Pitch Feedback

Initial ideas

Vlog feedback questions from target audience

What props do we use?
Weapons bag, rope, duct tape, gloves, phone, computer (Facebook), pictures, scissors, bat, missing and posters.

What costumes are we going to use?
Dark hoodie, jeans and gloves for Damien.
Casual clothing for Laura, Chris and Sophie.

What time of day?
Early evening to later in the evening.

What narrative theory will we follow?
Enigma code.

What sound effects will we use?
Screaming, footsteps, heavy breathing, typing and for shutting

What sub genre are we going to use?
psychological-Thriller

Where are we going to film?
Pictures that we took on our Vlog, in guildford and the school basement will be used.

Media Vlog

Any changes to locations

Whilst thinking of our opening sequence we planned on using different locations. These being abandoned locations such as in a factory estate, by a set of garages and in a graveyard. During storyboarding we decided not to use any of these locations, this due to wanting to film the opening sequence all in one place, this being a basement; to give a sense of mystery. Even though these locations would have given creativity to the opening sequence, we thought doing the opening sequence in one location would fit the film more. This due to the main characters obsession, getting across his characteristics through using this location. Adding themes to the film such as mystery and isolation.


During filming, we decided to add a few scenes to the opening sequence. These being located in a graveyard. A graveyard being used to convey the plot of the film, making sure that the audience are aware of what the film is about. Giving them questions and answers as to why the abductor has taken the girl, when doing this giving clues and hints for his past.  We decided to use these shots at the beginning of the film to make sure the audience were aware of the plot of the film, giving them clues right from the start.

Camera Shots- Preparation of Planning

We want the audience to feel intrigued, sympathetic towards the girl as well as scared of the abductor.

We want the audience to know that a girl has been kidnapped by her ex boyfriend.

We want the audience to have the following big question of whats going to happen to the girl as well as why it happened.

We like that the shot is high angled allowing the character to look up at the camera showing the emotion of vulnerability. in the frame there are bars in the background, this emphasises the theme of our thriller making the character look scared and captured. the character is positioned on the floor with crossed arms, this showing how scared she is; this also emphasised by looking up at the camera.
We can use this shot in our opening sequence by showing the girl in captivity by the ex boyfriend, making the audience feel empathy for the girl. this helping the audience know that she doesn't want to be there; leaving them wondering whats going to happen to her and why she is there. 

We like that this shot shows the character looking out onto a run down building, which links to our narrative as this is where he could be holding the girl. This is a mixture of shots in one as it is a mid shot of the character but a long shot of the building. the main focus of the shot is the building in the background due to it being the largest thing in the picture as well as being in the middle of the framing.
We can use this shot in our opening sequence as the beginning shot of the sequence, this showing the ex boyfriend looking out onto the place where he is keeping the girl captive, this making them feel on edge as well as wondering what is in the building. The making them question his presence there. 

We like this shot because it shows the girl in the corner on the floor crouched down against some bars, this showing her vulnerability as well as the mans power over her but standing up in front of her. This is almost a shallow focus shot as the main focus of the shot should the girl on the floor but it is actually the mans legs which are closer to the camera, this again showing his power.
We can use this shot in our opening sequence when he enters the room where she is being kept, this being the first sighting of the girl. This answering the audiences question of what is in the building. This again making the audience feel uncomfortable and sympathetic towards the girl. This again leaving them questioning why she is there.

Font of Titles analysis

The knifed title sequence is good because it gives some indication of what has happened, although the audience can not be 100% certain of what has gone on as they are not given enough information in this part of the title sequence, they would need to continue and watch the opening sequence to get some more information on what the film is about. It would be better if the titles were to fit with the meaning of the film better as they are only basic titles and they font does not show the genre of the film to the best abilities.


The down in the drugs opening sequence is effective as you are able to see the substance falling in slow motion so the audience again has an understanding of what the film will be about. It also suggests that the film would not be suitable for a young age audience. Again the titles could be better if the font of the titles resembled the plot of the film and were incorporated into the falling of the substance to make it more effective.









The scare opening titles are effective because they resemble the name of the film and also the plot behind the film. The titles give a mysterious feel to the film which resembles what the sub-genre would be. The music and sound effects are also effective with the titles as they give the sense of suspense. The titles could be improved if the titles are a different colour as they are black in colour and this makes them hard to be seen.








This title sequence is good as it is fun and bouncy giving the audience the impression that it is a good film for young children. The titles themselves are big and clear making it easy for the person watching to understand who the people are within the film and what their role was when making the film. Overall this example of opening titles is positive and one that could be used in a film.

