Which channels would we show our trailer on?

Choosing the correct channels to illustrate our trailer is essential in order for it to be appreciated by the viewers. Therefore, we will choose channels which thrill-seeking individuals will watch as they will then want to watch the actual film too. This includes choosing the channel which is attracted by our demographics.

The chosen channels are:
- Sky Movies Sci-fi & Horror
- Horror Free TV
- Film 4
- E4

Since we are a low budgeted company, we cannot afford to show our trailer on too many channels, as it will get quite costly. Thus, we have chosen our top 4 choices out of the list we made. This list contained all the movie channels available on TV.

Location Photos

The location at the start of the opening sequence is shown above. This was where the the protagonist and the friend are walking back from college.

The protagonist decides to take a short cut and parts with the friend as she walks through these gates; which were located in a forested area near our school. 

The protagonist then walks down the path where she comes across a lake.

This is a photograph of a tree that we had to climb to be able to get an extreme high angle shot. The purpose of this is to represent the protagonists sheer vulnerability and also foreshadow that she may get lost as she seems minute in comparison to the forest itself.

Above are two images which present both a close up and a long shot of the lake. The protagonist comes across the lake within the opening sequence which she leaps over to be able to get to the other side. 

This is an image of the area, deep in the forest, where the protagonist gets lost and rings her friend for guidance. The majority of the extract was filmed deep in the forest.

Meeting 12

We decided

Film Festival

Unfortunately, we are an independent film production therefore this limits our budget. We are not able to produce a blockbuster due to the lack of equipment therefore if we supposedly wanted to make our opening sequence into a feature film, we would somehow need to receive funds to help us with the budget. Due to this, I believe we should enter our finished opening sequence that we have created for our media coursework into a film festival, such as ‘Sundance’ which takes place in Utah annually. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States, which is beneficial as we are an independent production company. The festival would then allow us to showcase our work to other mainstream companies. If a company such as ‘Paramount’ liked our idea and decided to go with our film idea, we could merge together and make the hit horror movie as we set out to do. This would enable us to use high-tech equipment to create various suspenseful shots and also capture high definition graphics. The sound would also be clearer and create a larger impact. We could also make our film into a 3-dimension movie, such as ‘My Bloody Valentine’. This technique would be astounding as it emphasises the horror of the genre and captivate the emotion of fear. Not only would a high budget enable us to make a successful film, but it can also help us market our movie. For example we could advertise the film on TV, billboards, trailers and the Internet. This ensures that the audience are aware of our film production which means they are more likely to watch the film on the cinema when it is released or purchase the movie on DVD.

Film Poster Analysis

Research Into Institutions - Conglomerate's

Research into Institutions

In our opening sequence it is crucial that we advertise an institution since that is one of the objectives of an opening sequence. The institution we choose must represent our film genre. The institution we chose and constructed will be displayed at the start of the opening sequence, which follows most other film opening sequence’s format. All institutions also have a logo, which consumers identify with. Logos are extremely important because that has how people remember the names of company’s. It is easier to identify with and therefore when creating our own we must make sure it is simple but unique. Therefore, I will also analyse the logos to help my group and I design our own logo, which will go with our production company.

I researched into institution to retrieve ideas, which will help us when we distribute our product. Here are some well-known ones:

NEWLINE CINEMA

New Line Cinema, often simply known as New Line, was founded in 1967, and is one of the major American film studios. It initially began as an independent film studio but in 1996 it became a subsidiary of the conglomerate, Time Warner (Warner Brothers) therefore part of a conglomerate. The first commercially successful film was ‘A nightmare on Elm street’ which is also a horror genre therefore this institution is a possible one we could use as the audience will know them from this genre. New line cinema also released films, which won Oscar awards and this means they are an established institution by not only the audience but also other distributors. Distributing through institutions, which are very well known and appreciated puts the film at an advantage as the budget will be bigger and therefore could be advertised more.

‘New line Cinema’ has also collaborated with other distributors such as Castle Rock Entertainment on the film ‘Fracture’. This was their first joint venture since the 1990’s before both the companies were taken over by Turner.

New line cinema has released well-known and hit films such as: ‘The lord of the rings’, ’The notebook’ and ‘Hairspray’ as well as horrors such as ‘A nightmare on elm street’, ‘Friday the 13th’ and ‘The number 23’. Since they’ve had experience of releasing horror films it will help the image of our film to release our product through New Line cinema also as they have made their name in the market and are well known.

