Evaluation Question 7

Evaluation Question 7

Evaluation Question 6

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing the product? on Prezi

Evaluation Question 5

Evaluation Question 4

Who would be the audience for your media product?

Who would be the audience for your media product? on Prezi

Evaluation Question 3

What kind of Media Institution would distribute your media product? on Prezi

Evaluation Question 2

How does my media product represent social groups? on Prezi

Evaluation Question 1

Filming Diary

To film we emptied the room to create a blank working space, this enabled us to be able to place the pictures on the wall in the locations easily and to have the television set in the location that would best suite our filming. Before we started to film we had to cut out the pictures of the females, we purposefully cut them and stuck them up wonky to show the disorganised mind of the stalker.

After we film the piece when we uploaded to the Mac we then saw that the piece was to dark and couldnt see the main features of the piece clearly, which was the television, the stalkers hand and the mask on the side to show it was set in the stalkers house. We went back and refilmed the bits that needed changing the next day, now the piece has the same light saturation the entire way through so keeps the continuity going.

Research into similar products

Other film productions follow the same conventions of horror as our film. We have found through research that horror films set in a normal household setting are usually scarier as the audience can relate to the fear. Using personal identity people can begin to imagine and it will happen to them in real life. For example the stalker in our film is viable to be real so people would think about the stalker when on their own or in situations the same as the film. A film that uses this heavily is Strangers (2008.) In this film the use of an average home setting and household items to bring fear. The fire alarm is used to show how a normal household item can be used to cause fear and unknowing. The same technique is used in Scream (1996) where the telephone ringing is used to cause the fear of the unknown caller. The use of a stalker is used in this film. It is not used in the samer form as in our opening. In our opening you can't see the stalker, this is the same as in our opening where you can't see who the stalker is. If our film was made into a full length feature we would have shown the killer/stalkers true identity towards the end. By keeping the identity of the killer a secret it heightens the "fear factor"

We have used a mask same as Scream (1996) this is to heighten and mask the identity of the killer. Films such as Friday thirteenth (2009) and Halloween (1979) the use of masks has been used throughout the genre of horror. It is used to show that the face of the killer could be anyone so people realise that the face under the mask could be anyone. This is also used through superhero films such as Batman (1989) and throughout the group of films surrounding the character of "Batman" other superhero films which uses the hidden identity to show it could be just an average member of the public is Spiderman (2002.)      

The opening of our film shows that many murders have taken place already, this style of introduction is similar to Dawn of the Dead (2004) opening. In this opening you begin to see the chaos that is raging through the world so you straight away see where the film is set and what situation the character finds themself in. We wanted to use this same theme of opening so less time would be spent explaining the story and more time for the story to expand.                                                       

In our film opening we have decided to not show any of the actual characters that are in our film. This is to show how big the news is that it is on television and many people are worrying about it. By using this technique we have shown how the murders are causing many people to worry and that it is not stuck within a smaller group. This is making sure our piece would be enjoyed more by a vaster audience.

Placement of Titles in a Clip

Placement of Titles in a Clip

I have looked at a recent film to do with my chosen genre, the film I have chosen is Zombieland. This film is classed as a Zom-Com but the opening is a serious part of the film and shows the way that horror is shown in film openings.

Zombieland (2009)

0:01 – Columbia Pictures – Institution logo

0:10 – In association with Relativity Media – company

0:17 – Director

0:21 – Woody Harrelson – Actor

0:28 – Film Title

0:35 – Jesse Einsenberg – Actor

0:42 – Emma Stone – Actress

0:45 – Abigail Dresun – Actress

0:50 – Casting Director

0:52- Costume Designer

0:57 – Music Director

1:05 – Editors

1:09 – Production Designer

By analysing this clip I have found out the structure that the genre of horror place the titles in their films.
I will place this style onto my work to create the same feel as this one.

Student Film Openings

To help me gain a better understanding of film openings i have looked at 3 student film openings, i have stated their strengths and weaknesses to find out what i need to include and what not to do in my final piece.


Student Opening One- Peephole





Strengths-

• The transistions fit in with the piece and do not look out of place and enhance the piece by making it easier to understand.
• The setting was well chosen and fit well with the genre.
• The editing made the genre stand out and made a difference to the atmosphere by making it scary.
• A wide variation of shots were used to create a larger view of what was happening so the film was not one dimensional.

Weaknesses-

• Too much information was given away so you couldn't see where the film was going.
• It had a closed ending so you could not see the film going anywhere from there.
• The titles dont match the genre, they felt out of touch and took away the concentration on what was happening. 
• The title duration changes, which made the piece looked rushed.
• Storyline was not easy to follow so concentration dwindled.

Student Opening Two- Fugitive

Strengths-

• The characters were introduced well and allowed the viewer to have their own views on them.
• The editing create fear with jump cuts and the editing of people into the frame then quickly out again.
• The music created tension which helped portray the genre of horror well.
• The jump cuts went throughout the piece but they did not break up the piece so much it wasnt hard to follow.

Weakness-

• The opening looked to much like a trailer, with the extended use of jump cuts it didn't look like the opening was going anywhere.
• Again with the inclusion of jump cuts the opening became discontinous so couldn't see where the opening was going.
• The titles are on too long so takes away fear factor

 Student Opening Three- Solitude

Strengths-

• The opening finished with an open narrative so was a good film opening as could see the film progressing.
• The titles are subtle but easy to read.
• The lack of speech creates tension.
• The music enhances tension

Weakness-

• The production company and name creates different feel to the theme
• With the over use of jump cuts means the opening is harder to follow.
• The continuity was not the best for example - the window wipers are in different positions in different shots.
• The opening means you are unable to view the characters situations.

