Final Version of film opening

http://youtu.be/DDGs_9JLmTA

Media coursework evaluation

Media coursework evaluation

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Our media production uses several conventions of horror and thriller genres. For example in the opening of our film we have used music which is atmospheric. This shows the horror convention straight away and the audience knows that the film they are watching is of a horror genre. Another factor that shows the audience that we are using horror conventions is the fact we haven’t chose to use any dialogue. This then means that the only thing the audience can hear is the tension of the music. This created suspense and the audience will be engaged in the film. If this is the case then the films horror conventions are effective. Another way in which our film opening sequence uses a horror convention is the opening titles are written in a gothic way. They then disappear in a shadow; this represents the darkness in our film which represents the horror atmospheric genre we have used in the opening. The studio titles also appear in a ghostly fashion as the smoke in the background is a donative and represents a ghostly figure furthermore adding to the horror convention. The ghostly figure in the studio title is a foreshadowing event and gives the audience an idea of what is likely to happen in the film.

Our horror film challenged horror conventions in some ways. This can be seen when we adapted some Indy music and incorporated into our film opening. We put this between the atmospheric horror sounds which built up tension. This challenged horror conventions because not many horror films change music genre half way through a scene. This in my opinion made the film a bit different from other horror films and it makes it stand out if you challenge horror conventions too. Another way in which our film opening challenges the horror convention is by the fact our lead character is less physically fit than the stereotypical Hollywood actor in a horror film.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Our film opening presents particular social groups in many ways. The first of which is the age and gender of the characters present in our film. We have used a 22 year old white male who is in a middle social class and is probably a B class citizen. He currently lives in the inner city of London, and is studying History as a degree. He has come to watch his parents’ house while they are on holiday.  His parents' house is in a traditional English village in which the majority of its population are white British couples who have retired to the country side. This also goes against the convention of horror as horror films are generally set in the city and as people try to escape to the country, they also try to escape the horror of the city. Our character is a non-religious young male who takes advantage of his parents’ home. This can be seen when he plays on computer game half way through the film opening. This shows the audience that he isn’t the most intellectual character which is often portrayed by reading books and studying in any spare time he has available.

Our film opening also represents two time periods. The first is the 21^st century which is portrayed by the use of technological devices such as laptops and game consoles. The second is in the fourteen hundreds. This was when the house that the major character lives was built.  This era was greatly dominated by the great plague which affected the population growth and the downfall of the economy in that particular era. This ghostly figure lived in the house of our major character and therefore visits the house every night as a way of trying to communicate with the modern way of life. This is how we have mixed the 2 time periods. By doing this we have merged the modern era and added a ghostly twist to the plot.

What kind of media institute might distribute your media product and why?

One type of media institute that might distribute our media product could be the company ‘Hammer’. This institute specialises in horror films. ‘Hammer’ was launched in 1934 and their first film was called ‘The public life of Henry the Ninth’. Today, Hammer has an active development slate across diverse genres sourced out of both the United States and Europe. This media institute might distribute our media product because they develop horror films suitable for a range of people. Another reason they might distribute our media product is because our film would link with the theme of ‘Hammer house of horror’. Because the ‘Hammer’ organisation has recently released a couple of films, the first for 30 years, they might be planning on starting to make their media corporation big again. This means that it would help them as well as us.

Who would be the audience for your media product?

The audience for our film is for people over the age of 15 therefore we have given it the age certificate of 15. This has been done because we feel that our film doesn’t include any severe violence and there are no scenes that include extremely graphic content. By making it a 15 rated film it allows us to focus on a larger target audience than if we gave it an 18 certificate rating. This is because more of the youthful population can watch our film. According to a recent study by Lovefilm.com the horror genre tends to focus on the male gender. We haven’t ruled out the possibility of females watching our production though. The thing that puts the majority of females off a horror film is the gory scenes that are often included. Our film does not include any of these scenes so therefore we have opened up our target audience to a wider range of people. Generally the more people a media conglomerate can get to watch their films, the more money they will generate. Our film opening is suitable for the majority of audiences as we have gone by a questionnaire we did before making the film suggesting there should be a twist in our film. If we made this point heard to the audience, we are more likely to get more people viewing our film as we have gone by what the majority of our audience wants.

