Woman in White - Final Piece

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=miU3fY_4koY

Evaluation - Question 7

7. What we learnt since our preliminary task

Since the preliminary task, we have learnt, as a group, that we needed to be a bit more patient with eachother as, at times, we were getting a bit annoyed with eachother if things weren't going right. When it came to the camera work, we learnt that if we wanted to get a high grade on our final piece we then needed to start using different camera angles and shots so that it would make us look like we had looked into our film genre and had thought about what kind of camera angles and shots that we would have then needed to use during our film. For this, we decided to use the handheld camera shots to show a sense of realism for the audience so that they could feel like that they were in the shoes of the person who is currently being viewed on the cinema screen. We also learnt that we needed to use a range of camera shots to make our film look like we had used a wide range of camera shots and not just a few throughout the whole thing.

With Mise-en-Scene, we learnt that we needed to use a lot more costume within our film and make sure that the settings were relevant to what our film was about and make sure it all linked together. For example, for our pre-lim task we used the bare minimum for costume, whereas in our final project, we used more costume and made it look like we had put in a lot of effort for this particular piece as before it did not look as great with the costume as it did the second time around. Also, with character, we learnt that we had to make our characters more confident and ready and able to pull off an extremely good performance in order for us to get a good grade on our final piece. We also learned that if we were going to film something then we needed to make sure that the setting was completely accurate with what we were focusing on. This would have also meant making sure that there weren't many people around whilst we were trying to film so there wouldn't be any distractions which would have caused us to then have to re-film, giving us more editing to do after all the filming was finished. 

Throughout the stage, we also learnt that we needed to have a narrative which made complete sense with the right content within the film. Even though out preliminary task made sense? We had to mak sure that our final piece also made sense so that we could then go for higher grades and have our work look good at the very end. We also knew that we would need to choose an appropriate content so it wouldn't look bad if we just had random bursts of language that did not need to be there in the first place. 

Evaluation - Question 6

6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?




Since we started filming, I have learnt how to use the camera's more confidently as before I was not as confident in using the cameras instead of getting someone else to do the camera work all the time. I am also now more confident on understand and helping to edit our film on the software 'iMovie' which we could edit our movie on in our own way and make it however we wanted it. With 'iMovie' I now know how I can edit a movie without having to ask someone to sit with me and help me as I have produced two movies and have been able to learn a lot from helping to edit on 'iMovie' each time with my groups.

This helped our film look more professional because we were able to take time to make it look as professional as possible with the way we developed our title sequence to look quite professional to the point where it looked quite sophisticated with the bold colours being used (black and red). This improved our work because it made it look a lot better as we were able to use a piece of software which helped us make our movie flow well without having any hitches in the final pieces.

For me, as I was new to using all the cameras and technology on the Apple Macs, I found it a bit hard to get the hang of doing the editing at first as I was not quite sure what I was doing at first so I needed to get help from the rest of my group as they had experience in using all the different technologies before whereas I had not. As we went through the filming and editing process, I got a bit better with how to do things as I then started doing some filming myself instead of having my fellow group members do it for me. Even though now I know how to do some parts of the editing, I am still a bit unsure with how to do some things, like changing a piece of sound so it's louder and quieter or something to do with making the dialogue louder or quieter, things like make me a bit unsure. 

Evaluation - Question 5

5. How did you attract/address your audience?



With our film 'The Woman in White' we attempted to change our film around and make it something that would go against the traditional views of Gothic Horror. With our film, mainly everything we did was a specific element and feature as it was all specific to what we wanted to do in our own film. For example, the way we did the narrative was our own choice as we thought we could appeal to the audience in that way. Within the film we did, we made the first scene our own way, as we had different shots to show Emily and Brandon getting ready for their wedding which we chose to film in different ways instead of just one straight shot of them getting ready in a boring way. In the shots we used, we got to see them from both the back and front view so you didn't just get one view of them, you got different views so it wasn't that boring.

