Our Film Opening

Here is our the first 2 minutes of our opening!! Hope you enjoy it!!!

Evaluation Question 7

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

For our preliminary task, our brief was to film someone walking through a door, sitting down opposite someone else and exchanging a few lines of conversation. Before filming our preliminary task we had to create a story board for the different shots we were going to use in our filming. We found this helped a lot because we included more shots following the story board than we would have done just from memoryWhen looking back at my preliminary task, these were the main points I needed to take into consideration:

One factor being, it’s essential to draw up your storyboard correctly in the beginning to save time on deciding what to do later. Also it would be ideal to have script for each character as a lot of time was wasted and re filmed due to actors forgetting their lines.

Another factor when filming ensures actors are not speaking over each other because when editing on final cut it becomes hard to portray the shot reverse shot.

Another thing I learnt about was filming precisely within the framework of the camera. This is a very important part when filming as the camera doesn’t need unnecessary items in the background. Therefore the position of the characters must be precise in order to show them in the frame without having unwanted headroom. Whilst this is being done the eye line match for the pair having a conversation needs to be in proportion to the camera as this helps to accurately film.

Before filming the opening 2 minutes of my film, I looked back at the bullet points above to check what I needed to improve on from my preliminary task. This therefore made me aware of what I needed to improve on for my opening 2 minutes.

I think that we learnt a number of things in the progression from out Preliminary task to our full 2 minute Film Opening including:

• Headroom - we learnt about not leaving unnecessary headroom in order to frame our shots more appropriately.
• When we had finished filming, we used basic editing skills such as cuts.
• Editing techniques - we learnt how to edit sound for our 2 minute Film Opening which we did not know how to do for our preliminary task and manipulate images, for example when our character is having flashbacks we edited the images to make the look slightly distorted and so it make you feel like you are in her position, looking down at the baby.
• Continuity - from editing our Preliminary Task we learnt how important planning was to preserve continuity in our film. Therefore we filmed everything on the one day, this is because we needed to make sure that our actors were wearing the exact same outfits and had their hair and make-up done in the exact same way each time. This is why we decided to shoot in one evening as we would not then have any problems with different coloured shoes for example.
• The three camera rules (match on action, shot-reverse-shot and the 180 degree rule) - even though we did learn these rules for our Preliminary Task, we learnt how to apply them more effectively in our 2 minute Film Opening.

The top picture is of my preliminary task and as you can see, the shot is framed badly due to there being a lot of headroom above both the character. However, as seen in the picture below, our character fills the frame much better as there is not much headroom above her.

 

 

Evaluation Question 6

What have learnt about technologies from the proccess of constructing this film opening?

This plan of how we came about this question. We brainstormed the different points we were going to make and expanded on them.

To show off our creativity and technology skills we decided to use green screen to film us talking of what we have learnt about technoloiges whilst creating our film.

Evaluation Question 5

 

How did you attract/address your audience?

 

 

Here we were shortly interviewed about the ways in which we attracted our audience. When planning audience we clealry stated they were an essential part of our planning. Here is more on what we had to say after making our film.

 

Evaluation Question 4

 

Who would be the audience for your media product?

 

This is a typical member of our audience. Because our audience is quite broad, we made sure we showed our film to both men and women, young and old. However, our protagonist is a teenager for the majority of the film (our film opening shows her in the present, then we move into her past) so younger teenage girls would be able to relate to her. These are grids we gave to some members of the audience to fill out to give us feedback on our film.

 

 

 

 

These are questionnaires we gave to some members of the audience to fill out to give us feedback on our film.

 

 

 

 After asking four different people who watched our trailer we decided to ask the audience to fill in a questionnaire on their opinions. In this the questions were as followed:

- Effectiveness of the overall film

- Effectiveness of the music

- Effectiveness of the actors and setting

- Likely to watch

After receiving this feedback we gathered all the data and placed it in the form of a bar chart.

 

From the bar chart we can conclude, overall the areas mentioned in the questionnaire were positive just as we hoped! This clearly suggests that our film opening was successful as we have met the audience requirements and provided them with a thrilling opening.

