Main task introduction

The main task of this AS media course is to create a film opening for a genre of our choice. The film will have to be 2 minutes long and all video and audio clips will have to be original, with the exception of the soundtrack. There is a choice to work individually or in a small group; I have chosen to work with Megan Simpson.

Film synopsis

One sentence synopsis

A teenage girl returns to scene of her best friends murder, but flashbacks trouble her as she walks in the woods where it happened, and she doesn't know what will meet her round the corner...

Three paragraph synopsis

After witnessing the sickening abduction and murder of her best friend, Martha faces her fears and returns to scene of the crime. Upon visiting the memorial of her closest friend in a woods that holds many dark secrets, Martha relives the terrifying events that haunt her everyday. Shots of her walking down a track in the woods holding a photograph shows the relationship that they had, and the relationship she misses. The first visit to the memorial of Alice is difficult for Martha, with past memories recurring of the fun they had together.

Flashbacks of what happened follow her around the woods, switching between the current situation and the past. The memories of that fateful day make the situation even more real, evoking emotions she can't bear; that she thought she had buried. These are all released when she arrives at the memorial, unearthing the raw emotion she felt when the reality was fresh. But suspicions arise when strange noises and mysterious shadows appear from the darkness in the woods.

However events take a dramatic turn for the worse when she comes face to face with the one person who truly chills her blood and sends shivers down her spine. Meeting the man who stalks her nightmares changes everything, bringing the nightmares into reality, with the events from the past reoccurring in the present. How Martha will escape this is unknown and her life is on the line in remembrance of her best friend.  

Bathes 5 narrative codes

Narrative codes

Barthe was a French philosopher, literary theorist and critic who suggested that there will be one or more of the 5 codes that describe the meaning of a text. He said that texts may be 'open' (unravelled in different ways) of 'closed' (there is only one obvious thread to pull on in order to reveal the narrative).

The five codes are:
Hermenuetic/enigma code
Proaieretic/action code
Semantic code
Symbolic code
Referential code

Hermenuetic/enigma code

This code refers to mystery within a text. Clues are dropped but no clear answers are given towards the narrative. Engimas within the narrative make the audience want to know more, which will appeal to them. Unanswered enigmas tend to frustrate the audience, and so may be unappealing or not fulfill audience pleasure.

Proairetic/action code

This code contains sequential elements of action in the text. Proairetic elements add suspense to the text. 

Semantic code

This code refers to parts within the text that suggests or refers to additional meanings. Elements of the semantic code are called Semes; the seme has a connotative function in the text. It has an extra layer of meaning in addition to its literal meaning. 

Symbolic code

This code is about symbolism within the text. It exercises opposites to show contrast and create greater meaning, providing tension for the audience, and creating drama and character development.

Referential code

This code refers to anything in the text which refers to an external body of knowledge such as scientific, historical and cultural knowledge.

Elevator pitch - video footage

Elevator pitch - slideshare

Elevator pitch from annabelwilford

Planning - initial narrative ideas

In order to meet our target audiences requirements and to meet the stereotypical conventions of our genre of thriller/horror, we need to build a narrative that intrigues the audience and fulfils audience pleasure. For us to achieve this, we aim to include elements of each genre within the 2 minute opening to entice the audience and to reassure them of the genre. However we won't give away too many clues as this would spoil the rest of the film and lose the interest from the audience. The identity of our antagonist will remain a mystery so that suspense can be created, this also will build up an atmosphere for the audience that will appeal due to the genre. There are a number of ideas that we could use to incorporate the genre into our film opening, for example:

• Murder
• Abduction 
• Psychological issues
• Revenge

Our initial idea was to have an opening based on the idea of psychological issues going along with the theme of revenge, where a male dominant character is suffering from psychological problems in a mental hospital who is trying to escape with an antagonist who is trying to get in the was of this happening. However the lack of resources that we have to make the opening and the planning of the narrative made it complicated to produce a opening that the audience would enjoy but also understand. Also it would have been difficult to include both the conventions of the thriller and horror genres.

As a result of this, we have decided to use the idea of a murder based thriller to convey our 2 minute story opening, and our narrative will switch between past and present through flashbacks to create suspense and mystery within the film. It will make the opening exciting, and we can enhance this by using complex camera angles and editing to have a bigger effect on the audience.

To show this in our opening sequence, we will introduce a stalker/murderer who will follow two girls in a woods and kidnap one of the girls. But this part of the narrative will be told through flashbacks from the other friend who was there at the time of the incident. The present part of the narrative will be the surviving girl retracing her steps 6 months on from the attack, with the disturbing flashbacks playing on her mind; we plan for her to meet the killer at the end, leaving the film opening on a cliff hanger.

Planning - initial target audience

Thriller horror target audience

As thriller films stereotypically include elements of tension, suspense and create adrenaline in the audience, these need to be present in our film in order to fulfil their audience pleasure and appeal to target audience. This is similar for our chosen sub genre of horror and so we aim to include these conventions in our own film opening. For a thriller film, generally the target audience are young adults of both genders, perhaps between 15 - 25. This is because people of this age stereotypically enjoy the adrenaline that the genre brings, as well as the feeling of tension and suspense; also the nature of thriller films often include a lot of violence that people of a young age may find disturbing, so an age rating is issued to protect them. 

For our film opening we have decided to conform to the stereotypical target audience and set our target audience as people between 15-25. Our film will appeal to both genders because despite the protagonist being a female which will appeal more to the female audience as they can relate; the antagonist is a male, so will appeal to the male target audience. Quite a few other thriller hybrid films have an age certificate of 15, which is why we have chosen 15 to be the youngest end of the target audience spectrum - our film will contain elements of horror so it will help to protect non viewers. 

In order to appeal to our primary target audience, we need to incorporate the stereotypical conventions of thriller such as suspense, tension and excitement into our film opening in order to provide audience pleasure and make our film successful.