Developing our opening sequence

When getting feedback for our opening sequence first draft we realized the shots were too confusing so we needed to alter the story line. So we changed the story line from flashbacks before and after Susan McKay's attack to cross cuts between Susan McKay lying unconscious on the cellar floor to her best friend Emily on her way to find her. To do this we took off 'the dream effect' to make it look less like a flashback. This was effective as it created the theme of friendship and due to the fact that our target audience is teenagers and friendship is a key part in a teenagers life, the theme works well and appeals to our target audience well. Additionally, we had to change the close up of her boyfriend ringing her to a close up of Emily texting her. This reinforces the theme of friendship and also appeals to our target audience well because teenagers rarely call people they usually just text someone, whether its an emergency or not. 

Before:

After:

'Never Forgotten' final draft

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

My preliminary task consisted of me and Charlie having a conversation in a science room about whether I was going to go home or not. For our preliminary task we had to focus on the 180 degree rule, match on action and shot reverse shot. I think we created a successful short clip and was able to apply both our camerawork and editing skills well. We stuck to the 180 degree rule as we both were framed on the same side of the shot throughout the clip.

This is a mid-shot of me sitting at a desk
-I am always placed on the left of Charlie. (following 180 degree rule)


This is a mid-shot of Charlie sitting on the opposite side of the desk.
-Charlie is always placed on the right of me. (following 180 degree rule)


Our opening sequence showed a young female character lying on the floor of a cellar and then a different female character walking towards an abandoned house. Comparing our preliminary task to our opening sequence, we didn't have to focus on the 180 degree rule as there were no conversations or confrontations within the sequence. In our preliminary task we had to use shot reverse shot and we did this during mine and Charlies conversation.



Whereas, in our opening sequence we used cross cut shots between the character of Susan, who has been attacked, and her friend Emily who is trying to find her and see if she is ok. The cross cut provides clear visuality of both young girls and suggests they are getting closer and closer. Looking back at the preliminary task I feel like I have progressed due to the fact that I would not have tried to attempt a cross cut as it can be difficult to make them look effective so I just focused on the shot reverse shot which can sometime be dull and not very exciting. When editing our cross cut shots we had to be thorough and make sure it flowed well and could be easily understood from an audience perspective. 


(cross cut from opening sequence)

 

Another way I have progressed from my preliminary task to my opening sequence is the sound used. In our preliminary task we used a short iMovie track which didn't link very well to the scenario and was used to make it seem abit more exciting. During the time of making the preliminary task I was only sure of how to add sound from iMovie so was only able to use a selective variety of sounds.



However, for our opening sequence we planned what sound we think would appeal to our audience, link to the plot and create an uncomfortable and scary atmosphere  We then used the website free play music to find the most appropriate soundtrack. Once we found one we were able to add it to our current sequence and play it as a soundtrack. I was unable to do this during the preliminary task so have progressed since then. 



The contrast between our preliminary task and opening sequence is very clear and obvious. The shots are much more focused and well framed in our opening sequence than my preliminary task. 

This shot shows Charlie walking (preliminary task)


And this shot shows Rae walking (opening sequence)


The framing is much more appropriate and effective in the opening sequence and you can tell the opening sequence shot was planned out. 
The opening sequence is clearly much longer than the preliminary task which indicates progress in my camerawork and editing. 

5. How did you attract/ address the audience?

Our target audience for our opening sequence was male and females aged fifteen and above. We needed to find out what they expect to see in a horror opening sequence and also what they would like to see in order to create an effective opening sequence that will attract our target audience. To find out this research we created surveys for people to do:

With the results  from the surveys we created a video showing all the information in a more super visual and creative way. 

             
In addition to the surveys we created a series of voxpops asking people a couple of questions about horrors, what they expect to see and what horrors they enjoy.
          
