Location Reccie

WHERE AND WHEN

- Wood and fields off of Hadlow Road, Tonbridge

- 22nd February 2011

PURPOSE

- find an appropriate place to set our first scene

- setting which was open and particularly ominous at night

WHAT DID WE DO

- took stills of surrounding areas which may feature in our opening

- took short video clips of interesting shots and angles

- found interesting areas within the woods to film

WHAT WORKED

- good secluded area for chase scene

- plenty of room for a tent

- lots of trees and things to hide behind

- lakes, good for reflection shots

WHAT DIDN'T WORK

- quite muddy, might not be able to use bare feet as wanted

- gets dark quickly, may not be able to shoot at night

JR - Analysing an Opening Sequence

Genre:

· The genre of this film is action/horror.

· When watching a horror film the audience expects suspense and then action that provokes their fears. The audiences generic expectations are fulfilled by this opening sequence as tension is built when the couple in the tent see the zip slowly opening and then horrific action occurs when the beast outside kills the woman and the blood is splattered on the man.

· The text conforms to the characteristics of the genre as it meets the generic expectations in many ways such as:

· Lighting – darkness and lit by a full moon

· Characters – ordinary people

· Action – horror and death occurs

Film language:

· Mise-en-scene conveys meaning in this sequence as it is set in a deserted place in the dark. It is common for an ordinary object to become the centre of the action and the slow unzipping of the tent is what creates the tension and suspense. There is also a visual link between the zip of the woman and the zip on the tent.

· Techniques:
Mid shots are used to show the two characters together and make it obvious that they are a couple.
When the couple are in the tent and the zip starts to open, the camera slowly moves closer to show their expressions and the terror on their faces.

· Handy-cam shots are used when the woman is dragged out of the tent to place the audience in the action.
Sound anchors the images as we hear the diegetic sound of the zip opening as we are watching the couple. This sound bridge makes the audience wonder what the noise is and there is then a motivated cut to the zip being undone. The ominous and quiet music also creates an atmosphere.

· When the zip is being undone there is no dialogue. This shows that the characters are extremely scared. They also tense their bodies and a MCU of the two characters shows their worried facial expressions.

· The director uses the visual technique of a full moon. A full moon can often be associated with wolves and other terrifying aspects. This also shows that it is dark outside and late at night enhancing the atmosphere.

Narrative:

· The narrative is simple as we simply see a couple on a normal camping trip in Scotland. Then, unexpectedly, a creature comes along and kills the woman. There is no twist to the narrative in this opening sequence it is completely straight forward.

· The audience is positioned with the couple as they are the first people that are introduced as characters and the audience hears their conversation and intimacy.

· We can identify with the couple as we see them talking and being together for a while. The creature that kills the woman is alienated as it is unfamiliar to the audience and a killer.

· There are three major themes in the narrative:
- Love
- Fright
- Death

· Tension is created and maintained as when the couple are in the tent they hear the noise of something outside and the zip slowly unzips with the audience waiting in suspense to see what is outside. The tension is then maintained as the audience does not know if the creature is going to leave the man next or kill him too.

Representation and ideology:

· There are no social groups in this sequence, although there is a couple.

· It is obvious that the couple value their love as they are evidently alone together on a trip and this is also seen through their intimacy in the tent.

· The man is shown as protective over the woman as he tries hard to pull her back from the creature that is trying to kill her, which is a sterotype of how men are protective over women.

· Again, in terms of semiotics, the full moon could connote danger or bad luck. In some stories and films, werewolf’s come out when the moon is full.

JR - Analysing an Opening Sequence

Final Destination 3 ( Wong, 2006)

Film Language

The Mise-en-scene of the conveys the meaning of the scene by the use of the location, the scene is set in a fairground in which there are scary/spooky this is created through several images of normal fairground rides to which are then changed to create tension and fear. The costumes of the characters are normal teenage outfits, but each character has their own style just like in society.

The use of props is seen by mainly the girls use of the camera, she seems to be the protagonist as we are set with her at the very start. The use of fairground rides can convey this fun exciting scene but the twist is conveyed in unusual things occurring like blurred images and backwards story plots.

The large use of medium close up allows the audience to locate the characters in the plot. The camera follows the girl with the camera through out the scene showing a point of view shot to which we can see what is happening through her eyes.

The sound in this opening fits perfectly as it in strings played in a minor tone, it adds to the creepy disordered scene. The sound really anchors the scene as being a thriller.
Through the dialogue the audience learn about each persons character. This is seen by the close ups on each person. the conversation that the characters have also allows for the audience to connect with them making it easier to build the relationship.

Media Audiences

The target audience would be 16-25, both male and females as all the characters are teenagers therefore the teenagers can relate. Also as the plot is mystery and the audience have to work out what is happening a younger audience would find it difficult to keep up with all the different story lines put into one plot.

The possible audience readings of this text would be that everyone is going to die in the end or their will be a twist and a hero will save the day, but as it is a physiological thriller the probable audience reading would be that in the end the protagonist will find the reason behind the deaths and find a way to put a stop to everything, therefore becoming the hero of the plot.

