An idea to present the main aspects I would like to talk about would be to present twelve distinct still frames taken from my opening sequence (similarly to ‘artofthetitle’). However I will be talking specifically about the aspects I consider to be the most important.
Title of the film/font/style
Title of the film/font/style
In every film that you would know especially in a ‘Blockbuster’ film you will find that the title name represents the idea and genre for the film. In my case ‘Wanted’ was the name for my film. I had thought about several names for my film before I came to the idea that the name I chose was the most suitable for my ‘Thriller’ genre. I used ‘Wanted’ as the name of the title for my opening sequence, the reason for this as it suited the idea of the film.
The title of the film was shown at the end, the reason for this was because I wanted the audience to focus on the idea of what was happening and to try and build up an idea of what may happen and what the film is about- however as I was limited to two minutes maximum I struggled to fit all the important factors in to the sequence to help foreshadow what may happen.
The font I decided to use was ‘Downcome’ I kept the writing white as this meant that it would be bold and would be easily read when visible. Although in most films they would use a simple/basic font for their titles, I decided to try the font I chose out and first I liked this but once the video was compressed and I watched it on big screen I did not feel that it was as effective as the simple fonts I could have chosen. I put this font infront of the black background and on a couple occasions over a certain scene like shown on frame 4.
I did not choose a basic font as I felt at the time it was a good idea to use a creative font. But if I were to redo this then I would definitely use simple fonts.
Similarly to my font style the film ‘Thriller- a cruel picture’ uses a font that is very similar to mine. To prepare the audience for a thriller film they have used a font that is simple yet has the effect that the letters are scrapped/wearing away which is similar to mine.
Setting and Location
When considering the idea of the ‘Thriller’ I had to look carefully at suitable locations around the area I live in. I spent some time on looking at the locations to figure out which ones would give me the best settings to create the scene. I had to make sure that the locations would give me enough variety of the correct level lightning and darkness, tree and bushes advantage. As I had used a lot of ‘Point Of View’ shots I had to make sure that I shot in suitable locations where it was possible for me to use objects such as trees, cars etc to create this effect. Another effective tool I used was the idea of an alley way, as down the alley there was limited light which meant that it was the right level of darkness which helped to reflect the idea of the film. The frame that shows an example of this is frame 3.
Costumes and Props
To properly achieve the idea of the ‘Thriller’ genre in a short time is important; a way I achieved this was by looking at both the appropriateness of props and costumes used. I considered ‘stereotypes’ when planning the male actors costume as I had to make sure that the characters appearance would be easily recognised. For the male actor, I looked closely at the ‘stereotype’ for male burglars. I found and from my own ideas and from secondary sources of what was thought of a male burglar’s appearance. They would wear and similarly what the male actor wore were ‘all black’, I.e. black hat, coat and gloves. The idea of the gloves would help present the idea of a crime as they would not want to leave finger marks. However when it came to the female actor, I wanted to ensure that she would have an ‘innocent’ appeal- by this the actor wore ‘average business wear’ (as the idea was her coming home from work- well that’s what your meant to think!).
Props can be used to attract the audience I have used two phones as the main prop as this is how the stalker/male actor contacts the female actor. This makes the audience feel uneasy and fearful. It also can play on the audiences mind when their alone and the phone rings, that is how I feltL. I used a car to
Camerawork and Editing
An important factor for ‘Thriller’ such films are the use of camera angles as these help to create the mood and effect of the characters in the film as well as the audience. When it came to filming and editing my opening sequence I had made sure that I would be using a variety of different shots and angles to portray the specified genre. I used a range of ‘high’ and ‘low’ angles, ‘Point of view’ shots in different locations as well as ‘close ups’, ‘extreme close ups’ as well as ‘following shots’ this was shot from inside of the car.
Used camera technique shots such as the ‘match on action’ shot as this broke up the location of the outside scenes with the inside of the house. This was also an effective shot as this was done when the female was unlocking the door and then she is shot walking through the door at a different angle. The angle I used for this was a ‘medium long shot’ as I wanted to be able to visualise the characters actions.
