5. How did you attract/address your audience?

Generic conventions 

Hitman

The characters featured in our media product are conventional to the thriller film genre; Kaden plays a hit-man, a character typically used in thriller films. His character is inspired by the likes of Agent 47 from Hitman: Agent 47 (2015) and Anton Chigurgh from No Country for Old Men (2007). A hitman-inspired role is effective in opening in our film opening because the character symbolises generic conventions of thriller films (e.g., violence, crime). Therefore, the hitman is a thrilling character for our target audience. 

Ty plays a student. Generally-speaking, students are not overly featured in thriller films. However, students are the age (under 18) of our target audience. Therefore, Ty's role directly appeal to our target audience because his character traits are somewhat relatable. Furthermore, in recent years film franchises such as Scream which star "students" have been given TV reboots, and are very popular with our intended target audience. 

Narration 

The narrative to our opening has taken inspiration from the scriptwriters of American Beauty (1999). Although the opening sequence of Killjoy (our media product) itself follows a linear narrative, fast-paced editing is used to ensure that our film is riveting. Our opening ends on a cliffhanger; then, it will jump backwards in time, indicated by a flashback. This is what happens in American Beauty. Therefore, our narrative engages the target audience because they are given a brief insight into an element of the film's narrative. However, they have to continue watching the film to fully-understand the build-up to its climactic moment. 

Music

The non-diegetic musical score to our opening was composed by my brother, Sam Storm.  Sam was influenced by the upbeat and catchy soundtrack to Kill Bill (2003), and Quentin Tarantino films in general. Sam's orchestral score evokes emotion and sets the tone of our film opening as a dark atmospheric thriller. 

Mise-en-scene

For the most part, Kaden's character's costume was influenced by Agent 47 in Hitman: Agent 47. He wears a black suit, which symbolises the dark atmospheric tone to our film opening; white shirt; red tie (to symbolise that Kaden's character is sinister); however also blue shoes, which suggests that Kaden is inexperienced as a hitman. Kaden carries a handgun (prop): this was influenced by Anton Chigurgh from No Country for Old Men (2007); the character carries a captive bolt pistol, which defines his character. A weapon is a source of anxiety, which is suspenseful for the audience because they anticipates its usage. Mise-en-scéne in our opening is effective because the audience are able to identify that Kaden is a "hitman" without diegetic dialogue (as suggested by audience feedback). 

Cinematography

Close-ups (camerawork) are extensively used in our film opening. Close-ups capture characters' emotions, or lack thereof. For example, a close-up shows Kaden's motionless facial expression as he shoots Ty's character. The camera shot emphasises his character's psychopathic personality. Therefore, the audience may take a disliking to our antagonist due to his lack of compassion. We took inspiration of close-ups used in The Shining (1980); particularly the scene in which Jack (Jack Nicholson) breaks through the bathroom door, shouting "Here's Johnny!" The use of close-ups in The Shining were effective because they emphasised Jack's descent into madness. 

A panning shot is used in our opening sequence to show Kaden and Ty walking in the same direction. This shot is effective because it builds suspense in the respect that the audience do not know whether the characters will meetup. Incorporation of a panning shot was influenced by The Dark Knight (2008), a superhero film popular with our target audience. We were particularly inspired by the camera tracking of robbers during the bank heist scene. 

Editing

To attract our target audience, we ensured that our film opening had a unique selling proposition (USP): we achieved this during the editing phase of our media product by incorporating a split-screen special effect into it. The split-screen is effective because it is infrequently used in thrillers, so it is unique. Therefore, our media product stands out in a sea of competitors. Our incorporation of a split-screen was partially influenced by Kill Bill (2003). In Kill Bill, one half of the split-screen shows 'The Bride' lying in a coma, whereas the other shows an assassin (Elle) prepare an antidote. Ultimately, a split-screen is effective in showing simultaneous scenes without the need for excessive cutting. 

Our target audience are easily distracted. Therefore, we ensured that our opening is fast-paced by using obtrusive editing to retain their attention. 

A fade-out signifies a conventional cliffhanger conclusion to our opening. This ensures that the audience will continue viewing our opening to witness the dramatic aftermath to our plot twist.  Our use of this editing technique was influenced by Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction (1994), in which a fade-out takes place after an unexpected car accident. A fade enables an audience to catch their breath after a dramatic scene. 

Pulp Fiction car crash