This is a screenshot of the chat we had between us and our actors we have created and used a Whatsapp group chat to communicate with them and let them know when we are going to film.
We have decided not to include a script in out opening sequence to build up on the tension and suspense as we feel that having a script can give too much away.
We recently watched a documentary on fear and how it is creates fear to the audience and techniques and types of shots they use. We decided to watch the documentary because we could get techniques and ideas on how to create fear in our opening sequence. In these shots you can see a young girl hiding under the blanket/duvet after hearing loud and potentially threatening noises. In the screenshot on the right you can see she are tickling themselves on the knee this shows she is trying to distract herself from reality. The low key dark lighting creates a sense of fear as this normally connotes danger. The close up of her face on the left makes the audience focus on her facial expressions and how she is really feeling in this moment this really helps the audience connect with her and feel what she is feeling. In these shots you can see a man laying down on his back on a bed he seems to be frozen in fear and looking up in shock. In the shot on the right his hands are placed in a vulnerable position and his facial expressions suggest that he is screaming at something. The dark lighting around the bed makes us focus on him and feel what he is feeling. As you can see his shirt has been ripped open between the shots this suggests that he could be being attacked by something that the camera frame does not shows us which, creates and builds up on suspense.
We decided to to analyse the title of the SPECTRE film because it will be useful when we come to make our opening sequence.
The bold, metal-like font juxtaposes with the black background, there seems to be a layer of glass between the black background and the title where a bullet has gone through directly in centre of the camera frame which connotes action and violence. The metal like text connotes strength and safety and the capital letters make sure it is seen and how important the title is in the film. The gunshot glass seems to have been shattered in the shape in the shape of the SPECTRE symbol as you can see in the image above on the left. Also the shattered glass suggests that there has been a disaster and increasingly spreads. Karishma and I (Jenna) also analysed the SPECTRE film poster we thought this would help us because it is a good example of a thriller film we also wanted to find some features that are mostly used in a typical thriller action film poster and techniques that we could use for our project.
The poster has bright central focus of light on bond as he is the main character using an indirect mode of address as he is staring directly at you and connecting with the audience.The poster features the plain theme colours of blue and white, along with hints of gold. Bond is also a holding a gun which means he is armed and dangerous. However, the red corsage in his all white blazer draws attention to itself as red is a strikingly a bold colour and has connotations of blood, death, violence, and possibly love, as Bond is a potentially dangerous man and everyone knows from the character that this interpretation is true. The way he is positioned, directly in the centre of the poster tells us that he is the protagonist of the film, and the slightly lowered camera angle, shows he is standing in a strong and powerful pose and his arms are folded over his chest which denøtes he is protecting himself. His white blazer contrasts with the red corsage and makes it stand out, also white is the colour of purity and innocence, possibly telling us that there is more than one side to him. His facial expression, were his eyebrows are scrunched, showing he looks concerned or angry. He is looking directly into the camera as if making eye contact with the consumer, another example of how he is imposing authority on the audience. Because he is A-list actor as well as his co actors, his name is not on the poster due to the fact that either people already know his name as he has been in more than one of the James Bond franchise. The day of the dead skull in the background is from the opening scene and the camera angle suggests it was a stolen shot, as if the character was not aware that he was being photographed. The skull represents death, and due to his full black attire, juxtaposes the white blazer that James Bond is wearing in the main photo at the front. Jenna and I (Karishma) decided to watch the new action thriller franchise James Bond (SPECTRE). We thought it would be useful to blog the movie because it relates to our coursework and gave us ideas for our opening sequence. We learnt interesting techniques that are used in typical thriller films and how to engage the audience. Plot of SPECTRE: A cryptic message from the past leads James Bond (Daniel Craig) to Mexico City and Rome, where he meets the beautiful widow (Monica Bellucci) of an infamous criminal. After infiltrating a secret meeting, 007 uncovers the existence of the sinister organization SPECTRE. Needing the help of the daughter of an old nemesis, he embarks on a mission to find her. As Bond ventures toward the heart of SPECTRE, he discovers a chilling connection between himself and the enemy (Christoph Waltz) he seeks. The opening sequence in "Spectre", starts with a intense action juddering scene, as it has always been in every previous Bond films. The residents and crowds were celebrating the day of the dead in Mexico City , the film sets its path with an well choreographed string of exhilarating events, featuring Bond carrying-out an asassination, and immediately followed by a massive, ground-shaking building collapse, a brutal foot chase on top of rooftops, and a battle of fists in a spiralling helicopter. A jaw-dropping scene started in full technical glory, above a square, full of swarming crowd in panic. James Bond swings back and forth on a helicopter, he made an entire building crumble within a few shots, He is capable and mighty to confront death, this is shown by the use of action within certain scenes and still come out unscratched, ready to fight again. And as Sam Smith sings "Writings on the Wall" for the long title sequence, it gets easier to be convinced that a lot more of these explosive visuals are still to be in the action-packed film.
