PREZI - BASICS ON MY HORROR MOVIE OPENING

         

PRELIMINARY TASK

This is our preliminary task video. 

THE HAPPENING TIME LINE

0:00 - BEGINS
0:16 - 20th Century Fox Logo with iconic theme tune in the background, fades out



0:26 - UTV Company Logo fades in and the wind noise in the background begins

0:31 - Wind/Breeze noises until 0:44, this gets louder throughout sequence

0:43 - Spyglass Entertainment Logo as well as the continuation of the wind noise in the background

0:51 - 20th Century Fox screen credit, as well as the other sponsor and production company credits, fade in and out the background of blue sky and clouds, wind dies down and music begins

1:03 - Harp strings and the wind sounds continue, violin noises irregular patterning (FADE CUT INTO BACKGROUND)

1:11 - Mark Wahlberg acting credit is the first name to appear out of the whole cast

1:18 - 'The Happening' title credits in larger writing (TITLES FADE IN AND OUT)

1:19 - The music becomes louder and more instruments are added in such as a low drum beat, violins and piano, they are set in a repetitive melody, however some notes are irregular to show unnatural happenings and bad emotions in the film

1:24 - Zoeey Deschanel acting credit

1:30 - John Leguizamo acting credit

1:35 - Betty Buckley acting credit 

1:40 - Frank Collinson and Ashlyn Sanchez acting credit

1:45 - Spencer Breslin and Robert Bailey Jr

1:50 - Casting Director Credit

1:57 - Costume Designer Credit
2:00 - Music by

2:05 - Co-producers

2:15 - Edited by

2:21 - Production designer

2:28 - Director of Photography

2:35 - Executive Producers

2:42 - More Executive Producers

2:50 - Deeper sounds introduced in the melody, louder and quicker paced and there is a sudden climax to the music as the director's name appears on the screen 

2:54 - Written, produced and directed by M. Night Shyamalan 
3:07 - Establishing shot of people doing various activities in Central Park, and POV shot of a random man walking his dog, then pans to the rest of landscape of Central Park


3:13 - Caption, 'Central Park 8:33am', noises are just wind and breeze noises, this makes it sound sinister and haunting (SOUND BRIDGE) 

3:15 - Low angle shot of trees/skyline

3:17 - Wide shot, actors in the centre on a 
park bench, bustling background noises, dog noises, dialogue

3:33 - Slow zoom in, towards characters, some dialogue

3:39 - POV shot, rapid pan to par area, long shot, focus on people in distance (STRAIGHT CUTS) 

3:40 - close up of one of the girls talking about what she 'sees'
3:50 - switch to a shot of park again, people in the park start walking backwards

4:05 - 3 shots, shot, reaction shot (or reverse shot), repeated scream noises, these angles how emotion in the persons face, it also emphasizes the traits of other characters, in this opening we can see that the world around her has come to a halt and she is confused. This is useful for the audience as it puts them in suspense about what might be happening around her. (JUMP CUT)



4:12 - panning shot follows dog to 'frozen' owners


4:48 - Two shot, girl stabs self in neck, sound effect noises of stabbing, other actor is in background looking shocked. 

DETAILED RESPONSE FROM MY SURVEY

Why do you like/not like horror movies?:

I allowed this question to have longer answers because it would help e see what I should put in, e.g. the thrills and the sudden jumps, suspense and maybe what not to put in, such as excessive gore.

Who do you usually see as the villains/victims?:

This question would help me decide on characters, most people saw the females as the victims as they are shown in the media as being stereotypically weaker and helpless, although some say they would prefer a female villain for once because it would make a change for once and sometimes women can have a scarier look about them. Male victims have also been shown as rare, but male villains aren' really rare at all, this is because they have a stereotype of being stronger and in control. 

Types of light settings?

This question is useful because it would help me decide when to set the film, whether it should be in night time or put a black and white filter on it. From this, I've decided to set it in an 'unsettling light', since the woodland area, a daytime winter haze can give that location a creepy and silent feel. 

PRELIMINARY TASK EVALUATION

What we did:

We filmed Jemma and Joanna acting out our script, this took a few lessons to complete so that we had a few angles for each part of our preliminary film, this included POV shots, close ups, panning shots and more. After that we uploaded the footage and then started editing. Editing took about 4-5 lessons, this was so we could experiment with the Final Cut system, such as the sounds and the titles, also the cutting effects (like a fading effect). 

What I enjoyed:

Learning about the equipment and software on the Macs was really enjoyable, it helped me think about how I can incorporate these helpful tools into my later film opening. I also enjoyed filming and helping with sound and camera angles, it really helped me learn about how different angles can make a good effect for making things look scary or making people look safe, or how to get the right frames for people to be talking face to face (or in our case also back to back).

