we were set the task of making a opening title sequence for movie we would make. we were put into groups of four and told to start right away. we chose to make a horror film later we decided what kind of horror film we were going to make, we made a zombie horror. at the beginning of our opening sequence we see a teenage boy running and writing telling the viewers what has happened. They then get to see the bigger picture as the boy runs into a building greeted by other teenagers, we then see the first teenager back at what could be noted as his house. The sub genre that we chose was horror this is because we found horror intriguing and exciting, and we thought that it would be the most entertaining to do.
who would be the audience for your product?
The target audience for our opening title sequence/ film is people age 15-21. We chose this because we feel these are thew people who would relate to our characters. we believe this would be a suitable genre for people who enjoy horror/ jumpy films. also people who perhaps like zombie games may be interested in this film. We researched different horror/zombie movies such as dawn of the dead, Shaun of the dead, dead snow, 28 days later, the shining, zombieland. we used this research to get the correct connotations of a horror/zombie, we also used this information to see what sound would have the best impact on the audience, also what camera shots are mostly used in horrors.
what kind of media institution might distribute your media product why?
to distribute our film we chose to use Colombia pictures, we chose to use them because we know they have made big films some horrors such as zombieland, 30 days of night and the grudge.
In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
narrative
we chose to make a horror because we thought this would be fun for us to make. we was also interested to make a horror because it was interesting genre to cover. the plot of our film is that 4 teenagers have survived a biological weapon experiment gone wrong. They hide out in there old school because they feel this is the best place for cover. we wanted to start are film from where the main character John (Tom) and Shaun (Charlie) is running back to shelter away from the zombies that have now realised where he and his friends Ray (Mikey) and Matthew (Steven) are hiding, luckily John makes it back before them while Shaun holds them off. ray then asks John "do you have it" this is are enigma through the film. we put this part first because we wanted the audience to be immediately hooked and wondering what it was he would have.
Genre
from the beginning of our film you can tell that we have made a horror because of the way the music presents itself and has all the connotations of good horror music. the music also works well with the credits that crawl up the screen in edgy writing like it has been scratched on.
Camera, Angle, Shot Movement And Position
the main camera angles/ shots we used was long-shot this is because we want the audience to see how alone, big and also empty the space and country is, the audience will hopefully see this and will be looking for the zombies. we thought that we would use quick cuts so the audience wont know if a zombie is going to suddenly appear or not. what we mainly wanted to achieve from our camera angles was just to keep the audience in suspense.
Continuity & Editing
we mainly used are editing to try and get quick cut shots from where John runs to keep the audience in suspense. we also used it to put in our title, director other names and also are information at the beginning of the film.
sound
the sound we created is very original for our film because it keeps the mystery within the film. it gives the impression that something big is going to happen or something scary. for the final part of the sequence we see John waking up we left the diegetic sound in because we feel it connects with the audience more and also helps make it more dramatic plus leaves a impact.
Mise-En-Scene, Expressionism
The mise-en-scene will be what we added to our scene to make it better or more real/believable. we added a decapitated hand to the scene to let the audience decide what they think has happened, for example it could have been bitten off, chopped off, blown off. we put it in some of our scenes to make it look like they have been there before and could still be there waiting for the teenagers maybe? when we see john run in the beginning the lighting is dark this is because we wanted to make it look like he is being chased out of where he was to where he is going, we added sounds in this sequence to make it sound like the zombies were right behind him. later we see Shaun hold them off the lighting is bright, this is because we were hoping the audience would see him as the hero or unlikely hero. we used props such as guns to help demonstrate that this is a life threatening situation for the teenagers.
typography
the typography on the film was dark and almost looked like it had be scratched on. we all decide that we wanted to make it look like it was like a zombie cut, dirty, dark and most of all gritty. the title however we made look bloody because blood has a big part to play in this film. we still made the title dark and gritty to keep in theme with the other pieces of writing.
How Does Your Media Product Represent Particular Social Groups?
camera angle shot movement and position
the opening shot of our film is john's face looking scared whilst he is running, this shot was shot using a ex stream close up of johns face looking frightened. we used this because we felt we wanted to grip the audience straight away, it also helped us show the audience that straight way they will know john's age and this is important because it was one of our main themes.
editing
the editing we used was mainly spread in to two sections of fast close jumpy shots to long and biding there time shots. we used the quick shots to keep the audience think something could or might happen and also so they can see the detail of the environment around the characters. the long shots were used to establish what is going on where john is as well as keep the audience guessing what will happen next.
sound
when we were choosing the sound we wanted it to be liked by everyone so we made the sound mutual and made sure it connected with the theme of the film. to do this we had to make sure it wasn't to rock or pop or any other genre we didn't make it to loud or to soft.
How Did You Attract/Address Your Audience?
do you think you have reached your target audience?
i feel like we reached our designated target audience because we used nearly all the connotations of a good horror film
What Did You Include When Planning Your Production That You Thought Would Appeal To Your Audience?
we decided that to attract are audience we will make a zombie horror this is because we know that zombie films seem to go down well with the public, also recent zombie films that have come out have done well and take big money in the box office. we thought as well to end our movie on a cliffhanger this way it will leave the audience intrigued and open for a squeal if we was to carry it on.
