Title Sequence Evaluation (Two Steps Ahead)

Charlotte Fischer

In what way does your media product use, develop or challenge form and conventions of real media products?
For the lighting in our media product we decided to look at films we had analyzed in our planning process to see which lightings looked good and were effective. One particular films lighting that attracted our attention was Black Swan. We noticed that they use a long shot of the character Nina, with a spot light on her this highlights her importance and creates an eerie atmosphere. It was after realizing this we decided as a group that we really liked the effect that this lighting gave and wanted to use similar lighting in our opening as we thought a similar atmosphere to the one created in Black Swan was needed.

The idea for the protagonist holding up cards did not come from a film opening, however it did come from our research of teenage suicide videos. In many of the videos the teenagers didnt speak and therefore we suggested that not having any dialogue in our opening may be a suitable idea. The use of the cards and facial expressions were enough to uncover how they were feeling it was then that we decided the cards were a good idea to use and if use correctly we could create a very effective opening. I feel that this idea challenges forms and conventions of real media products as it is not a typical convention and as a group we hadnt found this idea used before in a film meaning that ours could be unique and original.

The titles in our Thriller opening were something we really hand to play around with, and we noticed that finding titles when you had nothing to base them around was difficult so we decided when doing our planning that we would also look at the different titles used in Thrillers. We found it difficult to make titles that looked professional but still Thriller like. After watching the opening to the film Se7en we all knew we had found something we liked. Unfortunately we found that Se7ens titles were too fast paced and over dramatic for our opening but we decided we would use elements of them to create ours. From research we agreed that the titles appearing and disappearing slowly would be the most effective, along with a black backdrop, meaning that the titles would be the main focus when they appear on screen.

The music of our opening sequence is used in a similar way to Black Swan. Throughout our opening we felt that the music we chose used the Thriller conventions well. I also feel that it creates distance between the audience and the protagonist as this is holding up the cards because they cant hear her voice and she appears to be hiding from everything.

How does your media product present different social groups?

Most of the characters in our film are around the age of our target audience which is 15-25. I think that this will be effective as the audience will be able to relate to the characters, for example; girls who watch our opening will be able to relate to the actress we used who was 16. This also allows viewers to sympathize for these characters. We chose for the antagonist to be a man around the age of 20, we chose for him to be this age because we wanted him to be older than the protagonist to insinuate that he has more power over her; additionally I think using a man of this age was the right decision as at first people may think that he is a good person in the extract and therefore they may be shocked when they discover what hes actually doing. We decided to only have two characters in our extract because we wanted the audience to only focus on these two characters and feel engaged by the strange relationship between them. The main social group our media product targets is teenage girls. The situation our film focuses on is very realistic and therefore teenage girls who are a similar age to our protagonist would relate

In terms of age it is clear through the protagonists looks and clothing that she is a teenager. The fact that the antagonist uses a social networking site could also suggest that he is young, although his height could suggest that he is older than the female. We decided the make the antagonist male as it is stereotypical that males are usually stronger whereas women are presented as weak and helpless. The mise-en-scene of the bedroom reveals that it is a feminine room through the bed covers and accessories in the room. However on the other hand the red wall covered in harsh words and memories of the protagonist may suggest something could be wrong or that danger is heading her way. For our filming we only had white Caucasian actors available, therefore we were limited, however from our research we did not feel that a specific race was required for a psychological Thriller and we didnt want it to seem like the antagonist was targeting the female for her race. The class of the characters is represented through the clothing and the bedroom of the protagonists. The antagonist is wearing casual and dark clothing to suggest he has a dark side and that clothing is not one of his main focuses. The protagonist is also shot wearing dark clothing which seems effortless although the dark clothing on her doesnt suggest a dark side but could connote her depression and the fact she feels alone. Her clothing and surroundings (bedroom) also suggest that she too is working/ middle class, the fact we have made both characters the same class could show the connection

In addition to this, weve represented gender in a traditional way; men are most dominant throughout our opening, and women are presented as the weaker sex. We decided on a stereotypical representation of gender to make our opening more realistic. There is a stereotypical role of a female who is helpless and considerably weaker compared to the male in the extract. Women are presented in a stereotypical way the female is young, beautiful and well presented although this changes as the extract progresses and the pain inflicted by the dominant male is physically shown on her. The cards that we have used throughout the extract and the red feature wall displaying the protagonists feelings reinforces the weakness we are revealing that she obtains. This appeals to our audience as it makes the opening seem more realistic as it is conventional. Our aim throughout our extract was for the audience, particularly females to relate to the female protagonist and sympathize with her.

