What makes a good film opening?

As a class we discussed what we believed made a good film opening, and the conventions of film openings. The list we came up with was:

Post Production (Editing) Journal

Day one: 
After transferring all of our shots off of our tape and into final cut pro, we watched the clips and re-named them in order to be able to quickly and easily find the clips that we needed when we needed them. Whilst watching the clips back, the modern tracking shot of feet walking up the stairs, had a shadow of the camera, as the sun was very bright  the shadow is very obvious. We decided that we could not fix this problem in editing, so we decided that we would re-shoot the shot later on.

 In the mean time, we decided to play around with a few different effects on Final Cut Pro, to try and find our desired effect for the dream/flashback shots. The effects that we found created our desired effects were:______.  Whilst playing with these effects, we found that the blurring around the edges of the frame actually hid the shadow that appeared in the tracking shot, and so we did not need to go and re-shoot this.

We also put all of our clips together into the correct running order/sequence, and put in a few transitions to test how these would look, and if they reflected our genre.  When we had all of our shots together, we decided to watch the whole piece together, to get a rough idea of how the final product would look. We decided that we would have to re-shoot the last shot of the dream sequence, as, originally, we planned to play it in two different shots, to add to the confusion we wanted to create in the scene, but when watching this back, it just made the shots look disjointed and unprofessional, so we decided we would re-shoot this scene in one, flowing shot. 


Day two:
After we had re-shot the scenes that we wanted to, we uploaded them to final cut pro. Unfortunately, they did not fit in with the rest of the clips: the colouring of, and the lighting conditions were all wrong, and the hair on BAZ was not identical to that of what it had been in the other shots, so in order to keep the continuity that we desired in our film, we decided to keep the other two shots. 

Music and sfx: 
For our music, we wanted to have a very haunting piece of music, that wasn't too fast paced, but then worked up gradually to reflect the increasing action and tension in our plot. We decided to use the song "Newborn" by Muse, but decided to use the instrumental version of the song, as without the words it gave us more of our desired effect, and was far more effective, as the lyrics were not there to draw attention away from the action.  

For our film, we needed a few different sound effects to be added in post production these included:

• Phone ringing
• The voice over for the phone call.

We had to ensure that all our audio clips; both the music and the sound effects, fit in with the visuals, making sure that they flowed together.

Day Three:
Once we had all of our clips and music in place, we wanted to concentrate on the transitions and the effects on the movie, so that it looked effective and like a final product, rather than just clips put together. The effects that we used were:

• ____- for the flashback scene to distinguish the time difference to the audience

The transitions that we used were:

• We decided to use fading in and out to distinguish between the real-life and dream sequences, and this gave a slightly surreal feel to the piece, which helped towards our genre.

Preliminary Task Reflection

After planning, shooting and producing our film "Traced", here are my reflections on the piece as a whole:

Shots: We a number of different shots within our film to portray our genre of a Psychological Thriller  I believe that the way that we used the rough, jerky camera movements was very effective in portraying our genre. We also used these shots:

• Tracking shots: The tracking shots used in the opening of the clip gave the impression that BAZ was being followed. This not only makes the audience feel uncomfortable, but this also creates an enigma, as you do not know who she is or why she is being followed.
• Point of view shots: the point of view shots used added to the enigma, as the audience are seeing the scene from the characters point of view, but do not know her identity.
• Close ups: The close ups added to the enigma that we were trying to create, as only small aspects of the scene were revealed to the audience.

Sound: 
We decided to use some non-diagetic music in our clip in order to create a eery mood for the audience, and to build up the tension that the audience is feeling. We used an instrumental version of the song "Newborn" by Muse. We chose this song as we wanted a song that is quite haunting, yet still beautiful and interesting to listen to. Our diagetic sound also fits in with the theme, as it makes the scene seem more realistic, and so more unnerving for the audience.

Editing:
We decided to use a fade in between the real life sequence and dream sequence, as this is a very stereotypical way of distinguishing between the two. This meant that the audience automatically knew that the two were different. We also edited the clips of the dream sequence so that they were blurred around the perimeter of the frame, which also added to the dream-like feel. To distinguish between the past and present within the dream sequence, we decided that we wanted either a black and white effect, or a sepia tone, as these are stereotypical features to distinguish between the two.