New line Cinema logo

The background is black which is a very common colour. This makes it formal and by looking at it you can tell it is an institution logo. All logos have an image to go with it and in this it represents the film industry by having an image of a 35mm film which directly reflects the genre of film. The image has a blue light behind it enlightening it. The text is written below it in white, making it stand out.

TWISTED PICTURES

Twisted pictures is another well-established distributor but fairly recent as it was founded in 2002 in Los Angeles California. Its is associated with the horror genre. It gained wide attention through the production of the Saw series. The logo that goes with the text is also similar to the genre it represents and mainly creates. My group and I are very fond of this genre and were considering using this institution to distribute our product since it is new and would be appealing to our target audience. It is also mainly linked to horror genres and this is the aspect which attracts us the most because it represents our ideologies the best.

Logo

Twisted pictures also have a logo which goes with the text. The logo is a moving image of a knife/saw and chains. This really compliments the type of films twisted pictures releases. They are known for horror film and their logo promotes this ideology. It also has a sound effect, which accompanies it. This is a sudden sound, which goes with the genre of the film.

PARAMOUNT PICTURES

Paramount Pictures Corporation is a American film production and distribution company, based in Hollywood, California. It was founded in 1912 and is currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still headquartered in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles. Paramount is consistently ranked as one of the top grossing movie studios.

Paramount pictures is the world's oldest existing American film company as it was founded in 1912. Paramount is consistently ranked as one of the top grossing film studios. It is headquartered in Hollywood, Los Angeles. Paramount is possibly the most famous and successful film company of our time which would tempt us to use Paramount as our distributing label and institution. They have made hundred of films over the years and most are very popular. Paramount created the infamous horror film Doctor Jekyll and Mr Hyde and they have lots more experience in creating horror films. Although Paramount are more mainstream and they do not specialise in the making of horror films so this may persuade us not to use them as our institution.

Logo

the text is written in a italiac way and looks like an olden style of writing. This institutions might not be suitable for our film because our target audience is alot younger and this does not have that fresh and innovative look that we want.

The text is written with stars around it like a circle making the text more obvious and important. Both are in white over a blue background like the sky. The image on it is of mountains and this is clever because the word ‘mount’ in paramount could represent the mountains. Mountains are a great image as it could connate reaching the top and to a place that’s new and unreachable. The colours are blue and pink which are calm and peaceful. This institution would probably suit a romantic-comedy better.

WARNER BROTHERS

Warner Bros is an American producer of film and television entertainment.

One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank, California and New York City. Warner Bros. has several subsidiary companies, including Warner Bros. Studios, Warner Bros. Pictures, Warner Bros. Records, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, Warner Bros. Television, Warner Bros. Animation, Warner Home Video, New Line Cinema, TheWB.com, HBO, Cinemax, CNN, Cartoon Network, TBS, TNT, TCM, and DC Comics.

They have media-cross owner ship and therefore a lot off finance! They produce big budget films and are a very well-established and recognized company. People recognize this company from all ages. If we got Warner Bros to distribute our product it will be very beneficial to us since the audience will trust the film to be good.

Logo

The background is of clouds giving it a peaceful and calm feel and the colours give off a fun vibe. The colours are blue and orange. There is no such image for the logo but the writing of the company is written in a way which almost makes it a picture. I like the way the text is written in that way and we may incorporate this style.

METRO-GOLDWYN-MAYER

This is a very old producing company and yet not the most well-known name. The logo of this company is way more popular and is a moving image. I am sure if people saw the image of the lion they will instantly recognise the institution which shows the importance of an image with the text.

The background is black with gold writing and a circle. The institution name also includes ‘gold’ and therefore it is clever to use this colour.

Meeting 11

We managed to complete our filming in 2 days as we were very efficient as a group. This was very beneficial to us as we now have extra time to do our editing properly and not have to do it in a rush circumstance. 

We done the filming in consecutive days as both days endured the same weather condition, which was what we needed. We managed to have all our props and equipment ready, which sped the whole process up as we were then able to do it all in one go. However, it then started getting dark so we had to postpone it to the following day after school. 

We had to find an extra person to be the protagonist as we could not manage someone in the group being it because that would mean that we would not have either lighting, directing or shooting it. This was fortunately not time-consuming as we simply asked our friend to do it. She was more than happy to help us out. 