What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
I believe that if our title sequence was made into a full length film I think that it should be made into a major Hollywood studio film, this is because it has the ability to create a further narrative being non finished. I consider that our opening has the potential to be a Hollywood film because it shared some of the same conventions and is very similar to existing Hollywood products. However our product does seem to vary from some of the conventions from a stereotypical physiological Thriller. Therefore it is engaging as it is not exactly the same as any other Thrillers although the familiarity will reassure the audience so that they understand the concepts, yet recognize the change In the narrative to create excitement and the element of the unknown. The media product we have created is commercialized therefore it would not be seen as a TV movie, internet only release or art house film. This is due to the fact our title sequence has an element of high engagement and a distinctive narrative which is traditionally a Hollywood styled film that is engaging with a global market rather than a niche audience meaning global distribution is not necessary.
Our film would be released as it could potentially have the ability to be a franchise and if successful follow on films could be made. I have researched into different production companies, 20th Century Fox and Universal Pictures and I have decided that Universal Pictures would be the best choice and more suitable production company for our text. I have looked at films distributed by Universal Pictures for example Fear which by the looks of things has some of the same type of characters as our product does (a young male and female) and I believe due to their similarities Universal Pictures would be the best distribution company to release our film. Having already released films with similar narratives I am certain they could release the film in the best way and with the appropriate effects.

What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

Universal Pictures
Female is presented as weaker and male is presented to have to dominance. She feels protected by him. Male is wearing dark clothing, could be iconic of a darker side to him. Female is naked exaggerates her weakness.

The font is similar to the font we used for our titles. Sinister and tense puts you on edge.

Male is looking at the camera whereas womens face is only slightly shown, reinforces his dominance

Rated 18 different to ours as it is rated 15. The title infers that their relationship may not be as close as it is revealed to be on the front cover.

Male and female character suggests they are the protagonist and antagonist this is the same as out opening (male and female characters)

What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

20th Century Fox

The female looks helpless Tears on her face Facial expression Seems like shes hiding Black and white follows the Thriller conventions, seems like a flashback which we have in our opening

Red font is bold and stands out similar to the font used on our titles besides the colour

Dark clothing mirrors costume in our product

the

The male character seems to have dominance also exhibited in our opening Stern facial expression

Male and female character suggests they are the protagonist and antagonist this is the same as out opening (male and female characters)

Who would be the audience for your media product?

Because of the narrative and style of out sequence I think that it would appeal more to a female audience, mainly teenage girls. This is because they can easily relate to the character and place themselves in the protagonists shoes. We decided as a group that our target audience would be between the ages of 15 and 20 as this age range is most likely to relate to the characters which is essential from experience in really feeling involved in a film. The female audience will understand the feelings of the protagonist and will be able to relate easier as they can imagine themselves in her situation and how she would feel. I feel that it will not only be females who can relate to the protagonist as I think males will too as they will feel that the antagonist treats the female unfairly and could not see themselves ever treating someone in this way. I feel that both genders will sympathize with the protagonist.

Personally I think that by having a female character who looks so genuine was a good idea as she is not presented in a strong stereotype therefore meaning a larger audience of females can relate rather than a niche audience if we had presented her as stuck up and almost fake through her presentation. Our male character looks older than the female and this could suggest a wider male audience can relate to him as a young adult.

I would compared our media product to films such as Taken as the storyline of abduction by a male is similar to ours of stalking and causing the female self inflicted pain and suicide. Taken is a film aimed at both male and females which I feel our product is although females may also find Taken easier to relate to as it puts a female at risk and they can place themselves in her position. The father character in Taken is used to encourage the male audience to connect and feel sympathy as they can imagine being in his position. Although Taken is rated 18 whereas our opening is rated 15 I feel that both have a similar target audience. Having one male and one female character in our opening I feel encourages both genders to feel involved.

