Final Production

 

Creativity Critical Reflection

 

Post- Production

 I'm using the editing process to create coherent meaning from my collection of shots that allow me to review my opening as I edited through it. This process helped us recognize our mistakes and what we can do better. We also like to gather classmates outside of our group and to see any plot hole and what they didn't get from out opening. Editing is essential in creating meaning with the shots. Putting them together, adding coloring, and fixing the framing, all go into creating the meaning and following the convention of the thriller genre. Looking back on the basics and the elements themselves helps to go through the process of creating meaning.

For this project, we used an iPhone 12 to record the shots. At first application we tried to use to editing was adobe but my school district didn't allow the application. The Adobe application was very complicated. It was an advanced editing software. We attempted to watch tutorials to learn how to use it but in the end it was still a bit too advanced for our use. My class decided to switch to the application WeVideo and bought the advanced version for the final round of editing. Though the first few editing attempts, we were using the free version that doesn't allow access to all the tools. This switch made the editing process much easy. I felt as if the software was more user friendly and easier to navigate on my own. Although we didn't go with the first editing software, Adobe, this allowed an insight to watch industry filmmakers use to edit and what they have to learn on top of how to create the meaning they want.  

In my genre thriller, titled shots can be conventional but we didn't use them in our opening. WE used very limited transitions. Most thrillers don't include too many. We included dissolves and ripples to convey passages of time. The titles are in red dark coloring which is conventional for a thriller and pull up and back down from the bottom corners of the screen. The title of our opening appears at the end of the opening in red letter and symbol that connect to the film. We too inspiration from the flatliner's thriller for this aspect. We made our film silent with no talking. The music in the background was high pitched to follow convention. We made sure to find royalty from music. We lowered the light within the shots that didn't include coloring its a dull color pallet is conventional. The flashback or the beginning of the opening was in black and white. black and white is conventional to  evoke feelings of the past. 

Post-production was a hassle. Creating meaning and reshooting was a difficult process. We had to reedit about 3-4 times. I think that having other peoples opinions on the plot and going back to the basics and studying further was helpful. The editing process was the best part of the process. Mainly because it was easy since I had previous experience in editing. Reshoots were the worst part. At a point I got very frustrated with what to reshoot and how to create meaning. My group members and I eventually worked through the process by taking a step back and reviewing what we did and how to improve on it. 

Filming

We started filming on February 22, 2022. We were give 2 weeks for filming. We had to switch around our schedule of filming. On the first day, we wanted to get the hardest scene with the green screen out of the way. After we spoke it over with our teacher, we realized the scene would be much easier if we left the responsibility with Jeremmiah to do it at home by himself. I provided him a ring light that he could place anywhere and hold his phone to get the best shot. He filmed with an iPhone XR. The rest of our shots were filmed with an iPhone 12. We also realized that we wouldn't be able to do three more shots, the empty parking lot and the last two shots revealing me as the main character walking into school. 

I completed the two shot at home using my ring light to hold my phone at the angle I wanted. I struggled greatly with the wind and my hair. It kept covering while I was trying film. I also wanted one the shots to be more centered but I was unable to perfect it exactly how I wanted. We have yet to get a empty parking lot shot. If my group members and I can't find one by the time editing rolls around, I think our shots will still be long enough. During the days we were supposed to be filming the shots we couldn't get, it provided us more time to spread out capturing our abandoned shots. Shonna was the one who captured most of our shots. Getting those shots was very easy. We had our storyboard pulled up on Jeremmiah's phone so we know we angle and what we were capturing.

After completing the shot set by the storyboard, this allowed us to go back and decide if we wanted to keep the shot or changing an aspect about it.  Fortunately, we still planned to film Shonna's shot during the first week of shooting but she continued to forget her change of clothes required for the scene. We thankfully were able to get the shot on Tuesday of the last filming week. I brought a white paper table cloth to school for her to lay on in pajamas or comfortable clothing to demonstrate she was hurt. I suggested putting down some red liquid underneath her to suggest she's dying or hurt in the end we decided against it. we did a lot of retakes for this shot. My arms were too short to take the overhead view myself so Jeremmiah helped. We kept laughing due to the funny position Shonna was in. For the last shot, we attempted to do it at school. We need a door to open and reveal Jeremmiah's face in horror.

