Question 7

Question 6

Question 5

Question 4

Question 3

Questions 1 and 2...

Snapshots...

Creating the Sound

We used garage band to create the music for our film opening, using a mixture of instruments, such as piano, guitar and drums. The picture above shows a picture of our music as it looked when created on garageband, made smaller to fit it all in one picture. The music took a number of days to create originally, and then changes had to be made continuously when editing our film, to make the music match correctly to the changes in tempo that occured throughout our film opening... and there were a few.

The Dark Room

The name of our film was a decision we made at the last minute, as we hoped looking at our final edit of our opening would make one of the names jump out as the most suitable. Through looking over our film opening, and at the answers we got from our audience research questionnaire, we cut our list of 11 down to just 3... The Dark Room, Exposure and Through the Lens.

• Exposure was the name which had the best relation to the plot of our film, linking to both the fact that he's taking pictures of her, and that she is exposed to him without even knowing it.
• The Dark Room was our original idea for the name of the film, and it was the name that looked best in the opening to our film.
• Through the Lens got the best reaction from our audience research, with several saying it was their favourite.

Taking all of those aspects into account, The Dark Room was the name that we decided on, as it was simple yet effective, and it also emphasised the importance of the dark room to the film.

Bloopers

While filming there was the occasional moment when things didn't go as planned.....

Finished Product

This is the final edit of our film opening... The Dark Room.

Creating the Dark Room...

With one of our scenes being in a park, there was no work for us to do in order to sort out the setting. However, the dark room scene required alot of preparation to create the scene. Straight away we decided on using my kitchen as the room, as it had a sink, aswell as counter space which we believed would be useful. We borrowed a large roll of black material to cover the windows and doors in the room, to block out any natural light or reflections off glass that may show the reflection of the camera. We also bought red light bulbs to light the room, and placed lamps in corners of the room which we didnt plan on filming to light the entire room. Following this, we had to completely clear the kitchen shelves and counters of all the appliances and other stuff that was on them, eg. bread bin, biscuit tin, kitchen roll, photographs etc... Then we put other things in place to make the room into a stalkers lair. This involved putting packets and pots of paracetemal and vitamins on the shelves, to make it look like Stalk was taking numerous amounts of drugs. we also borrowed trays from school and filled them with water, placing them on the counters in the dark room. Finally, we attached a line of string on either side of the room and hung paper from it on pegs, to look like Stalks pictures drying out.

Shooting Schedule...

Our original plan was to do all of our filming on Monday 15th March, but we were unable to get any of the filming done because we were missing part of the tripod, which we needed to attach the camcorder to the tripod.

We then had to re-schedule our shooting for Wednesday 17th March. The two extra days turned out to be handy as we realised that there were a lot of aspects we were not prepared fully for. For example, we didn't have a suitable camera to film as we needed it to be a proper camera, to portray Stalk as a photographer. Also, our wall of pictures in Stalks house that reveals his obsession with Blonde had yet been made.

Over the next two days we were able to borrow a camera from school, as well as create the wall for filming.

On Wednesday we were able to get all of our filming finished, apart from the shots involving the wall, which we re-shot two days later at an earlier time, as the original shots had an obvious shadow of the camera in front of the wall while we shot.

Character Profiles

There are three characters in our film opening....

Blonde is going to be portrayed as a minute character in the opening, atleast for the park scene, which is the only bit where we see her in person. This perception is deliberately going to be created to throw the audience off, and make them think Ginge is the main character. Blonde will be in most of the shots, just not in the focus. She comes across as Ginge's friend, rather than her own person at first, as she is doing all of the listening and none of the talking. Blonde will be dressed casually as we want the scene to look like an everyday walk in the park.

Ginge is a talkative, outgoing person who can be overpowering in a conversation, as the park scene will demonstrate. The focus of the scene will be on Ginge, as she is the louder of the two female characters. Ginge is dressed casually as well, not dissimilar to Blonde, as they are friends of a similar age. Despite not really giving Blonde a chance to get a word in, Ginge does come across a friendly person, as well as polite, as she immediately apologises for bumping in to Stalk.



