Animatic
As I have done quite a few animatics before I found this process pretty easy.
After putting all the pictures on the computer I then uploaded them on to iMovie to add transitions to the shots and add my music to it.
When all the pictures were on, I had to make sure I had turned off Ken Burns and add certain transitions that I wanted on to my shots, for example, where I had a zoom in on one shot so I turned Ken Burns on for that. I had to edit the timings to what I had chosen from my storyboard.
For the shots that I had someone speaking in it, I recorded voiceovers to show when the character would be speaking.
For the music that I used for my animatic will be the music that I use in my final piece. To get this I went on a site called MP3Unsigned.com and found a piece on there. I thought the music that I have chosen fits in really well with my genre: horror.
Here is my final animatic for my opening sequence.
From my audience feedback, who were media students themselves, I have decided to make a few changes to my animatic. Most of the targets from my audience were to:
add more sound effects, for example, having the sound of the phone ringing.
have some diegetic sound
The changes I am going to make are to add a door slamming sound effect to one of my shots. Hopefully this will make it more clear what is going on.
My audience feedback was marked out of 70 which consisted of different types of categories, these were:
range of shots types & editing transitions
appropriate pace & content for genre
position and order of titles
introduction of characters
introduction of storyline
clearly an opening sequence
The highest marks that my audience gave me were for my range of shot types & editing transitions and my introduction of my storyline. I am pleased that they understood what my storyline was. The highest mark that I received from my audience feedback was 58/70.
I completed my 12 questionnaires on 15-30 years olds of a random sample of men and women but most of the were male (8 male and 4 female), the reason why I have done more males is because I want my target audience to be mostly males.
My second question - 'What type of music would you expect in the opening sequence of a horror film?'
As you can see from my graph none of my participants chose upbeat. This is clear and obvious to the audience that in a horror film you would not get upbeat music. Most of my participants chose eerie. This is good because my music fits into the eerie sound so it fits into how I would want my target audience to view the music.
For question three - 'What mood do you think should be portrayed in the opening sequence?' eight of my participants answered tense/suspense and the rest of them answered scary. This shows me what mood I should try and create to make sure that it fits in with my target audience views. I think my be a little difficult as trying to make the mood like this could make it seem more like a trailer which I am going to have to try and avoid.
This graph shows where people would expect to see the film titles.
From this graph you can see that the majority of people said that they thought the titles would go in between different shots (appearing on a black background). This is good, as I thought this would fit in better with horror conventions rather then over the top of shots which is a more social realism convention and I also don't have to change my ideas as my target audience had the same views as me.
Question six and seven - 'What age would you expect the main character in the horror to be?' and 'For a horror, would you expect the main character to be male or female?'. For these questions 9 participants all answered that they thought it would be a young female character. The rest of the 3 participants answered that they thought it would be a middle age man. I think that this question might have confused that 3 participants as they could have thought I meant the main character was the killer, in that case it is more likely to me a middle aged man but for what I meant it doesn't fit in with what I am going to do. However, the majority of my participants answered what I hoped.
This graph shows where people think the opening sequence should be set.
As you can see, this question gave a variety of mixed views but most of the participants answered in a house. As I have decided to use this location it may be seen as slightly typical but as it fits in with what my target audience would expect I am going to keep it the same.
This graph shows what people find most interesting about horror films.
As you can see from this graph most of my participants thought that not knowing what will happen most interesting about horrors. This shows that in my opening sequence I shouldn't give too much away and also make it something that they don't expect as that was the second highest. As it is only the opening sequence to much shouldn't be given away anyway so hopefully that will fit in with their views but for the 'something you don't expect' may be quite difficult as a lot of horror films can be seen as typical and it can be quite hard to make a horror film unique.
I have now just finished the whole of my storyboard and am now onto my animatic.