Our results showed  that most people liked horrors because they were interesting and scary and that people mainly expect to see an abandoned, cold setting therefore we used the location of an abandoned house in morden park as our exterior location and then a creepy cellar as our interior location in order to respond correctly to what our audience expect to see. Miss Saunders claimed she would like to hear 'heavy, rock music' but we decided to chose creepy music as we believe it is more effective and creates more of an atmosphere and tension.

focused group - audience response to our opening sequence



vox pops - audience response to our opening sequence




analysing our opening sequence in reference to target audience:

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

Throughout the planning and creation of our opening sequence our group used a variety of technologies. During research and planning I used blogger, which is a website used to create  and post blogs onto. I also used the Macs, which are computers designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. When creating blog posts we needed to make them super visual and in order to do that we had to use different websites or techniques such as prezi, slide rocket, slide share, bubbl and go animate these different technologies improved my creativity. 







Throughout filming our opening sequence, our group regularly used a moving image camera, a HD camera and a tripod. 
We used a moving image camera to film all of our shots. For example:

We used Rae's HD camera to film the shots of Rae walking towards the abandoned house due to the fact that we wanted to get a good quality of the surroundings and of her. For example:

We used the tripod for every shots as we wanted to reassure ourselves that the shot were going to be steady.

When editing, we used a numerous amount of technologies. We used the Macs, Livetype, iMovie, Final cut, Da Font and Free play music. The Macs were easy to get the hang of. However, I found Livetype and Final cut particularly difficult as they both had alot to offer in the idea that they had too many things to do which made it very hard to work with. Once using iMovie a number of times I found it easy and fun to use. Due to the fact that we were not allowed copyright music we had to choose our soundtrack from the website Free Play Music. I had never used this website before but after a while I understood how to use it and we were able to find a piece of music appropriate to our genre and plot synopsis. 

  

What have i learnt about technologies from AmieB

4. Who would be the audience for your media product?

For our audience research we created voxpops showing us interviewing a number of teenagers, due to the fact that our target audience is 15 and above, and more specifically students. Our results of the voxpops showed us what ages prefer horrors, what people expect to see in horrors, what music best suited horrors, how horrors should and can make someone feel and what characters are best for a 'villain'. 

The main demographics of our target audience are as followed: male and female aged 15 and above, white British, located in the UK, a student at either high school or university and they will belong to lower-middle class 'JICNAR'. The main pyschographics of our target audience are as followed: enjoy horror, suspense and gore, value friendship, live with family but frequently with friends, passive and fairly well behaved. 

Our film links to similar films with the same target audience and they include: The final as both focus on the idea of victims of bullying getting revenge and saw as this also focuses on revenge and involves violence.

 Furthermore, our group discussed other factors to consider for a target audience and we decided that they would watch soap such as eastenders and hollyoaks, visit twitter and Facebook on a regular account, go to the cinema and hang out with friends on the weekends, wear fashionable but not too expensive clothing lines and enjoy watching horrors because of the thrill and makes them look 'cool'. As a group, we believe our unique selling point is that our film shows a good however exaggerated moral message as it indicates bullies will always receive 'karma' and victims will always get revenge. 

Feedback

'Never Forgotten' Second draft

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

The genre of our film is horror and the target audience is people aged fifteen and above, male and female. We have titled our film 'Never Forgotten'. As a group, we chose Lionsgate as the distributor of our film. Lionsgate is a North American entertainment company and  was formed in Vancouver,British Columbia, on July 3, 1997, and is headquartered in Santa Monica, California. It is the most commercially successful independent film and distribution company in North America. 

We chose Lionsgate as they have distributed well known horrors such as 'Texas chainsaw massacre' 'The descent' and 'Saw' and have created a large number of films that have targeted people aged fifteen and above including 'The Hunger Games' and 'Disaster Movie'. Additionally, their films are very successful and that would be our aim. Lionsgate are a big distribution company which is another reason why we chose them, we want our film to be well known. Lionsgate spend alot of money on their advertising, spending $45 million to advertise Hunger Games, as they believe their films will be very popular. This is an additional reason for choosing them as a distributor, they are optimistic and believe strongly in their films. The recent horror films they have distributed are 'The legend of bloody Mary - 2008' and 'The final - 2010'.

 Our production company name is 'Simplistic pictures' We thought it was appropriate as our film only contains one killer which suggests simplicity. Additionally, the plot line reverts down to one simple thing, bullying. The story suggests if the group of teenagers hadn't pushed Frank or hadn't teased him that one time the situation of Frank wanting revenge wouldn't of had to happen. 

2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?