Viewing other students work has highlighted common mistakes, two of the story openings have closed narratives, this gives them the feeling of a film trailer in comparison to a film opening. The use of music in all three creates the tension and mood of the opening, Peephole and Fugitive both allow the viewer to understand the characters situation whereas Solitude did not so the viewing of this clip was not as easy.


In my piece I will be sure to check for continuity in my filming so the opening is easier to follow and looks proffesional, my work will end with a open narrative so it shows that it is a film opening.

Three Film Openings From my Chosen Genre

I looked into the type of film opening that we would like to create, to do this i looked at openings from horror and phycological thriller films. By doing this i will gain a better understanding of what should be included in the opening of our film.

The Shining (1980)

In the beginning opening scene of “The shinning” (1980) the soundtrack starts off with brass instruments playing quietly whilst getting louder throughout the clip. The pace starts to get faster and faster before the brass instruments just keep a constant sound in the background whilst string instruments start playing and take over with a sound that builds big tension in the background. The sound effects of the soundtrack keep getting faster and faster building up tension which relates to the psychological horror by building the tension of the film up until they just stop and the brass instruments start again until the end of the clip which relates to a psychological horror as we believe that something will happen then nothing happens, the music plays with the audiences minds.

Throughout the clip of “the shinning” the clip uses natural lighting, this added to the mysterious music builds tension to the scene. The fact the car driving in the scene is on its own throughout the clip without any other cars helps trick the audience into believing that something is about to happen, this also helps represent the genre of psychological horror by building up suspense in the opening. The opening creates the mood of a horror by allowing the audience to know something will happen through the music and the setting. The horror isn’t completely obvious so is classed as a psychological horror as it creates horror through the unknown rather than the horror being at the forefront.


American Physco (2000)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvNL_u6IaRM


(embedding disabled by request)

In the opening scene of this film the soundtrack plays a vital role, it straight away shows the time that it is from, it is a song that is famous from the 1980’s. The song chosen is a very eerie song that echoes around the room, it creates a feeling of unease against a backdrop of people dancing and having a good time. This song helps this opening fit in with the theme of a psycho- Horror. The dialogue seems normal until the female is out of ear shot when the man threatens her, this shows the seediness of the bar and its inhabitants through the initial view that all seems normal it shows that the film will not be a straight forward horror.

The genre of the film is of Psycho- Horror. This is shown through different methods, these include the sound and the dialogue, and they go onto other less obvious things. The actors are all shown to be shady characters through the backhand money transitions. The lighting also gives this view as it is low level which creates the sense of danger and unknowing, this coupled with the disco lights creates mystery. The people in the club are shown to be dancing and all happy, but the character at the stereotypical 80’s bar is shown to be a killer or a man to be in fear of. The costumes all points back to the film being set in the 1980’s through the fashion of suites, the makeup which is very extreme and the style of dancing which is “yuppie” dance.

The genre of Psycho- Horror is shown through the way that people are dancing and being happy when a man is threatening to kill a women. This shows that the film would not be an open horror but will be more sneaky and psychological.


Scream (1996)

0.00- 2.50
Narrative: The opening shows a women talking to a stranger on the phone and the events then turn sinister. This shows the audience that the film will follow this pattern as the man calls women and kills/stalks them.


Genre: The genre which is shown from the openingof this film is horror as in the first few seconds you see the color red and a woman screaming,this is only in the titles so the genre is made clear at the start. It also has a very dark atmosphere and makes you feel very tense which makes you wonder what is going to happen next.


Atmosphere: The atmosphere from the beginning is a very dramatic and tense up until 10 seconds as the music is very screechy and then the screaming begins which builds up to a loud ringing which indicates that the phone is the main source of a problem in the film as it is highlighted at the beginning. This is using a technique by using a regular household item and turning it into a weapon of fear. Then after the ringing stops the atmosphere becomes calm again as there is little noise, it seems like nothing is threatening but when the phone rings again you can see that caller will not leave her alone.


Titles: The only title in this sequence is right at the beginning and is 'Scream', this shows this is the title of the film and also the red color of it also signifies death to tie the film into the genre of horror. It also has a very dramatic entrance and grabs the audience's attention, which makes the audience want to watch on.


Sound: It begins with a distant screeching sound and then gradually the volume level increases, the screeching then ends with a loud bang. It is at this point that the title appears. Then the phone starts ringing and so does a scream. All of this creates a tense atmosphere and the volume of each sound changes which has a knock on affect on the audience. The other sounds throughout the opening are the popcorn popping which escalates at the same time as the situation and the crickets outside, swinging of  the tree, all of these help create a realistic environment and make the audience believe that is real. This is done so it is kept as close to verisimilitude as possible.


Characters: The only character we see in the opening 2.50 is a young female who from her white outfit which connotes innocence, you also see an insight into her life which makes the audience feel more close to her. The other character is only a male voice on the other side of the phone and you do not see him at all. Not seeing the male character creates a sense of fear as you do not know where he is and what he is doing.


Theme: The theme of the opening is the phone it goes on for a long time and is the main focus. The other themes are mystery as you do not know what the mans motives or plans are.


Setting: The setting's is the young females large house which we see a lot of as she is constantly moving about. Another setting is the outside of the house and you can see the size of the house that the female is in, also shows that is dark outside which connotes danger and the unknowing.