With our questionnaire on Vox Pops, it made us decide that our target audience was going to be around the same as 'The Woman in Black' or just one higher as we wanted to entice the same kind of audience to come and watch our film. It also gave us ideas on what people thought about our film and whether they thought the idea of narrative and content was good enough to be made into a film. With our audience we have targeted the age range of a 12A, so we decided to target the younger age ranges and try to make our film look like something they would enjoy but also not make it to brutal and horrible which would then scar them and give them nightmares after watching the film.

Evaluation - Question 4

4. Who would be the audience for your media product?


For this type of film, I would expect that mostly men would watch it as when we did our research with our Vox Pops, we had more of a response from males about watching the film and they were all also in the age range of 16 and above which gave us a good age range of who would watch our film. However, there would be a possibility that people in younger age groups would watch the film and enjoy it so that would boost the audience for the film institution who is distributing it. With ethnicity, I don't think there would be any preference as to who would watch it as there is no discrimination of ethnicity within the film as the content does not discriminate against anyone at all. Again, with class - there is no specific class mentioned within the film so it would not shame anyone or make them feel like they were targeted or left out in the film or feel like one class type was mentioned more than another which made another class feel like there was a hierarchy between classes. Within the film, there are no jobs mentioned - just a 'hit job' which is touched upon when you see the real identity of who wanted the killing done.

We know all this because we thought about it all before filming and thought about all the different ways our film could be seen through the eyes of other people. When we researched the film 'The Woman in Black' we saw the target audience they had was the age range of 12A and we then thought we could base our film around that age range but make it bit more like something that was classically British.

Evaluation - Question 3

3. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?


For our film, the media institution that would most likely distribute our film would be Hammer films as they specialise in doing horror films and have defined the genre in Britain. This institution fits with our idea because it can show really gritty bits that is typically British. This product would be an independent because of the use of blood and weapons involved and because you see the throat being cut on the camera, therefore this would make it an independent film as it would not be something that other institutions would want to distribute because of it's content and grittiness within the narrative. Hammer is a mainstream institution, however, it is not as well known as other institutions because of the genre that it specialises in. Because this film would be published by a mainstream company, the film would only be seen in America as they do not like to see films that are 'typically British' with the gritty storylines and all the blood that would be involved in the films. This film would therefore only be shown in Britain because of the kind of narrative it has and because of the content within the film. The people who watch horror/gothic-horror films would be first to watch this film as it would be the kind of film that they enjoy. It could also draw in different audience members depending on whether they liked the look of the film or not.  This film does not cater for all people but people can also watch different types of films are decide that they really do like them and would then decide to watch these types of films, gaining the gothic-horror genre more audience members.

Evaluation - Question 2

2. How does your media product represent  particular social groups?

- Did you base your characters/music star on other film/music characters? Why?




For our characters, we used the members of our group because we then knew we wouldn't have to rely on anyone else to help us film and also because we had all planned the film together and knew exactly what we wanted to happen within the film so we just made ourselves the characters as we knew we could rely on each other. We decided that Tommy should play our killer because he was able to play the part best out of both the boys and that then meant that Brandon was better suited to play the groom in our film. We then also decided that Emily was going to play the bride and murdered victim because she was better at being able to be the stalker and look like she was dead with all her make-up and everything on.


Our inspiration came from the film The Woman in Black and the way they played it out. We based our characters on various different characters, we based Emily's character (the dead bride)  a little on the Woman in Black and how she would be placed in the corner of the camera looking all scary and mysterious and then able to make others feel uncomfortable while she was just stood there. When we filmed our film, we used the same kind of camera angles as the Woman in Black by having Emily stood in the distance - making it a long shot of her - and then having the people she was targeting in the main view of the camera. When we were thinking of inspiration, we also thought of the title sequence from 'The Conjuring' as they used loads of different pictures at the beginning, we as a group, then decided to do the same kind of thing with our film as we then decided to use pictures from a relationship which was between two of the characters over the years since the murder had happened.

