The Production Company

The production company we have decided to use is New Line Cinema because as we were researching, we noticed that this production company was starting to be used frequently as psychological thrillers were being released a lot more.

It fits in well with the genre because of the way the logo looks as the colours are blue, black and white which are dark and create a mysterious mood. As soon as the logo is shown, the whistling will start which will create an uncomfortable atmosphere.

This is what the logo will look like at the start of the film:

Sounds Being Used In The Opening Sequence

In our opening sequence, we will be using a variety of diegetic and non-diegetic sounds. We have decided to use both rather than just music playing in the background or all noises from when we were filming because this will create a creepy atmosphere which fits in well with our genre.

The sounds we will be using is a recording of a man whistling to 'Oranges and Lemons'. This is a nursery rhyme which is associated with children which automatically makes the audience feel weird as our film is a psychological thriller about dolls.

As well as this, we will also be using sounds from when we were filming so traffic going past the garage, sudden shuffling and footsteps. We want to include these sounds because this will make the opening sequence look more natural and also create an uncomfortable mood.

'Psycho' Opening Sequence Analysis

In order to get some ideas for our opening sequence, I researched by looking at some psychological thrillers opening sequences like Psycho.

The introduction to the film does not show any characters but just shows all the credits which have been made in quite an eerie way. I think this has been done to make the audience feel uncomfortable as soon as they start watching the film because the background sound is creepy. I think they may have not shown any characters as well to set the scene and to make the audience pay more attention to the roles they play as the film begins to start.

Throughout the whole of the opening credits, they have only used colours (black and white) as these are dark and if they did use any bright colours as such, then they would ruin the mood.

The font is also all in capitals which creates a more serious atmosphere then if there was childish writing because now the audience know this is a thriller.

The style in which the names of the people involved in the film also come together from opposite sides of the screen which also creates a serious effect.

Camera Angles For Opening Sequence

In my opening sequence, I will be using medium shots, close ups and extreme close ups. I will be using the medium shots to show some detail in the actions, whilst using close ups/extreme close ups to show specific details of mise-en-scene and emphasis on a certain thing. Low angle shots will be used at times to suggest that the character has power over the other characters, a situation, or even the audience. 


Medium Shots

This is a medium shot from the film Scream 2. The actresses facial expression and clothes are able to be seen using this shot and we can sense innocence because of the use of the colour white. Her blonde hair, pale skin and creme top are all similar and white is usually associated with innocence or purity. 

This is a medium-shot from the film, Psycho, and shows how all we can see is a silhouette but we can still see what the character is doing as well as the light that is shining behind them.

This is the same effect I want to create with the use of mid-shots because the characters clothing, some of the surroundings, and his actions will able to be seen. 

Close Ups

This is a close up from silence of the lambs. The mask he has on his face is usually associated with animals, which gives the impression that he is insane whilst the straight jacket he is wearing, which we can only see part of obviously lets an audience know what he is mad. It also has many other connotations such as murder, death, and mystery. This angle lets us see the mans penetrating eyes that look red and sore in this picture. 

The use of this shot shows a lot of emotion and emphasis on something in particular which is what I want to include in my opening sequence. 

Extreme Close-ups

Extreme close-ups of a face, for example, show only the mouth or eye in this example, of someone without any background detail at all. This kind of shot can be used to dramatic effect and means that when filming, you have to be careful with the camera and lighting as one slight movement can be seen easily in this type of shot. In this title, the title is shown on an extreme close up of someones eye.

I want to use extreme close ups to show detail of certain aspects of mise en scene and to create more emphasis and unease from from objects that usually wouldn't be seen in a negative way.

Research done by Tasnim Khanum.

Background Sound - 'Oranges and Lemons'

For the background sound of our opening sequence, we had initially planned to use the humming of a nursery rhyme. This however, didn't sound as effective and 'creepy' as whistling. Therefore, we have decided to use whistling of the nursery rhyme 'Oranges And Lemons', only having having the following lyrics being said in a serious tone at the end to finish the sequence off:

"Here comes a Candle to light you to Bed

Here comes a Chopper to Chop off your Head

Chip chop chip chop - the Last Man's Dead."

