FINAL OPENING SEQUENCE

Here is our final coursework. This is a compressed version to meet Blogger upload maximums. Please see DVD for full quality:

Evaluation of Appeal to Audience / Feedback

This presentation shows how we are hoping that our film will appeal to the target audience. This has been carried out as a group project and we have all been involved in the creation of the captions.
Please view the full quality version on DVD as this is how it is intended to be seen.

Evaluate what you have learned about technologies

Please click on the link below to see the PowerPoint we have made discussing what we have learned about technologies across the process.

Presentation

Evaluate your progress from the Prelim Task to the AS opening sequence

 

 

Progress in Research and Planning

Prelim
 

From looking at our prelim task, we did not have the range of initial ideas that we had for our final piece. We used this prelim to practise our composition of shots and camera angles in order for us to be confident when selecting techniques that we would want to later use.
 

The techniques that we used did not relate to our chosen genre as at this time, we had none. With this, we had no plan and had not even considered music as this was just a practise. The dialogue used was roughly scripted so that our actors knew the basis of how the seen needed to plan out.

Final Task

To do our final task, we looked at many openings of films and looked into how they had specifically targeted both genre and age of the audience in just the first 2 minutes. We also picked up on the standard techniques that the genre uses in relation to camera angles, sound, editing and mise-en-scéne.

 

In planning our final task, we drew out each individual camera angle that we were planning to use as this later helped us when we started to film. We too looked into how much dialogue appears in the opening of thrillers which is quite minimal. We also researched the type of music we would need to use in order to create an eerie atmosphere that is common within a thriller.

Progress

Our prelim task helped us focus on the specific areas that we were poor on such as panning shots. In our final task, we made sure that when using panning shots, we chose someone with a steady hand that would move the camera smoothly. Shot reverse shots are common in thrillers and were a key feature in our film as it establishes the initial relationship between the two female characters. 

Progress in Camera Work

Prelim

We used the tripod but we weren't familiar with it yet so we had trouble adjusting it to the angle and/or level we wanted.

Screenshots of oupoor camera work on our preliminary task:

Hands in view on left

Poor framing

Again the tripod is tilted and framing is poor

This shot has Hanisha's hair blocking some of the lens

This is a poor shot-reverse-shot as Hanisha is nearly blocking the camera lens

There were also jolting shots - we were not familiar with using the handle and swivel so went we did the panning/tracking shot, it didn't appear to be smooth.
Screenshot of shot-reverse shot - continuity error, Hanisha and Shannen stay in the same side despite being in different over the shoulder shots.
Lighting - we had problems with backlighting.
Over the shoulder shot - there was no shoulder, we only had part of Hanisha's hair.

Final Task

Using the camera often, with a bit of practise, we were comfortable with using it.
We learnt how to loosen the swivel and the handle for a smooth panning shot.
We took more time in levelling out the camera for a straight angle.
Lighting - backlighting problem solved by considering in making the room brighter by turning on all the lights and closing part of the curtains.
We improved filming our shot-reverse shots by considering where people's positions were and what they will be in a different shot.

Screen shots of better camera work in Final Task

 

Curtains pulled to help back lighting issues

Two shot of the sisters

Shot reverse shot showing a conversation

This long shot shows the aggression through Ellie's POV

Transition between dreams and reality

Progress in Storyboarding and Script

Prelim

For our preliminary task, we didn't create a proper story board but we did put a small script together so that each character would know what to say and it would flow for us to see what we were doing wrong or right. We filmed our task in a classroom were the tables and chairs were situated in awkward positions and we hadn't planned where we were going to film which could be another reason why the camera angles are strange.


Final task

For our final task, we created a story board which we decided to alter a few times to make it flow better. The storyboard showed to us where we had to change certain aspects of it.

When we put the animatic together, it allowed us to experiment where to put certain pieces of music and dialogue.

We also knew where certain locations were going to be.

