We did not change anything which dramatically changed our narrative as we pretty much used all the shots we planned to via a few which didn't work so well. To create tention and suspense we made the duration of the close up shots fairly long adding mystery as well. The music is also very suspensful as it gradually builds getting louder and has a repetitive overall beat.
I think that the way the editing of our title sequence would make our target audience want to carry on watching the film is by the fact that not much of the narrative is given away or whats happening to the characters and how they have got there by using lots of close ups and also the shots with the characters in have a shorter shot duration making the audience question characters and their intentions. The titles are also carefully placed in corners or inbetween the action adding to the drama suspect tone.
The titles we used were the ones which are used at the beginning of every film, we used a white colour with a thin bold font, keeping it simple but effective. The names we included were made up names to make it more realistic and formal and we placed the titles where they fit best such as inbetween two objects where there was a gap or in the bottom right side of the shot.
We did not use any sound such as dialouge only a soundtrack which we found on youtube which is an instrumental track with a ticking time like sound in the background and a constant beat keeping it very repetitive but every now and then builds getting more intense creating a fast paised and intense tone.
Overall i am very happy with our sequence i think the shot i am most proud of and reflects the whole film overall is the shot of the blood slowly dripping off the bike wheel and the narrative flows making sense which was something i was worried about. I also think the close up shots are extremely effective and work very well with the genre of our sequence.
If we were to do anything different i would have liked to filmed more shots with the police man in as that did not get much of a feature due to the shots not being in focus or something was wrong with the continuity. Maybe also having a stronger final shot which is more intense and dramatic.
Once we got to the editing sweet we looked through all of the footage we shot and selected the shots we wanted to use in our sequence making sure all the clips we used were in focus and had continuity throughout.
We then put the clips in the order we wanted and started cutting them making sure they all flowed and made sense, this took a while to get the continuity exact and find the most sucsessful order to put them in.
The only mistake we made whilst filming was not having Suzie in the car for one of the shots which was meant to go in at the start of the sequence so she would have had to be in the car. This meant we could not include this shot. We also did not have the police tape up in all of the shots which we thought would not be noticable but was so did not include this shot either.
We still wanted to keep the whole idea and tone of the sequence so no major things were changed. The only choices we changed from our origional concept was the order in which some of the shots were put in, used the extra shot we took on the day when we had some extra time as it is very effective and adds a lot of mystery to the concept. But apart from this the concept was pretty much the same.
We were very organised and on time, we planned to all meet at 8:40 and start to pack up the van ready to go to Cornhill and got there promptly. Once we got to Cornhill we farmiliarised our selfs with the area and planned where everything would go in terms of set design which we took our time with as it was a key part to the sequence. We then started filming all of the shots trying out different angles and variations to give us lots of options when editing. One of our actors susie then turned up after we shot the ones of the set which did not include the actors. We filmed her shots and the ones with her and mike also including the police woman and firenics in the background as extras. Once we filmed all of the shots we intended to do we had some extra time so filmed some POV shots from inside the house to add extra detail and suspicion to the plot. We then packed up and cleared up the rubbish we had and went back to school.
Overall I think that the whole shoot went well. We were all on time and prompt and also had all of the props, costumes and equiptment we needed ready to go and did not forget anything. We also finished early as I have said previously due to our ready-ness and lack of faffing around meaning we could do some extra shots and really think about what we wanted to do and how we would go about it. We also all helped each other out taking turns with filming, directing and setting up/taking down the set.
The main issue which arose was that 2 days before our shoot Dave who was due to play one of the police men and firrensic tested positive for covid so we had to improvise and used Tiggy and Grace as no one else was free so they played the small extra parts as background characters. This was fairly easy and did not cause too much stress as they were not in too many shots which did not include too much acting so was easily fixable.
If we were to do anything differently I think we could have had a backup actor for Dave for the exact reason why what happened. Meaning we would not have to use our selfs in the shoot and would mean we would have had no stress as there was someone always we could use incase.
