Audience Theory Monday, February 01, 2010

Audience Theory

Our storyboard and consequently filming process can be split into three parts. The first part involves flashes of the murderer’s hands sewing into meat, the second a series of edited shots of an egg being fried and eaten for breakfast before the victim walks out the house, and finally the third section (being filmed in a different location) is the victim walking through woods being followed by the murderer. (Please note the synopsis always sounds bad) With each section of our film opening, I will attempt audience theory analysis.

Section 1

The initial plan is for there to be three consecutive flashes of what we call, the “meat scene”. This will act has the major hook to our film opening. The lighting will be dim, with perhaps a tint of colour and will be a close up from the murder’s point of view. The flashes will, hopefully, insinuate a notion of mystery, as well as an element of danger. The audience will be questioning whom the hands belong to, keeping the murderer ambiguous, and therefore intriguing. The fact that the hands will be scarred and dirty with makeup, will implement the traditional connotations of a villain. The villain is often recognised as being disfigured in some way, and most commonly portrayed as a male, hence why we will be using male hands. The hands will be presented as moving in a drunken frenzy, suggesting signs of insanity; this will further be supported by diegetic sounds of heavy breathing. With these aspects in place, the audience will most likely also question the presence of the meat. They will have recognised connotations of a horror and therefore probably assumed the meat is not of the ordinary kind. Consequently, the audience will begin to have theories of their own of what the meat represents, and of the murderer, setting up our following narrative.

Section 2

The juxtaposition of an egg being cracked, fried, and eaten will, hopefully, surprise the audience due to the sudden change of atmosphere. The quick paced editing will not allow much time for the audience to decode the shot switch, but will keep up the tension and an element of mystery. However the audience will recognise that the “breakfast” shots are with a completely different scene and character. We will try to make the contrast between the two sections as evident as possible, with a change in sound and brighter lighting. The victim’s hands will be kept clean and “pure” to show the obvious change in character.

When the victim is first introduced to the audience, we will try to portray her as the “typical” teen. She will have a relaxed attitude and wear up to date clothing. Her hair is blond, and she will be wearing white, presenting connotations of innocence. She will check the time on her mobile, rather than her watch to keep up the conventions of teenagers using modern technology.

When using tracking shots of the victim we will try to keep the continuity as perfect as possible so that the audience feel comfortable watching. The framing shot we intend to do with the victim standing in the doorway will draw all attention to the victim. The audience will question her importance to the plot and probably have guessed that she has a link with the “meat scene” from before. Due to the fact that she is presented as young and innocent, the audience will have assumptions that she will be targeted.

The fact that we will be shooting in daylight will subvert the traditional connotations of a horror being filmed in the dark. Conventionally, daylight is viewed as an element of safety; therefore the audience will not expect an attack, implementing the notion that no one is safe. The attack in daylight will further show the audience that the murderer is undaunted by the concept of being seen, making him seem invincible.

Section 3

The victim’s face will remain confident and secure in the wood scenes to imply that she often walks alone, and that she is unafraid. The scenes showing the murderer “stalking”, will only display his hands. The hands will be instantly recognised by the audience, and know that they are a sign of danger. The contrast between the shots of the victim and the murderer will be evident due to a change in lighting and sound. Suspense and tension will be built up with both the music and rapid changes in editing, and so the audience will be aware of the upcoming climax of the scene.

The murderer will grab the victim suddenly, and pull her either towards or away from the camera. The abrupt action will shock the audience, allowing them to relate to the victim’s trauma. The following and last shot will show the murderer standing over the victim lying on the floor. The audience will question whether she is still alive and fear what the murderer will do, leaving our opening on a cliff hanger and intriguing the audience to watch more.