So today I have begun to edit my opening sequence.
My main focus is to just put all the shots in the right order with the right timings, before I try to add too many editing transitions.
As you can see, I haven't put on too many shots at the moment because I'm not the best at computers, so I'm a little worried that this process may take me rather a long time to complete.
A further concern that's worrying me is the background sound in some of the shots as it sounds a bit fuzzy and then goes silent when it cuts to the next shot... so it sounds really bad at the moment and I'm not sure what I'm going to do about it.
After my feedback from the class I have made some of the suggested changes.
○ I have taken Ken Burns off ○ Added in the names of the distribution and production companies ○ Added in the name of the film (this could change though) ○ I have put on a little sound...that being of the little girl singing the nursery rhyme at the start when the name of the film appears. However I haven't added in any dialogue or the music...basically because I haven't found what I'm after yet!
So I filmed yesterday and I feel it went quite well. I had my storyboard and script with me so the process ran relatively smoothly. When I began filming the first shots it became clear to me that I may have some trouble with lighting as the quality of the image shot was quite grainy. Previously I was planning to have as little light as possible so that I could create a darker atmosphere, but I ended up having all of the main lights on to maximise the quality. I'm hoping that I can darken some of the shots when I come to edit. More over, when I arrived at the chosen location, it was already really dark outside so filming the establishing shot of the house was not possible. Seeing as I won't be going back to my uncle and aunt's house in the next three weeks, I'm going to have to film a different house that is nearer to where I live so that it's accessible.
I also had a little trouble with background noise in the shots as it's fairly noticeable, but there wasn't anything that I could do to remove this. I'm hoping that when I overlay the score it will fade into the background so that you can't tell.
All of the actors took direction well, although all of the shots had to be filmed multiple times. Considering the age of my cousins I thought they did very well. Most of the shots were shot without a problem, however the match-on-action shots where a little tricky with only one camera and I'm not sure how they are going to turn out when put together. Overall I'm not really sure that I have achieved the right atmosphere for a horror film as I don't think it's overly scary or tense, but perhaps when I put it all together it will improve.
At the moment my film is lacking a name as nothing has jumped out at me. For now I have called it 'Ring A Ring O' Roses' from the nursery rhyme seeing as the story line is closely linked with children. It will also corrispond with the nursery rhyme being hummed and the start when the titles appear.
I have also been having a bit of a mind blank when it comes to making up the names for the distribution and production companies.
At the moment I have come up with: An Ocean Dream Film Betty Blues Productions In assosciation with Film 4...funded by the National Lottery
I suppose these are as good as any other names, but they do sound pretty random. At the moment I don't really know how I want to present the titles on the screen...I'm hoping that I'll find inspiration when I come to do them!
This is my first animatic, unfortunately due to difficulties it contains no music or dialogue.
So today our class took part in assessing each others animatics; moving around the room and marking the animatics out of ten in these sections:
- Range of shot types and editing transitions
- Appropriate pace and content of genre
- Position and order of titles
- Introduction of characters
- Introduction of story line
- Clearly an opening sequence
- Use of sound
These were the COMMENTS that I received-
' Introduced storyline well... good range of shots.' ' Like the range of shot types and you introduce the storyline and characters well.' ' I really like the shot types... the close-ups were effective... good story line.' ' Introduces the main character well... made it very clear that it was an opening sequence as the titles were good.' ' Good range of shot types... effective use of close-ups.' ' Good range of shots and clear that it's an opening sequence.' ' Good variety of shots.' ' It is presented as clearly being an opening sequence... the plot is still unclear' ' It shows that it's an opening sequence... shot types were good-different ranges.'
So as you can see, the results cover the same points over and over again, and therefore the highlights of my animatic have become clear to me.
These are the TARGETS that I received-
' Sound would add to the genre and make it more tense.' ' have the titles spread throughout...sound may make it seem more scary/dramatic.' ' I would prefer the titles to be interspersed with the footage...would prefer if the shots picked up pace at the end.' ' Remember to take off Ken Burns...add sound.' ' Some shots may be too long, like the first shots.' ' Turn Ken Burns off.' ' Do not like the title lengths, would prefer titles to be put into the film...get rid of Ken Burns.' ' You may want to turn Ken Burns off!' ' Titles could be made shorter...turn Ken Burns off.'
