Prop list

For filming I will need;

Props

- A skateboard 

- A rucksack 

-Missing person’s posters 

-Tape 

-An alarm clock/Phone with an alarm

-Toothbrush and tooth paste

-A kettle and cup

-A toaster
-Old style film camera 
-A car 
-A bus 

Costumes - for Zoe Hunter

Costume one 
-A green jumper
-Skinny black jeans 

-A black snap-back

-canvas shoes/boots

Costume two 

-band T-shirt

-tracksuit bottoms

Costumes - for the Stalker

Costume one 
-Black trousers 
-Blue jumper 
-Green coat 

Accessories

-Tripod 
-Spare memory card 

Final Characters and Casting

Final character profile

- Name: Zoe Hunter 

- Age: 17 years old 

- Profession: Photography student at City Collage Norwich 

- Likes: Guitar which she has been learning since she was eight, skateboarding which she learnt quite recently so she could get about to places easier and taking photos.  

- Dislikes: Her father, pop music and walking.

- History: She lives with her mum and her younger sister after her dad abandoned them when she was nine. She has always kept to herself and has few friends at collage but is passionate about photography and music. She had a close relationship with her younger sister before she went missing and used to play with her and listen to music with her. She has never gotten on with her mother well but has a better relationship with her than with her father.

- Personality traits: Determined, shy, smart, curious and creative 

- friendship group: Tends to keep to herself but had one close friend at collage called Lucas Clayton who she had known since she was five and has a friend called Maisie Phillips who she met in junior school.

- 3 words to describe her: strong-willed, kind-hearted, cunning

Cast- for Zoe Hunter

Emily Sams will be playing the role of Zoe Hunter for my film opening.
Justification that she will play the role of Zoe Hunter for my film opening.

Final character Profile

-Name: Niklaus Buchanan (Stalker) 

-Age: 49 years old 

-Profession: photography and film developer  

-Likes: Unknown  

-Dislikes: His brother

-History: Is the uncle of Zoe and Brooklyn Hunter but hasn't see Zoe since she was one and has never met Brooklyn after a fall out he had with his younger brother (The father of the two girls). After the argument he moved away from the Hunter family and cut all connection with them.  

-Personality traits: Mysterious and eccentric 

-Friendship groups: He has no friends due to him unsociable and preferring to company of himself over the company of others   

-3 words to describe them: Lonely, aggressive and mysterious

Cast- for the Stalker 

Peter Leveridge will be playing the role of the stalker for my film opening.

Costume

There will be two different costumes used for the character Zoe in the opening scene. The first of which consists of pj's which will be warn at the very beginning. This will consist of an old band shirt and a pair of track suite bottoms.
The second outfit that will be used is the everyday clothing that this character will be wearing when in the house and when she goes out. This will consist of a black snap-back, a green jumper, black skinny jeans and canvas shoes or boots. 

These costumes show to the audience that this is an ordinary character and that there isn’t much abnormal about her. The use of having a green jumper symbolises growth and harmony which will suggest to the audience that her sister is missing which very out of the ordinary and will start to cause chaos eventually. The colour green also has a strong emotional correspondence with safety, which could show to the audience that this character may be in safety now but that might not last. 

For the stalker there will only be one costume which consists of black trousers, blue jumper and a green coat. This costume is used to show the mystery of the character to the audience. The use of big baggy clothing and dull colours is to show edge to the character and how they can't be fully trusted. I chose for the coat to be green to symbolise a connection between him and the teen girl through them both wearing the same colour. It also suggests through this connection that these two characters have a future that has been entwined.  

I will gather the things I need for the costumes from my friends. I know Emily will have most of the cloths that we need and that they will fit her just fine. She will definitely have the jeans, jumper and shoes and I have a black snap-back if it turns out she doesn't have one. 

