Vanished (first cut)

This is our first cut video for 'Vanished', here we have included the main bulk of the film, nut it still lacks music and credits. More work needs to take place but this is the initial plan for the video.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHm04osUJkE&t=2s

Opening title sequence film analyses

Opening title sequence film analyses


In order to create my own film opening, I researched and began to analyse the opening title sequences of 3 films which I believe to have iconic opening title sequences. I used the website https://prezi.com/ to present my ideas. Below are the links to my 3 film analyses:


Scott Pilgrim Vs the World:
https://prezi.com/zdlv6sjjvh_3/scott-pilgrim-vs-the-world-opening-title-sequence/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy


Napoleon Dynamite

https://prezi.com/r3epwhk3hw_x/edit/#19_251582808

Se7en: Opening title sequence analysis

David Fincher: Se7en





Se7en (1995) is a neo-noir crime thriller directed by David Fincher following the story of two detectives (Pitt & Freeman) hunting for a serial killer whose murders are based around the seven deadly sins.

Camera shots and angles

- High angle shot of old, veiny hands on a book.

Conventionally, a high angle shot is used to emphasise the power of a subject. The only part of the subject that is revealed in this frame is his hands which depicts his anonymity. The camera angle is slanted which gives a disorientating feel to the image and forces the audience to reciprocate the feelings of the detectives in that they feel confused about who the subject is.

The opening title sequence features many close ups put together with fast pace editing. Due to the speed of editing and how zoomed in the shot is, it is sometimes difficult to make out what some of the images are showing. This links to the film's crime thriller genre as the audience doesn't know everything that's going on, similarly to how the detectives don't know everything that's going on. Just as the detectives have to undergo a process to unveil what is happening, the viewer has to watch the film to learn about these happenings - both parties are looking for answers. The fact that we cannot fully make out every item that is in each shot highlights the purpose of a title sequence: to reveal  enough information about the film to entice the audience to watch more, whilst not giving away too much of the film's plot. The use of low-key lighting adds to the difficulty of interpreting each item, especially the unconventional ones, and creates the chiaroscuro effect. This title sequence outlines the key themes explored within the film.

-Medium Shot of a young boy whose eyes have been crossed out

The crossing out of the boys eyes shows he must maintain a hidden identity. The assumption is, considering the film's plotline, that this boy has been murdered. The fact that this is clearly a young boy plays on the audience's emotional investment - tragedies tend to be even sadder when young children are involved due to their innocence. This also reveals that the killer must be especially heartless as to be able to take the life of an infant. The black fading surrounding the images creates a smooth background in which for the casting titles to be written across, and also leaves the image with dark undertones, the colour black insinuating that not all is well.

Titles

- Kyle Cooper: “Fincher and I decided to use hand-drawn [type] mixed with Helvetica, and he was very excited by it. He knew that he wanted it to be drawn by hand, because it was from the mind of the killer, and I was taking that further, wanting it to be like the killer did the film opticals himself.”

The fonts used in the titles are appropriate to the film genre. White titles on a black background are easier to read than black titles on a white background and the inversion of colours makes it stand out more. The black background also gives the feeling of not being able to see everything, which reflects both where the detectives stand at the beginning of the film and how the victims of the killer would feel - they do not foresee their upcoming murder.

The writing appears fuzzed-up with glitchy graphics, almost leaving the screen in total blackness, adding to the intensively suspenseful feeling of this title sequence and making the audience feel uncomfortable - a feeling desired by those who watch horror films.

Mise en Scène

The colour scheme for this title sequence is almost entirely black and white, giving the film a sinister feel, but also features hints of the colour red, connoting danger, violence and blood spill(which there is a lot of in this film).

The opening sequence is full of unsettling images such as blood dripping onto a piece of paper, victims faces crossed out by marker pen and various lethal weapons such as a gun and a razor blade.This immediately highlights the kind of film the viewer is about to watch, full of death and other dark motifs.

Many of the shots making up this title sequence consist of papers and writing on pages. This could be to show the amount of paperwork involved in the detectives findings through attempting to follow the killers complicated tracks and twisted mindset, or possibly could be to demonstrate the in-depth calculation that goes into each one of the killer's murders, adding to the viewers feelings of suspicion and making them ponder the killer's motives. The fact that many of the journals/books appear old and torn makes the sequence seem more distressing and perhaps figuratively present the killer's fragmented and disturbed mind.

The Mis-en-Scéne of the title sequence is used to portray the amount of precision that goes into the film's killings, represented through symbols such as sewing, multiple shots focused on hands and threading the eye of a needle - fiddly and precise tasks, as would be calculating murders without being found responsible.

Music/Sound

The mood is set through the use of an eerie remix of the instrumental to 'Closer' by Nine Inch Nails (1994) playing throughout the title sequence, with the only lyrics not removed being "you bring me closer to God" at the end. These lyrics link to the biblical theme that runs throughout the film with the killer seeming to act upon to 7 deadly sins.

As the title sequence goes on, the pace of the music quickens, creating a build up of tension. Harsh, ambient noises appear throughout as an attempt to unsettle the viewer, and the sounding of random screeches are used to shock, preparing the audience to be shocked later on in the film by its dark content.

Editing

This is an extremely action packed title sequence, as is demonstrated through fast-paced editing, with no shot lasting longer than 4 seconds. The editing is carefully timed, with the image changing to the beat of the music. Some transitions are straight cuts, and some fade to black or cross fade. Fading to black embodies the sinister and dark feel to the whole film, and cross-fading shows a relationship between the images, demonstrating that they are all the workings of one person.