 Due to Jeremmiah being the opposite gender we didn't want to use the school bathrooms. He decided to take on another shot to complete at home. We decided to have the shot include movement. During pre-production we already decided that we wanted the major of the shots to be in black and white. Although we didn't stick to our original scheduling and had to overcame some errors, we still managed to finish two days before our deadline. 

Here are some blooper we took while filming

This was taken right after a school drill. We had to wait for many people of the school to return and leave the frame in order to achieve the shot we wanted. The camera also wasn't still enough for our liking.

We were scoping out how to get the shot we wanted. Jeremmiah is in the shot, and the camera isn't straight. 

Branding

 In class last week, I wish introduced to branding. Branding is a short clip or video in an opening to showcase a particular company. For my branding clip, my group and I started off by coming up with a company name. We went their many trials and errors. Our biggest issue was the name already being taken. In the end, we decided on combining the first letter our names together to make "J.A.S". Then then we discussed some adjectives we could use that described our compony. We added dark to the name because we thought it would be a adequate way to describe our thriller based compony. We each individually worked on our own branding clips, shared with the group, and decided on which one we wanted to use in our opening.

I tried to use keyword to create my opening at first. The application is only accessible on a apple device, and unfortunately my apple computer wasn't working. I then switch to PowerPoint: PowerPoint was very easy to use. It's a user-friendly editing software. I've used through out my years in school. The opening I created was too simple for my liking. I then attempted to use the application Blender. It's a very advanced editing software. It allows the creation of very professional looking openings; However, The application wasn't very user- friendly. The application did supply many tutorial for learning but they were a bit too confusing and lengthy. I then downloaded the Cute Cute Pro on my phone. I have previous experience using this app although, it had been more than a year. The transitions and other aspects come back to me very quickly. The fact that the application is very user friendly also greatly contributed. I completed my opening in about an hour. 

I chose a black background due want to keep the dark thriller mood. I though the red lettering would give it a big of a scare factor and contracting with the background. The dripping blood idea was to enforce the thriller and horror aspects to the branding. The flicking elements of dark was add to grab the attention of the viewer a bit. I thought it was suiting to do it with the words "dark" because it can flash to the darkness and back. I was advised by my teacher that the sound may have to go unless it fights in with my opening clip. Once my other group member finish, we will share our branding clips and decide which one we want to use. If mine is chosen, as a group we will make the necessary changes to better fit our project. 

During  this process, the hardest thing was finding a software that worked best for me. I studied a lot of other ones before deciding on Cute Cut Pro. Coming up with an idea and brainstorm what we wanted  our compony to represent was the most interesting part. Creating my opening at first was a bit frustrating. I had to stop and watch tutorials to know what i was doing. In the end, branding isn't one of the hardest aspect to making an opening sequence. It was nice to step back and focus on something else while filming.

Production Calendar and Stripboard

 This week my group and I focused on planning out our time for the production era of our project. We are given a two week period of filming time for our opening sequence. We discussed what shots or scenes we wanted to do on each day and how it would work out with our time frame.

Stripboard

The stripboard was an aspect our a media project I've never tried on previous assignments. We used studio binder which listed out all of our shots. We then set it to organize by scene setting, day then night, and int. to ext. They also color coordinated the shots with what they were sorted by. We were able to add daybreaks to plan out how many scenes we wanted to do in a day. 

Although this was a new point in a project for me, it was very simple. My group and I had no struggles with this aspect because our script was formatted correctly. It look us 30 minutes to clean up the scenes in and make sure everything was in place. The stripboard was a bit relaxing to work on.

Production Calendar

After, we worked on the production calendar. This is also a new aspect that took less than a day to complete. Just like the stripboard, it was very simple. We mapped out the shooting schedule to last around 4 days. That takes up one week of our given shooting times. We will use the second week for any reshoots we need. The days in the production calendar include a check list of shots we are going to complete for that day.

Storyboard

 Storyboarding is a visual representation of shots using single panels. The process of storyboarding  includes listing shot numbers, shot duration, composition sketch, and a brief description of what is happening in the shot. In the description, it's also good to put what mood the filmmakers wants to create in the shot. In previous projects, I've done a storyboard by hand and on the computer. My group members and I agreed to conduct our storyboard for our portfolio project through the application studio binder.