Stalk's personality isn't easy to work out from the opening of the film, as he says nothing in the entire opening. What can be assumed is that he is a serious man who has a lot going on inside his head. The dark room scene will be when we get an insight to the darkness of Stalks character. He has a creepy exterior, emphasised by his taking pictures of the girls without them knowing. Stalk will be wearing a hat, to portray he is hiding from the world, his only purpose is Blonde. He will also be wearing a jacket, to make him look more serious.

To see or not to see...

After hearing what our target audience had to say, and looking at some other thrillers, we came to the conclusion that we would reveal the identity of Stalk in the opening sequence. In our target audience research, the majority of the people we asked said they would rather not know the identity of the villain. This was one of the reasons why we chose to show who Stalk was from the beginning. It's a major convention of a thriller to reveal the villains identity at the very end of the film. The only film we watched which revealed the villain straight away was the Dark Knight, which made the film more interesting with the audience seeing the rivalry between Batman and the Joker. To reveal Stalk's identity gives the opening an orginal concept, rarely do films show the perspective of the villain. By going against this convention, our film opening will have a unique difference to the everyday thriller.

Target Audience Research...

To get some feedback from our target audience, we asked a number of people from that age group questions about thrillers, conventions and our film opening and recorded their feedback...

The options we came up with for the title of the movie were:

• Counting the Days
• The Dark Room
• The Development
• Developed
• Exposure
• Stalker
• Captured
• A Quick Snap
• CameraShy
• Through The Lens
• Changing Focus

Photo Storyboard

To get a better idea on where we would need to be to get the shots we wanted, we took some photos to get an idea of what we would be doing when it came to shooting. We also talked some friends into playing the roles of Redhead and Stalk for the photos...

To compensate for some of the shot descriptions being difficult to read, i've written them out again to make things easier if need be...

Shot 2 - Camera now on ground level, long shot of two girls walking towards the camera. Deep in conversation.

Shot 3 - Over the shoulder shot, girls still walking and talking, appear to be walking towards the man in shot, who is Stalk.

Shot 4 - Redhead walks past Stalk, bumping shoulders with him. Stalk appears to be a photographer, busy taking pictures of the surroundings.

Shot 6 - Medium shot shows Redhead to turn around and apologise to Stalk.

Shot 8 - Depending on whether or not we see Stalk, there may be a close up shot of Stalks face, accepting Redheads apology.

Locations

The start location for our film opening is an everyday park. The location is deliberately simple and a public place to keep the focus purely on the story and the plot. The fact that the scene is a park where other people are puts emphasis on the vulnerability of Blonde, as even though she is in a place surrounded by other people, she is still exposed to the lurking eyes of Stalk. The role of Redhead in the park also makes Blonde seem weak and fragile. With the park scene focsuing on Redhead-misleadingly- we learn very little about Blonde, giving the audience the impression she is shy and timid. The park location is primarily used to show that Stalk is not just trying to get her when she is alone, but instead is following her in her everyday life, watching her wherever she goes.

The dark room scene is the location that is most important to the plot. It is the place where we get an insight to the mind of Stalk, and the main plot of the film is revealed. The shots in the dark room enable the audience to learn about Stalk. The location is key to the story as a whole, as we get the impression that the dark room is Stalk's safety zone, where he spends the majority of the time. We gather this from the wall of pictures of Blonde he has, as you would think he would put the photos up where he is most of the time.

The locations contrast as the park location is just one option picked from a number of settings that would've also worked. The setting has no real importance to the rest of the scene. This is the complete opposite to the role of the dark room. This location is probably the setting which will turn out to be the most important of all the locations used throughout the entire film, not just the opening.

Production Company Intros...

