Research Reflection

Reflecting on the research I have completed when looking at a wide range of action thriller films such as Gone Girl, Fast & Furious 6, The Dark Knight Rises, Face/Off, The Bourne Ultimatum and Taken all the films protagonist character are males. Therefore for our group's film I believe the main protagonist character needs to be a male in order to be a successful action thriller film. The main reason why men are the protagonist character is due to the conventions of an action thriller film as action thriller films always have a mission waiting that needs to be completed. Men are the more dominant gender in comparison to women so they are mostly likely to win in fights against other males. Other conventions of an action thriller film consist of:

• Futuristic cars, high speed vehicles, motorcycles - most common use of transport
• Explosions and crashes
• Massive destruction - disruption stage
• Protagonist and antagonist characters (good vs evil)
• Upbeat, nerve racking soundtracks
• Big cities - modern world
• Spectacular fights between different groups
• Killings: death of loved ones
• All characters have a motive in order to complete a mission
• Stunts and chases
• Fast paced action

All these conventions appeal to our target audience which is 16-24 year olds who are predominantly female and live in London. The conventions of an action thriller film create thrill, suspense and anxiety for the target audience in which they will not feel these emotions when watching any other genre of film. The adrenalin rush the target audience get when watching an action thriller film make the film memorable and successful in which will be talked about for a long period of time afterwards as the film has had such a big impact on them.
Looking at different action thriller films of the trailer, posters and promotional products which were released prior to the film has been helpful as I was able to analyse each media product. I was able to see what I thought was effective as well as identify the conventions of an action thriller film. This will impact on my production work as I now have a clearer idea in what is successful and what I should include when creating my film poster, trailer and magazine cover in order to leave a memorable experience for my target audience.