MJ: Filming on the 20/02/2013

• We had spoken to three others to help us out as actors during filming, and so we had set a date and time, to meet at Southborough Common at 10am (an early time that we had to set in order to make sure everyone could make it), all of Group 4 had turned up ready for a morning of filming.
• After waiting for about fifteen minutes for the actors to turn up we became impatient, when suddenly one text saying that they could not help out, the next text rolled in giving the same excuse. Our final hope was crushed with a final message from our final actress explaining that she had missed her bus.
• We decided to go into the wooded location anyway and see if there was any possibility of getting any footage filmed.
• Unfortunately we found that using only two people made the footage seem rather limp and quite boring, and so we are beggining to gather up more people to help us on Saturday 9th March, giving us two weeks to get everyone together.
• The only downside to this is that it will only give us two weeks to get the whole video edited before we hit the deadline, something of which we have been told is too late, so we are trying our best to try and get the date moved forward a week.

Group 4 Pitch and Audience Feedback

• Audience feedback
• The main thing that had people talking about our pitch was that we were not specifically exposing the vampires as vampires well enough for the audience, this divided the classroom in whether they thought it would be effective or not
• However our way to overcome this problem is to explicitly explain that they are vampires through action or dialogue, for example the biting of someones neck or superior strength.
• We have also altered the costume due to our first filming, the vampire and human looked the same.
• Some commented on how the story of the opening sounded exciting, due to actions such as the chase as well as a fight.

Link back to Matthew Johns’ Key Links
Link back to Piers Jahn’s Key Links
Link back to Andy Cooper’s Key Links

AC: Audience Questionnaire

Survey Results

As a group, we set up an audience questionnaire using surveymonkey.com to try and gain useful information from our target audience. We shared the survey with groups of friends, and published it to multiple social networking sites, in an attempt to gain responses. Over two days, we manage to receive 29 responses in total, which is a good number to determine and analyse the responses, making them accurate and reliable. We used all closed questions as it means the quantitative data is easier to analyse, and we can get a better understanding of what the audience want to see.

Question 1 and 2:

We began by asking some simple questions, so understand the demographic of our audience, the majority of the responses were between the ages of 14 and 17, which is ideal for us, as it is the target audience we are looking to aim our film towards. There was a good split in gender as well, with only 5 more males than females answering the questionnaire, meaning we get a good variety of responses form both genders.

Question 3:

This was our only question, which allowed the participant to choose multiple answers. We wanted to see the normal preference and genres our target audience would normally watch; we received a wide variety of different answers, however the genre of comedy stood out among the others, which is a good indications of what our audience enjoy. Horror surprisingly was a less popular answer with 7 out of our 29 respondents choosing it.

Question 4:

From the research we found that most people would like to see our film opening in a woods, which is where we were planning on filming in the beginning, so it is good to find out that our target audience want us to film in the same location. Our second most popular answer was the old house, and as we were planning on cutting to a dark room for our second location, I think we have chosen the best locations we could have to film.

Question 5:

Our survey results show that the majority of our audience enjoy watching horror films which contain a psycho killer, rather than any mythical monsters, which shows our audience enjoy the sense of realism in a horror film. We are keeping with our idea of the vampires, but are going to emphasise the feeling of realism, to make it more appealing to our audience.

Question 6:

For our question on the level of gore, the majority of our participants suggested that we put a high level of gore in our fim, with the average choice being an 8 out of 10 on the level of gore. We planning to make it look realistic and with the use of lots of blood, which should meet our audience's preference.

Question 7:

From our research, we found that our audience watches a wide variety of different horror films, showing everyone has a different idea of what they think is a good and enjoyable horror film, so we will aim to appeal to a wide array of audience tastes, by adding different aspects from the genre.

Question 8:

The majority of our audience thought we should either use only one vampire and the antagonist in the opening scene, or a large group, and were not keen on many in between, although there was very little difference between the choices, we may have to rethink the number of vampires, we were originally planning on using around three vampires, but may have to use more vampire actors, or focus mainly on one rather than a group.

Question 9:

From this it is clear to see that our audience want us to use low key lighting when we film the scene, which means we will try to film, when it a cloudy day to get the effect, or using editing, bring the contrast down to add mystery to the scene, making it more scary for the audience, and allow it to be conventional of a horror film.

MJ: Wilderness Wood Location Reccie

On the 6th February, 2013, we went on a location reccie to Wilderness Woods, in Sussex, to test out equipment and our ability to work as a team.
We took this as a chance to make a short music video with a twist ending, here's the final result:

 

• During production we used a Nikon D5100, in which we used the low-key setting to create a darker feel during the short.
• We aimed to use as many camera techniques as possible, such as a worm's eye view, a pan, an extreme long shot and some tracking shots.
• In post-production we added the soundtrack of Radioactive by Imagine Dragons, a track which had been played during filming so I could lip-sync along to it.
• We also added the fuzzy effect onto one shot, to give a greater feeling of the nausea the character feels, in the run up to the song's drop.
• The sound of the vampire attack and narration were all recorded and added right at the end of production, as were the titles.

