Camera shots

The framing of the shot creates what we see on the screen. Choices about the framing of a shot change the shots meaning. Sometimes it is important to frame a shot from the different heights to change the audience's perspective on the material. The camera could be positioned close to the floor, shooting straight-on to give the impression of a low height. Perhaps this would be used to signify the view of a child or small creature. Furthermore changing the camera distance supplies a sense of us being close to or far away from the material of the shot. the standard measure of camera distance is the scale of the human body.


Extreme Wide Shot
The extreme wide shot, the view is so far from the subject that she isn't even visible. The point of this shot is to show the subject's surroundings. The Extreme wide shot is often used as an "establishing shot" the first shot of a new scene, designed to show the audience where the action is taking place.


Long Shot
A shot that shows a character at a distance, spanning their whole height but leaning an area above and below them. this focuses the audience's attention on the character and their surroundings.


Medium Shot
Also known as a mid shot, this shows a character from the knees or waist up or full length seated figure. Most effective for showing the interplay between two characters and bridging the gap between a wide shot and a close-up. This shot can also be adapted to a medium long shot or a medium close-up.


Close-up
Used to show extreme detail or facial expressions. A character is framed from jus beneath the shoulders with space left above the head. This shot is effecitve for showing an audience a character's emotions and reactions because it focuses their concentraion on only one thing on the screen.


Extreme Close up
This shows only part of the head, the area from the lips to the eyes, and is often used for highly emotional shots to increase dramatic effect.


Over the shoulder shot
A shot made from over the shoulder of a character, focusing on what he or she is seeing.



Point of view shot
Seen from the character's point of view

Storyboards

What are Storyboards and where were they originally used

Storyboards are graphic organizers such as a series of illustrations or images displayed in sequence for the purpose of previsualizing a motion graphic or interactive media sequence, including website interactivity. The storyboarding process can be very tedious and intricate. The form widely known today was developed at the Walt Disney studio during the early 1930s.

Here are a few examples of storyboards...

Its Usage

A film storyboard is essentially a large comic of the film or some section of the film produced beforehand to help film directors, cinematographers and television commercial advertising clients visualize the scenes and find potential problems before they occur. Often storyboards include arrows or instructions that indicate movement.
In creating a motion picture with any degree of fidelity to a script, a storyboard provides a visual layout of events as they are to be seen through the camera lens. And in the case of interactive media, it is the layout and sequence in which the user or viewer sees the content or information. In the storyboarding process, most technical details involved in crafting a film or interactive media project can be efficiently described either in picture, or in additional text.
Alfred Hitchcock's films were strongly believed to have been extensively storyboarded to the finest detail by the majority of commentators over the years, although recent research indicates that this was exaggerated for publicity purposes. Other directors storyboard only certain scenes, or none at all. Animation directors are usually required to storyboard extensively, sometimes in place of doing a script.

Advantages

One advantage of using storyboards is that it allows the user to experiment with changes in the storyline to evoke stronger reaction or interest. Flashbacks, for instance, are often the result of sorting storyboards out of chronological order to help build suspense and interest.
The process of visual thinking and planning allows a group of people to brainstorm together, placing their ideas on storyboards and then arranging the storyboards on the wall. Furthermore Storyboards for films are created in a multiple step process. They can be created by hand drawing or digitally on the computer.

How to create a storyboard

If drawing by hand, the first step is to create or download a storyboard template. These look much like a blank comic strip, with space for comments and dialogue. Then sketch a "thumbnail" storyboard. Some directors sketch thumbnails directly in the script margins. These storyboards get their name because they are rough sketches not bigger than a thumbnail. For some motion pictures, thumbnail storyboards are sufficient.
However, some filmmakers rely heavily on the storyboarding process. If a director or producer wishes, more detailed and elaborate storyboard images are created. These can be created by professional storyboard artists by hand on paper or digitally by using 2D storyboarding programs. Some software applications even supply a stable of storyboard-specific images making it possible to quickly create shots which express the director's intent for the story. These boards tend to contain more detailed information than thumbnail storyboards and convey more of the mood for the scene. These are then presented to the project's cinematographer who achieves the director's vision.
Finally, if needed, 3D storyboards are created (Technical Previsualization). The advantage of 3D storyboards is they show exactly what the film camera will see using the lenses the film camera will use. The disadvantage of 3D is the amount of time it takes to build and construct the shots. 3D storyboards can be constructed using 3D animation programs or digital puppets within 3D programs. Some programs have a collection of low resolution 3D figures which can aid in the process. Some 3D applications allow cinematographers to create "technical" storyboards which are optically-correct shots and frames.

Lighting

Backing in the early days of cinematography, lighting was always a natural source used when filming. Studio roofs would be opened in order to allow sunlight in and give a good effect for the scene. As time moved on, and technology as well as film developed and the production of films widened, the need of appropriate artificial technology was needed. the use of artificial lighting became more common and this helped the film industry develop worldwide. From the start, lighting was a key part of film making and played a substantial part in the narrative.
Some genres often stick to natural and standard lighting in order to give a more neutral realistic feel. Others however, use lighting as a means of creating much greater experimental effect. Some genres such as sci-fi and horror use lighting in a much more different and unique way, where possible and this gives a more adventurous feel.

Some different key lighting often used in filming:

Three point lighting – this is standard mainstream lighting often used in films and also on the TV. This is where three different lights are used: key, fill and back. The intensity of these lights can be altered in order to create different effects.

High key lighting/soft lighting – this is where the key light is brighter than the fill light and this makes the object appear brighter and softer.

Low key lighting/hard lighting – here the fill light is brighter and stronger than the key light; this results in dark shadows on the object.

Back lighting - This technique is very often used in thriller and horror films in order to show the more dominant characters or slayers and killers. The subject is only lit from the back and this creates a silhouette effect. The features of the person are not visible and this is an important style of lighting we will be using in our opening sequence to show the slayer.

