OUR THRILLER FILM OPENING

This is our final Thriller film opening.

CLICK HERE TO SEE OUR THRILLER FILM OPENING

CONSTRUCTION: DECIDING ON THE TITLE

Today me and Connie decided to look at fonts for the title Hush Little Baby. We wanted something different to the fonts that we used when doing the titles throughout the opening. At first we were looking for something quite simple like the font shown bellow. It is easy to read and looks good. At first the text was in the middle of the screen however we felt that it looked better and stood out more at the bottom of the screen. 

The first text is called Tekton Pro. We decided not to use this one as we wanted something more exciting than this. 

As a group we then discussed that maybe the font should look a certain way. We decided that we would do a font that looks child like as this is a main theme of our film. This font is called Chalkboard. We did like this one however after continuing to search we found one which looked a lot more interesting. 

We have chosen to use this font, Chalkduster. This is because it still looks as though it has been written by a child, however it looks a lot more unusual than the previous font and therefore suggests a twisted story. I think this font works well with our thriller as it suggests the idea that the kidnap child has written it.

CONSTRUCTION: SELECTING FONTS

When selecting fonts on iMove we had to make sure that they would fit our genre of psychological thrillers. Therefore we felt that our text should be easy to read and quite simple but professional.

Firstly we looked at Footlight MT Light. This is because it looked similar to the one that we had used in our poster and film website. However we felt that this text was too thin and not bold enough for our opening sequence.

Next we tried Arial Hebrew. This was a lot clearer than the previous font however it wasn't what we were looking for, as we had previously looked on The Art of the Title we had a specific look we were going for.

Finally we decided to use Hiragino Kaku Gothic. This because it is easy to read yet isn't a boring font. We feel that the use of having the names of the crew and cast larger makes the titles look more professional like the ones on The Art of the Title. We decided to use a light font colour as our filming is quite dark as we wanted this effect. Therefore each word stands out boldly. 

CONSTRUCTION: FINALISING THE IDENT

We created the ident using iStopmotion and then put the video onto iMovie. I edited this clip by firtsly slowing it down to 45% of its original speed. This is because it needed to be longer. 

I then added a sound track from iLife Effects which is the sound effects and music which comes with iMovie. 

Finally I added text which enters and leaves the screen effectively and makes it look like an ident. This text says 'Hot Air Productions."

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE FINAL IDENT

RESEARCH: THE ART OF THE TITLE

Now that we are getting closer to finishing our film, I researched The Art of the Title for ideas on fonts and to discover fonts that professional film openings use.

I have collated my research on a Prezi.

CLICK TO SEE MY PREZI 

CONSTRUCTION: RECORDING THE DOCTORS VOICE OVER

In our lesson we needed to find someone with a suitable voice to record our voice over. We needed a doctors voice therefore we decided to get a drama teacher to do the voice over.

We recorded the voice over straight onto our film, whilst it played so that it was clear where it needed to begin and end. We had to make sure that there were gaps in specific places so that the timing was spot on. The recording of the voice over was successful and it makes the story of our film a lot clearer.

This is what was said in the voice over:

"Mrs March,
We have received back your fertility test results, but I'm afraid its not good news, you are unable to conceive and carry a child naturally. No wait Mrs March! Come back!"

We planned this scrip prior to recording which shows that we have good planning skills and are organised.

CONSTRUCTION: EDITING

After filming additional footage we have decided to edit our film so that it looks more attractive but also so that our film opening time is cut down to the length it should be. 

When editing I used the technique which I used previously called "cut away" editing. This technique is two clips of video put on top of each other and then the opacity is decreased. 

I feel that this footage goes well on top of each other as it suggests that when she opens her filming all of her memories of what she has captured and remembers from war is coming back to her. Although she is only focussing on one image it reminds her of what she saw at war. 

UPDATING MY TRELLO

I have updated my Trello so that I stay up to date with what I have done and what I still need to do. I have managed to move across five things since I have created my Trello which shows that I am up to date with my work and what needs to be done.

CONSTRUCTION: ADDING A SCENE

After watching our film over we felt that it may not be clear to the audience that the protagonist is a war photographer, therefore we have filmed additional footage which makes her profession clear. 

We felt that this filming went well and really brings our film opening together.

I took an image showing the props that we used to film this scene so that it suggests to the audience Susan March's job. The camera suggests that she is a photographer, when we see the label on the folder it becomes clear she is some sort of war photographer working on a documentary for the BBC. All the images inside the folder also suggest this.

