Evaluation Question 7

Evaluation Question 7:

Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

 

We filmed our preliminary task in October. This was the beginning of the school year, and although I had taken media studies at GCSE level, I did not have much knowledge on filmmaking and editing. I now feel confident with using editing software such as iMovie, and with filming techniques and camera shots.

Before we recorded our preliminary task, we were taught 3 things that we had to focus on. These were shot/reverse shot, the 180-degree rule, and match-on-action. I think that it was really useful to try and focus on these things in the preliminary task as it allowed us to learn how they worked before applying the techniques to our film opening. After filming and editing our video, we realised that we broke the 180-degree rule at one point in our preliminary task video, so we were especially careful about ensuring the rule was in place when filming our actual film opening.

Another aspect of filmmaking we learnt a lot about in progression from our preliminary task to our full product is editing. Ellie edited our preliminary task using iMovie, as she had access to the software on her laptop and she was familiar with it. Our preliminary task did not require complex editing, so iMovie was perfect for the job. For our film opening, we wanted to try using a more challenging software in order to get more interesting results, which is why we used Final Cut Pro. There were more effects available to us on this programme, and we were able to change the colouring of our video clips, which was really useful for creating our film opening. We used iMovie to add titles to our film opening, as Final Cut Pro did not have a wide enough range of titles for us to choose from. I now feel confident with using both programmes and would be happy to use them again!

Our preliminary task did not include any added sound effects or music, so adding music to our opening sequence was a new concept for us. We used the software Garageband, a programme I was only vaguely familiar with. After creating our film opening sequence, I felt much more knowledgeable about how Garageband works, and think that I would be able to use it again with ease.

After we had filmed and edited our preliminary task, we noticed that some of our friends were visible in the background of shots that they weren't supposed to be in. This mistake made us more aware of who can be seen in certain scenes, so when filming our opening sequence we made sure that only the people who were supposed to be on camera were visible. I think that this awareness will be useful in the future if I do any more filmmaking.

The process that lead up to us recording and editing our full media product taught us a lot about the filming and editing processes, and that it is important to pay attention to detail whilst recording and editing videos. We all learnt a lot about technology, and feel confident using programmes that we had never really used before starting this Media Studies AS Level course. Overall, I'm really glad that we did so much research (including the preliminary task) before attempting to put together our final media product, as I think that it taught us a lot, and as a result, our final product was very successful.

 

Evaluation Question 6

Evaluation Question 5

Evaluation Question 4

Evaluation Question 3

Evaluation Question 2

Evaluation Question 2:

How does your media product represent a particular social group?

 

During the pre-production stage of creating our horror film opening sequence, my group and I discussed who would be appropriate to play the characters in our film. Firstly, we thought about who might play the antagonist in our film opening. We wanted to decide this first, as the killer was the key character in our film opening, and if the opening sequence were to continue into a full length film, the killer would be the focus of the film. After some discussion, we chose Kayleigh to be the antagonist, as she enjoys acting and owned appropriate clothing to play the role of the killer. Her hair is quite dark, so this added to the connotation of danger that her appearance showed. Originally, we were going to ask a boy to play this role, as in horror films this role is usually played by a male character, however, we decided to cast a girl in order to challenge this. 

 

 

 

 

 

In the film 'Orphan' (2009), the antagonist is a young girl named Esther. She appears to be sweet and innocent, often wearing bows in her hair, as a typical little girl would. However, her dark clothes suggest that there is an element of darkness about her. At a glance, the character of Esther does not appear to be remotely threatening or dangerous- this is what we wanted to achieve by dressing our antagonist in normal, everyday clothing. In the majority of horror films, men are presented as the more dominant characters, which is a concept we wanted to challenge within our film opening. In 'Orphan', Esther is the antagonist- she a powerful character whom the other characters fear. Orphan is one of the few horror films that challenge the idea that men are more dominant, and we wanted our film to also challenge this idea. Our media product represents women as a strong and powerful social group, and this is shown by our casting of a female antagonist.

