Preliminary Task Compared to Film Opening

Completed Film Opening:

Question 7

Question 6

Question 5

Question 4: Who would be the audience for your media product?

Our horror film opening is more appealing to a male audience than a female audience because the actors are all male which means there are no character for females to relate to. An example of another film that has just male audiences is Green Street. This is a film about football firms and contains a lot of violence and bad language. This does not stereotypically appeal to females. However an example of a film that is directed to just females audiences is Fifty Shades of Grey. This is illustrated by the graph below.

(Width of circle = how mainstream)

Our film The Last Night falls in the same category as Green Street. The Last Night is not as mainstream as the two films above but has the same codes and conventions that only a male audience would enjoy. It is also aimed at similar ages to Green Street but leaning towards more teenage years. This is because the films actors are all teenagers and the audience can relate to them and their story. The reason Fifty Shades of Grey is more mainstream is because it had a series of bestselling books behind it whereas The Last Night is an independent film. 

Question 3

Question 1 & 2

Construction: Successful Re-filming

After we re-filmed we did another rough edit and here is how it turned out:



We decided to put together a rough edit putting together our clips to give us a rough idea of how our movie opening will turn out.

The biggest problem with our initial filming was the dialogue throughout because you could not hear the actors without there being wind or background noise such as cars which do not help with the idea of the location being secluded.

We made sure to check our camera before we started this time to ensure that the camera lens did not have any dirt on it as last time we did not check until we had already done some of the shots.

This rough edit, I would say, is much better than the initial filming because it has absolutely no dialogue which means we can put some non-diegetic sound over the top to give the opening a better feel overall. We tried to also add more camera shots, angles and movements throughout the opening.

This time we really excelled in representing the stereotype of a teenager through the use of him playing on a game console at the start, the can of energy drink and overall a great representation of a  stereotypical teenager.

We found that instead of actually seeing the killer we went for a storyline where you don't see the killer at all other than their hand, this gives a feeling of uncertainty and really makes the audience wonder who the killer is and what he looks like.

Now that we are happy with our rough edit we will continue to cut it down to as good as possible with the clips, adding in sound and also titles over the top.

Planning: New Storyboard

Here is the first 10 storyboard shots for our new movie opening.

Planning: Shot List

Construction: Problems With Initial Filming

After filming our opening of a horror movie we put together a rough edit:



Once we finished filming for the first time and we looked at our rough edit we realised that there was a lot wrong with it and that we could improve it massively.

Our biggest problem is the sound; in this plan we relied on diegetic sound (Lewis and Stephen) throughout and this is a huge problem because of the background noise and the wind causing the sound to be very bad; it was hard to hear them at points in the film and didn't build the tension we were looking for.

Another problem that we came across was that some of the clips had dirt on the camera meaning the shot didn't look clear or good meaning that all of these clips need to be re-filmed.

We have decided to completely change our storyline quite a lot and during the next filming we are going to make sure that we include a lot more camera shots, camera angles and camera movements throughout and also make sure that we remove all of the diegetic sound because it is too difficult to do that without the background noise and wind making the quality very bad, we are also going to include music to create the tension that we are looking for.

Planning: Equipment

The first piece of equipment that we need for our film is a phone. This is for the scene in the woods when Lewis checks for signal after Stephen gets injured. This shows the audience that they are in a stressful situation in a secluded setting. 



The second piece of equipment is a camera. This will allow us to shoot our movie. In the simplest way possible. 



The third piece of equipment is a tripod. This will help us perform a controlled shot without the camera moving about when we don't want it to. 



The last piece of equipment is a baseball bat. This is going to be used as the murderers weapon. He needs to weapon to show he is the most powerful character. 

Planning: Storyboard

The next thing we had to do was create a storyboard showing each shot and movement in our film opening. When we start filming we will refer back to the storyboard to make sure that we are following our plan so it looks exactly how we want it to look. Creating a storyboard shows us a rough idea what our storyboard will look like before we even start filming. This is vital so we don't run into many problems when it comes to filming. 

Planning: Shot List

This is our shot list that helps to show you what type of shot that we are filming once the camera has cut to a different angle. We were able to break down all the different scenes into different shots as we new how and when we needed a different shot and scene. We also added a brief description so we knew what was happening in that particular shot. This is all so we know what we are doing in our 2 minute opening.

Planning: Location

This is the location that we will be using as a group to film in. It looks like a location that is isolated and that would be good for the filming. It is a good location because we need an abandoned location to be able to film this filming properly.

This is what the location actually looks like. This isn't actually an abandoned location as you can clearly see something is being built. When you zoom into the building it makes it look like a secluded location. This is what we need for our filming.

Here is the next place, it is a good place to film because we could make it look like a secluded location for filming giving the audience the sense of no one around to help.

