Vengeance
By Ruby Chaudhry
I decided to do a video production in which our task was to produce an opening sequence of a movie. To carry out this task we had to work in groups. Alongside myself I worked with two others, Zulaikha Kahn and Fatima Adam. Throughout the project we all spilt our work between the three of us to make it an equal contribution and to help each other in tricky situations when carrying out the task. During the production each of us had our individual tasks that we had split up together. Every one of us did research for the 2 minute sequence and after having done that we posted it on the blog, http://www.blogger.com/.
Ruby Chaudhry (myself):- research, storyline, directing, props, lighting, music, costumes, acting
Zulaikha Khan (myself) – Research, storyline, Directing, Shooting the footage, Props, lighting, editing, costume
Fatima Adam – research, storyline, Directing, props, lighting, editing, costume, acting.
To carry out our task and in order to make it successful we first had to plan, prepare and shoot and edit our opening sequence which lasted 2 minutes 4 seconds. Together we decided to do a horror/psychological thriller genre. We were aware that to create a powerful sequence we had to use extensive enigmas in our sequence to form adrenaline and suspense. To make the audience want to watch further and build interest within the sequence we had to create a narrative to keep the audience involved and captivated. To do this we had to produce anticipation and unanswerable questions within the clip. On the other hand, before we could take a step further we had to decide what age range our target audience would be. We selected a wide age range from the ages 15-35. This is because the audience for such a genre would more likely to visit the cinema on a regular basis as well as this we felt that most teens and adults both enjoy popular genres like horrors and psychological thrillers. To make sure our choices here worked effectively for our audience we produced a questionnaire to state whether our opening sequence was approved or not, and our feedback was very positive and majority of our responses from our audience was that it did very well appeal to them. For a couple of people the genre did not appeal to them as they did not like horror movies and therefore would not watch such genres at the cinema.
To help build motivation and for us to make a really good successful opening sequence we researched a variety of different things such as, typical props, blockbuster statistics, settings in thriller movies, the costumes and we also researched the typical stereotypes of certain characters and how their acting is portrayed in certain genre types, this inspired us with a lot of ideas and innovations for our film clip. To check our overall strengths and weaknesses in our film clip we produced a questionnaire to see what the audience thought about the opening sequence and this would give us reassurance of whether it could be produced in real life production with either a British production company or a Hollywood distributor.
Our audience age range was 15-35; this is a potentially large mass audience to target. This is because I think this is the typical age variety where people go to the cinema to watch such genres, especially horror. Financially the product is right because box office hits considerably for horror and psychological thrillers are very high and a lot of profit is made towards this. Horror films in general are designed to scare and disgust viewers with evil characters, plots and events that can range from realistic to completely supernatural. However, the horror genre has been around for years with classics from Dracula and Frankenstein to modern day versions such as The Hills Have Eyes and The Ring. Since it is a very popular genre it is more likely to product financially. Young age groups are more eager to watch genres like this. Horror films often involve a complex set of codes and conventions this is important because it will give the audience the idea that they are watching a horror film. In most media texts, many of the codes and conventions shown within the narrative of the film are portrayed to an effect that will suggest important aspects of the film i.e. lead characters and their position for example, good or evil. This is important in informing the audience of what to expect of the film and give them an idea of the narrative structure or plot, which is very appealing as we want to see why these particular elements and themes are shown within the movie. One main important convention of a horror genre is a victim. There is always a victim in a horror movie to show sympathy and then hatred for the suspect. Another major core convention is blood and weaponry used. I
n the beginning of our opening sequence we shot the dripping of blood to create adrenaline and suspense, alongside this we shot several shots of weapons such as blades covered in blood. This creates a sense of enigma towards the audience and the fact that the victim was then shown tied beneath a table gives an instant feeling of sympathy. This instantly shows the audience what genre the film is based on. To prove this, we did a questionnaire and asked the audience what genre they thought our sequence was and 100% of the participants were able to identify the correct genre of our opening sequence. This positive feedback was shown because in the clip we used weapons, blood, slow motion editing, and creepy eerie music to make our genre convincing and seem what it is.
Ruby Chaudhry (myself):- research, storyline, directing, props, lighting, music, costumes, acting
Zulaikha Khan (myself) – Research, storyline, Directing, Shooting the footage, Props, lighting, editing, costume
Fatima Adam – research, storyline, Directing, props, lighting, editing, costume, acting.