- Name: Brooklyn Hunter 

- Age: 8 years old 

- Profession: Junior school student at Eaton primary 

- Likes: Drawing, ballet which she has been doing for three years and watching television 

- Dislikes: Dogs and swimming due to a near death experience that occurred when she was at the beach when she was four 

- History: Lives with her mum and her older sister after her dad abandoned them when she was a baby. She doesn't remember anything about her father as she was only an infant when he left and has only seen one photo of him. 

- Personality traits: energetic, happy and talkative

- Friendship group: Is friends with most people at her junior school but has a small close friend group which consists of a boy named Andy who is eight years old and two girls called Alex and Hayley who are both seven years old. 

-3 words to describe her: Caring, temperamental and strong.

This character won’t actually feature in the opening but they will be mentioned as you will see their face in the missing poster. This is why I won’t be casting anyone to play this character as although you will know about them in the opening, you won’t actually see them in person until later on in the film. Due to me not actually knowing anyone who is around the age of eight, I used photos of myself when I was younger to create the missing persons poster.

Final script

1 INT. WYMONDHAM, AT HOME, BEDROOM 

A teenage girl is seen asleep in bed. Sunlight is seen seeping through the curtains onto the bed. An alarm goes off showing its seven o'clock in the morning. 

ZOE HUNTER 

(A hand reaches out from under the sheets and shuts the alarm off. The girl opens her eyes before getting out of bed.)

2 INT. AT HOME, BATHROOM

You see the teen looking in the mirror

ZOE HUNTER

 (Goes and gets changed putting on a green jumper and jeans in the bathroom. Looking in a mirror for a second she turns the taps on and washes her face.)

3 INT. AT HOME, KITCHEN

ZOE HUNTER

 (She goes downstairs and fills the kettle before putting it on and some bread in the toaster. She reaches out for a mug and makes a cup of tea before having breakfast.)

4 INT. AT HOME, UPSTAIRS 

ZOE HUNTER

 (Goes upstairs to brush her hair and teeth.)

5 INT. AT HOME, DOWNSTAIRS

ZOE HUNTER

 (Downstairs she picks up her rucksack putting the missing person’s posters in the bag and grabbing her skateboard before leaving the house.)

6 EXT. IN THE STREET/BUS STOP

You see the street with the bus stop at the end of it in the distance. Cars are parked at the edge of the street and the street is quiet of any body.

ZOE HUNTER

(Skateboards down the street towards the bus stop. You see her waiting at the bus stop. A bus comes along and you see her getting on it.)

7 EXT. ON THE BUS 

You see the teen sitting on the bus, headphones on.

ZOE HUNTER

(Is looking out the window constantly and checking her phone. She changes the song before resuming her position looking out of the window.)

8 EXT. NORWICH, ANGLIA SQUARE, UNDER PASSAGE

ZOE HUNTER

(Seen skateboarding past a parked car towards the steps to the under passage)

STALKER

(Siting on the driver’s side in the parked car leaning out slightly with camera in hand close to his face so he can't be recognised, filming Zoe as she skates past his car)

ZOE HUNTER

(Skating past an old building and up to the steps towards the under passage. She then dismounts form her board when she gets to the edge and picks it up before walking down the steps)

STALKER

(Seen hiding behind a pillar of the building with the camera close to his face as he films Zoe walking down the steps)

ZOE HUNTER

(She walks down the steps and turns into the under passage and heads towards the far side of the wall)

STALKER

(Seen looking out into the under passage, camera close to his face as he films her walking towards the far side)

ZOE HUNTER 

(Walking towards a wall and stopping by it. She places her skateboard down on the ground and takes her bag off her back. She unzips it and pulls out the missing posters and some tape. She then stands up and sticks the poster to the wall before putting the objects back in her bag and skating off again. She is then seen leaving the under passage on the other side walking up the steps before skating away)

9 EXT. NORWICH, ANGLIA SQUARE, GRAFFITI WALL

ZOE HUNTER

 (She skates alongside and heads towards the graffiti wall. She heads to the centre of the wall and stops, dismounting from her board as she takes her bag off her shoulders and places it on the floor. She then takes out another poster and sticks it up on the wall before putting everything away and skating off) 

STALKER

(Is seen walking up to the poster with his camera and is filming the poster that Zoe just put up)

Audience research feedback

In my audience research video I asked three teenager/young adults and three adults various questions on media and how they typically consumed it.