Again the targets highlight the same points. It's clear that the majority would prefer that I intersperse the titles into the opening sequence more, as well as make the titles shorter. The reason that I had put the majority of the titles at the beginning of the opening sequence, is because that is how Mirrors ad Black Xmas had done it and. I also want to pick up on how one comment said that I should increase the pace at the end; the reason that I have kept it all one pace is that I feared that it may lend it's self to being a trailer instead. As for making the titles shorter (currently I have them at 6-9 seconds), I think this is something that I will change and instead add in a couple more production/distribution companies to make up for any lost time. And finally I want to say that I was well awear that I need to add music and dialogue, and will shortly do so.
My chosen location is my Uncle and Aunts house. I think this will be suitable as the narrative is based round a normal everyday family home, so has to look realistic. There will probably be photos of my cousins around the house so it will be believable to the audience that they actually live there. I will however have to be careful that there are no photos in any of the shots that have Gavin in them, as his playing the killer.
I think the most suitable costume for the killer is to have him wearing plain dark clothes so that the focus is on what he is doing rather than what he is wearing. Dark colours will also help the character to blend into the background as though he is going unnoticed by the children, who don’t know that he is in the house. Typically the killer never wears bright colours that may draw unwanted attention to them or put across the wrong message to the audience. Dark colours have connotations of danger, evil and mystery; making the role of the character clear to the audience.
Sister-
This character is going to be wearing pyjamas to correspond with the narrative of her supposed to be going to bed.Hopefully Jasmine will have steriotypically pink pyjamas or something similar so that she will look girlie as well as innocent.
Brother-
Will need to seem in charge of his sister so in contrast to his sister I think he needs to be wearing proper clothes instead of pyjamas so that he looks older; something like jeans and a plain top with no logo or anything since that's not allowed.
My chosen narrative doesn't require many props. There isn't a weapon that's used for the killings and the focus is on the characters actions rather than specific objects. There will however be a newspaper in the back ground of one of the shots with a headline of something like - 'MurderRampage on Children' that will hint subtly to the audience what the plot of the film is.
So to play the little girl's older brother, I thought it was suitable to use Jasmine's older brother Ryan. This may help them to relax around each other while filming, as opposed to if they were to act along side a stranger if I were to use a babysitter.
Seeing as I have had some difficulty in finding an actor to play the babysitter and I want to get my filming done as soon as possible, I felt it best that I just tweek the script a little as a solution to the problem. So what I have done is change the character of the babysitter to the little girl's older brother instead. I think this will be just as believeable because many childen are left to look after their younger siblings while their parents are out.
The three characters that I have in the opening sequence are the Killer, babysitter and the little girl. So far I know who's going to play the little girl and who's probably going to play the killer, but haven't really found anyone that I think will suitable to play the babysitter yet (which is a little worrying!). I'm trying to choose actors who no one will recognise so that it will be more believable.
The little girl- Jaz
To fill this role I have asked my 7 year old cousin Jasmine. I think her age is perfect for the character as she's young enough that it's believable to the audience that she needs babysitting, while she's old enough to hopefully take direction well. Seeing as Jasmine won't be able to remember reels and reels of dialogue, I've kept the little girls speech to a minimum and the acting pretty basic. Although I can't say that any of the characters have a particularly challenging role to play as not too much happens. I think she will successfully be able to portray the innocent child that I need her to be.
Jasmine is playing a little girl who has a normal every day home life in a happy family of a mum, dad and older brother. There is nothing out of the ordinary about the little girl. She likes ballet and playing with her dolls; generally very girlie and naive.
The Killer
My uncle has grudgingly agreed to play the role of the killer. I thought he would be quite good as the killer as he is fairly tall and big and so will come across as more intimidating. Although, until I begin filming I don't know how convincing his acting will be as he's a bit of a joker playing a serious character...we'll see!
I'm now going to look at A Room For Romeo Brass which is about two 12 year old boys, Romeo and Gavin, who's friendship is tested when Morrel enters their life. He at first appears to be their friend but the audience become suspicious because why would an adult be hanging out with children? When Morrel gets rejected by Romeo's sister he quickly becomes obsessed, violent and desperate. And the story goes on from there.
The Sequence-
The opening sequence begins by showing ' Alliance Atlantis' and then cuts to the start of the film
After the first scene the camera cuts to the production and distribution companies
The Directors name then follows. This then cuts back to the film.
So the order that the titles are presented is quite irregular. as opposed to horror film where they are usually presented either before or after the opening sequence, not during.
Character development-
The audience don't really find out much about the plot of the story in the opening sequence as not a lot really happens. It does however reveal two of the main characters- Romeo and Gavin. You get a real sense of their relationship with each other due to the light banter that they exchange throughout the opening sequence. It's evident that they have a real understanding of each other. The focus on their relationship foreshadows that their friendship may be put into question later on in the film.
