Research- opening sequence (scream)

Scream opens with a black screen followed by a phone ringing sound effect, this hints at what is going to happen, when the film opens fully. Then the word ‘Scream’ appears in white and gradually the outsides flash red showing potential danger and as a sound effect we can hear screams, and the sound as if knives are being pulled out, starting to fade in. This knife and screams help to give the audience a sense of fear before the film has even begun. The lettering of ‘Scream’ eventually turns red, red portrays danger and blood. Due to the fact that it is a thriller it gives the audience a sense of fear.

After this we see a close up of the phone ringing, we then see a woman pick up the phone, and a mid shot shows her on the phone, during the phone call we can hear both the woman and the man on the other end of the phone. At this point we are unaware of the danger this man portrays as she does not seem to be scared of him and just tells him that he has the wrong number, to the audience this shows she is naive as she is unaware of the danger she is putting herself in talking to this man. The fact that it is a girl could uphold the stereotype that females are more vulnerable that males.

Then after putting the phone down the woman walks away and then turns as the phone starts to ring again. She picks it up and again we hear the man, this shows a repeat of danger as though a cycle is being created. This shows the audience danger as the man appears to not give up. This time we have a mid shot of her stood in front of big patio doors, these hint as an entrance and as though someone is watching her. After she puts the phone down and walks away the camera lingers on these windows showing a passage to entry, or the fact that she can’t get out. As the audience this again gives a sense of danger which is needed in a thriller.

From this we go to outside the house, with a tree and in the background a house which we presume to be the house she is in. This again portrays the idea that she is being watched, it also shows the fact that her house is a typical picturesque house that is stood alone this shows danger and the idea that it is both the typical house in a thriller as it is the complete opposite of spooky, looks like a normal perfect little house where nothing bad would happen.

After seeing the outside of the house we go back into the inside and here the phone rings again, this time she is in the kitchen and starts to talk to him about what she is doing. The fact that she tells him that she is about to watch a scary movie makes the audience annoyed as they know that this is a stupid idea, this is a typical feeling when watching most horrors. She then starts to pull the knives out of the knife box, these hints at future events and another sense of danger.

Throughout the opening there is no soundtrack, which is unusual as horrors and thrillers, a type of horror, usual have music to build up tension and to hint at bad events that are about to come. The music would usually make the audience be on the edge of their seats, yet by having no music they are no giving away any clue of what is going to happen which helps to keep the audience un-expecting any events that may come.

Research

After we decided that the idea of doing a thriller suited us best we researched lots of different types of thrillers. What made us choose a thriller was the fact that it was common and gathers a much wider audience than most films. During our research we looked at many films that fitted within the genre of thrillers; these are the type of films that create immediate intense and put an audience on the end of their seat. These can often range from a theme of stalkers to kidnapping to a horror, these are all thriller based. Some of the films we looked at are:

· When a stranger calls
· Jaws

· Red eye
· Panic room

· misery

While watching the opening of these films we were filled with excitement and we wanted to keep on watching, this is exactly how we want our audience to feel when we successfully create our media product.

Opening 2mins – 1st Film (Devil Wears Prada)

-Quick shots of each person getting ready create a short sequence.

-Contrast by having one that gets changed into different things (mise en scene)

-Close ups of clothing and objects

-Medium shots to help the close ups stand out more, contrast

-Variation of colours etc

-Background music to help the speed of the opening 2mins

-Credits telling name of company, name of film and name of actors

Research Opening Sequence

Seven

The opening shot is an extreme close up of what appears to be a book; the picture is not in full focus this helps to create a mysterious first image that immediately engages the audience. The credits of who made what start to appear, first in the right hand corner in front of the book, then from this the image fades out into a black screen and then more names of people who helped to produce the film appear, in a scratchy font. This again helps to add an additional mysterious effect to the film as this font is unusual. Following this there is a picture of two hands that appear the same yet one is darker than the other, as the audience you want to find out more and you do not understand this image, due to this the audience is engaged within the first 8 seconds of the opening.
The next sequence of shots have a fast cut rate this helps to give hints at what is happening but does not tell the audience everything. This fast cut rate keeps the audience interested; the dark shots give an effect of danger and mystery. Another image flashes confusing the audience which again keeps them interested and puzzled so that they want to work out what is happening, extreme close ups are used to show images that again help to give hints and tips as to what is happening. This technique is effective and may be something we want to consider in our piece. The title of the piece is then shown flashing across the scene this helps to create a sense of fear as the audience don't know what is going to happen yet know the genre is thriller. More extreme close ups are used to give the audience more information. A red wash is used over the footage, this hints and danger and blood and therefore creates fear for the audience it also hints at future events that are to come. Along with more names more extreme close ups are used to give more information as to what is going on. Flashing images help to build up tension and therefore to build fear. Photos suggest victims this idea helps to give hints to the audience but yet leads them to want them to watch on to find out what happens, this idea could be something to consider when we make our main piece. Half the screen has a red filter on it and the other half doesn’t this creates a sense of mystery. The shot goes back to the initial opening shot of the book this seems to suggest a cycle, as though this has happened before. The whole thing seems to suggest that the person is adding something into a book (another victim.)
After watching the opening two minutes of this film the things we have felt inspired by are extreme close ups of pictures and shadows, due to this we may use these in our final piece.

Research

In order to research before making the opening two minutes of our film we have looked at the opening two minutes of a few different genres of films. This has enabled us to understand how much needs to go into the first two minutes and to get a general feel for what our piece should look like.

Preliminary Task Evaluation

Aim: The aim of the Preliminary task is to demonstrate that we know how to use the 180-degree rule, a shot/ reverse shot combination and eye line match. In order to show this we did a shot sequence that included someone walking into a room, sitting down and having a conversation with another person, and showing the other peoples reactions to what is being said to them, and their actual response.

What did you learn about the cameras and editing software during the preliminary task?

During the making of our piece we worked out how to edit, this will help us when we make our final piece, as it made our final product look professional. An example of this is when we included a conversation between Simon and Beatrix for our preliminary task. We filmed the conversation from one angle and then another. We did this to capture the reactions of the two, and also film them speaking to each other and the other one listening. Also we also filmed Simon opening the door and the door closing to show that he has been walking to the meeting place. We learnt that filming in just one shot looks very basic and slack, so had to experiment with other angles to see which one fitted the best and most successfully.

The editing software was difficult to get used to at first, but once we mastered it, it was just a matter of what sequence were going to look the most impressive. We learnt that we had to cut bits of unnecessary film out that we didn’t need and which didn’t go with the timeline in order to make the preliminary task look better.

In the filming and editing of your project, what worked well and what could have been improved?

During the process of filming, we managed to get some decent shots of Simon and Beatrix, such as close ups. An example of this would be the close up of Simon’s shoes, when he was walking down the corridor. We inserted this because the opening shot was Simon walking down the far end of the corridor. If we had just filmed it walking down the corridor it would have looked poor quality filming and second-rate. So to speed the process up, we filmed a close up of Simon’s feet so we weren’t just filming him walking down the corridor which took around 15 seconds, we just had a 3-4 second shot of him walking then a close up of his feet, and back to him arriving at his destination, which cut the whole process down to about 9-10 seconds.

However, we could have improved the actual project why trying a wider variety of shots, as maybe we could have found a better way to capture some of Simon’s movements, such as him opening the door, capturing him entering the room from the door from a different prospective.