In the last two days of editing, my group decided to change our idea up, this is because we didn't film everything on our shot list and we used other shots instead. One of the ideas we changed up was the filming through one of our props which was a pentagram, this was done with a focus pull, after the dog walker was filmed the camera would have zoomed out and focused on the prop. We ended up doing a pan from the dog walker to a pentagram instead. This didn't directly impact our narrative because it was already changed due to us not being able to film everything.
Our group created tension by the dog walker going from the right to left off the screen, which is going against the normal which creates an uncertainty, as the audience doesn't know what he is walking into. Suspense is created in our title sequence by the use of music behind the dog walker, which gets louder and more intense throughout the camera following him. Furthermore, our scenes are very unpredictable and our events have slow build ups so it creates tension.
The audience would want to carry on watching the film due to the natural flow of our editing, the scenes go along with the music and the build up of tension gets more dramatic the further in to the sequence. Some of our editing choices like focus pulling grabs the watchers attention more, this is due to the mysterious feeling seeing
something in the background but not being able to properly see it until the focus pull. This mystery creates an engagement which builds up until the very end of our title sequence where our dog walker screams, and then there is a cut to black with the title of our film the 'Gathering'. This makes the audience want to know what happened, and how the sets got there as well as where the dog goes.
My group made the titles using the editing software caption section, from what my group did together, before I was ill, we picked the font that we wanted. This was easy to find as we wanted a rough sketching scary font, this same font was used throughout the title sequence. The names we chose for the directors and the actors were not my groups names, this is due to our group not being able to actually include our real names in the sequence due to privacy issues. We came up with names which were mixed from various actors, and our title overall took us a while to come up with but we eventually settled on a very name which reflects our sequence. Our sound editing went very well, it took my group a while to settle on a background music sound, but it ended up fitting our sequence nicely. The sound transitions in-between shots were very rough, going from a clear speech to a muffled quiet voice, this was resolved by using constant power and sound bridges, the use of these smoothened the transition of sound in-between our shots. One of the other problems we faced was finding the right sound of the dog, all the ones we came across didn't fit the type of dog cry we wanted, but we ended up finding a fitting one on the effects folder. This arises problems of finding the best place to put it where it didn't overpower the sound too much and ruin the pace of the title sequence, on the final day of editing we misplaced the sound effect and deleted the wrong sound effect, this was quickly resolved the next day by finding the misplaced sound and putting it in the right place. In our title sequence we also used one sound effect, this was the sound of the dog screaming. Our group edited this into the sequence because of the shot we used which was of the dog walker, looking up at towards where the sound came from, then running towards it. This sound would be the dog squealing and sounding like it is in pain, which then goes into a scene of our dog walker running towards the sound.
Overall the title sequence looks very good, my group are very satisfied with the end result. With the mix of using top quality 4k black magic cameras and being able to use adobe plus, our title sequence looks professionally filmed. With our use of focus pulls and the clean transitions in our editing the sequence looks very good, with the titles over the sequence also there is always something for the audience to focus on so they don't get bored.
My group spent the whole first lesson back from the shoot on Friday, reviewing all the footage that we had filmed. Overall from what time we had filming we had a lot of material, reviewing all the shots we could tell we had more then enough shots to work with, there is always that one missing angle but we had other shots that made up for this.
There were only a handful of mistakes that I could see from our filming, this included the white balance and the lighting being off in some of the used shots. Furthermore, the sound in-between clips had a heavy and noticeable transitions which made the footage seem rough.
The first thing my group did was name all the clips, this included naming all the bad shots we did, this is due to the fact we may need them if we don't have any other clips from the same angle. After this we began cutting the clips and putting them together on the timeline of the editing software.
The early choice our group made editing was the picking of the first shot, originally started with an establishing shot of the environment and then straight into our main character walking his dog, but we decided to use a focus pull from a tree into the man walking instead. We ended up getting rid of the dog walking shot and then using it again later on in the editing, our group made sure to use the best shots of the dog and the shots with the best composition.
