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.