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 My final product

This is the final product of the Thriller film opening I made with my partner Olivia as part of my AS coursework (2022). The name of the film is 'Red Herring' and it stars Emily Wallace, George Ruddenklau and James Henderson. The film is directed by Clementine Ruddenklau and Olivia Henderson.

Evaluation #1 - How does my product use or challenge conventions and how does it represent social groups or issues?

Evaluation #2 - How does your product engage with audiences and how would it be distributed as a real media text?

My Target Audience

During the planning of my film, I used several different sources of information to try to establish what my target audience would be. From this research, I believe my film would be a profile of my target audience because of the representation of the lifestyle the characters live. My two main characters are presented as very affluent and well put together, with a very romanticised perception of life. This is not necessarily why my target audience may feel they are represented in this film, but rather why they may enjoy watching it. Aspects of the film, such as the aesthetically pleasing atmosphere of the park at the end of the opening, or the pretty dress the female character wears, may be appealing to members of my target audience as they would enjoy looking at the world through 'rose coloured glasses.' Since Olivia and I did two separate edits of our opening, the tone is very different in both and, for this reason, our target audiences may likewise differ, considering the styles of editing and music choices. The typical middle class lifestyle of the characters is very similar to that of films such as 'The Hunt' (2020) and 'The Girl On The Train' (2016), which features a very aesthetically pleasing setting for the main character, an alcoholic divorcee who is involved in a missing person investigation. Although this film is different to mine as it features a protagonist investigating a missing person, whereas mine depicts more of a suggested psychological disorder, I believe that the target audience for that film would be similar to mine due to the appealing scenery and rich world the character lives in.

I believe that my target audience would be split fairly evenly in gender, since both genders can relate to either characters in the film; however, I also believe that since the film is very romanticised, this could appeal more to female audiences because they may aspire to live in this world the characters inhabit. There's a slight sense of escapism within the warmly lit, colourful world the characters are shown driving through in the opening, and I think that would appeal more to female viewers overall. Since this is a psychological thriller, I think this would appeal more to younger viewers, specifically aged about 18-30, particularly because the film takes place in the modern day with modern technology. However, the middle class lifestyle is also applicable to older audiences, around the ages 40-60, since a lot of older people do live those lifestyles and may relate a bit better to them. The recognisable imagery such as the food and costumes of the characters, or the pearls which represent wealth on the female character's necklace, could appeal more to these types of viewers.

Audience profiling

From the data I collected from Pearl and Dean, I can conclude my film would have a slightly larger female audience, based on looking at other films with similar characteristics to mine, however this is only by a small percentage - otherwise the audience is very evenly split in gender. In terms of class, C1 would probably be the most receptive class for my film. 

When Olivia and I talked about our film, we concluded that the representation of the characters was quite abstract and unconventional. Unlike traditional thriller villains who look, sound or act evil, our characters are very composed, with nice clothing, and are depicted as going on a picnic - even though they are murderers. The enigma code we discussed together is introduced here because the viewer doesn't actually ever see the characters' faces, nor do they ever see a cause and effect in the opening as the murder is never shown. It leaves it up to the audience to solve what is happening through the help of the dark undertones and imagery of the film; for example, the peace of the jam sandwich being made carefully being interrupted by the loud sound of the knife cutting it. Therefore, this appeals a lot more to our viewers, who are analytical and thoughtful about the deeper meaning of the film and what is really going on behind what we see; they want to know who has been murdered, why and how.

My film could be seen as a form of escapism for its target audience, with older members around 40-60 enjoying the world it is set in because of the peacefulness of the atmosphere, but also the familiarity of that middle class lifestyle I mentioned earlier. People in the ABC1 class category would engage with my film because they may be tired of everyday life, and they may see my film as a way of looking at a life that is similar to theirs, but through rose coloured glasses. The fact that the two characters have total and complete control over their actions and sense of freedom is something viewers can enjoy observing, as this is something they cannot obtain, but can get a sense of through this film. 

My film can also represent the theme of the rich versus the poor, with the idea of the two rich characters living by their own rules, perhaps due to their privilege of having nice things and therefore not needing to comply to the rules of society like everybody else. There's almost a suggestion that they kill for enjoyment, emphasized by my song choice of 'It's All Forgotten Now' by Al Bowlly - this idea that the characters simply forget about actions like this, since they are mentally ill but also extremely wealthy and well off. This is good as it can appeal to the well-educated, people who enjoy tackling these kind of societal issues; it also could appeal working class people, as it is a satirical representation of the rich. 

In terms of the tone, like the setting, my film is slightly romanticised. The song used is cheerful but also slightly sinister, with a vintage and upbeat combination of piano, trumpet and violin before the vocals come in. The song is a main point of interest for the audience as it right at the beginning of the film, accompanying the expositional shot of the knife; as the singing begins around the one minute mark, the audience already knows enough from the imagery to understand what the film is about - this is just emphasized now because their suspicions are confirmed by the lyrics of the song. The use of the diegetic sounds of the food-making also gives an unsettling tone, as the audience is subjected to a spectrum of sounds similar to the sounds they would hear from a murder.

My distribution strategy

In terms of distributing my film, the best option for me would be film festivals, such as the Toronto International Film Festival. My film is low budget, small scale and individual, as well as it not being released by any major film companies such as Sony, Universal Studios or Paramount Pictures. Because of this, audiences will not recognise the company and therefore may not be as interested in watching my film, hence why releasing it via film festivals would be the best idea. There, a film distributor could pick up the film and possibly add it to a streaming service, such as Amazon Prime or Netflix. This would also be good as streaming services already have a wide audience of frequent users who subscribe specifically for that service's content. They also look for unique and new films to watch, which they can access easily. The Toronto Film Festival is held in early September, therefore I would probably release my film around then. Since the type of target audience my film attracts are people who are often willing to explore new films and ideas, this would also fit. Early September is also a fairly good time to release a film as most people are coming home from summer holidays (which would also fit the summery theme of the film's setting) and a lot of young people, specifically students, are beginning their school year - so will have a lot of free time. 

My marketing strategy

I decided that the easiest way to market my film would be on social media as it is a cheap and efficient way to target people. By using Instagram to place an advertisement for my film or a trailer in a sponsor or in between a story, this would target a lot of young people, aged about 16-35, which is a large portion of my target audience. TikTok would also be a good app to use as it is a good way for people to respond to my film. Lots of trends and fan work appears on TikTok, therefore advertising it on there would be encouraging people to talk about the film more and this would spread awareness for my film even more. If any large accounts on TikTok were to post about my film, it would show up on all their followers' pages, as well as many other people's recommended videos and would be a very effective way of reaching my target audience.

Evaluation #3 - How did my production skills develop throughout this project?

My production skills

Before working on my film opening I had few production skills as I wasn't able to do Film Studies GCSE before I went to Tanglin; however, this allowed this project to help me develop what little skills I had beforehand from previous smaller projects I had worked on this school year, and I learnt a lot of new techniques overall. One example of a skill I learnt whilst working on this project was using After Effects, something I decided not to use in my final product as it took too long to work on each individual credit and I found it too complicated to work with. Therefore I thought it would be better to stick with what I knew and make a better product than waste too much time working on something I wasn't proud of. Despite this, I still learnt how to make creative credits and present them in my opening in a unique way, for example with a credit on the road the car was driving on, or in the pomegranate juice on the table. The use of this new technology I hadn't worked with before expanded my skills and method of editing films. After I finished my product, I made these two Top Trump cards to show how my skills have adapted before and after creating my film opening, with categories for the different types of skills I have improved on.

Codes and Conventions

After working on this project I have a much better understanding of codes and conventions in thrillers and what to expect from a thriller film opening. When Olivia and I were working on the pre-visualisation for the opening, I analysed multiple thriller openings including 'The Silence Of The Lambs' and 'Joker' to gain a better understanding of the codes and conventions present in those films and to work some of them into our own opening. From looking at these openings and researching different sub genres of thrillers and what their differences are, I now have the ability to understand basic iconography of thriller films and am able to use them in my own work. When discussing our film, Olivia and I recognised that while our film opening isn't entirely conventional like other classic thrillers, we still used certain conventions taken from other thrillers, for example the use of making the food look unappealing and gory was inspired by the opening to the TV show Dexter, which features a cannibal making breakfast and getting ready in the morning. However, one thing we did with these conventions was to contradict what they usually mean, for example by making our characters look rich and stable, as well as making them wear colourful and glamourous clothing, a contrast from the usual darker shades and more evil looking costumes that have previously been used in thrillers. The setting in general was also contradictory, with the two characters listening to pleasant music in the car on their way to a picnic, whilst still being fully aware of the dead body in their car and the evil things they have done prior to the events of the opening. Olivia and I were also introduced to the enigma code in class, a device used in film to create some sort of mystery or clue to the audience as to what is really going on in the story. We used this effectively in our film as we made sure the characters' faces were hidden for the entirety of the opening, making their identity a mystery to the audience, and also emphasizing the way they acted and were dressed. Apart from this, I also had a look at how credits are structured in a film opening and how different thrillers use these to give their openings a little more character or style.