 

• During this reccie we found that, as a group, we functioned well, coming together with our ideas and viewpoints on how we should do things.
• The reccie also taught us about which camera shots were going to be easy for us, and which were going to prove much harder for our team.





AC: Technical analysis

28 Weeks Later (Fresnadillo, 2007)

(0:16- 1:50)

1. Duration: 2 seconds

Camera Technique: Cu on character reading the newspaper

Mise-en-Scene: Flicking through the newspaper, character lit, 

2. Duration: 3 seconds

Camera Technique: MS on character
Mise-en-Scene: Similar to shot 1, shown more of the location, appears to be in an old, dusty home.

3. Duration: 2 seconds.
Camera Technique: ECU on candle.
Mise-en-Scene: Candle in  focus, character movement in background.


4. Duration: 1 second.
Camera Technique: CU on spinning propeller, steady cam.
Mise-en-Scene: toy plane main focus of the shot, light coming in from the left.


5. Duration: 2 seconds.
Camera Technique: Canted angle of the old man, who walks to the left of the camera.
Mise-en-Scene: Costume, stereotypical grandfather attire, framed in a small room.


6. Duration: 2 seconds.
Camera Technique: LS of dining room table, steady shot, slight tilt in the angle to the left.
Mise-en-Scene: Lighted by candles, family setting up dinner.


7. Duration: 5 seconds.
Camera Technique: LS through staircase railing, focused on the family. shaky camera movement
Mise-en-Scene: Dark, little lighting used, appearance of an old family estate home. casual conversation throughout the shot.


8. Duration: 4 seconds.
Camera Technique: MS of girl walking down the stairs, again use of handheld camera.
Mise-en-Scene: Girl has a saddened look on her face, as she walks past the camera.


9. Duration: 2 seconds.
Camera Technique: Cu on the mans face, slight movement of the camera.
Mise-en-Scene: man talking to family, whilst pouring the wine.

10. Duration: 1 second.
Camera Technique: MS of girl sitting down at the table.
Mise-en-Scene: Casual family dinner.


11. Duration: 10 seconds.
Camera Technique: Cu on the faces of the family members, fast cutting rate used, cutting between each character showing their emotions, panning following the characters.
Mise-en-Scene: Sad expressions on the characters faces, audience can sense that there is something wrong about the scenario, due to the dirty clothes, and plain food being served.


12. Duration: 8 seconds.
Camera Technique: panning shot, with CU on the food being passed, handicam movement. Tilt upwards towards girls face
Mise-en-Scene: Dim lighting  but silence is used to create tension as she places the plate at an empty seat, to which the audience realise there is a character missing, which brings the horror to the clip.


13. Duration: 3 seconds.
Camera Technique: slight movement in the camera with a MS on the girl
Mise-en-Scene: She speaks of her boyfriend returning, in a solemn manner, which creates mystery around the character.


14.Duration: 1 second.
Camera Technique: CU on woman's face, shot from a low angle
Mise-en-Scene: light is positioned on her face, whilst she tries to protect the girl's feelings.


15. Duration: 4 seconds.
Camera Technique: CU on Jacob speaking, a Steadicam is used and using a front on angle.
Mise-en-Scene: He talks down to the girl, and seems superior to the rest of the group, but appears as the antagonist in the shot.


16. Duration: 3 seconds.
Camera Technique: quick cuts between the characters.
Mise-en-Scene: Displays their expressions to what is being said.


17. Duration: 3 seconds.
Camera Technique: MS on Jacob, but soon swish pans to the girl, shot from the same distance
Mise-en-Scene: We can see Jacob becoming angrier, whilst the girl is becoming upset over the fact her boyfriend is missing. still dimly lit, but all characters are becoming more upset.


18. Duration: 2 seconds.
Camera Technique: CU on the protagonist, 
Mise-en-Scene: Appears the head of the table, keeping calm throughout.


19. Duration: 2 seconds.
Camera Technique: Cut to girl, shot in a MS.
Mise-en-Scene: upset look on her face.

20. Duration: 4 seconds.
Camera Technique: Cu on the man talking, tilt in the angle down then up, following the character.
Mise-en-Scene: Describes the scenario to the audience.

21. Duration: 2 seconds.
Camera Technique: LS, zooming away from the table
Mise-en-Scene: The audience can see the panic on the faces of the characters after the knocking on the door.

22. Duration:1 second.
Camera Technique: Fast cutting rate of characters, CU used.
Mise-en-Scene: Can see their expressions, and the fast pace builds tension in the scene.

