Film Opening: Final Piece

Film Opening: Credits

While studying other movies opening sequences, it's very common that the opening credits, if there is any, are placed the whole way through the film opening. If a movie does not have opening credits, then it's usually because the beginning is very action packed or the content is too crucial to the story line and it would distract the audience from it. When this occurs, the credits are put at the ending of the film. For example: 'Pirates of the Caribbean Curse of the Black Pearl'. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfPYuI1cBpc

In the beginning of our film opening, the credits are evenly spaced. However, when the exterior shots begin, the credits cease. The credits return when the shots are back inside the church, after some crucial religious imagery. This is due to the fact that I didn't want the audiences attention being drawn away from the symbolic imagery and content of the opening. This is because as soon as the exterior shots begin, the tone in the piece changes to a much darker and Gothic theme which is very important for the audience to view if they are to understand the rest of the movie fully and if they are to fully appreciate the Gothic/thriller genre.

Film Opening: Ella and I Finalising Editing

Ella and I were really exciting to finish editing as we could see our final piece coming together quickly. We just had to finish the work on our credits spacing and a few final touches!

Film Opening: Production Company and Logo



We decided the name of our production part way through the editing of our film opening. It was when we were editing the exterior shots of the graveyard when the name 'Grave Productions' came to mind. We wanted to visually represent the 'Grave' aspect of the name as it related well with the genre of the movie. While researching production logo's, I came across 'Twisted Productions' that produced the 'Saw' movies. This independent production company specialised particularly in horror movies. I then had the idea that we should visually represent the production with a grave so it perpetuates the idea that our production studio specialises with thriller and horror genre and gothic styled movies.

When adding the logo to the beginning of our film opening, we accidently added a negative filter over the top of the original image. We loved the outcome as it looked much more apart of the gothic theme. On the left is our final image and on the right is our original design.

Studio Logo Research

The Universal logo is one of the most globally recognised logos. The logo is one of my favourites as it is so different, detailed and interesting. It highlights the universality of their company and shows how it is a company that will affect people across the globe as the Earth is the central image within the logo. This is also highlight in the moving image, of the logo orbiting the Earth. The text of the logo is bold and in capital letters, these both emphasise the studio's name. Universal doesn't specialise in any particular genre of movie, but predominately very popular HollyWood productions. The white aura surrounding the Earth suggests that their consumers are very important to them.

Another extremely recognised studio logo is the Metro Goldwyn Mayer's logo. The logo is a famous classic and is very well established. The gold reinforces the idea of class and also links well with the name 'Goldwyn'. The moving image of the lion connotes power, strength and dominance. The lion itself is also a rich gold, which reinforces the idea of luxury and extravagance. This is accompanied by the powerful roar from the lion (diegetic) and rich,layered orchestral music played (non-diegetic). The text font appears to be a very traditional and formal font which aids the studio's well established and classic appearance.

Twisted Pictures is the studio that produced the Saw movies. The logo's text is in bold, however it doesn't include any capital letters and is written all in lowercase. This suggests a sense of informality, which makes sense as it is not an extremely well known, 'mega' studio. It is an independent American studio. At the end of the letters, the colour of white begins to fade, thus giving the impression that they are partially submerged in dirt, imitating that of being buried. This idea connotes death and horror which the production company specialises in. In the centre of the logo, is a metal pole with bloodied barbed wire winding around it. This is an image that connotes horror, gore and suggests and speciality in the genre of thrillers.

Titles and Personnel Timeline for 'The Place Beyond The Pines'

The 'T' before a number means that it is 'Text one' etc. So it is the first text to come on the screen and 'T25' is the 25th text credit to appear on the screen. The numbers below that are the time they appeared on screen. Each credit shows someone who played an important role in the creating of the film and as you can see the Director is the last credit to appear on screen. This is because the Director is seen as the most crucial individual on set and within the creation of the movie. This timeline was helpful to Ella and I when looking at how to space our credits and which order to place them in.