Camera work

Before this project, I had barely any experience with cameras outside of small films I had made with friends outside of school or using them for photography for my GCSE Art coursework. Olivia and I used a gimbal for the first time in this project, which we found difficult at first because it was hard to balance properly and had to be set up which took a long time. From this, we learnt to set it up before filming so as to not waste any time doing this, and eventually got to filming with it which was really interesting. We used it in the last scene, where we filmed a tracking shot from the car to the characters getting ready for their picnic, which we thought was a little shaky, but still fit the scene well. Olivia also used a suction mount, which she placed on the hood of her car when filming the experimental shots I wasn't present for in January. Overall, I believe that my camera skills have improved with this project, although I do still have a lot to learn about setting up and working with some equipment, something I wasn't familiar with before this coursework.

[Shot using the gimbal]

[Shot using the suction mount]

 

Planning and Organisation

This was something that was a strength for me before we started the project; I am often quite organised with my work and tend to stick to lists and mind maps I have created before a piece of work is made. However, this still improved during this project because I had not worked on pre-visualisation for a film, other than any smaller projects outside of school, before this. When planning for our film, Olivia and I scheduled our filming and when certain tasks were due, for example shooting the kitchen scenes, or the story board being finished. We would also call or message each other when we weren't at school to organise costumes and staggered when our actors would be on set, giving them time to arrive only when they were needed and so there was not anyone unnecessary on set when we didn't need them. For example, our actor, George, was needed for the cooking scene and our actress, Emily, was not in any scenes before the shot of her putting her necklace on, therefore she did not need to arrive until a little later. I think our planning was very effective overall, as it also gave us plenty of time to focus on editing after filming, with us finishing filming in late January and having lots of time to edit before the deadline in March. 

Visual effects

I hadn't had much experience with credits before this project, other than basic ones I used when editing small videos before. When working on my credits, I tried using Adobe After Effects to create credits that blend in more with the film itself, for example I had a concept of the title 'Red Herring' appearing in the pomegranate juice on the shot with the juice dripping onto the knife. I learnt to work with After Effects, but it just ended up being too complicated as I hadn't used it before and it took a very long time to make the credit stick to the background and not shake or wobble around - so I decided to just stick with Final Cut Pro. Apart from this though, I did some research into different fonts to use and settled on the American Typewriter font, as I believed that it fit the opening's theme well. My credits were all moved to the corner of the screen with some of them being on the car or above it. Other than that, not a lot of visual effects were used in the film, however I still improved with this skill as I had not had much experience with effects on Final Cut Pro before this project.

[The title credit shot]

 [Credits merged with objects]

Editing

Editing was crucially important in my film as Olivia and I chose to not include any dialogue between any of the characters. Therefore the narrative and themes getting across to the audience relied entirely on the editing. I had edited small films I'd made in class before on Final Cut Pro, so I knew how it worked and had a basic understanding with how to edit simple films. This was still a skill I improved on as I learnt how to add text to a film and tilt it on the y and x axis to move it around. I also learnt how to add music to the film and colour correct shots. Before my final film, I made 3 drafts showing my progress whilst editing the footage. The first thing I did when editing was just place the clips together in order and at the length I wanted each of them to be. Then I did the colour correcting, something I found quite challenging as I wasn't sure how to make the colours look normal but also bright enough to make the red imagery stand out. I had not used this kind of meaning before so I really wanted it to be obvious in the final product. In the end, I was quite happy with this, apart from a shot with the red looking a little too bright and over saturated in my opinion. If I could go back and change this I would as I realised after watching my film over and over that I didn't think it looked too good. Another shot I found difficult to colour correct was this one outside the car window. This was because it was difficult to make the greenery outside stand out without making the entire shot look too green overall. In the end I think it was ok, however I would probably go back and change this too if I could. After colour correcting, I made a final draft without the music, then added it and changed a few things for the final product. One of the things I changed was the flashes at the end of the shots, recommended by my film teacher, to make the film a little bit more creepy and suspicious before the reveal of the body. Overall, I think my editing skills have improved very much during this project, and I now have a lot of new skills I can use in future tasks which will be really useful.

.

Creative confidence

Olivia and I were very creative with this project and how we went across making it. Some of our ideas were very last minute and were added in at first as a test but then ended up being used in the final product. For example, on the day of filming I came up with an idea for a shot of the pomegranate juice dripping onto the knife in droplets, to give the image of blood dripping on to it instead. This was not a part of our storyboard and it ended up being the shot we used for our title to our film. Another effect we used was microwaving the pomegranate we used so it was more juicy and the seeds popped, giving it a more battered effect. This worked very well as when we made a slit for our actor to open it, pomegranate juice leaked everywhere onto the chopping board. This was good as it meant that the board looked red and stained in the final footage. It was also now easier for the actor to squeeze the pomegranate as it was softer after being heated. Using the pomegranate, tomatoes and jam to create the impression of blood was a step outside the box for us as well as experimenting for our film coursework overall. 

Evaluation #4 - How did I integrate technologies - hardware, software and online, into my project?

Who would watch my film?

 Thriller target audiences

'Don't Worry Darling' - Directed by Olivia Wilde (2022)

I think that my target audience for this film would have quite an equal balance between male and female viewers and audiences, but might lean more towards females because of the romanticised aesthetic of the film. I think the film would be watched mainly by young people aged 18-25 or perhaps by older viewers at age 40-50 as it portrays quite a middle class lifestyle. Similarly, I think that the film would be viewed more by affluent audiences, as they would be able to relate to the two characters' lifestyles, as well as enjoy the classiness of the characters' actions and the setting of the film. The film also contains a very traditional representation of gender roles, with the woman dressed up and stylish and the man being presented as powerful (with him driving the car). Conservative viewers may enjoy this more.

Progress #3

 Draft #3 - Music and Sound

In this draft, I explored music and sound effects to add to my film. Using the website freesounds.org, I took some time to look at different sounds I can use for the cooking scene, including sounds such as chopping, squeezing food and spreading jam on toast. Olivia and I also recorded some sounds after we filmed, including the car starting, toaster popping and outside ambience with crickets for when the characters were sitting out in the park at sunset. Once I put these in the edit, it gave the film a bit more depth and made it a lot creepier than it initially was, showing the importance of sound. It also made the themes of murder a lot more obvious, as the sounds represented the sounds the audience would hear in a scary scene like this.

Finally, I added the song I used as a soundtrack for the film 'It's All Forgotten Now' by Al Bowlly. This song made the film seem a lot less awkward and provided some sense of timing for the shots, especially when the singing starts at the end and the characters get out of the car, revealing the dead body. It gave the film a lot more character than before and really added to the affluent vibe I was trying to convey. The use of this non-diegetic sound set the scene and mood of the film effectively. 

Progress #2

Second draft of edit 

This draft includes the colour correcting of the edit. Colour correcting was something I found quite challenging when editing as I found it difficult to make the red colours of the foods and items stand out without making the entire shot look over saturated and too red overall. 

This made the red foods and items stand out the most in the film. I also wanted the scenery such as the trees and park to stand out and look appealing to the viewer, to contrast the dark themes. After this, I just needed to add sound to the film and the credits.

Progress #1

First draft of edit

This is the first draft of my edit for the 2 minute opening, which only includes the actual edits without the music, colour correcting and credits. I uploaded this to show my progress and also to show the chronological order of the shots.

From here, I need to work on colour correction, as most of the shots are very faded and the aim was to make them stand out, especially the red in the food because that's the main focus of the film. I also need to figure out what kind of sounds I want to use in my film, so far I think I will use some diegetic sound over the footage, as the microphone didn't actually pick up on the sounds when it was originally shot. Finally, I will need to add the credits and titles, which I plan to use After Effects for.

Choosing the name of my film - Red Herring

Olivia and I decided to name our film 'Red Herring' after the saying commonly used in a lot of stories and crime thrillers. The term 'red herring' means a literary device used to distract someone from what is actually going on in the story, or who is behind everything. We actually used this device in our film by distracting the viewer with the cooking scenes and romantic imagery, and laying the pieces out for them to decipher, before the big reveal of the dead body is shown visually in the penultimate shot. 

The term also refers to a clue or piece of information that is misleading, which, in our film, is the red imagery of the food. On a first viewing, the audience would be aware that our film is a thriller, so would understand that the film is intended to be scary, or that some sort of a threat will be present, but before they are aware of that threat, they may pick up on the violent, bloody themes from the food.

Olivia and I also wanted our film to have a relatively simple title, nothing too long but then not just a single word, as to give away just enough about it. We thought that this title fitted, especially the central colour of the film opening and general tone implied in it. 

Rough Cut feedback

What feedback did I receive from the class?

The main part I needed to change about my rough cut was the sound and credits. When we saved this rough cut, we made sure to put simple credits in it to show where and when they would be in the film, however we had not yet figured out what they would look like and creatively put them into the opening. I will change the credits and experiment using Aftereffects to create a nice effect and make them look like they are in the footage, by putting them at an angle or behind an object.

