The first few seconds of the film are of a black screen, with the sound of an out of tune radio and distant rain playing overhead. Then the screen fades in, revealing an old radio. The radio cuts into a broadcast, which says: “Good evening. The London Metropolitan Police have announced another murder today. The killer which has set his sights on murdering citizens around the capital has brutally killed a young single mother. She has been named as Sophie Morrison. Her family have been informed.” The radio the cuts out and goes back to it's out of tune state. The camera then, slowly, pans up to show rain pouring down a barred window. A hooded figure walks past, and approached a door. The camera cuts to a shot of a door opening, and you see the man's feet on the floor. In one hand he is holding a long branding iron. The camera follows him as he places the branding iron at the far end of the room. Then, it shows the character, Laverick, switches off the radio. The camera then cuts to a shot of the window, looking into the room, and Laverick then proceeds to close the blind. This makes Laverick seem more isolated from the normal stir of society. There is then a shot of Laverick placing a knife and scissors in his bag of tools. This adds a sense violence to the character, as you see what kind of tools he uses to brutally kill his victims. After this, the shot changes to shots of battered old newspaper cuttings on the wall, which read “Laverick becomes country's most successful entrepreneur”, “Laverick wife and children killed in horrific mansion fire”, “Laverick mansion arsonists walk free. Laverick missing for three years”, “Body in woodland with an unknown logo branded into skin.” In between all of these cuttings, pictures of Laverick's potential victims appear briefly. Laverick then proceeds to pick a pen, and cross out an image of his next victim. Laverick then collects his branding iron, and the camera cuts to a shot of the door slamming shut.
Tuesday 15 March 2011
Thursday 10 March 2011
Second Filming Attempt
Our second filming attempt, I feel, went alot better than our first. This is because we took much more care and effort into ensuring that there was no continualty errors. We made sure, unlike last time, that there was rain running down the window in all of the shots. We also ensured that nothing moved in different shots, to ensure a sense of realism of the location.
The camera-work was much less shakey than our first filming attempt, as we used a tripod. Any shots where we did not use a tripod we ensured that it was as stable as possible. In some shots, we did not keep the camera entirely still, but this was to give a small sense of distortion off to the audience.
On reviewing our first footage we noticed that we needed to 'dress' the set more to create a better atmosphere to match the mood and themes or our film. To do this we did many things. First of all, we decided to have the main character close the blinds near the beginning of the film, making him seem seperated from the normal stir of society. Secondly, we put a white, stained, curtain over the window of the door, to, again, make him seem more apart from average people. Thirdly, we made the newspaper cuttings and pictures look more worn out and old. We done this by ripping them and briefly soaking them in tea-water. This aged them, giving a sense that Laverick, the killer in our film, has been lusting after revenge for a long amount of time. Finally, we put numerous work tools scattered around the desk, which were old and rusty. This gives a sense of age, violence and dilapidation to the film. The lighting of what we filmed was not ideal, but upon editing we shall use effects to change this fact.
However, we upon watching our footage we realised that having the character walk around the workshop is confusing and, frankly, boring for the viewer to watch. We have decided to focus more on props instead of the character. Any shots we do have of the main character will only be segements of his body (eg. hands, feet, fingers). This will make him seem more mysterious. Also, we want to use quicker editing, so there are quick flashing of words, props and images on the screen, instead of him slowly walking across.
The camera-work was much less shakey than our first filming attempt, as we used a tripod. Any shots where we did not use a tripod we ensured that it was as stable as possible. In some shots, we did not keep the camera entirely still, but this was to give a small sense of distortion off to the audience.
On reviewing our first footage we noticed that we needed to 'dress' the set more to create a better atmosphere to match the mood and themes or our film. To do this we did many things. First of all, we decided to have the main character close the blinds near the beginning of the film, making him seem seperated from the normal stir of society. Secondly, we put a white, stained, curtain over the window of the door, to, again, make him seem more apart from average people. Thirdly, we made the newspaper cuttings and pictures look more worn out and old. We done this by ripping them and briefly soaking them in tea-water. This aged them, giving a sense that Laverick, the killer in our film, has been lusting after revenge for a long amount of time. Finally, we put numerous work tools scattered around the desk, which were old and rusty. This gives a sense of age, violence and dilapidation to the film. The lighting of what we filmed was not ideal, but upon editing we shall use effects to change this fact.
However, we upon watching our footage we realised that having the character walk around the workshop is confusing and, frankly, boring for the viewer to watch. We have decided to focus more on props instead of the character. Any shots we do have of the main character will only be segements of his body (eg. hands, feet, fingers). This will make him seem more mysterious. Also, we want to use quicker editing, so there are quick flashing of words, props and images on the screen, instead of him slowly walking across.
