Storyboards

Storyboards

Below are the storyboards used in the production of The Last Season

3.7 Analysis of opening sequence

"The Last Season" is an opening sequence under the genre of horror. The sequence is about a young boy who is paranoid and hearing things that are not actually there. The main character is home alone when he hears a crash outside the door, which he goes to inspect. He finds out that he was only being paranoid but cannot forget about the sound he heard. The main character finds out that he is not the only one in the house!


Lighting-The lighting in our opening sequence reflects upon the nature of the film actually being a horror, whereas there is a lot of dim light, which could connote the idea of mystery and danger, in which our film is based on. The way in which having darkness could leave the protagonist potentially in danger is a major factor in which our film is based upon. We tried to connote the genre of the film using the lighting as a key element. In our sequence we used yellow tinted lamps to promote the effect of horror and we also used it to create a fearful atmosphere. The color yellow carries connotations of both happiness and fear, which helps to build tension in our film and leaves the audience guessing to whether the next scene is going to be happy or fear. We were influenced from the yellow lighting from Saw as they use it as a key element in their film.


Sound- Sound in our film is well established as being used mainly in parts of our opening sequence that are aimed at being horrific. The use of diegetic sound in our extract is used extensively to create a sense of fear towards our audience and to make the audience hear more of what is being shown in each extract. The use of the television sounds is used to show more of what a teenagers lifestyle would be like as we have stereotypically shown teenagers in various ways. We used sqeeking floorboards, which is used in a variety of horror films to create tension. We also used a enhanced saw 'shing' noise at the end of the film where the screen fades black, which is also used in a variety of film trailers/films.


Mise en scene- The use of mise en scene in our opening sequence is used in many different shots. As we have set the film in a house that is rather old, this is an already large use of mise en scene. The use of old objects and lighting equipment is also used to connote to the audience the sense of horror in our film. The major use of mise en scene though is the use of the hooded figure/hooded clothing which the villian wore, which was used to represent fear and to establish to the audience the genre of the film. The idea of using the hoodie was a group decision and was used as the mask in V for Vendetta is used to conceal identity and also create fear amongst the audience. In V for Vendetta the audience do not know if the man behind the mask is a hero or villian and we tried to use this technique throughout our opening sequence.


Editing- We used quick cuts in our opening sequence after the living room scene, as our aim was to keep the audience interested in what was going on in the film. This was done to give the text a fast pace, which helps the genre because it leaves the audience anticipating what is going to happen next. An example of a good use of this quick cut was in the scene where the protagonist sees a slight shadow behind the window in the bathroom and does not see the figure through the window. The use of editing in this scene connotes the idea that the protagonist is mentally unstable at this moment in time. Therefore heightening the tension element and reminding the audience about the horror/thriller genre.

3.7 Analysis of my opening sequence.

Relationship to sound

Towards the end of the film, there is a sound extract that we chose to use as it connotes the feeling of horror and fear. This is the scene where as the main character turns off the light to go to sleep and the rooms turns black. The audience then hear the door opening and foot steps, which we used to make the scene scarier and connote fear. We then chose to use footstep sounds and shuffling to promote fear in this scene. The audience then see the titles for the film contributed by sound motifs from a saw. However Mohammed and I were able to achieve a good edit over the film. This scene was also used as the Japanese genre is well established as being horror related and the scream accompanies the part where the screen goes black, to leave the reader in suspense. We purposely wrote the title in red also to promote the Japanese film industry, as being about spirits, spiritual objects and demons.

Symbolism

Symbolism in our title sequence is used in a variety of ways. For example we chose to use red writing to connote the meaning of horror as many Japanese films are horror related and scary. We chose to accompany, just before this scene, a piece of sound which was used to promote fear where the sound of a saw can be heard. We chose the colour black as we tried to connote the meaning of darkness and danger. We could have used red on white as this would have connoted danger but a sense of realism, along with the actual colour of the Japanese flag. We also chose to write the title in red instead of any other colour because the Japanese film industry has a more twisted sense of horror compared to Hollywood and the UK, and as also most Hollywood films are remakes of Japanese classics.

Technical Construction

As in the case of technical construction we chose to use the colors black and red to promote a sense of realism along with a sense of mystery and horror. We were going to choose white and black as our title to promote danger but we stuck with red and black as this would go well with the actual darkness of the opening sequence. The colour choice of both black and red also connotes the feeling of a twist in the film and is also used, as the costume in the film is black and gold.

