Analysis Of The Opening Titles In Seven.

Analysis of the opening titles in Seven.

When analysing the opening titles of Seven, there is a mixture of titles on a black background and moving image. The font of the titles is white and looks like hand writing. This is in-keeping with the horror genre as the handwriting looks creepy and links to the narrative behind the titles where a character is looking through an old book and remove some of their skin with a razor blade. I like the combination of the titles fading to a black background and the moving image of the opening. We could consider using this combination in our opening two minutes. It is important to consider the colour of the font and whether it would stand out against the background. In seven it was effective to use white font and a black  background, however if we use white titles we need to make sure it stands out on the moving image. Seven split the screen and included moving image with a black corner where the titles were placed; this was effective and ensured that the titles stood out. However this might be hard to create and we would need to practise creating this on Adobe premier elements.

Questionnaire Results

Questionnaire

what is your name?
Josh
Jordan
Will
James




How old are you?
17
17
16
16


do you like horror films?
yes
No
yes
no


if so why do you like them?
give you a cheap sense of thrill and excitement

Thrilling and tension



what do you expect from a horror opening?
familiarized with the scene and the main characters
Someone dying
scary atmosphere

What is your favorite horror film?
Insidious
Paranormal activity 3
Cabin in the woods



Where do you expect a horror film to be set?
Woods, City, Countryside
Abandoned building or woods
Cabin in the woods
haunted house




What do you expect a villain in a horror film to look like?
dark and scary, supernatural
has a mask on with a chainsaw
covered face, dark




What do you think the victim should look like?
innocent, young, vulnerable
Long skinny face (Will Page)
innocent, dumb



What is your favorite horror opening?
Cabin in the woods
Cungering
Saw

Certificate Research

Certificate Research

 The U symbol stands for Universal. A U film should be suitable for audiences aged four years and over. However, it is impossible to predict what might upset a particular child, especially at this lower end of the category range.

PG stands for Parental Guidance. This means a film is suitable for general viewing, but some scenes may be unsuitable for young children. A PG film should not unsettle a child aged around eight or older. Parents should consider whether the content may upset younger, or more sensitive, children.

      

The 12A requires an adult to accompany any child under 12 seeing a 12A film at the cinema. This is enforced by cinema staff and a cinema may lose its license if adult accompaniment is not enforced for children under 12 admitted to a 12A film. Accompanied viewing cannot be enforced in the home, so the 12 certificate remains for DVD/Blu-ray, rather than the 12A. The 12 is also a simpler system for retailers. It means they cannot sell or rent the item unless the customer is over the age of 12.

No-one under 15 is allowed to see a 15 film at the cinema or buy/rent a 15 rated video. 15 rated works are not suitable for children under 15 years of age. This is the rating we will want our film to be as our target audience is for people aged 15+. If our film was as 18 most of audience would not be able to watch it in the cinemas, as from our target audience research the age that most likes to watch horror movies are the 15,16 and 17 year olds.

Films rated 18 are for adults. No-one under 18 is allowed to see an 18 film at the cinema or buy or rent an 18 rated video. No 18 rated works are suitable for children.

To Do List

Create your storyboard and edit it on Premiere Elements to make it animatic.

Research three horror films and the titles that they have used in the opening.  Explain the colour, font, whether their are moving images behind them, animation or a black screen. Do the titles fade to black or fade out as the opening narrative continues? What do you like about the titles? How have they inspired you to create titles for your film?

Characters

Characters.

The different characters and age groups we will be using will be 16+ as this is the age of general teenagers and they can relate to the characters due to the same age. There will be mainly only boys as we don't know what girl would get involved in our film, we don't have a girl in our group this is also why. There would be two people camping out and one filming, whilst a weird man (one of us) is lurking in the woods. The guy lurking in the woods will be in dark clothing creeping around barely visible to the camera. The two campers can be in normal clothing doing as they wish. The audience will relate the characters by either being the same age, which would make them be able to relate. The costume and props which will be used for the characters will have will be hooded clothing (dark) for the guy creeping in the woods so this hides his identity. The props needed in this film will be camping equipment due to the two people acting out setting up camp to stay the night.

Shot List

In our film we will be using a lot of different types of shots. When the characters are speaking to each other we will be using shot reverse shot, we will use this shot because it will show the characters reaction and facial expression to the audience. Also we could you an over the shoulder shot when they are talking to each other. Another shot we will use in the long shot to show the campers as they walk through the woods with all the camping equipment this will enable the audience to see the woods clearly and will hint that something dramatic will take place there. We can also use the over the shoulder shot when the person following them is looking at them from behind, this would build up tension and create an enigma code as the audience will want to know what the man will do to the protagonist. the close up shot will be used to show the facial expressions of the characters when they are scared this is a typical convention of a horror film that the audience will recognise. we will also use a high angle shot when the characters are walking through the woods this would show that they are vulnerable.

Script

Script -

Genre: Horror / Adventure

[Cinematics of the woods and the location in which the film is taking place]
[Characters come round the corner looking exiting for there camping trip]

 Jordan: do you reckon they have set up the tents yet?

James: i hope so because i don't want to do it

[Both boys continue to walk through the woods.]

[Boys walk across old brdge, they look across to look at the river]

[Twig snaps]

Jordan and James: What was that!

[Boys turn around and look scared]

James: I have no idea, lets keep walking

Jordan: Ok

[Rustling occurs in bushes]
[Scary tense music starts playing]

James: Did you hear that?

Jordan: yer what was it?

James: I dunno probally just an animal or something

[Will is watching James and Jordan through the bushes]

James: Come on lets keep going we are nearly there now

[Jordan continues walking along side James]

[Jordan and James continue to hear rustling]
Jordan: there's someone else here



James: yer I think I heard it that time

Research and Plannings

You need to be aiming to achieve a band four in this task - which equates to more than 16 marks out of 20. At the moment there is a lot more independent work needed to be done to achieve the grade you are capable of - so push yourself! Analyse the techinical elements of the following film openings and revist my emails to extend your work this term. In your planning for your film, which needs to have been planned and filmed by the end of term, make sure you are evidencing every stage in detail. Delegate responsibilities to manage your time. G321 needs to be your priority between now and the end of term and there needs to be a real focus from now for you, and for your group.

Feedback

Well done James, you have clearly been working hard at completing your research and planning.

Targets - could you explain the images in your mood board and what they reflect/symbolise in your film.

Script - write the script for your opening two minutes, include stage directions where you explain the characters facial expressions and movements, also the sound effects.

Interview a couple of actors in your opening - why are they good for the role, what experience do they have, how will they conform or subvert stereotypical representations of their character?