Our adding of the focus pull was done a lot differently than in our original concept, we kept to the bases of using an establishing shot of the trees to start with but then we quickly changed up the idea completely, due to on the day not filming all the scenes on our shot list. This included not using a shot of the dog with fake blood under its chin, furthermore, we didn't end up using the shot of a zoom on the dogs face, this is mostly because it didn't fit the pace of our title sequence.
We ended up firstly using the focus pull from the tree to the dog walker because this showed the audience that the man is being watched, and it also creates a more evil sense of feeling, it shows that something is going to go wrong, or something is going to happen to the dog walker. Additionally, we couldn't film the shot of the dog with blood on its chin because this would've been washed off or not look good due to the weather being terrible, furthermore we didn't end up having a shot before that which would give it context, so overall it would've just looked out of place and wouldn't have fitted our title sequence.
The preparations started the week before, we had everything ordered from amazon, this included spray paint a dress, string and elastic bands. The first step was to create props for our title sequence which I took the liberty of creating a pentagram from sticks, elastic bands and spray paint, this took me a good amount of time but It was worth it as it was perfect for out filming. The day before the shoot me and Tom prepared the rest of our satanic symbols needed for our title sequence, these included upside down crosses and a few other pentagrams. This made sure we were well prepared for the shoot day, we had all the materials needed for our title sequence. I at the start thought we didn't have enough props to be effective conventions to our horror, but when we were at the shoot we had more than enough. The day started out normal time, I went to breakfast early and then went straight to the media classroom where we kept all of our props, this was around 8:30 and everyone got together. After this we collected the meat from the dining room, once we had collected the pig heads we brung all of our props to the bus.
What went well in our filming is how prepared we were, we had everything we needed, even though some of our items on amazon took longer than expected, at first we didn't know what meat we were going to get for our title sequence, at first it didn't look like much but it was more than enough. We found our location very easily, and another positive is that the bus was super close to our location which meant we could move our props in and out easily. The drive was around ten minutes so we got from and to the school very easily, which gave my group a lot more time to film. Furthermore, with the bus being so close we could move the meat fast, this was vital as the weather wasn't very good, the meat was very heavy which meant we would've struggled carrying it long distances. The fake blood we used also worked very well and in addition to the spray painting of symbols on trees, our setting up of the massacre went very well. It took us around a hour to set up, while we were doing that we were also filming other shots so we used our time very effectively. The massacre set looked great, it looked like a spiritual killing which is what we were aiming for. With the mix of blood and spray paint it looked like a planned out event, as well as the tipis that were pre-made made it appear like there was bodies in each one. Finally the packing up of all of our equipment was very fast, this was great because the weather started pouring with rain as soon as we were finished.
There were a few issues with our filming also, this was majorly the weather, which was terrible all day. This could've lead to the ruining of our massacre scene, this is due to the combination of all of the blood and meat, as well as the fact that most of the meat was on the ground which could have mixed with the dirt and ruin our product. Furthermore, we had sticks in the ground with pig heads on them which meant they could have easily fallen over. We avoided these problems by making sure out filming was done as quick as possible whilst capturing all the scenes we needed, furthermore, due to the weather being shocking we had to use umbrellas the whole time to make sure the camera equipment including the tripod didn't get wet. Additionally, this gave everyone a role in our filming with some of us holding umbrellas and then rotating with filming and directing the scenes.
One of the main things my group could have done differently is filming a different day, this is due to the tight squeeze that Fridays usually are with a mix of some group members having plans and struggling to get transport home if we filmed overtime. Furthermore, I think we could have filmed for longer, the material we got was great but there is always room for improvement as well as we filmed a lot quicker than most other groups, although we covered a lot of material, having more shots of the same sequence from different angles would have been better. Additionally, I believe that we could've had more props, the massacre scene looked great, but I'm disappointed that we didn't go above and beyond, these props include meat, I believe that we could have had a lot more which would have allowed our group to space out the meat a lot better, to make the scene appear like it was just a slaughter.
