Q1 - For the first question we showed three video clips of people being stabbed, and asked which one evoked the most sympathy in the viewer. Our survey results showed that our audience wanted our Thriller opening to be very serious. The stabbing should be fast and unexpected. Our first question told us that slow stabbings evoke more sympathy for the character, as they would feel more pain. Therefore, our stabbing scenario should be fast paced as we don’t want the audience to sympathise with our antagonist. However, we should incorporate a reaction shot where the antagonist seems fairly resilient to the pain inflicted on him; this shows his physical strength and makes him appear more like a monster to the audience. We believe it would be good to show the weaker (female character) attacking the stronger (male character) to show status and power change in the narrative; the antagonist takes back the power when he captures the female.
Q2 - Question 2 consisted of three clips which show the objectification of women in well-known film clips, and asked which they thought objectified them the most and why they thought this. Our feedback told us that to best objectify the women the actress should be sexually appealing, and that she should be dressed in a provocative or sexual way in order to make her appeal more to the male audience. They also said that having references to sex/connotations of sexual acts fetishized the female and conveyed her to the audience as nothing more than an object. The survey results also told us that filming the actress’ body voyeuristically would further objectify her and make her appealing to male members of the audience.
Q3 – For Question 3, we enquired whether the audience would prefer the narrative to be in a chronological or non-chronological order. Our results told us that the audience would prefer a non-chronological timeline in order to make the narrative more engaging. This would begin to follow Barthes‘enigma codes’ as it would leave the audience in suspense, trying to figure out how the plot will unfold. There will also be dramatic irony during the ‘flashback’ scenes in the kitchen, as the audience will be anticipating an attack on the character whilst she is unaware. We also asked if it would be more effective to use a filter
during the‘flash-forwards’ or whether we should keep the same visual style throughout. We found that it would be more appealing to use a filter for the ‘flash-forwards.’I think this would be effective because it would show the contrast between the normal aspects of the victim’s life, and the drastic change that occurs when she is kidnapped.
Q4 – We asked which traits a female protagonist should have in order for the audience to sympathise with her. We found that the audience would most like the female character to be vulnerable, innocent and play the role of a ‘victim.’ Many people in this situation would find that they are unprepared and weak, so by using these characteristics in the female character the audience will be able to relate to her more, and also empathise with her when she is captured.
Q5 - Our results told us that the audience would sympathis most with protagonists who are conveyed as helpless and vulnerable. They sympathise with Adam Faulkner from Saw as he was victimised and had no control in the situation. They also said that they sympathised with Bryan Mills from Taken as he had lost his daughter. This tells us that we should incorporate a sense of desperation into our character, as Bryan Mills was very desperate and emotional.
Q6 - Our second location would be most effective to the audience when set in a basement or garage, as it is a stereotypical location for a victim to be held hostage. It is also more realistic, as a basement would be easily accessible to the antagonist, making the narrative seem a lot more likely; the audience will believe it to be more genuine.
Q2 - Question 2 consisted of three clips which show the objectification of women in well-known film clips, and asked which they thought objectified them the most and why they thought this. Our feedback told us that to best objectify the women the actress should be sexually appealing, and that she should be dressed in a provocative or sexual way in order to make her appeal more to the male audience. They also said that having references to sex/connotations of sexual acts fetishized the female and conveyed her to the audience as nothing more than an object. The survey results also told us that filming the actress’ body voyeuristically would further objectify her and make her appealing to male members of the audience.
Q3 – For Question 3, we enquired whether the audience would prefer the narrative to be in a chronological or non-chronological order. Our results told us that the audience would prefer a non-chronological timeline in order to make the narrative more engaging. This would begin to follow Barthes‘enigma codes’ as it would leave the audience in suspense, trying to figure out how the plot will unfold. There will also be dramatic irony during the ‘flashback’ scenes in the kitchen, as the audience will be anticipating an attack on the character whilst she is unaware. We also asked if it would be more effective to use a filter
during the‘flash-forwards’ or whether we should keep the same visual style throughout. We found that it would be more appealing to use a filter for the ‘flash-forwards.’I think this would be effective because it would show the contrast between the normal aspects of the victim’s life, and the drastic change that occurs when she is kidnapped.
Q4 – We asked which traits a female protagonist should have in order for the audience to sympathise with her. We found that the audience would most like the female character to be vulnerable, innocent and play the role of a ‘victim.’ Many people in this situation would find that they are unprepared and weak, so by using these characteristics in the female character the audience will be able to relate to her more, and also empathise with her when she is captured.
Q5 - Our results told us that the audience would sympathis most with protagonists who are conveyed as helpless and vulnerable. They sympathise with Adam Faulkner from Saw as he was victimised and had no control in the situation. They also said that they sympathised with Bryan Mills from Taken as he had lost his daughter. This tells us that we should incorporate a sense of desperation into our character, as Bryan Mills was very desperate and emotional.
Q6 - Our second location would be most effective to the audience when set in a basement or garage, as it is a stereotypical location for a victim to be held hostage. It is also more realistic, as a basement would be easily accessible to the antagonist, making the narrative seem a lot more likely; the audience will believe it to be more genuine.