Research and Planning: Narrative (Jodie)

NIGHTCRAWLER - 
NIGHTCRAWLER is a thriller set in the nocturnal underbelly of contemporary Los Angeles. Jake Gyllenhaal stars as Lou Bloom, a driven young man desperate for work who discovers the high-speed world of L.A. crime journalism. Finding a group of freelance camera crews who film crashes, fires, murder and other mayhem, Lou muscles into the cut-throat, dangerous realm of night-crawling - where each police siren wail equals a possible windfall and victims are converted into dollars and cents. Aided by Rene Russ as Nina, a veteran of the blood-sport that is local TV news, Lou blurs the line between observer and participant to become the star of his own story. 




PULP FICTION -
Jules Winnfield and Vincent Vega are two hitmen who are out to retrieve a suitcase stolen from their employer, mob boss Marsellus Wallace. Wallace has also asked Vincent to take his wife Mia out a few days later when Wallace himself will be out of town. Butch Coolidge is an aging boxer who is paid by Wallace to lose his next fight. The lives of these seemingly unrelated people are woven together comprising of a series of funny, bizarre and uncalled-for incidents.




INCEPTION - 
Dom Cobb is a skilled thief, stealing valuable secrets from deep within the subconscious during the dream state, when the mind is at its most vulnerable. Cobb's rare ability has made him a coveted player in this treacherous new world of corporate espionage, but it has also made him an international fugitive and cost him everything he has ever loved. One last job could give him his life back but only if he can accomplish the impossible-inception. Instead of the perfect heist, Cobb and his team of specialists have to pull off the reverse: their task is not to steal an idea but to plant one. If they succeed, it could be the perfect crime. But no amount of careful planning or expertise can prepare the team for the dangerous enemy that seems to predict their every move. An enemy that only Cobb could have seen coming.

Audience Profile (Jodie)

AUDIENCE PROFILE
A target audience is a particular group at which a product such as a film or advertisement is aimed. Our target audience is focused in on 15 - 25 year olds, as we feel our thriller film idea would appeal best to that age group. Here are two examples of typical members of our target audience.


18 YEAR OLD FEMALE - 

Where they shop: Topshop/ River Island
Where they eat: Nandos
Favourite Music: Indie
Occupation: Student
Things they do: clubbing, shopping

The first typical target audience member is an 18 year old female, in her last year on college. She has a Saturday job and tries to save up money for doing things she enjoys, such as going clubbing, going shopping and music festivals.  She shops in popular fashion places such as Topshop, Zara and Asos.

25 YEAR OLD MALE - 

Where they shop: Tommy Hilfiger/ Asos
Where they eat: Prezzos
Favourite Music: R&B
Occupation: Full time work
Things they do: gym + pub

Our second member of the target audience is a 25 year old male. He has recently left university and started a full time job which pays reasonably well. He enjoys spending his time at the gym, getting fit and seeing friends, his clubbing days have slightly died out and he prefers to go to the pub for a pint instead.

Research: Audience Profile (Jodie)

FDA - FILM DISTRIBUTORS ASSOCIATION 

Film Distributors' Association Ltd. (FDA) is the trade body for theatrical film distributors in the UK - the companies that release films for UK  cinema audiences.
Originally established in London in 1915, FDA liaises and works with many individuals, companies and organisations. FDA's Council, or board, comprising a senior representative of each member company, normally meets six times a year and considers only matters of generic interest to film distributors.

Films on release:

The website has a page laid out in the form of a calendar informing users of the UK Film release schedule - past, present and future. Here you can peruse the schedule of films for release in the UK over the recent and coming months. 

 Thrillers films due to be released in January: 

- Women in Black
- Dying Of The Light
- Enemy
- Taken 3
- Foxcatcher
- Whiplash
- Point and Shoot

Audience Figures:

The website also features a section in which they have recorded information of the UK monthly cinema admission for each month and year. As well as this they have a featured section on top 100 films of all time and top 100 films in UK cinemas. 

Research: Audience Profile (Maria)

BBFC Website - 2014 Guidelines:

There are two key principles that affect the rating of a film:

- To protect children and vulnerable adults from potentially harmful or otherwise unsuitable content, 
- Those with responsibility for children such as parents, to make informed viewing decisions.