Problems and Successes

3.7 & 3.8

January February and March 2010 Problems and Successes

08/01/10
The major problem today was transporting the equipment from school to the films address. We had to transport the camera, tripod, sound mic and tapes to the address via car, which lost us time we came to film later on that night. Filming started later than we planned but we were able to film all of the shots that we had planned for that day.
09/01/10
Today’s problems were that we were unable to film until quite late as the house we were filming in was in use. We postponed most of the filming to later in the evening which meant that the snow would affect the outdoor scenes when filming from outside the house. Also as the weather affected the sound quality from the camera and we had to wait for the snow to calm before filming again quite a bit later.
10/01/10
Filming for the third day was a struggle as the weather affected transport to and from the house. We were able to finish filming the whole of the production by the end, however acquiring certain things for the filming were hard. For example finding a film that the protagonist could watch was a struggle as there were not many to choose from, and also the battery life of the camera was always a worry. Along with this the tape we had brought to record had very little space left for the amount of work we needed to do and so we were careful in choosing what certain parts to film.

Late January/February and March- Editing

During the editing stages we acquired a number of problems and successes, which affected us in a variety of ways. Firstly we had to upload the footage from the tape onto the Macs which took a long period of time and we also had to choose the specific music we would be putting in with the production to make it more suitable for our target audience. As we knew from our first production task, we began editing really early as we knew that time would pass by quickly before the due date was here. We were able to edit the living room scene, bathroom scene and bedroom scene within these months, along with also improving may of the scenes to suit our target audience.

Secondly the first edit that we created was shown to our teacher, whom stated that quite a few areas could be in need of improving such as shortening the whole piece and only choosing specific parts and getting rid of all of the unnecessary parts. This was a blow to us as we thought that we had done the best we could to achieve our target marks, however we got on with the work and took out a number of specific parts from our production. For example we added a montage to the end of the production showing the hooded characters view of what happened whilst he was walking around the side of the house and garden, which was sped up to create suspense amongst the audience. We were also able to add a title sequence made of a red blood type text which was created in Photoshop. Along with this text, we also created a misty animation to accompany the text, as it seemed to glide of the screen, at the same time with the sound of dripping blood being heard.


10/01/10Today we began the final parts of the filming as we did not capture the original footage properly. We decided to change some parts of the production, but not too much.

09/10/10Today we began our filming as we filmed the whole film during the night. However when uploading the film to Final Cut Pro, the tape did not record properly so we were unable to upload some of the film.

08/01/10 Today we took the equipment to Mohammeds uncles house where we would be filming tomorrow.

Representation/Preferred Reading Of Our Opening Sequence 3.2.2/.1

Representations
The representations in our film are rather simple, with the main character being a lazy teenager whom likes watching films and hanging around with their mates. This may be seen as a stereotype for teenage boys in general. We are aiming at a wide range of teenagers internationally and we believe that by using horror/thriller based scenes, we will be able to attract them quite rapidly. We believe that teenagers may like thriller/horror movies and this is one reason why we have chosen them as our target audience. With the use of quite strong violence we aim to capture the audiences imagination and hope to thrill the audience whilst doing so. With the use of the main character being quite paranoid we wish to tap into the aspects of teenagers lives through our film. 

Our preferred reading is young teenage males whom are interested in films that contain violence and horror. The main character in our film represents the so called leader in a group, where many of the other smaller characters follow/look up to this character. I would wish that the audience would respond to the main character in that they see him as a fellow friend, one that is helpful and caring whilst also being rather out going. 

The alternative readings that might be possible would be the film may only target those that are interested in thriller/horror types of film and this would mean that teenagers that are not interested in the film will not look twice and would not spread the word to fellow friends/family. One other aspect of alternative reading would be challenging stereotypes, with the fact that i have said that they are lazy and that they watch a lot of films. The public may see this as an insult. One final aspect of alternative reading would be the choice of cast with the characters being of many ethnic origins.

However the preferred reading of the target audience should be roughly what has been mention above, not a reading of teenagers being constantly reminded by their parents that they should be doing certain things, like going to bed or parents being too harsh towards them.

3.4 Shot list of our opening sequence.

Shot list
1) We begin with an establishing shot of the front of the house, maybe with a zoom into the door where the other character walks into the house. There is then a cut to the pair watching the film.

2) Over the shoulder shot of the two watching the film and then hear a bang in the kitchen.

3) Point of view shot of the main character walking into kitchen, looking around for a bit and then returning back to watch the film.

4) Over the shoulder shot of the two speaking to each other and then a cut to the other character leaving the main characters house.

5) A point of view then accompanies the next scene showing the main character walking up to the bathroom. We may also choose to use stedicam from behind the main character during this scene.

6) We are then shown the main character brushing their teeth and this is can be shown through an over the shoulder shot, where the evil character is first seen by the audience through the reflection in the mirror. (This shot may be quite close up)

7)The film then cuts to a scene in which the character is lying on his bed and then the motion of him rising up. This may be shown through a medium shot from the edge of the bed.

8) We are then expecting to do a point of view shot of the evil characters eyes in the door frame and which will be slightly out of focus which will lead to the character putting glasses on.