The new technical skills I learned was to always roll the camera before the action starts and always keep it rolling after the action cuts to make sure we have not cut it when the action is still happening. I also learned to keep an eye on keeping the continuity of it all for example some of the props which were on the floor moved due to being blown away in the wind so had to put those back into place before rolling. I did not learn any new technical languagage but got to use and practice the terminoligy I have learned previously.
The skills we learned during the camera workshops were very helpful as it meant we were pretty confident using the camera and handling it safely and knew how to get the angles/shots we wanted already.
The equipment we used included: camera, tripod and LED light strips to film our sequence.
I really enjoyed the whole day but my favroite part was filming the close ups of the crime scene and finding the best angles to do them in and also setting up the crime scene as i had alot of creative freedom and could experiment in what would work best.
I am very happy with the footage as i think we got everything we wanted and more. The great acting from the cast also really added to this and made our job a lot easier as did not have to do too many re-takes.
I have learned from this that being organised and working as a team is the best and easiest way to work making sure to check every one is happy with what we are doing in terms of costume, shots and if anyone wants to re take a scene or try a different way of filming it we will.
If we were to do it again i think i would have made it slightly more of a detailed sequence with more going on but also adding to the detail of the crime scene and finding a better substitute police car as this would really have made our sequence look professional and realistic.
The thing I am most exited for in editing is watching it all come together and making the shots look effortlessly continous and finally seeing the overall product after planning it for such a long time and a lot of hard work.
Mother was wearing a coat with joggers and trainers giving off the 'every day look' as if she is a normal middle class woman subverting the steriotype from a typical criminal/murderer.
The investigator male was wearing a black pin stripe suit with a white shirt and hair tied up to give off a serious and professional look making him look like he is very serious about his job and is here to work.
The police woman Was wearing a florecent yellow high vis jacket with a typical police hat. We didn't worry about the bottom half as this part of her was not in any of the shots. The costume is what a police man in the uk would sterio-typically wear on the job of a crime scene.
The Forensic wore an all white suit, blue gloves and foot covers with a face mask as this is what they would wear at a crime scene when collecting evidence and taking notes of the scene.
The lighting was natural light and luckily it was not the best weather which helped to add the the mysterious and tragity of the event which just happened. We also used blue flashing lights reflected onto the car to imitate a police car and make it look more realistic as if we did have. police car.
Props
The props we used included: police tape, car, bike, helmet, blood, evidence bag, number plates and gloves as these are all things we needed to add to the overall set of the sequence and help to tell the story of what has happened and how it happened. Also to help attract the target audience of people who are attracted to drama thriller type films, telling them what type of film it will be which is all straight away shown by the props and costumes drawing them in straight away.
Set/set design
Our location was percived to be a grand middle class house owned by the woman adding to the subversion of the sterio-type of a rich woman commiting such a crime. The set design of the crime scene was one of the key parts to our sequence as it is what the whole thing is based around. We used a small car which was the car the woman was driving and crashed the child into. The bike of the child which is only revealed later on that it is a child's adding to a shock at the end, it also added a slight element of tragety as its a child but also makes the audience question weather its her child or not. We also put up police tape whilst filming certain shots making it obvious it is a crime scene.
Performance and direction of actors
For our actor Susie we told her the story line of our sequence and the part she has to play. Her main and key shot was when she was freaking out in the car just after she just hit the child. We instructed her to hyperventilate and be really stressed in the car as if she is thinking irrationally and mind is going at a million miles an hour.
For mike who played the detective part of the police force we told him to be very serious and firm as the death of a child is very serious and distressing but also the murderer suspected to be the woman is his responisbility so has to be very professional.
For the extras of the police woman and firensic we told them to do things that they would naturally do on a crime scene like collecting evidence and talking to the detective about whats happend and how they are going to deal with it.
