To make our opening sequence we need technical equipment that will help us put it together. I will write-up everything we need and explain why we need it below.
Digital Video Camera:
to record our footage in order to complete our opening sequence.
Tripods:
To make the camera steady when we want to film the calm side of our opening sequence.
Lighting:
We need a candle light to use in the forest scene and to be able to show the characters expressions.
Radio:
We need an old radio player for the villain in our first scene.
Apple Mac Computer:
We need this to edit our footage on the software 'FinalCut Express' and 'LiveType'.
Audio Recorder:
We need this to have a better hearing of the girl trying to scream when her mouth is taped shut.
Friday, 30 March 2012
Thursday, 29 March 2012
Costumes and Props List
When we film our opening sequence it is very important that we have everything we need so we can complete our opening sequence to the standards that we want. The first thing we need is costume and props because these will help our video become clearer to what it is and it will also not make it look tacky and rubbish and no one will watch it. This is what we need for our opening sequence.
Costumes
During the course of the opening sequence and throughout the contrasting scenes both the characters will have the same costume on.
Jane – A long white t-shirt (covering her bottom half too!)
Old man – Shirt, tie, trousers and shoes.
Jane’s top will be scruffy and muted, this is mainly all the clothing we will see on her, due to the fact she is tied up. Her make up will be run, and her hair will purposely be messy and knotted from where she hasn’t washed or brushed it in a while. The old man will be in smart attire, predominately of darker colours. This is to give off the assumption he is well kept, and has made an effort for the occasion. The dark colours are to show his dark personality and that he is a very mysterious person and her white top resembles purity and virginity allowing the audience the audience to empathise towards her.
Props
Likewise for our sequence we will need a number of props to make the scene look more professional but also real to life. Below are lists of props that will be involved in the filming.
- A small, circular wooden dining table
- Two wooden chairs
- Two cooked dinners
- A bottle of wine
- Two wine glasses
- A handful of rose petals
- 10x small circular candles
- Table cloth
- A small old stereo
- Two sets of cutlery
For the first location, the room which they will be devouring the meal in will be a traditional dining room, preferably from a middle class household. The room is likely to have paintings and pictures on the wall for a better effect, and we will also ensure that around the table all is clean and tidy.
The second location is the complete reverse; this will either be in a forest, cellar, or a deserted place. The setting of the table will be identical, but we will not interfere with the background of this situation. This is to show her side of the story and what is realistically happening to her.
Costumes
During the course of the opening sequence and throughout the contrasting scenes both the characters will have the same costume on.
Jane – A long white t-shirt (covering her bottom half too!)
Old man – Shirt, tie, trousers and shoes.
Jane’s top will be scruffy and muted, this is mainly all the clothing we will see on her, due to the fact she is tied up. Her make up will be run, and her hair will purposely be messy and knotted from where she hasn’t washed or brushed it in a while. The old man will be in smart attire, predominately of darker colours. This is to give off the assumption he is well kept, and has made an effort for the occasion. The dark colours are to show his dark personality and that he is a very mysterious person and her white top resembles purity and virginity allowing the audience the audience to empathise towards her.
Props
Likewise for our sequence we will need a number of props to make the scene look more professional but also real to life. Below are lists of props that will be involved in the filming.
- A small, circular wooden dining table
- Two wooden chairs
- Two cooked dinners
- A bottle of wine
- Two wine glasses
- A handful of rose petals
- 10x small circular candles
- Table cloth
- A small old stereo
- Two sets of cutlery
For the first location, the room which they will be devouring the meal in will be a traditional dining room, preferably from a middle class household. The room is likely to have paintings and pictures on the wall for a better effect, and we will also ensure that around the table all is clean and tidy.
The second location is the complete reverse; this will either be in a forest, cellar, or a deserted place. The setting of the table will be identical, but we will not interfere with the background of this situation. This is to show her side of the story and what is realistically happening to her.
Wednesday, 28 March 2012
Shooting Schedule
Below is a shooting schedule that we shall follow to make sure that we are always on track and that we complete everything all ready for the deadline on the 23rd April 2012.
Tuesday, 27 March 2012
Character Description
Due to the fact our opening sequence is going to be quite puzzling, we will only have two characters featuring in it. One of these being a young girl, who gets kidnapped, tied up and held captive. The other being an old man who will actually be the one keeping the young girl. However, we will need to have a better and more detailed perceptive about these characters in order for the actors to play their role greater. Therefore a character description will illustrate in more detail, the background of both of the characters but also more about them as a person.
