Our final soundtracks

We decided that we would create 3 separate soundtracks/effects as we feel that they would all fit in well within different parts of our film opening. We created all 3 soundtracks on GarageBand using various instruments and effects together to create the final sounds.

Our first soundtrack is the one that we previously made as our practice soundtrack, however we then decided that we would use it within our film opening because we thought that it was really effective and that it fitted in well with the content of our film. To create this soundtrack we used keyboard effects, violin, drum kit, mature sound effects, flute and soprano solo.

https://soundcloud.com/nlbfilmas/never-look-back-alleyway-music

Our second soundtrack is only a short clip as this is what we added in to the beginning of the shot when Becca entered the alleyway, beginning the suspense of the events to come. To create this we used the Glacier melt keyboard effects which sounds quite low, and also builds tension and suspense as this is what begins to play as Becca enters the alley.
https://soundcloud.com/nlbfilmas/moviesong-first-soundtrack

Our final soundtrack is also very brief, however this is what we added in to the title clip when the actual text flashes onto the screen, this was created by adding simple, loud drum beats in at the right time when the text appears onto the screen. The drum beats also sound similar to gun shots, which links in with the typical conventions of a horror soundtrack as a gun is quite a typical weapon that you would see in a horror film so it links in with the horror genre.

https://soundcloud.com/nlbfilmas/third-soundtrack

All 3 of our soundtracks fit in with the horror genre because they either build suspense when something frightening is about to occur, or in the case of our final soundtrack it would be likely that audience would jump when they hear the gunshots as it is quite a fast and sharp sound.

Editing: Analysing our titles

When we added our titles/ title sequence into our film opening we came to a final decision that we would include our character names in it by filming the antagonist (me) typing out all of our names, whether we were actually acting within the film or if we were just involved with the creating process.

We filmed two clips of me typing out the names onto my phone, so the camera was zoomed in to the phone screen so you're able to see what I am typing out. At the end of both clips we zoomed the camera right in so the shot is completely blurred to create a distorted effect.

We decided to try this idea as we do not think that titles have been executed in this way before within a horror film, so we decided that this technique is quite original. We placed these clips of the credits at the end of our final shot and after the actual title (Never Look Back), adding in a backing track to the titles which sounds quite spooky as the camera shows the antagonist typing out the credits.

For our actual title we went onto Microsoft Powerpoint and added 5 separate slides, one with the word 'NEVER' on, on top of a black background, the next had 'LOOK' on it, the 3rd 'BACK', the 4th showed the whole title 'NEVER LOOK BACK' on it on top of a black background with various blood stains/splatters on it and the final slide was just a plain black background. We done this because when we showed the slides as an actual powerpoint the titles flashed up onto the screen, then cutting to the next slide, then the next etc.

We then filmed the powerpoint whilst clicking through the whole slideshow so we're able to get all the transitions in. We then added the clip to our final editing process so we were then able to add in sound effects (drums) at the points where the titles flashed onto the screen.

When filming the slideshow we had to make sure that there wasn't any reflections on the computer screen that would effect the quality of the shot, so after making sure that the shot quality was the best it could be we filmed the slideshow, before uploading it to the computer to edit the filters and add in sound.

Our title sequence is similar to ones that are in typical horror films, the font in particular as the font is likely to give a hint to what the film may include. Also the dark background behind the title in a typical convention as it creates contrast between the red and black of the title and the blood to the actual of the background.

Never look back DVD cover

This is my attempt of creating a DVD cover for our film opening. I have used all the typical conventions of a film poster and linked them in with the horror genre so I was able to portray that I was advertising a horror film. I have included the title of the film using a particular font that we found called 'Face your fears' and we coloured it in a blood red colour to create a horror effect which links with the title of our film opening 'Never Look Back'. We then created a tagline, using the same font and colouring as our title, 'Don't take the chance, You'll regret it' which seems quite mysterious as it doesn't give away anything about the content of our film. We also made sure that we included a couple of star reviews, and in this case we made out that the reviews were from popular newspapers and the reviews stated that it was a 5 star rated film, as the ratings of a film would let the audience know whether the film was good and worth watching.