 

From this research I have learnt that my target audience generally watch films via streaming sites like Netflix and also through seeing films at the cinema. This show that when thinking about where my media product would be placed, I should think about making it suitable for places like cinemas and streaming sites as they are the places that my target audience would most likely watch my film. I also learnt that most people like quite a lot of action in the first two minutes of a film as it gets them hooked and keeps them entertained. They also like the setting and characters to be established so that they can start to see what the film might be about and so they can start trying to figure out the characters and connect with them.

Audience research video

Dragon Den Pitch continued

Feedback to Final idea 

After showing a group of friends my pitch I got quite a lot of positive feedback. Most of them really liked the plot for the film and thought it suited the genre of a thriller/drama film. They thought that the plot gave away just enough for the opening two minutes of a film without giving away too much or being too boring. They also liked the idea of introducing a third character through the missing persons poster to help show the drama that is occurring and with the stalker following the teen it also gives the opening that sinister, thriller feel to it. 

One thing that one of my friends suggested was to make it more obvious who the stalker was. After showing them my Pitch they didn't really understand who the stalker was and why they were stalking the teen in the first place. After I elaborated that is was her uncle, he suggested that I should try and make that more obvious in my opening as otherwise people wouldn't understand. I did think about changing this, especially because I didn't want people to get the wrong impression on why this guy was stalking the teen, though I decided against it. I wanted to keep the identity of the man a secret from the audience, and if this was to be made into a full length film then his identity would be reviled dramatically in the middle of the film. Being a stalker as well means that people shouldn't know who he is which another reason I wanted his connection to the teen not to be shown in the first two minutes. Keeping his identity secret also gives the audience a chance to interpret who they think he is, and it gives them freedom to try and work out his plan and connection to the teen. 

 

The feedback I received has definitely made me more determined to continue with this idea for my coursework. By working alone, every decision I make is down to me and because of that I never have a second input from someone to reassure me that what I’m doing is the right choice. By having positive feedback from others has helped to reassure me that my idea isn't too crazy and that it might actually make a good film opening.  

Dragons Den Pitch

This is my Dragons Den Pitch for my film opening. Here I talk about the final plot synopsis for my opening, the genre of my opening, the settings for my opening and the characters that'll be in my opening.

Casting

Name: Emily Sams

Age: 16

Personality: strong willed, cheerful and outgoing 

Profession: Music college student 

I think Emily would be good for the role of the teenage girl (Zoe Hunter) as she has featured in one of my practises for a film opening before and did a good job then. I also feel she will be able to portray the right emotion I want shown from this character in the opening. Emily also has many talents, one of which is something I want to use in my film which is skateboarding. I think Emily would be able to show the right emotion and portray the character very well. 

Name: Lucy Rule

Age: 16

Personality: Smart, charming and caring 

Profession: CNS sixth-form student 

I think Lucy could be good for this role as she takes things like this very seriously and would be able to portray the character very well. I believe she also would be able to show the kind-hearted and smart teen very well while filming. She would also take the situation very seriously and wouldn't let anything distract her while playing the role.

Name: Chloe Anderson

Age: 17

Personality: quiet, smart, cunning 

Profession: CNS sixth-form student

I think Chloe would be good for this role as she is very good and showing different emotions, especially anger and sadness which are the main ones I want shown form my character in my opening. Chloe is also very talented and smart which will help her portray the right emotions and create the right feeling if I cast her for this role.

