After agreeing upon the chosen actors for our opening sequence, we decided to carry out some test shots for possible camera angles for the different scenes that could occur within the first sequence. We had also experimented with various techniques of one of the rapid scenes, much like that seen in 'Shaun of the Dead', of our character making tea, pouring water and pouring juice. This could be a possible shot that we would use within our publication to make our sequence more engaging for the audience.
The sounds used within our opening sequence are important as we do not have much dialoge within each scene. The use of Foley and music will be used in order to create effect and so it is essential to get the right tones and sounds to use within the production. The videos below give an indication of the sorts of sounds our group could possibly use within our production to build a tense and sinister atmosphere.
These sounds may be useful in creating suspense as the short, loud, sudden bursts may shock the audience. This could also be effective in scenes where sudden events take place, such as when the stalker bumps into the innocent girl.
The whispering sounds may be useful to portay the deranged mind of the stalker and how he may be talking to himself, showing he is somewhat mental and obsessed over the girl.
These sounds may be effective to use within the background of the sequence as they create an eerie and scary backing tone. This could be used to build tension within certain scenes and make the sequence more engaging.
These sounds may also be effective to use within the background as they create suspense. If the sounds were to be increased at certain points when editing, it may be successful in establishing the genre as the sounds are conventional of its genre.
The use of these sounds may be effective to play within the background as the faint piano tone creates an eerie atmospehre that may make the audience feel anxious when watching the sequence. When the sound within this clip could be used throughout the sequence as it does not dramatically change tone and is successful in building tension and suspense.
The use of the static radio sound could be used within a possible scene where a news report about stalking is shown on screen. The sound is displeasing to hear and so make create tension and make the audience feel anxious.
In order to create an authentic opening sequence, it is essential to choose a font which reflects the genre of the film. These tests allow our group to figure out the sort of design we may use of the title and which may reflect the plot of our film effectively. The various fonts could potentially be used within the sequence as they can relate to the genre of the film and the various scenes that occur. We decided to choose the first font as it effectively reflects the genre we have chosen and relates to the scenes that occur within the sequence. The scratched effect used within the font creates an eerie and mysterious tone as the letters are distorted and etched onto the screen. This is also conventional of the horror/thriller genre as the font if often used in games and other media devices to establish the genre effectively. However, this font is dependant on the effects available on 'Live Type' due to the limited fonts available on this programme. Our group are willing to change the font in order to create a more effective opening sequence title sequence that may seem gripping for the audience..
This font is much like the game 'Slender' an iconic horror game. This may be effective in our sequence as the scrached effect creates an eerie feel and could reflect some scenes within the film where the main character scribbes on paper.
This font is more on an emphasis on the darker shading within the title, making it stand out ffrom the background. Like the first font, it also creates a scratched out effect which may be effective to use within our opening sequence.
This font gives a more subtle effect which makes the letters look like they are old and worn out. The letters fade around the edges giving a unique, worn out look which could be used to reflect the props within the last scene of our sequence.
The use of this typewriter effect could be used to reflect the documents the stalker had collected of the innocent girl. This is a bold and clearly visible font which may make the text stand out from the background.
This font creates a rather eerie tone as the letters are smudges and hard to read. This could perhaps reflect the deranged mind of the stalker and the documents he had collected about the girl. This could be effective as the font is bold and has an original smudged effect.
Today, straight after the end of last lesson me and my group went to the Media Studies room where we collected a video camera and tripod so we could begin the filming of scenes 2 and the beginning of scene 4. As school finishes at around 3:05 we had to make sure we arrived at our location as quickly as possible as it begins to get dark around 4:00pm. On arrival to Banstead we had a short walk to group member (Alex’s) house which is the home of “Vincent” the stalker within our sequence. In order to get the necessary shots we used a front bedroom window, on the second floor, in Alex’s house. For the shot, Vincent, played by Matthew Clark, had to reach up and place his hand gently on the window when he saw second main character Sarah, played by Lucy Parsons, walk past on the pavement below. This ended up taking longer than first anticipated as we tested a range of camera shots to ensure that the scene was of the best quality and clear for the audience to understand. We recorded the scene from two perspectives, one being a point of view shot from the stalker, Vincent, which involved close ups of his hand as he rested it on the glass window. The other however was an over the shoulder shot of Vincent as his hand stroked the glass as Sarah walked below. In the end we decided on using the point of view shot. We believed that this made the scene more effective and suspenseful for the audience as the perspective will be looking through the eyes of the stalker as if it was themselves. In addition to this, the previous scene within our sequence is also a POV shot, therefore we wanted to keep continuity within some of the different scenes.
After the filming of scene 2 we went straight on to recording main character Vincent making a cup of tea for the start of scene 4. In order to increase the pace of the film we used simple close ups of each item used with the tea making process so when it comes to editing it will almost act as a fast paced montage, rather like the shots used in 'Shaun of the Dead' or 'Hot Fuzz'. The purpose of these shots was to show Vincent carrying out an activity that is seen as a normal day to day task, this tricks the audience into believing Vincent has a fairly ordinary lifestyle, however they are soon to learn the truth behind this mysterious identity.
Finally, we headed down to the bottom of Alex’s garden towards the shed, a key location essential for the end of our opening sequence. As a group we discussed how we were going to set up the props regarding positioning of props and camera work, and if any items needed to be removed from the shed to create a more effective setting. We also spoke about various ways we could possibly adjust the lighting so it doesn’t appear as too dark and unclear on the camera so test shots could shortly take place.
(Scene 2)
This first image is an over the shoulder shot used within scene 2 of our opening sequence. At first it was rather challenging to get the correct positioning of the stalker's hand on the glass when the girl walks passed. However, after various test shots and experimentation, we decided to use a point of view shot in the eyes of the stalker, giving the audience the impression that they are looking out the window themselves.
(Tea Scene)
This next shot is from scene 3 where a montage of clips are used to create a stylistic editing technique rather like from 'Hot Fuzz'. This involved various fast cut shots placed within a sequence. Upon doing further research, we discovered that within the film, the shot involved zooming in as well as creating fast shots. After this first experiment was done, we tried doing this new technique for different objects such as a water bottle. We then tried experimenting with the tea scene again using this newer technique, following the style used within 'Shaun of the Dead'.
(Tea Scene)
This is nearer the end of scene 3, the last section of the tea scene, where the stalker then goes to stir the tea. We found this rather challanging to time correctly as we needed Foley of the spoon crashing against the mug as well as using the correct camera placement and movement. We re-created this scene one again using a slightly different technique which had overall given a more effective outcome.
- Written by Manisha Dhokia, Lucy Parsons, Alexandra James and Matthew Clark
This is a schedule of filming for our group's opening sequence. We intend on using Wednesday's and Thursday's for the main bulk of the filming from the 27th of November to the 19th of December. This will allow our group to gain at least 20 possible hours for filming, however, more may be used if needed on weekends or other weekdays provided all group members can come along. The weekends are purely for collecting the correct props for each scene to create an authentic atmosphere for the thriller genre sequence. Free time and lessons can also be used to look through footage and figure out what still needs to be filmed and to edit the sequence and start to put it together. In this time, we will also make sure that our blogs are up to date with relevant filming experiences and various test shots.