When we were thinking of stereotypes, we thought of a typical bride wearing a white dress - to show the traditional values of a white wedding with a bride who was meant to look all pure and innocent, Emily matched this stereotype with the way she did her make-up and hair as it made her look like a young and innocent girl who was really pure. . For Brandon's character, he matched the stereotypical views of a groom because he was dressed up in a black suit which made him look smart and ready to be married to someone.

When thinking about our inspiration of 'The Woman in Black' we based Emily's character vaguely on the Woman in Black, especially with the stalking scenes and making her look dead and the memorable scene at the end of both 'The Woman in Black' and 'The Woman in White' with both dead women putting their faces up to the screen to end the film. We also used the a theme within our film, in 'The Woman in Black' the theme of revenge and vengeance was used and within our film we used the theme of revenge for our dead women to try and get revenge on both her killers. We did this because we wanted both some similarities and differences between our characters within our film.

Evaluation - Question 1

1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products


In our media piece, (The Woman in White), we stuck to the conventions

of having the woman dying and then using lots of blood and a knife to conform to the horror genre. However, with mise-en-scene, we subverted lighting and setting as we did not use the dark lighting and it was not set in an isolated building or house. This shows that we subverted the genre as we decided to go against the traditional views of Gothic Horror and decided to put our own spin on it to show that we understand the genre and would have been able to change some things within the conventions and still make the film work. We also did not conform to the typical gothic fashion of having dark clothing, we only used dark clothing for one character, which was the murderer, for the rest of the characters, we used light colours - for example, the bride was in white which would have made her look pure and innocent. With character, we still had an antagonist but no protagonist, which would have gone against the traditional gothic horror conventions. With the camera work, we did match the conventions of gothic horror as we used Close-Up Shots on the characters faces so that we could show their emotions and also show their reactions to things within the current scene. This shot can also make the audience feel uncomfortable, especially if you have an extreme close up on a character. We also used Long Shots to show what was going on in the scene and also show that we could show the audience the surroundings and establish what could be happening next. Our Handheld Shots were used to add a sense of reality within the scene and make the audience feel like they are there with the characters, this can then also make the audience feel like they are on the edge of their seat because they do not know what is going to happen next to the characters they are currently seeing. Also with sound, we stuck to the to having the non-diegetic sounds throughout which would then increase the fear in audiences as it would make them feel uncomfortable as the music would make them feel uneasy about the film itself. This is evident at the very beginning of the video when all the characters are introduced - this uneasy music plays right up to the death of our female character. Sound can also be used to emphasise the sub-genre that is being used which can also increase fear within the audience.

Our product has conformed to the conventions of gothic horror with the camera shots as they show the audience the different feelings and facial expressions each character may have  and can also show the setting around the characters. We also conformed to the gothic horror conventions with sound as it was used to make certain points of our film to scare the audience. We wanted to use some traditional conventions because we wanted to have a traditional side to the sub-genre. However, we also did not conform to the traditional gothic-horror conventions as we wanted to change things around a bit and make it different to all the other gothic-horror films that are around. With changing the conventions, we changed things to do with setting and lighting as we did not have any dark lighting within our piece nor did we have any isolated settings to make it a traditional gothic-horror. We did this because we wanted to make this film our own and be completely different to any other gothic-horror which had already been released previously.

We matched specific conventions with the camera shots, for example, we used close up shots when trying to make the audience feel uncomfortable at the very end of the film when Emily's face was extremely close up with the camera, we also had a specific convention with the hand-held camera movement so that there would be a sense of realism within the film, making the audience feel like they were there with the characters. We used these two conventions because they were two of the main ones that are used within gothic horror and camera work is one of the main things that people focus on when they are watching films as that is also something that makes them feel on the edge of their seat, or uncomfortable, which is something that every person who makes a gothic horror film wants to have. We also used an antagonist within our film which made up our storyline as he was our killer in the beginning.