9)We then have a point of view of the character walking through the passage way and looking up and down. This will all be filmed using stedicam.

10) We then have a medium shot of the character getting into bed and lying down. This shot may tilt so that we see more of the characters body.

11) Then we have a close up of the characters face when he hears the creek/thump noise. This shows emotions such as fear and shock.

12) We then have a point of view shot of the character looking under the bed and then the hand seems to grab the camera (assuming the camera is his face) This then fades to a black screen.

Synopsis of our complete film 3.3.1/2

Our film is based upon a thriller/horror genre in which mysterious happenings take place. Most of the film is set in a house of some sort, whether it be haunted or not. However at the beginning we begin with a shot from outside the house. There are two main characters in this production, with another character being the evil mysterious character.

Synopsis

The main protagonist in our film is watching a horror film, when he hears a crash in the garden. The character goes to check on what had made the noise but however, finds out that he is just being paranoid. He goes back into the living room to finish off watching the film. When the film is finished, the character is shown getting ready to go to sleep.

The character brushes his teeth and when he bends to wash out his mouth, a disfigured face is shown in the window with a hoodie on. Unaware of this other character, he leaves the bathroom. The character is shown lying down. He realises that there is a light on in the passage way which he distinctly remembers turning off. Whilst wondering how the light was turned on, a pair of eyes are seen between the door frame which quickly move out of focus. After applying his glasses, he walks over to the door and into the passage way to turn off the light, whilst a shadow moves into his room, and then he begins to walk back to his bedroom. The character then lies on his bed, where he hears a creek/thump beneath. He then bends over the side of the bed to see what is beneath it and a large hand grabs the face of the character.

Another ending is of the main protagonist learching forward to turn off the light, and the audience see a point of view shot from the killers eyes where the killer is outside the window. Then the light turns off and the killer enters the house and the audience here footsteps and creaking from the door, upon which the film then cuts off with the title appearing across the screen.

Audience 3.2.4 :Van Helsing

The target audience for Van Helsing is people above the age of 13 in the UK, probably down to the use of fantasy violence and frightening scenes. However in many other countries, the films classification is higher at 15 due to the violence and strict laws that are in place. I would also predict for this film that the main target audience would be males because of the violence and frightening scenes that appear in the film. However at the beginning of the film, the historic opening would suggest to me that a much maturer audience would be needed to watch the film due to the historic views put on show.
Three ways in which the opening scene addresses the audience are that the film uses a lot of sound and visual effects to grab the audiences attention. Even though some of these sound/visual effects can appear to be rather fake, i believe that the audience would enjoy the film. Another example would be that the use of a historic opening to entice the viewer which would grab the attention of the older audience maybe in the age range of 16-19 year old. My final example would be that the actual music connotes drama, action and fear between the audience and this would attract even more attention.The music is very heavy and loud, which would suggest that the music is trying to scare the audience with the images on screen and the actual music itself. The use of sound effects such as the lighting is very eye pleasing as well and would address the target audience.

Studio and Marketing 3.2.3 Van Helsing

Production
The budget for Van Helsing was estimated at $170,000,000. The studio that produced Van Helsing was Universal, who are famous for their big blockbuster movies such as The Mummy. The actual copyright holders are Universal Pictures. The director of the film was Stephen Sommers, who also wrote the movie and produced it as well. The other producer was Bob Ducsay. The filmed starred Hugh Jackman as Van Helsing, Richard Roxburgh as Count Dracula and Kate Beckinsale as Anna Valerious. This shows that the film starred many famous actors who have appeared in a variety of different films such as X-Men. Van Helsing was filmed mostly in Universal Studios and California, which reflects the big budget that the film was worth. It was also filmed in Italy and the Czech Republic. This film was a big seller in 2004 and this could mostly have been down to the amount of famous actors or the actual theme of the film being horror/thriller. It has won two awards and has been up for thirteen nominations.
Marketing
Van Helsing has been distributed and consumed in a variety of different countries and locations. This means that the film producers have seen large amounts of profit and gross come their way. The countries that Van Helsing has been distributed include France, Philippines, Malaysia, Italy, Iceland, Canada, Sweden, Argentina, Portugal, Singapore, Netherlands, UK, USA, Brazil Chile, Switzerland and South Korea. This shows that the film was well received and that it was well known to the audience. It was advertised on billboards, poster and on television worldwide. The film was released simultaneously in conventional cinemas and in IMAX. The film also has its own website address and was being feature trailered months before it came out in the cinemas. This prepared the audience for what the film was to be about and also excited them with anticipation!

