Criteria - Analysing Thrillers

In our last lesson we looked at the mark scheme and criteria that our main task would be marked on. After doing this we looked at a few thriller openings from previous years and had a go at marking them ourselves to have an idea what exactly needs to be included in our thriller to hit the top marks. When we gave the clip a mark for ourselves we were then told the actual mark that the clip achieved which helped give a clear understanding of what a good thriller opening should and shouldn't look like. This is the first clip I watched:



I put this clip in the Level 2 band as most of us criticised this clip for being more like a trailer than an opening to a film due to the fact that there is someone shown in the end of the clip being killed which you wouldn't usually see in an opening. The actual mark for this clip was 47/60 which is the Level 3 mark band.

This is the second clip we watched:



For this clip I was undecided whether to put this clip in the Level 3 mark band or the Level 4 mark band. This is because the clip was fairly simple but effective. For example, the font was really simple and easy to read on darker backgrounds but as the font is white, at some points in the clip the font was a little less easy to read as it blended in with the light background. There was a lot of shots used ranging from low angle shots to point of view shots. The actual mark for this clip was in the Level 4 mark band with 56/60 marks.

This is the final clip that we watched:



For this opening I put the clip within the Level 4 mark band. This clip had a lot of mystery to it which kept the audience engaged and wanting to know the actual plot to what this film would be. The use of a voice over was also very effective instead of using just dialogue between two characters. The actual mark for this clip was placed within the Level 4 mark band and managed to get 48/60 marks.

Audience Theories

Hypodermic Needle Theory

Theory that media messages are injected directly into the brain of the passive audience and that everyone responds to media messages in the same way.

Mass vs. Niche

Mass targets larger audience and have a higher budget to prove a film that will accommodate all audiences, whereas niche targets more specific audiences with a lower budget.

Two Step Flow

Says that most people from their opinions under the influence of opinion leaders, who in turn are influenced by the mass media. So according to this model, ideas flow from mass media to opinion leaders, and from them to a wider population .