30/01/13

Today we re-shot the kitchen sequence. I am much happier with our footage this time round as we knew what we were doing and got the shots we needed. Me and Nari also did our risk assessment before going to Abbie's house with the lighting and props. This time we had also had a photo frame to smash as before we decided to add the phone in, this made it more complicated in the narrative. I feel it went really well. 

LiveType Tutorial

As part of our coursework it is required we learn about Title Sequences and make our own. As we will be looking using Live Type I did a bit of research into tutorials on YouTube. Here is one I found:
I think this will be very useful for out title sequence and I already have some ideas for a title sequence.

25/01/13

Today we decided that we need to re-shoot completely. We knew that we would have to re-shoot however, it is obvious that we have to do it all again as we would have issues with continuity. I am glad we started this now as we have time to re-shoot. Today we also went to Abbie's house after school to film the park sequence with the child, however we had some problems with the child and also it got too dark. We have rescheduled this for next Saturday as this fits better.

24/01/13

Today we had a set back as we lost what we had edited due to a mistake it where we saved our footage, this corrupted it. We have learnt how not to do that again, however it did mean re editing what we had already done.

How does this my opening sequence research link to our production?

Legally Blonde: At the moment we are thinking about a horror so this style is not what we are aiming for however, the same basic codes and conventions can be applied to all openings. It is obvious that the mis en scene fits with the genre of this film and so do the credits. Very girly and pretty writing is used for example for the romantic comedy. In that sense our credits must reflect the genre we go for. In these credits the titles are over the top of the beginning of the film, so the narrative has already started. This is something I would quite like to do in our film as I think it involves the audience more straight away although, ultimately the decision will be made by the group.

The Shining is a horror film; I picked it because I could look at the codes and conventions in horror films. I really like the different angles used in this and think that we could definitely use this in our credits as it can create more visual interest for the audience. This is also one of the things we were told worked well in our preliminary task. The fact that it is in a isolated place and also picturesque is something I think is very effective and I would like to use that.

The sound in the Shining is also really scary and i like the high pitched sounds as this also connotes something that is not quite right. Something like this would be interesting to recreate.

Again in the Texas Chain Saw Massacre the sound is high pitched and can be irregular. The sound is also non diegetic but realistic. There is the sound of the news in the background which is informing people about the events but subtlety, this would be interesting if we needed a way of adding extra information in to the sequence. The other sounds used are also very sensual and link to what you are seeing. They make you squirm which I think works well. Also I really like the cutting to a black screen as it builds tension I would be interested in using this especially as Legally Blonde also builds tension by gradually showing you parts of the character and her surroundings but not her face. This is something i have noticed in other sequences; therefore i think this enigma is critical no matter what. 

One of the things that I took away from Black Swan is that the sequence intensifies, I think this really works for the opening sequence and I think this would work well for ours also no matter what idea we go for.

Opening Sequence Locations

This is the location we plan to use on Friday for the playground sequence. We choose this as it is close to Abbie's house and the girl house we are using as our actress, this means that we can pick her up quickly and shoot, maximizing our time. This park is often quite empty so that will add to the mis en scene.

23/01/13

Today, we had some difficultly with editing as it was hard to match the moving of objects in the sink. We have also been planning when will shoot our playground sequence and doing our storyboard for that.

Research into similar media texts: Black Swan

BLACK SWAN

• The movie opens with white writing on a black background for the credits. There is classical music playing in the background. The music is quite creepy and goes to loud to quiet and is arrhythmic. This introduces us to the genre as thriller and the black and white is simple and clean, but also matches the title Black Swan which is oxymoronic. The black and white colours could also be a refence to the genre as lots of Thriller films use black and white. 

• It then fades to Natalie Portman who is standing center stage with low key light which creates shadows and suggests an eeriness. Her being in the center of the shot means that we knows she is important and introduces us to her as a central character. The film is also showcasing her, her being the first thing you see allows the audience to connect with her early on in the film. It also means it is obvious who the film is about, and when we later see her wake up from her dream, we know it was her who we just saw dancing. 

• The camera then focuses on her ballet shoes and we watch her delicately dance,the low key lighting again juxtaposes something that is delicate and pretty to suggest something dark and hidden.

• The music intensifies and becomes more random when the second character appears. He is wearing black and contrasts with the swan. The colors connote purity and delicacy for white and evil and corrupted for black.

• The camera also pans round her and the male dancer quite quickly to match with the increased pace of the movie.

• The camera movement in the opening sequence changes from a smooth tracking of Portman as she dances to handheld and more shaky when the male character is introduced, this matches the characters as she is dancing as a white swan, which is pretty and delicate, while he is meant to be evil. The handheld style gives the impression we are watching her and preying on her. 

 

Research into Similar Media Texts: Texas Chainsaw Massacre

 TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE

I used this for my next opening sequence analysis as it is a classic horror movie and it is a budget film which we are intending ours to be. 

