History of Titles

Target Audience

Target Audience

My target audience are males and females under 25. Below are a few examples of my target audience who like horror films:

Unfriended:

Insidious:

Sweeney Todd:

The Purge: Anarchy:

The UK tribe that I will be targeting are 'Young Alts' they wish to set themselves away from mainstream by listening to alternative music having alternative views and looking alternative. This makes them more likely to watch films that are not considered popular in order to remain different.

Here is a link to the survey questions:
https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/ZLFNJTK

Who makes title sequences?

Conventions of Horror Films

Superbad Opening Sequence Titles

Superbad Opening Title Sequence

             

Title sequence superbad from Eden McClymont

Scream Opening Sequence

                     Click the link for an analysis of Scream: http://edenbanana1.wix.com/video-portfolio-blog

Ginger Snaps Horror Opening Sequence

Ginger Snaps

Below is an analysis of the opening sequence of Ginger Snaps, using Mise En Scene, Camerawork, Editing and Sound.

       

Ginger snaps from Eden McClymont

Legally Blonde

Wallander

Wallander

Mise en scene, Editing, Camera work and Sound are used in Wallander to pose questions to the audience and make them want to continue watching.

The girls are both dressed in black which suggests rebellion, it could also be shown through the colour of the girl's hair and her painted nails. One of them is wearing a razor blade necklace which could symbolise violence. Their costume implies that they are defiant and could come from a troubled background. 

When the girls are sitting in the car waiting to be driven to the station low key lighting is used to make them look evil and dangerous. The knife links them to crime and shows they are violent. The location shows isolation, uncertainty is shown as the taxis are usually associated with cities and not with desolate places therefore showing something is not right.
The man's ID badge presents his innocence and how brutal and ruthless the girls as it suggests the man is an ordinary man with an ordinary job.

In terms of camera work, a tracking shot is used as the camera follows the girls the main characters are instantly introduced to the audience suggesting they are important .The extreme close up of the man laying in the guy is badly injured and that the girls are involved. The close up of the knife could also show they are violent and could suggest they come from trouble violent backgrounds. The location is determined through the establishing shot which shows the scene is being shot in a field, the place is isolated and desolate. 

For editing, shot reverse shot is used when it cuts back and forth between the girls walking away and the man lying in his car. It connotes the two are connected and that they have no way of escaping from what they have done. The majority of the opening sequence is very slow paced this can be seen through the use of long takes of the girls walking away. It builds up the tension of what they have just done. The brutality of their crime is also exaggerated and forces them to empathise. 

An eyeline match is used when the man looks at the girls in the car, this could also show innocence as they are only young and they have committed a terrible crime, therefore implying he feels sympathy.


In terms of sound, as the girls walk away from the car they continuously breathe deeply and heavily which could imply nerves or could suggest exhaustion from ruthlessly stabbing the man. A sharp noise can be heard when the girl drops the knife making the audience feel uncomfortable and suggest she wants to get rid of the weapon and get away from the crime. 
Ambient sounds are played throughout the start of scene which establishes the location which is somewhere in the country side. 
As the girls walk away from the car, background music plays which feels out of place as it normal music that is played everyday, however due to the situation it should be sad music which fits and reflects the scene. 

The audience is made to believe that the girls are desperate, so desperate that they are willing to kill for it. However the reason is never addressed urging viewers to continue watching. The opening sequence has allowed the audience to find out there are two females, 16 and 18 and that they stabbed the man for money. The sorts of questions that are posed include: Who are the girls? Why did she confess? How are they connected to the man?

Sixth Sense

Sixth Sense

The opening sequence of Sixth Sense uses Mise en scene, camerawork, editing and sound to intrigue the audience and make them want to continue watching the film.

It begins with a title sequence that shows all actors and those involved with the film their names fading in and out. Their names are positioned in the centre of the frame in block capitals, it is easier to read and is informing the audience of who is who. The dark background could insinuate that the film is maybe a thriller or horror. 
The location of where the opening sequence is shot suggests that the man and woman are rich, the shot allows us to see the size of their house and how spacious and fancy it is. This could also show success showing the audience that whatever job he does he is good at it.
The shot of the man undressed shows us his mental state and whatever promise Malcom broke affected him very badly, however the audience is unsure of his motives and he is capable of therefore increasing the tension and fear.
The lighting and the bathroom is white which contrasts with Vincent's clothes which could also represent his mental state and how everything he is going through is messing with his innocence and mind. 

In terms of Editing, after the title sequence the words disappear the screen fades in from black into the next scene, separating the two scenes. It sets the location for the audience showing them the scene is in the basement. An eyeline match is used when Malcom tries to guess the  man's name, realisation hits him when he finally figures it out and it is as if all his memories come flooding back, the audience can see that he remembers however that information is kept from us. 
Shot reverse shot is used between Malcom and Vincent showing they have a connection although Malcom does not remember. Tension continues to build up as it cuts back and forth between them as he tries to remember, this urges the viewers to continue watching as Vincent's motives are unclear. Furthermore at this point we know as much as the protagonist Malcom does therefore motivating the audience to continuing watching.
After Vincent shoots Malcom the camera fades into black and again emerges from black showing the audience that it is a different time, a few years after that scene. Questions from the previous scene have been left unanswered and have not been addressed leaving the viewers wanting to find out what has happened.

