Conventions of the opening title sequence for Viral Terror
Question 4: Audience ProfileWhen identifying an audience which
would conform to my film, Viral Terror, I have analyzed various
demographics, psychographics, uses and gratifications and general
audience elements.
DemographicsFrom observing audiences occupations and the films
theyd watch it is clear that certain job statuses, can influence
the type of film an audience would watch. For example audiences
watching Saw, are likely to be under demographics D, and
predominantly E. This is because the film has a cast of mainly
young people/teenagers, and as demographic E is made up of
students, and casual workers they are more likely to watch the film
as they can easily relate to the young people within the film. In
addition the audience being young has been specifically chosen by
the director to give an impression of innocence, and vulnerable to
the dangers of the killer, Jigsaw, within Saw, as if the audience
were to be under high employment, such as a doctor, in demographic
A, then it perhaps wouldnt of been as effective when giving an
impact of them suffering within the film, as this demographic is
mostly of a middle aged audience, 45-59 years old, which would mean
they could potentially exert their status, against the villain.
Viral TerrorWhen observing our film it is clear that Viral
Terror would be under demographic E and D as similarly to Saw, the
cast of the audience is made up of young people apart from Charlies
character David, who we portrayed as much older, and bigger
character. This is because alike Saw, a young cast would attract a
young audience of D and E, who are between the ages 15-22, and of
male and female audiences, as the film is equally balanced between
genders. These audiences would either have a part-time/weekend job,
and be studying at college, sixth-form, and even school, and
therefore would like the fact within the film the young characters
are similar to themselves. We portrayed this using costumes which
appeared to be seen as normal clothing for the average young
person/older teenager so this would reinforce the cast being
similar to the audience.
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Question 4: Audience ProfileWhen identifying an audience which
would conform to my film, Viral Terror, I have analyzed various
demographics, psychographics, uses and gratifications and general
audience elements.
PsychographicsWe can interpret from our film that as weve
identified demographics E and D, the psychographics for our
audience would be mainstreamers and aspirers. This would be because
mainstreamers typically value branding and follow the way others
around them behave, and their attitudes which in turn makes them
the largest group. This would relate to our film as the group being
young people/teenagers as the audience are likely to be the largest
group of people conforming to mainstreamers, due to the fact theyll
typically follow new trends within fashion, and film and would use
social media. This means in turn they are likely to discuss Viral
Terror with friends face to faced, or even online; giving their own
opinion of the film to others, which conforms to mainstream
audience.
When focusing on aspirers my audience would relate to this
psychographic, as students and young people aspire towards the
future, and seek a status with a certain appearance; e.g. upper
class look of wealth with designer clothing. This would relate to
my audience wanting to keep up with the latest trends, which are
seen with the clothing and items celebrities would own, and my
audience of young people would be attracted to this. My audience
would relate to the film under aspirers, as theyd see young people
within the film having their lives taken away from them, and losing
their future. This would cause them to potentially value their own
future even more.
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Question 4: Audience ProfileHere is a specific detailed audience
profile with what a typical member of my audience would be like,
their lifestyle and personal interests.
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Age: The age range for my audience already stated would be 15-22
year olds, as the cast of the film are made up of young
people/teenagers, so teenagers watching the film would be able to
build up their own personal relationship with the characters, and
understanding as they are still fairly young their lives have
almost been taken too early.Gender: Our gender for our audience
would be mixed between male and female due to having a mixed cast
so again gender references would be favored by both males and
females.Income: Our audiences income would be either none or very
little in either a small part-time job, or casual work. This is
typical of demographic E and a young/teenage audience which would
assume the characters seen in our opening would probably have the
seem type of job or a low income.Personality: Our audience under
mainstreamers and demographic E are likely to go to parties like
most teenagers would, or social events such as the cinema or
bowling. Again our audience would assume the characters within our
opening would do the same.Likes/dislikes: The teenage audience
likely to watch our film would favour to watch films which are full
of action and excitement leaving you on edge. However they are less
likely to watch films which are dramas are love stories, typical
seen under demographic B and A who are more likely to watch these
films being an older audience, and this would suit them.
