monotonous or predictable. The product would be more successful if the sound effects were more complex as well as matching the visual. For example, the sound fluctuates when a sharp, quick shot was used to make the visual unpredictable and jumpy. Furthermore, we also considered Drew Wyllie's comment, “the camera is slightly out of focus at one point during the opening sequence.” When the victim hears a noise from another room, she comes from out of her bedroom, into the hallway and then into the bathroom to check where the noise came from. During this sequence, the camera goes out of focus on two separate occasions, because he lighting was too dark for the camera to adjust straight away. Because of this, the narrative becomes interrupted which may cause confusion amongst the target audience, thus making the opening unappealing. Although we considered the possibility of this happening in the risk assessment, it was hard to incorporate low key lighting without this happening and therefore if we were to create this product again, we would have to either increase the lighting in order for the camera to focus, or use a camera that was suited to low key lighting. Finally, Jamie Gregory claimed, 'the opening lacks a variety of camera angles and therefore the narrative appeared disengaging at times.' In the thriller genre, frames are usually very static and prolonged in order to create suspense, however our target audience felt we emphasised this convention too much and therefore the visual lack a variety of angles. Throughout our opening sequence, we used a lot of mid shots, tacking shots and close ups. However, we could have used different shots in order to make the visual more engaging and also showed variety of terms of pace in editing. The two combined would have made a more engaging narrative that the audience deem appealing and therefore are interested in it.


Did you change anything from the feedback you have received?

From the feedback we received, we had both successes and problems within our opening. Viewers felt the editing of the credits were effective and coherent with the narrative, thus making the visual more appealing. It also made this feel similar to the victim which in turn, made them more vulnerable and on edge. Another positive viewers felt was successful in creating tension in the opening, is the use of shadows. When the shadow of victim is shown, the shadow of the villain appears to be going out to reach her. Our target audience felt this was affective as both victim and audience were unaware of the identity of the villain and therefore this created mystery and suspense. It also effectively made the audience anxious as they had built a relationship with the victim and consequently felt under threat and tense when the victim did. As a result of both factors, the audience claimed they wanted to carry on watching to find out the identity of the villain as this had captured their attention. However, an aspect of our production that was viewed as a negative was the simplistic sound effects. Sound effects are vital in the manipulation of the audience's emotions and therefore play a significant role. As a result, we slightly changed the sound effects so that they fluctuated at important points in the narrative. For example, when the victim is in the hallway, quieter sound effects are used to build suspense, however the sound becomes much louder when the victim opens the door into the bathroom, stressing this climatic moment to the audience which makes the narrative more jumpy and unpredictable. Therefore, the sound effects conform to  the conventions of the thriller genre, thus making them appealing to the audience. They are now more complex to avoid appearing predictable and boring. Furthermore, the target audience claimed that the narrative lack a variety of camera angles, which appeared disengaging and unappealing. Therefore we also made changes to this so that the visual was more interesting. We achieved this by altering the camera angles we already had as it was not possible to re-film part of the narrative as this would disrupt the continuity, thus decreasing it's realism. Using Final Cut Pro, we duplicated the shot and then cropped it, so that it appeared the the frame went from a mid shot, to a close up to increase the variety of shots. For example, when the victim is walking back to be bedroom, there is an over the shoulder shot of her going to open the door. We then used this shot again, but zoomed in on her hand so that it emphasised to the audience she was going back into her bedroom where the antagonist may be, building suspense. This also provided the audience with a variety of shots as we used this method in other scenes as well. Therefore the narrative is more engaging for the audience, thus making it more appealing and successful.

Rough Cut

Planning Opening Credits***

Planning our opening credits ins essential as these play a huge role in the opening sequence. It is important to plan in order to evaluate whether the credits are successful because actually placing them in the final product. Below, I have planned the qualities of the credits as well as the effect they will have on the audience.


