How Did You Attract/Address Your Audience? (Evaluation Task 5)
(The Black text is the Interviewer and the Red is my response)
Hello and welcome to 'Films Daily', the talk show that talks about nothing but films... daily! Today we are going to talk to Naomi Sklar from Maliza Productions about their upcoming Thriller ‘DAMMIA’. Welcome.
Thank you, oh and thank you for having me.
No really, it's our pleasure. Well now this new film, 'Dammia'?
Yes, 'Dammia'
So this is a Chalk board Production?
Yes
And have you worked with them before?
No, really I haven't, which is such a surprise to me considering we worked so well together as a team to create something that we are really proud of, something that we also want to share with audiences, potentially world wide.
Yes indeed I've heard such great things about this project and I'm really interested to watch it.
Aha Thank you.
So tell me something about your film that makes it so special?
Well I don’t want to give too much information away.
Yes of course.
But I can talk about the 'Opening Sequence' as it has already been released as a short preview.
Yes that will be brilliant as I've actually already watched it myself.
Oh brilliant. So, within our 'Opening Sequence' you can really tell that the film is going to be a hit with our researched target audience. The conventions of a thriller really comes across in our opening, as the such intimate atmosphere created by the constant, unnerving close shots with the help of the macro lens which made what seem innocent on screen actually hide the main secret without fully revealing anything too unusual too soon, kind of creating the desire of the audience to be pulled in to see the bigger picture. This makes our audience want to continue watching to discover the situation that's currently hidden from them in the opening sequence.
Oh wow so you've really created that disturbing atmosphere that grabs the audiences attention .
Yes, I believe we have.
And your target audience is?
From our research we identified that our target audience are males from the age of 35/40+.
Ok, right and you've already said the genre is a Thriller?
Yes but I would label it more as a Psychological thriller as it holds a deeper and darker secret that the audience is currently unaware of.
Ok, well a bit of a clue I see?
Ah ha, specially for you.
So have any other films influenced your themes for 'DAMMIA'? As I have already heard a lot of people commenting on how the 'Opening Sequence' is very similar to some of the shots of the opening of 'Pretty Little Liars', now was this intentional?
No, not at all, but yes, funnily enough, we have heard that comment quite a lot but no, we didn't intentionally do this although some films which we have taken inspiration from are ‘Psycho’ and also ‘The House at The End of the Street’.
Oh very interesting, so the setting of the 'Opening Sequence', does this continue throughout the film?
Well, you will have to wait and see, but the setting for this scene as you can kind of determine is in a bedroom and a bathroom.
Yes, and is there any reason you chose this as your setting?
Well as a lot of the shots are very close you can't really determine the setting so we wanted something that can be really easily recognised.
So a home?
Yes, that's right. We wanted the setting to make the audience seem kind of safe within the homely establishing shots. So nothing makes them suspect anything until the reveal of the contrasting more uncomfortable shots.
So I know you cant give too much information away but can you tell us something about the Plot Line?
Ok, well essentially the film is based upon the idea of 'Obsession' as the protagonist of the film is finding it difficult to physically let go of his younger sister after her death.
I see.
The protagonist in the film you actually see, only ever so slightly during our opening sequence, but still without revealing his entire identity.
Oh, so the silhouetted man towards the end?
Yes, him, I feel the audience will hold quite a lot of sympathy towards his character because of his loss and his determination to not let go.
Ohhh a Sudden reveal I see
Ah ha, yes a bit of a plot twist I must say, as also the suspense building up especially in the layered ambient music just to reveal his silhouette I believe highly raises the suspicion of the whole situation.
Yes very and may I complement you on that choice of music as it really set the scene.
Thank you. Yes, we were very lucky to find the piece as I feel the nostalgic, romantic vocal ballad really worked with the record player as it also created a strong juxtaposition to the shots shown on screen. But to still keep that element of creepiness to stay within the conventions of a 'Thriller' we actually slowed down the soundtrack ever so slightly to add to the uncomfortable feeling.
Ohh creepy, so as you've turned it down to such a really awkward speed I gather it also adds to the feeling that something is wrong.
Yes, precisely, as the title of the song “It Always Hurts to Say Goodbye” also represents the situation foreshadowing the plot line of the film within its lyrics.
Ah ha, very interesting, so I know you've already said that you target audience is from the ages of 35 to 40+ so I'm presuming that you don't recommend this film for younger audiences?
Yes, definitely, because the dark nature of the themes we've included we don't recommend audiences of a young age to watch this film.
Ok, right and I also remember you also added some titles into your 'Opening Sequence'?
Yes we have, but we wanted to keep the titles quite simple to obviously focus on whats occurring on screen. The font we have used for the titles is one we believe reflects one of our themes as it i slightly more sophisticated and appeals to our mature target audience.
And another area which I'm also really impressed with was the such precise skill of editing which is very clearly visible. How did you decide on this film style for your 'Opening Sequence'?
Well thank you, we really wanted to cut our footage as if it was a piece of music using the timing of 1 2 3 & cut on the count of 4. This made the sequence visually very nice to watch as it helped to keep everything running at a good pace that smoothly transitioned from shot to shot.
Oh I see and I remember you've already said that the lens you used was a 'Macro' lens?
Yes that's right, we used this lens for a lot of our shots.
Well I have to say the use of cinema photography was highly affective within the opening and I can't wait to see the finished product.
Ah ha, well thank you so much.
Well, thank you so much for coming in today. It seems we've finished just in time.
Ah ha, no thank you for inviting me.
So there you are folks,'DAMMIA' you can go and pre order your tickets right now as it is coming to a cinema near you very soon. I'm Evelyn and you have been listening to 'Films Daily'. Thank you for tuning in and untill the next time, Goodbye.
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