Summary
In summary of the film i believe that Van Helsings' target market would be people above the age of 13 because of the fantasy violence and the frightening images. The films actual classification is PG and this is who the film has been aimed at. I believe the film is aimed at people whom like violence and those that are interested in super natural creatures such as vampires and werewolves. One of the biggest stars in the film is Hugh Jackman who has starred in other films such as X-Men and Deception. These kind of Hollywood stars have been used to attract the audience whom well know these actors. People under the age of 13 would probably find the film scary and this is why they would be exempt from watching the film. The amount of money processed into the film has been extraordinary and i believe that the target audience have been reached. These very specific details impact on the audience in the film through various ways and excite the viewer of such a film.

Deconstruction of the shot sequence-3.2.2 Van Helsing

Shot types and Framing
The film begins with the logo of Universal bursting into flames, which is a production of CGI. This leads to the audience being shown a historic viewing of what happened in the past in Transylvania. This begins with a close up on the leader of the huge groups face which shows emotion of anger. There is specific use of stedicam in this shot and there is used of a crane where it shows the view of hundreds of people walking towards the large gate. Various cuts follow this extract where we are taken through to when the people try to break into the large gate. These cuts are put together really well and go along with the music very well. There is then an image of a piece of text where it shows the word Transylvania, in a small font that seems to be in a olden style font. The camera is then seen tilting upwards where it begins to rise higher and higher. This seems to be done using a computer because the building does not seem real, neither does the actual lightning. We are then shown an extreme close up of Frankensteins eyes, which show emotion of distress. This is shown to the right. Stedicam seems to be used quite extensively in the shots and the camera seems to be held at an angle, which improves the fact that the viewer i shown more of what the character is looking at. The film also uses various establishing shots to tell the audience where the characters are. The framing of the picture to the right is very central which means that the audience are shown what the character is feeling. Many long shots are used in the opening sequence which creates an aspect of loneliness and how far away some aspects are. The shots that follow this scene are of Dracula first appearing and scaring the character on screen. There are scenes where Dracula is shown one place, and then instantly another place, which is a good camera trick, which surprises the audience viewing the film. There are various exchanges of dialogue in this scene and the characters seem to become more agitated. An example of a super natural aspect of the film would be when Dracula is about to devour the man who created Frankenstein. There is a computer generated image on Dracula's face of a beast and then the camera is shown a shadow image of when the character is being killed. This is shown to the right. This image is rather scary and is used to retain the audiences attention. This Dracula character seems to be of significant importance to the film and so does the use of black and white images, to create the effect of a historic period film. The shots that follow these scenes are that of Frankenstein escaping from the building and being given chase by a mass of people and also by Dracula himself whom has transformed in to a beast. Frankenstein is then chased by the crowd of people to a windmill which is shown through and establishing shot. Frankenstein is then shown close up running up the stairs to the top of the windmill. This provokes the crowd to throw their torches onto the windmill which begins to blaze. All of these scenes are still in the black and white and there is still very dramatic music. We are then shown a close up of Dracula, who shows little if not any emotion towards the audience. Another sample of text appears on the screen this time showing 'on year later', which suggest that we were just watching past events. We are walking though a tunnel with Van Helsing, with an over the shoulder shot and are greeted by Mr Hyde, who makes the audience jump due to him just popping out of nowhere. This is shown to the right. This over the shoulder shot gives the audience a better view of what is happening. The two characters seem to be the main view points in this frame. Overall the camera movements are very neat and flow together very well with each other.

Mise en scene
The items used in this film are of period, historic times and are very hard to actually see. This is probably dues to the fact that most of the film is in black and white and there seems to be little light in any of the areas of the film. Dracula's clothes seem to be very gothic and old, although being pristine at the same time. Where Frankensteins creators clothes seem to be very rugged and torn, maybe to suggest that he may be a slave to Dracula. However in closer detail the audience are able to see a V necked shirt which is quite strange for this historic period. There is no colour in the beginning of the film which means that the film retains some of the surprising elements in it. The use of torches that are used as natural light is very historic and exactly how the audience would probably picture it. The building itself seems very crooked when seen through the camera and the inside is very old with spider webs and dust everywhere. The use of natural elements such as wood and fire seem to be realistic and are eye catching to the audience. The most important aspect of mise en scene would have to be Van Helsing himself. Dressed in dark clothes and armed with blade sharp weapons, he is the main character in this film of super natural happ-enings. He uses his own hat to conceal his face and uses a scarf to also conceal his mouth. This is shown in the part where he is looking for Mr Hyde. There is no emotion on his face, even when Mr Hyde comes out from nowhere and tries to scare him. This is shown in the picture to the right. The film is set in very dark locations and in locations that do not seem to be real. The leather jacket of Van Helsing symbolises him of being rather in disguise a maybe trying to conceal his identity from the evil that he has to face.

