Audience Research - Momento Opening

I decided to look at the opening of the film 'Momento' and ask some people thought to be the target audience some questions about it. 

My Notes: 

• Bright blue titles - stand out, shown slowly and links with the slow calming music being played
• Titles over image shown - want them to be noticed 
• Can slowly start to tell that the film is being reversed as the picture fades
• Continuous non-diegetic music
• Titles stop as you need to focus on the film more
• Audience: Mainstream plus
• Intended to make the audience want to continue to find out why there was a death at the beginning in the first few minutes

Audience Response:

• It creates an enigma 
• The titles are too centred and should move position
• Was clear of the famous people who are in the film so that the audience carries on watches to see these people and laid expectations e.g. The Nolan Brothers
• The titles seemed to be the main focus for the opening which didn't make the audience interested 
• The storyline seems different to other films and seems experimental
• It does look quite interesting/unique

Opening Sequence Draft 1

Lighting and Sound Test

For the first part of our opening we needed an inside stair case that led to the outide car park. There is barley any sound that can be heard apart from the closing and opening of doors and footsteps. When we film our final opening if there is any unessasary sound heard we can edit it out later on. The light is good for our film opening as it's bright so that there is a big obvious contrast in lighting between locations.

For the next part of the opening, it is set outside on the top floor of the car park. There is ambient sound but we will edit that out once we have finished filming, there will also be music over the top so it won't be heard. The lighting is dark and fits our theme, however the camera we used doesn't prodice good quality footage in this lighting so we might have to change camera for this section of the opening.

Production Schedule

Date	Time	Location	Props & Equipment	Shots
30th December	6:30PM	Kingston Bentalls Car Park – Stairs Level 12-11	Shopping bags Camera	High angled shot – woman walking up the stairs Wide shot – she turns to go up the next set Close up – feet walking up the stairs Mid shot – opens the doors to the lift area of the car park
30th December	7:30PM	Kingston Bentalls Car Park – Lift area	Shopping Bags Camera	Match on action – walking through the other side of the doors Close up -the lift opens Close up – mans face Over the shoulder shot – man watching a woman through the doors
11th January	7PM	Kingston Bentalls Car Park – Level 12 outside	Shopping bags Camera Car	Long shot – woman getting into her car Over the shoulder shot – man watching the woman get into the car

Shot List

Shot No	Date/Time/Location	Characters and Props	Equipment needed	Description of shot	Contingency plan
1.       Gracie film logo	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
2.      Mid shot, high angle	Date: 11/01/16 Time: After 06:30 pm Location: Kingston Car Park B – Level 11 and 12	Character 1: Woman (Rhianna) carrying a handbag and plastic bag	Camera, props (plastic bag)	Woman walks up stairs and turns to the next set	If one character can’t attend, record without as only one character needed
3.      Wide shot	Date: 11/01/16 Time: After 06:30pm Location: Kingston Car Park B – Level 12	Character 1: Woman (Rhianna)	Camera, props (plastic bag)	Continued walking Sound: ambient sound of footsteps	If characters are unable to attend, members of group can stand in
4.      Close up, side shot	Date: 11/01/16 Time: After 06:30pm Location: Kingston Car Park B – Level 12	Character 1: Woman (Rhianna)	Camera, props (plastic bag)	Close up of the stairs as her feet are walking down	If characters are unable to attend, members of group can stand in
5.      Mid shot	Date: 11/01/16 Time: After 06:30pm Location: Kingston Car Park B – Level 12	Character 1: Woman (Rhianna)	Camera, props (plastic bag)	The woman is opening the doors that go outside towards the top level of the car park	Check the weather forecast as the location is the top outside level of the car park
6.      Front view, long shot	Date: 11/01/16 Time: After 06:30pm Location: Kingston Car Park B – Level 12	Character 1: Woman (Rhianna)	Camera, props (plastic bag)	The woman is walking outside	If the camera dies, to start filming on an iPhone from where it was caught from
7.      Close up	Date: 11/01/16 Time: After 06:30pm Location: Kingston Car Park B – Level 12	Character 2: Stalker (Ross)	Camera	Close up of the man’s face to introduce him	If one of the actors has to leave, to include a member of the group into the opening to then be able to re film with the actor
8.      Over the shoulder shot	Date: 11/01/16 Time: After 06:30pm Location: Kingston Car Park B – Level 12	Character 1: Woman (Rhianna) Character 2: Stalker (Ross)	Camera, props (plastic bag)	The stalker watching the woman as she approaches her car	Check the weather forecast as the location is the top outside level of the car park
9.      Long shot	Date: 11/01/16 Time: After 06:30pm Location: Kingston Car Park B – Level 12	Character 1: Woman (Rhianna)	Camera, props (plastic bag), car and car keys	The woman is unlocking her car	If the car level is busy, to either find a deserted level or reschedule on a less busy day
10.   Long shot	Date: 11/01/16 Time: After 06:30pm Location: Kingston Car Park B – Level 12	Character 1: Woman (Rhianna) Character 2: Stalker (Ross)	Camera, props (plastic bag), car and car keys	The woman is about to get into her car and in the background the stalker is watching her	If one of the actors has to leave, to include a member of the group into the opening to then be able to re film with the actor
11.    Close up	Date: 11/01/16 Time: After 06:30pm Location: Kingston Car Park B – Level 12	Character 1: Woman (Rhianna)	Camera, props (plastic bag), car and car keys	The woman is getting into her car	If one of the actors has to leave, to include a member of the group into the opening to then be able to re film with the actor

