Audience Feedback

"Use of music was done very well and a lot of suspence & tention created in the right places, making it overall a very successful piece, well done, very nice story line :)"
joeeyb123 1 minute ago

"Very good looking piece, fantastic idea, clearly the best I've seen in the Hurtwood Media Collection. Editing slides very nicely and music fits perfectly to create a very dramatic and tense edge. Very good use of casting as well.  However the lighting should have been brighter as some of the shots were hard to see. The accent of the actress also caused some confusion. You should be very proud of this piece. Well done."
hollfinlay 9 minutes ago

"Fantastic work, really great shots, especially at 1:01, the editing made the story flow easily and the story really gripped me the whole way through. Great work!"
butterfliesg 12 minutes ago

"Careful use of mise-en-scene, especially in the kitchen scene - the childrens board and pictures - this really creates the illusion that they are a couple with young children. The sound used at the beginning and end creates a theme music which works well with the sequence. Overall, a good opening sequence, succesful in creating the suspense, particularly with the use of a shower, which is a common thriller convention. Good work :)"
LiamandImii 16 minutes ago

"I really like the music at the beginning and the continuity is really consistent. Really like the storyline as well"
Saz123456789 19 minutes ago

"This is amazing. Finally a new idea! Probably one of the best hurtwood thrillers ever made!

x Go Holly, Paula, Mehran and Emily x"
pliciousXS 1 month ago

"1st viewer ! :)"
TheFelicityCullen 1 month ago


The reviews show that overall, the piece was enjoyed greatly. Due to it being an original and fresh idea. However after reading one of the comments, describing how the accent of the actress was a problem, we knew this when we started. But we wanted to portray an image of how she was a foreign woman who was only with her husband for money. Her accent made her seem more mysterious as well, conforming to a stereotype and being relelvant to the sequence. Although if I could go back I would perhaps brighten some of the shots, as the audience is not able to see all the mise en scene and smaller details within the shots.

Prelim Vs Thriller Sequence

Task 7 - Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to full product?

Firstly I have learnt how to add music to a piece of film and help draw attention to a particular character through the use of music. In my preliminary I didn't use any music and used only one sound effect. Especially in the beginning of my thriller, I used music to set the scene and to create an impression of the bad character. Whereas when our bad guy entered the scene in our prelim we had it in silence.

Secondly, I have also learnt how to make a scene brighter and to keep the continuity of the brightness through out the sequence. As in one of my prelim shots its very dark and there is a shadow against the wall, making it look very low budget and unprofessional. Whereas in my thriller, the lighting is much brighter and the light is continually bright throughout the film, making the scenes better within terms of continuity and visually more appealing.

I also noticed the another improvement by using more challenging and 'out of the box' shot types. In my preliminary I used standard boring shots. But in my thriller I used more 'point of view' shots to highlight how someone was watching her and other shots of her, taking off her shoes helping to build tension and highlighting that time that was passing as she was getting undressed.

In my preliminary I used the zoom on the camera. This made the sequence look very amateur and shaky. Again, making the tension fall and which made it seem unrealistic. As the human eye is unable to zoom. Therefore in my thriller we used close up shots and edited them together to make it seem more realistic.

Throughout my thriller we used far more props and worked much harder on building a character to help influence the judgements of the audience. We used Helena to portray the 'blonde bimbo', 'goldigging' stereotype. Whereas in our preliminary we just picked two people at random. Therefore I have advanced with my skills in casting to find someone who looks more the part ad will fit any stereotypes.

Task 6 - What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

Task 5 - How did you attract/address your audience?

Task 5 - How did you attract/address your audience?

View more presentations from hurtwoodhousemedia.

Task 4 - Target Audience For 'The Hostage'

I would target my film towards the ages of 15 - 24, as I think the rating of the film would most probably be a 15, due to its thriller content.  This age group would like my film because it has a beautiful young woman in it, therefore attracting the male audience and a good narrative attracting the female audience. Also some of the women may be able to relate to the narrative of having a stepmum alot younger than there original mother.

15 to 24 years olds would be interested as they tend to have quite a disposable income, as they normally dont have to worry about paying for anything too expenisive, as they are still studying. Therefore they are more likely to be spending lots of time at the cinema or out socialising. Therefore making a film that will appeal to this age group will help with your marketing as they will be able to advertise through word of mouth whilst they are socialising. Therefore, this film should be released on a friday or have an opening weekend to be able to ensure that students will be the first to see it.

'The Hostage' may appeal to a secondary audience of ages 25/34 as this is the age group of the couple in the film. Therefore some of these peope may even be in a relationship like this or know someone who is.
Men would be more interested due to its content and lead actress, whereas women may go to watch the glamorous lifestyle as they are unable to relate to this themselves.

Task 3 - What Institution Would Make 'The Hostage'?

I would like to ask Lionsgate Films to make my film as they already specialise in Thirller and Horror Films.



Lionsgate ahve also made other films in the similar genre and narrative to The Hostage, such as, Hostel and The Eye.





Lionsgate also make low budget films, by first time directors, which is the criteria that my film fits exactly. Lionsgate have made films like that such as, My Little Eye made in 2002.



My film could be marketed really easily, as it is aimed at a mass mainstream market. I believe that i would be able to make money from cinema viewings and DVD. As people may go for a cinema experience to be able to really feel all the emotions of a thriller. Although some people nmay prefer to watch films in the comfortability of their own homes, therefore they will choose the DVD option. It will later be released onto Pay Per View. This will all depend on the cinema sales and total grossing.

This could be aimed at a particular audience of men around the ages of 15 to 25, who drag along their girlfriends to the cinema or make them watch it at home. This film would also make the perfect 'date' movie as it covers all genres, thriller, suspense, drama and some comedy. Therefore making it quite appealling.