Our Best Shots

This post is all about the screenshots of our best pieces of editing and filming. Starting at the start going through to the end.

 

 

 

 

 

The only time we see a weapon in the opening sequence, you don't see the figure which creates a sense of mystery.

 

In this close-up, we see the figure pulling up his hood, this is coupled with the credits that blur and then focus on the character which allows us to focus on the credit and then the figure pulling up his hood. It also gives a sense as if he is looking in a mirror when he does this.

 

 

In this long shot, we see the house of the girl as she's walking out. The hooded figure leans against a lamp-post, but she fails to notice him. The audience now can guess what he is about to do.

 

As the girl begins to walk down the path, the hooded figure begins to follow her. It is a long shot which extends to the end of the road, it is used for the purposes of beginning the chase.

 

This medium shot, along with the pulling up of the hood, is one of our ultimate best shots. The girl in our piece walks accross the screen as the titles begin to show when she reaches the end and when the hooded figure begins to walk accross the screen, they disappear.

 

The close-ups of the girls are used to set-up the rest of the movie, they are there to make the hooded look like a serial-killer, which he is. 

 

This dragging part is particularly good as she seems lifeless. The audience know she is dead, eventhough we didn't show her being killed. They know this beacuse they heard a scream and then saw him dragging her with a blood stain near to her chest and she drops to the floor and he runs away.

 

After he has run away, the camera zooms-in to her corpse.

 

He then pins up her picture and the camera zooms-in to it, showing that she has been "hunted, leaving the audience wondering "what will happen next?" which is obviously our desired intention.

 

Evaluation of New Credits in Film Opening

Due to some of the feedback from the viewing of our opening, we noticed that our credits got most of the negative points from our film, because of this we have now changed and put more credits in to make it look like a more professional film opening. Below I have added the new credits that I have inserted into our credits, I have also analysed them to show why we chose them and what we have changed from the original credits. 

Originally we had Enigma and Flash Productions Presents all on three different shots. The text was in a white bold writing in Helvectia Neue in size 24. It was also in the middle of our film opening, after the names of the people starring in our opening and just before the title. From the research I could see that these production companies and distribution companies are the first credits shown at the beginning of a film. I also changed the credits by merging them into one credit instead of having three different ones.

In our original credits we didn't have a production name, this is a commonly used credit in film openings. So because of this we included it in our film opening. We choose the name Toby Lerone, because we wanted a name that was very original and people would remember. The credit appears suddenly into the shot and then disappear again once the frame is over. We used a pull focus, this brings the attention of the audience to the credit, however we can still the boy pull over his hood in the background. 

This is another new credit that we didn't have in the original credits. I also found in the research that most films have the name of the person who the film is by to tell the audience and to keep them interacted. This is because they also have someone to read as well as watching the opening. I choose to put this credit in this shot, because there was space, as the girl was mainly focused on the right hand side of the screen. 

We kept the girls name in our credits, however we moved it to being the fourth credit shown in the opening instead of the first. This is because most films have their starring actors names after who the film is by and the production companies. I thought that this was a good place to put this credit, as this shot showed the girl coming out of the house, because of this there was space on the bottom right hand corner for the name, so it wasn't covering up any important details in the opening. 

We also kept the boys name in the credits, however we changed it so it wasn't over his face. I thought that this was a good place to put to the credit, because we moved it to when photos of his future and past victims appeared. This is the fifth credit that appears in the opening, after the girls name. It also appears in the gap between the photos, so it's covering up the gap and not hiding any important details.




For our opening to look like a professional film opening, we added more actors names into the film. We also did this because, in this shot it was quite lengthy and not very much happening in it, so I decided to put two actors names in it, to make it more interesting for the audience to watch. I put the credits on the bottom right hand corner, as this was  the place on the shot that had the less amount of information shown. 

This was the most difficult credit to do, as it was the main title of our film opening. We put it over the shot of the girl walking past the wall, as we felt this was the best place to put it as it was just a long shot. We used a pull focus for the main title, so this brings the attention of the audience to the title, however you can still see the girl walking past behind the title. It also fades in wen she just comes in shot and fades out when she is about to walk out of the shot.

From watching example film openings, I could see that they 
included other actors and actresses names that were also in 
the film. However as ours is only an opening not a full film, 
I made up names to include in our credits. This was to make 
the opening looking more professional and also to fill up
space in the shots. In the first credit shown on the right,
we added the name Scarlet Jones, this is shown as a single                                     credit, however the second credit on the right is shown with two names. This is because many films show more than one actors 
name in the same shot. 