Progress

because we made sure the animatic and storyboard, it meant that things went smoothly on the day of filming.

We followed the script well meaning weren't improvising on the day.


Screen shots of our animatic:


The animatic has captions of what we had intended to put at that part of the extract

Shot / reverse shot sketched and planned

Thought about camera angles

Dialogue was thought through

The arrow shows the intended movement

This has a focus on sound



This screenshot has where we intended to put the movie title

Progress in Editing

Prelim

When we used Final Cut Express for our prelim task, we did not have much experience in using the software. This meant that we were still learning how to use the software so the editing that we did was not of a high standard.

There were several different problems we encountered whenusing Final Cut Express, for example we did not know how to close the gap properly, so therefore we had to manually close the gaps which sometimes was not accurate.  Another problem that we encountered when editing is that we kept cutting the piece in the wrong places at one point our prelim task we cut Hanisha out completely, which would be seen as her leaving the scene, when in actual fact that scene carries on and she is still in it.

In our prelim we did not use any sound or include music or titles and credits so we did not have any experience in putting our titles and credits in. We also did not have any music in our prelim so when it came to the real piece it look a long time to search for the right music and put it in at the right places and to make sure that each cut of music fits in with each cut of our piece.

Final Task

When it came to editing the final piece, it took a couple of lessons to get into the swing of constantly editing, but when after about one week of editing, we got into the swing of it, making progress quickly. Once we had the rough cut of our piece, we all took it in turns to make adjustments to the piece to make sure that it was up to the standards that we wanted it to be to.

When editing our final piece we used lots of layering to make our piece more effective to ensure that we achieved what we intended our outcome to be. We built up layers of sound as we had different music playing at the same time. We also had music and dialogue playing at the same time so there was sound layering where this occurred.

We were a lot more careful with continuity in comparison with our prelim task. Especially when we were editing match on action shots. We took into consideration when the character was in frame and making sure that each shot linked perfectly. We did this by enlarging the tracks to check we were cutting at exactly the right moment for matches on action.

We used different effects and transitions in our piece to make sure that it flows smoothly and to allow the audience to understand the general mood of the piece, for example a fade of non-diegetic music is used when the younger sister is hiding to make sure the audience knows that something bad is going to happen. It also creates an atmosphere which tells the audience how to feel depending on what type of music is being played at each point during the piece.
 

We used a different program to make the title and credits, called Live Type. Once we made the titles and credits we transferred them over to Final Cut Express and put them in the places allocated for each title and credit. Once we did this we became a lot more confident in our piece. The comparison to our prelim task has such a big gap as we would not have been able to add in titles and credits as we did not have much experience.

Progress

We can see a significant amount of progress that we have made form our prelim task to our final task. We have improved majorly when it comes to editing. We have much more understanding of the potential of the editing packages and how they can be combined. Our editing is a lot more accurate compared to the editing of our prelim task and it is very clear to see this. Final Cut Express became a lot quicker and more efficient to use as we used it a lot more frequently in our final piece.

Evaluate how your product used, developed or challenged the form and conventions of real media products

Title (1)

• ·    Black background with white plain text
•     Gives the impression of eeriness, a typical style for a thrillers 
•     Suits the unexpected style of our genre

Credits (2)

• Follow the same style of the title
• Appear after we see each character
• Black background again so its avoids a ‘busy’ screen
• We wanted to have simple credits from the very beginning as we knew from our research that having upbeat, animated credits would not fit the genre due to its realistic nature

Characters (3)

