New Addition to our Dream Team

Today Bo has joined our Media group. This is exciting because now it means that we have another person who can contribute ideas towards the final AS opening sequence project. With four of us working on the sequence, the workload will be easier and also more fun. 

Discussing ideas with media teachers

Yesterday we have spoken to Matt about the three ideas my group and I have prepared.  Going to the editing suite, where the discussion was held, we were prepared for our ideas to get scraped down all together but the meeting went better then we thought it would. Although Matt didn’t like the opening sequence of “The Act”, he thought it was too theatrical and too similar to the “Awolnation” music clip, also he suggested that Emma’s idea about a psychopath wont be terrifying or thrilling enough due to the non-originality of the plot, Matt liked the idea of “Taped”.  He liked a lot the idea of knowing something about the specific events that the others are not familiar with which was the running theme in the Taped. Though the idea of CCTV is not realistic due to it filming so slow and that it will slow down the chase and the thrill the chase would have brought. So it was crucial for us to modify it. In the future lessons we will be discussing what kind of the event will be happening in the sequence. Seb and I came up with the idea of an alien invasion that a regular guy in the car was viewing and had the chance to film. In order for our opening sequence not to look foolish, we thought that we could portray the alien invasion with the use of white light exposing like in the Awolnation Sail music video. On Monday, Emma, Seb and I will discuss other ideas for the opening sequences that we will be able to present the following week to the media teachers. 

Ilya Vostrov/The russian artist

Ilya Vostrov is a Russian digital effects artist best known for work on opening sequences of Russian films like "The Black Lightening", "The irony of an event: Continuation", "Turkish Gambit", "Day Watch" and "Night watch".  He often collaborates with Russian director Timur Bekmambetov who created films like "Wanted", both Night and Day Watch and "Abraham Lincoln:Vampire Hunter. Vostrov's work on Night Watch (2004) became highly acclaimed and some of the Russian filmmakers even considered his effects as an innovation for Russian cinematography. Many people including me liked the way he brought the horror of mythology into his opening sequences. He creates the perfect start for the movie making the audience happy to be in the cinema or at home watching this very film.

Here is a clip from the popular Russian Film Night Watch:

Kyle Cooper and his work

Kyle Cooper is an American title designer who introduced his opening credits and advertisements as an art form to us for the first time in 1994. His groundbreaking title sequences like "Seven" and "Spiderman " have changed the way we view the title design today. Cooper's sequences are considered to be one of the most important innovations in the history of design.

 Among Seven and Spiderman, one of his memorable works include an opening sequence from a horror-drama television series called "American Horror Story". I like it a lot because it reminds me of "Seven" opening sequence, the music is as frightening and as provocative, there are a lot of spooky objects along with pictures just like in "Seven" but unlike the 1995 opening title phenomenon, American Horror Story has a fresh feel to it. This time, the location and the setting of the light play the important part in setting the dark tone in order to prepare its viewers for such experience. The location of the house gives the audience the feeling that along with the ominous objects, we are trapped in the old basement as well. With the help of dimmed lighting, the objects are presented in the aphotic light. The viewers when watching this main title feel lonely and forgotten in the terrifying manor that brings the thrill and the imagery to the viewers. The main titles are shown very big and are stylized in the antique fashion making them memorable. When the titles along with the pictures get burned in the hungry flame, the audience thinks that the fire will play a big part later in the series, that maybe the house will trap the unfortunate family and burn them alive. 

Another creation that is done by Kyle Cooper is an opening credit for Mandate Pictures. To me, this intro is very memorable and mysterious. The use of the drumming noise that brings the audience's attention is used very successfully. It captured my attention from the beginning. The surrealistic location and the group of people trapped in a drum at first puts the viewers off-balance but then when they see it again, they start to appreciate its creativity more. One of Kyle Cooper's famous techniques often used in his graphic designs is movement and here in this piece of work that technique is clearly shown. When the group of people from this clip, walk confidently toward the audience and get surprisingly trapped in the drum shocks the viewers but that little maneuver made me like this opening credit even more. The image of little girl at the end is very interesting too, it leaves the audience wondering about its meaning and the idea behind it.

Kyle Cooper's opening sequence for cartoon "Rango" shows the graphic designer's capability of doing variety of works. I particularly enjoy the bright use of colors in the sequence that help to indicate the events that will happen in the near future of this animation film. Since the main character is a chameleon, Rango changes color with the location he’s in in this opening sequence. This is a smart and bold trick. The music on the background tells us that this cartoon will be taking place in the Old West. In the nutshell, this opening sequence gives the audience a lot of clues about "Rango" and prepares the viewers since the animation is targeted at kids, it’s important that from the opening sequence children can follow easily the plot of the cartoon. 