It’s evident that the most effective was the actors and setting. These are both are essential when producing a thriller/horror!

Evaluation Question 3

What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

Here is a voiceover with picture we made on movie maker to talk about who we believe would best distibute our film. As young upcoming directors we researched many film distributors but came to conclude that Film4 would be the best for us.

Evaluation Question 2

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

 

When choosing the protagonist for our film we decided to choose a woman in her late 30's as this was a similar convention in other films. We wanted to take a character who appeared to be very conventional and respectable and then gradually expose her seedy past.

 

This character is similar to those in many other thrillers and TV dramas, for example Last Tango in Halifax (2012) and the character played by Sarah Lancashire. They share many similarities such as they are both head teachers and appear to do everything by the book. However they both have secrets they don't want their families and work colleagues to discover.

 

Evaluation Question 1

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? (i.e. of film openings)

 

 

Whilst watching a few opening Thriller films, we noticed that the titles were often one word. We therefore decided to follow this convention by giving our film a one worded title to create the effect of tension and mystery. We chose the colour red to make it stand out and because the colour red has connotations of danger and risk.

 

 

 

This is a shot of the main setting and location of our film opening. We chose this location because in the drive, there was a big enough space for us to move and pan the camera while filming and film several shots from different angles. This location was also ideal because it had the scope of the long gravel path around the house which created a superb crunching footsteps and creaky gate sound effect which are conventional sounds of the Thriller genre.

 

 

As our film is about a teenage son who is seeking revenge on his mum, we chose to stereotype his clothing. Therefore his costume was tracksuit bottoms, trainers and a hoodie.

 

 

This shot shows our main character dressed smartly in typical work dress. This stereotypes her to fit in with a career woman who works in an office. The colour black also foreshadows the dark nature of the film. We restyled the actor's hair and makeup to reflect our ideas of a conventional mid 30s suburban woman who has been quite successful in life. The mise en scene of the large, spacious kitchen and stylish accessories adds to the effect of the affluent lifestyle.

 

 

We decided to do several cut away shots to help increase the pace of our film opening. We wanted to create a sense of calm everyday life and so we focused on ordinary household objects. To create tension we juxtaposed these slow moving shots filmed on a tripod to keep the camera steady with the handheld chaotic shots of the boy running.

 

 

 

We chose to shoot our film opening around twilight to create a sense of fear and to build tension. We chose to do this because we noticed when watching other Thrillers most were filmed in the dark to make them more eerie.

 

We chose this special effect for the flashbacks because it gives the impression that the audience is in the mothers point of view and gives a slightly blurry picture as if she has tears in her eyes. It is conventional to show the transition between the verisimilitude of the clear shots showing the present time to the less clear images that show the woman's memory.



Coursework Diary

Lesson 1:
We chose our groups and decided we were going to base our coursework around the horror genre.
Lesson 2:
We brainstormed potential ideas for our coursework.

Lesson 3:
After evaluating these ideas we came with the storyline. However we realised our storyline fitted into the thriller genre more than the horror genre. We also asked friends and family of their opinions on our storyline. They were pleased!
Lesson 4:
We made a spider diagram on the different areas we would need to consider when planning. This was over a few lessons as this took longer than we expected.

Lesson 5:
We started storyboarding out our idea. This took longer than expected as working out the order was essential to help us with actually making the opening of our film.

 

Lesson 6: 
Whilst discussing our ideas we realised location was an important factor. One of our chosen locations was at a petrol station however after discussing this we found this was not be ideal.
Lesson 7:
The next lesson we carried on discussing location.We evaluated which would be they best one that suited our storyline. When deciding this we looked at key conventions of a horror film and deciding a house would be ideal as this would leave the audience feeling uneasy they can relate to it! By the end of the lesson we decided our chosen location would be Abbie's house as her house had the suited our requirements.
Lesson 8:
We decided to held auditions for our characters as we were determined to find the best actors!  We wanted a female protagonist who was a smart lady in her mid 30's working in a school shown through costume.This character would also show connations of a career driven individual. The other main character we wanted to be a sterotypical young teenage boy who dressed in tracksuits in juxstaposition to the lady as this would show to different backgrounds and leave the audience suspicious. By the end of the lesson we had come to conclude based on the auditions our characters would be Nick an Mrs Williams and they were proven to be the best in the auditions.
Lesson 9:
After deciding Abbie's house we visted and practiced shots just to ensure this was the right location. It worked very well. Here is a practice of what we did!