These words have an eery meaning behind them for a nursery rhyme, which is a contrast that suits our genre of film. Nursery rhymes are also conventionally used within psychological thrillers. 

 

 

Props

• Dolls
• Scissors, Scalper, Hammer, Screwdriver, Knives (Other Tools)
• Wooden Jewellery Box
• Chalk
• Fake Hair (Extensions)
• Desk
• Wooden Chair
• Ladder

Background Sounds

We looked at many different 'songs' which we could hum or whistle to for our opening sequence as this would have a creepier effect. We thought that if we used a nursery rhyme instead of a random song then this would have more significance especially for the genre of our film as our film is based on dolls, a nursery rhyme would fit in really well.

We looked at 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star' and even attempted whistling to it and it did sound creepy however we didn't think it went well with our film and the song itself has been overused.

We also looked at 'Ring Around The Rosie' because the meaning of the nursery rhyme itself is quite eerie. We researched this and found that the words to the nursery rhyme were to do with the Great Plague of London in 1665 (Black Death). The symptoms of the plague included a rosy red rash in the shape of a ring. People also used to carry sweet smelling herbs (posies) in their pockets because it was said that the disease was transmitted by bad smells. Just by knowing this we thought that the nursery rhyme would be very effective however, we tried this as well but it didn't fit in with our film either so we decided not to use it.

We then thought that we could just get Titas to hum or whistle along to a random tune that we could come up with but we still thought that if we have a song that the audience would recognise, especially a nursery rhyme, then a eerier atmosphere would be created.

Title Sequence (Final Idea)

After doing some further research and looking into the feedback that we were given, we have decided not to include the hallway scene as we want to create a more suggestive opening rather than including too much action.

We will be filming our entire opening sequence at my house, as we will not have to get permission and do not have a set time limit.

Our opening sequence will start off with a few titles e.g. Warner Bro's Cinema. This will be followed by a clip of a line up of dolls. You will then hear the sound of the humming becoming louder as Salem (Titas) stands in front of the dolls, showing his shadow, and picks one up. After another title, there will be a close up as he places the doll on a desk, which will then be followed by a clip of the equipment he will use (e.g. scissors, carving knife, scalpel). We will hold it on each clip for around 8-9 seconds depending on what we are showing. Next, we will hear the disturbing sound of a chair screeching across the floor as he pulls it out and sits down. The focus will then be on his hands as he slowly touches the equipment and selects one (scissors) picking it up carefully. Salem's hands will have plasters on them, and we will cover them with chalk so they look worn out slightly. As he uses the scissors and you can hear the sharp snip snip of his cutting, the focus will change to the wall behind him, which will be covered in pictures of women who resemble dolls. We will be asking permission of girls to take photos of them as their doing stuff, as we want the photos to look as if they had been taken by a stalker.

You will be able to tell that he is male because our male character (Titas) will be humming the tune of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" throughout the scene as well as a few grunts as he forcefully cuts the hair. He will be putting the hair in a wooden jewellery box that is already full of hair. Between these shots we will be using a black background, with a shaky font to show the titles.

We will be using a variation of close up shots and mid-shots, without showing any faces, as we want to create more emphasis on whats going on, and give an insight into our psychopathic characters actions and mind set.

The opening sequence will end with Salem placing the deformed doll near a photo of a girl that resembles the doll. you will be able to see his shadow against the wall and then see his hand open the garage door with a remote. the noise of the garage door will be creepy and add to the atmosphere we are going to be trying to create. the final shot will be of his feet walking towards the garage door on a blood stained floor and show the garage shutters opening slowly up until his neck, which is when the title "DOLLS" comes up.

BBFC Rating (Certification)

 

After listening to the feedback that the class had to give, one of the main issues was the 12a rating my group had previously agreed on and whether the contents of our opening sequence was suitable for such a young audience. We decided to take this information into consideration and after some research, we have now decided to certify our film a 15. Written below are some official guidelines stating what is expected from a film of this certification.

No one younger than 15 may see a ‘15’ film in a cinema. No one younger than 15 may rent or buy a ‘15’ rated video work.

Every mainstream film by law has to have a film certificate on it or the film cannot be released for showing.


 Universal - Suitable for audiences aged 4 and older.


 Parental Guidance - General viewing but some scenes may be unsuitable for young children.


