This blog has been marked. SJA 08/05/11

Final Opening Sequence

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

Since completing my preliminary task I have learnt so many skills that makes creating, editing and even evaluating my media products possible. As I had not studied Media before I was new to all the equipment but after practice and spending time getting used to the different resources I realised it would be easy.
In my preliminary task, we did not use transitions of effects on any shots, so when we did with the final media product it made such a difference to the final piece. Also learning to add music to Imovie projects using Garageband was a skill that I developed and I effectively added music to our thriller film making it much more interesting and nail-biting to watch, which is always a benefit.
Live Type is another software that I did not know how to use before this year of Media and it is a great program to be able to use as it allows your work to look more professional and appropriate to watch.

If I could go back and adapt the work I did on my preliminary task I would work on the different camera shots and angles to make it more interesting and varied for the audience. I would perhaps add appropriate titles to the task using the software called LiveType which is a great program and looks great on our thriller film, this also gives the task a more professional look.

This is a copy of my film with my tags explaining the technical decisions I made when creating my Thriller Opening Sequence.

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

As I did not do Media Studies last year at GCSE level, this year constructing my A Level opening sequence I learnt about all the different technologies available.When filming shots for the sequence we had to use the brand new cameras which I had not used before, and I think that I managed to use them effectively to get a great range of different shots. Once it came to the editing part of the product, it gave me a chance to use the Imovie program for the very first time, I also learnt how to import sounds which was crucial for adding the music to our thriller.
The camera is what we used to construct all the different shots to make our thriller film, and to create really effective shots we used a tripod. For the tracking shot across the character's bed we used the tripod to guarantee that it was effective when it was converyed to the audience.
The next logo to to the right of the image of the camera is the logo for the programme LiveType. This cna be used to add titles to your piece of work, giving it a more professional look. When making our thriller films we decided not to use this porgramme and instead use the Imovie software to create titles. However I do still know how to use this software and before the end of the year in Media I will probably end up using this effectively.
The orange logo at the bottom left of the contact sheet is Blogger, this is the website where we all made blogs to portray all the work we have completed. This is vital for the course.
The Imovie logo is the last one and most probably the most important. This is the software that we used to ake our thriller film. We used this software to add in the titles of the jobs and roles and then edited the film to make sure it had it's own spin on it, and make it attract our target audience as easily as possible.

How did you attract/address the audience?

The first way to attract an audience to watch your film is to have a main character that is the same or a similar age to the people viewing your media product, this makes it easier for them to aspire to be like that character and then they can relate.
We made sure that our character was portrayed as quite wealthy and had a busy lifestyle so we made sure that he was wearing a suit and was leaving for work, most people between the ages of 16-18 have jobs so can relate to these activities. The fact that he is seen in London is also a good feature that would attract the audience as they may live locally and even if they do not then they have probably visited the Centre of London.
Having the setting of our film in London makes it different from most other thrillers and therefore will make the audience feel familiarized as they know that surrounding.

The synopsis of our film would appeal to our target audience as it doesn't contain too much violence, just hints at it with the use of the flashback and the scene in the bathroom.

I showed my thriller to a group of my peers and their comments and thoughts are shown below;

'I really like the use of editing by the use of camera effects to enhance their meaning to the audience of a flash back'

'The variety of camera angles within the many locations adds interest to the audience and emphasises the moods of each character for example a close up enhances the females shocked facial expression'

Below is a Voiceover with our thriller film which explains the decisions that we made when we were in the process of creating our thriller film.

Who would be the audience for your media product?

I would say that my thriller is a certificate 15 as it is a thriller however the viewer does not see any violence or blood/gore. It references to violence but none is seen, therefore the certificate 15 is appropriate.
The main actor in the sequence is about 18 years old so having this character starring in the film will attract a lot of young people to watch this film, maybe the audience can feel that they can relate to the main character if he is at a similar age.



Paranoia would mostly attract young guys that are 16-18 years old. This would be the type of guy that would enjoy our thriller.