However its not a good option because you would hear cars going past throughout filming as there is a main road, this would probably be the perfect location if the main road was not nearby.  With the cars going past during clips of the film it would be bad because the audience would realise that actually this is not a secluded location meaning they wouldn't get the same fear as if they thought it was secluded and no one around to help.

Next place, like the others, looks very good as a location for our film opening with a feeling of a secluded location with a lot of trees around for the audience to imagine the killer hiding.

For this location there is however a lot of houses nearby meaning in the background of the shots you could maybe hear people or lawnmowers etc, making this a bad location overall.

Overall, the best location would be the first location as we can make it feel like a secluded location and it is also far enough away from the road so that you can not hear cars going past during the shots, giving it the feeling of it being secluded and there is no help around for the victims.

Planning: Casting

This is Lewis Swannell. Lewis would be a very appropriate choice for staring in our film. He is a confident and loud person which would be very good for our film. He is also available for our filming schedule so he is a very strong candidate to get the part.

This is Kofi Amponsah. Kofi is free during out filming schedule however his downfall is that he is very shy and awkward around people and in front of the camera especially and this would not be very good for our film because he would not translate well with the audience.

This is Tom Kelly. Tom is a very strong candidate for one of the starring roles. He is loud and confident which are the characteristics we are looking for in the star for our film. He is also available during our filming schedule so he is the ideal candidate overall.

This is Matthew Hope. Matthew is a very loud and confident person who would translate well with our audience and he would be a great candidate for the role. The problem is that he is not available during our filming schedule.

This is Stephen Olatunbosun. Stephen is very hard to work with however when he starts to do what he is asked to do he can do it well, he is very loud and confident therefore this would translate well with our audience. He is also available for all days of our filming schedule which makes him overall a great candidate.

Whilst we were trying to find the right cast for our film we looked at a range of different things that would be good for our characters to have. Some of the things we looked at were; character confidence, personality, characteristics and of course if they were available on the filming schedule. Not all of the people above had the right attributes to be given the part in our film but some of them did and the cast we have gone with is the following: Tom Kelly (as the main killer, probably not seen much during the film), Lewis Swannell (One of the two main characters) and Stephen Olatunbosun (The other main character).

Planning: Filming Schedule

Our group have decided that our filming should be taking time at a certain time of the day where we will have the perfect lighting for our filming to be successful. 

We have also made a plan and estimate when or what date  we are going to film which is going to be a day that everyone is definitely going to be available.

we are filming in the february half term which means we have all the time that we need to plan it and make decision to benefit the filming.

Planning: Mise-En-Scene

Black Hoodie

This is a black hoodie. This is a good thing to have for a killer. When this is first seen in the scene all you will see is the hoodie. you won't be able to see any of the killers face.  This would be used for the killer because it makes them look like a mysterous character in the background of the scene.

Blue Jeans

These would also be worn by the killer so we would be able to see what type of age he is. By this type of jeans you can tell that they are teenager jeans. This could mean that the killer is a teenager. 

Other characters

The other characters in the scene can wear whatever clothes they would normally wear. This is because they are themselves and they dont have to pretented to be other people. The other characters have to make themselves look like a victim though. We will not need make-up for the other characters as they are both male.

Research: The Importance of Titles in Film Opening

In the opening titles of 'Se7en' you can tell that the story is likely to be about and for this case you are given clues that this is a film about investigations due to the old newspapers, stereotypical and pictures of victims of some sort and some potential suspects.

The audio throughout the opening titles is very distorted. The instruments was a lower beat of a drum followed with shattered sound of a symbol and it sounded almost like a heartbeat making it uncomfortable for the user. As the opening titles plays there are different sounds like doors and other scratching noises. There was noises that could've represented zips of body bags being done up, a lot of zips were getting done up throughout.

The information you are given during the opening titles:

• The Film's Title
• The Cast Members
• Production Company
• Distributor Company
• Director
• Producer
• Music 
• Make-up
• Costume

The importance of opening titles:

The opening titles of a film are extremely important as they give the audience a lot of information. For example, they tell the audience a lot of information about the film as shown above. In the film 'Se7en' the name 'Brad Pitt' is first to come up as he is the most well-known and famous actor in the film and it was very important to have him in the opening titles of the film because it might attract the audience. Not only is this good for the movie but it is also good for Brad Pitt because it raises his profile and exposure.

Not only do we find out a lot of information bout the film but we also recognise some of the symbolic codes. The symbolic codes during the opening give the audience a feeling of what the film will be about. The music and the images throughout the opening al contribute toward the horror genre and it is clear that 'Se7en' is a horror/thriller.

I used a website called 'Art of the title' for a lot of information about the film and the opening titles. There was also some useful pictures and a video of the opening titles itself. Click here to see the page that I used.

Overall, the opening titles of 'Se7en' are very good and they really give the audience a real feel of what the film they are about to watch is about and it already starts to make the audience feel uncomfortable before the film has even started.