Evaluation Question 7 - Progression of Skills

What We Had Learnt: 


In order to gain knowledge and understand camera shots, editing and producing an opening sequence we completed a preliminary test. This gave us a chance to test out shots that we could include in our opening sequence like over the shoulder shot, shot reverse shot and lowand high angle shots. This array of shots will insure our opening sequence is conventional of a thriller/horror film. Through this we gained the knowledge to use editing software’s such as ‘LiveType’, ‘Final Cut Express’ and ‘Pixelmator’. Due to me not having studied media only until this year, I had no experience using these programs but have used similar ones like ‘Sony Vegas’ ‘Movie Maker’ and ‘AVS Video Editor’. It was a challenge at first to navigate my way through the program but after the preliminary I learned how to add different effects, slow footage down and adding text. When filming our production logo sequence, we uncounted ambient sound, where the wind made the footage seem more mysterious and eerie until the hand suddenly hit the window. We later however decided to refilm the production logo as it didn’t reflect our film synopsis and theme. After completing the preliminary task, we felt we still didn’t have enough experience with different camera shots so we decided to film and produce a short clip dedicated to the use of camera shots. This proved a success as we knew what shots worked well and how to make the product look authentic. Another key skill, other than camera skills, I obtained was being able to edit footage quickly and effectively. I was given the task of creating the credits and production logo using Pixelmator. This meant I had to work my way round a program I and my group had very used before but after a few test runs I was adding and editing text seamlessly. After filming for a few days, we realised we didn’t like the idea and the acting, camera angles and dialogue was all wrong and we decided to change a few aspects of it. As a result of this change the acting was more natural and believable, we used a broader range of camera angles that will grab the audience’s attention and give variation to the opening sequence and we chose to only include a short bit of dialogue spoken in Spanish by the antagonist. However, as our sequence wasn’t in chronological order and there was a lack of dialogue, we found it difficult to create a script that was detailed enough for everyone to understand.

Various Camera Angles Tested: 



Medium-Close Up Shot

Birds Eye View Shot 

Long Shot 

Skills We Had Developed:


To understand the conventions of the genre we choose we decided to watch and analyse a few different opening sequences that fall into that genre, I chose ‘Insidious’ and ‘The Woman in Black’. In class and individually we looked into a range on planning techniques that all films include whilst in production. This included storyboards, scripts and market research which all contributed to our understanding of the conventions and unconventions of the genre. Filming,editing and producing the preliminary task gave us an insight into what our opening sequence will entail and the amount of effort we need to put into it. It also gave us important skills that we can develop and use in our opening sequence. Whilst editing the prelim task we used Final Cut Express to simply cut the scenes together put we also incorporated a flashback scene where we used dip to colour to fade from one scene to the next. We then took our knowledge of this editing technique onto our opening sequence using it to make it look like a relaxing and majestic dream. Live Type was another editing software we used which developed our skills as it gave us a chance to add professional opening credits to our opening sequence. We used the software to create the production logo, the actor’s credits and the film title which all looked very authentic. Prior to creating our opening sequence we had not experimented with the use of sound and sound techniques whilst filming and editing. However, we decided to add foley, a voice over and hypeb&olic sound to our opening sequence so it makes it more interesting. When editing we added a ‘ssssh’ sound and a backwards laugh which are all types of foley. These sounds will give individuality to our film as not many opening sequences include all of these. 0ther skills I improved in were directing, photography, storyboarding and script writing, which meant that we can make our opening sequence the best it can be. All of the skills we had gained from the preliminary task made it easier and quicker to create an exciting and eye catching sequence as we used more elaborate and creative techniques that we wouldn’t have used before.

Progression of Production Logo: 




        BEFORE 

AFTER

Weaknesses:


The main fault we encountered was the directing of the preliminary task. When editing we realised that the camera was shaky and sometimes created an unintentional pull focus that made the sequence look unprofessional. When fiming our opening sequence we made sure that the tripod was level and that focus was off, which proved a success as we found that this issue did not occur when we looked at the clips. To make sure we followed out script we needed to find a dark and small room to film our prelim which we found very hard to do. The problems were either a teacher was using the room or it didn’t fit the criteria we wanted which slowed down production. We finally found a room that was perfect and we included a small lamp to add mystery and eeriness. To ensure this didn’t happen when filming our opening sequence, we found a location first to insure we don’t lose any filming time. Filming in a chaotic school made it harder to film as the ambient sound made it difficult to film. To avoid this issue we filmed when students were in lessons as that is the quietest time.