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Question 5: How our media product addresses our audience?From
observations made on our film, Viral Terror, we have addressed our
audience using various techniques, to conform to their demographics
and psychographics, along with uses and gratification.
One of the ways we met our audiences interests was by using
sounds which are typically heard in most horror films. However for
our horror film to be a Psychological thriller, and appeal to our
audience we used various combinations of sounds to create a fearful
backing track; creating tension and the on edge feel which comes
with most horror films. This tension can be heard within our sound
as there is a rapid pace of sound when David begins to attack Laura
and Carl, along with the pitch quickly getting higher which is
typically heard in most horror films, to portray fear to the
audience. We wanted to create this effect as it related to the uses
and gratification of entertainment which fits within our young
audiences profile, as they conform to this idea of being young, and
wanting to watch exciting films with friends at the cinema and
experience that unknown horror feel.
Below is a sample of what we used in Davids scene of him killing
Laura and Carl, which just shows using sound the impact of how
fearful and disturbing this music sounds.
In addition to the sound we used characters linking to our
audience which has been discussed in question 4. We originally
picked teenage characters to relate to our audience of being made
up of young people/teenagers, however we were still specific in
which teenagers we would choose. As a group we decided to use an
older range of teenagers from 16 onwards, as we felt a younger
selection of teenagers wouldnt be appropriate for this type of
film, for example 13-15 year olds. This is because our audience
being teenagers themselves may of found the use of younger
teenagers being killed in the film a bit graphic, and couldnt
relate as well to someone who is roughly the same age as them. In
addition we chose for our characters to be dressed in relatively
normal clothing, which most teenagers would wear, so that they
seemed no different to our audience. This would cause our audience
to feel as if they could relate to the characters seen in the film,
and question what if this was to happen to me?.
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Question 5: How our media product addresses our audience?When
creating our film we specifically picked out key things which the
audience would see on screen, which made up the mise en scene of
our film. We can use the Carl and Laura scene to show how we used
mise en scene to address our audience. Within the shot the camera
is given a Rasta effect as if it were recorded footage on CCTV,
which is where we wanted the shot to come from, and take the role
of a CCTV recording.
In addition we placed the characters within an apartment block
as being from a low demographic E, the audience would be able to
relate to this idea of a small income and therefore not being able
to live in some where such as a house which would cost a lot more,
than an apartment block. In addition we placed Emilys character of
Daisy in one of the flats with items such as a bottle of Coca-cola
on the side. Now we specifically chose for Emily to reach in the
fridge and grab the Coke bottle, as our audience of teenagers can
relate to this as they are most likely to consume these products
within their lives, as a teenage audience like the idea od having
fizzy drinks and sugary foods within their diet, to create
excitement and being hyper. This makes our opening seem even more
relatable and realistic to a degree as we as a group wanted to
portray Daisy as if she were just another ordinary teen.
Finally we focused on which camera angles wed use within our
film to shoot the story line. We used a high angle shot to portray
the shot as if it were being filmed from CCTV when Laura and Carl
are killed. This shot to our audience showed the two characters to
be seen as weak and vulnerable along with the low, underlying sound
which created a sense of uneasiness which the audience wouldve
felt. In addition we decided to make David come towards the camera
shot, as if he knew it was there and he wanted the footage to be
recorded. To the audience when David approaches the camera it seems
as if hes coming for them, which will create even more tension
amongst the audiences watching.
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Question 6: Technologies and ConstructionStarting the
process
When I first started our project to create an opening title
sequence, I had little experience when it came to editing the film,
applying sound and choosing vaious shots. I had one advantage
however which was id previously used imovie but on a very basic
vague scale, without using it in depth. Within our group although
we all filmed together and the others contributed to the editing
process I decided id take on the main lead role to edit the footage
and place myself in a new field id never properly entered before in
detail.