To carry out our task and in order to make it successful we first had to plan, prepare and shoot and edit our opening sequence which lasted 2 minutes 4 seconds. Together we decided to do a horror/psychological thriller genre. We were aware that to create a powerful sequence we had to use extensive enigmas in our sequence to form adrenaline and suspense. To make the audience want to watch further and build interest within the sequence we had to create a narrative to keep the audience involved and captivated. To do this we had to produce anticipation and unanswerable questions within the clip. On the other hand, before we could take a step further we had to decide what age range our target audience would be. We selected a wide age range from the ages 15-35. This is because the audience for such a genre would more likely to visit the cinema on a regular basis as well as this we felt that most teens and adults both enjoy popular genres like horrors and psychological thrillers. To make sure our choices here worked effectively for our audience we produced a questionnaire to state whether our opening sequence was approved or not, and our feedback was very positive and majority of our responses from our audience was that it did very well appeal to them. For a couple of people the genre did not appeal to them as they did not like horror movies and therefore would not watch such genres at the cinema.
To help build motivation and for us to make a really good successful opening sequence we researched a variety of different things such as, typical props, blockbuster statistics, settings in thriller movies, the costumes and we also researched the typical stereotypes of certain characters and how their acting is portrayed in certain genre types, this inspired us with a lot of ideas and innovations for our film clip. To check our overall strengths and weaknesses in our film clip we produced a questionnaire to see what the audience thought about the opening sequence and this would give us reassurance of whether it could be produced in real life production with either a British production company or a Hollywood distributor.Our audience age range was 15-35; this is a potentially large mass audience to target. This is because I think this is the typical age variety where people go to the cinema to watch such genres, especially horror. Financially the product is right because box office hits considerably for horror and psychological thrillers are very high and a lot of profit is made towards this. Horror films in general are designed to scare and disgust viewers with evil characters, plots and events that can range from realistic to completely supernatural. However, the horror genre has been around for years with classics from Dracula and Frankenstein to modern day versions such as The Hills Have Eyes and The Ring. Since it is a very popular genre it is more likely to product financially. Young age groups are more eager to watch genres like this. Horror films often involve a complex set of codes and conventions this is important because it will give the audience the idea that they are watching a horror film. In most media texts, many of the codes and conventions shown within the narrative of the film are portrayed to an effect that will suggest important aspects of the film i.e. lead characters and their position for example, good or evil. This is important in informing the audience of what to expect of the film and give them an idea of the narrative structure or plot, which is very appealing as we want to see why these particular elements and themes are shown within the movie. One main important convention of a horror genre is a victim. There is always a victim in a horror movie to show sympathy and then hatred for the suspect. Another major core convention is blood and weaponry used. I
n the beginning of our opening sequence we shot the dripping of blood to create adrenaline and suspense, alongside this we shot several shots of weapons such as blades covered in blood. This creates a sense of enigma towards the audience and the fact that the victim was then shown tied beneath a table gives an instant feeling of sympathy. This instantly shows the audience what genre the film is based on. To prove this, we did a questionnaire and asked the audience what genre they thought our sequence was and 100% of the participants were able to identify the correct genre of our opening sequence. This positive feedback was shown because in the clip we used weapons, blood, slow motion editing, and creepy eerie music to make our genre convincing and seem what it is.
An important aspect which needed to be considered was the social group in which case for us it was the kidnapper or murderer and the victim. To make certain that our sequence was going to stand out and look effective we used we had to use our initiative and come up with a variety of different things such as:
Use of music
Sound
Lighting
Mise-en-scene
Particular shots
Editing style
Transitions
Editing pace
Effects applied
All these things were taken on board during our filming as these things were to help make our sequence what it is. To film the sequence we used Zulaikha’s garage at her home that very much looks like a workshop. It was the perfect setting for our opening sequence to be made. This was the ideal place for the victim to have been kept hostage and lighting was used to portray 
the victim clearly as well as the kidnapper as it enters the door. Dark lighting was used to create enigma and a tense and scary atmosphere within the garage workshop. The workshop table was covered with tools which were considered to be weapons; these tools were covered in blood and the side of the table was also dripping in blood. To create dynamic effect to the opening clip, they tied the victims hands (myself) to emphasise the fact that the victim was kept hostage and is trying to escape. The shots used to show this were extreme close ups of the hands and face to show the misery of the victim.
