KS: Sound Research

http://www.watchthetitles.com/articles/00182-Splice

Lilli what do you think about the soundtrack in this opening for 'Splice'. I think a similar instrumental piece with overlayed sounds of a heartbeat, and/or a child singing could be very effective for our opening.

http://www.watchthetitles.com/articles/00156-The_Invasion

This opening for 'The Invasion' has a particularly atmospheric soundtrack where the sound creates tension and builds suspense as the film proceeds.

http://www.watchthetitles.com/articles/00135-Terminator_Salvation

Lastly, 'Terminator Salvation'. Although the soundtrack has quite a masculine feel it is very punchy and dramatic we could attempt to try and create something similar with a higher pitch but with a similar tempo to still capture the dramatic tension. Lilli, look out for how the titles edgily fade out, it is something we have seen before and liked. It uses an interesting tracking back camera technique, and shoots directional light on certain areas which I think look very effective. 'Terminator Salvation' also shoots through bars as we previously saw in 'Sweeney Todd' with a similar dark black colour wash.

KS: Location Recce

After going on our own location recce we were able to freely experiment shots in new areas, to test out whether they would be appropriate locations when it came to filming our real opening. Although the weather was poor we traveled to various places in Sevenoaks, including a park, a graveyard and lakes to observe and draw conclusions if they are suitable to use for later filming.

We tried out shooting both footage and took stills for our montage editing using a variety of camera techniques and thinking carefully about our composition to create unique videos. By using our prop dolls we could identify with different heights and lengths of shooting, so we were able to see a more realistic picture to what our final outcome would look like. I think the graveyard shooting was most successful as it really created an eery and dramatic atmosphere that we will definitely use for our film opening. We also tried to recreate a similar shot from our Wilderness Woods recce of the swing through wood, however we were not sucessful so are now considering using our original footage in the future. Particularly the tomb stones, and the ivy covered grave stones created a mysterious authentic feel which we had previously wanted.

We still need to find a large warehouse area which we will use as the psychologists room, but we have now selected all the exterior locations including, the dolls style house, a park, a lake, a graveyard. Also a studio where we will film the scenes with the mirrors and distorting reflections, which has bright directional light which will be appropriate for that particular scene in comparison to the darkened settings we will use for the others.

Below are some of the stills from our shoot.

Audience Research Questionnaire

We used surveymonkey.com to create a survey to help us with our audience research.

Click here to take survey

LH: Mood Board

Wilderness Woods cut1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yk7QpDWRgG8

LH: Vertigo

What I like about this piece is the use of close-ups and the use of a colour wash. Both of these techniques are things we are thinking of using in our final piece. The colour wash of red is quite sinister, so in our piece we could use a slightly more mellow colour such as amber for some of our images. In our final piece we could do similar close-ups of a dolls face, this could look effective and be quite chilling for the audience.

LH: DRAFT Treatment - The Dolls House

The Dolls House. It opens with flashes into a girls mind, making the audience unsure of whether these images are memories or pure imagination. It cuts away from the harsh images to a girl sitting motionless on a large sofa, with a ghoulish facial expression. A male voice is heard, a calming voice. The girl does not react but stares blankly into the camera. FLASH, FLASH, FLASH. Disjointed and cruel images parade across the screen, seeping information about the girl into the audience's minds.

India McAllister was more or less and ordinary teenage girl, until she moved into number 48. Resembling a dolls house, the house was one inhibited by a young girl and her dolls. After finding fractions of dolls faces, India's whole life begins to change. As if possessed, India begins having erratic behaviour.

Worried, her parents send her to a psychiatrist as a bid to get there daughter back. Dr. Coomber is a divorcee who was never able to have his own children. As the sessions draw on India only shows signs of increasing instability. It is up to Dr. Coomber to stop what is happening from happening. What do the writings on the wall mean? Why is the girl so violent? As attacks begin happening around India and her loved ones, someone must protect her.

But India won't be saved if The Dolls House has its way.

LH and KS: Wilderness Woods Evaluation

On tuesday 8th we traveled to the wilderness woods on a location recce to test out possible shots for our film opening and to get used to using the camera and equipment to prepare ourself for our final shoot. We practiced a variety of shots using different camera techniques which we would then edit the footage. At wilderness woods we were able to gain inspiration from shooting and determine successful and unsuccessful shots we will not use later for our film opening. We were able to explore the location and determine any sound or lighting issues that came with it, by giving us a feel for the cameras and allowed us to practice shots that we were interested in using for our final piece. We also used this opportunity to look at the health and safety side of a shoot as we filled in forms stating each of the issues and problems we might face during the day.