The sound is something Olivia and I will change. In the rough cut, we tried making the music fade in when the characters started the car, but it cut out halfway through the rest of the film, so this will be changed in our final edit. Another aspect that needed changing was the colour correcting with the blood. In some of the shots, the blood didn't stand out from the other colours and objects (which we didn't want as we needed to really highlight the red imagery).

https://tanglintrustschool-my.sharepoint.com/:v:/g/personal/zachary_grose_tts_edu_sg/Ef3SPQXEZ3RPlRLYuxPr8toBW9ug0-8_5Ma2reUzwH1_Yw?e=Ucwgq7

Zach's feedback for my rough cut ^

Editing progress photos

These are screenshots from when I was editing my film opening, showing my progress and how the film looked as it was being put together.

This was the effects I created when I was colour correcting my film. The 'red' labelled effect was used for the cooking scenes to make the red of the pomegranate and jam stand out, as well as the juice. I made the colour a darkish red to make it look more bloody and give the film a darker mood. The 'r ed' labelled effect was for the shots of the actor washing his hands and the juice going down the sink drain. This effect was similar to the other one but a little darker to emphasise the blood. The final effect called 'Emily' was used specifically for shots with our actress Emily, to emphasise on her red hair and the colours of her dress, as well as the mirror shot with the necklace.

This screenshot was from when I was adding sound to the film, showing the layers of sound used. Most of the sounds used were recorded by Olivia and I but some were from a website called freesounds.org. I layered some sounds on top of each other in some of the shots; for example in the shot of the hands washing and juice going down the drain, I layered the water running sound effect on top of the hands to make it stand out more, compared to the more quiet sound of the juice going down the drain.

This screenshot was from when I was adding credits to the film. I hadn't yet decided on a title for my film at this point, so I put the credit in and edited it before I would change it later on. When I made this credit, I changed the opacity and colour to make it look a little as if it blended in with the juice on the footage, or as if it was submerged in it.

This screenshot was from when I was colour correcting the green shots, such as the car driving and the park scenes. This was something I found particularly hard, especially for this shot, as I had to spend a lot of time playing around with the green colours to make the shot look natural and not too green - as the colour correcting made the shot look too green and not realistic.

More sound work, I had to change the speed of a sound effect to fit the speed of the dripping on the shot here.

Costumes

 

Dresses

For the female character's costume, we wanted her to come across as affluent with good taste and a sense of style, to contrast from her violent actions. This would be a binary opposite that would throw off the audience and make the reveal a lot more shocking. We looked at 3 different dresses that Emily, our actress, owned.

Dress 1 [Left]: This was the dress we went with in the end as we really liked the slightly abstract style it had and the stripe looked striking and interesting. The colours blended in with the setting but also stood out because of how bold they were and we thought it added a slight bit of obscurity to the film's style and aesthetic.

Dress 2 [Middle]: We liked how this dress was very floral and fit in quite nicely to the natural setting of the end scene. The green colour also suited Emily's hair and made her look fashionable. The reason why we decided against this one was because we thought the short skirt wouldn't be as flowy and fancy and it just wasn't as striking as we wanted it to be.

Dress 3 [Right]: This dress stood out from the other two because it looked a bit more modern and hippy-like. It represented a more conventional market for film and a new way of looking at things. We decided against it because we thought it didn't really fit the affluent themes of the film and we thought the colours didn't stand out the way we wanted them to. 

Jewelry

We decided from the start that we wanted the character to be wearing some sort of pearl necklace or something big, so it would show up on the shot of her putting it on in the mirror really easily. Pearls have often represented wealth and style so we wanted this to stand out in the film. We narrowed it down to two necklaces, both pearl. The one on the left was the one we picked in the end, as the pearls were bigger and more obvious, but we kept the charm out of the shot. The other necklace was strongly considered as we liked the colours between the pearls as it mirrored the ones on her dress and added a bit of character, but after doing some test shots to show this, we noticed that they just didn't stand out as well as the other necklace - so we decided against it in the end.

We also wanted her to wear red lipstick to emphasize the red imagery in the film and make her look more striking, as well as a snake ring which she is shown to be wearing in the shot of her turning the volume dial in the car.

SFX makeup

Experimenting with fake blood

Olivia and I decided to use some spray-on fake blood in a bottle from a Halloween store for our SFX in the opening. We took some test photos to show how the blood showed up on skin, as this would be important because the dead body would need to show this. It turned out very well with a nice splattering effect which we thought was very effective and would also be useful for the shot of the character washing the pomegranate juice off his hands as we could add some of this to really make it stand out. The fake blood was also very easy to wash out and didn't stain which was good and it dried very quickly, meaning we could apply it before a shot was taken and it wouldn't come off before we finished filming.

Props

 

 When working on our film, the main props we needed to use were for the cooking scene. We used bread (toast) and strawberry jam to make sandwiches with, and then used pomegranate, cucumber, lettuce and tomato to make a salad with. Before filming, I had found out that microwaving a pomegranate would be a useful tip for releasing more juice, from a friend who works in the drinks industry, as the heat popped the seeds and made it squishier. After doing this, we created a small slit for George (our actor) to rip the pomegranate apart and as soon as the knife entered the fruit, juice sprayed everywhere, so overall this tip worked really well. This was good because it created a blood splattering effect, which was what we wanted for our film as it really created the murderous red imagery we wanted. We used this by also holding the pomegranate over the blade of the knife we used to cut the sandwich, and letting it drip onto it, which created a really nice bloody effect.

Other props

When shooting the park scene, we also used a picnic basket, which the actors carried together with one hand on each strap, to show their closeness and equality in their relationship and violent actions. We also used a butcher's knife when filming the cooking scene, to make the characters look even more violent, as butcher's knives are often used to chop meat rather than fruit. We used a chopping board to protect the surface from the knives but also to be stained by the red juice from the food as well as the jam and tomato insides. We also used a salad bowl to toss the salad in. Finally, we had the characters sit on a picnic basket in the park, to make the picnic look more formal and give the setting a more cozy atmosphere to distract the viewer from what is really going on.

Filming of my 2 minute opening (Production)

Last minute decisions before filming

This took place whilst Olivia and I were apart due to Covid-19 issues. We used this time to call each other and discuss elements such as costumes and how to use the fake blood in the scene. Then, on the day of filming, we both called a few hours before meeting to shoot the opening to check over what we had and anything else we needed. We also prepared the gimbal, getting it steady to balance the camera, as it took time to do and we didn't want to spend too much time on it during production.

[The checklist we made before filming to ensure we had everything we needed]

The cooking scene 

The first scene Olivia and I filmed was the cooking scene, which took place in her kitchen and starred my brother, George (14). The scene was really interesting to film as we got to play around with ideas using the food and make the work area look really disgusting as time went on. 

[The food we used for this scene was cucumber, tomatoes, lettuce, pomegranate and bread with strawberry jam]

The salad scene was particularly interesting because our aim was to make it as unappealing as possible by squeezing the pomegranate juice over it. This turned out really effective as the juice turned it slightly pink which made it look gory and disgusting.

I had been told before shooting by someone I know, who does photography, that microwaving a pomegranate helps pop the arils inside and make it more juicy and squishy. This proved really effective because when we cut into it the juice leaked out everywhere which temporarily stained the cutting board and made it look like blood. The pomegranate was also a lot easier for the actor to rip apart, therefore making the shot look better and overall it was a really useful tactic.

Experimenting with mirror shots

Our friend Emily (16) played our female character. We wanted the character to come off as fancy and affluent, despite the psychotic undertones of her and her partner's actions in the film. She is seen in the film dressed more elegantly than her partner, with jewelry and painted nails, as if she's going somewhere classier than just a picnic in a field. There was one shot we wanted to experiment with, featuring our actress looking into a mirror and putting a pearl necklace on as she is getting ready. We really wanted this shot in the final film, but the point we also wanted to make was that the viewer never sees the characters' faces. Therefore, we did a few experimental shots with me instead of Emily beforehand, just to see exactly where the camera needs to be so that her face wouldn't fully be in the shot. 

Filming the ending scenes 

For the ending scenes, we drove to Alexandra Park in Singapore and filmed on a hill that looked out on to a view of the forest. A challenge when filming there was that there were a lot of other people and also that we had planned for the last shot to include a nice sunset, something we unfortunately didn't get on the day we filmed. The day was quite overcast but we just filmed the shots anyway and decided to colour correct when editing. 

[Figuring out how to position the body in the car]

Shot experiments - pre-filming

The driving scenes 

This section was filmed by Olivia at the start of the term. Unfortunately, due to Covid-19 related issues, I couldn't be there for this, however I was able to film all the scenes afterwards. Olivia filmed these scenes with her drone or with her camera connected to the front of her car. The camera on the front of the car didn't pick up on the people inside it and instead reflected the sky and trees above, this was effective as we didn't want the characters in the opening's faces to be shown to create an enigma code.

In our film, there is a scene where the two characters are shown to be driving on a road to the park, and we needed to present this to show how the characters got to a different location from the first (the kitchen). The shot was planned to be an aerial tracking shot of the car, however, I unfortunately could not be there for this due to Covid-19 related issues, though I was able to film all the scenes afterwards. Olivia experimented with some interesting angles and used a suction camera mount to attach her camera to the front of her car. She then filmed some footage with this of her and her dad driving the car. This was effective as we could actually use the footage from the suction mount for our film as Olivia and her dad's faces weren't visible behind the reflection of the sky and trees on the car window. This was good as it kept our characters' identities anonymous to the viewer and introduced an enigma code, therefore we will be using the footage in the final product. Finally, she experimented with the aerial tracking shots using the drone with some unusual angles, and then we called on Instagram to discuss how we could use the experimental shots.