Another important factor we had to use were enigmas to create suspense and dramatic tension. I think without this the whole opening sequence wouldn’t have its originality and would lack a great deal of effect for the audience. To create some more dramatic attention, we used slow pace music in the beginning and then later on we used a tiny bit more of an upbeat sound to create adrenaline for the viewers. We used slow motion in our shots to build that suspense and enigma. The editing was the main aspect when creating the final sequence this made the whole sequence the way it is, as the non diagetic sounds were used we used editing to control the pace of the shots and sounds. The feedback from the audience was very positive as they said thy felt frightened and they knew what the conventions of the genre this also created an intense feel for the audience. 
To assemble our sequence we used modern recording equipment to film our sequence and the technology used to help research our product was the internet, this played a big part in our research and as well as this we also posted our blog on the net to. We also used You Tube as a source of research and Box Office websites to help us research the statistics and also to get reviews from other famous horror films that have been made. The blog is where we posted all our research, it was a form of a diary and each one of us as a group posted our own individual tasks that we have completed. We also posted pictures and video clips and put up research that we did as a group as well.
Taking a look back from where we had all begun, at the start from the moment we filmed our first preliminary task. I think as a whole I have improved very well and as a group we’ve learnt so much and using the DTP software I have learnt how to edit film sequences to make them look unique and original as well as making them look more like the sequence which belongs to a part of a real box office film. We have used much more dynamic effects and sounds to make the opening clip more interesting, which in contrast the preliminary task was very dull because we did not use any sound effects or shots to make it look or seem dynamic. I strongly feel that I have improved a lot over the past 10 weeks during the time I have used over my coursework and I have learnt a lot and created a lot since then by using the technology and knowledge that I gained throughout this period.
To conclude, the finishing sequence was up to our standards and we tried our best to come up with the best of ideas to produce a fantastic opening sequence. However we did change a few ideas in the storyboard only to improve our clip and in some other parts when filming our sequence we did come across a small problem where we were not able to get the lighting correct, this is because we needed a dark shadowy silhouetted figure but unfortunately we could not gain that effect due to the lighting in the garage. We also decided as a group not to show the kidnappers/murder’s head only to create more enigma and suspense and more effectiveness in the sequence as a whole. On the other hand, we did get a positive feedback from the audience as we were able to get the audience scared and make them feel as if they were really watching a real horror/psychological movie. I believe that the three of us managed to produce a fine opening sequence in which case we also received an immense positive feedback from the audience too.
To assemble our sequence we used modern recording equipment to film our sequence and the technology used to help research our product was the internet, this played a big part in our research and as well as this we also posted our blog on the net to. We also used You Tube as a source of research and Box Office websites to help us research the statistics and also to get reviews from other famous horror films that have been made. The blog is where we posted all our research, it was a form of a diary and each one of us as a group posted our own individual tasks that we have completed. We also posted pictures and video clips and put up research that we did as a group as well.
Taking a look back from where we had all begun, at the start from the moment we filmed our first preliminary task. I think as a whole I have improved very well and as a group we’ve learnt so much and using the DTP software I have learnt how to edit film sequences to make them look unique and original as well as making them look more like the sequence which belongs to a part of a real box office film. We have used much more dynamic effects and sounds to make the opening clip more interesting, which in contrast the preliminary task was very dull because we did not use any sound effects or shots to make it look or seem dynamic. I strongly feel that I have improved a lot over the past 10 weeks during the time I have used over my coursework and I have learnt a lot and created a lot since then by using the technology and knowledge that I gained throughout this period.
To conclude, the finishing sequence was up to our standards and we tried our best to come up with the best of ideas to produce a fantastic opening sequence. However we did change a few ideas in the storyboard only to improve our clip and in some other parts when filming our sequence we did come across a small problem where we were not able to get the lighting correct, this is because we needed a dark shadowy silhouetted figure but unfortunately we could not gain that effect due to the lighting in the garage. We also decided as a group not to show the kidnappers/murder’s head only to create more enigma and suspense and more effectiveness in the sequence as a whole. On the other hand, we did get a positive feedback from the audience as we were able to get the audience scared and make them feel as if they were really watching a real horror/psychological movie. I believe that the three of us managed to produce a fine opening sequence in which case we also received an immense positive feedback from the audience too.