CONSTRUCTION: RE FILMING THE GIRL AND HER TOY

Today I filmed an additional scene of the young girl and her toy. We needed to add this footage in as the audience needs to see an instant link between the girl holding the toy and the toy being on barbed wire. Therefore this shows a code of danger, as the little girl seems inseparable from her toy yet they are now separated. The visual code of barbed wire is also very starling for the viewer as this image is usually seen as dangerous and something to be cautious of.


ADD SCREEN SHOT

CONSTRUCTION: RECORDING THE LULLABY

Today in our lesson we have recorded the lullaby of Hush Little Baby which will go on top of our instrumental soundtrack. We went into the schools recording studio which meant that we had a quiet surrounding and it also meant there was an echo. This gave an atmospheric noise to the voice which we though was necessary to create a thriller effect.

Georgina sang the song multiple times to make sure that we had the best one to go onto our film.

CLICK HERE FOR THE SOUND CLOUD

CONSTRUCTION: CREATING OUR IDENT

Today we made our ident using stop frame animation. It consisted of us taking a photo and then moving the hot air balloons up and down as real hot air balloons would. We have finished this part however we will add a title on iMovie, which will be HOT AIR PRODUCTIONS, as we feel this would be more effective. 

I created an Animoto with all the images taken of us whilst we were creating the animation.

CLICK HERE TO SEE MY ANIMOTO



Creating our Ident

UPDATING TWITTER AND FACEBOOK

We have updated our Twitter and Facebook with more tweets and status'. This is so that we keep our followers up to date and promote our own film. We have made status' to create a buzz by doing a countdown. We also added a gallery to show our fans and followers "sneak peek" images of our opening.

We have also written tweets to do the same thing and created a #HushLittleBaby which means that our film can be found by many people and can trend therefore getting us more support. This is a successful way to attract our target audience as they are likely to use Facebook and Twitter regularly. 

CONSTRUCTION: MAKING A TRELLO

In class today I made a Trello to organise all of the tasks that we still need to do to complete our film.

I will move each thing across once it has been completed, into the done column. This will allow me to monitor the work I still need to do and see the achievements I have already made.

CLICK HERE TO SEE MY TRELLO

CONSTRUCTION: THINKING OF A PRODUCTION COMPANY

After I found it challenging to use After Effects we thought that we should think of other ways of making an ident. Therefore we thought of the idea to use stop motion animation to make ours.

We decided that we could use some wrapping paper with images of hot air balloons on. We would cut out one of these images and capture them moving. The name of our production company would be Hot Air, as this is what keeps the air balloons afloat and also suggests that we are what makes our film good.

CONSTRUCTION: FEEDBACK

We decided that because we were close to the ending of our film that we should ask another student for feedback. We got a small focus group to watch our film twice through to give us their opinion on what is good and bad about our opening. The good points were:

• The filming is successful with different camera movement.
• The narrative is clear due to the successful editing.
• The music went well with the filming to create suspense.

The points which she suggested we improved were:

• Add sound effects of guns over the war photography to create a better sense of trauma.
•  Adding in a scene with the toy doll and the little girl so at the end we know the girl is in danger as the doll is on the barbed wire.

We also got other feedback from other audiences who said good points were:

• We had clear thriller codes in our opening which create suspense, enigma and tension
• The editing is successful at creating a sense of anxiety.

The feedback given to improve were:

• Decrease the brightness of the red during the park scene
• Adding a voice over, which we were planning on adding anyway to improve the narrative and help the audience to understand better. 

CLICK HERE TO SEE MY PREZI

EDITING: DECIDING ON TITLES

In our lesson today we have been deciding on the titles. Georgina and I have made a video explaining our decisions for these titles and why.

EDITING: ADDING SOUND EFFECTS

Today when editing I began to add in sound effects. Firstly I added war noises which created a sense of trauma. This went on top of the war photograph sequence and on top of the montage of the protagonist and the doll. This suggests that what she is doing is reminding her of when she was at war and the trauma that she witnessed. This sound effects we got from a clip on You Tube.

Another sound effect I added was heart beats at the beginning to create suspense and the audience instantly feel anxious about why there is heart beats. We soon found out as a voice over comes on the top to explain why the protagonist was so nervous. This sound effect was from the iMovie options under iLife Effects.

Another iLife effect we added was of a little girl laughing. This laugh is extremely chilling as it is placed on top of the war noises. It would give the views a chill down their spine as normally laughing children and war are not something you would put together. However we did this to make the audience feel anxious and give them an adrenaline rush as they would have no idea why these two noises have been placed together.

