Our group was split between the title names: 'Manipulation', and 'Upper Hand'. We showed four people of varying age groups and genders our opening sequence, then questioned them on which title they felt was more suited and why.
The first person we asked, was Barry Birdsall, 54, who suggested we used the title 'Manipulation'. He said this demonstrated the relationship between the gloved hand and the girl, as the hand 'manipulates' her into becoming this creature through makeup and clothing. Contrastingly, our second opinion was Ruth Hawes, 21 years old who thought 'Upper Hand' was more appropriate. She voiced that as 'Upper Hand' insinuates superiority and control. It relates to the idea of someone controlling her, like a child would with a doll and hence is suitable for a thriller movie, such as ours which revolves around someone taking advantage of a girl, to dress her and treat her like a doll. We questioned Conner Harling, 17, third, who expressed that he thought 'Manipulation' was a strong title, as it instantly informs the audience what the movie is about, with a quick snappy title. Furthermore, the title is memorable, like many other one-word titles such as 'Tangled', 'Inception' and 'Gladiator'. Our final person, Libby Burton, also 17, decided upon 'Upper Hand', as it reflected the black gloved hand which features in our opening sequence. However she then swayed her opinion, leaning more towards 'Manipulation'. This is because she felt the antagonist, the gloved hand, would be revealed somewhere in the middle/end of the movie and the title would no longer feel relevant. Overall, 'Manipulation' had 3 votes, while 'Upper Hand' only had the 1. We therefore decided to name our movie 'Manipulation'.
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This animatic includes a few scenes from our opening sequence plan. This also includes a rough plan for our music and sound. We used this animatic to progress our plan from the storyboard and establish a rough idea of how the whole piece would fit together.
This is our storyboard. We planned our shot types and plot using this, so we had a rough guideline. We adapted it slightly, varying some shots and the arrangement of some scenes to improve our final production. For example, we removed the final scene, to reduce the risk of our opening sequence appearing as a trailer. We used this plan to develop our shot sequence and animatic.
In order to create an appropriate and thrilling opening sequence, we as a group had to decide where to base our psychological thriller. We did some search into what locations are typically used within thrillers, which gave us an insight on the style of places that will create a mysterious and suspenseful atmosphere. Thrillers are usually set in dark open spaces, such as a dark forest or woods. The idea of being isolated creates suspense and fear. This is further created by the idea of something lurking behind the trees out of sight of the vulnerable victims or protagonist. The dense spaces create a scene of loneliness that seems never ending giving the audience the impression that there is no escape. An example of a thriller set in a forest is: 'Cabin in the Woods'.
Many pyscholigcal thriller intend to mirror real-life, so require a more realistic and natural setting. For example, although abandoned buildings and dark forests are typical locations, some thrillers are set within a normal home environment. This location is appropriate at supplying the audience with a sense of 'false hope' and safety. The opposing connotations of security against the supernatural or a bad occurrence within the home makes the audience feel uncomfortable and gives them the fear that the same could happen within their own homes. 'House at the end of the street' is an example of a location reflected a normal home atmosphere. Other typical locations for thriller movies include: graveyards, country side, ally ways, religious buildings and circus'. These places tend to be in the middle of no where and create an eerie atmosphere.
The use of a typical location for a thriller make it obvious to the audience that something both scary and mysterious is about to take place. This warns them and creates suspense in the build up to the event, as the audience is unaware of when the inevitable attack will occur. As mise en scene is very important, each aspect must be perfect. The opening sequence begins in a forest which is very open and is filmed in the morning. Location is a key part of mise en scene. The female character is climbing up a rope and running through the forest and is dressed in old gym clothes which consists of a grey jumper and sweatpants. The jumper looks like a school one and so therefore this suggests she does activities for her school. The actress is a young girl which makes the audience think she is the protagonist and a generic convention for thrillers is a young girl being the victim. The opening sequence does not show any antagonist. Her face is often lightened by the light. This is a big contrast from the dark.
