Final Storyboard

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)

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:

Clarification On Film Name

To clarify, with regard to the poll, on our film name:

We closed the poll after the group decided "The Hunted" was the best name for the film. We also decided we didn't want to use a fancy font, as the fonts on offer didn't go with our movie. We settled on a font similar to Arial as it is the easiest to read and one of the easiest to insert on iMovie.

Examples of opening credits in Horror Films

From our first cut, we noticed that we had to change our credits in our opening, this is because we felt that they didn't fit in with our opening. We also felt didn't know what credits to include and how to position them in our opening, because of this I did some research into opening credits in horror films. I researched into Se7en, which is about homicide detectives who become deeply involved in the case of a sadistic serial killer whose meticulously planned murders correspond to the seven deadly sins: gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, pride, lust, and envy. 
I have broken down the film opening into thirteen screenshots to show the different credits that are used in film openings. 

1) The name of the distribution company  that distributes the film 

2) The name of the production company

3) Who the film is by

4) The main actor in the film

5) The supporting actor of the film

6) Title of the film

7) The supporting actors

8) The casting director

9) Head of music for the film

10) The costumer designer for the film

11) The editor of the film

12) Who wrote the film 

13) The last credit is the director of the film

From this I can clearly see what credits go into a film opening and the directors always the last credit of the opening. I can also see that we have to include many credits into our own opening to make it look more professional one. We can include Edited by, written by, costume designer, casting and music into our own.

Example of credits in Horror

I have also researched into The Shining opening credit. The Shining is a psychological horror film. Instead of taking screen shoots of the credits I have included the whole of the film opening. 

1) Distribution company - Warner Brother Pictures

2) Who the film is by - A Stanley Kubrick film

3) Main actor of the film - Jack Nicholson

4) Main Actress of the film - Shelley Duvall

5) Title of the film - THE SHINING

6) Supporting actors - Featuring 

Danny Lloyd

Scatman Crothers

Barry nelson

Philip stone

Joe Turkel

Anne Jackson

Tony burton

7) Executive producer - Joe Harlan

8) What the film is based on - Based upon the novel by Stephen king

9) Production Company - THE PRODUCER CIRCLE COMPANY

Robert Ryer

Martin Richards

Mary lea Johnson

10) Screenplay - by Stanley Kubrick and Diane Johnson

11) Produced and directed - by Stanley Kubrick 

From the two film openings that I have researched into, I have found out that the directors name always goes last in the openings. The distribution company always goes first followed by who the film is by and the main actors and actresses of the film. After the name of the main actors in the film the Title of the film comes up next. I found out that both films also includes the producers and the supporting actors of the films.  

Media Inward Investment: Film4

Inward investment in the film industry is where a group of companies (in the film/media industry) help to invest their money and maybe services to a film that is going to be made. For example, Looking for Eric is a film about a man whose life is descending into a dark place, who finds his idol, Eric Cantona, through hallucinations. His idol then uses his philosophical ways to help him in his life. This film was produced by ten film companies, including Film4, Sixteen Films (the company) and France 2 Cinema, distributed by twenty film companies and twenty two other companies helped with funding or other aspects of the film process.

Other films that Film4 have produced or co-produced are:
- Trainspotting
- 127 hours
- 4 weddings and a funeral
- This is england
- The lovely bones - co produced with Dreamworks
- Inbetweeners Movie
- Submarine with warp films
- Nowhere Boy
- Shaun of the Dead

Audio Research

Whilst editing our opening sequence, we were thinking about what kind of parallel sounds we could use.  Our genre is horror, so we are looking for a mysterious sound that is building up to something.  We are looking to include the music at the beginning, and when the stalker is behind her to create effect, and let the audience know that something is about to happen.  Below I have analysed a few examples and said whether we liked them and whether they would be effective and relevant in our opening sequence.

*All music is from 'Royalty Free'*

The House of Leaves - Kevin MacLeod:

As we wanted, this sound was mysterious yet we felt like it was to quick into building the tension.  We would prefer a sound that starts slow and eventually builds up fairly abruptly to coincide with our opening sequence.

Aftermath - Kevin MacLeod:

We felt that this particular piece of music took too long to build up, and wouldn't go with our opening sequence.  Furthermore, the instruments used were not appropriate for the type of horror genre that we are using.


Ice Demon - Kevin MacLeod:

This sound was quite effective and didn't take long to build up.  The instruments with in it make it sound very mysterious and tension-building, which was what we were aiming for.  We may look to introduce parts of this into our opening sequence where needed.  However, the sound is very repetitive and we would therefore need to think about which bits we could put in each place. 


Static Motion - Kevin MacLeod:

I think that this piece of music is very intriguing, and really effective for the type of engagement we want from the audience.  There is a constant tapping sound which eventually gets faded out towards the end.  Parts of this could be used leading up the event at the end.


Gathering Darkness - Kevin MacLeod:

The sounds in this gives the impression of a terrifying horror, as the instruments sound like a screeching and screaming sound which is what we are aiming for.  It also gives the impression that it is leading up to something, and the constant repetition of the screeching supports this.

Opening Sequence Features

As a group we decided what features we wanted to include in our opening sequence.  We took into account that we wanted our characters to contrast as much as possible, with the girl (victim) being represented in light colours and the boy (enemy) being presented in dark colours.  Also, when they are together it is a mixture. The features include:

• Costumes
• Props
• Mise-en-Scene
• Sound
• Lighting

Costumes:
Girl - black trousers/leggings, light top and cardigan, uggs and coat.
Boy - black trousers, black top, black coat and dark shoes.

Props:
Girl - phone, make-up, laptop, clothes, bag, shoes and iPod.
Boy - phone and knife.