Finally we added a noise at the end, as the child is kidnapped. This noise is an unsettling noise and we added it to suggest menace and that something awful has just happened.

CONSTRUCTION: FILMING THE ABDUCTION SCENE

After filming the walk home I filmed the abduction scene. We firstly did a shot where we see the young girl putting her way her scooter and we notice that her mother has now gone inside and left her out alone. As the young girl turns around we see on her face that someone is there and then the protagonist walks into the frame almost bribing the young girl walk towards her. We then cut to a shot of the close up of the kidnapper and the young girls hands as they walk into the distance.

RESEARCH: CHOOSING MUSIC

After researching music on You Tube we have narrowed our choice down to two options. The first one was slightly horror like as it was a piano music but it also included sound effects such as squeaking doors. Although we did not choose this music it can be heard here.

The one that we did choose was found when we researched "thriller film music." It is called The Carnival. The sound of it sounds almost like a children's music box which relates to the theme of our opening, however it is also slightly creepy as the music is slow. The track seems to be made with a xylophone and triangle which together go well and have a thriller like effect. This music can be heard here.

We chose this one and when searching to see if it was copy right free, we found that we must credit the person who posted this music.

CONSTRUCTION: FILMING THE PLAYGROUND AND WALK HOME

I filmed the scene where the protagonist is in the playground. To explain what I did I have made a Piktochart

CLICK HERE TO SEE MY PIKTOCHART

CONSTRUCTION:MAKING A TWITTER, FACEBOOK AND FILM WEBSITE AND POSTER

We decided that we would make a Twitter, Facebook and an official film website and poster which are always a film would be marketed and promoted.

Our different ways of promoting our film can be seen and explained on this slide share.

CLICK HERE TO SEE OUR TWITTER

CLICK HERE TO SEE OUR FACEBOOK

THIS IS OUR FILM POSTER

THIS IS OUR FILM WEBSITE

RESEARCH: SUITS OPENING

In lesson we looked at the Suits opening as we remembered that there were scenes that were slowed down and then sped up again which makes the viewer feel nervous and frantic. They do this in many different points in the opening but one section is when there is a close up on the bike as he peddles slow and then his movement is sped up. It makes the viewer feel almost slightly out of place.

 We watched this opening and liked the idea of this and decided we would try and do something similar in our opening. 

RESEARCH: DECIDING ON A SLOGAN

Since we have been creating a poster to promote our film we thought that we must put a slogan into it to attract audiences.We only wanted it to be short and effective to promote our film and create enigma.

When searching for ideas we had a huge variety of suggestions however the best was a line from the lullaby Hush Little Baby, which is the name of our film. The end line is "Your mama loves you and so do I." We felt that this fits perfectly to our plot and also makes people wonder who and why this is our slogan. It suggests a kidnapping as the woman is brainwashing her.

RESEARCH: FILM POSTERS

We are looking at ways to distribute our film. One of the main ways to distribute is P&A. This includes posters. Therefore I am going to research professional posters to see what type of things they have on them and see how they show the genre of the film in the poster. 

I have compared thriller and romance posters bellow. 

These posters are clearly thriller as you can tell by the use of dark colours. These visual codes signal to the target audience that it is going to be a dark one: not a bright and happy one. You can also tell because of the people in these images. They both look mysterious and it is quite chilling how they are staring straight at you. These are very different to romance posters, which are bellow. 

With the romance genre is is clear that they are romance due to the image of couples and the brighter colours. Although these are different genres they both have some of the same information on them that the target market need to know.  

All posters have the name of the film, some cast or crews names, when the release date is, a star rating and it can include some sort of slogan. 

I feel that my information and research helps me to understand what we need on our poster to make sure that it is effective at attracting our target audience and supplying them with the information they need and will want to know. 

PLANNING: MARKETING TECHNIQUES

Today we discussed the ways that we were going to promote our film. The ways that we decided were different ways of social network. Therefore we have decided that we will make a Twitter, Facebook and a film website. To go with this we need P&A, furthermore we have taken a shot from our filming to be the poster for our film. 

We have chosen this specific image however we did have more than one to choose from. We chose this image as you can see the barbed wire along with the toy clearly, and the way that the toy is almost stuck on this wire. It is showing something potentially dangerous contrasted with something innocent which our film is potentially about.  

