Male Audience for Horror

Males are more likely to be fans of horror films than girls, and this is the stereotypical thrill seek and enjoyment of seeing gore and violent acts towards other humans. 
The disturbing scenes that they watch frighten them, but the fact that it is fictional changes them from being real, as we have a sense of control over what is real and what is not from true acts of violence, and ones in films. Zillman and his colleagues exposed 36 male and 36 female students to a horror movie in the presence of someone of the opposite sex. Men enjoyed the film more when they were with a distressed woman, and women enjoyed in more when with a mastering man. 
It also links to gender socialization from a quote from Sparks; “Men often like [scary films] as date movies because women are more likely to seek physical closeness when they’re scared, and men can show off their strength and bravery,” Cantor said. (This is aptly called “the cuddle effect.”)

Males tend to like this genre more because it makes them seem brave if they show no fear and simply laugh at the gore and scary themes, because they do not want to be seen as a coward, and more dominant. 

Seeing someone get possessed, or getting cut in half is more enjoyable to watch when you have no fear of it happening to you, but some people can be paranoid that they are afraid of what they are watching in case it could happen to them. 
In a study, more women chose scares over mindless violence, this is proof that men like to prove to people that nothing scares them or grosses them out, and they are fearless. 

Deconstruction of The Witch (2015)

The Witch Deconstruction

The Witch is a 2015 supernatural horror, written and directed by Robert Eggers for A24 production company and is set in a 1630s England with the idea of witchcraft and curses following a family about.

The scene opens to shrill music, with a fade on to a forest. The non-diegetic string shrill music gives an eerie impression that there is something lurking within the woods and straight away sends the audience into a fearful situation as the music builds tension. 

The location in which we can see from this shot is a dark forest, fitting in with the idea of typical horror films being set in isolated locations. The forest looks dark as we can't see much of it only adding to the suspense and mystery as we are hidden from it. 

An important part of any opening scene is to establish the location, in the witch, within the second shot we are given an insight into what time period and culture the movie is set by using mis-en-scene such as horses and carriage, dirty clothing, and swords. Whilst this is not linked to the genre of the film it is important for any film to show the audience the setting in which they are in. 

The family kneel before the sky praying, diegetically saying 'Kingdom of the god' to the sky. This gives it a religious connotation which is found especially in supernatural films due to spiritual 'antagonists' usually found in them. This is added with the typography of the title, as well as the name 'The witch' which shows what genre it is part of straight away (supernatural horror) but still doesn't reveal to much about the plot. The typography including a serif font which is flickering giving a ghost impression and follows the idea of spiritual antagonists that could be used for possession.

It is often found in supernatural horrors that the victim of the story is the innocent one. In this close up shot we see a baby laughing. The baby symbolizing innocence to life and is unaware of the dangers. In the next shot the baby disappears as if a higher force is causing the baby to disappear. This builds on the mystery but also fits in with the typical conventions of supernatural horrors

I liked the creative use of the production company logo which has been edited to have branches going across it to make it look more darker and creepy to fit in with the plot and genre of the story. In our own opening sequence it would be interesting to explore the idea of using a production company suited to the genre of our film.

Lighting deconstruction: Scream

Scream was released in 2006 and is a slasher horror directed by Wes Craven.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgKukhIw5eY

 

Lighting is important in making a film more effective and suited to its genre. In the opening scene of Scream, the lighting starts off bright in a large house. This gives the sense of safety and warmth so that the events that are to come are emphasised as more sinister and establish the genre.

 

As the scene continues and the character talks of the phone, we hear the killer say the first thing that is sinister and begins the anticipation for something scary - he asks for her name and when she asks why, he says 'so I know who I'm looking at'. Suddenly she turns the light on outside to see if she can see him, then turns it off and locks the door. While going around the house and locking everything quickly, she turns off lights so that the hue is no longer warm and comforting, but grey and cold. These colours intensify the sudden creepiness of the killer, who we can't see anyway, and take away the safeness to show the vulnerability of the character.

By the end of the scene, more lights are off and it is even darker, turning blue. Again this highlights the vulnerability and creates suspense because darkness is a main convention of the horror genre, building it up for many scares.

This ultimately shows how effective lighting is in making a film suited to its genre, because we are able to pick up the hints towards what might happen to the characters by the atmosphere and mood changing. We can take this into account when editing so darker colouring is used.