How did you attract/address your audience?

We have attracted our audience in several ways. The first way was by adding incidental music which the frequency and loudness of the sound increased throughout the film. This built up tension and suspense and kept the audience watching. The music that is played in a horror is very important because if you get the music wrong and it doesn’t build up the tension that is needed to keep the audience watching then it could mean people don’t want to watch your film. The main thing we aimed to do was make the deep tense music start from the beginning to create an atmosphere that kept the audience watching.

Another way in which we kept the audience watching actually by using a certain storyline. Because we made it so that when someone knocks at the door and no-one was there, this automatically makes people want to know who is at the door. This coupled with the incidental atmospheric music makes people want to know what will happen next. We tried to create an impression that our major character was innocent. This would make the audience feel sorry for the major character and therefore it would make them relate to him. If this is the case it would mean the audience wants to make sure that the major character was going to be ok, so would continue to watch the opening of our film.

We have ended our film with a bit of a cliff hanger. This was mainly due to the fact that we wanted our audience to each have their own views on what was going to happen. This addresses our audience and therefore gives them more of a feel of the film. Another reason we did this was to make the audience want to know what was going to happen. If we were to create the rest of the film it would make them want to watch it. In a real life circumstance this would create more money for the media institution.

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

We have learnt how to operate the camera appropriately and correctly. We have also learnt how to create smooth tracking shots by using a dolly. This helps us create more camera angle shots and therefore it helps us create a more freely flowing film. We used various equipment to help create a mood in each shot. By this I mean that by filming while holding a camera it gives a sense of uneasiness and we can then apply that mood to our film which helps set the scene and the atmosphere. Ultimately this gives the audience a feel of what it is like to be in that specific scene; furthermore this adds tension and suspense in our film opening. We used a tripod in some scenes to make each shot more focused and prevent any possibility of movement of the camera.

One of the most important methods of technology we used was the internet. We used the internet to get music and sound effects onto our film from a website. I learnt that how quick and simple it was to download this music and sound effects and add them to our film. This was important to the construction of our film as we could sometimes work around the sound effects to make each scene look synchronised and therefore making it better to watch for our audience.

Another method in which we have used technology is through the use of editing our film. We have used a very good program which was called ‘Adobe after Effects’. This program was the main program we used the add the titles into our production and edit music, sound effects and edit the film. This program was relatively easy to use and meant we could just keep all of our film in one place. There were a few tutorials which we followed to start of with so that we understood the principles of using this program.

We have used a website called ‘Blogger’. This has allowed us to keep a record of the things we have learnt and it has meant we can keep everything in order. The advantage to using this site is that it can help us while we are in the planning stage of our film. We could record ideas and refer back to the site when we were actually creating our film opening. The blog meant that we could have a clear indication of what was happening at what time and at what place.

Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

The preliminary task has taught me many things. The main thing I have learnt from it is the 180 degree rule. Without knowing this we could have made a major mistake in our film and therefore we could have lost vital marks. We have also learnt about the many camera angles that a film must contain and therefore we have included and incorporated them into our film. We have tried to use a wide range of camera angles to make our film look more professional. One thing that we did in the preliminary task was learn how to perfect the match on action shot. This was a shot in which we filmed a movement of someone from two different angles. It makes the film look more professional as it shows the editing skills that we could achieve. We used this knowledge and applied it to our film. We used a series of match on action shots in our film to give it a better viewing experience. If the audience is constantly watching a film from one camera angle it will get boring. If we change the camera angles it means that it keeps the audience entertained and more importantly, it keeps them in suspense of what’s going to happen next in our horror film.

