SWOT Analysis

Strengths - Our strengths are that our title sequence is really starting to come together and is looking like one of the title sequences we have taken inspiration from which is the movie 'Se7en'. We have taken feedback from teachers as well as peers and have made a few changes as well as a few reshoots in order to make our title sequence as good as possible. Another strength of ours is our props, we thought very carefully about what props we can use to make the title sequence look sinister and creepy. One of the ways we did this is by customising the bandage the antagonist is wearing by making it look dishevelled and murky, the antagonist was also dressed in a black outfit to make them look mysterious and dubious.

Weaknesses - One of our main weaknesses were our time management, we were unable to keep up with deadlines for the rough cuts as we have not filmed enough scenes as well as edited the title sequence. Our camera work could've been better as well due to a few scenes being poorly filmed.

Opportunities - We have to take opportunities in order to get our work to the highest possible grade and by doing that we have put in extra effort to prioritise our media A level until this project is over, we need to put in extra hours to complete blog posts and to edit the title sequence. We can also attend workshops to help us reach these objectives.

Threats - Our biggest threat is that our timetables collide and we are all free on different days which has been the main reason why our group has been behind. On top of that none of us are very skilled at editing which has meant that the title sequence isn't as great as it can be/should be. Therefore the threat we are facing is receiving a low grade for this years project.

Title Sequence, Inspiration and Influences

The aim of the opening title sequence is to introduce our character as a deranged and maniacal serial killer who's brain works very differently from the normal human. Straight away the audience will be able to identify the genre of the title sequence as well as who the killer is and perhaps his motif for the killings. We are planning to do this by using dark locations with very little sunlight and very little human life to emphasise isolation and the loneliness of the character. One of our film influences for the opening of our title sequence is from the move 'SE7EN', the killer is seen doing a number of strange activities which gets the audience asking questions which gets them to be intrigued which is exactly what we are trying to accomplish. We will also use a number of low angle shots and high angle shots to establish the superiority our character has over his victims.

Instituion Logo

I decided to keep my institution logo as simple as possible as most of the biggest institutions in the world have very simple logos and names also. By keeping the logo very simple I believe it represents the institution as we are a low budget film making company therefore we use very simple procedures in order to obtain the best results. However another member of the group I am working in has successfully created a logo for our institution as well as a video showcasing the design which we have all agreed would be the best suited logo and name for our institution.

Costume Choices

We have decided we wanted our serial killer to be able to blend with every day public but at the same time we wanted him to stand out so that he looks mysterious and creepy. To do this we decided to dress him in all black and that his hood would be up as stereotypically people tend to link a hoodie to crime. We have also decided to have our character wear a very rough and dirty bandage aswell as have multiple plasters on his hands so that it makes the character look odd and viewers may ask the question of why his hands are in that state to create mystery and suspicion.

Location Choices

Mysterious alley way, Regents canal, Local churchyard

 These are most of the locations we have decided on using for our title sequence as they all fit in perfectly with the genre of our title sequence which is Horror. All locations allow natural sunlight to be seen therefore filming in these areas is beneficial. These locations seem mysterious and are very isolated therefore they are perfect for the mood and atmosphere we are trying to create in he opening title sequence. Also all of the locations displayed are very close to the college making it very easy for us to film there and also it will not be time consuming to reach these locations which allows us to have even more time to film.

Target Audience Research

What  is a target audience?

A target market is a select group of potential or current consumers which a business decides to aim its marketing and advertising strategies at in order to sell a product or service. Defining a 'target market' is the first stage in the marketing strategy of a business, and is a process of market segmentation.

Audience Profiling?

As we are creating a title sequence for a horror movie it is essential we identify our audience as it allows us to narrow down who may be interested in our product (title sequence).

The different factors we must consider are:

• Age
• Gender
• Media Interests
• Class

These are the only factors which would affect our target audience however there are plenty more factors businesses consider.

The common age for the target audience of horror is between 15-25, this is because during young adulthood people are likely to want to experience new things and feel different emotions, horror is a way of them experiencing thrill. Also young audiences are insensitive to gory violence whereas older audiences may be more reluctant to those images.

Males are also more inclined to be a fan of horror movies as the movies entail scenes of violence which is stereotypically loved by males.

Horror films are usually aimed at working class people as the level of thrill and excitement which is gained from a horror film with a relatively cheap price. Higher class communities watch horror movies which include sub genres such as action or romance because higher level of satisfaction middle class individuals seek when watching a film.

Film Name Change

After our pitch we gained a lot of feedback from the class as well as the teacher and one of the comments were to change our film name as it resembled more of a slash horror which our genre isn't therefore individually we came up with some film names.


Initial film name - Stalked & Slaughtered

Ideas -

I am learning towards the film name being called 'Unrequited' as it would suggest the killers reason for his killings, from the name 'unrequited' the audience may feel as if the antagonist does not receive affection from those he gives it to hence why he murders these girls.

Day 2 - Filming

On the second day of filming we decided to use other areas of the college for our scenes, for instance we used the trees in the garden to signify one of the victims were hung from a tree, we also filmed in a corridor and an empty classroom.

