Opening title sequences research and analysis

In The Conjuring's sequence they had titles on mainly each scene. As we can see they writing is always in capital letters. This is effective because its very bold and is making a statement. This is something we should keep in mind for when we are adding in our title to our film that we have created. We can also see that each scene/slide is very dull and dark. This definitely tells us that it is a horror movie because it is very spooky and makes us think what could this film be about.

Final idea treatment

This is the plot for our film; 
In the opening two minutes, we will start off with an establishing shot of our first location, which cuts to a smaller room with a focused medium shot on the protagonist. We match-cut to a close up of her phone as a gloved hand comes and takes it. She doesn’t notice, however, as she is listening to loud music on a computer. This scene has limited sound, but possibly will include a suspended note to add tension to the scene. We will then cross-cut to a medium shot of her friend in a busy room where he is trying to call her. There will be some dialogue here as well as general ambient noise. This will cross-cut to a long shot of the lead walking outside and back to the friend, now giving up on phoning her. When we cross back to the lead, we see a long shot of the antagonist behind, following her. During the times where the antagonist is in shot, there will be some bass notes to emphasise the danger the girl is in. After this, we will cut back to a shot of her friend calling again. This time, it will cut to the protagonist in the toilets. There will be multiple shots of her washing her hands etc. with the antagonist hidden from her but not from the audience. A cross-cut to her friend again, and then a long shot of the protagonist dead on the floor of the toilets. This will match-cut to a close up of the phone ringing, and then to a low angled shot of the protagonist leaving the room. The titles will then come up, leaving the opening on a cliff hanger. 

Practicing opening titles

 This was one of the first title idea we came up with. We thought we would stick with a simple but edgy font. We did not want to over complicate things. I like this title because it is straight to the point and does not pose too many questions. But i also dislike it because its a bit boring and does not give the feel of being a horror movie title.

This was the second idea that we had. Yet again its a bit basic but its a step up from the first one. i prefer this one from the first one because it gives off a more of a spooky vibe. It is a bit more in your face as well because it is bigger and bolder.

This title is more stylistic and would provide a brand identity for our film. It is a little less formal- but the use of bold white font on a black background makes up for this. This is the title we are currently opting for.

Changes made to the film

As we started to get everything ready to start to film some problems occurred. One major problem was we did not have a location to film any more, because we did not have any where to film anymore we had to change the whole idea of our film. We agreed on filming the film at school as this was the best place to do it. This did not take us long but it did set us a back a good week or so. The next problem that came up was how much we was going to have in the time slots that we had to film. This was also a reason of why we had to change the idea of the film. We managed to sort it by being able to film the film during school hours and still make it as effective as it would be if we done it outside of school. Even though we filmed during the school hours not everyone that was acting in our film was able to film at the same time as we all didn't have the same frees as each other. After we have a few set backs we came up with a filming schedule. This helped us keep track of when we are filming so we did not miss a day, we were able to keep up with all the work we had to do and knew who was able top film that day and who wasn't.

Original storyboard

These are our original storyboards that the sketched roughly. This helps us visulise the shot types and what we would like to do in that scene. As i said this is just a rough drawing, we will create an animatic one soon. This will then give the audience a better insight in to what is going to happen during the film.

The final script

This is our script for our film. This is just a brief idea, but if the actors feel they want to add in any other context they are welcome to. We did not want to include a lot of dialog as we thought it would create more suspense when there is less conversation going on between the other people.

Animatic storyboard

This is the animatic storyboard that my partner and me created. We created it in SketchBook pro 6. We drew out the pictures on a tablet and then put them all together using imovie. I think this video is very effective because it helps people visualise what is going to happen in our film and get taster of what problems occur during the film. This is also helpful for us because when we are filming our film it helps us decide what kind of shot we would like to use in each scene and what would be the most effective.

Research and Planning Feedback

A very high-level response from you Libby.  In order to improve your response - keep your journey to completion  documented throughout this current stage of the process.  Feel free to evidence screen shots of your project and comment on choices in editing being made and provide evidence of post-production timelines,  You could revisit some of your research posts and include screen grabs of key shots from openings you have analysed in order to guide your reader through your responses further.  A fantastic effort thus far - well done!

Actor Interview - Harriet Austin

Here is the victims (Harriet Austin) interview. We asked her a set of question that were specifically about her role in the film.

Actor interview - Sammie-Jo

Here is the antagonist's (Sammie - Jo) interview. We asked a set of questions which were specifically suited to her role in the film.

Actor interview - Alex Bateman

Here is the best friend's (Alex bateman) interview. We are a set of question that were specifically suited to his role in the film.

Actor profiles

The Victim played by Harriet Austin

Harriet's role as the victim is to be followed. In the film she comes across as a hard working but clueless character. She has a close circle of friends who care about her and who are always there to help. Harriet's role in the film is to make the audience feel sorry for her but at the same time make them feel uneasy as she is not aware she is being followed. Her character conforms to the victim stereotype used in horror as they always need help.

The Best Friend played by Alex Bateman

Alex's role in the film is to feel concerned about Harriet and to build up suspense when he is trying to reach Harriet. He plays the typical best friend as they are always caring and want the est for all their friends but at the same time wants to protect them from any danger that could be around them. This would be the character that most people would be able to relate to because he has the characteristics of a friend that everyone dreams to have.

The Antagonist played by Sammie - Jo Bretherick 

Sammie - Jo's role in the film to make the audience feel uncomfortable and very on edge.  She is your typical antagonist by going around and following someone. The antagonist should be someone that the audience dislike and hope for them to leave the victim alone. Although she portrays the typical antagonist actions she is also the opposite of a usual antagonist as they are played by men is most horror films. This subverts the stereotype.