Side lighting – this highlights the subject from only one side showing the subject distorted and imbalanced.

Frontal lighting – this shows the image as being very flat.

Ambient lighting is a term used in order to describe the use of light in a certain way to create a definite mood or emotion. This lighting is only used very subtly but still enough to create and effective outcome.

In order to achieve good results in filming, you need to use different sources of light and firstly get acquainted with the way they work. There is now a greater range of lighting that can be used when filming and this giving a greater range of effects. By changing the intensity, position and number of these lights, different motions of lighting can be obtained. There are different tips and techniques that can be used when using lighting, but the basic need is to become familiar with what is known as three-point lighting; this consists of the key light, fill light, and back light. Once you are familiar with this technique it will allow you to be able to distinguish the difference between 'good' and 'bad' lighting.

Camera Angles

Camera angles can be seen as vaguely different things to different people but overall refer to the way a shot is composed. The camera angle is mainly seen as the angle of which the camera is relative to the subject/character. The link between both camera and object being photographed is what gives the audience emotional information about the character and also helps in the way the character or object is portrayed in the shot. The more natural and straight angled the shot, the more realistic and natural the scene, but the more extreme the angle, the more symbolic and intense the information.

Here are different examples of a few widely used examples…

Birds eye view – this shows the scene from an overhead shot, almost as if a bird was viewing the scene from above. It is a very unnatural and strange angle and objects viewed from this angle are not always recognisable at first until concentrated on. At times this may be to show that the audience has greater power over the object/characters and to make characters look insignificant

High angle – these often show the object as being vulnerable and weak however are not as extreme as a birds eye view. The scene is shot from a higher level from the object possibly showing them as smaller and less significant.

Low angle – these shots tend to give the object connotations of power and dominance. Low angles tend to give a sense of confusion to the audience and show the object as being dominant than the audience. These increase the height and weight of the object in the shot. The background of a low angle shot often shows the surrounding of the character for example the ceiling of a building or the sky.

Oblique/canted angle – these make the object or person being shot seem obscure. This is where the camera is tilted to suggest imbalance, transition and instability.

Eye level – this is a neutral shot where the camera is positioned at the same level of the object or character. It is often positioned as though a human is watching the scene itself.

• Camera angles are a major tool that can help shape the look and feel of the film. As mentioned before the camera angle marks the specific location at which the camera is placed to take a shot. where the camera is placed in relation to the object effects the way in which the audience perceive the object. A low angle shot would show the object as dominant and powerful and a high angle shot would show the object as weak and vulnerable. Just like this, a natural eye-level shot would have no effect on the audience as it is as if the viewer is present there.

Representations

Representation refers to the construction in any medium (especially the mass media) of aspects of ‘reality’ such as people, places, objects, events, cultural identities and other abstract concepts.Representation always involves 'the construction of reality'.
In our sequence we are going to make sure our clip is realistic as possible.
We are going to use stereotypical characters, one of which is a villain, and the other a victim. We are using these stereotypes because it is effective and it brings out the horror in our film as each horror film does include a villain. In this case the villain is a man, and the victim a teeange girl.
Gender also plays a big role Male are stereotypically known as being:

• Strong
• Rough
• Workaholic
• Rugged hunters
• Tough
• Aggressive
• In control
• Powerful

And a stereotypical woman would be conveyd as:

• Delicate
• Beautiful
• Housewife
• Blonde
• Loving
• Caring
• Innocent
• Multi-tasking

The villain in our film will be represented as dominant, and stereotypicaly all of what a villain should be. He would be dressed In black so this would convey darkness and evil within the character. However the girl in our sequence will be represented as a timid naive girl who needs protecting, she will be wearing dark and ripped clothes, this will represent the girl is danger. 

Representations in general is an important aspect in our sequence as well as in any other movie, it makes up the whole of a movie and gives the audience an image of what a certain character could turn put to be like.  

Analysis of an opening sequence

Saw V
What is the movie about?

In Saw V, Hoffman (Costas Mandylor) is seemingly the last person alive to carry on the Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) legacy. But when his secret is threatened, Hoffman must go on the hunt to eliminate all loose ends. In the Horror Sequel, people escape one trap just to get caught in another.

As part of our project i analysed the clip below from the time 0:51 seconds:

The scene begins with a threateningly dark lit scene. It shows a close up shot of the characters panic stricken face that is immediately noticed by the audience as the victim in the sequence. Non diagetic sounds are used in the process to create dynamic effect. A close up shot of the characters face is taken from a birds eye view to show the fear and vulnerability on the victims face. At the beginning, the character is forcing himself to take a metal chain of his neck; this is because he rapidly wakes up and sees himself chained to a table. The room is all dark and mysterious. Suddenly a spotlight is then shone of the victim’s body, the camera is slowly moving towards the right so you can only see the back of the victim’s head which is then followed by another close up of the chains that are tied on the characters ankles.

Dark mysterious lighting is used to create enigma and suspense for the audience of why the man is lying down chained to table. The atmosphere is very tense and frightening. The camera slowly then suddenly rises up and in the process does a 360 degree fast pace long shot. The camera distances itself away from the character using an extreme long shot so that now the audience can see the whole room. A medium shot is now used to see the victim clearly, you can see the dread and fright on his face and the words “help” that the audience hear just signifies the fact that the victim is in serious danger. When a medium shot is used, you can see tattoos on the characters body; this shows that the character is stereotypically imaged as a slightly rough person. The camera slowly moves around the back showing the characters head again, but this time the sound of the television flickering automatically makes us think that it’s going to switch on itself. A close up shot is then used towards the television and a person has covered their face using a distinctively ugly yet scary looking mask,  the audience instantly recognises this person as the villain of the whole movie. Instantly we know that this person plays a major role in the sequence. Cuts are used back and forth to show the victims face and the use of non diagetic sounds in between are building up the anxiety and fear for the audience. In the process of this happening, we can closely see the villain on the T.V screen and the slight use of slow heartbeats pumping quietly in the background makes us pay attention to what the villain is saying.

