Evaluation

Evaluation of Opening Sequence
The genre of my finished opening sequence is a slasher horror film. It fulfills many of the conventions of the slasher horror genre. It does this by using iconography such as props like knifes and scissors. These sharp objects are used to show the ‘sharpness’ of the killer. It also shows that it will be an aggressive killing as stabbing someone takes a lot of force and is a very personal act, as you have to make contact with your victim. Other clips of the opening sequence also show death and fear by scribbling the photographs of victims’ faces with red pen. I worked with a really nice group we were there in a group and we all talked what genre we should do and which one was the best one. Once we new what we were doing then we all decided what roles were appropriate for us. We all tried different roles such as lighting, editing, filming and Ashley did the acting as the villain.

We used red on photographs to show were the killer was aiming and where he was interested. Red was on the decorations also the title was in red., to show the film was going to contain blood and show there’s going to be violence.
The colour red has been used to signify danger and aggression. This is because when people are angry their faces go red, it also has connotations of blood and pain. The camera provides close up shots of the scribble, this is done by pressing on hard with the pen which also shows the killer is angry and aggressive.

The killer is concentrating on their faces to show he has specifically chosen that person to kill. This also shows he has mental health problems, as he is selecting people from their photographs to kill. The faces of the victims are shown to make them more human. The photos look like they could belong to anyone (the viewers could have similar photos of their friends and family). This puts the audience in the victim’s shoes. The victims could be someone who you know or a member of your family. The photographs and shots of ‘Santa’ are there to introduce the main characters and to identify the roles they play: the victim, the killer, and the friends.

I did not use any speech because I wanted to use non-diegetic sound instead to give more intensity of the horror genre. It shows more fear in the character and as you are watching it as audiences it will make you want to feel you want to know what will happen next.

I used all these conventions of the horror genre to show to the audience that they should expect to see a horror film. My film is very different because it is set at Christmas and Santa has been created as a bad person when he is usually represented as incredibly good. This makes the film alternative and gives it an interesting twist. It’s vital to show the audience something different as they have expectations from a horror genre but need something to capture their attention to ensure they stay and view the film. The media represents the product to younger generation such as young adults and teenagers. Teenagers obviously like horror films so my opening sequence is appealing for this age group. They have disposable income and they are the specific age group that go to the cinema and spend their money.

Victims- the pictures show what age groups the victims are. Also you can tell that they are young because of what clothes they are wearing. (College and uniform)
Santa clause- we kept the characters different because we wanted to show a different side to Santa. Also the audience always sees Santa as a good person at Christmas and who is loving and caring. We have changed all the positive things about him into a negative side to him which the audiences have not seen. Such as the slow motion and the way he has held the scissors in his hand to show what he is planning form his victims. We made it realistic by putting vulnerable teenagers into it to show it could happen to anyone in reality. We also made it realistic because we used everyday props such as cloths, photos, knife, tables etc.
By researching different genres it helped us as a group to know what kind of opening sequence we wanted to do. Watching different clips of horror clips on you - tube we then could think of how our ideas can put a different horror sequence. We tried our best to produce a realistic and different horror opening sequence to show a different aspect to the audience, that is why we choose to do Santa claws in a negative role. We used common conventions of the horror genre whilst adding our own ideas and concepts to give the opening sequence an appeal. Audiences would be drawn to the opening clip because it fulfilled conventions but had something new to offer. Our research really helped us in filming the whole opening sequence. I think we could have shot a few more scenes in the dark, but the rest of it was fine. We worked very hard putting all the clips together and it looks really successful as a horror film.

When I did my preliminary task I was new to the equipment and putting it all together. It made me relise how much work is put into making a film. I also learnt about working on my confidence to work independently on the equipment. I think I have progressed a lot on my weaknesses and turned them into my strengths when filming, editing and evaluating. I also learnt how to edit in my preliminary task and used that skill in my opening sequence. Once I knew how to edit and do the special effects, we all worked together to put the whole thing together. Once we knew what our individual jobs were it was easier then.
It creates a sense of fear once you watch it. A male character is more dominant than any of the other characters, he is using his characters qualities to the best of his ability this is shown in his performance. It also shows he is in control and shows his victims vulnerable and powerless. it shows in the picture how it creates the female character as a weak and helpless and don’t know what will hit them.

Our audience feedback was really positive and pleasing to hear our hard work was successful. We have learnt what young audience wants to see and what they are looking for and what they will enjoy to see.

