alex foster evaluation question 5

7/31/2019 Alex Foster Evaluation Question 5

1/4

WE ALL FALL DOWN

Evaluation

Alex Foster


2/4

How did you attract/address your audience?

How have you made your product appealing to the audience?

In our 2 minute opening sequence, we have included an ominous theme tune along with enough of a storyline to

make audiences want to see the rest of our film without ruining the ending, giving too much away (making it a short

film) or making it look too much like a film trailer. The opening sequence ends on a small cliff-hanger, meaning thataudiences wish to see the rest of the film without thinking that that was the ending.

How has your narrative attracted/addressed the audience?

Our narrative has included a lot of typical Thriller/Horror film conventions. For example: a killer doll (e.g. Chucky), a

video camera/home-video feel (e.g. Paranormal Activity), evil masked by innocence (e.g. The Bad Seed). Although

these conventions have been used many times before in films, the combination of all 3 is rare, which would appeal

to Thriller/Horror film audiences. The use of believable characters the innocent young girl, Molly, and her grievingmotheralso makes the film more plausible, and perhaps makes audiences believe that dolls can come to life,

which creates the desired long-lasting effect our film would have on our audiences.

How has your use of music attracted the audience?

Our use of music fits in with our Thriller/Horror genre perfectly, as it conforms to all of the Thriller/Horror film

conventions of being ominous, daunting and chilling. Feedback from our class has proven that the theme tune a

childs voice singing Ring-a-Ring-a-Roses is one of the scariest things about our opening sequence, which is very

important, as music influences people as much as a narrative. The theme tune being a capella makes the song even

scarier, as it creates a sense of uneasiness and that they are alone with this scary child/doll who is singing the song.

The music attracts the audience, also, as it is a popular nursery rhyme. In recent films, such as Orphan 2009,

children singing songs that are/similar to nursery rhymes (The Glory of Love in Orphan 2009) is proven to be

very scary. The title of our film, We All Fall Down is also a reference to the nursery rhyme Ring -a-Ring-a-Roses as

it is the last line, which is a metaphor for being the last moment of these peoples lives (after owning Mary),

and also We All Fall Down suggesting everybody dies.


3/4

How well do you titles inform the audience of your product and the genre?

The title of our sequence, We All Fall Down, is the last line in the popular nursery rhyme Ring-a-Ring-a-

Roses. The line alone has a rather ominous sound to it, as it suggests everybody falling/dying. Audiences

will recognise the line and link it to the nursery rhyme, and will know the film is related to children/toys and

can probably guess that the film is a Thriller/Horror film due to the rebranded scariness of nursery rhymes, thechosen line from that nursery rhyme as the films title and the connotation with death that the line has. The

nursery rhyme originally is about the Black Plague, which killed many people, and we all fall down in that

literally referred to the deaths that the Black Plague caused. This will link the title in our audiences minds to a

Thriller/Horror film, possibly involving an evil child or an evil childs toy.

How have you represented the genre in your product?

Our opening sequence represents our genre, Thriller/Horror, from the start. The sequence (and therefore, film)starts with the eerie nursery rhyme, over footage of a plastic doll sitting on different shelves over different

generations suggesting that she is an old doll, which somehow has a scarier feel to it, but also suggests that

she gets around, suggesting that she kills off her families. The opening credits, too, are presented as a

Thriller/Horror film as they are in reverse text, white writing on a black background, in bold letters and a

messy font to suggest unease and is a typical feature of a Thriller/Horror film. The credits also flash on screen,

stutter slightly, and flash off screen which has a lightening effect and generates the desired scary effect our film

is trying to create. After this, the narrative of an innocent young girl having a tea-party with her toys, the fact

that the doll from the shelves before is with her, and the constant crackling of the girls video -camera all create

a sense of unease in the audience, as there is an inevitable foreshadowing of something bad happening. The

doll being made the main character from the opening credits, also suggests a Thriller/Horror film genre, as

nowadays, it is very rare that there is a film about a doll which is innocentthe exception being the Toy Story

trilogy but the other conventions of our film aid the audience in understanding the Thriller/Horror genre of

our opening sequence.


4/4

How have your characters represented the genre and attracted the audience?

There are 5 characters in our opening sequence all together. Mary and Molly are the main characters in our

opening sequence, and yet Mary and the girl who picks her up at the end of the sequence would be the main

characters in our entire film. Mary is a plastic doll who has been around for at least 40 years, shown by the

dates in the shelf establishing shots, who has a forced plastic/fake smile on her face which has an eerie element to it regardless of the narrative. The theme of an evil/killer doll in a Thriller/Horror film has proven

very popular with audiences in the past, for example, Chuckys Childs Play made $6,583,000 in its opening

weekend in the USA, and $44,196,684 worldwide; so a doll generally presents a Thriller/Horror film

especially ever since the Chucky films. The character of Molly presents an innocent child who has no element

of evil within her at all, as everything she says and does is completely innocent and childish. This makes it more

of a tragic Thriller/Horror film when she dies, as it also suggests that many other children have died at the

hands of Mary in the past. Both characters, Good vs. Evil (in terms of Levi Strauss Binary Oppositions)

represent everything that Thriller/Horror films entail.

How has your Mise-en-scene attracted your audience?

The naturalism of our mise-en-scene creates the sense of this could happen to anybody in our audience,

which is always the desired effect of a Thriller/Horror film. The mise-en-scene reflects the childs bedroom

mainly, as there are cushions and lots of toys scattered around in the background and attending the tea party.Mollys costume also reflects her youth, as she is wearing a school uniform suggesting she is only just of

primary school age. This attracts the audience as it creates even more pathos towards Mollys character, and

her mother, too. (See Props and Characters and Narrative on Slide 4).

alex foster evaluation question 5

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