Lighting The lighting in Van Helsing is very mysterious and very dark which coincides with the black and white scenes in the film. There is very little use of natural light and most of the scenes seem to have lighting in which that all of it is either done by computer or by actually using fire. The reason for probably doing these scene in the night is because of the fact that the film is a horror film and that this is used to thrill the audience. The use of flashing lights in the film is very dramatic and this creates and aspect of excitement towards the audience. I believe that the flashing lights are used to symbolise lightning. Whereas the black and white scenes are concerned, they bring a more historic feel towards the film and give off emotions such as loneliness, distress and anger. Backlights are used in the film to expand the shadows of the characters which creates a more intense theme of horror and enlarges the more powerful characters. The special effects add to the lighting in the film. When lighting does finally resume into the film we are only greeted by a small portion of colour which is mainly pearl white and a tinge of blue. This suggests that the producers were still trying to retain the aspect of identity and to also give such characters such as Mr Hyde a better figure.

Sound The sound in Van Helsing is very dramatic and vocal along with the fact that it could have been produced by an orchestra. The use of bass and high pitched voices, it creates an unnerving feel towards the audience. Dracula has an accent that reflects where he is actually from whilst Van Helsing has an almost British/American accent. The fight between Van Helsing and Mr Hyde is a very high production fight with a lot of very fast moving scenes. These scenes are accompanied by music that is very dramatic along with having an aspect of action to them. The music and sounds seem to quicken as more actions take place which draws the audience to the film. The use of diegetic and non diegetic sound in the film is well represented with some scenes using normal character speech whilst others use sound effects such as thunder and sparks. An example of the fast tempo music would be when Frankenstein is being chased by the crowd of people. This scene is very dramatic because there is good use of fast tempo music which excites the audience. Frankensteins footsteps seem to be very heavy and are extremely loud. This suggests that he is a character of power and that he is strong. The footsteps were probably done using sound effects because there is a bass that accompanies them.

Editing
The use of editing in Van Helsing is very controlled and recognizable because the audience are able to see that the scenes are very professionally put together. The many main examples of editing in Van Helsing would be when Dracula's face is distorted and the audience are able to see a beast with rather large teeth. This has mostly been done using CGI and is very neatly put together. There are other examples of shot reverse shot when characters are in conversation and examples of continuity editing. There are various cuts between the scenes and various editing techniques used. The editing used on Mr Hyde looks very realistic and in some scenes look just like how it would in real life. Editing has been used in many areas of Van Helsing and this has contributed to how the film looks and how the film has been assembled.

Deconstruction Of The Titles-3.2 Van Helsing

Relationship to sound
Van Helsing begins with very dark/dramatic music that entices the audience. The instruments seem to be violins that are playing in a very high note to give the expectation to the audience of a really historic olden style film. This attracts the audience because the music is very realistic and it plays along with the images on screen very well. The audience may also be drawn to the music/sound because the film seems to start out as a very old and historic film, and this relates to much older films such as Frankenstein that were produced much much earlier than this film. This beginning does contrast with the actual date the film was made because the films starts off black and white with very deep music that may scare/thrill the viewers. The film was actually produced in 2004, and seems to relate in a way with V for Vendetta, in that it begins with looking back in time in a historic period in Transylvania. The use of the opening music connotes extreme excitement where the audience are straight away pulled into the film. With relationship to sound the film also draws the user with the use of actual peoples voices screaming, and with the actual orchestral music playing below their screaming voices. The music at the beginning of the film begins by getting more powerful even before an image is seen on the scree. This may shock the audience but also make them drawn to the film more. When the image on the screen of the 'Universal' logo appears and then disappears in a ball of flames, there is a diegetically intended swoosh which accompanies the image on screen. This is a good use of CGI and draws the audience more into the film.

The music that covers the beginning of the film takes time to build as the tension increases, which creates a more focused understanding of the film. With relationships to the images on the screen, the sound compliments the film well and challenges the viewer to understand more of what the film is to be about. Overall with relationship to sound the film's music by nature, is often dark and forbidding, with a strong under current of emotion which is why it has a strong target audience. The music that covers the beginning of the film takes time to build as the tension increases, which creates a more focused understanding of the film. With relation to the images on the screen, the sound compliments the film well and challenges the viewer to understand more of what the film is to be about. Overall with relationship to sound the film's music by nature, is often dark and forbidding, with a strong under current of emotion which is why it has a strong target audience. There is also use of sound such as the thunder that is heard in the sky and the sparks heard in the building. The music that follows also connotes action in the text.