Colour Used:

The title sequence taken from the thriller 'Se7en' in which black and white text is used

After the research I have conducted into thriller openings, I am now able to plan my own thriller opening sequence as I have a deeper understanding of the conventions used in the genre. Colour is significant in the atmosphere and representation created, as the connotations imply to the audience it's meaning. In the research I have conducted, I have found that thriller openings are often based on three main colours; black, white and red. This convention can be found in the opening sequence of the thriller 'Se7en', when black and white text is used to create a dark atmosphere. These colours are often used to create an eerie atmosphere as they appear lifeless; with red suggesting a violent narrative as it is associated with blood. However, from the findings I accumulated by asking the target audience their preferences, I found that they favour a non violent narrative and therefore including red in the opening sequence would be relate to the narrative, confusing the audience. As a result, the colours we'll be using for our opening credits are going to be black and white as the use of these colours will effectively represent the narrative of the opening sequence. Black is often associated with the dark and evil personality of the antagonist, whereas the colour white connotes the innocence of the victim and therefore by including both the credits highlight their contrasting and conflicting relationship. Such eerie atmosphere would not be created if the credits were to deviate from convention, for example using blue and yellow. This would not engage the audience as it does not conform to the generic convention and therefore by conforming the use of black and white text, I avoid disengaging the audience.

Font Used:

To ensure we used the most suitable text for our opening sequence, we researched appropriate font styles on the internet, rather than using more available on Final Cut Pro. Eventually, we found one from the website: www.fontspace.com. The font of the credits we are going to use are type writer style (Truetypewriter PolyglOTT) because the font is relevant to the narrative. When the credits appear, the audience will be able to see the victim on her laptop and therefore will create the impression that the victim is typing out the credits. This provides the audience with a similar perspective of the victim, making them increasingly similar and therefore encourages them to build a relationship with the victim. Therefore, when the victim is made to feel vulnerable, so will the audience.

At the end of our opening scene the title Obsessed will appear on the screen. We have decided to use this font (also found on www.fontspace.com) as the text appears slightly distorted, which is a reflection of the narrative. The theme of the opening sequence is obsession and therefore such distorted text is a reflection of the antagonist's mentality. This is a convention of the thriller genre that can be found in the opening credits of 'Se7en' (image above) as the font is distorted also to reflect the lack of mental stability the antagonist has. This will create an discomforting atmosphere which will keep the audience on edge as it suggests to them that the narrative is eerie.



Size and Positioning:

The sizing and positioning of the credits are very important. If they are too big, it becomes distracting but if they are too small, the audience are unable to read them which may again, become distracting. We will use Final Cut Pro to add the credits in during the editing stages. When doing so, the font size will be 12, as we feel this is large enough to read without becoming distracting. However, the production company name, and the title of the film will be bigger than the rest of the credits, as these are more important. Also, this method is often used in most films.Therefore the production company will be in 14 and the title will be 18 as this reinforces the power and threat of the 'Obsession', which is the title of the film. The positioning of the credits will  vary from frame to frame and therefore be scattered around the screen. We have decided to scatter them around as it is symbolic of the villains mental instability which will be reinforced to the audience as a result. This method was inspired from the analysis of the 'Se7en' opening sequence I did, as the credits of this film are also scattered to reflect the antagonist as well as appear unpredictable.



Order of Appearance:

Credits are shown one by one conventionally and therefore we had to decided on what order they were going to appear. We have chosen:

'Hidden Entertainment Presents' which is the production company name. This is typically shown first as it includes and recognises everyone who was part of production. Also the audience become aware of successful production companies which may encourage them to watch another film they have produced. This is then followed by 'Actors' as people often take note of actors who they feel are good and therefore, gives them another incentive to watch the film. It engages them straight away by recognising actor's names that they know and like. After this, 'Camera Operator' will be shown in order to acknowledge who fulfilled such role, which will then be followed by 'Editors', as both of these roles are equally important. Finally, this will then be followed by the 'Director', as this is an important role that the audience often take note of and therefore, having it last gives them more of an opportunity to remember who it was. The title will then be shown to reinforce the overall narrative of the film, building suspense as the film begins.