From the recce we learnt you must attempt to gather as much footage possible in the shortest amount of time. We must also consider the rule of thirds and the 180 degree rule when shooting each footage, also make sure the composition of each piece is stylistically correct. We made our way around the woods looking for appropriate locations that might work in our opening sequence. The trick is to be as creative as possible; use what's around you and try and break the boundaries of predictable cinema and make something new and interesting.

A shot that we particularly liked was using the handy cam in a point-of-view shot whilst running and breathing heavily through the woods. This was, however, very problematic because our camera did not like the shaking and would stop recording. We found that we had to do this shot several times before we filmed one long enough. We also particularly liked the use of extreme close up, establishing the deep veins and marks on particular objects, such as leaves and bark of logs, a technique ‘the reeping cleverly used’.

One location that we particularly liked was by the stream. We were allowed to be very creative whilst filming, so we filmed various different shot sizes of the stream and tried different movements and angles. We other used props in our piece; a set of rosary beads. It looked particularly chilling when we placed the beads of the surface of the water and let it float in the stream.

This exercise generated many new ideas, particularly we wanted to further create the sense of a disjointed atmosphere by shooting some footage through a kaleidoscope, quite a unique technique which could look very effective for our piece. We worked out that when doing a montage opening with quick flashes, we need a lot of related still image material for example our obscure close-ups of nature such as logs and leaves. We photographed symbols on the trees and items that were child-related which reflected the theme that we wanted in our final piece. We will for our real film opening uses flashes more related to girls and dolls, for example a china doll close up shots, mirrors and dolls houses.

Next time, for our own locations we will carry out health and safety forms before taking the equipment out. As we want to have montage editing in our opening sequence, we will need a variation of shots and locations. We were looking at using doll style houses, shooting the exterior through a establishing long shot, a teenage bedroom where we will use the props of the doll and the doll’s house, a basement and a large empty space as a psychiatrist's room for our filming and lastly creating a horror disjointed feel by shooting through mirrors. 

LH: Technical Analysis - Inception

For my Technical Deconstruction I chose to look at Inception. This highly popular thriller leaves the audience guessing during its opening scene. The film starts off with an establishing shot of the sea, showing its rough waves. The only sound used is the sound of the waves crashing on the shore. After a couple of close-ups of waves, we are introduced to our first character. We are shown a close-up on a low angle of man lying face down in the sand. At this point the sound changes and we can now hear children's laughter. The camera then cuts between the children and the man for eight shots.

It then cuts to a high angled medium shot showing a large gun pressed to the man's back. A low angle is then used to show us the armed man's face. For five shots the cuts are motivated by this man. He begins to shout in a foreign language across the beach to another man standing next to a large building. The audience now have a better understanding of where these characters are.

The camera then cuts to show an inside of the building. The sound of waves stops abruptly and we are introduced to their first use of non-diegetic sound. A low subtle tone begins to play over the film. A frame in the shot is created my a doorway and we can see partially inside a room. The dark indoors is a strong contrast to the bright and natural exterior. The camera begins to zoom into the room slowly as two guards drag another (very wet) man inside. As the men speak, subtitles appear at the bottom of the screen for the audience, which did not happen before. Two powerful contrasting images are shown in a close-up of the table; a spinning top and a gun. As one man is shown eating, the language changes to English and the subtitles are lost.

By doing this exercise I have become to appreciate how much filming and editing goes into making the first couple of minutes of a film. The cutting rate of the piece was quite slow which made me think that when I do my own piece, that a fast paced cut would be more appropriate and would make the tension build higher. In total there were twenty-seven different shots in this piece. I particularly like the use of the children's laughter whilst they were out of the shot; I thought that this was particularly haunting.

