Preliminary Task

Construction

Evaluation

Conventions

From my research into conventions of films, I found that most films are cross-genre films. In fact, most films have at least a sub-plot of romance. Therefore, I incorporated romance into my film as a sub-plot: the romance between the main character, Lily, and her boyfriend, Craig, which is disrupted by the uncertainty of his being the killer.

I showed this using the composition of the characters. Lily and Craig were next to each other, as were Scarlett and Shaun. This is because, as I found out during my research, the opening sequence is supposed to familiarize the viewer with the main characters and their relationships with one another. I also used composition to familiarize the viewer with the character's importance. As Lily is the main character, she is at the front; Craig is also at the front, not only because he is Lily's boyfriend, but because he is the main focus of the scene at the beginning, as he is telling the story. 

However, as Shaun's character is revealed more to the audience, and I begin to foreshadow event that would come later on in the film, Shaun becomes more central to the composition.

From my research specifically into the conventions of horror films, I discovered that there are two types of horror films: supernatural horror films, involving element of the supernatural such as ‘Poltergeist’; and serial killers, such as ‘Scream’. In these films, the serial killer needs to remain masked and their identity must be unknown for the majority of the film. 

The masked killer from 'Scream', the film that I 
analyzed: 

We did this by not revealing the serial killer in our film until the very end, when he kills the films protagonist, giving the film a twist at the end. As the suspect for whom the killer could be keeps changing and is a shock at the end, it also incorporates psychological elements, which our questionnaire said was the most important thing.

From my research on the conventions of opening sequences of horror films, I found that there are some basic things that most horror films have. All the films that I looked at had an introductory scene before the main part of the film started. They also all had credits going through this scene. One of these films – ‘Nightmare on Elm Street’ - had a scene before the title and then another introductory scene after, before the main part of the film started. Lastly, whilst the credits happen throughout a (introductory) scene, the title was on it’s own on the screen for a period of time before the rest of the film continued, in all of the films that I studied.

We incorporated this into our film by creating an introductory scene. It involves the main characters discussing a murder previously committed:

It is True! I saw it on TV… The man walked in with his wife on the kitchen floor, a pool of blood surrounding her, several blows to the head and her wrists slit… they say that the killer is still out there, they could not trace them, they could still be lurking these shadows watching every person walk by, who knows…

These are the credits from some of the opening sequences that I analyzed:

This is an example of the credits I used in order to follow the convention:

The credits are in bright (white) writing, juxtaposed with the dark, almost sinister atmosphere created by the low key lighting, like the other credits.

These are the titles from some of the opening sequences that I looked at:

This is the titles I created in order to follow the convention:

It’s set against a dark screen and the title appears in the middle of it, alone, like the other titles.

Also, like the opening sequences that I analyzed, I used non-digetic sound when the title was on the screen. In my mind, I would have used this as a sound-motif for the killings in the rest of the film. 

Representations

        The people in my film are represented using shot-types. As they begin to walk down the street, it is dennotively a long-shot of them all so that their outfits and looks can be fully absorbed by the viewer. I also used close-ups to help establish their character using their reactions and facial expressions.

Lily is represented as the main character because she is the final shot of the opening sequence; this means that she is the one that the audience is supposed to identify and sympathize with.

I also used mise-en-scene to represent them. Costume is an example of this: one of them is wearing jeans and a hooded jumper, which is connotively associated with teenage boys. The girls in my film are represented using costume by wearing a skirt and a feminine coat. Costume, therefore, is being used to represent to the audience both gender and age.


The girl who gets stalked throughout the film has blonde hair because connotively blonde hair is usually connected to the ‘damsel-in-distress' stereotype. Similarly, the boy who turns out to be a killer at the end of the film has a Russian accent because connotively people associate foreign accents with the villain.

Setting is another way in which mise-en-scene is used to represent my characters. The film is set down a street because teenagers have the stereotype of “hanging out” on the street. Age is being represented through the location here. Dennotively, the scene has low key lighting – from a streetlight; this is to give the start of the film the right tone and set the creepy atmosphere for the rest of the film.

For my representation of the horror genre, I used sound. My non-digetic sound, during the title connotively creates tension, as it is "creepy". Also, language was a way in which I used sound to represent the horror genre: words such as "blood" create a gory image; words like "surrounding" and "lurking" connotively create a tense atmosphere, as they sound imminent and dangerous; and words such as "shadows" just sound dark and dooming.

Institutions

        Universal Studios used to produce films similar to mine. It is a major studio subsidiary, who has been owned by many companies over the years. They popularised the horror film in the 1930’s with films such as ‘Dracula’ and ‘Frankenstein’. These products are like mine in that they are horror films; however, they are supernatural horror films rather than serial killer horror. Also, they were for audiences in the 1930’s.