Saul Bass was an American graphic designer and film maker specifically his design of film posters and title sequences. His wife Elaine Bass also American but a title designer and film maker who was married to Saul.
Saul created a new art form through his title sequences being able to precisely show the theme and tone of the movie allowing the audience to accurately know what to expect within the film. Elaine worked with Bass for 40 years doing graphic, title designer and film maker (over 50 title sequences) . They created things such as the title for good fellas and cape fear.
They worked with big directors such as Alfred Hitchcock and Danny DeVito and are hugely praised for the work they have done.
This youtube clip shows snippets of the works they have created for various films.
This is one of the title sequences Saul made for the film Oceans Eleven in 1960.
It is a crime comedy film about a group of friends who rob 5 of the biggest casinos in Los Vegas in one night. This title sequence links to the genre and theme of the film using bright colours and bold lettering giving off the comedy tone with a slight mystery to it hence the dots fading in and out.
The use of the dice and cards also suggest clearly the theme and part of the narrative being based around the casino.
The use of the non diegetic sound track also further emphasises the idea of creeping around and being sneaky with the loud trumpets and orchestra giving off the Las Vegas classy tone.
In terms of the text it predominantly is a long and thick white filled font. deffinetly suggesting fairly modern times and people of a young age.
The transitions into each section all blend in and out of each other creating a smooth and fun effect implying to the audience that these people are 'smooth criminals' with some humour.
Some similar films which I think have been influenced by this style include catch me if you can with the use of each section blending into each other and having the sneaky fun tone. The non diegetic is also very similar using orchestral music.
The British Board Of Film Classification is a board which decides what the regulations are for films and what is sutable for specific ages.
Their main role is to set rules to what can and can not be shown in films also to decide the age restrictions for each film before being released to the public as they cant be released in the uk if they do not have this.
These are all of the BBFC symbols starting at U which is unirversal meaning anyone can watch it to R18 which is restricted to 18+ due to the content included in it.
These films should not cause distress to a child 8 or under, but parentals should decide weather its sutiable for their child.
Dangerous behavuour: No
Dicsrimination: No unless has historical context
Drugs: No unless has anti drug message
Laungage: mild bad laungage only
Nudity: yes but no sexual content
Threat and horror: yes but cant be long or intense
violence: Mild
Not sutable for children under 12 yrs, cant see in cinema unless with adult and parents should decide if sutable for their child. No one under 12 may buy or rent this.
Dangerous behavuour: no
Dicsrimination: no
Drugs: no unless shown infrequently
Laungage: moderate bad laungage and some strong depending on context
Nudity: yes and if sexual must be descreet and not prolonged
Threat and horror: moderate not frequent
sexual violence and threat: only verbal refrences
violence: Moderate but should not be intense
No one under age of 15 may see in cinema rent or buy this.
Dangerous behavuour: yes but can not be dwelled on depending on intencity of behaviour such as self harm
Dicsrimination: cant endorse it but may be used
Drugs: yes but cant be promoted or encouraged and easily acsessable substances cant be used.
Laungage: strong laungage and sometimes very strong will be allowed with justification
Nudity: yes but strong detail is beief
Threat and horror: yes
sexual threat and violence: yes but if intense cant be prolonged
violence: yes but cant dwell on injury and pain
No one under 18 can watch, rent or buy this.
As adults they should be free to chose what they watch with exeptions including:
Material not legal within the laws eyes
material which could cause harm to viewers or public
Material which is not allowed in sex work at R18 is also not in 18
Things that are taken into consideration when the BBFC decides the age restrictions are things such as:
- violence
- sex and nudity
- obscene laungage
- criminal activity
- strobe lighting and many more.
Context is another factor which they must think about before hand such as if it's fictional or fantacy. This is because animated films are allowed to include more things such as violence as the audience know its unrealistic so can get a lower age rating.
The increadibles is a good example as it includes things such as hand guns and fights but is still rated a PG.