Film opening analysis by rose spencer

X-Men First Class

In the film X-Men First Class there are a total of 26 different titles ranging from the directors name to the name of the costume designer and all of the in-between.
The most important titles are the ones at the beginning and the ones at the end this is because they are considered to be the most important of the titles so the producers of the film want you to remember them. In the X-Men first class the first title we come across is the name of the director, it is important that his name is first as it credits the work he has put into the film and crediting him for this, it is also important because it gets the audience watching the film to know his name and may make them want to watch more of the films he has directed. The director is also credited at the end of the film this may be so that the director is given true recognising for the work they have done again allowing the audience to pick up on the directors name so they remember the director.

Detailed analysis of an opening sequence of a film in the sub-genre

The opening of the film that I will be looking at in more detail is insomnia, the titles are also included in the following analysis.

The first frame that I have chosen to analyse is the first title that is presented to the audience. The first title is on the production company and this suggests to the audience that this information is more important than the name of the film and the actors that are in the film. This maybe because it was the production company who put all the time and money into making the film so they want everyone to know that it is their work and the following film idea was originally theirs. The font of the text is black on a pale background and is clear and easy for the audience to read, however I don't feel that the font reflects the genre of the film as well as it could. Although because insomnia is a sleeping disorder the font could reflect how the individual is unable to function properly as they have a lack of sleep so everything they do is simplistic, this could be recognised in the font that is used in the title above.



In this image the title of the film is presented, the text is white and is on a red background that could be seen as blood to the audience. The name of the film is later on in the opening sequence and this suggests that the name of the film itself is not as important as some of the other titles that are before it.The material that the "blood" is staining could be replicating the inside of an individuals head and the overlapping of the material could suggest the mental state of the individual that the title is referring to as the material is twisting in and out of each bit, showing the audience how lack of sleep can mess with your head.



This image is a Zoomed in version of the one above, it makes the name of the film more distinguished and allows the audience to see that it is the most important thing in the frame. The image behind the text looks like the inside of the brain, this could be so that the audience can link the name of the film with the mental state of the person or people in the film. This gives the audience the clues that the film is based around the psychological issues that are caused by insomnia.




This image is of the mountain range in the opening sequence. The image suggests that the text isn't the most important part of the frame at the moment as it is faded and isn't clear what it says, meaning that the focus point of this frame is the mountain range. The mountain range is of high significance in this image, firstly the mountains are all different heights this could be a symbol to the mental state of those who suffer from the psychological illness insomnia. The mountains go up and down just like the mental state of the person suffering from insomnia, they have good and bad days that cause them to go up and down.



In this image, the mountain range in the background is blurred out and is out of focus,  the title is the main focus of the frame this suggests to the audience that the title is of high importance and is worth knowing, the font of the title is simple and contrasts with the name of the film and the fact that insomnia is a complicated disorder that is noting but simplistic.  



This title allows the audience to think that something bad is going to happen due to the blood in the background. The blood is the first thing that our eyes are drawn to, suggesting that the blood is of more importance than the name of the director.

Film Opening Analysis

Hard Candy:

How many titles are there?
There are 21 titles in this opening sequence

Which were the most important?
The titles towards the beginning and end of the film were most important, this is because this is where the directors and producers are placed, sometimes even being accredited twice at the beginning and the end. During the middle of the sequence there are people who are seen as being less important for example: digital colourist and director of photography.

Style and movement of font
The font used for the titles is very basic, being black on a white or red background making this opening sequence very simplistic. The slow movement between the titles adds to the suspense of the opening sequence, making people intrigued to the storyline as you are given no clue of what it’s about due to the opening titles.

Relationship to genre and narrative
The titles didn’t relate to the genre very well as the titles were very simplistic and basic, using the same style of font, on a white or red background. This not adding to the genre of the film.

Se7en was very different to Hard Candy, this is because Se7en was very quick and fast passed as well as quirky and distorted; where as Hard Candy was very basic and simple, not giving away any information in the film unlike Se7en.

Se7en is more effective for a thriller, this is because of the white quirky writing on a dark background, as well as the sound being very sudden and gloomy.

The changing between the titles was very fast paced and sudden unlike Hard Candy. As well as this Se7en also gives an insight into the thriller film where as Hard Candy does not give any suggestions as to what’s in the film.

As well as this, Se7en also another colour apart from black and white. This colour being red, similarly to Hard Candy but se7en using It in relation to the film as it is part of a snippet of the film.

Se7en evaluation

How many titles are there?

In the opening sequence of Seven there are 26 different titles.

Which of the titles are the most important?