 

 

Next, my group and I chose who should play the victim in our film opening. After doing some research on victims in horror films, we learned that the victim is usually a young girl who looks stereotypically feminine and vulnerable. We decided that Ellie would be the best choice to play this role as she looks quite feminine and petite, and owned clothing that was appropriate for the role. Her hair is also quite light, which could connote light and good as opposed to darkness and evil.

 

 

 

In the film 'Black Swan' (2010), the protagonist is a young woman named Nina. She looks feminine and innocent, so we decided to take inspiration from her character for our victim. We followed the conventions of a horror film by casting a girl to play the victim in our film opening, as in the majority of horror films, the victims are young girls. While casting a girl to play the antagonist in our film opening presented women as powerful, casting a girl to play the victim presented women as weak and vulnerable. We have presented contrasting and varied views of women in our film opening.

 

 

 

 

To conclude, I think that we presented women in an interesting way within our film opening. Whilst we challenged typical aspects of a horror film by casting a woman as the antagonist of our film, we also complied with these aspects by casting a woman as the victim in our film opening. We have managed to represent both the dominant and vulnerable sides of women within our film opening, and I think that this is what makes it unique.

 

 

 

Evaluation Question 1

Our Finished Film Opening Sequence

Film Institutions Research

I decided to research the top grossing horror films to find out which film institutions have the most successful repertoire. Doing this helped me to realise which is most likely to produce, exhibit and distribute my film. I narrowed my research down to the top 5 institutions, which are:

Universal Pictures
Universal Pictures is an American film studio founded in 1912, and is one of the 'Big Six' film studios in Hollywood. Universal Pictures are not renowned for their horror films, producing more hit films in the adventure, drama and romance genres. Examples of these are Lost In Translation (2003), King Kong (2005) and The Bourne Ultimatum (2007). Universal Pictures haven't had huge amounts of success with their more recent horror movies, however, films such as Jaws (1975), Dracula (1931), The Wolf Man (1941) and The Mummy (1932) were huge box office hits- Jaws being the 9th highest grossing film of all time (according to the chart below, found on Wikipedia).

20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox is another of the 'Big Six' Hollywood film studios. Founded in 1935, it has become the most recognised film institution in the world. Their most successful film is Avatar (2009), which raked in over $2 billion in the box office. They have produced some horror films, however, like Universal Pictures, they tend to stick to their more profitable film genres- comedy, family, and fantasy. Horror films they have made include Alien (1979), The Omen (1979), and Shutter (2008).

Warner Bros
Warner Bros is another widely known film institution, based in New York and California. They produce and distribute films from a wide range of different genres, and appear to have had more success with modern horror films than Universal Pictures and 20th Century Fox. They create, produce, distribute, license and market all of their own content. Successful horror films Warner Bros have created include Orphan (2009) and Sweeny Todd (2007).

Lionsgate
Most of the films that Lionsgate have produced belong to the action, drama, or thriller genres, which are much more relevant to horror than the genres that 20th Century Fox and Universal Pictures focus on. Lionsgate's most successful films according to box office results are in the form of young adult franchises such as The Hunger Games franchise (2012-present) and the Divergent franchise (2014-present). Lionsgate are also responsible for several horror films, including the widely known Saw franchise (2004-2010), My Bloody Valentine (2009) and The Last Exorcism (2010). Compared to Universal Pictures, Lionsgate does not have much experience in creating horror movies- they have only released a few and they are all quite recent releases. However, Lionsgate has also had huge box office success with franchises, so if our film was to be part of a series, this would probably be the company we would choose.