My group member Jeremmiah Acrius and I will be acting in the majority opening. I will play our main character, a 15 year old girl named Kiera, while he will act as the man in the flashback. Our last member Shonna Lauriston, will play the man's dead wife. All she has to do is pose. When planned out the storyboard shots, we worked out the three characters we wanted to include and chose the parts wanted to play. I'm the lead since I'm the most comfortable in front of the camera and have experience from my previous projects. Jeremmiah has agreed to play the man since he also has experience and fits the character we envisioned. The the flashback scene we will prepare a change of comfortable clothes to fit the scene of being late at night. 

My film will take place at school. We want to including abandon and isolated shots of places around the school because it's a big part our storyline. We also wanted to introduce the main character at school. We have yet to decide if the flashback scene in the bedroom scene will be easier  to do in front of a green screen or at home. The bathroom scene will be done at school. 

My film will look like a convectional opening sequence of a thriller. We will first start off with a flashback scene that takes place in the bedroom, with a male character at night who gets a calls phone predicting his wife's death. This is a conventional method within the genre. We will convey this by the background, and the comfortable pajama like clothing of the man. We wanted to include a bedside table next to him with a phone, a glass of water, and a lamp which will providing lighting within the scene. He will also be holding a book. We will then do isolated and abandon shots of the school to establish the setting. The last scene will be of the main character walking in school. We also want to use a tint of black and white within the film. We are unsure of where we want to use that aspect yet. Through out the film we will use high pitch music to stay with convection. 

For the shooting schedule, we will have 2 weeks to film all the shots we need at school. We will be provided a class period of 1 hour and 30 minutes to film. We maybe also have addition time before and after school to film for our opening. We will be using an iPhone 12 landscape to film.

We may need to record the phone call conversation separately the flashback scene so it c
an be heard through the growing music that creates suspense. Other than that, we should be able to find the sounds we need, heartbeat, heavy breathing, and a door creaking on YouTube. 

Scriptwriting and Funding

 Scriptwriting and funding are essential factors when producing a film. A script allows the filmmakers to plan out each scene. It gets them thinking what ideas they want to keep, what they want the characters to look like, the interactions with they have, and so much  more involving the four key concepts. After scriptwriting, they can move onto funding. This includes paying the cast and crew, the setting, the props, hair and makeup etc. To obtain more of an understanding about the process of scripting and funding involved in making thriller films, I will researching "the little things" by John Lee Hancock and "Nocturnal Animals" by Tom ford.

The little things 

The genre of the film is listed as a thriller/crime. The budget of the film was 30 million U.S dollars. This is below budget for a major studio film produced company, Warner Bros. Funding for films could come from investors and grants. The job of funding usually falls with the producers. They go and meet with investors of the film. They get investors on board by pitching the idea or letting them read the script. Once an investor decides to get involved with the project, they sign contracts. The company Warner Bros. is a well known in making thriller films. They have multiple high grossing thriller films like "The Dark Knight". The target audience for this movie is older adults. This is convectional for the thriller genre which typically aims to please audiences 25 older. This film was distributed in theatrical and on a streaming service, HBO Max, VOD. In one country Germany, the film was distributed on DVD and Blue-Ray. The film made 28.9 In the box office. It streaming on service contributed in the money earning portion 

Nocturnal animals

The genre of this film is a thriller/drama. The budget of the film was 22.5 million U.S dollars. This film was produced by Focus Features, a production company that is partly owned by Universal studios. They produce independent and foreign films. They may get help like funding or finding producers through Universal Studios Productions. There are other 3 other films credited in production like fade to black, another independent company. The film is rated R, it appeals more to adult than to younger audience. MA and Rated-R are typically common when it come to thriller movies due to the intense scenes.

I would prefer to work with major production companies. When using the major companies it’s more likely that they know more investors and can get you a bigger budget for your films. They also provide more ways of distribution and marketing for films. The more marketing the film gets, the wider range of audiences the film reaches. People are also more likely to favor the major production companies due to their standard way of filming. Independent production companies do give you more control over the project. The best option for my thriller film would be a studio like Warner Bros. that have achieved making high ranking thriller films. My film would also have the chance to be released both theatrical and through streaming service.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10016180/

https://www.investopedia.com/financial-edge/0611/why-movies-cost-so-much-to-make.aspx#:~:text=The%20average%20cost%20to%20produce,to%20right%20about%20%24100%20million.

https://www.masterclass.com/articles/how-to-finance-a-film#how-are-films-financed

https://crefovi.com/articles/how-to-finance-your-film-production/

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10016180/companycredits?ref_=tt_dt_co

https://www.focusfeatures.com/about

https://www.wrapbook.com/blog/film-financing-essential-guide

https://www.linkedin.com/company/fade-to-black-films#:~:text=FADE%20TO%20BLACK%20FILMS%20has,remaining%20active%20in%20entertainment%20production.&text=We%20are%20a%20motion%20picture,young%20adult%2C%20and%20family%20audiences.