We had to remember exactly at which point in the forest we left off in order to continue from there. One would think we would not need to be in the same area of the forest again as tree's tend to all look the same! However, we had planned a whole pathway which is visible in the opening sequence, and we needed to ensure we do not muddle up our initial idea. As a result, this made it look as if we produced it in one day - this gave the opening sequence a very positive image and made it look more natural & convincing. Moreover, we had to also make sure that the protagonist was wearing the same costume the following day, applying the same amount/type of make-up both days, done the same hair style too and carried the same bag as the previous day. This also influenced the idea of making it look more genuine. 

Meeting 10

In this meeting we discussed what we are going to be doing for our first day of filming. We hope to complete it within three days, max! We do not need too much time as we have ensured that our storyboard is very clear. Also, we know exactly what we are going to do each day, time and who we are going to need for each scene. 

Since we done a lot of pre-planning, the shooting will not be too time-consuming. 

Our genre is horror, therefore, we did not want too many characters visible in the opening sequence otherwise it would ruin the suspense/thrill. Keeping to a minimum with characters will also be essential for us as we will not waste time organising when & how the characters will shoot their scenes. We only need 1 protagonist, her friend and the killer. We will then need a cameraman, the person in charge of lighting, and the director. Some of roles are being played by more than one person due to our low-budget film company. 

We also need to certify that the weather is appropriate and it is not too dark. Our main aim is to use natural lighting to give the thrilling effect as it will seem more real. 

We also clarified what props we will need to bring and we allocated these to each individual person in our group. This helped to reduce stress and too much load on each person. Similarly, some had specific props and costumes avail to them whereas others didn't and vice versa. Consequently, this certified that we had all the equipment we need. 

Meeting 9

We have now completed our preliminary task. We imported onto the computer in this meeting and edited it on Final Cut Express. We didn't do too many complicated edits as we wanted to keep it simple and we kept it to 30 seconds only.

We used primarily the match on action, the 180 degrees rule and the eyeline match rules. These were very useful and helped to keep the sequence following the continuity filming rules. 

We then discussed how we will use our editing skills for our opening sequence. This exercise helped to gain much knowledge in editing. We now hope to achieve something far greater than this exercise and hope to show much more of our editing skills through the opening sequence.

Analysing Shots and Edits

Scenes for Inspiration

By researching real media products I have gained a huge amount of inspiration and ideas for our own media product. Here are the shot and scenes from various opening sequences which I have drawn inspiration from my own opening sequence:

These are some shots and edit which I have gained inspiration and could incorporate in our final product:

TWILIGHT NEGATIVE FLASH

This is a scene from the 2008 film Twilight. I found this clip to be effective because it goes from normal digital colour to a sepia/ negative edit, which creates panic. This is an edit, which I can incorporate in our opening sequence.

BEHIND TREE IN TWILIGHT

This is another scene from Twilight. This is a forest scene, which is a typical location for thrillers and horrors. Twilight is a fantasy film however includes similar codes and conventions. In this shot the camera come from behind the tree onto the actors. It gives the illusion that there is someone watching.

ESTABLISHING SHOT FROM STAR TREK

This is an establishing shot from the sci-fi film star trek. It is a crane shot which shows the city. This allows the audience to know the area and gives them a better understanding of the scene, which is about to come. This would be difficult shot for my group to carry out as a crane would clearly be out of our league. However, an establishing shot is possible and could be used!

Preliminary Task Analysis - Editing

To commence, we created a folder named ‘______’ and then opened the editing software ‘Final Cut Express’. We saved a blank document into our folder to ensure no work was lost.. The camera was connected to the computer via fire wire and the tape had to be rewound to the beginning before the video was captured. To capture the video we went on ‘file’ then ‘capture’ to manually set capturing which would be saved in the folder. After the video was captured we pressed ‘Escape’ to stop the video. Two screens were seen on the right hand side with the time-line present underneath. All videos on the time-line were played on the screen on the right hand side while the screen on the left hand side played videos ready to be edited; in a browser on the far left of the screen. We double clicked the video to begin editing the preliminary sequences. We had to press ‘I’ to start and ‘O’ to end the clip and then dragged it onto the time-line after the clip snipped. 25 frames are consisted in a second so we used the left arrow to precisely pinpoint the start and end of shot and eliminate any mistakes. There was a slider at the bottom left hand side of screen which adjusted the scale of the time-line.  It was all saved into our created folder after all editing was finished with a clean run through.

