Evaluation How did you attract/address your audience?

Aspect 1: MusicMusic and sound is an important factor when attracting an audience. This is because music tends to evoke emotion from people and therefore people feel more connected within the film which prevents the audience from loosing interest. Music also creates a highlighted scene through the use of powerful overpowering sounds which can help to keep the audience focussed. Therefore in our production we have used what i think to be, dramatic and intriguing sound and music clips, for example we have a mix of sounds in order to create a mysterious, detective like track so that a suspicious, secretive feeling is portrayed. We have tried to create a track like this as we feel it makes the plot more intriguing and enhances it which also helps to keep the audience fully attracted to it. In addition to this we have also used sound clips such as rain and thunder sounds which are played over our credits, emphasising the visual background of the scene as it is raining and adds a more dramatic aspect drawing the audience to the credits. This keeps the audience attracted to my opening scene as typically credits are considered to be the part that is the least engaging for the audience which is why we have tried to make it dramatic, eye catching and short in order to ensure the audience remain engaged. Within Lawless the backing music that is used is country which fits in well with the countryside setting, making it obvious what the theme and setting of the scene is to the audience. It also makes the scenes more interesting to watch and listen to. We have tried to recreate this within our production as we have tried to add a more detective like, mysterious backing track in order to suggest that the situation is unforeseeable and that it’s likely that problems are going to occur in the future.

Aspect 2: Characters

Characters are an important element when trying to attract an audience. For example if a member of the audience was told to pick a film to watch out of two options and one film had actors who were well known that were liked compared to another film with a similar plot which had ordinary characters who he may never have heard of before. It’s more likely that he’ll watch the film with the well known actors. This is because he can associate previous films with the actors which is only beneficial if he liked the previous films because if an actor starred in an undesirable film it’s likely the previous account/recall of the film will put them off from wanting to watch a new film even though the plotlines between the previous film and the new film could be entirely different. In our production it would be difficult to have professional actors due to financial issues however we decided to use actors who had no previous experience when it comes to acting in movies. This prevented any stereotypes or judgements on the film being formed due to the actors previous acting experience, keeping the film open to a wide audience. Also if the characters don’t appear realistic then this will cause the audience to lose interest very quickly as a result we tried to ensure the victim was presented in a realistic way by making it obvious she was dead through the fake blood and the lack in movement, in order to keep the audience engaged and entertained throughout the production.

Aspect 3: Shots

Shots are another vital factor which can be used to attract the audience as they can show different perspectives and helps to illustrate the way that the plot is portrayed to the audience. The audience are attracted to a production which offers a range of shots because, if our film only had one type of shot throughout the production, the audience would lose interest relatively quickly as there would be nothing interesting to differentiate the current scene from the previous one as a result the viewers will be unlikely to continue watching the film. Shots can help to establish a scene or to develop a character’s relationship with another character which is important as one of these aspects could be a vital element within the plotline and different shots can help the audience to understand the plot better. In Lawless a variety of shots are used in order to create a sense of intimacy and distance within scenes between characters which adds an interesting element to the film, attracting the audience as they get to focus on close sections such as facial expressions and emotions or the audience can focus on the whole scene in long shots and get a real sense of the setting and the surroundings which helps them to feel connected with the film. In our production we have also adopted this approach of using a range of camera shots such as low angle shots, high angle shots, two shot, pans etc in order to make the viewing experience for the audience as attractive and as engaging as possible. We felt that the greater the diversity of the camera shots, the more interesting our production would be for the viewers.

Aspect 4: Cliff hanger

A cliff hanger isn’t a necessary aspect within an opening scene however it does add in my opinion a dramatic and interesting element to a film. This is because the audience are left with an unfinished scene and therefore people tend to envisage a conclusion with their imaginations. As a result the audience then feel determined to find the real outcome and will continue to watch the film in order to find out the answer. Therefore we have tried to incorporate a cliff hanger within our opening scene, our cliff hanger is of the robbers fleeing the scene of the crime on discovery of the dead body. This provides an opportunity for the audience to question how the victim could have been murdered and whether the youth robbers will be caught and accused of the victim’s murder. I feel that a cliff hanger helps to keep the audience engaged and motivates them to carry on watching which is the desired effect we were trying to achieve as our production is only an opening scene and if the audience witness a cliff hanger they are more likely to want to continue to watch the whole film.

Addressing the audienceWe ensured that our film would be suitable for our young audience by limiting the amount of time spent on violent aspects and instead focused on the rest of the plot. In addition to this we addressed the audience by using realistic and appropriate props in our production. For example the weapon we choose to equip the robber with was a crowbar as it was effective and believable for the robbers as they were only youths but it was also beneficial as it fits well within our production due our audience being relatively young. I also felt that the costumes were effective as stereotypically a robber would be considered to wear black/dark clothing therefore as our robbers wore black clothing they were well incorporated within the scene and they fulfilled the audience’s expectations. In addition to this we addressed the audience through the use of dramatic music which helped to emphasise vital elements within the production, making the viewing experience more enjoyable and thrilling for the audience. An example of where we have utilised sound is when the victim is discovered, the volume of the music increases, making it more dramatic. It’s also more powerful at this point as opposed to the beginning as the music develops as the plot goes on and becomes more intense at key points of the production such as the discovery of the dead body.