Vox Pops

Questions in the Vox Pops
1. Do you enjoy watching Gothic Horror?
2. What do you think of The Woman in Black?
3. What do you think of our film idea?
4. Do you think the killing of the woman will be too soon?
5. Would you change our film idea?
6. What's your favourite part of our idea?
7. What's the worst part of our idea?
8. Do you like the storyline so far?
9. Do you think the setting matches the genre?
10. Out of 10, what would you rate our idea?
11. Would you watch our film opening when finished?

After we received the answers for our questionnaire, we found that they were mostly positive with only a few things they thought that needed to be changed throughout the whole thing.

In the first question, when asked if they liked watching Gothic Horror, most people said that they did like watching that type of genre because of the 'gripping storylines' and 'strong plotlines' that are within the films. This was quite positive for us as a group because it made us think more that Gothic Horror was more popular with people around the age of 16 - which is the target audience that we have gone for.

In the second question, when asked if they liked the film 'Woman in Black', the people we interviewed said they were first of all surprised at the age certificate that it was rated at but also did really like the film because of the fact that it was based on the book and also because it was quite different to other Gothic Horror films they had seen beforehand. However, there was a little controversy within this question as one person thought it was a film that started to 'show cracks' as you watch it more than once. This was also quite good for us because it gave us an insight into what people actually thought of Gothic Horror stories that are originally based on books, whether it was positive or negative.

In the third question, when they were all asked what they thought of our film idea,  they told us that they thought it was a good idea because 'everyone loves a bit of revenge' and another said they would like to see how it would unfold, others seemed to think it sounded pretty cool and 'badass'. These responses are quite good for us because it shows that people think we have developed a good idea and would in the future, want to see how it unfolds.

In fourth question, we asked them if they thought the killing of the woman at the beginning of the film was too soon, some said that it's never too soon in a horror film to kill someone, as it could still be a good film and drag you in to then watch more of it, however, one person told us that it was too soon to kill someone at the beginning because "you need build up" and "to establish a proper plot before you go in with the gore". Despite the different opinions, this was a good response for us because the majority of people thought it was fine to kill someone within the first scene as it could still create tension for the rest of the film and also make it a little creepy.

In the fifth question, we asked them if they would change our film in any way, positively, they all said they would not change it as it sounds like a 'pretty solid idea' but some people said they would like to know all the detail first before they could make a decision about whether they would change anything at all. This response was good for us because it made us a little more confident about our idea and it also should that people liked the idea we had thought of and didn't really want to change much about it.

In the sixth question, we asked these people what their favourite part of our idea was and they all said that the revenge was a good part of the film as it runs all the way through the  film and is quite significant throughout. Another two said that the plot twist at the beginning was good as it shaped the whole piece. The fact that they thought that their favourite parts of the film were mostly the tension and revenge as that was one of the main things we wanted to focus on throughout.

In our seventh question, we asked what the worse part of our idea was, for some, the music as it wasn't quite eerie enough and it didn't quite set the scene for them as much as it could. After we had the feedback from them, we did go and see what kind of music we could use to make it more eerie.

For our eighth question, we asked them if they liked our storyline so far and they said it was very gripping because it makes you want to find out what's going to happen and it is also developing to be a good story . This is good for us because they made us feel positive about what they said about our film piece.

When they were asked if they thought the setting matched the film genre, they said that it depended on what the actors, directors and producers made use of what was around them and another told us we needed to use more of the forests that were around us to make it more creepy.

We also asked them what they would rate our film out of ten, the most common answer was 7 and that it could potentially change if they saw the film once it was completely finished. Getting this number was good for us because they had given us a high rating before we had even finished the whole thing and that they could potentially give us a higher rating if they saw it again.