We decided quite early on that we wanted to have a quick intro to the film opening showing the name of our production company.

We took inspiration from company intros which are instantly recognised at the start of their films...

20th Century Fox

The drum roll at the beginning lets the audience know its Fox before the intro can even be seen...

Universal Studios

Again, the music played immediately gives away what the intro is, aswell as the lights which begin to shine from behind the 'earth', which is another give away...

Dreamworks

The intro to Dreamworks is slightly different to the others, as it's what happens on screen that is the giveaway. As soon as the acron hits the water and makes the water ripple, the audience knows its Dreamworks...

With our production company intro, we want something that begins with a very obvious, stand out section, also with an interesting concept as to how the name comes to be on the screen...

Choosing a Certificate...

One of the decisions we had to decide on was what the certificate of the film was going to be. We immediately could rule out all certificates below 12, simply due to the nature of the plot of the film. Therefore, we looked more closely at certificates 12 and above, to see what restrictions they came with.

12

A film rated 12 is restricted to a minor use of strong language, and scenes involving nudity or violence must be mostly restricted, with only a portrayal of nudity being prohibited. With the introduction of cert. 12A, 12 films are highly restricted in the adult themes they can show, as young children are now sable to view some of them, as long as accompanied by an adult.

15

In a 15, there may be a frequent use of strong language, no nudity can be portrayed, but with a restriction on strong detail. Violence can be strong but is not allowed to focus on the infliction of pain. Drug taking may also be shown, though detailed is banned. The film is not allowed to promote drug use.

18

There are no constraints on theme, language, nudity or horror in an 18 film. Scenes which may promote violence can be cut if they get to graphic, and the same rule applies to unnecessary sexual activity.12 films are probably too restricted in what we are able to show, and with the serious nature of the film, the film already seems too much for certificate 12. certificate 18 is most likely too high for the audience we were thinking to aim for, as although our film opening is serious, the film would be unlikely to go on to contain strong scenes of violence or sexual activity.

Certificate 15 seems the most suitable for our film opening as we were originally planning to aim our film at an audience of older teens, young adults. however, giving the film a certificate 18 would prohibit our target audience, as well as giving the audience reason to believe that the film is going to contain stronger adult scenes than we believe the film would contain.

Opening Credits

It was quite an easy decision to make on when the credits would appear on screen. To have the credits appear either at the beginning of the scene, or at the end, would use up more time in the end, and with only 2-3 minutes to fit in our entire opening sequence, so the best alternative was to have the credits pop up through the sequence.
The plan is to have the credits appear inbetween the shots of the dark room, when Stalk is developing his pictures. As the setting is already dimly lit, the credits appearing inbetween shots wont be as much of a contrast, with our plan to be having the credits in white writing on a black background. Luckily, the credits won't take up much time anyway as there are only three characters in the opening.
The title of the film is going to appear around the time when it is revealed to the audience that Blonde is Stalk's victim, as that is the point that the opening to the film reaches its maximum intensity, so the introduction of the title will have the greatest impact on the scene.

Do we see Stalk?

With the outline of the plot settled on, we're unable to decide on some of the more detailed aspects of our film opening. The most important one being, whether or not the audience sees the identity of Stalk. We know what is going to happen in the scene, but what we can't come to an agreement on is whether to show the scene from the point of view of Stalk, kepping his identity a secret to the audience, or whether we see the face of Stalk, instantly letting us know who the villain of the movie is.

Point of view shots would explain the story to the audience, but enable them to have to try and figure out who Stalk is during the film. This option gives the audience something to think about thorughout the film, as well as keeping the audience in the same group as Blonde, who is oblivious to the fact she is being stalked. However, the filming of the opening scene would be made more difficult by not being able to see Stalks face, as that is what was initally going to reveal the serious nature of the film.

