Evaluation (Prezi format)...

Abduction OTS evaluation on Prezi

Evaluation (written format)....

1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

I believe that my OTS uses many conventions of the thriller genre. Quick cuts and close ups on the actor's face are used when the mother is calling for her child - the quick cuts represent her panic and the close up enables us to see her emotion clearly so the audience empathise with her. Gaining empathy from your audience is such a key factor to ensure the audience want to find out what happens; therefore continue to watch the rest of the film.

A convention that I have not used in my OTS is a plot twist. Although it has not been used in my OTS, I fully intended to use it in the whole piece (as explained in the post "Main task preparations...").  My plot line, like many other thrillers, follows Todorov's narrative stages (equillibrium - disrupton - recognition of disruption - attempt tp repair - reinstatement of equillibrium). The mother and child are shopping (equib.), child goes missing (disrupt.), find out it's the father's fault and it was the loansharks who took their child (recog. of disrupt), father has to work for loansharks (attempt to repair) and finally child returns home (reinstate. of equib.). Also it follows one of the themes commonly featured in thrillers. These are escape, pursuit, kidnap and bank robbery; obviously mine fits into the kidnap idea.I have used discordant music to highlight key moments e.g. when the mother first notices her child has gone, there is a small musical motif which is then later repeated at tense moments. This little motif becomes a signifier of something bad/suspicious happening. A famous example of musical signifiers would be in 'Jaws' - we see a happy scene of innocent children playing on the beach (which creates a very calm mood) however the underlying musical motif (that we have come to associate with the shark attacking) notifies the audience that something bad is about to happen to these innocent little children. The audience feel helpless and tense because they know what's about to happen (because they can hear the music) but the children on screen don't. 

2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?

In my OTS the mother and child are middle class citizens living in an average town. (An audience would guess this from the way they speak – not Received Pronunciation but correct grammar etc suggesting average levels of intellect and also because they are filmed in a fairly nice location – no graffiti or tower blocks of flats, which are often signifiers of poor economic and class areas.) This would hopefully not be an offensive/unfair representation to/of anyone from this class because I tried not to portray anyone in a negative way. However some could argue that I've represented gender slightly unfairly. The woman and her daughter are both female and are out shopping which is a very stereotypically female activity. Some would argue though that using females signifies vulnerablilty (because they aren't as physically strong as men) and the female child is even more vulnerable because she's smaller, weaker and young. The fact that the antagonist is male may also appear stereotypical. This isn't obvious in my OTS; however some viewers may pick up on it because of the footwear he is seen wearing. Some would argue that because the protagonists are female and the antagonist is male, I have suggested that all kidnappers are males and only mothers and daughters go out shopping and spend time together. However I think that the audience would accept this as a fair representation because statistically in our society this is true.

3. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

I believe that a suitable distributor for my product would be Touchstone Pictures. They are an established company and try innovative ways of distribution which would be good from a producer’s point of view. In addition to this they have also been associated with many famous and successful thriller films (e.g. Armageddon and Deja Vu). I believe that they would be a suitable distributor and also they are associated with films of a similar genre to mine. From their point of view, distributing my product could be largely beneficial based on the success of similar prducts they have supported.  Touchstone Pictures is one of many alternative film labels under the control of The Walt Disney Comapny. Touchstone release typically more mature themed films with darker tones than Walt Disney Pictures. HERE is a link to their website which leads you straight to their campaign for a new film. The website is very interactive and engages the reciever of it - which is a good thing to be able to do for a distribution company!