Scripting

During my previous work with film making, it's involved me formatting a script. At first I struggled. The layout of how to do it was confusing. But the more I researched and practiced I got better and now I understand why it's so essential to the process of making a film. My group and I completed a short story for our opening sequence. We are now preparing to do the script. Before we get started, we will each go and research thriller scripts so we can get a better understanding of what to incorporate into our own scripts. 

From my previous work with scripting I've learned that they are to necessary help organize and plan out thoughts or actions that the filmmaker wants to use. They provide a clear vision of what the writer wants to do. They also let you imagine everything or visually see everything laid out so filmmakers start to see exactly what props they need, how they want the scene to look, or what they want the characters to say and so on.  They are used as a reference tool when filming. 

Get Out Script

https://www.scriptslug.com/assets/scripts/get-out-2017.pdf

Wind River Script

https://www.scriptslug.com/assets/scripts/wind-river-2017.pdf

The first thing I noticed with the scripts is how expressive they are. They describe the POV we are watching from, what the characters look like and even their age so we can imagine them a bit clearer. With thriller films things like breathing, heartbeat, wind, or anything that tends to make viewers uncomfortable they put a lot on emphasis on and make sure they are specific with what they want. Reading things like "his breathe echo's" from the Get Out script allows the reader to visually the thriller convection and how they are incorporated it into the script. This is helpful to my script. I understand how important it is not only set the scene and characters but also the small details that make a thriller. I also noticed that in the script the don't necessarily describe the angle or the type of shot. They may save this part when they storyboard. They describe how where we are viewing from like from a distance or further to the left inside. 

https://www.scriptslug.com/assets/scripts/get-out-2017.pdf

https://www.scriptslug.com/assets/scripts/wind-river-2017.pdf

My script

In my collaborated script, I was responsible for the descriptions of the envisioned shots. My fellow group member, Shonna, handled the ideas of what to film while Jeremmiah perfected the outline and editing. This process took about 6-7 days. The longest part of the work was coming up with the method and what we wanted to see in our opening. We continued to go back and double check our convections. In the end we decided to do the most common methods within the thriller genre, a flashback and abandoned isolated shots. The scripting process was much easier to handle on this project. On my previous work, I struggled with learning the format and what to included in a script. The research on convectional thriller scripts showed how how detailed I needed to be in my description. It also aided in making sure the script was formed correctly. 

Case study On Vivarium

I am continuing my research on different thriller films by conducting a case study on the 2019 film Vivarium. On this case, I will focus on the production and finance aspect of the film. This will give me an idea of who to target, how much to spend, distribution, and many more points of the what goes on before the production of a film. I will use and enforce what I learn in  my own thriller opening sequence. 

In my previous research on the thriller conventions, they describe the typical conventional target audience to be 25 and older, mostly for mature adults.  This film is Rated R, restricts children under the age of 17 and requires an accompanying parent or adult guardian to view it. The film included some violence, gore, and a lot of frightening scenes. This movie is not fit to be seen by kids. They intended to make this movie for an adult audience that are able to pick up on and handle the intense scenes. An MA rating would be considered the best fit for the genre but Rated R is not uncommon when making a thriller.

From imdb I've found 13 production companies that were credited for this film. Majority of them are companies outside of the United States.

1. Lovely Production 

2. Copenhagen Film Fund

3. Creative Europe MEDIA

4. Det Danske Filminstitut

5. Eurimages 

6. Fantastic Films

7. Film4

8. Frakas Production

9. Fis Eireann/Screen (as Fis Eireann/Screen Ireland)

10. PingPongFilm

11. Voo & Be tv (in co- production with)

12. XYZ Films

13. Wallimage

None of the six major companies, Universal Pictures, 20th Century Fox, Paramount Pictures, Warners Bros. Pictures, Walt Disney Pictures, and Columbia Pictures, don't seem to be connected in any way to the credit companies of the film. These are all independent companies working together on the film. Film 4 Productions is very well knows as being an Independent. 