This is Joe Spencer and he is 17 years old. He attends College and studies Engineering which he would like to pursue in the future as his job. He dresses fairly straightforward- jacket and jeans. He is into sports with his friends as plays football for Charlton Athletic. His favourite genre of music would be 'Rock' type of music as his favourite artists are bands. This could ties in with our thriller film as the music is seen to become quite angry and intense. He watches a wide variety of films in a range of genres but thrillers are his favourite. 'The Disappearance of Alice Creed' and 'Memento' are his favourites which is where the ideas of the synopsis of our opening sequence came from.

In his spare time he is at training with his football team and down the gym doing endurance training. He watches films after his matches as they give him a chance to relax.

His favourite TV programmes are Friends, Scrubs, Family Guy, American Dad and Match of the Day. These are on a range of channels from E4 to BBC 3 and BBC1.

I think our film would appeal to this guy as he would be able to relate to the main character (Nathan) quite easily and thriller films are his favourite type of film genre.

What type of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

Vertigo Films is a British company that I think maybe interested to distribute my media product. Our film is set in Central London which is the capital city of England. They have done many films such as Shrooms, The Firm and Streetdance 3D which all appeal to a wide range of different audiences. The film that they have made which is mostly likely to be linked with our film is Shrooms, as this is a Thriller film too.



Another example of a British company is Working Title. They produced the film Fargo which we studied in class and completed posts on. The film Fargo is also a thriller.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

In the opening sequence that I have created there is only really one main character who is a young male. He is a businessman who takes pride in his appearance as he is wearing a smart grey suit. The fact that he has neat hair as well could perhaps show to the viewers that he is a vain character and by the choice of costume that Nathan wears, wealthy. This uses stereotypes as most people think wealthy people are very independent and selfish and Nathan portrays the character in the same way.
The fact that he takes pride in his appearance is apparent in the sequence before he leaves the house as he looks at himself in the mirror and seems pleased with what he sees.
This character can be related to easily as he wakes up and is getting ready for work by participating in everyday activities.

Also the fact that our victim is a woman is also a stereotype as women in society are seen as weak and vulnerable to men.

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

While making my media product, other sequences like Memento influenced me to use different camera shots but more particularly the black and white shots with increased pace to show that they are there for flash back purposes. This makes it easier for the viewers to understand the opening sequence and then can maybe familiarize themselves with the characters.
The casting of the characters in our film could also be linked to the man in Memento 'Leonard' as both characters are seen as harmless and innocent until later revealed in the film.

Also another film that could be linked closely to is Dexter. Both our film and the original show a character getting prepared for the day ahead. Although both films do this in different ways they are both very much effective. The film that we created perhaps causes curiosity to the viewers as they perhaps prepare questions about our main character whereas Dexter does this in a more sinister way.

Questionaire about Thriller Films.

This questionnaire is about thrillers, and will help students who study media produce their film opening sequence. We thank you for your participation in this questionnaire. Circle your answer when appropriate.

1. What is your age?

a. 17 - 21 b. 22 – 25 c. 26 – 30 d. 30+

2. What is your gender?

a. Male b. Female

3. How regularly do you watch thrillers?

a. Once a year b. Once a month c. Once a week d. More than once a week

4. a. Can you name a thriller that you enjoyed and why you enjoyed it so much?

5. What type of thriller do you enjoy?

a. Psychological thriller b. Mystery thriller c. Crime thriller

d. Horror thriller e. Other (please specify) ………………………

6. What type of location would be effective to film a thriller?

a. City

b. Town

c. Countryside

d. Underground

e. None of the above

7. Do you prefer a slow paced lead into the film or a faster paced action scene to begin with?

a. Slow paced b. Fast paced c. Don’t mind

8. What elements of a thriller appeal to you?

a. Tension b. Mystery c. Violence d. Twist in the plot e. None (please specify) ………………………………….

Results from the Questionaire.