Overall this project was hard to put together but we worked as a team and we produced our highest potential and our ideas and made our opening sequence.

Shamayla Hussain

Ashley Hartley Santa Claws Evaluation

The project I made was called Santa Claws; I worked with Amy and Shamyla. The contributions that I made to the movie were that I acted as the killer Santa/slasher and also when Amy was not here I also edited the sequence. The genre of my film is a horror; I have shown this by using different conventions such as low key lighting to create a sense of evil and mystery, I also used the use of shadows as well as short cuts to show the victims and targets also adding the music which is slow and suits the genre of the movie sequence. It was vital that I used the typical elements because it creates the mood and sense of the sequence. I think it is vital to do something new with the genre because it will add to the mood of the sequence. I think that my innovations were likely to prove successful because the feed back that I was given was very positive. My choices that I had made within my sequence worked for my audience because for example someone said “The Santa is a killer, it was clear by the focus on him and how he was dressed like Santa with a knife and scissors and the Christmas tree had fallen over with the knife in it”.

I think my sequence fulfils the requirements of an opening sequence because it contains the information that the viewers need to know such as the director, who the actors are and also the title of the film, I also think that it fulfils the requirements of the genre that I have assigned it to because it creates enigmas as well as not showing to much of the storyline to the viewers.

I have represented criminals within my sequence, I did this by using different things such as the clothing I wore and the lighting I used. I used a typical Santa suit and then added dirt to it to make it look like it has been worn and used before. The appearance of the main character was that he looked liked a traditional Santa Claus but kept his face in the shadows to create a sense of mystery and to create enigmas for the audience, the dark shadows shows that the criminal has a dark side to him, there is no sound, apart from the music, within my sequence because I wanted to create the idea that the killer is alone. I think that I have mixed the typical stereotypes of criminals, in this case murders, with the obsession of getting their targets and mixed it with the dressing up within the costume.

Certain film companies may want to back my product such as Lions Gate because they have made similar products before such as the Saw series and also their newest one My Bloody Valentine which both have a reputation for being horror movies. I also think that my product will be backed because it is similar to the products that Lions Gate makes in the way that it is made for example the other Lions Gate films create enigmas within their opening sequences as well as giving the information that the viewer needs to know.

The age groups that I am targeting are adults in the range of 18-25 year olds; I am targeting this age range as this is the primal age group that watches these kinds of horror movies as these movies gives the thrill seekers a rush of adrenaline in the suspense of the movie. The audience that I have chosen is a potentially large audience and some of them keep seeing horror movies because that is what they like. They are the right age group to choose because they have a large potential of seeing horror movies as they have always been more popular within the younger generations.

The images are in chronological order first we see the pictures of the victims it then goes onto the future victim which it seems like he has been following her for some time as there are many photos of the young woman; it goes through who the murderer has killed and who has been targeted. I have inserted many enigmas into my movie sequence for example the use of the killer with his back to the audience creates some enigmas such as ‘who could the killer be?’ and also ‘Why is he doing it?’ these main enigma is carried on throughout the sequence, this makes the audience wonder who the killer could be and therefore makes them watch further into the film until the question is answered. I created binary opposites by using a typical criminal in which he is not well known and hides his face to stop being found out and crossed it with Santa Claus; this makes everyone think of Santa as a kind gentle person which is the complete opposite to the criminal. I have built up tension and suspense by showing the criminal putting on his Santa costume one piece at a time this shows that he is getting ready to go out, the use of music also helped in creating tension.

I have learnt that using the internet is a good source from getting numerous amounts of information to further develop my ideas for the film, the blog that we used also helped to keep everything in order so when I came in to lesson I knew where I was up to and what needed to be done. The software that I used allowed me to do many things such as extract the audio within my clips and also allowed me to put different transitions within my clips Although I did find some limitations through the software that I used to edit the clips for example the titles that I had to choose from were limited. Some of the clips that I shot needed to be done because some of them where not close to the actor and reveled more then we wanted the audience to see

Looking back at my preliminary task I feel that I have learnt a lot, for example where the transitions go in-between clips and what effect each one has towards the audience, the use of different shots such as close-ups and long shots have a dramatic effect on the scene and also the music that you choose is crucial to the success of setting the mood for the whole scene. I now know when to cut the clips so that it shows the right things and has an effect within the scene I also know that the different lighting that I use has an impact on how the audience view the character and the different meanings of using full lighting or shadows for example when the light goes out at the end it could symbolize many things for example; the killer has killed someone or he is going out of the room to his next victim.