The director of the film, Lorcan Finnegan, describes the of the film coming from a short story name "Foxs". It inspired different kinds of themes and actions which is what lead to the development of Vivarium with the co-writer Garret Shanley. He talks about the process of society getting trapped in these social contract when the move and the isolated feeling this give off, the lost of the community and the natural world. He wanted to incorporated it into his work.

The budget of the film was 4 million. The main characters are Jesse Eisenberg, who is an American actor known for his role in 2021 "The Social Network" and Imogen Poots, a British actress known for acting in multiple British films. Originally they casted Mackenzie Davis. She accepted at first but later had to give up the role due to filming another movie.. That when they thought and offered it to Imogen. When they discussed who should be casted as the male lead, the kept circling back to Jesse and offered him the role. They filmed in Belgium and Ireland. Due to filming on location the lighting and  wind birds and sound was difficult to work with. The location of filming also had a part to play in editing. The wanted more reverse angle shots but due to only have one side of the street, they were very limited.

Continuing my research on imdb lists, they have listed the 17 distributors  involved with the film. This film was distributed in numerous way. In about 7 countries using all forms of media each company had available distributed a film. In 6 countries it was only a theatrical release using about 7 different distributors.  The last 2 ways of distribution through Blue- Ray and DVD in the country of Germany. 

1. Saban Film (2020) (USA) (All media)

2. Les Bookmakers (2020) (France) (theatrical)

3. Parco Co. Ltd. (2021) (Japan) (theatrical)

4. Shaw Organisation (2020) (Singapore) (theatrical)

5. The Jokers (2020) (UK) (theatrical) 

6. Ukrainian Film Distribution (UFD) (2020) (theatrical) 

7. Vertigo Releasing (2020) (UK) (theatrical)

8.Weird Wave (2020) (Greece) (theatrical) 

9. A contracorriente Film (2020) (spain) (all media)

10. Concorde Home Entertainment (2020) (Germany) (Blue-ray)

11.Concorde Home Entertainment (2020) (Germany) (DVD)

12. Films4You (2020) (Portugal) (All media)

13. Lumix Media (2021) (South Korea) (all media)

14. Umbrella Entertainment (2020) (Australia) (all media)

15.  Umbrella Entertainment (2020) (New Zealand) (all media)

16. XYZ Films (worldwide) (all media) 

17. Superfine Film (India) (all media)

Again, the production and distribution chart are form imdb.

They used cross media convergence to promote and market the media. Countless of articles explaining the plot of the movie, leaving the reader on a cliff- hanger so they have to go see the movie themselves to see what happens. The movie trailer is also available on online platforms like YouTube. Synergy is only used in Germany when distributing Blue-Rays and DVDs. 

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8368406/parentalguide?ref_=tt_stry_pg

https://www.filminrevolt.org/lorcan-finnegan-and-tony-cranstoun-vivarium/

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/vivarium

https://transcripts.thedealr.net/script.php/vivarium-2019-Z70I

Five Thriller Opening Sequence

 To conduct research on my genre, thriller, each member in my group has been assigned to study the opening sequence of 2 films each with the view that we are successful in aiding to our audience. We understand the audience of thriller is primarily composed of older adults (25 and up). Younger audiences tend to not understand the mature twists and turns in the storyline and miss key details.  I watched David Fincher's 2014 Gone Girl and Niels Arden Oplev 2017 Flatliners. 

Flatliners

Cin 

-the first shot is of looking out of the window of a moving car in soft focus. The camera itself is still. 

-Shot 2 is a behind the head full shot of a blonde girl. Behind the head shot creates a mysterious effect since the view is unable to identify the character.  

-Shot 3 shows another single shot close woman driving from a behind angle. It is another behind the head shot slightly because we are unable to see her face as well. This contributes to the building tension and the unknown of the characters 

-Shot 4 is a two shot of both females in the front seats of a car. The camera is placed on the left side of them. The shot gives us a close up of the women in the driver’s seat (dark hair) face. She is slightly out of focus while the blonde child in the seat next is her is in shallow focus. Their faces are now visible which decreases the tension within the opening. 

-shot 6 changes to a single eye-level medium close –up shot of the dark hair women driving. 

-The camera switches to a single eye-level close up of the young blond girl. 

-In shot 9 the use a dolly in on the young blonde girl in the passenger seat. This is to convey something is about to happen to her.  