KS: Location Recce

It was important we observe and analyze various locations before deciding to use them in our 2 minute film opening. We will go on a location recce, taking stills and filming footage which we will then edit to create a montage style piece based on horror/psychological form openings we have previously analysed. Shots I think we should film include:

• A dolls house, interior (ECU) and exterior (CU) as seen in 'The lovely bones' from a eye level angle
• A doll, panning shot on her in her environment, (ECU) of eyes
• A (LS) exterior of a dolls style house
• Handy cam footage with zooms, and tracking of an underground cellar setting similar to image bellow
• A graveyard with the possessed main character present in the shot
• A playground with a moving swing
• A (LS) of a large warehouse style empty room/ a psychiatric bare room with a plain bed and girl sitting awkwardly on

KS: Framing of Shots

There are various type and size shots that it is important we can define and appropriately use before shooting ourselves. It is vital we know the frame size so when it comes to editing the footage it can be easily matched up to the footage alloying it to be played smoothly with no jolts.

The main formats include: PAL - used throughout Europe
                                       NTSC- used in the USA
                                       HD - settings for video
HD setting is rougly 5 x the previous resolution images meaning the footage is crisper and cleaner.

The 2 main frame sizes inlude: 576,720


                                            1900,1080


We must also consider frames per second when shooting on digital cameras, this is the amount of stills which make up the shot. The school Panasonic cameras shoot at 25 frames per second and our premiere editing software has also been set up at this format so our group will be shooting at 25 f/s but on a personal Nikon SLR camera.

CF feedback - product research/ideas dvpt

Well done - you both contribute relevant and focused research on the blog and I'm excited by your proposed idea.
Kitty - your product and technical analysis is outstanding - particularly the use of technical terminology. You have also gone beyond the minimum list of posts, documenting ideas development and commenting on Lilli's research. High L4
Lilli - you started very well, researching genres and contributing valuable research to the blog - however there is a significant drop off. Your analysis of 2 openings is very promising, particularly '28 Days Later', however you are missing the technical analysis. You need to comment on Kitty's research, document the ideas development and contribute your share of "group" posts. Level 3

I know that you are both capable of producing a top grade piece and from what I have seen so far from your practical tasks show real talent in visual work, however Lilli you must focus on attendance and contributions to research to ensure a truly collaborative piece of work.

KS: Film Noir

Film noir, is a term describing stylish Hollywood crime dramas, primarily films which emphasize moral ambiguity and sexual motivation, in the classic noir period of 1940s/50s. Although our film genre is slightly different based on horror and thriller elements rather than the traditional crime drama, we should consider using some of the classic visual techniques for our opening such as the low key lighting producing dark contrasts and stark light. I particularly like how noir films create dramatic shadow patterning, where characters faces are obscured by darkness. Another element of film noir we are thinking of using in our film opening is the use of canted angles and low angle shots which will be particularly successful for our horror themes to create an intense feel for the audience. Wide angle lenses are also used to create a sense of disorientation, particularly reflected in one or multiple mirrors, a shot I liked after seeing it in 'Black Swan' (Aronofsky,2011), also possibly shooting through curved or frosted glass to distort the setting. I think we should shoot some of our footage through a kaleidoscope  to create a disjointed surreality.

Film noir elements we are also thinking of using includes, night-for-night shooting, and the use of flash backs and voice over narration. Lilli, we haven't considered using flash-forwards which I think could suit our story line very well, as a technique not widely used.

KS: FONT examples

After researching possible fonts for our film opening on  many online softwares for our chosen title 'The Dolls House', 'Dafont' had many styles of calligraphy and gothic types I think we should consider using. The font must have a feminine yet creepy style to elicit the sense of the possessed doll woman, to present the audience early in the opening with a horror/thriller dramatic feel to the film. Therefore I researched both font which looked like the traditional horror scribbles and scratched writing but also womanly calligraphy, here are a few of the examples I found. 

LH: Film Opening Analysis - The Island

"The Island"(Michael Bay, 2005) follows 'Lincoln Six Echo' and 'Jordan Two Delta' as they go on the run after they escape from a facility. Up to this point they have never stepped into the outside world, and they are both about to have a reality check. They are both clones who are an insurance plan where their 'parts' are supposed to be harvested.

Narrative

The opening scene depicts a dream of the main character before showing his daily routine. In the dream we are shown a linear narrative as well as a montage of random images and clips. As we assume his dream never happened or that it is made up of memories, the structure of this piece is overall linear. Because we see inside his head and follow his daily routine, the audience is positioned with Lincoln Six Echo.