With little experience when we filmed our first cut of our
opening and edited it, we recieved feedback from other peer groups
who gave us feedback which we adopted within our work. An example
of this could be we were told to silent any diagetic sound within
Laura and Carls scene as its CCTV, and this in turn resulted in
giving an unknown effect due to it being silent, which is typically
seen in horror films where the scene is kept quiet before the
villain strikes
Technology
The technology we used within our process of making the opening
title varied from cameras to editing software. We firstly recorded
the whole of our opening title using Sony Video Cameras and a
tripod, as we felt as if this would be the most appropriate piece
of equipment to film with, comapred to an iphone for instance,
which may end up looking less professional. In addition throughout
our filming process we kept a behind the scenes recording of
make-up and on set moments, which ive selected the make-up stages
video to be put onto my blog of Davids character, to show how we
applied the make up. To edit our film we used iMovie as it enabled
us to edit and change certain parts of our footage easily, without
using any advanced software, which may have been to complex. I
learnt that from using iMovie you can add some effects and cut
certain bits of footage to fit within your film and create an
impression or effect of a scene to your audience. An example of
this could be when we saturated the colour of Daisys scene to seem
dull and lifeless, which could relate to her death and being killed
by David. Id never experienced using and managing a blog before
which was a whole nex experience for me, and in turn this increased
my understanding of how a blog is to be used, and how you can
visually engage and interest an audience to view your blog through
seeing presentations, videos and text posts.
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Question 6: Technologies and Construction
Technology
In addition to using a blog to upload material onto the blog
sites I used online sources such as Scribd. And Slide Share to
upload any which included any text posts on Word or Powerpoint,
along with video content which was uploaded using tools on Blogger.
Finally when editing our music to match the visuals we chose a
soundtrack which would be suitable and fit within our genre of
horror being Psychological. This wasnt easy at frst as we first
used a carnival like horror sound which youd typically hear in
films such as Stephen Kings, IT the Clown, and we felt as if
alhtough this is another Psychological horror we researched, the
tone of the music we had sued didnt fit within the style of our
villan David being silent, and ruthless and therefore we needed
more of an unverving and distubring tone of a mixture of fast and
slow paced high pitched sounds, to create this idea of one minute
the scene being normal, then next death has been brought in, and
the music weve used helps to enhance this feel and look towards the
audience.
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Question 7: Final ReflectionBelow this final section will
discuss my overall findings and improvements to aim towards to for
future work within media products, and how to generally improve my
understanding of the media.
Planning and ResearchWhen I completed my storyboard, planning
and research at the time I believed that this would be the plan for
our final piece to be presented to an audience, and the plan would
exactly correspond with the on screen product we had created.
Firstly I believe although I conducted research into horror
openings and especially psychological horror openings, such as
Psycho, I couldve included reference to the directors motives as to
why the opening has been made this way by doing external research,
and comparing their aims to whether as a group our ideas were
similar, or would completely differ, which would allow us to see if
our plan for the opening of Viral Terror was of a typical
psychological horror.
In addition instead of strictly following our plan through out
the creation of our product, we had to divert from various ideas
within our plan and even our script has become effected by
this.
Editing Raw footageWhen editing and filming our footage we found
at first that it fit well together, yet when we started to fully
analyze our footage we found many flaws and scenes which didnt make
much sense within the opening itself. One of the main problems we
faced was cutting out three of our characters within the film which
then effected our script and plan. This is because we first of all
filmed Daisys, Jamies and Carl and Laura scene, but once we filmed
these scenes and went to edit them we found the footage to have a
time of 3 minutes and 47 seconds, which exceeded the time limit.
This meant as a group we had to much footage, and in turn had to
make cuts to our opening. We asked peers what they felt worked
within the opening of Viral Terror, and what didnt. From this
feedback we received comments such as Daisys scene being drowned
works well, perhaps not in a bucket as this seems to set up along
with Jamies scene seems a bit forced within the opening; as in it
not fitting the opening. As a group after discussions we decided to
not film the other two characters of Robbie Andrews and Antonio
Borelli, along with removing Jamies scene which we felt as if as he
was the main character of the story, his appearance should be seen
later.
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In addition to this we also decided from our plans of having
Daisy being drowned in blood in a bucket of some sort we would get
David to drown her in a sink as this seemed more realistic, and
less set up as if the bucket was just there, which in turn made our
opening seem more believable. Along with this from our plan where
by we stated wed have a split screen of CCTV into four recordings,
we decided this idea wouldnt be possible on a basic level of
editing software, compared to what is available in the large film
industries, e.g. Black-magic editing software. Instead we got rid
of this idea seen below, and decided to use the same idea of CCTV,
yet just two different recordings, as this still fit within our
plot line.