Hammer Films
Hammer Films is a notable British company founded in 1934 who are best known for their work with Gothic Horror movies in the 1950s-1970s. In this time period they released classic horror films such as Dracula (1958), The Curse of Frankenstein (1957), The Mummy (1959) and The Phantom of the Opera (1962). Due to the saturation of the horror film market by competitors, Hammer lost their American funding in the late 1960s and 1970s. This led to the company ceasing to produce films in the mid 1980s.
Hammer Films was bought and revived in 2000, and began producing films again several years later. This new era of Hammer films includes horrors such as Let Me In (2010)- a film I studied here , and The Woman In Black (2012)- a film I have studied here. This shows Hammer's diversity and understanding of the Horror market as they have managed to make a successful comeback after over 20 years.
Conclusion
In conclusion, I believe that the best film institution to represent our film would be Hammer Films. They are a company that is most well known for producing horror films, and has had great success in doing so. As they have experience in working with horror films, the people working on our film would have an extensive knowledge about props, costume, lighting and editing horror films. This would help to make our film the best it could be and ensure it embraces the typical conventions of horror films. Hammer is a fairly small film company, meaning that a collaboration with another company would be likely. This would help our film to be more successful as the companies would be able to share ideas and we could get a wider range of opinions on various aspects of creating the film.
 

Shot List and Shooting Script

We plan on using 6 different camera shots in our film opening. They are:

• Tracking Shot
• Match-on-Action
• Close up
• Shot/Reverse Shot
• Low Angle
• Panning

We also plan to use the 180 degree rule in our video in order to ensure a continuous effect that is not disorientating for the audience to watch.

Tracking Shots will be used when our main character is walking down the lane. This is a very effective type of shot often used in Horror films as it can be used to show the audience when a character is being followed. The suspense builds as the audience is left wondering whether a character is safe or about to be brutally murdered. Match-on-Action will also be used in this part of our film opening to ensure continuity when the tracking shots are shown from different angles.

Close up shots will also be used in our film opening. These are important within the Horror genre as they can be used to show the emotion in a character's facial expression and to capture their reactions to events. It can also be used to focus on certain details in a scene that the audience might miss otherwise.

We will be using Shot/Reverse Shot when one character is looking at another. For this, we will have to ensure that the 180 degree rule is in place so that all of our shots match up.

A Low Angle shot will be used in our opening scene when the killer is stabbing the victim. This type of shot is effective for showing the dominance one character has over another, and can also make the audience feel intimidated by a character, which is what we are aiming for with the killer in our film opening.

Our final scene will include a panning shot from the main character's dead body to the killer walking away. The screen will then go black.

This is my shooting script:

Casting

 

We decided to cast Ellie as the main character in the opening of our film. We wanted our victim to look typically feminine, vulnerable and innocent, and we all agreed that she would be the best for the role. Ellie's appearance fitted the character well as her hair is blonde and she is quite petite, both characteristics of a stereotypical female victim in a horror film.

 

We decided to cast our friend Kayleigh as the killer in our film opening. We asked her as we know she enjoys participating in drama, and she was very enthusiastic to be involved with our video. She owns appropriate clothing for the part we asked her to play, which is also very convenient.

Risk Assessment

We decided to film our opening sequence around an isolated lane surrounded by trees. There aren't many serious risks in this area.
If it has rained recently, however, the ground will be muddy and may cause us to slip and injure ourselves. We are filming our opening next to our school so if anyone was seriously injured we would be able to get help easily. We will all wear suitable shoes to make us less likely to slip in the mud.

Another issue is the weather. If it rains while we are filming, it could damage our camera equipment and could make the ground dangerous. We could also have to stop halfway through filming, which would be inconvenient. To try and prevent these things from happening, we will check the weather forecast before deciding when to film our video.

The area that we are filming in is a public footpath, so people will probably walk past us with dogs off lead. This could be dangerous as the dogs could harm our cast and crew, so we will make sure that we move out of the way when anyone walks past us. There is also a field next to the lane we are filming on which is home to a variety of wildlife- we will need to be mindful of this when we film.

Filming Locations

Me and my group went out around and outside the school grounds to look for a suitable location to shoot our film opening in. The main criteria for our location was that it had to be isolated and surrounded by foliage. We found two possible locations that we could use.


This was the first location we found. The lane is very isolated and is surrounded by trees, which we thought looked very effective and could work well in our film. This area is a public footpath so I don't think we would need any authorisation to film here.