Film Opening: Sound and Editing

Sound

The non-diegetic music we played in the beginning was a techno-classical orchestral and electrical mixture. The orchestral high pitched strings create and maintain suspense throughout the piece. A lot of the electrical sounding notes are in major chord and so give the piece an eerie feel to it. This is very similar to the music used in the opening of the apocalyptic thriller 'World War Z' which is linked below. As the piece proceeds into the external shots of the graveyard the techno-classical music fades out. Metallic sounding music is used, these metallic sounds connote physical sharpness like knives. This ultimately has connotations of fear and keeps the audience on edge. A prominent example of this is when the centre of shot is consumed by a large crucifix at a slight low angle shot, placing the crucifix in a position of superiority. A very metallic ring is heard, evoking the feelings of fear, thus making the audience feeling unsettled. This sound was specifically placed over the top of this shot because the crucifix connotes Jesus Christ and God, which are the two main characters in the movie and are the primary focus. The battle between the two is what the audience should feel worried about, also.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQaSS1_EnI0

The change of non-diegetic music when progressing into the exterior shots is  effective because it highlights the change in scene. Over the exterior shots, you can hear the diegetic sounds of wind. These sounds were actually from the original footage and weren't added over the top for emphatic purposes. However, we did increase the sound of the wind so it wasn't overpowered by the sound of the non-diegetic music and subsequently unheard.

There is no dialogue heard however the characters are shown praying. This is because God is trying to destroy mankind, and so their voices will not be heard. It is to symbolise this.


Editing
At the end of the opening we used obtrusive editing, also known as a jump cut. This is when the younger version of Christa is shown to leave the church in a hurried fashion. The editing then jump cuts to her running down the path, out of the churchyard. This makes the character appear to move in a very abrupt way, which can be quite unsettling for some audiences. It also creates a sense of disorientation of time. However, this is also evoked by the first shot in the opening. The first shot displays every church pew as empty, but when the camera turns around, the younger version of Christa is shown to be in a church pew. This is also creates the sense of disorientation of space and time. However, this was not a jump cut as it was one continuous shot, with no cuts whatsoever.


While filming all the religious imagery, smooth transitions are used which contrast against the unsettling music. We used black fade outs to break up some of the shots. This is replicated within the 2013 trailer for 'Silence of the Lambs' which is linked below. The editing style replicates that of someone blinking. This suggests that someone is watching the character and their actions. This creates a sense of suspense as the audience do not know who is watching, if there is anyone at all. It also replicates the idea that 'God is always watching'. The blinking could also be viewed as the audience's blinking. This therefore makes them feel much more apart of what is occurring inside the movie and emphasises the feelings of tension, unsettlement and anxiety that they feel.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RuX2MQeb8UM


If you don't wish to watch the entire extract, skip to 1.27.

Film Opening: Character Profiles

Character Profiles

Protagonist

The genre of our practical task is a thriller. While looking into the conventions of thriller movies and the characters featured, I found that the central protagonists were predominately male. I didn't want to conform with this convention as I wanted to represent a female protagonist as strong and not the stereotype of the 'one in need of aid'. The female protagonist will be the heroine and will not need saving. Unlike in the thrillers 'Taken' and 'Gone Girl' and so many others where women have become the victims.

The gender of the character chosen, can be considered quite controversial. The main character for our movie opening is Jesus Christ. However, in this alternative representation, they are a female. Despite the global biblical depiction of Jesus being male, which he most likely was.

Our alternative representation of Jesus is a white female named Christa. Personally, if I were to redo the practical task but with the ability to have all the resources needed, I would have chosen to have Christa be played by a black woman. Despite Jesus being born is Jerusalem and most likely being black, the westernised white depiction of him is the one that has been globalised.

Within the practical task, there are two portrayals of Christa. One is from a previous time but in the same place, where Christa is younger. The second is Christa in the present where Christa is slightly older. Christa is portrayed as a young woman. The age of the protagonist is also important, much like the gender. Christa is a smart wise young woman and this goes against the stereotype that older individuals are wiser.

Antagonist

Our potentially controversial antagonist is the Christian God. This idea is replicated in the apocalyptic supernatural movie 'Legion'. Within the movie opening, a depiction of God isn't shown. This conforms to the thriller convention of not revealing the antagonists identity/appearance early on in the movie. It is left as a surprise to the audience.

Ella and I were unsure as to whether we would actually include a human form of God within our movie or his presence would be acknowledged by the crippling natural disasters he would force upon the world. Either way his masked appearance would have added to the thriller suspense and leave the audience curious.