Who would be the audience for your media product?

When creating our opening our target audience were in our best interest, these are people aged 15 to 25, and the majority of them being female as this is the target audience for a film with such a protagonist as ours. I believe that we attracted our audience through the contrast in our narrative, this is due to the fact we decided to use serious straight shots of female holding cards juxtaposed with the live action shots of the female relating to the words of the cards. The writing on the wall and red feature wall of the protagonists feelings encourages the audience to start asking questions, this engages them further. The audience enjoy the position of being one step ahead and try to solve the mystery before it is revealed to them through the film. As a group we also considered the use of the camera as this element is very important for attracting and addressing the audience. We decided that we wanted to use a range of camera angles to ensure a range in our opening, one key angle we wanted to use was point of view as this angle encourages the audience to sympathize with the protagonist and hopefully understand her situation. The aim of a psychological Thriller is to play with the audiences mind. I feel that we have achieved this as the use of the cards reveal the protagonists emotional pain, and the suicide at the end of the extract uncovers that their might be something more going on in her head that first suggested. As shown below one of the questions in our questionnaire was what age do you think our target audience is? we asked this question because we thought it would be interesting to see if the audience could tell whether the opening was a 15 or an 18. 70/80 people who answered our questionnaire said our film was a 15, which it is therefore I believe that we are addressing our audience correctly. Audience Response to our Product: I thought it was very creative. I like how there is no speech yet it still explains the story clearly. I loved the tense build up you have created! It really kept me on the edge of my seat I found your opening gripping and intense. I enjoyed the music and the intercutting live action It built up a lot in intensity I liked the music and the overall idea was well thought out 15 [70] 18 [10]

How did you attract or address your audience?

Due to the age of our protagonist (16) we decided that an age rating of 15+ would be more suitable for our Thriller opening meaning the younger audience can relate to the protagonist. On doing research we noticed that the majority of Thrillers are 18+ and therefore our Thriller seems to stand out and slightly break conventions. I believe we managed to attract our audience from the very beginning of our opening, this is because the opening scene is gripping and very tense which from out research we understand that many other Thrillers open in a similar way. The music in the opening scene is well timed and works well at working in parallel with the action and engage the viewers further. Another key element we decided to use to help attract our target audience was live action. This was suggested to use through our first questionnaire we made, where we were told that our opening was too much of the same kind of shots and scenes, we were told that to make our opening more engaging we needed to action to fasten the pace. After having this suggested to use we decided that we should have intercutting live action between the cards, we wanted to the live action to link to the writing on the card prior to it. For example the live action to go with the card It got out of control is of our protagonist seeming to have lost control of herself, this links the two together and creates a sense of mystery of what had got out of control with the audience. In my research I also learnt that traditional Thrillers use camera angles such as extreme close ups when wanting to show something in detail or for it to be the main focus of the shot, and low/high angles which are usually used when wanted to show a character as superior/inferior. This is shown above in Panic Room and our Thriller opening. We decided to include these, as well as point of view shots which we thought attracted the audience as they get the feeling that they are closely watching and looking at whatever is being captured and almost feel involved, creating a sympathetic or shocked feeling depending on the scenario. An example of this is in our alley way scene, the camera is over the antagonists shoulder which makes the audience feel more involved as if they are almost there themselves.

I think our audience are also attracted by our titles. We decided as a group that our titles should be on a separate intercutting black screen rather than having them over the live action. Choosing which font to use for our titles took time, we wanted a font that would attract the audience but that didnt look too immature or overly crazy.

What have you learned about technologies from the process of constructing the product?
Before starting my media module I was clueless in the sense of the different equipment and editing software we would be using. During the filming and editing process Reece helped all of us understand and become more familiar with Adobe Premier Pro to not only help us edit this certain project but improve our knowledge of the program in general for future us. Reece taught us the more technical side to the program that we hadnt learnt in class including how to make the titles and the effects that you could use to bring them onto the screen and how to make a sound loop. He also strengthened our skills in the areas we had already learnt about in class, cutting and putting together clips and entering the music for example.