• Thriller films are all about the unexpected happening and the consequence of silly mistakes. With this in mind we had to make our film as realistic as possible that could happen in real life
•  Characters used in thrillers generally have a dark, mysterious side to them that leads to the events that take place
• They tend to come from broken homes and have some criminal background as well as being white males as the main characters
•  Our main characters are young females which is common in thrillers
• The girls' home life isn’t really elaborated upon a part from the sense that they are not struggling financially due to the use of mise-en- scéne
• The casting that our film went for broke the general conventional genre as the typical main character is a man in his mid-20’s with a high sex appeal. Our characters are both young, white females and play on the ‘innocent’ factor that would make them the ideal victim.
• The mother leaves the girls home alone and is not seen again in the 2 minutes after she leaves the house - absent parents are a genre convenetion as this leaves the young characters alone and vulnerable.
• (6) The ‘villain’ is our piece is a typical kidnapper. The man’s face is not shown clearly as it is hidden behind a hood and over powers the older sister which is a usual stereotype in that the kidnappers always are stronger than their victims.
• The use of vulnerable characters is a common trait in a thriller film.

Mise-en-scéne

• Typical thrillers are set in the suburbs where everything appears to be safe - but isn't.
• Often under-recognised cast members are used to create a sense of reality. These actors would be of average looks (yet if the main character is based around a young adult, he generally would have a sex appeal to entice the female audience) to make them more believable.
• The location is the home where both the girls live. We left shoes and bags around to give the impression the house was ‘lived’ in
•  (5) The location never ventured from the house itself but ventured into many of the rooms inside it
• The costumes were casual and nothing that would distract the audience from the action taking place
• The villain is dressed in dark clothing that doesn't reveal much about his person only that he didn't want to be recognised. This is common in thrillers as witnesses would end up dead due to them knowing his face.
• (9) Another proper used is the photo frame containing a picture of both the sisters together. This clearly shows the audience that Ellie misses her sister and possibly regrets nagging her to play hide and seek. Both sisters are seen to be smiling and appear to be quite close to each other. This moment allows the audience to guess or predict what the younger sister’s intentions are.
• Use of photographs is common in thrillers as they always have a story that link into the situation that the lead role is involved in. As the father of the girls is neither mentioned nor seen, this could easily be used as a stimulus for the back story as he could have been a criminal that got into trouble and now his children are been kidnapped in return.

Camera Work

• We used a variety of shots in our film to convey the relationship the sisters have with one another.
• (4) We used shot reverse shot and two shots to show the closeness of the siblings despite seeing the younger sisters annoying tendencies.
• The use of close ups help portray the emotion being felt at a specific moment in our film. This allows the audience to be placed more sympathetically towards one character over another e.g. During the younger sisters nightmare we see the distraught look on her face which helps builds her ‘heroic’ attitude later on in the film.

Editing

• (7) We used ellipsis in our film to allow time to pass which was created simply by fades in and out and cross dissolves which allows scenes to change into another
• We used cross cutting shots from the younger sister’s reaction to her older sister being kidnapped which shows the audience the strong sense of panic occurring in this scene. This is a common technique in thrillers as it builds up a climax with the use of tension to the scene.

Sound

• We had no enhanced sound in post-production as we felt it wasn't necessary, yet debates are on-going to whether dramatic music is needed for the kidnapping scene. We just had normal ambient sounds which I personally found gave a more realistic feel to the overall atmosphere.
• Dialogue is in constant use as it reflects both siblings characters and feelings towards each other e.g. the older sister telling the younger sister to leave her alone due to the work she has to do in an authoritative  tone to which the younger sister ignores and proceeds to annoyingly beg
• (8) Match on action with sound was used as this highlighted the strong emotion triggered at this point. 

Evaluate how your product used, developed or challenged the form and conventions of real media products

                 1        Title

• White text with quite a formal and serious feel to it which is against a black background
• This title fits with our theme because our film is quite serious as it has a scary feel to it. Also avoids distracting from the atmosphere build which is common for the genre.

 2 Credits

• Have the same font and style as the actual title
• Wanted to keep the feel the same throughout the starting of the film and wanted the credits to be simple because it’s not supposed to be happy and upbeat.

