Crafting Your Film Opening

There are many things you should be considering as you ponder what to include in your horror film opening. However, you should remember that with horror LESS IS MORE. Do not feel compelled to SHOW the audience everything. The power of suggestion is much more potent when it comes to horror.

Next C/W Check Point

I will be looking at your Blogs again on...

FRIDAY, 25th NOVEMBER

All outstanding work should be completed by this point. As usual, homework points and supervised study will be given for any missing work.

Example of Level 1 - 4 Work

Below are some examples of level 1 - 4 coursework. I have used location shots as an example of the level of detail and analysis required to achieve each of the levels. Your work will need to be of the same standard throughout to ensure you can achieve the level required.

LEVEL 1 - Minimal evidence of research and planning

This constitutes a level 1 because only images of the locations and very brief descriptions have been included. There appears to be no thought process behind the locations chosen. The presentation shows no creativity whatsoever.  

LEVEL 2 - Basic evidence of research and planning

This has achieved a level 2 because there is evidence of basic organisation and some effort to explain possible effects the chosen locations would have on audience. The presentation shows a basic amount of effort.

LEVEL 3 - Proficient evidence of research and planning

This has achieved a level 3 because the post clearly outlines the group's location requirements in relation to their concept. Each location is analysed and linked directly into what the group wish to achieve and how the location will assist with that ambition. Mise en scene is considered, as is society's collective understanding of genre. The presentation is of a high standard.

 LEVEL 4 - Excellent evidence of research and planning

This has achieved a level 4 because it has all the elements of the level 3 blog example but it then goes on to analyse how their own location choices are influenced by other pieces of work in the same genre. There are specific examples included. The presentation is excellent.

Blogs Must, Should, Could List

Blogs Must Should Could

Pre-Production Tasks

Over the next week and a half you should each be responsible for a pre-production element of your project. You can choose from:

• Script
• Storyboard
• Location shots
• Casting shots and wardrobe decisions
• Shot list and shooting schedule (this should be completed last!)

Between you all of these elements will need to be completed on Tuesday, November 24th. This means you have 4 hours of lesson time.

Below are instructions for completing each of these elements correctly. Please ensure you read carefully.

SCRIPT:
Your opening will require a full script (even if you only have minimal dialogue). Your script should be completed in a Word document and uploaded to a site like Scribd so you can embed it into a post. This is a guide to scriptwriting.

There are three bodies of a script: Headings, narrative and dialogue. Each of these has three points to remember.
Headings: 1. Master scene headings which include:
a) Camera location - EXT. (exterior or outside) or INT. (interior or inside)
b) Scene location (LOCAL RACE TRACK)
c) Time (DAY or NIGHT)
2. Secondary scene heading
3. “Special headings” for things such as montages, dream sequences, flashbacks, flash forwards, etc...

Narrative Description: 
1. Action
2. Character and settings (visual)
3. Sounds

Dialogue:
1. The name of the person speaking appears at the top, in CAPS.
2. The actors direction (AKA parenthetical or wryly). Try to avoid these as much as possible. Both the director and actor will appreciate it.
3. The speech.

Putting all this together you should come up with something that looks like this:

INT. BARRY'S BAR - NIGHT

BOBBY is playing darts as he balances on on one foot aims his dart, sips a beer, and eats a handful of peanuts:

                        BOBBY

      (Drunkenly)
   I guess I need a bulls-eye.

As the PHONE RINGS:

           
           BOBBY

   Dammit! I told her not to call me!

BOBBY reaches for the phone and topples over.

STORYBOARDING:

Take your time when creating your storyboard! You will need to include an image of the shot, the type of shot (see short codes below), the type of cut to the next shot, the sound over the shot (e.g. diagetic or non-diagetic) and a brief description of the action. There is a website you can sign up to for a free trial called Storyboard That - it is a great site (especially if you aren't a great artist!).