In our opening sequence we have chosen to represent the particular social group of teenagers due to the fact that our target audience is teenagers so can therefore the audience can relate to the characters and the scenarios they encounter. Additionally, our group includes three teenagers so we were able to give clear insights and fresh ideas of how we, as teenagers, behave. We decided to choose a white female as the 'innocent' character of Susan as white females are stereotypically vulnerable and then for the 'best friend' character of Emily we chose a white blonde female as it created the theme of friendship and the idea that close friends usually end up looking the same and acting similarly and for our 'evil' character we chose a tall white male. We chose a male as they are stereotypically seen as more strong and can cause more pain which is what the character of 'Frank' wants to do. We decided to choose characters in their adolescent years as our plot is that Susan is looking for a place to have a party and teenagers stereotypically enjoy partying and having fun with their friends. Also, the fact that Susan has visited this place with no one else and with no idea who the note is from suggests a 'dumb blonde' character and someone who just wants to enjoy herself and doesn't worry about the consequences. 

Susan


Emily

Frank


We have represented the idea of a 'blonde teenage girl' with the use of the mid shots as we are shown Emily on her phone texting which suggests she is popular and constantly on her phone. Even though  we are only revealed little information about Susan we see an extreme close up of her eye. This indicates that she plucks her eyebrows and wears mascara suggesting she cares alot about her appearance due to the fact that she had no intentions to meet or see anyone at the location. Furthermore, we are shown a close up of Susan receiving a text from Emily. When the phone lights up we see er phone wallpaper behind the text, the wallpaper is an image of a large group of boys and girls this indicates that Susan is popular and enjoys spending time wit bot er boy and girl mates. We have represented the male character as an 'isolated gothic teenage boy' as we are shown he is wearing a dark black clothing with his hood up to cover his face, suggesting he doesn't want anyone to know his 'true' identity. This also could imply he isn't confident with how he looks which in a way makes the audience sympathise towards him and perhaps relate to him. Moreover, this appeals to or target audience of teenagers very well due to the fact that most teenagers are concerned with the way they look and have a large number of insecurities. 

1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

An opening sequence is shown at the beginning of a film and is used to grab the audiences attention and give hints and clues about what the rest of the film will entitle.There are a numerous amount of conventions of an opening sequence. It must, establish a mood or theme as it will help the audience understand what the film is going to be about, prompt the audience to ask questions in order to interest and fascinate them, have a soundtrack which is a non digetic piece of music used to create a mood and introduce the theme of the film, have an equilibrium which is the balance and the idea that everything is ok this is used to make the audience believe everything is fine but then something happens to shock them, have production and distribution logos in order to show who has produced the film and to avoid copyright, have titles as they are used to show who contributed, performed in and produced the film, give the audience clues in order for them to question and use an establishing shot so the audience can interpret the characters surroundings. An example of when an equilibrium is used is in the opening sequence of Harry Potter. Harry is portrayed as an 'ordinary' boy living a 'normal' life but then receives an invitation to go to Hogwarts and his life is no longer 'in balance' causing a disequilibrium. An example where an opening sequence results in the audience asking questions is in Woman in black. It show three young girls playing with their dolls and then suddenly getting up and jumping out the window. This immediately makes the audience ask why? An example where an opening sequence has used effective titles is in Bridget Jones Diary. Due to the fact that the titles are in a handwriting font which reinforces the idea of a diary. In our opening sequence, we have used a creepy soundtrack which creates an uncomfortable atmosphere which is what we were aiming for. Additionally, we prompt the audience to ask questions due to the fact that we show quick close ups and mid shots of the character of Susan lying on the floor which makes the audience question is she dead? who has done this to her? where is she? 

Our chosen genre for our opening sequence is horror. Conventions of a horror include editing, characters, Mise-en-scene, plot/themes, sound and cinematography. Horrors usually use slow paced-editing to create a more creepy and uncomfortable atmosphere. Sterotypically  horrors have an evil character and an innocent character. The 'evil' character usually has a reason for hurting people that can be tracked down to even their childhood and the innocent character usually has characteristics and a personality which makes the audience feel sorry for them or relate to them. 
 