Mise-en-Scene of Hannibal (TV Series)

Please note that the following content may disturb or sicken others due to the violence of the scenes:

The TV show Hannibal, based off of the events of Red Dragon, Silence of the Lambs, and Hannibal is a TV show that ended, but was on Sky Atlantic and stared Mads McKenzie as Hannibal Lecter, and had beautiful visuals, beautiful, yet haunting with how disturbing the scenes were. What can you expect about a show about psychopaths and sociopath killers, and one being a cannibal? The TV show had great mise-en-scene and below I have chosen three of the best ones to choose from. The scenes are both horrific, and horrifically beautiful, and Will Graham is a detective who has to analyse the scene to find out how they died, and who did it, and it is pure genius in how the crew set up the mise-en-scene of the scene so that the characters do not miss anything, which means we do not miss anything too. We deconstruct the scene as the character Will does, and we cannot help but see how gorgeous yet disgusting and unsettling the visuals are with their artistic ways. 

The first scene that I have chosen to deconstruct is the killer who creates "angels" as his victims. Already you can see what I meant by horrifying yet beautiful, how they are posed and how the scenes are done. They are chilling, yet to the killer it is art. In the scene you can see the effort put into it by the team who build the scenes, how the back is opened up and held up like angel wings with the skin and muscle of their back, propped with strings, and their hands tied together to look as if they are praying, and this scene shows the great mise-en-scene that keeps us focused on the scene, and is great for films because it is something that you will not forget for a while.

 The next seen has great mise-en-scene with even more disturbing scenes of the human totem pole, which is made up of many naked and mutilated corpses, held together with string and wire and each body positioned on top of one another to create this totem pole of dead bodies.

This one, probably the most disturbing for the fact that this man had a cello forced down his throat, and a man used his vocal cords to play the cello on a theater stage. You can see his skin, open wind pipe and the muscle under neath the skin, serious detail to the remarkable art which is practical effects.

The detail of the scenes which go into the series of 'Hannibal' is wonderful, and something our group should be inspired to do to make sure there is always something in the frame that the audience can pause and notice and try to think of what it is in the scene, and what importance it does play. 

Inspiration for Locations

The cabin in 1981's "Evil Dead" was inspirational for other horror films like the recent "Cabin in the Woods" This was the original cabin, which was in the woods, and the entire film was inside this cabin, and we took inspiration from this by keeping the main parts of our scene by keeping them inside a cabin, and only seeing the outside in the later part of the opening scene towards the end, and just like Evil Dead, it was shot in two different locations, as Evil Dead manipulated audiences into thinking the cabin they used in the woods was the same cabin they used to film inside, which it actually wasn't, and we have done the same with the cabin being o where near the field that we used for the killer to run after the victim. The reason that we chose a small place like a cabin was because it would make sense for the killer's hideout to have some history with their family, just like Evil Dead where the owner was the owner of the book that could raise the dead, and their is unknown history with our killer and the lair that she tortures her victims in, which would of course be explained if this was actually a full film with an entire cast.
"The cabin burned down in 1982. All that remains is part of the fireplace, pieces of the tin roof and some of the foundation."

Camera Angles in 'The Thing' (1982)

One of the most haunting films in the 1982 horror film "The Thing" is the scene that can only be described as the defibrillator scene. A truly disturbing experience for a first viewing, and makes you very cautious and paranoid about peoples stomachs. The camera angles used in this film do not hide the horror, they seek it and force you to watch it, and this scene is no exception with its use of practical effects that are chilling. The first shot is a mid shot which shows the characters over the man's body who needs medical attention. The shot then changes to close up on the man's stomach and the doctor's hands, holding defibrillators. The "dead man"'s stomach then opens up, and he has teeth in his stomach, which swallows the doctor's arms, tearing them off and swallowing the defibrillators. The way the shot stays focused on the abyss inside his stomach, and the horrific mouth with sharp teeth that bite off the doctor's hands is truly horrifying, and it does not care to show the reactions of the other characters. It wants the viewers to be disgusted and truly horrified, like they were there just as the other characters were, but you get closer, seeing his arms ripped through the socket and the bones tear off with blood flooding out. It also uses examples of panning, from where it shows the true monster's neck, waggling, and pans up to show its horrific face and arachnid like arms, with many close ups of the monster to truly scare the audience.