SHOTS & ANGLES:
Extreme close up - ECU
Close up - CU
Mid-shot - MS
Long Shot - LS
Extreme long shot - ELS
High angle - HA
Low angle - LA

CUTS/TRANSITIONS
Straight cut
Fade to black (or white)

Dissolve 

LOCATION SHOTS:

Consider where you will be filming very carefully. You should have a photograph of each of your locations and a full explanation of what you intend to film there, why you have chosen the location (think mise-en-scene, audience expectations, connotations etc...)

Location: Detached house, MK Village (using exterior only)

Scenes to be filmed: 1, 2 and 10

This location will help to establish the genre of our piece (horror). The house is rundown and interesting shapes make up the exterior - it has a look of a 'haunted' house which should play into the audiences' fears (helping us to establish the desired tone for our opening). As the house is detached it suggests isolation which is fitting with our main character's predicament - she is alone as she is pursued by a killer.

CASTING SHOTS & WARDROBE CHOICES:

Again, these are important decisions which need to be considered carefully. You will require photos of your actors and possible costume choices appropriate to their characters. Remember to consider the representation of your characters. What are you trying to convey and how can this be done visually?

Name of actor: Sally Smith

Role: Polly Kent (First victim of killer)

Reason for casting: Sally looks fresh-faced and innocent. As her character is killed early on in the opening, it is important that a feeling of pity for this character is established as soon as possible. Casting this young and attractive actor will help the audience to immediately feel sorry for her. We will also be appealing to our target demographic with the casting of an actor of a similar age group.

Wardrobe - We want to really emphasize the innocence of this character so that the audience feel the full impact and horror of her murder. The dress pictured on the right has the right balance of innocence and beauty. The short sleeves and frilled front have an almost school girl quality which again would help with establishing the character's vulnerability. We chose white due to the strong connotations of innocence and purity. We felt the dress on the left was a little too provocative and would distract from the victim's innocence.

SHOT LISTS & SHOOTING SCHEDULE
A shot list is a full log of the shots you want to include in your film; essentially it is a checklist filled with finer details that will give your filming a clear sense of direction and purpose.

A shooting schedule is basically a plan of action. It should work in harmony with your shot list but should also serve as a reminder of where you are shooting, what times, what equipment you need (this includes props, costume, cameras etc...) and who is required.

Planning Tasks - Part One

Once you have received audience feedback and decided which idea you are going to start developing, you are ready to undertake the planning tasks.

• The first task you must complete is a moodboard for your film. The purpose of this moodboard is to get you thinking about the overall look and feel of your film. What do you want the finished product to look like? Ensure you consider existing products in the same genre. Consider: colour, imagery, font styles, key words, costume, character types etc...

Here is an example moodboard:

• If you are aiming for a level 3/4 mark you should also conduct some further research into the CODES AND CONVENTIONS of your chosen sub-genre. Consider the following: what are the typical plots, what colour palettes tend to be used, what font styles are employed, what imagery is typical? To push even further: what about the editing styles and use of camera?

• NARRATIVE STRUCTURE: Using Todorov's theory, outline the basic narrative of your film (as if you were making the whole thing). Here is an example:

• TITLE & LOGLINE

Decide on a title and analyse your choice - you should show progression of your ideas (e.g. not just coming up with one title and settling on it - you should have a variety of options) and reasoning behind any decisions (consider conventions of your genre - see slide above).

Writing a logline: You will have to ensure you have communicated with all your group members so that you can all agree on this.

Pitching Your Ideas

Task: On your blogs, you must pitch between 2 and 3 ideas for your horror film. The pitch should outline a basic plot with some consideration of sub-genre.

Your pitch should be filmed in the following style:

Once you have added your pitches to your blog, allow members of the class to view them and vote on which they think you should make. You can add a poll function to your blog post (like I have done below). Click HERE for a link with instructions on how this is done.

Out of the film ideas pitched, which would you most like to see being made?

