Evaluation: Our credits style selection

Our initial plan for the titles in our sequence was to have them appear as part of the scene, much like one of our inspirations, Panic Room. But due to our budget and facilities, we downscaled our plans. We decided to embed our titles into the scene, in a similar fashion to the television series Heroes. We felt this would be an interesting and unique way of introducing titles, and that they would compliment rather than distract from the scenes.

Early on, while experimenting and editing with the iMovie software, it was clear that this would have been extremely hard to achieve, and the overall quality of the titles would have been poor. So, in keeping with our initial objective of interesting titles, we chose to have them as dynamic as possible. This is especially evident in the top-billing credits, with dynamic sweeping texts timed to match the slow-motion footage. We believe that while these titles weren't as ambitious as we had previously hoped, they were effective with the limited title options that iMovie provided.

Finally, we chose the font ‘American Typewriter’ for two reasons. Firstly, its style and appearance connotes the overall theme of the movie circling around ‘the list’. Its font is clearly recognisable as a classic typewriter typeface, further reinforcing this image to the audience. Secondly, the font also was clear, easy to read and effective in the different sizes and levels of ‘Bold’ that we needed, while still having a unique style.

Evaluation: The Title

The Title of our film, "The List", is deliberately vague and imprecise to create the sense of an enigma. "The List" allows many plot-lines to be followed without confirming any specific facts, suiting the conventions of a thriller.

The title of our film is displayed at the end of our segment, with the preceding scenes beginning to describe and explain its choice and plot-line. We chose to end the opening with the title to conform with common thriller conventions, while providing some knowledge and explanation for the audience, intriguing them and providing impact to the title.

Evaluation: How social groups are represented

Our opening sequence presents three character roles, each having different links to social groups.

Firstly, our Villain is presented in all-black, instantly creating a sinister disposition toward him while also connoting his evil nature. This draws on peoples attitudes and feelings about the darker side of society, with his mysterious nature further drawing on this fear of society's underbelly. But also, the use of the mask symbolises that he is also a member of a community, where is is recognised and known. His need for a mask shows that he wants to protect is identity, as his regular alter-ego lives a normal life. This instantly plays with peoples perceptions of the character; and teases that he may be laying in wait in the community, his evil side unnoticed by everyone, instilling a sense of unease as he may not be the generic, outcast and lonely villain as seen in many other films.

Another example of a social group are the detective characters. By having one appear more 'rough and ready', this could connote a more friendly and relateable persona, and yet also suggest an unreliable or untrustworthy character. Contrasting this with a tightly-dressed, 'by the book' detective, it allows audiences to see possible friction between the two protagonists, adding another social aspect of how this will come to fruition and be resolved. Also, by having two styles of detective personality, we have encompassed many of the stereotypical character types found in other thriller pieces, allowing audiences to be instantly familiar with the social group at hand.

Finally, our victim is portrayed alone as an inconspicuous, 'normal' woman, whose innocence is reinforced by the initial shot of her washing pots, an everyday occurrence for many people. This instantly represents, in varying degrees, many of our prospective audience's social class and group. By doing this, the killing is much closer to their lives, as it shows that it can happen to anyone, increasing the interest, tension and apprehension within the audience. But this character also juxtaposes the others portrayed in the scene, clearly showing the divides and possible prospectives between the various groups represented.

Evaluation: The BBFC and our Rating Choice

The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC)
Universal - All ages admitted, there is nothing unsuitable for children. Films under this category should not upset children over 4, for example Incredibles.
Parental Guidance - All ages admitted, but certain scenes may be unsuitable forchildren under 8, for example Toystory.

12A - Cinema only. Introduced in 2002. Films under this category are considered to be unsuitable for very young people. Those aged under 12 years are only admitted if accompanied by an adult, aged at least 18 years, at all times during the motion picture. However, it is generally not recommended that children under 12 years should watch the film. Films under this category .

.0.can contain mature themes, discrimination, soft drugs, commonly used milder swear words, and moderate violence/sex references.
12 - Home media only since 2002. 12A-rated films are usually given a 12 certificate for the VHS/DVD version unless extra material has been added that requires a higher rating. Nobody younger than 12 can rent or buy a 12-rated VHS, DVD, Blu-ray Disc, UMD or game. Films in this category may include infrequent drugs, infrequent use of strong language, brief nudity, discreet sexual activity, and moderate violence.

15 - Nobody younger than 15 can rent or buy a 15-rated VHS, DVD, Blu-ray Disc, UMD or game, or watch a film in the cinema with this rating. This rating is similar to the. Films under this category can contain adult themes, hard drugs, strong words, moderate-strong violence/sex references, and mild non-detailed sex activity.

18 - Nobody younger than 18 can rent or buy an 18-rated VHS, DVD, Blu-ray Disc, UMD or game, or watch a film in the cinema with this rating. Films under this category do not have limitation on the bad language that is used. Hard drugs are generally allowed, and strong violence/sex references along with strong sexual activity is also allowed. Scenes of strong real sex may be permitted if justified by the context.

Restricted 18 - Only adults are admitted, and can only be shown at licensed cinemas or sold at a Sex Shop. Films under this category have material the BBFC does not allow for its "18" rating, thus the violence and sex activity will be stronger in R18-rated VHSs, DVDs and films than those rated "18," however, there is still a range of material that is often cut from the R18 rating. This rating is similar to the American X rating. More cuts are demanded in this category than any other category.

We decided to aim our film to the age certificate 15, as this is where our mass audience is, we contemplated using certificate 12 to increase out potential audience but we felt that this would affect the content of our film. And reduce our ability to make an affective psychological thriller. We chose not to too aim the film at a certificate 18 as this would greatly reduce our potential audience, and would normally appeal to the age range 18. Looking into different films, we managed to gather information such as: How much swearing could be used, the amount of violence shown and disturbing images that could be recorded. By doing so, we are were able to maneuver scenes, adding violence and pushing the limits to attract the audience into watching our film. Teenager's love watching films that will scare them, make them jump and have an attractive and thrilling storyline. Aiming our film towards 18 would significantly lower our box office ratings and income as less people would watch it. We were amazed to find some of the material in age certificate 15’s had to offer to it’s audience and the ratings they receive.

Evaluation: What we have learned from the Preliminary Tasks for our overall piece.

Evaluation: New Technologies

Evaluation: Our chosen audience

The demographic which we targeted with our production, 'The List', was: The early-mid 20's, of any gender, although action-orientated films tend to be geared toward the male gender. Our prospective audience will want a film to entertain and excite them, but we have also included a psychological aspect to give the film's plot meaning and weight, appealing to those who want to enjoy the challenge of the enigma created by the film.
Our audience will clearly have disposable income as they have come to the cinema to see our film, so there may be a chance for us to expand on our film through merchandising. While this is another way to make money from the production, it was also be another effective marketing tool in raising awareness and creating a fan-base for our film.
Other films that our audience may have enjoyed are Panic Room, The Fugitive and Inception. These films have similar plot themes and genres to our production, are well respected and have large fan-bases, so any links to these films would be hugely beneficial for us. Also, the rise of big budget TV action dramas have increased interest in our chosen genre. 24 is a key example of this, once again following similar themes and ideas to our production. 24 has a large following, so fans of the series may take an interest in our film.
Overall, we have tried to create our film for a wide-variety of audiences to maximise our potential viewership, without focussing too much on one certain demographic, which may alienate and affect certain viewer's choice to watch our film.