Essential Aspects Needed For A Good Opening Sequence:

•   Being able to work in a team

•   Plan everything

•   Be creative

•   Organised

•   Good acting

•   Range of interesting camera angles

What We Have Learnt From The Overall Task:

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Evaluation Question 6 - Technologies

Evaluation Question 5 - Audience Research

   

How we have changed the opening sequence in response to our audience feedback:  
Firstly, many people said that they liked the Spanish voice over as it was conventional of a thriller film to have the bad guy as someone foreign because its unusual and sounds menacing. However they did mention that the sub-titles were hard to read as they appear and disappear quite quickly. To amend this, we slowed down the sub-titles and changed the font to make it more professional and also easier to read. Secondly, two classmates mentioned about editing and how it was to jumpy or the filters needed to be changed so that it was all identical. We later edited it and all of the filters matched and flowed well. Thirdly, the storyline was quite confusing when they watched it as it went from 'good Hannah' to 'bad Hannah' almost instantly. So that the audience will get the storyline; we added a few scenes in-between where it shows quick but interesting shots of Hannah before she changes. We wanted them to be fast because we wanted to include an enigma code so that the audience will want to watch on to see what happens to her. Finally, one thing that my group and a classmate picked up on is that 'it is more thriller than horror'. We are still deciding whether to change to genre to just thriller but as for now the genre is thriller/horror.

Positive points from the audience feedback: 
There were many positive points that our classmates and teacher mentioned that we are very pleased with. Nearly everyone said that they loved the idea behind the opening sequence because it was original and unique. This was the most positive feedback we got as it backed up our ideas. One person quoted 'I really liked the idea of it because it is really original'. Although the sub-tiles for the Spanish voice over was a problem, many people said that they liked including it because it was different. Camera shots and enigma codes were also mentioned as being executed well. 'I liked the effects because it made it look disorientated' was a quote from the audience feedback and it was really helpful because we wanted to make it look disorientated so its nice to know we succeeded.

Genre Signifies: 
Throughout our opening sequence me and my group added many conventional elements that are commonly seen in thriller/horror films but also some unconventional elements... We added a Spanish voice over which indicates that the villain of the film will be foreign which is conventional of a thriller film. On the same subject of the voice over; it added an enigma code as what was being said was mysterious and didn't give away why he had kidnapped this girl and what is intentions are. Near the end of the opening sequence we changed the soundtrack from a smooth melody to a distorted heavy base. The audience will know it is a thriller/horror film because of this as it is jumpy, fast paced and distorted. We also added glitch sounds which is a harsh and fast sound that will make the audience jump; conventional of a horror film. Towards the end the colour black was present in every shot from the clothing the actress was wearing to the dark and gloomy lighting. This colour has connotations of death, fear and evilness with fear being the attribute we wanted the audience to feel as watching a horror film is always about being scared. The unconventional elements we used was the colours blue and white as these colours are too light and happy to be in  thriller/horror film with connotations of cleanliness, hope and purity. We decided to use these colours as it would reflect our storyline and would challenge the conventions you would normally see in a thriller/horror film thus creating a new sub-genre. We hope that the end of the opening sequence will be enough to define our genre.

Evaluation Question 4 - Target Audience

Age: 15-25

Gender: Male/Female

Social Demographic: Working Class/Middle Class

Occupation: Students/Retail Jobs

Audience Demographics:

Age: To determine what age rating to use for ‘Mute’, I used the Radio Join Audience Research which is the official body in charge of measuring radio audiences in the UK. We gave our film an age rating of 15-25 years old. This age band was the most suitable for our film and target audience as it will contain scenes that is appropriate for them to see. Also they will relate to the main character as she is around 18 years old. The content will excite and engage the audience; using enigma codes as the main source. The storyline is quite confusing and mysterious which will also stimulate the target audience as their minds are very similar.

Socio-Economic Group:
The social class of the audience demographic would be grace E-C2. This is because students and are around the age to be allowed to watch it and would go with their friends and also lower classes want escape from their lives so they watch a thriller/horror film to watch other people who are worse than them.

Gender:

 Our opening sequence would be for males and females but possibly mostly females. Males would watch this as its action packed and stars an actress who is young and pretty; introducing the male gaze theory to ‘Mute’. Females would watch it because they can relate to Hannah’s emotions and could look at Hannah as a role model.

Ethnicity:

The main ethnicity for our film would be white. This is for many reasons, firstly, the main character is white so white audience members can relate and feel more for her, secondly, the antagonist is foreign so other ethnicities might be put off because of this and thirdly, the film will be shown in countries like England and America which is highly populated with white people.

Audience Theory:

The Uses and Gratifications theory is a technique used to understand why people seek our various media content for different purposes. ‘Mute’ falls into a few categories in this theory from ‘Escape’ to ‘Be entertained’ and ‘Be educated or informed’. 