I found the whole storyboarding pretty easy but choosing what distribution titles I am going to have etc was quite difficult and at this moment in time I have still not decided. When I was half way through my storyboard a new idea popped into my head that I really wanted to do but I then thought it would be to difficult to actually achieve what I wanted and that the audience may find it difficult to understand what is going on so I stuck to my original idea.
All my times that I have predicted have fitted into my 2 minute time slot but most of the time they end up changing so I will have to see how that turns out.
The only thing that is worrying about my film is that it will end up looking to trailer like which is very difficult not to try and get all the main ideas into 2 minutes so I have tried to keep it as simple as I can. Altogether I have got 51 shots. Now that I am moving onto my animatic I have started to think about the music that I would like. I have found a piece on 'mp3unsigned.com' so all I need to do now is email the artist to see if it is ok with them that I use it, hopefully it will be!
The props in my opening are pretty important as in a typical horror film props are used to get across to the audience what genre it is and helps set the scene. Some of my props used will help raise enigma codes to the audience which will make them wanting to watch more to find out what is going to happen and foreshadow later events.
The first prop I have in my opening sequence is a mobile phone. This is a typical horror convention as when there is a tense moment happening, a mobile phone normally starts ringing to scare the audience and then set up enigma codes of who is ringing? I am going to have the phone ringing to make the audience wonder if it's the killer but then really it is only going to be her boyfriend.
Next is the most important prop in my opening sequence, the year book. This will set the scene for the audience and make it more clear that Ruby has a stalker and show the reason that he is obsessed with her (love). It also raises enigma codes of many different things. It will keep the audience left on the edges of their seat as they will not know who is the stalker etc.
My main character in my opening sequence is going to be a typical young, blonde female girl. To portray this I have chosen to use Emily Nolan. She is the perfect age for my horror film and portrays the exact look I'm going for. Even thought Emily is not an actor I have used her before in my past experience of filming the music videos, she acted really well in that so I have decided to use her again. She has blonde hair and has an innocent look to her so it will be easy for her to get into a situation that she finds herself in danger, so using her will fit in really well with the typical conventions for a horror film. Emily will be playing the role of Ruby, a 17 year old girl. Emily is also this age so it will be perfect for her to act and it will be easier for her as she will not need to try and act a younger or older age. Ruby is the typical teenager, she likes to go out with her friends, she drinks when she does go out and likes to have fun. She has a boyfriend, which although he is not part of my opening sequence he is introduced. Education is pretty important to her but she can have her dumb moments and she also doesn't let it take over her life! Ruby doesn't pay attention to the reality of some things in her life and can be very clueless at times. She has good relationships with her teachers. She also has lots of friends at school and out of school. She comes from a middle class background, this is shown from her house in the opening sequence and the props that are used (television etc). Her relationship with her parents is the typical relationship, she gets on with them but they also have their arguments and as Ruby is an only child she can sometimes be spoilt. I think using Emily for this character will be very successful.
I have decided to give out 10 questionnaires on people aged 15-30 consisting of mostly males to help me find out what they expect to see in the opening sequence of a horror film and get a basic understanding of what most people like about horrors and what they would like to see. Doing these questionnaires will hopefully help me make my final decisions about what I am going to do and help me change anything that needs to be changed to suit my audience.
I am going to try and give my questionnaires to a random sample of my age range of people that I don't know. This could be difficult as I will have to go somewhere like Town and try and get people to fill in my questionnaire. Once I get them all completed I am going to do a quantitative analysis of my findings to help me see it more clearly.
1. Having inter lay titles. Usually having a black background with white writing. At least something in the titles is normally red, this is because red is a connotation of blood, death and danger which could relate to something in your film. All of the titles are normally completed quickly, for example, Scream is over a done with even before the opening sequence has begun.
2. Locations - having a big house in the middle of no where. This is very important when setting the scene for a horror. There is normally only one person in the house which sets what is going to happen very easily. It allows deaths or violence to happen as there are many rooms to go in and as it is in the middle of no where, no one will hear what is going on. The houses normally are quite old so it gives it more of a creepy feeling. The weather is also normally raining/dark and it is normally night time.
