Media Lesson- 22/01/13

Today we added more to our storyboard and also decided to include the present idea at the start of the film and then it will go onto going to the park an the doll being there as well. We have also been discussing what sort of doll we are going to use, and what would be most effective.A few more ideas were used on the story board, for example, the doll looking up at the girl to show that it might be alive. Also to have more of the dolls point of view towards the girl(s).

Media Lesson- 17/01/13

Media lesson 17/01/13 

Today we spoke to our teacher about our film opening plot. The main focus is a doll which was given to these two girls and it seems to be following them around when they go out anywhere. Our teacher gave us an idea about introducing a birthday maybe so it creates a sense or normality at the start and doesn’t go straight into the main thing. Another idea was showing pictures of that girl growing up with the doll.

Horror Film Name Ideas

This is our shortlist of names that we have come up with for the title of our film. Our current favourites are 'Lullaby' and "Peek-a-boo'.

Horror Film Ideas

Horror Film Ideas

 

This first one shows our ideas for the four main sections; editing, soundtrack, camera shots and mise-en-scene. Then we moved onto further development and came up with a few ideas to create a spooky opening (this is shown below). Now we are currently working on our ideas to make it flow well and hopefully scare people when we have finished our film opening.

P2 Opening Analysis - Chelsea Neil

P2 (2007)

Analysis

The beginning of the film immediately starts in a highly dark contrasted and gloomy atmosphere, the camera shot slowly goes downwards on what looks to be like a pillar. The soundtrack almost compliments the camera shot - The way the song is very slow and gentle, yet happy contrasts with the dark and gloomy atmosphere, it seems as if the whole beginning is trying to mess with your mind.

I like how each of the camera shots run smoothly into another, not only this, but the fact the film title 'P2' is written on the wall makes the wonder what this place has to do with the whole film in itself.

The camera slowly moves round, giving an establishing shot of the whole atmosphere, it slowly moves around and then stops as if it is focusing on a particular thing in the room - It slowly opens up the audience to the main centre of the film.

When the car first comes into view, you can already see the writing of 'P2' on the wall right next to the car. It immediately makes you wonder what this particular car has to do with the entire film - does this car sum up the film as a whole?

I like how the camera shot goes from a small hole on the car boot and builds up to an eye peering out - Why is there a person looking out?

The music ultimately creates the whole camera shot - The person inside the boot begins to scream, the happy Christmas music then slows down and cuts out.

Ideas

From this film opening I have definitely taken a few ideas I may want to use in my actual film opening - The way the dark scenery and the contrasting happy music makes the film seem even more creepy and builds tension in a completely unique way, I also like how each shot makes you continuously ask different questions.

The Gravedancers Opening Analysis- Chelsea Neil

The Gravedancers

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tc_AqwVwmvg 

Analysis

The film immediately starts with a girl and a light bulb sitting in the corner of the room, it immediately makes you start asking questions - Does this girl sum up the entire film? The fact that the room is dark, makes you realise that something is not quite right.

The extreme close up of this girl lets you know what she is thinking and feeling, her face stands out with the darkness of the room. The mise en scene in this makes it seem as though the girl is quite dirty, her facial expression is obviously scared making you wonder what will happen next.

The way that the torch is focused on something on the right hand side immediately makes you wonder what it is, this shot builds tension and makes you want to know more.

This is one of my favourite shots - I like how the camera is peering into something that makes it seem quite fuzzy, this shot give us the fact that something/someone is watching her.

The camera shot continuously goes back from herself and then gives an establishing shot of the atmosphere to build up more and more tension.

The fact that the screen goes black immediately makes you wonder what will happen next - It makes the film unique by not having straight edits throughout and adding a black screen to add effect, this also contrasts with the room as it is a dark room.

The camera shots constantly go back to the girl and the torch and her trying to find what it is that is out there in the darkness, the fact that it keeps going back to the same shots makes it seem as if time is passing by and she is constantly trying to find what is awaiting her.