4. Who would be the audience for your media product?

‘Flight Plan’ which is the film I have based a lot of my research and planning around was given the rating of 12A. This was mainly for challenging themes and moderate violence. Looking at the constraints of what the BBFC think a 12A is (http://www.bbfc.co.uk/classification/guidelines/12a12) I believe my film would certainly fit to this bracket. I looked at all the headings (in terms of what sections classify films) and noted what content under these headings my film contained. My film would contain no discriminatory language/behaviour, no drugs use, no sustained/frequent horror and no glamourisation of dangerous behaviour - because it is the antagonists that use dangerous behvaiour, the audience don't aspire to be like them and therefore would not want to mimic their behaviour. It has a moderate use of language; some swearing but strong words are used very infrequently if at all - so this would be acceptable in meeting with the conformities of 12A. However for me, the criteria which could create some questioning about being a 12A is the mature theme of the film. Kidnap of a young child is something which children in the audience may not be able to cope with because they could imagine it happening to themselves and they are not mentally mature enough to deal with this. However some children are mentally mature and their parents would know this. Trying to determine my film between and 12 and 12A was a difficult process. I looked at the list of 'criteria' and decided I had not pushed them all bar one - the mature theme. However because this is simply down to inidividual differences in what people define as 'mature' or suitable for themselves/their child. So because a child has to be accompanied by an adult to a 12A film, the adult would have had to decided whether the child would be able to cope (or not) with this theme. In terms of audience not regarding age, the thriller genre tends to have a very loose idea of this. Some believe that there is a target audience within itself of thriller-watchers. So obviously I want to appeal to these viewers. But also because my film features parents and a key theme is their struggle for their child, this was a large factor when considering target audience. If a parent who has lost their child (even if only for a few minutes in a shop etc.) was in the audience, they would hopefully be able to relate to the emotions show in my piece and therefore be more drawn in, and this would result in more suspense being created. By creating empathy in the audience, I have engaged and immersed them in the story and consequently they want the victims to triumph. However from simply watching my OTS, women may be more drawn to the product because they are the main gender that features in it. This is simply because in the OTS, the whole plot shouldn’t be revealed and the father only comes into the plot after the child has gone missing.

5. How did you attract/address your audience?

I attempted to do this by keeping to conventions of the genre and using a storyline which would draw them and play on their emotions. The first scene in my OTS features shopping in a typical town centre. This is an activity and location that audience are familiar with and there for can easily relate to. Because it appears it be such a 'normal' situation, they do not suspect anything bad to happen. However when we see the first shot of the feet walking, this is sinister and so makes them wonder who is it and why are they following the mother and child? They results in the audience being drawn in by wanting to know who is the 'walking feet' character and what's going to happen to the mother and child. As soon as the music and quick cuts start, they begin to suspect bad happenings again. Meeting with conventions is very important when addressing your audience because it's what they'll expect to see in a piece. Audience's have come to expect to see certain things (conventions) in a film, and if they do not do so then they would tend not to like it as much because it's not the 'norm'.


Also I did a focus group which allowed me to get audience feedback. The group contained people I selected who were in my target audience. I screened the piece and asked for feedback. I then went away and addressed the comments/criticisms made and screened it to them again. The feedback from the second screening was a huge improvement on the first. This demonstrated to me the importance of audience feedback and how to address your audience, you have to know what they want. A focus group really helped me do this because it was real people from the target audience telling me what they wanted from my piece.

6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this piece?

One important factor I learnt about and put into practise was how to have multiple layers of sound in iMovie. This allowed me to have dialogue, background diagetic sounds, and music playing all simultaneously – and I could control the volume of all three. I had previously experimented with using two layers (this was unconfidently and unadventurous) but never attempted three in iMovie. I now feel confident with how to use three layers competently.



7. Looking back on your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

In the preliminary task we worked in groups, however in this task we worked individually - so obviously I have gained independence and gained self efficiency. In some ways this was good because it meant my time management had to be better and I had less restrictions to when I could complete tasks because only I had to be available - not pick a time which me and others where available for. Obviously the filming day had to be suited to me and the cast, but this was the only tasks in which I had to liaise with others on.

In the preliminary task, when working in groups, we all were assigned a task and stuck to that alone. So for instance because I was more au-fait with editing software, I was appointed ‘editor’ and therefore didn’t operate the camera. But because we worked individually in this task, I had to complete all tasks and jobs myself. I feel this has benefited me a lot because I now have a better image of what is involved at every step of making a film, than when I just stuck to editing.

