Product Research

Minority Report
Sound - the non-diegetic music is eerie as it is high pitched. The tempo of the music increases and the it grows louder building the tension. The diegetic sound is distorted which entices the audience and makes them grow curious as it is unclear what is going on. This is common with thrillers as music and any sound is used to build curiousity and tension.
Editing - the shots are blurred, again making the audience curious and disorientating them. The editing is slow paced at the start of the scene until the scissors are shown. At this point the editing becomes fast paced showing the audience that the characters are in danger; this is emphasised by the fade transaction from the characters to the scissors suggesting they will be victims of upcoming violence. The editing is also non-linear, this is typical of thrillers as it again confuses the audience and leaves them unsure of the plot.
Camera - There are many extreme close-ups used. This is typical of thrillers as it disorientates the audience and makes them uncomfortable with the proximity. It also makes the subject seem unpleasant or ugly.
Titles - the names of the insitutions are normally bright colours, however in this opening they are made a dark blue colour. This makes the movie seem menacing and sinister. The title of the film is dark blue over a black background; the dark colours are typical of thrillers as it conveys a malevolent theme.
Narrative - The clip gives away a small part of the story but it is not explained to the audience. This draws them into the film and makes them question what is happening.
Background - the film is a cross between thriller and science fiction. Directed by Steven Spielberg and is loosely based on a short story of the same name by Philip K. Dick. It is set in the year 2054. Produced on a budget of $102 million. Worldwide the film grossed $358,372,926

Audience research questionnaire

Audience Research Questionnaire.

1. Gender:
2. What is your ethnicity?
White British
White other
British Asian
Black Caribbean
Black British
Other (please specify)

3. What is your favourite genre of film?
Thriller
Action Adventure
Romcom
Horror
Comedy
Crime
Sci-fi

4. Do you like watching thrillers? Yes No
Why?
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

5. What type of music do you like to hear in films?
Classical
Popular
Dramatic
Urban

6. What do you do in your spare time? (Please only tick one)
Watch films/television
Read
Go on the Internet
Play sports
Listen to music
Other (please specify)
_____________________________________________________

7. What do you like to see in the opening of films?
Symbolism
Mystery
Clear narrative
Complex characters

Preliminary Final

We have improved this by taking out the second shot of the male character walking towards and then the hand on the door handle. We did this to make it less confusing as there is now not so much going on in such a short space of time. Another advantage of taking out these shots was that it improved the flow of the clip.
We also had to re-shoot our last clip of the male leaving the room. We had to make it longer and show him actually walking out the door and shutting it behind him. This looks much more realistic than it did before. However, it was difficult to re-shoot as we had to arrange the shot to be exactly as it was the first time round and also get the angles the same. We also had difficulty with the lighting as it was a different time of day.

Rough cut of preliminary exercise

• a positive is that we used match on action when he reaches for the door it then cuts to a close-up for him reaching for the door handle.
• another positive is that there is continuity between the shots which makes it flow.
• a negative is that it finishes too soon and it doesn't look realistic. We are going to re-shoot this part of the conversation so we have the character walking out of the door and the door shutting.
• Also we feel that the second shot of the character walking needs to be cut a little at the beginning so it flows more naturally.