Final Idea

As discussed previously, I think that my final piece would be most effective if it was in the genre of thriller. My market research states that people who enjoy thrillers enjoy them more for the suspense than action, and therefore I will aim to achieve this in my final piece. I decided that I didn't want to include any dialogue, or even a particular main character in my film opening. I also decided that my opening will only include a shot of a room, rather than many location or too many shots of a location. I understand that this is a very unusual way to compose a film opening, even in the world outside of media AS, however I believe that making a film opening this way will be the most effective in creating suspense- which was a point that was bought up again and again throughout my market research.
My final idea, therefore, consists of a worms eye view shot of the floor of a dimly lit room. My piece will be 2 minutes long, and throughout that time the camera will flicker every now and again, there will be some movement noises and some incidental music (both of which will be described in more depth in later posts). Near the end of the 2 minutes, "blood" will start to run across the floor- this suspense will be built up by a slight change of incidental music and literally seconds before the end a hand (and maybe the top of someone's head) will fall to the floor. The image will then cut to black and the title will fade onto the screen (Typography and other editing details, as well as lighting, locations and shots will also be described in further detail). Throughout the 2 minutes, opening credits will also appear that will establish the main actors, the director, and production teams.
I wish for the room to appear empty and give the illusion of a spacious and neglected area, as this gives connotations of a thriller and therefore relate to my target audience. I want the floor of the room to be specifically non-carpeted (and preferably a light colour), so that the "blood" that runs across the floor really stands out as a main focal point of my final piece.
I would like the hand that falls at the end of the piece to specifically be the hand of a male, preferably a large hand which looks callused and dirty. A hand of the such will connote that the person who died was strong and therefore the murder was not easy to commit, hence hinting towards a possible plot for my film.
My main influences are works of Stanley Kubrick and Shane Medows. In the case of Kubrick, I'm influenced by his ability to create dark and mysterious situations through beautifully artistic shots. As for Medows I love the fact that most of his work feels rustic and almost home-made, however this is only achieved through careful consideration and planning when it comes to cinematography. I wish to incorporate features from both styles into my work in order to create a successful, and hopefully very different take on a thriller film opening.

Typography in live type

As I now have a possible title for my film, I have been able to set myself a preliminary task that involves learning how to use the livetype software, and to experiment with different fonts that may or may not compliment my final piece. As I am aware little will be done in the way of editing my footage (excluding filters, ligthing effects, and the soundtrack however), the typography will be a specifically vital asset to my final piece. I wish to use a font that is unique to this film, and put into a real life setting could be used as part of a house style to support the marketing and promotion of the film.

This font, "A charming font", may work quite successfully in my film opening. However, I think that people would associate this kind of font more with the icons of horror (Vampires etc). I think that the purple works much better than the blue, however neither colour is suitable for my final piece as I think neither look professional enough to be suitable for my final piece. I think that making the 'T' a different colour may be an effective way to hint at a possible plot, however. Overall, I don't like this font or the colours used and I will not consider developing it for my final piece. I have also decided from evaluating these two fonts that I should limit or prohibit using colour in my fonts. My final font will be either black or white.

I prefer this font to the first font, however I think that if I were to use this font I would have to put a lot of editing into it to give it the look I want for my final piece. Using this font has confirmed my wish to use either black or white as the colour, I think that this will make my final piece look much more professional. I don't like the rounded corners in this particular font, I think that to give the proper connotations of fear and distress, my font will have to have edges- and preferably serifs.

I think that this is the most successful font so far. I like the fact that it looks as if it's been brushed onto the screen, and this connotation would fit with my genre of thriller. I also like the fact that this font has sharper edges, it looks much more professional.
On the other hand, I don't think that this font is unique enough to use as it looks now. I want a font that is easily distinguishable and can be transferred into marketing and the promotion of the film.

Experiment with lighting, soundtrack and typography.

This video has been annotated to explain my intentions, specifically when it came to the lighting aspect.
I also took some photographs of how I set up the shots in order to explain how I made the video further.

Lighting and Sound influence.

My final idea has been heavily influenced by the work of Stanley Kubrick, particularly when considering the lighting and sound. I watched the film "Full Metal Jacket" over the christmas holidays and was drawn to a scene that was created specifically to create the kind of tension I wish to achieve in my final piece.