Production meeting with the group

On the 9th of October, 2012 my group mates and I talked about the opening sequences we want to present to Matt and Luke in order for them to approve it. Although it took us time to agree on the three ideas, I believe that the sequences we came up with are original and entertain the audience. The first opening sequence we agreed on was Emma's idea for the thriller called "The Buried". I liked it a lot because not only does it have a smart, psychological plot but also it would easily achieve the goal of the thriller: to thrill the viewers. The second idea we are going to present to Matt and Luke is my opening sequence called "Taped" that involves a man filming the event that will result in a chase. I think the reason Seb and Emma liked it because it is an original idea that can automatically capture the attention of the audience which is essential when you make a thriller. Our third idea was based on Awonlation's "Sail"music video. We thought it is unlikely that Matt and Luke will approve this idea because before this very moment we had no idea where the storyline will go from the opening sequence. Also because the third sequence has a futuristic effect, Matt might think that instead of the thrill factor, the sequence will be more of the ridiculous home-made video which is obviously not something we want to accomplish. Although there is a possibility that there are little flaws with our three ideas, we still want to present them due to our curiosity and our childlike hope that Matt and Luke will like and approve them this Thursday.

Defining Coursework Task

Video Preliminary exercise: Continuity task involving filming and editing a character opening a door, crossing a room and sitting down in a chair opposite another character, with whom she/he then exchanges a couple of lines of dialogue. This task should demonstrate match on action, shot/reverse shot and the 180-degree rule. Main task: the titles and opening of a new fiction film, to last a maximum of two minutes. All video and audio material must be original, produced by the candidate(s), with the exception of music or audio effects from a copyright-free source. Both preliminary and main tasks may be done individually or as a group. Maximum four members to a group.

What influenced my 4 Ideas

When preparing for writing a screenplay or just scribbling some ideas down on the piece of paper, music plays a big part in my creative process. When I was writing down the four ideas for my thriller opening sequence, music inspired me in a way it hasn't before. Just by listening to the song "Sail" by Awolnation, I knew how one of the opening sequences will look like and how it feel like for the audience. When listening to "Sail" I felt a very spooky and at the same time mysterious ambiance around that song. It felt simple and smooth but as I thought more about it, it felt deeper. Then I thought to myself that this is how my thriller opening sequence should feel like, how it should be mysterious but simple, deep but smooth. After watching Awonation's video clip I knew that like in their music video, my opening sequence should have the effect of mystery and forbidden knowledge. That is how I came up with an idea of main character's abduction that resulted to her knowing too my much about life and the meaning of life.  Although I understood the risks of this plot not getting through to the audience, I believed that with the right camera work, edgy sound effects and very visual mise-en-scene this idea of mine could be achieved. 

My premier idea for the opening sequence "Taped" was influenced a lot by one of my favorite films "Drive" under the leadership of Nicolas Winding Refn and cinematographer Newton Thomas Sigel. When I first watched Drive, it was the opening sequence that I liked the most, I thought it captured the nature of the film perfectly and overall created a thick multi-layered flavor that left the audience wanting more. What triggered my mind this time when I re-watched Drive's opening sequence was its hard-edged neo-noir art house camerawork that I wanted to try and recreate in my AS project so badly! The Danish stylizing by Refn is so beautiful that I really wanted to portray it in "Taped". I thought that such stylizing would compliment the whole  "taped evidence" plot and will give it the art-house edge it needs. 

"The Mental" opening sequence was hugely influenced by Eminem's "3 A.M" music video. In "3 A.M" the lyrics are concerning a mental serial killer who cannot stop killing the victims. I thought that for a thriller/horror film this is a good theme because it's terrifying and it also allows you take that experience far unlike my other opening sequences where the plot has to be strict and precise. The mise-en-scene plays a big part in this opening sequence. Since it is a quiet mental hospital in a rural area with empty corridors (like in the 3 A.M music video), it already gives chills to the audience. It helps to build up the necessary tension. 