 12A - Film is unsuitable for children aged under 12 however, they may view this film if someone aged 18 and over is with them at all times during the showing.


 12 - Suitable for 12 and over.


 15 - Suitable for 15 and over.


 18 - Suitable for 18 and over.


 Restricted 18 - Can only be shown in specially licensed cinemas or in licensed sex shops and cannot be bought by anyone aged under 18.


 To Be Confirmed - This is shown on films that have been submitted to the BBFB and are still waiting for their final rating.

Discrimination

The work as a whole must not endorse discriminatory language or behaviour.

Drugs

Drug taking may be shown but the film as a whole must not promote or encourage drug misuse. The misuse of easily accessible and highly dangerous substances (for example, aerosols or solvents) is unlikely to be acceptable.

Horror

Strong threat and menace are permitted unless sadistic or sexualised.

Imitable behaviour

Dangerous behaviour (for example, hanging, suicide and self-harming) should not dwell on detail which could be copied. Easily accessible weapons should not be glamourised.

Language

There may be frequent use of strong language (for example, ‘fuck’). The strongest  terms (for example, ‘cunt’) may be acceptable if justified by the context. Aggressive or repeated use of the strongest language is unlikely to be acceptable.

Nudity

Nudity may be allowed in a sexual context but without strong detail. There are no constraints on nudity in a non-sexual or educational context.

Sex

Sexual activity may be portrayed without strong detail. There may be strong verbal references to sexual behaviour, but the strongest references are unlikely to be acceptable unless justified by context. Works whose primary purpose is sexual arousal or stimulation are unlikely to be acceptable.

Theme

No theme is prohibited, provided the treatment is appropriate for 15 year olds.

Violence

Violence may be strong but should not dwell on the infliction of pain or injury. The strongest gory images are unlikely to be acceptable. Strong sadistic or sexualised violence is also unlikely to be acceptable. There may be detailed verbal references to sexual violence but any portrayal of sexual violence must be discreet and have a strong contextual justification.

I think it is important we have researched this because one of the things we have to think about in our film is the audience and by having a high age rated film you are restricting the amount of people that can watch the film and if this was a real life scenario it would mean that the film makers would make less money.  The things I could do to make the age rating of the film a bit lower is to reduce the amount of blood and gore in the film. This is a big reason why most films are given the '18' rating but a lot of directors have found loop holes where they could bypass this like Alfred Hitchcock. He made most of his films in black and white so he could show more gore.

Some research also done by Tasnim Khanum. 

Location Shoot - My Garage

On the 9th of November 2011, we went to my house to see how the chosen location would fit into our opening sequence and where we could place our props and films. Shown below are the photos we took:

    These pictures shows the garage we are going to use with the shutters up and then down.

We want to give the impression that the garage is just like any other in layout but is used for a more  hidden, dark purpose. This ladder on the wall is what is typical of a garage however we will be using the one below for our male character is coming down the ladder from the attic.

We also decided, whilst we were there that we were going to use this light flickering as part of our opening.

This is the floor of the garage and the messiness of it will add to the atmosphere.

These car screen washers resemble acid, or the kind of containers that acid may be in, so we're going to re-label them and use them as props when showing the garage in more detail.

This is the range of tools that were in one of the cupboards. We may use this cupboard for our character to get his tools out of, e.g. the scissors he uses to cut the dolls hair in the sequence. 

This is another picture of the tools we may use to emphasise his psychotic state of mind.

This is the hole in the ceiling that leads up to the attic we are going to start the whole sequence off from. The darkness of the place will be eery at the beginning because the audience will only be able to hear the humming but not see anything. 

Other than the obvious garage shutters, this is the other door that leads to the garage. The cold metal door with bolts in it gives the impression that the door is not meant to be opened.

 

 

Se7en Opening Sequence Analysis

Right from the start of this opening sequence, I noted the colour that it has been edited into. The brown and grey tinged clips create an illusion that all the things the character is doing is in the dark. This makes his actions look secretive which contrasts nicely with the plain black background that the titles are put onto. The sequence consists of clips of a males hands doing various things e.g. writing something in a notebook and more significantly, using a blade to cut the skin off his fingertips (shown below). Without it being said, the audience can guess that this is an indication that he doesnt want his DNA to be traced.