We also added the credit Director of Photography into our credits, as we didn't have this credit in the original one. We choose director of photography because it is commonly used in film openings and also because it is an important credit to have. We choose to have it over this shot as there is space on the left hand corner of the shot, as it's not covering up anyones face or important details in the shot.

In our film opening, we also added Music by. This is because it is commonly used in film openings and we have music in our opening, so we thought that it would appropriate for us to use Music By. We choose to put it in this shot, as it was a long shot with not much happening in it. It was also best place to put it, as there was a lot of space to put as the shot is a medium to long shot. 

                                                        

When watching example film openings, we noticed as a group, that the credit Casting By, appeared in almost all of them, because of this we decided to put it in our film opening, to make it look more professional. We choose to put it in this shot, as there was enough room in the bottom right hand corner of the shot to do so. 

                                                         

In our original credits, we had all our names under the credit directed and edited by with our names each on a different shot afterwards. However as we changed our credits, we just put one of our names, under Edited by. This was because we put the other three names in different credits, and also to make it look more professional and more like a film opening. We also moved the directors credit to the end. 

                                                            

The last credit we added into our film opening, that we didn't have in our original one is, Written By. We added this as we thought this was an important credit to have in our opening, as its one of the main credits in a film opening. As we had already used our own names in the film opening, we created a name which we could include. Its's in this shot because it's the last shot, in our film opening before the end, where we were able to fit in a credit. We also choose this because it's not covering up anything, that needs to be seen. 

This is the very last credit in our film opening, it is also the last shot as well. From looking at examples of film openings, we found that the directors name goes at the end. We wanted people to notice the directors name, so we put the credit on a black screen, that would make the credit stand out. We faded out the credit, one it was finished to make it look like it was going onto the next scene. We also choose to put his credit last, as the director has big influence on the type of audience that watch the films, so we wanted to draw people in, with this credit. 


We have used the same font throughout our film opening, Helvectia Neue. This was because we wanted to make the film opening more professional and presentable. We also have the names of the production/distribution companies and names of the actors or crew in red, to make it stand out from the background. The job description is in white but in a smaller size than the names, because we wanted to make it stand out also, but differently to the names. Overall we have used 15 credits in our film opening. 

Credit Research

Some of the feedback that we got from our questionnaires was about credits.  Despite most of it being positive, we still felt that we needed to make it look more professional and relevant our opening sequence.  We have therefore been trying to add different credits so that it looks more realistic and be classed as a professional film opening.  Previously we have researched into horror film opening credits, but I decided to do some research into general film openings to see what the common credits were. I have done some research to also see if we could apply any of the common credits to our to our opening sequence.

ParaNorman (2012)

Despite this being an animated film, it still gives us ideas of what to expect generally on a film opening.  For example:

• Directed by...
• Produced by...
• Music by...

Signs (2002)

This film has very clear credits which display all the roles involved with the film.  A lot of these can be related to our media piece in the way in which they read and are presented, for example:

• Music by...
• Edited by...
• Director of Photography
• Written, Produced and Directed by...

21 Jump Street (2012)

21 Jump Street has some really useful credits that we could apply to our opening sequence. The way in which they are written also helps us to think about how we could present our credits in our film opening. For example:

• Screenplay by...
• Music by...
• Director of Photography
• Directed by...

From my research, the other credits that we could use are:

• Casting by... (Se7en - 1995)
• A Film by... (Se7en - 1995)
• Costume Designer
• Based upon the novel by... (The Shining - 1980)
• Starring... (Bunny Lake is Missing - 1965)
• In Association With... (I, Robot - 2004)

Film Opening Credits

Below I have print screened the credits from our opening sequence. I have then analysed them to show why we chose these particular credits and in the shots we used them for.

1st Credit:

The opening credits show the name of a male actor who will play the part of the killer. The credits appear suddenly into the shot and then disappear again once the frame is over.  We chose the font to be simple because we didn't want to over-complicate the shot.






2nd Credit:

These credits show the name of the female actor who will featuring in our film.  We placed the credit in a clear area of the shot where it can be seen easily.  Like the other credit, it appears quickly and then disappears before she walks out. Again, we made the font simple.







3rd Credit:

The 3rd set of credits appear when she is walking down the road, and again appear suddenly in a clear area of the shot.  We chose to call the credits 'Enigma Films' because it is the name of our media group.








4th Credit:

These credits are very similar to the previous ones as it is a film company that we decided to feature, and they are in the same position as the previous credits were.  It appears in them shot because we wanted 'the hunter' to follow the girl.