3, 4 and 5 Characters

• The characters that are children is psychological thrillers are normally quite curious and nosey which is shown when Georgina opens the front door when told not to
• Quite a lot of the time, they live in normal middle class houses
• They also have quite interesting bedrooms that contain personal items such as pictures with friends and family etc.
• This also creates a sense of normality that makes the disruption more noticeable - this is a narrative convention in horror and thriller.

           6 + 4 Mise-en-scene

• For mise-en-scene, we used props including the picture shown in number 6. This picture emphasises how Gillian misses her sister Georgina because she still has the picture in her room. Photos from the past are often used in the genre as memory plays a big part in psychological thrillers.
• The table in the kitchen is a significant prop as well because it is where Ellie sees Georgina being taken but the table hides her and is why she doesn’t get kidnapped as well.
• The main location of the film is at Georgina’s house which is significant because it’s where the kidnapping takes place and is an unexpected location - thrillers hope to surprise the audience. All our locations are ordinary and would not make the audience think that something is about to happen.
• Each room that the girls are in are tidy which is again allows for the disruption to be noticed.
• The first location is the hall and the stairs - a neutral environment - we expect the creepy part to be when the cupboard door is opened but this is a red herring.
• The second location is Georgina’s bedroom which is a tidy room with feminine colours like purple and pink.
• The last location is Gillian’s room where we see her having a nightmare and the room is very different to Georgina’s room showing a difference in personalities and that time has passed.
• Costume is simple - quite casual as it was just a normal day to show how they’re lives have been disrupted
• In the last scene with Gillian, she is wearing pyjamas which are important because she’s supposed to be having a nightmare.
• We cast Gillian to play an older Ellie because she has the same features and long brown curly hair and has green eyes.
• There is low key lighting when Ellis is having a nightmare to show that it’s at night and she’s not sleeping well at night as it’s haunting her. This is a conventional use of lighting.

            7, 4, 5, 6 Camera work

• We use a variety of different shots and camera angles in our film such as two shots, close up, tracking shots, establishing shots and shot reverse shots.
• We use close up shots to emphasise key emotions such as Ellie’s face when Georgina is kidnapped and when Gillian wakes up from a nightmare. Also a close up on the picture to show that they were close. This is a conventional use of close ups in openings of every genre.
• We have two shots between Georgina and Ellie firstly at the start when they’re saying goodbye to their mother and it shows their close ups. Another two shot is where they’re arguing. They’re at the edge of the frame. We used these shots to make the scene more intense and to show conflict which is a key part of a thriller.
• There is also a POV shot from Ellie’s perspective when Georgina gets kidnapped which is suppose to be a memory. Heavy breath also follows this to show how scared she is. POV shots are conventional in our genre as the tension builds from only being able to see what the characters see.

            Editing 2, 5

• We used quite a lot of continuity editing in our film so that it would run smoothly and allow the audience to ease into the atmosphere. This is quite standard in film openings unless a more distinctive editing style is chosen.
• We use editing with our transitions as well such as a fade to black and we have Ellie and Gillian’s voices overlapping when they scream ‘Georgina!’ to link with the psychological genre of the film.
• We also use editing for our title and credits; we created a black screen to add a sinister effect.
• Georgina and Ellie get the most screen time to show that they’re the focus which links with certain psychological thrillers where there is one or two main characters.
• The dissolving effect between Ellie seeing Georgina getting kidnapped and her waking up was used to show a distinct difference between dream and reality - psychological thrillers rely on combining these two elements.

             Sound 4, 8

• The main sound we have in our film is dialogue which gives a sense of the plot.
• We have overlapping of dialogue going on as well is important to the genre of psychological thriller as it shows how she is still haunted and effected by what happened to her those years ago.
• We have some non-diegetic music playing when Georgina gets kidnapped - music to establish atmosphere in this way is a thriller convention.
• The screaming from Gillian and Ellie when Georgina is very effective because it shows to the audience how upset they are. Georgina also screams when she is kidnapped to show how scared she is. This is a key sound in thrillers / horror.