For the actual image for the DVD cover I used a still image from one of our clips that we filmed. Within the particular clip it showed Becca (the victim) walking up the alleyway and the over the shoulder shot of myself (the antagonist) walking towards her, so you can only see the back of me with my hood up and then Becca walking towards me. I then took this image and edited it in Photoshop, adjusting the lighting and tones to make sure you couldn't see the sunlight as clearly. I also made the image black and white so the figures look more distorted, I was then able to conceal Becca's face as the change I made on the lighting cancelled out her facial features. This effect creates a mysterious effect as it conceals both characters identity but because Becca's character is lighter it contrasts to the image of my character which is dark, which suggest an aspect of danger because I am playing the antagonist and Becca is the victim, therefore her character is a lighter tone within this image.

Horror film poster analysis

The font used for the title of the film is bold and quite simple, even though it is white and contrasts against the darker background it doesn't distract the eye from the actual poster itself. The image shows quite a close shot of a young boy, but his eyes have been given the effect that they're scratched out, which gives a frightening effect to the poster. Behind the young boy there is a house which is the main setting of the film as this is where most of the horror aspects of the film will take place, and the clouds are quite dark which gives off quite an eery effect, so the weather links in with the fact that the film will be a horror because its dark and gloomy, almost scary. The colours used are again, quite dark and gloomy, which is a typical convention of a horror film as people link darkness to scary things, because if brighter colours were used it wouldn't look like the poster was advertising a horror film because bright colours are not a typical horror convention. The tagline 'It's not the house that's haunted' makes the audience question what that sentence could insinuate, so the audience may begin to question what could be haunted if it's not the house, and with the image of the young boy in the front it could make them wonder whether the boy is haunted. The film has been given 5 stars and described as 'so scary, I was whimpering in sheer terror' which gives the audience the idea of how terrifying the film will actually be from someone else's perspective, but even though the person who rated the film found it extremely scary they still rated it 5 stars because they obviously thought that it covered typical horror convention or even bended them a little to make the film as frightening as possible. Overall this poster gives off a scary effect and you can clearly see that it is advertising a horror film and the use of colouring, font, image, tagline etc. fits in with typical conventions of a horror film poster.

When looking at this poster for Paranormal Activity 3 our automatically focus on the blood red colour of the title as it contrasts against the plain black background, also red being the colour, could represent danger which links in with the horror genre. The font used looks quite distorted which pairs with the title 'paranormal activity' as distortion and paranormal activity go together because it's not really natural. The image is based across the poster but smaller so you're able to see the plain black background as if to portray the fact that the characters are being watched through someone else's point of view and not the camera mans, also the image has a blueish tint to it and is also distorted which adds to the fact that they're being watched. You can also see a dark shadow in the middle of the image between the two characters beds which again, shows the fact that they're being watched but they obviously don't know that they are because they're asleep. The tagline 'Discover how the activity began' and 'It runs in the family' gives the audience a sense of wonder and mystery because it's not really giving anything away but it's hinting a little about what the film will tell you once you have watched it. The overall effect of the poster, again gives off a scary effect and it doesn't give away anything about the film, but it still includes typical horror conventions to make the poster as spooky as possible so the audience will be enticed to watch the film.

This poster is pretty simple when you look at it, however it still involves various horror conventions within it. The background shows a severed hand placed on a bright white tile floor, which could represent the contrast between the purity of the bright white and the speck of blood that has splattered onto the floor from the hand. The title Saw is quite simple but it does fit in with the horror genre as a saw is sharp and can be used as a weapon which would cause a lot of damage or kill someone. The font and colouring of the title is quite spooky as it is quite disorientated with the different placement and size lettering, the colour use is also quite a bloody red/brown which pairs with the blood that is splattered on the floor. The overall effect of this poster is that even though there is no tagline it still gives the audience a little bit of an idea of what the film may include.