This was taken from a question on our Questionaire that was ' What type of effect would be the best for an opening sequence of a thriller'. As you can see from the pie chart the majority of the people that filled in our Questionaire decided that the Countryside would be an effective location to use when filming a thriller. The town was also a common choice for when shooting shots for a film in the thriller genre. This could perhaps be the fact that towns are always busy places and would create more of a chaotic feel to the film and maybe gives the character or criminal no way of escaping. However the town would have many lights which would perhaps go against the dark atmosphere of a thriller film.

The idea of using an Underground station to shoot shots for a thriller because they are all very similar and not much variety from one to the next. Also most Underground station are not very spacious meaning that filming in this type of place would have been difficult but not impossible.

Storyboards for our thriller

Shot Lists

When making a film it is crucial that you use a variety of different shots otherwise it become very tedious to watch.
Our thriller opening sequence uses a range of shots from close ups, to mid and long shots to panning and tracking.
In particular tracking shots are very effective in thriller films as they follow the action and they guarantee that the audience focus on a certain characters movement or behavior that might prevent certain questions being asked.
However other shots like mid shots and long shots introduce the characters and reveal different traits of their personality. In our film, the mid shots of Nathan putting on his suit jacket and looking the mirror convey to the audience that he is a well dressed man who takes pride in his appearance, some people may find this a positive or negative thing.

Shooting Schedule

This is the shooting schedule that we used to guarantee that we had all the shots that were essential to the making of our thriller sequence.
We decided to do some of the filming in London as it is a famous location and easily recognised. The institute for our film is Vertigo Films which is a British company so using London made sense.
The flashback that is in our film uses both material from London and some footage filmed at Sutton Common Station.
We made sure that the shooting schedule was realistic as we didn't want to film too much on one day. We are proud to say that this method worked really well as we finished all the filming at a good time to allow us maximum time to do all the necessary editing, which is the real making of the film.

Key Props and Costumes

All the costumes that are displayed here are all worn by the main character (Nathan).

The suit is worn by Nathan throughout the majority of the film, apart from the scene where Nathan wears the black waistcoat. We thought that our main character should wear a suit as this conveys to the audience he is a well dressed man who has pride about his appearance, some people could consider this as being vain. The fact that throughout the film he is wearing smart clothes shows that he is a wealthy man.

The train was a key prop in our thriller film as it was a transition which linked shots together. It also made sense of the fact that our character was heading off to work. The fact that we used a common use of transport linked the fact that the character was a businessman and the fact that although he is an upper middle class man he still lives an ordinary life, making it easier for the audience to be able to relate to the main character.

Character Ideas

Location Ideas

For the shots where Nathan gets on the train to go to work we used Sutton Common Station as it is local to the school and it also matches the personality of the main character in our film. Our character is slightly disorganised which matches the state of the station, it looks like it is almost neglected. The main character can be referenced to the idea of neglect as he is alone and apart from the flashback as no social communication with anyone.
The majority of our shots were constructed in London, this is the capital city of England and the institute our film has been linked with is a British company.

Sound

Soundtracks are a crucial part in films, they set the mood and when used in dramatic ways create tension and atmosphere in an effective way. For example if the music is by high pitched strings and is short staccato notes it gets the audience on the edge of their seats, as they expect something bad to unfold.
Having the music increase in tempo and volume is an effective way to lead the audience into the action that is about to happen as this builds tension.

When it came to decided which music to use in our thriller piece we decided to use the programme GarageBand. This meant that we can create the music exactly how we wanted it using a variety of instruments.

Initial Ideas

What titles?

There are various different people that have jobs behind the camera. These are all crucial people to the making of the film, even though these people never get seen once the film has been made. The main person in control of the whole process of making the film is the Director who is in charge of the actors/actresses and the set that surrounds them. His name usually appears on the screen just before the name of the film is presented to the audience.
Another crucial member of the film making team is the Producer who is just under the Director but plays an important part in making the film. He oversees the process and coordinates, supervises and controls the major aspects of the project. The Production Designer, has to design perhaps the props, set and clothing for each of the actors to be involved with. The actors are obviously compulsary to have in the film and are ususally well known to the majority of the audience. Before the film name appears, if there is a music soundtrack the person who wrote the original score, their name appears and it is usually a moderate size. The last thing to appear on the screen is the name of the film and it is usually in a large font and perhaps bold.