Evaluate how your product used, developed or challenged the forms and conventions of real media products

Title (1)

• Hide and Seek – minimalistic. Fading white against black background. 
• Vertical stripes, looking as if they were lights streaming through blinds or in a wardrobe, like the idea that someone is hiding somewhere dark. 
• Appears after Ellie closes the cupboard door and turns off the light.
• Used silence – to give it that empty yet creepy feeling.
• Thin and capitalised – thin for the minimalistic effect, capitalised – similar to ‘Taken’, a film we have taken inspiration from for our plotline – but bigger compared to the credits – this is to enforce its importance.
• Simple animation: appear in a typewriting style, stretch and fade to black. Reason for doing this is because our film is on the serious side; we don’t want to have over-the-top animations and we wanted to keep it simple. Seen in other films of similar genre such as "What Lies Beneath'.

Credits (2)

• A HANISHA MISTRY Film – Similar to the title, white is more prominent compared to it.
• Appears after our ident.
• Uniform.
• Similar to the format to the title. Animation is simple.
• Used smaller fonts. So as not to take over the title.
• White against black background. Similar to ending credits in ‘Taken’.
• After the appearance of certain characters, the screen fades to black and their names will appear as it fades in. This is so the audience can know who’s playing who. 
• We decided to have a white text against a black background instead of just having it appear as the opening goes on because we felt that the background is too busy and that the credits may not be seen.
• Quite simple and unobtrusive in keeping with the genre.

Characters (3, 4)

• In the two-minute film opening, we have to establish the fact that the two sisters have a close relationship (apparent in exchange of dialogues and the high-five). This is vital because later in the film, it will show just how important Georgina is to Ellie.
• In psychological thrillers, the main character is usually in an unstable mental state of mind. They often have to deal with conflicts of their mind – their upsetting past; crimes they have witnessed and suppress; dealing and resolving with a restless memory; going on a journey, looking for unanswered questions from the past.
• Therefore we chose to have our main character, older Ellie (Gillian) having nightmares of her sister being kidnapped back when she was younger. Later on in the film, we will have older Ellie looking for answers to rest her troubled past.
• Most of the opening is in younger Ellie’s POV so she may be an unreliable witness – similar to Briony Tallis, a young girl (older than Ellie by a few years) in ‘Atonement’ so her memory could have been suppressing important information.
• Georgina acts as a careless teenager who opens the door without any precautions, leading to her kidnap.
• Casting Georgina: she had the appearance of a ‘hip’ teenager – short, stylish hair and trendy clothes.
• Casting younger Ellie: she had a stereotypical appearance of a sweet younger sister with a child-like face and cute fluffy, clothes.
• Casting older Ellie:  we had to make sure that they have something in similar so the audience can tell that they are the same person but in different stages of their lives. Both Ellie and Gillian have a long brown hair with a slender frame.
• Use of younger versions of actress shows importance of past events which is very typical in our genre.

Mise-en-scene (5, 6, 7 and 8)

• Kidnapping takes place at home, this means that the kidnapper either knows Georgina or stalking her. House is large and brightly lit, this suggests that the sisters belong to a rich family. This implies that kidnapping or any form of a traumatic event can take place anywhere, even in the safest place you know. This is slightly similar to the hostage situation that takes place in Bruce Willis’ ‘Hostage’. 
• Georgina’s room is chic, has some stuffed toys on the bed and has a very nice layout. This represents a fashionable teenager’s stereotypical room.
• Older Ellie’s room is darker and colder. We chose it this way because we want it to appear like she woke up in the middle of the night.
• The costumes asked to be worn are clothes suitable and often stereotypical of their age.
• Older Ellie’s costume is a pair of pyjamas, to create a sense of media realism as people in films tend to wake up in the middle of nightmares.
• The actor who played the kidnapper had a hoodie on to conceal his identity. Hoodies have the reputation of being worn by youths who occasionally get into trouble or ‘chavs’.
• Usually, films in our genre have cold and dark lighting throughout the film: ‘Don’t Say a Word’ and ‘Shutter Island’ respectively. We broke the convention by having bright and warm lighting throughout the memory but we would plan to use dark and cold lighting throughout the whole film after that sequence.
• Props such as magazines and paperwork are spread out on top of the bed to show that Georgina is easily identifiable as a student – this is an easy way to portray her as a teenager.
• The most important prop is the photo frame of the happy sisters, young Ellie and Georgina. Like a close-up of an object (tape) in ‘Stuart: A Life Backwards’, it shows that it is very important. When older Ellie looks at it just after a nightmare, it shows that she still remembers and thinks of her sister and it relaxes her.