Symbolism
The symbolism in Van Helsing is very unnatural and superstitious with the use of historic items and furniture. This gives the effect of a very old film and is complemented by the use of the black and white beginning. There are various symbols of horror that include Frankenstein and a flashing image on the face of a vampire, that is used to scare the audience. The symbols of weather in the film are very dramatic in the film as well because they are of thunder and lighting which continuously flashes across the screen which connotes action and horror. This relates to very period films where they were similar to Van Helsing in that they are sophisticated and used to dramatize the audience. The use of torches and huge wooden items in the film are also symbols of the historic period of the film and give the film a much more in depth view towards the audience. The use of vampires also trigger excitements towards the audience in the opening scene of this film. The symbolism in the film is used to create action and horror and used to show historic events that are unnatural.

Technical Construction
Technical constructions is used often in many parts of the film from the characters to the weather and items that are in the buildings. CGI is used in the film to impress the audience and to enhance the visual effects in the film. These visual effects are very eye pleasing and grab the audiences attention. It also shows the directors use of attention to detail where the film is in black and white to begin with. Other forms of technical construction are the use of lighting where sparks are shown to fly out of the machines and the use of sound where the music and sound seem to be both unnatural, matching the images on screen. There is continuous music play throughout the opening title and this reflects the actions on the screen. The actual images on screen have to be of put together through a storyboard due to the immense amount of action that takes place in the film. Overall the technical construction in the film is well thought out and well put together, which is why the film grabs the audinces attention straight away.

Audience 3.2.4 :V for Vendetta

The target audience for V for Vendetta is people above the age of 15, in the UK. However in many other countries the actual classification is very much higher at 18 in some countries. I would predict that the target audience would mainly be male orientated people who would enjoy the film more due to the fact that the film consists of a lot of violence and crime.
Three ways in which the opening sequence addresses the audience are that the film uses CGI to attract and pull the audience to watching the film, which is a very eye pleasing construction. Another way in which the film addresses the audience would be the voiceover at the beginning of the film which gives an incite into the historic view of Guy Fawkes. Finally the last example would be the actual music which connotes action, which intern creates excitement to grab the target audiences attention. These three ways address the audience because they challenge the audience to think about the actual meaning of the film and creates emotion towards the audiences such as distress and excitement.

Deconstruction of the shot sequence-3.2.2 V for Vendetta

Shot types and Framing

In the opening sequence in V For Vendetta, the first shot we get of a character is that of Guy Fawkes. The first shot is of Guy Fawkes opening a door, which is viewed from a long shot. He is wandering through under Parliament and there is a rather close, close-up of his face, which shows no emotion on his face. The shot then is followed by a long shot through the tunnel that he is walking through. Various cuts are used in the scenes that follow and they are quite close-up. The use of these close ups create a theme of action and are rather intense. This leads to the target audience being drawn into the film, through the use of extensive camera shots. There are also various uses of focus pulls in the film which create a more realistic view towards the audience. Stedicam seems to be used quite extensively in many of the shots in this film as well.

One example of a close up on Guy Fawkes is the picture below:

These close-ups are extensively used in the film all over and are very well situated in the frame. The framing in this example is quite steady, however many other camera shots are quite shaky; probably to give the film an extra edge, over its rivals, or give the impression of more action. In this picture Guy Fawkes is the main focus pull.

The shot that follows the rest of this sequence is of Guy Fawkes being taken up to where he is about to be hung. There is a wide shot of the crowd, and a focus pull on one woman in the crowd. This draws the viewers attention to the woman and shows a small importance of her in the crowd. The camera is now quite steady and shows emotion on many of the characters faces. There is a long shot of Guy Fawkes about to be hung and he is in the centre of the picture. These emotions include joy and sadness.

There is then an extreme close-up of the woman's eyes that show emotions such as, distress and sympathy. The tears in her eyes are the main focus pull in this frame and the extreme close up makes the audience feel sympathy towards Guy Fawkes, who is being hanged. This shot seems to being of significant importance to the Guy Fawkes plot and attracts the audiences attention to think about who she may be.

After the hanging, the camera is lowered, seemingly into the ground, where the actual title of the film is portrayed in red letters with a V in flames. There is a fade between the actual title and the V in flames. The scenes that follows is of the characters V and Eve, who are connected through quick camera exchanges, predominantly parallel editing. There is a very unusual camera shot when V is putting on the mask, where the audience actually seem to be looking through V's eyes. This relates to the fact that V is trying to hide his identity from the audience and gives the audience a thought of loneliness. It is also used to conceal his identity in the shot, from the audience. The shots that follow are of V and Eve doing similar actions, such as preparing to go outside. Eve herself is putting on make-up whilst V is putting on his cloak and mask. They are both watching the same program on the television and seem to switch off the television at the same time as each other. They then leave their apartments at the same time as each other. Eve is then confronted by two or three men whom are about to viciously attack her. V is then seen and the camera quickly revokes back to a more stutter position and this evokes action. The camera is positioned to show the fighting skill of V and shows the emotion on Eve's face, which is of excitement and bemusement. V is then the point of attention a nd is even though his mask is concealing his face, the audience are aware of his emotion whilst talking to Eve, who is in a state of disbelief. There is a slow close up shot to V's face in this scene.