In the clip there is a contrast of happy family memories with violence as two peoples lives become under threat. Two unsuspecting people are pushed into the water, the male having to be restrained and fought by other men. This scene is shot underwater creating distressing images as they come closer to drowning. After the dream occurs Lincoln Six Echo is told that because of his disturbance during the night, he has to go see someone about it. This raises the issues of whether dreams actually mean anything or not.

In this sequence tension is created by showing a peaceful setting on a boat, and then cutting quickly to a man being dragged into the water. As the man struggles and screams, the audience ask if the man will survive. It then cuts to flashing images whilst their is a voice over of a man.

Representation and Ideology

We are positioned with a range of adults in this clip. There is a range of ages, but only one women. This shows the separation of the two genders. The stereotypical view that women bewitch men is shown. A women is shown stood at the end of a boat looking glamorous with the wind blowing around her, the man then walks admirably towards her. The stereotypical view that men are in competition with each other are also shown; their competition to get into the lift and to win a trip to 'The Island'.

Institutional Context

There are two superstars shown within the opening scene, with others names being shown in the credits. Scarlett Johansson and Ewan McGregor are shown in the first few seconds in the film. The use of the star names in the film adds a buzz factor and fan-base around it before the film is even finished. It shows that the budget for this film was particularly, showing that this film is a product of Industrial Cinema. The studios that produced this film were Warner Bros. Pictures and DreamWorks SKG. The use of the big stars, glamorous locations, and the 'reality' that they created for the film shows that the film is Industrial as the budget it needed must have been substantial. The films budget was $122,000,000.

LH: Film Opening Analysis - 28 Days Later

Genre

"28 Days Later"(Danny Boyle, 2002) is a horror film that follows the life of Jim after he wakes up from a coma; the world is however a completely different place. The film is set in England four weeks after there is an outbreak of a virus that turns the dead into the undead. There is no known cure for the virus, so four unlikely comrades begin a journey to find asylum.

The text that they use for the title sequence starts of plain white in block capitals. It is then animated with blood diffusing through the letters as it would in water. Blood is a an iconic symbol of Horror, so the use of the blood moving across the text reinforces the audiences expectations that this film will be gory and violent.

The opening sequence for '28 Days Later' is montage edited. The piece has a quick paced cutting rate, which is matched with the jolted and vigorous action on screen. The use of images of ordinary people looking frightened, and riots introduces the audience to the disturbing and unfamiliar side to the film. The footage reinforces feeling of pain and upset, connecting directly to the genre. There is use of distressing images of monkeys in testing labs.

Throughout the opening sequence, it keeps cutting back to the same man walking alone. From this point know who the audience is positioned and consequentially see that he is alone. The man's surrounding are partially destroyed, with rubbish everywhere. The ideas of isolation and helplessness are presented through this which is unnerving for the audience. These feelings are what horror should project on the audience. An audience is not meant to feel comfortable whilst watching a horror film, but their psyche it meant to be challenged and pushed so that they are transported to somewhere that is dangerous and chilling.

Film Language

Each time text is used, they show a black background and small writing. This conveys a sense of quarantine. The use of blood flowing through the letters creates a sense of danger and vulnerability. Other images that emphasise these emotions are the riot shields. Riot shields are only generally used when a situation has got out of hand; this allows the audience to see the sort of world where the film set, where violence is fundamental.

During the riot scenes the camera movement is very jolted, which supports the action on the screen. By using a hand-held camera the audience are made to feel close to the action. In these clips there are a mixture of shot sizes. In one shot there is a close up of a women and her baby so you can understand her emotions; the fear and misery that she feels. However, in other clips there are long shots so we are able to understand more easily what is happening on screen.

Whenever the protagonist is shown on screen the camera extreme long shots to show that he is completely alone. The camera is often in a high angle, placed in a building looking down on him, as if there is a hidden character watching him.

The music in this piece is strong and rapid, creating an energy to the clip. During the riot scenes the music anchors the on-screen action making a fast cutting pace. However the use of a blank screen slows the piece down slightly as the cuts move out of time wit the music. This is the same with the shots of Jim walking alone, as his movement is slow matching with the new cutting speed.

Through body language you can learn that Jim is confused and uncomfortable. This is apparent as the camera follows him walking aimlessly through the London. He seems to drag his feet as his head scanned the perimeter. He is wearing scrubs so we can learn that he has likely just come from a hospital.

