opening edit research

In the film Scream, we see a black background and due to the edits used we can tell straight away that it is a horror film, due to the fact that it turns red and we hear a non diagetic screaming sound. As well as that, before it turns red, we see it start flashing red and white, which shows a sense of urgency or could signify the police presence within the film, further representing it as a horror film. The colour of the font is white and seems quite simplistic, the colour associations of white are purity, so this creates an enigma due to the fact that it is a horror film, leaving little space for purity in this slasher. During this title sequence, we also hear a non diagetic screaming of a female followed shortly by a gunshot. This could foreshadow future events that could occur within the film where a female character could be killed by a gunshot. In our horror film we could try and incorporate this style of font with the black background, and use it effectively straight after the first character is hit in the face with the POV shot by the murderer. This would make the screen black, leading perfectly to the title sequence.We could also try and use the non diagetic screams or gunshots to show off further that it is a horror film.



Donnie Darko has a different approach to horror titles, due to the fact that it is placed in the foreground of a natural establishing shot. It is seen as soon as the main character walks out of the shot. It as got a fancy style to it, with the main colour also being white which could be seen as quite natural as well as the fact that it contrasts with the background colour of purple to make it stand out and make it clearer as well as making it bolder. Above the letter 'i' we see a bright light beginning to form and this is used as the edit to lead into the next shot. There is a 3 second white screen which is used to show the end of the first sequence and to show that something else is occuring. The actual font is grainy and jagged at the edges, this gives it a look that it is rough and used before, which could show the correlations with the main character of Donnie who is metaphorically jagged at the edges and is a bit rough throughout the film. As well as that, when the title appears on the screen, we hear a non diagetic ghostly female voice singing. This adds an eerie effect to the title scene and could set a theme for the entire film of it being ghostly. I think that it would work well with our film if we had the non diagetic sound of the females voice as well as the light colours schemes which lead perfectly into the next scene.




In Se7en we see a different approach to the opening sequence as it has shorter shot lengths with a dirtier style to the sequence. The fact that the style of writing seen within the opening sequence is more of a handwritten style, we can see from this that it has been personalised by whoever the main protagonist or antagonist is and it gives it a more untidy look and like the sequence has been made by a character within the film. As well as this, the soundtrack is that of a non diagetic eerie style which makes the audience feel uncomfortable. This sets the tone for the rest of the film as the semiotics of the lighting, props (pen and also scissors) and also the sound builds up this image of the film being dark and full of horror. The fact that the text seems to shake, adds a sense of urgency or unsteadiness that will be developed further later on in the film.The text seems to be on a black background and the actual text is rather bold in it's style and it constantly goes in and out of focus, which can be used to make the audience feel nauseous and or uncomfortable

Overall i think that from Scream we could try and take the fact that there is a black background with the title in the foreground and use that well with the action. As well as this, we could have the font flashing another colour to try and recreate the sense of emergency. From Donnie Darko we will try and take the complexity and cryptic style of the font as it seems that it would fit well with our horror film. As well as that, when the white colour takes over the screen from the ball of light, we could use that well with our black background to lead into the rest of the film and show that it was the end of the opening sequence. From the film Se7en i think that we could take the style of writing to give it a darker look to the film as well as this, we could try and have short shot lengths which could show off the same type of things that se7en did to create an enigma for the audience.

Correlations within horror films

Below are the films referenced within my essay:

Donnie Darko opening sequence

The first shot that we see, shows off the location of the sequence, with an establishing shot showing off the mountains on the winding road. It is also a continuous long take, this could be used to make the audience feel uncomfortable or have a false sense of security due to the fact that is a psychological thriller set in a suburban neighborhood.  We hear a low pitch non diagetic empathetic soundtrack which creates a disorientated feel to the scene. There is an original sense of enigma when we see a character lying in the middle of the road as we want to know who it is. As soon as the character sits up, we hear a piano soundtrack the music reflects that early morning beauty that we see in the background. It is soft and quite ghostly giving the effect of a character waking up. From the mise en scene, we can see the protagonist wearing pyjamas which also creates an enigma. His facial features are confused and there is a natural top light to show off his facial features. It make his character look more natural and appeals more to a female target audience, fulfilling the female gaze theory due to the main character being Jake Gyllenhaal whom is known throughout Hollywood film industries so is the key image in the scene being the most well known character in the film. The camera then pans across the landscape and the colour scheme is light blue and dark purple. The blue associations are of peace and harmony, while the purple evokes a mysterious and spiritual emotion on screen, This could have strong parallels with the protagonists emotions and ways as he could be mysterious and peaceful. We then see the natural light cast a shadow on half of his face due to the side lighting. This could show a split personality and could foreshadow future events to do with a split personality or problem.