The Girl:
Name: Jane
Age: 17
Ethnicity: White
Hobbies and Interests: She is extremely focused on school, as she wants to succeed to go onto university. She has a part time job in a local restaurant, but on weekends and in her free time she likes to socialize with friends, by going to parties and the cinema etc.
Social Demographic: Working Class
Personality: She is a shy, timid girl in front of people she doesn’t know and additionally in situations she is not comfortable with. This changes when she is with her friends, as she knows how to have a laugh and comes out of her shell more. Jane is a pacifist and doesn’t like hurting anyone or being hurt herself, this leads her to be over-protective of the loved ones around her.
Her Role: She gets captured and held captive, but cannot remember what happened or the reason behind it. She is kept for roughly 2 weeks, until she meets another victim and together they plan their escape.
The Man:
Name: Intentionally his identity is kept quiet
Age: 45+
Ethnicity: White
Hobbies and Interests: Loves being in control and is not a socialite. He doesn’t have any friends, and lives by himself in a moderately large house. Frequently he enjoys a game of chess, and this becomes evident further into the story, he also enjoys reading, but X-rated books are more his thing. He is mentally ill and believes what he is doing to the young girls is tolerable and of the norm.
Social Demographic: Middle Class
Personality: He keeps himself to himself, but due to the fact he dresses in branded suits, we make an assumption that he has a well-paid job, if one?
His Role: He captures the young girl and keeps her in a hidden location. He excuses his behaviour by bringing dinner, and talking to her. He thinks he is being harmless, and doesn’t really understand the consequence of his actions.
Script
Characters:
Old man – deliberately kept with no name throughout
Young woman/teenager – Jane
Young woman/teenager – Jane
Plan – two scenes shooting identical ideas but contrasting between the two
Start of the opening sequence:
Production Company Logo shows then fades to a black screen
Opening sequence starts:
The old man is sitting at the table with a number of candles lit around him - the camera is concentrating on the arrangement of this table, when the man’s hand is exposed to light the final candle.
The old man is sitting at the table with a number of candles lit around him - the camera is concentrating on the arrangement of this table, when the man’s hand is exposed to light the final candle.
There is complete silence in the background, with the exception of a clock which we frequently hear ticking.
The camera at this point is still centring on the hand.
Old man – “Perfect”
Picks up his knife and fork.
Old man – “I apologise, how rude of me to forget”
His hand pushes down a switch on a stereo which is positioned on the edge of the table.
Picks up his knife and fork.
Old man – “I apologise, how rude of me to forget”
His hand pushes down a switch on a stereo which is positioned on the edge of the table.
Gentle and romantic music starts to play.
Credit appears on top of the scene; director
The camera gradually moves up (over the shoulder shot) to the man until finally were in contact with his face.
Old man – “I thought your dad was going to stop calling”
There is no reply and the man takes a bite of his food.
Old man – “Its rude to ignore when I’ve gone to all this effort, would you like some wine?”
The man picks up the bottle of wine which is centred likewise on the table.
There is no reply and the man takes a bite of his food.
Old man – “Its rude to ignore when I’ve gone to all this effort, would you like some wine?”
The man picks up the bottle of wine which is centred likewise on the table.
The camera follows his arm down the table and then a fade-in fade-out is used.
[The location has changed to demonstrate to the audience the definite reality of what is actually happening as an alternative to what the man is seeing in his head]
The camera is still focusing on his arm.
He finishes filling up the glass for the person which he is speaking to.
He finishes filling up the glass for the person which he is speaking to.
The music is still playing; however from this point onwards the man doesn’t say anything else.
The camera slowly rises and pans around the setting, until it ultimately reaches the person he is speaking to on the other side of the table.
A girl which is tied to a chair with tape around her mouth struggling.
Narrative enigma is immediately created leaving the audience curious as to why she is tied up, but also why the man in his mind is consuming a pleasant meal with her.
Monday, 26 March 2012
StoryBoard
Here is a storyboard we produced to help us have a visual of what our opening sequence is going to contain and look like. We included different shot angles, the time of the shot and also what sound or dialogue is going to be in that shot. Also, we included credits and what they are going to look like. Here is our storyboard:
Sunday, 25 March 2012
Motifs
A motif is recurring image or idea that is shown throughout a film to represent what kind of film it is. For example, if a heart is shown within a film (in pictures in the background) then the audience know that the film is a romance and it has a love theme.