• Escape: because the story is quite confusing and unique, people might want to have a break from their boring lives and indulge in something more exciting. 
• Be entertained: in the 21st century a lot of people watch thriller/horror films for fun and because its funny to watch people getting killed; apparently. The film is action packed and filled with many gory and scary moments that should entertain people. 
• Be educated or informed: throughout this film the social issue of kidnapping and sex trafficking if touched upon and can inform people about the consequences and what actually happens to kidnaped children; they turn into 'bad Hannah'. 

Evaluation Question 3 - Distribution

Media Institutes – Distribution

A film distributer is a company or individual responsible for making a movie available for viewing by an audience. A professional film distributor would set the release date of when the film is available for viewing in theatres and/or home viewing (DVD, Blu-rays etc.).

 The film distributor is very important as their actions can either make a film a huge success or make it a total shamble. Film distributors control marketing an decide when, where and how a film is advertised, such as TV commercials, posters, billboards, on the internet, newspapers, special events (Comic-Con etc.), trailers (on the internet and in theatres) and many more. Advertising the film is very important as it makes it public knowledge and also gives the film a lot of media exposure; insuring that many people are interested and excited to go and watch it.

Another significant role film distributors have is to decisde how many theatres will screen the film, as well as the length of time. Depending on the success of the film, companies can maximise their revenue and the film gets lots of financial support which is crucial because the film doesn’t want to lose money, it wants to make money.

Films like ‘Avengers’, ‘Titanic’ and ‘Avatar’ are all box office hits and without a film distributor would have still succeeded because of the brilliant director, established actors and gripping story. However, it is vital that small and independent films get themselves a film distributor because they are less known in the film industry so will need lots more marketing and exposure in the media to succeed. The way most independent films get noticed by film distributors is by attending film festivals like ‘BFI London Film Festival’ and ‘Portobello Film Festival’ where they gain support, funding and media coverage for their film.

Warner Bros.

Warner Brothers is an American film studios which was established in 1923 by the four Warner Brothers, Albert, Harry, Sam and Jack. Over the course of 91 years their films have grossed over 12 billion dollars, making it the largest major film studio in the world. The WB Network was launched in 1995 by Warner and Tribune Media Comedy as an effort to seek niche market in teenagers in films and on television. The network commissioned popular shows like ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’, ‘Smallville’, Dawson’s Creek’ and ‘One Tree Hill’; all with the hope to attract a new social group of teenagers. ‘7^Th Heaven’ and ‘Charmed’ become the channels most watched shows, with ‘Charmed’ running for an outstanding eight seasons; making it the longest running drama with female leads. Warner Brothers has a long history of distributing successful, box office hits; going for more mainstream films including ‘The Dark Knight’, ‘The Harry Potter Series’, ‘Inception’, ‘The Hangover Trilogy’, ‘Gravity’, ‘300’ and ‘Sherlock Holmes’.

This company is known for producing unusual and fiction films that attract both niche and mainstream audiences. ‘Mute’, being an unusual and fiction film, fits the criteria for Warner Bros. films and therefore be distributed, marketed and produced by them. A very popular film they have distributed is ‘The Dark Knight’ which its opening sequence is very similar to our opening sequence. The main similarity being the colour blue is present in the opening titles and a very similar technique to our opening sequence is used when the bat signal appears through the blue mist. The fast paced action in the rest of the sequence is similar to the ending of ours, as it puts the audience on the edge of their seats and makes them want to watch more. Roland Barthes theory of enigma codes was present in both films and were both the same narrative enigma. Both antagonists’ identity were kept a secret; the robbers wearing marks and the kidnapper not being shown, only heard. ‘Mute’ could follow in ‘The Dark Knights’ footsteps and make multiple films because of its similarities and ability to appeal to a wider target audience.

Here is the opening sequence to 'The Dark Knight': 

The Warner Bros. Logo is in all blue which is one of the main colours we used in our opening sequence. The logo can change depending on what film they are distributing.

This scene in the opening sequence for 'The Dark Knight' is very similar to the opening and ending of our opening sequence; using a blue mist to connote mystery and elegance. However, this shade of blue is darker than ours which juxtaposes with our storyline which is darker than 'The Dark Knight'. 

We chose to categories ‘Mute’ in the genres of thriller and horror which relates to some previous hits distributed by this company. Its unconventional attributes may prove a change to the conventional films of this genre

Evaluation Question 2 - Social Groups

M U T E - Social Group Representation

Evaluation Question 1 - Conventions

In order to make the best possible opening sequence, I had to research into the conventions of opening sequences from the credits, production company, narrative enigma and sound.