Results from Thriller Questionnaire 3

Do you like the 'end' of the film at the beginning of the film?

The half of the people of the survey show that they don't mind if the end is shown or not, meaning that as long as they are kept interested at the beginning they don't mind.

Results from Thriller Questionnaire 2

What time of day do you like the opening set?

From the results it shows that most of the people answered that they like the opening set at night-time, and this could suggest that the audience wants to be more creeped out.

Results from Thriller Questionnaire

In the post before you can see that I produced a questionnaire to see what certain people like from a thriller opening sequence. Below I have produced some pie charts and tables to show some results from the questionnaire.

Do you like 'Fast', 'Slow' or 'Doesn't Matter' music?

From the results you can see that most of the audience likes slow music in the opening sequence, and this could be due to it makes the mood more creepy and builds a lot of tension.

Questionnaire for an Opening Thriller Sequence

Questionnaire: Thriller, Hot or Not?
In this questionnaire we will be researching information about the opening of our thriller, and we are gathering information about thriller opening sequences, so we can establish a unique and interesting idea that will appeal to our target audience.
Instructions:
- Circle appropriate answers
- Answer questions truthfully, with your own opinion

Question 1
Do you like the end of the film to be shown at the beginning of the film?
YES SOMETIMES NO

Question 2
Do you like a cliff-hanger ending?
Strongly Agree Agree Don’t Know Disagree Strongly Disagree

Question 3
Describe your ideal thriller opening location.

Question 4
Do you prefer fast paced or slow paced music in the opening?
YES NO

Question 5
List 3 features you expect for the following characters.

Question 6
Do you like lots of titles at the start of the film?
YES SOMETIMES NO

Question 7
What time of day do you expect a thriller opening to be set?
Early Morning Mid-day Night-time

Question 8
Do you think that the opening is important to a film?
YES SOMETIMES NO
Why?

Are you male or female?
MALE FEMALE

What is your age?

Conventions of an Opening Sequence

The opening sequence is an important part to a film, as it almost introduces the film to the viewer making them get 'hooked' to watch the film. Some conventions are:
- The audience is usually familiarised with the setting of the film, an establishing shot is used
- Clips are slow paced, and are edited in the style of continuity editing
- The viewer could be introduced to some characters
- Most times there are titles of producers or actors names
- It must 'hook' the viewer, making them want to watch the film and find out what's going to happen

Conventions of my Chosen Genre

A thriller has a lot of conventions to it to make it a successful thriller film. It must have the viewer hooked from start to end, making them question the events going on during the film. Some conventions could be:

- Many close up shots to question the viewer

- Sinister locations, almost making the mood creepy

- Props used, for example a polaroid picture in 'Memento'

- Music that starts off slow, but gains speed as tension builds in the film

- Story-line has to be interesting to keep the viewer watching the film, making them question the film

- There are also many quick cuts between shots to make an event fast paced

Location Research for a Thriller

These are my 8 beautifully composed images for ideas for a location for a new thriller opening sequence.

The images above reflect what I believe would make good locations for a thriller opening sequence, firstly I feel that the images of the trees in a long shot make a good location as it shows a sense of wonder for the viewer, making them wonder at what is out there and what could happen. Also, I like the use of the mist in the frames because it shows that the scene is quite creepy.

I chose the image of the phone box, as it shows a sense of loneliness in the frame, yes the frame is almost filled but its a single object in the frame, also its almost a cliche as in some films the phone box would ring and a person would answer it and would be given a task to complete.

This then links to the close up of a branch with graffiti, showing that the scene is very corrupt and that something bad could happen. Then the image with the hole in the middle with light shining through, also shows a sense of wonder, making the viewer wonder what's out there and what could happen.

The mid-shot of the grey box with black graffiti could show a sign for the characters, almost like it helps them solve a puzzle, and I like the last image of the rose with snow on as it links to all the other pictures saying that there is always a sense of loneliness in each frame, but something so basic is shown as beautiful and peaceful.

Overall, I believe that I have composed 8 good images as a suggestion for a new thriller opening sequence.