Editing of Silence of the Lambs

Silence of the Lambs is considered one of the best horror films of all time, and even earned five academy awards and was the first horror film to acheive an Oscar for Best Picture. The editing of this film has a few techniques, and especially in one of the most important scenes of the film. This scene is where Hannibal Lecter escapes, killing two guards, but the way that it is shot is remarkable, for the editing techniques are well done, and we cannot actually be certain that he has succsefully escaped his confiement until the ending scene, where it cuts as we see him inside of an ambulance, disguised as a prison guard, wearing his skin like a mask to hide  his identity, a clever and well thought escape that we watch with excitement, knowing the greatness of that scene, and how it boosted the film to Oscar worthy stardom. The reason I have chosen this scene to deconstruct for editing, is because of the way in which it is done, as it is edited so you do not follow Hannibal's path, you follow the events as the police do, so you do not know of what is actually happening in the scene because you are just -mas blind and ignorant as the police are, believing that they have the upper hand against this genius. The editing is the stage in which you have finished filming, and begin to put all the footage into an editing software in which you can add sound effects, msic and special effects to and make scenes chronological or the order in which you want to tell the story.
The scene starts off slow, there is no cross-cutting and the camera does not change, it stays as a continuos and tracking shot which follows the guards as they give Dr Lecter his food, but as he escapes, the editing changes to Match on Action, from two shots where Hannibal opens his mouth and the next shot in which he is biting off the face of the guard that gave him his food, and now becomes his food. The next shot is done with a different technique, as it is Cross Cutting, because the narrative cuts to Hannibal no longer there, as the camera slowly pans over to see the food left there, covered in blood from where Hannibal beat the guard to death. The sound in this scene is diegetic, and scarily does not fit with the scene. You would expect to hear horiffic music as you witness the scene, but instead you hear a beautiful melody of a piano. There is a jump cut to a different scene and now we see the perspective of the police as they watch the elevator come down to their floor, but mysteriously stop on the third floor. This is where we are held in suspence and fearful of what he is doing, and the way the editing is now done we do not know where Hannibal is, which holds for a more tense scene as we find out what actually happened, and when we understand and respect the brilliance of Doctor Hannibal Lecter because of this escape, made confusing and tense at the start because of the well done editing which  keeps us not knowing what is happening on how it does not follow the simple continuity editing and instead using a vast array of editing techniques.

Gone (2012) Lighting deconstruction

Lighting in Gone (2012):

In this scene I thought there was careful consideration of lighting uses to create an effect. As the scene is dark, it sets up the genre of thriller and as an audience, the use of the darkness, symbolizes something bad is going to happen.

The light here is shone onto the wall from the left of the character, creating shadows on the wall. There is also shots where the protagonist's shadow is reflected onto the wall behind her. Is a sinister and scary effect as the audience wonder what is creating the shadows on the wall, making it suspenseful as we wonder if someone is going to appear

As she goes into the house, thee is a high angled shot looking down at her opening the door. We can see the extreme contrast of light here as when she opens the door there is the natural day light compared to the dark eeriness of the house, further suggesting the house is dangerous and abandoned.

Lighting is also used to draw the audience's attention to something. In this screenshot the light coming through the window creates a box lighting effect on the floor, making our eyes go to it, symbolizing that whatever is there is important and we should focus on it.


The lighting used in this scene was done in a creative way in order to cause a spooky and mysterious atmosphere to draw the audience in. We could use this lighting model later on when filming our own opening scene.

Typography of The Shining

. "A Stanley Kubrick Film" enters the screen. The colour used for the titles is a strong, neon turquoise-aquamarine. This is where the credits begin, with Jack Nicholson and the other actors and actresses names being shown with the costume designers and such. These opening credits are not like the usual thing we see when it comes to a horror film. Compared to a film like a modern day horror; such as Insidious, or Sinister, we can see that the opening titles are very different. There are a limited number of credits on The Shining, but films like Insidious have many credits to open to, including production companies, producers and so forth. The credits differ with their simplicities and technological differences. Where The Shining is simply aqua-blue with bold letters in front of the screen for its credits, placed in the middle of a scene that runs with eerie sounds as the camera follows a car, we aren't missing anything due to the large names coming up on screen from the bottom and leaving from the top, not staying for a second as they all follow the trail. Whereas films like Insidious have opening credits which are very different. The font moves, and has elements of 3D with its shadow and fade in and fade out technique with its graphical design. The titles of Insidious are smaller than The Shining's, and only stay in the corner of the screen while nothing is happening, and is usually just a black screen or an old object with mist coming off of it. The Shinning is different due to its large titles and big, bold and blue text that goes across the screen and is impossible to miss.