In conclusion I think that my product has everything in it that it needs to be a successful horror film. I think that there are many good points to my product some include; the sequence creates enigmas such as who is the killer? And the use of the music adds to the mysterious side of the product. Although there are just one or two weaknesses within my final product which include when Santa Claus is putting his jacket on you can see the shirt that he has on underneath. But apart from them few errors I feel that the project went smoothly and was a good movie.

by Ashley Hartley

Amy's Coursework Evaluation

Evaluations: Foundation Portfolio
My project was cleverly named ‘Santa Claws’ as it was based on the popular film Halloween. However, adding a festive theme to make it more original. It follows a slasher dressing up in a Santa costume and reveals pictures of his proposed victims in his room. I chose to work with Ashley Hartley and Shamayla Hussain, who shared the same ideas as me for the opening sequence. My particular roles in the project were filming and taking part in editing. Also, I regularly posted blogs on the internet describing our progress.
An opening sequence should establish setting, genre, a main character and create enigmas. In the opening sequence, the genre of horror is shown. However, there is a sub-genre of a certain method of killing which is a 'Slasher'. This is the way the killer murderers their victims by using objects such as knives and not using their hands. Little information was shown to the audience through the clips of the opening sequence therefore creating enigmas. To establish the genre of horror, dark imagery was used to create a sinister atmosphere. Objects associated with danger were also used to enforce that the opening sequence was about a killer. Out of focus shots and extreme close ups were used to distort the amount of information given to the audience therefore making the opening sequence disturbing. Overall the genre of horror was successfully achieved. When I asked my peers a simple questionnaire they found that the opening sequence was “clear because of the props and the costumes”. Also they believed that the genre of horror was well presented through “creepy music, low key lighting, words like ‘cut’ being shown and slow pace editing”. Finally my peers revealed that it was visually interesting “yes, it keeps you watching throughout the sequence!”
In the opening sequence, the group of criminals and victims is established. The costumes used were made to look grubby and stained so that the image of Santa Claus was portrayed as disturbing. Furthermore, it would insinuate that the killer had murdered previously. The actions of the main character dressing up in the Santa suit creates the thought that they are planning to kill creating enigmas. The victims were circled in red which shows direct intention to kill the victim. The use of low key lighting made the main actor appear sinister as his facial features were thrown into shadow. The sound track was eerie and helped to show horror. People in society portray criminals to be dark and vicious. I think the opening sequence compliments the stereotype of criminals well.
The media institution that represents the Santa Claws opening sequence is Lionsgate. It is a USA media institution. Furthermore, Lionsgate has a reputation for distributing horrors such as ‘Skin Walkers’, ‘Are you scared?’, ‘Saw VI’, ‘My bloody Valentine’, and ‘Disaster Movie’ which is a Parody of Horror movies. Therefore, Lionsgate is an ideal film distributer for the opening sequence of ‘Santa Claws’.
The opening sequence would suit all ethnic groups and nationalities. Both males and females would enjoy the film as it is not biased towards a certain gender. However, the age group most suited to the film would be 16 - 25 year olds as the film would not be suitable for the age of 14+ and under. The film is an all rounder and a person does not have to have a certain interest or lifestyle to enjoy the film. This is a good target audience as horror films are quite popular at the moment in time. I think the film would attract many from this group as it is an original idea and so there are not many similar horror films around.
The use of Enigmas in the opening sequence makes it interesting and visually attractive. The audience want to reveal what happens when enigmas are used. The Mise en Scene creates a sinister atmosphere hen close ups reveal disturbing images and footage of the killer dressing up. The use of montage to show the killers victim also attracts the audience as they become drawn to the story line. The editing is fast which creates tension for the audience as they are constantly shown new things relating to the killer and victim. Dissolves have been used to show the audience the killer’s frame of mind. This helps the audience to connect to the opening sequence as they become part of the story at hand.
During the construction of this product, I used the internet to gain statistics of which film categories are popular at the moment. By using YouTube, I have been able to collect inspiration for my own opening sequence. By viewing professional attempts to produce horror films, I have been able to gain an idea to what certain conventions an opening sequence should include. Using Blogger on the internet allowed us to set our own website up for our opening sequence and record the group’s process. By using the program iMovie maker to edit the film, footage was imported onto the computer and the clips were arranged in sequence. This helped to make the opening sequence more effective. Furthermore, I have learned how to add transitions between clips to make it more visually interesting and give a professional feel to the opening sequence. During filming, certain conventions had to be followed to make sure the film looked authentic. ‘The rule of thirds’ ensured the character was further towards one side of the screen. The use of different camera zooms, made clips more effective and realistic. The use of a handheld camera, tripod and appropriate software on the computer, allowed us to achieve practically anything. During the project, we had to re-shoot certain clips as the lighting was too high key and did not establish the genre of horror.
The footage of the preliminary task seemed jerky and amateur. However, the group learned with practice how to achieve professional footage, by remembering certain rules to create a realistic film. If there is dialogue in the clips, the ‘line of action’ should not be crossed and the camera should remain on one side of the action. Furthermore, the ‘Rule of thirds’ helps to make the film look genuine. The lighting was better in the Opening sequence, as it helped to create the genre of horror. The editing was a lot smoother and more relevant in creating pace and enigmas. The whole opening sequence had a more interesting story line and included more exciting images.
In conclusion, the opening sequence worked really well. It was visually interesting and looked professional. The key strengths of the film, were how the enigmas were created through extreme close ups, and montage between the photographs and killer. Another key strength was the genre of horror and how this was achieved. By using low key lighting, appropriate music, extreme close ups, montage and connotations of a slasher killer by using knives, scissors and sharp objects the genre of horror was captured. I believe that the only weakness of the opening sequence was the lack of footage of the killer. However, we were limited to the amount of shots we took of the killer dressing up, in case we repeated some clips. The opening sequence parallels our initial idea of a Christmas slasher film.