Production Company Logo's

These logo's are designed to be recognised instantly. It captures the audiences minds and makes the logo stick to them. It takes hours and lots of money for company's to create a logo. And as a result it must be effective at making people recognise the production company instantly. We have created a logo at the start of our film which was specificly designed to be simple, but at the same time, aesthetic and pleasing to look at. We have added the name of our company logo on too, which eliminates the chance of people forgetting our production logo. while creating our logo, we aimed to make it stand out. We feel we have done this effectively. This is because we have added sharp colours and bold writing to capture the audiences eye. The juxtaposition of the logo is central because it shows that the audience will oly remember the logo and not get distracted by anything else on the screen. To conclude,I think that our production logo is well presented and promotes our film effectively.

   Below are some examples of logo's that re used at the start of films. These are instantly recognised and the audience has a clear picture of what company has made the film.

Film Locations

We have filmed all of our film at James Marsall's house which is located in Clifton Campville. Some of the footage is outside of the house, which was filmed at various times of the day. This was done because on some of the scenes we needed the night sky as a prop. The majority of our film has being filmed inside the house. These shots where filmed in different locations in the house. We have used a wide range of shots to create different atmospheres within the house. For example, we have turned the lights of in certain rooms to create a snse of darkness which shadows our theme of horror.

Film Rating

There are a few differences between certificates. Here are the definitions for each certificate.

12A - Films under this category are considered to be unsuitable for very young people. Those aged under 12 years are only admitted if accompanied by an adult, aged at least 18 years, at all times during the motion picture. However, it is generally not recommended that children under 12 years should watch the film. Films under this category can contain mature themes, discrimination, soft drugs, moderate swear words, infrequent strong language and moderate violence/sex references.

12 - Nobody younger than 12 can rent or buy a 12-rated VHS, DVD, Blu-ray Disc, UMD or game. Films in this category may include infrequent drugs, infrequent use of strong language, brief nudity, discreet sexual activity, and moderate violence.

15 - Nobody younger than 15 can rent or buy a 15-rated VHS, DVD, Blu-ray Disc, UMD or game, or watch a film in the cinema with this rating. Films under this category can contain adult themes, hard drugs, strong language and one use of very strong language, moderate-strong violence/sex references, and undetailed sex activity.

18 - Nobody younger than 18 can rent or buy an 18-rated VHS, DVD, Blu-ray Disc, UMD or game, or watch a film in the cinema with this rating. Films under this category do not have limitation on the bad language that is used. Hard drugs are generally allowed, and strong violence/sex references along with strong sexual activity is also allowed. Scenes of strong real sex may be permitted if justified by the context.

We have decided that our film rating will be a 15 certificate. This means that our film can contain adult themes. The most important thing under this certificate though is the fact it can contain moderate-strong violence. We have chose this rating because our film opening doesn't contain any dialogue so therefore there can be no evidence of strong language. There isn't any violence that involves pain in our film either so therefore it is suited to a 15 rated certificate.

Titles

We will use a selection of titles to put into our film. Instead of having a certain page dedicated for the titles at the beginning or end of the film we will show the titles as the film is playing. This allows us to show more of the film and we won’t lose time on the titles. The titles will continue into the film for the first minute and a half. We have planned to make the title font colour in a shade of red as it symbolizes blood and danger which reflects on our film genre of horror.
The titles must appear in a certain order as it shows the importance. Below will be the order in which our titles will appear.

1) Infinity Pictures presents
2) A James Marshall film
3) Starring Steve Moore
4) Josh Bell
5) In 'The Uninvited'
6) Written by Josh Bell
7) Camera person Harry Smith
8) Music by James Marshall
9) Produced by James Marshall
10) Directed by Calvin Jones

We will make up a few names for certain roles as it will look unprofessional if we just use me and James Marsall's names throughout the title sequence. Finally it is worth mentioning that the titles will not be the main thing seen in the shot as it will put people off the film and they will miss the opening which is ultimately the most important part of the film.