Camera Work (8 and 9)

• We used two-shots and over the shoulder shots as we wanted to show that they are both important and that they have a close relationship. 
• In one two-shot, it almost seems like an edge of the frame shot – which suggests distance between characters – but they lean towards each other which shows a stereotypical sibling relationship: although they may sometimes fight, in the end they still love each other.
• When younger Ellie looks for a place to hide, we have unusual shots such as inside the cupboard when she looks in, a shot from above on the banister depicts her playfulness.
• High angle shots such as the one from the banister or the one behind her when she hides behind the table looks like someone is looking down on her and it captures how small and vulnerable she is.
• Georgina has almost as much screen time as Ellie has, but gets kidnapped. This is similar because in ‘Taken’, the daughter had a lot of screen time in the beginning, but was missing throughout the whole film and her father is looking for her.
• We took inspiration from this and will have older Ellie looking for Georgina throughout the whole film, and whatever may happen to Georgina, the audience will sympathise with her because of her earlier screen time.
• As the opening is supposed to be a memory, it is mostly in younger Ellie’s POV. The POV shot of her looking at her sister getting kidnapped is shot under the table and is moving slightly up and down to make it seem like she’s breathing heavily. This is similar to the scene in ‘Don’t Say a Word’ in which a young daughter witnesses assailants pushing her father on the train tracks and killing him. The use of a POV shot can make audiences empathise and see what is going on through a distressed child’s eyes.
• We also show a close-up of her face as she sees what is going on. Her face displays emotions of helplessness and this causes the audience to sympathise with her. 
• When older Ellie wakes up, the camera pans to the left as she reaches out to the photo frame. The use of this technique makes it look smooth and it seems like it’s routine for her.

Editing (2 and 5)

• We used ellipsis as the sisters high five at the door so it would make sense that time has passed before Georgina is seen up in her bedroom and younger Ellie makes her way upstairs. We did this by fading in and out to black; as we did so, we also added the actors’ names.
• Other times when it fades in and out, the title and credits appear, but it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s an ellipsis.
• We used cutaways during the scene where younger Ellie witnesses her sister being kidnapped. We did this by switching from a close-up of her face to her POV shot.
• We used a dissolve to show the transition from the dream to reality to make it easily distinguishable.

Sound (3, 4 and 7)

• The dialogue at the beginning between the mother and her children is light and caring. This gives the audience the impression that they are a close family. Georgina makes sure that her mother has everything so she wouldn’t come back in case she has people coming over. The children saying their goodbyes to their mother at the door is similar to Cady Heron in ‘Mean Girls’ saying goodbye and waving to her parents as they drive off – she does this to make sure they’re gone before she has other people coming over.
• The exchange of dialogue between the two sisters is casual and stereotypical of siblings – the older one lightly tells off the younger before deciding to go through with her games.
• Before Georgina goes down to answer the door, her dialogue has been added in post-production because we felt that it was too quiet and the dialogue doesn’t seem right. 
• As the dream dissolves into reality, we overlapped younger Ellie shouting, ‘Georgina, no!’ with older Ellie shouting it as she slowly wakes up and younger Ellie’s voice slowly fades out. We used this technique to give the feeling that Ellie’s nightmares creeps and still haunts her after many years.