After the title of 'Donnie Darko' comes past we hear a non diagetic soundtrack of "The killing moon" by Echo and the Bunnymen. This music is more upbeat and has more connotations of movement and activity. We get a tracking shot of the character on his bike, the fact that we get multiple shorter takes (shorter than the previous takes) could show a sense of urgency with the character or that he has to be somewhere. As he enters the town, the lyrics say "So soon you will take me." This foreshadows future events within the film where Donnie is killed. This has a direct correlation with the "Middlesex Halloween Carnival." As most of the set piece and violence occurs on halloween and multiple characters are killed then. The streets are seemingly bare and few cars are out, this could show that it is early morning and he is cycling into a suburban area showing that the character is middle class, which is what most stereotypical psychological horror characters are. Another lyric is "It must be killing time." and this lyric is synchronous to a shot with Donnie, this also foreshadows future events. We meet Donnie's family as it pans away from Donnie to his dad and sister, they seem more upbeat than Donnie and seem to have fun due to the antics with the leaf blower. The fact that the lighting on them is completely dark natural light could show that they have something to hide. Donnie's mother is sat reading Stephen King, whom writes various horror novels. The lyrics go on to say "The killing moon will come too soon." when there is a shot of his mother and his sister as they are in a plane crash towards the end of the film, foreshadowing future events yet again. Finally we see a note on the fridge saying "Where is Donnie?" which could show that he went missing, yet his family from their body movements don't seem to be too bothered that he is gone, this could show that there is a lack of care from his family.
We could try and use a synchronous soundtrack within our opening sequence to try and build suspense as it could foreshadow future events, as seen in this opening sequence. We could also add a sense of mystery through the use of different colouring and prominent colours throughout the opening. The use of tracking shots also shows a sense of uncomforting from the character so we could try and use that in our final piece to create an uneasy feeling towards a certain situation or character

Casting of actors/ actresses

Due to the fact that our film has characters which are teenage, we had to get people of that age range to make it more accurate. So far, we have got multiple willing actors to play the roles of these characters and their portrayal of a teenager will be based off their own charateristics. Our actors/ actresses include:



                                                                 Alfie Bryce-Clegg:
Standing at around 5'10 he is the stereotypical teenage boy. His character, still unnamed, will be part of the group who are filming their project and will be the one whom is left alone by the other group members. He has had multiple acting roles in plays and other videos so will be used to portray a certain emotion on screen. His clothing is also that of your typical middle class white male and that is what we are aiming for with our costumes. The brief that he was given was to tell him that he had to wear: Jeans, T-shirt, hoodie and also trainers to try and show off even more so the typical British teenager. Being 16 years old, he is the perfect age to go into our filming. As well as this due to his skin tone and hair colour, fits with stereotypical male characters within horror films like: Dean in A nightmare on Elm street and Donnie from Donnie Darko. He is reliable and flexible with his timing for filming, making him a good actor for the role.

Dan Campin:

He is around 6'2, which is the perfect height to be the main villain within the film. His face won't be revealed due to him wearing a mask to conceal his identity when out in the open. Due to him being so tall, we will use a low angle when he is in the shot so that we can make him seem larger and more fierce as most horror film villains are. His costume must be practical for everyday life and must blend in with a crowd. As well as this, he will be wearing a mask (still undecided on which one) and the entire outfit should in some respects try and blend in with the colours of the trees. He is also available at most times within the week, making him reliable and a good choice for our villain. Even though he is also 16 years old, we don't see his face, so the audience will not know.

Alice Buckton-Perkins:

She fits in perfectly with the final girl theory due to the fact that she is responsible and will act the same, being: sensible, socially awkward and not a party animal. She is 16 years old so fits with the age range of the characters. She is 5'9 so we will try and use low angle shots so that she can appear larger and more powerful. She was asked to wear the same as Alfie was, but to add a more feminine approach to the outfit, making it more trendy, as well as making it more personal to her. We will try and make it so that her character is more dominant in the conversations as to show that she will be one of the key characters, driving the plot. She is focused and to the point, so will work well with our group to try and create a sense of realism and depth with the character. She is also very reliable and will be able to do filming whenever and wherever we choose.

Callum Wardle:

As well as directing and filming parts of the opening sequence, he will also be a minor role within the clip. He looks a lot older than the other members in the group due to his appearance but he is smaller than the rest of the cast standing at around 5'7, so he will be seen in the clips laughing at jokes made by other characters as well as setting up equipment. He will have his own visions for the film as he is partly directing so will be able to add his own movements to try and input his own ideas so that it can live up to what he wants it to be.  He is also reliable due to the fact that he is also directing  so will have to be there on every day that the is shooting occurring. He is seen on the left in this photo.