Production Roles***

Allocating specific production roles to each individual is essential when making a collaborative production, as this ensures that each person is aware of what role they must maintain. If specific roles were not allocated, this runs the risk of a role being ignored thus threatening the final outcome of the product. As well as this, one role might be taken be more than one individual and therefore may lead to confusion or conflict. In order to allocate the right role to the right person, we must first identify what qualities are needed to fulfil the role, and then who in the group possesses these qualities in order to maintain the role efficiently and successfully. Below are each of the roles that must be allocated, as well as the person who we feel will successfully uphold this role because of the qualities they possess.



1) Camera operator

This role consists of someone operating the camera while filming the opening sequence of our thriller. They are a vital production role as the camera must be moved and 'operated' to film the scene. I will be taking the role of camera operator as I possess skills suitable for the role such as accuracy. They are usually the first people to use the camera's eye piece to assess how all the elements of performance, lighting and positioning are coherent in order to have affective footage that will eventually create a narrative. Therefore, having an eye for accuracy is a vital quality that a camera operator must have, in order to ensure that the footage accumulated is of the best standard, thus to avoid wasting time by re-filming. Furthermore camera operators must of course, have a working knowledge and understanding of the technology they are using, such as the camera and tripod. In comparison to my other group members, I have the most understanding of such technology and therefore am more suited to the role as I will not need to learn anything in order to fulfil it, reducing the time spent on production. Lastly, camera operators must be able to have good communication skills, as they must constantly listen to the ideas of the director in order to fulfil their vision. As well as this, they also must communicate back to the director in terms of what they think in response to such ideas and therefore, overall I am most suited to this role I as possess the qualities needed to fulfil it.



2) Actors

An actor is an individual who adopts the persona of someone else, who may be fact or fiction. In order to achieve this, the actor must rid of all their own characteristics and be able to convince their audience that they are this 'new character'.We decided to use someone outside of our own group, as we felt that it would make the production process easier as one individual would not have to juggle the role of an actor as well as an editor, for example. Also, we felt that Daisy was more suited to the role anyway as she is an individual who is not easily embarrassed and therefore was more likely to commit to the role of the victim thus making the performance more believable. This is a vital quality when being an actor as the audience must believe you are such character in order to connect with them, which is essential in the thriller genre in order to affect the audience in the desired way i.e. distress. Furthermore, Daisy is an innovative person who has very good communication skills and therefore could follow instruction easily, as well as being able to have her own input to better the performance and narrative overall. It is essential that an actor has good communication skills as they must perform as intended by the director; however having an innovative actor who has ideas of their own may also better the narrative as they are most in touch with the character and therefore are more likely to know how the character would behave/react.



3) Sound technician

The role of a sound technician consists of an individual who is in charge of all sound within the film, whether it be music or specific sound effects. Particularly in thriller films, sounds is essential in creating a certain atmosphere for the audience and therefore it is key that this role is successfully fulfilled. Considering no one in the group has had any prior experience in sound, we have decided that all three of us are going to be sound technicians so that support and assistance are available from another group member when needed. Each of us have a good understanding of the conventional sounds in the thriller genre and therefore posses the capabilities to create a conventional sound effects to compliment the visual. For example, the fluctuation in sound is often used in the genre in order to stress a particular moment, which often makes the sound inconsistent and jumpy to keep the audience on edge. In order to be a successful sound technician, such individual must have a working knowledge of the technology they will be using which in this case is Final Cut Pro. All three of us have used Final Cut Pro when doing our preliminary task and therefore are suited to the role as a collaborative effort.



4) Editors

The role of an editor is vital in the post production process. An editor is responsible for taking the unnecessary footage away in order to create continuity and coherence using digital technology and editing software. It is an essential role in order to create a continuous narrative, rather than an entire footage. However, due to there being only three of us in the group, there isn't someone who can solely focus on editing and therefore we have decided once again, that all three of us will edit. Each of us will have an approach for the editing style because our other roles are associated with editing i.e. I am a camera operator who provides the shots that are edited, Harriet is the director and will therefore have an image of how the product will be edited and Jagoda is the storyboard organiser, in which she has noted on the storyboards how she thinks it should be edited. Therefore, by having us all as editors, this provides the chance to work collaboratively on our individual ideas in order to establish the final editing style. If only one of us were to edit, they may focus on their own approach without considering other possibility that may be better.