When editing the music I spent a lot of time making sure that the music was in pace with the actions and emotions portrayed by the actor. For example when the female actor picked up the phone and no one was on the other line the sound then changed in to the music that was suspenseful and made the sequence work well as it matched the actor’s emotions. Also towards the end of the opening the music changed to a more softer tone, although the music was softer there was still the hint of suspense and fear which would make the audience achieve the idea that something ‘not right’ was about to happen. I cut ‘in’ the music in time with the digetic sounds of the door bell, this was so it would was a good breaking point for the suspenseful music to change to the softer toned music.
This is similar to ‘Thriller/suspenseful’ musical film known as ‘The Phantom of the Opera’ where the female actor sings and then is interrupted by a mysterious voice that begins to start singing with her. The tone of the music soon changes when the female actor notices the mysterious voice who is the ‘Phantom’ and she then follows him. The music changes as the ‘Phantom’ is an important feature in the film.
This is similar to ‘Thriller/suspenseful’ musical film known as ‘The Phantom of the Opera’ where the female actor sings and then is interrupted by a mysterious voice that begins to start singing with her. The tone of the music soon changes when the female actor notices the mysterious voice who is the ‘Phantom’ and she then follows him. The music changes as the ‘Phantom’ is an important feature in the film.
The music changes to a loud sound of the piano which is very suspenseful for the audience.
Story and how the opening sets it up (actor’s introduction)
In order to achieve the idea of my film, I had to make sure that the start of the opening was effective.
I thought I would start the opening off by introducing the male actor; this was done in a discrete way as the audience weren’t to know who that actor was. I wanted the audience to use their own thoughts, until further on in the opening. This soon became clearer when certain shots were used. The way in which I achieved this was by using an effect that would make the scene flash (similar to either car lights from Police or ambulance). This helped to create a ‘foreshadow’ the events for later on in the film. Also as I used an ‘extreme close up’ the audience was not able to properly see the characters appearance to get a full picture or idea of who that may be.
I introduced the female actor straight after the male actor was introduced; this was done because the ‘innocent’ female actor was walking home. I shot this from a ‘medium long shot’. I filmed her at different intervals throughout her walk home; this was so that it would give the impression of the female actor to be ‘vulnerable’. An example of a film that I found where it helped me to understand more about women feeling vulnerable was called ‘Sleeping with the Enemy’. Although my film was not similar in the storyline but looking at the trailer and the actors emotions and actions represent a great example of female vulnerability and the power that men can have on women.
Genre and how the opening suggests it
For the opening in order for it to fit in the ‘Thriller’ genre I had to make sure that the story within the opening was effective and understandable to the viewers. Rather than making the point of the story and putting definite points in the opening that will present what exactly will happen later on in the film, I just used small clues/hints and the use of props to start the ideas of what could happen later on. I thought about the time when filming as I thought about the idea of when most crimes or burglaries and stalkers perform their actions around night time/or when it’s dark. The reason for this is that idea that they would be less likely to be caught or seen. Along with the idea of the night time/darkness I considered the lighting in areas, so that there lighting was not so prominent. These considerations gave the impression that the film will be suspenseful and mysterious. Towards the end of the film when the doorbell is rung and the female actor is taken from the house, the conventions from this would make the audience frightened and slightly threatened.
I was influenced greatly by the film ‘Panic Room’ as the similar characteristics to how the characters were feeling. However from the same directors at the ‘Panic Room’ which influenced me was the ‘Secrete Window’. The characters in the story show vulnerability from the storyline. One of the characters is very threatening towards the main actor ‘Jonny Depp’ who plays Mort Rainey, who had apparently stolen this mans story, however this mysterious man makes Mort life a misery.
Film trailer and film review:
Special FX
With the opening sequence I created I did not use any special effects apart from the ‘flashing’ on the first scene. However I did use ‘video transitions’ between each scene. I did this through the first several scenes where each scene ‘fading black’ into the other. This was also the same for the titles, where I split the first several scenes with a black background to show a few of the titles as this broke the journey of the female actor walking home. Although using special effects would have made my opening look exciting and interesting, I did not feel that it was necessary I was mainly focussing on the storyline and the variety of camera shots and angles as well the pace and the music.
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