Wednesday 2 March 2011
Analysing title sequences
Machete:
The opening sequence of the film Machete was effective. They implement the text into the images on the screen very well. As images of the actors appear on the screen, the names also appear. The colour of the font matches that of the colour of the image of the actors. This works well as it creates a good house-style theme. Throughout the titles there is a comic-book effect implemented onto the clips, which lets the viewer know that it will be set in modern times.
Zombieland:
The titles of Zombieland are implemented into the actual footage of the film, which I find very effective as it involves the audience more. An example of this is when there is a name of an actor on the screen, a man fires a shotgun and it takes away part of the text. This also lets the audience know that there will be alot of violence and destruction used in this film. Watching this title sequence gave me inspiration for my film as it made me think more about the positioning and implementation of the text.
Halloween:
I feel that the titles for the film 'Halloween' were not as effective as the other two. Firstly, they seemed very basic. Secondly, the font seemed quite child-like as not scary as it perhaps should be, so this does not fit the target audience. Finally, the text was static, and the continuous fading in and out of text is, arguably, quite boring for the audience to watch. I did like, however, how there was an image of a pumpkin next to the text, as this immdiately lets the audience know what type of film this would be. I will take note from analysing this title sequence that it is important to, through means of font, to choose correctly, as this will let the audience know the chosen genre of my film.
Arlington Road:
The titles to Arlington Road were very effective. It makes the audience feel distorted and distant from the clips which are being shown. Images constantly appear and then disappear on screen, mainly of gates and bars. This makes the audience feel trapped and curious as to why these images are being shown. The text is quite difficult to see and read at first, which I think is a good effect as it keeps with the theme of the images.
300:
The titles of 300 are my personally favourite. This is because they use cartoony graphics as the text appears. This fits loosely with the art-style of the film, which seems air-brushed. As the animated images move on screen, the text moves with it. This is good use of space as it seems as though the text fits well the the images which are being shown. There is alot of blood used in the title sequence, which is a good way of letting the audience know that there s alot of gore in this film. The dramatic music playing overhead creates suspense and drama, and lets the audience know that this will be quite a dark film.
Scott Pilgrim vs The World:
The opening titles to Scott Pilgrim vs The World are very effective. They use a mix of colours and imagery to convey the theme of the film, which is comic book/video game. The black coloured text stands out against the brightly coloured background, making it clear and easy to read. However, the fact that there a no real images behind the text, just art, can bore the audience to sit through for a long amount of time. This means that I will ensure to use a range of different shots and images in the opening of my film as to make sure that the audience is still interested and that suspense is upheld.
The opening sequence of the film Machete was effective. They implement the text into the images on the screen very well. As images of the actors appear on the screen, the names also appear. The colour of the font matches that of the colour of the image of the actors. This works well as it creates a good house-style theme. Throughout the titles there is a comic-book effect implemented onto the clips, which lets the viewer know that it will be set in modern times.
Zombieland:
The titles of Zombieland are implemented into the actual footage of the film, which I find very effective as it involves the audience more. An example of this is when there is a name of an actor on the screen, a man fires a shotgun and it takes away part of the text. This also lets the audience know that there will be alot of violence and destruction used in this film. Watching this title sequence gave me inspiration for my film as it made me think more about the positioning and implementation of the text.
Halloween:
I feel that the titles for the film 'Halloween' were not as effective as the other two. Firstly, they seemed very basic. Secondly, the font seemed quite child-like as not scary as it perhaps should be, so this does not fit the target audience. Finally, the text was static, and the continuous fading in and out of text is, arguably, quite boring for the audience to watch. I did like, however, how there was an image of a pumpkin next to the text, as this immdiately lets the audience know what type of film this would be. I will take note from analysing this title sequence that it is important to, through means of font, to choose correctly, as this will let the audience know the chosen genre of my film.
Arlington Road:
The titles to Arlington Road were very effective. It makes the audience feel distorted and distant from the clips which are being shown. Images constantly appear and then disappear on screen, mainly of gates and bars. This makes the audience feel trapped and curious as to why these images are being shown. The text is quite difficult to see and read at first, which I think is a good effect as it keeps with the theme of the images.
300:
The titles of 300 are my personally favourite. This is because they use cartoony graphics as the text appears. This fits loosely with the art-style of the film, which seems air-brushed. As the animated images move on screen, the text moves with it. This is good use of space as it seems as though the text fits well the the images which are being shown. There is alot of blood used in the title sequence, which is a good way of letting the audience know that there s alot of gore in this film. The dramatic music playing overhead creates suspense and drama, and lets the audience know that this will be quite a dark film.
Scott Pilgrim vs The World:
The opening titles to Scott Pilgrim vs The World are very effective. They use a mix of colours and imagery to convey the theme of the film, which is comic book/video game. The black coloured text stands out against the brightly coloured background, making it clear and easy to read. However, the fact that there a no real images behind the text, just art, can bore the audience to sit through for a long amount of time. This means that I will ensure to use a range of different shots and images in the opening of my film as to make sure that the audience is still interested and that suspense is upheld.
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