The font used for the titles looks like handwriting, and is shaken as it is put up on the screen. This goes with the fast paced and snappy way about this opening sequence. The font is written in plain white which is a good contrast with its black background. Because the character is shown writing, it almost creates the effect that he has written these names down and rather than it emphasising the real names of the actors in a way to show this, it shows them in a way that still matches the film.

There is enough shown in these clips to give us an idea of what he is doing but not why or in any relation with the storyline which this opening sequence doesn't show. All it does is establish the setting and give an insight onto the kind of weird and obsessive things this character does.

The music used is interesting because the sounds of the child and the machinery is used along with the music and becomes part of it.

I will be using this as an inspiration for my opening sequence and studying some of the camera angles used e.g. close ups.

Research done by Tasnim Khanum.

Mood Board

We decided to use these images in our mood board because we want our audience to get the feeling they do when they see these pictures whilst watching our opening sequence.

Seven - Poster Analysis

I also looked at the cover of 'Seven' because this is another psychological thriller with an interesting storyline. It was made by David Fincher and is about two detectives who hunt a serial killer using the seven deadly sins as his method of operation.






















The cover seems very dark and twisted because the eyes of the characters seem to be looking straight at you. The font of the title stands out the most because it is written in white which contrasts with the rest of the colours used on the cover. The cover intrigues the audience because of the way it has been laid out It makes the audience want to watch the film and find out what the word 'seven' has to do with the two men and what 'seven' could actually indicate.

Black Swan - Poster Analysis

I decided to look at 'Black Swan' as well because that it also a good psychological thriller and has an interesting cover. This film was made by Darren Aronofsky and is about a ballet dancer who wins the lead in 'Swan Lake' and seems to fit the role of the White Swan however starts losing her mind and becomes more like the Black Swan.

From this cover, you can see a lady's face which does look creepy as she has red eyes and dark makeup. She is also wearing a crown which indicates that she may be of some importance. Although there is a lot of writing on this cover, the main writing which can be seen is 'Black Swan' because it is in a darker colour than the rest. By doing this, they clearly show what the title of the film is and describe what the film is about without giving too much away.

Pyscho - Poster Analysis

After researching many DVD covers and posters for psychological thrillers, I have found that they do have many similarities between them.
Alfred Hitchcock is the director of the very well known 1960's film 'Psycho' in which a young woman steals money from her employer's client and encounters a young motel proprietor too long under the dominationj of his mother. I have decided to look at this cover because the film is a very well-known psychological thriller.





From this cover, you cannot really tell that it is a psychological thriller apart from the title 'Psycho'. The font of the title 'Psycho' is broken up which does create an uneasy atmosphere because you can tell that there are going to be 'weird' parts in the film. The images of the man and woman do not really seem 'scary' as such but do make the audience feel a little curious. The writing at the top says 'A new- and altogether different- screen excitement!!!' which attracts the audience because the director claims that this is different from the rest so the audience would definitely want to watch it. I think they decided to make the cover like this because it does not give too much away however provides a hint of horror in the film.

Split - Feedback

Group - Nile, Omar, Liban & Shingai

There is a lot going on, would they be able to fit this into two minutes?

Think of how they would do the camera shots like the overhead one for when the main character is in an exam and would they be able to have enough extras in order for this scene to look realistic?

Think about background noises and locations.

Our Presentation & Feedback

As a group, we had to make a presentation to show to the rest of the groups on our ideas for our opening sequence so far. We needed to use the information we researched and present it so we did this using Prezi. Here are a few screen shots:















After we presented this, we received feedback in order to help us improve our idea.

We gave our film a certificate rating of 12A which needs to be looked at again because some of our ideas which we are going to use in our opening sequence will not be suitable for people in their early teens. We have considered changing it to 15 because that seems like a much more suitable age for our audience.

We have been advised to look at Rosemary's Baby and Repulsion because we decided to use a long hallway and the films also make use of this so it could provide some inspiration.

Instead of using POV shots which is what we originally decided to use to create an uneasy atmosphere, we were told to use suggestions and symbolism so that we could provide a greater effect.

We were also told to think of real sounds to use for eg. chalk on a board and others which would make the audience feel uncomfortable.