Font Research

 

The font I decided to go with for my credits was 'American Typewriter'. This font has often been used to represent the time before computers an digital art existed - when everyone used typewriters. I like it because it creates a kind of grungy and classic look, bringing the audience back to a different time, as well as making the film seem elegant and the writing style smoother. This font is also often used in a lot of crime or murder series or films, as it represents someone typing up the case on a typewriter after the event - I wanted to mimic this in my opening, as if the murder the characters have committed has been documented after the events on camera through the credits. 

I also used an animation in Final Cut Pro that had the typewriter text appear letter by letter, as if it was being typed up in the opening. I think this really creates the 'case study' effect in the film as it looks like someone is studying the murder and learning about it at the same time as the audience. Another common use of the typewriter font in media is that of remembering a friend or loved one. An example I used here as inspiration for this was the opening of every episode of 'A Series Of Unfortunate Events,' which opens each time with a letter for a deceased character called Beatrice. 

This correlates to my film as the font would represent the character who has been murdered, as they have been lost to the audience and we as an audience sympathise with them as we are powerless to help them in the scene, with the two murderers able to get away with their actions. This is why I decided to choose this font for my film opening, to bring the audience back to a different time in film and writing, to give the idea of a case being studied and to represent the loss of the deceased character to the two villains.

Communicating with my partner

 When Olivia and I were working together on our film opening, we faced a lot of Covid-19 complications, travelling problems over Christmas and other absences, so therefore a lot of our initial ideas and planning was done online, over messages. We would often text like this or call each other on Zoom or Teams to discuss our thoughts and add information about what we were doing in class to the person who was off school or away. There were also times when we were in different time zones, meaning that we had to adapt our communication methods to talk to each other about the project.

Below are me and Olivia's messages from November 2021, when we began to plan our project and come up with ideas for what the narrative would be. This was around the time of pitching the ideas from our Padlets and making the script and mood board.

Padlet and Pre-visualisation

Location scouting

 Alexandra Park - Singapore 

This was done the week before filming, when, due to Covid-19 complications, I wasn't here to join Olivia in location scouting. However, Olivia was able to go and take photos of the location, which we would share over Teams calls and decide on where to film.

This area was nice as it felt very remote and peaceful, as if it was part of the countryside. This was important for our film, as we wanted the location to directly contrast the mood of the scene, with dark elements such as the murder and violence being overshadowed by the aesthetically pleasing setting. 

We had looked at a few other places to shoot the film but didn't feel as if they worked for our ideal setting we had in mind - either because they contained too many city elements (such as buildings or fences) or because they didn't catch the sunset like this one did at the right time. We also wanted out characters to be looking out onto a view at the end of the opening, and this place captured this perfectly.

Health and Safety

 

Whilst filming my opening, Olivia and I made sure that our three actors were kept safe on set, as well as us and anyone else involved around us. When we were filming the cooking scene, we made sure to instruct George (playing the male character) on how to hold the knife properly so he wouldn't get hurt when preparing the food. As he was only 14, it was extremely important for us to keep him safe around sharp objects, especially as he was supposed to be acting violently in the scene. We also made sure that every actor, including ourselves, had a water bottle on them at all times, as well as some sweets and snacks we kept with us in case they got hungry. When filming in the park, we took other people into consideration, and made sure not to disturb them or risk them tripping over filming equipment, by staying away from them. 

Character Research

Before starting to create our film and characters, I looked at some existing characters from other pieces of media for inspiration. This was so Olivia and I could develop ideas for what our characters would look like, since they do not have any dialogue in the opening, and what kind of first impression we would want the viewer to get of them, without hearing them speak.

Villanelle - Killing Eve

I took inspiration for the female character in our film from the character Villanelle from the British spy thriller TV show 'Killing Eve'. Villanelle is an assassin for a group called 'The Twelve' and is portrayed as being hunted by a former MI6 member Eve as she kills individuals around the world, mostly in Europe. Throughout the show, Villanelle is presented in a number of different outfits, with all of them being quite abstract and unique for someone who's looking for people to kill. I wanted to reflect this in the female character of our film opening, with ideas about her potential costumes centering around the obscure but also fashionable. I looked at a lot of stripe patterns and took inspiration from Villanelle in the costumes shown below, as well as some ideas for possible suit combinations to show power in the character. However, this was not chosen in the end as we wanted the character to present as feminine whilst also being seen as powerful, as it was very important to us that both the male and female characters were equal in power in their relationship; hence why they are often seen side by side carrying items together.

As a character, Villanelle is presented as very seductive and psychopathic, who is mutually obsessed with the 'cat and mouse' game created between her and Eve, with the two women hunting each other throughout the show. She's an extremely broken character with a tragic childhood, but she still manages to find a way to look amazing and be charming when out for the kill. Her name is an obvious variation of the word 'villainess', meaning female villain, therefore highlighting the representation of her as a woman antagonist in the show. She's been described as “exceptionally gifted, completely soulless, and odd-duck hilarious … rude, funny, awful, naughty. She’s twisted and conscienceless, but she is also irrepressible. She’s a proper psychopath.” I think this reflects how we wanted our characters to come off as in our film, with the two of them being cold blooded murderers who also look good and do seem to enjoy what they are doing, even making a picnic to ‘celebrate’ their murder – therefore making them even scarier.

In my film, I would love to cast Emma Stone as the female character because of her recent role in ‘Cruella’ (2021) as the iconic Disney villain. In this film, Emma Stone plays a character who is cold blooded and not afraid to be violent to get what she wants, whilst also being incredibly stylish and the constant centre of attention throughout the film. I think this would work very well with my character as it would make the villain very likeable as well as evil; and Emma Stone would play her very well.

For the male character, I thought that Penn Badgley was a good idea for dream casting, specifically for his role in the Netflix TV Show 'You' (2018-). His character, Joe Goldberg, is a bookstore manager and serial killer who falls in love and develops a deep obsession with a woman he stalks through social media and tracks throughout the show. I thought that this would be a good idea for the male character as Joe Goldberg is a character who is very strong and manipulative, as well as controlling, which is something we wanted to present in him as a villain character. 

Music Research for opening 

 Initial ideas

Olivia and I both agreed that the music in our film should be reasonably light hearted to reflect the cheeriness of the cooking and picnic scenes. We each looked at different songs individually to get an idea of what we were both feeling and what kind of mood we each wanted to set for the scenes.

'It's All Forgotten Now' - Al Bowlly

This song made me think of our opening because I felt like it had a very old and romantic but slightly horrifying vibe. Of course this song wasn't created with this intention exactly, but it does feature in the film 'The Shining', which is a famous horror film. 

Lyrics analysis

The song's lyrics also reflect our story and film pretty well, with the singer talking about some form of conflict being forgotten, and saying that "we're still in love." This works with our characters as the forgotten conflict could represent the body in the back of the car that they killed, which is revealed halfway through the film. There's also a large emphasis on love and relationships, which is a large theme in our film with the two main characters being a couple who are shown to be in love. Finally, the song has a long instrumental opening that finishes around the 1:30 minute mark when the singing starts. This would mean that the lyrics wouldn't overshadow the sound effects and the song could be easier to use without copyright.

In the end, Olivia and I decided to choose different songs for our edits, with her going with 'Brown Eyed Girl' by Van Morrison, and me going for this one. Since the song was from the 1930s, copyright was not a problem and it could be used. 

Brown Eyed Girl - Van Morrison

What was good about this song was the loving lyrics that reflected the closeness of the couple in our film. It was also very cheery and we experimented with editing it in so that it came on when the characters turned up the volume in the car. This use of a soundtrack would be good because it drives the audience away from the actual plot of the film and what is going on with the murderous actions of the couple, and instead focuses on a simple, nice picnic between two people in love. 

We tried to use the song, but unfortunately it was still under copyright, so Olivia sent an email to the agency, but she didn't get a reply. Therefore, we had to consider other options.

What Does It Matter How My Heart Breaks - The Caretaker

The reason why I didn't decide on this song is because it sounds sadder, rather than romantic but creepy, it almost feels like the music is in pain with the use of the strings and horns dragging. However, this song did inspire me for the kind of mood I wanted in the film, and I looked at it when I was editing to see how it would match up with the shots. 

The song itself is a more depressing edit of the song 'Heartaches' also by Al Bowlly, when I tried editing it with the shots, it turned out that it didn't really fit the aesthetic of the scenes, especially the sunny day outside and sunset with the characters having the picnic. Therefore, I chose not to use this song in the final edit.

Overall, we looked at a number of different film soundtracks, such as The Shining (1980) and its use of brass instruments to convey an unsettling atmosphere in its scenes, and The Silence of The Lambs (1991) which uses low pitched horns that make it very disturbing and dark. Instead, we went for a different approach with music that wasn't intended to be scary, hence the lyrics in these songs, but still sounds terrifying when used in a context like this one. 