And finally, we asked them if they would consider watching our film, and thankfully, they all said they definitely would, which is very good for us as we already have people who want to see if even though they have just heard snippets from the film idea.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBVk1KLaPRs

Film Synopsis

Synopsis

In our film, we start off with a wedding in which you see both the bride and groom getting ready to go down to their registry office type thing, as you see Emily just finishing getting ready, she is then told she needs to go down as she only has five minutes left, as they start to walk downstairs, you hear a bang and then Emily stops and looks around, then all of a sudden Tommy comes out of the lift and slits her throat,  then it moves on to 5 years time and you then see a relationship between myself and Tommy, you also find out that my character was behind the whole murder situation as she was a jealous sibling. This then moves onto both of those characters being stalked by Emily as it is the five year anniversary of her death.

 

Technical Research - Filming Schedule and Locations

Filming Schedule

 

This is our filming schedule which shows all the dates in which we filmed all the scenes and all that would be involved during these shoots.

 

Locations

This picture shows the different locations which we filmed in and who we would then need permission from and when we would be filming each of the scenes.



Technical Research - Costume

Costume

For the costume, we chose to have Emily look like a traditional bride and wear a white dress, we made her look as if she was a pure character as she is wearing white.

 

However, her costume changes during the film as she is killed and has been dead for five years and has now come back to haunt two people who were around at the time of her death. With her costume, we used make-up to make her look dead and we also dirtied her dress to make her look like she had been in the ground for a long time.

 

 

We also used fake blood to make Emily's wound on her neck look even more real and then allowed the blood to trickle down her neck onto her dress before we then filmed any of the scenes with her in.

 

Technical Research - Equipment List

• Knife - Killers Weapon
• Fake Blood
• Camera
• Camera Tripod
• White Dress
• 2 Camera Batteries
• Suit for Groom
• Lipstick
• Tie
• Gothic Make-Up

Technical Planning - Font Research

This font would be good in horror film which is less scary and has both the genre of horror and comedy. However, you could also use this font in a horror film as it could still work as you could have the dripping down parts as blood which would be quite scary and could potentially make people feel uncomfortable.

This font would be quite good for a horror film because, where it has the cuts in the font, it makes it look like it has blood spatters (the white parts of the font) which would reflect the thought of death and the horror genre as death is a re-occurring convention in the horror genre. In addition, the broken text also reflects on the word 'Imsomnia' as when someone has imsonia they cannot sleep a full cycle and therefore have a broken cycle and therefore feel broken, similar to the font.

Technical Planning - Script

Script

Characters

Bride - Emily Rawles

Groom - Brandon Playford

Killer - Tommy Brading

Brides Friend/Killer's Girlfriend - Brooke Spencer

Script

*Brandon is shown doing his tie in two different angle forms*

*Emily is shown fixing her hair, as Brooke walks in*

Brooke: You've got about five minutes to get down there.

Emily: Oh okay, let's go now then shall we?

*Emily and Brooke leave to walk to the wedding ceremony, as they are walking Brooke walks in front of Emily, but Emily hears a noise and stops to look around then Tommy runs out of a room and cuts Emily's throat with a knife and she drops to the floor in silence.*

*Turns to 5 Years Later*

*Brooke walking out to see Tommy on the roof*

Brooke: Do you realise it's been five years since you killed my sister?

Tommy: Time flies quickly

Brooke: I can't believe we got away with it"

Tommy: At least now with your sister gone, you get more attention from your dad.

Titles Shown

*Emily is shown in the future watching Tommy and his girlfriend, Brooke, she finds out that it was a plan they had made together and haunts the couple.*

End of title sequence

Institution Research - 20th Century Fox

 

What do 20th Century Fox specialise in?

20th Century Fox specialise in the genres of Action, Animated, Comedy, Crime and Gangster, Family, Fantasy and Thriller/Suspense, Sci-Fi. 20th Century Fox has distributed some of the most famous films including Avatar, the two Star Wars trilogies, Ice Age, Night at the Museum, Taken, Fantastic Four and many more.  