-Shot 10 is a single shot close up of the dark-haired women. They use a close up to emphasize the look of panic she has on her face while glances to her lap and back to ride like she is distracted.  

-The next 6 shots (11-17) show different angles of a car crashing off the side of the road. They use pov shots from the front windshield of the car. They also use low angles and full shots of the car flipping over the bridge.  

-Shot 18 and 19 were close ups of what looks like an operating room. This gives insight to film that it relates to a hospital that experiences a lot of life and death. 

-Shots 19 and 20 use a cut-in from a full to a close shot of a dead body on an operating table.  

-shots 21 and 22. Show various aspects of a cemetery using eye-level shots of the tombstones jump cuts. 

-Shots 19-25 are jarring, very quick jump shots. 

-The outer edges of the shots of blurry making it pay close attention to what is in crisp focus. 

-Shot 28 is a pan up at the foot of a Mortuary table.  

 

 

Editing 

-The first 1-4 shots cut away to credit scenes and back to the main storyline. 

-The credits screens are a plain black background with off coloring of the font. There are slight green and blue streaks quickly appearing and disappearing. 

-Shots of (11-17) are jump cuts of the car crashing. 

-The title of the opening zooms out. The font looks as if it is beating to the beating like a heart. 

-Shot 25 transitions to 26 using a zoom in dissolve effect almost going from a full shot of a cemetery to a close up of tombstones  

-Shot 26- 27 use a flash transition of a close up of casket to a tombstone. 

-shot 23 to 24 transitioned using a flash 

-All the flashes provided anticipation and tension in the viewer.  

-At the end of the opening the flashes to a black screen, which adds to the building tension. 

MES 

-The first scene had a light gray tint. Light gray in films typically relates to loss or depression.  

-A young blonde girl wearing a pink sweater is traveling in a car with another woman with dark hair who is driving. In Shot 5 and 6 They both seem to be happy and smiling.  

• The blonde’s hair is lightly moving to the wind. Behind the head shot creates a mysterious effect since the view is unable to identify the character. 

-The first shot you can make out trees and ln pass them. They are traveling.  

-In shot 6 of the women driving, she looks happy. 

-In shot 7 the young blonde girl is wearing pink and smiling looking over the women in the driver seat. This conveys that good have a good close relationship.  

-the title is revealed after the car accident. The title is in white font, with what looks like blurry glossy lights in the background. There is also a heart Montor line going through the title at a vertical angle.  

-The light grey tint changes to an almost orange yellow-Ish color. This makes the audience uncomfortable. Orange tint typically makes the feelings of caution or warning arrive.   

 

Sound 

-non-diegetic eerie music is playing, raising the tension in the sequence. The music increases as the sequence goes on.  

-In shot four, diegetic sound of the young girl screaming “look out” before the crash adds to the suspension and tension. 

-When the faces of the characters get revealed, the music eases up on the tension feeling until shot  

- -In shot 11 the young girl has a diegetic screams “Courtney”.  

-shots 11-17 we can hear the non-diegetic screeching of the car’s brakes. 

-the also provide diegetic sounds of the crash smashing. This creates a sense of emergency and tension in the viewers.  

-The use a diegetic sound of women crashing into the water which adds to the tension and emergency within the scene.  

-during the car crash the music stops and lets the density play.  

-A fast paced high pitch music sounds playing during the title reveal.  

-the music in the background also has a kind of heart type of rhythm to it. (non-diegetic) It can be assumed that this film has a lot to do with life and death. The sound of a heartbeat in a thriller is often used to convey a character is near death or shaken up. 

-After the title, non-diegetic whispers start to play over the music. This dramatically increases the tension. The whispers appear to be talking about seeing something due to something happening to their body. They use words like “lifeless” and “out of body experience” contributing to the shots they have of cemeteries and operation rooms. From this you can interpret that the film has a lot of as to do with death and loss and making these high-tension situations.  

-At the end of the opening. One of the whispers on the black screen goes “I'm sorry” which build tension and disturbs the viewer. (non-diegetic) 

 

Gone girl 

Cin 

-The first scene is a POV shot from a man’s perspective, it’s a shallow focus close-up shot of a woman laying down on his chest. The women look up at the man, or camera, which is position at a higher angle above her. This mans the man is looking down at her. Like she is frail and weak. This contributes to the relationship dynamic.   