As a British teenager my readings of the text are that from the opening scene we can tell that something is wrong with the situation, with the music and the acting we can clearly see that something is about to happen which is not good. I evaluate the text as being very giving with the plot, the story is laid out very clearly in the open scene with the images of the pictures, this ruins the impact of the opening as we are able to piece the story together from the start giving away the ending.

MD-Shot by Shot analysis

High angle Establishing shot- 0-5 Shows the garden at the back of a house. It suggests that it is a family house due to use of props like the swing. It also suggests to the audience that it is an isolated, rural location with the audience being able to get a glimpse at the back of the garden a crop. Silence is used throughout this opening sequence to create anticipation.

Reverse zoom-6.10 The reverse zoom is used to show that the audience is being positioned from inside the house and creating a continuous editing technique. The view is quite enigmatic as it does not show or introduce a protagonist to the action which is exploited to link into the genre. Silence is used to reinforced this also creating a frustrated audience who try and anticipate the next scene.

Close up 11-15 A cross cut is used to take us to another part of the house. A close up of a family picture is shown. This prop is very cleverly exploited as part of the mise-en-scene and genre as it reinforce the conventions of the genre ask it prompts the audience to look at the picture as a whole. This is later in the scene shown more importance as it implies how important the father figure is the family suggesting that the other personnel are more vulnerable. Throughout this shot not sound is played which accumulates even more tension to the scene.

Close up Pan upwards Shallow focus-16-21 The heaving breathing and springs of the mattress finally break the silence but tension is continued as the close up hinders the view of the audience who are unable to see why the man has woken up. However, the previous evokes a sense of discomfort and hint at a foreboding threat especially with the link from the use of the picture in the previous shot. Dull lighting intensifies this threat.

Long Shot-22-28 The cut to a long shot is very unnatural perspective and convey the strange situation. The figure is in the centre of the screen breaking the rule of thirds and further strengthening the abnormal set of shots that make up the opening sequence. The silence further evokes with the exception of, the springs from the mattress, that creates a sense of frustration creating amplifying the enigmatic mood. A sound bridge is used to link to the next scene. The sound of the creaking door further exacerbates the sense of mystery suggesting that the man is looking for something unclear to the audience

Medium Long shot-29-37 The scene further continues the sense of mystery with the only sound being the footstep. The protagonist can be seen looking for something yet the lack of other diegetic sound inhibits the audience to know the source of his attention.

Close-up-38-44 The silence again provokes the audience and exacerbates their attentions to the diegetic sound. The absence of it poses further mystery to the scene. The drawings are used as part of the mise-en-scene as an implications to the vulnerability of what the audience presumes are his children's drawings.

Low angle medium long shot-45-51 A low angle shot is also enigmatic as it seems that somebody is watching or surveilling him which is very frightening for the audience which would be alarmed that somebody or something is in his house. Again little diegetic sound is used which evokes this sense of fear, only the sighs of the protagonist breaks the otherwise continuous silence.

Long shot-52-58 A strange shot is the used to portray the enigmatic feel of the sequence which evokes questions to the audience with no character present. A scream then cuts through the silence which is very disturbing for the protagonist who races out of the bathroom. However, the fact that the character has gone to the bathroom suggests that he has dismissed the first threat. Now that he hears again he cannot dismiss it and this is allows the directors to play with the psychological side of the genre.

Low angle zoom-59-1.02 The cutting rate increases to convey the anxiety and chaotic nature of the previous events. The Sound is also amplified to show the protagonists chilling alarming response to the events.

Medium shot-1.03-1.06 This shot frustrates the audience again as they are not able to see what the protagonist just heard once again playing on the psychological aspect of the genre and sequence.

Long Shot-1.07-1.10 A sound bridge is used this time playfully with the character easing the tension as the protagonist falls of the bed. However, the use of the sound is very important as the use of diegetic sound and then silence provokes the audience in to believing if the sound is truly there or not merging the difference between reality. This creates a illusion to the audience if they are able to trust their senses.

Close-up- 1.11-1.15 The editing takes us to another part of the house were another person, is revealed to have heard the noise. This makes the threat more credible. The way that everyone is in bed also sets the time of the sequence and shows how it is further abnormal.

Reverse zoom 1.16-1.20 Captures the man running out of the house and shows his desperation. It also highlights how he has finally come out of the house really pushing the idea to the audience with the link of the parallel narrative that the threat and screams are real.

Swish pan- 1.21-1.26 The swish pan is used to show the desperation of the character who searches around.

Track and over the shoulder shot. 1.27-1.33 The tracking shot is used to keep up with the character and show his frantic attempts to find his children and placing the audience amongst the two men. Again another sound bridge is used to interrupt the scene. This does not allow little discussion and keeps the momentum of the scene going.

Swish Pan 1.34-1.40 The pan moves away into the direction of the screams and stops at the visual barrier of the crops that does not allows to see where the screams are going for and permits the director to still create a sense of enigma. The use of a corn field can also be viewed as a metaphor for how difficult it is for the men to find the children.