In the film 'Psycho' by Alfred Hitchcock, he uses birds throughout because birds are seen as evil in some cultures and his film is based around a bad genre. This helps reassure the audience of the genre and reminds them throughout the film what it is.
an example of a motif is in the film 'Jaws' by Steven Spielberg (1975) of the music when the shark arrives. This helps the audience label the shark it is played whenever the shark is around or about to appear. It also creates tension within the audience because it is bold and it is almost like a noise that makes you cringe when you hear like someone scratching their nails on a blackboard. This piece of music also reinstates the genre of the film because it is so bold and powerful that the audience are almost scared of the music as well as the film.
Another example of a motif in a film is from 'The Woman In Black' by James Watkins (2012). They use the colour black throughout the film and the colour black signifies death and evil so this helps back up the genre and make the audience feel scared and not knowing what is going to happen because the colour black also signifies mystery.
We have decided to use a motif in our opening sequence and we have chosen to use the colour red throughout. This will help with the back up of the genre and the colour also signifies love and danger and in one scene with the man, he is crazy and thinks they are in love with each other. On the other hand, in the girl's scene where she is tied up, she has blood on her shirt and that shows the danger side of the colour red in our opening sequence.
In the film 'Psycho' by Alfred Hitchcock, he uses birds throughout because birds are seen as evil in some cultures and his film is based around a bad genre. This helps reassure the audience of the genre and reminds them throughout the film what it is.
an example of a motif is in the film 'Jaws' by Steven Spielberg (1975) of the music when the shark arrives. This helps the audience label the shark it is played whenever the shark is around or about to appear. It also creates tension within the audience because it is bold and it is almost like a noise that makes you cringe when you hear like someone scratching their nails on a blackboard. This piece of music also reinstates the genre of the film because it is so bold and powerful that the audience are almost scared of the music as well as the film.
Another example of a motif in a film is from 'The Woman In Black' by James Watkins (2012). They use the colour black throughout the film and the colour black signifies death and evil so this helps back up the genre and make the audience feel scared and not knowing what is going to happen because the colour black also signifies mystery.
We have decided to use a motif in our opening sequence and we have chosen to use the colour red throughout. This will help with the back up of the genre and the colour also signifies love and danger and in one scene with the man, he is crazy and thinks they are in love with each other. On the other hand, in the girl's scene where she is tied up, she has blood on her shirt and that shows the danger side of the colour red in our opening sequence.
Thursday, 22 March 2012
Encoding Our Text
Encoding is the name of the process by which institutions embed ‘signifiers’ into their products to act as a signpost to the audience, which will help them to understand the genre, the narrative, the form, the purpose and the messages they want to get across. The audience will ‘decode’ these signifiers and interpret them to come up with a meaning. As a group we have decided what ‘signifiers’ we are going to include in our opening sequence.
Music:
We have decided that one of our signifiers will be the music we use. The choice of music from the start will be soft and soothing, this will give the audience the initial impression that the genre of the film is romance, but as the opening sequence slowly comes undone, the music will evidently be opposite to the feeling the audience is receiving. This is up until the last few seconds where the music suddenly changes, and there is a loud bang at the end. Although this music doesn’t signify from the actual start, it slowly unravels and this has a greater effect on setting out the genre for the audience, but additionally will help with the message we want to get across, of not making any assumptions when watching opening sequences.
Texts/Fonts:
By choosing to include our credits on top of the scene when the sequence is running, ensures that the audience don’t overlook the action that is happening - but instead make them more cautious of it. By having bold, black and old fashioned writing, any assumption that the genre in hand is a comedy or romance will soon be out of the picture. I think that the type of font which is used is vital and this is because it lays out the mood of the film, but also shows to have a meaningful purpose when making the audience feel uneasy (when referring to a crime-thriller).
Locations:
Likewise, the two diverse locations which are used contradict each other. The first location being a dining room, the audience will feel no worry, but as the opening sequence goes on and the location changes to a dark and dingy forest, this signifies clearly to the audience the genre of the film. This will furthermore help us with our representation of gender. A stereotypical man is publicized to be more powerful and dominant than a stereotypical girl who is shown to always need someone to ‘save’ her and is frail and vulnerable. Where we see the girl tied up in the forest and the man causally eating dinner, it is obvious who the more dominant figure is.