The sounds used are non-diegetic. Music is played throughout the whole opening sequence which fits the scene as you can tell she is running. From the beginning of the scene, at 1 minute 37 seconds in, the music is sped up. The camera angle is changed so the audience sees her run. The volume of the music also increases. The increase of both the speed and the volume makes the audience feel uncomfortable as it is as if she is running away from something. This adds to the effects of a psychological thriller. A lot of different camera angles have been used through the opening scene of "Silence of The Lambs". The scene starts with an establishing shot that is a long shot of the forest and all the trees. This introduces the location of where the scene is set. The next camera angle used is another long shot of the protagonist climbing up a rope. This is the first shot of the scene where the audience sees the main actress. at 1:56 into the scene there is a pano shot of the main actress climbing up on a rope climbing fence. The pano shot is effective as it helps the audience see a full view of the scene. As lighting is a major part of a movie, the majority of the opening sequence is set in low-key lighting. This effect enhances the shadows in the scene. The darkness itself creates panic for some audience members which helps to increase the effects. When the the roles face is highlighted with light, it creates a big contrast and allows the audience to see all of her facial features .The light on the main girls face makes the audience know be able to see her.The darkness of the scene as a whole creates fear for some audience members that have phobias of the dark and the unknown. This sets the feeling of the film being a psychological thriller. Lighting is a key aspect in creating the atmosphere of a movie. The opening sequence of 'Black Swan' consists mostly of dark lighting throughout. This holds an element of fear and contrasts with the spotlight aimed on the dancer. The spotlight highlights the importance of her role and also causes her to be blind towards the darkness. This suggests to the audience the idea of 'good vs evil', which provokes the feeling that the girl is unsafe. The opening sequence ends with a brighter light than it began with, however it then darkens once more into the same blackness the sequence began with, ending the scene the way it began.
The sounds are diegetic throughout, as the music, which is parallel to the situation, is heard by the dancer as she dances to it. 12 seconds in, along with a change of camera angle, the music increases in volume creating tension. The dancer then is suggested to be in danger, so the parallel music becomes quicker paced and louder which helps the audience feel uneasy and frightened as it suggests a chase. A variety of different camera angles are used throughout the opening sequence. The establishing shot introduces the character with a long shot. This is followed by a close up of the dancers feet to demonstrate the importance of her dance and draw the audiences attention towards her movements. The present the peril the girl is in, the introducing shot of the male dressed in black is from behind the girl. This demonstrates her vulnerability, and appears to be from another dancers perspective. As the female dancer moves towards the camera at 56 seconds, the shot becomes a close up. This is used to highlight the expression of fear on her face. Mise en scene is important in creating characters and setting the scene, allowing the audience to gather information. The female dancer is dressed in all white and appears to be elegant, suggesting she is a 'good' character. However, the male is dressed in black and as shown by the body language, the other micro elements and the fear on the girls expression, he is considered a 'evil' character. The female through her clothes, feathers, and elegant structure resembles a swan. The contrasting title 'Black Swan' suggests the two separate sides, the dark and light. It also however suggests this movie is a psychological thriller as it appears to be the opposing characters of the one person, the swan. Many enigmas, such as 'Who is the man?' are created in the opening sequence. This is the opening sequence from the movie "Memento".
The first shot in the movie "Memento", is a close up shot of a hand holding a polaroid photo of an unclear, bloody scene on what looks to be a tiled floor. This shot is shown from 44 seconds to 2 minutes into the movie, and leaves the viewer with questions to entice them such as "where this photo has come from?". The second photo is a big close up of an unknown mans face, who has slight blood splattering on his cheek. His facial expressions is very serious and could show a number of emotions, but it unclear at this moment how the man is feeling. The lighting is coming from the right side of the frame, which casts a mysterious shadow on the left side of the face. The third photo is a close up shot of blood on a wall, but the droplets are flowing backwards, making the viewer confused. The blood looks very fresh as it has been splattered on the wall, and is still dripping. The surface of the wall is unrecognisable so the viewer will question whether this blood is related to the photograph in the first shot. The fourth picture is a close up shot of a bullet, laying completely still. The backdrop is the tiled floor first shown in the movie, and is lit by the side opposite to the camera, making the bullet cast a large shadow on the mysterious floor. The fifth photo is of a medium close up of a pair of glasses, covered in the same splatters of blood. These are laying on the tiled floor. There is not a clear direction of lighting in this shot, but the area behind the glasses is left in shadow, so the viewers eye is drawn to the blood drips on the tiled wall. The sixth photo is a close up of the scene seen in the photograph, the viewer can now see that is was a mans head in the blood on the tiled floor, with the glasses beside his head. It now becomes clear that the man has had a head injury, causing blood to be sprayed and his glasses to fall on the floor next to him. The seventh shot is of a medium long shot of the first man seen, holding his hand out to the side while looking down at the man on the floor, as the gun goes into his hand. This is when it becomes clear that the sequence is being shown backwards, as the gun goes against gravity and is placed into his grip. The eighth shot is an extreme close up of the gun in his hand, as backwards, the bullet casing falls out the side, meaning the gun has been shot. The lighting is still very gloomy and dark, and this shot looks quite abstract. The last shot is a mid-shot of the first man introduced to the viewer, shooting the gun, as a burst of light and smoke comes from the gun, all backwards. This shot is very short, and is shown for less than a second, but the scream of the man being shot is heard. This opening sequence is from the Sixth sense.