The final edit

In my final edit, I decided to go with 'It's All Forgotten Now', because I felt that it fit the film's aesthetic and story best, with the lyrics being interpreted as the aftermath of an event. I edited it into the footage and it fit with the timing and length of the opening as well, with the singing coming in right at the end, leaving most of the film with some nice instrumental music to go with the cooking scenes.

Schedule 

 In order to keep track of our progress and stay on top of deadlines, Olivia and I made a schedule for our project on Trello. This also helped us ensure that we did not forget anything prior to filming and that our film was shot efficiently and that everything was complete. This schedule outlined what equipment we would need, what we would need to do for previsualisation and when, as well as dates for experimental shooting an other tasks such as the actual scenes.

This screenshot was from when we were in the middle of filming, around January 2022.

This was a screenshot from after we completed filming, to show all the tasks we did overall.

The calendar of dates for tasks.

 Pre-visualisation - Moodboard

The idea behind the mood board was so that me and Liv could get a visual idea of the imagery of our film, so we knew what we should try to replicate when it came to filming it. This helped us understand the red imagery we were going for as well as factors such as the location of the film in the countryside and the lighting we could use.

Pre-visualisation - Storyboard

Drawing up an initial idea of what the storyboard would look like so we knew the order of the shots and food making sequences. 

This was an initial storyboard that we drew on a whiteboard to get a general idea of the order of the shots and how the film would look, especially the cooking scenes and their order.

Story board 

This is the story board for me and Olivia's 2 minute film opening. We considered many different ideas for the cooking scene but wanted to focus on red foods to give it a slightly gory, unsettling vibe. Therefore, when drawing the story board, I coloured all the red items red, with everything else in black and white, to really emphasize the colouring and make it clearer for us both to create.

For the shot with the hand turning the dial, we wanted the girl to have red nails, continuing the red imagery in the film, along with the snake ring, with the snake symbolising deception and evil, a lot like in Adam and Eve and the Garden of Eden. 

Pre-visualisation - Script

 My script to my film opening 

When we were coming up with ideas for our film, me and Olivia initially wrote our thoughts down on paper and then developed them into a script. When we came to drawing our storyboard, we did change a few of the ideas as we adapted them to fit the cooking sequence, such as the weapon in the corner of the shot in the car sticking out, and the car being in the shot at the end at the park. However, the script allowed us to understand the narrative of the film better and what happens in the story; we could also use it to follow when it came to shooting the film.

Feedback from the pitch

 Feedback from the class

This week, as a class we all listened to each other's initial ideas for our films. Unfortunately, Olivia was not here for this as she was off, therefore I gathered feedback then we called and discussed this after school. I presented the two Padlets with our ideas and what we wanted the film to be about, as well as our inspiration from other thrillers. Although we didn't yet have a clear idea what exactly our film would be about, or what would happen in it, we were taking ideas and themes from other films to develop our ideas.

The initial feedback the class gave:

- Idea of 'obsession'.

- Symbolism (think of the moth from Silence of The Lambs - how could you present that kind of imagery through your film?)

- Look at shows like 'You' which focus on male power and violence.

- Stalking and killing?

- Your idea needs more substance and depth so you will need to come up with a story before deciding how to present it through film.

- Need to come up with a final idea.

What we will do next, based on this feedback and how we will improve

I think that the plan after this pitch is to decide exactly what our film will be about, what will happen and where the threat/reveal will come from. Since Olivia and I were apart this week, it has been difficult for us to finalise some kind of idea together, especially as we both have different ideas. Therefore, we will be meeting once she is back in school to come up with a final idea and then build off that to start creating our film. 

Pitch Padlet

 I was introduced to a website I hadn't used before called Padlet to work on ideas for my film opening project. I am working with a partner for this project, Olivia Henderson, so we used two separate Padlets to develop our ideas and explore our chosen genre of Psychological thrillers and apply what we have learnt to our project.

What was good about Padlet was that we could effectively separate different ideas and topics, such as looking at specific film openings, as shown below, and imagery we could draw ideas from. This really helped us get a clear idea of what we could include in our film and where our inspiration from other work came from.

This is my Padlet I worked on this week and developed my ideas by looking at the opening of famous psychological thrillers. I took inspiration from the dream sequence in the Babadook, a low budget Australian horror film, looking at the shot of a female character slipping out of her dream and into her bed. I was really interested in the idea of dream versus reality and the shot cutting back into the room once she wakes up. I think that using dream sequences or fantasies could be a really unique and interesting way to present my opening.

Another aspect Olivia and I looked at was soundtracks. Although we wouldn't be able to use specific

songs due to copyright restrictions, we liked finding different songs to develop ideas off the lyrics and feeling of the melodies. I looked at a lot of older songs by artists such as Al Bowlly and Tommy Dorsey which were originally written about love but have a slightly sinister sounding melody. The lyrics are about reflection and memories which we could use to develop a story based on these themes. We used these to come up with ideas for our opening's narrative and build up an image of our characters who would appear in it.

This is Olivia's Padlet with her ideas. Unfortunately, she was off school for the first week of the project, therefore communication was difficult between us but we still managed to give our own personal ideas and additions to the project. She has been looking at more openings to psychological thrillers such as 'The Shining' and 'Black Swan' and has developed her own ideas from them as well as interpretations of their techniques with credit structure and camera shots. She has also noted the similarities between them which she will use to develop an idea for our opening with me once she is back in school.

Developing our idea 

We spent the second week working on our idea and decided to go on a different route to our original themes. We created the idea of a montage of somebody making food for a picnic, with a generally calm and normal atmosphere but an underlying sense of the unheimlich, with the food being made to look gruesome and associated with violent actions. We will do this using mise-en-scene and different close ups and camera angles to emphasize the creepiness of the scene, before giving the big reveal that the couple in the opening are murderers, by showing a dead body hidden in their car as they drive off to have their picnic.

We decided on this idea rather than the others as we believed it would be better to imply the creepy themes in the opening rather than to just show them on screen. We thought the food-making montage would be really effective at displaying that slightly unsettling element of the film, which would be better at keeping the audience guessing what will happen before the big reveal.

Quick analysis of a scene: The Dark Crystal (1982) - how this scene inspired the food in my film

 The Dark Crystal - Skeksis eating scene

I chose this scene to analyse because I took inspiration for the cooking scene from the food here. The food used in this scene is made to look really disgusting and the focus I had on it was the sounds it made. The film uses diegetic sound to make the skeksis eating sound worse than the food actually is, and uses this to make them appear more violent than they look. Since this scene used puppets, it can control exactly how they move and look, making them look scarier to the viewer.

Since I will not be revealing the faces of the characters in my film, this scene helped me understand how to film the cooking scenes, using a lot of sound effects rather than just the footage to make the scene more uncomfortable. Another device used in this scene is the food being made to look really disgusting and unappealing to the audience, in order to make the characters look more villainous through what they consume. It gives the message that these characters don't care about presentation or looking good, therefore making them appear a lot more evil as they have no care for their appearance. I would use this in my own project by making the food look disgusting to not only mirror a character's own actions, but to make them look more evil as they don't care how they present to society, giving the idea of a social outcast.

Analysis of a sub-genre opening - Joker (2019)

Joker (2019)

 

I chose the opening of Joker, a psychological thriller about the famous villain's origin story and his descent into madness and insanity. The film also inspires a cultural, violent revolution in Gotham city, where it is set and the film is a box office success, with it grossing over $1 billion with 11 nominations at the Academy Awards, winning Best Actor and Best Original Score. I took inspiration from this film's opening because of the use of sound in the scenes and the way it presents the character's mental illness in the first few minutes.

Scene analysis

What I have taken away from this opening

The Joker opening focuses on the isolation of an individual and the affect that society has on them. I will take this and use it when producing my film opening and use some of the techniques, such as the use of a dutch shot to show power, or the first scene in front of the mirror, to show emotion in my film. The representation of the Joker as a villain is also interesting to me because I can use the way he is presented to create the villain characters in my film opening. Little details such as the way he is most happy when he is the Joker or the binary opposites with him smiling but also crying could be presented in my film through the eyes of my characters. Overall, analysing this film opening has helped me gain a deeper understanding of the sub genre Psychological Thrillers and will lead to me creating ideas for my own film opening with Olivia.

Sub-genre Research - Psychological Thrillers

Before creating our own thriller opening, Olivia and I did some research into the different sub-genres of thrillers. Thriller is a very broad genre, with many different types of thriller and different sub-genres that are associated with the term, although the most common thrillers include:

- Psychological thriller

- Action thriller

- Crime thriller

- Spy thriller

- Horror thriller

- Mystery thriller

- Supernatural thriller

To get a better understanding of the differences between the sub-genres, I did some further research into how each of them differ, so I could also decide which one I wanted to build my idea for my opening around. 

Our decision

Olivia and I decided that our film opening would be a psychological thriller. This was because we found this sub-genre to be the most interesting and we really liked how it was presented when we watched 'The Silence of The Lambs' as a class. We thought that keeping the audience in the dark for the majority of the opening to be a good way to present our threat and would make the film more interesting to watch. Therefore, we intentionally made sure to keep the faces of our actors a mystery to the viewer to create an enigma code, and created a cheery atmosphere to the film so that we could explore the theme of a potential mental illness in our characters - therefore giving an implication for the reason why they are murderers. 

