Half Term Production Update

During half term I updated my blog by writing about what soundtrack we are using for our production, and also explaining how effective the track would be for our production.

Our Production Companies

Production Companies
The production company we used was Universal Studios because we wanted to make the film look like it was made in Hollywood. This would give the audience the impression that the film is going to be good quality too because its used a highly popular and well known company too. We also used another production company called Twisted Pictures to emphasise the horror aspect of our movie, as this company has also produced many other horror films such as the Saw series and Texas Chainsaw Massacre. 

Production Diary 12/12/14

Today we filmed more of our opening sequence. This consisted of a pentagram being made out of red tape and candles being lit. This is used to represent satanism and contributes to our genre of our opening sequence which is horror.

We then put our shots together and edited them in using Adobe Premier. We then put music and effects along with it to add suspense and create an 'on edge' feeling for the audience.

Production Diary 08/12/14

Here is where we first started shooting for our chase scene in the Nature Reserve. unfortunately, due to the cold weather the battery life was affected by this, causing us to change our location because of the bad weather. We have now moved into a warmer environment. We have changed our idea because of this so there is no longer a chase scene.  

We filmed a couple of shots which will go at the end of our opening sequence. The remaining shots that we have to film will be close ups of the tarrot cards being dealt and shuffled, candles will also be used as well.

Costumes

Here are the costumes that our characters will be wearing for some of our shots.

Grace who is played by Lucia is represented as a young vulnerable girl, who is worried about her brothers safety because he has dragged her to a tarrot card reading.

Jake who is played by me is represented as a teenage boy that wears casual clothes to represent normality. The white on the top symbolises purity, this is then later on changed in our film (although we do not see it).

Production Update

Filming update: After we looked at our footage on Premier, we have decided to change our story line because we felt that the story line wasn't strong enough, and the location wasn't very reliable for us to use frequently.Now we have produced a new story line, this will mainly be based on the Tarot card theme of the opening sequence, but the therapist scene will be removed as we feel that it reveals too much information for just an opening sequence as well as the location being unreliable for us to work with. The opening sequence will include the camera focusing mostly on the tarot cards with a range of different angles, with the credits over these shots and suspenseful music over these shots as well.

Presentation Feedback

The devils task from Aaron Persico

We had to deliver a pitch for our opening sequence in order for it to go ahead.

Horror - there are good generic conventions suggested

Story-line - we got asked what will be the location for the therapy session?

• the location of the therapy session will be in Aaron's house, also we will represent that Jake is possessed by using different color contact lenses to represent that he has changed.
• Ben and Grace come into the scene by talking and telling Margaret what is happening with Jake.
• We decided to go with a therapist as this relates to the paranormal/horror theme, this is because a therapist would know about possession and other weird things.

Locations

These are the locations in which we will be using for our opening sequence. The locations used in our opening sequence is my living area.

Characters

These are the actors and actresses used in our opening scene.

Jake will be played by Aaron
Ben will be played Max
Grace will be played by Lucia
Margaret/Sabrina will be played by Lydia

Production Schedule

Production Schedule

This is our production schedule, this has been created to help us keep track of the dates that we plan on filming and editing our work.

Task	To Be Completed	Notes
Planning	5th November	We started to create our initial ideas for our animatic
Storyboard	10th November	We will create a storyboard for our production
Animatic	20th November	We will turn our storyboard into an animatic
Shot List	20th November	We will write a shot list for our opening sequence
Filming Schedule	24th November	We will arrange with the subject of our scene when we can film.
Filming	27th November	We will film the first scene
Filming	28th November	We will film our second scene
Filming	1st December	We will film our third scene
Filming	2nd December	We will film our fourth scene
Filming	3rd December	We will film our fifth scene
Editing	3rd December	We will edit 1st scene
Editing	5th December	We will edit 2ndscene
Editing	8th December	We will edit 3rd scene
Editing	10th December	We will edit 4th scene
Editing	12th December	We will edit 5th scene

Animatic for our Production

This is my Animatic for my Practical Production

Script and Roles for our Production

 Roles and Characters


 Me - Ben, Cameraman and Director
 Aaron - Jake 
 Lydia - Sabrina and Margaret 
 Lucia - Grace



 Script:

(Muffled Dialogue in shot 5 as the camera looks through the window)

No dialogue until shot 11: 

Shot 10:

        - Margret: So tell me when it all started?

Shot 12:

       - Sabrina: These cards will predict future events....

Shot 13:

       - Sabrina: Who wants to go first?

       - Grace: Oh, I'll go then.

Shot 14:

       - Sabrina: Pick a card....

(Grace picks love card....)

Shot 16: 

       - Sabrina: You are lucky, as this card means good fortune and you will find the one.

       - Ben: Okay okay me next!