The victim on the table had paid for his crime in the eyes of the law by staying behind bars for five years, but he still  has not yet paid for his crime that he committed in the eyes of the villain. This partly answers the questions that run in the audiences mind about the victim. We then see a close up shot of a cutting tool that is going to be released above him sliding side to side. This creates terrifying feelings and thoughts towards the victim. The camera cuts and then shows us the chains linked to the cutting tool above when it is going to be released; this gives us an impact towards the character and creates images and confusion about what might happen next. Is the victim going to die or survive? The victim then has to place his hands in to the boxes; which on the other hand contain blades that are going to crush his hands to dust. We then see a close up shot of the victim from a birds eye view, he is screaming. This adds to the dramatic impact and the depth of the opening scene. The timing the villain has given for the victim is 60 seconds. This means in 60 seconds the victim has to get his hands crushed by placing them in the boxes on each side of him. All builds up a lot of tension for the audience and a lot of fear. Here it just shows how vulnerable the victim is and the inescapable position he is in. When the blade is released sliding side to side lowering itself each time, adrenaline kicks in instantly for the audience creating excitement yet alongside this its also creating shock and terror and sympathy towards the victim.

As the character struggles close up shots are used to show the characters face and shots are used to show the blade lowering slowly and slowly. Here we can hear the victim screaming for help and is longing for someone to save his life, yet as the audience we know that is very unlikely. An extreme close up shot is used to show the hands of the victim and we also see the chains turning to crush the victim’s hands. As we hear the victim scream for his life this is creating dramatic dynamic effect to the whole opening sequence. Bird’s eye shots are used again to show the intensity on the characters face. The slide if the blade swinging just above the victim is causing dramatic fear and apprehension. The sound of the victims hands being crushed are gruesome and very intense and frightening, cuts are used to show the blade and once again going back and forth to show the intensity on the characters face this is also shown by using close ups.

As well as this, cuts are again shown to see the hands being crushed, for the audience this is definitely shocking and it immediately creates a feeling of pity. All these enigmas are used to create suspension and confusion for the audience. The hands get crushed and the sound of blood splattering causes sickness for the audience and suddenly extreme close up shots are used to see the chains turning and this time we can see the blade from extreme close up. Enigmas are created to make the heart beat fast for the audience. When the blade is lowering down the finial time it then slices the victims stomach open and causes such an intense and terrifying feeling close up shots are used to see the blood splurging out of the victims body and to also see the victims face with blood all over it. Shots are used to see the side of the characters face, this increases the emotions are feelings and the audience can then clearly imagine and see what the victim is going through.
All of a sudden an extreme close up shot is used to show someone looking through a hole the victim turns his head to then see the eye in the hole looking towards him and as the audience we instantly know that “the eye” could be the villain looking through that hole and the sound of the final slice on the victims body finishes the whole opening chapter of the movie finalising it with the confusion of who could be looking through that hole in the door or wall and question of why he killed that man so brutally.

Character clothing/costumes

Clothing can tell all about you, it is a way to express your style and your sense of fashion. Alot of people judge one another by the way they dress. This is simailar to the way an audience judges a certain character(s) in a movie deciding upon what they are dressed like. A certain character can reveal what their personality is like simply by the way they dress for example, they can reveal their identity and this also allows them to express themselves and mood with out saying anything such as, their intrests, their style of fashion and also the character they are playing, whether they are a villain or a victim or simply a psycho.The way a character looks on the exterior largely impacts the audiences view on the characters interior. Costumes are very important because you subconsciously choose the look that reflects and completes a certain charatcers personality. Because our sequence is a horror psychological thriller the costumes that our characters will be wearing are goin to be dark colours..
Certain colours represent certain tones and personalities, dark grey colours would typicaly represent:

• Shadowy
• Gloomy
• Mysterious
• Evil
• Murder

One of the characters in our sequence will have all these kind of representaions because of the clothing that it will be wearing.This shows that it will be a villain and not a victim. Our objective is to make the audience feel frightened and mysterious and wonder what may happen next.

Different colours represent different things and they give out different kinds of meanings. Colours such as: pink, yellow, blue, green, white etc. These type of colours represent:

• Femininity
• Love
• Appreciation
• Happiness
• Health
• Gratitude
• Purtiy
• Innocence
• Gratitude
• Friendship (etc)
  

Costumes and clothing are very important, they make up the whole movie and show a whole new complete identity of a character.

Analysis of an Opening Sequence

The Ring

What the movie is about?

Two teenage girls Katie Embry and Rebecca Kotler discuss the supposedly cursed tape. Katie reveals that, seven days before, she went to a cabin at Shelter Mountain Inn with friends, where she viewed the video tape. After a series of strange occurrences, involving a television in the house turning itself on, Katie is mysteriously killed while Becca watches, causing her to be institutionalized in a mental hospital.

Katie's aunt, Rachel is a journalist living in Seattle who decides to go undercover on the mysterious death of her niece and her three friends, who seemed to all died on the same day at the same time- 10:00 PM. After being told that her niece was found in a closet with a horrifying look on her face, she searches through her room and finds some pictures, pictures of the cabin where her niece and her friends had stayed a week before the deaths. Rachel finds the mysterious video tape which is killing off anyone who watches it. Whenever the victim watches it, the phone rings, telling them they have only one week to live.

Rachel is investigating these events, but after she and her small son watch the tape, it becomes a race against time to find out why the tape is killing everyone and how it could be stopped. She and her divorced husband, Noah, research about the video and find facts about Anna Morgan and her daughter, Samara Morgan, the maker of this video. With only a week left, Rachel and Noah discover the unknown secrets of the life of Samara Morgan, and, hopefully for them, a way to break the curse.