Also to complete our mood board and 9-frame analysis.

Gloves Up! - Feedback

Group - Junuz, Luke, Titas & Ishaq.

Good layout - really thought out everything like costumes, who else is needed etc.

How are they going to show the time difference? Have to make sure they don't include anything too modern when they go back in time 20 years and keep the location in mind.

The cover of the film doesn't give too much away but gives an idea of what the film is about. Also, it does not show any characters which makes the audience more curious.

Not allowed to use music that has already been made so would have to think more about that.

Opening Sequence (1)

Taking into account that the opening sequence must not give too much information away but essentially 'set the scene', we have formed an idea based on our chosen genre of film; a thriller. Thriller's usually contain a lot of flash imagery, a key substance in our opening.


We are going to start our sequence by showing a quick shot of a detached, old looking house, in what looks like the middle of nowhere, followed by a P.O.V shot. The P.O.V shot will follow our lead male character, a psychopath, creeping down a narrow hallway with a ajar door at the end of it, only to end with him hearing a door bang behind him and turn around. There will be heavy breathing and suspenseful music in the background; a way to engage the audience into feeling like they are there themselves. The sequence will include 6 flashbacks, one showing the psychopath cutting a doll's hair, and then doing the same to a real girl.


None of the characters features will be shown, as we want to focus the attention on their actions rather than the characters themselves. We may use a split screen, showing the doll and the girl on either side, having the male character first cutting their hair, then burning them, then throwing acid at them, however, this is yet to be decided upon.


As the flashbacks happen, the titles will be also appear on screen, left long enough for the name to be read, then changed again. The feeling of the opening sequence should leave the audience slightly uncomfortable, whilst wanting to know more because of the way it ends.


This piece of work was done by Tasnim Khanum.

2.20

This particular short film interested me because it contains a lot of action and has a unusual storyline.

The man who was just sitting down about to eat his food was given 'old' glasses from a woman who had come over to him with a trolley. As soon as she put the glasses down on the table, she walked away which shows a lack of communication indicating that it was quite a serious moment. When he puts the glasses on, a whole bunch of numbers start appearing whenever a human being is visible. You then realize that this is actually showing a date of when something is going to happen. He carried on walking and then seen his reflection in a car window and it said 'WARNING' and showed he only had a few seconds left till whatever was going to happen. He then turns around and sees the woman again across the road who is looking straight back at him with a serious look. As the camera zooms into her eye, you see the man just about to get hit by a bus in the reflection of her eye.

I think that this is a good film because even though it is only two minutes and twenty seconds long, it shows a lot of different emotions. There is a lot of confusion throughout most of the film but as the end starts nearing, it all starts to make sense. The film gets you thinking about whether or not the man may have survived if the woman did not give him the glasses as he would not be walking around but eating instead. However, could she have been representing someone and therefore he would have died anyway?

There are certain parts of this film which my group may consider putting into our opening sequence for example the reflection in her eye showing the death rather than actually showing someone dying because this has more effect. Also, showing a random woman coming up to someone in the street and giving them something creates an uncomfortable atmosphere attracting the viewer even more because they would want to know what would happen as the film goes on.

Initial Treatment

The opening sequence is going to start off the storyline about a dead woman who has come back to haunt the man who killed her just so his wife and children wouldn't find out.
It will start off by showing the family living their daily life and then change to the woman's point of view. There will also be shots where one of the children can actually see the dead woman but no-one will believe him. We will then show flashbacks of when the man and woman were having the affair to explain the story in a short amount of time.There will be a clear difference made between the wife and the dead woman to show the significance of the story line.
As the opening sequence starts, nice, calm music will be played to set a happy atmosphere. When showing the flashbacks, we will use sound effects instead to show more emotion like fear and regret. The flashbacks will also be in black and white or sepia to show that it was in the past.
The scenes will all be set in the house except for some of the flashbacks which will be shown outside, of the man and woman walking, holding hands etc. The family shots will most likely be downstairs whereas the dead woman shots will be upstairs to show the different levels and to show that the woman is 'looking down on them'.
There will be many different shots for example, point of view shots when showing the dead woman's perspective, over the shoulder shots when showing the family in their daily routine, zooming in and out as we are showing the flashbacks.
As the film would carry on, scenes would be shown where the dead woman leaves hints around the house which the wife starts noticing and realizes that there is something wrong in the house. The child who can see the woman will try telling the parents but they take no notice of him. The husband starts to worry as the description fits his lovers. Burnt pictures will be left around the house and then random videos will start playing on the TV and computer showing her husband and the dead woman having the affair. The film will end by the husband being tortured to death just like the dead woman was and the whole family having to watch him as he dies.

