The Action
In our film opening we will begin with an establishing shot o the location that we will be filming. This shot will set the scene and allow the audience to see the environment in which our film opening has been set in. We will then include the main group of protagonists walking down the set. The camera will either be in front of the actors or will be along the side of them so we can see them walking down the location. As the protagonists are walking into the shot we will cut and it will go to a shot of the antagonist. In our opening of the film we have planned to only reveal the face of the antagonist until the end of the clip. We are doing this because it will build suspense and will make the audience wonder who the villain is in our opening. To make the antagonist character look more mysterious and creepy we will film shots which show the audience that the antagonist is hiding from the protagonists. My group and myself will write a short script so the audience can hear some dialogue and can get to know the characters that they will watch on screen.
One of the protagonists will hear something and will go inspect what has happened as one of the group members will be scared by this noise. We will then cut to a diegetic scream created by the character inspecting the sound. When the other characters hear this scream we will do a close up of their faces so we can see their expressions. The protagonists will run towards the sound and will discover their friend who has been brutally murdered. We hope to use a camera shot in which there is a close up of the antagonist's hand and he will be holdings a bloody axe. This will build climax for the audience. The last shot will be the first time that the antagonist is shown to the audience and once he is shown there will be a non diegetic sound effect of a conductor's whistle which will get louder as the film opening finishes. The whistle will also help the audience make the connection to the narrative. This whistle will be the film openings recognisable sound which will make the audience recognise the film.
The Theme
When the audience watches the film I think it will make them wonder why the antagonist is targeting the group of protagonists. I would like the opening for our film to be based on revenge. I want the audience to wonder what has happened in the past to cause the antagonist to go on the murder spree and why he has targeted the group of protagonists. The theme could also be stalking as the antagonist is following the group of protagonists around and is killing them off one by one. These themes will be good for our target audience as they would expect a revenge/stalking theme to be included in Slasher and horror films.
The Narrative
The narrative of our film will hopefully be a quite simple one. We hope to include a short dialogue in which the audience gets to know the characters and what they are like. We hope this dialogue will also help to show and reinforce the stereotypes that each character is representing. The dialogue will be similar to a conversation and will be quite informal. The narrative will be set in present time of filming which could make the narrative seem more realistic to the audience which could make them more scared- something they expect to be when watching a Slasher film. There will be diegetic sounds in the narrative such as the sound of the antagonist hiding behind a bus or tree whilst watching the protagonists. There will also be a diegetic sound of one of the protagonists screaming in pain whilst being murdered. However we will also add in non diegetic sound effect like the conductors whistle so the audience can make the connection between the whistle and the narrative. We will also include some incidental sound in the climax building up to the murder to build atmosphere for the audience.
The Characters.
In our film there are four main characters. The antagonist and the tree protagonists. The antagonist is going to be played by Joe James. The reason we selected Joe to play the role of the antagonist is because Joe had the right physical build. The build needed for our antagonist is slim and tall and that is what Joe is. We also selected him because no talking is needed and but acting is required and we as a group felt that Joe would fit the role correctly. We also selected Joe for this role as he is male and conventionally in horror and Slasher films the antagonist is usually male. The characteristics of the role will need to be quiet and quite sly- this will make the antagonist look creepy and intimidating. The clothing of this character will be dark items of clothing like black shirts, jeans and shoes. We want this because black is usually associated with death and the grim reaper. A mask will also be worn so the audience and the protagonists do not know the identity of the antagonist.
One of the members of the protagonist group is going to be a drama queen stereotype. For this role we selected Sophie Paul. We chose Sophie to play this role because she is a good actress and enjoy appearing in plays and pantomimes. Therefore she has the experience that we need. Due to the fact that she has experience it will mean that she will get into the role well. We also selected Sophie because she is female and drama queens are stereotypically female characters. The personality of this character needs to have a strong personality and also needs to be very dramatic. The clothing that this character will wear is going to be stereotypically girly clothing like skirts and items of pink clothing.
Another member of the protagonist group is Edward Morgan. Ed will be portraying the role of the nerd character. We selected Ed for this role as he like Sophie has been in many plays and pantomimes and is very experienced and will fit the role correctly. We also selected Ed for this role because of his appearance. Ed wears glasses and is average height and is quite lanky, this could help to reinforce the nerd stereotype to the audience. The personality of this character will need to be quite scared and will also need to show the audience that they are clever. The nerd character may also be pushed round by the stereotypical jock character. The costume of this character will need to reinforce the nerd stereotype so the character will need to be wearing glasses, sleeve less jumper and chino style trousers.