 

 

This is the second location we found. There isn't really a clear footpath through these woods, just a clearing, which wouldn't really work for our film opening. This location doesn't seem as isolated as the first one we found, however, we think it would look creepier in the dark than the first location would. I wasn't sure whether we would need authorisation to film here as the sign says that it is a private road.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We have decided to use the first location to shoot our film opening as it is more isolated and has a clear footpath. It would make more sense for our main character to be walking along a path than just wandering in the woods.

Film Opening Storyboard

Sound Research

After researching Horror film openings, we decided that we should use backing music and foley sounds in our own film opening. We looked at quite a variety of different sounds that we could potentially use, however, we may not use most of them when editing our film opening.

We found a piece of backing music that could use as the main character of our film opening is walking down an isolated lane. The piece is called 'Don't Walk Into The Woods' and would fit extremely well this particular scene. (Found at http://www.audiosparx.com/sa/links/horror-music.cfm ) There were certain parts of this piece of music that wouldn't really work with the scene, so Ellie used Garageband to edit them out. There was also a piece on Garageband called 'Woods 2' played on classic electric piano which we thought might work well.

There was also another piece of music on audiosparx.com that we could use when the main character turns around. It would be perfect to build suspense and let the audience know that something is about to happen. Another sound that could work in our film somewhere is http://www.freesound.org/people/klankbeeld/sounds/192489 .

Perfect/Typical Audience Member

I used a website (http://tribes.channel4.com/) to research what a typical member of the target audience of our film would be like. To do this, I answered the quiz on the website in the same way my typical audience member would.

 

 

After taking the quiz as one of my typical audience members, the result I got was 'Indie Scenester'. I looked at http://www.uktribes.com/ to find out more information about this tribe. I learned that people from this tribe live a 'life of excess' and are always discovering things before they become mainstream- they are motivated by being ahead of the curve. This is a perfect match for our ideal audience member as they would love the thrill of watching horror films, and be determined to watch any new releases (i.e. our film) before they become popular.

 

Indie Scenesters pride themselves in their individuality- trying to avoid mainstream brands of clothing at all costs. Style idols include people such as Alexa Chung and Nina Nesbitt.

 

 

With these people in mind, I have put together an outfit using Polyvore that our Indie Scenester typical audience member might wear:

 

 

Bailey and Ellie (the other members of my group) also did this quiz as one of our typical audience members. Ellie got the result 'Townie' and Bailey got 'Trendie' which shows diversity within our typical target audience, meaning a variety of different people would be interested in our film opening.

 

 

Narrative Theories

After researching these 4 narrative theories, I've learned Kubrick's theory fits our film opening best. Our plot does not contain most of the characters mentioned in Propp's theory, and Barthes' theory does not apply to our film opening as there are no clear puzzles for the audience to solve. Our film opening contains elements of Levi-Strauss' theory, as the two characters featured in it are opposites- the victim is good and the killer is evil, however, the narrative of the entire film would not be structured around this. Kubrick's theory fits our work best as we are using sounds, costumes, camera shots and settings to make our film memorable to the audience.

Film Opening Synopsis

The main character of our film will be walking down an isolated lane alone when she suddenly hears a noise from behind her. She turns around, but nobody is there. When she turns back, there is a dead and bloodied version of herself standing in front of her. She tries to run, but the other version of herself stops her. The other version of herself reaches out slowly and puts its hand on the main character's shoulder, looking into the distance behind her. A suspicious figure is standing in the dead version of the main character's line of sight. The other version of the main character disappears, and the girl is attacked by the suspicious character.

9 Key Screen Shots

I decided to analyse the 9 key shots of the opening for Woman In Black, a Horror film released in 2012.

Non-Diegetic music is used throughout this film opening. The music is eerie, which makes the audience feel uncomfortable and on edge. I think I'd like to use some similar style music in our own horror film opening as I think it is extremely effective.

The first screenshot shows three young girls playing with their dolls together. This establishing shot is important as it establishes setting, and lets the audience know which era this film (or at least this scene) is set in. This is shown by the costumes used. The girls are wearing extremely feminine and old fashioned dresses in light colours, which symbolises purity and innocence. In our own film opening, we will also use costume and colour to connote certain character types.