Miramax studios own Dimension Films, who do genre films – which includes horror. They’re horror films are more recent and appeal to more modern audiences. They did the ‘Scream’ trilogy and ‘Halloween’.

Dimension Films would be the most likely to distribute my product because my film would be classed as a genre film. Both of these films are like mine in that they are serial killers (rather than supernatural) like mine. They also both have introductory scenes, which I also made for mine.

Target Audience and Appeal to Target Audience

        My target audience is 16-18 year olds of both genders, as all of the people who went more than once a month were between this age, of a roughly equal number of males and females. The main characters that I created, and the only ones in the opening sequence, were an equal number of males and females (2 of each), of later teenage years so that that my audience could identify with them. 

I used different shots to make this appeal to my target audience: dennotively, I used a long shot at the beginning so that all the characters could be seen in full length and their costumes, specifically chosen to make them stereotypical teenagers, could be seen and my target audience could relate to it.




The language I used was specifically chosen to appeal to watchers of horror films: phrases such as "wrists slit" and "several blows to the head" sound gory and violent. Gore was mentioned a few times as something that people enjoyed in a horror film (as shown by the pie chart below).

75% of the people who did our questionnaire cited suspense and tension as what they enjoyed most about horror films. We took this into consideration by having our introductory scene create tension. It created tension by Craig’s speech at the beginning, about the murder; we used a close up of him, connotively in order to make the speech more intense.

The thing that came up as most appealing was a good plot – 50% of people said this - with a psychological aspect coming up second. We used this by making the plot of the film very involved and as psychologically scary as possible, with a ‘twist’ at the end: the killer being revealed at the last minute. We also did it by the scene after title, in which Lily get’s stalked. It’s silent, with a handheld camera, connotively making the audience unsure as to whether the stalker is going to do anything or just watch her.

Technologies

        I used Song Vegas Pro 10 to do the actual editing. A skill that I developed on my main task was putting credits on over a playing scene. Another skill was the type of editing: cross dissolving. This is where one image dissolves into another and it makes the credits flow smoothly, almost like a montage.

I used Quick Time Player to watch the clips back to know where to cut them, and then watch them back again after to make sure that I  had cut them in the right place. This helped my skills in cutting the clips accurately, at the right place. 

In order to save and publish my film and my preliminary, I used Windows Movie Maker. When I attempted to put them on my blog, it wouldn't accept them: there was a problem processing them. As I had saved them both as "projects", I then published them; however, when I watched them back, something had gone wrong in the editing and there was a green strip along the bottom. 

For this reason, I published my main task using Nero StartSmart. From this, I learned not use Windows Movie Maker to publish films; however, Windows Movie Maker worked perfectly well for me actually putting the clips together in my preliminary task.

Progression from preliminary task

One comparison between my preliminary task and my main task is that I can not cut between shots smoothly, rather than them looking like they’ve been thrown together. In my preliminary, they look as though they are separate clips that have been put next to one another; in my main, they look as though they lead on from one another.

I did this by cutting them closer together. Another way that I did this is that these pictures

are part of the same speech. I cut this speech so that I had it in two shots to create two different effects: the close up of Craig, telling the scary story in his creepy Russian accent was to create tension; the mid shot of him and Lily was to break that tension when he made Lily jump. Having the two cuts be part of the same speech made the transition between cuts smoother. This is a skill that I developed. 

Another thing to be compared  between my preliminary and my main task, to do with my editing, was publishing. My preliminary had a green strip across the bottom: 

Where as  I published my main task using a different program and avoided the green strip:

Another comparison between my preliminary and my main task was planning. In my preliminary, I used improvisation to have the conversation. For my main task, I had a script for the actors to follow, with a planned shotlist to use as guidelines; however, when I actually filmed it, I filmed it a few times, using different shots for different bits and then chose the ones that worked the best when physically done. This did not always corroborate with what I had put in the shotlist.

Research/Evaluation - Audience Feedback/Focus Group Summary

First Attempt

 The first clip was really good at setting the scene for film’s plot to develop and starting the film in suspense. This suspenseful atmosphere was also achieved using the setting of the film, at night when it’s dark, with low key lighting from a streetlight.

The actual credits go on for too long, with each credit staying on the screen for much longer than they need too. Apart from the title, which does need to be on it’s own on the screen although for a much shorter period of time, the credits could go across the screen as the clip is playing. However, the music used in the titles is “creepy” and helps to set the atmosphere. That works very well.

It was picked up on by everyone in the focus group that ‘Edited’ only has one ‘t’ and that the official term for ‘actors’ would be staring.

In the clip at the end, it is unclear what is happening. Although the camera angle does help to show that she’s being stalked, only half of them understood that that was what was happening. It was suggested that heavy breathing be put over the top of this scene to make it clearer.