RESEARCH: USING AFTER EFFECTS

Today I decided that I would try to get to grips with After Effects. I needed to do this in order to make an effective ident to go at the beginning of our film. I spent a whole lesson trying to understand After Effects by watching videos on Video Copilot. I knew that I should choose a tutorial which is the smallest length in time as I knew that this meant that what I was making was slightly easier than a video that was longer. I managed to begin to make a small clip however it was not as successful as I hoped.

CONSTRUCTION: TOY ON BARBED WIRE

In this lesson we went out to reconstruct the war image which we had filmed. We placed a doll which Connie had made on barbed wire. At first we had to take a few photographs to use for our poster. Then I did a variety of different camera movements and filmed the doll on barbed wire.

At first I panned from left to right. However I felt that it was better tilting from down to up as the image got darker because of the sun as the doll came into frame. I think that this gives a chilling effect as the viewer will now be certain that something horrific has happened to this child, as this toy will have been seen in an early scene with the little girl holding it.

RESEARCH: TITLE SCENE

In our lesson we spoke about where and how the title of our film would appear. After researching war photography we found an image which we really liked which managed to show danger, war and children's toys in the same image. Therefore we thought that recreating this picture would be successful in our opening.  This is a symbolic picture to suggest that this little girl is in danger, as we could have previously seen the doll in a scene with the young girl.

This is the original image:

We decided that the only way this was going to be a success is if the toy was made to look slightly the same way that this one does. We wanted it to look sightly broken and worn down as if it was an old toy that a child had kept for a long time. Therefore Connie made the child's toy out of old socks and tissue paper. This was successful as because it was hand made the toy did look slightly ragged and not in a perfect condition.

CONSTRUCTION: DECIDING ON SOUND EFFECTS

As a group we discussed adding a voice over of the mother singing to the doll. She would be singing the nursery rhyme Hush Little Baby which is also the name of our film. We would edit this singing to make it seem cynical, by slowing it down and editing the voice. It is clear that she is in a mental state as it is not normal for a woman to be singing to a doll.

CONSTRUCTION: LITTLE GIRL

I decided that I would film the scene with the little girl in it. The little girl that we used is slightly older than we would have liked however we did not know anyone younger that we would be able to use.

I filmed a scene with my younger sister where we see her outside alone scootering. This establishes that the young girl is alone and that she could therefore be a target.

I also filmed a scene from behind a tree of the little girl playing in flower. This makes the young girl seem innocent as she is playing in beautiful flower. However the angle of the shot makes it a lot more cynical as it becomes clear that someone is watching her. When editing this scene I edited the effect on the image to 'romantic' this meant there was almost a glow around the scene suggesting that the young girl, who is clearly being watched, is the object of desire for the person spying.

CONSTRUCTION: RE-FILMING

After watching the scene of the protagonist ripping up the picture of the child we felt that she did it too slowly. Therefore we decided to re-film this part so that her anger was suggested better.

After re-filming this we also decided to add another part where she paces across the room and drops a piece of the ripped up paper. This suggests that she is leaving this part of her life behind and moving on, as we see her next holding the images in her hand as she is on her knees. This suggests her trauma that she has gone through as she is almost holding her past in her hands as she has ripped up the images. I used a high angle shot to make it seem she is smaller than the audience as she is in an unstable mental and emotional state at this moment.

CONSTRUCTION: RIPPING SCENE

Today I filmed the scene after the panning shot where she chaotically is rummaging through the images and then seems to come across one in specific. She then picks up this image of a child and rips it in half. We managed to get it into an angle where you could see scars on her hand to suggest that she has been physically injured as well as mentally.

The filming was successful. However when we came to edit this scene we realised that she ripped it too slowly which made it look too calm and not chaotic enough. This did not show her anger and emotions well enough.

CONSTRUCTION: PANNING SHOT

After deciding that we would do a panning shot across a table of war pictures to show that she is some sort of photographer. We also placed a camera on the side of these images to suggest that she took these pictures.

This scene was difficult as it needed to be moved smoothly however the table was too high to use a dolly. Therefore I had to make sure that I had a steady hand to make sure that the filming was smooth.

CONSTRUCTION: GETTING THE RESULTS

When filming the scene where the protagonist gets the results we firstly see her devastation as she puts her heads into her hands and her facial expression shows that she is distraught. We also see in the corner that there is a doctor with a computer. We see that there is a chart on the computer to set the mise en scene more appropriately.

The final part of this scene is when she hits the desk so we hear a slam to suggest her anger, she then walks out angrily with her feet stomping on the ground as she goes. For this we did a low angle shot so we can see the speed she is going and the force her feet hits the floor.