Synopsis

If our opening sequence was to be a full length feature film then it would have to include a full plot, including an opening, middle, and ending. After much discussion, my group and I have decided that our film would have been about a teenage girl named Andrea, aged 15, who had been abducted whilst she was walking home from school, alone.

The story would follow on to show how she was then taken to her kidnappers house in a busy street in coventry. The house looked very average, but was in fact sound insulated and used a torture dungeon. He took Andrea there to be tortured and raped, whilst she had no clue as to where she was or why. The anonymous man would frequently brand Andrea with red hot metal, burn her with acidic substances, and also cut locks of her hair off and store them in jars *The face of the man is never to be shown, so that the audience can feel the same uncomfortable and terrifying uneasiness that the girl would*


After many failed attempts, she finally grasps a chance to escape, with the culprit who had been putting her through so much turmoil, hot on her heels. He finds her, but grabbing anything in her sight, she reaches for something lethal; a sharp rock, and ends up killing the man. In shock, she turns his body over so she doesn't have to see his face, and her eyes well up with tears as she ceases to see locks of her hair falling out of his pockets.

Help arrives, and after several trials, she is not charged with the mans murder, however, due to all of the trauma, Andrea ends up in a mental asylum, not ever being able to come to terms with what had happened to her. The film would end portraying the girl as a paranoid adult, living an uneasy, unhappy life, concluding in her finally giving up and brutally killing herself in the same way as she believed her killer would have. First cutting her hair off completely, then branding herself with her killers initials, before finally walking into a blazing fire, where the film will end as the audience watch her literally walk into her own death.


The film would be more of a psychological thriller rather than a horror, as the plot is less about the kidnapper himself, but more about the effect he has on his victim and how it oozes into every inch of her nature, driving her to her own death.

Meeting 1

The group got together and started to decide which genre our opening sequence was going to be and what the storyline could be like. We decided not to do an opening sequence to a drama or a comedy so needed to decide between horror or thriller. We chose horror because we found it was easier to create with the equipment we have.

We talked about the different camera angles and effects we could include to fit in with the genre and decided to do a Point of View shot to make the opening sequence look a lot more realistic. We are going to use black and white effects in some of the flashbacks to show that it is 'old'. We will also use zoom, mirror effects and many sound effects to give a creepier sequence.

We start the opening sequence with one person from our group holding the camera shakily and walking down a long hallway towards a door, having many flashbacks. This goes from their childhood all the way up to that present moment and then when the person opens the door, the sequence finishes. We decided to do this so that the viewer feels attracted in a way and wants to know more so would carry on watching the film.

Dawn of the Dead

This film is about a random plague which has managed to affect the world's population by attacking human beings. Instead of dying like they normally would, they turn into zombies which carry on to eat the flesh and blood of the remaining beings. A group of survivors learn to protect themselves and make use of any available resource to ensure they stay alive and human.

The opening sequence automatically makes the viewer seem uncomfortable as when the first title is shown, it turns into what looks like, a stream of blood. After this, there are screen shots of people's faces which are covered in blood and clips of people running away in the streets from something they're not quite sure of. This looks quite sick and makes the viewer feel nervous as to what is going to show next however, keeps them intrigued. The colours used in the opening sequence are quite unsaturated which creates a dull atmosphere. 

There is a backing track which just starts of with a beat and then leads on to a 'happy' genre even though the scenes are horrifying. This makes the viewer feel on edge as there seems to be two different moods which creates confusion. I think this was done on purpose to engage the viewer and attract them to watch more. Also, the sound effects makes the scene a lot more horrifying because you can hear people screaming and 'being killed'. There are also people talking in the background asking questions about what seems to be happening and then receiving replies of uncertainty. This will draw the viewer's attention as they will start to wonder as to what happens in the film and want to watch it to find out more.