Media Audiences

The target audiences for this film is adults, ranging from eighteen up to fifty, mainly male. I say this because of the character we are positioned with and the nature of some of the footage shown. Jim is in his twenties and is male which those of a similar age, or those who were once that age, to connect and recognise his lifestyle. The use of violence and distressing images acquires a mature audience.

Initial interpretations of the text are that there is violence going on in the world through various cultures, showing not one group as bad. This could be perceived as either a united front against one evil or the collapse and failure of society. The shots of Jim walking alone show that something devastating has happened in the world for London to be deserted.

KS: Audience Research

I think the best form of audience research is to create questionnaires which we will give out to various people in order to get sufficient feedback on our film treatment, the popularity of our chosen style and psychological thriller genre. When we make our opening for a thriller we will need to consider what rating it will be, this will determine who will be our target audience, but firstly I think a questionnaire is a quick and easy way to get our research across to an audience for further analysis. For example we may ask 'please mark 1 to 10, 1 being the highest on the originality of the film concept' also' please tick yes or no if you would be interested in viewing the film'. We must also ask for the persons age and gender to determine who is and is not interested in our product.


Our film will  be certificated a '15', aimed towards both males and females who enjoy startling and creepy story lines. A '15' is a suitable certificate because it does contain some scenes of a disturbing nature and strong violence, including mass killing, rape and paranoia.

KS: Technical Deconstruction: Silent Hill(Gans,2006)

http://www.watchthetitles.com/articles/0096-Silent_Hill

Ewo says to the director Chrisophe Gans, "The concept that I proposed was simple: a subjective camera moves 'Silent-Hillish,' in which one passes the creatures of the film and photographs of the actors, torn, pinned... All that in a pop/rock music video style. To sell the idea, I rendered the thirty first seconds of the credits with After Effects, based on the idea that my principal constraint (the impossibility of modeling complicated 3-D objects in After Effects) was going to push me to find solutions similar to those used by the designers of the game. On a visual level, I took inspiration from the Silent Hill 2 game and from pictures of abandoned hospitals that I found on the net."

This black and white montage edited film opening is cleverly shot through jarry flashbacks and overlayed imagery to reveal strong settings for the narrative. A fast-paced, energetic yet dark title sequence by French designer Kook Ewo uses similar styles we have been considering for our opening sequence. By technically deconstructing the first few minutes of the fillm I was able to identify shot by shot techniques and transition methods at a micro level. Particular techniques included the repeated use of a zoom from a long shot to a close up through a blurred focus, to later focus on the close up image in a static shot, photos of marginalised characters places in the side on the frame, at eye level stuck to the wall but overlayed with white text to contrast the dark eery setting . When the main creature character is shot, she is given direct prevalence in the narrative by being positioned central in the frame as either a long shot to establish the character in its place in the setting, allowing the audience to see the body language for example 'Shot 20' or a  close up to portray the creatures creepy facial expression and the use of makeup and costume, 'Shot 29'.

Tracking is a technique repeatedly used to create the sense of a disjointed searility, alowing the audience to view the setting in the frantic style the camera tracks it in, through the use of handy cam shooting. The camera often tracked the room in a blurred focus then revealed a static image but clearly focusing on it. Birds eye view angles were used on the characters to give direct portrayal they are the focus in the narrative but canted angles were also successfully used to create an abstract and on edge feel to the audience. Tracking left on a canted angle worked very well in 'shot 2' to establish the dark underground setting. At 'shot 5' the camera tracks out from a room through bars to a medium shot at a canted angle then dissolves to a black backdrop. Another technique I think we should consider using is the use of a camera arc in handy cam shooting as used in 'shot 8', swivveling anticlockwise at a low angle to really pull the audience into the dramatic area with a quick stop to a static image to drag their mind around the narrative.

A white font is the first thing the audience sees against a black background 'shot 1' with the text on the left hand side, a technique used throghout the opening as a traditional horror technique of contrasting colours to create a mysterious edgy setting. Finger prints, smudges and scratches are overlayed in the static images of the characters, as seen in 'shot 11' filmed in a jointy flashy style to create a certain surreality about the character.

Through analysing 'Silent Hills' film opening I am now condidering the use of many shots and techniques of a similar style shooting used. For example the following..

