Main Task Planning- First Ideas

Preliminary Review

After filming and watching back our Preliminary Task, as a group we noticed many strengths and weaknesses within the piece.

First of all, the story line of the sequence is very clear, shown through the good use of acting skills and dialogue. Furthermore, we included all the camera angles and shots needed, that were given to us in our brief. We also followed the 180 degree rule, so that the flow of the sequence remained the same throughout. The lighting in the piece was also very high key, due to the fact that we used the newest building to shoot in, so all the lights were new. The camera quality was as good as it could be, as we used a tripod to ensure that the movement was not shaky, and when panning from shot to shot, it flowed smoothly.

On the other hand, we came across many problems that we have to take into consideration when filming our final piece. For example, as we filmed in a building where classes were going on, there was a lot of background noise of people talking and doors closing. The continuity of the piece was good, but as some points the camera shot did not flow, as at one moment a character was looking forwards, and in the next shot, was looking at a phone.  Another problem personally, was the filming was very on the spot and therefore the acting was improvised, meaning that I ran out of dialogue at some points, which meant we had to re-shoot and try to fit it in, making sure we took continuity into consideration. 

Overall, the piece went very well, but when shooting our Main Task, we will need to take all the problems into consideration

Preliminary Task- Shot List

Preliminary Task- Global Snapchat

Annabelle and Evil Dead Opening Sequence (Analysis and Comparisons)

How is the audience kept engaged? And left 'wanting more'?

In the opening title sequence of 'Annabelle', the audience would immediately be engaged because of text that appears saying ‘Since the beginning of civilisation, dolls have been beloved by children, cherished by collectors and used in religious rites as conduits for good and evil. This text also connotes danger, blood or evil, as it is written in red, and what is written itself seems very creep, as you wouldn’t usually associate dolls with evil, this would grab the audience’s attention straight away, and lead them to want to carry of watching, to see what happens with the ‘dolls.’ Furthermore, along with this, the non-diegetic asynchronous voice over's first line is ‘It scares us just thinking about it...’ which wants to get the audience thinking what scares her? Which again would keep them engaged. In addition to this, you then get a close up of a very old and creepy looking dolls face and a drum beat. The women in the shot then goes on to tell the story of how the doll keeps moving around the house, and they found out the doll may be possessed. This would most probably make the audience want to carry on watching and keep them engaged, as they want to know more about the doll, and what it has done, or what it is going to do. 

Similarly to this, in 'Evil Dead', it opens in a woodland. A girl is seen wandering in a woodland, very dirty and out of breathe, which leads the audience to want to know why she is so dirty, why is she out of breathe. She then ends up hiding behind tree, why is she hiding? You hear the shadow run off. But as she goes to look, the audience are now aware that the shadow is a man, and he is right behind her. He puts a bag over her head and says ‘I’ve caught the b****!’ Which leads the audience to know why these men wanted to catch her, what has she done? This makes them watch on to find out the whole story behind her and the other characters.

How is the Genre reinforced?
In 'Annabelle', the use of the low key lighting in the living room where the group and the doll are, creates a gloomy and tense atmosphere.
Along with this, horrors are usually set in big houses, which from the opening, you can just about tell that the house is relatively big, and old fashioned, which can lead to creaky floorboards and sounds you would usually hear in a horror. The non-diegetic sound of the deep chime/ drum when the camera focusses on the doll, makes an eerie atmosphere.
The dole that is used (a prop) is shown quite a lot in the opening 2 minutes, which suggests it is significant. The way it is dressed, the facial expression on it, and the cracks make it look scary, which again emphasises the genre of the film.

Likewise, in 'Evil Dead', the lighting is extremely low key, as it starts in the woodland/marshland. A girl is walking very slowly, by herself, and it’s most likely that something bad has/is going to happen to her.
The sound of her breathing has been made louder, to maybe emphasise the fact that she may have just run from something, you can also see this by how dirty she is.
Then out of nowhere a mysterious black shadow runs behind her, and she turns around to see what it was, and obviously, she doesn’t see anything. You then hear a howl in the background, which is a commonly used non diegetic asynchromous sound in a horror. The black shadow is then revealed to be standing very close to her, as the use of the over the shoulder shot, shows there is only a few tree’s between them, but you can only see its outline. She then hears the shadow run off, and she looks round the tree she is now hidden behind. Doing this the audience can then see that he is standing right behind her. So obviously the audience now know something bad is going to happen. Along with the non-diegetic sound of a drum beat, he suffocates her with a bag, while another man hits her in the head with a blunt object. All of this violence, the set and sound reinforces the fact that the movie is a horror.