The first photo is of the camera behind a shelf, showing a establishing long shot of a woman. This shows the audience where the scene is currently set and by shooting the scene behind a shelf, it is as if someone is watching her. The location is a basement- which is a thrilling setting as a basement is a location convention of most thrillers. The colours used are basic and plain and the lighting is dark to show a contrast from the woman's lit up face and her purple dress. She walks down the stairs with caution. This builds up suspense. The second photo is a close up of the woman. Again, this is filmed behind the shelf in order for he audience to feel as if shes not the only one there. The lighting is still dark in this photo and it is in the same location as photo one. The audience can now see the women's face completely and she is dresses nicely with nice make-up. This is a contrast from the dark and gloomy room. Her body language is still very cautious at this point. The objects are positions specifically so the audience get a clear view of what is going on, where the camera is set in the scene and what the woman looks like and her facial expressions and body language. The third photo is both a long shot and a reaction shot as during this part of the opening sequence, a noise is made in which the woman reacts to. In this scene it looks as if the room has gotten darker to show she is not alone. The woman's body language is scared. She is positioned so the audience can see her whole body reacting to what is going on. From this angle you can see the whole room which is completely gloomy and dull. Photo four is a medium shot and is also two shot as both characters in the scene are engaging in conversation. The lighting is still dark in this shot even though she is out the basement. Character two is now introduced. He looks smart and well dressed. Both their body language is relaxed which makes the audience think its all too quiet. The shot is set in a living room and there is no objects or props except the wine bottle the woman is holding. The colours are dull just like the basement scene. The two characters are positioned to make it known they are having a conversation. The fifth photo is of a frame tilted slightly on the chair to give an eerie look. This is shot slightly from a low angle to give the object a more powerful look about it, showing it is important. The frame is positioned at an odd angle to show the oddness of the scene. The colour scene is still dull and browns except from the frame which is shiny. This is an example of Low Key Lighting. Photo six is a close up of the frame and the camera is used to show a reflection of the to characters which is effective on the audience because it is as it they are there reading with them. The reflection shows both the actors and the props in the room. The characters bodies are close together and they are both looking and reading this plaque. They are positioned so the audience can read along with them. This image looks as if it is set in a more historical era rather than a modern one. The seventh photo is of a hallway in the house. You can see the stairs and the whole of the room as well as another room. Also as you can see the two characters this is also a two shot. The lighting in this shot is quite lit in order to show the audience the whole of the room. Props (such as the chandelier) are used to make the characters look as though they are wealthy. The two characters can still be seen from the camera angle as they are positioned that way. the colour design in the scene are all white and brown. Photo eight is an aerial shot as it is taken from an overhead position. It is also a POV shot and it is as if the two actors are looking down on it. The lighting is very dark to show that the room is dark because it is night. There are a lot of props used in this shot, such as the phone cords, suitcase and clothes. They are positioned to make it look like someone has broken in and searched through the characters belongings. All the props are brown and white like the previous scene. The last photo is of the doorway leading to the bathroom. The camera is shot at eye level as if the camera is the actors eyes. A little bit of zooming is used in order to create a dramatic effect. The lighting is very well lit in this scene so the audience can see exactly what is happening. Therefore the scene is not confusing. The door is made so it is already open so we ( as an audience) know that something is going to happen. Props such as a bath mat have been used to make the bathroom look completely normal and as if the characters are normal people but something abnormal is going on. Opening Sequence Powerpoint by emyy.hawes on Scribd
The questions we were asked were:
"What happens at the end of the movie?" We replied with "The girl discovers that the masked hand belongs to her mother, who is also desperate to keep her daughter young and as a child. She encourages the breakdown of her mental state." "Who is your actress?" We replied with "We have someone in mind, who is willing to be our actress. However she lives in Langley so this may prove to be a difficulty." Our positive feedback included:
Our peers suggested we could:
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May 2017
CategoriesEmily Hawes
Sophie Bryant Charlotte Birdsall |