Music:
We have decided that one of our signifiers will be the music we use. The choice of music from the start will be soft and soothing, this will give the audience the initial impression that the genre of the film is romance, but as the opening sequence slowly comes undone, the music will evidently be opposite to the feeling the audience is receiving. This is up until the last few seconds where the music suddenly changes, and there is a loud bang at the end. Although this music doesn’t signify from the actual start, it slowly unravels and this has a greater effect on setting out the genre for the audience, but additionally will help with the message we want to get across, of not making any assumptions when watching opening sequences.
Texts/Fonts:
By choosing to include our credits on top of the scene when the sequence is running, ensures that the audience don’t overlook the action that is happening - but instead make them more cautious of it. By having bold, black and old fashioned writing, any assumption that the genre in hand is a comedy or romance will soon be out of the picture. I think that the type of font which is used is vital and this is because it lays out the mood of the film, but also shows to have a meaningful purpose when making the audience feel uneasy (when referring to a crime-thriller).
Locations:
Likewise, the two diverse locations which are used contradict each other. The first location being a dining room, the audience will feel no worry, but as the opening sequence goes on and the location changes to a dark and dingy forest, this signifies clearly to the audience the genre of the film. This will furthermore help us with our representation of gender. A stereotypical man is publicized to be more powerful and dominant than a stereotypical girl who is shown to always need someone to ‘save’ her and is frail and vulnerable. Where we see the girl tied up in the forest and the man causally eating dinner, it is obvious who the more dominant figure is.
Saturday, 17 March 2012
Analysis of Research Results
Following on from our questionnaires and our focus group, We produced a series of bar and pie charts to illustrate some of the results in a different format. As it was only possible to make these charts from our closed questions, We analysed the results of these and discussed how they were to influence our film idea.
If you were to film this, what location would you use for the young girls point of view? - The results from this question show that the Forest and the Abandoned place are the most favoured locations where people were likely to film. This was beneficial for our group as we had already planned to film in a forest, therefore knowing that this is a popular selection means we made the accurate decision.
What age group do you associate a crime-thriller with? - When we asked people what age group they associate a crime-thriller film with the most common answer was 15 year olds, which was 70% of the total result. However, 30% of the people said 18 year olds would be the most appropriate age range. As a result of this, we are going to aim our opening sequence for the age group of 15+ therefore it meets in the middle.
What do you think the most important thing to include in an opening sequence is? - Our final closed question asked what the most vital convention is to include in an opening sequence. 60% of people answered music, and due to the fact no other convention came particularly close to this answer, when filming our opening sequence we will ensure the music chosen is relevant and therefore has a virtuous effect.
Although these results help us a considerable amount with our final film idea, when watching the focus group and reading the results from the open questions, we have gained an enhanced understanding of what people prefer and controversially don’t prefer about opening sequences. Boring, dragged out, long winded and too predictable were some of the main answers agreed which were unconstructive things about an opening sequence - whereas the music used, real life situations, sudden expectations and mysterious surroundings were some of the answers given which people were fond of in opening sequences. We have therefore took all of this into account, and although we are going to keep our film idea the same, we are going to make sure the music we use is suitable and not make the opening sequence too extensive or unrealistic.
If you were to film this, what location would you use for the young girls point of view? - The results from this question show that the Forest and the Abandoned place are the most favoured locations where people were likely to film. This was beneficial for our group as we had already planned to film in a forest, therefore knowing that this is a popular selection means we made the accurate decision.Although these results help us a considerable amount with our final film idea, when watching the focus group and reading the results from the open questions, we have gained an enhanced understanding of what people prefer and controversially don’t prefer about opening sequences. Boring, dragged out, long winded and too predictable were some of the main answers agreed which were unconstructive things about an opening sequence - whereas the music used, real life situations, sudden expectations and mysterious surroundings were some of the answers given which people were fond of in opening sequences. We have therefore took all of this into account, and although we are going to keep our film idea the same, we are going to make sure the music we use is suitable and not make the opening sequence too extensive or unrealistic.
Wednesday, 14 March 2012
Focus Group
This is our focus group asking these three people different questions to find out what they think about an opening sequence of a crime-thriller. This helped us because they gave us different ideas and we can meet audience expectations to what they want to see, even though it's only three people they still know what they want in a crime-thriller opening sequence and we have definitely included some ideas we think people will enjoy in our opening sequence.