3. The main actor in a typical horror film would normally be a young blonde haired female. This makes us think that they are dumb and innocent. Having the main character being dumb is especially good for a horror film because they do the things that are stupid and makes the audience anxious and feel almost one step ahead of them. A good example of this a Scream.
4. Props - for a horror film, straight away we expect there to be a phone ringing in the opening sequence. Having this prop makes the audience feel tense about who is on the other end.
5. There are always lots of enigma codes at the opening sequence of a horror. This makes the audience on edge and wanting to carry on watching to find out what is going to happen.
I have decided that I am going to do horror as the genre for my opening sequence as I think it will be easier to portray typical conventions.
Title: A Room For Romeo Brass Director: Shane Meadows
How characters are represented and established
As soon as the opening sequence starts we are introduced to the main characters. We can already see that there is one weak one and one stronger one. This represents a dominant person between the two of them but they still are good friends. We do not get told anything about them but we can tell that from their accent what social class they are. When they are in the chip shop this really shows us what their relationship is like with each other. They seem to bicker quite a lot. We then meet Romeo's family. As we can see he doesn't have a father figure around, this is a typical convention of social realism films and just like the other two films I have analysised, neither did they. After meeting Romeo's family we then are introduced to the other boys family. Their family seems very different, they seem much calmer but when we get introduced to more of him we then realise he is a short tempered man and acts like a child when the boys want their ball back, and we can see that the other boy has a father figure unlike Romeo.
Enigma codes
From the opening sequence some of the enigma codes raised are;
-what are they doing in the middle of a field?
-why do Romeo and the other boy always bicker?
-if Romeo knows he's going to get into trouble, why did he eat the chips?
Editing techniques and their effects and camera techniques
There are mostly quick, sharp cuts to each different scenes. The editing techniques are more representative of natural life and this is shown by the continuity editing. The 180 degree rule has been used when they are in the chip shop. It shows the chip shop owner and then the boys when they are having their conversation, this shows each characters expression and allows the audience to get the full view of each character.
There is an establishing shot of the location that they are in. This gives the audience a feel of where they are and where they are heading to. There are lots of close-ups of the two characters. This shows the audience the type of relationship they have and that they are going to be the two main characters in the film. This is also done by having the camera following every where they go which then makes the audience focus on them and makes their minds stick to them.
When the younger boys go to get their ball back they camera movement is almost like hand held which makes the audience feel like they are part of the situation. There is a low angle shot of Romeo looking down on the other boy. This basically shows the audience that Romeo seems to have more power of his friend.
Sound
When the opening sequence starts we hear a diegetic sound of birds chirping. This makes the audience realise what sort of environment they are in. After the scene is set and we've met the characters the non-diegetic music starts. The music is of the era that they are in (this is a typical convention). It is a happy and upbeat piece which sets the mood. When the music has started playing it carries on even when the dialogue starts but it just fades and then becomes louder when the dialogue is stopped. The music makes the film seem like it is going to carry on with the happy atmosphere. The music eventually fades out when we are introduced to his house, this creates a more serious mood and when his mum gets angry with him the music becomes sad which then makes the audience feel sympathy for him even thought he was in the wrong!
Mise-en-scene
The location of the opening sequence shows the audience what era that they are in. We are introduced to a few locations in the opening sequence, such us; a field, the local shops, road to their houses and then their actual houses. This gives the audience a view of the type of area that they are living in. It looks like a pretty run down area which is the same in the other two opening sequences. The costumes can also show the era that they are in and what class they are. From their clothes it looks like they are working class but the higher part as they are not scruffy. Again, just like the other two opening sequences, the light is natural light. This shows that there's nothing fancy going on.