I like how each shot slowly opens the audience up to the surrounding atmosphere, the fact that the light is focused on one certain place and you can't quite see the area around it makes it all the more scary and builds tension.

I like how there is a repetitiveness of constantly going back to the girls face, this gets the audience involves and makes the film seem all the more scary. 

I like how this shot makes it seem slightly fuzzy, almost as if something is interfearing with the image we are seeing.

I really like how this shot portrays being scared, the way it focuses on the main character and what she is feeling makes it more appealing to the audience.

The dark shadowy outlines makes you realise that someone is actually in the room with her, the fact that it doesn't show you the creatures face but rather just reveals the back of it makes the viewer hooked into the beginning.

This shot is repeated in this film at least three times, it constantly makes you think that something is watching her and is hiding behind the darkness.

I like the lighting in this particular shot, the way the curtains are closed and you can see a little bit of lightness contrasts with the darkness of the room.

I really like how the lighting is used in this film in order to portray a meaning - For example, in this shot, the stream of light is only below her nose, but not above her eyes. Not only this, but for these particular shots there seems to be a sequence - Surroundings, character, surroundings etc.

 

I like how all of these three shots run smoothly together - The first picture is of a close up of her face to the side, the second shot shows more of her body, then the third shot shoes a close up once again of her facial expressions.

I like how the tension continuously builds - Not only this, but throught the clip, the main character has always blended into the room. The fact that there is a stream of light behind her suggests that something is awaiting her. 

As the girl is hanging from the rope and falls, there is flashing light surrounding her, brightening up the atmosphere as she is slowly jolting.

At this point, the camera is looking directly up at the girl, this makes the audience ask a lot of different questions - How did she die? Who killed her? What did she do?

The fact that the ending shot focuses on an envelope with a light border around it and darkness in the background makes you wonder what this envelope has to do with the girl dying.

Backwoods Opening Analysis- Amara Bullen

Backwoods

Analysis

Non-diagetic sound is used in the opening of the film. It’s an upbeat rock song which may be used to forebode what type of film it’s going to be.

The filming has been sped up throughout the opening of this film.

This clips starts with a fade in tilt shot upwards of the trees, making the viewer feel small. Also the camera spins whilst looking up which creates a sense of confusion and may make the viewer feel dizzy. 

Fog is used as a part of the mise-en-scene which can add to the sense of location and whereabouts.

The shot changes by flickering like an old television or CCTV filming that’s faulty. Creating a sense that something might be wrong

This then carry’s on to a straight edit of a tilt shot down of a mountain.

This is quite contrasting as the mountains are peaceful places where as the music is heavy metal which disturbs and contrasts with one another. Also the flickering of the screens and sped up filming contrasts with it too.

 

The next shot flickers quickly to a long shot of someone walking down a hall way quickly, not showing his face. This may suggest that the person is up to no good.

The screen flicks off too quickly, not giving enough time for the viewer to take in exactly what the man looks like.

 

A straight edit is used to show another establishing shot of some more mountains which is pannedd across with the producers credits on it.

 

The screen jitters to a close up of the same man walking but not showing his face giving him a sense of mystery

The next shot used contains two clips at the same time, one in the background and one in the foreground slightly faded. The background clip is of mountains and the other clip is of a skull flickering. These two images contrast as the mountains show peace and nature where as a skull shows death.

The skull adds to the mise-en-scene as it helps add to the effect of the genre of the film.

A shot of candles quickly flicks on and off the screen, creating a spooky affect

A sped up sun rise is shown, flicking closer and further away like a faulty camera.

The sun rise also contributes to a peaceful feeling and contrasts with the music being played.

This screen also has more production credits on it.

A dead fox is shown and the rotting process of it is sped up to gross the viewers out and make them worried as to what will happen in the film

A straight edit is then used to show a snarling wolf, showing it’s teeth showing anger and aggression

Another straight edit is used which shows a cross with the name and date of ‘Willie Lahaye 1886’. The cross is representing that this person has died and is long gone. May make the viewers question how he died.