Common themes in a psychological thriller:

- Criminals

- Stalkers

- Assassins

- Private investigators

- Psychotic individuals (mental illness)

- Secret agents

- Sociopaths

- Secret agents

- Terrorists

- Cops

- Trauma

- Psychology 

Credit structure analysis 

Introduction

The task I was given this week was to analyse the opening credits for the film 'Panic Room' (2002) by making a timeline and making a note for every part of the opening that features a credit (eg: directed by.../production designer...) along with the time they appear.

Panic room (2002) Opening credits

I made a timeline of the credits in the opening to see what order they come in and at what time. This shows the importance of the order and when the different credits and titles have to show. For example, the director is usually stated at the end of the sequence, the studio names at the start, and actors in the middle (depending on who makes the most appearances in the film and who is the lead). The production team is usually after the actors but before the end of the sequence.

What I learnt from this opening was the way the credits were shown in the environment of the shots. The credits are all 3D which is a great technique as they can be moved to look as if they blend in with the location and are a part of it. This is good as it fits nicely with the shapes of the buildings they surround and they make the opening sequence just look a lot more appealing and interesting than just the text appearing on the screen, therefore it is more enjoyable for the viewer.

True Blood intro analysis 

True Blood (2008 - 2014) Opening analysis 

This week I was tasked with analysing the opening to True Blood, a fantasy horror drama about vampires set in Louisiana, America. The opening very much felt like a montage with a lot of gloomy and short clips with a lot of imagery associated with blood and Southern America. 

I did some notes on the imagery in the opening and what kind of themes it presents that appear in the show as well as my initial thoughts and what I took away from the intro.

I analysed some of the shots from the opening and what I think they may be representing or telling the audience about the show they are about to see. I noticed a lot of religious, vampire, Southern and natural imagery which describes what the show is about in a very gruesome and gloomy way; as if to do the opposite of romanticising it, which I found really interesting. 

Get out of the water!! - Shallows scene analysis

 Opening scene analysis: Once Upon A Time In Hollywood - what do we expect from film openings?

 Introduction

I was tasked with analysing the opening to the film 'Once Upon A Time In Hollywood', and to look at how the opening works to establish the exposition of the story along with which techniques it uses.

What we expect from film openings 

Film openings should have just about enough information to tell the audience a bit about the setting, themes and characters they are about to be witnessing, whilst still not revealing too much or getting too deep into the story. It serves as a way for the exposition of the film to be laid out and the credits to be shown before the film actually begins - like an introduction in a book.

One thing I found really interesting about how this sequence was shot was the camera zooming out of the photo of Rick Dalton slowly, as the credits play, and into the car where Rick and Cliff are sitting. The camera stays in the back of the car as they pull out of the parking spot and start driving and that is where it stays for almost a minute of the sequence (almost half the duration of the opening). I think this really shows the director, Quentin Tarantino's intentions with this scene; making the audience a part of the two character's lives whilst still keeping them questioning who they are. This makes the audience want to watch more of the film because they don't find out who the characters are for a full minute and are quite literally kept in the dark about it because the car is so dimly lit.

The Narrative

- Binary opposites

- Comparisons

- Narrative range

- Barthes

- Codes (enigma)

- Show don't tell

- 2 separate storylines

- Star + celebrities

- Lots of shots from within cars

- Both travelling to destinations

- Smoking and drinking in couple

- Partying

- Differences and similarities in lifestyles

- Star is brighter than the couple and seems happier

Visual

In this scene the audience is introduced to three major characters that are shown to be of importance to the story: a star and two men in a car. The star is presented as rich looking and happier, with her interacting with more people and receiving better lighting compared to the couple. The couple, however, have no dialogue unlike her and don't have any interaction or attention from other people. This establishes their characters very early on in the film, therefore showing the importance of the opening sequence as the audience gets to learn enough about them from this two minute clip without the film having to explain everything directly and rather by showing, not telling.

Another highlight of this scene I found was the differences in settings for the two groups. Rick Dalton (played by Leonardo DiCaprio) and Cliff Booth (played by Brad Pitt) are both seen to be in a car together for the majority of the scene. The car is very dimly lit and messy, meaning you don't get to see them in full light in most of the scene and therefore they don't look like they're enjoying themselves compared to Sharon Tate (played by Margot Robbie). The difference is that Sharon is seen to be in a roofless car with sunglasses and a scarf on, clearly presenting how she isn't hiding away from the world like they are. The other difference in setting is the fact that the men are on their way to a bar, another dimly lit location, whereas Sharon is on her way home from the airport. This tells the audience the difference between them is that Sharon lives a healthier looking life, on the outside, compared to the men, who are seen smoking and drinking for the duration of the clip. The visuals really help the audience understand the characters more than any other aspect of the opening.

The opening clip from 'Once Upon A Time In Hollywood':

Clarice Starling - Representation

Representation of Clarice Starling - The Silence of The Lambs

The Silence of The Lambs - Autopsy 

The Silence of the Lambs - Conversation scene analysis

 Introduction

This week I watched the psychological horror 'The Silence of The Lambs' directed by Johnathan Demme and based on the novel by Thomas Harris in 1988. The film was released in 1991 and stars Jodie Foster as Clarice Starling, Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter and Ted Levine as the insane antagonist 'Buffalo Bill'. The film is about Clarice, an FBI police officer in training, and her struggle with the audience to crack the case of Buffalo Bill, with the untrustworthy help of the psychologist and cannibal, Doctor Hannibal Lecter. 

My thoughts and response on the film

What I found really interesting and ultimately took away from this film was the relationship between Clarice and Hannibal Lecter and how, although he manages to get inside her head and make her uncomfortable in every scene they are in together, he still protects her from harm by hurting anyone who makes her job as FBI difficult throughout the film. The two of them share a type of bond, despite their statuses as characters, with Hannibal never wanting any harm to come to Clarice, even when he escapes prison and is completely free to kill her by the end of the film; however he still chooses to seek Dr. Chilton, the doctor who tries to steal Clarice's success in the film. 

The other factor that I found really interesting in the film was the use of the 'male gaze' in the form of a lot of shots from Clarice's point of view (POV). I thought this was a really effective tool, as throughout the film, Clarice is often talked to in a certain way by a lot of the male characters, as if she either won't understand what they're saying, despite her status as FBI, or that she won't be able to handle the gruesome topics they talk about in the film. This was a really interesting device to me as it really gets across the visual aspect of the film's message, rather than just hearing what the characters are saying to each other. 

Analysing scenes - Clarice's first meeting with Hannibal Lecter

In this shot, there is a clear visual difference in physical power, with Clarice taking up most of the screen and Hannibal inside the cell against her, but there is also a difference in psychological power, which is presented in the stare Lecter has on Clarice and the focus on him rather than her. It's clear that the director wanted us as the audience to feel as if Clarice is dominating the conversation here by using an over-the-shoulder shot to establish the closeness between the characters, despite them being on different sides of the wall; but also that he wanted us to know that she won't have this much power for much longer because of how intimidating Lecter is as a character, and his way of 'getting into peoples' heads' as other characters put it throughout the narrative. Although Clarice takes up most of the screen, Lecter isn't really pushed into the corner of the shot by her and still stands up straight and in focus, as if to imply that he isn't intimidated by her in their first meeting.

Alternatively, in this shot, the two characters are closer than at any other point in the film, revealing where they stand in terms of power for the first time since both their faces can be seen for the first time in the same shot. Once again, Lecter dominates the conversation, this time more physically than psychologically, with him towering over her, his arms spread out in the cell to show his dominance and need to escape very clearly. Clarice cowers shamefully in front of him and the shot is a medium low angle to emphasize how terrifying Lecter looks here, ending the scene with the impression that their relationship is almost completely in his control at this point in the film. It's a low angle Hollywood shot, with the emphasis clearly being on the characters' top halves of their bodies, and the way Lecter towers over Clarice, with his side of the glass being lighter and therefore more overbearing than Clarice's which is dimly lit, centering her as a person.

As Lecter tells Clarice more information in this shot, there's a slow zoom onto their faces, which I think really emphasizes the fear he holds over her here. The closeness of the shot eliminates anyone and anything else in the shot and the low angle of the camera makes their relationship much more terrifying for the viewer, as the angle looks slightly obscure and it makes Lecter look more powerful than he has in the scene so far. To compare it to a shot before, he is directly from Clarice's point of view, about the same height as the camera, looking powerless behind the glass on his own. There's a stark contrast here to this shot because of the change in the camera angle, especially as this is the first shot in the scene when he is closest to Clarice, with both their faces showing. Before this, both their heads could be seen in the shot, but never their faces and expressions at the same time. I think this clearly represents the first point at which their relationship is presented as raw, with Clarice being shown as afraid for the first time and seeming more vulnerable around Lecter.

Conventions of Thrillers

Introduction

I was tasked with selecting four trailers for Thrillers released in 2021 and to analyse what they have in common and how they relate to the codes and conventions of the genre of Thriller. What I noticed these films had in common was that they all had very fast paced, tense trailers and didn't reveal too much about the story to make people want to watch them. The reason behind why they were so exciting for people to see when they were released was because people wanted to know what the mystery of the thrillers was, therefore audiences will go to see them because of the enigmatic stories.