Within our group Reece created the credits sequence using Adobe Premier Pro. Reece is very advanced in this program as he has a lot of experience and he kindly explained what he was doing through the process to help us understand and from then on know how to do it ourselves. Throughout the task I feel that I have most improved in the editing side of things, this is because when we first started the unit I had never used the program Adobe Premier Pro and now I feel comfortable with editing and placing clips together. I am familiar with the aspects and elements of the program and would feel confident using the program alone.

When it came to making our continuity task I found using the equipment challenging at first seeing as I had never used it before, however after some practice I learnt quickly how to use them correctly and used the equipment as successfully as I could. One aspect of filming our group particularly found difficult was the panning and zooming we wanted to do of the feature wall, in the end we decided to film this section separately and break it up into two shots, this was more effective. WE wanted the effect of a webcam camera for when the protagonist was holding the cards, we overcame this problem by stacking books behind the laptop and placing the camera on top of them. We edited the webcam shots on Adobe Premier Pro to make them look more old fashioned/ bad quality like a webcam is.

Looking back to your continuity task what do you feel you have learned in the progression from it to the full product?
I think its fair to say that our group have improved dramatically from our continuity task. Our skills on camera work, storyboarding and editing have come a long way from where we started and I feel that as a group we have learnt vital skills for future film making. I have learnt that the research into genre, planning stage, storyboarding and creating an animatic are all very critical elements in production. The research into genre and past Thriller openings has resulted in my understand of how to create a successful opening due to understanding the codes and conventions. In order to make a convincing product for the audience we had to ensure that elements such as choice of shots, lighting and narrative were met, as these are the elements that indicate to the viewers what the genre is. The planning stage of our Thriller opening was critical, this was the foundation layer for the rest of our product. We had to be sure that our idea was realistic to achieve and that it fitted into the two minute time gap we were given. We managed to meet the deadline by creating a shooting schedule that told us what scenes we would be shooting and which day to ensure the fast approaching deadline was met. The animatic and storyboarding were essential parts of the pre-production. We had a lesson from a storyboard professional to help us understand just how important the storyboard would be when it came to filming and visualizing your opening coming to life. The storyboard also helped us build an interesting and engaging narrative. The animatic helped us to prefect the timings as before we were unsure of how long to hold a shot or have a title appear. All of this helped us to produce a considerably better final product compared to the continuity task. I believe that our choice of shots has improved as we understand better which shots create meaning and how you can portray different character moods. More than anything I think we have improved on the range of shots we used, our continuity task was mainly long shots, medium shots and closeups, we decided to experiment more in our final product by using panning and tracking shots for example. The lighting in our continuity task was very varied as we didnt really think about how vital this element of filming was, our final product displays out use of lighting in a much more positive and well thought out way.

I believe this is a result of feeling much more condent with the equipment so that we are able to experiment with changing shot choices that we wouldn't have considered for our preliminary task. I feel that our end product is successful in fullling the task as we have met with many of the conventions for a psychological thriller and produced a product that has an engaging narrative; an exciting and dramatic overall sequence of footage.

We didnt record any of the diegetic dialogue separately so the quality of the sound was under average, this is something we learnt how to do in time for our final product in order to make it to the best of our ability and showcase our new skills we had learnt. Our continuity was another element we had to work on as our protagonist was seen wearing two different outfits throughout the extract. I have learnt that continuity is essential for a successful product.

Looking back to your continuity task what do you feel you have learned in the progression from it to the full product?

I feel that my, and my groups, ability to recognize where certain shots should be and how they should technically be executed has been hugely increased since our preliminary task. Also I believe that we now think a lot more about why a certain shot type or position is appropriate in order to infer meaning to the audience in a scene. I think that our biggest achievement in this aspect is that we used an array of different shots that all added up in order to create suspense and tension in our film, one of my favorite shots is the pan of the red feature wall. I strongly believe that our end product has been successful in the fulfilling the task set to us. It complied with using and at times altering, the codes and conventions of a psychological-thriller film which left us in the end having a product that is engaging to the audience through its use of mise-en-scene, narrative, camera work, editing and sound.