Primary Audience Research

Purpose: To have a better understanding of the target audience for my film, I have created a survey to conduct audience research about people’s interest in films (specifically thrillers). 

Methodology: Online survey—Google Form

Distribution Methods: individual messages

Objective: Gain 30 responses (exceeded with 39 responses)

Duration: 10.11.2023 - 17.11.2023

Survey

Survey questions

Survey Response Database

Takeaways

General - Demographic questions

According to the responses, the age group from 18 to 30 years old is 69.2%. This is understandable because thriller movies might be too disturbing for younger audiences, especially with violent themes. While the primary audience is young adults, the portion of respondents under 18 years old also makes up 23.1%. This group of audience is mainly high schoolers, who usually enjoy the thrilling effect.

The percentage of respondents who are students (in high school or in university) is 92.3%, and the other small portion includes people who are employed with jobs. Students are more targeted towards “Who are you?” as they could emphasize the social issues mentioned in the film, such as school bullying.

While most thriller films are targeted toward male audiences, my collected data showed that females are more dominant compared to males. According to my research on the sub-genres of thrillers, psychological thrillers like “Who Are You?” tend to be more appealing to female audiences due to the depth of emotions that the sub-genres exploit, which explains the result.

The survey is distributed in Vietnam, therefore there was no surprise when the data showed that  Vietnamese dominated the response with 97.4%. With this result, I will need to do some more research on the global market for thriller films since I want to aim at a global audience. This is because my opening sequence has limited dialogue with themes regarding global issues, therefore I think that “Who are you?”  would be open to all nationalities to enjoy.

Thriller/genre-related questions

Out of 39 response, 87.2% enjoys watching movies in general and their top favorite genres are recorded to be comedy, drama, and romance. Thriller ranked number 4 out of all the genres asked, followed by action and science fiction. According to the data, the thriller is not the favorite genre but 22/39 people enjoy watching it, which represents that there is a group of audience interested in the genre.

While thriller might not be the audience's go-to movie genre 66.7% of the total respondents stated that they enjoy watching thrillers. When asked specifically about their preferred thriller, psychological thriller ranks first with 39.4%, followed by crime thriller and survival thrillers. With the majority of the respondents to my survey being female, it is understandable that psychological thriller is the most chosen sub-genre. Based on the result, I can be more confident that “Who are you?” is going to be enjoyable for everyone.

However, the data showed a negative sight when the response showed that 41% of respondents don’t watch thrillers that often. In a month, the majority of responses are biased towards never and not very often. Despite the demand for thriller movies being low, I can target the specific group that is loyal thriller lovers, such as 7.7% of the survey respondents, who watch thriller very often in a month.

The final question that was asked in the survey was how interested are the audience to my idea. By having them read my logline, I found out that the majority find it interesting. While most of the responses selected the scale ⅗, the response from 4 to 5 takes up 46.4% of the total 39 responses, which is a positive result.

In conclusion, I will be targeting primarily young adults and secondly students from 16 to 18 years old. Females are more likely targeted, however, “Who are you?” will be enjoyable for all genders as well as nationality. There is also a loyal group of thriller lovers that I could target and they enjoy thrilling effects, so there is a chance that my film could appear interesting to them. Overall, I believe that based on my audience research, “Who are you?” has the potential to become a successful project.

Secondary Audience Research

Demographic

Based on research made by Red Herring Production, the main audience that thrillers target is young adults, ranging from 18 to 25 years old. This is because people around this age bracket are drawn to the realness and graphic action around the intense storyline. One of the reasons why younger audiences are not targeted is due to the mature themes and storylines of the genres, which include violence and psychological issues, according to another research by Panorama Production. Moreover, since thriller movies tend to take watchers on a ride of emotions with intriguing suspense, older audiences might be more into the genres compared to younger ones. 

My secondary audience is teenagers, aged from 15 to 18 years old. This group of audience tends to enjoy the thrilling effect because they are young and very energetic, therefore they will prefer films that give them excitement and keep them interested throughout the journey. My secondary research about the age group of the target audience complements my primary research when my survey showed that the audience from 18 to 30 years of age takes up the biggest group, followed by an audience under 18 years of age. 

