Target audience feedback on Opening Sequence

Draft Opening sequence

title analysis

this is our final shot, and it contains the title that we have used throughout the opening sequence. We tried to make it so that it was easy to tell the genre of the movie. I think we succeeded as the font looks grungy and somewhat dirty, with some stains on the B and the N. We thought that this would seem like blood, which would play into the fact that it was a psychological thriller. Furthermore, these stains show a disruption in the word, being different, which can be a bit unsettling and this was exactly what we we were looking for.

Self Assessment

 From watching our opening sequence back and completing a self assessment it is clear that we need to change the font style of our titles in the opening as they are very boring. They are not creative and they do not reflect our genre nor do they help the audience to understand the film.
The sound of the laptop slamming isn't heard in the opening sequence, we need to either lower the music so that it can be heard or emphasise the sound by adding the sound effects over the top.
The title of obsession at the end is very boring and doesn't reflect the name of the film through the font of the title. We will need to change this so that it does fit with the name of the film and reflects the opening sequence and genre of the film.

Self-Assessment

Peer Assessment

The graveyard is used to help show that he has lost his previous girlfriend.
He has kidnapped the girl as she looks similar to his EX girlfriend who has died. When he looks at Amy he sees his dead girlfriend Laura. he Kidnaps her so that the police hurry up and find the killer of his girlfriend. If they cant find the killer by the date set by the kidnapper, the girl dies.
He is counting the day to the day that his girlfriend was killed and the day he plans to kill the kidnapped girl if the police do not find his girlfriends killers.

He has kidnaped her because she looks like the girl friend that he has previously lost, he becomes obsessed with the girl he has kidnaped because he sees the girl as his EX.
She is being held in an abandoned basement where no one goes, round the back of an old run down building.
People know she is missing because of the news articles that have been produced.

work in progress

6th December
Today we began adding in the transitions to make sure that the shots flowed with one another and were linking with each other in the correct way. We also added in the extra filming that we did later on in the previous week. We didn't have time to start editing the new footage. We will do this next time.

Work in progress- Amy Collins

23rd November-
Due to being ill i wasn't able to help filming today but the group got a few shots with Daniel and the computer.

24th November-
Today was my first day of filming due to being ill when the group initially started the day before. We did 2 hours of filming; filming all of the shots that i was in to make sure that continuity with my clothes and hair etc was the same, as well as to get this part of filming out of the way so we could focus on the rest of the opening sequence. All of this was filmed in the first hour.

During the second hour of filming we filmed parts of Daniels shots, these being shots we planned to use towards the end of the film. But these did not go to plan so we decided to only use one of the shots instead of the 3 we planned to use. All of this filming is behind schedule due to me being unwell and the shots not going to plan the day before.

28th November-
Today we filmed shots of the shrine for Laura. Due to lots of preparation on my behalf for the shrine were able to shoot these shots without much hassle apart from angles and a shaky camera. But we have decided to edit this to make it look as it tho this was deliberate. Getting the pictures to stay attached to the wall was hard work but we managed to film it without any pictures falling down.

During break time Rose and I stayed in the basement to set up for filming the titles, again it was hard to get the pictures to stay to the wall. Whilst doing this we decided that it would be more beneficial for us to go out and film with Laura so we left the titles for our next filming session. This meant that for the next hour Rose and I went out with Laura to film her flashbacks as well as take more pictures for the opening sequence.

29th November-
This was the day where rose and I finished putting all the pictures of the titles on the wall and attached them all with string, this taking us a lot of time due to them not staying to the wall very well.   After this the group filmed the titles; it took us a few shots to get the timing, the control and the position of the camera right but we managed to do this within the time we had given ourselves. We also has some time left over where we could film an extra shot using the calendar and Daniel. This adding to the link between the two girls and the significance of a date.

1st December-
This was the first lesson where we could look at our completed filming and begin to edit this. During this time Daniel and Hugo looked at the audio for the opening sequence whilst Rose and I started to edit. It took us a while to add the filming to final cut but we got there in the end. Then we both chose the filming that we wanted to use and which ones we didn't, then placing them in the order we want them in.
During the second lesson we started to edit some of the shots, experimenting with different effects and colour correction techniques. This leading to us being able to edit some of the opening sequence but we did not get around to editing the transitions and cutting parts of filming which needed to be cut. This is what out rough cut is.
After speaking to our  teacher we have decided to add some filming to add emphasis on the relation between the girl who has previously died and the girl who he is keeping captive. This leading us to creating more props and thinking of how we can make our opening sequence more creative such as using a split screen and adding in another location.

