Practical Task - Location

For this Practical Task I visited the woods behind my house, I decided to photograph these woods as our genre for our Coursework task will be Horror or Slasher and I feel that the location would be suitable for both of these. When visiting the woods I made sure to take photos of the location as well as smaller details that could be effective when filming a Horror or Slasher Opening Scene. I took these photos when it was light, however, this location may be more effective in the dark and would fit well with both genres. Here are some of the images I took:

Smaller details like this fence and barbed wire may be useful and effective to use as mise-en-scene when filming in the woods.

This hut was old and rustic, covered in moss and cobwebs and would be effective to use in a horror or slasher opening scene.

This gate could also be used when filming our coursework as it was rustic and old and would work in a horror or slasher opening scene.

In conclusion I feel that this location would be suitable to film a horror or slasher film opening in as it can be filmed when it is getting dark to get the correct atmosphere and make it eerie. It is also very isolated a common feature when picking locations as those in the area cannot be helped as no one else is around. However, one issue with filming in this location could be that the lighting may not be suitable as it will get dark quick and it may be difficult to see what has been captured when filming.

Mise-en-scene Deconstructon - Annabelle

Annabelle

In the supernatural film Annabelle, the mise-en-scene is actually the main feature of the film. The doll is the prop but is entirely what the film is based on as she is 'Annabelle' and possessed by a demonic spirit.

The doll is a really effective prop to use because she looks very creepy, her eyes look very sinister and the painted smile creates an uneasy feeling. The doll appears to be very old due to the small cracks in her china face and eye, and has been designed to look dirty with dark smudges across her face. This gives the impression that the doll is an antique, so must have been around for a very long time and her past owners are all unknown, creating wariness.

In the film, 'Annabelle' is not humanised because she is possessed by a demon not a ghost, however she is bought to life. This makes the doll an extremely disturbing prop because it is very unnatural to see an object portrayed in this way, and the painted makeup on her eyes makes her look a lot more realistic which enhances this. However, the features are all very dainty and her big blue eyes almost create an innocent look, showing us the danger of the doll as people could be easily misled, creating an ominous feel.

Although it is very difficult to use a prop as the main aspect of a film successfully, I think 'Annabelle' works quite well simply because she is so creepy and disturbing to the audience, particularly as it is emphasized that it is based on a true story. However, I don't think that using a prop as the main feature for our opening would be as successful because it requires a lot of skill and may come across and too unrealistic, far-fetched and not as professional.

Deconstruction Task - Babadook Opening Scene

Deconstruction of Babadook opening scene.

Here is a link for the opening scene of Babadook: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wpS9otWz9s


The film Babadook is a psychological horror film which was created in 2004 many different editing and sound techniques help to portray the way that it is a psychological horror. In the opening scene the viewer already can tell that it is going to be a psychological horror because there is a woman in a car and there is weird sounds and screams around her that play with the audiences mind to question what was going on.

Non-diegetic sound is used in the opening sound to engage the viewers. The non-diegetic sound that is used is a high pitch sound coming from an unknown source at the very beginning and for a few seconds there is no sound when the opening scene starts the viewer can just see the woman sitting in the car looking distressed and this creates an effect because they cant hear anything the viewer is unable to tell what is going on and then after a few seconds of silence there is a high pitch non-diegetic sound coming from somewhere but the viewers are not sure where the sound is coming from. The high pitch sound creates an effect on the viewer of confusion and eeriness as they don't know where the sound is coming from and why the sound is occurring. After the viewers hear the high pitch sound there is another sound that is created and it is a low quiet sound and it creates the sense that the woman is falling but it also creates confusion upon the viewer as the woman is in a car and she couldn't fall for that long in a car. In the opening scene there is also another use of non diegetic sound after the voice has shouted ''Mum'' there is a spooky sound that is created and the audience don't know what it is and it sounds like voices but it is unclear to the audience once again. All the sound that it used in the opening scene of Babadook is conforming to the fact that it is a psychological horror because it is playing on the audiences mind the sound that is used is creating thoughts upon the viewer about what could be happening.

The camera angle shots that are used reflect the idea of a psychological horror because there is a high angle camera angle used upon the woman in the opening scene and this shows that there is someone above her looking over her and it creates the idea that there is someone in this film who has power over the woman and the audience in the opening scene cannot see who it is so this makes them think and it plays on their mind about what it could be that is above/looking down onto her.