We managed to obtain a good amount of footage in just an hour and a half but as our props were already prepared it meant we could use all of the time efficiently.

The weather on this particular day was very sunny which was in our favour as we needed the sunlight for the scene including the trees however as the mise en scene was very sunny it may have contradicted our genre however on camera the scene looked mediocre therefore we may have to film this scene again and hopefully the weather will be a little bit more gloomy to portray the genre a lot better.

Day 1 - Filming

On the first day of filming we successfully managed to prepare our props as well as get a decent amount of footage for our opening scenes. We did this during out 3 hour lesson on a Monday morning which was good as it was enough time to obtain good footage and also it meant that we did not have to free up time in our busy schedules. However unfortunately we spent a lot of time in preparing our props which meant the time we had to film had shortened nevertheless as all props are now prompt and ready it means we can go straight into filming on other days.

draft

Blogging Health Check 2

Blogging Health Check 2

Blogging Health Check 2

Storyboard DRAFT

STORYBOARD

For our pitch we drew out a storyboard clearly explaining what would happen in each scene. 

The concept of our film opening is using pictures of the victims which are all female, in order to create and build up a pattern of the killers sick obsession (murder victims being all female) which links with the title of the film ''The Misogyny Murders''

Each picture shows how the victim was murdered. Other scenes will include a table filled with photos of victims and then an empty table with no photos to create affect.

Film Name Change

Genre Conventions For Your Chosen Genre (Horror)

SETTING - Usually in vary discrete areas where there is pure isolation as there is no where for the characters to run to and also no hope of finding help. There is also pathetic fallacy which includes thunder and rain to emphasise solitude. Often there may be antiques or large paintings in the scene as it creates a dark and ominous scene. The colors generally associated with horror are black and red ti connote blood and death. Lighting is used in a way to give the affect of something bad happening for instance flickering of the lights or shadows results in the audience feeling scared and nervous.

SOUND - The sound is very important in horror movies, using foley sounds will help create suspense. Fast and non diagetic sound can make the audience feel frighted and scared just like the shower scene in Psycho, the music used in this specific scene makes it very intense and is perhaps the main reason for the audiences fear.  

NARRATIVE STRUCTURE - There's usually a similar narrative structure for horror movies often they are left for closure or end with room for a sequel like Halloween, Friday the 13th, Texas Chainsaw Massacre and more. There's always a protagonist who commences a mission to defeat the killer or whom ever the antagonist is, the protagonist is usually a girl.

THEMES - The main themes of any horror movie is Insanity (the antagonist), religion, zombie apocalypse, nightmares, good vs evil, supernatural etc.

Genre Shortlist

Horror - The genre conventions of horror would include be a scary villian or a paranormal figure of some kind, distasteful imagery, constant shocks and frights throughout the movie.

Thriller - The genre conventions of thriller will most likely include a protagonist as well as an antagonist; the antagonists identity usually gets divulged at the end, a chain of bad events which creates suspense for the climax, tense music, dark lighting, quick cuts of different shots, often a story line which can happen in real life which identifies with viewers a lot more. 

Crime - The genre conventions of crime usually has a battle between the protagonist and antagonist after there is a distribution in the equilibrium, loads of close ups and extreme close ups of the protagonist to show their emotion, often many action scenes as well as weaponry and blood. 

Favourite Previous Student Work

Group 22 - 2015/2016: Kenny, David, Tristen & Thabiti

The reason this was one of my favourite student title sequences is because from the off set i was immediately intrigued by the visuals and the opening sound, the subtle piano playing as institutions were displayed on screen was very good as the sound was very mysterious and skeptical. It instantly exhibited what type of genre the movie is as well as the mood. I was very fascinated by the title credits as the way it was demonstrated like nothing i’ve seen by any of the other groups, it seemed very professional and it worked very well with the opening.

The use of different shots were also very good, they weren’t just simple mid shots and longshots, they had a variety of different shots like a POV shot which was exceptional as it creates an element of panic and excitement for the audience as well as keeping us on the edge of our seats due to the opening action. They also had a shot of the male running and the camera man/woman running also which was very good too as it was different to what you would see in a normal movie and yet they still successfully managed to attain the viewers attention due to the fast paced action.  Also by clearly showing that the male is running from another male also assists the fact that we are engaged and interested in the film.

The background sound of the police siren was compelling as it continued to emphasise the element of panic as it hinted the police are searching for these men, also one of the males are trying to get away from two different people. The police siren also references crime which was most likely the genre of sub genre of the title sequence.

Filming

The photos below show examples of what we did on filming days

On this day we filmed the scene where all the photos of the victims were laid out on the table. And also the start of filming for the first set of scenes 

On this day we began to design our props; going for an old, raggedy look. We used (black) spray paint and burnt match sticks to create the dirty/burnt stains  on the bandages & plasters 

Volunteer Victims

Mildred 

Ruth

Esme 

Ida

Carrie

Mabel

Thelma 

August 

Winifred 

Josephine 

Nadine