The image below shows the software 'Final Cut Express':

Preliminary Task Analysis - Filming

The aim of the preliminary task was to film a short 30 second extract which included the exchange of a ‘TOP SECRET’ envelope between two characters. We set up the camera in the designated location and made sure the camera was steady to avoid jerky movements and the lighting was adequate. We ensured to follow the continuity rule. This is the predominant style of film editing and video editing in the post-production process of filmmaking of narrative films. The purpose of continuity editing is to smooth over the inherent discontinuity of the editing process and to establish a logical coherence between shots which includes shot reverse shot, match on action, eye line and the 180˚ rule. These rules would help us achieve a continuous and coherent sequence. The shot reverse shot is a film technique where one character is shown looking at another character (often off-screen), and then the other character is shown looking back at the first character. Since the characters in our sequence are shown facing in opposite directions, the viewer assumes that they are looking at each other. The second rule we followed was the 180˚ rule had to be followed which is a basic guideline that states that two characters in the same scene should always have the same left/right relationship to each other. The purpose of this is to avoid confusion of the audience as the extract is fluent. If the camera passes over the imaginary axis connecting the two subjects, it is called crossing the line. An image below is presented to visually present the 180˚ rule.

We also made sure to include eye line match. It is based on the premise that the audience will want to see what the character on-screen is seeing. The eye line match in our extract began with a character looking at the off-screen character; followed by a cut to the second person at which the first character was looking at. The last rule we embedded in our preliminary task was the match on action, whereby the editor cuts from the shot of the ‘TOP SECRET’ envelope being passed onto the second character, to the reaction that matches the first shot's action.

Preliminary Task

Inspiration

http://www.buyscaryhalloweencostumes.com/bloody-slaughter-mask.html - The website we have used to get ideas for costumes we can buy for our main negative character.

Harry Potter Editing Exercise

GaragBand is a software application for Mac's that allows us users to construct music or podcasts. I edited this Harry Potter sequence using this application. I found this whole feature very interesting as it was a learning experience, I had never used this before. I hope to be able to use the skills for this further into the course when it comes to adding non-diegetic sound onto our opening sequence. 

I didn't add sound onto the whole sequence as I only intended on editting in some in order to gain experience and skills to use afterwards. I played around with the different sound choices that were available before coming to this final piece. 

To begin with, once I had clicked n GarageBand to open there were several options containing different instruments. I chose 'Loops' as it will let me use all the tracks that come with GarageBand and it also lets me record instruments if need be. However, I did not need to record any instruments for this particular exercise but it may be useful for when we edit our final opening sequence. I then had to name the project. At the bottom of this I saw options to change the tempo, signature, beats per minute and key. I did not change these as I wanted to adjust them within my project. Once it was created, on the right of the software I saw all the tracks that Apple provides in which I had to choose from. These tracks were segmented into a numerous amount of categories. This was helpful as I was able to choose according to what mood I wish to emit from my sequence. I wanted to make the sound contrapuntal, consequently, complimenting the mood displayed by the visuals - so I chose the category 'Dark'. This was the main category I used alongside 'Orchestral', 'Intense' and 'Guitars' - all creating the same mood for the viewing experience. 

To mix the audio, I would drag the second soundtrack underneath the original/first soundtrack, slightly overlaping eachother. This would allow the transitions to the next scene flow and make sense; producing a sound bridge. Also, the second procedure I learnt to make the different soundtracks blend was by decreasing the sound gradually towards the end of it and making the next soundtrack gradually get louder - starting off quiet. This reduced the jerkiness of the whole track and allowed it to flow smoothly. Some of the soundtracks were too long thus, did not fit into the scene. Therefore, I simply shortened the soundtrack item by dragging the edge of it shorter from whichever end neccessary. 

Inspirations

Harry Potter - Location

The concept of the location, I found inspiring. In Harry Potter, the forest is a deadly place. As soon as they enter the forest, it signals to the audience that something peculiar is going to happen. This indication was quite creative. Our concept of the opening sequence is also situated in the forest where something very negative happens.

Gothika - Extreme Close-up

This is a scene from Gothika. This is a common camera shot used in horror movies, as it illustrates the emotion of the character. In this specific scene you can see the fear and the intensity. 

The Last House On The Left - Shower Scene

A shower scene is very conventional in horror films. It's been taken from a low angle and the viewers can only see a figure of a woman. This is showing the woman as a vulnerable character as she is by herself and is a very expected scene for an event to take place. Seductiveness is mutually found in many horror films conveying women. This narrates this concept intricately.