23. Duration: 3 seconds.
Camera Technique: LS of the man and woman communicating.
Mise-en-Scene: Can see the panic and fear in their expression.

24. Duration: 4 seconds
Camera Technique: MS on the man, panning as he walks towards the door.
Mise-en-Scene: See the confusion in his face.

25. Duration: 1 second.
Camera Technique: Shows the group in a LS.

26. Duration: 8 seconds
Camera Technique: Montage of CU and MS of him unlocking the door.
Mise-en-Scene: The montage is effective at creating a fast paced piece, creating tension for the audience.

Soundtrack:
There is no soundtrack, backing the opening scene, however tension is built throughout with the use of non-diegetic sound turned up, to emphasis the enigma of the scene. You can hear the creaking of the stair case, and the squeak of the chair as it is pushed along the floor, which alerts the audience. Silence is used as well to build tension, such as when the girl mentions her missing boyfriend, for 5 seconds there is no sound, which allows it to sink in for the audience, making them feel sorry and emphasise for the family. Dialogue is the main sound used throughout, and helps set the scene for the film, as the audience learn of the situation and the personality of the characters, within the first 2 minutes of the film, and through conversation, drama is established.

What I learnt:
Through the exercise of analysing the sequence, closely, studying each shot, I learnt the importance of a fast cutting rate between shots, as it speeds up the pace of the film, and builds tension and keeps it exciting for the audience to watch throughout. I also acknowledged how effective silence is, to build tension and mystery, through the absence of sound, the audience are drawn more into what is happening on screen, which is good for a horror film, as it means you can surprise the audience easily. Location is also important when filming a horror movie, as well as lighting, to create the atmosphere, and allow the audience to instantly recognise the genre of film.

Feedback - planning

Matt, Piers, Andy well done on progress made so far. Some good detailed posts outlining development of ideas. Some amendments need to be made which I will talk about in class. Your treatment is a good idea but is short, not much over a minute, so will need some development. Level 4 planning so far when amendments have been made.

Group: Treatment

Stakeout Treatment

Main location: Woods, set in evening light, but given a gloomy effect from the shadows of the overhead trees.
Other locations: A dark room, very little occupying the room, main focus is the character on the phone in the room.

Treatment:
In a dark wood a man runs past the camera, the sound of his panting can be heard. As he passes into the distance a man drops to his knees, in mid-shot. As he looks up his eyes open, revealing his red eyes, he opens his mouth to give out a scream, as he does this his sharp teeth become apparent, he is a VAMPIRE. Cut back to man as he reaches for his phone, frantically pushing at  buttons to reach someone.

A cross cut is used to the another man answering a phone, dimly lit, in his room. Panic in the callers voice can be heard, the man is left with no time to respond, "I've found them, they were in the woods, I stumbled by, they're on my tail, HELP!!!"  As he talks a flash of lightning comes from outside, creating a silhouette. He stays on the phone, listening to what is happening, cut back to woods.

The runner has stopped by tree, unable to run any further, unable to talk on the phone anymore, however he puts it on to speakerphone, he turns to face the THREE vampires, one steps forward, a fight ensues in which a vampire knocks the phone out of his hand, landing by a nearby tree. As the man fends one vampire off him, another bites him, as this happen he is pushed up against the tree near the phone. As the man pleas the main vampire rushes forward, with a malevolent look he punches through the man's stomach, blood flies creating a mist in the air.

As the body drops to the floor the vampires surround the body, one kneels down next to him and speaks about how he knows there is a group of people out to rid the world of vampires, and that they're becoming prepared at that they wouldn't have long. Cut to the dark room in which the man's eyes widen, he forgets he's on speakerphone, "No way!" Back in the woods the vampire hear him, one rushes to the phone, "Someone's been listening the whole time". Proceeds to smash the phone.

They drag the body away from the tree, and as they do so the title "Stakeout" can be seen in the blood trail.

In the dark room the phone drops to the floor, a bag is shown being thrown into the boot of a car, the audience assuming it is the man from the phone. As the boot shuts the scene fades to black.

Titles:
During the chase the titles will appear from the passing trees, and will also be washed away as another tree passes, the likelihood is that they will be in blood red, being symbolic of the vampires.

Characters:
There will be three vampires, one seen as a main vampire who delivers the final blow to the man, and two other vampires as "back up".
There will be one man running in the woods, needing a prop of a mobile phone so he can call for help.
Another mysterious man will be in the cross cut as he receives the call, he will be in a dark room, partially obscuring his features.

MJ: Technical Analysis

Underworld (Wiseman, 2003)

 

Duration:22 seconds
Technique: Production companies credits appear on screen in a white, basic font. Suddenly the title "Underworld" appears in a Gothic font.

Duration:36 seconds
Camera Technique: Tilt down from ceiling, then zooms in to figure sat on balcony.
Mise-en-scene: Bats fly at camera, lightning effects, long dark cape.