A horror is usually set in an abandoned setting and usually at night to create a more creepy atmosphere. Additionally, an abandoned setting suggests that no one lives there which could make the audience question why? Murder or revenge is usually a main plot in a horror and there is usually a story behind the killer and why hes actually doing it. In addition, knives and guns are used a lot as weapons to create the idea of violence and blood is regularly used to show that someone has been badly hurt. 



Creepy soundtracks are usually used in a horror to create an uncomfortable atmosphere. Normally, extreme close ups and close ups are used in horrors to hide other information from the audience in order to add tension and to create an atmosphere. 

In Se7en a numerous amount of close ups are used showing a book and sharp objects, these create an idea of the characters personality but hides visual information of them. 

In woman in black a large, dark abandoned house is the main setting and immediately creates an uncomfortable atmosphere for the audience. Furthermore, the house looks as if no one has visited it for a long time which could suggest something bad happened there.

 In our opening sequence we have used slow paced editing to show the character of Susan going to the abandoned house to create a tense atmosphere and then additionally we have used slow paced editing to show close the cellar showing the surroundings which include nails, the stairs and spider webs. Also, we have used the conventions of characters as we have used 'Frank' as the evil character with an upsetting past and 'Susan' as innocent character who gets hurt. We have also used a creepy soundtrack in order to create an uncomfortable atmosphere. 

On the other hand, horrors usually use close ups and extreme close ups whereas we have chose to use a variety of shots including long shots and mid shots to show both a character and their surroundings. For example, the high angled long shot where Susan is lying on the floor and Frank's silhouette is leaning over her. In addition, we have developed the typical equilibrium convention in an opening sequence and used flashbacks so therefore focused on the idea of changing between equilibrium and disequilibrium. We have chosen to develop this convention as the change and contrast between 'balance' and 'unbalance' creates tension for the audience. 

Opening Sequence Draft

8. Shooting Schedule

This is our shooting schedule which provides a clear structure of days and times of when we are going to film. It allows us to look back and know where we are going, what shots we are filming and on which day. We have used a shooting schedule as it helps us decide what costumes and props to bring on on which days as it shows us which shots we are planning to film. 

11. Titles

We wanted our titles to be both scary and creepy and decided on a blood red, scratchy font. 

We want our titles to look something like this: 

The blood red to symbolise violence and attack and the scratching of the font to portray the character of 'Frank Deavell' as he has a claw as a hand due to a deformation as a child. The scratchiness of the title could also create the idea of someone or something trying to get away but being dragged and there nails could create sharp and blunt scratches quite like our titles. The sound of a long scratch is uncomfortable which is the effect we want to create for the audience.  Our titles appear within the actual film in most shots for example, in the shot of the note in 'Susan's' hand the title of an actors name will first appear and then after the actual writing on the note will appear and in the shot of 'Susan' walking into the location the title will appear on the wall of graffiti to make it look as if it is graffiti itself. We thought this would look effective and make the titles more interesting in a more subtle way. The name of the film will first appear 'House of the slasher' to create sudden suspense and then next the names of the cast ordered by most importance and most screen time to least within the film, then followed by the names of the crew ordered by least importance to most. 

Order of titles is as followed:

House of the slasher (name of film)

Al Kiernan

Rae Tiernan

Chris Mayor

Martin Sheen

Natasha Claremont

Sophie Nelson

Robert Wyatt

Casting by Amie Brady

Set Designer Paula Smith

Music by Carmen Tenief

Edited by Harry Sullivan

Production Designer Jay Menemony

Lighting by Judy Alter

Director of photography Paula Smith

Executive producer Ted Wannabe

Produced by Pete Lemont and Jim Scott

Written by Caroline Moose

Directed by Sophie Wyatt

10. Casting

We have chosen Rae Tiernan to play 'Susan McKay' as Rae has blonde hair and fits well to the stereotypical 'popular girl'. Rae is confident and is able to stay still without moving for a long duration of time which is perfect for our shots of her character being dead. Additionally, Rae is in our group therefore we will be able to film her during our lesson time. Rae is committed and is prepared for after school and lunchtime filming etc. Rae is fairly small which which portrays her low status within the opening sequence well. She listens well and knows exactly how to play the part. 