Name: Peter Leveridge

Age: 58 years old 

Personality: Hard working, smart and caring

Profession: Works for CNA 

I think peter would be good for the role of the stalker as his age is close to that of the character and I also think he will best present the stalker. Peter is good at showing different expressions which will help create the hard, harsh expression I think a stalker would possess. He is also good at following instructions precociously which means he should be able to do the right actions needed while filming when required.

Final cast list

Emily Sams - Zoe Hunter
Peter Leveridge - Stalker 

This is the auditions video and from this I chose to cast Emily and Peter for the roles in my film opening.

I decided to choose Emily to play the role of Zoe Hunter as I feel out of all the girls she will do the best job portraying the character. Emily can also skateboard which is a key factor that I wanted the actor who was playing the character to be able to do. Out of all the possible cast choices Emily also has the most experience which is another reason why I chose her. She knows me well and has worked with me while filming my preliminary so she knows what it is like to be acting in front of the camera. I think she will do a fantastic job of bringing my character Zoe Hunter to lie and that is the main reason I chose her to play the role.

I decided to have Peter play the role of the stalker as he I feel he will do a great job of creating suspense and mystery around this character which is something that is key for the stalker. I want this character to be unknowing and unpredictable to the audience which is something I fell peter will be able to do. 

Characters

Character profile for my film opening

- Name: Zoe Hunter 

- Age: 17 years old 

- Profession: Collage student 

- Likes: Guitar, skateboarding and singing 

- Dislikes: Her father, pop music and walking

- History: Lives with her mum and her younger sister after her dad abandoned them when she was nine. She has always kept to herself and has few friends at collage but is passionate about music and loves to play guitar in her room. She had a close relationship with her younger sister before she went missing and used to play with her and listen to music with her.

- Personality traits: Determined, shy, smart and active

- friendship group: Tends to keep to herself but had one close friend at collage called Lucas Clayton who she had known since she was five and a friend called Maisie Phillips who she met in junior school.

- 3 words to describe them: strong-willed, kind-hearted, cunning

- Name: Brooklyn Hunter 
- Age: 8 years old 

- Profession: Junior school student

- Likes: Drawing, ballet and watching television 

- Dislikes: Dogs and swimming 

- History: Lives with her mum and her older sister after her dad abandoned them when she was a baby. 

- Personality traits: energetic, happy and talkative 

- Friendship group: Are friends with most people at her junior school but have a small close friend group which consists of a boy named Andy who is eight years old and two girls called Alex and Hayley who are both seven years old. 

-3 words to describe them: Caring, temperamental and strong. 

-Name: Niklaus Buchanan (Stalker) 

-Age: 49 years old 

-Profession: photographer and film developer  

-Likes: solitude

-Dislikes: His brother

-History: Is the uncle of Zoe and Brooklyn Hunter but hasn't see Zoe since she was one and has never met Brooklyn after a fall out he had with his younger brother (The father of the two girls). After the argument he moved away from the Hunter family and cut all connection with them.  

-Personality traits: Mysterious and eccentric 

-Friendship groups: He has no friends due to him being unsociable and preferring the company of himself over the company of others   

-3 words to describe them: Lonely, aggressive and stubborn

Location research

Have you thought about weather conditions, availability etc?

For my film opening I plan on using locations that are mostly outside so the only weather I need to be cautious of is rain due to the camera not being water proof. It doesn't matter if it is windy as I won’t be using the sound but instead putting a sound track over the top and possibly a bit of narration too. If it does turn out to be raining when I film I will just bring an umbrella to use to protect the camera. Due to me using public locations around Wymondham and in Norwich I know that the places will be available for filming and they are also easily accessible for me and my cast to get to. The other location I would be using is my friend’s house which should be easy to use as she is the person that will be in the film opening. The only problem is that other people obviously live in the same house and they may get in the way during film making.

Why are these locations so good for what you are trying to achieve?
 