Duration:3 seconds
Camera Technique: Long shot (LS) of building, frame partially obscured by tower spire.
Mise-en-scene: Lightning effect, dark towers.

Duration:7 seconds
Camera Technique: Camera focused on spire in close up (CU) as it crabs round, refocusing on an extreme long shot (ELS) of woman on balcony.
Mise-en-scene: Gothic towers with artworks clearly shown.

Duration:5 seconds
Camera Technique: Long shot of woman, with a well-lit street out of focus in background
Mise-en-scene: Dark clothes, bright street.

Duration:2 seconds
Camera Technique: Extreme close up (ECU) of woman's hand.
Mise-en-scene: Water drops from finger-tips.

Duration:4 seconds
Camera Technique: CU on woman's shoulders-head.
Mise-en-scene: Black leather jacket, long hair draped over face.

Duration:4 seconds
Camera Technique: ELS of street
Mise-en-scene: Umbrellas, couple of streetlamps, lightning.

Duration:3 seconds
Camera Technique: CU on woman again, but she turns slightly, as if something has caught her eye.

Duration:3 seconds
Camera Technique: ELS of single tower, other buildings of the city can be seen in background.
Mise-en-scene: A man can be seen on another balcony.

Duration:1 second
Camera Technique: LS of man on balcony.
Mise-en-scene: Similar clothes to woman, holding a camera in hands.

Duration:2 seconds
Camera Technique: Mid shot (MS) of man looking through camera.
Mise-en-scene: Man changes zoom on camera, we can see his pale skin.

Duration:1 second
Camera Technique: ECU of camera lens as the man takes pictures.
Mise-en-scene: Camera looks directly into camera.

Duration:3 seconds
Camera Technique: Handicam shot in LS creating POV shot as man looks through lens, zooms in and out as he searches for target.
Mise-en-scene: Post-production effect of looking through camera, with a blue wash for a futuristic feel. Quickly cuts to black to seem like shutter of camera closing.

Duration:1 second
Camera Technique: Back to shot of man changing zoom and focus.

Duration:4 seconds
Camera Technique: Another POV from camera, this time in MS.
Mise-en-scene: Two men in heavy jackets walk the streets.

Duration:2 seconds
Camera Technique: Back to shot of man, this time taking camera away from his face.
Mise-en-scene: Pale skin and leather jacket.

Duration:2 seconds
Camera Technique: Cut back to woman in CU as she watches him.

Duration:1 second
Camera Technique: Cut back to man, who looks up at woman.

Duration:1 second
Camera Technique: Reverse shot, in CU as she nods to him
Mise-en-scene: Non-verbal communication (NVC) used to show they are together.

Duration:4 seconds
Camera Technique: CU of man, as he nods back, then returns looking down.
Mise-en-scene: NVC shows communication between the two.

Duration:1 second
Camera Technique: LS of man on balcony.
Mise-en-scene: He readies himself to jump.

Duration:3 seconds
Camera Technique: Another LS of man as he drops out of shot.
Mise-en-scene: The graceful jump the man performs.

Duration:6 seconds
Camera Technique: Back to CU of woman.

Duration:4 seconds
Camera Technique: LS of woman on balcony.
Mise-en-scene: Full leather, catsuit-like outfit.

Duration:1 second
Camera Technique: ELS of the street
Mise-en-scene: Umbrellas again.

Duration:4 seconds
Camera Technique: MS of woman.
Mise-en-scene: She stands up as she throws herself from balcony.

Duration:1 second
Camera Technique: ELS from spire.
Mise-en-scene: Shows jump again.

Duration:2 seconds
Camera Technique: Worm's eye view (WEV) looking up at building.
Mise-en-scene: Streetlamp, woman can be seen falling.

Duration:2 seconds
Camera Technique: LS shows woman land on street
Mise-en-scene: Dark streets add to the Gothic feel of the film.

Duration:1 second
Camera Technique: MS of woman's legs as she walks off.
Mise-en-scene: Action shows she has superhuman powers.

Soundtrack:
There is no single soundtrack that can be heard throughout the opening scene, however there is a strong mix of diegetic and non-diegetic sound. Such as the sound of the bats, shutter closing, rain and lightning in the diegetic region, and Selene's story-telling narration and various sound effects are the non-diegetic sounds. One such sound effect is the metallic noise that plays as the characters jump from the balcony, creating a more terrifying and mysterious effect.

What have I learnt?
From this opening sequence I have found that for a vampire film a CU is very useful, allowing the film to show they are vampires without having to state the fact, as the CU shows the audience the Gothic look and pale skin that is symbolic of vampires. This technique also allows the audience to be drawn into the mystery that is created by the way the vampires move and act towards each other, as the NVC from across the balconies is extremely effective.