When looking at this poster it looks pretty simple as well, however the background image shows the main antagonist with the signature costume/mask, and this mask takes up most of the poster, with the mask contrasting against the plain black background and the plain black parts of the mask, this makes the poster look pretty creepy and also shows the audience that the scream character will be returning as this poster is advertising the fourth film from this popular selection. The font is simple bold lettering, however the 'A' in Scream is made up of a 4 instead of the letter A which shows that this is the fourth film, the 'M' is also quite sharp as it goes down which could represent a knife as this is the weapon that the antagonist uses when murdering his victims. The colouring of the font is white which again contrasts against the plain black background but the '4/A' is red which could represent blood as this is a horror film. The tagline 'new decade, new rules' implies that since this film was only recently made compared the the first three the change in time period means that there will be new rules to how the antagonist will target his victims, which is good as it gives the audience the sense of mystery as they will wonder how the victims will be targeted. Overall this film poster is very effective as it doesn't give away anything about the film and for people who enjoyed the first three films they will understand/know a little more about the film but for those who haven't seen the films it will give them a sense of mystery.

This film poster shows the three antagonists as the main focus as the image, but also the two main victims that they target throughout the film facing towards them so the audience cannot see their faces. The three antagonists all have some kind of mask on so the audience cannot actually see the faces because they're actually real people and you can see that they are, but as this film is said to be based on a true story the director obviously wanted the characters to look as realistic as possible. The tagline is 'because you were home' which tells us that the victims were obviously targeted within their own home, but also implying that the antagonists attacked the victims because they were actually home at the time and when you're at home you are supposed to feel safe, but a horror film contrasts this as victims are likely to be targeted in their own homes because they do not expect it. The titles font is quite a basic font, however it looks a little disorientated and with the colouring it looks as if it was glowing which can be seen as quite creepy as it looks like quite a horrific glow, like something you would see during Halloween, also the actual title itself tells us that the antagonists are just people who are strangers to their victims and the victims are unaware of who they could be, which creates fear and mystery. Overall this film poster is very effective as the colours are quite dark and it doesn't give away anything about the film, which entices the audience to see it as they would want to find out what happens throughout the storyline.

Mise-en-scene within our film opening

The Location:

We decided that the location of our film opening would be an alleyway because even if it was daylight alleyways can be seen as quite frightening as they are quite a narrow and confined space which are difficult to get out of in most cases as you are only usually able to go up or down. This is where the victim would be killed as the particular alleyway that we chose is quite confined and in this case, you are only able to go up or down so if someone was walking towards you or behind you you're only able to escape with one way out. We didn't only use the alleyway as a setting, even though this was the main one we also used a small cul-de-sac/side street to film the beginning of our film opening to show the contrast in setting when the victim is with her friends in the street to when she is on her own in the alleyway.

Costumes:

We decided that the three young girls/friends would be wearing normal everyday clothing for their costumes as they were portraying that they were walking home from school on a usual day. The still image on the right shows from left to right: Friend 3, Friend 2 and Friend 1 (the victim) walking home having a conversation, however within this shot we decided that the victim would be carrying a bag as it singles her out from the two friends and she clutches it as if she is wary of her surroundings, especially when she is in the alleyway in case someone approaches her and attempts to grab her bag.

We also decided that the antagonist/murderer would wear a plain clack costume, including a black hoodie and black trainers/sneakers as they're practical and black as a colour can represent danger and also mysteriousness, also when in the dark, black is a good colour to wear if you wanted to go unnoticed or blend in with the darkness. We decided that this character would have their hood up when they are in contact with the victim as it shields their face and again adds the aspect of suspense within the scene.




Props:

 Finally we chose to use simple objects for props, the main ones being a fake/toy knife for the murder weapon when the antagonist attacks and murders the victim, fake blood to create the effect of the victims stab wound once the murderer and the knife has made contact with the victim, and a mobile phone as we have to use phones throughout our film opening as we will include shots of texts messages/notifications within the scenes so the audience can get more of an idea about what is happening.

Filming sessions

Our whole filming session took place through out a whole day, starting from 11:30am. Within this time period we were able to film each shot/cut, using our storyboard to help us with each camera angle and scene, therefore we were able to film all of the shots that we needed for our film opening so we are now able to begin editing and creating the titles.

Difficulties that we came across when filming was that the camera that we were using ran out of battery before we had finished filming all of our shots, however luckily Becca had her own camera with her in her bag so we were able to overcome this problem, therefore being able to film the final shots that we needed to to finish our film opening.