A Visit To The British Film Institution...

On the 2nd March, we visited the BFI centre at Southbank. We spent the morning in lectures and talking about the history of British Film and in the afternoon, we spoke to a producer of a successful British Film. On the whole the day was very interesting and insightful.


The end of the UK Film Council...
The UK Film Council used to support new, daring film makers with innovative ideas. There was £180 million invested and £700 million made at worldwide box office. They were successful in terms of money, however some criticised them for being too concerned about this and not enough care for showing cultural Britain.


Cinema in crisis...
1930s - American accents were introduced on to screen. This lead to more 'foreign' accents being on screen than our own in Britain.
1940s - The quota system was introduced. This system meant that certain amounts of films in cinema had to be British. However because there was such a rush to meet the dates set by the quota system, this lead to poor quality British films being made.
1970s - The nitty-gritty nature of British films had to constantly fight up against the glamourous American blockbusters; and the blockbusters were winning.
1980s - The film group Goldcrest collapsed.
1990s - Demise in Film Four.


Good for cinema...
1930s - British accents were being introduced on to other countries screens.
1940/50s - Audiences would typically go to the cinema three times a week - increasing profits and popularity of cinema.
1960/70s - Britain became a crucial centre for special effects.
1980s - There was a tax break and investments from television.
1990s - The return of public funding.


What is a British film
People have many ideas about what constitutes a British film, however it can be a lot of things. For example 'The Dark Knight' could be classed as a British film because it had a British director and 'The Bourne Ultimatum" because it had a mainly British cast and crew. Many things can clarify something as British, such as using British stereotypes/issues, being set in Britain, having a British cast/crew, being made in Britain or having British funding.




In the afternoon we watched 'Shifty' - a film about a drug dealer in London who's life is spiralling out of control when his friend visits him from Manchester.

We spoke to the producer of 'Shifty' about the industry and the film itself. We asked questions about how difficult it was to get into the industry and other films he had experience of. This was a really good experience to talk to him because it gave us a true story of what it's life in the British Film Industry.

Our Friends In The North...

BBC produced 'Our Friends in the North' stars the likes of Daniel Craig and Christopher Ecclestone. It followed the lives of 4 people in Newcastle, through the 1960s - 1990s. It featured such events as The Minors' Strike, The Great Storm, political events and police corruption. It is commonly regarded as one of the greatest TV dramas of the 1990's. It was controversial because it featured story lines based on real political events and politicians.


The 160 cast and 3000 extras required £8million for the year's filming, so it was a massive investment for British film both in monitory value, and getting British film some credibility.

My thriller OTS...

Abduction - AS media studies thriller OTS from Hannah C on Vimeo.

The video is bad quality because it had to be compressed for web streaming.

Audience feedback...

With my original cut of 'Abduction', I screened it to people who I believe would be in my target audience - so people above the age of twelve, a mixture of males and females and also people who I knew specifically liked the thriller genre.

Some of the feedback was very positive which was good to know that I had addressed audience well.

However some people suggested improvements.

One suggested that the music track I had used in the background didn't have enough rhythmic movement, and so didn't really add suspense to the piece. Therefore because he was a frequent thriller watcher, I trusted his judgement because he is used to watching so many successful thrillers (which obviously I aspire mine to be like). So I went and found a new music track to use and with a faster tempo and more substance. And I have to say that I personally preferred the second track with the footage!

Also I had originally used some transitional effects (cross-dissolves) between the shots of the little girl playing on the park and the mother calling her name. Two people in the group had said that this lost pace and subsequently lost a little suspense. To change this, I took the effects out so they were just straight cuts between shots. 

I played the piece again to my 'target group' and they all said they preferred it much more second time round. Some could tell that it was the music that had bettered the piece, others just thought the film as a whole ran at a better pace. 

This to me just proves that audience feedback is so crucial when creating a film. If your film doesn't please your audience, then they won't go out and pay money to watch it - which is ultimately the aim. As a producer of film, you have to trust that your audience know what they like and if they don't like something about your piece, you'd rather they tell you in a focus group, than after the film has been mass produced and is having poor box office sales!