The second shot is a wide shot, and shows the three girls staring, transfixed at something off camera. The technique of hiding something from the audience is often used in Horror films, as it is one of the most simple and effective ways of instilling fear into the people watching the film using fear of the unknown. We will definitely use this technique in our own film opening as it is very simple to do, yet creates a strong sense of terror.

The next shot  is a mid shot. It shows the three girls looking in the opposite direction to the second shot, still at something that the audience cannot see. An eye line match is used to transition between shot 3 and shot 4, which allows the audience to see what the characters are looking at this time. Shot 4 (a medium close up) shows three full-length windows, and creates a sense of anticipation as the audience is unsure what relevance these windows hold in the scene at this time. We will use this technique in our film opening to reveal information to the audience, and to create an uncertain, troubling atmosphere.

The fifth shot shows the three girls rising simultaneously, still staring in the direction of the windows. This is another medium close up shot. The synchronicity of their actions adds a particularly haunting feel to the scene, and leaves the audience with the idea that the girls are being controlled by a powerful force still yet to be seen on camera. Match on Action is used between shots 5 and 6, as shot 6 (a close up shot) shows a small china cup dropping from the hand of one of the young girls. The camera focuses on the cup smashing on the floor, and it seems almost as if the calm atmosphere that was in place in the first shot has been shattered as well.

The next shot is a mid shot filmed from the window- the three girls are still staring intently and walking straight towards it. This fills the audience with anticipation and concern, as they are able to piece the events together and work out what may happen next. This shot is especially unnerving as this is peculiar and unexpected behaviour for children. 

Shot 7 is a wide shot filmed from behind the three girls, and shows them jumping out of the windows to their deaths. The characters remain in synch throughout this shot, strongly hinting at some kind of supernatural element to the film. Highlighting this kind of point is important in a film opening as it remains relevant throughout the rest of the film.

The final shot shows the camera panning out from the window until the frame shows almost the entire room that the three girls were playing in at the start of the scene. It shows their toys lying abandoned on the floor, which enhances the sense of loss and life cut short in the scene. It is an extreme wide shot. A small section of a black veil is visible on the far right of the screen, giving the audience a glimpse into the force behind the deaths of the three young girls and creating a mysterious atmosphere. The colour black connotes evil, death, and even power, making it almost obvious that this figure is the source of the evil in the film. In our film opening, the killer will be dressed in black to symbolise these things.

Horror Film Opening Sequence Timeline

Here is a graphic breakdown of the opening sequence for the Horror film 'Saw':

 

 

 

 

Analysing Films Within The Horror Genre

Let Me In

 

 

 

Devil's Due

 

 

 

I have chosen to study these films as they both have an association with the female gender and blood, like our own film opening. In Let Me In, the protagonist is a vampire who kills people for their blood, and in Devil's Due, the protagonist becomes possessed by the devil and attacks random people. These films also have similar settings- they are both set in suburban environments, which makes them relevant films to study as our film opening will be set in a similar type of place. Both Let Me In and Devil's Due have a supernatural element (a vampire and the idea of possession), which makes the audience more afraid as they fear the unknown. In our film opening, we are also using a supernatural element- the girl in our story sees a bloody, dead version of herself, with no apparent reason behind it.

In these two films, a lot of (fake) blood is used to create graphic imagery in order to try and  have an affect the people watching them. We will be using this element in our film opening. As is common within the horror genre, both Let Me In and Devil's Due use diegetic sounds, meaning that we (the audience) can hear them, and the characters in the film cannot. This helps to instil fear into the film, and makes the atmosphere of a scene much more tense. The murder victims in these films are random, innocent people, which adds even more fear to the film as it gives the impression that nobody is safe.  

Omniscient narration is a key part of both Let Me In and Devil's Due. In Let Me In, the audience is aware that the main character, Abby, is a vampire throughout the film, but the other characters are not. Similarly, in Devil's Due, the audience knows that Samantha (the protagonist) has been possessed and is attacking people, however, her husband is not aware of this until the end of the film. Close up shots are another key element of horror films. They are used to show how characters are feeling, which is essential for any film within the horror genre.