What I could've done better: 

I think if we'd filmed all of them more consecutively, we could've had a lot more continuity, such as clothing, hair styles, etc, although this would mean that we would have to film all on the same day, which could take a lot more time than we had, so in all fairness, we did the best that we could. 

Costume and Makeup Ideas

Doll like makeup - this is to reinforce the idea that the killer is not right, it also gives a uniqueness to the whole story as most serial killers in films are kind of slasher, and don't really have much difference. This 'fetish' almost, gives my film a different kind of horror as it mixes both the creepiness of the doll aspect with the aspects of the victims murder. 

Halloween costumes would be ideal for making the victims doll like as they already have the fake blood aspect and the criteria of the killer's actions. They should be easy to attain as I have friends who are having a costume party for Halloween and a few of them are getting these style costumes. If they ask for payment, I would provide, but considering they are my friends, I would really expect them to. 

PRELIMINARY TASK SCRIPT

Joanna: (casually walking down k–block corridor)

(a scream comes from a nearby room)

Joanna: (reaction shot of her looking worried)

Joanna: (close up of opening the door on the handle)

(Joanna walks in, the camera is in the classroom looking at Joanna as she walks in)

(Point of View shots Joanna looks round to see what the noise was)

(Muffled noise comes from behind the desk)

(Pan/Tracking shots Joanna walks run over to the desk)

(Point of View shot of Joanna seeing a person tied up)

Joanna: (Confused reactions, worried facial expression) What the hell happened?! Are you okay?! Who did this to you?! Is it safe?!

(looking around worried)

Jemma: (frustrated) Just untie me!!

(The camera is positioned watching the two girls: While looking around frantically, Joanna starts to untie Jemma)

Joanna: (point of view shot or her untying Jemma) It’s safe now, you’re safe!

(Screen goes black)

TYPES OF FILM OPENING

Flashbacks

     
        ↳ Previous key events that lead up to future story line

Panning of the landscape

        ↳ Mood, tone, setting of events

Narration 

        ↳ Voiceovers, narrating plot, outside view or an internal             view, essential background information

Title Sequence 

        ↳ Sense of genre, main actors/actresses listed, director,             other important people

Chase Sequence

        ↳ High impact, excitement from the offset

What does media mean to me?

Media is very important to both me and the rest of the world. Without it people would not be able to communicate, share ideas and expand their lives in ways they didn't think were even possible. In my own life, I have always been around a computer (my parents both work in I.T) and the ways they and works of the internet and the media has always fascinated me, ever since I can remember I've been looking on social media sites and playing on games that let me connect with a world aside from my own, e.g. Sims. Now-a-days, I have a huge interest in a variety of magazines like ELLE and TV shows and websites and I think media takes up more of my life and everyone else's life way more than we'd care to admit. Being on social media, with people half way across the world it has helped me get through painful and stressful times in my life, the ability to communicate with those who have had the same problems and can offer a fair amount of support. This really meant a lot to me as I was never sure that anyone really understood me, but people across the world have shown that you really aren't alone. Media can be used for both leisure and work; this just shows exactly how important it is in someone's life. You use a computer or phone or tablet almost every day, people definitely expect you to have something like this in the modern world. Media is not just computers and the internet either, it is also films and TV, campaigns and advertising, and much more. This shows that media is around us all the time and we may not even notice it anymore. People relate to media in ways they don't realise, and that's what makes it so amazing to me.

Editing: a worksheet

1- What does editing do?: Allows the audience to see the continuation between each scene, it can also establish relationships between the characters, or the other stimulants. They can easily show sudden changes in story, create suspense, mystery or continue showing a sense of place or relationship

2- How does it work?: The editor can cut the film at any point after it has been recorded (most likely more than once), this allows them to put in the cuts, features etc. that are needed to set the scene.

3- Describe each of the following editing terms:

· Cut - a quick cut between the relationship of a character and another character or a character and a stimulus, barely ever noticeable.

· Dissolve - a scene looks as if it is dissolving into a background or another scene, it can go pixelated and grainy into the background.

· Fade - where a scene hazes into a background or another scene, or to black.

· Jump cut - when a cut goes from a character or stimulus and then goes to something really important or further in the future, e.g. a man jumping off a building - jump cut - him on the floor, dead.

4- How does the shot reverse shot help the narrative or generate meaning? It can see facial features and reactions e.g. whilst in conversation with one character to the next character or stimulus, to help see that character's emotional responses and opinions. 