Deconstruction of The Shining Opening Scene

The opening scene from Stanley Kubrick’s ‘The Shining’ is filled with effective uses of editing, camera angles and sound, all to make the opening scene captivating and interesting to watch.

Here is the list of camera angles with their shots, and what they can tell us about the opening scene to keep it effective.

This is an Ariel Shot. The opening is rather startling. The scene is described as “solemn, ominous horns, camera quickly zooming in on, and over, a slim isolated island in a lake shielded by high, barren canyon walls which are reflected in the lake.”  We know this because it is above and looking below at the ground; usually filmed with a camera and a helicopter. There is no sound in this scene apart from the music; which is spine chillingly eerie. The music goes on throughout the entirety of this scene and is high pitched wailing like in its form and it really gives you an aspect of the film, and since the Ariel shot is just of the river and mountain side you don’t know what is happening or going to happen or where the camera is taking you.

This shot is a Crossfade; The camera begins to curve to the right then crossfades to a high aerial shot tracking a lone car traveling a thin "snake like" road through a

forest, anticipating the high overviews we will later have of the maze at the Overlook Hotel. The curve of the canyon wall and the lake is echoed in the curve of the road as it fades in and the Rorschach of the landscape mirrored in the lake subsides. The sound stays the same, and we still don’t have a clear view of what is happening.

 

The third scene in the opening is also an Ariel shot. The camera follows the yellow VW from behind, placing it in context of the lake and imposing ice-capped mountains. With the eerie and shimmery music plays with piano strings and shakers with screams.

 

The final shot is of the hotel, Overlook hotel. This is when the music dims down and the scene relaxes to an end and after the traumatic sounds you are treated to one of few sane moments.

Deconstruction of Opening Scene Editing

Editing in a Student-Made Opening Scene

To get some inspiration for the type of editing we will need in our opening scene, I watched an AS student made opening scenes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43hA-PCtpgg

This one is quite different to our one as it uses slow paced shots with slow music to create tension. There are many close up shots of blood dripping on various surfaces, which we could have done in our opening scene, it is effective as it explicitly shows the genre of horror and implies death.

I really like how the music changed pitch and got more dramatic when the credits came up, and the sudden change made it more tense as it suddenly went from quite slow paced and quiet to a more dramatic soundtrack which connotes action. Watching this has given me an idea of how we can use different types of music to create a dramatic effect, we just have to find the right music so it fits with the editing as well as this one does.


The transition from a tracking shot with credits over the top of it and then to a close up behind a tree is very good and I like how it went blurry before transitioning as it made it seem more continuous. When we put the text into our opening scene we will make sure it transitions well like in this one and we'll edit it to make the text blend into the shot and not be so big that it takes the focus off the scene.


At 1:55, the shots become shorter and at the same time, the music becomes louder and is at a faster pace. Additionally there is a wider range of things shown in the shots such as broken down cars and a wall of graffiti.






I think that the editing done in this opening scene is really good and deconstructing it has made me more aware of the specific editing we need to add into our opening scene for it to give the effect we want it to.

Sound in Wes Craven's New Nightmare

Sound in New Nightmare

Wes Craven's continuiation of the Nightmare in Elm Street series with the title 'New Nightmare', effectively uses sound that is both non-diegetic and diegetic to the scene in it's opening.

The scene begins with the production logos, with the sound of children playing in the distance. This of course for the fans who watch this film for the original, will know that this links to the accident occurring in a school, which has playgrounds. This is almost a homage to the originals, and builds tension to what the fans will see next of their franchise as the production logos end.

Non-diegetic sound is used in the opening scene too, with movements of a robotic hand that seems sentient, and a hammer being smacked against an anvil like a blacksmith. There is also fire crackling in a furnace, which relates to the anvil as that is how blacksmiths make their things. The sound clearly indicates this, and they are very loud with the hammer banging against the anvil, and the robotic hand now on it's own, banging against a surface. There is also steam seeping into a room, the noises clearly audible as paying attention to the sound can build or create tension, but because the lack of sounds in a dark setting makes the audience scared and prepared for a jump scare or anything related to horror.