Story Board

Location Reece

Location to be used: Date of when location is needed: Time of when location is needed:	>Kingston Car Park B – Level 12 >30th December (Other dates in January will be needed) >After 6:30PM (Not many people around and it’s dark)	>We can use another car park near by >Chose a different date
Do you need permission to record/photograph in this location? Who will you need to contact?	>No we don’t need permission	>N/A
Will the levels of noise cause a problem? If so, how will you overcome this?	The level of noise will only be a problem if there are lots of people out in the street next to the car park. This shouldn’t be too much of a problem as the shops shut in the evening so there won’t be many people about.	>If there is too much noise then we can either edit the sound after or choose another day to film.
Is the level of lighting suitable?	>Yes	>If something changes and the lighting doesn’t become suitable we can edit the lighting later on.
If inside, are the Emergency exits clearly visible and available? Is Emergency equipment provided?	>No because it’s outside >There isn’t emergency equipment but if we don’t have the equipment it won’t be hard to carry on without it.	>We can use the light from our phones if the lighting isn’t suitable or edit later on. >We all have cameras on our phones we can film with if the camera we are planning to use isn’t accessible
Is there public transport easily available to you?	>Yes we can easily get a bus or train to the location >We are using a car so we get there in that	>If strikes occur or roads are cut off we can rearrange the day >If the car breaks down we can use public transport

Location to be used: Date of when location is needed: Time of when location is needed:	> Car Park – Stairs Between Levels 11 & 12 >30th December (Other dates in January will be needed) >After 6:30PM (Not many people as the top floor is usually quite empty)	>Use another set of stairs on a different level >Go on a different day >Go at a different time of day
Do you need permission to record/photograph in this location? Who will you need to contact?	>No we do not need permission	>N/A
Will the levels of noise cause a problem? If so, how will you overcome this?	>No because there shouldn’t be much noise as there won’t be many people around >No as it’s inside so there won’t really be ambient sounds	>If there are people we can wait for them to leave the staircase and inside area >We can edit over the sound at a later stage
Is the level of lighting suitable?	>Yes because this location is very bright which contrasts with the darkness of the next	>If the lights aren’t working we will have to choose stairs on another level or wait till they’re repaired and shoot at this location at a later stage
If inside, are the Emergency exits clearly visible and available? Is Emergency equipment provided?	>Yes there is door on each floor so they are very close to where we are filming. >There isn’t emergency equipment but if we don’t have the equipment it won’t be hard to carry on without it.	>We can use the light from our phones if the lighting isn’t suitable or edit later on. >We all have cameras on our phones we can film with if the camera we are planning to use isn’t accessible
Is there public transport easily available to you?	>Yes we can easily get a bus or train to the location >We are using a car so we get there in that	>If strikes occur or roads are cut off we can rearrange the day >If the car breaks down we can use public transport