Titles
In the opening sequence of this film the titles do not actually finish until 5 minutes 20 seconds. Just like the other two, the font is white on a black background. This makes the names that are appearing stand out and makes the audience take notice of who it is. Each time a different set of titles come on they fade out or appear in a different way, this fits in with the music that is played in the background. The title of the film comes in halfway through the opening sequence which is typical for a social realism film. The titles cut out the scene and appear on a black background then go back into a different scene.
Target Audience
I think the target audience for this film is 15-40 year olds. They language isn't appropriate for younger children but I think this is the sort of film where it can go up to any age. I think it would be for male and females and all ethnicities. I think it would also be for working/middle class people as they normally can relate to social realism things.
How the characters are represented and established
Straightaway as the opening sequence starts we are already introduced to some of the main characters. The names of the characters are not mentioned straight away but we can see from what they look like the sort of groups they are. The girls are wearing gold hoop hearings which automatically makes the audience think they are 'chavs'. The way they talk is very common and we can see that they come from the city. The way in which they are wearing their uniform also tells us that they go against rules and do not like school. The two girls that seem to be represented as the two main girl characters seem confident and like they are the popular ones at school. We can already see that most of the characters are working class. We are then introduced to the group of boys who do not attend the school. We can see from what they are wearing that they are the toughest group and everybody are quite weary of them and the dialogue helps the audience see this. One group of girls says that they are going to beat another girl up, this portrays them as horrible people which gives the audience a clue to what the characters are going to be like and that violence is going to be involved in this film. From the opening sequence the characters are also represented as bullies. We seem the victim at the start and then when she is getting beaten up by one of the girls. This shows the audience that no one will stand up to them and shows just how much of a reputation they have. They way in which we are introduced to the characters is really effective because the audience have already made character profiles about each one of them without being told anything about them.
Enigma codes
Some of the enigma codes raised;
-what is the boy making with the machines?
-what is going on with the boy and the girl that keep making eye contact?
-why did she beat the girl up?
-why does no one help the girl that is getting beaten up?
-why are the boys in uniform scared of the other boys?
Editing techniques and their effects and camera techniques
As the opening sequence starts when we first meet the different characters there are times when it is in slow motion and then times when it does it faster and also goes in and out of focus. It speeds up and shows a long shot every time it moves on to a different set of characters and then slows down when it is on them. This allows the audience time to see the different characters without getting to bored of looking at them and shows the importance of them. There are lots of sharp basic cuts to give a jumpy effect. There is a shot/reverse shot when we meet the two girls and then the boy on his games console to show that something is going on between him and them.
There are lots of close-ups. For example, when we first see the boy on the machine there is a close-up of it. This only lets the audience see the machine and nothing else so then enigma codes are raised to what he is doing. Every time the camera moves on to a different group it pans. It gives the effect of a CCTV watching them, this then creates a tense atmosphere. When we meet the boy that has been working on the machines, there is a long shot of him. This allows that audience to see that whatever he is making he is doing it in secret. It them slowly zooms in, this makes the audience try really hard to work out what he is making. When the boy and the girl keep having eye contact there is an extreme close-up of the girls eyes, this allows the audience to see the emotion in her eyes. We can also see that something is going on between them and it is effecting her more then it his him, this shot shows this perfectly well.
When the girl is getting beaten up it keeps cutting to her point of view so we can see the bullies faces. This gives a good effect of what is being done to her and the fear she feels and allows you to feel her situation that she is in. You can see when it's on the victims point of view how unsteady and weak she is. There is a sneaky cut which is extremely hard to see when the bully punches the girl in the face. This makes the punch seem and sound very painful. There is also a high angle shot, this is really effective as it shows how much power the bully has over her and makes the victim look very weak and defenseless.