Psychographic

According to The Times of India, thriller films are a combination of an adrenaline rush and an opportunity to learn about dealing with scary situations in a safe environment. Therefore, the group of audience that enjoys thriller effects, and likes suspense, excitement, and surprise is very suitable for my movie. The reason why people don’t enjoy thrillers is due to the thrilling effect and the scariness of the movie, so “Who are you?” is only targeted towards people who prefer films with jump-scares and plot twists. Despite this group of the audience might not dominate the market, they are very loyal to thriller genre films and that would help “Who Are You?” to attract their attention to the film. 

Geographic

Thriller genres tend to have a global audience, based on the audience from past successful movies. Black Swan is one of my biggest influences for “Who Are You?” and its audiences came from all over the world. According to IMDb, the movie is screened on different continents such as Asia, Europe, North America, and South America, it is also open to streaming on Amazon, Google Play, and Vudu. Black Swan is also recorded to be ranked 25 among the all-time worldwide box office thriller movies, based on the data from The Numbers. 

My second influence came from the movie Identity, which premiered in 2003. Despite not being as successful as Black Swan, the film was considered a success as it ranked 186 among all-time worldwide box office thriller movies (also based on ). Identity was premiered in the United States and Canada only but to be able to rank in the top 200 thrillers with the highest box office, it is surely a success for the producers. Being influenced by films like Black Swan and Identity, I think that “Who Are You?” could also target toward global audience since thrillers are likely to be enjoyed by people from all over the world and are not limited to a domestic market. Additionally, the social issues mentioned in my films are related to mental health, school bullying, and dissociative identity disorder, therefore could be easy to understand by anyone and are not a specific issue to any region.

Current thriller trends

“Who Are You?” is a psychological thriller and the sub-genres are not ranked as the highest-demand thriller. Based on Parrot Analytics, the action thriller is considered to be the highest-demand thriller. This type of thriller contains weapons, cars, and explosions delivering high-octane action that appealed to a predominantly male audience. This doesn’t match with the data I collected from my survey, as the majority of respondents are female and they enjoy watching thrillers as much as the male audience. However, according to a different source called Movie Web, psychological thrillers like “Who Are You?” became the focal point of mass ticket sales during the early '90s. This period is the boom of the trend for psychological thrillers and until today, the sub-genre is also on the rise and is what most people enjoy when looking for thriller movies. I believe that I could benefit from the rise of the trends in thrillers, which could help my film potentially attract more audiences. 

I’ve also found out about a source named What's on Netflix that combined the statistics of the top genre insights on Netflix in the United States and the United Kingdom. In America, thriller makes up 8.1% of the total percentage, while in the UK, it takes up 9.6%. This data corresponds with my primary research since both of the results showed that even though thriller doesn’t rank top in the genres ranking, they are still one of the audience's go-to genres, especially for thriller lovers.

Resources

• Trends among in-demand thriller films worldwide (01 August 2022 - 01 August 2023) | Parrot Analytics
• Why are we obsessed with psychological thrillers?
• Most in-demand TV genres in the U.S. 2022 | Statista
• What Is a Psychological Thriller? | Celadon Books
• Target audience - thriller films by Panorama Productions
• 13 Best Psychological Thriller Movies, Ranked According to Rotten Tomatoes
• What Movie & TV Genres Perform Well in the Netflix Top 10s? - What's on Netflix
• Thrillers | Encyclopedia.com
• Why Do We Love Psychological Thrillers? | Psychology Today
• All-Time Worldwide Box Office for Thriller/Suspense Movie

Thriller Genre

Definition

According to the Cambridge Dictionary, the thriller genre is a book, a play, or a film that has an exciting story, often about solving a crime. The purpose of the genre is to create excitement and tension for the audience, it is also considered the main element of a thriller movie. There is a range of sub-genre that pair well with thrillers and based on Masterclass, they include psychological, action, crime, political, mystery, spy, legal, and science-fiction. 

