Opening Sequence Coursework
- 1. Similar Film Research The Perfect Guy Synopsis: After breaking up with her boyfriend, a professional woman gets involved with a man who seems almost too good to be true. Genre: Drama, Thriller Director: David M. Rosenthal Split Synopsis: After three girls are kidnapped by a man with 24 distinct personalities they must find some of the different personalities that can help them while running away and staying alive from the others. Genre: Horror, Thriller Director: Stephen Gaghan The Boy Next Door Synopsis: After three girls are kidnapped by a man with 24 distinct personalities they must find some of the different personalities that can help them while running away and staying alive from the others. Genre: Mystery, Thriller Director: Rob Cohen All three films are dominated by a male antagonist, and female protagonist. The three Thrillers also have male directors; this may be a conventional trait of Thriller films in the industry. The Thriller film genre is a genre that revolves around anticipation and suspense. The aim of the genre is to build tension around the main problem the film is built on and maintain this level of tension throughout the film until finally finishing on a highly stressful climax. We will need to include this in our production to ensure that audience is able to instantly identify the genre of the piece. Thriller is not just one black and white genre; there are many different sub-genres of Thriller. These sub-genres are: Action Thriller, Crime Thriller, Film-Noir, Psychological Thriller, Science Fiction Thriller, and Religious Thriller. I would say that the piece we intend to produce would fit in the category of a Psychological Thriller. This is because a Psychological Thriller incorporates elements of both drama and mystery film (which our piece also does). In Psychological Thriller the threat the protagonist faces throughout the film is more mental/psychological than physical. This is the case in “Tail of Obsession” as the threat does not intend to harm our protagonist physically but as a result of this, unintentionally and obliviously harms her mentally.
- 2. Mike Regan is a successful, self-made man who has it all: a gorgeous wife, a beautiful teenage daughter and a sleek, state-of-the-art "smart home". But he soon finds himself in a deadly, high-stakes game of cat-and-mouse when his I.T. consultant, Ed, starts using his skills to stalk Mike's daughter and endanger his family, his business, and his life. In a world where there is no privacy, and personal secrets can go viral by the click of a mouse, Mike needs to rely on his old connections to defeat a new kind of nemesis. The opening scene of I.T starts by glorifying the assets of the main character as well as himself by using many different camera shots like establishing, extreme close ups and mid shots to emphasize the details of these assets and how luxurious his life is before we see the buildup of tarnishing which is done by his I.T consultant. This scene focuses on the well-being of the main character and how his life starts to change under the actions that the I.T consultant is doing. I.T: This film unfolds over a teenager's computer screen as she and her friends are stalked by an unseen figure who seeks vengeance for a shaming video that led a vicious bully to kill herself a year earlier. The opening scene of Unfriended starts with a found video footage of a girl committing suicide in her high school in the quiet suburbs of Fresno, California after an embarrassing video of her was posted online which later fast forwards to the video that caused the girl to commit suicide. The video uploaded was from a camera and has a wide shot throughout it to show where the girl is and her whole body. It suggests the director intended to make the audience feel like they just saw the video as it aired live, as it refers back to reality as we see many things appear on our social media randomly and most common now being streamed live. Furthermore, when the movie moves onto the next video, it foreshadows there will be consequences for the people within the video. Unfriended: Thirteen years after her cyber-stalker murdered her parents and eluded arrest, Aiden has yet to go back online. Years of therapy have done little to assuage her fears, and she leads an anonymous life off the grid. Now, someone is watching Aiden from afar, awaiting the perfect moment to strike. As the fearful young woman struggles find someone she can trust, she realizes that every move she makes could be her last. The opening scene of Cyberstalker shows a hidden figure gathering information about a woman, he had previously stalked 13 years ago and tracking her through her internet usage. This scene is very intense and mysterious as the audience has no idea or insight as to why this mystery person is doing these things. This would draw the audience in as they would want to know what the end game is for the mystery person and the woman. Cyberstalker: Opening Scenes
- 3. Unfriended Comparison This title is taken from the original film. The image depicts a black screen firstly; Black is associated with power, elegance, formality, death, evil, and mystery. Black is a mysterious color associated with fear and the unknown (black holes etc). It usually has a negative connotation (blacklist, 'black death'). Black denotes strength and authority. Black gives the feeling of perspective and depth, but a black background diminishes readability. The use of a black background makes the other colours stand out. Black contrasts well with bright colors. Combined with red or orange – other very powerful colors – black gives a very aggressive color scheme. Red is the color of fire and blood, so it is associated with energy, war, danger, strength, power, determination as well as passion, desire, and love. Red is widely used to indicate danger. Its negative expression of anger and aggression to fuel war and destruction. And in relation to the poster, we assume these will be associated within the film. White is color at its most complete and pure, the color of perfection. The color meaning of white is purity, innocence, wholeness and completion. In color psychology white is the color of new beginnings, wiping the slate clean, so to speak. It is the blank canvas waiting to be written upon. While white isn't stimulating to the senses, it opens the way for the creation of anything the mind can conceive. White contains an equal balance of all the colors of the spectrum, representing both the positive and negative aspects of all colors. Its basic feature is equality, implying fairness and impartiality, neutrality and independence.