 In terms of film conventions we did include various conventions that would be seen in a horror film, for example the antagonist wearing an all black costume to add an aspect of danger and mysteriousness, a murder weapon, the victim being in a vulnerable position, the murderer watching the victim from a hidden place, the victim being alone when attacked. However we did add in the aspect of suspense with the fact that we made it look like the victims friends were the murderers out to get her, but then the actual murderer did end up getting to the victim, we also created a situation where the murderer actually takes the victim by surprise when they kill her as it was just a quick and simple task, even though there will be a build up to the event.

Our filming schedule

We scheduled to film our opening throughout the whole day on Tuesday 29th October over half term, this meant we had to arrange with the rest of the group and our extra person, who was to play the remaining character when we were all free to film.

Restrictions or problems that we thought about before hand was:

• The weather- We had to make sure that it was not raining hard or too windy as it would affect the amount of filming we were able to get done and the quality of the shots, also we had to make sure that, if the weather was sunny, that we were able to keep the right amount of brightness when filming and not cast too many shadows within the shots
• The setting- As we were filming in an alleyway and on small occasions, a quiet cul-de-sac we had to make sure that the setting was quiet and that if any members of the public needed to walk by we stopped filming and made sure that random members of the public were not filmed whilst we were filming.
• The content- As we were filming a opening of  a horror film we had to make sure that the public did not feel that they were under any risk as the murderer was wearing an all black costumes and hoodie, which could look threatening to the public eye. We also had to use props such as a fake/toy knife and fake blood to create the murder scene so again we had to make sure the public did not feel at ease if they were to walk past and see the props.

We also decided to practice a particular shot/camera angle whilst we were in a media lesson so we were able to plan it out correctly for when we came around to actually filming each shot. 

We secured the camera onto a skateboard to then be able to move the camera below to film Becca's feet walking along without showing any other part of her body. This was useful as we were able to see whether this method would work so we were able to include this particular camera angle within our film opening. 

Film's that have inspired us

The film that we feel inspired us the most to create our film opening was Scream. We felt this was because when looking at one of the main murder scenes, the murderer's victim was a young/teenage female and even though the setting in that particular scene will contrast to our setting of an alleyway it still has aspects within that is similar to our film opening.

For example:

• Again, the victim in the main murder scene is a young/teenage female
• The murderer contacts the victim through a phone, and in our opening scene the murderer will communicate with the victim's friends through a text message
• The murder weapon in both Scream and our film opening is a sharp knife
• The murderer's  in both Scream and our film, opening are both wearing black as a costume
• Both settings are similar in the fact that there is no one around and the victim's are on their own
• Both victims are just living their everyday life and it gets disrupted by the murderer's presence
• We will also be using a range of camera shots that were used in Scream to create tension and to show the setting and characters from various angles

 Drew Barrymore playing the teenage victim

Scream- the Antagonist in the film

Target audience research

We decided to ask some of our friends and relatives what type of age rating we should choose for our film opening and considering that our genre is horror we thought it best to either rate our film a 12, 15 or 18 as the film would not be suitable for young children.

After questioning people on there opinion of this we narrowed it down to either rating the film as an 18 or a 15 as our film opening is not too gory and violent but it still has those aspects of violence and gore because it is a horror, however if we was to rate our film opening as an 18 it would make the audience question why it is rated as this as it is only available to a niche amount of people either 18 or over, so people will wonder what kind of things are going to be included in the film/storyline that makes the film rated as an 18.

	12	Home media only since 2002. 12A-rated films are usually given a 12 certificate for the VHS/DVD version unless extra material has been added that requires a higher rating. Nobody younger than 12 can rent or buy a 12-rated VHS, DVD, Blu-ray Disc, UMD or game. The content guidelines are identical to those used for the 12A certificate.	Les Misérables,The Perks of Being a Wallflower
	15	Only those over 15 years are admitted. Nobody younger than 15 can rent or buy a 15-rated VHS, DVD, Blu-ray Disc, UMD or game, or watch a film in the cinema with this rating. Films under this category can contain adult themes, hard drugs, frequent strong language and limited use of very strong language, strong violence and strong sex references, and nudity without graphic detail. Sexual activity may be portrayed but without any strong detail. Sexual violence may be shown if discreet and justified by context.	The Heat,Mama
	18	Only adults are admitted. Nobody younger than 18 can rent or buy an 18-rated VHS, DVD, Blu-ray Disc, UMD or game, or watch a film in the cinema with this rating. Films under this category do not have limitation on the bad language that is used. Hard drugs are generally allowed, and explicit sex references along with detailed sexual activity are also allowed. Scenes of strong real sex may be permitted if justified by the context. Very strong, gory, and/or sadistic violence is usually permitted. Strong sexual violence is permitted unless it is eroticised or excessively graphic.	Django Unchained,Evil Dead