By Amy Grogan

Our thoughts on our opening sequence!

Now we have completed filming and editing completely it is very rewarding to see our final opening sequence. We have enjoyed working on this project and have decided to share our thoughts on the process and the final film. 

I have asked Amy and Ashley their thoughts, but firstly I will share my thoughts about our project (that's me,  Shamayla). It was easy to select the genre of film as we all had the same interest in Horrors and Thrillers. We wanted to create a dark film that created tension but we also wanted to set in within a time frame. We decided on Christmas as it is something that most people associate with happy times and not bad. Therefore our film challenged the idea of Christmas as we represented it with an evil Santa, which would create discomfort with the viewer. Initially we found it hard to put all the clips together but as we started to edit clips and the film flowed, the results were very rewarding. I think the opening sequence is successful because it fulfils horror conventions. These are things such as, dark lighting, horror props in the mise on scene such as knifes and scissors. Also, the sound track creates suspense and tension through high pitched sounds and the use of camera angles like the canted and low angle create discomfort and fear for the viewer. 

I really enjoyed the whole filming process, but I particularly liked the editing as that is when the film really took shape and came together. Here are Ashley's and Amy's thoughts:-

Ashley

Ashley enjoyed the filming the most as he enjoyed acting as well as learning new techniques with the camera for example, the use of shadows can be very important to create the mood of the scene and creates a sense of confusion and enigmas of who the person is. Ashley thought that our opening sequence was a success because it meets the criteria that a horror film needs to meet.

Amy

Amy liked filming because she enjoyed filming using different camera angles and was able to have lots of fun establishing ways to create different social groups through different camera shots. She thought the opening sequence was a success because it meets the conventions of an opening sequence and the genre horror. It is also it's a bit scary!

We shall now evaluate our opening sequence.

Shamayla

Santa Claws - The Final Cut

This is our opening sequence for our film Santa Claws. It has been a lengthy process to get to this final product. We have spent lots of time planning, preparing, filming, editing and finalising our film.

We encountered a few minor problems whilst creating our opening sequence. These were mainly during the editing process, for instance, when we thought we had finished the film we had to go out and film more clips. We did this as we wanted to make our clips with Santa Claws in more scary and suggestive.

Shamayla

Completed Editing!

We have added the extra bits of our film footage to the opening sequence. We have edited it in with lots of different shots and links to clips. We have used lots of slow motion to increase the suspense and show a creepy side to the film. To show what the killer is thinking we have also used the slow motion to identify the killers victims and to show how he may kill them. We have edited in lots of Christmas objects to show the time of the scene and to reinforce how bad the killer is, as Christmas is usually a happy time. We have edited in lots of dark shots to show the dark side of the killer and kept light clips to a minimum.  

Shamayla

Additional Filming

After editing we decided that we had to do some more filming because we didn't have enough shadows in the film. We needed more shadows to make the film more scary and in keeping with the horror genre. We created more shadows by using a desk lamp against a background. We really wanted to make the opening sequence more moody to show the fear, this is why we re-filmed some parts again. 

Shamayla