Storyboards...

Representation of regional identity...

For this section, we watched episodes/clips from "I'm Alan Partridge" based in Norfolk and "The Royle Family" from Manchester.

Alan Partridge and The Royle Family on Prezi

Representation of class & status...

For our first extract we watched Shameless. There were many signifiers of the lower classes in this such as:

• council housing estates
• tracksuits
• police in the neighbourhood
• boarded up houses
• etc

And the themes that seemed to run through the extract we saw were ones which were associated with low class. Smoking, alcohol, violence, theft and many more along the lines of this.






In total contrast to this, we watched an extract from Wuthering Heights where the ladies were all wearing posh dresses and had maids and servants, everybody spoke with received pronunciation and they lived in a manor house. These things are also signifiers of higher class. 












(I will now compare the two extracts.)

In the mass media there are so many different representations of class; some of which may be true representations and some that are exaggerated for comical purposes. However are the exaggerated representations a fair showing of people from certain demographics, or are they considered offensive and fuel unreasonable prejudgements?

The story of ‘Shameless’ is based around a father and children living in a council estate. Immediately because they live in a council estate people assume that they will be from a lower class. The way in which the narrator (father) speaks is also slurred and sounds as though he is drunk. He uses simple English and a basic vocabulary - this would imply that he is not very well educated. The clothes that the family wear are tracksuits and lots of gold jewellery; none of which appear very clean. All of these become signifiers for the lower class.

There are also many negative themes throughout the programme such as alcohol and smoking, violence, crime and inability to care for children. Theses are things often associated with the lower classes however, as an audience, can we generalise the entirety of the lower classes to behave in such a manner just because of one representation on the television.

A viewer with a well-balanced view of the class system in Britain would understand that these representations of a lower class family have been exaggerated for comical/dramatic purposes. However somebody with not such a view could either take offence from these representations or have their already unfair prejudgements strengthened.

From even the first five minutes of footage we begin to build up a picture of exactly what this family are like. This is because the programme heavily plays on the stereotype of ‘council estate chav’. Using stereotypes enables the audience to quickly establish character types and then can begin following the plot. Within this first five minutes we meet many characters from the family all of who conform to this ‘chav’ label.

There are many issues confronted in this episode, some of which may be risky. For example there is a clear underlying problem with the father’s inability to care for the children; leading to the threat of social services becoming involved. The father refuses to go to the school to speak with teachers about his son’s progress. The son then tried to make him see that he must attend if not the social services will ‘get on their backs’. The father then immediately agreed to go to the appointment. His change of heart was blatantly due to the potential involvement of the social services. This would imply that the father knew he was an incapable parent and had something to hide; yet did not want to improve on that and better the care for his children. Now if an audience had generalised other ideas from this group of people to lower class people in the ‘real world’ then this is another factor that they may do so with. This was a very dangerous theme to include because of people making assumptions about others based on what they see on television. Also lower class people (like the one’s featured in this programme) could be highly offended by the portrayal of their class.

However part of this ‘chav lifestyle’ is that they don’t care what people think about them. So it is disputable that the type of people featured in ‘Shameless’ who watched it, would not care about the negative representations of themselves in the media.

In total contrast to the representations in ‘Shameless’ we have the positive depiction of the upper class in ‘Wuthering heights’.

In the short extract we saw, the ladies were representing the ‘giggling upper class’ and through a few simple signifiers, we can immediately identify that this piece is heavily based on the upper class.

For example the way the ladies are dressed would only be something that the upper class could afford. They had maids and servants in their house to tend to their every need – these maids and servants would presumably be lower class people looking for a job. The family clearly needed to the staff to assist in their house because it was so large. We saw a long, establishing shot of the manor and instantaneously knew that the family must be wealthy – being wealthy ‘makes’ you upper class. Also when the man is in his library, (even the fact that they have a library lets us know that they are upper class) he is reading and writing. This tells us that as well as being wealthy, he is well educated and would be able to use sophisticated language. (This is then demonstrated later in the extract when we hear him speak).

