After completing some of our filming we decided that we
wanted to change our location, this is because we felt that it wasn’t working well.
We wanted it to be more successful and did not previously create the atmosphere
that we were happy with. A new location that we decided upon was a to the
woods, it is surround by trees and in the early morning light created shadows that
could create suspicion and make the audience feel un easy. We though that the location
of the woods worked better because the trees dominated the shots making the character
of Rosie appear smaller against the trees adding to her vulnerability and
innocence. The trees could represent as the male character and his identity,
suggesting that he is always there around her and closing in until he gets her.
The pathway we used during filming, which bends and is surrounding by trees and nature.
Here you fan see how small she becomes when surrounded by the trees.
Another picture of the location.
The pathway we are going to use in filming, because of the bends and cluttered walkway, we thought this would be best as it can imply the mans mind, unclear and cluttered with negative thoughts that are shown by the dark shadows contrasting with the beautiful, bright light, representing Rosie's innocence and purity.
Surrounding the location are pale purple flowers, this represents Rosie's personality and position in the film, showing she is very small and delicate compared to the dominating, huge, dark trees surrounding her representing the man.
Here we are going to use this tree for the location for our idea where the children do Ring a Ring a Rosie, we thought this was a good location because of the shadows made by the huge dominating branches, the tree is a representation of the mans personality.
The branches reaching out to the sky look very creepy and as if that is him trying to reach out to people but no one understands him, therefore he is reaching out to Rosie.
(Molly Hetherington) After completing all of our filming for our preliminary task we found out how hard it can be making sure we follow the rules of continuity. However, we did learn that it is important to complete all filming in one day as the surrounding of the area can change. This is only if it is possible to control the environment. This highlighted an issue with independent, low budget film making, which we will have to look at and plan for in our opening title. This could affect the audience’s reaction leaving them confused and take away the element of the film. This will make the footage look unprofessional, its also helps when editing by making it a clean, smooth shot of the film. A tripod is very important, it is vital for the framing of shots and instantly makes the footage become much more professional because it stops the camera from jerking around which would happen it filmed hand held. The shot where Sam leaves the room, trying to create a tracking shot this didn’t go as well as we thought leading to the camera falling off the tripod and with the spirit level out. This was due to the set up of the tripod. If we was to do this again we would have to make sure that the tripod is correctly set up as our filming is off centre and slanted due to the poor set up. This made it difficult when we then went to edit the clips together. To cover up this problem, or to make sure that nothing like this happens when we come to filming our opening title will be take more footage, this will give us a variety of different options to choose from when we come to edit. Due to the problems that we faced we found it hard to comply to the continuity rules during the editing process, taking longer than we first expected however it made us think about our work more and how we can improve and add to our knowledge. Also we applied continuity rules during our editing process however this took longer than we thought and we dont think it was a successful as it could of been. This highlighted an issue with independent, low budget film making that we will have to plan for in our opening title shoot. Also we recognised that our continuity whilst filming was off so during editing it was difficult to select the clips and piece them together as there was not a continuous flow. This made the editing process longer if this happened to a low budget or a high budget film this would affect the cost as it would take more time to edit causing a decrease of money. If you're producing a film with a low budget like Paranormal Activity, directed by Oren Peli with a low budget of $15,000, time is money and he would have to make sure the rules were applied whilst shooting to decrease the risk of loosing money.
(Molly Hetherington)
1. A state of equilibrium to at the start
2. A disruption of the equilibrium by some action
3. There's a recognition that there has been a disruption.
4. There is an attempt to restore the disruption.
5. Equilibrium is reinstated.
Choosing wether to have diegetic sounds or not in our horror opening sequence was a big decision this is because the sound is a important part of the opening and it can change the mood completely, it can make a film seem more realistic, especially in horror films. We have decided that we are not going to use diegetic sounds as after researching into other horror films we felt it created much more suspense when using sounds of rustling as it plays on the fear of someone stalking and following you and other sounds that create a much bigger impact than voice would. Using non-diagetic sounds allows the audience to focus on whats going on not what they just missed the character say, it draws them in and intrigues them as they focus whats going on in the frame building more suspense for when something shocking happens creating fear and terror.