The city is good to show that this teen is desperately trying to find her sister by going outside of her home area to put up posters. It’s a good location due to the various places I’ll be able to film that both have few and many people about which will work to my advantage. This means there will be places where I’ll be able to film without having to worry about if people wander into a shot when I don’t want them too, but I’ll also be able to film with many people about which will make the scene look more natural and realistic. I also have a huge variety of places where I will be able to film the teenage girl wandering about and putting up posters which also illustrates her desperation in finding her sister.

Using my friend’s house for one of the locations will help me achieve the feel that this is a normal family home. My friend’s house is a reasonable size so filming there should be okay and easy to do as I know the layout of her house. It will also make it easier to film her actions like getting ready for the morning as she will be in her own home and feel much more comfortable than if we were to ask to use a strangers house. 

Do you have back-ups?
 

If for some reason I can't get to the city, or my cast can't then I can film around the area I live or around Wymondham. I have a bus pass which means I can easily get to places as long as there is a bus, so transport to these locations won’t be an issue for me. The main back up location I have is if I’m not allowed to film at my friend’s house. If her mum says no then I have another friend who lives in Wymondham who said it would be okay as well as being able to use my house as a last resort.

Can your cast all get there?
 

Most of my cast have bus passes like me so getting to the location shouldn't be a problem me or Emily. The only issue would be if they had expired, but we all have a little money so can easily afford a bus fair to Norwich and back. The only other possible problem with getting to the location is the busses not running due to it being the Christmas holidays. This problem again shouldn't be too bad though as I can easily look up when the busses will be running and make sure I do filming on the days they are. My dad also has a car which is one of the props I need to use in my film opening. He would use his car to get to the locations where I need to film him and then we would park it where it was needed and film the scene there. 

Are you using interior and/or exterior locations? Why?
 

I am using both interior and exterior locations for my film opening. I decided to use interior so I could show the teenage girl getting ready for the morning and show her preparing to go out. I chose to use this location so I could show that this is a normal family home, and that this child going missing is out of the ordinary. I also decided to use exterior locations so I could easily show that this little girl had gone missing quite recently to the audience.

Based on your first draft

What did you learn during your preliminary task that you want to avoid/implement/ develop upon in your actual coursework?

While creating the preliminary video we had quite a few people cancel on us to do the acting. This was partly due to us being unprepared ourselves so people became unavailable when we needed them. This became very frustrating as it became harder to find people who were free and willing to be in our short clip when we needed them. This is one thing I definitely want to avoid as it makes filming harder and it also means I then have to find new actors which isn't the easiest task. To avoid this from happening I will have a few people audition for the role and then after choosing my main cast I will select people to be reserves in case for any reason my original cast can't make the filming. I will also set dates for filming in advance and make sure they are okay with my cast so there is a smaller chance of people bailing on me.

One thing I want to develop while doing this coursework is my filming skills. While creating our preliminary task I didn't do much filming which is one thing I will be able to do in my coursework. Due to me working alone it means I have control of everything so I get to choose the different angles and shots I use for my film opening. I will also be ably to improve my editing skills as I wont feel the pressure to complete it straight away due to working alone and having ample time to complete it by my self. 

Something I learnt while creating the Preliminary video was the importance of mise-en-scene. This has helped me understand the different aspects that I need to include in my film opening like props and costumes. It has also taught me the importance of these things and how they can foreshadow events that will occur later on in the film.

Based on your ideas so far

What ways would your target audience ideally be able to consume your film?

If this was to be made into a full length feature film, then my target audience would be able to watch it in the cinema and also on websites like Netflix. These would be the main ways my target audience would be able to access my film as most of my target audience (teens and young adults) still go to cinemas, meaning they would easily be able to watch my film. Most of the people that go to the cinema are teens and young adults and they are more likely to go see a film their than go and rent or buy the DVD. So by making my film available in the cinema, I am able to attract my target audience to go and see it.
Most young people now though do use websites as well like Netflix to watch films which is why I would also make my film accessible their too. Many people prefer websites like Netflix because they don't have to leave their house to watch a film and can pause and re-watch films in the comfort or their home, with the only charge coming from the subscription of owning Netflix. This gives my film the highest chance to be viewed by my target audience by having it accessible in the two places that my target audience are likely to view it.