This is a screenshot of the high camera angle:

Also in the opening scene of Babadook a close up shot of the woman's facial expression is shown. The close up shot focuses on the woman's facial expression and it shows the audience that she is obviously distressed and that she is being hurt by someone or something that is happening at the time to her. This conforms to the point about it being a psychological horror because the audience will question why the woman is in pain and creating that facial expression and it will be unclear to them and play on the audiences mind.

This is a screenshot of the close up shot used:

Finally the mise-en-scene that is used in the opening scene of Babadook is very simple. Throughout the opening scene there is the woman in a car and then she falls into her but the mise-en-scene that is used may be simple but it makes the viewers unsure of what just happened to the woman because one minute she was in a car and the next minute she was falling from somewhere and lands on her bed. Also in this scene there isn't any weapons shown or used when she is in distress which conforms to the common representations of a psychological horror.

Deconstruction Task - Scream 4

This is the link to the Scream 4 opening scene: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PduOZDN_gJU

Scream 4 is a Slasher film produced in 2011. The opening scene begins with two girls together watching the end of a horror film after talking about it one of the girls hears a noise upstairs and goes to investigate.

A non-diegetic soundtrack then begins to play which uses slow and high pitched strings to create an eerie and creepy feel, the soundtrack builds to create tension as the pitch of the strings gets higher, but this amounts to nothing but still leaves the viewer on the edge of their seat. Later on in the opening scene another high pitched soundtrack is used but this time large beats were included which built more suspense and made it feel like a much quicker and fast paced scene as the girl runs from the murderer. The diegetic sound in the opening scene is also effective as the phone suddenly rings in a quiet house after the tension has been built using the non-diegetic sound, this makes the viewer jump and also makes them think about who may be on the phone. There is also a lot of other diegetic sounds which are effective such as the girls screams, the sound of knives scraping, blood gushing and bone crushing as it makes the opening scenes tense and makes it seem real.

There is a wide range of different camera angles used in the opening scene which are all effective throughout. There are a number of over the shoulder shots when the girls talk at the beginning of the scene, but the more effective camera angles are used when the girl is chased by the murderer, this is when an establishing shot was used to show the room they are in and the girl running across it, followed by the murderer, this shows the viewer that they are in a normal house and suggests that they are normal people and that this could happen to anyone. A high angle shot is then used multiple times as the girl runs up the stairs and then falls down the stairs, suggesting that she is weak and vulnerable as she is scared and running. Close up shots are also used in the opening scene to show the girls reactions when they see the murderer and when they are caught and stabbed which shows the viewer that they are scared. Finally, tracking is used as the girl runs across the room which creates a fast paced scene as the camera is moved quickly blurring the scene and making it more tense.

 

 

The mise-en-scene is also effective in the slasher as the opening scene is set in a normal house with two girls together, this suggests that their lives are normal, just like everyone else's and suggests that what ever happens could happen to anyone. When the murderer appears he is wearing a ghost mask which hides his identity and also makes it creepy and eerie as he wears black and holds a knife. Close attention has also been paid to the lighting in the house, before the murderer appears the house is well lit and is warm and homely, however, when the murderer appears the lighting is very low and the house is dark and is blue to make the scene feel colder when something bad is about to happen, this is effective as it makes the viewer realise that there is a change in the atmosphere and that something is about to happen to the girl.

 

The editing in the opening scene is also very effective as there is a lot of fast paced editing when the girl runs through the house, building tension and making it very jumpy and quick paced throughout the scenes with the murderer. Match on action is also used a lot as the girl runs up the stairs and falls down the stairs which is also edited to make it quick and jumpy and build tension. Shot-reverse-shot is also used at the beginning of the opening scene when the girls talk about the film they watched and have a normal conversation together.

 

Practical Task - Own Production Company

The production company name we came up with is ''Mirror Productions'' we thought this would be a suitable name as it doesn't specify a genre and the production company can be used along with any genre film. when filming it I also made sure hat there was no genre specified although the name '' Mirror Productions'' doesn't specify to a genre so it could be used with any film title. This is the production company which is seven seconds long that I made that can be used before a film starts.