Their ideology/mission statement:

20th Century Fox have said that as their mission statement is still the same as it was a century ago when they first started producing films, which was "Give people the simple pleasure of being transported by a story on screen".

Does this fit with your ideas?

Our ideas for our film do kind of fit with 20th Century Fox because we do want to give people the pleasure of watching and enjoying our film as it is quite a unique storyline and is not something you always see in a film.

Is your film institution mainstream or indie?

20th Century Fox are a mainstream institution as they produce many films in various different genres - for example, they have made films like Star Wars, Despicable Me, Snow White and the Huntsman etc.

Institution Research - Hammer Horror

Hammer films were founded in November 1934, Hammer is also one of the oldest film companies in the world and celebrates 80th anniversary this year.
 

What do Hammer films specialise in?

Hammer is synonymous with Horror, after defining the genre in Britain with classics such as 'Dracula', 'The Curse of Frankenstein' and 'The Mummy' which then spawned numerous sequels. However, only 1/3 of Hammer films were horror. Other than horror, Hammer also did films in the genre of Psychological Thrillers, Sci-Fi, Noir and Historical Epic. Hammer also had a worldwide box office smash with 'The Woman in Black' along with 'Let Me In' and 'The Quiet Ones' in 2014.

Their ideology/mission statement:

Hammer Studios were seen as the 'major force' within British cinema industry during the 1950's. Hammer Horror also represented alternative strategies which were different to the tendencies of the British Cinema. When Hammer was revitalized, the tradition of British Gothic Horror was marked with national cultural identity, which effectively enabled ideological opposition.

Does this fit with your ideas?

Hammer Horrors partly fits in with our idea because we are trying to do a traditional Gothic Horror with most of the things involved in that i.e. camera shots - and the other general stuff which comes in with Horror, for example, the really 'bloody' costumes that would be needed for characters that would die and then the other types of costume that would be needed - especially for a character who is about to become the killer.

Is your film institution mainstream or indie?

Hammer films is mainstream institution and is based in London, however, they are not as well known because they specialise in Horror and that is not always a popular genre with an audience.













20th Century Fox is an American Film Studio, distributor and one of the six major American film studios which was founded in May 1935 by Joseph M. Schenck and Darryl F. Zanuck.

Certificate Research

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

Universal have said they rate films and videos aimed at very young viewers, such as 'Chuggington' or 'Tinga Tinga Tales'. Films and videos with this BBFFC insight raise no significant issues in terms of discrimination, drugs, imitable behaviour, language, nudity, sex, threat or violence.

In some films, characters may be seen kissing or cuddling and there may be references to sexual

behaviour. However, there would be no overt focus on sexual behaviour, language or innuendo. Violence is generally very mild. A 'U' film may include a brief film scene or moments where characters are placed in danger. However, moments of emotional stress or threat will be quickly resolved and the outcome will be reassuring. There may also be brief scary scenes and moments where the characters are placed in danger. As with violence, these scenes will be balanced by reassuring elements, such as comic interludes or music. The antagonist may carry or use weapons - but there would be no emphasis on these. A child or protagonist characters are unlikely to use any kind of weapon outside.




'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 shouldn't unsettle a child age around eight or older. Parents should also consider whether the content may upset younger, or more sensitive, children. Some films are given a PG certificate but have not been made with a young audience in mind. A recent example of a film mostly enjoyed by grown ups but passed PG would be 'Saving Mr. Banks'. However, the certificate means that any issues in the work are appropriate for the majority of the age

group and nothing should upset a child over the age of eight.

A PG film would not contain any theme which is inappropriate for a child. PG works explore challenging issues such as bullying, bereavement or racism. There may be mild language such as 'shit' or 'son of a bitch' in a PG film, but the context and delivery are always important. For example, if the language is used aggressively or if there is a great deal of bad language, a work may be passed at a higher category.