Technical codes

Camera

• Close-up: Close-ups are used very frequently in thriller movies, often to capture the change in emotions of the character as they witness the ‘thriller elements’. During the movie, the characters when through different stages of feelings, and therefore, close-ups are used to showcase their changes. 

• Dutch tilt: Dutch tilt is often used to enhance the tension, generate fear, and exacerbate unsteadiness. Besides showing the character’s feelings, dutch tilt is also seen when showcasing ominous is looming just ahead, alarming the audience.

• Establishing shot: Most thriller movies take place in a specific place and establishing shot helps to set the whole atmosphere for the film, allowing viewers to have a better understanding of the situation and upcoming events. 

Sound

• Diegetic: Sound plays a very important role, especially in thriller movies. They act as one of the main ‘thriller elements’ besides what appears on screen. Diegetic sound in thriller films includes dialogue of characters, the sound of objects, and weird unknown sounds that help to raise the tension for the film. These diegetic sound often adds a mysterious feel to the movie. 

• Non-diegetic: Non-diegetic sound was used mostly for the jump-scare effect (an element that appears frequently in thriller movies). These could be a song (like heard in Black Swan) or sound effects (like heard in Identity) and they all bring in the same tension for the movies. These are normally abrupt sounds that appear suddenly without any warning, creating the jump-scare effect that all thriller movies have.

Lighting

• Low-key lighting: An element that is easy to spot in both of the genre studies of Identity and Black Swan is the use of low-key lighting. Low-key lighting brings a mysterious, dramatic, and scary feel to the scene, that raises the tension for the audience. It also limits the audience's view which causes them to develop a thrilling feel as they watch the movie, not knowing what will happen next. Furthermore, the lighting creates a contrast between the dark and white (as seen in Black Swan) and shadows for the scene, 2 important elements for thriller movies.

Symbolic codes

• Blood: Blood is considered a symbolic code for any thriller movie as it brings in a scary feeling for the audience. Blood symbolizes life and death (in the context of the thriller genre, the latter is often used), massacre, and injuries (as seen in Identity). Despite not being seen in the opening sequence, blood is seen throughout Black Swan as well. 

• Flashbacks: Flashbacks are used exceptionally frequently during the 7-minute sequence of Identity to display the past action that caused the current event. This helps the audience to understand the character better and why they acted so

• Photograph: For sub-genres like mystery or crime, photographs are seen in different scenes. These are normally evidence for the case (as seen in Identity) and give the audience a hint or guide for the whole movie. 

• Mirrors: Mirrors that appear in thriller films can portray the reflection of the character and their inner-self. Most of the time, mirrors are used to help the character show their deep thoughts and dark side that they don’t want to reveal to others

• Shadows: Due to the use of excessive low-key lighting, shadows are seen many times during a thriller movie. Shadow is used to showcase the action of a character (usually the murderer) and their inner darkness. Since shadow doesn’t reveal the identity of the character, it creates a mysterious feel to the scene.

Symbolic and technical codes (condensed)

• Low-key lighting
• Dark color scheme

• Blood

• High-tension music/Unexpected sound

• Close-up shots

Conventions

• Flashbacks

• Clues and red herrings (followed the wrong path)

• Investigation

• Moral Ambiguity

• Unreliable narrators

Themes

• Hero vs villain

• Psychopath

• Revenge

• Nightmare

• Dark inner self

Characters

• Villains

• Heroes

• False heroes

• Convicts

• Escaped convicts

• Victims

• Innocent victims

• Criminal

• Psychotic people

• Police

Takeaways

After analyzing the 5 film openings and researching the thriller genre, I’ve taken away some ideas that I want to apply in my film opening.

Low-key lighting

    Firstly is the use of low-key lighting, as I intended to mainly set my opening film in the school and low-key lighting will help to symbolize the genre of thriller that I chose. The lighting will also help me to raise the tension of the film and add to the mysteriousness of it. I also planned to have only one source of light seen during scene where low-key lighting is used, to better enhance the thriller effect. Since my theme is about a character who has to fight with her dark inner self, the use of low-key lighting will further help me to achieve my idea.