Back to Key Links

PJ: Storyboard Ideas

MJ: Storyboard Ideas



AC: Storyboard Ideas

Storyboard:

Group: Feedback on Preliminary Task

Creating a creative interpretation of the brief:

• A variety of different shots were used, ranging from handicam to steadicam, as well and different shot distances and angles.
• We made sure not to break the 180 degree rule, and by doing so, helped the continuity in the filming of our task.
• We decided on a chase scene, which meant we could experiment with different shots, and use this knowledge to further enhance our ideas for the real film opening, we will shortly be making.
•  For the editing, the main focus was continuity, so to make the film run smoothly, the cuts from shot to shot, so we focused on making sure the cuts were invisible.
• We tried to keep the after effects during editing to a minimal, to try and not disorientate the audience, however we did use a fade to black at the end, to add mystery to the scene, and to help close of the film, which i believe worked effectively for our dramatic ending.
• We edited the sound levels to make sure levels were roughly equal, and no sound was much louder than another sound level. The soundtrack to begin with, was at a much lower level, but through editing, we were able to boost the volume, and lower the volume on other sound levels at the same time.

Evaluation:

• I think we were able to provide a wide variety of camera shots and meet the criteria required for the preliminary task, by creating continity from the shots through editing.
• We succeeded well in out camera techniques the most, however due to time restrictions, we were unable to capture all the shots we would have liked to, such as some low and high angle shots.
• In editing, I think we could have improved on our sound, as there was a lot of unwanted ambient sound in the background, which we could have removed to make the dialogue clearer, and crisper, however I feel the soundtrack works well with the idea we had planned, and adds tension to the chase scene.
• For our opening sequence, i would like to experiment with more camera angles, and distances, to add more mystery to our horror film. I like the continuity we were able to achieve, and how smoothly the film turned out when comleted.
• I would like to adjust the mise-en-scene in the real opening, as we can eedit the lighting and costume, and add horror conventions to it, such as blood.

PJ: technical Analysis

Dawn Of The Dead (Snyder, 2004)

Shot: Zoom on the door.
Duration: 2 seconds
Mise-En-Scene: The door creaks open creating tension in the room.

Shot: Close Up on the door handle revealing a young girl who is out of focus.
Duration: 5 seconds
Mise-En-Scene: Creates a feeling of apprehension in the room, as no one knows who the girl is or what she looks like.

Shot: Mid- Shot on the couple sleeping.
Duration: 3 seconds
Mise-En-Scene: Sets the scene

Shot: Long Shot of the man waking up to see the girl.
Duration: 4 seconds
Mise-En-Scene: Setting a clam scene.

Shot: Long shot of the girl in the doorway.
Duration: 2 seconds

Shot: Panning in mid-shot.
Duration: 4 seconds

Shot: Repeat of long shot on the girl
Duration: 3 seconds

Shot: Repeat of panning mid shot on the man.
Duration: 2 seconds

Shot: Mid-Shot of girl as she walks out of the shadow with a zoom at the end.
Duration: 4 seconds
Mise-En-Scene: Juxtaposing the calmness of the rest of the scene.

Shot: Repeat of mid-shot on the man
Duration: 2 seconds
Mise-En-Scene: Shows the mans reaction to his daughters face

Shot: ultra high angled shot looking right down on the action
Duration: 1 second

Shot: Close up on the woman
Duration: 1 second
Mise-En-Scene: First shot of the woman looking anxious.

Shot: Over the shoulder shot so the audience gets a good view of the girl with her father,
Duration: 3 seconds
Mise-En-Scene: Gives the audience an idea of what might have happened to the girl due to her face being deformed.

Shot: Two Shot whilst the girl bites her fathers neck.
Duration: 2 seconds
Mise-En-Scene: Sets of the gore and horror side of the scene and the film

Shot: Mid shot of the man screaming whilst his daughter bites him.
Duration: 1 second

Shot: Mid shot of the woman throwing her covers off to help her husband.
Duration: 2 seconds

Shot: Close Up of man screaming whilst his daughter continues to bite him. Pan up following the girl.
Duration: 3 seconds

Shot: Cut to Mid shot on the man as he falls
Duration: 1 second

Shot: long shot as the girl is thrown towards the camera.
Duration: 2 seconds
Mise-En-Scene: Re-establishes the urgency of the woman.

Shot: Slow-mo of a high angle shot on the man falling onto the bed.
Duration: 4 seconds
Mise-En-Scene: Shows the mans injuries and the trouble they are in.

Shot: Close up on the man knocking over the lamp.
Duration: 1 second

Shot: First close up on the girls face.
Duration: 2 seconds
Mise-En-Scene: Shows the deformation of her face.

Shot: Mid shot to zoom on the woman.
Duration: 2 seconds

Shot: Long shot on the girl as she jumps up then the camera retracts.
Duration: 3 seconds
Mise-En-Scene: the odd way the girl jumps shows it is not he, but something else controlling her.