Music

We will be using music of a website called 'Free Music'. It is free and easy to download and it is also easy to apply to our film. The music we will need will be sound effects for certain aspects in our film (such as a door slam). We will also need to apply some background music. This will have to fit the genre of horror and create tension and suspense. The music we will need must be timed perfectly to fit the action. To do this we will need to crop the music length and the timing of the start and end of the music. We will also need to edit the bass and tempo of the music to fit the action and create certain effects. We will use music for the opening piece where the logo and the titles will be shown.

Logo Design

It is important to create a logo which is easy to remember as it will reflect on the media conglomerate. It needs to be simple but at the same time it needs to be unique. An effective logo should contain limited colours and it should identify the name of the media conglomerate, this way, the audience always knows who produced the film.
Our film logo is going to be simple but be aesthetic. It is a small triangle with the word 'Infinity Pictures' underneath. It uses 2 colours at the most. The logo will be shown at the start of the film in an animated way. It will have a bit of sound too, to fit the genre of horror.

Some of the big media conglomerates have memorable logo's in which we, the audiemce, can remember them easily. Here are some examples of logo's.

Storyboard

Production schedule

When?
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday or Friday. Filming will begin at 5.15pm when the sun starts to set and the last of the light dissapears. The filming is important as it needs to be precise so it goes accoriding to the plan on the storyboard. We haven't decided on a certain yet as we are leaving our options open for the occurance of rain etc...

Where?
Clifton Campville, inside the house mainly but with a few shots from outside the house. The shots outside of the house will require a tripod so the camera is steady and therefore it will give a better picture of the action that is happening.

Who?
Steve Moore, James Marshall and Josh Bell. Steve Moore and Josh Bell will be doing the acting. Steve (Johnny) is the Main charcater and Josh (hooded charcater) is the major charcater. James Marshall is the director, editor and camera man.

What?
All the shots and scenes should be filmed in 1 or 2 days. This could take more or less than this as it could rain on a certain day which might mean the action will not be as clear as it could be so therefore it might take slightly longer than we expected.

How?
The shots that will be included will be; Long shots, medium shots, over the shoulder shot, pans, forward/reverse tracking, zooms, close ups, establishing shot. We will need to use a range of camera shots so that we cover the main effects of the film and to make it look more professional.

Equipment
Canon 550d DSLR Camera, HD Audio recorder as an external microphone, tripod, footstool for tracking shots, Sony Night vision camera for security camera shots and a laptop, clock, newspaper and glasses as props. We might need to extend the range of props used as it will male the film/scene look more natural. The filming devices we will use cover all of the shots that we film.

Casting

Johnny - Steve Moore (Main character)
Props needed - Laptop, newspaper, clock, night vision camera, glasses

Hooded character - Josh Bell (Major character)
Props needed - Black hooded robe/coat

The hooded character is only shown at the end of the film on the night vision camera. This is the only time he appears on the film. There is no dialogue required in our scene so we haven't written a script. The cast has been assigned certain props so they will meet their character detail that we have planned.

Role Allocation

Director - James Marshall

Writer - James Marhall and Josh Bell

Camera person - Josh Bell and James Marshall

Editor - James Marshall and Josh Bell

Johnny - Steve Moore (Main character)

Hooded character - Josh  Bell (Major character)

We have assigned roles to certain people and have studied the themes that the charcacters will have to portray. We have also informed each charcaters what they have to do and made it aware that they have to act as we have planned in the character detail. We have also assigned certain props to certain characters.