The last character of the protagonist group is the jock character. The role will be played by Malachi- Dempsey- Clark. We decided to use Mal to portray this role because he has done some acting in the past and would be quite experienced which is good for our film. Mal also looks like he would fit the role well of a Jock due to the fact that mal has a good physical build. The characteristics that mal will need to portray is cockiness as jocks are stereotypically mean and cocky to everyone around them. Mal will also need to portray someone who is quite flirtatious as jocks also have the stereotype of being a player with women. The costume that the jock character will need to wear are jeans and a plain t-shirt combined with a varsity jacket or a leather jacket as this is stereotypically the type of clothing that jocks wear.
The setting and choice of location.
For our film opening we have decided to film in Chacombe where there is an abandoned train track/tunnel area. We chose to film here because it relates and links in with our narrative and the character of the antagonist. Another reason we chose to film here is because it is very isolated which will create a good atmosphere for our film opening. Due to the location being isolated this means that it could make the narrative more realistic as it looks like the group of protagonists have no where to run or hide. (See blog post on Location Scouting for image and test shots of film opening in our chose location).
Mise En Scene.
The lighting that we will use will be a combination of high key and low key lighting. We hope to film in a time of day where it is light our but will slowly get dark. This can make the audience think that this hunt has been going on for a while. We may also only film is high key lighting as is makes our film opening look more realistic. The costumes of our actors will be dressed according to their characters, stereotypes and personalities. The makeup of the characters are going to be quite simple. The drama queen character will have stereotypically girly makeup like lipstick and eyeliner, we want this character to reinforce the archetype of woman liking lots of makeup on. The antagonist will have a plain white art mask which will create the icon for our film. The prop for the weapon that we will use is going to be a woodcutters axe, the antagonist will use this to kill of the protagonists in the film opening.
The camera work.
When filming our opening we need to think about camera shots and angles. We will start with an establishing shot of the location to set the scene for the audience. This shot will a longshot so the audience can see the majority of the area we have selected for filming. When the characters are walking down the pathways talking we will use shots like long shots so the audience can see the costume of the characters and can see their whole body. When each character talks we will use medium close ups so the audience can have a good view of the character from shoulder and upwards. When the antagonist comes into the opening of the film he will be hiding behind some trees/bushes. We will film this part in a point of view shot through the vegetation so it looks like the antagonist is watching. We may also include another shot of the antagonist watching the protagonists behind them using an over the shoulder shot. When it come to the first murder we will do an extreme close up off the axe in the hand of the antagonist reinforcing the violence in that scene. We will also try to use some tracking shots so the audience will feel as if they are walking along with the protagonist group.
The Editing.
During the editing process of our film we will use effects like cutting to give our film short snappy editing. The editing effect will also make the scene change look more fluent. When we are editing we will use the same effect for each part to make the opening look consistent and uniform. However at the beginning of the film opening we will show the title of the film and we might use a dissolve transition so the title fades to black and the establishing shot replaces this dark background. The filming of our opening will take place during the day however in the editing process e may decide to use filters to create a darker environment, giving the opening a darker eerie atmosphere.
The Narrative
The narrative of our film will hopefully be a quite simple one. We hope to include a short dialogue in which the audience gets to know the characters and what they are like. We hope this dialogue will also help to show and reinforce the stereotypes that each character is representing. The dialogue will be similar to a conversation and will be quite informal. The narrative will be set in present time of filming which could make the narrative seem more realistic to the audience which could make them more scared- something they expect to be when watching a Slasher film. There will be diegetic sounds in the narrative such as the sound of the antagonist hiding behind a bus or tree whilst watching the protagonists. There will also be a diegetic sound of one of the protagonists screaming in pain whilst being murdered. However we will also add in non diegetic sound effect like the conductors whistle so the audience can make the connection between the whistle and the narrative. We will also include some incidental sound in the climax building up to the murder to build atmosphere for the audience.
The Characters.
In our film there are four main characters. The antagonist and the tree protagonists. The antagonist is going to be played by Joe James. The reason we selected Joe to play the role of the antagonist is because Joe had the right physical build. The build needed for our antagonist is slim and tall and that is what Joe is. We also selected him because no talking is needed and but acting is required and we as a group felt that Joe would fit the role correctly. We also selected Joe for this role as he is male and conventionally in horror and Slasher films the antagonist is usually male. The characteristics of the role will need to be quiet and quite sly- this will make the antagonist look creepy and intimidating. The clothing of this character will be dark items of clothing like black shirts, jeans and shoes. We want this because black is usually associated with death and the grim reaper. A mask will also be worn so the audience and the protagonists do not know the identity of the antagonist.