5- Why is the 180 degree rule important? It enables the audience to see both the characters interacting with each other, without having to keep jumping from one person to another constantly and it shows a lot of the relationships within a shot.

6- How and why is the point of view shot used? It is used to show the characters views, or even an objects views e.g. a painting watching the event happening. It can make the film much more realistic for the audience as they can feel a lot more involved in the plot within the film.

7- How else can the pov be generated? They can be generated by using something like a mobile phone or a handheld camera, which can create senses of running and it mimics the movement of the character.

8- What is parallel or cross cut editing? It is where the scene flicks from one scene to another scene that are happening simultaneously, for example, something happening inside a house and then at the same time something happening outside the house like a man about to ring the doorbell or a police raid. 

9- What editing techniques are used to generate suspense? A parallel or cross cut can create suspense as the audience is sometimes able to see what is about to happen, but you know that the character doesn't know and that become a 'shout at the screen' kind of moment e.g. when you see a killer go into a house but the character doesn't know he's there but you do and you wait in suspense as something bad is about to happen. POV shots also crate suspense as they allow you to see a limited view of what is happening so you know as little as the character does, this can leave you in wonder about the next few events. 

10- Explain in your own words how the mouse sequence creates tension. It only allows you to hear and kind of get the jist of what is going on, not everything that is about to happen, which can create mystery. You can see the mouse is scared of what is happening which only makes you wonder how the rest of the characters may react. 

11- Why is timing important in editing? If parts of the plot are revealed way too quickly it can ruin the tension and suspense, whereas if left too late, it can begin to bore the audience and they just want to know what's happening. 

12- Explain in your own words what the continuity system is? It's where the editing and directing have to continuously work in a various amount of shots e.g. if someone falls on their left side, in the next shot they shouldn't be falling only their right. 

13- Why does editing strive to be invisible? The more editing is visible, the less realistic the film would be, and the less realistic it is, the less the audience will want to watch it.

QUESTIONNAIRE SHORT ANSWER RESULTS + ANALYSIS

This section of analysis from the website shows how many people responded overall as well as the devices they used to respond. This is very useful as it can help us see how many people commonly use devices to look at information on the internet, this could be used in my horror movie as it would help to know where to distribute it, e.g. on Netflix so people on tablets and phones can get to it. It also shows completion time, and we can see that people on laptops and PCs spent more time answering the questions than on smartphones. 

Most people in this survey were under 21 and within the age range of 19-20, however none were under 10. This is probably accurate as you wouldn't want people under 11 to see the type of things in a horror movie and the age ranges shown in my survey are around the ages that I would have my audience at.

This shows how many people in the survey were female and male, and this part is fairly problematic as 91% were female and not a lot were male, so there isn't much of a range of males who completed the survey, meaning it is a little bit biased. However, considering that horror movies are quite generic, it isn't so important as they appeal to both audiences fairly well. 

*Please note that there are 66 people in this section as one person answered other, but the rest of their answers were actually good to use.

 

 This section was fairly even in the ratio of Yes:No, which is great because then it is not biased in any way. 

In this part of the survey I was able to see what people really expected and liked to see in a horror film. This was useful because it would help me choose a plot much more easily. Suspense was the top one, which is understandable, and the second most popular was murderers which is where I was heading with my plot. Since this was multiple choice, the answers obviously add up to more than 67, I did this to see what people liked, without them having to choose something specifically. 

I asked this question because it would help me decide where to set my filming, and I was already considering using a woodland area, which I always considered was quite intimidating and scary.

Most people in this survey suggested that the use of music did make them feel suspense whilst watching a horror film. This is useful information because it makes me think about what type of music to put in if I put in anything at all.

Most people said that sound effects such as excessive  stabbing noises or screams appealed to them whilst watching the film which tells me that these sound effects maybe a good idea.

This information isn't relevant specifically to my horror film, however if i was making the full film, I would be able to see where I should distribute it after production to make the most profit and to get it to more people. 

This is very relevant to my opening as it allows me to see how interesting I should keep my opening before filming. If it is uninteresting, the audience would not continue watching it and this number line shows that it is fairly important to have a good opening. 

MY QUESTIONNAIRE

I used typeform; a survey site that has a nice layout and can give a multiple choice answer sheet as well as yes/no's and even longer typed out answers.

My questionnaire is HERE to look at the layout/how people filled it in.

 I distributed my survey amongst friends in real life over group Facebook chats for their opinions, but I also have a Tumblr blog that has quite a few followers, and I distributed it on there for people who live in various locations and are different ages and got over 50 replies from just posting it on there, which is quite a good result. Over all, I've had 67 replies for my survey.