Blueish tone

    Secondly is the color scheme that I could use for my film opening. After all 5 genre studies, I've found a similarity in the way they set the atmosphere for the opening sequence, by using a blueish tone for the scenes. This applies to both Shutter Island and The Silence of the Lambs. The use of the tone creates a cold atmosphere, making the scene feel mysterious and complements the genre very well. A murder attempt will be happening during my opening sequence, therefore the blueish tone could also further emphasize the cold personality of the murderer

High tension music

    Identity's opening sequence uses a range of high-tension music, like thunderstorms, followed by flashing lights that signify lightning. The initial idea for my film opening was to be set in the evening, in the school's hallway, therefore having the diegetic sound of thunderstorms and lightning flashing might bring in the tension for the scene, setting the atmosphere for the upcoming events. The sound could also be an alert for the audience to be mentally prepared for what is about to come.

Flashbacks

    Flashbacks are one of the conventions of thriller movies and they help viewers to know the background and past of a character, to understand their action. My protagonist in the opening sequence suffers from fighting against her dark self and by using flashbacks, I could tell the viewers her background stories and why she acted so. I planned to use flashbacks as the character remembers her actions when she was taken over by her dark inner self, bringing in the thriller effect.

Investigation

    With the protagonist being an amateur investigator, I think that setting up the character, their appearance, and personality to match with the convention is very important. Out of the 5 genre studies that I have done, Vigilante and Shutter Island have a similar character to my protagonist. For Vigilante, the stereotypical appearance of a 'murderer' could be applied in my film. Despite the difference in their purpose of murdering people, the black hoodie that was used in Vigilante complements the stereotypical image of a murderer very well, based on Stuart Hall's theory.

    Since my character has 2 identities, the investigator identity could be inspired by how the Shutter Island protagonist, Teddy dresses. According to what Stuart Hall mentioned about stereotypes, the long brown coat and the hat that Teddy is wearing is the view of the media industry of how an investigator looks like. Therefore, I wanted to use the same image that has been set by the industry for many decades, to dress my protagonist similarly and show that she is an investigator.

Resources

• Writing 101: What Is the Thriller Genre? Definitions and Examples of Thriller in Literature - 2023 - MasterClass
• Thriller Genre: The Blending of Action, Crime, and Horror Stories
• Codes and conventions of A THRILLER GENRE
• Thriller film - Wikipedia
• Film 101: Understanding the Dutch Angle - 2023 - MasterClass
• Codes and conventions of thriller films | PPT

Film Opening Analysis - The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

Introduction

Genre: Crime/Thriller 

Director: Jonathan Demme

Producers: Kenneth Utt, Edward Saxon, and Ron Bozman

Distributed by: Orion Pictures

Budget: $19,000,000

Worldwide box office:  $272,700,000

Synopsis: Clarice Starling, an FBI trainee, is assigned by her boss, Jack Crawford, to interview the incarcerated Hannibal Lecter, a highly intelligent former psychiatrist and cannibalistic serial killer. Crawford secretly hopes to get insights into a psychopathic serial killer known as "Buffalo Bill," who kills overweight women and skins them.

Film Opening Sequence

The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

Clip Duration: 08:18

Start Point: 00:00

End Point: 08:18

Genre Studies

The Silence of the Lambs has successfully conveyed the genre of thriller and crime through the approximately 8-minute opening sequence. The choice of blueish tone was applied throughout the sequence, setting a cold and mysterious atmosphere. Moreover, the scene has a low saturated color, mainly with soft lighting but it is still able to give off a thrilling effect to all of the scenes. Not a lot of sound effect was used in the sequence, the mostly diegetic sound that is heard in daily life, with no use of abrupt sound for the jumpscare effect. However, the choice of using music for the background brings in the tension and seriousness for the first scene where Starling is running and the scene where she sees all the photos on the board in Crawford's office. 