House of Gucci (24/11/21)

What I found interesting about this movie was the murder plot and how it related to the other films, but also created a sense of fun to the film that the others don't have. The characters are charming and stylish, making them likeable even if they do bad things in the story or hurt other characters. This means the film is more of a comedy-thriller than the others but still retains the mystery and slightly terrifying themes that hook the audience throughout the film.

What I could take away from this film would definitely be the way the villains were presented. A lot of the lighting was very dark, but was used to emphasize the characters' features and costumes, as the reason why they are eye-catching characters is because they are so well dressed. The villains of this film and the ultimate 'thriller' sense here is very different to other films as it is created through lots of close up shots to the villains rather than just creepy imagery; the fear comes from how intimidating the characters are, therefore creating an enigma code for the audience to learn about when watching the film.

Last Night In Soho (29/10/21)

This film had a stereotypical Thriller trailer but still seemed fresh and creative. The trailer revealed quite a lot about the plot and gave away some of the spoilers but the lighting and short shots created a sense of mystery by teasing the audience with as little content as possible to make them want to see it.

What I would take away from this film would definitely be the lighting. The lighting is very colourful and makes the scarier scenes look a lot more dramatic, therefore making the film much more creepy than if this technique wasn't used. I also like the shots with the famous character in the reflection of the mirror to the main character. I think this really shows the divide between the characters and I could use this in my own project to make it very clear to the audience who the villain is in the story and who isn't. The use of the mirror reflection also serves as a huge reveal in the trailer, which I could use to establish characters in my own work. 

Those Who Wish Me Dead (14/5/21)

What this film does well to make people afraid is use real fears people have such as heights or fires to allow the audience to insert themselves into the position of the character, as if those things could happen to them. There's a lot of dark camera shots to emphasize how dark the story is and exaggerate the terrifying themes of the film to the audience.

What I would take away from this film and use in my own work would definitely be the contrast between the natural shots and then the fires and violent scenes. This creates such a clear divide between the scenes that it allows us as the audience to feel worse for the protagonists, as if you know they don't deserve this before you've even watched the film. I could use this by creating shots that are strongly contrasting against more violent scenes, or rather using seemingly calm and normal shots but filming them in a way that makes them seem more violent than they are. For example, I could make characters do everyday activities but make them act more violently to give off the impression that they are scarier than what the audience may think.

Rushed (27/8/21)

What I thought was interesting about this film is that the fear and thriller aspects come from typical ideas such as murder plots and investigations but still seems fresh and enjoyable because of the sense of the unheimlich from the close up still shots. These shots mostly focus on the mother character, meaning you get a clear representation of what she's thinking and really feel her emotion as she looks for her son. 

What I could take away from this film would be the presentation of the character's emotions without them saying anything. This was what Alfred Hitchcock would define as 'pure cinema', with characters showing enough emotion so the audience knows what is going on without them having to tell it explicitly. It also relates to the 'Kuleshov effect', which I looked at in class. This is an effect created in editing which includes an object or event, then cutting back to a character's face to show their emotions and thought process. I would be able to use this in my own work as it works very well without dialogue and really conveys what a character is thinking to the audience (for example: a shot of a building falling then cutting to a character's face would show sadness).

What do these films have in common?

All four of these films tease a lot of mystery by using dark, quick shots to reveal parts of the story that interest the audience, but still maintain a sense of enigmatic suspense that still keeps the audience alert and invested in the story. Thrillers define as a genre that revolves around anticipation and suspense, with the audience wanting the story and character to turn out ok, but still face challenges they wouldn't want to face in their lives, but rather view it in fiction. The aim with thrillers is to keep the audience on the edge of their seats and I believe that these films all do this - even in the trailers. 

What are their differences?

What makes all of these films unique from each other is their differences in visual styles. Last Night In Soho and House of Gucci both revolve around murder plots but do so with stunning visuals to romanticize the genre; therefore the fear that the audience feels comes from the fact that they don't expect the films to be scary or ugly in any way. This makes them both scary in a way that's different to Rushed and Those Who Wish Me Dead because those films already have a terrifying aesthetic. It's hard to define a thriller because they can all look or feel so different with each story being told or each setting they represent. 

I also think that these films all present their villains and characters differently. Films like 'House of Gucci' and 'Last Night In Soho' make their villains look creepy but also elegant and composed, therefore making them even scarier as they are poised and calm, as if they don't see their dangerous actions as wrong. The other thrillers, 'Rushed' and 'Those Who Wish Me Dead', take a different approach and present their characters as extremely unhinged and on edge for the entirety of the trailer. This is also very effective, as it makes the audience slightly sympathise with the characters and shows their slow decent into madness, a device often used in films. All of these films inspire me and have taught me about how thrillers work as a genre in greater depth, and I will definitely be using their techniques in my own work later.

Thrillers - What is fear?

Fear comes from ideas of monsters we created and what kind of societal concepts they represent. Each monster that has become famous in film depicts a societal fear we have (or have had) of one specific type of person or problem we face. Therefore, these 'monsters' we created are very present in thrillers and horrors because of what they represent and how that connects to us as people in stories.

Why do we watch scary movies?

It doesn't always seem to make sense as to why we watch scary movies when they terrify us so much, some people argue that we want to see things we know we will never experience, but I believe that we watch scary movies because it feeds the side of our personalities that quietly want this type of horrifying fantasy to be a reality - as it aids our interest or because we don't experience many primitive, instinctive fears in this modern day compared to in the past.

5 explanations as to why we watch scary movies

My take on the theories

I agree the most with David J. Skal's theory that horror films are a reflection of societal fears we have experienced over time, meaning we all find them scary because we have experienced something similar to these monsters at some point in each of our generations. For example, the youngest generation as of 2021 may have a slight fear of zombie films because of the rise of pandemic caution and awareness over the past two years.

What are we afraid of as a society?

Here are some examples of fears we have universally as a society and how filmmakers have incorporated them into their films to create thrillers. We came up with these ideas as a class and listed things that scared us then looked for films that these fears appear in.

Fears

- Privacy (The Truman Show)

- Clowns (It)

- Heights (Vertigo)

- Disease (The Walking Dead/Zombieland)

- Snakes (Anaconda)

- The dark (Lights Out)

- Sharks (Jaws)

- Being alone (Inside Out)

Filmmakers use common fears such as these to recreate the ideas or fantasies seen in nightmares or history, so that people can escape using them and find a sense of peace because they know that these stories are fiction. People will always want to see films like these because they enjoy being scared, as, in a modern world, we don't experience a lot of these fears, especially in a position of safety or privilege.

Production Day! (5/11/21)

Introduction 

On the Friday 5th November, I was given a production day to work in a group of 4 and learn about Alfred Hitchcock films and his technique, by experimenting with different camera shots and styles. As a group, we were given a series of these to replicate:

- Experimenting with lighting

- Montage

- Axial cut

- Dolly zoom

- Moving close up

- Silhouettes

Lighting

Working with lighting allowed us to understand blending of colours to show different emotions or to present what is going on in a character's head. We experimented with using red to show anger or create an evil or murderous character, and used blue to create sadness or tranquility, contrasting between the two. When we combined the two along with green we decided to move them around to make a shot look more chaotic or to show a character in madness. I learnt a lot about combining colours and showing emotion with them to really show what a character is thinking in a scene.

 Reverse tracking shot

This was the shot I found the hardest to film because the pacing of the shot was difficult to recreate and difficult to film. We found the close up of the character with the person behind them hard to recreate and the walking shot was difficult because we had someone spotting the cameraman as they couldn't see behind them. However, this technique helped us understand how to keep pacing in a scene and create tension.

Dolly zoom

This was a shot we spent a lot of time working on because of how tricky it was to get right. This was because the zooming out wasn't smooth as we were moving the camera back on the dolly as we did the shot and the camera kept panning up as it went back, which meant that I wasn't in the shot for half of it. So we decided I should stand on a table so the shot worked better and so that the Hitchcock films were in the background which created a nice effect.

(My group trying to use the rubber for the dolly zoom, we used the metal bars instead)

Silhouettes

Out of the techniques, I found this one the easiest to recreate because we just used the natural lighting from outside the window to create the silhouettes and turned the brightness down on the camera as the shot went on.

Final products

Overall montage of footage

By Clementine

Show don't tell

By Olivia 

Silhouette 

By Mia

Introducing Alfred Hitchcock - Pure Cinema

 Introduction

Alfred Hitchcock (1899 - 1980) was an English film director, producer and screenwriter and is one of the most famous and influential filmmakers in cinema history. He was known as the 'Master of Suspense' and directed over 50 feature films over his 6 decade career. His films gathered 6 Academy Awards and he is most famous for films such as 'Psycho' (1960), 'Vertigo' (1958) and 'The Birds' (1963). It was around 1920 that Hitchcock started his influence and involvement in the film industry.

Pure cinema documentary analysis

When watching the documentary, I was tasked with noting down every time someone explained what 'pure cinema' is, a phrase Hitchcock would use often when describing his films. These were also clear aspects of Hitchcock's films that he would use and were quintessential characteristics of his style of filmmaking.