Mise-en-Scene:
Girl - tidy room, mirrors, purple room and girl features in room.
Boy - dark kitchen

Sound:

• Door slamming
• Speech
• Heavy breathing
• Overexaggerated footsteps
• Snapping of twigs
• Screams

Lighting:

• Fairly light in bedroom - turns dark when exits room.
• Light in landing, goes into darkness when going downstairs.
• Darkness outside of house and walking.
• Some lighting down alleyway - mostly dark. 

Narrative Theories

Aristotle's Unities:

• The first narrative theory.
• A narrative should be created within a 'unity' of time, place and action.
• It should all take place in the same location, in real time, and with all action moving towards a logical conclusion.

Levi-Strauss' Binary Opposition:

• Narrative tension is based on opposition or conflict.
• Two characters fighting, but more often functions at an ideological level.

Freytag's Dramatic Structure:

• Gustav Feytag was a 19th Century German dramatist and novelist.
• Constructed his theory from the analysis of ancient Greek and Shakespeare drama.
• In modern films, each of these parts are used yet are sometimes in a different order.
• Divided into 5 parts:

1. Exposition
2. Rising Action
3. Climax
4. Falling Action
5. Resolution/Catastrophe

SYD Field's Three Act Plot Structure:

• A typical Hollywood film can be split into 3 sections:

1. The setup
2. The confrontation
3. Resolution

• Plot points move the action from one act to another.
• These could turn around the lives of characters, change their relationships with others and alter the tone of the film.

The Setup (First Act):
The field claims that within the first ten minutes the audience will decide whether they like the film or not.  Their minds are usually not changed later on.  Therefore, its vital to make sure that the audience enjoy the opening ten minutes and they have a sense of who the characters are, what the film is going to be about and what they can expect from the film.

The Confrontation (Second Act):
This is the longest part of the act and where most of the action happens.  We usually see characters in many troubles or situations that could affect them, especially in horror and action films.  An example of a confrontation would be where the main character(s) would confront their enemies.

The Resolution (Third Act):
The hero takes control with their problems and defeats the villain and will achieve victory at the end of the film.



Todorov's Theory:

• Proposed a basic structure for narratives.
• Films and programmes started with an equilibrium (a calm period).
• Agents of disruption cause disequilibrium (unsettlement and disquiet period).
• A renewed state of peace and harmony from the protagonists and a new equilibrium brings the chaos to an end.
• The simplest form of narrative is 'Classic' or 'Holloywood'.

Barthes' Enigma Code:

• Establish enigmas or mysteries as it goes along.
• The narrative functions to establish and then solve these mysteries.
• When we start to unravel a text, we encounter an absolute plurality of potential meanings.
• Texts may be open or closed.

Vladimir Propp:

• Characters take on the role of narrative 'spheres of action'.
• The hero is usually male, restores the narrative equilibrium by embarking on a quest.
• Propp disguinshes between the victim hero (centre of the villain's attentions) and the seeker hero (aids others who are the villains victims).
• The hero is normally the central character.
• The villain creates the narrative disruption.
• The donor gives the hero something (helps in resolution).
• The helper aids the hero in the task of restoring equilibrium.
• The victim is usually the character most threatened by the villain and has to be saved at the climax by the hero.
• The dispatcher sends the hero on their task.
• The false hero appears to be good but is revealed to have been bad.

Narrative Conventions:

• Genre
• Character
• Form
• Time

Filming Schedule

To film our opening sequence we have decided on the days where we will be filming and where.  They are:
January:
Wednesday 30th - filming in house/room.                                           (Female Actor)

February:
Wednesday 6th - finish filming in house, possibly start out of house.
Thursday 7th - starting to film from alleyway, possibly finish.              (Both Actors)
Saturday 9th - filming anything that is needed.

Monday 11th - filming anything that is needed.
Wednesday 13th - filming anything that is needed.                            (Both Actors)                 
Thursday 14th - filming anything that is needed.

As well as filming, we will be editing along the way to make sure that all the shots we have taken are correct.  If we finish filming relatively early/earlier than expected, we will be able to use some days to re-film so our opening sequence is as good as it can be.

Setting Photo Ideas

Below are some setting ideas for the potential setting in our opening film sequence.  They include stairs, bedroom and hallway.

Stairs

High Angle Shot of Stairs

Landing 

Film Name

After the results from our poll, we have decided to call our opening sequence 'Hunted'.  We thought this would be the most appropriate name and would reflect on our storyline as the others didn't coincide as much.  Tormented didn't work as it was more of a psychological horror.  'The Obsessed' and 'The Hunted' was not chosen by our specific target market and we therefore agreed with them and chose 'Hunted'.

Below is a print screen of our blog and in the top left if the result of our online poll:

Camera Shots in Horror Films

As we are now starting to film our opening sequence, research on different camera shots would enable us to get the biggest effect to affect the audience.  Below are a list of camera shots that are commonly found in horror movies:



Extreme Close Up:
A shot taken very close to the subject often used to show emotion.

(Picture from The Ring)









Close Up:
A shot taken of the subject (further away from an extreme close-up) to show reactions and emotion.

(Picture from Paranormal Activity)

POV Shot (Point of View):
A shot that is taken from the subjects point of view (looking at something).

(Picture from Nightmare on Elm Street)






Medium Shot:
A shot from a medium distance to show the subject and sometimes another object/subject involved.

(Picture from The Shining)







Long Shot:
A shot taken to show the whole of the subject and potentially the situation they are in.

(Picture from The Cabin in the Woods)







Low Angle Shot:
A shot taken from a lower angle (normally lower than the eyeline) from where the subject is to create effect.

(Picture from Nosferatu)





Panning Shot:
A shot where the camera moves slowly across the set from one side to the other from a fixed angle.