Shot List

Here are the shots of which we want to include in our opening sequence to our Psychological thriller:

  Extreme long shot/ Establishing shot:

Both of these shots are similar in the way that they both reveal a lot about the location but don't really focus on what the characters are doing. By doing this it points out to the audience that this is a key location and to pay attention to it. The other purpose of this shots is to set the scene so the audience know exactly where the film is set.

Two Shot:

We want to possibly use this shot in order to show the body language of two characters at the same time. This can also show the relationship between the two as if they're close we know they are comfortable with one another, if they were far away we would pick up on it.

Over the shoulder:
The effect of this shot gives the audience a different perception and view on the situation and also the other character. It makes the audience almost feel more of a part of the piece, engaging them and revealing the expressions effectively.

Long shot:

A long shot allows the audience to really look at the character as it reveals all their costumes and still manages to communicate some of the facial features. The use of this can also give an insight into the character themselves; their attitude, personality and mood.

High angle:

The use of a high angle makes the person/ character/ object appear small. This could communicate and illustrate isolation and vulnerability as its like the audience themselves are looking down, almost judging the person. This could be used effectively in our opening sequence to represent status and to enforce the atmosphere in certain circumstances.

Low Angle:

The low angle completely contrasts with the high angle not just because it shows the character in a different light but by looking at the image there is a real sense of power and authority communicated from it. This could be used in our opening to show the status between the characters giving the audience an insight into them more.

Mid Shot:

Mid shots are effective in just generally presenting the character to the audience as they are still shown the top half of the body so they can still see some, yet limited body language but you focus more on the characters facial expressions and you can clearly see them. This would be good to use if we want to show both; expressions and body language.

Close Up:

Close ups are ideal in revealing the characters facial expressions and identity. It lets the audience focus of their details and to clearly identify them for when they appear later on in the film. Close ups would be used to help create and add to a specific mood and atmosphere.

Big Close Up:

 This type of shot reveals more to the audience in a sense of detail and establishing expression. This specific shot could be used (just like the image) to present a character walking, this in a way will create a mysterious atmosphere as you cant identify the person; clearly linking in with the conventions of our chosen genre.

Extreme Close Up:

This shot type is commonly used in thrillers as it doesn't reveal to much of the characters identity, building up the mysterious atmosphere for the audience to be engaged by as it doesn't give away to much, making the audience want to watch on an get introduced into the character.

Dutch Tilt:
A dutch tilt can be used in our opening sequence to communicate confusion and establish a certain uneasy atmosphere. This will clearly go with our genre of a Psychological Thriller as these are commonly seen throughout them. This camera movement can be used in any camera shot to give a different, desired effect on the audience.

Film synopsis

At the beginning of the film, the audience are introduced to Jess' character (Emily). We witness her everyday life and how it begins to spiral out of control. Then at once we see her turn, we see that she has created in her mind a relationship with Scott's character (Daniel). A man she believes she knows yet he has no recognition of her.  

Things turn for the worst when Emily's mind deteriorates when she becomes obsessed over this person she doesn't even know. Emily is heartbroken when she learns that Daniel is in a strong, stable relationship with the woman that once her best friend. Later on we then watch on how Emily can't control herself anymore...has she gone to far?

Initial Ideas

The locations that we think we could possibly film in would be dark, eerie places to create a specific atmosphere. The use of low key lighting which would reveal/not reveal the aspects chosen. We thought up locations such as Waterloo, Piccadilly and a general house.

Focusing on costumes, props we wanted each character  to have a specific one so that the audience can clearly identify them. The costumes need to communicate and suit the personality/ attitude of each one The props need to link in with what's happening e.g. knife, fake blood etc.

When working together we developed our ideas by taking the basic point of "challenging stereotypes" and thought how we could work around this. We each took turns in what we thought we could do and if it would work and be effective. We chose to do a thriller as we really wanted to concentrate on building up the tension/suspense as wall as giving an intriguing story line. We also wanted to break away from the typical stereotypes of the role of genders in the genre.