As part of our project I analysed the opening sequence of The Ring

Analysis of The Ring

The Sequence begins in the kitchen were Katie goes to get a glass of juice as she takes a sip of the juice she hears the television switch on she begins to get scared as there is no one in the room wondering how the television had switched on itself. She then turns her head slowly towards the room looking very afraid and nervous. Here we find an extreme close up of her face emphasising her features. She makes her way to the main room where the television is, at a slow pace making sure she couldn’t be heard. We the see a mid shot of the room focusing mainly on the television the blurry and static effect of the television makes it almost unbearable to hear. And makes the audience apprehensive. She then looks around the room to see if there is anyone around she then switches off the television and makes her way back to the door. At this point we get a tilted angle of her looking back at the television. As the camera zooms in towards her it makes the audience realize that the television has come on itself again. She calls out to her friend wondering if she was the one playing a prank on her. As she runs towards the Television we see a close shot of her and the TV this also emphasises the story of the movie, the whole concept of samara coming out of the TV. We see how afraid she is and as she begins too breathe heavily this shows how scared she is. Throughout this opening sequence we see high and low angles we also see a lot of close up shots which add effect, the tilted angles show confusion of what is happening in the scene etc.

She hears more noises in the kitchen as she makes her way to the kitchen she see s that the door for the fridge is opening by itself making her even more scared. Now there is a high angle from the staircase showing authority, she runs up the stairs only to find water coming from beneath the bedroom door, with curiosity she walks towards the door. We see another close shot of the door knob and her approaching it she begins to turn the knob but at a slow pace in order to set an intense atmosphere. She enters the room only to find the cursed tape being played. Finally it ends with a zoomed out shot of the TV and a fast zoomed in shot of Katie. Her Face is shocked as she see’s something unusual; her face turns to a strange pale colour. At the end we see images of the tape and disgusting evidence such as cut up fingers and an image of the well.

Throughout this sequence Katie is dressed in a white blouse and a grey skirt which proves that it is her school uniform. The location of the opening sequence is at a guest house which seems to be in great condition. The lighting throughout the sequence is dark and dull which is used to create suspense. The music in the openign sequence is both diagetic and non-diagetic the music creates a dramatic effect so that the audience are engrossed.

Prelim task video

Before filming our actual opening sequence for our movie each group had to do a preliminary task in order to help get a greater understanding of how the cameras and editing suites work. It helped the group in making sure that we knew how to use the cameras and how to efficiently edit shots that have been filmed.

Our sequence was based on a small deal between two people (Zulaikha and Ruby) and consisted of very little dialogue. The sequence was based on a person walking into a room, sitting down at a table (Zulaikha), and having a conversation with a character sitting across the table (Ruby). The main aim of the task was to enable us to use different angle shots and understand the rules of filming; such as the 180 degrees rule. The filming was done by Fatima.

During the filming shoot we did several takes of each scene from different angles in order to get a better sequence. We took a range of different shots from angles for each scene and this helped us when editing our sequence. When putting together the sequence it allowed us to have a much more naturally flowing and realistic sequence. It helped us to avoid any jumps in time and scene because we had enough shots from different angles and were able to split these at the correct moment. We were able to use the 180 degree rule correctly and filmed all the contents from the right side. The use of different sized shots and framing was also done very well.

The editing was a time-consuming task as we had to make sure that the sequence flows efficiently. Sometimes we did have to edit scenes several times before they fitted perfectly into the sequence. We also have not used any credits, apart from the last one, any transitions or sound effects. This was because the main aim for this task was to work on filming. However when we will be doing our opening sequence we will do this and this is something we would like to improve on.

In our story board for the preliminary task, we used the rule of thirds to set out each scene. However, when actually filming, the scenes were not always shot according to the rule of thirds. This is something that we hope to take into account when filming our opening sequence.

Overall, as a group we feel that we have made a great achievement and have done an excellent job with our filming and editing. The sequence had a natural flow and was very effective. The use of angles and the 180 degrees rule was done successfully. In the end we are all happy with what we have done and feel that we accomplished good results.

Analysis of an Opening Sequence

What the film saw is about?
Two men wake up at opposite sides of a dirty, disused bathroom, chained by their ankles to pipes. Between them lies a dead man loosely clutching a hand-held tape player and a handgun. Each finds a tape the perfect fit for the player in their back pocket. They play the tapes. One is threatened, the other isn't. But they have a task: One must kill the other by 6:00, or his wife and daughter will die. They find hacksaws in a toilet, and try to cut the chains, but it doesn't work. They are the two newest victims of the Jigsaw Killer. In a flashback, we learn of Amanda, a girl who falls victim to the Jigsaw Killer. On her head is a mask, which is hooked into her lower jaw. There is a timer on it. Only one key will unlock it, and that key is in the digestive tract of her cell mate who lies paralyzed on the opposite side of the room. If she doesn't unlock the mask in time, her lower jaw will be ripped wide open. She survives, but her cell mate doesn't. Through a series of flashbacks, we learn of more victims, and of the nearly-successful capture of the Jigsaw Killer, who doesn't actually kill his victims. Instead, he finds ways to make them kill either themselves, or each other, and he thinks the entire 'game' out perfectly, with no other ways out. Or so it would seem.