We have researched some sounds we thought was appropriate when making our opening credits as we are having non diegetic sounds to create more suspense and allow the audience to really focus on whats going on in the short scene. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WojNlFShbPw&feature=related
You should add that non-diegetic sounds are common in the horror genre as they highten the tension and suspense. Then go on to give a couple of examples of horror opening titles that have done this effectively.
Non-diegetic sounds are common in the horrow genre as they heighten the tension and suspense. For example Se7en, the soundtrack creates a unpleasant scratching sound which makes the audience cringe at the sound making them feel uneasy, uncomfortable which makes them feel creeped out at the horror movie.
There is an effective texture to our chosen background that resembles blood very closely and even entrails. This could affect the audience making them feel awkward, even repulsing them however this is the effect that as a group we want to create. This adds to the genre of the film informing the audience from the start.
We all had a group discussion about the location however because of the filming taking place at Mollies house we thought it would be easier for her to take the photos. Once the photos were taken we then then had another group chat about why this was chosen. Mollie then wrote this up.
We decided to use a wooden inclosed space having the two options of using either a wendy house or shed. Both capture the cold, dark, sinister scene that we all instantly thought of in our meeting of loosing the location. We all thought that the wendy house could look very interesting and inviting to a young girl. Using the low angle shot we could then make it seem intimidating relating back the mans personality.
Male Characters point of view shot at the wendy house, side view
It also looks very effective and appear as if he was lurking and watching in the darkness. This would become apparent if some scenes were shot in the darkness enhancing the personality and characteristics of the man who is trying to capture Rosie.
The photographs have been taken from different viewpoints and angles in order to experiment with different camera angles. We all agreed that if you are looking through a element/object it appears as if you are looking at it from another point of view and therefore the audience will feel as if they shouldn't be there, making them feel uncomfortable and awkward as if they are spying and stalking alongside the male character.
Low angle shot of the wendy house, point of view.
We also agreed that the lighting would be appropriate if it was to be natural with some highlighted areas lit with man made light. We have decided to film during the day with natural daylight being apparent however some parts of filming being much later at night so we will be able to capture different elements and highlight some characteristics of the character. With the day time representing Rosie and the night time the man, suggesting that this is all he thinks about, loosing sleep over it. This is also because Rosie is a happy young girl, energetic and vulnerable, she doesn't know what is going to happen to her, not having the understanding and knowledge. The male has a colder nature and much darker therefore the darker sky will help to represent this. This location was also chosen because it is easy for our whole group to access, with no permission being needed. Mollies garden is quite un even with it slopping downhill, to the left in the photograph. However we have found a way of working around this by using a tripod and changing the leg lengths when necessary checking the spirit level is always in the middle, if the camera is not straight then this could lead to it looking unprofessional.
(All completed as a group- however I changed and re wrote some areas- Molly Hetherington) After all having a group discussion about all of our ideas, together we came up with the following.
Deciding that all of these work best with the genre of our opening title. I then took it upon myself to develop from our notes and write this post of our final decisions
In the opening titles of the film 'The Lovely Bones' we like the way the scene started off with them talking together and their positioning, therefore we would like to do a similar set up including over the shoulder shots.
Although this is a trailer we can still see that dark nature of the girl. In our opening title we want to create a similar set up but our roles are reversed with the little girl being the victim and our male being the one who is the villian, almost wanting to feel loved. We also like how she looks girly however she has dark clothing we want to reverse this, with our character still wearing a dress but of pale colours. This will suggest purity.
To get the best possible opening scene for our horror/thriller movie we decided to do as much research as possible. We looked at various different film opening titles including Se7en, Orphan, Tears and The lovely bones. Many more were included however we found that these worked the best and gave us the best ideas. Therefore we based our research on thriller and horror movies.
Lighting- In all the opening titles that we have watched, the main theme throughout is using low-key lighting. Therefore as a group we have come to a decision that we would like to use this too due to the effect that it creates. With a sense of mystery creating tension and adding to the danger. We have also decided on using a black screen when showing the titles, this is because it breaks up the video images, making the audience want to see more and giving them a short break to digest what they have already seen. This is also similar to what has been created in the film ‘Se7en’. We found that it worked well towards the audience, adding to the tension. The font used for these titles is going to be very child like, due to the nature of the film. Childs writing is of a 9 year olds girl, so therefore it has not been fully developed yet and is not full sophisticated. Although the font is similar to the one used in ‘Se7en’ we have developed on this, our film is of a similar nature however ours involves a child, we want to make this very clear in our 2 minute opening title scene. We our going to create this lighting by using lights that shine away from the camera and trying to film our scene in the early evening/ late afternoon.