• The movie starts with who the film is by, this fits the conventions of the majority of films and the ones I have looked at.
• The movie also begins with a voice over and some text giving a brief introduction to the film, it claims that it is based on true events to attract a wider audience and as a subtle commentary on the era's political climate, the majority of the plot is fiction; however, the character of Leatherface who is the main antagonist were inspired by the crimes of real-life murderer Ed Gein.
• The voice over and text is something I have not seen before in this genre so that intrigued me. 
• It then sets the date of the film, by showing a title on screen, again something that is not very common to me.
• The films then starts with a black screen and some very weird noises that sound like something being ripped, although it is not entirely clear what it is. As we can not see anything our senses our heightened and a tension is built. We can also hear something breathing quite heavily. The film then has shots of light which light up areas of a body, the first we see is a of a disgusting looking hand. The shots also focus on the body part and then go black for a second and when it flashes back it is zoomed in on to them. The tension is brought by the fact we have been given very little information and are waiting for the next flash and something more gory. The hidden information also gives the film a very surreal film and this is added to by the flashes of light as they are so bright against the dark screen. 
• The sound is also eerie feeling as their is a high pitch noise coming from what must be the camera flashing. As we get to the skull and it starts to become more obvious what this is their is also a distorted sound as well. A radio presenter can also be faintly heard and this soundbridges into the next scene. The purpose of this is to make the audience familiar with the location and also what is happening. The audience is given information but not in a direct way. 
• It then cuts to the body in early evening, this shocks the audience as you can now see all of it, it starts of close up and pans away slowly, allowing audience to take it all in. This allows them to get the information they need and process what is going on. 
• The opening credits then start and are black and red which connote evil and red. The also move which adds to the surrealism. 

Research into Similar Media Texts: The Shining

THE SHINING

For my second opening sequence I used the Shining. I choose this because it fits within the horror genre.

• The film opens with the Warner Brother logo-this fits the usual conventions. 
• Then there is an establishing shot of the landscape which is an extreme long shot, we zoom in to the island in the middle of the lake and then the camera tilts. This is effective as it shows that something is not right in this beautiful landscape. This conveys that it is horror. 
• The sound used in the clip is also haunting. It is non digetic. 
• The music is very low and quite eerie at first. It remind me of echos which links to the vast open space seen in the opening sequence, this could connote loneliness and isolation. 
• Then the music gets higher towards the end suggesting increasing danger, the bizarre music creates a surreal feel to the film.
• The music is also played all the way through the opening sequence which helps build tension again meaning when the shock comes the audience are more scared.
• The setting is also very beautiful and picturesque which means that the audience least expect violence, also the fact that it is being shot in daylight which is not usually expected in horror films. The audience least expecting it means that when you show them it will make the jump, which is of course one of the reasons why horror can be so enjoyable.
•  The camera shot from above the car shows how small it is and where exactly it is. The overhead shot also shows power and a sense of watching them without them really knowing.
• The titles start after some shots of the area have been shown. 
• They are in simple blue writing, this doesn't detract from the footage as it is being played behind them.

Research into similar media texts: BeetleJuice

BEETLE JUICE. 
For my research into similar media texts I looked at the opening to Beetle Juice (1988). This a horror movie although it comes under the sub-genre of comedy horror where the audience is scared however there are comedy outlets so the audience can laugh at their fear.

• The opening sequence fit my expectations as it started with a production company name, the music started as this was playing with an echoed "beetle beetle" having a production company first is common in opening sequences, we will include one in our opening sequence and I will do research into different production names and the way they are presented.
• The text was very different from the other opening sequence I looked at Legally Blonde however this is not surprising at all as they are totally different genres. I will apply this when doing my opening sequence that it is very important that it all links together.
•  Beetle Juice has the credits first on a black screen for the production company, the distributor and Tim Burton the director.  It then plays the text over the footage. 
• The text is black and white, with a blue haze behind it. It reminded me at first of something to do with ghosts and the cool colors used indicate that this will be scary. The title of the film surrounded by skulls in the border also confirmed this for me.
•  Next there was an establishing shot of the town, this is common in opening sequences and matched my expectations. Again I hope to use this in our opening sequence as It is important the audience know where they are in the beginning of a movie. 
• The movie opens with a helicopter shot over the town and it follows the road, this build a sense of tension as we don't know where we are going and it takes quite a long time, however it does mean we know where we are in relation to everything. It then ends on a long shot of the house. 

Research into opening sequences: Credit Order

For my individual research I looked at the order of the credits in opening sequences. I found that the order is determined by guild rules, but the order is normally due to importance, with the most important going first. However, this role reverses after the title of the film where you work backwards until you get to the director. The common order is as follows:

PRODUCTION COMPANY presents
 a NAME LASTNAME production
a NAME LASTNAME film
"TITLE"
Lead Cast
Supporting Cast
Casting Director
Music Composer
Costume Designer
Associate Producers
Editor(s)
Production Designer
Director of Photography
Executive Producer
Producer
Writer(s)
Director

An example of this is in Dexter.