One use of effective sound in the opening scene is the classic horror theme that is used in all of the previous films. This creepy nursery rhyme musical notes are diegetic, and they welcome the audience back to the characters that were in the franchise and absent for a while. This is effective because it creates an effect of nostalgia, a good example of this is Star Wars, hearing the main theme is nostalgic and magical for some people; so if fans of Nightmare on Elm Street return to the franchise with the chilling theme playing, they will like it more for the nostalgia that they remember. The music is made up of a piano playing high notes that drone for a short while, and it almost sounds as if a child is humming to it. This of course, makes the sound a lot more chilling and effective, because there is something awfully eerie about children singing nursery rhymes in horror films, and is also a conform for a horror to have such a thing. The notes for the piece of music become louder and more audible as the scene progresses, which fits with the scene on hand because at the beginning where it is faint you can only see tools and a normal hand, but as the scene progresses you recognise the character for his signature appeal, such as his red and green jumper, and his 3rd degree burns on his hands. The reason for the music picking up at this point is because the theme relates to your brain, as you slowly recognise who those hands are, you remember the eeriness of the character and what he does, and the special theme that he is remembered for, just like the character Darth Vader and the Imperial March theme, the two are connected, and play a big part for the character and who you want to see him as depending on what music they play when the character is on screen. The presence of this character is scary, and creepy, for the nostalgic presence of him and the theme for him that follows. Near to the end of the scene where he sets down the robot hand, things become calm, and then there is an unsteady musical note as the cleaver comes into shot, and then it picks up as he aims at his other hand, and just as he is about to strike it the scene cuts.

Sound is a very effective element within a horror, and using non-diegetic is usually more scary than using diegetic, because if the characters can hear the sounds too, then you feel like you are truly with them. They can hear the haunting music, and the chilling screams too, and tension builds as it either becomes louder or quieter depending on where they are.

Mise-en-Scene of Saw

Mise-En-Scene in Saw

Saw is set in mainly just one room with two men and a corpse on the floor. The scene is set from the very beginning and there is tons of Mise-en-Scene within just one frame. 

The room that the characters are in is an underground room that is dimly lit. The lighting plays a large role in the mise-en-scene of the film, because it helps establish that this film is not light hearted because it is not well-lit and is very claustrophobic with there being a small room and little freedom inside. The room perfectly shows the fear as there are two men in either corner of the room, and they are chained to rusty pipes by their ankles, and in the middle is a dead man who has shot himself in the head with a  revolver that he holds in one hand and a cassette tape in the middle, decorating the floor in his blood from his brain. 

The room has dirty tiles on the walls and floor, showing that the room is abandoned since it has not been cleaned, or repaired. As the artificial lighting used on the ceiling is dangling, and some bulbs are broken. The floor is also covered in cold blood of a bald man in the center, and there is rot on the floor and walls where it has not been in use for a long time. This makes an effective room for a killer's hideout, because it shows how all the grime caused by the failure to clean is a good trait for the killer's personality, how they keep it looking abandoned and run down and may even be a metaphor for their own behavior on how they are rotten inside or that they do not care for clean and nice things as long as there is something to satisfy their demented blood lust.

Some tiles in the room are broken, and there is a sink that is clearly broken, as well as out of place pipes that just hang from the walls and are covered in rust, as well as the grimy look on the sliding door that is inactive. Even the chain around their ankles is full of detail, with it being strapped to their ankle tightly and another sturdy object nearby so that they cannot move too far like they are prisoners or victims in someone's disturbing game. Some walls have even crumbled like they've been hit with a bulldozer, and urinals are yellow and dusty. It is unclear hat this room used to be, since there is toilets and smashed ones, as well as urinals but also some rusted bath tubs that are still full of water. 

Their body language perfectly shows how one would be in this situation, as one of the two men shake his chain and try and break the pipe he is chained too, this is what most people would do as they are scared and confused, and don't want to be trapped in a room, especially with a stranger and a corpse in the center. 

The mise-en-scene of this scene is very effective on creating a mystery to put the characters in and engage the audience, because both the audience and the characters are confused as to what is happening, and this effect using just the scene that they have with the props in it make it a very effective looking scene with many clues as to how they got there or where they actually are or where the exit is. 

Scream (1996) Opening Scene

Scream (1996) Opening Scene Deconstruction

The opening scene to the 1996 original 'Scream' film is five minutes and seventeen seconds. 

The film begins with of course the title, and it uses an eerie almost broken letter font with some of the words missing pieces, but it stays simple with a black background and a white font large font. The sound effects used are diegetic, the sounds of women screaming, and as the screams go on, the font pulses red like blood, as if it directly correlates with the screaming. The next sound effect is a knife hitting something, and then the scream is louder and carries on to the close up of the phone, and just before this happens the font becomes thick red instead of white, and there is a heartbeat throughout.