Self assessment on our rough cut

Daniel and Hugo wrote the same things to improve on, here are the answers:
We are going to add creativity to our opening sequence by adding extra filming. This will be using a creative location as well as using a split screen. We are going to make the cuts between the shots better by editing them, using different cuts for example: jump cuts. We are going to try and make it fit the sub genre even more by adding filming in dark places as well as adding filming which shows his relation to the girl who previously died and clues for the reasoning of kidnapping the current girl. 

Again we are using editing to develop the flow of the film by editing and altering the cuts. We are going to make the link between the two girls clearer by adding in filming of the perpetrator looking at pictures of girls who look similar to the girl who has previously died, choosing who he is kidnapping based on the similarities between them. Making it obvious the reason to why he is taking her. We need to edit the rough cut further by editing the shots with the shaky camera to make the shakiness look deliberate and an aded effect. 

Peer Feedback on our rough cut - Answering the questions

We asked another group to use these sheets to evaluate our first rough cut, this is what they came up with. At the end of the sheet they asked 3 questions about the rough cut, these are our answers:
No, during our opening sequence we will not include speech, we are going to put some music and sound effects over the top of the images. The girl in the opening sequence has been kidnapped due to looking like a girl who has previously died. We are going to display this by adding some extra filming using split screens as well as a grave yard to emphasise that a girl as previously died and the similarities between them both. We are not going to show the kidnappers face during the opening sequence, this to leave some mystery to the film. The only time you will see part of the kidnappers face is when he is looking at his shrine wall of the girl who has previously died. No during our opening sequence no-one is looking for the girl, but during the rest of the film there would be people looking for her. 

analysis of rough cut

When beginning to edit our filming for the opening sequence we noticed that some of the story line was confusing as we didn't answer some of the questions in the best way we could or not at all. To ensure that we do answer all the questions we are going to do some extra filming in a grave yard so that the audience understand that the girls are two different people and only one of them is dead. We will also play around with the ordering of the opening sequence to see what order fits best but allows the audience to understand what is happening. Aswell as this we are going to add in split screen so that the audience can see how the two girls link with one another and so that we can get the idea across that one girl was killed and the other will be killed a year to the day.

Analysis of our rough cut

We have done the majority of the filming for our opening sequence, but after looking at our rough cut we have realised that we need to add further filming to ensure some questions are answered making sure that the audience is not confused. This leading us to plan to go to a grave yard and film extra filming as well as returning to the original filming location to add to this. We are going to make our opening sequence even more creative by using a split screen in places, using further editing and using creative locations as well as more creative shots/ angles. We are also going to use editing to make the shots flow well by using different transition types. Lastly, we are going to add sound effects and music over the images to add to the thriller genre as well as just generally making the film better.

Rough Cut

Clip we decided not to use

This is a shot that we have decided not to use, we came to the conclusion that we do not like this shot as we feel that is not good enough to put in the opening sequence as we found it hard to place in the opening itself.

work in progress

1st December
this was the first time we had a good look at all of our filming, me and Amy began to put everything in order and began to edit the filming, while we did this, Hugo and Daniel were putting together music and finding the appropriate sound effects for us to put in the opening sequence.
In the second lesson we began experimenting with different effects and colour changing techniques in order for us to have the right effect with the feeling we wanted to create with the opening sequence.
When taking to a teacher she suggested we do something that connects the girls to one another and after producing a ruff cut, we were planning to go out and do extra filming to make the opening better.

work in progress

29th November
Today, Amy and I finished off putting the titles up on the wall this was difficult as the images would not say attached to the wall. After we had done this the boys came and joined us, we filmed the titles a few times over so that eh position of the camera was right, however it was very shaky so we decided that when editing the shots we were going to make the titles distorted. We finished this early so decided to film Daniel crossing out the date in the calendar, this helped us to show how the two girls were connected.

work in progress

28th November
Today we filmed shots where Daniel was looking at the shrine of Laura.  This part of the opening sequence was a lot easier to film compared to other parts of our filming. The camera was a little shaky as it was hard to keep a steady hand while walking. To make this better, we have decided to edit this with a shaking effect to make the audience think that we did this intentionally.  Getting the pictures to stay on the wall was hard but we were able to film the shots before they fell down.