UK Fim council data

According to data released by the UK Film council in 2010, there 31 horror films released in 2010. If you compare this to the thriller genre, which has released 20 films in the UK, there are considerably more horror films that have being released in the UK. If you take into consideration the fact that there were 19 romance films released in 2010, it shows that there are less romance films. There aren't many thriller films released because they dont make much profit on the film. They make on average £19.3 million on gross box office. If you compare this to a romance genre film then it is £58.4 milllion. 3.4% of all releases in the UK are romance films. If you compare this to thriller then it is about the same as thriller stands at about 3.6%. The thriller genre doesn't make much money in terms of the other genres which can be shown by the fact it equaled 1.9% of all income through box office.

The Pitch

Storyline
A male citizen aged around 17 is sitting in his chair on his laptop when he hears a knock on the door. As he gets out of his chair he hears the knock once more. He answers the door rather lazily and is suprised to see knowone there. The male (known as Johnny) has suspicious thoughts about the event that occured 6.00pm. He is reading the newspaper the next day when he hears the clock strike 6.00pm again. Rather strangely, there is a knock at the door. Johnny is bewildered as he causiosly answers the door. Once again there is no-one at the door. Johnny becomes increasingly worried by the events occuring. He sets up a night vision camera outside his house to witness the forecoming events. Little does he know what he is expecting. After another 24 tense hours he waits til 6.00pm. Oncer again there is a knock at the door. He answers it and suprisingly no-one is there. He goes and gets his night vision camera to uncover the visitor he is getting every night. As he looks at his camera he is shocked by what he sees and as the secret is revealed, he is struck by an object from behind...

Charcater detail
Male citizen, aged 17. His name is Johnny.
He is a character with a suspicious mind. He is a technological person who is to an extent quite interlectual. He understands his place in society. Johnny is about 5'7 and has a glasses. His character is portrayed as a innocent member of the public who is targeted by the 'hooded charcter'

Hooded character. Age unknown, name unknown.
This character is only seen once throughout the scene and he is only seen on a night vision camera. He has unknown features and his name and age are also unknown. He wears a black hooded robe and he has some kind of ghostly feature.

This is my mind map about all the ideas that I generated in the planning stage of our production.

Mood boards

A mood board is a type of poster design that may consist of images and text. Designer use mood boards to develop their design concepts and to communicate to other members of the design team.
Below are some examples of mood boards that I created to portray the genre of Action and RomCom.

These Mood Bourds illustrate the genre of Action and a RomCom. By making a mood board it allows the viewer to view shots of a film and it gets the audiences attention as it requires no reading.

Project Questionnaire

We questioned a group of people in our Media class to find out the opinions of three genres which include; Horror, Thriller and romance. We have gathered the results and have summarised what the majority of people like in a film. This ranges from the characters involved in a film to the build up of a film.

Our results are as followed.

For our first question we asked whether the audience prefers a costant storyline, or a storyline with a twist. The majority of the people surveyed said they like a storyline with a twist. This is mainly because it keeps the storyline interesting and keeps therefore keeps the audience interested. By having a twist in the storyline it means that the audience is engaged in the plot which helps in the development of the characters too.

For the next question we asked whether the storline was more important that the action in the film. For a film to be successful they must have a good balance between the story and the action. If the story is more important than the action then this means that while we create our film we must pay close attention to the plot.

According to this question 100% of the audience prefers to have a developing character rather than a constant character that remains the same throughout the film. This keeps the audience hooked as the charcaters are constantly changing which affects the plot. When we create our storyboard for our film, we need to make sure the development of characters changes as it is what the audience looks for in a film.

The question we asked in regards to the age rating appropriate for a horror was received with various responses. We gave the people in our class the option to choose any rating they consider to be appropriate. Three quarters of the people said they thought the age rating should be 18. Only a quarter of the people whow were surveyed said the age rating should be 15.

The start to the story is important as it decides whether the audience is enticed to carrying on watching the film. We asked whether the audience prefers a big build up at the start of the film or the plot slowly builds up. The majority of people would rather watch a film that entices the audiences from the very start of the film. This links witht the fact the action is important as well as the storyline.