Dolly shot 1.41.-1.51 The dolly shot is used to show the two men running towards the screams. It is indicative to note that the dolly shot is from the side and means that the rest of the screen in which they are running into cannot be seen creating a further sense of mystery by concealing the rest of the picture.

Medium Long Shot 1.52-1.53 The long shot captures the men looking in another direction where a sound interrupts it from the direction of the camera showing that they were looking in another direction. A clearing is made out abnormally in the otherwise covered maze field which evokes the audience to think of possibilities for this.

Swish pan zoom 1.54-2.01 The pan puts us in the perspective of the tow characters and the zoom draws the attention to a blurred figure. The Shallow focus is with the help of a short zoom to make the figure small and difficult to view. This correlates to the enigmatic opening sequence that is aided here in the mise-en-scene. The white is strongly connoted with purity and is used to suggests to the audience that it is a small innocent girl as indicated through the height.

MD & ZS moodboard

Z.S Techinal analysis of an openng sequence. The Curse (Noroi,2005)

0:00 - 0:13 To open the scene a white background is shown and black text appears on the screen to tell the basic story of the film.

0:13 - 0:23 This then slowly fades into black and white text appears. This effect of black against white and white against black gives the idea of good and evil, which is predominantly what horror films evolve around, evil against good. It also represents the idea of "ying and yang" which is typical in Japanese culture.The cutting rate between these two frames are very slow to create a dramatic effect.

0:23 - 0:33 A mysterious musical chord is played and suddenly the black background and white text is switched to a low angle shot of some stairs in a town with a woman walking down towards the camera. When the shot switches we also see and hear the loud noise of a train in the background. This may suggest to the audience that it is a busy and noisy place. The loud noises are layered which is helping to build atmosphere in the scene.

There are other people in the scene but walking away from the camera. The woman is also in the centre of the shot so it would be fair to assume at this point in time that she is an important character.

The audience are now aware of the location as all of the characters which have walked past the camera are Japanese and in casual wear. There are loud noises and trains and the woman walking towards the camera appears to be carrying a shopping bag. Now the audience know that it is being set in a bus Japanese town they can look for other ideas and create more important enigma's such as what is the significance of this woman?

0:33 - 0:40 It cuts again to the black background with white script, There are two shots of this text both lasting for around four seconds each. The text so far has been in Japanese but it seems that it has been the directors way of introducing the story without the use of dialogue which is very popular in many psychological horrors.

0:40 - 0:51 The camera then cuts to a small path where the woman featured earlier walks round a corner and towards the camera. There is nine seconds of her walking towards the camera and at this point a piano in minor key starts to play some twinkling notes which seem rather melancholy and allow the audience to feel sadness or sympathy for a certain character.

0:51 - 0:54 Once again the shot cuts to the black and white script to futher explain the story.

0:54 - 1:01 The next shot is a low angle shot of a plant leaf, this goes out of focus for a few seconds and within the five seconds shot it focuses back in and the audience briefly see a spider web, this is enough time to create an enigma but this shot is quickly replaced yet again by more text.

1:08 - 1:13 Then there is a quick cut to another low angle shot of a house. All of these shots suggest that it is still the house of the woman featured at the beginning. The house appears to be normal, but the audience are already aware of the film genre so are now starting to question what is wrong with the woman or the house, are either of them cursed?

1:13 - 1:21 Again this shot is quickly replaced by text so as not to give away too much of the plot too quickly and to build tension. At this point another layer of music is added to the backing track, this time violins are added, which helps add to the melancholy tone so far.

1:21 - 1:32 The piano music has started again and this time the shot is significantly different to the others. It is now a high angle shot of the woman walking on the path below the camera.

The camera appears to be at a point of view shot from a person watching the woman from their balcony. The fact that it is a high angle shot is making the woman look weak and is giving us power over her. There is a quiet noise of a cat and the woman stops walking and looks up to where the camera is. The woman appears to be intrigued by the house and walks a few paces towards it and peers over the fence.

1:32 - 1:36 Once again this shot is only a few seconds and is then switched to text.

1:36 - 1:49 The next shot we appear to be behind the woman and looking up at the house, there is another meow from the cat and the woman walks away from the camera. After the woman walks away from the camera there is another ten seconds of filming the empty balcony from the ground. Here the audience expect to see something or someone because the earlier shot from the balcony would suggest that we were someone's point of view looking down.

So far the screen time has been taken up by this middle aged Japanese woman, who appears to be perfectly normal. The fact that she is a woman tells the audience that she is weak and defensless, to some degree she is also seen as innocent before we are told much about her.

The high angle shot used from the balcony also reinforces the idea that she is weak and is not able to defend herself against whatever monster this film will feature.

This opening will be easy to replicate as not many special effects have been used and there are no high budget settings although it is still effective because the audience are able to identify with the settings making it seem more real. I particularly liked the blurred image of the plant and then focusing in on the spider. Although it does not seem scary the image created an enigma and kept the audience engaged for the next shot.