All of the family speak with received pronunciation (Queen’s English), which is not something that lower class members of the time would be able to do. This was mainly due to the fact that they received no (or very poor) education and had jobs such as farmers or servants – which didn’t have the need for them to be able to speak well.

So in conclusion, we studied two very different representations of two different classes. In the media the upper class are often represented as positively, wealthy and happy – something for an audience to aspire to, in comparison to the negative representation of the downtrodden and helpless or rude and uncaring lower class. These representations rely heavily on stereotypes and signifiers to get across exactly whom they are representing and in what manner.

Representation of sexuality...

In the media, the typical 'norm' we have grown to expect to see is heterosexual. However when homosexuals do appear in the media, they are often stereotypical.

 For one of our studies into this topic, we watched brokeback mountain - one of the most talked about films featuring homosexuals. The film started with two cowboys - fitting the usual cowboy constraints. They were doing very typically male jobs and this is what we expect to see. So when these ideas were challenged - some audiences reacted badly. The film was created to show that 'gay' doesn't always conform to a certain type of man.

Another film we looked at was Bruno. The opening piece of music was very typically camp and gave us the immediate impression that this is what he was going to be like. The relationship Bruno had with his partner was shown to be very open and explicit - so because the audience haven't been exposed to many gay relationships; they make the assumption that all are like this. Diesel (Bruno's boyfriend) was shown as very fickle and blunt. Bruno didn't know his staff's names - although they were always around - which makes him appear ignorant and ungrateful. The clothes Bruno wore were very flamboyant and daring and had to make a statement with everything he wore. Bruno was very open with his sexuality however when he was around straight South American men, he tried to be more masculine and cover up the fact he was gay. This, I felt, was a very controversial point because an audience could take meaning from this that all homosexuals should hide who they really are when around heterosexuals. An audience could also build up an image of what they think homosexuals are like - when in real fact this is only a representation of some of the homosexual population. But because there are so few media texts featuring gay people, the audience can only assume that the representations we are exposed to in the likes of Bruno are true (because they have not many other representations to compare it to!).

A quote I really liked we came across when researching representation of sexuality in the media was by Vito Russo (1987) : The Celluloid Closet. "There have never been lesbians or gay men in Hollywood films - only homosexuals" and this really said a lot to me. This quote alone says to me that the representations of homosexuals in Hollywood movies are nothing like real life. 

Representations of Race...

From watching a DVD about racial stereotyping, the media are much more sensitive these days to making sure they include a mix of races today. Back in the 50s and 60s, media was produced for a white audience so they were the sorts of people included in the media. Then in the early 20th century, there were 'few people of colour' in power, so the media reflected this. However more recently the first black American president was elected, we are constantly surrounded by people from different ethnic groups and few people still hold the belief that anyone who isn't white is inferior, so this again is reflected in the media.

A point they mentioned which I found particularly interesting was "People that aren't racists can make decisions which could cause unfair representation of race". For example if a white person is constantly surrounded by other white people, then of course they are more likely to chose a white actor over a black actor (if both are level on talent etc). And also a quote that I really liked was "visibility doesn't always transfer into equality". 

For one of our studies into racial representation, we looked at the film Borat. One of the first things you see at the start of the film is that the wording that comes up on screen in the native language of Kazakhstan. It has been translated poorly into English, but it is intentionally wrong. The people of Kazakhstan are living in slums strewn with litter, the town kindergarden had guns to play with and the blacksmith was also an abortionist! All of these little details are adding up to a negative representation of Kazakhstan and it's people.

We posed the question "Is this type of overt and intentional stereotyping breaking down barriers or fuelling the fire of racism?" and I will now share some of my opinions.