In the next question we asked the people in our group, we asked what their favourite villain was. For this questiion we got mixed responses. These were different because people are interested in different types of films. The response to this question shows that when we decide on the type of characters, we need to take into cosideration what ways the the characters could develop so we could take more roles of the audiences desired villains.

When we asked people what their favourite thriller was, it was clear that the majority of people had limited knowledge about thrillers. This was because a lot of the people chose the film we watched in a Media lesson so this shows that it is either a really commonly liked film or it has been seen by everyone.

For this question we gave the people in our class the choice to choose what they found interesting in an antagonist. And suprisingly most people were thinking on the right lines. The majority of the people find antagonists more interesting when they are ruthless. When we create our storyboard we will need to take this on board as it clearly keeps the audience engaged and will therefore find the film more interesting. Finallly the antagonist must have a sense of sophistication as it also links to the fact that the characters development and furthermore improve the ongoing twists in the film.

To conclude, the questionnaire has proven to be a useful source to gather information as it has allowed us to make judgements on how our film should function. It has also helped us understand the needs of the audience and how differently they view films in relation to our own views. To incorporate our findings in to our film we need to plan our film using a storyboard to make the film make more sense and relate to the audience.

Task 3 - Researching into Genres

Christian Metz explored the development of genre in his book 'Language and Cinema' (1974) and suggested that genres pass through four phrases of exisatnce.

• The experimental
• The classic
• The parody
• The deconstruction

By experimental we mean the phrase of early fims which explored and experimented with horror films in it's narratives.

Some examples of these type of genre phase include; 'Cabinet of Dr Caligari' and 'Nosferatu'.

 

By classic we mean the phase of films which established the narrative conventions of the horror genre in it's most successful and defining period.

Some examples of these types of genre phase include; 'Frankenstein' and 'Dracula'

By parody we mean films that have mimicked the horror genre in some comical way.

Some examples of these type of genre phase include; 'Abott and Costello meet Frankenstein', 'Carry On Screaming' and 'Scary Movie'

 

By deconstruction we mean films which have taken the generic elements of the horror genre and blended them into sub genres.

Some examples of this type of genre phase include; 'The sixth sense', 'Se7en', 'Blair with Project' and 'Scream'

Some British horror icons from the British Hammor Horror films are Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing. They are well known for being in the horror film 'Dracula'.

Analysing the opening of a Romantic Comedy

Comparing two Romantic Comedies

How to lose a guy in 10 days

MES
In the opening scene there are two women who are portrayed as friends and co-workers. The protagonist is a journalist which is portrayed as a glamourised job for many people. This can be shown when she gets free tickets for the NBA final. The protagonist is a journalist for a women's magazine despite her wanting to work on political stories. This shows that she is quite interlectual.
In a later scene a man turns up on a motorbike. He is wearing a leather jacket. This gives the audience the impression that he is rebellious. From this we get the impression his character is hard to handle. As the man gets of his motorbike he talks to a couple of women in formal clothes. This shows the contrast between the men and the women in terms of what they wear in the journalism industry.

Editing
The titles and opening credits fly in which set the mood of the film as a happy and quite energetic film. The titles fade out too. Some of the scenes in the opening section of the film dissolve out too. This is a good way of showing the characters involved in the opening of a romantic comedy.

Sound
To set the scene there is a recognized song which is also more of a feminine song. While this song is playing the main character is introduced. If there is a familar song playing in the background then the audience is more likely to engage with the film.

Camera Angles
Some of the camera angles that are used illustrate who the main and major character is from the beggining of the film. For example the juxtaposition of the characters illustrates who is the main character. A lower angle shot shows the power and dominace of some of the characters and that is what is used to show the power of the women at the beggining, as she has a well paid job which is represented by the fact she is wearing a suit and looks professional.