There is then a close up of an innocent girl who is a young adult. Her voice is sweet, and you can tell by looking at her that she is innocent, and just friendly, which is why when someone dials the wrong number she understands. Yet, the creepy voice calls again, persistent on wanting to talk with the girl. Once she hangs up for the second time, the shot focuses on the sliding doors of the outside, as if 

something is there, but there is no sound to indicate this. The next shot takes place outside, and establishes the location and look of the house that the girl is in.  

The phone dials again, with the creepy voice continuing to try and talk to her. He then traps her into a conversation about scary movies, almost ironic about what they are in. She also takes out a knife, as if that's what she could use to protect herself, but she is completely vulnerable on how she is just innocently talking about scary movies and if she has a boyfriend. The shot is a tracking shot as it takes her back to the living room with books on the shelf and the TV on standby. When, the creepy voice says something that makes her freeze. "I want to know who I'm looking at." It could be implied that he meant to say something else, but the confidence in his voice is chilling to know that he is telling the truth, and when the woman get's scared there is a closeup to show her fear, and there is a diegetic  sound of strings being plucked at the realization. There is then a non-diegetic sound of a dog barking, as if they have seen an intruder, 

The next shot is a medium shot, and then the editing shows her turning on lights outside on the patio and then locking the door as if she is superstitious that he is calling from outside,

When she hangs up, he calls again, and she curses because she knows who it is. The tracking shot shows her pacing quicker in fear as she hangs up and then gets another call, and threatened by the creepy voice sounding more perverted while he talks about playing a game where he will gut her like a fish, and calls her  blondie. Confirming that he can see her, and within the scenes her talks there is a faint diegetic harp strings, until he says threats, and then you can hear drums. 

She begins to freak out, shouting down the phone about him leaving or her boyfriend will hurt him. This of course has no effect on the disturbing and tormenting voice that tortures her with constant phone calls and ringing the door bell. There is a steady string of notes as the tension rises and rises until he tells her the name of her boyfriend, and the shot goes into a closeup as there is a loud drum beat and then silence, with another strong drum beat every few seconds, until the clip ends.

This is a very effective opening scene, as it adds a lot of tension right from the beginning with implications on what is going to happen. They are very subtle, with the screaming and stab sound in the title, to the close up of the outside and the dark patio door, to her pulling out a knife and putting it away. What adds great tension to this scene is that you cannot see the voice coming from the phone, and it is a great  horror element to not know what is the thing causing all of this, because putting a face to this tension would ruin it greatly. 

Friday the Thirteenth (2009) Camera Angles

Friday the 13th Camera Angles

The reboot of Friday the 13th in 2009 is set in present day, but the opening scene and it's camera angles show the origin story, leaving no mystery to the story that will take place in the present. The filter used is black and white, and this is to clearly show that it is the past. It also establishes this by telling us the location and date of the scene, which is June 13th 1980. The first shot shows the wooden sign 'Crystal Lake Camp', showing us where the location is. It is a closeup, and we can see the black letters written on the torn wooden sign. This is a good establishing shot, as it shows the eeriness of this camp site, and tells us just where it is located, in the middle of the woods. the perfect place for a hunter to stalk his prey. In the shots there is rain and lightning, a storm is a conform in a horror, as the it traps the characters in an environment that they cannot control, So the heavy rain, thunder and lightning adds more drama to the scene. All sounds are cut when a name appears on the screen, as if to give the audience some quick time to prepare themselves for what will happen next. The most common shot used in the opening is a mid shot, as the girl who is limping holds her stomach and you cannot see her legs. 

There is a long shot, where it is hard to see because of the black and white, but we get the sense that she is running because she is being chased and hunted through the forest like environment, with the trees, mud and lake all in her path. 

The lack of diegetic sound in this scene makes it rather boring, so if our group was to ever do a flashback scene, we would use diegetic music to make the scene more interesting, because this flashback is not engaging, and the filter on the black and white is too much and you can barely see what is happening. There is an over the shoulder shot, as the camera pans towards the innocent girl. 

