Analyse a chosen product you've created against audience theories

1B)
For my AS production I created the first two minutes of a movie along with the title sequence in the genre of Thriller. The synopsis of this movie is about a police detective who has been called up about a murder. On his arrival he takes the papers from the officer ate the door and proceeds up to the scene of the crime. Once he realises that the scene which he has been called to is a murder he radios the information to his partner. This is when the anatagonist (his partner) comes and reveals to the detective that it was him who comitted the murder. The aim of this opening was to create mystery and questions within the audiences mind to make them want to watch on and answer these questions. The mise en scene of the production helps to reflect the genre of the movie. It is set on an urban estate which is a general location for thriller movies. The use of suspense and unanswered questions is a typical convention of thriller movies.

Tom Ryall's theory (1998) argues that genre is fairly simple as it is structured and it helps directors to meet audience expectations as they will have a structure to follow. In thriller movies the opening scene always creates suspense and questions for the audience. This is a key convention for the thriller genre which is why in my production the film began with an event which would attract the audiences attention without revealing to them certain aspects of the event such as who the killer is or the motive for the murder. This also means that I will be meeting the audiences expectations as they will be expecting to see the key conventions when they are watching a thriller movie. This theory also links in with Rick Alterman's theory (1999) which argues that genre is clear and easy to define. The audience will know what to expect and will be able to relate as well as react to the genre. When the audience sees the opening to my movie they will instantly know that it is a thriller as this is the type of opening which they will expect.

Steve Neale (1990) believes that genre is constantly changing although some aspects are repeated. People are trying to move outside of fixed boundaries. Without change, the audience may not be satisfied. As the audience will not be accustomed to this difference they will have to think more. The antagonist in my production did not have the demographics of a typical killer in a thriller movie. Killers are usually seen as large, burly characters who are strong and intimidating where as the killer in my production was small and not physically dominating. Also, the murderer in a thriller movie is not exposed until the end of the movie where as in my opening the killer is revealed within the first two minutes. These are changes which I made in order to challenge the audience and make them think more, creating a higher level of interest in the film itself.

In conclusion it is clear that the general codes and conventions of a genre must be present in a production in order to meet the audiences expectations and create a simple structure which they can follow, however there should be minor changes or differences in the plot of the film in order to make the audience think and also to make the production alot less predictable. People are beginning to move outside of the fixed boundaries and without change the audience may not be satisfied. It is clear that hybrid/bricolage genres have become more popular now and genres can include conventions of other genres. This makes it harder to define what genre a film is.