Just Like Heaven - Mark Waters

MES
At the start of the scene there is a woman shown dreaming. This is a stereo-type symbolizing that women fantasise a lot. This character is a doctor. This is a well payed job and also an aspiring job. From the opening scene we can tell that she is commited to her job and she is very hard working. Her work is her life as she has no boyyfriend or husband. She lives a different life to her colleagues as she is the only one of her co-workers who's life evolves around work. This is a very different life from her sister, who is married and has kids and lives a typical life. This shows the contrast between the lives the sisters live. The protagonist, Elizabeth, is on her way to a date when she gets hit by a truck and she ends up in a bad condition.
The male, David, is introduced to the film. He is a divorced man who is about to go on a date with Elizabeth before she has a crash, although he doesnt know that he is about to go on a date with Elizabeth. David is seen as lazy and ignorant. He wears casual clothes and is quite wealthy, hence why he is buying a big house onlooking San Francisco. 

Editing
The titles carry on into the film and the director is always last on the caption. The film is based on a book. There is also use of seemless editing. This is used to keep scenes flowing without the audience seeing the cuts between scenes.

Sound
The opening song is a recognized song and is more of a feminine song. This gives the film a sense of recognition among the audience and it helps support the characters personality and appearence. There are some background noises which make each scene look natural and therefore makes the film look more professional. The fact that there is little dialogue while the titles appear shows the fact that the producer of the film wants you to concentrate on the titles of the film.

Camera Angles
To start off with there is evidence of tracking shots. In this case it is reverse tracking and it shows the speed of the movement of the women moving with the trolley and the clipboard. This shows the urgency within the characters. There is also a shot reverse shot. This shows the presence of dialogue between the two characters. There is an extreme close up that is used to show the facial expressions of the woman in the opening and it shows her emosion as she looks on at the man who turns out to be her lover.

Analysis of 'Red Dragon'

'Red Dragon' was directed by Brett Ratner in 2003.

 Scene 1 - Opera House

MES
Hannibal who is in audiences tilts his head which shows he is preying on the man playing out of tune, almost like a predator. This character could have little patience and believes in perfection, hense why he is wincing. Hannibal is important because he is in a juxtaposition. Everyone in the audience is wearing posh clothes such as suits which shows they are spohisticated and well off. It also gives us an idication they are the upper class.


Editing
Title is red and white which symbolizes danger/blood and purity, so therefore you could say danger has dominance over the purity and innocence of the characters.


Sound
Diagetic sound from the orchestra. There is no dialogue in the opening scene. All dialogue expresses is through facial expressions.
Camera Angles
Establishing shot to set the scene. It is also an extreme long shot to look like a point of view

Scene 2 - Dinner


MES

Large house, the host is the man in the audience, Hannibal. The interior suggest that the resident is posh. Has the iconography of a typical victorian dining room. They are drinking red whine which could symbolize blood. Hannibal is also circling his guests like a predator. One of the guests is mocking the fact that there is a missing musician. This shows how the upper class feel towards the middle class. Upper class ignorant people eat the missing musician without knowing

Editing
Seemless editing

Sound
There is a non-diagetic sound that is used throughout this scene which creates tension and suspense. This ultimately adds to the plot and makes the audience feel uneasy. Couple this with the P.O.V camera shot that is used, it makes the scene more realistic.


Camera Angles
 Low angle shot of Hannibal to show he has dominance over his guests. This gives a warning out to the audiecnce that he is powerful and will use his power to menatally dominate the characters.


Scene 3 - Special Agent Graham

MES
Agent Graham wears a gun belt, stereo-typical cop. Hannibal wants Agent Graham in a vunerable position. Agent Graham knows Hannibal would not make any mistakes so Hannibal becomes a suspect. Agent Graham can not be 100% certain though. This is because Hannibal acts as a fatherly figure to him. Hannibal works in a formal environment (his office). Agent Graham caught Hannibal of guard by his that he is the Cannibal. Agent Graham stabs Hannibal with arrows - links back to predator. Hannibal shows persistance despite being stabbed with arrows just like a monster would.
Editing
Seemless editing. The titles fade in and fade out - almost like Cannibals life did in scene 3

Sound
A heart beat as the frequency and tempo increases to create tension and suspense
Dialogue is used but in this scene it focusses on the action.