Lesson 10:
After uploading our practice shots at Abbie's we asked our teacher and friends to receive feedback. From this we concluded things we needed to add. Such as shots from different angles ect.
Lesson 11:
Our second location was the school. So practised shooting here as well.
Lesson 12:
We decided to carry out our risk assessment.

Lesson 13:
After discussing our storyline in further detail we decided to add a twist to make it slightly more thrilling.
Lesson 14:
We discussed the idea of flashbacks within our opening to add to the effect.
Lesson 15:
We researched what we needed for flashbacks. We searched for adoption papers and baby scans to prepare for tommorow when we were going to film the flashbacks. These are the ones we decided on. 

Lesson 16:
We filmed our flashbacks are they were short.  We used the sick room at school to represent a hospital and a dolls from the nursery for the baby. The complicated part was trying to film the doll and make it look real but thankfully we managed to pull this off!
Lesson 17:
We arranged a day to film. We planned everything we would need. For example:

-       Equipment (Cameras, tripods, )

-       Characters - Made sure characters knew what they were doing and when.

-       Mise en Scene - Ensured all character knew what they were wearing.

-      Availabilty of location (Abbies house and the school office)

Lesson 18:
We decided to film all in one go to avoid continuity issues. This went well, despite the bad weather! As the evening went on we became more familiar with what we wanted in the shot. For example no unneccessary headroom. 
Lesson 19:
 We uploaded our film opening onto the mac and started selecting what we wanted into a new project on IMOVIE. 
Lesson 20:
 In this lesson we decided to edit our film in Final Cut. This took up to a week.
Lesson 21:
 All the editing was complete! Now was the tricky bit ... adding sound! We used the website freeplaymusic for sound effects such as heaving breathing and footsteps. However we also used the natural sound from filming i.e. Car driving. We spent another week doing this!  
Lesson 22:
We mapped out our titles for the film.
Lesson 23:
We added our titles into our film. 
Lesson 24:
We reviewed our work and showed friends!



Planning Character and Costumes

We thought it would be important to plan out using a spider diagram, our characters personalities and costume to ensure we had a clear idea as to what they would be like and wear.

This is of Helen:

 

 

This is of Nick:

 

 

 

Planning Our Audience

As directors we decided to hold a meeting and discuss our who our audience would be, why and what rating our film would be. We believed this was essential as they would be the people who watch our film. We needed to have a clear image of our audience before we made our film to understand what to include that would attract and relate to the audience anand leave them feeling supspicous and uneasy watchin our film.

 

 

 

Storyline

After discussing various storylines this is what we have come to decide:

The opening of our film sets the scene of a successful head teacher, Helen who is driving home late on a Monday night after a long day. On her way home she flicks different radio stations to her surprise where a debate is being taken place about adoption. As she reminisces the moment of her hidden secret she begins to feel distressed little does she know what about to happen. Helen finally arrives at home as per usual makes a coffee. These calm clips contrasts with the shots of a boy running, Nick, Helens adopted son. This portrays uneasy feeling the audience receive whilst watching fast pasted editing to show the chaos. Helen begins to hear noises and reaches for her phone to call the police. The audience are left to see a boy snatching Helen’s phone out of her hand and a scream. The rest of the film shows Nick seeking his revenge and Helen’s worst nightmare is just about to begin......

Deciding the genre of our film

Horror or Thriller?

Initially as a group we were keen on the idea of a horror film opening. We researched this genre thoroughly by looking at previous directors and their work, key conventions, analysing the first nine frames and iconic sounds.