They also take into considerartion how sensitively a topic is handled within the film. For example drugs, if they are being portrayed in a negative way showing the dangers of it the film would get a lower rating compared to a film glorifying it and pretending they had no consiquences it would get a much higher age rating.
Violence is also one which is deeper thought about and questioned in terms of:
- why are they being violent ?
- what injurys are caused by this violence ?
- is it glamorised ?
- is it realistic ? etc
For example the purge is rated an R as it has a lot of disturbing ways of violence which sometimes are not necsary where as a film such as reminicance is a 15.
The last thing they take into consideration is the format of the release. For example they are usually more strict if its being released in a DVD format compared to cinema released films.
EG; For the hunger games in cinemas it got a 12A certificate but for DVD got a 15.
How does the process work?
The films production company sends the film to the BBFC for them to analise and use all of their criteria to decide the age rating so then can be released in DVD and cinema. If a production company do not agree or are unhappy with the age rating their film got they are able to re-edit it and send it back for further anaylasis.
For our opening title sequence I think that the BBFC would award it a 15 age certificate for cinema and dvd release as it includes a moderate and frequent amount of violence in terms of death, blood and dangerous behaviour which may cause stress to a younger audience.
For example there are clips of blood on her hands whilst she is being handcuffed and blood dripping off a child's bike implying a child has been killed.
I think if the BBFC saw the 'whole' film they may give it a lower 12A certificate as the opening is the most intense part as we want to draw in the audience as the rest is about the women trying to prove her innocence which would not include a lot of violence or threat apart from some moderate laungage.
As a group we wrote a rough script and filmed and recorded the sound the whole thing multiple times using different angles such as mid, wide and close up shots so we had lots of options when it came to editing to pick which clips would work best.
The previous camera workshop helped a lot with this such as setting up the camera quickly/correctly, making sure we did not pass the 180 degree rule and when to say the official filming terms such as 'action' and 'cut'.
The only problems we were aware of was that we could not move the table we were filming with so did mess up some clips using the 180 degree rule and also not filming enough close up shots of each actor on their own so when we edited could not easily do a back and forth conversation sequence.
If we were to do this differently i would have been more time effiecent in terms of filming different angles faster so we had a wider range of options to choose from when editing and also moving the desk so there was space in front of it to be able to correctly use the 180 degree rule.
Editing
To edit the footage I first went through all of the shots and selected the ones i would like to use and think works best, as i did not have any single person shots to do the back and forth dialouge with i had to work with what i had so used different angled shots and a close up of a tapping hand. Once that was done we cropped and fit all the different edited clips together to create a seamless continuation of clips making sure they all lined up smoothly. I then had to make sure the sound lined up with the footage so it was all in sync and to to that i slected one sound from one of the shots and cropped it into different sections depending where the clips changed angle to fit it all together. To make this look even more smooth i added a ..... on top of where the sound changed to give it a seamless effect.
Doing the previous editing workshop helped a lot as i was more comfortable and used to using the softwear this time and could easily find the footage and knew how to move it onto the strip where i could edit it etc. The other skills i learned this workshop was overall how to create a seamless back and forth scene without it seeming snappy and staggered.
Mistakes we made included:
- having the white balance slightly too dark as the room its self was very dark.
- not having enough cu shots
-some clips not following the 180 degree rule
When editing our actual sequence we will as a group take into consideration all the mistakes we made this time during filming and also editing to prevent these things from happening again to allow for a sucsessful title sequence.
Target audience fundimental aim is to make money buy getting people to watch it.
It's an important aspect to consider as it allows profit to be generated. Deliver what the audience wants and expects for example if it's aimed towards females we would expect attractive men and if it was a comedy we would expect it to be funny also easier to market towards in terms of how they market it (instagram, adverts) and what rules and conventions to follow to attract the right audience.
Target audience is decided by gender and age. For our opening sequence our target audience is female 21-25 yr olds as what's included in our sequence is what would attract this gender and age that would enjoy it the most.