In this film there are many examples or blatant racism purely based on stereotypes. One of the most prominent I feel was when Borat visited the rodeo. In the film you see and American man telling Borat to shave off his moustache because he looks like "one of them bombing Muslims with all that black hair and moustache". To me (and many others) this was a totally irrational comment to make/belief to have. Just because somebody has black hair does by no means imply that they are a Muslim or a terrorist. Also, the man telling Borat to change himself to suit that man's picture of what 'normal' was a disrespectful thing to do. I believe that on this occasion, that people could be led to add fuel to the fire of racism if they weren't aware of Sacha Baron Cohen's intentions when making the film. SBC wanted to expose how ridiculous the prejudgements we make can be. These prejudgements are often based on stereotypes of what we are exposed to via the media - and they are often highly incorrect and offensive to the group/individual we hold them against.

There is another moment in which I felt the audience would find so ridiculous that they would no way take it seriously (and realise that the humour behind it was laughing at the extent we sometimes take our prejudgements to). When Borat enters the hotel room and drinks from the toilet implies that he has never seen a toilet before (so must have a very primitive way of living) and does not know what it's used for. This is such a far-fetched notion that I believe that people would not take it seriously and therefore not believe that this stereotype was at all true.

Personally I believe that the whole point of this film was to take some of the stereotypes people have about certain groups and push these to absolutely ridiculous stereotypes people have about certain groups and push them to the absolute extremes. So that people could actually look at it and laugh at how ridiculous these prejudgements are. There will always be a small minority which will believe these views expressed in the film are for real and justified; but you will probably never be able to change their minds.

The portayle of Kazakhstan was a poor country with low morals and human rights. (For example when we see the local day care centre, the children have guns). This is such an obscene idea and I believe was done to show people how ridiculous it was. This is but a mere example of the ludicrous preconceptions people hold about cultures they do not know much about. And the filn challenges this by pushing these preconeptions to the extremes; so far so that people no longer beleive them.

So in conclusion, I think that the film is helping to break down barriers of racial issues by showing us how ridiculous some of our preconceptions are. At the end of the day, everyone is human and essentially we all don't wish to be prejudged so we should not do so to other. I think the film highlights this crucial moral.

Representations of Gender...

Gender is a key issue when discussing representation. As children we grow up with an awareness of what the 'appropriate' characteristics of gender are; the media shapes our ideas of what it is to be male or female.

Representations of Females

Media representations of women remain worryingly the same over time, even though there has been a huge shift in the way that women are viewed in society.

Women are often shown to be:

• beautful and delicate
• small in size/physique
• weak/little power and strength
• emotional and intouch with their feelings
• in relationships (opposed to being independant and free)
• part of a family.

Women in the media tend to be very stereotypically represented and anyone differing from this is seen as weird or dangerous (this could oppress inidiviuality).

Representations of Males

Strength, power, attractiveness and independance are just a few common representations of males in the media. Men are shown as dominant over females; they often have to rescue the weak, little female from distress which gives them a hero-like quality in a lot of circumstances. On the other hand, sometimes males are shown as the 'bad guy' and use violence, but this is all part of the macho bravado that defines what it is to be 'male' and never harms their reputation (like the negative representations of females do).

We briefly looked at one edition NEW! magazine. The males were largely shown as the boyfriend who cheated. There was a severe lack of independant males and it felt like the males were only there to make the women feel better about themselves. Also the women were being provided with an unrealistic image for them to try and achieve because of all the beautiful and thin women featured in the magazine. Finally, we noticed that all of the articles were about either hair, fashion, make-up, weight or relationships. These articles all included the stereotype of the typical women and a negative portratyle of a man.

Wire in the blood II

This series was written by a woman so we felt it would be interesting to see if the representations of women were any different to all the other media we are exposed to (which are laregly produced by males).

• A women brought food to a man - slave. She then got locked away in a room - she was a prisoner and powerless.
• A male was a doctor wearing a suit which meant he was wealthy and successful.
• The women had mundane, low skill jobs when they were included at a work place.
• All the other women had no jobs, looked after the children and went shopping.
• There was a male pathologist which is a highly skilled and well paid job.
• The victim was a woman and the antagonist was a man.