Treatment

Pitch- single line concept	A woman is being watch whilst walking to her car.
Director	Jess & Millie
Producer	Millie & Jess
Writer	Millie & Jess
Working Title	The One
Aprox running time	2-3 minutes
Genre/Style	Thriller
Target Audience	Teenagers - Young Adults
Objective of the scene	Let’s the audience know the genre and theme immediately, introduces characters. From this opening we want the audience to feel threatened and engaged with the storyline of the film.

Treatment of scene:

First image on screen is the Gracie film logo which lasts for 5 seconds, it the fades to a black screen. The scene is introduced with a girl walking up the stairs by a car park to the top floor, holding shopping bags. It then switches to a POV shot of someone watching her. She then walks past a lift and through double doors, the camera changes position to in front of her so the shadowing of her stalker can be seen. We watch her walk towards her car using different shots. It then switches back to the POV shot and we watch the woman put the key into the lock of her car which cuts to a black screen with the name of the film on. Throughout the sequence credits will appear at the bottom over the film and music will be played in the background.  

Audience Profile

Target Audience

Our genre is a horror thriller therefore it has the elements that may be incorporated in a horror film but with more of a build-up and made to be more intense to fit into the genre. The typical audience for our horror would be teenagers to adults, due to the genre it would be more inappropriate to have any younger audiences watching. The audience of teenagers would perhaps be more likely to watch it due to the cast and just in general with films, teenagers and younger adults are prone to be more aware of current films coming up. As well as the fact that the audience could relate more to the plot of our film its more relatable than a supernatural film, there is a small chance that it could happen to any individual therefore it creates more fear. However despite this, from the results of question 7 it is shown that a horror thriller aren’t very demanding which is why they are aimed at younger adults to teenagers. 

Audience Research - Survey

                   

                                

For the first two questions, we asked simple and complex questions to understand the type of audience we had. From this, we can identify a little more about the audience and perhaps what gender would watch it and how they would know about the film.

Question 3 allowed us to know what scared the audience most in order to help us know what to purposely include to ensure the audience will get a thrill from the film. Using this is helpful as then by knowing what scares the audience and incorporating it, the audience will be more likely to enjoy the film as they weren’t bored or already expecting the plot.

Asking this question enabled us to know whether or not the audience would actually go to the cinema to see the film. Especially with online streaming, many of the audience may not consider it and it was shown through the results that not a lot of people did.

This was an important question to ask as this informs us what platform the audience use to know about the film. From the results, it is clear that social media is used to know about films. Therefore to be able to promote our film it will have to be done heavily through the use of social media. Without this, it will be harder to know how to communicate with the target audience to raise announcement for the film so it allows it to be an easier process.

Linking similarly to question 4, but asking the company of cinemas the audience goes to. As from this, we will be able to acknowledge which cinema would be best suited to have a screening of the film. This also links to question 4, as it determines which one is more popular and the likeliness it is for the audience to attend.

This was an unsuccessful question as thriller was the least amount picked as a favourite type of genre. However with this information, we have to ensure our film becomes something that our audience will want just from the opening to see by including the extra details from question in comparison to where they are now with the genre. As we posted our survey on Twitter, this allowed a large range of people to view and answer it that maybe were not our target audience.

By asking the audience of their favourite thriller film, we are able to include this in research. Finding out information about the films and mainly the plot can help advance us with our opening. This will be done as we have used the results to address the films they enjoy and research into them. Allowing us to find out why they would be of particular interest and how to create an opening perhaps using inspiration from the films listed.

                                             

Both these questions can help us as they are informing what the audience like about the genre. As well as indicating what they pay attention to most which then can be put into our film opening, so it is made to be attention grabbing and can therefore leave the audience wanting to know more with just the very beginning of the film. These aspects are vital to be asked as it gives us the voice of the audience and by following it; it enables us to build a successful film opening by what they want to see.