Camera Angles
Horizontal tracking to show the possessions that Hannibal owns and that shows his personality and how he kills people to eat. Shot reverse shot between the book and Agent Graham to add tension. There is a zoom on the writing in the book to show his understanding of the true personality of Hannibal is becoming clearer

Scene 4 - Titles - Scrapbook


MES
Tiltle scene informs the audience about what has happened to Hannibal over a period of time. The pictures of people are quite disturbing. Hanniabls identity is shown to the public and the history that surrounds him is unearthed. Light passes over scrapbook which shows the day is passing over it which symbolizes time passing through Hannibal. The book is in the basement which could symbolize that the past was tried to be kept a secret. Someones eyes are ripped out as it could show fear of what someone has become from an innocent child. 12.3, Armageddon and red dragon - the end of the world. This is what he wants to happen.

Editing
Anthony Hopkin's name is first up as he is the most famous and won an oscar. The editing is syncronised
Fade in and fade out.
Sound
Non-diagetic sound as the titles appear.

Camera Angles
Panning and tilts shows the quantity of headlines on Hannibal and Agent Graham. Close up of the articles by using zoom in and zoom out. The juxtaposition of the titles are around the outside of the book.

Task 2: Research into existing product - The Horror Genre - Halloween (1978)

Halloween is a 1978 American independent horror film set in the fictional suburban town of Haddonfield, Illinois, USA on Halloween.
Halloween was produced on a budget of $320,000 and grossed $47 million at the box office in the United States, equivalent to over $150 million as of 2008, becoming one of the most profitable independent films of all time.
Many critics credit the film as the first in a long line of slasher films inspired by Alfred Hitchcok's Phscho (1960). The movie originated many cliches found in low-budget horror films of the 1980's and 1990's. However, the film contains little graphic violence or gore.



MES

•  Set at night - Adds tension and fear not just to the characters but also the audience. Also because the sky is black it symoblizes darkness which reflects on Michael Myers' character that he is portraying.
• Some of the props include a knife, a mask and a pumpkin. All of these props have some kind of relation to Halloween which is the title of the film.
• The costume of Michael Myers is only shown at the end. He is wearing a sterotypical kids Halloween outfit. This shows his innocence and reiterates the fact that he is only a child.

Editing

• Fade in titles
• Fade out titles
• The pumpkin dissolves at the start of the scene

Camera Angles

• Zoom in on pumpkin - Slowly dissolves
• Horizontal tracking
• Subjective point of view - This shows the murder through Michael Myers perspective. When he grabs the knife out of the kitchen draw he is perceived as an older character.
• Reverse Crane shot
• Hand held - Shows a sense of uneasiness and realism.
• There is an establishing shot which sets the scene as the place of the murder

Sound

• Footsteps - Add suspense
• Clock ringing - Add tension
• Ambient Sounds - Owl and clock ringing. This adds tension to the scene and also creates more fear.
• The tempo and frequency of the incidental music increases as the tension and suspense builds.

Preliminary Task

In this lesson we learnt how to use the basic rules of film making. This included a shot reverse shot, a match on action and how to perform the 180 degree rule. We did all of this using a HD camera and a tripod. The 180 degree rule means that the camera can only go 180 degrees past a person (like shown in the image). This means that throughout the scene/shot, you can only see one side of the characters face.

Our match on action included a tripod. It showed both angles, so the audience can see both characters expressions as they give/receive an item (prop), which in our case was a memory stick.

A shot reverse shot is a technique which shows a character 1 looking at character 2 which then flicks back to a character 2 looking back at the character 1. The way we filmed a shot reverse shot was by the two characters talking to each other.

(Above) The 180 degree rule