In terms of camerawork, the camera zooms in on the frame that is laid out in front of them allowing the viewers to read what is engraved on the plague, this again shows that he is very successful. His wealth again is shown by the long shot of the house. The camera quickly pans to left as Vincent shoots himself, the viewers are able to visualise and imagine what has happened instead of actually seeing it, increasing the impact of the scene.

The Point of View shot shows the information he is reading, there is a soft focus on the relevant information making it easier for the audience to read allowing the viewers to see things from his perspective.Moreover, we are aligned with Malcom as there is a quick pan as he turns his head as he watches the boy walk off, the slight movement with the steadicam again allows us to see things from his perspective and feel as if we are in his shoes.

During the title sequence slow spooky music is played as names appear on the screen. A fast paced, high pitched 'sting' is then played as the title of the film fades in, creating an uncomfortable and irritating experience. As the two prepare to get intimate silence falls upon them as Malcom's wife discovers the window has been smashed however tense slow non diegetic music plays in the background as he goes to check out the noise he heard from the bathroom, this creates suspense as what he finds in the bathroom is not to be expected. 

It switches between non diegetic music and silence misleads the audience into the believing that he is in control of this situation as it plays until the moment he remembers his name, silence falls upon them as if to think he is okay because he knows his name. However Vincent reaches for his gun and he shoots Malcom, after the camera pans to left the gun goes off again and audience instantly know Vincet's fate.

From the opening of Sixth Sense we learn that Malcom is a child psychologist and he is very good at his job, he has a past with Vincent and he tries his best to help people. However there are still some questions left unanswered for example, what did Malcom promise Vincent? Why did he shoot him? These questions will only be answered by watching the rest of the film and therefore intriguing the audience.

Opening Sequences

An opening sequence uses continuity editing that hides the cuts between shots, it introduces the audience to the setting the characters and the story. The purpose of an opening sequence is to intrigue the viewers, they'll have a bunch of questions which they will want answered and therefore want to continue watching till the very end. Montage editing is the opposite of continuity editing, it is typically used in trailers which shows pieces of films also used to intrigue viewers and advertise the film. 

Mad Max: Fury Road.

            

The opening sequence of Mad Max: Fury Road begins with the credits, the stars of the films are written in spooky writing immediately setting up the genre of the film, action thriller. It fades and then quickly emerges from black to see 'Tom Hardy' Mad Max standing in the distance. A voiceover then starts and he speaks about his past before he gets into his car and drives off. It then shows him being captured and tortured until he manages to escape. They capture him once more and the title of the film appears on the screen in big capital letters. Questions instantly swarm through the audiences brains: Why are they after him? What do they want with him? What are they going to do with him? This is an example of continuity editing which intrigues the viewers and sets up the scene, the characters and the basic plot.

The Mummy:

The opening title for The Mummy uses very stylish writing for the names of the actors, with the mysterious music in the background and the ancient artefacts in the background immediately shows the audience that the film is going to be about discovery and the genre is action adventure. It doesn't really tell the audience a lot about the film therefore intriguing them and wanting them to continue watching.

The Breakfast Club

           

The opening sequence of The Breakfast club continuously cuts between the characters introducing them into the storyline and to the audience. It shows that all the characters are here for the same reason however their reasons are unknown therefore making them want to continue watching in order to find the reasons out. It could be argued that it uses montage editing instead of continuous as it cuts to different parts of the school, the place of where the film is going to take place becomes familiar to the audience. The camera filming from either the front or the back shows the characters individually walk into the room and sit down, some of their personalities and traits are shown through the way they enter the room and behave when they see one another. The immediate questions that swim through the audience's brains should be on the lines of: Why are they there? What is going to happen to them? What is the dynamic of the group like etc. These questions should motivate them to continue watching the film and find out the answers.

The Brief

The Brief: To research, plan, create and evaluate the opening sequence and titles to a new fiction film that lasts no longer than 2 minutes.

Preliminary Project

             

For our Preliminary project we had to create a small sequence which included the following things: Shot reverse shot, the 180 degree rule and match on action. Once we completed this we had to edit our work so it used continuity editing. Continuity editing is editing that is subtle so you do not see the cuts so it does not interrupt the viewing experience for the audience.

WWW: We included shot reverse shot, the 180 degree rule and match on action in our sequence and edited our work to ensure we used continuity editing so the viewing experience was not interrupted.

EBI: We could try the extra challenge and add an eyeline match into our sequence, we could also pay more attention to the focus when filming to make sure we have a clear shot.

Introduction

My name is Eden McClymont and I am 17 years old. I take A Level Media this is because I plan to pursue a career in either the film or media industry. I enjoy learning about Media because it helps me get a better understanding of the industry and what it consists of. The sorts of things we learn about include, Video Games and TV Drama.