We decided that we would rate our film a 15 as it would then be available to a wider range of people and age groups, therefore more people will be able to watch the film and this may cause the film to earn more of a profit. 

Films have age certificates because of the content that is portrayed in them, so in regards to the horror genre the rating would depend on how much violence, gore or frightening content was in the film, also it would depend on sexual content and swearing because most horror films either have mild or extreme swearing and may include some sexual content or nudity. 

Our first soundtrack

In our group we created our soundtrack on GarageBand and used various instrumental effects such as:

• Keyboard effects
• Violin
• Drum kit
• Nature sound effects
• Flute
• Soprano solo 

By using these instruments we created a track that caused a krushendo to build, this would also cause suspense when it was played over our film opening. We have decided that the soundtrack would begin to play as Becca began to walk down the alley as this is a change in setting, from the safety of the open street to the spookiness of the alley way and this will continue to play as she journeys down the alley.

However this is not our finished soundtrack as we don't know how the clips will look together, so when our opening is completely finished we will begin to add our final soundtrack and any other sound effects to the scene.

https://soundcloud.com/nlbfilmas/never-look-back-alleyway-music 

Our title and transitions ideas

We have decided that the characters names would appear at the beginning of our opening scene and that they would fade in and out. We will also angle the characters names so it suits the surroundings of the shot, for example if the shot was showing an object that was angled diagonally we could easily place the titles diagonally onto that object so it blends in with the scene.

We have decided to use one particular font for all of the titles which we found from a website called Dafont and its is called 'Face your fears' and even judging by the name it sounds like the sort of font that could be used for titles in a horror film.

We decided that we would colour our font red to represent danger or blood which links in with the horror genre, also the font looks as if it is red paint (or blood in this case) has been smeared onto a surface. The characters names will also be in this font, however the main character's name (the victim) will be in the same blood red colour as the title of the film and the other characters names will either be in black or white depending on what the background tone will be.

The actual film title will be shown at the end of our opening scene and it will be shown within a text message that one of the friends will get after the victim has been murdered, the text will read 'You're next. NEVER LOOK BACK...' and the camera will zoom into the message so the audience would be able to get a clear view of the actual message. The camera will then zoom in even further to only show the words 'NEVER LOOK BACK' which is the title of our film and then the background will begin to fade out onto a plain black background. The red title will then contrast with the plain black background.

Our chosen film institution

We have decided that we will use Warner Bros as our chosen film institution as they have produced various popular horror films such as The Gremlins, The Exorcist, Friday the 13th and Final Destination 5.

Warner Bros is a well known film institution and have made 12 billion dollars as of 2012, so they're still earning more money with the films that have/will be released this year. They were founded in 1918 and since then the institution have gone on to make a variety of films, all of different genres, but as we have chosen to make our film a horror we chose this institution because again, it has produced brilliant horror films that are still popular today.

How one of our characters is likened to one in a horror film

THE MURDERER
We decided to liken our character (the murderer) to the murderer from the film Scream, because our murderer is known for murdering victims who are teenagers and in the film Scream the murderer always seems to murder teenagers as well.

Even though our murderer character will not be wearing a mask as part of their costume they will be wearing all black clothing, which will link with the setting because even though we will be filming outside we will make sure to film when it is quite dark and murky outside to create a sense of suspense when the murderer is shown on camera. This will also able us to create an image of a shadow if the murderer is wearing all black clothing, and they will also be wearing a dark coloured/black hoodie of some sort so they're able to have the hood up over their head to hide their face/identity.