Saturday, 10 March 2012
Questionnaire
We made a prezi to show our results and our analysis of our opening sequences and what the audiences preferred. We asked people the age and gender to make sure they were in our target audience and we wanted to know what they each liked about a crime-thriller and what they want in it.
Thursday, 8 March 2012
Target Audience Description
Identifying the target audience is essential when basing an opening sequence around them. Below is a detailed description of our target audience.
Age - 15+
Gender - Female/Male
Social Demographic - Working class
Occupation - Student at college/university
Hobbies and interests - a standard day to day female/male who enjoys socialising and going out with friends in their spare time. Attending parties on the weekends and regularly going to the cinema. They are dedicated and enthusiastic in terms of their education and work hard to achieve their full potential at college/university. She/he would be interested in regular stuff such as going to concerts, keeping up-to-date with fashion etc.
Style - She/he likes to follow trend in order to ‘fit in’ and they take care of their appearance.
Personality - An outgoing, bubbly character who has a good sense of humor, but can also be serious when convenient. They are friendly, and doesn’t judge a book by its cover. While accepting everyone is different, they will be conscious of situations around them, refusing to be influenced by other peoples decision making. She/he would be quite sensible and aware of the line between what is right and wrong when acting upon things.
Media Grouping - Their favourite films will be jumpy, crime orientated films. She/he will watch these to receive a ‘buzz’ but at the same time to understand the actions that are/are not acceptable in a modern society. They will however watch ordinary television, soaps such as hollyoaks but also entertaining television like x-factor.
What audience theory’s will the film offer? - The Uses and Gratifications Theory is an approach to understand why people seek out specific media content for different purposes. Blumler & Katz suggested that a text must ‘gratify an audience’s needs’. This could include a series of different needs such as offering the audience information, entertainment, education, social interaction and personal identity.
Information: Satisfying curiosity and general interest, for self-education which they could gain a sense of security through knowledge.
Entertainment: To escape, or be diverted from problems. To get emotional release or just general enjoyment.
Education: To gain a better understanding into situations, understanding the bigger picture.
Social Interaction: Gaining an insight into circumstances of others, to gain a sense of their own belonging. To find a basis for conversation, while having a substitute for real-life companionship.
Personal Identity: To look at different models of behaviour, which would enable them to gain an insight into themselves. But also to find a reinforcement for personal values.
Our opening sequence and film plan on offering these needs to our target audience. They will gain information and self education on how to behave and react in certain situations. This will help them to look at the bigger picture. By watching a situation which somebody else is in, they will be able to relate this to themselves and think about what they would do given they were the character. This would stimulate interaction, as a basis for conversation. I think the main need that our film will promote is personal identity. This is because they will be able to look at different models of behaviour (the old man thinking it is acceptable to keep the young girl) and again relate this to the behaviour of themselves. They will learn what is acceptable and what is wrong, this will reinforce their personal values.
Age - 15+
Gender - Female/Male
Social Demographic - Working class
Occupation - Student at college/university
Hobbies and interests - a standard day to day female/male who enjoys socialising and going out with friends in their spare time. Attending parties on the weekends and regularly going to the cinema. They are dedicated and enthusiastic in terms of their education and work hard to achieve their full potential at college/university. She/he would be interested in regular stuff such as going to concerts, keeping up-to-date with fashion etc.
Style - She/he likes to follow trend in order to ‘fit in’ and they take care of their appearance.
Personality - An outgoing, bubbly character who has a good sense of humor, but can also be serious when convenient. They are friendly, and doesn’t judge a book by its cover. While accepting everyone is different, they will be conscious of situations around them, refusing to be influenced by other peoples decision making. She/he would be quite sensible and aware of the line between what is right and wrong when acting upon things.
Media Grouping - Their favourite films will be jumpy, crime orientated films. She/he will watch these to receive a ‘buzz’ but at the same time to understand the actions that are/are not acceptable in a modern society. They will however watch ordinary television, soaps such as hollyoaks but also entertaining television like x-factor.
What audience theory’s will the film offer? - The Uses and Gratifications Theory is an approach to understand why people seek out specific media content for different purposes. Blumler & Katz suggested that a text must ‘gratify an audience’s needs’. This could include a series of different needs such as offering the audience information, entertainment, education, social interaction and personal identity.