One of the members of the protagonist group is going to be a drama queen stereotype. For this role we selected Sophie Paul. We chose Sophie to play this role because she is a good actress and enjoy appearing in plays and pantomimes. Therefore she has the experience that we need. Due to the fact that she has experience it will mean that she will get into the role well. We also selected Sophie because she is female and drama queens are stereotypically female characters. The personality of this character needs to have a strong personality and also needs to be very dramatic. The clothing that this character will wear is going to be stereotypically girly clothing like skirts and items of pink clothing.
Another member of the protagonist group is Edward Morgan. Ed will be portraying the role of the nerd character. We selected Ed for this role as he like Sophie has been in many plays and pantomimes and is very experienced and will fit the role correctly. We also selected Ed for this role because of his appearance. Ed wears glasses and is average height and is quite lanky, this could help to reinforce the nerd stereotype to the audience. The personality of this character will need to be quite scared and will also need to show the audience that they are clever. The nerd character may also be pushed round by the stereotypical jock character. The costume of this character will need to reinforce the nerd stereotype so the character will need to be wearing glasses, sleeve less jumper and chino style trousers.
The last character of the protagonist group is the jock character. The role will be played by Malachi- Dempsey- Clark. We decided to use Mal to portray this role because he has done some acting in the past and would be quite experienced which is good for our film. Mal also looks like he would fit the role well of a Jock due to the fact that mal has a good physical build. The characteristics that mal will need to portray is cockiness as jocks are stereotypically mean and cocky to everyone around them. Mal will also need to portray someone who is quite flirtatious as jocks also have the stereotype of being a player with women. The costume that the jock character will need to wear are jeans and a plain t-shirt combined with a varsity jacket or a leather jacket as this is stereotypically the type of clothing that jocks wear.
The setting and choice of location.
For our film opening we have decided to film in Chacombe where there is an abandoned train track/tunnel area. We chose to film here because it relates and links in with our narrative and the character of the antagonist. Another reason we chose to film here is because it is very isolated which will create a good atmosphere for our film opening. Due to the location being isolated this means that it could make the narrative more realistic as it looks like the group of protagonists have no where to run or hide. (See blog post on Location Scouting for image and test shots of film opening in our chose location).
Mise En Scene.
The lighting that we will use will be a combination of high key and low key lighting. We hope to film in a time of day where it is light our but will slowly get dark. This can make the audience think that this hunt has been going on for a while. We may also only film is high key lighting as is makes our film opening look more realistic. The costumes of our actors will be dressed according to their characters, stereotypes and personalities. The makeup of the characters are going to be quite simple. The drama queen character will have stereotypically girly makeup like lipstick and eyeliner, we want this character to reinforce the archetype of woman liking lots of makeup on. The antagonist will have a plain white art mask which will create the icon for our film. The prop for the weapon that we will use is going to be a woodcutters axe, the antagonist will use this to kill of the protagonists in the film opening.
The camera work.
When filming our opening we need to think about camera shots and angles. We will start with an establishing shot of the location to set the scene for the audience. This shot will a longshot so the audience can see the majority of the area we have selected for filming. When the characters are walking down the pathways talking we will use shots like long shots so the audience can see the costume of the characters and can see their whole body. When each character talks we will use medium close ups so the audience can have a good view of the character from shoulder and upwards. When the antagonist comes into the opening of the film he will be hiding behind some trees/bushes. We will film this part in a point of view shot through the vegetation so it looks like the antagonist is watching. We may also include another shot of the antagonist watching the protagonists behind them using an over the shoulder shot. When it come to the first murder we will do an extreme close up off the axe in the hand of the antagonist reinforcing the violence in that scene. We will also try to use some tracking shots so the audience will feel as if they are walking along with the protagonist group.
The Editing.
During the editing process of our film we will use effects like cutting to give our film short snappy editing. The editing effect will also make the scene change look more fluent. When we are editing we will use the same effect for each part to make the opening look consistent and uniform. However at the beginning of the film opening we will show the title of the film and we might use a dissolve transition so the title fades to black and the establishing shot replaces this dark background. The filming of our opening will take place during the day however in the editing process e may decide to use filters to create a darker environment, giving the opening a darker eerie atmosphere.
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