Similarities and Differences?
In both of the opening title sequences, both are set in very stereotypical horror settings, a very large and old house, and a woodland. Both these places are normally in the middle of nowhere, with many places for people to hide, and are mostly always in low key lighting, which makes in harder for the protagonist to hide from the antagonist.
Also, both leaves the audience asking a lot of questions. As the start from the past and then jump to the future, you don’t really get the whole story, so you would need to watch the rest of the movie to find this information out.

However one main difference was that Annabelle used more spoken word to ‘scare’ the audience, whereas Evil Dead used non-diegetic sound and movement. I believe that Evil Dead created a scarier and tense atmosphere, by lessoning the spoken word, and intensifying what was going on, help build a better atmosphere for the audience, and would be more likely to get the audience to carry on watching. Having to listen to a conversation for the first two minutes, is not very engaging. 

What I Have Learnt from Mapping out Title Sequences?

Mapping out two different title sequences, has shown be how many title credits should roughly be included, and what they should say. This would then lead me to make the decision about my piece; I believe there should be around 25 title credits included, such as production members, actors and the title of the film.

Over the course of the project, the amount of title credits used, might change, depending on how many people are actually used in the end piece. After studying a few title sequences, 

these are the most common titles that appeared:

-Costume and Make-Up Design
-Visual and Special Effects
-Director, Producer and Co-Producer
- Music
- Editor
- Screenplay
- ‘Based on a novel by…’
-Production Company

As the genre that we have chosen for our opening sequence is ‘horror’ we will definitely need to include Make-Up and Special Effects, as they play a very large role in the production. 

Preliminary Task- Location

The below locations have been chosen for our Preliminary Task, as there is natural, high key lighting, and the building should be relatively quiet, therefore no background sound should be picked up when we record.  

Preliminary Task- Story Board

Credit Timeline- 'Devil Wears Prada' and 'Mean Girls'- Research and Findings

Title Sequences consist of a list of people and institutions involved in the making of the film. These are seen at the beginning of the film. This can include the director, main actors, production companies and the title of the film. Usually the bigger the film and/or production company, the larger the list of title credits.

To get an idea of what title sequences look like, we produced timelines, which make it easier to count how many names came up, within a certain period of time, first two minutes. I chose ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ and ‘Mean Girls’ as they are both widely recognised and popular movies and have well-known actors. 

After doing both of these movies, you can see a large difference in the amount of credits that are use din the same period of time. 'The Devil Wears Prada' using a lot more than 'Mean Girls.' 

This research will be useful for when we begin to make our opening title sequence. We will compare well known title sequences, such as the two that I have looked at, and see which are the most important credits to be included. 

Credit Timeline- 'Devil Wears Prada' and 'Mean Girls'

Preliminary Task- First Ideas

Challenges of filming and editing your 'spontaneous' Preliminary Task

Filming a ‘spontaneous’ short film with only a rough storyboard, would mean that there may be some continuity issues, as one scene does not lead properly  into the next. Sound and lighting would also need to be considered because that can also affect continuity, because if filmed during the evening, the lighting may change over a period of time. 

Furthermore, without a script, you may run out of things to say, and have to re-do the filming after you have thought of something. Because the clip is only going to be short, you would need to make sure that you can understand what is going on, and maybe put a short story line behind it.

Our group decided on an argument between a group of girls, about a picture that was leaked online, but someone whom which she thought was a friend. We chose this topic as it is relatable and therefore easy to come up with ideas. 

Task Given: Create a short sequence, utilising various camera shots and angles.
(Shot Reverse Shot, 180 Degree Rule, and include dialogue)