Showing Stalks face in the opening scene would instantly take away the aspect of not knowing who the villain is, with the audience not having the ability to figure out the identity of the villain for themselves. However, by being able to see Stalk from the opening scene of the film, it gives the audience knowledge that they often dont get in thrillers... they know what the victim - Blonde - doesn't. This knowledge on behalf of the audience enables the audience to watch the film and follow the journey of Stalk, getting on insight to his actions, and his mindset. Also, by being able to see his face in the opening scene, it enables us to use the shot of Stalks face as he accepts Redheads apology as the reveal shot, when the audience initially catches on to the fact that there is something not right about Stalk.

Basic Plot

Once completing our research and looking over some basic thriller conventions, we came up with a basic outline to our film opening.
Characters
two females - friends (Redhead, Blonde)
one male - unknown identity (Stalk)
Setting
an outdoor scene to begin with... setting un-important, keeps focus on the story.
a dark room scene... reveals the main plot of the film.
Plot
Two girls talking, everyday conversation - focus clearly on red head, blonde appears to be just a random friend. Redhead bumps shoulders with Stalk who appears to be a photographer, taking pictures of the scenes around him. Redhead apologises dismissively, carries on walking, talking to Blonde. Focus then turns to Stalk, who accepts her apology, but clearly continues to watch the two girls as they walk away. It then becomes apparent that Stalk is actually taking pictures of the two girls... specifically Redhead who is still the main focus of the two girls. Scene then flips backwards and forwards between Stalk taking pictures of the girls and him in his dark room developing his pictures. The entire sequence up to this point makes it so that the audience assumes Redhead is the girl Stalk has an obsession with. As one of his pictures finishes developing, Stalk looks at the picture - a shot of the two girls - and then grabs a black marker. We see Stalk scribbling on the picture, unable to see what he is doing. Upon picking up the picture and hanging it to dry, we see that the Stalk has completely scribbled Redhead out of the picture, with Blonde being revealed as the girl he has an obsession with. The camera then moves to unveil a large number of pictures in the dark room, all of Blonde, with the rest of the people in the pictures having been scribbled out.

Conventions

All genres of films have aspects that an audience often expects to see, a part of the film that is typical to its chosen genre, and thrillers are no different. Now knowing we were going to be filming a thriller, we took a closer look at what the typical conventions of a thriller are, to help us in our planning.

The typical conventions of a thriller are as follows:

• Many thrillers start with a scene which gives the audience all the background knowledge they'll need to know, seperating it from the typical horror film, which usually begins with a scene where an unknown victim is killed there and then by the villain.
• The police usually come into the film at some point, either just a minor role, or a more leading role where they are responsible for solving the puzzle, whatever that may be.
• A thriller will often involve a villain of some sort, be it a person or something unknown to the rest of the characters. The film will usually consist of the main characters journey towards finding the identity of the villain, and usually stopping them/it.
• The villain will usually come into contact with the police, but at the time the police won't be aware of their/it's true identity ( for example The Usual Suspects- Kevin Spacey).
• The audience often knows the villain, but all is not revealed until nearing the end of the movie.
• The villain is usually very cunning and clever in a way that leaves the rest of the characters unable to figure it out. This often leads to a scene towards the end of the film when one, or several of the characters click on to who the villain really is.
• There is often a character who is assumed by the rest of the cast to be the villain, when really they're innocent.
• Once the identity of the villain becomes clear, the audience are oftne shown flashbacks to previous parts of the film, whihc subtly hinted at what we now know.

Deciding the Genre...

The first decision we needed to make was whether our film opening would be for a light hearted film (i.e. a comedy or an animation) or a more serious styled film (i.e. thriller/ action/ horror). To give ourselves an idea of which genre we were more drawn to, we looked at the openings of several films from different genres.

Firstly we looked at the openings from some light-hearted films...