For the character of 'Frank Deavell' we have chosen Harry Sullivan. We have chosen Harry as he is excellent at drama and can take up any role. Harry is also in our group which makes it much more appropriate as we can film him during lesson time. Harry is tall and has longish hair which is exactly what we were thinking of as for the murderer. Due to his height his status will increase which adds to the tension within the opening sequence. Harry thought of a large proportion of 'Franks' description and character which will mean he will be able to adapt to the character well. Harry is also committed and is prepared for after school and lunchtime filming etc. Harry is confident and listens well. 

9. Character descriptions

Our female character is 'Susan McKay' who is seventeen years old. She is flirty, sociable, and enjoys parties. She has been going out with her boyfriend 'Toby' for six months and is always with him and her friends. She is a waitress at the local cafe and is very popular at school. She has blonde hair and is always up for a good time. She likes to please everyone and usually doesn't think about the consequence.

Our male character is 'Frank Deavell' he is a seventeen year old boy who isolates himself from others. He doesn't have any friends due to his aggression and creepiness. Many people describe his as a 'psycho' which he doesn't like.  He is single and unemployed due to his unsociable and rude behaviour. He enjoys the idea of murder and hunting people and his strongest belief is revenge. 

                                        

5. Storyboards

                                       
This is an animatic of our storyboard images. We have created a storyboard as it will help majorly once we get to filming because we will know exactly what shots to film, from what angle and for how long etc. A few of our ideas have changed since our initial ideas as we now plan to create cross cuts from past to present to help reveal small amounts of information and to set the scene better. However, we have stuck with our original ideas of showing ripped clothing and blood a numerous amount of times and only showing the back of the murderer in order to hide his identity. 


This is our storyboard:

My groups survey

This is an example of a copy of our survey that we handed out to 30 pupils. Our responses are shown in our audience research task. I have edited the photos we took of the survey making them more creepy and scary to relate to our genre. 

6. Props, Costumes, Locations

4. Sound

                 
This music is called 'Under' and is found on World Mix Vol 3. It uses the instrument, Digeredo and has a slow tempo. I think this music is eery and creepy it makes me feel uncomfortable which is perfect for our genre. We would use this music throughout in order to keep the same 'uncomfortable' atmosphere. This soundtrack portrays an image of 'evil' which helps portray the character of the murderer. I believe this music would  make the audience feel scared and wanting to know what was going to happen next. I created this video and used the image of our favourite location as the background image to help set the scene. This music is perfect for the genre of horror and is it is creepy and suggests someone or something is slowly approaching.

     
              
This is another piece I thought would be good for our opening sequence. It is called 'Out of the shade' and can be found on World Chill Vol 2. It uses soft but effective sounds to create a scary effect. We would use this music throughout the whole opening sequence but perhaps adjust the pitch when the flashbacks are on screen to signify something has changed. This piece makes me feel cautious and aware and as if someone is quietly watching me which would set the scene well for our sequence. I believe this piece would make the audience feel scared and cautious. Furthermore,  this music would be good for a horror as it creates an eery and creepy atmosphere. 

DEVELOPED IDEA



Due to the fact that we wanted to show both present and past, we thought we could use two different types of music. One scary, creepy and uncomfortable and the other happy, peaceful and calm. This is the piece we have chosen for our 'scary present'. This music is good as it has the sound of a whip in the background which suggests the idea of anger and violence. It also increases in volume every once and a while which grabs the audiences attention. This music makes me feel uneasy and uncomfortable which is exactly how we want our audience to feel.




This is our choice for the 'happy past' music. We thought this piece would be effective as it is high pitched and soft therefore suggesting happiness however, the instruments used create an edgy atmosphere suggesting maybe something bad is going to happen which is perfect for our opening sequence as something bad does happen. This music makes me feel calm but cautious at the same time which could be the way 'Susan' is feeling as she approaches the location.


FINAL DECISION



This is our final decision for music. We have chosen a piece of music called 'dark undertow' it has a minimum amount of instruments which creates suspense and an uncomfortable atmosphere which is our intention. It has sudden high pitched sounds throughout which sound like a phone which suggest that someone is trying to ring her and as our first shot is a phone in a hand it fits well for our visual outlook. We chose this as it is creepy and suggests something is going to jump out.