Enigma Codes- what the audience want to know from the opening sequence.
♦ Who are the characters and what are their names?
♦ What is their situation?
♦ Are they going to be the main characters?
♦ Is the story going to be based on their friendship?
Mise-en-scene-
The beginning scene is set in the country side, a simple setting that allows the focus to be on the characters as there is no background action going on. The picturesque landscape also creates a calm tone to the beginning of the film and could reflect how they feel relaxed around each other due to their friendship.
From their dialogue, it's hinted to the audience that they have come out to the countryside to escape from their lives; leading the audience to believe that they may not have the greatest home life.
In the second scene you see Romeo and Gavin heading through a seemingly run down, deprived town and into a chip shop. This scene makes it even more certain that they don't live privileged lives.
Lighting- As is typical and expected of the genre, the lighting is natural day light. Although it's natural the lighting doesn't help to create a positive tone. This is because the sky is over-caste and so makes the setting dull, also reflecting the area that they live in and their situation.
Cinematography-
In the opening scene the camera tracks their movements as they walk across the grass, Finally coming to a halt at a tree.
Through out this shot the characters remain at a long shot distance, allowing the audience to see how they act around each other as well as the setting in the background.
When you see them walking to the chip shop, it's shot from an extreme long shot to make sure the audience see clearly how run down the area is.
It's only when they enter the shop that the camera cuts to some medium shots of them; there aren't any close-ups or extreme close-ups as they aren't really expressing any emotions that need to be exaggerated.
There is however, some over the shoulder shots so that the audience see the narrative from the main characters point of view, but other than this there's no other specific camera angles have been used.
Editing-
The cuts in the opening sequence aren't very frequent as the pace is slow reflecting the calm tone to the narrative. The first part of the opening was shown in one continual shot with no cuts at all. There are more cuts once in the shop but still they are fairly slow and calm. No special effects have been used so there isn't really anything else to say!
Sound-
In the first part of the opening sequence, the sound is entirely diegeticconsisting of their dialogue as well as the birds chirping in the background. Once the camera cuts to the titles the sound becomes non-diegetic, as it plays an up beat song that could be seen to reflect their attitudes and their friendship. There is something about the song that seems quite quirky and may reflect that they are young boys and can be 'trouble makers'. This song then carries on into the rest of the opening sequence.
Although I'm pretty sure that I'm going to be doing the Horror genre, I still think it's important that I look at some social realist opening sequences so that I can see what the differences and similarities are.
I'm going to start by looking atHappy Go Lucky which is about a primary school teacher called Poppy who has a very happy go lucky attitude towards life. Throughout the film we see how she takes driving lessons, flamenco lessons and sorts out a student's aggressive behaviour with help of a social worker who she goes on to date. The film generally just looks at how she deals with situations and always looks for the good in things rather than focusing on the bad.
This film has a completely different order in which the titles are presented, in comparrison to Horror films where the titles and film are clearly sepperated.
This film begins by showing the production and distribution companies.
Followed on by the beginning of the film. This is where it differs from Horror films because at the same time the lead actors are also put up on the screen along side the image.
Aswell as the director...
and then followed by the title...
and then all of the people that have helped in the production...
and finaly the director once more.
Titles-
As you can see, the title is very simpistic against the black background which is something that I think is fairly common in all films. It's the font that I think reflects the film and sets the tone. There is something quirky about this font that possiby reflects the lead characters attitude, while the colour chosen iswarm and inviting and tells the audience that the story isn't going to be based on the typical drugs and bullying. Perhaps the pink could also steriotypically tell the audience that the main character is female.
Editing-
The editing hasn't been done in the usual way as none of the shots in the opening sequence cut into the next. Instead the shots come from the sides of the screen in to the centre so that half of the screen has titles while the other half has the film/action on. This has allowed the film to be broken up asthough she has travelled further on her journey from one shot to the next, although it still flows really well.
While the shots are moving on and off the screen the titles are fading in and out so that visually nothing is stationary and there is a constant flow that reflects the characters ease and care free attitude.
I think that the way the shots have been edited, has also ensured that the audience don't get bored because the action on screen isn't actually that engaging and doesn't give away much information to the audience until the shot widens and takes up the whole screen, after the director's name has appeared for the last time .I'm not really sure if I like this technique or not...
Enigma codes-
As the narrative doesn't give much away in the opening sequenec it creates enigma codes.
♦ Who is the lady on the bike?
♦ Is she the main character?
♦ Where is she going?
♦Why is she so happy?
♦ What is the narratve going to be about?