Finally, it is nearly double the length that it ought to be. It’s supposed to be two minutes, but it’s actually three minutes, 45 seconds.     

Final attempt

I managed to cut this one down to the time limit set of two minutes. I did this by taking note of the audience feedback from the first attempt.

This time, the audience feedback was much more positive: they said that the way that the credits lapped over the introductory scene seemed much more natural in the way that they were presented, which made them both easier and more interesting to watch. Also, it the introductory scene and way the credits interacted with it reminded them of other horror films they've seen.

I kept the music with the title, as that was well received the first time; this was again commended by my focus group, who said that the music created a certain atmosphere that set the tone for next scene and, most likely, the rest of the film. 

Despite having not put heavy breathing over the top of the final scene, my focus group praised the contrast between the music used for the title and the silence of that scene because it increased tension.

All in all, they said that they would stay in the cinema to finish watching a film with my opening sequence.

Research - Identifying what is needed for a level 4

Identifying what you need to achieve a Level 4

There is evidence of excellence in the creative use of most of the following technical skills:

• holding a shot steady, where appropriate
• framing a shot, including and excluding elements as appropriate
• using a variety of shot distances as appropriate
• shooting material appropriate to task set
• selecting mise-en-scene including colour, figure, lighting, objects and setting
• editing so that meaning is apparent to the viewer
• using varied shot transitions and other effects selectively and appropriately for task set
• using sound with images and editing appropriately for the task set
• using titles appropriately.

Looking at examples of how students have achieved Level 4 for your brief and identifying what they have done well:

• Credits play over the footage being shown
• Non-Digetic sound of a newsreader reading a report setting up the plot of the film
• Switches between different shots of him running, connotively showing that he's been on the run for a long time
• Non-digetic sound in the background creates atmosphere
• Camera zooms out to show his reaction to what he has done
• Use of costume, and setting when he comes out of the church with blood on his top
• Starts with the name of the producer, which is supposedly a recognisable name
• Good use of clip transitions
• Good use of editing techniques

Students analysis of 'The Dark Knight'

I believe the students analysis of the dark knight stands out as a high grade because thery have clearly noted what they have seen in the opening credits both dennotively and have then said what this could mean connotively. They have identified things in the credits technically and then investigated what this could represent and the message it could send to the viewer. However, the presentation could be made better without bulltet points and if it were put into proper paragraphs rather then a note form.

Planning - Production Plan

Dates – Start filming – 25th January
             Deadline for filming – 4^th February

             Start editing – 7th February
             Deadline for editing – 25th February
             Evaluation – 28th February

Locations – Railway Lane, Chatteris


Personnel – Director - Sam
                     Assistant director -Sophie

                     Actors - Abigail

                                   George

                                   Kieran
                                   Sophie
                    Editor - Sam

Equipment – HD Camera + Mic, 
                     Tripod

Props/Costumes – Casual Clothing:
(clothes that the actors wore everyday, discussed with the actors beforehand).
                                            - jeans/hooded jumper
                                            -trousers
                                            - skirt/woman's leather jacket
                           -  prop - handbag

Planning - Film Outline

The film starts with four teenagers being followed by a masked killer, although they are unaware of it. When Lily's brother is found dead a rumor starts around the town (loosely told by Craig in the opening sequence as a form of foreshadowing) about an insane man who killed his wife and was on the run from a town “not far from here.”

The killer stalks Lilly throughout the whole film and more people, all closely connected to Lilly, are stalked and killed. The rumours escalate and Lilly is named as a suspect; Craig asks Shaun to help him look after Lilly. Lilly begins to develop suspicions about Craig and whether he could be the killer. Scarlett is brutally murdered.

Shaun arranges with Lily and Shaun to meet him. However, Shaun is attacked by the Insane Man and left for dead. Lily finds him and accuses Craig of being the killer when he arrives; she runs. She is confronted by the Insane Man, who cryptically tells her that she can trust Craig, but not Shaun. She runs from him.

In a series flashback, we see the circumstances of the Insane Man's wife's death: his wife comes in to him, frightened because she thinks she’s being stalked. They have a couple rounds for dinner, and the Insane Man asks his friend to stay with his wife so that she is protected. The Insane Man then comes home one day to a scene scarily similar to the one Craig described in the beginning, with his friend standing over the body. This flash back is parallel to the events that have taken place between Lily, Shaun, Craig and Scarlett, with the exception of Scarlett's death and Lily not being dead yet.

After a close fight between Lilly and the Insane Man, Lilly is victorious and kills him. Shaun then appears and Lilly is relieved to see him; however, he kills then kills her; Craig then kills him, getting the justice that the killer deserved to get on his friend, but didn’t. Just like in the Insane Man's memory, only Craig is left, as a murder suspect. History has repeated itself.