Information: Satisfying curiosity and general interest, for self-education which they could gain a sense of security through knowledge.
Entertainment: To escape, or be diverted from problems. To get emotional release or just general enjoyment.
Education: To gain a better understanding into situations, understanding the bigger picture.
Social Interaction: Gaining an insight into circumstances of others, to gain a sense of their own belonging. To find a basis for conversation, while having a substitute for real-life companionship.
Personal Identity: To look at different models of behaviour, which would enable them to gain an insight into themselves. But also to find a reinforcement for personal values.
Our opening sequence and film plan on offering these needs to our target audience. They will gain information and self education on how to behave and react in certain situations. This will help them to look at the bigger picture. By watching a situation which somebody else is in, they will be able to relate this to themselves and think about what they would do given they were the character. This would stimulate interaction, as a basis for conversation. I think the main need that our film will promote is personal identity. This is because they will be able to look at different models of behaviour (the old man thinking it is acceptable to keep the young girl) and again relate this to the behaviour of themselves. They will learn what is acceptable and what is wrong, this will reinforce their personal values.
Saturday, 3 March 2012
Group Opening Sequence Plan
1) Exactly what is going to happen on screen:
- The opening sequence will have a linear narrative. It will therefore begin with the man having a ‘loving’ meal.
- The camera will be focusing on the table and its arrangement.
- About 7 seconds into the scene, the mans hand will gradually come down to light the final candle.
- The camera doesn’t move, the hand is just now in view.
- The man will start to speak, however the camera will still not have moved, we can only hear his voice in the background.
- He picks up the knife and fork which is laying also on the table, and we see his arm elevate away from the camera.
- When he realises he has forgot to play the music his hand comes back down.
- The camera gradually lifts to see him push a button on an old radio player.
- The music starts to play at this moment and the credits fade on top of the scene.
- The camera steadily moves up (over the shoulder shot) to the man until finally we are in contact with his face. At first the camera is shaky but it soon finds its place and is at a standstill.
- The man starts to have a conversation and the camera is looking directly at him.
- He then goes to pick up a bottle of wine wish is centered likewise on the table, the camera follows his arm down the table and afterwards a fade-in-fade-out is used.
- The man looks exactly at the camera, and then it comes off the tripod and is a handheld shot.
- It slowly rises and more credits are shown on top of the scene.
- The camera finally pans around the setting until it is eventually in contact with the girl who is tied up.
- The final credits are shown as the scene slowly fades out.
2) Sketches and rough ideas of how the credits are going to look:
3) Ideas for the music/sound:
It is essential that we get the music and the sound of the opening sequence precise; referring back to our questionnaires the majority of the people thought the music was the most imperative factor. Although we haven’t decided on the specific song we are going to use throughout the duration, we have agreed that the music is going to be slow, comforting and fairly soft. This is because we want the audience to have a reverse feeling to what is actually happening on screen, so when the location does transform it is unexpected, meaning narrative enigma will be created a lot more effectively.
- The opening sequence will have a linear narrative. It will therefore begin with the man having a ‘loving’ meal.
- The camera will be focusing on the table and its arrangement.
- About 7 seconds into the scene, the mans hand will gradually come down to light the final candle.
- The camera doesn’t move, the hand is just now in view.
- The man will start to speak, however the camera will still not have moved, we can only hear his voice in the background.
- He picks up the knife and fork which is laying also on the table, and we see his arm elevate away from the camera.
- When he realises he has forgot to play the music his hand comes back down.
- The camera gradually lifts to see him push a button on an old radio player.
- The music starts to play at this moment and the credits fade on top of the scene.
- The camera steadily moves up (over the shoulder shot) to the man until finally we are in contact with his face. At first the camera is shaky but it soon finds its place and is at a standstill.
- The man starts to have a conversation and the camera is looking directly at him.
- He then goes to pick up a bottle of wine wish is centered likewise on the table, the camera follows his arm down the table and afterwards a fade-in-fade-out is used.
The location changes
- The camera focuses on him pouring the wine and the music is still playing.- The man looks exactly at the camera, and then it comes off the tripod and is a handheld shot.
- It slowly rises and more credits are shown on top of the scene.
- The camera finally pans around the setting until it is eventually in contact with the girl who is tied up.