Sound
There is non-diegetic music playing in the background when the opening sequence starts which makes the mood quite tense which couldforeshadows future events, this is carried on throughout the dialogue as well, which slowly fades out when we have met all the characters. The type of music played makes the characters seem very tough and have a high reputation and shows the importance of them. Whilst this is going on there is diegetic sounds of people in the play ground and of the machine. This shows the audience that the character is actually making something and makes them wonder what it is.
Mise-en-scene
The location is set in a run down school in a run down area which seems to be working class (typical convention of a social realism). This is shown by the costumes they wear. Their school uniform is scruffy, the girls wear gold hoop hearings, have their hair scraped back and the boys wear tracksuits. All the lighting seems to be natural which is also a typical convention of social realists. Props are seen as quite important in the opening sequence. The boy is holding a games console and when he gets it taken off him by bullies shows what the inner city schools are like. It also helps the audience know what sort of things are going to be involved later on in the film. The use of the phone also shows how bad the bullying is. When he videos the boy hugging the other one.
Titles
Again, like Bullet Boy, the titles are white font on a black background, with the main title 'Kidulthood' appearing quite quickly. The actual font itself seems aggressive and intimidating like the film itself. It fades into the opening sequence sharply which makes the audience know the seriousness of the film already. The music that is played whilst the titles are on is intimidating making them aware of what is going to come.
Target Audience
I think the target audience for this film is 15-20. I think this age group because a lot of people can relate to the situations in the film, for example, the bullying. Both genders but mostly males as there is a lot of violence and bad language which females don't really like. I think it is aimed at all ethnicities and mostly working/middle class people.
How the characters are represented and established
From the opening sequence we presume that the main character is the boy that is being let out of prison. Straight away we can see that he is independent and can look after himself. When he sees his younger brother and friend there when he comes out he is surprised and almost acts like he doesn't need anyone as he has been alone and relied on himself in prison. His friend makes this clear that he doesn't really need anyone when he says to the younger brother "do you think he wants to see you?" and when the main character comes out of prison he says "what are you doing here..." this implies that he doesn't need anyone even though he is going to collect him. The younger brother is represented in a way that he looks up to his older brother, this is done by him being really desperate to see him and pleased when he leaves prison. His friend is represented in a way that wants to be there for him and misses him but when they meet they greet in a way that they would in an everyday situation. Straight away we are seeing that they don't want to change their reputation and we are shown what sort of reputation that they have, firstly by the main character being in prison and secondly from their language. Nearer the end of the opening sequence we meet his mother. It is made out that he doesn't have a father. This is a typical convention of a social realist film for the main character not to have a father figure. From the opening sequence we are already introduced to the main characters and know a little bit about their background, this is another typical convention for social realism.
Enigma Codes
Some enigma codes raised from the opening sequence are;
- what has the main character been in prison for?
- is the girl that he is talking about to his younger brother his girlfriend?
- how long has he actually been in prison for?
- did his friend/brother come to visit him when he was in prison? if not then why?
- does he have a father figure?
Editing techniques and their effects and camera techniques.
There are some sharp cuts, for example, when the boy picks up his bags to leave prison it quickly cuts to an eyeline view of his friend driving. This sets up an enigma code as the audience questions who is driving the car?
There are also sharp, quick cuts when we are introduced to the friend and when he hears someone in his boot. This creates a ongoing energy to keep the audience wondering who is in the boot. The basic cuts keeps it simple and focuses on the story. There is also a 180 degree rule used when him and his friend meet. This gives effect of being able to see both of their emotions when they greet each other, they are both happy to see each other.
In the opening sequence there a lots of long shots. This gives the audience the full view of the setting and shows exactly what is going on in the shot.
In conversations there are a lot of close-ups of the characters faces. This allows the audience to see the full emotions. When him and his brother are having a conversation you get the impression that the main character isn't interested about his brother and from this the younger brother seems like he just wants some attention. The close-ups helps show this to the audience as they can get a clear view of their emotions and how they are feeling.