The film name ‘Backwoods’ straight edits in front of the cross

The next screen continues showing the ‘Backwood’ title, giving time for the viewers to read it. In the background behind the title shows a boy who looks like he could be from the country in a past time maybe. He seems to look scared by something and looks stereotypically uneducated.

The title still shows in the next screen which has a zooming in shot of an older man with long messy hair.

A bow and arrow is shown being pointed at something but you can’t see what it’s being pointed at or who’s shooting it

The next couple of shots may seem random as there may be a link between them and the film or there may not be.

The next shot is of as dead deer so viewers could think that the bow and arrow has killed the deer

There is a clip of a hand and finger pointing over a map around a ‘Military Reservation’. Credits are shown on the page whilst the clip is being played and the same music is being played

This may suggest that the film has something to do with the military

A ‘No Trespassing’ sign is shown on the floor so it’s probably been ripped off the fence or ignored maybe suggesting that it’s going into the military reservation .

This screen also carry’s on showing more credits

Weapons are being fired in the next short clip suggesting death as this could kill a person or animal

Hostel Opening Analysis- Chelsea Neil

Hostel (2011)

  

Analysis

Introduces the type of film, eg.. ‘Lionsgate films’, dark screen with text effects to make it stand out and sound is added to help grab your attention and make you notice who made the film.

Credits start (White text fades in) on a dark screen, a clear use of diegetic sound of a person whistling. The echoes of the whistles makes you immediately ask questions—What gender are they? Are they alone? Are they in danger?

The first image is shown, another diegetic sound is introduced of water droplets. Camera focuses on a close-up of falling water. Credits run continuously throughout.

Blurs out the background of what appears to be someone moving about. Straight edits to make it run smoothly. The opening shot is dull and spooky– not quite focusing on one thing—’What will happen next?’

Continues to remain with darkness, adds a little light when it introduces the foam running down the wall—What does the foam have to do with the person whistling? Is there a connection?

Revisits water, droplets dropping onto the floor—Places of where the person could be suddenly comes to mind—Sewer, underground, streets, cave? The time in which the water droplets are dropping slows down—Builds tensions, makes you wonder where the water is coming from. All of the credits appear in the bottom right screen, the dark background and the white text make it stand out.

Starts with a dark/black screen, grey scissors that appear to be sharp are now introduced. You instantly recognise that they are covered in something red—Is the red on the sharp object paint or blood? The producers keep the audience in the dark about what’s going to happen next—they don’t give away too much, but give you enough time to ask questions of your own.

Continues with foam, water and a red liquid running down the path, mixing together. Immediately makes you ask questions– Why are these liquids in this place? What significance does this person have with these liquids? Why are these things running down the path?

Ends with a dark abandoned place– Slowly introduces the audience to where they actually are. Diegetic sound is included; The door closes, blackening the room, ending the beginning of the opening scenes credits.

The Tunnel Opening Analysis- Chelsea Neil

The Tunnel (2011)

Analysis




The fact that the opening starts with something based on true events immediately makes the viewer intrigued - Did this really happen, was it serious, was were the consequences?

The fact that it tells the audience that not all of the people involved agreed to being interviewed makes a million different questions run through your mind - What could be so bad that the people involved disagreed to being interviewed?

The sound in this horror film opening is one of my favourites - The way it involves the audience by making the main character on the other end of the phone seem panicked and being able to hear her breathing automatically makes the audience involved in the film. This would definitely be one of the things I would want to include in my own film opening.

The way that the person on the other end of the call stays calm and the way the girl answers the questions panicky with the rustling of the background noise makes the audience curious.

  

When the girl on the other end of the phone call starts screaming, the person trying to help the girl immediately starts asking questions - They were calm to start with, but now they start asking more and more questions.

Let Me In Opening Analysis- Amara Bullen

Let Me In

Analysis

Let Me In, directed by Matt Reeves, is about a bullied young boy that befriends a young female vampire who lives in secrecy with her guardian.