Shot: POV shot of the girl
Duration: 1 second
Mise-En-Scene: puts the audience in the shoes of the man.

Shot: reverts back to the original shot on the girl
Duration: 1 second

Shot: POV shot of the girl running at the door as it is slammed.
Duration: 1 second
Mise-En-Scene: shows the fear of the woman.

Shot: Extreme close up of the woman locking the door.
Duration: 2 seconds

Shot: POV shot of the man on the bed
Duration: 2 seconds

Shot: Over the shoulder shot of the man lying on the bed holing his neck.
Duration: 2 seconds

Shot: POV shot of the man again.
Duration: 1 second

Shot: Zoom on the door as the girl tries to break it down.
Duration: 3 seconds
Mise-En-Scene: shows the unnatural strength of the girl.

Shot: Mid shot of man with blood everywhere.
Duration: 3 seconds

Shot: Mid Shot of woman holding her husbands neck
Duration: 4 seconds

Shot: Over the shoulder shot of man again.
Duration: 2 seconds

Shot: Mid shot pan of woman grabbing a cloth.
Duration: 2 seconds

Shot: POV shot of woman rolling the cloth
Duration: 2 seconds

Shot: Over the shoulder shot of man holing his very bloody neck
Duration: 4 seconds

Shot: Close up of woman telling him to hold the cloth
Duration: 1 second
Mise-En-Scene: Shows the woman may have medical experience.

Shot: Repeat of over the shoulder shot
Duration: 3 seconds

Shot: pan to woman's face as she grabs the phone
Duration: 2 seconds

Shot: Close up of phone
Duration: 1 second

Shot: Mid shot of man dying
Duration: 3 seconds
Mise-En-Scene: Shows the blood everywhere and the damage the daughter has done.

Shot: Mid shot of woman calling an ambulance with no success.
Duration:  2 seconds

Shot: Close up of woman pressing a button on the phone.
Duration: 2 seconds

Shot: Mid shot framed in high angle of man dead
Duration: 2 seconds
Mise-En-Scene: Confirms his death.

Shot: Close up of door banging.
Duration: 2 seconds

Shot: Mid shot of Woman
on the phone as her dead husband gets up and comes into focus.
Duration: 10 seconds


Soundtrack
To start there is a silence, filled with an erie synth in the background. The drums that then come in are a shock to the audience and create dramatic tension. As the background music reaches is crachendo the sound of the zombie screaming is layered on top. There is then an orchesteral soundtrack behind the screams of the man which is fast paced creating tention. The speed and pitch of the soundtrack fit the mood of the scene.

What I Learnt
this clip helped me understand the importance of a soundtrack and also good techniques to keep the audience hooked, such as fast paced editing and cleverly angled shots to reveal, more to the audience than the charactor knows.

Link back to Key links

Group: Movie Opening Ideas

• We had the idea of a vampire horror movie opening.
• There were two ideas for the situation: One being a man running through the woods from a pack of vampires; whilst the other idea is a vampire ritual in which the audience sees the ceremony before the vampires feast on human flesh.
• The credits would be displayed in co-ordination with the background, much like the opening credits of Zombieland (Fleischer, 2009), in which credits come and go as characters or scenery pass.
• We were thinking of presenting the credits by having a vampire punch through the human, in which the blood splatter presents the title as it settles on the floor.

 

Group: Preliminary Task: Final Cut

The Bourne SchoolPremacy

Feedback on Preliminary Task:

• Good variation of camera shots.
• We tried to gain as little continuity errors as possible, with one extremely small case of an noncontinuous cut, however we struggled with one shot in which we needed a "body double" for one of the final shots, which turned out to not be as effective as was first thought.
• The movement of the cameras, such as the POV shot and the pan during the chase, were very effective.
• We used appropriate chase music for the task.
• It has an enigmatic narrative, in the sense that the chase and reveal at the end give way to a larger concept during the film.
• However frequently during the chase the sound levels are problematic, as wind is heavily picked up by the cameras microphone.
• All of these points will be taken into consideration for our final opening sequence, in which we will ensure that ambient sound is minimised so it doesn't clash with the soundtrack or dialogue.
• A POV shot is likely to be used, but with less shakiness, and many more camera angles, as we stuck to a basic chest height camera shot without many variations, whereas in other group's work there were bird's eye views shots and canted angles used.

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PJ: Conventions of Thriller and Horror Openings

Horror: Ghost Ship (Beck, 2002)

Conventions of a horror film:

• Dark and eerie atmosphere created by the use of echo on the singer and the silence around the dance floor.
• Graphic scenes, typical of horror films is shown when there is a in focus, close up of the bloody wire after it has just gon through all the dancers.
• Creepy sound elements are used when the top halves of everyone's bodies start falling off.
• The slo-mo of the flowers being cut is typical of a horror film as it creates tension of what is to come.