- There is an establishing shot of what looks like the sea with the shore. This typically conveys calmness. Right after an uncomfortable close-up of the women from scene 1.  

-Scenes 3-16 of abandoned places. Showcasing isolation in town.  

-The scene 18 is a knee-level shot of a male standing in front of a house looking lost.  

-Scene 19 is a long shot to the left side of the man continuing to look lost. The shot appears to be slightly low. This could be to signify the power of man.  

-Scene 20 cuts back to a knee-level shot of the man turning around facing the house. 

-Scene 21 he starts to walk towards the house in an extreme long. 

 

Editing 

-The open credit names fade in and out for about 3 seconds or less (before the scenes start and after the first scene with the women.) 

-the first scene fades in at the beginning and fades out at the end. 

-The second scene also begins with a fade in. 

-Scenes 3-17 are jump cuts and cut-in of abandoned buildings 

-The rest of the sequence is composed of match cuts 

-The prologue begins with a J-cut. 

 

 

-Mes 

 

-The first scene is of a blonde woman laying down getting her hair stroked slowly by the hands of a man. This represents a relationship dynamic; the male has the power and control. She appears to have no makeup on and laying in comfortable or lounge clothing.  we suspect this from the lighting, conveying it could be early morning. (1) 

-The opening credits appear on a blank screen centered with white lettering. 

-The title of the film appears on a beach or shore background, still with white lettering and the three seconds. You can see a ship or boat in the distance. The sky appears to be a deep blue and pink color, signifying it’s either around sunrise or sunset time.  

-Shots 3 through 17 cut around to different abandoned buildings and outside areas. This could be showing isolation or emphasizing the abandonment element of the setting or characters. 

-She lifts her face showing a very serious expression staring blankly directly at the camera.  This could be interpreted that something is bothering her, or something could happen. (2) 

-The last scene is a man wearing a gray t-shirt and jeans.- gray conveys compromise, neutral, control, practical. His plain clothing or the color of them give no insight or a neutral feeling to him to give him to add a mysterious affect. Or to show just how normal he really is. 

-very low lighting conveys tension.  The tones used are very dull blues, grays which gives a fickle feeling.  

-The light blue tint that is there throughout the whole opening sequence represents the feeling of isolation, passivity, and calmness. (what does light blue tint signify?). It's another element that contributes to the disconnected and mysterious feeling.  

-lots of shadows that contribute to the mysterious feeling. 

Sound 

-music has a very sinister effect.  

-The male voice over (non-diegetic) talking about breaking his wife’s skull gives the viewers a psychopathic or a deranged background on the character which contributes to the prologue type of opening. Since prologues conventionally go with flashbacks, it’s likely that the first scene on the blonde woman was a flashback.   

-During the prologue of the first scene we know that It’s a husband talking disturbingly about hurting his wife to see inside her head or understand her thoughts.  

-The eerie non-diegetic music gets louder and higher pitch as the sequences continue. The contributes to the tension factor of the sequence. 

Run

My group member, Jeremmiah Arcus, conducted his research on the 2020 horror thriller movie "Run" and "The Women in the Window"(2021). 

The 2 minutes and 20 seconds opening sequence is a prologue using the conventional flashback method. They use a total of 5 shots with a cut to black screen at the ending with words slowly appearing. In shot 1 the setting is a gloomy hospital with low-key lighting with enough to see the doctors working. the camera slowly gets closer to build suspense. They use L and J cuts on the high pitch music that builds up to it's highest point and goes back to the beginning of the track to make it smoother. You can also hear a heart monitor beeping. The heartbeat slowly fades away and muffled talking take over. This continues until the second shot. The second shot was a continuation of the doctors from the first shot until another doctor appeared. There was only silence at first until stringy music play an \built up until the mother sees her newborn baby. Uplifting music starts to play when the mother touches the glass the child in.  The camera is placed on a Steadicam. In shot 3 the lighting gets brighter with more lights. There is a slow tilt up as the doctor is pushing a mother and her child. Deep eerie music starts to come back as the mother asks "will she be okay".  Transitioning into the last shot using cut on action, the lighting goes to back to lowkey to build suspense an give and eerie vibe. There was a the camera is steady, but the mother gets closer as she wishes to see her child. During the majority of the opening sequence were just simple cuts. 