There are unlikely to be any sex references unless they are undetailed and infrequent. If a child is unlikely to understand a reference, it may be allowed as a PG. Comedy can also be used to lessen the impact of sex references and innuendos.

Films classified as 12A and video works classified 12 contain material that is not generally suitable for children under the age of 12. No-one younger than 12 may see a 12A film in a cinema unless accompanied by an adult. The difference between a 12 and a 12A is that a 12A requires an adult to accompany any child which is under 12 years old. This is enforced by cinema staff as a cinema may loose it's license if an adult accompaniment is not enforced.  The BBFC guidelines state that strong language (e.g. f***) may be passed at 12 or 12A, depending on the manner in which it is used, who is using the language, it's frequency and any special contextual justification. In 12A films, sex may be briefly and discreetly portrayed at 12A or 12. Verbal sex references shouldn't go beyond what is suitable for young teenagers. Comedy can again, lessen the impact of some moderate sex references or innuendo but frequent crude sex references are unlikely to be acceptable in this category of film. Some horror films can be passed as a 12 or 12A.Physical and Psychological threat is permitted in this category as long as horror sequences are not too frequent or sustained and the overall tone is not disturbing.

For a film rated 15, anyone who is under the age of 15 cannot be allowed to see a 15 film at the cinema or buy a 15 rated video. No theme is prohibited, provided the treatment is appropriate for 15 year olds. In a 15 rated film, you might see strong violence, frequent strong language, portrayals of sexual activity, strong verbal references to sex, sexual nudity, brief scenes of sexual violence or verbal references to sexual violence, discriminatory language or behaviour and drug taking.

In any film passed for this category, there could potentially be a great deal of strong language. Occasionally there may be uses of the strongest terms (e.g.. c***), depending on the manner in which it is used. There may also be racist, homophobic or other discriminatory language, and the work could explore themes relating to this. However, at 15 the work must not endorse discriminatory language or behaviour. At 15, there can be strong threat and horror as long as there is no sustained focus on sadistic or sexualised threat. In these films, drug taking may be shown but the work as a whole must not promote or encourage drug misuse. The misuse of easily accessible and highly dangerous substances like aerosols or solvents is unlikely to be acceptable at 15. There can also be detailed verbal references to sexual violence, for example, descriptions of rape or sexual assault in a courtroom scene or in victim testimony, but any portrayal depiction of sexual violence must be discreet and justified by context.

Films rated 18 are for adults. No-one under the age of 18 is allowed to see an 18 film at the cinema or buy/rent one either. No 18 rated works are suitable for children at all. No theme is prohibited at all at 18. Adults are free to choose their own entertainment provided the material is not illegal or potentially harmful. In an 18 film you will see very strong violence, frequent strong language (e.g. f***) or very strong language (e.g. c***), strong portrayals of sexual activity, scenes of sexual violence, strong horror, strong blood and gore, real sex (in some circumstances) and discriminatory language and behaviour. At 18, there can be strong and detailed portrayals of sex, including full nudity. There are no constraints on nudity in a non-sexual or educational context. Very strong, crude and explicit sex references are permitted to this category. Horror films can also contain very strong horror,  gore or sustained threat. You can also see drug taking but the work as a whole must not promote or encourage drug misuse.


For our chosen film, it would be a 12A as it would be suitable for children to go and watch without the presence of an adult. It would also be suitable because our chosen film is not going to be extremely scary and scarring to children. We have decided to make our film 12A because we do not have frequent horror sequences and the tone is not overly disturbing. I think it does not fall into a PG rating because we think it is inappropriate for a child to watch as it explores challenging issues such as murder, but does not fit into the 15 rating because we do not use strong theme of threat or horror and only keep it discreet when it is involved.