The murderer in Scream is also wearing a plain black costume with a hood, as well as the mask, again this helps to hide the murderers identity from the victims. In Scream they also use knifes as weapons quite frequently when attacking the victims, which we will also do in our film opening as we will be using a sharp knife as the murder weapon to kill the teenager.

Horror film openings- Analysing titles and transitions

SAW 1: 

The  opening to this film is quite simple, at the beginning it shows the film institution which then leads into the titles appearing on the screen. The background of the title sequence is just plain black, which fits in with the horror genre as horror is associated with dark and murky colours. The actual titles then begin to fade in with 'Twisted pictures presents' which then fades out and into the next title, so fading is the transition used in this particular opening. As the sequence progresses the titles begin to ripple slightly just before the titles cut into the first shot of the opening scene, which links in with the rippled titles because the camera shows an underwater shot of one of the characters.
I think the titles and transitions in this opening fits in with the horror genre quite well however there was no backing track or sound effects when the titles were rolling which I thought would've made the opening more effective as it would build tension, also the actors/actresses names were not shown either which I think was a downside to the opening.

PARANORMAL ACTIVITY:

This font that was used in the Paranormal Activity opening scene is quite simple as the lettering is just capitalised and block like, however the various lines that are across the writing show an element of distortion to the text which fits in with the film and horror genre because horrors sometimes have an element of distortion to them within the film. The text is also in a bright blood red colour which can symbolise blood or danger, which also fits in with the horror genre. This is also shown on top of a plain black background which creates contrast and the element of darkness is shown with the background, again linking in to the horror genre.

THE WOMAN IN BLACK:

This font was used in The Woman in Black opening scene and was shown at the end of the sequence. The font looks quite medieval and formal, which makes sense considering the film is set in the past and is like an old time horror story. The colour of the text looks quite metallic and murky, and the writing looks as if it has been smudged a little which can also be classed as slight distortion, again fitting in to the horror genre. The background is black but before the title of the film is shown there is a murky cloud of grey that is shown on the screen before it fades out to show the text.

When we create out titles and decide what transitions we want to use we will have to think about what kind of fonts, colours and transitions would fit in with the horror genre. We will also have to decide what we will include within our title sequence, for example the character names.

Beginning to plan our film opening

We have now started to plan our film opening and we have chosen the horror genre, so we are beginning to think about the storyline, the setting, film institutions, costumes, titles, etc.

We have decided to name our film 'Never look back' because a lot of the time in horror films the character seems to look back or behind them because the may hear something so their instinct is to look back, however this can also end up in them getting killed or seeing something that they don't want to see/ is very frightening.

We will also have to think about how we will create our titles as well, we will have to think about our backing track and the film institution that we will use, which will probably be a well know institution that is used in horror films. We also think that the titles will look good if they faded onto the screen, then faded back out as this is quite typical in a horror film opening and would look quite spooky fading onto the background.

We have also decided that that main setting of our film will be an alleyway, as this would be seen as quite a spooky place to be, especially when it is quite dark and you're on your own as you have no where to run.

Our film opening will only include four characters/actors as it will only be a short clip, but these characters will be the main ones:
Friend 1 (main character in opening scene)
Friend 2
Friend 3
Murderer/Villain

Analysing a horror film opening

Final Destination 5:

The opening for final destination 5 is quite simple as it just shows a plain back background, however it does show the characters names in the titles in a murky, pale white colour which contrasts against the black background.

There is also various effects that is shown within the title sequence, like when the characters names are on screen an explosions or shattered glass then pops up onto the screen which breaks up the letters of the characters names. Occasionally there would also be splattered blood that would be shown on the screen to represent the death and gore that will be within the film, because even though this film could be seen as quite action like, it has also got a lot of horror conventions within the film and the film opening.

The backing track that is used in the film opening also links in with the horror conventions because it is very tense and it builds up suspense as the titles are shown. Also at the beginning of the opening the film institution logo was shown, which happened to be Warner Bros.

The opening to this film includes most of the typical conventions of a horror/thriller film and this is something we will have to think about when we make our film opening. However when we begin to film our opening I think we will show the characters as well so we give away a little bit about what the film/storyline is about, but not giving too much away.