The titles that are towards the beginning and the end of the sequence are the most important this is because they include the directors and producers as well as the lead actors and the writer of the film.  The production company is the first title to be shown this is because they are the ones funding the film so they want their name to be seen first. After this comes the main director, the lead actors and the name of the film these are important because these are the main elements that make up the film. It is important the lead actors are before the name of the film as it is important the audience are aware who the main characters are. Towards the end of the sequence the titles are crediting people for their work, again rewarding the director as his name is the last title to be seen.

Style and movement of font

It makes audiences uncomfortable with the rapid movements of the fonts.
You can see the minute movements of his hands as the writing is over it.
The font seems unstable, perhaps presenting an unstable storyline or even character.

Relationship to the genre and narrative

The titles are reactive and move around a lot.
The contrast from the white onto a black background is jarring and abnormal.
The Chiller writing shows a terrifying narrative.

preliminary and story board

Preliminary:

1. character A walk through the sixth form doors.
2. character A walks up stairs.
3. character A stops and looks at the top of the stairs.
4. character A approaches character B.
5. character A asks if they can see character B's homework.
6. character B gives character A the homework.
7. character A looks at the homework.
8. character A gives the homework back, says thank you and walks off.

Story board:

This is our video that we created using the above story boards. We changed a few things while filming in order to make our video better. 

Audience research -video of audience's opinion

Audience research by Rose Spencer

DEEPWATER HORINSON

Deepwater Horinson is a action thriller, based on one of the biggest man made disaster. On April 20th, 2010, one of the world's largest man-made disasters occurred on the Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico. This story honours the brave men and women whose heroism would save many on board, and change everyone's lives forever. This film tells the story of those that were part of the disaster and those who were affected by the ones they loved.

UK Website
Having a website allows people to find more out about the film, it also allows the producers of the film to advertise merchandise for the film. This type of advertising would be better for younger generations as they are more likely to look the film up online.  

UK Facebook Page
The film having a facebook page is a good thing because it is a way of advertising the film to the younger generations who use social media. It also allows those who have watched the film to leave feedback so that others who may want to watch the film can see what people have thought of the film and decide if the film is worth a watch or not.

Uk Poster
Having a poster to advertise the film is a good thing because it advertises the film to lots of different people at the same time. The poster can be out up on bill boards so that everyone can see it and people are drawn to it because it is so big. The posters can also be put up in shopping centres, again meaning lots of people  will see it.




 The Trailer allows people to get  sneak look at the film so they have a feeling for what the film is about and they would also want to watch the film more after watching the trailer. Watching the trailer would help people to see if the film if the type of genre that they would enjoy or if they would like to watch the film for other reasons such as the actors in the film.

 The point of this task was to get an understanding of how the production companies get the name and word of the film out into the public, it made us think of how we could advertise our film and how we could gain the interest of different types of people. Because if this research, in our opening sequence we are going to think about the different audience and how we can widen the interest of our film by making it relevant and interesting to different types of people.

Audience Research- Daniel

Inferno is a 2016 American Mystery Thriller film directed by Ron Howard and written by David Koepp, based on the 2013 novel of the same name by Dan Brown. The film is the sequel to The Da Vinci Code and Angles & Demons, and stars Tom Hanks, reprising his role as Robert Langdon, Alongside Felicity Jones and more.

The film is aimed at those from C2 to B as it holds action but also a bit of mystery, however from looking at the trailer and if you have seen the sequels mystery knowledge is not needed as much, rather enjoying the action and mystery of the film specifically is good enough. Which is why it has a large target audience i believe. But i think its more the people in the B category, as they can fully enjoy the film for what it is.

The poster of the inferno really captures the mystery behind the movie series as a whole, with the dark and flipped picture, almost like someone is running towards the figure above.

The trailer is highly action packed all while showing the mystery and Thriller genre the film is, by having more calm moments and realisations with the clues and paintings.

Audience Research

There are 4 thrillers showing at the odeon this week. Of these there are 2 action thrillers, 1 conspiracy thriller and one psychological thriller. This tells us that action thriller is the most popular type of thriller, making it in high demand due to there being a wide audience for them. It also tells us that the audience are intrestered mysterious plots as well as being interested in mental health, due to there being a highly popular psychological thriller showing at this time.
This showing that a psychological thriller is something which is sort after, meaning that this should be a genre to use in our opening sequence due to their high demand. This also meaning that an outgoing and mysterious plot is needed for it to be popular at this time.

the point in this task was to gain an idea of the different types of thrillers that the public were interested in, from this we have learnt that action thrillers are the most popular thriller at this moment in time, closely followed by psychological thrillers. in our opening sequence we are going to do a psychological thriller as from this research it is clear that there are people interested in this type of film. aswell as this we are going to try and reach out to other audiences and bring in a aspect of action thrillers to widen the audience for our film.