What Ive learntIve learnt from the early stages of editing
within film is that plan what is realistic for the resources you
have to work with and how effective use of iMovie can still give
the professional, realistic look we wanted within our film. In
addition ive learnt recieiving feedback from peers is a good source
of improvement outside of your own group, as it allows outsiders to
view your work, of some who belong under your audiencem and comment
on what they felt the film could do and bring to them, which gave
us a much better understanding of how to edit and shoot our film to
meet our audiences purposes.
Question 7: Final Reflection
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Group OrganisationAs a group I feel as if we were organised
relatively well on set as we managed to complete all filming before
deadlines, and we used communication through messenger chats, and
face to face to help organise filming times and sessions, where by
everyone could film without any setbacks or things getting in the
way. We all managed to be on set for the filming processing and
each had our own input into helping the characters understand what
they needed to do and always keeping a script near by to follow it.
In addition we had set roles for each team member within our group
which we decided, which made it far easier to film as it saved time
as each of us knew what to do. These roles are listed below:
-Myself/Jack Editing/Camera/Lighting-Haydn Editing/Camera/Hair
styling for Charlies character, David Donnell-Tia
Editing/Camera-Alannah Editing/Makeup
However if I were to improve our group in the future, Id perhaps
consider letting others take hold of the filming process by
encouraging them even more to get involved as it times I felt as if
it was select individuals in the group who took the leadership
role, where as in the future I believe we could encourage one
another even more to help create an even better opening. What Ive
learnt from group organisation is that in order for the filming to
run smoothly and stick to a well planned time schedule the
communication must be high, and as individuals within the group
everyone has to be open minded to allow others to put forward their
ideas, which was seen in our group in the editing process where
even though the opening was on my computer, others in my group made
good suggestions which improved the overall look of our work.
Camera shots, movements and anglesFrom using various shot types
Ive learnt that certain shots within footage can depict a certain
image of a character. Within our opening we used a low angle shot
on Daisy walking up the staircase on the CCTV footage to her
apartment which portrays her as vulnerable and weak, which links to
this idea of her being young and innocent. To add too this we used
a long shot to reinforce this idea of Daisy being vulnerable, which
resulted in the overall shot being effective. What I learnt from
this as that to an audience this can build up tension within the
scene before something happens to the character, which keeps the
audience wondering as to what is about to happen. I also learnt
that shot movements such as a Dolly allows us to follow the
character, which was used in Daisys scene when she entered her
apartment and then went to the fridge. From the dolly movement and
other tracking movement it allows as the audience to have a
personal feel for the character and engage within their story even
more.
Question 7: Final Reflection
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Overall
When reflecting back on our preliminary task I felt as if my
understandings of how shots can be used effectively have progressed
through to achieve a fairly realistic opening scene, which seems
convincing. This is because the choice of shots and camera
movements effectively displays the theme of vulnerability, along
with dominance within the shots, which has been highlighted on the
previous slide when Daisys scene is discussed.
Along with improvements with using the camera, I believe our
choice of music and sound has improved. This is because with the
preliminary task it was only one soundtrack played throughout, and
other peer groups actually found it quite comical when the plot was
meant to be on a serious matter. To solve this not only did we use
various soundtracks within our opening to create a more interesting
impression of what was going on to the audience, but we chose
appropriate music, which would reflect the plot of the film.
In addition our editing has also improved since our preliminary
task as weve used certain cuts with static within our opening, at
quick intervals. We did this because compared to our prelim task
where the cuts where there to simply show the scene continuing, in
Viral Terror the cuts are there to create a sense of the killings
David committed to be quick and not having an explanation, which
this quick static does along with portraying this idea of
distortion, which we can relate to David being a psychotic killer,
and being ruthless with his actions.
In conclusion I believe our final opening has improved from our
preliminary task in various ways, and the above state the main
examples of where improvement and progression has been
identified.
Question 7: Final Reflection
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