    One detail that I think would really fit in with my film's opening sequence is the power of the female character, in a male-dominated environment and industry like the FBI Academy. The subversion of gender stereotypes was easily spotted during the opening sequence of The Silence of the Lambs, through how Starling was more outstanding than all of the other students in the academy and already had a job offer despite only being an FBI trainee. 

Analysis

  

    The sequence started with an introduction of the production studio, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Then the ident of the distribution company, Orion Pictures, and the ident of the production company, Strong Heart/Demme Production is introduced. 21 idents appeared during the first 6 minutes of the opening sequence.

    

    The choice of typography used for the ident is very simple, with capitalized letters, all in black and a white outline. The title doesn’t fully convey the genre of thriller and crime, but the boldness of the letter gives the audience a hint about the content of the film. 

    The sequence first starts off with an establishing shot of a forest. The color tone of the shot is very blueish, signifying the coldness, of both the feeling but also the weather, based on how the tree looks. This sets the atmosphere for the film, to be cold and desaturated. An ident is then seen, confirming the location, which is a wood near Quantico, Virginia, USA. Non-diegetic background music is heard, which sounds very mysterious and similar to the music heard in the Black Swan opening sequence. We also hear the diegetic sound of birds, which is similar to an eagle screaming, alerting us that something bad or serious is to come. 

    

    The camera then pans slowly to reveal a woman running and climbing up a cliff using a rope. The film title ident is also revealed at the same time, The Silence of the Lambs. The music and eagle screams continue and the woman approaches closer to the camera, panting and breathing hard. A medium close-up shot reveals that she is wearing a long-sleeved sweater outside of a white shirt, connoting that the weather is cold, according to Barthes’s theory. 

    Moreover, we could her outfit is wet, indicating that she has been running for a long time, up to the point that she could sweat in the cold weather. By her appearance, she looks like a young woman in her early 20s, and based on her outfit, we could also confirm that she is a student in the FBI academy, which explains why she was running to boost her stamina and strength. She then continues to run in the woods but based on her pace and emotion, the audience could infer that she might be running as an activity, and not because she is being chased or currently in an urgent situation. Smoke is seen to be surrounding her, slowly covering her and limiting the view of the audience of the background environment. This adds to the mysteriousness of the scene and brings in the tension for the sequence. 

    A tracking shot is then used to follow her as she runs through the woods, in fast motion. The background music was also raised up, signifying her determination. A series of close-ups is then seen, showing her shoes in motion and her side profile, capturing the look on her face and her determination despite all the sweat that causes her hair to be wet and untidy. This character representation went against the narrow ideals of beauty of Van Zoonen, by having a female character look normal, with a not-so-tidy appearance.

    She continues the route until she meets an obstacle, before easily overcoming it. The shot now no longer has the smoke and the sun started rising, connoting that it might be the sunrise, but the sun rays could also signify success that she is heading towards, thanks to her determination and hard work.

    The voice of a man is then heard, calling Starling. The audience could then infer that the woman’s name is Starling. It is revealed where the voice came from as a man ran into the frame, telling Starling that a character named Crawford, wanted to see her. Based on the appearance of the man, from the jacket, and the cap with FBI stitched on, he might be the head teacher or coach of the academy, and what Sterling has been doing at the start of the sequence, is the activity or task that she was given to complete before being called to Crawdford’s office. Moreover, the way Sterling referred to the man as sir, connotes that he has a higher rank than her. 

    

    As the camera tilts downwards from the sky, different boards and panels are seen to read Hurt, Agony, Pain and Love it, indicating the extreme training environment in the FBI academy that Starling has to go through. The camera tracks Starling as she runs out of the woods, towards a tower. The audience could then infer that this is the academy that she is currently attending. 

    Then an establishing shot is used once again due to the change in the setting and environment. Sterling started heading down the stairs, saying hi to one of her classmates. Even inside the building, a blueish tone was still used which led to the film feeling cold and scary. The conversion of gender stereotypes was used during this specific scene inside the academy. The majority of the students are seen to be male, while Sterling is one of the few female students in the academy. Despite so, she seems to be very relaxed about it, based on how she naturally walks and gets into an elevator full of male characters. 

