Beginning my research for my production included exploring how thriller films use technical codes to create an atmosphere that's conventional for the genre. Since I decided to do a DVD cover and poster I focused more on the visual conventions such as colour, lighting, and mise-en-scene. I was given the opportunity to rewatch The Silence of The Lambs during class where we analysed and compared the technical codes used in the film against ones that are commonly found in thriller movies. We explored the idea that thriller films, and many films in general, often follow a similar structure - there is an initial conflict between the protagonist and antagonist, a period of investigation and minor conflicts, and then a final conflict. Studying the concept of character archetypes and Propp’s character roles also assisted with plot development. The archetypes that I made the most use of in my pre-production were the hero, the sidekick, the villain, and the false hero. Another theory that I looked at was Todorov’s idea of equilibrium and disruption. I decided to create a DVD cover and poster that portrayed the disruption or recognition of disruption in order to create a more intriguing final piece. If I had created material that portrayed the equilibrium it would’ve ended up uninteresting. Another movie I watched to prepare was Gone Girl (2014) which used a muted colour palette that I took inspiration from in both my storyboard and my production.
During pre-production I also took inspiration from some TV shows that I enjoyed and had a similar feel to the atmosphere I wanted to create. These included Twin Peaks (1990-91), The X-Files (1993-2002), Mr Robot (2015-), and Gravity Falls (2012-16). While these programs aren't considered conventional thrillers, they contain enough elements of the genre for me to take inspiration from them. I wanted to draw from an eclectic pool of media texts in order to give my final production an unusual and intriguing tone. The X-Files, in particular, influenced my choice of having two main characters who are trying to uncover the truth, only to be opposed at every turn. It’s also deliberately mysterious about the parties who are working against Scully and Mulder which causes the audiences to be suspicious about almost every other character. This was something I wanted to replicate in my production as this distrust is an integral element of the thriller genre and keeps viewers on their toes. Another main influence of the ones I listed was Gravity Falls, which features twins who spend the summer holidays with their uncle and begin to realise that the town of Gravity Falls is not all as it appears. Although it’s a cartoon marketed towards children, it does feature some genuinely unsettling moments of tension and fantasy horror.
Marketing a thriller film towards a teenage audience can sometimes be more difficult than marketing towards an adult audience. We tend to become more independent in our opinions as we get older, while adolescents are more susceptible to peer pressure. Movies aimed at teenagers often use a more streamlined and easy-to-follow plot so teens don't become disinterested, while too much simplicity could insult their intelligence. They also tend to respond well to protagonists that are the same age as them since it's easier to put yourself in the shoes of people who are in a similar situation. It's this for this reason that I chose to create main characters that are aged 16-18.
The plot of the film also features adults that distrust the protagonists when they try to unveil a town-wide conspiracy. Teenagers are often discounted due to age and a lack of experience so this element of the story would be easy to relate to. Some smaller nods I gave to the target audience was the 15 certification and the mention of famous, but not extremely famous, actresses.
Including a link to social media is another reference to the age group that this film is marketed towards. Young people are the biggest consumers of social media and the internet today so it only makes sense to advertise products on those websites in order to garner interest. I chose to use Facebook because it’s a versatile platform and can play host to many different forms of media such as pictures, videos, polls, etc.
The logo used on my DVD cover to represent the production company for The Quiet Ones is that of Film4 and Runaway Fridge Films. Film4 are well-known for backing many successful films, such as 12 Years A Slave (released 2014 in the UK) and Shaun of the Dead (2004). I listed Lenny Abrahamson as the director of my film who’s most known for directing the films Frank (2014) and Room (2015), the latter of which received critical acclaim. These are used as evidence of the movie’s quality, since the director of a rewarding film will often go on to creating productions of the same, if not higher, calibre. He’s also associated with Runaway Fridge Films, hence using that particular production company.
The DVD cover’s main image was originally shot during daytime but was edited to appear as if it was taken during the early to mid-evening. Darkness is often used in thriller films to signify danger and suspense. It also helps to draw the audience’s eye to significant elements of the text, which is the illuminated windows in my case. I chose to use the colour of the light coming from the windows as an accent colour to give a natural separation between titles, reviews, and text. Concerning the windows, I made it seem as if light was coming from inside the house in order to decode a message of mystery and suspicion.
I used reviews that had come from Empire and Time Out, two publications that are known for giving reliable views on new films and providing expert criticism. Both give The Quiet Ones five stars since people are more likely to give a movie a try if it’s been well-received. The reviews also include quotes which uses hyperbole and promises of pleasure such as ‘the best’ and ‘perfect’ which gives the audience a clue as to why this film was awarded five stars.
Special features are found on most modern DVDs so I chose to include a few to add more incentive for consumers to buy the DVD instead of watching it on television or streaming it online. The ones I used were a director’s cut and commentary, deleted scenes, and some footage showing how the film came to be. This will appeal to fans of the movie and to those interested in film production.
On both of the productions I used the name of the fictional town I’ve created and the population as a tagline. I then crossed out the last digit and replaced it with another lower number. This further encourages the theme of mystery since it’s not revealed what happened to the one person that was removed from the town head count. Using red as the colour on the cross and the number signifies danger and perhaps even blood. Combined with the messy nature of the text, it implies a horror element to the movie. Another feature that’s repeated on both the DVD cover and the poster is the inclusion of a billings block which gives credit to the most crucial members of the cast and crew.
The two characters featured on the front of my movie poster are actually the same person wearing two different jackets and photoshopped to appear as if they’re holding hands. I wanted to keep the identity of these characters a mystery, which I’ve achieved by making them face away from the camera. This also hides their expression which keeps their reaction to this shed an enigma.The fact that they look exactly the same adds to this mystery and leads the audience to wonder whether they are identical twins or clones of each other. I chose to have them wearing different jackets to create variety between the two to suggest their individual personalities despite looking the same. The motion blur effect that I applied lends an otherworldly element to them and could suggest that these characters are not the protagonists, but the antagonists.The main image is also reminiscent of a shot in The Shining (1980) of the Grady twins, except from a different perspective.
I framed the shed in the background so that it’d sit between the characters and above their joined hands. This, along with keeping it in focus while the people are blurry, creates an emphasis on the shed and leads audiences to wonder at the significance that the shed has to the plot. The shed is also quite distressed and worn, which I felt added to the intrigue.
I feel that a weakness of my production is that I didn't spend enough time trying to tailor my end product to my target audience. The overall effect of the DVD cover and poster is quite mature and refined, and perhaps a little too mature. I feel happy with my production and I feel that these advertisements would appeal to me. However, I think that I would've benefitted from personalising my production for more of a mainstream teenage audience. Additionally, I think that more pictures that revealed clues about the plot of the film while maintaining the enigma of the entire synopsis would’ve strengthened my final product. I think my strengths came from my prior knowledge of the thriller genre as a whole and my large pool of inspiration that I had to pull from.
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