Mise en scene

The items used in this film are of traditional classic Britain, where there are clothes that of a rare bygone era. Guy Fawkes clothes in this film are very dirty and bland, and this gives the audience of what it may have been like in that kind of era. The actual use of the hanging pole is of very late Victorian times and is also very intimidating.The use of the flame torches represent the very original aspects of the film. In V's lair the colour scheme is mainly red velvet, where the sofa rug and paintings

are draped in the velvet. This velvet is particularly interesting because it seems to give off a shine that is not of this world, and entices the audience to the more glamorous aspects of V's life. V is known for his painting and items, and Eve knows the importance to him of his belongings. Compared to Eve's apartment. V's apartment seems much more grand whilst Eve's is more subtle and minimalist. The most important aspect of mise en scene would have to be V's actual mask. This is the main importance of the film and is used to conceal his identity which creates and air of mystery towards the audience. The fact that the mask is very intimidating, this also attracts attention and actually alarms Evey in the film. The mask is very strong: probably made out of steel and the mask has a continuous smile on it which could be showing emotion su ch as anarchy. The film is set in very dark locations such as alleyways and quite small confined areas.
Lighting
The lighting in V for Vendetta is very shallow and dark, which is probably because most of the scenes are in the night.The use of fog and special effects add to the lighting in the film and give the audience a feel of how life used to be in the classical era. In the scene showing Guy Fawkes, there's is a lot of unnatural light which represents the classic era and there are flames used as lighting sources and torches. When Guy Fawkes is being hung, the whole crowd seem to be embraced in an almost unnatural orange tinge which can only be used though special effects. In many areas of the film there are substantial uses of unnatural lights such as the scene of V in his lair. There also seems to be natural light from the moon where V and Evey first meet. There is low key/natural light in the sword fighting scene and there seems to be fill light and back light used in the scene where the news presenter is talking to show the importance of his character. There seems to be less natural lighting in the hanging scene and the lights seems more yellow than in the other scenes. This could have been done using a filtering gel.
Sound
The sound in V for Vendetta is very dramatic and has an extreme amount of base which is used to create action and fear towards the audience. The orchestral music used in the film seems to be in some parts quite smoothing but in other parts quite vigorous. There are very dramatic scenes in which Guy Fawkes is being hung where there is fast tempo music. Another example of the fast tempo music would be when V is talking to Evey, and seems to be getting agitated with himself. This scene is very dramatic because as the camera gets closer to V's face the music begins to dramatically rise and crescendo's into V using his knifes to make the V sign on the poster. His use of 55 v words in his speech is very outstanding and this does confuse the target audience but also at the same time attracts their attention and makes them realise how supposedly crazy V is. The use of diegetic and non-diegetic sound in the film is well represented with some scenes using normal character speech whilst there is others that use a narrators voice. This narrators voice is substantial to the film because it gives the viewer a more in depth historic view of the film and attracts the audiences attention. V's speech is a very good use of diegetic sound and is very literate. An example of non diegetic sound would be the fire swoosh that is shown at the beginning of the film. In some scenes the audience may be shocked by the use of the dramatic music.
Editing
The use of editing in V for Vendetta is very realistic and is extensively used. The main example of editing in the film would be where V and Evey are being shown similarly doing the same actions and there is extensive use of parallel editing. This creates an almost instinctive link between V and Evey, and also amazes the audience. The link in this scene is of extreme importance to the film because it leads to the two actually meeting each other. There may be differences between the two but these differences are not very apparent.There are various cuts used in the film and various editing techniques such as continuity editing and shot reverse shot. These examples are used throughout the film and visual effects are also used in many areas in the film. An example of visual effects would be the scene where V is talking to Evey and is enraged which leads to him slashing his knife of the wall, which in turn creates flashes of sparks, which are very eye pleasing.

Deconstruction Of The Titles-3.2 V for Vendetta

Relationship to sound.

V for Vendetta begins by drawing the viewers attention into the film by using dramatic music, based around the horror/thriller types of music. With relationship to sound, the film begins by using a voiceover that is of Natalie Portman explaining the history of Guy Fawkes and the gunpowder plot, in the Houses of Parliament, in the form of a recap. This is an important part of the extract because the target audience are drawn into the film and are also informed of the history behind the film. The use of the opening music connotes action which in turn creates excitement, to grab the target audience. The historic beginning of the film is particularly interesting because it develops the users understanding of the meaning of the film and is very literate, which is in reference to V speaking in alliteration. The diegetically intended 'swoosh', which is seen after the voiceover has finished, accompanies the flames that are seen on the screen. This is a good use of CGI which also draws the target audience attention to the film. The music that covers the beginning of the film takes time to build as the tension increases, which creates a more focused understanding of the film. With relationships to the images on the screen, the sound compliments the film well and challenges the viewer to understand more of what the film is to be about. Overall with relationship to sound the film's music by nature, is often dark and forbidding, with a strong under current of emotion which is why it has a strong target audience.

