23 January 2011
Film update
Although all our pre-production planning is complete and we are all ready to film, dates to film when we're all free to film are hard to find at the moment. We should hopefully be filming in the next two weeks and hope to get the filming done in a day, and the editing done in our free lessons. We're all pretty confident that our film will turn out how we imagine it too, and will have shots and the finally film on when completed, with more updates. :)
Saul Bass 'Vertigo' annalysis
Saul Bass is a famous title sequence artist, who's worked very closely with director Alfred Hitchcock in the past. One of the most famous ones is Vertigo, about a detective suffering for 'acrophobia', who slowly becomes obsessed with an old friends wife. To fit the mysterious and eerie mood of the narrative, Saul Bass created an opening sequence which fitted this, which I willl now analyse..
Firsly, it fades from black slowly to a shot of the right hand side of a womans face. Its in black and white, which adds mystery, the extreme close up adds more effect to this. It pans slowly across to show the whole of the bottom face, then moves into the lips. It adds a feeling of secrecy as she has a little smile on her face. As it pans further up, the lighting creates shadow over the eyes, further emphising the mysterious-ness. It then finally settles on one eye as an extreme close up. We feel some-what intimidated, she's staring at us like she can see us. We also ask questions like who is she? Why is she in the opening title, and why do we focus upon her facial features in such detail? Our questions are almost answered when an overlay of blood red covers the eye. It suggest blood, violence and secrecy that we're yet to find out. As the 'VERTIGO' title disapears off the screen, a purple swirl comes from her pupil, which gets bigger until the eye fades out - this, mixed with the close up of the eye and the eerie music, almost hypnotises us. As the screen turns black and more 'psychedelic' shapes come on screen, we wonder what the purpous is. You will also notice that each shape, in some way, references back to the shape of an eye. The question raised then is what the signifigance of the eye will be to the film... The eye then fades back blood red, for a few seconds when it then fades back to black again.
The sound is an incredibly big part. Throughout the music is all the same, there isn't a range in the tune or notes which gives it a sense of repetatition, made stronger with the recuring images of an eye. The sequence opens with high, eerie, tinkling music accompanied with violins. Its slow and high with an upbeat tempo which gives you chills. The music is harmonious to the sequence, especially when the music becomes much louder for a few seconds when the woman opens her eye wide. When the colourful swirls appear in the eye, another range of music accompanies the origional. It gets higher and higher, fitting in time of the movement of the patterns. It never changes all the way through until it fades out with the picture at the end..
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| images of youtube video, made on photoshop. |
Saul Bass is a famous title sequence artist, who's worked very closely with director Alfred Hitchcock in the past. One of the most famous ones is Vertigo, about a detective suffering for 'acrophobia', who slowly becomes obsessed with an old friends wife. To fit the mysterious and eerie mood of the narrative, Saul Bass created an opening sequence which fitted this, which I willl now analyse..
Firsly, it fades from black slowly to a shot of the right hand side of a womans face. Its in black and white, which adds mystery, the extreme close up adds more effect to this. It pans slowly across to show the whole of the bottom face, then moves into the lips. It adds a feeling of secrecy as she has a little smile on her face. As it pans further up, the lighting creates shadow over the eyes, further emphising the mysterious-ness. It then finally settles on one eye as an extreme close up. We feel some-what intimidated, she's staring at us like she can see us. We also ask questions like who is she? Why is she in the opening title, and why do we focus upon her facial features in such detail? Our questions are almost answered when an overlay of blood red covers the eye. It suggest blood, violence and secrecy that we're yet to find out. As the 'VERTIGO' title disapears off the screen, a purple swirl comes from her pupil, which gets bigger until the eye fades out - this, mixed with the close up of the eye and the eerie music, almost hypnotises us. As the screen turns black and more 'psychedelic' shapes come on screen, we wonder what the purpous is. You will also notice that each shape, in some way, references back to the shape of an eye. The question raised then is what the signifigance of the eye will be to the film... The eye then fades back blood red, for a few seconds when it then fades back to black again.
The sound is an incredibly big part. Throughout the music is all the same, there isn't a range in the tune or notes which gives it a sense of repetatition, made stronger with the recuring images of an eye. The sequence opens with high, eerie, tinkling music accompanied with violins. Its slow and high with an upbeat tempo which gives you chills. The music is harmonious to the sequence, especially when the music becomes much louder for a few seconds when the woman opens her eye wide. When the colourful swirls appear in the eye, another range of music accompanies the origional. It gets higher and higher, fitting in time of the movement of the patterns. It never changes all the way through until it fades out with the picture at the end..
Both sound and image suggest a movie which has some evil and eerie implications, like obsession, murder, love and violence. It sets the mood and scene for the film and suggests the narrative is that of a not so happy film.
Pre-production - Storyboard and Shot list
Storyboard for 'The List'
by Loren Coad.
I've included the first 24 shots just to give a quick overview. We have about 12+ pages in total, as we've decided on quiet fast paced editing.
Shot list for 'The List'
by Loren Coad.
For the shot list, we included just the first 19 shots just to give a quick over-view on what we need.