Sound
When the opening sequence starts there is non-diegetic music in the background that comes in from the titles which gets slower and quieter when we meet the main character and when the dialogue starts. The music is a soft piano sound, this makes the atmosphere emotional as he is finally getting out of prison. The music then becomes louder again when the other character is driving in his car, this builds up the suspicion of who is in the car and where they are going, and then it slowly fades out when we meet the younger brother. The non-diegetic music is always replayed when there is little dialogue which creates suspense of what is going to happen but when there is dialogue the music is either quietened or stopped, this helps emphasize what the characters are saying and the importance of it. There are diegetic sounds of a cow moo-ing, birds and cars around them, showing that they in the middle of no-where and a real life situation. When they are driving through the city the music is then restarted, this emphasizes the fact that they live in the inner city which is a typical convention of a social realism film as the inner cities are stereotyped for where all the violence, crime and drug use happens.
Iconography
From the opening sequence straight away we are introduced to crime. This gives the audience the impression that the film is going to be based around crime. The main character in this film is what people typically stereotype as the people that are most likely to be involved with crime. Also it is set in a run down inner city, their family doesn't seem like they have much money and the fact that he doesn't have a father figure. These are all typical conventions of a social realist film.
Mise-en-scene
The location as I have said before is set in an inner run down part of a city in a working class area which is typical for a social realism. This makes it seem like the only thing they have to keep themselves occupied is getting involved with crime and to make some money for themselves. The costumes are pretty important from the opening sequence, when we first meet the main character he is wearing a tracksuit and when we meet all the boys who they have an argument, they are all wearing typical 'chav' clothes. This represents the sort of area he comes from and what his peers around him wear. This is a stereotypical type of clothing that people with less money wear. As it is a social realism real the lighting is natural which keeps it looking like a natural environment.
Titles
In the opening sequence the titles are being run over the shot (most social realism films do this) with each of them fading out. The font is white over a black background which makes them contrast well. When there is a shot of the little boy he shines his torch light into the camera which then turns the screen from being black to white. White is a connotation of innocence and the fact that when 'Bullet Boy' appears it is black writing against a white background, this could mean that however much he wants to be innocent and away from crime he can't because of the area and people around him, this then fades out into the opening shot of the boy in prison. Straight away the audience can see what the film is going to be about.
Target Audience
I think the target audience for this film is 15-30 as there is crime involved and bad language. I think it is aimed at males because there seem to be mainly male characters involved and males seem to like watching crime and interested in it and females don't really tend to enjoy films about crime. I think it is aimed at all ethnicities but probably more black people as they are dominant in this film.
From my audience profile, you can see that the audience I have chosen are going to be mainly male but still having females interested in horror. I have chosen my audience to be working/middle class and of the age of 15-30, which from my audience profile you can tell that it is of mostly young generation. The audience I want to be interested in my film are people that enjoy a range a good films especially horror and get a thrill and enjoyment from watching it. My audience are mostly metrosexual and are up to date with the new fashions and technology but also like manly things like drinking 'Stella' and playing pool, snooker and darts. They like a range of music not a certain type as there are lots of different ranges of people that like to watch a horror film. I have chosen that my audience like to work out and go to the gym. I chose this because I thought it represented a tough image as men that enjoy watching a horror film tend to act tough and not scared by what is happening!
They are easy to portray through the cinematographyand mise-en-scene
They can keep the audience in suspense easliy and quickly
The main characters are typically the same in each horror film so it is easy to portray the exact character.
Horror films create many enigma codes straight away and can carry on throughout the film.
They make you want to find out the plot and keeps the audience on their seats.
Cons
Horror films can sometimes be too obvious as what is going to happen and can easily follow other horror films. For example, always having the typical mise-en-scene for the location of being in the middle of no where, a young innocent girl being in a big house by herself and something negative happening. This could bore the audience if the typical conventions are always going on.
If a horror film is not thought about carefully the audience may be able to guess what is going to happen so it won't keep them in suspense.