Follow shots have been used in these films (and are popular  in horror films in general), as they allow the audience to feel more engaged with the film. It also allows the spectator to witness a character in action, making them feel more close to the character. The 'Rule of Thirds' is also noticeably used in the films I have been researching.

By analysing these films, I have learned more about what kind of filming and editing techniques are commonly incorporated into horror films that are similar to the type of film opening we intend to create. After doing this research, I think that me and my group are going to pay attention to the types of camera shots, etc. that we use when making our film opening in order to ensure that it reflects the genre well.

Audience Research

Survey Maker

I created a survey to carry out audience research. The questions I included in my survey were used to find out which genres of film appeal to particular age groups and genders, and to find out what people think makes a good opening to a film. 

Outcomes of Research

The majority of the people who took my survey were females aged 16-20. The most popular genres of film were Horror and Thriller- tied at 36.36% of the vote each. A popular response to the question 'Why do you like this film opening/what makes it so good?' was 'It's exciting. It draws you into the rest of the film and builds tension, making it gripping for the audience'. The most popular response to the question 'If the opening of a film was _____, I would not want to keep watching the film (fill in the blank)' was 'boring'.

I learned from my research that the target audience of our film opening should be females aged 16-20, and that it should contain elements of both Horror and Thriller genres. To create a successful film opening, we need to make sure that it draws the audience in and makes them want to keep watching. It should also be exciting and gripping. Our film opening must not be boring, or people would not want to watch the rest of the film.

Some popular Horror film openings that have the qualities our film opening should have are:

Scream (1996) - Directed by Wes Craven



Halloween (1978) - Directed by John Carpenter



The Stepfather (1987) - Directed by Nelson McCormick

Categorising Audiences

Pearl and Dean categorise their audiences into four categories based on modern cinema and what types of people go to watch each type of film. 

Horror Film Mood Board

For my mood board, I used Polyvore to put together a collage of images relating to films within the horror genre. There are several examples of common settings used in horror films, such as dark woods and abandoned gothic manors. I have also included examples of typical horror film characters- the terrified victim (I used an example from the film 'Psycho') and the evil antagonist, who usually has a significant quality in their appearance that makes them especially terrifying or memorable. Blood and violence are also key elements of many horror films, which is why I included images of a blood splatter and a bloody cleaver.

The Jelly Baby Challenge- Independent Film Opening

As a group, we decided to choose the Independent Film for our second jelly baby film opening storyboard. We chose this because we thought it allowed a wide variety of plot ideas for us to consider. If we were to actually make our plot into a video, the camera shots we would use are Long Shot, Tracking Shot, and Medium Close Up Shot.

Plot

The protagonist of our film is a regular at a café- all of the locals know her and visa versa. One afternoon, however, a complete stranger enters the café and catches the eye of the protagonist. She catches his eye, also. This is the opening of the film, and would lead to a more developed version of the plot- following the story of the protagonist and this mysterious boy.

I think that we planned our task well and put a lot of effort into our independent film opening, focusing on the props and set in particular. Our group worked well together and we didn't argue about any aspects of the project. We worked more quickly to create this storyboard as we knew exactly what we wanted to do for both the set and the individual shots, so we managed to finish it in one lesson (it took more than one lesson to create our ghost film storyboard). Our shots were all consistent this time as we took them all in the same place, as opposed to having to change locations as we did when we made our other jelly baby project. We all contributed to the planning and production of our film opening storyboard, and I think that having a functioning set (the jelly babies were able to 'sit' at the counter in the café) made our film opening storyboard stand out.

I think that our film would have been better if we had tried to find a way to make the jelly babies stand on their own without using pencils, as they obstructed and ruined some of the shots. I think that we could have tried to show the contrast between the protagonist and the stranger more, perhaps by using more props. I also think that we took too long to decide upon a plot to use for our storyboard, which was one of the down sides to choosing a title with such a wide range of possible plots.

 

The end of our opening scene for an independent film allows for the storyline to continue, as the audience are left wondering what will happen between the protagonist and the mysterious stranger.