Advance research-Questionnaire

Here are the results that I found whilst carrying out research on the audience; their likes, dislikes, interests and expectations:

Looking at the results in the gifs and the charts created you can clearly identify what our target audience is looking for in a good and effective opening sequence. The reason I chose these 3 specific questionnaires is due to the fact that two are from the target audience age and the other isn't. I wanted to do this to show how different aged people feel about what they want to see and what they think about the specific genre itself. For example, when comparing the 40+ to the 21-25's answers we see that the younger answers are much more stereotypical locations that they say they see in an opening sequence such as a haunted house. Where as the 40+ states locations such as country sides, eerie narrow streets and places that build up an atmosphere. Also looking at each of my questionnaires you can clearly identify that the conventions that the audience commonly want to and see in an opening sequence are: titles over a moving image, low key lighting, uneasy (eerie) music and a non-linnear narrative. By taking into account each individual's answers my group and can clearly work out what our audience want to see and want they don't. We can take this on to develop our ideas when producing the opening sequence so it appeals to our target audience effectively. With these results found from the research we are going to include the title over a moving image, uneasy/eerie music and make it a non-linear narrative. 

This graph above shows how old people were who took part in answering the questionnaire. The majority of people asked were aged 16-20 which is our intended target audience. The other ages were asked as I wanted to know what their views were and opinions are to then compare them to those of a younger age.

This chart above simply shows that more females were asked than male. This could then give an insight that maybe more females watch Thrillers that Males do.

This graph above shows peoples favorite genre. As you can see Thriller is one of the most popular which reinforces that this is a popular genre and suggests that we'd have a wider audience of which this will be aimed to.

This chart above clearly shows what people mostly like to see in a Thriller opening sequence. As seen above you can see that the most popular elements were: 'Title over moving image', ' Uneasy/eerie music', 'A Non-linear narrative', 'Low key lighting' and 'Symbolic, foreshadowing imagery'. We're going to take all these opinions into consideration and include them in our sequence.

Location research

This first photo looks effective as you have the eerie trees hiding the houses of parliament and Big Ben in the background. This to me gives them a human characteristic as it seems as they are looking over you. Also the lighting in the extreme long shot wouldn't really reveal to much of the character, creating a mysterious aspect and also gives the audience a sense of location as you know where it is based but still doesn't give away anything about the storyline itself.

This second location has a sense of mystery to it as its really empty, there's no one walking and appears to be quite spooky and eerie. this would be a good place to film as you can get some interesting shots and anglesof whatever you're filing and also due to the fact that the persons face would be sort of hidden due to the lights. I think this because as people were walking past i couldn't really makes out their faces which just adds to the whole mystery element that this location withholds.

The reason I took this photo was due to the fact that there is this giant, old aged building in the background which is partly hidden by the trees in front. Also the atmosphere that is created by this is daunting in the sense that you have this spooky looking building lit up by a few lights almost haunting the photo. The extreme long shot really creates a general negative mood due to the effective Mise En Scene within.

What are the conventions of a thriller opening sequence?

• Titles: The titles tend to fit in with the mood that is being built and connects with the sound the majority of the time to create an eerie, chilling atmosphere

• Camera shots, angles, movement help to reveal key elements to the audience for them to identify and the framing and positioning of the shots can build up suspense and mystery. The camera can alse communicate certain things such as a dutch angle (tilt) can suggest confusion.

• Editing: Editing is key in thiller opening sequences because they can reveal and illustrate a lot about the story itself. For instance, fast paced shots can build up tension and panic where as slow shots can add more mysterious and eerie elements to the scene.

• Sound: In thriller openings we tend to hear quite eerie and uneasy music that suggests and builds tension and suspense. The use of this sometimes can go with the Mise En Scene, lighting and the speed of the shots. The atmosphere can be cleverly pieced together just by the use of music on its own.

• Mise En Scene: This can show the audience who, what, when, where, why and how whatever is being shown happened. Despite this, we will never be shown to much that it will give away the story line, the film needs to be able to hook and grab the audience's attention so they can then watch on. Also, the lighting and colours used can connect with some of the other conventions such as sound. We generally see low key lighting and a lot of cold blues and dark mysterious colours in order to build up the opening sequence effectively.

Analysis of 2nd genre opening sequence (Unknown)

The film starts by introducing the audience the logo's of the companys that produced and worked on the film. We then see the camera pan left across clouds. At first we don't know that it has any relevance and soft, piano music starts playing creating a calm, tranquil mood. Then as the shot progresses we are revealed that we are inside an airplane as the camera tracks out making the audience feel as though they are literally on the plane. As the camera continues to track out we are slowly revealed to a male character asking "Who is he?" and "Where is he going on the plane?" We are then shown the main characters name of which we can link to the man that is in the close up. The camera cuts to a shot of him writing in his notebook then back to a mid shot of him and darkness around him making us think he's on his own. Then the camera cuts to a long shot that reveals that his is with a femal character. Who is she? What is their relatiobship? Do they know one another? The scene then comes to life as the lighting becomes brighter revealing more of the appearance of the characters.