Mise-en-scene-
Again the setting doesn't really give much of the narrative away either. All of the shots in the first two minutes show her cycling along streets though a town/city; you don't actually see her arrive any where until after these two minutes. The setting is a normal every day place which is typical of the genre as it has to reflect every day issues that people go through.
Lighting-
Natural day light with good weather. the sun is shining although it's not an overly sunny day. It's just enough to put across to the audience the tone of the film and to match her happy mood. If it were to be an overcaste day it would probably put across a depressed, dismal mood to the audience and wouldn't coincide with the narrative.
There's not really thay much more for me to comment on as not artificial light has been used. It's all very real as is expected of a social realist film
Cinematography-
The vast majority of the shots are either medium close-ups, medium shots or long shots. There are no extreme long shots or extreme close-ups. The narative is presented at distances where you can either see what she is doing as well as her surroundings,
or close enough that you can see her expression of happiness throughout.
The screen is never taken up by her whole face.
Sound-
Throughout the whole two minute opening sequence there is an instrumental playing. Unlike Horror where the instrumental score is used to cteate an eerie mood, in this film, it's used to create a happy mood by consisting of upbeat, loud and soulful music. Again reflecting her attitude and setting the tone for the film. The music is only playing while she's on her bike; once she enters the book shop after the opening sequence the music stops and the music is purely diegetic.
This is the questionnaire that I will be handing out to twenty people of a variety of ages as well as both genders. From it I'm hoping to get answers to questions that I have concerning decisions for my opening sequence, seeing as lots of aspects are undecided at the moment.
A lot of the time horror films are based around the normal every day places where the audience wouldn't expect anything bad to happen, therefore is more effective at shocking them e.g a house(which is often quite large)
The locations chosen also seem to be isolated and 'in the middle of nowhere so that there is no one else to help the character in distress. The audience usually become awear of this from the establishing shots and so begin to feel anxiety for the main character from a really early stage. This is apposed to an open area where many people will be around and therefore deaths will be less frequent.
Big houses also provide lots of hiding places for impostors/killers such as in Black Xmas where they travel around under the flood boards or in the walls of the house, as well as hiding in closets or the actic.
Enigma codes-
Are vital in keeping the audience hooked and wanting to know/watch more. They also help to build up tension as the audience don't know what will happen next. This is something that I will have to think carefully about if I'm going to successfully achieve the hook that's is needed.
Characters-
Blond blue eyed females are extremely typical of the genre and usually become the victims. They portray innocence and naivety and in some films become quite frustrating as they often have little common sense; doing the opposite of what is sensible . But I suppose that without these characters there would be no story.
Editing-
Generally in this genre of film the editing is pretty fast to reflect the characters emotions of fear and panic. Sometimes though in the opening sequence, the pace begins by being slow and calm when the characters haven't come to any harm yet, and then later on the pace picks up. More times than not, the pace of editing reflects the characters emotions throughout the film.
Sound-
In most horror films,eerie orchestral music is played to create and increase the suspense and tension felt by the audience. Typically horror films aren't heavy on dialogue, especially when the main action (scary part)takes place so the score is really vital in creating to right tone to the film.
Titles-
Typically are presented simply on a contrasting background so that the words jump out at the audience and have more of an impact.The background is usually black with white or red text and presented in capitals to make it look more dramatic and imposing.
=> Has the potential to be more dramatic => Able to foreshadow events a lot easier. => Locations could be more accessible eg. the typical establishing shot of the house
=> In my opinion it's a more engaging genre that keeps you on the edge of your seat.
=> Won't involve too many props- for my idea I'll just need a knife and some fake blood!
=> Will be able to have fun with costumes and makeup.
=> Can be achieved on a low budget.
Social Realism Pros:
=> Can be shot in daylight and still be effective => Don't have to play around with lighting => Don't have to show much of the plot in the opening sequence to make it successful.
=> This genre probably doesn't need too manyprops either, it depends on the narrative I suppose.
=> Can be achieved on a low budget.
Horror Cons:
=> Danger of having it look like a trailer
=> The lighting will probably be more challenging to get right and portray the right tone.
=> Narrative is going to have to be thought out carefully to typify with the genre if it's going to be successful in scaring the audience.
=> It's essential that the actors are good at acting as the genre usually focuses heavily on action rather than dialogue
Social Realism Cons:
=> Danger of having it look like a trailer
=> We live in a middle calss area, while ideally it would need to be shot in a run down area to typify with the genre.
=> I'm not really comfortable with the heavy focus on violence and bad language that seems to be present a lot in the genre
After weighing up the two genres it would seem that the positives and negatives are fairly even, and so am still happy with my choice to do Horror.