As part of our research I analysed the opening sequence of Saw

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=ejqIwiYtY20

Analysis of Saw

The opening sequence begins with a darkly lit scene with a small light being shone down a protagonists face. Alongside this the audience is able to hear the movement of water. Its shows a close up of the characters eye and then moves down towards its mouth, the light then vanishes. The shot of the characters face is taken from above which could possibly have been done in order to show the characters weakness and vulnerability. The small spotlight emphasises on the stillness and emotionless features of the man’s face. You can then see a shadowy image of a something floating in the water.
The scene then changes a close up shot of the character hesitating and panicking in the water as he wakes up. A medium shot of the man struggling to get out of the bath tub and coughing loudly. Dark shadowy lighting is used in order to create a sense of suspense and scare and also to create enigmas for the audience of why the man is in a bath tub!? We also see something washing into the drain of the bathtub and this foreshadows that whatever has been washed into the drain must be something important that plays an important part in the film. The man staggers out of the bath tub and falls to the floor. The atmosphere is very mysterious and the darkness of the scene adds to the dramatic eerie effect. We can also here non diegetic fast beat music which adds to the striking dramatic effect. The camera slowly follows the man as he gets up in what looks like a very large empty bathroom. As the man screams for help and is trying to find what is around him the voice of another man is herd. At this point there is no music playing and this could have been done so that the audience are able to pay attention to the dialogue and to stay focused. The audience is shown a medium shot of the man trying to see what is around him just before the main lights come. He is then shot in a close up to show his emotion and to show his scarce on his face. As each of the lights above switch on the camera follows and the sound of the lights switching on become louder. The crescendo of sound could be possibly to suggest that something is about to happen and to add a dramatic effect to the scene.
As the man opens his eye we are given a blurred low angled shot of the lights above which is a point of view shot. This shows the mans vision blurred by the bright lights which then becomes normal as the camera give a medium shot of the lights above.
The scene then changes to a medium shot of another man leaning against the wall frightened and confused looking up and around him. Medium shots of both men are shown taking steps forward looking down puzzled at something. As they both take steps forward loud beat music is played as non diegetic sound to add to the suspense and cause the audience to feel worried. We then can several fast changing different angled shots from above of a dead body on the floor with blood all over the face. A bids eye view shot the man is shown with his head brutally injured showing all the flesh and blood. The fact that the shots are taken from above of the body show his helplessness and exposure of the body. We then get a close up shot of a recorder in one hand of the dead man and a gun in the other. This could suggest that both these things play a part in the story. These props are used in order to create enigmas and to get the audience thinking why are they there? And who has done this? How did the man die? As both men move forward we are shown a shot of their feet tied in a thick chain to the wall. As the man screams to release himself from the chains the opening sequence is ended.

The opening sequence of saw was able to establish the genre which was horror/thriller by conventions such as blood, death, imprisonment etc… the narrative, mise en scene, lighting, costumes and sound have helped to establish such things as setting and was able to introduce the main characters who are important to the film. It also enabled the audience to be aware of what the film is about. The opening sequence attracted the audience and kept them focused giving them just enough information to keep them wanting to know the following events. The audience are shown that two men are prisoners and chained up in this bathroom and one man has been brutally killed however does not tell them the reasons why and how. This causing the audience to want to no more and wanting to no the cause of what has happened. The opening sequence was successfully able to set the scene for the entire film and was able to create enigmas for the audience.

Examples of theme songs for the opening sequence of vengeance

Here are a few theme song of thriller/horror films in the past that are very scary and can be used in our opening sequence. the reason we are using these theme songs are because it creates an eerie and tense atmosphere and gives the audience a hint of when the scary parts are about to come and how extreme they'll be.

1. The Exorcist theme song
   

The first theme tune is the Exorcist song this is very unique however it also creates an eerie atmosphere thats sends a thrill up your spine. i chose this theme tune as one of the examples because i feel that it is very creepy and makes you think what is going to happen next. Another important reason for using these kind of theme tunes for a horror/thriller movie is that it is one of the main elements of a film it is able to make the film even scarier without using jus images buh by the way it sounds too.

2. Halloween Theme Song

The reason for choosing the halloween theme song as one of our examples is that it is an ongoing and well known theme tune, it used in quite a few films. It is very intense and creepy

which creates a dull atmosphere which most horror movies are all about.

Typical setting for a thriller

The typical locations for a thriller film would be
eg:

• In the Woods/Forest - this is because the tall trees and the dark surroundings would create a dark atmosphere which goes well with thriller genre. It is a common place for the victim to get chased by the killer. Typical location for creating a tense and creepy atmosphere.
• School - It is a great setting for school proms and a thriller film based on high school kids and also goes great with a school kid who once got bullied and is now out for revenge.
• Isolated House - this is so that noone can hear the screams of the helpless victim. This also creates a tense and eerie atmosphere.
• Alleyway- a quite place that creates a sinister mood. Isolated place where it is likely that noone would go there late at night. A dark and dull location so it would set the mood of a thriller.
• House (during a party/slumber party) - Typical location for a thriller based on teenagers who get stalked and then murdered by a serial killer
• Graveyard - Very dark and dull location fits in well with the thriller genre. This would create a very creepy mood as it is an eerie location which is often secluded. Therefore it would be easy for something to happen without anyone knowing.
• Nightclub - Usually a place where people’s drinks are spiked and then they are kidnapped or held hostage by a serial killer or stalker. This is a stereotypical location for a thriller film based on young adults.
• Hotel/Motel - Some hotels have sinister connotations due to the fact that people staying in hotels don’t know who else is there with them. People staying in a hotel are unaware of those in other rooms so they could easily become victims of murder or kidnappings. Hotels have many confined spaces which go well with thriller.
• Church - Religious references in a thriller would cause a disturbing atmosphere because religion supposedly keeps people safe. So, by including it in a thriller film, it created a very eerie mood.
• Train - Usually a location for teenagers, or young adults who are on their way to or from a nightclub. Typical setting for a british thriller film.

And any other location that creates an tense and eerie atmosphere which would make the audience engrossed and involved in the film. Another reason as to why these locations are used is because they make the audience jump as they wonder what is to happen next!