Using Quotes From The Audience Feedback Address How These Did Appeal And Why?
" very well thought of"
" so what happens next"
" good camera shots"
" great sound and the effects"
" nice use of typography"
from the feedback we got we realised that the scene was good and we didn't improve much after just little bits we felt uncomfortable with.
Overall What Else Has Been Successful In Your Production According To Audience Feedback?
what made our film successful was the work that all of our group put in and how we individually contributed to it. the feedback we received was good, it complemented our narrative, typography, camera angles, and the film managed to keep them gripped, kept them guessing and most important of all them asking what happens next.
what was less successful?
the only less successful thing was before we removed two certain clips people said it looked more like a trailer then a opening sequence. once removing the clips people said it looked more like a opening sequence.
how could the work be improved?
the only way i could see the work being improved was if we included some glimpse of a zombie or got more people to play zombies and actual have a more intense chase scene.
What Have You Learnt About Technologies From The Process Of Constructing The Product?
What key decisions did you make about technology during pre-production/production/post production?
the only technology decision we had to make was whether to use final cut pro or imovie. we decide to use i movie seeing as we found it simpler to use.
why was these decisions made?
these decisions were made because we found the mac easier and more user friendly to use, the same goes for imovie. we knew what to do because it was clear on instructions. final cut pro was more complicated and didn't seem to offer the same resolution or definition as the mac did.
what technology did you use at each stage?
at the beginning we decided to use a jvc camcorder and to edit our film we used a apple imac. we was going to use a PC but we found final cut pro difficult to use and switched to the mac.
what were successful uses of new technology in your production process?
using imovie to its fullest, for example using sound effects, using the lighting, adding text and placing it in different positions.
what were the less successful things?
the less successful things were trying to upload our film to YouTube this is because the file was not put up properly so it was not showing the content. this problem was happening while using YouTube so not to do with imovie.
what have you learnt?
i have learnt that you need to pick the right equipment when filming such as right camcorder or still camera and right piece of equipment to edit it on for example the macs/PCs.
looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
overall what was successful about your preliminary task?
i feel that the overall successful thing about our film was our group and the creativity of the idea. our group was connected and we all shared the same idea as well as all felling strongly about going through with the idea. i believe our creativity about starting the film from the middle and tracking back was good because the reaction we got from the audience was them asking questions about "what's happening" and "what's going to happen", this kept them gripped.
what was less successful?
the less successful things that happened in our group was being able to get the shots we wanted and not being able to make it as big as we wanted to. in the end we was still very pleased with our film.
how did you improve upon each of these areas when making your title sequence?
we improved on the technology by learning how imovie properly works also knowing the basics of it. we improved our idea of a zombie film by starting it from the middle and creating a enigma right from the beginning. we improved our post production by taking out some clips of writing and another clip to make it look less like a trailer and more like a opening sequence. this was given to us as feedback. we made sure we each researched two or three different openings of horror openings to to get the right connotations of a good horror/zombie film. we also made it so we each had areas to look at for example Mise-En-Scene, lighting,camera shots and sound.
do you think you have reached your target audience?
i feel like we reached our designated target audience because we used nearly all the connotations of a good horror film
What Did You Include When Planning Your Production That You Thought Would Appeal To Your Audience?
we decided that to attract are audience we will make a zombie horror this is because we know that zombie films seem to go down well with the public, also recent zombie films that have come out have done well and take big money in the box office. we thought as well to end our movie on a cliffhanger this way it will leave the audience intrigued and open for a squeal if we was to carry it on.
Using Quotes From The Audience Feedback Address How These Did Appeal And Why?
" very well thought of"
" so what happens next"
" good camera shots"
" great sound and the effects"
" nice use of typography"
from the feedback we got we realised that the scene was good and we didn't improve much after just little bits we felt uncomfortable with.
Overall What Else Has Been Successful In Your Production According To Audience Feedback?
what made our film successful was the work that all of our group put in and how we individually contributed to it. the feedback we received was good, it complemented our narrative, typography, camera angles, and the film managed to keep them gripped, kept them guessing and most important of all them asking what happens next.
what was less successful?
the only less successful thing was before we removed two certain clips people said it looked more like a trailer then a opening sequence. once removing the clips people said it looked more like a opening sequence.
how could the work be improved?
the only way i could see the work being improved was if we included some glimpse of a zombie or got more people to play zombies and actual have a more intense chase scene.
What Have You Learnt About Technologies From The Process Of Constructing The Product?
what made our film successful was the work that all of our group put in and how we individually contributed to it. the feedback we received was good, it complemented our narrative, typography, camera angles, and the film managed to keep them gripped, kept them guessing and most important of all them asking what happens next.
what was less successful?
the only less successful thing was before we removed two certain clips people said it looked more like a trailer then a opening sequence. once removing the clips people said it looked more like a opening sequence.
how could the work be improved?
the only way i could see the work being improved was if we included some glimpse of a zombie or got more people to play zombies and actual have a more intense chase scene.