Matt Lloyd:

I will be filling the role as a background actor with Sam and Callum. We will not have much character development in the opening sequence so that we can see the start of Alfie's before his death as well as Alice's character who is the key protagonist within the film. I will also be able to structure the scene due to the fact that I am also directing and filming the clip, so I can give the other actors my views and ideas from infront of the camera as well as behind. I am reliable as I am partly responsible for the creation of this film so will be required to work upon it. I will not have any speaking lines and will just act as a member of the group, setting up equipment and being in very few shots.

Original Idea before the questionnaire results

Our initial idea as a group was for a group of young film students to wander into an open stretch of forest and begin filming a scene for their studies. It will open with an establishing shot from the branch of a tree as the group walk under it. The story then progresses with them continuing to film. There will be more or less 5 students filming in these woods. After setting up their equipment in a short montage of them constructing tripods and checking cameras and other such equipment, we will see 4 of these group members head back to the car to go and pick up other equipment. From this point, the audience will understand that something will occur due to a low pitched quiet non diagetic soundtrack will be playing. The single character that is left will continue to set up his equipment alone and then as we start to pan around we start to see shadows in the forest. The character brushes them off as their eyes playing tricks on them and they will continue. After this, we will have the music become louder and higher in pitch, leading to the final shot which is short in length of the murderer behind our main character swinging some sort of blunt object at the characters head. As soon as it makes impact, it will cut to black. I think this will be effective, due to the fact that if the opening sequence starts on a cliffhanger, it will make the audience want to see the full film more and also it plays on Barthes theory as people will have to figure the fate out of the character from seeing that opening sequence. Our inspiration for this opening sequence was The Blair with project as it also sees young film makers going into the forest to film, but our outcome will be different.

Types of masculinity

Males:

Arnie's version of masculinity:

This focuses on males being large and 'pumped'. This ' pumped up masculinity' surrounds the fact that the stronger a male is, the more masculine they are. As well as that, a muscular body also is associated with strength and power so is also seen as more masculine. This type of masculinity is also referred to as 'Hyper masculinity' due to the fact that it is beyond anything that is realistic and is mostly achieved by steroid users or very dedicated bodybuilders. It shows a very extreme version of the male physique.  This ignores the social changes surrounding male image and the need for strength and power. I think this character type couldn't be achieved within our film due to their being very few people with this sense of hyper masculinity. This large amount of muscle could be achieved through a muscle suit to replicate power within the villain and show his strength. We see this type of masculinity in the film "Predator" (1987) as we see the main character who is played by Arnold Schwarzenegger being extremely muscular to show his strength as the hero.

Denzel's version of masculinity:

This type of masculinity shows of the traditional masculine traits. It is also seen as more attainable and something that can be aspired to. This version represents masculinity through the working class male and looks back at times when men's roles were clear as the dominant and bread winners for their families. This can be seen in the film "The Equalizer" as we see Denzel Washington working in a department store and this represents shows him off to be traditionally masculine due to him earning money for himself and being self reliant on income. This could be easily incorporated into our film, due to the fact that our main villain works for the police showing that he has traditional masculine traits and also at the same time including this version of masculinity into our final piece of work.

Childlike masculinity:

This representation shows us that the modern males are immature and also irresponsible. This has been brought about due to comedy films portraying males as stupid and not mature. This is seen in "The scouts guide to the zombie apocalypse" due to the main character, played by Tye Sheridan, is only a young adult and is still childlike in the way that he acts, so comes off as immature. We can use this effectively in our film, due to the fact that our main hero is a young adult/ teenager so we can show his naivety and immaturity within our film due to his reckless behaviour throughout our opening sequence.

Traumatised masculinity:

This suggests that a male finds it hard to find a clear identity for themselves within society. This can lead to a split personality within a character. This is used effectively in psychological horror films to evoke a certain tone throughout the film. It is seen in "Donnie Darko" due to the fact that Donnie has a split personality and has Frank to keep him anchored. He feels like a social outcast and this leads him to do the things that he does. This could be used in our films to represent the murderer as a social outcast with a split personality. This could be used to further character development



Immoral masculinity:

This representation shows the ideal man as being a womanizer who: wears designer clothes, works in show business. Within the film, the character will be punished for his actions. This could be used effectively due to the fact that it would lead nicely into further character development but unfortunately it wouldn't fit with our storyline due to the fact that our characters are only teenagers so wouldn't work in show business.