 

Title Sequence Comparison

In conclusion, both clips use very different approaches to title sequences. For example, 'The Shining' uses a car driving along a road which is immediately more engaging to the audience whereas 'Signs' is very basic and just has a blue background bringing up the cast members and people involved in the film. My preferred type of clip would be 'The Shining' as I find it more engaging and it is something to keep you interested while waiting for the film to start. The style we are trying to achieve in our title sequence is similar to The Shining as we want it to be engaging to an audience and want to reflect the mystery of Gothic Horror. By using this type of title sequence, we can engage the audiences fear early on in the film and intrigue them into the rest of the story.

Title Sequence Analysis - The Shining (1980)

 

For the first of our clips, my group has chosen to do 'The Shining' which starts straight away with music - a trumpet - playing at the very beginning of the clip. At about 1 minute and 8 seconds into the title sequence, the writing with 'A Stanley Kubrick Film' comes up in bright blue capitals which would show that he is a well known director. 4 seconds later (1:12), it comes up with 'Jack Nicholson' which, again, is in large, bright blue coloured capitals, this shows that he is a top billing, well known actor. It also comes up at 1:18 with the name 'Shelley Duvall' as she would become one of the main characters in the film along with Jack Nicholson. After having the title sequence on for 1 minute 25 seconds, it comes up with 'The Shining' which was in large writing as it was the title of the film. 3 seconds later, it shows on the screen 'featuring... Danny Lloyd', this suggest that they aren't top billing actors but still are main characters within the film. After this, at 1:35 it comes up with 'Scatman Crothers', 1:40 'Barry Nelson', 1:44 'Philip Stone', 1:51 'Joe Turkel', 1:55 'Anne Jackson', 2:00 'Tony Burton' and finally, 2:06 'Jan Hartland'. As these characters are all coming up after the word 'featuring' has been shown, it tells you that these people may not all the significant characters within the film as they were not shown at the beginning of the clip with the other two main characters. Also throughout the whole title sequence, it has very sincere music all the way through which could make you feel quite uncomfortable throughout the opening sequence.

http://www.artofthetitle.com/title/the-shining/

 

Title Sequence Analysis - Signs (2002)

In the title sequence 'Signs' it starts off with violin which is quiet, then after 3 seconds in, it comes up in bright blue letter 'Touchstone Pictures presents' which is also in capital letters which would show that they are a well successful  film production company. 0:09 seconds in, it comes up in bold capital letters 'A Blinding Edge Pictures/Kennedy/Marshall Productions' this is also an American film production company. At 14 seconds into the title sequence, it comes up in bold capital letters 'Mel Gibson' as he is a very well known actor and is also the main star in the film. After the sequence had been on for 0:25 seconds it came up with another main actor in big font which was 'Jacquin Phoenix' who is also quite a top-billing actor. About a second later, it comes up with 'Signs' which is the name of the movie. After the title is shown, the music changes and starts to pick up it's pace and beat. The music then doesn't change until 0:45 seconds into the clip when it started to get slower up till 1:00 when the music then began to get faster again. Then 10 seconds later, the music changes again when a drum was added in to the current music.

 http://www.artofthetitle.com/title/signs/

Pre-Lim Evaluation

For our evaluation on our pre-lim task, we were told that we had successfully used a match on action in and a shot reverse shot, which is what we were meant to use for our pre-lim task. In our pre-lim task, we also had controlled use of the camera with a variety of shot types throughout the video. Our reviewers also told us that we had a close attention to mise-en-scene throughout the video and that our narrative made sense and that our sounds throughout made sense and fitted the scene well.

The most successful parts of our film was the first 20 seconds when Tommy was 'strutting' down the corridor with all the different shot types and movement following him, we were also told it was filmed very well throughout the first 20 seconds.

Even though our reviewers thought our video was good, they gave us some feedback about following the 180 degree rule as we did not completely follow it the first time round, we were also told to think about our setting more clearly as we were in a Spanish classroom as we could not find another room which we will definitely make sure we plan our setting in advance when it comes to doing the main task.

Pre-Lim Final Piece: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yu5xiGpGdwc