The Women in the Window

MES- The opening sequence is a prologue of 2 minutes and 54 seconds. There are 20 shots in total. Shot 1 did not have very much light besides the little balls of light which are used to get the viewer to feel lost or unaware of where they are. Shot 2 had brighter lighting most likely to make the eye pop out more during this specific shot. The lighting in this shot makes the scene look more angelic and eye opening. The third to fourth shot is a pan the begins when the light fades away and it look like the scene is slowly dying. In the fifth shot the lighting is lowkey but light slowly creeps in as a stairwell is revealed. The lighting then becomes lowkey key once again in the next shot but brightens up right after the shot shifts to a pan of a room with lighting that looks to be morning. In shot 13, the lighting is lowkey slighting tracking the cat which slowly leads into a pan into a living room with brighter lighting. We then see the woman looking at the man outside bringing in boxes early in the morning. After the back- and forth shots, the camera is looking at the woman's back with the setting going back to the living room with lowkey lighting and a bit of sunlight from the window the women is looking at. 

CIN- In the second shot there is an extreme close up on the character’s eye. Third shot is a landscape shot also known as a long shot. The still camera then goes into a pan still in the same shot. Fourth shot is a slow tilt up to reveal a very tall staircase. Fifth shot is a pan going into the sixth shot with a medium shot as well as a pan. The seventh shot is very brief but is a close up on the woman’s hands grabbing pills. The eighth shot is a continuation of the last shot where the woman takes the pills. Ninth shot is a zoom in on what looks to be a bedroom. Shot 10 is a close up pan of a kid drawing on a chalkboard. Next shot is a close up of the woman letting in the mail carrier for a delivery. Eleventh shot is a medium-close up of the man dropping the package off. Next shot is very brief, but it shows the woman giving the mail carrier the money through a little slot in the door. Shot 13 is POV shot as well as a tracking shot as the camera is in the eyes of the woman, and she is focusing on the new neighbor bringing in boxes. The next shot is a close up of the woman’s facial expression while looking at the neighbor. Then in the next shot there is a long shot of a living room with the woman on the left side. 

Editing- There is a quick cut from the first shot of black with white speckles. From the second shot there is a cut that is so smooth you can barely see it. All the way until the seventh shot I believe. There is a cutting on action from shot 7 to 8 the woman grabs the pills, and it cuts to her swallowing the pills and drinking water. Near the end of the opening scene there is back and forth editing from the woman staring at her neighbors to the shot with the neighbors moving boxes in. For the rest of the opening sequence there were just a series of cuts and quick cuts. 
Sound- In the first shot the camera is twist, turning and spinning in sort of a galaxy setting and near the end you can hear a woman breathing heavily. The breathing gets deeper, and the woman is taking deeper breaths. There is also very high-pitched stringy music in the beginning as well as a subtle wind sound that builds up when the first shot is close to ending. In the second shot the woman gasps then begins breathing with a much faster pace. Third shot you can hear children playing and a deep eerie music that is constantly playing throughout the next few shots. Then the music builds up and stringy instruments jump into the mix making the next shot even more uncomfortable. You can then see and hear a computer beeping. The sounds of the kids come back into play, but this time when they are playing you can hear one little kid that screams. The music continues, but then you can hear a voiceover between a mother and her child. Then the conversation goes to the woman and her husband as the kid runs calling to his dad for a pumpkin. 

Get out

Shonna Lauriston, my fellow group member, completed an opening sequence analysis on the 2017 horror thriller "Get Out". 

The opening sequence is a convectional prologue type using a the flashback method. There are only 2 shots in total. The first shot at the beginning is the camera zooming out. It goes into a long shot as the character moves into the frame to a medium shot as he walks closer to the frame. The camera then does a close up when he is looking for an address which we know from the dialogue of his phone call. The camera then goes back to a medium shot which is used through out the rest of the shot. There is a tracking used as the character get abducted. The character wears a blue shirt with a leather jacket and jeans. A very natural casual outfit. The setting is night time with only streets light giving off light. From the houses in the neighborhood, it appears to be a suburban community. There is non-diegetic sound of crickets to covey it is late at night. As he notices the car stopping by him playing the radio in the car, the music switch from being in scene on the car radio to then transition louder to a voiceover playing the music.  This intensify the tension within the scene. The other person was wearing an all black jacket and mask, masking their identity. The end of shot 1 goes into a extreme long shot.

Cutting on action is used when the abductor is dragging him into the car, this would show what's going on from a different on.