As the scene progresses we are revealed more of the actors and actresses names that were involved in the film.

When the two characters go through passport control we see a close up of the males passport revealing information about who he is. The woman behind the desk says "Mr and Mrs Harris, welcome to Berlin." As she say's this questions are confirmed of what their relationship is and where they are. The camera then cuts to a big close up of him putting his passport into his briefcase, this gives it some importance and makes the audience identify that it could possibly be a key prop.

As the two characters get out of the airport we can then shown the time of year as it is snowing so it suggests that it is winter. The title of the film then appears and first we see the word "known" and then the "un" fades in after which then obviously makes up the name "Unknown". This adds mystery to the atmosphere as we just see this as being maybe a romance type film not a thriller but the atmosphere created by just this happening starts to put the audience on edge. This make the audience go into deep thought about why the "known" appeared first. When we get the mid shot of the car door closing and it driving away the camera tilts down to reveal that he left the briefcase behind. This reinforces the importance of it and makes us feel, once again, part of the piece.

The music then turns dramatic, dark and serious as we see extreme long shots of the locations setting the scene more as well as close ups of the couple in the car. In one shot the camera is focused on the males face which at first seems concerned and then the camera pulls focus to the woman, following what he is looking at, revealing her reaction and facial expression. The characters then have a conversation which lets the audience learn more about the two as a couple, their past. The shot, reverse shots that are used help to show eachothers reactions and expressions. The camera then reveals more extreme long shots of the car travelling and at the same time showing the job titles of whom were involved in the film.

The last shot we see is of the woman. The use of this mid close up of her creates a sense of uncertainty amongst the audience as she seems to be a different person when she is away from her husband, one of which doesn't seem right. This adds to the slight tension created and puts the audience on edge a little making them want to watch on to reveal what actually happens.

Analysis of 1st genre opening sequence (Black Swan)

What titles are there in an opening sequence?

These are the two company's that are the distributors of the film. The distributors jobs are to obviously distribute it to the public and sell it on to the audience etc.

These are found

 right at the start of films so they are advertised. We see the production company that helped produce and fund the movie and then the picture company that helped edit it together.

Then we are shown some of the names of the actors and actresses that are involved in the film. We commonly tend to find that their names appear in order of appearance or importance. In this case Jodie Foster is the main actress. 

After we are shown the most important actors and actresses we are revealed to the actual title of the film. We know this is the title due to its serif styles font, creating a statement and standing out more.

 After the title of the film is revealed we are then introduced to more of the actors and actresses that worked on the film. The purpose of the two names in one shot could mean that they are possibly in a scene together or have a key connection in some way.

We then see the people who were directly involved in making the film start to be introduced from the least important to the most, the opposite to the actors and actresses. The job of the casting person is to specificaly cast actors and actresses for certain roles, auditioning and contacting their manager to organise specific things.

The role of the costume designer is to simply design and produce the costumes for the actors and actresses to wear as their specific characters.

The role of the person in charge of the music is to choose a specific soundtrack that fits in with the film. Choosing music that would help to build up a certain atmosphere to create an equal outcome on the audience watching.

The role of the film editors are to simply piece together the collection of filmed scenes, using specific and intentional transitions etc, in order to create a specific effect on the audience such as fast cuts to add tension and panic to the piece.

The job of the production designer is to choose and locate locations and set for the scenes to take place in to continue the realism of the scenes.

The use of the director of photography are the people who set up the cameras; where they go, if they look right, is the specific shot and angle right etc. This is to make sure that maximum continuity is continued throughout.

The producers are rarely seen directly on set as these are the people who sometimes fund the production of the film and aren't really involved in the production side but mostly the buisness side.

The writer is obviously the person who wrote the piece. That fact that it states "written by" and not "screenplay by" tells the audience that this is a piece of original work. It's not a recreation, it's his.

The director is seen to be the most important person of whom is involved in the making of the film as they are the person who tell the actors where they need to be positioned so the piece is at a high standard and has clear continuity, points out changes that need to be made, looking over and confirming the cinematography and bringing the script to life.

Here is another example of a Title sequence: 

What are the conventions of a title sequence?

Conventions of a Titles Sequence on Prezi

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