The genre we are making for our opening title sequence is drama with a sub genre of thriller.
Bodygaurd
A 2018 drama BBC one filmed tv series directed by Mick Jackson.
The main characters include Richard Madden who plays the role of David Budd who works as a police sergeant in London, He is assigned to protect the home secetary Julia Montague (an mp) played by Keely Hawes. There are also a range of other police forces involved and people who work for the law.
These characters are similar to ours in our opening title sequence in terms of the police force and people working for the law who are involved in the crime which is to be solved but mainly and more specifically the female 'villan' role. Julia in body guard is percived to be a 'sociopath' and appears to be
a determined woman who gets in the way of the law and does get involved in illegal activities. Similarly to the woman in our title sequence who is being prosicuted for the murder of a child and her trying to fight her innocence which is un-determined if it is true or not.
The themes in our title sequence are intensity, mystery and drama similar to the themes in body guard which are conspiracy, mystery and violence but are different in terms of why these themes are relevant in each of them.
The narratives are very much different exept the criminal police force side to them as both narratives involve this but for different reasons one for terrorism and one for a murder with much different levels of intensity.
The locations are both set in the Uk with Body guard set in London and Our's set in a rural area of England. And the settings have no similarities exept the middle/upperclass lifestyle the characters have.
The police costumes for both are similar as that is what all police men would wear typically via the higher status ones which are more in the terrorism sector wear more and diffrent colour police kit which some wear in Body Guard.
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The costumes of both females are both modest and present as a middle age woman but Julia's slightly more professional as she is constantly working where as the woman wearing things such as blazers, long skirts and having her hair always curled. In ours she is just in her home not expecting to be disturbed but is still wearing jeans and a jumper giving off a motherly modest look with her hair tied up.
The lighting in both is natural outside lighting or inside lighting and mostly set in the day time.
There are not any similar props via the use of cars/police cars and firrensic evidence bags.
Camera techniques which are included in both are
- wide
- mid
- close up
- extreme close up
which for both are used to cause a huge amount of tention and intensity.
Editing techniques used in both are:
- short shot durations
- continuity
- shot reverse shot
- eye line match
Line of duty
A 2012 drama thriller BBC Tv series directed by Jhon Strickland.
The main characters include Martin Compstion who plays DI Steve Arnott, a detectve inspector. Vicky McClure playing DI Kate Fleming also a detective inspector,Adrian Dunbar playing Superintendent Ted Hastings who is a senior investigating officer and lastly Kelly McDonald playing DCI Joanne Davidson who's a investigation officer for the unsolved murder.
Our characters similarties is the sector of work they are in (police force) as both have a crime to un solve involving the same job sector (forensics, police etc).
The themes in our title sequence are intensity, mystery and drama similar to the themes in line of duty which are mystery, violence and murder but mostly the theme of murder as this is the main focus and choice of narrative of both.
The narratives both focus on crime and a sense on conspiracy but ours is the conspiracy of if the woman did murder the child where as line of duty's is if police corruption was to blame for the murder.
Line of duty's location in Central England which is the same as where ours is based. The setting for line of duty is based mostly in AC-12 where the investigators opperate but also in a fairly middle class setting similar to ours exept line of duty is in a slightly more urban area.
The police and firrensic costumes are very similar to what ours are as this is what most Uk officers and Forrensics would wear during their work. There are some variations in what the police officers are wearing in line of duty due to their role or what they are doing that day.
There are no other similar costumes as the only character left in ours is the woman who is dressed fairly casually but in a modest way suggesting she is put together and a mother. If we were to turn ours into a full film I would assume that the costumes of the investigators would also be very similar as they would be doing the same job as the cast in line of duty for example what they are wearing in this image below.
The lighting in both is natural outside lighting or inside lighting and mostly set in the day time.
The similar props used in both include police cars and firrensic equiptment as both of these series/ sequences have involved a murder.