Script first draft

1. AT HOME 

November 2016 teenage girl asleep in bed. Seven o'clock in the morning. Alarm goes off. 

TEENAGE GIRL

(Hand reaches out and shuts the alarm off. The girl opens her eyes before getting out of bed. The girl then goes and gets changed putting on a green jumper and jeans. Looking in a mirror she turns the taps on and washes her face. She goes downstairs and puts the kettle on and some bread in the toaster. She has breakfast. She then goes upstairs and brushes her hair and teeth. Downstairs she picks up her rucksack and skateboard before leave the house.)

2. IN THE STREET

Establishing shot of the street 

TEENAGE GIRL

(Skateboards down the street towards the bus stop. You see her waiting at the bus stop. A bus comes along and you see her getting on it.)

3. ON THE BUS 

You see the teen sitting on the bus. Headphones on

TEENAGE GIRL

(She is looking out the window constantly and checking her phone.)

4. IN THE CITY 

Establishing shot of the city

TEENAGE GIRL

(Skateboarding around the city going to various places. Pulling posters out from her bag she is taping missing posters to walls. She Skateboards away after putting them up.)

STALKER 
(Taking photos and filming the girl while she is in the city)

Final idea - Plot synopsis

My final idea for my film opening is for a teenager (Zoe) to be seen getting ready and then getting the bus into the city with her skateboard and bag. Once she arrives in town she starts skating about, which is when you see a guy following her in a car and filming her with an old camera. The girl continues to skate with no knowledge that she is being followed by a mysterious stalker. She is seen skating through an under passage, the stalker not far behind her when you see her putting a missing persons poster up before skating on. She is then seen skating on to another place in town where she stops again and puts another poster up before again skating away, which is when you see the stalker come up to the poster with his video camera to get a closer look at the poster.

If this was to be made into a full film then this opening would lead to the teen girl trying to track and find her missing sister due to the police closing the case off after a few months with no leads and assuming the girl was dead. As the teen got closer to finding her sister, the stalker would appear more, often when she comes close to figuring something out about what happened to her sister. Weeks would go by like this until suddenly the teen realises she is getting followed by someone. The teen would experience many flash backs to when her little sister wasn't missing which starts to give the audience an indication as to what happened. Various people would come and try and stop the teen from searching for her sister telling her she was dead and there was no point in trying but she wouldn't listen. The Stalker would keep getting closer and closer to the teen, taking more photos and filming her more when she discovered the objects that related to her sister. The teen would almost be giving up hope when she goes into her little sister’s room and looks around. She notices a book open on the bed and goes to put it on the shelf when she notices something odd about it. Old photos of their father as a child lay on the pages of the book, acting like bookmarks for the pages. She would flick through the book and discover many which she had never seen before when her father was around. She would get to the end of the collection of photos when she discovers one with her father in and also another young man. When she turns the photo over she see the name Niklaus Buchanan scribbled on the back. On further investigation she discovers that this man is her uncle and more photos and documents that suggest why she has never heard of this man before and why when her father lived with them, why he never mentioned him. She soon makes the link that the person following her is her uncle and finally discovers the truth of what happened to her father when he abandoned them. She also uncovers why her father left her, and with all the new information she discovers, goes out and begins to search for her sister again, only to find her dead at the hands of the person she trusted the most.

Ideas for my film opening

First idea
My first idea for a film opening is to have what appears to be a homeless girl wandering around an abandoned city/town where she goes into a secluded area and she sees some empty bottles on the floor. She walks over to them and picks one up. As she sees her reflection, you see a distorted image of an older man passed out with bottles around him and a young girl crying in the corner with a bruise emerging on her face. The teen girl then drops the bottle and you see it smash on the ground before you see the teen running away. 