There is then a close up of the crazy woman's head on the floor, where it was hacked clean off, and another high angle shot on the girl running away. This is how the confrontation ends. The decapitated mothers somehow talks to  her son, who was supposed to be dead. A gentle keyboard plays as he picks up her objects, and she narrates what he must do. The opening credits continuing every few seconds. There is closeups of the objects he takes, but the quick pace and the annoying lightning makes it hard to see what is actually happening, 

These camera angles make it easier to know what we would want in our production, because if there was to be a flashback scene we wouldn't want to have lightning effects too bright for the audience to see what is happening, and we would make it known that it was a flashback another way by showing a blur in the corners of the screen instead of a black and white filter, as it makes some things in the shot unknown, 

Slasher Opening Scene Locations - student made videos

Deconstruction of Locations in Student-made Opening Scenes

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

The location of this opening scene is in a car park and then goes into a house. It is in the dark which adds to the tension and the run-down look of the area makes the victim seem more vulnerable.

This opening scene is located in woods with some shots of a field and a waterfall, it is very isolated.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RtH0oiBerk 

This opening scene is also filmed in a woods/field area, but the victim is with another person so there is less of a feeling of isolation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7Ec1n4GJ40 

The scene is located in a park-like area with a lot of trees around, then the victim walks to a small building which also looks like it's in the same park. The lighting makes it seem like early morning so it is quite creepy.

Editing deconstruction - student made opening

I am deconstructing a student-made film opening for editing because it gives us a more realistic sense of how to edit ours. It shows us what we will and won't be able to do so that we can edit easily, not having to deal with anything extreme.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUeDPezd8m8

 

This opening scene is about the army at war. As the war is happening, there shots are very short and fast paced, allowing the scene to seem like it is faster, and build intensity and excitement. The shots are handheld which also reflects this and adds urgency to the setting.
 

Jump cuts are used to establish another shot, which is edited using eye-line match. A character looks over to two other 'soldiers' and the camera cuts to them from where he is, so we can see what he sees.
 

There is one use of match on action when the main character is reloading the ammunition in his gun - it provides different angled shots of it happening. They made this look effective because they did it so the continuity was perfected, looking more professional.
 

Shot-reverse-shot is used between two characters when they're yelling at each other over all of the gunshot noises and explosions. This establishes our relationship with the characters and their relationships with each other, as even though you can't hear exactly what they're saying, their actions afterwards hint to what they said.
 

The use of special effects is amazing - they used CGI to edit in helicopters used in the army, and to add explosions. This is extremely effective in their piece as it creates excitement and makes it seem very real and dramatic. However, it would be very hard for us to create CGI images and we wouldn't have anywhere to use it that would make sense, and would therefore be pointless.

 

The editing proves to be very important because it creates different emotions that the audience feel, like fear and tension. Continuity is extremely important because it establishes the overall smoothness of the piece and if it isn't done correctly, can make it look unprofessional and messy.

Mise-en-Scene of Evil Dead 2

Mise-en-Scene of the Film 'Evil Dead 2'

Evil Dead 2 stars Bruce Campbell as Ash Williams, and the film is directed by Sam Raimi. There is a scene in this film called the 'Evil Dead 2 Deer Scene' or 'Ash Goes Crazy - Evil Dead 2'. This scene is filled with Mise-en-Scene.

Within the series of shots is a deer's head as a trophy, mounted on a wall. This prop uses practical effects as it moves around by its neck, and is rather chilling with horrifying roar of laughter. The shots cut to different objects, all laughing to and mimicking it with movement, for instance books closing and opening like lips, and a lamp moving back and forwards. The lighting in this shot is artificial, as the map light is not show on the character' shadow, and is shown from above instead of on the shelf where the lamp is.

In this scene you can see all the props moving, and Ash joins them in laughing. His costume is noticeably torn and ripped where he had encountered some dangerous events prior to this scene. He has a blue collared shirt that is torn and ripped, and he is also missing a hand. This shows us his costume, and the prop he holds is a shotgun in his only hand. His facial expression in this scene is a beady eyed and wide grin as he begins to laugh maniacally with the objects that seem alive. His body expression is a cheerful dance as he bobs up and down with his arms out, showing how he has lost his mind as if it were any one sane in this scene they would certainly be too scared to join in and most likely try to run away.

Every prop present in this scene apart from the shotgun is moving on its own and laughing, and they are all in focus of the scene.

At the end of the scene, he screams in distress as he struggles to fight for his sanity, and you cans see the makeup on his face which is a lot of blood on him. His skin is sweaty and covered in dirt where he had been in situations prior to this scene, and it sticks with continuity by showing this, as well as the bordered up door. The attention to detail in this scene makes it more effective, as everything is interactive in this scene and nothing is left to be questioned.