Run Fatboy Run (Comedy Cert. 15) Opening- 3 minutes.
The credits to the film started straight away. The first sign of music is a sudden introduction to an upbeat song, followed by shots of kids running around and adults laughing- these initial shots allow us to assume the film, like the music, is generally upbeat and cheerful. We meet several characters early on who are talking, but when we first meet Dennis (Simon Pegg) its made relatively clear that he is the main character, as we immediately see a close up of his face and the focus is directly on him. Towards the end of the opening, there is a small slow motion section- which is a convention which audiences recognise as a time when something important is happening. The title of the film comes on to the screen as the camera watches Dennis run, linking the title to what is going on in the scene.

We also looked at Hoodwinked, an animated film, to broaden our ideas...
Hoodwinked (Animated Comedy Cert. U) Opening- 2 minutes, 22 seconds.
The opening starts with a black and white view, as well as an old fashioned looking camera. The shot focuses on a still while a narrator introduces the story to us. From the opening 10 seconds, its hard to analyse how the film is going to continue. We then see that the still photo is the cover of a book, which then opens and the camera zooms in as though it is entering the book. This idea that the film is actually a storybook is a typical fairytale opening, but just as we start to think the film is going to be similar to every other fairytale film, the camera is suddenly seen racing through a forest, with serious, suspenseful music playing. The scene between Red and Wolf doesnt really introduce the characters, instead it seems as though we've missed part of the film when Red says 'you again?!', as it turns out we see the day leading up to that scene later on in the film. The scene plays out quite quickly and the title almost jumps onto the screen at the end, with another piece of music starting as it does so. We meet all of the main characters briefly but learn very little about any of them. a tactic used well to keep the audience engaged and wanting to know more.

Then we moved on to looking at the openings of some serious films...

Jaws (Action/Thriller Cert. 12) Opening- 5 minutes.
The credits start straight away, and carry on through the opening scene, while the camera shows us an underwater tracking shot, its hard to tell whether the camera is following something or letting us see through the eyes of the shark. We see alot of people on the beach talking, but we know they are not important characters as the camera glances over them and all of their conversations mix making it impossible to follow a single conversation. Although the man and the woman staring at eachother say nothing to start, we can see they are of more importance as the shot focuses on each of them individually. We dont learn anything about the two characters as they run towards the sea, and the woman is soon on her own in the water. It is at this point the iconic piece of music starts, and along with the shot of the woman from underneath the water we soon catch on to what is inevitably going to happen, and from then on feel anxious and nervous for the woman. We dont actually see the shark, which plays to the fear of not being able to see who or what is there. The parallel editing between the man on the beach and the woman thrashing about and screaming for help gets the audience involved in the film, as we know what the man doesn't, that she needs his help. The opening to Jaws uses the classic convention for a thriller/horror film, where we see an unknown character be killed in the opening scene, instantly letting the audience know the nature of the film.


The Ring (Horror Cert. 15) Opening- 5minutes
The opening starts with a picture of an old house at night. This is a classic setting for a horror scene, and the rian gives a sense of pathetic fallacy. The two girls speak about the tape, which shows that they are aware of the danger, which differs from the obvious horror film where the victim/s are unaware that they are in danger. The beginning of the conversation gives no hints that it's a horror film, and it only becomes clear when Becca starts speaking of the tape. The sound of the phone ringing is used as a trigger for fear, as the two girls both immediately go quiet and stare at the clock- which is dead on 10pm. Later on, the TV turns on on its own, which is when Katie first starts to believe that the story Becca told her is true. However, the opening tricks the audience several times, first with Katie pretending to choke, and then the phone call which turns out to be Katies mother. This leads us to question whether the Tv turning on is just another joke being played on Katie by Becca, as revenge for earlier. The strange things that happen in the house are especially creepy as they occur in an everyday house, leading the audience to believe it could happen in their own house. The white noise used when the TV turns on and at the end of the scene where we see the tape playing- almost killing Katie through the screen- is a clever use of something we've all seen and had happen on our own TV's, suddenly becoming something to fear.