Oiugi Board

I decided to put a picture of an oiugi board as my inspiration. The purpose of this is to illustrate the fact that the theme of ghosts and contacting the ceased is commonly present in many horror movies. 

Below are examples of feature films that are based around the concept of ghosts:

The Orphanage: A woman brings her family back to her childhood home, where she opens an orphanage for handicapped children. Before long, her son starts to communicate with an invisible new friend.

The Uninvited: Anna Rydell returns home to her sister (and best friend) Alex after a stint in a mental hospital, though her recovery is jeopardized thanks to her cruel stepmother, aloof father, and the presence of a ghost in their home.

Shutter: A newly married couple discovers disturbing, ghostly images in photographs they develop after a tragic accident. Fearing the manifestations may be connected, they investigate and learn that some mysteries are better left unsolved.

Graveyard

The focal point of the image is of the moon as it contrasts heavily with the glum sky, creating a suspenseful atmosphere.

The crucifix present within the picture is a symbolism of fear and death. Crucifix are also commonly found in graveyards such as the headstone of a ceased individual. 

The various shades of grey and the intensity of the tones make the image look 3-dimensional. 

There is also a silhouette present within the frame of a man on the stairs, that appears to be reaching for the gates. Silhouettes are common in horror pictures as it create mystery as the viewer is not aware what the character looks like. 

Click on this link to also see examples of horror movies that take place in a graveyard setting: http://www.horror-movies.ca/horror_17890.html 

Inspiration - Paranormal Activity

This movie was quite influential as it relates to our idea of something peculiar present but we do not know what/who it is. Part of our idea stemmed from watching this. 

Questionnaire 2

We will be carrying out another questionnaire to help us with the production of our horror film opening sequence. We will ask our target market to know exactly what they want.


1. What is your favourite horror film?
Scream The Exorcist The Ring Jeepers Creepers Creep

This question enables us to use other films to gain inspiration and ideas for our film.

2. What type of horror movies do you like?
Psychological Gory Thriller

We are asking this question to determine what area of horror our film should be about so that appeals to our target audience.

3. What attracts you to horror films?
Actors Storyline Trailer Film Poster Website Magazine

This question shows what is essential for us to put in our own film. Also, what codes and conventions we should follow.

4. What grabs your attention when watching the opening sequence which makes you want to watch more?
Music Actors Suspense Action Scenes Camera Work

Attracting our audience will be very important for us, when creating our opening sequence we need to know what scenes we should include so that it draws in our audience.

5. What do think is the most important aspect of a film?
Actors Set/Location Plot Music

This shows us what we should include most of in our own work to appeal to our audience.

6. Have you ever been influenced to watch a film after seeing its poster?
Yes No

This question shows us how important the poster actually is. It may show that we should include more information in the opening sequence than we should in the poster because it will be more influential.

7. Do you read film magazines?
Yes No

8. Do you watch films after seeing their advertisement in the magazine?
Yes No

This shows us how we should portray our film on the front cover of our magazine.

9. What is the best way to build suspense in a film opening sequence?
Music Short Scenes Dialogue Long Scenes

This will help us when we are filming and editing because we will know whether to include short scenes or longer scenes. Also whether silence or music helps build tension more.

10. What image would you like to see on a horror film poster?
Actors Location Graphic Images Only Images Only Text

This will help us decide what should be put on the poster that we will create for our movie.

Film Poster Analysis

Brief Analysis of Film Posters

Here are a few horror movie posters. I analysed these to establish the common codes and conventions they all consist of. I have found that:
• most horror film posters are very dark-themed.
• The images are edited and very surreal.
• The image is the main selling point and the most eye-catching feature.
• The images are over-powering the film title and almost acting like a logo for the film.
• The images used have all been edited to create a dark feel to them.
• There is a common use of the colour red, which is usually associated with the horror genre.

By looking at these posters it is evident straight away what genre the posters represent.

Filming Day 2

Yesterday we managed to completely finish our filming which gives us a good amount of time to do our editing. We finished all the shots and even managed to re-do some which we thought weren't as good the first time round. The weather was on our side the whole time and it was very similar to the first day of shooting. This was good as it looked as if it was done in one day which gave a better effect - it made it more realistic.
Our main shooting was carried out in one location (Repton Park), so we were able to focus on it properly and ensure it is done to our best ability.