The effects used are all practical, and most likely have little to no CGI input and the space around the actor is huge to show his desperation for company and his alone-ness.

The setting is a cabin in the night that is in the middle of the woods, we can see this clearly from the wooden room obviously being too small to be a house, and the darkness outside and the tree branches that can be slightly seen through the bordered up windows and doors as well as the deer showing that this is like a hunting ground. 

Typography of Insidious

The Typography of Insidious

The titles for this film include the title and the opening credits show the cast and crew of the film as well as the production company and who it was made by.

These titles fit very well with the film, because it uses a bold and dark red colour over the titles which is on screen, and fits well with the image on screen, especially the non-diegetic music that is heard over it with the strings of a violin being played and plucked.

The titles do move, and the main title of the film 'INSIDIOUS' has lighting below it, making some of the letters a darker red than the others. The font is also 3D, as it has shading on some edges, and uses a font like it is from the Medieval era as they are rather big and 'pointy' at the edges. The titles are impressive, as it makes it seem like there is a wild flame in a lantern in this film which is actually foreshadowing near the end of the film as the Patrick Wilson's character enters the ghost realm with nothing but a lantern to guide him through the darkness. The words become closer and closer to the screen, and really give you a sense of how this film will draw you in by making you unable to stop the events occurring. The main title of the film has rapid flashes, most likely to give someone an epileptic fit. It fits well with what is occurring in this scene, as it sets up a mysterious character in a widow's gown, holding a candle and grinning directly into the camera before the title appears, giving the audience a jump scare with the sudden pace of sound and flashes on the screen.

The opening credits for this film show the actors of the characters and those involved with actions such as director of photography, producers, the directors, and casters. Each title that appears on the screen acts the same as the film title, where it is red and is 3D with a shadow effect with light on the letters. The screen is black and white, so the titles that appear on the screen do stand out and are visible. There is a smoke like effect when they appear and disappear, and depending on where they appear on the screen, they move the other direction and downwards or upwards. The letters are much smaller than the title, and the music is calm as these titles open up the film. The effect used to make the words appear and disappear go well with the film because it is like a ghost, with a misty presence around it interrupting the heat.

The typography for this film is very well done and has been thought about, since they fit very well with how the film has been done and the genre that the film with in with it's paranormal elements and sinister looking red. 

Camera angles deconstruction - student-made scene

I am deconstructing a student-made scene because it enables us to see how effective others are at making the film look professional using camera angles, and to see how filming will be for us (if we can incorporate any effective camera angles that we see).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RtH0oiBerk

This scene opens with an establishing shot of the area to show where the scene will take place. The shot fades out into the titles, then back into a pan mid-shot of two characters as they walk together. This again fades into a screen with the two actors' names, building suspense as it cuts away from the scene. It follows them to a bench where the camera then tilts downwards as they sit down to keep level with them. There are a few shots of the couple together before it fades again, adding possibly more actors' names.
 

Paralleled with a sinister non-diegetic soundtrack, there is a point of view shot from the killer as he looks through trees at the couple from behind. This cuts to a shot of the couple laughing, adding a sense of danger and tension because this contrasts to what may happen to them. There is a mid shot of the two standing up and walking away from the bench / log they were on, and then another killer POV shot as they start to walk through the woods.
 

The killer's POV shots are handheld to make the shot look more natural like it is what someone is seeing exactly, and the shakiness makes the killer seem more unstable mentally. There is then a long shot of the killer in the woods, and we're unable to see him because of it being so far away and the branches of trees covering him up. This boosts the suspense momentarily as we see the killer.
 

Another still, long shot of the couple walking hand in hand, showing the setting again. The setting is calm and peaceful and the snow makes it look very clear, however it's surrounded by many trees making it look more isolated. There is a side-on shot of the couple as they look out over the lake which is full of ducks and birds.
 

Immediate suspense and dread is felt as there is another killer POV shot and he is right behind the couple, walking up to them slowly. It again fades to another credits screen like it has throughout, making us anticipate the next scene because it has cut away at the most suspenseful part. There's another side-on shot of the couple and the girl steps forward and out of the shot, then a very quick mid-shot of the boy and the killer right behind him about to kill him (which made me jump). This cuts away to the title of the film.
 

Camera angles are very important in this film opening as they allow the scene to establish so we understand what is happening and what may happen next. This shows us that they're very powerful to the scene so we will have to think about the specific ones we will use in our scene to make it as effective as possible.