How did I make my production company: To enable me to make this production company I needed to make sure that I had all of the equipment that I needed which was basic, the equipment that I used was:

- White card

- Mirror

- Light

- Camera 

To make this production company I got a white background so the white card and I put it up against a wall attaching it with cello tape and I attached it to a light coloured wall so the reflection would work better. Below is the equipment I used for the first stage:

Secondly I set up a light source which reflected off of the mirror onto the white card so I could cause a lighting shadow.

Thirdly I was then able to film the light reflecting onto the white background which was the white card and then I also used a darker light so there was a contrast between the two lights that were used. Before I started filming I made sure the lights were off so that the reflection made was more prominent. Below is how it looked before I began to film for seven seconds:

Editing:
To improve my production company I edited it to add a title, and cut the video I had recorded, add effects and add a sound track.
I did this by using an editing programme, here is a screenshot to show everything that I added.

I cut the video to remove any parts that weren't needed so it wasn't too long and I edited a title so that the production company name ''Mirror Productions'' came up. I also added a sound effect to feature as part of the production company to play in the background for seven seconds. I edited it so the sound faded in at the beginning and faded out at the end.

Evaluation:

The things that I liked about my production company is the editing. I think that I edited it well to improve the overall piece. I think the editing that I did made it look more professional by cutting out the bits that weren't so well filmed and then added a title so that it came up with the name of the production company made it more professional. I think by adding a sound effect in the background also gave it more effect and made it also look more professional.
However I think one way that I could improve it is the actual filming of the different lights in the background, I think if I could have improved the quality of the filming and the light changing against the paper it would have improved the overall effect.

Above is my final production company.

Practical Task - Production Company

As a group we decided on the name 'Mirror Productions' for our company as it didn't specify any specific genre and enabled us to be more creative with our company logos. Using this name I decided that it would be a good idea to use a mirror in my Production Company Title as it would be effective and suitable along with the name.

I began by collecting all the materials I would be needing in my opening titles. This included a camera, tripod, mirror, hammer and some bin bags.

I then set up all the materials by laying the mirror on the two bin bags outside so that I could catch as much of the glass as possible. I also set up the camera on the tripod and angled it so that the mirror was focused on and there were no distracting objects in the surrounding frame.

I then set the camera to the correct settings and ensured that the mirror was focused on. I also placed the hammer on the mirror to ensure it was in focus and that I would hit the mirror in the correct place when filming. I then proceeded to start filming on the camera and hitting the mirror with force to ensure it smashed completely.

Editing:

I then edited my film. I began by importing the video and cutting it to the desired length so that it wasn't too long. Once I had done this I cut the film into sections and removed the sound where it wasn't needed, this enabled me to remove any background noise except the noise of the smashing glass. I then put the video into slow motion to make the glass smashing more dramatic and easier to see as well as to make the video slightly longer and it was very short. Finally, I added the text 'Mirror Productions' in a bold white font with a black outline to make it stand out and easier to see on top of the mirror in the background.

Finished Product:

Evaluation:
I think that the editing of my Production Company opening was successful as I was able to make the smashing of the mirror dramatic by slowing it down and making the sound louder. I also think that my opening was successful as the use of the mirror related well to the name we came up with as a group and made it more effective as a whole.
However, I would improve my opening by using a different background as I feel that the black bin bags looked boring and I could've smashed the mirror on a more effective background such as an old floor such as cracked tiles or rubble.

Production Company - Mirror Productions

Practical Task – Production Company

As our next practical task, we had to design our own production company name and its opening introduction. We decided to name ours ‘Mirror Productions’ as it is a very simple name and does not specify any genre. This meant that my production company title did not to show our film genre of horror, so was easier to carry out. Although I did not use a mirror to make my production company which would have suited it well, I decided to use two candles side by side which mirrored each other. I liked this idea because it was unique and the use of candle light can be effective for all genres.

To do this, I used basic equipment of two candles, white cardboard and a camera.

I lit the two candles as I thought their flickering light would be effective, and I placed them in front of the white cardboard which I used as a backdrop to keep it professional looking.

This shows my production company in the process of being made:

This is my final product:

What went well?

I think the idea of using candles was a good idea as they create a unique and atmospheric effect. I also think my editing on the computer went well as I successfully combined the filming of the candles and the title to work well together using editing effects.

What I would improve:

I think I would use the candles more effectively and use their light to create shadows. I could have focused more on the flickering fire and used this to my advantage, especially against the white cardboard background. This would be a lot more atmospheric and also look a lot more professional which I think it definitely needs to be.