The Dream Team

 Last week we found out who will be in our group for the final AS project. In my group I got: Seb, Emma and myself. Overall I think we are a strong group and everyone will be able to bring their own creative ideas into this project. I am excited to start working with them. 

the 4 ideas

IDEAS FOR THE THRILLER OPENING SEQUENCES

1.)  “Taped”

The thriller starts with a wide shot of the small narrow street. With the use of wide shot, it shows the audience where the thriller will be taking part, it is as if introducing the audience to the surroundings. From the beginning we realize that the person who is holding the camera is the main character in the short film because he takes the initiative in hands. As he begins to walk uphill, he begins to breathe more heavily, the audience realizes that and the tension begins to slowly build up. He continues walking but now talking to himself, as if planning. He increases his paste as I he needs to get somewhere on time. He passes the town clock, checks his own watch on his wrist but panning the camera at the same time. He finally reaches his destination, and he begins to spy from the corner (in order not to be seen) on the man who is hitting brutally young woman, as the woman screams loader and loader for help the man hits her harder until she is on the floor lying. The main character films the happening with his camera, as the man finishes beating the woman (we assume he killed her since she is lying on the floor, unmoved, bleeding) he realizes that he was filmed this whole time and starts chasing the main character, as the main character is running away the CCTV camera is filming the whole chase. The man who was beating is screaming in disbelief but the camera cant pick up on it so the audience can’t tell what exactly he is saying, it is obvious that during the chase scene the man’s hands are full of blood (this adds to the terrifying factor) as he the “potential murderer” reaches the “filmmaker” he knocks him and the camera out. The camera goes black and the titles for the film appear.

Thriller mixed with art/house

Time this opening sequence is set: around 7 pm in the evening

2.) “The Act”

The thriller opens with the girl running back to what we assume is her house. The camera shows how she goes into her house. Then the camera will be already placed inside the girls house in order to show how she opens the door and lets herself in. She makes sure the door is shut with the key and all the curtains are closed. That’s when the audience picks up on her trying to hide from someone or something. She runs quickly to her bedroom, starts looking nervously through her documents and folders (but she knows exactly what she is looking for), she stares at her controversial poster that the audience can’t make of because it will be a little blurred (in order to keep the tension and the curiosity of the audience at it’s peak) In that moment an older woman unexpectedly comes in, we think that it’s the main characters mother. She looks very worried and starts asking her daughter (the main character) if there’s anything wrong. She answers that there not time to explain and that she needs to leave but doesn’t know for how long. She says to take care of Bobby (her little brother) and asks to keep a big black folder in safety no matter what. The camera does an extreme close up on the file for few seconds. The girl turns around as if she saw something that made her realize she needs to leave. She kisses her mum and leaves the bedroom, as she goes downstairs to the exiting door, we see green light sparking vaguely as if trying to look for our character. As she reaches the door she sees a powerful light appear that even the closed curtains cant hide, the door that she supposed to exit opens by itself, the girl passes the door and goes outside onto the lawn. She stands there and looks somewhere up in the sky. We recognize the light but cannot see anything but the powerful light and the night sky, on the background we hear technologic spaceship sounds. As soon as when she closes her eyes (from looking at her face, we can tell that the character is in agony and pain and treats the whole situation like a punishment) the screen goes black and the titles of the film appear.

Time this opening sequence is set= nighttime

3.) “Seventeen”

The opening sequence starts with a teenager talking on the phone with her boyfriend in the living room and having an argument about him not caring enough about her, the call ends up with her hanging up the phone. This whole time the camera was filming the character from the second floor using the high angle.  Then we see a close-up of her face that shows that she is actually pretty sad about her fight with the boyfriend. She goes into the bathroom to take a bath. The camera slowly follows her and the next events. The character places her clothes on the floor (the character never appears naked throughout the sequence) and climbs into the bath. As she turns on the water crane, there is an extreme close up of it to represent to the audience that actually something is going to happen right now. As the girl turns on the water, she begins to sob uncontrollably. As she lies on the bottom of the bath, underwater she thinks she sees a black mysterious figure in the corner of the bathroom (the audience sees it too) she quickly rises up but realizes that she was alone for this whole time, she continues to take a bath. The sequence ends with her going underwater again but this time the screen goes black and we hear her screams on the background.

4.) “The Mental”

The sequence opens with the wide shot of what looks like a mental hospital. We see an older woman dressed as a nurse walking through the corridor of the quiet and abandoned mental hospital. The nurse is carrying the tray with medications. Although she leaves the corridor the camera is still in the same spot as if waiting for someone else to enter but no one is entering the corridor, yet. The next scene is happening in the room where all the medications are kept, as she begins to put the medication from the trolley to the cupboards, we feel that the nurse has a “shadow”. She feels that feeling as well and quickly turns around but nothing is there. She continues her task but the next time she opens the cupboard, in the small cupboard mirror she sees a man with the knife. She screams but that scene is quickly cut and the sequence ends with the prescription hallucination pills lying around the room with the nurse on the floor dead (she lies unmoved with her eyes still open).