How a Horror Opening Sequence Attracts and Addresses the Target Audience
1. How did you attract/address your
audience?
By Clarissa Thompson
2. Through the process of my pre-production planning and
research this enabled me to look at the key conventions that
take place within the horror of an opening sequence.
Being a horror fan myself, I knew that various camera shots,
sound and editing, all play an important role along with mise en
scene to create an ambiguity effect upon the audience to attract
them to my product.
Although a horror movie attracts a wide audience from the age
of 15+, I decided to attract mainly the teenage/ young adult
generation as results from my question state this age bracket
prefer horror as a film genre. Results from my primary research
also showed that a ‘ghost’ as a villain was very popular,
therefore allowing me to attract the audience by this idea in my
own product of the concept of a spiritual killer.
I then decided to address my audience by my mise en scene
plans such as through ethnicity, class, age and gender – to
convey the male gaze theory.
3. My chose of the two characters meant that I could address my
target audience specifically. One aim was through the idea of
using two opposed ethnicities for the protagonist within my
opening sequence.
Character One: Character Two:
This character address’ a teenage
female, urban ‘street’ look and style.
She is from working/middle class
background by her sense of style that is
common around the streets of London.
Her Afro – Caribbean ethnicity address’
a wider audience; with more than one
culture within the opening sequence; as
well as my product takes place in
London city which is very multi-cultural
and diverse.
This character is a female middle class
teenager that appears to look reserved
and well dressed yet casual, attracting a
slightly different audience opposed to
character one. This character also has a
small amount of make up and is the
stereotypical ‘Barbie’ with blond hair and
blue eyes, attracting to the male gaze
theory.
4. Camera shots are used to address certain aspects of an audience such
as the use of extreme wide shots – to explore the surroundings – of
London City, as well as extreme close ups – to explore key props such as
an iPhone smartphone to attract the teenage audience.
Wide shots of a tent in the forest is a key prop which attracts and address’
the audience into a sense of realism and escapism.
The use of the tent prop attracts the 16-24 age is something that at this
age enjoys doing or aspires to do for fun with friends, family or festivals.
This elaborates the idea of realism which creates a stronger ambiguity
effect as this is something they experience themselves in their life.
The tent was also located at Primrose Hill, London which is very known
by 16-24 year olds. I addressed this location by using an extreme wide
shot - panning from left to right – to explore the setting of the opening
sequence. I then decided to create a silhouette effect
by going against the sunset lighting.
5. Editing was also important in order to attract the audience such
as by adding non – diegetic sound into my opening sequence.
I done this by making my own soundtrack on garage band by
firstly looking at sound and editing within the conventions of
horror within opening sequences.
I then used other computer software's such
as Motion Plus and Final Cut Pro to create
fast movements of scenes and cutaway
shots and transitions from simple
and effortless dark scenes to pop-up images.