Statistics

Our opening sequence is aimed at a target audience of the age of 15 and above. Our audience is those who enjoy the genre of horror and thriller. We tend to consider films in terms of their genre – whether their comedy, romantic or horror – the mise en scene is what distinguishes each genre separate from one another. We are able to tell apart these different genres by their themes and narratives. Our sequence is aimed at an audience that enjoy horror/ psychological thriller films such as The Ring and Saw etc… films of the same genre tend to hold similar conventions.

I researched figures of films of the same genre from the website www.boxofficemojo.com to check horror/thriller/torture films on the rank chart and how popular such films of this genre could be. Figures off the same genre were looked at in order to see their success and development. This was done in the intent to become aware of how popular our sequence would be and whether it will be able to be a large success.
Research showed that highest on the horror/torture rank chart is Saw II that made $147,739,965 gross worldwide. This showing how popular a successful thriller can make. Following on from Saw in second place currently standing is The Texas Chainsaw Massacre which was said to be based on a true life story. Statistics show that this made $107,071,655 gross worldwide. This shows that films of this genre hold a large audience and are very popular worldwide.
Other horror films that are also very high on the rank chart are films such as:
· All The Saw Films
· The Strangers
· Hostel
· Hills Have Eyes
· vacancy
· The Devils Rejects
· Wolf Creek
· House Of 1,000 Corpses
· The Hitcher

I also research figures of films of thriller films from the same website and checked how popular films of this genre are. Once again I looked at the figures of these films in order to establish how popular such films are using the same website.
Researched showed that highest on the thriller / serial killer rank chart is Hannibal with the worldwide gross of $351,692,268. Following on from this was The Silence of the Lambs and this had the worldwide gross of $272,742,922. These figures can help us in understanding the success of films from this genre and able us to realise whether our sequence will hold a large audience or not.
Other thriller films that are also very high on the rank chart are films such as:
*Basic instinct
*Seven
*Red dragon
*Saw
*The bone collector
*Psycho
*Kiss the girls
*Dressed to kill
*Taking lives
*Monster
*The Cell

Film Classifications

What are Film Classifications?
Film classifications are used all over the world and vary from country to country as each country has its own guideline. Film classifications are put in place in order to make the audience aware of what the context of the film is. Although guidelines vary throughout the world there is not a dramatic change in them, they only differ very slightly. They tend to consist of similar guidelines therefore the context of the film is very similar

How are films classified?
There are many different boards of classification which have different guidelines. Each country has its own board of film classification and has different names according to the place. In Britain we have the British Board of Film Classification.
Each board has its own guidelines, and each film that is submitted to the board will be reviewed, and then placed into one of the classifications. These classifications depend on many factors. Each factor is taken into account as well as the amount it is used.
These factors include:
*Violence
*Sex Scenes
*Nudity
*Drug Use
*Language
*Themes
*Horror

Before any film is released, or any film, video, or DVD is sold it must be made sure that it is correctly classified. Any film also showing the cinemas must be classified correctly by the BBFC. It is an offence for a film bein sold or shown in cinemas not to be classified or to have the wrong symbol.

Classifications...
To help the group produce a sequence which is appropriate for our chosen audience, and to take into account what would be suitable for our audience according to official policies and guidelines, I researched current film classification. The website I used in order to gain knowledge on the different classifications was www.bbfc.co.uk – the official website of the British Board of Film Classification.

Certificate Uc & U
No one can ever be certain on what may or may not upset a particular child. A U film must be suitable for children above the age of four. They should be set in a positive moral framework and should offer reassuring counterbalance to any violence, threat or horror.

Certificate PG
This stands for parental guidance. This is general viewing but some things may be unsuitable for a child to watch therefore children must be accompanied by adults. A PG film must not disturb a child aged around 8 or older. However, parents are advised to consider whether the content may upset younger or more sensitive children.

Certificate 12 & 12A
A 12A film is suitable for children of the age of 12 and older. No one younger than the age of 12 must see a film which is ‘12A’ unless accompanied by an adult. No one younger than the age of 12 may rent or buy a 12 rated video or DVD.

Certificate 15
This is suitable for 15years and older. No one under the age of 15 may see a ‘15’ film in cinemas or purchase a video or DVD.

Certificate 18
This is suitable only for adults. No one under the age of 15 may see a ‘18’ film in cinemas or rent/buy a video or DVD.

Certificate R18
This should only be shown in specially licensed cinemas, or supplied only in licensed sex shops, and to adults of 18 and above. The ‘R18’ category is special and legally restricted classification primarily for explicit works of consenting sex between adults. ‘R18’ films must not be supplied by mail or post.


After having a look at the different classifications of films and looking at different films that fall into these categories, I now have a greater idea of what is legally recognized in our opening sequence.

What are psychological films?

Psychological thriller is a specific sub-genre of the wide-ranging thriller genre. however, this genre  often incorporates parts from the mystery genre in addition to the typical traits of the thriller genre.

Generally, thrillers focuses on plot over character, and therefore emphasizes intense, physical action over the character's psyche. Psychological thrillers tend to reverse this formula to a certain degree, emphasizing the characters just as much.

The suspense created by psychological thrillers often comes from two or more characters preying upon one another's minds, either by playing deceptive games with the other or by trying to demolish the other's mental state. Usually in a psychological thriller movie the 'good guy' doesn't always survive this emphasises reality because if this happened in a real situation the innocent would never escape.

Sometimes the suspense comes from within one character where characters must resolve conflicts with their own minds. Usually, this conflict is an effort to understand something that has happened to them. These conflicts are made more intense with physical expressions of the conflict.