5) Film director

A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in film making. They control a film's artistic and dramatic aspects, while guiding the technical crew and actors. It is vital that the director has the capability to organise people, as they are in charge of the majority of crew. Therefore we felt Harriet was most suited to the role, as she posses high organization skills to sustain control over other actors and crew. Furthermore, because of he organised personality, she will be successful in making sure the rest of the group members are fulfilling their own roles. Finally, the director is also in charge of the 'direction' in which the narrative is going by instructing crew members as to how they want something done. Harriet is very imaginative to explore and expand the ideas in which we have as a group and therefore is more likely to come up with innovative ideas to steer the narrative in the right direction.



6) Location manager

This role consists of researching a suitable location for the film and eventually finding the accurate one that is most suited to the narrative. A location manager must possess skill in their ability to research, as well as patience in finding a suitable one that will b eventually used. The location we will use is not complex nor varied, as the entire opening sequence takes place in the victim's house, and therefore the location manager's responsibilities will not be exercised to the full extent. However, it is still vital that the right location is chosen. After discussing our narrative, I felt that my house would be suited and therefore was able to recognise what the location needed in order to be suitable. Once the group members had agreed after seeing the house, I consequently became the location manager as I showed qualities of initiative.



7) Storyboard organiser

This role consists of creating and developing the storyboard that represents what is going to happen within the scene. This includes location, camera shot, sound, iconography, lighting, actors involved, editing and narrative description. It is a vital role within production so it is clear what is going to happen  within the scene. It is vital that the storyboard organiser is organised and creatively skilled as they are required to sort each element according to when it will appear in the frame. Jagoda will be taking the role of storyboard manager as she can effectively elaborate on creative ideas to make them clearer through detail in our storyboard. She possess qualities that include patience which is suited to the role as it is a lengthy job. This will therefore benefit us as it will be easier to follow when filming our thriller as well as being aware of what the final product will come out as.

By allocating each of these roles to members in the group, we have established what our individual responsibilities are, which in turn should make production run a lot smoother. This makes us all much more focused on what we as individuals have to do in order to make the final product, rather than confusingly rushing to get the products finished. In all productions, crew members often split according to their responsibilities in order to achieve a sense of equilibrium and organisation.

Questionnaire and Results***

I conducted a questionnaire answered by 10 people within the range of our target audience. We carried out a questionnaire to discover what our target audience found favourable, to interpret this in our own opening sequence. Therefore, the audience would find the opening more appealing. It consisted of 5 questions covering the main conventions of a thriller so that we accumulated results that were relevant to the points we had to plan. Below is an example of a questionnaire and a discussion on the results I accumulated:

What is your gender?

Female: 5/10        Male: 5/10

We deliberately split our sample in to 2, so that half consisted of females and the other half consisted of males; giving us an equal amount of opinions from both genders. This allowed us to correlate each person's preference according to their gender and therefore, we could have a better idea as to who our target audience was in terms of gender. It allows us to specify our target audience more accurately in order to increase the opening's appeal. For example, if we were to find a correlation between opinion and gender, this would establish who our target audience would be if we were to incorporate they opinion in our opening sequence.

How old are you?

10-14: 2/10          15-20: 2/10        21-25: 2/10          26+: 2/10

Before conducting our research, we had a brief outline that our target audience would majority consist of 15-20 year olds. Therefore our sample was broken up into age categories which specifically included this age range so that we could identify what they found appealing. By asking our intended target audience regarding their preferences when watching a thriller opening, we are able to receive their opinion on a larger scale and therefore we are able to include their preferences to increase the appeal of the music video in terms of what they want. However, we also asked individuals who did not fall into this age category so that we could identify if their opinions differed from out target audience, to establish if they were similar or dissimilar to them according to what they found appealing.


Do you prefer to know the identity of the villain from the start of the film?

