Research

Chris Dunn

What I’m going to do;

• For my research I will be using two methods.

• I will firstly be looking at the opening titles of a few films and evaluating what exactly happens in them and why it has been used.

• Secondly I will be using the internet, using websites such as ‘IMDb’ to find tips and help on the opening two minutes of films and to find out exactly what goes into them.

HEATHERS

• So Heathers isn’t exactly the same genre as my film, but not too far off, we have an unsuspecting killer in an everyday situation or setting. That is why I have chosen this film for my research!

• The basic plot; (directly from www.IMDb.com) ‘A girl who half-heartedly tries to be part of the "in crowd" of her school meets a rebel who teaches her a more devious way to play social politics.’

• One more reason I have specifically chosen Heathers is because it seems to be aimed at the younger generation, an audience I wish to engage. This is don’t by relating real life events to the story and twisting them, making the target audience simply thing “What if…”

First DVD - ‘Heathers’

The first part of the opening scenes we see is the shot of the opening credits. This is mainly used as part of Mise en scene, the colour of the writing has been specially selected to represent the first feel or genre of the film, quite girly.

The most important parts of the writing are bigger, bolder and use contrast of colours to stand out much more. Other writing is in more of a freehand font, a much more elegant and girly font, again representing the film is quite girly and feminine, this also gives us a sense of elegance. The handwritten writing also gives us an unseen insight into the film, as its about faking other peoples handwriting.

Soft sound is used to portray the first feel or impression of the film in general. This gives us the impression that the film is quite relaxed, laid back and makes us think that nothing exiting is going to happen- a chick flick. However if the audience have read a review or the blurb on the back of the DVD cover, they may know otherwise, engaging the audience.

‘Heathers’

The second shot we have is of a girl tying back her hair, overlaid by title screen.

The shot of the back of someone’s head tying up their hair represents that the film will be mainly about femininity, about what problems girls may face etc. There Is also a colour contrast between the light hair and the strong colour of the red bobble, this is used to defy the colour of red. The credits up to this point have all included the colour red, this shows red is out main colour focuses, and red represents danger.

The pink writing placed over the footage shows us again the theme of handwriting.

‘Heathers’

This shot is of the 3 girls, some of out main characters, all sat on some sort of garden, the props used around them show us this isn’t exactly the garden of a middle class family.

excellent use of Mise en scene as framing, colour, props and costume are all used very well. The girls are framed by the two statues but also by the small white fence surrounding them, this represents to the audience that there is no room for any other people.

The colour of the furniture makes that part very important as it sticks out, its probably made to look important to make our characters stick out and to emphasise that these people are upper class, confirmed by the fact they are playing crochet.

‘Shrooms’

This shot from Shrooms strikes me as being very mysterious, this is shown by the use of framing and colour. In this shot these two elements come together to make the womanly figure stand out specifically in the shot. In my final piece I may wish to use this effect to make a particular object or person stand out. The colour in this shot has a light background and a dark central point, kind of like a silhouette.

This shot is a Mid shot showing from the top of the woman’s leg upwards. This is used to show some leg movement to show she is running/walking, but also to see some arm and upper body movement, to make it clear exactly what it is she is doing. This sort of shot would be useful in my film to give a broader range of shots (after all- how exiting would a film be using only one shot?) but also to show more emotion coming from the actor/actress. Therefore allowing the film to look much more realistic.

Another thing used in this photo is the use of mist/fog, this adds a great sense of mystery and maybe even suspicion, grabbing the viewers attention and enticing them to keep on watching, a vital necessity in the opening credits of a film.

‘Shrooms’

This shot is a close up or extreme close up of someone’s eye, surrounded in what appears to be blood. The shot uses the Rule Of Thirds, I know this as the eye is more to the left of the screen rather than central. The Rule of Thirds can be used to add extra effect and to give some range of shot types also.

The shot is of an eye from a canted angle style view, as if the person or camera is on their/it’s side. This may be used to show the person is on the floor, made probably due to the injuries shown around the eye. The fact that the person is on the floor gives us a sense of mystery again, this time adding the essence of fear. It makes us think “Why exactly are they on the floor?.” This again grips the audience’s attention and leaves them wanting to watch more, something I need to do in my opening credits!

The colour of the shot seems to be desaturized, or in other words black and white. This gives the impression of surrealism and gives us the feel of a traditional horror movie from a few years ago. Again this adds greater effect to the audience. The Pupil is what stands out most to me, like a solid black marble, the colour of the shot seems to frame the iris all together, giving us something to focus on. Allowing us not to drift away. The solid colour of the pupil may even give us a sense of a supernatural spin off in the film.

‘Shrooms’

This shot is just after the title screen, it stands out to me because of the framing. The signs, seen usually on airplanes or other forms of transport, are framed by the use of colour. The background is black, very dark whereas the colour of the actual symbols are brighter, but not overly bright. We can still see a slight dimness of the lights, a small amount of creams, giving us the impression the setting may be a few years old.

This shot really sets the scene for what’s coming, we can see we may now be on some form of transport, and that these signs are significant in the following film. This may be useful to me in my film as this is a good way of defining the film to be opening credits and not just a trailer.

‘MIRRORS’

• I have chosen this shot specifically for the lighting. A dark setting, with the strip lighting creating a flashing effect, as if a slide show. This also shows us he is in a large warehouse of some kind.

• This is a high angle shot showing our character running. The high angle shows us this character is of importance and this is backed up by the fact that he is the first character shown.

• The photo also seems desaturized, this gives us the effect that this has happened in the past, or will be part of the past. This is common in Horror films as it gives a greater sense of fear.

• Another thing seen at this point would be the transition effect. In this part of Mirrors the effect is used to break up the jerking of switching from one shot to the next, mainly in match on action. This is most likely a problem I will face, so now I have found a solution to it!

‘Mirrors’

• Again this shot uses excellent lighting, we can see some sort of a spotlight effect, focusing on the door. Enhancing the colour…

• The red colour of the door shows that it is important, it also gives us the idea of blood, or maybe even in conjunction with the fire extinguisher to the left of the door, fire. Then the fact that the door is the brightest colour in the shot makes us focus on the significance of it in this scene.

• The man running towards the door appears as a silhouette, as if he was a shadow, or maybe even a ghost, a pretty good effect as this gives us a further insight into the general feel of the film.

‘Mirrors’

• This part uses 2 shots, a mid close up then a long shot. In other words, match on action. Or maybe even an Eyeline Match. Two shots which prove to be very effective so I may choose to use these in my final piece.

• The mid close up shots of the reflections in the mirrors allows us to see a lot emotion in the character, mainly fear. Then the long shot allows us to see more of the setting and shows us exactly what is happening (Lockers opening simultaneously) .

• The long shot also opens us this idea of symmetry, a big thing in this film, with the whole idea of mirrors and all. The mid shots also show some signs of symmetry too.

• I could try and use this im my piece as it allows to see much more emotion in the characters facial expressions and allows us to have an insight into the thoughts of that character. Having a greater effect on my audience.

‘Mirrors’

• One final thing from the film Mirrors:The first part gives an insight into what

has happened in the past, leading up to the film. Something I would like to use in my film as I find this very effective. I am going to base my piece on this and to break up any confusion with it looking like a trailer, I will add an extra piece after the title. Maybe even go with the “One year later” type thing.