During break me and Amy decided to stay in the basement and set up the images and string that we were going to use as part of the titles in our opening sequence. As we did this over break me and Amy decided that it would be best to go out with Laura and film the flash backs that she was in.

work in progress

24th November
Today we did 2 hours of filming, we filmed all of the shots where Amy was in them so that the rules of continuity were not broken later on in the filming, this included her hair and clothes ensuring they were kept the same throughout. We managed to do this in the first hour so in the second hour we were able to concentrate on the shots of Daniel that were scripted to be in the later stages of the opening sequence. Due to Amy being unwell the day before we were a day behind on our filming schedule and from the shots of Daniel from the 24th we made the decision to film different things on a later date as we did not like the current shots we had taken.

Work in progress

On the 23rd November we began to film the opening sequence, we started off by filming some of the shots from the middle of the opening sequence where Daniel is on the computer looking through the girls facebook. I was in charge of the camera and making sure the boys knew what it was they were doing.

Editing schedule

Date	Period	What we will be doing
1/12/16	3 and 4	Pick the shots we will be using and put them into the order that we want them in and start to cut the shots to the right length
5/12/16	1 and 2	Add effects to the titles and flash backs e.g. colour correct/isolation, change in speed. Add in the titles themselves and change the font and colour to the titles. Go through shots and cut exes.
6/12/16	5	Add the music and sound effects for the computers. Start to decide on transitions. Film the extra shot that we need for the film.
7/12/16	1 and 4	Smooth out transitions, make the sound fit with the shot so the tension builds in the correct places.
8/12/16	3 and 4	Finish off the editing and do any last changes, make sure anything that hasn’t been done previously is done.

Filming Schedule

Final Story board

 This is our final story board for our opening sequence.

Summary of the Film

In our storyline, the main antagonist is Damien, who is grieving the death of his girlfriend, who was kidnapped and murdered. This left a mental scar on Damien, who hasn't accepted the death of his girlfriend, therefore he kidnaps a girl who looks like his deceased girlfriend on the day his girlfriend disappeared but a year later, intending to kill this lookalike on the same day his girlfriend was killed but  year on from her death.

In our opening sequence, Daniel Thresher plays Damien, who is the antagonist of the opening sequence. Amy Collins plays herself, who is the victim of Damien's horrific misdeeds. These are the main characters, secondary characters will include: Hugo Holmes playing Chris and Rose Spencer is playing Sophie.  The only part that will be seen in our opening sequence will be Damien looking back at the memories of his fallen girlfriend and his kidnapping of Amy.

changes that have been made to the opening sequence

The only change that we have made to the opening sequence is the location of the filming, we had to change the location of the filming due to the fact the basement we wanted to use was flooded and because of the electrical equipment and electrics down there it would be unsafe for us to film in this location. Instead we are going to film in the schools exam  hall seller, this location is better because it is safe for us to use and is a better location as it is darker and dingier than the basement we were going to use so it will give a better effect in our opening sequence.

Actors

We have chosen to use Amy in our opening sequence as she is a young girl and is vulnerable, this fits with our opening sequence as there needs to be a victim. When talking to the target audience we were told that they expected to see a young vulnerable character as the victim. 

We have chosen to use Daniel in our opening sequence as tall strong minded teenager, this fitting with the main male character in our opening sequence as he is obsessed and possibly psycholoically disturbed which we feel should be portrayed through a strong and powerful person. We were told by the target audience that they would expect to see a male character as the main character in a psychological thriller as this is what is typically seen in the cinemas.  

We have chosen Laura to be in our opening sequence as her and Amy have similar qualities. These being looks as well as their personalities. Again she would be seen as a vulnerable character in a psychological thriller due to her age and her being a female. She is also a victim of some sort which was what the target audience expected to see. 

Post Production - Sound effects

Footsteps
Screams and shouts
Heavy breathing


We will use the these sound effects because they fit the genre we are going for, which is psychological-thriller and it goes really well as it adds suspense to the scene we are doing. Heavy breathing shows the person being scared or threatening. Screaming shows innocent people being scared or possibly threatened in this case by the kidnapper. Footsteps adds suspense during a quiet scene when the steps are off camera.