- 4. Mood Board These choice of images each show how the opening scene will be merged together, as it depicts what the main character will be experiencing as she is being followed, which you can see from various images in the mood board. You can also see from the images that the person following the main character identity is hidden, which will be incorporated in the opening scene.
- 5. Audience Research Interview: A student in my media class Q: What is your favourite genre of films? And why? A: My favourite genre of films are Thriller films, this is because it involves the viewers to be alert and keeps the audience on the edge of their seats as the plot builds towards a climax. Q: What do you think makes a good Thriller/mystery film? A: Edge of your seat drama, as it creates tension and directly involves the viewer and encourages them to be engrossed in the film and watch it till the end. The Mystery keeps the viewers thinking throughout the course of the film. Q: What type of characters do you think should be in a Thriller film? A: The first place to fortify a thriller is its cast of characters. The main character which should be a hostile and crafty male, he needs to struggle with issues inside as well as outside and also have a very strong physical side to him. A Woman who the main character has a soft spot for, and at some point in the film, is put in an exposed situation. The enemy of the main character should have a lot of power, whether it is physical and intellectually. Q: Which films do you think have good openings? A: Split, Fast and Furious Sequel, Olympus has fallen Q: What attracts you to films? A: As long as the theme relates to reality, focusses on the topics which badly need to be discussed then I will watch it .Also if the movie has good actors from previous movies which I like and if it’s has a popular sequel. Most likely to have the best opening sequence? Thriller Action Crime Animation
- 6. Audience Research Stylers Still representing status and style, it’s about partying, looking good and staying ahead of cool. Stylers hold strong on the UK Tribes map – innately cool and stylish, the rising influence of Urban fashion and music have made them a hugely aspirational Tribe for youth today. As luxe sportswear and Urban high fashion has hit the Aspirants (check out the Hypebeasts), more young people than ever before are looking like a Styler and aspiring to their luxury lifestyle. Trackies Trackies are laid back enthusiasts motivated by the need to chill, whether that’s gaming, watching films or listening to music. They’re all about hanging out, playing sports and computer games, ordering pizza and getting their hands on a bit of weed! Typically seen as those with the potential to achieve but lacking in motivation, these guys just want to chill out man Townies Always there at the bottom of the influence pyramid, the Townies are an entry-level Tribe, open to all that want to play… Townies are as Mainstream as you can get – high street fashion, pop chart music, Saturday night TV and a night on the town. As the rest of the Tribal map is becoming more fashion-forward and fast-moving, the Townies are still in the local Wetherspoons or on the bus to college – they are likely to be friends with Blingers and other Tribes, but prefer to go with the flow and don’t want to stand out. Hypebeasts Urban and Skater inspired, US-rooted breed of New Casual – who love Hip- Hop and electronic, niche knowledge, luxury sportswear and limited editions. Hypebeasts are a new breed of New Casual/Hipster– obsessed with the aspirational Urban lifestyle and the brands that go with it. With a thriving online culture, key icon products and their own language (Bump, OG, Grail, Wavey…) they are thriving – but bitchy too!
- 7. Audience Research Blumhouse is mostly known for producing low-budget horror films, such as Paranormal Activity, Insidious, The Purge, Sinister, Split and Get Out. The company's model is to produce movies independently and release them wide through the studio system. I think Blumhouse Productions would produce my film due to the fact that they have work widely around horror/thriller films in the past and this is what they're mostly known for, also for the fact that they do all of this on a low budget. Most Blumhouse produced films become very popular and receive good feedback from their audience as well as grossing in millions of dollars for most films made on low budgets i.e. Blumhouse produced Insidious, which grossed over $97 million worldwide on a budget of $1.5 million, and Sinister, which grossed over $77 million worldwide from a budget of $3 million. Blumhouse know how to produce and distribute low-budget films very well and with their expertise and experience on how to do this, I believe that my film could go far as they have shown multiple times what they can do with my type of film.