Looking back and observing our film opening, we have come to conclude it fits better into the thriller genre due to the atmosphere and suspense of our storyline. Also as our storyline developed we also established this.

Surprisingly the horror and thriller genre have similar conventions within their films such as the sounds, setting and stereotypical characters.

Film Poster Analysis

 

Here is our film poster analysis in which we have chosen to films from within the horror genre, 'Mirrors and Nightmare On Elm Street' where we have analysed the key convetions of the poster such as the fonts, the design and connations used.

 

 

Title Sequence Timeline

This is our title sequence timeline of 'Nighmare On Elm Street'. This shows the credits that are included during the first two minutes. This task is designed to help us to understand the importance of title credits and give us a rough indication as to where to put our titles.

 

 

Certificate Ratings

The U symbol stands for Universal. A U film should be suitable for audiences aged four years and over. However, it is impossible to predict what might upset a particular child, especially at this lower end of the category range.

PG stands for Parental Guidance. This means a film is suitable for general viewing, but some scenes may be unsuitable for younger children. A PG film should not disturb a child aged around eight or older. Parents should consider whether the content might upset younger or more sensitive children.

12A means that anyone aged 12 or over can go and see the film unaccompanied. The A stands for 'accompanied' and 'advisory'. Children younger than 12 may see the film if they are accompanied by an adult (eg someone over the age of 18), who must watch the film with them.

No-one under 15 is allowed to see a 15 film at the cinema or buy/rent a ‘15’ rated DVD. 15 rated works are not suitable for children under 15 years of age.

Films rated 18 are for adults. No-one under 18 is allowed to see an 18 film at the cinema or buy/rent an 18 rated DVD. No 18 rated works are suitable for children.

(All information taken from  http://www.bbfc.co.uk/what-classification/18 )

Iconic Sounds

Whilst being in the proccess of creating our storyline for our 2 minute opening we are deciding with genre it fits into. As part of my research I looked at different sounds which contain typical sound effects These sterotypical sounds add to build tension and create suspense whilst watching a horror or thriller movie.

The majority of horror films all use iconic sounds which help to create an unusual atmosphere. The main function of the sounds are to build up suspense which therefore make the film seem a lot more scary than if there was to be no sound at all. Some films only use diegetic sound, which therefore creates a more realistic feel to the film, and others use non-diegetic sound, which builds up fear. For example they may play a piece of creepy music or have instruments make a big ‘clashing’ sound, usually when an evil character appears.

Typical Sound Effects Found in Horror Films

 

Thunder

This is a typical non-diegetic sound effect because most horror films are filmed when it its dark and by using thunder, it makes the atmosphere eerie and scary.

Screaming

This adds tension and makes the audience aware of the fact that the actor is in despair and needs help. It can also make the audience jump out of their seats if they are not expecting it.

Creaking

This gives an un-easy atmosphere and makes you as the audience feel like someone else is in the same building. This is often used when an actor is in an isolated building by him/herself.

Silence

This builds up the suspense of what’s about to happen. You often have silences before a loud scream or before a shooting scene takes place as you audience are in a state of harmony and they are least expecting it.

Footsteps

This builds tension and makes the audience think about who could be coming round the corner. You can also emphasise this sound by adding on no-diegetic sound which will make the footsteps louder.

Sub Genres of Horror

Supernatural: This includes ghosts, demons and other fictional characters which are created and almost seem real. These films tend to be suspenseful. this also tends to rely heavily on lighting, special effects and deserted settings.

 

 

 

Psychological: this includes playing with the characters fears hence using the human psyche. a lot of violence and torture takes place, using the audiences sensitivity as their weakness. Tension is usually built up quite cleverly through the use of sound and disturbing scences.

 

Teen horror: this relates to teenagers and there lives in which disaster tends to strike. Teen horror tends to emphasise on teen interests to capture the audience and their fears.  themes such as rebellion, CRude forms of humour and love are protrayed.

Audience Expectations

For our audience expectations task as a group we questioned our friends and teachers to what they expect from a horror film.