- The final credits are shown as the scene slowly fades out.
2) Sketches and rough ideas of how the credits are going to look:
Although the font cannot be exact to how it is going to be shown on screen, here are some rough drawings of how we want the credits to come into sight. We want an old-fashioned style font and have already agreed, a similar one to ‘Zapfino’ from LiveType will be appropriate. This is because we wanted our film to be based not in the present tense, as mid to late 1900s is the time era our film revolves around. The credits will be faded onto the scene and be a bold black font, we thought this would have a better effect, as the audience will be watching throughout, instead of a cut away to the text being shown on a blank screen. As a result the tense atmosphere will be present throughout.
3) Ideas for the music/sound:
It is essential that we get the music and the sound of the opening sequence precise; referring back to our questionnaires the majority of the people thought the music was the most imperative factor. Although we haven’t decided on the specific song we are going to use throughout the duration, we have agreed that the music is going to be slow, comforting and fairly soft. This is because we want the audience to have a reverse feeling to what is actually happening on screen, so when the location does transform it is unexpected, meaning narrative enigma will be created a lot more effectively.
Friday, 2 March 2012
Our Film Idea
Title of Film: (Not Yet Decided)
Genre of the Film: crime/thriller.
Age rating of the film: 15+
Characters:
There will be two main characters throughout the film, and one of these being Jane. She is a white 17-year-old girl who is from a standard working class background. She is currently studying her a-levels at school, with a part time job being a waitress in a neighbouring restaurant. She has a strong personality, but also a very reserved person when put in a situation she is not familiar with. Her role within our opening sequence is restricted but effective. She is merely going to be tied up to a chair, with tape around her mouth. She will be struggling, and we will see tears roll down her cheek. This is the point in which the opening sequence will bring to a close.
The other key character will be an old man. His identity is kept quiet, and as his name isn’t revealed. He is also white, and around 45 but from a middle class background. He doesn’t socialise and lives by himself in his house; the audience has no real perceptive about his background, or of his family. However it is evident that he enjoys playing chess and frequently reads. During the opening sequence he will be sitting at the dinner table, smartly dressed and acting like he is enjoying himself. He will be having a conversation with someone, and the camera will be focusing on only him and the table up until the remaining 15 seconds of the sequence. We are kept in the dark about his profession, but as he is always dressed in branded suits we assume he has a well-paid job.
I will be acting out Jane, as there is no talking involved it will be a reasonably simple role to play, this will also work better as I have a set understanding of how I want the scene to look which might be complicated to explain to another actor.
A close family friend, who is enthusiastic to act will play the old man, however we have considered a second actor in case he fails to do so.
A close family friend, who is enthusiastic to act will play the old man, however we have considered a second actor in case he fails to do so.
Location/Setting:
Our opening sequence will consist of two different locations. The first scene will be in a spacious dining room, where a small circular table will be centred. There will be picture frames in the background, and the romantic atmosphere will be set. However, the second setting will be either in a forest or a deserted building, this is where the whole mood of the opening sequence will transform for the audience.
Story Line:
Beginning – the opening sequence will start with Jane and the man having a ‘loving’ meal, the audience will presume that the genre of this film is associated around romance. However, when he pours the wine into a glass, there is a black out and the location changes. The man is still having dinner with someone, although with the music playing the mood of the scene changes. The camera pans around to see that actually the person he is sharing dinner with is a young girl tied up. From the beginning a chain of narrative enigma is created, the audience doesn’t understand why the man is smartly dressed, set out a table full of roses, is having a conversation and acting so natural in a situation which is visibly disturbing.
Middle – the main part of the storyline will be revolved around the girl and her escaping. As she doesn’t remember how or why she has been held captive she starts to get flashbacks of where she was when it happened. She meets another one of the man’s victims, and together they secretly plot how they are going to free themselves. The old man starts to get angry that he does not threaten the two young girls anymore, and he starts to plot something, which will make them regret this.
End – One of the girls pretend to have a fit, and the other screams at the old man to get water. As his intention wasn’t to kill them, just make ‘friends’ he gets anxious and bothered at this situation. He then goes onto have a panic attack as he realises what he has actually done. The girl persuades him to untie her so she can get water for her friend, and as he genuinely believes she is in danger he unwisely agrees to this. She obviously gets away, but when she returns with the police and her family, the old man has hung himself from the tree and the other girl isn’t there any more.
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