Symbolism

The use of symbolism in the film is well placed in many areas, but can be interpreted well with the film's target audience. The major symbol in the film is obviously the V For Vendetta logo which symbolises anger and corruption in the form of the way it has been written. The font used for the V seems to be very bold along with only the actual V letters being in capital letters. This is used because it is trying to draw the viewers attention to the importance of the letter V. The most obvious message stands behind the symbol of the V. During V's first appearance on camera, he gives a V-packed monologue that basically describes his purpose and mission throughout the film - a plan to take down the totalitarian government that has destroyed his country and a personal vendetta against those who imprisoned and disfigured him. The V is constantly brought about in obvious and subtle ways to continually remind the viewer of the mission and justify V's murderous and terrorist tactics as an acceptable means of carrying out his work. Another way in which symbolism is shown in the title is the V in flames, in a circle of fire. This then fades into red words of the title of the film. In my opinion the flames in a circle symbolise a link to the gunpowder plot and a link towards the image of a phoenix. in the form of the way the V is shaped around the flames. V could be seen as the second reincarnation of the gunpowder plot because of his views on Guy Fawkes. The red letters that are seen at the title of the film are emphasizing danger and anger.

Technical Construction

The technical construction at the beginning of the film is mainly in CGI, for example where the flames of the title sequence seem to be in the form of a computer generated image. This computer generated image shows that the film is of a higher budget, because of the already extensive use of expensive CGI. Other forms of technical construction in the text seem to be that the film's title sequence was firstly done by story boarding the titles and text fonts. The fonts seem to be of computer made and the flames are in a CGI. The font, which is in a very dark red colour, is in CGI, probably to attract the audience and to make the font seem much more professional. Overall the CGI used in the film is very neat and is a useful tool when making film titles.

Research and Planning 3.1 Preliminary Task 2009

We began by assigning each other with different roles to play in our opening sequence, which was all about the theme horror. Mohammed was given the task of acting , along with Idris and i was given the role of cameraman. We did not have an overall director because we all had input into what shots/scenes we wanted to use and make. We began by find a specific room which had to consist of being dark and mysterious along with there being a small space to work in, which would emphasize the theme of horror. We had chosen the film Saw II, which Mohammed and Jodie would be watching during the filming exercise because of its use of horror and explicit scenes of torture.

When we began filming we started with an over the shoulder shot of Idris walking into the room and going through the door to where Mohammed was sitting. We used this shot to show that maybe someone was watching Idris and he was being followed into the room that he was going into. We then chose the shot of Idris twisting the door handle and switched the camera view so that we were in the room that Mohammed was watching the film in. This created an air of scariness and suspense which we tried to show on Mohammed's face but failed to. When Idris had opened the door it created a more surprising scenario which we intended from the start. The shot that followed was that of an over the shoulder shot from Mohammed's view speaking to Idris, whilst watching the film at the same time. This shot was extremely hard to get right because of two factors. The first factor was that light from the window behind the two actors was slightly visible on the shoulder of Mohammed but we managed to defeat this problem by sellotaping the blinds to the window frames. The second factor was that of both of the actors in which they could not stop laughing and found it hard to say their lines properly.

The next shot was that of a 'double' over the shoulder shot from which both of them were watching the film. This was then followed by Idris leaving the room in which we made use of a mid shot. The camera view then changed to Idris leaving the room and walking towards the door. However there was a slight problem in which the camera was visible in the window of the room that had just being exited. This problem was overcome by me standing further back, which created another problem in which Mohammed's bag was visible in the shot. This error could not be deleted because we only saw the error whilst watching the whole playback again.

In the filming process we learnt that emotion could be shown very well on the camera and that that the camera picked up event the smallest error which we as a group could not see. The use of many varieties of different shots in the exercise were also beneficial because we learnt that we could not only stick to the same conventional types of shots throughout the exercise because this would create a aura of boredom towards our audience. We also learnt that listening to each others views and thoughts would benefit our final product because of the input from all of us. We also learnt that using many different mise on scene variables, this would improve the different shots in the filming process. However some parts of the task were difficult because we did not make a properly done storyboard and only had a vague idea, so we had to variate some of the scenes and shots we had in mind. The technology used during our filming was the camera, a computer and the Saw DVD, which was viewed on the computer because finding a television with a DVD player was relatively hard.

Overall the exercise did benefit us because we were able to work independently as a group which meant that we had say in everything that we would produce.