Analysing AS Level students film openings

For part of our research that we thought would help with our film openings was looking at some other AS students work, so we went onto YouTube to see what kind of film openings were on there and to see if the students had used any of the typical conventions of a film opening. The opening that I decided to analyse was a horror film opening, which was convenient for me as I think this is the genre that my group and I would want to do for our own film opening.

AS Level film opening- The Unseen 

I found a film opening named 'Hidden' and I automatically knew it was going to be a horror film because the first camera shot is an establishing shot of a house, which is where the victim lives and the camera's point of view is from the villain/murderer. Then when the shot cut to inside the house where the victim was sitting in her living room watching TV the lighting was very dark, and a tense/spooky backing track began to quietly play as the camera moved across the room. The camera also carried on reversing back to each character, from inside the house to outside where the villain was slowly beginning to make his way towards/into the victims house, and through out the opening the variety of camera shots used worked really well and built a lot of tension. The backing track also seemed to get a little louder when the villain had entered the house, which again built tension.

Also the close up of the 'blood' running down the drain adds to the gory/horror effect and ending the opening with shots of the victim laying lifeless in the bath covered in 'blood' is also very frightening. The only critic I would have was that the camera was quite blurred so it was hard to make out some things within the opening, also I don't think scissors was the best choice of weapon as it would be more scary to use something more sharp.

Evaluation of preliminary task

For our preliminary task we also had to film the three camera shots that we had learnt in the lesson which were the 180 degree rule, match on action and shot reverse shot. After filming these three shots we uploaded the clips onto our computer and began to edit them on iMovie.

I had not used iMovie before so it was a new challenge for me, but I soon got the hang of the editing process and merging all three clips of the shots together into one big clip. I was able to test out how to slow down or speed up the actual video of the clip or the audio within it, I then was able to cut and delete parts of the clips that I didn't need before finalising them.

By using this program and other programs such as FinalCut I will be able to edit the clips/shots that will be used for my film opening.

Researching film genres

Horror genre

Conventions of a horror:
Camera angles/movement: Low angle, High angle, Extreme close up, Extreme long shot, Point of view shots, tilt, pan, arc, push in pull out, close up. Lighting: Profile, Under lighting, Low key, Back lighting. 
Sound: Eerie/Scary music, stabs, ambient, contrapuntal, demonic laughs, nursery rhymes, incidental music, sinister music. 
Editing: Long takes to build up fear and suspense, sharp cuts, fades, graphic matches.

The horror genre became know in the 1890's and is still very popular today in the film industry, even though this genre of film is not for everyone it is still well known around the world. It has been said that horror films have become more frightening since the genre became known but again, it still remains popular. 

When portraying someone who is to play the frightening character/s the director usually shows them as having deformities, wearing a mask/dark make up or costumes to make them look as scary as possible so when they suddenly show up on the screen the audience jump or gasp. As well as including the typical horror conventions in a film the director also has to think of a good story line so the audience will be hooked into the film and wonder what the outcome will be at the end of the film. 

Horror films are also sometimes described as being 'based on a true story' which will also enable the audience to become more frightened when watching. I also feel that the film opening in the horror genre is crucial because it builds suspense and gives the audience an idea of what the film is about and how the storyline could pan out. 

Preliminary task

For this task we had to film three different camera shots which were:

• Match on action
• Shot reverse shot
• The 180' rule 

A match on action shot is an editing technique for continuity editing in which one shot cuts to another shot portraying the action of the subject in the first shot. When we filmed this type of shot we filmed Viki and I walking away from the camera but only from our knees down, so the camera was zoomed in. We then cut to another shot which showed the same thing, however the camera was then zoomed out to show a whole body shot of Viki and I walking away. I feel that we filmed this camera shot technique very well as we showed a basic definition of the shot and what it would look like if in a film, however if we were to film this shot again I would make a more complex situation to include the shot in.

A shot reverse shot is a technique used in conversations or simply characters looking at each other or objects when being filmed. When filming this shot Nicole and I were shown having a normal conversation with the camera first focusing on me when I started the conversation, we then cut to Nicole as she answered my question as the camera would focus on the person who is talking. The camera then reversed back to me as I began to speak, this showed a simple shot reverse shot technique. I think that this shot technique will help us a lot when we are creating our film opening as it will be frequently used if we show conversations within our opening.