Target Audience Research

As outlined in the lesson, you will be undertaking some research into the target audience of horror films. You must produce a case study of an existing horror film. Use the following as guidance for the content. This piece of work should take approximately an hour to produce:

Exemplar Blog - 18/20

Please see THIS BLOG as an example of excellent work.

Outstanding Work - UPDATE

Below is a table of work progress. Green means the task is completed and posted to your blog, orange means that you have posted something to your blog but it is incomplete. Red means that no work has been submitted. Check your name and complete any missing or incomplete work.

Close Analysis - Horror Openings

TASK - Due FRIDAY, 4th NOVEMBER
Your next research task is to investigate and analyse 4 horror film openings. One of the films you must include is Alfred Hitchcock's classic horror, 'Psycho'. The opening sequence to this film was created by legendary designer, Saul Bass.


Your research should include analysis of 4 horror opening and should address the following points:

Action (this can include dialogue, imagery/iconography etc...)
Print styles (font type, colours, how the credits appear etc...)
Music/sound

Your research should consider how these three elements contribute to the atmosphere created in the opening and how they indicate the genre of the film to the audience. 

Here is an example of how you might set out your work:

 

And here are some openings you may want to use:

Evil Dead

Dawn of the Dead

Alien 3

Cape Fear

Preliminary Task - Evaluation (Due Wednesday, 19th Oct)

Once you have posted your video to your blog, you need to evaluate your work.

Answer the following questions:
- What worked well and why?
- What did not work? Identify areas that need improving.
- What do you need to improve on for your main coursework piece (e.g. technical issues, camera work, contributing more in your group, planning process etc...)

Your responses should be well structured and comprehensive. You should also utilize visual aids such as screen grabs from your prelim task video.

Example

Preliminary Task

All students must complete a preliminary task for their coursework. This will be a short filmed sequence which involve TWO CHARACTERS. You may choose the scenario (e.g. perhaps it is an interview, or a secret meet up between two criminals etc...)


It is essential that you include the following elements:

• A character walking down a corridor and opening a door, crossing a room and sitting down in a chair opposite another character and exchanging a few lines of dialogue.
• You must demonstrate match on action, shot/reverse shot and the 180 degree rule.

Before you film this sequence, in your groups you will be planning your shots by creating a shot list and storyboard. The shot list should be a word document and the storyboard should be designed hand drawn using the templates.

The groups are as follows:

1. Toby, Amy, Tori, Rachel
2. Ellie, Sophie, Georgia, Conor
3. Penny, Ella, Siham, Leona
4. Sam, Aimee, Jordan
5. Freya, Kate, Jade
6. Mika, Cody, Abbie

Codes and Conventions - Film Opening Sequences

As mentioned, your coursework will consist of you developing your own 2 minute opening sequence of a feature film. In order to do this, it is essential you understand the conventions of film openings so you may apply these to your own work.

TASK:
Undertake research to establish the codes and conventions (elements you usually find) of opening sequences. You should reference a minimum of 6 feature length films. Below are some sequences you may choose to use.

Legally Blonde Opening
Amadeus Opening
Pride & Prejudice Opening
Hulk
Cabin in the Woods
Kung Fu Panda

You may choose additional title sequences - but be careful not to use trailers or ending credits. It must be the first 2 - 4 minutes of a feature film.

As you watch, make notes on the usual elements that are found in an opening sequence. You should consider:

• CONVENTIONS OF CREDITS - what information is given in the text and what order does it tend to be in (e.g. production company? Actors names? Writers? Director? etc...)
• NARRATIVE - what is introduced to us in these first few moments? Are we dropped straight into the action? Is the setting of the film established? Are we introduced to main characters?
• STYLE OF FONTS - is any consideration given to the print style of the fonts? Does it fit with the genre or tone of the film?
• SOUND - consider how sound is used in an opening. Is music used? If so, how is it used/what purpose does it serve? Is dialogue used? Again, think about how and to what purpose. Is a voice over used?