We're basically using medium shots, close ups, pans and ecu's.
For the shot list, we included just the first 19 shots just to give a quick over-view on what we need.
We're basically using medium shots, close ups, pans and ecu's.
22 January 2011
Questionaire.
To find out more about what an audience looks for in a thriller opening sequence, we drew up this and passed it around 10 people and collected back the results.
Questionnaire
Media Title Sequences Questionnaire
Do you enjoy the title sequences of films?
_ Yes
_ No
1b. Why?
____________________________________________
What would you like to see in a title sequence?
(Tick all that apply)
_ Action
_ Suspense
_ Graphics
_ Romance
_ Horror
_ Dialogue
Other (please specify)
_________________________________________
Do you feel that the music in a title sequence is important?
_ Yes
_ No
3b. Why?
_________________________________________
How often do you watch a thriller?
_ Once a day
_ Once a week
_ Once a fortnight
Other (please specify) _______________________________________
Do you think that the title sequence to a thriller is important?
_ Yes
_ No
5b. Why?
_________________________________________
What styles of writing do you think is most effective for the titles of a thriller?
(Tick all that apply)
_ Large
_ Bold
_ Narrow
_ Small
_ Capital Letters
Other (please specify) _______________________________________
What colours do you feel are important to the creation of suspense and atmosphere during the title sequence of a thriller?
(Tick all that apply)
_ Red
_ Black
_ White
_ Blue
_ Green
_ Monochromatic colour scheme (e.g. black, white, and grey as the predominant colours)
Other (please specify) _______________________________________
Thankyou for completing this questionnaire
Here are the questionnaire responses that have been concluded.
Q. Do you enjoy the title sequences of films?
A. 10/10 said yes
Q. Why?
A. of those who answered this question, the responses usually alluded to the build-up of atmosphere and suspense. Three people said they were interesting. One person said because they are full of action.
Q. What would you like to see in a title sequence?
A. Action - 5
Suspense - 7
Graphics - 6
Romance - 0
Horror - 3
Dialogue – 2
Q. Do you feel that the music in a title sequence is important?
A. 10/10 said yes
Q. Why?
A. Of those who answered, two people said it added to the drama; two said that it helped to set the scene; one said it was important that the music fitted in with the film; and four said to build up suspense.
Q. How often do you watch a thriller?
A. Once a day – 0
Once a week – 2
Once a fortnight – 5
Other – Never,
Once every year,
Once a month.
Q. Do you think that the title sequence to a thriller is important?
A. 10/10 said yes.
Q. Why?
A. The responses generally mentioned the build-up of suspense, the first impression given of the film (attracts attention), and they are interesting. One person said that it ‘tells you how creepy it is’.
Q. What styles of writing do you think are most effective for the titles of a thriller?
A. Large – 5
Bold –4
Narrow – 3
Small – 2
Capital Letters -0
Q. What colours do you feel are important to the creation of suspense and atmosphere during the title sequence of a thriller?
A. Red – 7
Black – 5
White - 5
Blue – 1
Green – 2
Monochromatic colour scheme - 5
As you can see from the results, many people like Action and Suspense in the title sequences, Large and Bold lettering and red black and white colours or an overall monochromatic colour scheme, we will keep these results in mind when we are filiming our sequence.
Questionnaire
Media Title Sequences Questionnaire
Do you enjoy the title sequences of films?
_ Yes
_ No
1b. Why?
____________________________________________
What would you like to see in a title sequence?
(Tick all that apply)
_ Action
_ Suspense
_ Graphics
_ Romance
_ Horror
_ Dialogue
Other (please specify)
_________________________________________
Do you feel that the music in a title sequence is important?
_ Yes
_ No
3b. Why?
_________________________________________
How often do you watch a thriller?
_ Once a day
_ Once a week
_ Once a fortnight
Other (please specify) _______________________________________
Do you think that the title sequence to a thriller is important?
_ Yes
_ No
5b. Why?
_________________________________________
What styles of writing do you think is most effective for the titles of a thriller?
(Tick all that apply)
_ Large
_ Bold
_ Narrow
_ Small
_ Capital Letters
Other (please specify) _______________________________________
What colours do you feel are important to the creation of suspense and atmosphere during the title sequence of a thriller?
(Tick all that apply)
_ Red
_ Black
_ White
_ Blue
_ Green
_ Monochromatic colour scheme (e.g. black, white, and grey as the predominant colours)
Other (please specify) _______________________________________
Thankyou for completing this questionnaire
Here are the questionnaire responses that have been concluded.
Q. Do you enjoy the title sequences of films?
A. 10/10 said yes
Q. Why?
A. of those who answered this question, the responses usually alluded to the build-up of atmosphere and suspense. Three people said they were interesting. One person said because they are full of action.
Q. What would you like to see in a title sequence?
A. Action - 5
Suspense - 7
Graphics - 6
Romance - 0
Horror - 3
Dialogue – 2
Q. Do you feel that the music in a title sequence is important?
A. 10/10 said yes
Q. Why?
A. Of those who answered, two people said it added to the drama; two said that it helped to set the scene; one said it was important that the music fitted in with the film; and four said to build up suspense.