Audience Research- Amy

The Girl On The Train:
The Girl on the Train is a psychological thriller which began as a novel; being made into a film in 2016. With the book being a popular best seller, there were great hopes for the film.
This film was aimed at people above category E and even possibly D according to the demographics table, this is because they are people who either cannot afford to go out and buy/see the film or simply aren't interested in the storyline of the film. The psychological thriller was aimed at people towards the top of the demographics chart due to the complexity of the storyline, something which they may be able to understand better than people towards the bottom of the chart.
In terms of psychographics, I feel the film is aimed at succeeders and explorers, this is because the film is individualistic as well as having a complex storyline, this making it accessible to young people as well as people with a high position of authority, making it accessible for the majority.

UK Poster

This poster is very dark due to the dark background, but having white writing on top of it.  The style of writing fits in with the theme of a train on the film due to the text looking like it is moving, fitting in with the focus of what happened on the train. This individualistic poster fits in with their audience type as its accessible to all due to it being simple with a complex meaning behind it.

Facebook Page

It is good that the girl on the train has a facebook page as it makes it accessible to the younger generation as well as older. This web page allowing them to add videos and pictures as well as commenting on the film, allowing people to be in conversation about the film online; sharing opinions of the film. This as well being something which all people can use, allowing it to reach near the bottom as well as the top of the charts (demographic and psychographic).

Website

This is a very interesting website as it has snippets of the film as the background of the web page. This still being a dark and gloomy page, adding to the genre of the film which is psychological thriller. The writing which flashes up on screen is white making it stand out above the images behind it. This is a very unique and individual website due to the moving background, this fitting in with the psychographic category of explorers due to the individualism. This also being a very easy website to navigate due there beinf no navigation needed, making a quick, non complicated website to look at allowing it to be attractive to all. The simple structure of the website is very aesthetically pleasing due to its few complex features, this making it look expensive to make. This attracting the people towards the higher end of the demographic chart.



This demonstrating that unique as well as simple features are needed for a film to be successful. Advertisement doesn't need to be complex for it to be eye catching and have an impact on the audience. As well as this, involving the audience and allowing them to comment on features of the media piece is something which can improve the success of your film by increasing the talk of it. This demonstrates that for a film to be a success and catch the eye of your target audience, you need to be bold and make rash decisions, such as the website background for the film, but you also need to keep things simple enough. The trailer for a film like this I have learnt that there needs to be many jump cuts, flashes on screen and many different transitions. This being needed in a psychological thriller opening sequence and trailer.

Preliminary Evalutation- Amy Collins

Preliminary evaluation - by rose spencer

Preliminary task Evaluation

preliminary task evaluation

Continuity Rules: Match on action

Continuity Rules: Shot reverse shot

Continuity Rules:180 Degrees rule

Practising editing by rose spencer and amy collins

                              WWW: We were able to show the basic editing techniques, including:

• change of speed 
• change of colour and tonnes 
• reversing the frame 

EBI: we managed to create a good shallow focus and controlled the camera even more effectively.

mission impossible

 

sound techniques

Table of Narrative Theories - by rose spencer

	PROS	CONS
Binary Opposites – Levi Strauss This is two contrasting opposites in a film E.G. good/evil or strong/weak.	Shows two contrasting themes or things and shows how they influence each other.  Allows the audience to pick a side of what opposite they believe will come out on top giving the film an element of surprise if they are wrong.	Maybe more than one in a film so makes it hard for the audience to know what binary opposite is the one they need to follow to understand the story. The audience may not know or understand what the binary opposite is in the film.
The Equilibrium Theory – Todorov Carries a traditional story route where nothing is wrong, ending with the hero coming to save everyone.	Films carry a specific way of which the story runs, allowing the audience to understand what is happening in the film.	Can become repetitive or the audience are able to predict what will happen, leaving no element of surprise.
The Enigma Code – Barthes This is when the audience are given clues as to what may happen, leaving the audience asking questions, gripping them into watching more.	Grips the audience as they are left asking questions as to what will happen next leaving a sense of mystery.	The audience may get confused and not fully understand what is going on because not all the information is given.

TODOROV-EQUILIBRIUM THEORY	BARTHES-ENIGMA
Suggests most stories start with a state of happiness	Teases the audience by  revealing a small part of  the story
State of happiness is disrupted
	LEVI-STRAUSS-BINARY  OPPOSITES Shows conflict between  two terms