As a group we decided to look at past students work and analyse it by using microelements such as; camera movements, the mise en scene, editing and sound.
The AS opening sequence starts with quiet and intense non-diagetic music, which is commonly used in spy movies. The opening sequence starts with the group logo, which is then shortly followed by a loading sign, which is also used in spy movies this suggests that this short opening sequence involves action and spying. The first scene starts with the diagetic of typing and a close up of someone typing. The mise en scene is low-key and dark lighting, which suggests that the person typing is doing some very important work. There is then another close up of the computer screen the camera frame shows an intelligence report. There is then a quick edit cut the non-diagetic music cuts to busy street noise and the camera frame shows a bus. There is then another cut back to the dark room and the person typing and then another cut from the inside of the bus from the point of view of a passenger. The scene then cuts back to an over the shoulder shot of the anonymous person typing showing the screen and then a close up of a baby monitor the camera frame shows the person picking up the baby monitor and placing it back down however, in this scene there are two diagetic sounds created by a person typing and a baby crying, which suggests that something bad is going to happen. There is then a wide shot of the bus with the diagetic noise of a busy road in a city followed by a panning shot. There is yet another edit cut back to the room and a close up of the baby monitor and the crying getting louder. There is then another cut of a panning shot of the camera following the bus followed by another close of the baby monitor and the diagetic sound of the baby crying continues. Within this scene there is another close up of the computer screen with a notification popping up as the diagetic sound of the baby crying continues and slows dies out. The scene then cuts back to a slow panning shot and as the camera stops there is an explosion follow a loud bang. The use of quick editing warned the audience that something bad was going to happen. The next scene then starts with news reports and the diagetic sound of news reports continues throughout the whole scene. The use of dialect suggests that the news reporters are commenting on the number of deaths and stating the facts and figures. There is a wide shot of recovered CCTV footage of the accident a high angle shot of roads a split screen of the reporter and the incident. There are then a wide shot of the roads and a quick jump cut to another wide shot the use of different camera angles and different stories suggests there are different views on the story. There is then a half tracking shot of the camera following the ambulance. There is then a close up o the accident then camera then quickly zooms out and across the camera frame police tape is shown this suggests that the accident was very dangerous and has recently happened so people are not allowed to close. There is then a close up of the police officers assuring the audience that they are quick to respond. There is then another wide shot the mise en scene is very dark, and is shot in a bedroom, which suggests its very early morning or late at night. The camera moves towards the alarm clock, which goes off at 5:00 the diagetic beeping noise of the alarm clock gets louder. The camera frame shows one of the characters switching it off, getting out of bed and leaving the room, which suggests they have to do something important, as it is very early morning. The camera frame then shows the main character working out the use of jump cuts suggests that a lot of time has passed and the fact that he has to work out in the morning suggests that he has an athletic job. The next scene then shows a close up of kettle and pouring water into a mug. There is then a jump cut of the character putting on a jacket, which is followed by a upwards tilt shot showing the full character for the first time which suggests he has a high profile job and needs to hide his identity. The next scene starts with a wide shot focusing on the British flag, which is in the centre of the camera frame, which suggests he works for the country. There are then panning shots and wide of iconic buildings in the UK. Which suggests the accident took place in London. Within this scene there is a quiet and simple non-diagetic sounds created by music to create suspense. The next series of shots follows the boy walking. There is a wide shot of the boy walking towards the camera followed by a