Q. How often do you watch a thriller?
A. Once a day – 0
Once a week – 2
Once a fortnight – 5
Other – Never,
Once every year,
Once a month.
Q. Do you think that the title sequence to a thriller is important?
A. 10/10 said yes.
Q. Why?
A. The responses generally mentioned the build-up of suspense, the first impression given of the film (attracts attention), and they are interesting. One person said that it ‘tells you how creepy it is’.
Q. What styles of writing do you think are most effective for the titles of a thriller?
A. Large – 5
Bold –4
Narrow – 3
Small – 2
Capital Letters -0
Q. What colours do you feel are important to the creation of suspense and atmosphere during the title sequence of a thriller?
A. Red – 7
Black – 5
White - 5
Blue – 1
Green – 2
Monochromatic colour scheme - 5
As you can see from the results, many people like Action and Suspense in the title sequences, Large and Bold lettering and red black and white colours or an overall monochromatic colour scheme, we will keep these results in mind when we are filiming our sequence.
Why are opening sequences important to films?
The opening sequences are very important to the film. If you dont have the audience hooked instantly then you'll most likely lose them further on in the film. The opening sequence should include a hint of the narrative, action, main characters and a piece of action that will ensure the audience's attention. For example, the opening sequence of The Dark Knight which I annalysed has a great opening sequence. It has action, colour, good music and the main character of the Joker. You're hooked instanstly and want to carry on watching.
That is what we're hoping the achieve for our short film. Although its not the opening, we still hope to grab the audiences attention if it were a film.
That is what we're hoping the achieve for our short film. Although its not the opening, we still hope to grab the audiences attention if it were a film.
Music choises
After a few descussions as a group, we decided the music we needed should be dark, slow and eerie. We wanted background music that would create the mood just right, but wouldnt take the viewers attention away from the narrative. We went against using violins etc, as we felt they were to obvious when it came to thrillers, but saying that we may use them in the end. Jay offered to create the music, as he has very good sources and programs.
Our film planning
Film premise.
Wales, Presant day, Night. Adam (17) is standing outside a dimly lit house holding a list of crossed out names. Emily (17) is sitting on her sofa alone watching a scary film. Her phone rings as 'UNKNOWN' and as she answers, theres no reply but eerie breathing. As she hangs up, Adam makes his way inside with a determined look in his eye..
Character annalyse.
Antagonist. Troubled, spitefully, vindictive, jealous, over-bearing and sly. Wears casual clothes to blend in but stays away from big crouds. Very clingy.
Victim. Friendly, chatty and shy. Wears bright colourful clothes.
Wales, Presant day, Night. Adam (17) is standing outside a dimly lit house holding a list of crossed out names. Emily (17) is sitting on her sofa alone watching a scary film. Her phone rings as 'UNKNOWN' and as she answers, theres no reply but eerie breathing. As she hangs up, Adam makes his way inside with a determined look in his eye..
Character annalyse.
Antagonist. Troubled, spitefully, vindictive, jealous, over-bearing and sly. Wears casual clothes to blend in but stays away from big crouds. Very clingy.
Victim. Friendly, chatty and shy. Wears bright colourful clothes.
Basics
In our group, we came up with a small idea which we then added on to. We finally decided on a film that would become a cliff-hanger that also created open-ended questions for the viewer, and as this would be a sequence from the film we thought this would be a positive idea for the rest of the film if we chose to finish as the audience are interested in the beginning/ending and therefore will pay to watch in the cinema.
Setting.
We decided to use my house, interior and exterior, as its easy access and enough space for us and the tripod.
Actors.
Our friends Adam Bowler (the entagonist) and Emily Lawrence (the victim) have agreed to help our filming. Plus they both live near, are reliable and are perfect for the roles.
Props.
We decided to include a mask to create mystery, so we're using Jay's dads. We're also using rose petals, candles and a full bath which will have health and safety issues to consider.
Equipment.
Using both my camera and tripod, possible extra lights to create our own lighting.
Sound.
In post production, Jay is creating some sound effects and music to use which we'll add on during editing.
Setting.
We decided to use my house, interior and exterior, as its easy access and enough space for us and the tripod.
Actors.
Our friends Adam Bowler (the entagonist) and Emily Lawrence (the victim) have agreed to help our filming. Plus they both live near, are reliable and are perfect for the roles.
Props.
We decided to include a mask to create mystery, so we're using Jay's dads. We're also using rose petals, candles and a full bath which will have health and safety issues to consider.
Equipment.
Using both my camera and tripod, possible extra lights to create our own lighting.
Sound.
In post production, Jay is creating some sound effects and music to use which we'll add on during editing.
Team member/Casting shots and roles
Team Members and Roles.
JAY BOUCHER - DIRECTOR.
LOREN COAD - CINEMATOGRAPHER
CHRIS WILLIAMS - PRODUCER.
Cast.
EMILY LAWRENCE - ACTRESS. (victim)
ADAM BOWLER - ACTOR. (antagonist.)
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