Genre

Genres are vague categories with no fixed boundaries, they are formed by sets of conventions, and many work across into multiple genres by a way of recombining these conventions. Our genre for our film is horror/psychological thriller which is going to contain a mix of fear and excitement. It has trails from the suspense genre and often from the action, adventure and mystery genres. But the level of terror makes it borderline horror fiction as well.
In a typical thriller/horror you will find:

• Characters such as - Murders, victims, psychos, sociopaths (etc)- these are the kind of sterotypical roles that are played in thriller movies.

A thriller genre can include the following sub-genres, which may include elements of other genres:

1. Action thriller
2. Crime thriller
3. Disaster thriller
4. Drama thriller
5. Horror thriller
6. Psychological thriller
7. Spy thriller
8. Supernatural thriller
9. Techno thriller
10. Science fistion thrilller

Most thrillers are formed in some combination of the above, with horror, conspiracy, and psychological tricks used most commonly to heighten tension.

How will we do something to keep it fresh?

We will together work productively to try and make our sequence unique. In order for us to make it unique and different to other films, we will add in our original touch by not revealing who the culprit is and we will keep it a sudden cliffhanger, we will make sure the audience are glued to their seats.

Characters- in a typical Psychological Thriller and Horror movie

Thriller and Suspense films are types of films known to promote intense excitement, suspense a high level of anticipation, anxiety and nerve-wracking tension. Thriller and suspense films virtually have similar characteristics and features this also includes the outcome of how characters are portrayed in each psychological thriller movie.
The tension usually arises when the main character(s) is placed in a menacing situation or mystery, or an escape or dangerous mission from which escape seems impossible. Life itself is threatened usually because the character is unknowingly involved in a dangerous or potentially deadly situation. Plots of thrillers involve characters which come into conflict with each other or strange outside forces. These forces are usually dark ad shadowy.

Characters in thrillers include:

• Convicts
• Criminals
• Stalkers
• Assassins
• Down-on-their-luck losers
• Innocent victims (often on the run)
• Prison inmates
• Menaced women
• Characters with dark pasts
• Psychotic individuals
• Terrorists
• Cops and escaped cons
• Fugitives
• Private eyes
• Drifters
• People involved in twisted relationships
• World-weary men and women
• Psycho-fiends

The themes of thrillers frequently include:

• Terrorism
• Political conspiracy
• Pursuit
• Romantic triangles leading to murder....
  

Suspense-thrillers come in all shapes and forms: There are murder mysteries, Private eye tales, Chase thrillers, Women-in-danger films, Courtroom and legal thrillers, Erotic thrillers, Surreal cult-film soap operas, Atmospheric, Plot-twisting psychodramas. Thrillers keep the emphasis away from the gangster, crime, or the detective in the crime-related plot, focusing more on the suspense and danger that is created.

Ideas for the title of the movie

Here are a few ideas for the title of the movie :

• The Unforgivable
• Deceit
• The Body Snatcher
• Wrong Number
• The Hacker
• Silent Man
• The Abandonment
• Banished
• Vengeance
• The Unforgivable Conspiracy
• The Designated One
• Young Blood
• Death in Her Honour
• Rapt
• Kiss of Death
• Silent Truth
• Foreign Blood
• Deceased
• Nightmare Dawn
• Blade of the Dead
• Damned
• Cannibal Knife
• Blade Massacre
  

Typical Thriller/Horror Film Props

Props are used in every film whether it be a thriller, romance or comedy. Props are needed in order to have a realistic story and narrative. In thriller/horror films props used normally indicate evil, death and pain. Such things like knifes, guns, ropes, masks etc… These things help in setting the world of the film and in setting the themes and genres of a particular film. Props play a significant part in a film in helping to tell a certain story. Props function as a part of a set or as equipment used by actors. They tell a story without words and express the thoughts and feelings of the characters.
Props make it easier to replicate realistic situations without having to implicate the actors’ physical wellbeing. Without the use of props, creating realistic killings, stabbings, fatal injuries etc would be made very difficult.
As with most props, dummies enable the filming of situations which would otherwise be fatal to human beings e.g. for filming a person falling off a cliff, it is most likely that directors will use dummies so as not to risk any lives.
In thrillers and horrors, the props characters use in different films as weapons differ hugely. One advantage of this is that varying atmospheres can be created in different scenes quite easily. For example, for a stealthy, dark, creepy type of killing of a victim, the antagonist might use a small prop like a knife or blade of some kind. However, to create a scene of a more overpowering, open, manic killing, a chainsaw or instruments of torture or other like machinery props might be used, and so the variation of the impact of the scene, according to its requirements, is made easy by the props.

Weapons

Majority thriller films contain weapons. Without some sort of a weapon, weather it be a gun or screwdriver, the brutality and violence of thriller / horror is just not possible to portray. This is usually because in order to gain a reaction from the audience and to set a tone of violence, torture and danger some sort of weapon is needed. Knifes, guns, swords, hammers, axes etc… instantly symbolise death and evil. one of the main props used in order to symbolise this and to set danger in films is the use of weaponry. Weapons also cause a sense of worry and sympathy in the audiences mind as they are then anxious about the life of the victims.


Ropes, chains, tape, blindfolds

In many thriller films the use of ropes and chains is common. Things of such kind tend to symbolise constraint and ambush. They show captivity and imprisonment and add tension to the scene. It also adds to the dramatic effect and causes the audience to think will the victim survive or die a painful death?

Masks

Masks are widely used in thriller or horror films. They emphasise on the grotesque imagery and scene. Masks set up enigmas by not allowing the audience to know who is responsible for the events. By not allowing the audience to know who is behind the mask it makes this have more focus on the movie and has them trying to predict the outcome.


