Audience Research - Film Listing

After researching on the Cineworld website, i have come to some conclusions along with evidence so prove my points. This is only one exhibitor and i checked out the closest Cineworld to us which was London - Feltham.

As you can see the first 'Into The Woods' was a PG and it was made by disney. If we take a closer look at the showing times we can see that on Saturday and Sunday the showings are quite early compared to weekdays. This is because children are in school so the times start later, but not only this the showings end at 20:00. This is due to the film being aimed at a younger audience and therefore they go to bed earlier so the showings have to be earlier.

The next film i looked at was 'American Sniper' and this was a 15, from looking at the showing times we can immediately tell that the film starts later than the PG film and ends later as well. This is because it is aimed at older age group therefore they can stay up later and go to a late showing. This is a more independent age group whereas most children that might have saw 'Into The Woods' are still dependant on their parents. Friday and Saturday showings being later than the other days because those are the days where most people will not have work or school the following day.

Finally, i looked at a rated U film which was 'Peppa Pig: The Golden Boots' The showing times for this film shows exactly what audience it is aimed at. The very young children who may have just started school who watch this program on TV. We know this as is it a child's program shown on children's TV so the audience is limited and that is why there is not many showing times per day unlike some of the other big films.

Audience Research - BBFC website 2014 guidelines

• No sexual content or nudity must be shown in a 12a rated film.
• There is allowed to be slight amounts of violence but it must not show any form of them in any great detail, only depending on the situation is there allowed to be hints of gory moments but with no sign of blood or injury.
• Drugs may be shown but no detail must be given to them with no indication of any form of use.
• Agressive discrimination is very likely to not be tolerated however it may be used at a very toned down level.  An example of a 12a film would be Mockingjay ( Lawrence, 2014)

• For 15 rated film there is a limit on the amount of nudity and sexuality in the film with tight guidelines on how much detail they may go into.
• They are allowed to reinforce the idea of violence and may be strongly represented but there must be no pain or injury within the violence.
• Drugs may be used however they must be used without highlighting any specific methods of using them & without the use of the right or wrong views on them.An example of this would be Psycho ( Hitchcock, 1960)

• If the film is a age rating of 18 then you can expect there to be scenes of a sexual nature which tries to inform the viewer with use of some explicit pictures.
• The violence in a 18 rated film also takes a step up, there will be scenes in the film where there are high amounts of blood and injury.
• Drugs may be also shown freely with detail and concentration been shown.An example of a 18 rated film would be Paranormal activity 4 ( schulman, 2012).

For the thriller opening that we are going to be making it is important that we know what we can and cant do when filming, our age rage will be 15+ as the years below is hard to convey a good thriller with limitations.

Audience Research - FDA (Film Distributors Association)

What is the Film Distributors Association?

The FDA explores which thrillers are on release, those which have already been released, and those due to be released.The success of the film, along with audience figures and the films age certificate can also be found in the FDA Handbook.

Films on Release:

'Taken 3' - Released 8th January 2015

Directed by Oliver Megaton

Age Certificate - 12A

Venue Status - Saturation

'Dying of the Light' - Released 2nd January 2015

Directed by Paul Schrader

Age Certificate - 18

Venue Status - Key Cities

Films that have been Released:

'Night at the Museum - Secret of the Tomb' - Released 19th December 2014

Directed by Shawn Levy

Age Certificate - PG

Venue Status - Saturation

'Exodus - Gods and Kings' (3D) - Released 26th December 2014

Directed by Ridley Scott

Age Certificate - 12A

Venue Status - Saturation

Films Due to be Released:

'The Good Lie' - To be released 10th April 2015

Directed by Phillipe Falardeau

Age Certificate - 12A

Venue Status - Wide

'Dark Horse - To be released 17th April 2015

Directed by Louise Osmond

Age Certificate - PG

Venue Status - Key Cities

Thriller Narrative - Group post

The story is about a boy who communicates with spirits that don't know they're dead seeks the help of a disheartened child psychologist.

The boy appears to be a very disturbed character, in that he has visions of the dead during his childhood.

The story starts in the present and reverts back to the past between the Psychologist (played by Bruce Willis) and the boy.

During the opening sequence, there is the shooting of the psychologist by the boy who is now a grown man, before he then commits suicide by shooting himself. It is through these elements, with the use of ammunition and hallucinatory visions that make 'The Sixth Sense' an effective thriller film

The film Maze runner is about a boy called Thomas who is deposited in a community of boys after his memory is erased, soon learning they're all trapped in a maze that will require him to join forces with fellow "runners" for a shot at escape.

The boys that are up their with him have been there for many years and still haven't found a way to escape even though these people called runners go around the maze for hours every day, so chances of getting out look slim.


The main character Thomas is different than the others because we find out that he is one of the people that put all these boys in this 'maze'. When he becomes a runner he is allowed to go in the maze, but they are not in there alone. 

These creatures called Griever's roam the mazes at night after the walls have closed.One night the walls doesn't close, and this is the first time it has ever happened so everyone is in shock and scared, the creatures come in and kill many people and destroy their land.


The next day, the few that have survived split into two groups and one group tried to escape along with the main character Thomas. After an action filled ending with many twists, you think they are going to all make it out but then someone dies to save Thomas and saved by some people that look like they are in the army.

• A police detective, a bank robber, and a high-power broker enter high-stakes negotiations after the criminal's brilliant heist spirals into a hostage situation.
• Crime thrillers will on more occasions have a main sequence in which a main action scene takes place in which it turns into a stand off against the police.
• Inside man is a film in which a group of men attempt to lock down a bank and then hold off the police with threats of killing all the hostages.
• Sounds plays a big part in the inside man and any crime thriller as the diegetic sounds such as the smoke grenades and the clicking of the guns grips you to the screen and only add's suspense.
• Within a crime thriller we are always made to believe that everything it just like a normal day with everyone oblivious that there is a bank heist going on, through camerawork we see fast transitions from inside and outside the bank.

Thriller Genre - Conventions

Conventions Of a Thriller Genre

Thriller Genre

Sound is a essential part of what goes into making a thoroughly good thriller opening and film. One of the best examples of when sound is used to maximum effect is in the film Psycho (Hitchcock, 1960)  and even to this day the noise of the stabbing is one of the most common and well recognized sounds to be in a thriller film. The legacy of the noise is so iconic and well known even though it was released over 50 years ago, different generations also know of the noise which reinstates how many people would recognize the sound. 

Moreover  the film The Sixth Sense (Shyamalan, 1999) is another example of a thriller film that has been perfectly executed and has a big impact on the audience, the actors take a huge amount of credit considering the child is very young but still manages to captivate us as a audience throughout the film and when at the end the whole film makes sense it shocks us all. Not only does it have a big affect on us when we find out that he is a ghost form the very second he got shot, what makes The Sixth Sense a excellent thriller film is that the pivital moment in the film happen's so early on that as a audience you have to be switched on from the very start.

Another film in which its really captivates what a thriller is meant to be is Gone Girl (Fincher,2014), the plot is a happy couple - the start to any thriller ,setting a scene in which it is very normal like everyday life-until the wife goes missing and then we see another typical thriller takes place with a large amount of suspense and  tension when the search for her happens. Mise en scene and Camerawork play a huge part in the build up to making a top thriller.

Conventions of Thriller Genre