Camera techniques which are included in both are:
- pan left to right
- close ups
- establishing
- low shots
Editing techniques used in both are:
- Short shot durations
- shot reverse shot
- eye line match
-jump cuts
My son
A 2021 mystery thriller by STX films directed by Christian Carion.
The main characters include James McAvoy playing Edmond Murray who is rung by Joan Richmond played by Claire Foy to tell him that their son has gone missing at a campsite. Other characters include police force and investigartors.
The main most prominent similarity to their characters and ours is the involvement of a death and a potential death of a child. Other character similarties include the mothers whom both appear to be young, innocent and concerned but later on discover that they probably are not. Smaller roles which are included in both are the police force and investigators as both sequence and film involve illegall activity.
The similar themes in both include mystery, twisted and loss where they both include parents having to fight for their innocence of a death/kidnapping of a young boy and the investigation behind it.
The Location of my son is Lochaber which is in the scottish highlands where by the set is extreemly rural and empty giving a lonely and dark vibe. Ours is also based in a rural area but not to the same extend as my son is, they are also both based in the Uk.
The costumes are similar in terms of the parents and the women in ours as they are wearing every day clothes to look like every day people, wearing things like sweatshirts and jeans. The makeup also is similar giving both the parents and women in ours a tired/exhausted look as if they have no life left in them exaggerating the stress they are going through.
The police mens costumes are also very similar both wearing the florecent yellow police jacket with black cap and black trousers.
The lighting in both is natural outside lighting or inside lighting and mostly set in the day time however my son is predominantly set outside as they are searching for the missing son. My son also seems to have a overall dark and cold filter over all of the shots which if possible we would also intend to do to give the same effect.
Similar props involved that i have noticed in both include police cars and police tape as these are things that are invloved during a crime scene and are the Uk police type in terms of colours and sighns.
Camera techniques used in both include:
- establishing
- side shot
- POV
- close up
Editing techniques used in both include:
- continuity
- cut
- short and long shots
- eye line match
The little things
A 2021 thriller crime by Gran Via Productions directed by Jhon Lee Hancock.
The main characters include Denzel Washington playing Deke who plays a former detective, Jim Baxter played by Rami malek who is also a detective and jared Leto playing Albert Sparma who is the supposide 'villan'/ murderer.
The characters are similar to our title sequence as there is a potential murderer in both, police, investigators and firensics who are all involved in trying to uncover the murder. The only diffrences is that in the little things the murderer is male where as in ours it is a female and that they are American actors.
Similar themes include murder, discovery and thrill but predominantly discovery of who committed the murder/murders.
The narrative is similar in terms of a murder case and the police trying to solve it but things such as setting and location are very diffrent as one is set in America and the other in England giving off very diffrent tones.
The costumes also do not have many similarties due to the cause of the diffrent locations of the films as american police and detective uniform is compleately diffrent to english making it easy to distinguish which is based in what country.
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The lighting in both is also natural light exept when indoors but also has the overall dark mysterious tone where not many bright sunny shots are used.
similar props include police cars and police equiptment like handcuffs but are diffrent types as are based in diffrent contries.
Similar camera techniques include:
- close ups
- wide shots
- Mid
- behind the shoulder
Similar editing techniques include:
- modified speed
- long and short shot durations
- cut
- jump cut
In conclusion all of them including our concept have the topics of murder, police and crime but in a slightly different narrative as in how they have occured. I think that all of these conventions are in my genre as they are the themes/topics which make it what it is giving a mysterious yet gripping tone to all of them which appeals to our target audience as these are things that our audience are looking for and would expect in a film with the genre of drama thriller. The only diffrent elements are the use of more technical camera techniques such as birds eye view or extreemely fast hand held shots, the reasoning to the murders in each of them and also some editing techniques which we have\are not including in ours. These products of the same genre inspire ours to create alot of tenstion and things that you would not expect to see when you see them drawing in the audience and also keeping a strong mysterious and dark tone throughout which is shown very well in the other products.