Machinery

Other Props

Adapting our Opening Sequence

In order to get the best results out of our opening sequences, we decided to think of ways in which we can improve on our sequence and add more suspense and irony. From the different ideas, including our initial idea, we will then chose the most powerful and strongest idea to turn into our opening sequence. The different idea we have come up with is:

The sequence begins with showing a large wooden table on which are different props such as knifes, blades, paper, tubs, ropes, tape etc... all these will be covered in a solution which looks like fresh blood. The camera will move from object to object showing each one of these props and emphasising on the fact they are covered in blood. Droplets of blood will be shown all over the table instantly foreshadowing that death and murder has something to do with the film. As the camera moves from one object to another it comes across a picture of young girl labeled with numbers 00139. This causing the audience to question why is her picture numbered in such a way. As the camera zooms into her picture the scene fades out into black and then changes into a scene of that young girl tied up hand and foot under a table scared. She is scared and worried and grazes and bruises on her face and arms show that she has been hurt and tortured. In the background we are able to hear footsteps which seem to get louder and louder and the girl starts to become fidgety trying to escape from the ropes and get to safety. Different high angled shots are shown of her to show her vulnerability and that she is scared. The footsteps then come to stop and the camera moves towards the door. An extreme close up of the door handle is shown and the door slowly opens. As the door opens the girl screams and a dark shadowy man is shown standing in the door. At the point the screen fades into black and the opening sequence is ended with the title of our film.

As a group we have decided to go with this scenario for our opening sequence. We feel that it will have a larger impact on the audience and will make them want to watch ahead. We feel that it will give us a stronger opening sequence allowing us to portray our genre more effectively.

Audience for Thriller/Horror Films

Our production will be a psychological thriller/horror, like other films of this genre we will be focusing as much on the plot as the characters. This means that the story will not be simple and straight forward, the audience will have no clear ending that they might expect, for examples in the usual films the 'good guy' always wins. Thrillers do not work this way, it is uncertain if our character will survive or even figure out the mystery. The audience are never given the full picture, some information given could have nothing to do with the story but used just to confuse the audience and to raise many questions as to what is yet to come. This means that the audience will have to keep track of what is going on, meaning they will have to think about what they believe is the truth and what the end will be so that when the story is concluded we are able to shock the audience because thrillers often have a twist which is unexpected because you were never told the truth.

The opening sequence of our movie is about someone who is abducted and kept in a secluded place away from the outside world by someone who has been watching this persons every move. The mystery is there to hook the viewer and create a story but also to simply thrill the viewers it also brings up questions as to why the character is in that place? How did she get there? What is the motive? Does she die or survive?. Because this is a psychological thriller/horror we can play with reality which can scare the audience and make them aware of what happens in the real world. Overall we want the audience to be able to understand what is going on otherwise the deep twisting story is useless. This means that all ages from 15 and above or 18 and above can watch this film and hopefully understand the story.

Our film will appeal to the target audience because it contains all the factors that are needed for the psychological thriller genre, however it includes elements of horror, action and thriller as well as a few other milnor sub-genres. From the opening of our film we will include the main elements of the psychological thriller genre. The opening two minutes are designed to “make you think” when watching the film, keeping them interested and not pushing them over the edge and stopping them from watching on.

In the BFI handbook 2005 we've discovered that 41.5% of the regular cinema going audience in britain is aged 15-34. Psychological thriller fits this audience because they are the main audience who watch the film and appreciate what is given also they are able to tolerate the thrills and fear.

Examples of Opening Sequences

Opening sequences are mainly the most vital and important part of a movie. A good opening sequence of a film must be able to establish the genre, time and place quickly and enable the audience to be aware of what the film is about. The opening sequence should attempt to attract the audience and to keep them focused and interested in the following events.

The narrative, mise en scene, lighting, costumes, camera movement, sound & dialogue etc… help to establish such thing like the genre and setting and could also be used in order to introduce main characters or important characters. They set the scene for the entire film and attempt to create enigmas for the audience.

The genre of the film we have chosen is very popular to the age range of 15-34, as people of this age are those who most frequently go to the cinema. Over the years there has been an increase in horror and thriller films being shown in cinema theatres and also sold in shops. Majority of the opening sequences of such films attempt to create enigmas and suspense for the audience and try to create a sense of worry and fright.

I Researched opening sequences of psychological thriller/horror films in order to help with our opening sequence.


The ring title sequence
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=0NmU8JQJgJc&feature=related

The opening sequence of the ring is able to create fear and suspense for the audience. In the opening 15seconds of the scene, where the girl is shown walking up the stairs, the slow movement is what creates the dramatic effect and the suspense. The slow motion of her movement, her actions and the camera create the scene which also establishes the genre and theme. In the opening sequence as the opening titles are shown, there are also flashes of gruesome images such as the smokey blood. The fast constant flashes of these image create enigmas and terror. In addition to this another thing which makes it a great opening sequence is the dramatic non diagetic music played alongside this.


An opening sequence by media students i came across on youtube
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Kt_Z3qmgMZk

This was an opening sequence which was produced by other media students. I found it very effective by the way it was put together and the way sound, editing, lighting, mise en scene etc… was used.
It was very short but was able to set the setting, place, characters and genre. It was able to create tension throughout the sequence and a sense of panic. Little things such as sound, diegetic and non diegetic were able to add a great effect on the scenes.

Jaws

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=NBNAMXWIdf4

The opening sequence of jaws shows very mysterious images under the sea. Instantly by where the opening sequence is based in the water shows that this is the setting and place of the film. Dark shadowy shots are shown in and out of the water and this sets a sense of mystery horror and suspense. The sea is not shown in a positive way showing beautiful sea life and colourful fishes but is potrayed in a more negative and scary way. To add to this obscurity and fearful affect dramatic music is used which increases in sound as the camera slowly fishes through the water.

Twilight Zone

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=HCMMZQFVf4U

This was another sequence which was able to create enigmas and set the time place and characters. It was able to add tension and fear in the audiences mind.

All these sequence in there own way and forms are efective towards the audience. they set the scene for the entire film and create great enigmas and suspens. they establish the genre, setting and any important characters.