Title of Film

This is the title of our film and the font that it will be in. This connotes the psychological element of our film as it is in handwriting, this makes the main character more personal to the viewers as it is almost like he has written it.

Font for Jobs and Roles

This is the font that we are going to use to portray the jobs and roles of the members of our group. We use this font to create an equilibrium because it is a calm font and therefore the shock/ dis-equilibrium will be more effective later on in the film.

Synopsis of our Film

Flashback at the beginning causes the main character to attempt to run away. In the middle, the main characters friend (Cameron) finds out that he his friend (Nathan) has killed people. The audiences are made to believe that people from Nathan’s past are after him. In the final moments the audience discover that he is mental and he ends up killing himself to escape from his troubled past.

Analysis of Wallander-is it a good opening sequence?

In my opinion the opening sequence for Wallander is well made and does everything that a thriller oepning sequence should do. It familarises the audience with the setting and location with establishing shots and also tracking shots, over the sea and in the air over the fields. This allows the audience to feel settled and relaxed before having to process lots of information about the plot of the story that follows. The fact that the opening gives a clue to the viewers after every shot means that they look forward to the next shot so they can investigate the story and have their questions answered. Also as it is slow paced, it leads the audience into the film and allows them to be hooked so they continue to watch the film, as this was on T.V it gurantees that the viewer will not change the channel and continue to watch the film. The opening credits show the main character- police officer between the forming of writing. However the officiers face is darkened on one half so the viewer can only see half of his face. This could perhaps make the audience feel a bit nervous towards him and perhaps he can be seen as the hero and the villain at the same time. In the opening with the two young female murderers it sets a certain tone/mood about the film. The fact that we are shown a man with blood over all his possesions conveys to the audience that he has been murdered. As the two young teenagers are covered in blood and are carrying a knife that has evidently been used it makes us as the audience feel nervous and perhaps scared of these characters as we know they are dangerous. Both the female characters walk away together but as the eldest girl is closer to the camera and is in focus we automatically assume that she is in control of the other girl and perhaps the younger girl is intimidated by her. This is also clearly shown by the shots in the investigation office as Sonya is far more confident towards the officier than what she is. All in all I think this is a very successful opening sequence as it hooks you in early to make sure you continue to watch the drama unfold.

Analysis of Wallander

1. Title of the film: The title of the film is at the lower end of the screen and is slightly off centre. It is in block capitals but the font is a lot smaller than the size of the yellow background and the frame on the outside.
2. How the setting/location is revealed: The setting is revealed by a tracking shot that is high in the sky. This is effective as it conveys to the audience the overall setting rather than the main characters straight away. The fact that the grass is brown instead of the usual green colour could perhaps reinforce the theme of death to the audience. This is then reinforced by the dead man in the car.
3. Costumes and props: The fact that the girls have casual clothes on could suggest that they do not necessarily take pride in their appearance and just wear casual clothes. It is clear to the audience that they have committed a crime as their clothes and in fact their faces have blood on them, this maybe threatens the audience and they feel vulnerable when around these particular characters. The fact that we can see the car in the background behind the girls could give away that there is the scene of the crime.
4. Interesting camera work/editing: This time the audience is shown the main characters from behind, conveying that they are fleeing from the scene of the crime. This is an unusual choice but effective as the female characters remain anonymous to the audience until later on in the sequence. This could perhaps make the viewers ask questions about who these girls are.
5. Title and font style: The titles are in black with the names of the stars in block capitals. They sit in front of a yellow background which could represent hope for the characters in the film. Also it shows the police officer with half of his face in view to the audience. This could emphasise the fact that this man is very two faced and is perhaps a good and bad cop at the same time, this could maybe make the audience cautious of this character.
6. Story- how the opening sets the story up: The close up of the female's hand with the bloody knife automatically tells the audience that this is a thriller film and that the girl holding it has been violent to someone and perhaps even killed them. The fact that it is a close up reinforces the size of the crime that she has committed is. This makes the audience feel vulnerable to this specific character and will be scared for all the other charcaters' safety.
7. Genre-(thriller) and how the opening suggests it: The shot of the body with the blood on the windscreen is another indication that this is a thriller film. The fact that the body is a silhouette at this point means that the victim is anonymous until you notice the photocard of the man in the taxi. This pieces the earlier shots of the girls and the blood together to make them the suspects and the male in the car the victim.
8. How any characters are introduced: This goes against normal stereotypes as this time the females have committed the crime and the male is seen to be the 'weak' victim.The fact that one of the girls is closer to the camera means that she has the authority over the other and that she is the main suspect.
9. Any special effects (or a particular shot you like): The tracking shot of the police officer as the police car drives past is a very effective shot. This is a good way to show the facial expressions of the man and what he truly thinks of the girls in the car.