Shot lengths vary in this sequence, with the more taboo/dangerous items staying on screen for a shorter amount of time. For example, 3 images flicker very quickly of somebody filling a gun. This makes the actions seen seem more suspenseful and secretive.

As the sequence plays out, the editing quickens, creating tension and putting the audience more and more on edge. This suggests the whole film will have this same tense feel.

Setting Research

There were three set locations required for our film opening. We knew we wanted the location of missing event to take place on a beach and that a police station had to be involved but this took a lot of planning and research into the different and most suitable locations for our film.

The Beach

Coastal areas round Norfolk aren't a stretch to reach so finding a beach to film on was not a challenge, but getting full cast to a cold beach in the middle of nowhere was a challenge.
 

Cromer beach was idealistic in terms of reaching this area but due to the dense population due to the popularity of the area it meant it would be hard to catch a slot where there were no people on the beach for the isolated sense we wanted to portray. Also the problem with Cromer beach is that it is a thin strip of beach with the town hanging over the edge of it, this would have detracted from the level of isolation if there where houses and shops in the background.

Thornham Beach was a lot more remote, its a long wide beach with dunes and marshes which was the kind of set we were hoping for. The area is also a lot less populated and there are little to no pedestrians during winter months, which was perfect for our film. The whole marshland was

 ideal because it looks quite sinister and gloomy. so we decided that this would be the ideal location to shoot our film.

 

The Police Station

Obviously expecting to be able to film inside an actual police station was unrealistic but we attempted to re create the same white, harsh and dull layout of a police station.

Bedroom - We were looking for a room with harsh lighting and minimal colours. We chose to use a plain spare bedroom as it looked similar to how a waiting room would. By adding props like wanted posters and police warning posters we helped create a sense of place.

Attleborough Police Station- we decided to include a long shot of Police station, Attleborough because its local, to show where the cuts are jumping to and the significance of the police force throughout the film.

Cast List

Casting for 'Looking for Olivia'

Phoebe

Our aim when directing and producing the opening to our psychological thriller, was to find a teenage girl who looked older, like a mother would. She is meant to appear as this perfect mother, paying close attention to her relationship with Olivia.

We had a decision between two girls to play the part of Phoebe, the unpredictable mother, with a sense of ambiguity about her.

Bella Thompson - our first auditionee was Bella, we suggested her due to her knowledge about acting and drama. Bella also offered confidence when it came to acting and was keen to be apart of the opening. The only problem was her appearance, being fair haired and a pale complexion she displays innocence and youth. Also her physique doesn't match the one of a mother so we didn't give her the role.

Phoebe Symington- We liked phoebe because of her previous experience in both media and drama, this was an attractive quality because she had confidence when acting, which was necessary in the major role in our opening. Phoebe also looked older than Bella, more mature and capable of damage. So we chose Phoebe because she fit both the categories better than Bella did.

Ben

For the male protagonist, the father of Olivia we were looking for a weaker character. They had to look manly and old enough o have been married and had children but ultimately the character of Ben had to be a weaker and less significant figure in comparison to the mother, so that there was a sense of the mother holding the control.

Ben Gage -our first auditionee and he impressed us with his acting skills despite little experience in the past. It was an advantage, in act, that he was shy because his character is supposed to slightly shadow the mother's relationship with Olivia. Ben also looked older than the other boys we auditioned, but although he had the physique of a man, there was something endearing and kind about his face so we decided he was the right guy in comparison with the other boys.    

Luke Potts - Luke also had the physique we were looking for but somewhat lacked the acting skills we were looking for, his character seemed slightly too dominant over Phoebe's therefore we decided to go with Ben. Also Luke was at a lower availability than Ben for filming time.

Filming Schedule

Filming

For the day of filming, there was a lot for Molly, Sophie and I to think about. For example, the weather permitted on the day was vital in order to help us achieve the desired effect from our film. Considering the eerie aspects of our production, it was necessary for the weather to match this, in order for the ambience on screen to be accurate. Therefore, before we set out on planning our day for filming, we checked the weather on line to check that it was grey and miserable, which is just what we were looking for. However, filming was automatically made difficult seeing as we had a 4 year old girl on scene, Olivia, who happened to be playing the main part. Because of this, it was difficult for us to spend an enormous amount of time outside due the cold air temperature. Taking this into consideration, we decided to film as close to the middle of the day as possible, meaning we had the optimum amount of sun and heat, without it changing the lighting on camera too juristically.

Availability of our actors was also a difficult obstacle to overcome. Seeing as both main characters, other than Olivia (Phoebe and Ben) are at a stage in life where they are needing to work, we had to constantly stay in contact during the two week process leading up to filming to determine whether they were still available to us. This did make it difficult, as for us directors it meant we all had to be available and ready to film whenever they were. We did achieve filming successfully all in one day, with the correct, original cast of actors.

We also had to try and coincide our filming with a day where the beach wasn't too heavily occupied. This is obviously very difficult, seeing as the North Norfolk Coast is a very popular weekend getaway location for City occupants, and general locals. The beach needed to be relatively empty in order for us to gain the desired effect of our production, the eerie, disoriented ambience needed to be prominent. The miserable weather we decided to film in helped to make this possible.