This starts with the distribution company, then the title "Dexter". It then gives the lead actor Micheal C. Hall. Then the supporting cast. It then says the writer and producer James Manos, JR. who developed the program The composer of the title music comes next after what the show was based off, then who did the other music. Then comes the editor, the production designer, the director of photography, the producer, the co-executive producers and finally the executive producers.

Representation in Horror and Thriller

Males

Ashton Kutcher in The Butterfly Effect

In Horror and Thriller films the male is often seen as the main protagonist. They are often physically and mentally superior. They usually save the women in the narrative and are brave. Men often take a more active role than women in Horror and Thriller films. An example of representation of males in a Thriller is in the Dark Knight Rises. The movie mainly features outcast males who believe that only

Christian Bale in Dark Knight Rise

violence can be used to express themselves. The villains are defeated by the hero's who can use more violence than them, by other males who are physically stronger. The film also has considerably more men in it than women, the main villain Bane's crew is all men. However, two of main women in the film Tate and Kyle (Anne Hathaway and Marion Cotillard) are represented as strong and independent women which goes against the general representation of women in horror and thriller films.





Women

Marilyn Monroe in Niagara

Jamie Lee Curtis as Laurie Strode

Traditionally in Horror and Thriller films the women are seen as much weaker and have a more passive role. They are often seen as the "damsel in distress" and are killed for committing some sinful act. Generally the girls used are attractive and blonde. On the whole women are usually represented as helpless and innocent. In horror especially their is often a final girl who is presented as virginal and often quite masculine in the way the dress or in the fact that they have unisex names. They contrast greatly with the seductive and weak girls who are often murdered. An example of female representation is in Halloween (1978). Lynda and Annie are showed to be sexually attractive as we see them undressing but also domestic. The more minor female characters are objectified as opposed to the final girl Laurie, she is masculine and has an unisex name. The movie is progressive as we the audience can relate to Laurie.

18/01/13

Today we started editing our kitchen sequence. We looked through what we had done and named the clips so that it would be easy to edit.

17/01/13

Again me and Nari continued editing the questionnaire footage in today's lesson. It should be finished soon hopefully.

16/01/13

Today was our first day of shooting, we left at lunch as we had media last period and our actress Mary didn't have any lessons last either. This allowed us time to eat and set up at Abbie's house. As it turned out we had plenty of time as we thought it would fit the genre and narrative best if it was dark. We filled the time by doing behind the scenes and I also changed the layout and design of our group blog. I also did a group blog post today on some of the problems we faced such as originally planning to do the playground sequence today, and how we made it work with a new schedule. While it was getting dark we did Mary's makeup and dressed her in the costume we wanted.

14/01/13

In today's lesson me and Nari started editing the questionnaire footage me and Zahra did. Her and Abbie had already started but we decided to start over as the computer was not available. We added subtitles as we couldn't hear some of Abbie and Nari's footage.

11/01/13

In today's lesson me and Zahra went out and filmed questionnaire footage, we both had not been there in yesterday's lesson due to an exam and Abbie and Nari were not in today due to theirs. We discussed what we would do in a previous lesson and decided to do the questionnaire on our peers.

Research into Opening Sequences: Legally Blonde

 As part of my research I looked into one of my favorite opening sequences. 

The first opening sequence is Legally Blonde:

•  Immediately we are aware of the genre of this film as a Rom-Com and who its main audience are.

• The swirly pink writing gives us a clue that this is about a girl and also that she is young and a typically girly girl.

•  The writing also has many connotations and the audience are expectant that the character will fit within certain stereotypes.

• She is blonde and within the first 18 seconds we can see she has fake nails on. Already we know a little about her character. She is clearly concerned with her looks.

•   The mise en scene in her room also shows this, she has lots of magazines stacked up and a bottle of blonde hair dye.

• The setting for the opening sequence is shots of a girl on her bike on her way to the main characters sororities, it is obvious that the girl is popular we know this by the amount of people are signing this card the friend is delivering to her and the amount of trouble they are going to. She has something on her desk which has her name and then “President”.

• On her wall she also has a homecoming queen banner which further adds to the development of her character.

• The music also says a lot about the movie, it includes the lyrics “it’s a perfect day, nothing standing in our way” this and the setting shows that these girls live almost perfect life’s and are clearly wealthy. It is very upbeat and clique and this helps build the genre further.

•  The lighting is also well balanced and bright with little shadows or contrast, this show that it is a light hearted movie.

• The main character Elle is not shown until the very end of the sequence this build tension and we wonder what she actually looks like as we know so much about her and her life