high angle pan of him walking and a wide shot from the back of him walking again, which keeps the audience on edge because anything could happen at any time. There is then a wide shot of a building with ‘Secret intelligence service’ written across it. There is then a jump cut of the secret agent walking down the stairs and CCTV of him walking to an unknown location there is a quick edit cut of the boy walking towards the gate and opening it in a top secret location. As a group we decided to in cooperate our group logo so we decided to re-search how logos are used in opening sequences. We also decided to do some background re-search on two organisations; hammer productions and summit entertainment. Hammer productions Hammer productions were founded in 1934 they are a British film production company in London, best known for their horror films made between 1950 until the 1970s. Hammer productions also produced other sub genres of thrillers such as; science fiction, film noir thrillers and comedies however, hammer were most recognized for the horror genre they have produced films such as; 'The Mummy' and 'Dracula'. Hammer productions decided to create a bold and memorable logo, which would be shown at the beginning of the opening sequence. Hammer productions created a logo specifically designed to represent the horror genre. The word ‘hammer’ is written in capital letters and a bold red font, red connotes blood, danger, murder and love. The bold red font is written across a black background this makes the red really stand out and makes the logo seem very intense, which could reflect the tension and suspense of their films. The black background connotes darkness, power and mystery because there is the fear of the unknown. Summit entertainment Summit Entertainment is an American film production company and distributor. Summit was originally founded in 1991 and is now a subsidiary of Lions Gate Entertainment. Summit entertainments are well known for their intense horror and action movies such as the twilight saga and spider man 3. Summit entertainment produces many films from all genres. Summit entertainment uses simple yet effective colours like their films. Their official colour scheme is blue, black and white. The logo is a blue and white ribbon, which appears to be blue at the top and white towards the end of the ribbon, which forms a mountain. The light blue colour at the top of the mountain connotes peace and infinity and white connotes innocence and purity. The mountain represents the highs and lows of the movies they produce. The two colours stand out from the black background the darkness of their films and makes the and juxtaposes to the innocence and peace of the two colours. The black background connotes power and the fear of the unknown. The 'summit' writing is in clear, strong white font, well spaced apart to fill the space without being too overpowering underneath ‘summit’, which is written in capital letters the line underneath emphasis the word and makes it standout and memorable.
We decided it was important to re-search and identify typical thriller sounds because sounds help build up tension and suspense and puts the audience on edge. The use of sound in psychological thrillers is very important in order to create an intense atmosphere of tension and suspense however; it is important that the music relates to what’s happening in the scene to let the audience an idea of how the character is feeling. These familiar sounds play in a different context create suspense as it could lead to something different when the music gets louder it builds up the suspense as anything could happen at anytime. Some common psychological thriller sounds usually consist of a range of different sounds such as; bird noises, rain, wind, crashes, bangs, creaking, screaming, scratching, owls, wolves howling, thunderclaps, footsteps, gunshots, sobbing, whispering and sirens. These natural diagetic sounds suggest that something bad is going to happen because they create a negative atmosphere and emotions and is a sign of something going wrong. Non-diagetic music also creates tension and contributes to the actions of the characters. Non-diagetic sounds are created by; high and low pitched piano sounds, high pitched violins and high and low pitched stringed percussions instruments. Music created by these instruments makes us think something is going to happen because as the music gets louder the suspense builds up more and more. Some of these sounds can be heard below: |
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February 2016
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