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

I love how the torch acts as the eyeline in the first few shots, meaning that the low key lighting can be exceptionally dark in order to create the greatest amount of tension possible, enhancing the effect on the audience. This method is again effective when the torch shifts the focus from Pyle's face to him loading the rifle, even though the lighting in the background isn't quite so low key. "Natural" light from the window reflected on the white wall is used to light up Joker's face, which is also a good method of creating focus in a situation of low key lighting.

I also like how the soundtrack to scene has no rhythm and sounds like a tap dripping (connoting horror/thriller genre)- this makes the audience feel uneasy and has a massive effect on the whole scene. 

In my own piece, I wish to create an opening scene which is uncomfortable to watch by using lighting and sound techniques similar to ones featured in this scene. 

Experiment with montage editing

Montage editing is something that is used conventionally in film openings, particularly thrillers.
I created this film in order to experiment and get some further practice with filming and editing techniques.
The video is annotated

FIRE - A montage edit

Soundtrack experiment- Execution

In order to create the soundtrack for my piece, I will use the software Soundtrack Pro. This is because this particular software is simple to use and is especially created for editing with Final Cut Pro, which is the software I will use to edit my piece once I have the final footage. So that I know how to use the software properly, I've set myself a task of changing the mood of a piece of footage that I took using only the soundtrack. The piece of film I used for this task is a piece of outtake footage from the preliminary task back in September. I decided to use this piece of film because it's blurry and there is nothing really going on, therefore it wouldn't distract from the soundtrack- however it is still easy to detect atmosphere changes  in the clip.

 In order to create my soundtracks, I would find an instrument bed or envelope that I liked the sound of, and then simply drag it into the track, as shown in the screenshot above. I then cut the lengths of the beds in order to fit with the kind of atmosphere I was creating.

Once I was happy with the soundtrack I had created, I then exported it onto my desktop, as shown above, in order to be able to use it in final cut.

 This is a screen shot of the thriller inspired soundtrack I made. In order to make the film itself a little more reflective of the genre and therefore ensure the soundtrack sounded successful, I mixed parts of the film up to jump cut as the music jumps.

Location

I wish for my film opening to be shot in a small area with a non-carpeted floor. I also want the background to be basic (minimal furniture, light/pastel colours) so that my shot gives the impression of being in an isolated area. In order to shoot in the most suitable location I will have to research different areas and take test shots- this way I can ensure my final piece will be as successful as possible.

 This is the same location in both low and high key lighting. I really like the fact that there is a contrast between the dark floor and white wall. I also like the fact that it doesn't look to clean, adding to the isolation of the area. I think that this shot would be very successful in my final piece as it keeps the plot flexible- this could just as easily be an abandoned warehouse as it could a kitchen. There isn't very much space behind me however, so creating shadows and pouring the fake blood outside the shot might prove quite difficult.

 Although this is not the hand I wish to use, I wanted to see how a hand would look in the environment as it is so important to my final piece. I think in this particular location, the hand adds to the creepy isolation and would act as an effective asset to my thriller film opening.

 I love that it is very easy to create low key lighting in this location, and it would also be very easy to create movement shadows in the background that would add to the overall tension of the piece. There is also a lot of space to the side of me so that pouring fake blood would be really easy to do. I also like how the cupboard could be a door in the eyes of the audience, hinting at a plot where the "victim" tried to escape. Another positive thing about this location is that it's actually in my bedroom, therefore shooting can be as flexible as possible in terms of time management. The problem with this location however, is that the floor and cupboard are not as contrasting, and I really liked that about the last location. Although, the blood would show up better on this floor. I think that this would be the most successful location.

 Although I am adamant that I want to use a laminate flooring in my shot, I thought I'd try a carpeted floor just in case. The two main issues with this is that a carpeted floor doesn't provide the same connotations of isolation that is conventional of the thriller genre, and my mum wouldn't be happy with me pouring fake blood on our cream carpet.

These shots are about the actual positioning of the hand. I want the audience to assume that the "victim" is dead when the hand appears on the screen, and therefore the positioning is of upmost importance. The second two shots look more as if the "victim" is struggling, or is about to lift themselves up. Therefore, I think that the first shot is the most successful, if the hand is placed with the palm facing upwards I believe that would successfully imply the person in question is dead- especially when lying in a pool of blood.