CONSTRUCTION: THE DOLL IS REVEALED

In our lesson I filmed the scene where the doll is revealed. This is when we see her open a door and inside is a suitcase. When the suitcase is opened we see that there is something hidden inside there which obviously was not meant to be found by someone other than her. When she removes the blanket from the object we see that it is a doll inside. Her facial expressions, as she stares at the doll,  suggest that she is pleased to see the doll, as if it is possible something from her past. 

CONSTRUCTION: WAITING FOR HER RESULTS

In our lesson I went and filmed a scene where the woman is waiting for the results of a fertility test. We know that she is waiting for the results of a fertility test due to the voice over that will be on top of the scene. In this scene we can see many signs of her being anxious such as tapping her feet and playing with her hands. I put my camera on the ground so that we were on the same level on the as her feet. With another shot I went above her, with a high angle shot, to suggest that she is in an emotional and nervous position. It also means we can see her frantic movements of her hand and feet in the frame.

EDITING: CUT AWAY EDITING

Today in the lesson we learnt a new editing technique. This is called "cut away" editing. This is done when you put one piece of filming on top of another piece and then change the opacity. This means that we can show scenes of the woman playing with the doll at the same time. It creates the sense that the woman is obsessed with this doll.

CONSTRUCTION: MIRROR SCENE

Today I filmed the scene of the mirror.  I began by simply zooming into the mirror as the Susan March character played and plaited the dolls hair. We then thought that it would be a better idea to pan up so we end up looking into the mirror with the protagonist. The scene is cynical as she looks into the mirror whilst playing with the dolls hair.

When I edited this clip I added an effect named Vignette. This made the colour darker which yet again adds to the thriller codes and adds to the atmosphere. 

CONSTRUCTION: DOLL SCENES

In the lesson I filmed the doll scenes. One scene where she is stroking the dolls head, one where she is rocking her and finally another scene where she is stroking her. These are all to show her love and affection for this doll and demonstrate how she is treating it as if it is a real child. 

The fact that she is treating the doll with this love and affection shows that her mental state is not stable as this is an extremely uncommon thing for a middle aged woman to be doing. 

RESEARCH: SOCIAL GROUPS

We researched what social groups are in our opening sequence. There are 5 social groups: mothers who want children but can't have them, mothers who do have children, doctors, war photographers and children.

The mother of who doesn't have children is the main character. In our society we are surrounded by people with children and there is a very small percentage of people of don't have children therefore it is obvious that when you cannot have children it is a difficulty. This woman is of an age of 35-40 as she has missed out on the opportunity to have children although this is why she cannot have a them. The would-be mother is driven to insanity as she is surrounded by pregnant women, children and being a woman missing out on this is a big thing. Most women would always want the chance to have children. The would-be mother is a middle class woman who lives a normal life however this news drives her insane and it is clear this is not the first time she has had a mental breakdown like this.

Another social group is people with mental illnesses. Although we only see the would-be mother has a mental illness there are many other people out there who could have them too. They can be of any age and any social class and the fact that we cannot see their mental illness causes difficulty for them to cope. 

The second group is mothers with children who the would-be mother envies. In our opening the would-be mother looks at them with jealousy as she wishes she could what they have. They are young women who still are able to have more children which she is also angry about. These women are in the park scene as the would-be mother watches in envy as they nurture their children and families whereas she has nothing.

Another main social group is children which is represented by the doll. The woman craves to have a child of her own therefore the doll is her substitute child as she cannot have her own.

Another social group in our film is war photographers. They are people who have seen lots of trauma in their lives as they have witnessed war, conflict and death. They must be people who try and be strong as they see all this trauma. Although they can be strong in their profession, after witnessing all the things they do it can lead to serious consequences. Most war photographers lead to being alcoholics, being depressed and have PTSD.  

The final group is doctors which is only in it with his voice however his part is important as he is the one that delivers the news to her which is what drives her to become to psychotic.

RESEARCH: CHOOSING A DISTRIBUTOR

We have selected Metrodome to be our distributor. It is a well known, London, independent distributor known for their creative releases and for challenging critics. 

Metrodome says “from box office hits to cults, animation and arts releases, we’ll always deliver an unforgettable experience.” Some recent releases consist of: The Nun (Nicloux, 2013), A Royal Affair(Arcel, 2012), Summer in February, (Menaul, 2013), In Darkness, (Holland, 2011) and Before The Fall,(Gansel, 2004). 

We feel that our film fits with this as it contains serious matters, kidnapping and is a tense thriller following the mind of a war photographer.