Thriller: The Shining (Kubrick, 1980)

 

Conventions of a Thriller film:

• Very typical of a thriller film, The Shining has eerie music with very high pitched sounds juxtaposing the very low bass sounds.
• The birds eye view allows the audience to see how derelict the place they are driving to is. this is typical of a thriller because it sets the basis of the story line and thrillers aim to keep the audience on the edge of their seat.
• The helicopter shot of the hotel sets the scene for the film as large, mansion looking like buildings are typically haunted, this is also typical of thriller films.

AC: Conventions of Thriller and Horror Openings

Thriller: The Bourne Ultimatum

Conventions:

• Mainly non-diegetic sound used, with a high tempo soundtrack, backing the action sequence. The heavy breathing is also turned up, to allow the audience to hear the intense chase scene on-going, and and creates verisimilitude.
• Many camera shots appear to be hand-held, as apposed to steady cam, with a fast cutting rate between them, which hides the cuts between them, creating continuity, while adding suspense to the scene.
• There is dim lighting used, which is very effective in the scene, which I hope to emulate in our opening, as it adds drama and tension to the scene, and mystery which helps to create the thriller genre.
• Through the use of flashbacks, a montage is used, along with a haze effect over the top, to make it clear to the audience it has already happened, it builds tension, and helps the audience to better understand the story, whilst at the same time, not revealing a lot about the narrative.

Horror: A Nightmare on Elm Street

 

 

Conventions:

• CU on facial expressions and gestures used frequently
• A low key humming in background ass soundtrack, creating the atmosphere, and adding the horror to the film.
• White text appearing throughout the opening sequence, good effect, could possibly replicate in some way.
• few shots of antagonist, adds mystery to the villain.
• Screaming is a stereotypical horror genre sound, frightens audiences listening to it.
• Set in a dark, mechanical factory, creates the fear from the location, audience can already tell that it is clearly opening to a gory and scary film.
• Montage used at the beginning, where Freddie Krueger is building his glove, the cuts are fast paces, bridges with the soundtrack, building tension during the sequence.

MJ: Conventions of Thriller and Horror Openings

Thriller: Drive (Winding Refn, 2011)

 

Conventions of a thriller opening:

• Relatively, or no, dialogue used, meaning only non-verbal communication would be used to create a mystery around characters.
• A soundtrack is used heavily over the visuals to create the mood of the location or situation, for example the techno track used as Ryan Gosling's "Driver" patrols the city streets in his car.
• Not a lot of action occurs during the title sequence, such as someone walking down a street or driving in a car, focusing on mainly one person, surrounding this character in mystery.
• There is either a break in the narrative, such as the Driver entering his apartment before going out again, or a major event at the end of the titles to suddenly create adrenaline in the story for the audience.
• Low-key lighting.
• Body shots made up of close-ups and over the shoulder shots.
• Exterior shots are in bird's eye perspectives to give a miniaturised feel of the world.
• Low angles frequently used.

Horror: Zombieland (Fleischer, 2009)

 



 



Conventions of a horror opening:

• Slow-mo shot shows damage being caused.
• Loud, rock-metal soundtrack.
• Visuals of people running from creature, scared expressions on faces.
• Slight comedic feel, over dramatised or funny situation.
• Blood and gore shown explicitly, occasionally in comic fashion.
• Varying angles to show situation, characters and action.
• Main "human" characters tend not to be shown in opening sequence, they are used more as a way to introduce the villain.



PJ: Film Openings - Research

Casino Royale (Martin Campbell, 2006)

Techniques:

• The black and white filming shows the audience that this is an establishing scene, setting the film before the title scene.
• The non-diagetic humming sound creates tension and lets the audience know something is going to happen.
• The pan shot, revealing the over the shoulder shot of James Bond dramatises the scene as the audience will know who James Bond is and helps build tension with the screeching sound effects.
• The fast cutting rate with continuity editing creates shock and excitement for the audience.
• Bond saying "I know where you keep you're gun" is the first time in the scene he is shown to be in control of the situation and the parallel narrative  of the fighting scene juxtaposing the calm conversation, the audience finally sees Bond in his usual commanding role.

 A Nightmare On Elm Street (Wes Craven, 1984)

Techniques:

• Close up on the tools and non-diagetic sound of the breathing creates tension for the audience.
• The high angle shots on the girl shows that she is inferior to the man who jumps out at her.
• The close up of the knives ripping through the curtain gives the ability for the camera man to do a reaction shot on the girl and show her fear.
• The cross cut to the bedroom allows the audience to relax after the sudden shock of the man grabbing the girl.