The 180 degree rule is shown in the diagram below:

You only use one side of the circle when filming, you don't cross the action line. When filming this shot Viki and I were shown having a conversation and Nicole was standing to one side of us whilst using the 180 degree rule to film us. The shot taken was ok, however the camera was a bit shaky and we were looking away from the camera and that is something we will have to avoid if we use this shot in our film opening.

Researching film institutions

Dreamworks animation
During the lesson today we were asked to research into various film institutions and I chose to research into the Dreamworks animation film institute as it is a well known company and is used in many popular films.

Dreamworks was founded in 1994 and are linked to the genre of animation films, which is given away in the name of the company (Dreamworks Animation) and have released a total of twenty seven feature films, including the popular franchises Shrek, Madagascar, Kung-Fu Panda, Monsters vs. Aliens and How To Train Your Dragon.

Three of the biggest Dreamworks Animation films are Shrek 2, Shrek the Third and Shrek Forever After and are among the 50 highest grossing films of all time, and fifteen of the Dreamworks films are in the 50 highest grossing animation films, with Shrek 2 being number four in the rankings.

So far Dreamworks Animation has been awarded with two Academy Awards and numerous Annie and Emmy awards, along with multiple BAFTA and Golden Globe nominations. 

Film institutions are used when creating films because these companies are the ones that pay for the film to be made and shown in cinemas worldwide, depending on how popular the film institute is and how big the demand is for the film. When watching a film or a film trailer and you recognise the introduction of the film institution you will usually know what genre the film will be as soon as you see it because most of the time the film institution that funds a film links with the genre that the film could be.

Film opening analysis 2

The Woman In Black:
The genre of this film is horror and the opening scene fades in to a close up of the china tea set that the three little girls are playing with. As the opening scene ends with a shot of the woman in black from behind the image then fades out into a murky grey colour and the title of the film then fades in with the murky background in black writing, and these sort of colours are commonly used within the horror genre. The use of fading in and out is also commonly used. The images shown are three little girls who are just playing in their room with their toys which seems like an innocent thing and the close ups of the girls shows their smiling faces, however throughout the whole scene the camera is moving very slowly to create suspense which is a build up to the woman in black arriving and you can tell when she is present because the girls all simultaneously look towards her then to the window. Finally the soundtrack used in the scene begins as quite innocent and child-like, similar to a child's musical box, however it can be seen as quite spooky. You can also hear the sound effects of the china dolls and toys breaking when the girls mindlessly stands on them. The soundtrack then begins to intensify when the woman in black is present, it becomes louder and more dramatic as the three girls get closer to the window, then as soon as the girls jump from the window the track slightly fades out, then back in to end the scene dramatically.

Film opening analysis

Love actually:
The genre of this film is Romantic comedy and the film opening is quite long. The titles show the text fading in and out in the colour white so it stands out from the coloured background, however as the characters names fade in the first letter of their names is shown in red which is a contrast to the white titles, as red can be used to symbolise love and then the white to symbolise innocence. The images shown during the title sequence is like an introduction to the characters and their stories because throughout the film there are different stories being told at the same time period, for example the singer in the recording studio is one story. At the very beginning it also shows various people hugging their loved ones and reuniting at Heathrow airport which links with the title of the film 'Love Actually'. Finally the soundtrack used is a very subtle piano playing in the background as the scene begins, however as the scene moves on their is a character (Hugh Grant) commentating over the images being shown, the scene then cuts into showing the first character and his story.

Love Actually film opening

Why I chose A-Level Media Studies

I decided to study A-Level media because I feel that it is a very interesting subject. I studied it at GCSE and gained a good grade so I wanted to experience the subject further. When I attended the induction lessons I found the introduction to the subject very useful and thought that it would be a great decision to keep it as one of my options. Media Studies also has a link to my career aspiration which is to be a Journalist and the course consisted of work that I feel would benefit me in the future, the course will also introduce me to new challenges and tasks such as creating a film opening, and using new software such as iMovie. A-Level Media will also allow me to work independently and in groups to complete the tasks set. I feel that I will enjoy this subject as I am familiar with some of the aspects already but can still learn new skills, it may be a challenge at first but hopefully I will be able to cope with the new software and various tasks set.