I chose this film because the soundtrack to the opening of this film drew me in and stood out as a good exaple of a horror movie. I thought that the sounds used were quite threatening and the shots used were interesting as they leave the viewer guessing and making up stories in their heads as to what's happening in the film.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjL7VEFvOxM

 

While the producer credits are shown on the screen by fading in at the very beginning, an echoing choir is singing in one tone that gradually becomes clearer and louder. Ontop of this, a harp is very slowly playing in a minor tone making the atmosphere sad. The plucks of the harp strings echo so that they end up combining into the sound of the chior singing. The sound drifts off into a minor scale which makes the chior sound haunting almost as it comes across as harsh and drifting out of tone. The sounds put together enhance a scary surrounding making the viewer feel tense and adds to the scary affect making it seem like something is wrong but they don't know what yet so it keeps the viewers guessing the worst.

 

A black screen is shown and the chior becomes quieter and a fade in of each word of the title is shown in big, bold letters, written in red. The colour red is often reffered to blood and death as it is written infront of a black screen. This may give the viewer an image that death may occur in the film. After the title has fully appeared, the chior fades out into nothing aswell as the title which fades out into blackness once again.

 

 

A loud booming drum breaks the silence which repeats while a place and date appears on the screen (Los Alamos, New Mexico, March 1983) which can scare the viewer as this relates more to real life.

The sound of wind builds up before a picture is shown on the screen. The wind gets louder and a low brass instrument accompanies the drum, playing the same haunting note over and over.

 

A small, orange light is show in the middle of the screen is zoomed into it to see that it's an establishing shot of an ambulance and a few police cars going round a winding road surrounded by some trees. Sirens fade in and become louder as the camera nears closer to re-enforce the audience that they are police cars. This shot can make the viewer interested in what's happening but nervous at the same time as the sirens are on so something must have happened and they're surrounded by trees on a winding road so they could be far away from a safe place.

A factor of mise-en-scene is that this scene is filmed at night as it's pitch black which can scare people as some people are afraid of the dark and most bad things happen at night. I can also be quite threatening as you can't see whats lurking in the dark, if there is anything there or not.

A traking shot of the police cars and an ambulance is shown from in the trees and the sound of the veichles is emphasised to show that they are driving quickly, building suspense to show that they need to get to the desitnation quickly.

 

A shot shown from the inside the police car is of the front of the window showing that it's snowing heavily as the window-wipers are moving quickly.

 

 A straight edit to a shot of the radio which has a radio transmission of a man asking for them to reply in code. The voise is stereotypically a man's voice as he must be a police man and this role is stereotypically carried out by a man as they are known to be the braver and stronger gender.

 

The next straight edit is blurry and isn't very clear as to what it's showing. It seems to show a trolley bed as the camera moves to show the bottom of  the foot of a person that is laying down on the bed. The camera is quite shaky so suggest that it's shot inside of the ambulance. To add to the fact that they're moving quickly, creaking and shaking of the bed and things in the abulance are cluttering noisily.

Scissors are shown cutting the material, supposedly belonging to the person's on the bed showing that he must be injured, leaving the viewers with no idea of what's going on making them wonder how they got there? Who he/ she is with? What's wrong with them? etc.

 

The hand of the person reaches up and grabs one of the uniformed men who tries to stop him/her. The uniformed man is stereotypically male as it seems they're dealing with something majour and women aren't seen to be able to handle too much pressure and blood.

 

 

Another straight edit changes to show the radio again and the voice replying, inside the ambulance describes the 'male' that is injured in the ambulance. This is typical for the person lying on the bed to be a male as they tend to get up to no good and misbehave more than women.

 Different shots are shown to be helping the man on the bed  but faces haven't been shown yet so this also adds to the curiosity of the viewers as it leaves things unkown.

Sounds of the patient being sick and making strange noises may freak the viewers out, still not fully understanding whay's happening. The report on the radio said that he had swallowed acid so this could link in which can gross the viewers out and feel his pain almost.

All the while, the brass instrument and drum had been playing quietly in the background, unoticably yet still haunting like.

All sounds come to a sharp, high pitched sound and all is quiet. A straight edit is shown of the back of a man in what looks like a hospital.