We found that even though this series was indeed written by a woman, it did not challenge the idea of the stereotypical woman. This may have been because the writer did not want to lose viewers because the programme showed women in a way we are not used to.

And finally, we came up with an acronym to identify gender in the media.

Purpose within plot

Actions

Ratio

Treatment

Interaction with others

Extras

Social postitions

Some conventions of a thriller...

Convention: Quick cuts
Effect: Fast pace, unpredictable, builds tension, audience really have to focus to not miss anything.

Convention: Close up on actor's face
Effect: Shows emotion best, makes the audience feel more sympathetic towards the character because they're more likely to feel the emotions if they can see them via the actor's face. Or if the close up is on the antagonist, it could show menacing expressions.

Convention: Plot twists
Effect: Surprises will always keep an audience waiting in anticipation. Using a plot twist shows the audience that anything could happen (and builds more suspense).

Convention: Discordant music
Effect: Any underlying music (even if very quiet) will highlight that something in the scene just isn't right. It also serves as a signifier to the audience that something 'bad' is about to happen. Without music, there would be very little suspense and tension created.

Main task preparations...

There are many other successful thrillers out there at the moment; some of which I watched before making any decisions about my project. I took inspiration from 'Flightplan' where a child goes missing, 'The day after tomorrow' where the father has to help his child escape and 'Armageddon' where the father is willing to do anything for his child.

 At 50secs and then 2mins, the conventions of quick cuts really are noticeable.

So the basic plot of my WHOLE film would be that a kidnapper is following a mother and child (because her husband owes a loan shark company a lot of money). The child wanders off from the mother in a town centre and the kidnapper uses to opportunity to take the child as hostage for the money. The wife doesn't know the husband owes money to anyone so just thinks her child has wandered off. The child doesn't turn up by the end of the day so she goes to the police and fills in a missing person's report. When her husband finds out, he knows it's down to the loan sharks and goes in search of them. He has to complete various errands for them such as collecting money from other people to clear the debt he owes them. The mother eventually finds out, but as to not make matters worse, tells the police that the child has turned up safely. Husband continues to work for them and once debt is cleared, child returns home. 


However in my opening title sequence, we will only see the child wandering off from the mother and being led away by the kidnapper. I have chosen this as my OTS because I feel it would successfully grab the attention of the audience and because the person being kidnapped is a child, the audience feel more empathy and therefore care more what actually happens to the child. This would result in them watching the film to find out if the child did escape.


Costume
- Mother: plain everyday clothes; nothing special/significant about her. (Not to draw attention to her so it isn't obvious that something will happen to her).
- Child: pale pinks - cute. Very typical clothes of little girls. Makes her seem more innocent and childlike; more sympathy from the audience.
- Kidnapper: all black - nothing prominent (recognisable) about him. BUT not all too black as to be too obvious that he's up to no good in broad day light.


Props
- Lots of shopping bags for mother (emphasise that they've been out shopping all day).
- Possibly something like a little 'girly bag' or toy or something for the child?
- Sweets (for the kidnapper to give the child).


Lighting
- Normal/everyday lighting.
- EXCEPT the last scene where the child is in a dark room on her own; a single beam of light on her face.


Camera angles
- Long - establish location.
- Mid/CU - focus on action.
- CU/X-CU - facial emotion.
- POV - antagonist following them.
- High angle - makes the world seem bigger now that the child is on her own.
- Low angle - make the child look innocent and fragile.
- Over the shoulder - the child is unaware that the antagonist is watching her - sinister/creepy.


Location
Wymondham town centre.


Target audience
The target audience for a generic thriller film tends to be 18-25 year olds. However this is obviously only a guideline and anyone who shows an interest in the films becomes part of the target audience. I think my audience would be a wider category. The film features a mother, child and father - so people who match this description could also be included in the target audience. I think this because if the audience can identify with the characters (and situations) then they are more likely to feel empathy for the characters; which in turn creates more tension and suspense when the characters are in danger.