Analysis of Kiss Me Deadly- is it a good opening sequence?

I think that the opening sequence for Kiss Me Deadly is a good opening sequence but can also be improved. It ticks the majority of boxes for a good thriller with a few exceptions. It is quite a contrast compared to other thrillers such as Memento and Sixth Sense. These both start with slow paced beginnings whereas Kiss Me Deadly does not give the audience a chance to settle into the film and involves straight into some action with the female character running from somewhere/someone. The fact that it is fast paced gives the audience to think of questions that they hope that the film will supply an answer for. Also it allows for the audience to feel that they are already hooked into the film as they want to discover who or what she is running away from. The opening credits are shown after the introduction of the main characters but the credits are shown backwards and lead onto the screen to make it easier for the viewers to read it. This could suggest to the audience that the film will be shown in reverse, similar to Memento, but could have been made like this to get the audience thinking about the film. The film establishes a certain mood or tone by conveying the main character running from danger and looking pretty emotional as they do so. The fact that she is saved by the man in the car could suggest to the audience that the female character is now filled with hope instead of panicking and continually running from whatever she is escaping from. Also as the male character is in a car that is white in colour could represent the fact that he is her hero and could be hope and safety for her. As the female character sounds distressed and is only wearing a coat to cover her body could perhaps suggest that she is vulnerable and maybe the audience will feel sympathy for this character. As the viewers discover later in the film, she has escaped from a home that need to look after her, the audience start to feel a bit nervous towards this same character. The music soundtrack that is being played while the distressed female runs towards oncoming vehicles sounds has a fast tempo and sounds quite sharp and loud which could represent danger is approaching and she needs to get to safety quickly, this being in a car and away to L.A.

Analysis of Kiss Me Deadly

Analysis of Double Indemnity- is it a good opening sequence?

Is the opening sequence to Double Indemnity a good opening sequence for a thriller?

As the opening sequence for Double Indemnity is a thriller opening, it includes all the vital elements that is needed to make it a successful opening. The majority of opening sequences familarise the audience with the setting whihc surrounds the main character, however Double Indemnity does not do this. It shows a dark silhouette of a injured character using crutches to walk. The fact that the character has injured limbs means he has been in some kind of danger which relates to the genre of thrillers well.
As the opening sequence is slow paced, it acts as an outreached out which guides the audience into the film and makes sure that the audience understands the plot so far. It always helps the viewers get into the film if they are not thrown straight into the action of the film and the vital information thta is needed to be processes is at a minimal amount so the audience can concentrate on the film.
Seeing the injured male slowly make his way to the front of the screen could set a certain mood/tone about the film just through his actions and words. Perhaps as he doesn't say much to the audience, they are cautious about him.
The music soundtrack that plays while the male character makes his way to the centre of the frame sounds quite military which represents the feeling of war and death- maybe the character on the screen represents the theme of war as there was a problem between him and a fellow character and they must have had a fight for him to be injured. This also feeds into the genre of a thriller. The audience may feel quite uneasy about this character and may regret to show sympathy for him later on in the film.