• A close up shot of the character in a mirror with a jarry handy cam footage feel, perhaps at a canted angle so the audience is able to view the characters movements in the reflection
• A medium shot of blood dripping into water from a birds eye view angle, followed by a zoom out,  track out and an arc shot to reveal another image
• A medium long shot on the girl, a static image with overlayed imagery and text
• Close up of girl laughing shot with a blurred zoom to then focus on an extreme close up of her eye a technique used in 'The Reaping' followed by a dissolve or jump cut to an ECU of the dolls eye
• Long shot canted/low angle of the psychicatric room
• Extreme long shot of the house, the stock location where the drama will unfold
• A medium shot from the point of view on the interior of the dolls house, as used in 'The lovely bones' so the audience can see both the dolls house but also the character in the center of the frame
• A close up of a jarred image shot through a coloured mirror torch

KS: Institutional context

Lilli, in relation to production, distribution and exhibition for our concept there are few companies I think would suit are style to attract the niche target audience. Perhaps 'Indie Films', an independent company. 'Paranormal Activity'(peli,2007), a independent production was produced by Stephen Schneider and Jason Blum, for Blumhouse productions and Solanda films. The horror film was then co distributed by Paramount Pictures, Dreamworks and Icon Film Distribution and exhibted in many worldwide cinemas including Odeon and Cineplex. These are companies we should consider for our opening film sequence.

KS: Vantage Point

This montage edited film opening uses various visual techniques through a warm orange overlay to reveal how the images make up the theme and background to the film. The images are sliced into shapes of the letters of the title 'Vantage Point', with a black backdrop prioritising the frame to create a powerful and enigmatic feel. The red spot light style colour which tracks over the text, fading from left to right further reinforces the mysterious yet dramatic sense. Although no characters are introduced in the films opening there is still a masculine feel from the icons and the imagery used.

KS: Film Opening Analysis: Dawn of the Dead

http://www.artofthetitle.com/2008/06/30/dawn-of-the-dead/


Dawn of the Dead (Synder, 2004)

Dawn of the Dead is a 2004 horror remake of George A. Romero's 1978 film of the same name. The remake and original both depict a handful of human survivors living in a shopping mall surrounded by swarms of zombies, but the details differ significantly, a traditional horror/thriller genre cross.

Media Audience

Targeted to those who enjoy traditonal horror and thriller films with action and drama traits, a wide audience market, particularly audiences who enjoy unsettling movies that strive to elicit the emotions of fear, disgust and horror from viewers. Also films that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres. Horrors also frequently overlap with the thriller genre with the particular psychological thriller subgenre designed to challenge the audience and make them think of alternative viewpoints. Although a good deal of it is about the supernatural, if some films contain a plot about morbidity, serial killers, a disease/virus outbreak and surrealism, they may be termed "horror."

The film is particularly enigmatic with the horrifing images of dead faces and blood. The voice over with the parituclar words of 'violence' and 'spreading' allows the audience to create a direct reading of the sequence of a crime and its deathly consequences. With the imagery edited to create an authentic news line feel with the characters body language very rushed uneasy and terrified, and with the use of mixed volume screams the probable reading of the text is an attack on a town and the presentation of its effects on the news headlines. 


The flashes of faces may be the victims of the attack, however this may be interpretted as the possessed killer. Ultimately the sequence shows a cities distruption but the open text allows the audience to create their own reasons by the killings and the frantic characters. The use of film footage allows the audience to be placed directly in the narrative from the point of view of an onlooker. I personally interpret the opening sequence as a plague over the city turning the towns people into aggressive and cannablistic creatures, with the use of blood, and the gun iconography of killings. The voice over and the news film footage emphasises the great effects of the disruption and the shows its  uncontorllable effects. I do not think my age, gender and backgound has influenced how I have interpreted this clip as it does not truly reveal the storyline just provides hints of the horror and thriller traits and the killings which will later be revealed. The film footage and voice over has direct speech to reveal what has happened so the audience doesn't have to come to their own conclusions.


Representation & Ideology 
Many social groups are presented in the opening sequence as minor characters. Firstly the working class newsreader is presented not as the typical professional, structured intelligent man but a distressed nervous character due to the uncontrollable actions the town is going through. The opening image maybe interpretted as the lower working class worshipping or working for a leader with hundeds of people lined up simultaneously bowing. Similarly the president character does not represent traditional confident and powerful but an unsure man.