Mise en Scene: 
Mise en Scene is everything included in the shot. This includes:

• Props
• Setting
• Location
• Lighting
• Costume, hair and makeup.
• Facial expression/body language
• Colour

As many of our shots are close-ups, most of the frame is taken up by these, however, there are a few elements that help towards the Mise en scene of the piece. The elements we selected to include in our frames were very cliche, as we wanted the audience to concentrate more on the plot of the story, rather than the minor details. These are:

• The cliche outfit of the receptionist (smart blazer, glasses etc.) The audience will therefore automatically recognise her as being a receptionist.
• The cliche setup of a typical office (Desk, chairs, laptop, telephone, coffee mug etc.) The audience with therefore recognise the setting as being an office.
• Our main prop was the parcel we were provided the task of including in our clip. Our parcel was surrounded in, and created part of the enigma, but also acted as a McGuffin, as it moved the plot along. 
• As many of the shots are close-ups, the body language, and especially the facial expressions are very clear and key to the acting, which also portrays the genre.
• The colour we used in the film was all very dull, and not bright or lively at all. This added to the feel and portrayal of the genre, as it gives the film a dreamy feel.

Creating a Genre-Psychological thriller

-Our genre was a psychological thriller, so, as mentioned in one of my previous posts, we wanted to include some of the traditional conventions of psychological thrillers. The conventions that we chose to include/ play on in our piece these were:

• Dream sequences: for the most part of our piece, it is set in a dream sequence. Dreams and flashbacks, which were the two main components/ themes of psychological thrillers. Our use of them clearly distinguishes out genre in a very stereotypical way.
• Enigma- the parcel: we were given a brown-wrapped parcel to include as part of our plot, we used this to create an enigmatic feel to our piece, as it was a key part to our film, yet the audience never found out what was inside of the parcel.
• Enigma- identity of BAZ: Initially, you do not find out that it is BAZ in the dream, as all of the shots up until (0:40) are either tracking shots from behind, or close ups of her hand, so you do not know what she looks like. Enigma is quite a key feature/ theme of psychological thrillers, as it keeps the audience hooked, and on the edge of their seat up until the point that the enigma is solved, if at all.
• Shots: We used a number of different shots that helped to create our genre. These included:
• Tracking shots- Tracking shots create quite an unnerving feel for the audience, as it gives the impression that someone is following the character. It also adds to the enigma that you can only see the back of the character.
• Close ups- These were used to draw the audiences' attention to certain aspects of the frame, for example, the parcel in the hand, and then it's absence. Which makes it very obvious to the audience that the parcel is of importance. The use of the close ups also added to the enigma of the film, as the audience is only shown small close ups of the character to begin with, so are not sure of her identity until (0:40).
• Over the shoulder shots- used to show the audience the scene from the characters point of view.
• Point of View shots- used to show the audience the scene from the characters point of view.
• Editing: The editing that we used was very choppy and quick to begin with. This gave the impression of expanded time, as shots were added in. This created a feeling of suspense and tension within the audience, as they were waiting to find out what was happening in the scene, which also added to the enigma. The film then switched to more of a real-time format, as the two characters are having a conversation. The scene then switches to expanding time, when the parcel is spotted on the desk, as there are extra shots, such as the close up of the eyes, added in. This, again, creates tension and suspense in the audience. This feeling of tension and suspense that is created adds to the theme of the psychological thriller, as it creates a feeling of unnerving and discomfort within the audience.
• Sound: The song that we chose to use as non-diagetic sound to accompany our visuals was an instrumental version of "Newborn" by the band Muse. We chose this song as we wanted a song that is quite haunting, yet still beautiful and interesting to listen to. The song also builds up gradually, with quite a complex melody, which reflected the nature of the narrative, up until (1:30), at which point it starts to get quite rocky and heavier. This fits well with the visuals, as this is the part of the scene where she spots the parcel, which is the enigma of the clip.We chose an instrumental version of the song, as we believed that the version of the song with the lyrics slightly distracted focus away from what was occurring in the frame.