We are going to use quiet music that adds drama and slowly escalates to the way the scene is going, and cuts off at any dialogue or for whatever the reason may be.

Picture of the group planning locations

When looking at locations we realised that we will not be shooting in any location other than the basement because we feel that there is no need to film outside of it. Also showing his obsession of needing to be near the girl as he is near her at all times. Although we may still change the locations we will use and may need to film else where if we have re considered our locations. Below is the group looking at the locations and deciding where the best location to film would be.

Picture of the group planning costumes

When searching for costumes we looked on high street fashion shops as these are the shops that our target audience would shop in and is age appropriate for our characters. The girl who has been kidnapped costume does not need to link to the psychological thriller sub genre as we want to get her youth-fullness across to the audience. On the other hand the kidnappers costume will link to the genre of psychological thriller due to him wearing black clothing, related to a lower status. We feel that these costumes will help to capture our target audience. Below are images of the group planning the costumes.

Storyboard update

During our last story boarding session we decided to change our ideas from what our initial ideas were. We are still going to base our opening sequence on a kidnap but instead of the kidnapper taking his ex girlfriend he is going to kidnap the girl for another reason. That reason being the girl he kidnaps looks like the girl he used to date. The girl that he used to date was kidnapped and killed, this is the reason he kidnaps the girl in our opening sequence because of their similar looks. The kidnapper can not get over the loss of his previous girlfriend. This is also where the name for our film has come from "obsessed". We have chosen this name as we feel this best reflects the plot of our story. During the storyboard planning session we also swapped around some of the shots into different orders, we also changed the shots to different ones, for example we changed a close up shot to a low angle medium shot. We also played around with the orders of the titles and discussed the different types of sound effects and music that could be used in our opening sequence. We have also decided that the group no longer wish to use a car as one of the props in our sequence. Below are some images of our group making these changes and the new plot summary for our opening sequence.

Post Production - Editing Techniques

1. Green screen. We will not use the green screen because we have found all the locations needed for our opening sequence and the green screen is not necessary for it.

2. We will most likely not use the 4 way split screen because it does not fit in the sub genre of a psychological-thriller and especially our opening sequence would not suit the 4 way split screen idea. however we may use a 2 way split screen during our opening sequence.
3. Cropping images will probably not be used in our opening sequence because it would not fulfil the audiences expectations of a psychological-thriller and is not needed for a kidnapping opening sequence.

4. Colour correction will be used in our opening sequence because in some scenes it will make the colours on screen look nicer with the surrounding objects. Such as when cutting to a different scene where one is darker than the other, you can see all the same colours in the same shade on screen to not mess the mis-en-scene.

5. Desaturation will be used quite often, especially when the kidnapper in our opening sequence is on the scene. This is to capture a real saddened look for the opening sequence.

6. Colour isolation might be used as it gives an impression that the coloured part is more important and it seems to give life to that area, for example giving someone colour when they're surrounded by black and white, to show innocence and good fortune.

7. Reverse clips might be used in a thriller genre to demonstrate someones mental instability. However for our story of kidnapping we might only use this in specific areas or not at all due to possible confusion for the audience.

8. Changing speeds will most likely not be used for our genre as its used more for action films slowing down explosions or speeding up fist fights. Therefore for the natural looking pace of a thriller, we will not use the changing speed edit.

Props list and changes to props list

We are going to use a car as one of our props to show how the abductor gets from one place to another.
The victim is going to be tied up using cable ties or rope.
Pictures put on the wall of the basement will be created by us to demonstrate the abductor and his victims past and present relationship.
We will also be using missing posters, there will be pictures of these on the wall of the basement as well as the current boyfriend and best friend handing the flyers out.
Newspaper cut outs will be used/created and seen in the opening sequence.
A tv screen will be used to show the abductor looking at news reports, reporting the abduction of the girl he has taken.



These are the props we actually used in our opening sequence

Computer screen

Pictures on wall to create a shrine

Calendar to mark date

We decided not to show the rope in the end but just imply that the girl is tied up

The pictures we used to create the title sequence, this included newspaper articles we created