Batman: The Dark Knight Rises (Christopher Nolan, 2012)

Techniques:

• Shot reverse shot between Bane and the army officer shows the authority of the officer over Bane, who is on his knees and with a black bag on his head.
• Over the shoulder shot shows the reaction of the army officer as he reveals Banes face with the mask on, before a slow zoom into a close up of Bane.
• The birds eye view of the larger plane coming into camera focus shows the audience that the power is swaying towards Bane.
• The Calm non-diagetic voice of Bane juxtaposes the position he is in and the situation, that the audience sees no way out of.

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AC: Film Openings - Research

Quantum of Solace (Forster, 2008)

Techniques:

• There is an establishing shot, which is also zooming into the action to open the chase sequence, this helps emerge the audience into the film, creating suspense. 
• Non-diegetic sound is used for gun shots, and the car sounds, it makes the chase scene more intense and dramatic, by highlighting the sound effects used.
• The colours used are very bleak and boring, but the location is set in a foreign land, making it exotic, and interesting to the audience.
• The fast cutting rate, and continuity editing helps make the film flow smoother, and is more enjoyable to watch for the audience, as the chase appears more intense and faster paced.
• Different shot distances are used towards the end, as well as different angles, it allows the boring drive down the tunnel, to be more entertaining for the audience, by viewing from various angles and distances.

The Matrix (Wachowski, 1999)

Techniques:

• The colour used is conventional for 'The Matrix', and easily recognisable by the audience when used.
• The narration over the top of the opening also adds tension to the clip, enticing the audience as the film begins.
• The raiding of the room is similar to a stereotypical 'cops and robber' plot, however we are positioned to see the police as the antagonists through the use of sound and mise-en-scene.
• The lighting used is minimal, and creates a gloomy atmospehere, making it more dramatic for the audience, as well as adding a thriller aspect to the film.

The Dark Knight (Nolan, 2008)

Techniques:

• Throughout the sequence, a parallel narrative is used to show the different lines of action. We slowly see all the characters killed of, leaving the Joker, which adds to the thriller genre of the film.
• The dialogue used at the end, between the Joker and the bank employee is a memorable quote, which portrays the character of the Joker well, and introduces us into the dark and twisted nature of his life.
• There are cross cuts used during the scene, moving to different lines of narrative, but through fast cutting rates, it is continuous, ans well as sound bridges used, to make the cuts invisible.
• Panning shots are used during the bank robbery sequence, which positions the audience with the antagonists, and with the use of CU and LS of the characters, we can see their gestures during the scene.

MJ: Film Openings - Research

Watchmen (Snyder, 2009)

 

 

Techniques: 



• The montage sequence charts the highs and lows of characters over a large period of time.
• This adds to a comic book style, using a range of colours from extremely bright in one section, to a deathly dark in another.
• The whole sequence is set in slow-mo, which allows audience to take in the vast amount of action.
• The non-diegetic soundtrack (originally Bob Dylan's "The Time They Are a-Changin'" in the film) adds to the feeling of the time, and the message within matches the actions shown.
• The camera tends to begin in each scene zoomed in one a subject, and then zooms out to show exterior actions, such as a CU on a newspaper clipping zooming out to a LS, leading the audience to shock as they see the dead bodies of previously seen characters.
• Occasionally the opposite is used to push focus onto one of the characters.
• A panning shot is also regularly used to follow a particular subject in the scene, for example JFK's vehicle as he is assassinated, panning with the car, allowing us to see The Comedian is the assassin.

Blade II (del Toro, 2002)

 

http://www.artofthetitle.com/title/blade-ii/

 

Techniques:

• A non-diegetic electronic soundtrack plays on a black screen, as the first credits break through in a bright-red, bold font.
• A narrative is heard above the soundtrack, giving a back-story of Blade's past, with a montage of negative shots, mixed with CUs of weapons and bullets being built and wielded by the title character.
• The sequence begins with a tracking shot of Blade as he walks through his workshop, he is out of focus as the many weapons pass in front of him.
• Tension is added due to the camera never showing Blade's face (only in flashbacks) and various angles allow the audience to see his armour, weapons, equipment etc. 

 

The Cabin in the Woods (Goddard, 2012)

 

http://www.artofthetitle.com/title/the-cabin-in-the-woods/

 

 

Techniques:



• The sequence begins with images of torturous rituals, which can be seen in puddles of blood, with a melancholy soundtrack in the background, creating a spooky mood.
• It then cuts to two men chatting by a water cooler about their mundane lives, a clever trick as TCitW is a horror film, and so catches the audience out when a large non-diegetic scream erupts, as in large, red letters the title covers the whole screen.
• Another cut leads to a parallel narrative of a teenage girl readying herself for some time away. The scene begins with a shot from a street, panning with a skater until it reaches her house, in which the camera moves both forward and upward until it reaches her in her room.
• The rest of this scene has a medium cutting rate, as characters come and go within the scene.

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