Two rating certificates that could possible apply to our thriller genre are 15 and 18.
The number 15/18 certificates means no one under 15/18 is allowed to see a 15/18 film at the cinema or buy/rent a 15/18 rated video.

What might I see in a 15 rated film or video?

 - strong violence
 - frequent strong language
 - portrayals of sexual activity
 - strong verbal references to sex
 - sexual nudity
 - brief scenes of sexual violence or verbal references to sexual violence
 - discriminatory language or behaviour
 - drug taking

However, at 15 the work as a whole must not endorse discriminatory language or behaviour. It also must not promote or encourage drug misuse or self harm. Easy accessible substances may also not be shown . At 15 sexual activity can be portrayed, but usually without strong detail. 

18 works are for adults and can contain strong issues such as:

 - very strong violence
 - frequent strong/very strong language
 - strong portrayals of sexual activity
 - scenes of sexual violence
 - strong horror
 - strong blood and gore
 - real sex (in some circumstances)
 - discriminatory language and behaviour

BBFC’s public consultations and The Human Rights Act 1998 states that adults should be free to choose their own entertainment.
However, Very dangerous or criminal behaviour material that has been commission of a criminal offence may be cut.

IMDb:

The Imitation Game (Tyldum 2014) (number 2 on IMDb top thrillers of 2014)

Box Office:

Budget: $14,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend: $479,352 (USA) (28 November 2014) (747 screens)

Gross: $51,622,442 (USA) (19 January 2015)

Nominated 8 oscars, other 39 wins and 90 nominations.

Rated PG-13 for some sexual references, mature thematic material and historical smoking.

Pulp Fiction (Tarantino, 1994) (Top rated thriller on IMDb)

Box Office:

Budget: $8,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend: $9,311,882 (USA) (14 October 1994)(1,151 Screens)

Gross: $107,928,762 (USA) (5 August 2012)

Rentals: $35,615,000 (USA)

Rated R for strong graphic violence and drug use, pervasive strong language and some sexuality.

Won 1 Oscar. Another 63 wins & 47 nominations.

Research: Audience Profile (Ciara)

Film Listings

The genre of a movie can determine the time and listings in which shown to the audience. The time listings usually try to correspond with the target audience by suiting their daily routine and when they would be free, this is why thriller's are typically shown in the evening, as this is when older people would be able to view the film.

I have presented two examples of thriller films that are shown at Richmond Odeon, a multiplex, which have a similar target audience.

TAKEN 3:

Ex-government operative Bryan Mills is accused of a ruthless murder he never committed or witnessed. As he is tracked and pursued, Mills brings out his particular set of skills to find the true killer and clear his name.
The final chapter of the worldwide hit trilogy, 'Taken 3' concludes Bryan Mills' story in the biggest and most action-packed 'Taken' yet.


The film is an 'action thriller' and has a certificate of 12A therefore is on most weekdays from 3pm onwards.

THE IMITATION GAME:  

Thriller 'The Imitation Game' centres on the English mathematician and cryptographer who helped crack the Nazi's Enigma code during World War II. A team of young geniuses led by the brilliant computer scientist Alan Turing were in a race against time at the Bletchley Park code-breaking centre, trying desperately to demystify the Enigma code.


The film also has a certificate of 12A, and is shown mainly in the evenings but not as often as Taken.

Both examples i have given have certificates of 12A's and therefore are slightly younger than our target audience, which is 15+. For this reason, in our other methods of audience research we will find out what aspects would fit better with a certificate of 15. 

INTERVIEWS

Research: Audience Profile (Jenitha)

From conducting this questionnaire, I have found out that people from the age of 15 to 17+ mostly like thriller genre films and horror films. Compared to people from the age of 12-14 mostly like action and adventure type films. Most of the people who are aged between 15-17+ both female and male ticked the boxes DVD and Online viewing the film they would want to watch and that they would watch it with friends or alone. Compared to this people aged from 12-14 both female and male ticked the boxes DVD and cinema viewing the film they would want to watch and they would watch it with friends or family. This shows that thriller films would be watched by females and males who are teenagers from 15+ compared to females and males who are under 15 who are interested in action and adventure films more than thriller. 

Research: Film Openings - Thriller Conventions (Jodie)

Research: Thriller from jodieturini

Research: Taken Research from jodieturini