This idea would be for a drama opening as you will understand that there is family issues going on with this girl whom you see portrayed through a flashback she experiences when she picks up the bottle and looks at it. Drama is one of the genres I am considering to use in my film opening as it is one I am more comfortable with and more familiar with compared with other genres.

For this film opening I would have about two characters overall in the whole two minutes. I would have the teenage girl who looks to be homeless and the drunken father. The main character that would be shown in this opening would be the teen girl and you'll only get a little glimpse of what her life was like when she was younger through the glass bottle.

For this opening I would be looking to use any location that has a rugged look with some debris about. I would think about using run down areas in Norwich to do most of the film, showing the teenager running and walking around the area to show she has run away from home. I would also consider using my home to show the scene where she is at home when her abusive father hits her. These locations would be the best to use for my filming due to their easy accessibility for both me and the people I will be filming.   

Second idea 

My second idea for a film opening was to have a group of children playing by a river splashing about and making paper boats to race. Some are seen pretending to fish by the side of the river with little sticks and laughter is heard as the children play. One of the young children suddenly stops playing to look at the water. She is seen staring at her reflection when a hand comes out of the water and drags her under. Screams are heard as the other children run away in fear and police sirens are heard in the distance.

This idea would be for a horror opening as you will see that there is obviously something lurking in the water which is not of human nature. I would include happy music at the beginning to show how calm and relaxed all the children are, but when the girl starts to wader towards the water the music will start to get more sinister and will build up anticipation for the audience that something is about to occur. Horror is another genre I am considering to use in my film opening as it is one I am more comfortable with and more familiar with compared with other genres.

For this film opening I would have about seven characters in it overall. Most of the children would just be background characters and they would be seen playing in and around the water. The main focus would be the girl that gets dragged under by the hand and she would be focused on a little before this scene playing about with the others. Another character that will also be in this opening would be the character whose hand reaches out after the young child. Although you never see any more of this character than their hand and arm in the opening they are one of the most important characters in this scene as it gives the audience an idea of where the film would be going and what kind of film it is.

For this opening I would consider filming by the river under the bridge near where I live or the river that leads up to the UEA. The river by the bridge has shallow water which would be great to film the children playing in the water and there are banks which would be suitable to set up the tripod and film from at various angles. This area is also close to where I live and so will be easy to access for everyone. The river by the UEA would be alright to film by but would not be my ideal choice. The water there is much deeper and so I wouldn't be able to film any characters splashing in it. I would also not be able to get very good shots of the character due to there being not many places for me to set up the camera. 

Third idea 

My third idea is a teenage boy is seen getting ready, dressed up in a shirt and brushing his hair back. You then see him heading to the door followed by many others dressed just as smartly. You then see him going over to the church for a funeral. You see the young boy looking solemnly at the program in his hands before he goes out of the church and places a single rose on a grave. 

This idea would be for a drama opening as you will understand from the opening that this young boy has obviously lost someone that was close to them and you see them getting ready for that persons funeral. Drama is one of the genres I am considering to use in my film opening as it is one I am more comfortable with and more familiar with compared with other genres.

For this film opening I would need between three and six characters. Again most of them will be background characters and will only be needed to help portray the fact that it is a funeral which these people are attending and they are all family or friends gathered there to mourn the death of a loved one. The main character who will be in this opening is the young boy who is getting ready for the funeral. He will be the main focus for this film opening and it will show the audience that he is a key character in the film.

For this opening I would need only two locations, the first being a home and the second being the grounds of a church. I was thinking of using one of my friends’ houses due to her having a very tidy house which also gives the homely feel. It is also very easy to get to with it only being in Wymondham. I was thinking of using the church in Intwood as it is a small church that has nice ground but I also have Wymondham abbey in mind due to it being in the same general area as the house I would be filming at. 