Pure cinema documentary:

Overall, I think what I like the most and am in inspired by from Hitchcock's films is the way he adeptly tells a story without the use of words and being explicit in what is happening in the narrative. This idea of 'Pure Cinema' is so incredibly genius because it is exactly how film should be presented, as a visual story that audiences see and experience. Hitchcock was amazing at telling exactly what a character is thinking from only a simple close up shot of their expression that cuts to another shot of the experience they are going through - and therefore the audience is too. 

Breaking Bad analysis essay

[This was my first Film Studies essay on a scene from 'Breaking Bad' I analysed in class]

How does the Breaking Bad clip create meaning through the use of camera, mise-en-scene, editing and sound?

Clementine Ruddenklau

In the clip from Breaking Bad, meaning is created through the use of Walter, the chemistry teacher, using the Bunsen burner flame in his class. This use of fire throughout the majority of the scene symbolizes Walter’s passion for chemistry and the way he expresses this, whilst also creating meaning by projecting his emotions in the clip to the audience. In the clip, there’s a shot at the 1 minute 26 second mark, with Walter talking to his class about chemistry. The shot is a low medium close up, clearly there to mimic the point of view of one of his students watching him teach, and features only Walter’s head and shoulders, along with the presence of the fire that is burning right next to him. This use of focus on only these two objects creates meaning by illustrating Walter’s passion for chemistry through the physical appearance of the flame; with the flame getting smaller and less colourful as the shot goes on, because Walter notices a student who isn’t listening to him. Furthermore, in previous shots when Walter is talking about chemistry, the flame gets larger and more colourful as he sprays it with chemicals, further emphasizing his love for chemistry through the flame and the points at which he shows his enthusiasm towards the subject. It gives the idea that chemistry is the only colour in his life, especially with his clothes consisting of beige and neutral colours. The shot clearly shows that the only colour present is the fire, something that decreases as the scene goes on.

After this first shot, there is a 10 second long shot with Walter noticing the student, Chad, in his class who isn’t paying attention and has moved to a different seat. In this shot, Walter’s expression slowly changes after being happy and excited about chemistry, with him standing up a little taller and using hand gestures to emphasize his passion, to him leaning over the desk with a frustrated expression pointed towards Chad. Now, in this shot, the camera is completely focused on only his face and the flame, creating meaning through a slightly unsettling atmosphere created in the room and the lack of dialogue or noise. After this, once Chad has moved his chair back to his table, there is a shot with Walter watching him move, an upset expression on his face. The shot is a medium shot with the focus being on Walter only, Chad’s body being out of focus and closer to the camera, which is just behind him moving. At this point, the fire is no longer in the shot, ultimately showing that the passion Walter has for chemistry is now completely gone in the scene and the biggest focus being on the loud, slow synchronous sound of Chad’s chair being dragged on the floor. Here, meaning is created through the tension between them, with the significant power shift in the scene and Chad being in control. Chad’s shadow almost moves like a darkness over what was a relatively neutral atmosphere beforehand, with Walter never breaking the stare between them. Overall, meaning is created in this scene through the use of the visual representation of passion and power, with the camera focusing on Walter throughout the scene to emphasize his expressions and thoughts to the audience, so they know exactly what is going on in the scene; and the eventual power shift between him and Chad creating a new dynamic in the scene that stays until it is over.

What I needed to improve on from this essay was the use of film terminology. My writing style needed to change and I needed to include a lot more mentions of camera shots and styles as well as general film language. It wasn't a bad first essay but my way of writing needed to be altered to sound more like a film student and less like I was analysing this scene the same way I would analyse a piece of literature.

Breaking Bad scene analysis

 This week, I looked at a scene from the TV drama 'Breaking Bad' starring Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul. The point of this task was to get familiar with film language and how to write an essay analysing a clip and how it creates 'meaning'. This task helped me learn how to write as a Film student, which was something that I hadn't done before, therefore it was a completely new style of writing to me, unlike how I would write an essay for a subject like History or English. I really enjoyed looking at the symbolism of the fire in this scene, and analysing colour as well as the expressions of the character Walter White. After this lesson, I had a go at writing my first Film essay (see: 'Breaking Bad essay').

Power Conversation

 

Introduction

For this project, we were investigating the idea of power shifts in conversations in film and how one person can dominate a conversation through the use of camera angles and the 180 degree rule, a term concerning the space between two characters in a scene and where the camera can move between them. The idea in the project was to create a conversation with two characters arguing about something, with one of the characters remaining in power by the end of the scene and the other being powerless against them. 

Above are the notes and analysis of the scene I looked at in class from the film 'Training Day'. The scene features two men having a conversation, with Alonzo (the character with the newspaper) dominating the majority of the scene, through the use of the 180 degree rule and the fact that he is always in the shot - to represent status. What I thought was really interesting about this scene was the shift in tone and power when Alonzo puts the newspaper down and the camera slowly gets tighter around his face, showing his power over the other character.

Planning

We dedicated a lot of our time to the design of the setting and what the scene would look like. We had decided that our scene was going to be about a student named Zac being told off by his headteacher, Headmaster Barron, for his low grades and bad behaviour in school. The idea of the power shift came from Zac being powerless against Barron punishing him, with him threatening to call his parents and therefore dominating the conversation. Therefore, the set was an office with a desk, with Barron having a taller chair and more equipment on his side of the desk to show his power over Zac. 

The script for our scene:

Shot analysis 

I like this shot because it clearly shows the shift in power from Zac to Headmaster Barron when he says the line "then there's absolutely no reason for you to be failing now, is there?". Barron dominates the majority of the screen here, as if he's like a shadow looming over Zac, with Zac being pushed into the lower corner of the shot and looking down to avoid eye contact with the teacher. It is here that I believe the power completely shifts from Zac to Barron, and it is clear that he has won the conversation and is in full control of what happens next.

Final result

Evaluation

This was my second film I created in the A Level course, and I think it was a good test for me to show the filming and editing skills I learned from the Jurassic Park task. I also learnt about the 180 degree rule and how to structure a conversation in film, as well as how to show power shifts using a variety of high and low camera angles. Overall, I was quite happy with how it turned out, and what I'd learnt from the task, as well as what I could do whilst working in a group and editing on my own.

 Jurassic Park - Jelly Scene recreation

Introduction

The aim of this project was to recreate a scene from Jurassic Park (1993) of two children eating before running and hiding from a dinosaur. We had to recreate the scene as precisely as we could by making such things as the camera angles and effects the same as in the original clip. This was challenging to recreate, especially the use of the dinosaur in the scene, as we had no experience with CGI, however we settled on using a toy dinosaur as a puppet, with the use of sprays and silhouettes to give the prop life and show emotion in the scene.

Planning 

We decided that the best place to film the first scene with the children eating was the Nixon canteen because of the booth-like seating and we could use the real food there as props. Since we couldn't find any jelly, we used a cup of water instead to show the girl's fear when the dinosaur appeared by shaking and spilling it. 

We also decided to film the scene with the children running and hiding from the dinosaur in the DT department because it had a similar layout to the original clip, with there being a long hallway and a table at the end to hide behind.
 

Filming

When filming with the dinosaur puppet, we tried to make it as accurate to the original clip as we could by moving the toy as if it were moving like a real dinosaur and using sanitizer spray to mimic the breathing of the dinosaur through the window. 

We also found the mural from the original clip and projected it onto a screen, then used the shadow of the dinosaur toy to create a silhouette just like in the film, with the shot being the boy looking behind him and seeing the dinosaur. We did this by connecting the dinosaur to a stick and holding it up over the projection so that the shadow lined up with the boy's view like in the original.

Editing evidence

This was my first time using Final Cut Pro, which meant that the editing done on this project was mainly done by other members of my group.

Final result

Evaluation

For my first piece of work, I think this film was a great introduction for me to Film Studies as a subject. As I was not able to do Film at GCSE level, as it was not offered in my area, I was completely new to the course, and didn't have much prior experience or knowledge of cameras and the processes to create a film. This task helped me learn a lot about this, especially the importance of planning and editing. Learning to use Final Cut Pro was also very new to me, and being taught how to use it gave me some skills in editing, as well as the importance of sound and colour correcting. 

Scream (1996) - Analysis of opening scene 

 My task for this week was to look at the opening scene from the classic Horror film 'Scream' (1996). This was the first lesson I had been analysing something in film class, so it taught me about the codes and conventions of film and how to look at symbolism. Below are my notes on two of the shots in the clip, which we analysed as a class. We talked about how the main character, Casey Becker, is presented as very pure and innocent, a stereotypical first victim of a horror movie - something that the film is parodying here. I also looked at the symbolism with the jiffy pop popcorn rising throughout the scene and eventually exploding and starting a fire when Casey is being murdered. Here, I picked up on how the popcorn could reflect Casey's fear rising as the scene goes on and as the killer haunts her. 

Overall, this was a really interesting first task for me, and I really enjoyed learning about film openings in scary movies, it also introduced me to a lot of film language and terminology, as well as symbolism in a scene and stereotypes in this genre of film.