       - Sabrina - Pick a card then Ben.

(Ben picks death card...)

Shot 17:

         - Ben: Ouch! 

Shot 18:

(Ben pricks his finger)

(Awkwardly)

Shot 19:

         - Sabrina: Moving on swiftly

(Jake picks spirit card....)

Shot 20:

        -  Sabrina: I don't know what to say... I've never seen this card before...

Shot 21: 

(Muffled dialogue as looking in on Jake)

Shot List

Shot 1 - Twisted Productions

Shot 2 - Black Screen with Fuzz

Shot 3 - Title Name

Shot 4 - Establishing Shot of Thunderstorm

Shot 5 - Point of view/establishing shot

Shot 6 - Close up of Lydia writing notes

Shot 7 - Back to shot 5

Shot 8 - Close up shot of the door

Shot 9 - Max walking into the house - point of view

Shot 10 - long shot of the back of Margret and facing her

Shot 11 - Black screen saying 6 weeks later

Shot 12 - High angle shot of everyone sitting in a circle with the tarot cards

Shot 13 - Point of view of Lydia laying out cards

Shot 14 - High angle of Lucia's hand taking a love card

Shot 15 - Close up of Lucia's card

Shot 16 - Point of view of explaining what the love card is

Shot 17 - Point of view of Max picking the death card

Shot 18 - Close up of Max Cutting his finger with blood dripping down

Shot 19 - Close up of Max laughing

Shot 20 - Close up of Jake picking the spirit card

Shot 21 - Close up of me laughing nervously

Shot 22 - Back to shot 10

Shot 23 - Close up of the clock turning to 6 o clock

Shot 24 - I stare into the camera

Shot 23 - Black screen

Target Audience

My Target Audience


The genre for my opening sequence for my practical production, with this in mind my target audience is going to people who enjoy horror films and are between the ages of 16-30. Moreover the social group that my opening sequence is aimed at is those in the social groups of D or E, for example people who are manual workers or are shopkeepers or cleaners, also people who are finishing University or College and are now starting to do full time work.

In Depth Analysis

In Depth Analysis on Insidious opening scene

Insidious is a Horror/Thriller film that was made in 2010 and was directed by James Wan. The opening sequence to this film has a number of effects on the audience due to many techniques used by Camera work, Editing, Sound and Mise-en-Scene.

One way that this opening sequence is effective amongst the audience is through the use of camera work. At the start of the opening sequence when the mum is walking down the stairs we see the camera pans left as she is walking down, this creates the effect that someone is standing at the bottom of the stairs and is turning to face her although she can not see what is in front of her, this creates tension among the audience as it makes the question that if it was someone why cant they see their face, it also makes the audience believe that something may happen to her as she walks into the other room. Moreover there is an establishing shot of the house in which our protagonists are living, this is a very big house with a lot of space on the inside, this is very stereotypical and backs up the conventions of the horror genre. In addition this effect is also used again when the baby monitor goes off and the mum has to walk upstairs to sort out the crying baby there is a high angle shot used on her as she walks up the stairs, this again makes the audience think that there is something/someone looking down at her, the use of the high angle shot also makes the mum look inferior and makes the audience think that something might happen to her. There is also an element of shallow focus that is used when the mum is playing on the piano and the baby starts to cry down the baby monitor, the focus is then put on the baby monitor, this is effective amongst the audience as it takes their focus off of the mum playing the piano and puts our attention on the baby crying, and as this is a horror film it suggests to the audience that the baby is not crying for no reason, it makes the audience believe that something or someone is doing something to the baby possibly hurting it, it also makes the audience think that something could happen to the mum as she goes upstairs to check on the baby.

The use of props has also been effective in this opening sequence. For example, when the mum sits down and she looks at the pictures of her past when she was younger, this creates effect amongst the audience as this creates a juxtaposing atmosphere which creates effect as the audience think that nothing is going to happen as the photos of the mum's past creates a happy atmosphere and puts the audience at ease whilst this scene is going on. Moreover before the mum sits down to look at her old photos of her past she puts some books on a bookshelf, which then later on in the opening sequence they are scattered on the floor, this is the first thing that we see which can be interoperated as paranormal, this is effective among the audience as it allows the audience to understand what type of horror film the film is also going to be, it also puts the audience on the edge of their seat as they expect more events like the books coming off the bookshelf  to happen and more regularly. Moreover there is a continuous use of low key lighting in the beginning scene when the mum comes down the stairs and when she was putting the books on the shelf, this creates a very gloomy and tense atmosphere which again makes the audience think that something may or may not happen to her.

