Opening Sequence Analysis: Mise-en scene, shot types, angles and editing

Firstly, the opening sequence beings in a small, well-lit room. The set is perfectly symmetrical, suggesting to the audience that it might not be reality. The light is golden, and the costume suggests opulence as well as the decoration of the set itself. The table is reflective, creating an almost unsettling symmetry within the frame, further suggesting to the audience that it could be a dream. It also connotes introspectiveness as the characters reflect upon themselves, a common theme within the psychological thriller genre. A number of other conventions from this genre are used also, for example the dark formal costumes and props with semiotic connotations of threat, danger and mystery (the guns, the letter, the safe). From the setting, the audience can assume that the narrative is taking place somewhere in East Asia, such as China or Japan. This engages the audience because the exotic setting is unfamiliar and therefore interesting to American/British audiences. It is also symbolic of the human mind and turmoil, which fits nicely into the overarching narrative of the film. Similarly, the Art Deco styling and Jazz Era mise-en-scene reinforce the idea of a 'dreamscape' because this style connotes desire, lust and seductiveness. The multiple staircases suggests layered meanings and dreams, a complexity to the narrative.
         The extreme close up of the watch suggests that timing is an important aspect of the film, and alludes to the narrative. Extreme close ups also reinforce the psychological nature of the film. The slowed and enhanced diegetic ticking sound effect without music further highlights the importance of the passage of time. It is used to signify a switch between the dream and what the audience thinks is reality. The change is drastic and the two scenes contrast each other: the low-key, shadowy lighting to evoke enigma and mystery, the relative peace of the dream world vs. the violence of reality. Explosions in the street (conventions of an action film to engage fans of this genre) and the grimy flat where they sleep suggest that it is real, with natural lighting to add realism. The editing remains fast-paced throughout the whole sequence and heavily stylised to contribute to the feeling of detachment from reality in the dream locations-- they are a settings that each represent a specific aspect of the human mind.

In our own opening sequence, we could use setting to show the characters' mental state, e.g. a messy room for a disorganised mind etc.

Survey Results

Survey Results:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/results/SM-LBNVPWXN/

These are the results of our survey. We have decided to target females aged 15-19, so we sent the survey to people of this demographic in order to discover what they would like to see in a film of this genre. Because they are all 15 or above, this allows our film to have a BBFC certificate of 15, which will give us more freedom.

Most people's favourite genre was comedy, however we have decided to go with the second most popular, Thriller for two reasons: 1) comedy is a very broad genre, it would be difficult to narrow this down. 2) The conventions of the comedy genre are also significantly harder to identify and make use of.

We have decided to keep our main character female as the majority of people asked prefer female heroes, although the results were fairly close with a difference of only two people. However, most people prefer male villains-- we have also briefly considered having the villain also be female to subvert gender roles and create an element of surprise.

We also discovered that tension and excitement are what the majority of audiences are looking to feel when they watch a film. We will be mindful of this when creating our opening sequence, for example using lighting and sound to create suspense and tension, and keep the viewer engaged.

However, most people surveyed preferred a chronological narrative to a non-chronological narrative. As a group we will discuss changing our narrative to suit the audience-- conversely, most people surveyed also preferred a complex and challenging narrative. These two answers do not seem to match. Although they are not necessarily mutually exclusive, we were expecting most of the participants to answer with chronological/simple or non-chronological/complex,

A lot of people seemed to prefer a 'spy' narrative, however this does not fit into the psychological thriller genre well, so we decided to remain with our original idea of kidnapping, which was also the second most popular narrative arc.

In terms of psychographics, our audience will be intelligent and thrill-seeking, as the complex narrative and non-chronological plot are intellectually stimulating and the suspenseful, tense nature of the film would appeal to those who enjoy feeling scared while watching a film.

We will consider these results carefully when discussing and planning our film as a group, and use them in the focus groups that we have planned.

Continuity Practice

Continuity Practice

This is a short sequence we filmed to practice editing. It focuses on continuity, and we took care to make sure that every time we refilmed a shot from a different angle (e.g the close up in the thumbnail of the video or the wideshot in the middle) that everything was consistent. We worked hard to edit the close up of the cup and the low angle shot that follows it together smoothly.

We had to refilm a few parts in the beginning because I did not start from the same place and my hair was different, but we learned to set clear markers at the beginning of filming to avoid this from happening again. This will be useful in making our opening sequence because it will help us to develop a sophisticated editing style that flows smoothly. It also means that we will avoid having to refilm parts of our opening sequence because of continuity errors.

Lighting Research

Lighting in Psychological Thrillers:

The lighting in this scene from Psycho very clearly indicates the sinister nature of this character. 

Similarly, the lighting used in this scene signifies Mr Harvey's true nature. It is a way of giving the audience an insight into his character without explicitly stating his intentions. 

Low Lighting is the most commonly used type of lighting in Psychological Thrillers. The shadows create tension and suspense, and are good for subtly telling the audience about the character's intentions, e.g. a shaded face could indicate a villain.
However, we do not have any lighting equipment available to us, so we are working on ways in which we can recreate this while still making the film good quality. I am currently taking some practice shots to experiment with lighting in order to see discover the best method to achieve this low-key lighting.