    Straussian theory of binary opposites is also clearly represented during this scene. The contrast between the red outfit of the male and the blue outfit of Sterling gives the feel that the male character is taking the lead and controlling the system since the red color was seen to be more vibrant and more dominant in the elevator. The contrast in the height also adds to the power of males in the academy, and how females always felt overwhelmed by it. However the conversion of gender stereotype is that Sterling is completely normal when being surrounded by powerful men, she doesn’t care much and simply looks up to wait for the elevator to close and move. This action connotes that despite being a woman, she is not affected by the power surrounding her and that she has her own power, leading to her confidence. 

    A diegetic sound is heard, alerting that the destination of the elevator is heard before the elevator opens the door. We then see Starling walking out, still looking sweaty with messy hair, but confidently walking toward us. The camera then pans to a panel, stating Behavioral Science Services, which the audience could infer that the office of Crawford is in Behavioral Science Services. Women are seen in this scene but they all are working to serve a higher-ranking male character. A tracking shot was continued to use as we followed Starling to Crawford's office and several men in suits were seen. This connotes the ranking and power that men hold in the FBI industry.

    Inside Crawford's office, a warmer tone was applied, thanks to the lamp seen inside the set. As Starling turns around, a medium shot shows her appearance an the surrounding environment of the office. Dolly Zoom is once again applied as we see Starling's emotion more clearly, looking confused but also curious. The scene then cuts to a board full of photos and newspaper pinned onto it. Audiences could infer that Starling was looking at the board. A close-up shot is then used for both capturing Starling's changes in emotion and also to observe the photos closely. Pictures of corpses in their worst condition are shown, which is a typical convention for thriller films, which brings in a thrilling and disgusted effect for the audience. Non-diegetic background music is then heard, to be similar to the one heard at the beginning of the sequence, which also brings in the tension and mysteriousness of the atmosphere.

    The scene then cuts to an extreme close-up of Starling's side profile, in shallow depth of field, before a focus push is used to reveal another male character, which the audience could infer to be Crawford before Starling confirms it by referring to him as Mr.Crawford. Based on the appearance of the character, we can see that he is not much different compared to all the male characters seen when we follow Starling up to the office. They all dressed very well, in 3 3-piece suits, a tie and tidy gelled hair. Their appearance contrasts with the untidy appearance of Starling, but no one comments on how she looks, going against the narrow ideals of beauty on how women are usually judged based on how they look. 

    A conversation then begins between the 2 characters, mainly of Crawaford complimenting Starling on her achievements, being top quarter, a double major in psychology and criminology, summer internship, and more. This acted as a conversion of gender stereotypes when Sterling was still being noticed thanks to her achievement, despite studying in an environment dominated by males. Also, it shows how special she is that out of all the students in the academy, a female student got chosen, while still being an FBI trainee to help and receive a job offer from Mr.Crawford. According to Stuart Hall stereotypes, of the FBI are usually always played by male characters, and the subverting of female characters in the sequence went against the theory, creating a more diverse look and image of the FBI industry. 

    

    Afterward, a series of reverse shots of a close-up of Sterling and Crawford is seen as Crawford continues to talk and guide Starling for the upcoming job offer. Starling's job is to meet up with a former psychiatrist named Hannibal Lecter in the asylum, and we know that he is a monster, based on a male voice speaking.

    

    An establishing shot is seen, this time showing a tower in brick red, and based on the stone wall at the front, the audience knows that it is a hospital, specifically called Baltimore State Forensic Hospital. Therefore based on the information given by Crawford in the previous scene about how Dr.Chilton will be guiding Starling when she visits the asylum, we could infer that she is currently meeting Dr.Chilton, which is also the end of the opening sequence.

The Silence of the Lambs has been able to set up a female protagonist, who is attending an FBI academy, and the act of her running, and training at the beginning showed her ability and capability for the upcoming job offer or task that she would need to complete. This way of setting up a character will be something that I will keep in mind for the improvement of character development for the next project. Without the restriction of time in the opening sequence, I may spend some additional research on developing and showing the character's abilities and skills before having her commit a crime.