The opening sequence presents dominant ideologies of the powerful army and the religious safe guard provided when the worlds sanity dissolves. However there are also progressive ideologies challenging dominant structures in society of male killers walking around shooting and killing innocent victims and the outdated residual ideology of the presidents lack of control over extreme situations but instead observing the effects, acting slow to save the situation.


The text does conform to the characteristics of the genre with traditional stock characters of the killer, ususally men and the marganalised victims. The proffestional characters conform to the more action/thriller genre, whereas usual horror films revolve around the killer and those he/she is tormenting, and the tradtitional family reactions to the behavior. Semiotics of the film footage flashes acts as a framework to contsruct the representation of the plagued city, whereas the blood was central through the opening of 'Sweeney Todd' to create a horror feel. Here the voice over and flashed imagery creates a thriller sense with the president semiotic controlling the opening used to contrast the lack of control over the mad city.

Narrative
The narrative is contructed to reveal the uncontrollable city as an effect of plagued mentalists. The audience is postitioned with the effects, and then are revealed to the events before and after the change in the lifestyle. The opening is made up of a series of flashes, cutting from news videos, to film footage, to clips of president speeches. The sequence is driven by the reactions of the powerful president characters to reveal there feelings followed but a jump cut to the towns situations so the audience understands the extent of the panic they are feeling. The flashes of the bloody close up face is repeated throughout the sequence to position the audience with the victims and remind them of the effects of the killing. The audience is able to identify with the minor victim characters running around the town in mayhem as they can imagine how they must feel, as normal middle class lives distrupted, and allows them to be able to simpathise both with those marganalized characters but also the lack of control and fear they all feel. 


The major themes in the narrative revolve around the following

• The victim characters, presented as frantic marganalised townsmen whos world is turned upside down and now terrifying, evident through their hurried body language and their screams of digetic sounds
• The killers and plague of mental people, the audience is presented with a killer with gun iconography dressed traditionally in all black
• The lack of control from proffesional people in society, including the unsurity of the president and news readers, through their facial expressions
• The deaths and the destruction, the close up shots of the faces covered in blood in distressed faces emphasise the horror feel to the opening.

Tension is increased by many ways in the opening sequence of 'Dawn of the Dead'. Firstly both the music and the cutting rate increases, both in tempo and in cuts to intensify the scene and create a dramatical climax. Sound is cleverly used with a punchy and jarry sound bridge of a low volume played throughout the clip with a louder mix of characters speech, to underline their panic and fear. Tension is remained by repeatedly flashing back to original imagery and using similar clips but of increased terror, for example we see the news reader throughout the opening, he is least calm in the ending with his facial expressions clearly presenting his unsurity on the situation. The harsh clip of the shooting is revealed near the end of the opening, a technical reveal to ensure the audiences attention is held throughout. 

KS:Film Opening Analysis: Sweeny Todd

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Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is a 2007 musical film directed by Tim Burton. It is an adaptation of Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler's Tony Award-winning 1979 musical. It re-tells the Victorian melodramatic tale of Sweeney Todd, an English barber who murders his customers with a straight razor and, with the help of his accomplice, Mrs. Lovett, processes their corpses into meat pies.

Genre

'Sweeny Todd' belongs to the horror/musical film genre. Horror films are unsettling movies that strive to elicit the emotions of fear, disgust and horror from viewers. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres. Horrors also frequently overlap with the thriller genre. This Tim Burton film focuses around the horror elements of blood and masacre but with a lighthearted musical feel to it.

The audiences' generic expectations are not fully fulfilled by the opening sequence but the sequence does have traditional horror traits and strong elements of the film. The audience is centered to follow the blood of what they believe is a victim around an industrial urban area watching it drip on the walls and through the technology. And so although we see the horror iconography of blood through a dark grey colour wash to create an eery and dramatic setting the audience is challenged in the opening sequence by not being truely started or horrified by any killings. 

The text does not heavily conform to the characteristics of the genre, with the usual horror genre subgenred as thriller or sci fi, the 'musical' use treats the traditional horror conventions in an ironic and playful way. 'Sweeney Todd' does however use the stock characters of the psychotic killer set in the dark mysterious stock location of underground, industrial yet worn down areas; with the traditional iconography of blood and sharp images such as a knife. When the 'killers' sing their conversation, instead of the audience horrified by the harshness of their words, it instead creates a light hearted feel so it is down to the actions and the mise en scene, with the particular colour, make up and props to create an enigmatic feel.