Yes: 1/10        No: 9/10

When asking people to elaborate on their opinion, each individual justified why their felt this way in order for us as media producers to understand why they found this favourable. Below are some comments made regarding why they feel keeping the identity of the antagonist a secret is key:

'I feel by keeping the antagonist's identity a secret, I feel more on edge. By not knowing who they are I feel more vulnerable because you don't know who to look out for.' Daisy Morecroft

'The films that fall into the thriller genre often create suspense for the audience, and by hiding the identity of the antagonist this effectively does that. By suggesting the antagonists presence but not completing illustrating that, the audience are left on edge from the suspense built. I particularly enjoy when this is achieved through off screen sound, as it creates a climatic enigma.' Drew Wyllie

From the comments received, most individuals felt that by hiding the antagonist's identity, this would make them feel 'on edge', a conventional effect created in the thriller genre. Also, Drew Wyllie claimed he enjoyed off screen sound, evident in other thrillers such as Obsessed. Therefore we felt that this was a conventional and successful method in creating suspense also and have decided to include it in the opening to increase appeal. Overall 9 out of the 10 people asked to fill out the questionnaire answered that they preferred not to know the identity of the villain, we have decided to keep this a mystery. This will therefore keep the audience on edge, in suspense and should appeal the high majority of our target audience.


What sub genre within the thriller genre to you prefer most?

Crime: 4/10        Psychological: 4/10        Religious: 1/10        Mystery: 1/10

From the answers received, both psychological and crime thrillers were viewed as the favourite sub genres within the thriller genre. Therefore, our opening will fall into both categories  The villain will have an obsession with the victim due to his psychological instability which could possibly lead to violence which would be a crime. Both religious and mystery thrillers are not favourable amongst out target audience and therefore to include aspects of these sub genres would decrease the appeal of our opening, and therefore we won't do so.


Do you enjoy violence when watching thrillers?
 

Yes: 4/10       No: 6/10

There is no clear dominant answer in regards to this question, however 'no' did only just overpower 'yes'. Therefore we have decided to only suggest violence in our opening to provide for both options within our target audience. The victim will be seen as threatened and slightly psychologically damaged, however not psychologically. It appeared that older individuals answered 'yes' in comparison to younger and therefore if we were not to include violence, our target audience is more likely to be in the younger categories i.e. 15-20 years old.


Do you prefer the location of setting to be inside or out?

Inside: 7/10        Outside: 3/10

It is vital to establish an appealing setting so that the audience are not confused by it. Below are some comments that people made in their justification of their opinion:

'I prefer the location to be inside. Thrillers I enjoy typically have a house location, such as Scream or Woman in  Black. By having a house as a location, I still feel on edge when I get home because the film has effected me that much.' Millie Cooper

'I prefer an location that is inside because the victim appears more trapped as they have a limited chance of escaping. This builds suspense because the threat of the antagonist is highlighted in such location.' Reggie Clark

The majority of people said they preferred the location to be inside as they can relate to it easier and find it more disturbing. Therefore the location of our opening will be in the victim's house as this will be seen as disturbing and a invasion of security. Also, our target audience feel more on edge as they can imagine themselves in a similar situation.


Do you find female or male characters more suitable as the victim?

Female: 9/10        Male: 1/10

There was a highly dominant answer to this question which was 'female'. This was because they are viewed as more vulnerable when under threat and therefore the audience can empathize with them more then males. Therefore our victim will be a female to appeal to the audience more.

From the research I have conducted, I have found out:

1. On average, males watch/enjoy thriller more than females
2. On average, the age category 15-24 watch/enjoy thriller more than any other age category
3. An audience feel a female playing the character of a victim is more effective than a male.
4. An audience prefer the location of a thriller to be inside rather that out
5. An audience prefer a limited amount of violence when watching thrillers
6. An audience prefer crime and psychological thrillers over any other sub genre
7. An audience prefer for the villain's identity to be hidden

From this, I will take into consideration the opinions and research I have found out to build the foundation of my thriller opening. In each of the questions, I have addressed the main aspects of a thriller and by receiving feedback, have made decisions according to the answers said. For example:

1. A female will be the victim of our opening
2. The setting will take place in the victim's house so the location is inside
3. They will only be suggested violence/threat, rather than visual physical harm
4. Our thriller will encounter aspects of both crime and psychological sub genres
5. The villain will not be seen, only suggested to build suspense.