Setting- For the setting we have decided to focus it in a shed or what they audience to be a house of some sort. We thought that using the shed would suggest that he is keeping it from his private life, suggesting that he has two sides to his character. The shed that we are using is very similar to a wendy house therefore it is very child like. This helps to draw the audience in just like the character. We have easy asses to this location so not only will it be easy for us to film in but to also create the correct effect and scene that is appropriate for our genre. The lighting will connotate the sense of darkness and nature to the setting. In the film ‘Se7en’ the audience can only assume where the scene has been created and we thought that this would be a good idea in creating our scene, due to the freaky nature that we would like to portray.
Costume- We want to keep our costumes quite simple and basic, as we don’t want to take any attention away from the film action. However we want the little girl to look vulnerable and her age, we thought a dress would be good for this. Showing her girly nature. The creators of Orphan have also put the girl in a dress, and dress her in a girly nature, this helps her to appear younger. We then want our main character, the male to look casual suggesting that this a casual thing for him something that he does regularly suggesting that he is used to it and that this isn’t the first time. We also want to keep them dark, due to his dark and psychopathic nature. We do not know what the actor in the ‘Se7en’ is wearing therefore we don’t focus our attention on this, taking nothing away from what the scene creates. Almost wanting to know what he is wearing. The use of normal clothing suggests that the audience feel that they can trust him due to him looking normal, the audience can then also relate to the girl Rosie trusting him.
Props- For our main prop we want to use a book, this is similar to the one used in ‘Se7en’. We want it to include nursery rhymes along with pictures of the little girl who we are going to make clear her name is ‘Rosie’. Showing that he has watched the girl grow up, following her. This will then link to the other prop that we want to use which is of a Rose, connotating the name used and the main nursery rhyme, which will be ‘Ring a ring a roses’, we have decided to use this our non digetic music. We are going to create the book ourselves. This book will also show other victims, as we want the opening titles to state that is was ‘1 year ago’, a past event. All these props are easily available to us and we believe they will work well with the scene and atmosphere. We also want to introduce the girl’s favorite teddy, showing her age, we can then link it to a picture of Rosie holding the teddy bear. The use of coloring books and games will also help to show her age.
Body Language- In the opening titles of ‘Se7en’ we don’t see the actors face, this is similar to what we want to do as we liked the effect that it created, of him being unknown to people and adding the other side of his personality. We also believe that filming close up’s of the actors hand will make the action seem real and create mystery. We also want to do a over the shoulder shot of the man, with a straight and upright position signifying that he is confident in what he is doing. We want the girl to also appear comfortable in his character suggesting that this isn’t the first time that they have been together, showing that she is comfortable around him and therefore doesn’t feel threatened. The close up of his hand will also show his lack of nerves and confidence in the way that it wont shake. We also want the girl to look happy with a smile on her face, showing that she is happy around him and does not know of is creepy nature and what he is really doing, she thinks it is all normal.
Positioning on the frame- We wanted the main character of the male to be in the middle of the frame most of the time, this shows that he is the main character and that this is only one side of his personality. We then also want to use the rule of thirds showing that he is focusing on Rosie, not taking his attention away from her.
In order to
complete and carry out more valid research into our opening title we decided to
create a questionnaire. This is where we would ask our target audience six
questions. We also thought it would be a good idea to do these because we had
some ideas that we were not certain about, we wanted our target audience to
feel more involved and see their views and ideas.
Once all
the questionnaires were completed, it helped us as a group come to some final
decisions. Helping us to discover our audience’s expectations and opinions on
successful horror and thriller movies. We also decided to use ‘every day’ and
‘normal’ clothing. This is because it helps add to the mystery of the opening
title, letting the horror/thriller play on the audiences mind making it much
more effective relating to real life and therefore making it more realistic
leaving the audience curious and paranoid.
Here are
some examples of the questions that we asked:
