Deconstruction of existing AS film opening

The Betrayal

• Non diegetic music is used throughout the sequence.  It is appropriate for the action film genre, as it is fast paced and has a melancholy tone.
• The typography is also appropriate for the genre.  They appear to be metallic and are placed on a black background.  This is typical for an action movie, and will be familiar to the audience.

• A range of shots are used, such as close up shots, mid shots and wide shots.  An establishing shot of the setting also helps to set the scene.
• A high angle shot is used to show the protagonist, whilst a low angle shot would have been better as it would have made him appear more powerful.
• A low angle shot is used later on, which makes him look less vulnerable.

• On the roof, an establishing shot is used.  This is effective, as it makes the situation between the two characters very clear (the boy in the suit has a gun pointed at the girl's head.)
• One shot has been edited to appear to be the view through a sniper rifle.  This is a good demonstration of their editing abilities.
• Furthermore, the girl is wearing white clothes and a floral skirt.  This shows her innocence and therefore vulnerability in her situation.

• Another demonstration of their editing abilities is shown when the protagonist shoots two other men, and the visual, gun effect occurs parallel to a diegetic gunshot sound effect.

• Furthermore, one shot appears to be seen through a CCTV camera.  This is very effective as it shows that the character is being watched.
• It could also make the audience jump when he shoots the camera (a diegetic gun shot sound is used.)

• The shots have been edited to fade to black from shot to shot.
• The shots change at a fast pace, to increase the tempo of the sequence and therefore give it an energetic feel.

• One of the guard is seen to have long, painted nails and feminine hands.  It is not typical for an action film to have female characters in positions of power such as guards.
• In the scene in the boy's room, a photo frame tells the audience what the relationship between the girl on the roof and this boy is, as they are seen standing together in paris, which suggests they are in a romantic relationship.
• Furthermore, there is a gun next to his bed.  This tells the audience about his line of work, and may also highlight that he is paranoid or in danger, as he keeps his gun so close to him.

Overall, the sequence was appropriate for the action genre, as it included fast paced music, a spy protagonist, many armed characters and something similar to a chase scene.  Furthermore, it was appropriate for the target audience, which would be 15 year olds to 22 year olds (due to its 15+ rating) as the characters are all young and dressed fashionably.

I would give the sequence 50/60 as, although it was appropriate for genre and target audience, it was unclear what happened at the end of the sequence.

Killer's Journal

• Once again I kept 'American Horror Story' opening titles as a source inspiration in terms of both the non-digetic sound and also the editing
• By using 'American Horror Story' as inspiration it will help create an uncomfortable ambience to our film opening with the use of the fast paced editing and creepy music

Editing

• When producing this short sequence, I tried to keep the video clips short to give this jumpy and unsettling atmosphere to the sequence.
• Only used straight cuts for a more blunt effect
• Edited for no continuity of motion to portray the ominous killer.
• Within the sequence I shot several 'pages' to show the variety of entries the killer would make such as a daily log of when the killer watches their victim.

• In this screenshot of one of the killer's pages I have focused on the tracking of the times and whereabouts of the victim to show the killer's keen interest in them.
• Used an extreme close up shot to show that the killer keeps the track of the times and the people who they are with.
• Used tungsten light. 
• Achieved this by the room being in the dark with a single desk lamp on over the page.

• Another page idea I looked into was a map of the victim's route home from school.
• This page inspiration came from the killer's journal in 'The Lovely Bones'.
• On this map I have marked out the victim's home, school and friends' homes along with the direction her other friend's live
• There is also a route of the victims route home to show where she walks with her friends and where she walks alone.
• Close up shot used to show a basic layout of the map. 
• There is also several extreme close up shots in the sequence like at the beginning.
• Also used tracking shots to follow the lines which are the victim's route home.

• To show the killer's through research into the victim's life I did a page on their friends full names and addresses to show the obsession to know every detail about where the victim could be and who they know.
• Used an extreme close up shot to show the details

• This page in the journal looked into weapons and which is more efficient 
• Didn't put to much detail into the page because it is still undecided what kind of death the victim will have.
• Extreme close up shot of noose to show weapon of choice

• Only showed the killer's hand in this sequence to keep an element of mystery and anonymity to the killer which would provoke the audience to question who they are
• In the sequence I have the juxtaposition of the hand movements speed up and slowed down to show the killer's unpredictable nature
• In the scenes with the hands I increased the contrast as it the original looked to washed out.
• In the scenes with the killer's hand I made it appear as though they are obsessive and creepy by looking like they are tracing and caressing the map.

• This scene is where the killer is circling their victim's home. This basically pinpoint where they live to the audience
• Here I used an extreme close up shot to show the action of the circling and location.
• In the stages of editing I sped up the scene and spilt it into several clips all of which are still continuously flowing but changed every other clip's colour by adjusting the colour levels, exposure and saturation.
• This can be see at 0.14
• I feel this scene ties into the inspiration of 'American Horror Story'

Non-Diegetic Music

• To create the non-diegetic music for the sequence I used the music software 'Logic Pro'
• For this sequence I tried to make an eerie piece of non-diegtic music to accompany the journal sequence
• Using the 'American Horror Story' opening titles as inspiration I gave the creepy, ominous ambience by using atmospheric sounds
• In terms of instruments I used two synthesisers which played chords which linger
• With the two synthesisers I layered them to create a more textured piece of music.

Evaluation

• Overall I think the short sequence was a fair success but can be improved a lot more in many aspects before making the film opening
• I feel there should be more in depth look into the victim, maybe include an image
• To improve on the editing I think maybe to experiment more with different techniques and maybe some clips of the victim as a parallel 
• There should also be more in depth investigation into the killer's techniques of killing the victim
• The music was also a fair success however could be improved by adding more instruments.
• Another way it could be improved is by possibly added a short snappy and eerie melody
• I think there are aspects of this practical that should be carried forward like the use of the map and notes in the journal inspired by 'The Lovely Bones'

Deconstruction of Villain's Lair

American Horror Story
In the first season of American Horror Story, the character 'Charles Montgomery' is a surgeon who experiments with the dead bodies of animals as well as human beings.

• His 'lair' is located in the basement of his house.
• Low key lighting is used in every basement scene: light is provided by desk lamps.
• In the basement, shelves and cupboards contain medical equipment, with which he kills and dissects his victims.
• Also found in the basement are jars of 'souvenirs' from his experiments.
• These contain body parts such as fingers and internal organs.

Se7en

In Se7en, the character 'John Doe' uses his entire apartment to plan killings and store souvenirs.

• John Doe also stores souvenirs from his killings in jars.  One jar contains a human hand.
• Other souvenirs in his apartment are cans of food, which are a reference to his previous murders.
• One of his drawers contains a dozen or so pill bottles.  This reflects upon his unhealthy mental state.
• Low key lighting is also used.  This sets the negative tone of the scene set in his apartment.

Some features from the lairs of these killers would be effective when included in the lair of our killer.

• Taking inspiration from American Horror Story, I feel that our killer's lair should also be set in a basement, as this is a secluded space that provides an appropriate setting with low key lighting in which the villain could torture and kill their victims.  Furthermore, the basement being the villain's lair was the most popular result when we carried out a survey.
• Another feature that we could use is the empty pill bottles.  These are a recognisable indicator to an audience that the killer is of ill health, and we want to make that clear in our opening.
• Lastly, the use of souvenirs in jars would be effective in our killer's lair, as they would reflect upon the obsessive nature of our killer.

Looking at Potential Victims.

Using Potential Victims Photos.

I looked at people we may be able to use for the victims that the killer has already killed, so these people would be pictures in the killer's notebook/diary and maybe also on the walls of their lair.

 First of all I asked six of my friends who could potentially be victims in our film opening and asked them if I could use their profile pictures on Facebook for this part of my practical. I made the pictures black and white as when I would write on them with red pen I felt that this would be more effective rather than them being in colour.

I the cut the pictures out in a jagged motion and blacked out some features on the victims' faces that maybe the killer may like and want so they are trying to cover them up so it shows their obsession with beauty and youth. I also wrote on the pictures with red pen and crossed out features of the pictures that the killer may not be happy with and that why they killed them and alongside this in some places i used scissors to create tares in the paper and to scratch out the 'imperfections'. There are also words written on the victims faces which may be describing what the killer thinks of these victims and that they maybe don't deserve the features that the killer has blocked out.

 I thought on a whole this went quite well but i could have maybe made some picture bigger and maybe always used red pen instead of black and red to keep it consistent but then again this could show the unsettled mind of the killer. I also believe that these girls could be our victim but maybe that we could still look for other actors as well.

I also looked at how we could position victims when they are appearing dead, I took a few pictures of different positions but I was limited to what i could do to make it look realistic without make up being on the victim. Although I didn't use any make up it sill gives us a feel to what the pictures could look like and also may give us an opportunity to edit the pictures instead of using makeup instead.

Character Profiles

Victim.

• 16 year old girl
• modern clothing
• innocent
• long hair

Antagonist.

• face-less
• dark, unisex clothing
• unknown identity
• ambiguous age

Killer's Notebook

  In our opening sequence, the killer is seen looking through their notebook.  This notebook is where they plan and document their killings.

  I used a plain, black, leather notebook and modified it to appear old and well used.

  We want the book to look old, as this will reflect on the fact that the killer has been planning and taking victims for a very long time.

• Using scissors, I made scratch marks on the surface, and cut small incisions into the edges of the book.
• I used black acrylic paint to make permanent smudges on the surface of the cover.
• All of these features make the book look old and well used.
• I also scratched words from the Bible onto the cover.

• I tied the book closed with a piece of string.
• The string is frayed and brown to show that it has been tied and untied many times.

• I folded over A4 pieces of paper and slipped then into the book.  I also folded one piece over many times and put it in the centre of the book, to make it appear thicker.
• This had the effect of making the book appear to be full of information.
• I cut into the edges of the paper as well, and used a tea bag to yellow them.  This made them appear older.

  Overall, this book would be effective for our opening sequence, however, I feel that another, larger one will need to be made as this one is too small.

Deconstruction of an Existing School's Film Opening: Conspiracy Theorist.

Conspiracy Theorist.



I looked at the Conspiracy Theorist for deconstructing a previous school's film opening.



The opening uses a variety of shots such as mid shots, long shots, tracking shots, close up shots and establishing shots to show all the different aspects of the opening to the audience.
The music it uses is also good as it is parallel to what is happening in the sequence and is non-diegetic.
The shaky shots that have been used are good as it seems to work due to the POV (point-of-view) being the person who is moving with the camera.

The titles and other words used in the opening are good as they have been put into the pictures so that they seem to belong there but they are quite basic so they could have been manipulated better so that they seemed more relevant to the film opening instead of just being plain white. But I did think that the use of the titles flickering were effective as it gave the audience an uncertain feeling about the film opening.

0:58 This camera angle was very effective because it still shows the scene that is happening with the main character but also reveals to the audience that there is another character in the sequence without showing much about their identity.

1:04 The use of focusing on the character gives a sense of suspicion of the character to the audience and shows that they are a new person in the sequence.

1:07 The use of the still black and white photos gives the impression to the audience that the main character is being watch and followed and is maybe in danger.

1:40 The hiding place for the main character (I found) was a bit strange as it wasn't very concealed for the main character as the barred railing at the back don't give him much cover but the camera angle was very good as it showed the main character as vulnerable compared to the other two characters.

2:07 The click of the phone and the silencing of the non-diegetic music and other diegetic sounds is very effective as it gives the frame a sense of suspense to the audience.

The film opening was very clear and appropriate for its genre of a mystery action film from the chase scene and the dark almost secret agent like characters in the dark clothing and sunglasses.

Evaluation.

Overall I think the sequence was very appropriate for its genre and target audience as it has the key features involved in an action film such as the chase scene and also entwines some mystery into the mix with the shady characters shown in this way through their costumes which are very key to seeing them as the bad guys of the film.

For a mark overall i would give it a 50/60 as its material was appropriate to the task of a film opening, its titles and sounds were used appropriately to give the correct effect, there were lots of different effective camera angles used and the editing of the is smooth and in line with the task and other shots.