After looking at the openings of a couple of films, both from light hearted films and serious films,
we decided that it was the serious openings that had more of an impact, whereas the openings to the light hearted films had no real impact on the rest of the film. therefore, we chose our opening would be for a serious film, so we looked at some more serious film openings to get a further insight to conventions and setiings ect. to film openings.


Casino Royale (Action Cert.12)
The opening scene is entriely in black and white, with no non-diegetic music playing, which as well as setting a suspenseful scene, it also gives the audience knowledge that the scene is specifically for setting up the rest of the film. We see a gun in the mans drawer, a prop which immediately informs us about the type/genre of the film, the sight of a violent weapon. The altercation we see bbetween Bond and the other man in the office, includes quick flashbacks to a fight scene between Bond and another man, which contrasts the slow pace of the conversation, with quick shots and alot of pace. In the scene we see Bond shoot two men, which is when the film first introduces colour, with red being used for the blood, making the sight of blood more effective as its the only piece of colour in the scene. The music and the credits start at the same time, with a video sequence dedicated completely to the credits, clearly seperating the film and the credits.

The Dark Knight (Action/Thriller Cert.12) Opening- 5 minutes
The opening immediately goes into action, with men in masks and carrying guns. This is a convention of thrillers, when we're unable to see the identity of the villain/s. As we see the bank being robbed, we hear one of the men mention 'the Joker', adding to the anxiousness of waiting to see him, as we hear about him. The bad guys are seen turning on eachother, which confuses the audience as we're under the impression that the 'clowns' are a gang working together. The repetitive beat in the background gives the scene a fast pace, while not taking the focus away from the scene itself. At the end of the scene, we finally see the Joker, giving the scene an effective climax, with the credits then beginning.

The Bourne Ultimatum (Action Cert.12)
The music for the opening scene begins before the actual scene, getting the audience prepared before the start of the movie. The first shot tells us where the scene is taking place, giving the audience some early information about the setting of the film. Straight away we see the main character on the run, explaining that the film is carrying on from the prequel. We see the police are after him, telling us that the film is serious, and the pace of the chase scene tells us more about the genre of the film. The blood on his hands give us and idea of what hes been doing (something violent-probable illegal). The police are speaking Russian, with subtitles at the bottom of the screen. The title of the film comes up at the end of the scene.

Mr & Mrs Smith (Action Cert.15) Opening- 2 minutes 30 seconds
The main characters are immediately introduced, with the shot giving the point of view of the therapist. The scene swithces in and out of a black screen showing the credits. The background is silent giving a sense of a more realistic scene. The scene isn't continuous, with bits missing between parts of the couples conversation. The end of the scene shows a flashback to when the couple first met, giving some background information about the couple. Title of the film is included in the credits, right at the climax of the opening scene. the film doesnt make it clear that its an action film, as it starts out with a slow pace, with lots of dialogue between the characters- unusual for the opening of an action film.

Seven (Thriller Cert.18) Opening- 3 minutes
The opening starts with a man getting ready in the morning. The shots are quite calm, with no music. We see a sense of crime from the beginning, with a shot of a dead body. Theres lots of dialogue in the opening scene, which is quite a typical quality of a thriller opening as we learn most of the background information we need to know. Despite the crime scene, the opening scene has no action. The title sequence takes place in the first few minutes- which could suggest that the real movie hasnt real started yet, and the opening scene was just setting up the real film. both main characters are introduced in the opening scene. the equipment on Morgan Freemans table give us an idea about the character, both of his occupation and his personality. The criome scene is another common scene to see in a thriller. The opening scene includes shots from a number of different settings, the scene on the whole being continuous. The rain could also be a sign of pathetic fallcy.

Looking at these further films gave us the inspiration to do a thriller as our film opening, thrillers tended to have openings which had an effect on the rest of the film, wheras the openings to horrors and thrillers were often just one off scenes which had little link to the rest of the movie.

Preliminary Exercise

Preliminary Storyboard