Film Language

The mise en scene in the the films opening is particularly sucessfull, with the use of a dark colour wash to convey a creepy atmosphere. This is further reinforced by the strong prop iconography of the dripping blood, the metal cogs used a a weapon of destruction. Special effects are used to create a blue stormy sky in the opening, raining large blood drops to symbolise an unusual and creepy evening. The lighting, also a typical horror convention creates dramatic tension as the camera tracks to the left to reveal deeper information about the story. The housing and exterior location is shot through an establishing birds eye view long shot so the audience can develop a time period for the setting, the particular brick work and housing style with the large chimneys throwing smoke into the air conveys a traditional Victiorian city in the industrial revolution. The lion statue creates a feel of an upper class situation with great wealth. The image of fire, followed by the baking of pies is an unusual one, which aims to question and confuse the audience, challenging generic expectations to the characteristics of the horror genre. Bars are used to create an imprisioned and controlled feel to the situation, and the use of the rats to further reinforce the run down industrial setting and to highlight the unusualness of the pies.

The camerawork particularly relies on the use of tracking the blood as it moves around the situation. The sequence is shot entirely on steady cam usually panning movement to allow the audience to view the setting of the film and to create a direct feel of a dark eery atmosphere. The track in through the window reveals a chair in the centre of a dark room is very successful as it draws the audience into the film, from the great outdoor setting the the narrower and more personal room of where the story will reveal itself. The camerawork is mainly made up of medium shots and medium close ups to create a direct yet creepy sense of the objects and the setting, the sequence is also shot mainly in eye level view angles however the odd use of canted angle shooting is very sucessful in creating a disjointed surreality to the opening. At the end of the sequence the camera follows the swirl of the blood in the water to intensify the viewing and create a 'horror' movement. The close up of the pies, followed by a zoom out from the warm colours to the darkened underground setting provides a direct reference to the unconcious meaning behind the film then returns back to the dark eery canal.

The film's opening sequence uses just non digetic sound of music; a thumpy discordant beat of dramatic punchy and jarry tones underlining the horror genre and creating an intense yet scary feel. The music is made up of instrumental cords of a violin and piano with the beat increasing and the tempo lowering throughout to create a dramatic climax then drowns out as the blood disspears into the surface of the water, anchoring the strong horror visual imagery and underlining the traditional dramatic 'musical' sound track. 

No characters are revealed through the opening credits of 'Sweeney Todd' so we do not develop their personal traits or their position in the narrative. Instead the strong setting and the main blood theme creates a location for the characters and perhaps portrays the consequence of the characters actions, a death and we follow how the blood runs. Tim Burton cleverly creates the blood on the swirling water surface and creates a realistic movement of dripping blood and the colour it changes as it hits the water, dispersing into the background. 

Instiutional context

'Sweeney Todd' has many famous stars including Jonny Depp, Alan Rickman and Helena Bonham Carter, and many others. This was very important as the film used a blanket release world wide from an initial budget of $50,000,000, generating $13,635,390 in USA in 23 December 2007 from playing in 1249 Screens. 'Sweeny Todd' is an industrial film as a remake of the Victorian tale and traditional musical. Co produced and distributed by Warner Bros pictures and Dream work pictures, 20th century Fox and Paramount pictures also distributed the film across various countries. These companies had to overcome many marketing hurdles for the films release, including the time pressured date of release set around the popular christmas time.For another, it’s a musical, but not the feel-good romp that movies like Chicago, Hairspray and others were. It’s also got to appeal to both Burton fans and Sondheim fans, groups that may not significantly overlap. With the use of multiple teaser posters filled with signs that shriek to the audience that this is supposed to be scary instead of just being scary in and of itself. Burton and Depp are prominently mentioned, but the oddly on-the-nose title treatment overwhelms any actual sense of foreboding or terror that the imagery might be trying to create. There was just one trailer that was created for the movie’s U.S. audiences.Despite the constant cries of some people there is plenty of music in the trailer, with Depp singing what seems to be one of the movie’s major set pieces. A graphic website was also used to as an online marketing campaign.with a “Cut Your Own Trailer” feature that lets you create your own Sweeney spot using provided audio and video files as well as other assets like transitions, graphics and title cards; there’s also a link to the Sweeney Todd MySpace page and a link to buy the official companion book from Titan Books.