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