5th Credit:

In the same shot again we have another credit, which says 'Present'.  This shows that the name of the film is about to appear.  From the past 3 credits, all of them have appeared suddenly and move across the screen until they disappear.







6th Credit:

This is the credit where the name of the film is presented.  We decided to have the girl walking as if she is in sync with the title.  This shows that there is something following her, like 'the hunter' behind her which she is unaware of.







7th Credit:

This credit leads to who directed and edited to opening sequence.  We chose to put it in this section of the shot because it is visible to see and is clear.  As well as this, we wanted to see the two characters together in the same shot with the credit.







8th Credit:

The first name of our group appears suddenly in this shot and then disappears after two seconds.  We didn't want the credits to last too long, as we didn't want the focus taken off the characters.  The font of the credit is the same throughout.  We placed the credit on the left hand side so that there is a continuous pattern with the rest of the credits in this section.

9th Credit:

The second name of the group is revealed here and we have designed it so it lasts the same amount of time as the other credit, and also that it is in the same place.  The credit can be easily seen.  It disappears when the camera starts to move.








10th Credit:

The third name of the group is revealed and the credits have changed places from the previous shot.  This is because this is the area where it can be seen the best, and the shot is still from where the girl has moved.  Likewise with the other credits, the duration is the same.







11th Credit:

Our final credit includes the last name of our group, in the same position as the previous credit so that the pattern continues.  At first, we placed it on the opposite side of the shot, yet it was not visible to see, so we changed it.  It is again the same font and is in the shot for the same duration as the rest of the names.






We have produced these credits so that they fit well with our film opening and when needing to, give a purpose to the action happening in the shot, for example 'The Hunted'.  The font throughout the credits are the same, and we have altered and thought about the time duration for each of them carefully.  We wanted some to last more than others depending on what was happening in the shot.  

As our deadline is not for a couple more days, there may be changes to the credits to make them more professional and in depth.  For example using 'Casting by' or 'Costumes by' to make it look more realistic.  If these changes are done, this post will be altered as soon as possible.

Final Music

In the end, we decided to choose 'The House On the Hill' because we felt it fitted our film opening well, and build up a sense of tension and caused dramatic effect.  This is played throughout the opening sequence and on the feedback we received good comments about the music.  The music was found on 'purpleplanet.com', and the link is below that takes you to the page.

http://www.purple-planet.com/#/free-horror-music/4534205059

Questionnaire Feedback

On Thursday 14th March, Year 12 + 13 media groups gathered together to watch the film openings of Year 12 groups.  As posted before, we made questionnaires for everyone to fill in so we could see what we needed to improve and also what they liked.  The feedback that we received was very helpful, and we also got some ideas as to what we could improve.  Coincidently, the feedback of improvements was similar which showed consistency throughout our film opening.  Below we have included some of the feedback:

From this feedback, we are able to make any changes to our opening sequence that we feel will improve it.  A lot of the improvements mentioned are of the same action or in the same frame, which therefore makes it easier for us to edit.  To have this sort of feedback is very useful, and we will be aiming to try and change it before our deadline on Wednesday 20th March.

The Hunted Questionnaire

I have designed a questionnaire to hand out to anyone who watches our opening sequence, in order to get feedback on what we could improve but also what they enjoyed.  The 4 of us thought of some questions that we could put on the questionnaire that we feel would benefit us when the feedback is given back.  Also, we are planning to hand out these questionnaires when viewing our film opening with the two year 12 media groups and also the year 13 media class.  It would be great opportunity to get the feedback we need to make any last minute changes before handing in our final piece.  Below I have attached the questionnaire to show what the questions are:

Character Profile

In our film opening we choose to have two characters in it. One is a teenage girl and the other is a teenage boy who is a serial killer and stalks his victim before he kills. The teenage girl we used in film opening is called, Georgia Read-Smith. As a group we felt that Georgia was the correct person for the role, because she did drama for GCSE where she gained an A* for her performance. This shows that she is a dedicated and reliable person to use for our media.

Georgia plays a teenage girl who is leaving the house and is about to meet up her friends. However she is unaware that she is being stalked until the last moment before her death, when she is walking through the alleyway. 

Also in our opening we have a teenage boy who turns out to be serial killer who stalks all his victims before he kills them. During the film opening we can see that he stalks his victims by standing outside their house and also keeping tabs on them by creating a map and posting photos of his victims on it. For this we chose to use Gareth Austin. This is because we felt that Gareth would be reliable and would always be available to use as he is part of Enigma.