As always, you should be considering carefully how to present your findings. There are many ways you may wish to approach this task - annotated screengrabs from the various films (see below), a Prezi using the 4 areas you have been asked to look at as your headings, a talking heads video (you speaking to camera and using inserts of your screen grabs) etc...

EXAMPLE:

 Having watched a variety of film openings, I have found one common convention to be displaying the production company's logo at the very start of the film. Furthermore, the production company logo appears to be used in such a way as to establish the genre and tone of the film.

 For example, the Dreamworks logo to the left starts with a Chinese style figure jumping on the moon. This turns into the familiar DW logo. This indicates the martial arts aspect of the film - but also an element of fun.

ETC....





OR a PPT with grabs and text boxes:

Here are some screengrabs from last year's students:

This is the opening of a Prezi presentation

This student used screengrabs

Camera Movements - Filming Task - Due October 5th

Your next research task is to use as many of the camera movements taught to you in this week's lessons to create a promotional video for Oakgrove Sixth Form. This task should build on your new found knowledge of shots, angles and framing. The video should be shot in a way to best highlight the positive aspects of Oakgrove's sixth form.

There are many ways in which you may choose to do this video - e.g. an MTV Cribs style video, a journey through sixth form (following a student), a presenter guiding us through sixth form etc... IT'S UP TO YOU!

Here is a list of the movements - the minimum you need to include is 5. Extra points if you manage to include all of them!

PAN - TRACK - TILT - ARC - CRAB - ZOOM - DOLLY ZOOM - CRANE (you can't do this one!)

CLICK ON IMAGE!

Groups:

1. Rachel, Tori, Connor, Sam, Siham, Abbie (camera 4)

2. Jade, Georgia, Freya, Sophie, Mika, Amy (camera 1)

3. Jordan, Kate, Penny, Junior, Ella, Leona (camera 5)

4. Toby, Cody, Vinny, Ellie, Aimee (camera 2)

Representation in Blockbuster Films - Due September 28th

Click on image for link to Indiewire article

Image Analysis - Oakgrove Sixth Form Task

DUE ON BLOGS MONDAY, 19th SEPTEMBER

Rule of Thirds - Due Friday, 16th September

Create a post that outlines the basics of the rule of thirds and include some examples. Why is it important in film making?

Camera Shots & Angles - Due 16th September

Your first research task will aim to familiarize you with the basic building blocks of cinema. Your task is to produce a document that not only outlines the different shot types and angles used in film, but to also consider why these shots might be used (e.g. what they may communicate to the viewer).

The shots and angles you must include are: Establishing shot, extreme long/wide shot, long/wide shot, medium shot, close up, extreme close up, over the shoulder shot, cowboy shot, neural angle, high angle, low angle, Dutch tilt/canted angle, bird's eye view.

Here is an example of how you might set out your post:

Close up

This shot tends to focus on a specific feature (such as a face). This image will fill most of the screen. This shot allows the audience to easily read facial expressions which may not be as noticeable in a wider shot. It can also draw the audience's attention to a specific object which can be integral to the plot.

Your post should be made up of a mixture of original images and found images. The text needs to be your own (not copied from elsewhere as this is plagiarism).

DUE ON YOUR BLOG 16th SEPTEMBER 2016

Welcome to Media Studies

Hello and welcome to media studies at Oakgrove!

First things first - you need to set up a blog as all of your coursework will be logged and presented in this format. This blog is viewed by me and is also viewed by the examiner. It is essential it looks professional and engaging.

Below are the instructions for setting up a new Blogger account:

CLICK HERE!

Additional information:

• Once you have an account and have clicked to start a new blog, you need to call it something appropriate (e.g. Pete's AS Media Blog). You will also be asked to create a web address for it. It is essential that you end your web address with 'ogs' to ensure the blog isn't blocked by the school's filters. For example, petesmediablogogs.blogspot.co.uk.

• Once all this is done, you can choose a design.