For my course work I have decided to work alone as it means I get creative control over everything and I don't have to rely on anyone else to do certain aspects of the work. This means everything thing is on me which could be quite stressful and overwhelming but I look forward to making all the decisions myself and getting the freedom to do what I want for this project.
 

For my coursework I am thinking of creating either a horror or drama film opening. I decided to pick from these two because they are the types of films I am most familiar with and the ones I enjoy the most to watch. I think it will be easier to create a film opening for either of these genres and they are also the ones I am most passionate about and will have a better time creating an opening for.

For all of my ideas so far I don't plan on using dialogue just because I think I can create a more emotional and interesting opening without it. I plan on possibly explaining the circumstances using narration rather than through dialogue because I feel it will be more clearly explained that way. I also plan on using a sound track which will help create the atmosphere I want for the opening and help create the tension and emotion I want to show in the opening. 

Breaking the fourth-wall is something I probably won’t use in my opening. It is a very interesting technique and looks good when executed well, but I don't think it would be easy to incorporate into any of my ideas. Some of the camera shots I would like to include in my opening are, long shots, close ups, low angles. These different shots will help to demonstrate the characters journey and help the audience understand key objects that will be important for later on in the film. These different shots will also help show the audience the surrounding and where the action is taking place. I will also use pans and tilts to help show the characters movement as well.

Attracting your target audience

Ways to attract my target audience to watch my film would be by;

Firstly, making the main character easily relatable to the target audience, for example through age helps to attract a certain audience. If I plan on making my target audience teenagers then I would need to make my main character a teenager so the audience will find them easier to connect with. 

The next thing I would do is consider carefully the props I would use in the opening. If I show lots of beer bottles and cups it would attract a much older audience, for example young adults and it would suggest to them that this was a house party. Having specific props can help illustrate to the audience what genre the film will be and will help attract a certain audience.

Showing the genre clearly also helps to attract a certain genre, for example if you were making a horror or action film then you know this would attract mainly a male audience between the ages of 15 and 25.

Location can influence target audience, the use of a school setting will attract teenagers compared to adults due to them being familiar with the setting and finding it more relatable then adults would. This again helps to give an indication of what the film will be like and bring in a certain audience based on that.

Finally how you advertise a film influences what type of audience will come and see it. If you show trailers for kid’s films on sites the wont see they then you won’t be attracting the right audience. Same goes for if you show advertisement for horror films on children's channels, the right target audience won’t see it. Advertising in public spaces for films with a wide target audience means there is ample opportunity for a variety of people to see it and go and see the film.

Target audience

A target audience is a select group of people at which a product is aimed at. In film different people are attracted to different films, for example younger children are attracted to more child friendly compared to teenage girls who often prefer romance films.

Comedy - the target audience for comedies is dependent on the content in the film and can vary quite a bit. The Jungle book is aimed at children while Ted is aimed at people over fifteenth. While both of these are comedies you can see that they are clearly aimed at different groups of people. Ted contains adult humour and strong language which wouldn't attract younger audiences while The Jungle Book contains funny scenes appropriate for younger viewers which they find entertaining.

Horror - the target audience for horror films tends to be people aged 15-25 due to young adults and teenagers enjoying the thrill of being scared by these types of films. They are also often aimed at young men as the can interact with the characters and enjoy the violence and gore shown in the film 

Action - these types of films tend to be aimed towards males due to the violence and car chaos which are stereo-typically aimed towards males. These types of films are also often aimed towards young males due to the thrills they experience and the violence which is shown in the films.

   

Drama - these types of films tend to be aimed at both young and older audiences of both genders. People tend to be attracted dramas due to the historical element that can be embedded in the film, for example War Horse which is aimed at most people.

Romance - these types of films tend to be aimed at teenage girls and young adults. Woman tend to find it easy to relate to the characters due to them being of similar age to them which is why romance films are often aimed at this age range.

I would probable try to aim my film opening towards teenagers as that would be the rough age of the people I would be casting for the opening at it would make the opening more relatable for teens.