Analysis of Double Indemnity

1. Title of the film; The title of the film is in large font and block capital letters. The title is right in the centre of the frame and uses the majority of the frame to be displayed and is portrayed with white writing against a dark background very similar to the film Brick.

2. How the setting/location is revealed; The setting is in LA. The audience gets a good idea of the scenary with the shot of the foyer and reception with a barbers also inside. This shows that this is a big company but there are only a few members of staff working as this present time. This reinforces the characters wealth as they can afford to run a major company. The audience may have questions to ask like 'Is this man in charge of this company or is he just an employee?'

3. Costumes and props; Both the men that are in the company building are very smartly dressed with suits and ties/bow tie. The main character is also wearing a hat. The fact that he is wearing a suit that perhaps looks very expensive could suggest he is very wealthy and takes pride in his appearance.

4. Interesting camera work/editing; The shot of the old traffic lights is a good shot as it shows it moving from 'Go-Stop'. As the car travels at a high speed past the traffic light as it has moved to 'Stop' could suggest to the audience that this character is in a rush for some reason and it is very urgent that he gets to his destination very quickly. This could spark up a question to the audience about where he is going in such a rush.

5. Title and font style; The title sequence is in white and placed in front of a dark silhouette of a mysterious character with injured limbs. It is a very simple image as doesn't include any fancy or animated features to the screen. It has solid text which means it does not give anything away as to what follows.

6. Story- and how the opening sets the story up; The main character does not show his face to the camera until he goes into this office. This could suggest to the audience that perhaps he is hiding from something and is a very mysterious character in the film. When he enters his office he picks up a telephone and phones a character who is investigating a murder. He then confesses and explains why he murdered the victim. This could make the audience nervous of this character and maybe take away the sympathy they showed before.

7. Genre (thriller)- and how the opening suggests it; The main character is injured as has a slight limp but more fatal than that, he has a bullet wound in his left shoulder-perhaps this character has been in an accident or he recieved the injury when he went to murder the male victim. It conveys to the audience that there has been a fight/murder which relates to the genre of a thriller film. As he goes back and tell the story it allows the film to unveal some crucial answers and inevitbaly answer some questions.

8. How any characters are introduced; In the first few shots as the main character enters the foyer with what looks to be his assistant but is very rude towards him. He shows ignorance towards the perhaps lower class man by not showing eye contact towards him. Perhaps the man is threatened by the main characters height and his authority over him.

9. Any special effects (or a particular shot you really like); I really like the shot of the car racing across the road in front of the delivery truck. It is a good way to show the rush of the character and the way the load falls off the truck as he has had to slam his brakes on.

Analysis of Brick- is it a good opening sequence?

Is the opening sequence to Brick a good opening sequence for a thriller?

As a title sequence for a thriller it includes everything it should do which is why I believe it is a good opening sequence. It is very slow paced which acts as a hand and leads the audience into the film and also gurantees that the viewers are settled before the real action begins. The information that the audience need to process is easy and isnt too fast so they miss out on any major parts which makes it easier for the audience to understand the basis of the film. Most opening sequences familarise the audience with the scenery that surrounds the character at the beginning and Brick is one of these. The viewers first see a dark tunnel with small amount of running water where a dead female body lies. The fact that there is a dead character already conveys to the reader that the genre of film is a horror, but it could also spark questions that the viewers may want to ask. The film establishes a certain mood by showing the shot of the boy crouching over adjacent to the girl that has been found dead. It shows to the audience that the female character must have been in danger and the person that killed her must be a violent and aggressive character to be able to do something so gruesome as that. As the viewers do not know who killed the female- they may question the young boy kneeling beside her. Was he the one that killed her? Or should he be careful as this may happen to him at a later date? The music soundtrack that is being played while the shots are shown has a very slow tempo and is at a low pitch which oculd represent the death of the female as low pitched music is represented with melancholy moments of time. The music has a feel to it that makes the audience seem uneasy about what they are going to see while the soundtrack is being played.