The use of sound in this opening sequence is very effective in this opening sequence. In example there is a lot of dialogue that suggests different things, for example, when the mum is sitting down looking at the pictures with her son, she tells him that his dad was always very "poor" at keeping photos, this suggests to the audience that something may of happened when he was younger and creates mystery as it makes the audience question why there are no photos of the dad when he was younger. After this scene we see the mum on the phone and she is finding it very hard to talk to the other people down the line and repeatedly says "speak to an agent", this suggests to the audience that the reception is very poor and foreshadows that later on in the film there may come a point where someone will need to call someone in an emergency and the reception is really poor and no help would be recieved, this is effective because it creates a sense of isolation and makes the audience think that something dramatic or important is going to happen in the film. Later on in the opening sequence we see the mum is playing the piano, the effect of this is to draw the attention of the audience away from anything that might jump out at them, it makes the audience ease as the the piano has a very soothing and comforting sound to it. Moreover when the mum is singing whilst playing the piano she sings the lyrics "looking west", when she says this the only thing that is on the west side of her is a baby monitor, this foreshadows that something is going to happen to baby at some point, this is effective amongst the audience as it suggests to them what might happen later on in the scene and it creates a sense or horror and makes the audience fright at what just happened and what has happened to the baby.

Production Plan

My Practical Production Plan 

Storyline:
Our story starts off with a blank screen then fades into a scene of two people sitting on a sofa explaining a traumatic experience to a therapist. This will intrigue the viewer into the film as they would love to find out what the traumatic experience was. Then it cuts to a scene where we will see these two people performing a satanic ritual around a grave. There will be a third person with them, but when the clip changes back to therapy scene, the third person will not appear which suggests that something has happened to the third person and something has happened to the other 2 people. There will also be a clip where the 3 friends are doing a tarrot card session and 3 cards will be received, Lucia will get the 'lovers' card, Max gets the 'death' card and Aaron gets the 'devil' card.

Characters:
Aaron - Jake

Max - Ben

Lydia - Margaret

Lucia - Grace

Aaron will be acting as the main character who gets possessed, Lucia will be the sister of this possessed person, I will be the devil that Aaron stars at whilst the therapist session is going on (although we do not see me in the camera shot) and the 3rd character who supposedly dies and Lydia will be the therapist and tarot card reader too.

Music:
There will be music that will play over the satanic ritual and tarot card reading only, no music over any dialogue scenes. This technique will be used to create suspense and a build up of tension for the rest of the film.

Setting:
The setting is going to be at Aaron's house where the therapy scene is and where the tarot card reading will be. We may also use a graveyard to preform the pretend Satanistic ritual.

Target Audience:

We are aiming our opening sequence at people aged between 16- mid 20's this is because this is the age group that normally tend to watch horror films. We are aiming this production at both genders. The social class that this is aimed at is B - D, this is because people in the social class A do not tend to enjoy these films and people in class E may only be children and will be too young to watch the actual film. Because of this targeted age group the employment of the our audience will be primarily full time education, part time jobs or just starting to do full time work. This is going to be a western film.

Our primary audience is going to be people aged 16-mid 20's, as this is horror films people normally come with friends or boyfriends/girlfriends for the comfort and so that they do not get too scared, so, our secondary audience is the other people that are accompanying the person who wants to see the film. We aim this at a mass audience excluding anyone below the age of 15 but aim it anyone who is above the age of 16 and who love horror films.

Analysis of different Title Sequences

Ginger Snaps is a Horror/Thriller film, Directed by Fawcett, Released in 2000 and starring Emily Perkins, Kathrine Isabelle and Kris Lemche.

This title sequence presents the genre of horror through the use of iconography, throughout the title sequence there are photos and short clips of dead girls suggesting that there is a lot of death as these girls have died or been killed, which reinforces the conventions of horror. Moreover the the use of these photos also has an effect of the audience as it creates a sense of mystery because it makes the audience think of questions such as "who are they" or "what  happened", this hooks the audience and makes them want to watch to the very end of the film to find answers to their questions.

In addition there is also non-diegetic music over the top of the photos that are shown. This creates tension of the very slow tempo of the instruments and the bass in the background which sounds like a heart beating very slowly. Moreover the use of the violins and the minor key that the violin is played in presents the music to be quite mournful as the use of a minor key typically presents the music the sad.


The Avengers is an action/adventure, sci-fi film, Directed by Jeremiah S. Chechik, Released in 1998 and starring Ralph Finnes, Uma Thurman and Sean Connery.

The title sequence presents a gloomy atmosphere through the use of low key lighting and pathetic fallacy, at the start of the title sequence all we can see is darkness and clouds and thunder and lightning. The use of the lightning and the low key lighting suggests that this films narrative is going to be a battle between good and evil, and evil is winning the battle between good vs evil. This is effective on the audience because although we do not see any characters in this title sequence, the use of pathetic fallacy suggests to the audience that there is a villain in the main storyline.