Preliminary Task

Our Preliminary Task piece is named "Traced" it connotates the well-known term "retrace your steps" which links into what the audience is seeing, as you are watching flash backs of the same scene. It is a psychological thriller.

Mise en Scene

Mise en Scene is everything included in the shot. This includes:

• Props
• Setting
• Location
• Lighting
• Costume, hair and makeup.
• Facial expression/body language
• Colour

In our set-up, we had to consider all of these things. We decided that in order for our piece to be believable for the audience, we would have to make it as realistic as possible. To do this we decided on the following things:

Props-In our scene we wanted all of the props to fit in and be believable in place. So we decided that we should have objects that would be in place in an ordinary office. We decided that these would include a laptop, a coffee mug, folders and paper work etc. and, in the modern-day part, the brown paper package that we were given, to include in our short-film.

Setting-Our setting was given to us in the script. It stated that the scene was set in the reception office of the law firm of "Simon and Garfunkel". We knew that it had to look like an office, and so we decided that our setting would be a small office in our school, which had a desk and seats in there.

Location-Our location was the small office at the top of our school. We believed that this was a good location, as not only was it a good setting, but it was also a good location, as it is on the top floor, so there is not much commotion around the area, so we should not be disturbed whilst filming, so this should make our sound quality much better, and means that we will be able to have more un-interrupted takes.

Lighting- The lighting in the room was mainly from the artificial,_____ lights in the room, we also played with opening and closing the blinds, as we wanted some more natural light in the room, to balance out the artificial lighting, but in the script it states that it is raining outside, whereas at the particular moment of filming, it was not. We tried to make it look like it was raining by spraying the window with water, but the effect was not very realistic. In the end, we decided that we would slightly close the blinds, so that we could still get the natural light that was desired, but also that we could not the window pane clearly enough to be able to spot that it was not actually raining.

Costume, hair and makeup.- For the receptionist, we decided that we wanted her to look more professional, and so she should look like the typical, quite cliche'd woman. We portrayed this by dressing her in quite formal and smart clothes, that would be quite fashionable in a modern day office, which also shows the time setting, her hair was tied back in a slick ponytail, and the make-up was neat. The other, whom would actually end up to be the "good guy", was portrayed as the slightly less typical portrayal of a woman, quite edgy and not perfect.We portrayed this by dressing her in  more edgy clothing, such as converses. her hair was roughly pulled back in a messy ponytail, and her make up was not done very neatly.

Expression/body language.- as a lot of the shots are either point of view shots, or close-ups, there was not a lot of body language included. There were a few shots, such as when BAZ stands up and looms over ANNA in a threatening manner, that show that she was more powerful, but other than that, it was mostly facial expression that was key.

Colour-

Filmatic Time

We learnt that, in editing, the film clips can be manipulated in order to "slow down", "speed up" or keep in "real" time. These are known as "expanding time" and "shrinking time".

Real Time:
In a clip, if the action shown happens in 2 minutes, then the time it would take to happen in real life would also take 2 minutes. For example, if a clip shows somebody getting into their car and going on a ten minute journey, then it woud take that long.

Expanding Time:
This is used to make time seem as if it is taking a while, and dragging out. It makes the scene (seem) much longer, as extra shots are added in, such as close ups of things like the subjects' eyes, tapping fingers, a clock ticking etc. For example it is often used when someone is bored/waiting for something, and is becoming impatient. If time was expanded in a clip, if the action being shown would normally take 30 seconds to complete in real life, it may take 90 seconds to show in the film, and can be used to build suspense and tension.

Shrinking Time:
Shrinking time is used to make the time the action is happening seem as if it is going by more quickly. It is not decreasing the action time. For example, if the action shown woud normally take 5 hours, the clip shown could cut this down to about 5 minutes, and would only show the "highlights" of what happened. For example, if someone got into a car, and drove for an hour, the editior would shrink this time, and only shown the subject getting into the car, driving for a very short period of time, if any, just to establish with the audience that the journey has happened, and the subject getting out of the car. This relies hugely on the audiences' assumpion that the actionhas happened without them being shown. It can create a sense of urgency and panic, and uses lots of quick, different shots being edited together.