In addition there is unusual non-diegetic music that is played throughout the title sequence, the unusual instruments that are used to play this music builds tension as throughout the title sequence the music gains in tempo and pitch, moreover tension is created through the use of the bass that represents a heartbeat that also increases in tempo.


Batman is an action/adventure film, it is directed by Tim Burton, Released in 1989 and starring Michael Keaton, Jack Nicholson and Kim Basinger.

This title sequence presents the genre of Action/Adventure through the use of music, during the title sequence the music starts of fairly slow but then it increases in tempo and pitch, which reinforces the conventions of Action/Adventure as the use of the fast tempo creates tension and could also illustrate a chase scene. Moreover the genre is also support by the use of low key lighting, this is because the darkness suggests that evil is winning in the battle of good vs evil and the this battle of the good vs evil is a typical convention of Action/Adventure.

The Incredible Hulk is an Action/Adventure, Sci-Fi film, Directed  by Lois Leterrier, Released 2008 and staring Edward Norton, Liv Tyler and Tim Roth

This Title title sequence shows a part of its narrative, this is through the use of Todorov's theory, during the title sequence we see parts where there is person who is in a hospital and is being experimented on, however it is clear that something went wrong and a disruption occurred breaking the equilibrium that was set before this happened. Moreover there is also a fairly clear restoration, this is because of the use of the newspapers and the files that the people have, also the fingerprints we see could all be because they are trying to capture him and restore the equilibrium.

In addition Propp's theory can be applied here as-well because the person that was getting laser eye surgery is being represented as the Villain, however we do not know the whole story so it could mean that he may not be the Villain he might be the Hero. Also we see a woman laying in a hospital bed, she could be the Princess. These two theories apply very well to the Action/Adventure and presents the genre of this film.

The Ward is a Horror/Thriller film, Directed by John Carpenter, Released 201, and starring Amber Heard, Mamie Gummer and Danielle PanaBaker

This title sequence is effective because it creates a scary atmosphere and presents the genre of horror. This is done through the use of music, all through the title sequence there is a woman singing a weird tune, it is sounds like she is crying or screaming or like she is taking her last breaths, this music is very scary and makes the audience feel scared and create tension. The use of pathetic fallacy is also used to suggest there is something evil or negative which makes the audience believe that the people in the photos were murdered, the music and the lightning work to together to try and scare the audience; the music starts to build tension and spooks them then a lightning strike or glass smashing comes in and scares the audience.

Se7en is a Psychological Crime Thriller and is Directed by David Fincher, it was released in 1995 and it stars, Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, Gweneth Paltrow and Kevin Spacey

This title sequence is effective because it creates a scary and mysterious atmosphere by using music. The music in the title sequence is very strange and has an increase in tempo as the title sequence moves on. The increase in tempo creates tension and a thrilling atmosphere which makes your heart race. Moreover most of the shots that are used in the title sequence are point of view shots, this has an effect on the viewer because it allows the audience to feel more involved as if they were actually there.

This title sequence is effective because it raises a a lot of questions that the audience think. This is because if the fast pace shots, the shots in the title sequence are very fast and makes the what the person is doing very confusing for the audience and it makes the audience question what he is doing and who they are. The fast pace shots also create a thrilling atmosphere because there are shots of people and some of them are crossed out or coloured out, so as-well as it raising question about what they are doing it also makes the audience think that they could possibly be a murderer and they are hunting down people and killing them. This is also backed up by the use of low key lighting, this creates a very dark and scary atmosphere which suggests that there could be death or a lot of violence involved in the rest of the film.

Preliminary Task

On Monday my group and I filmed our preliminary task, we filmed a short scene and the shots that we took will be edited in our next lesson. Our short scene involved two girls being locked inside a haunted school, we tried to create a sense of tension and horror by using a variety of shots such as close ups and point of view shots. When we come to the stage where we will be editing, we are going to lower the brightness of the shots this is because we are aiming to create a scary and tense atmosphere, we are also going to do this to give the impression that this was filmed in the dark, which suggest they are locked in the school at night time. We also used some other skills and techniques whilst filming:

• Match on Action
• Shot Revers Shot 
• 180 degree rule

We also used other shots such as:

• Point of View
• Low Angle Shot
• Close Up
• Extreme Close Up
• We also used the handheld effect when recording, this involves the cameraman to hold camera without a tripod and running, this is because it gives the effect that its a face pace chase scene, it makes the audience visualize that the person holding the camera is chasing the person in front of them, this supports our genre of horror.       

When it comes to the editing stage of our preliminary task we will be using Adobe Premier to edit our shots, we will use the shots that we filmed on Monday to create our short scene. Moreover during the editing stage we might alter the speed/duration of one of our clips. Also we may include a piece of music over the top of our scenes to give the horror effect, we might get this music from the internet or we might create the music ourselves.