On our film day I had the role of focus pulling, this is a new technique that I learned, overall I knew about the terminology that we used, we didn't use much technical language that I didn't know already. There was one thing I learned from our shoot day, which was walking from the right to the left of the screen goes against the normal, which relates to the character walking into uncertainty, as well as making the audience know that somethings going to go wrong. The terminology that was used most on the day was the directors stage directions, which included camera rolling, action and cut. The workshops really helped with the filming, my group was very confident in setting up out scenes and the camera, furthermore, we knew about what to avoid, like having bad composition, and because of the last workshop I knew that we had to make sure we used the right lighting. Moreover, we used the 180 rule and we knew what to avoid again, like filming from opposite sides of the dog walker, which would have confused the audience.
Overall my favourite part of the day was the setting up of the massacre, this was because of the fact that we could be creative to our greatest extent, I spent around an hour setting up this scene with the best part being spraying the fake blood around. The reason this was the best part is due to how it looked, and every few minutes it looked better and better. This was due to the extra details that we added, like the spray painting of symbols on trees. From the footage we shot I think we have more than enough, there are some angles that I wish we captured but overall the shots we got look great. What I have learned for my next filming project, is don't stop shooting until you have too much. Furthermore, if we had to film this sequence again I would prepare more props, and make sure we have more filming material.
The thing I am most excited about when it comes to editing is re-watching everything we filmed, it's great to be able to see the work we had prepared for months, and this is the final product. With the mix between the 4k black magic cameras and using Adobe Plus editor the sequence already looks great, even with little editing and no title sequence. There is few challenges that we face in the edit suite, most of them come from the fact that we didn't get enough of a shot or we didn't have the angles needed. Furthermore, we have come across a lighting problem, but this is easily dealt with as it is only one shot.
Saul Bass was a prominent American graphic designer of the twentieth-century, his role largely focused on creating motion picture title sequences as well as corporate logos and movie posters. In the modern movie world Saul Bass is seen as the pioneer of title sequence designing. Elaine Bass was Sauls wife, she was also an American title designer and a filmmaker. She worked alongside Saul Bass for 40 years who she ended up marrying in 1961, together the two developed many projects for directors such as Martin Scorsesse and Danny DeVito.
These two were graphic title sequence designers and they are so well known because Saul introduced a new art form with his imaginative film title sequences which had the effect of conveying the essence of the movie, which prepared audiences for what they are about to see. Furthermore, this married couple was known because of the Elaines book Saul Bass a life in film and design.
Saul Bass worked with some of the Hollywood's greatest filmmakers which include, Alfred Hitchcock, Stanley Kubrick, Otto Preminger, Billy Wilder and Martin Scorsesse, Furthermore he worked with his wife Elaine Bass.
The title sequence of psycho is one of Saul Bass's most popular sequence, this was made in 1960 and it is revolutionary for this time. This is because it relates genre, theme and mood, all at once.
This title sequence relates to genre by the lack of colour and the fast paced transitions between each title, this fast pace movement on the titles creates a sense of tension and uncertainty. Furthermore, this along side the line movement, which splits the titles in half relates to the theme of a slasher, this along side the tension that is created from the sequence being so fast paced shows the genre as a horror. Overall this tells the audience that there is a mood of uncertainty alongside a genre and theme of a horror slasher.
Looking at the title sequence the narrative is hard to tell as the sequence has no pictures, or drawings of people, but this doesn't matter because of the conventions that are used. Due to the fast paced nature of this opening scene and the fact I can see that his could be a slasher horror, I can tell that this film will be focused on a killer who kills people for the fun of it.
I think this opening title sequence works so well due to the music that is played in the background, this mix with the music and the fast paced titles, it creates a big embodiment of what it is going to feel like watching the actual movie.
One big film that I can see has been influenced by this style of title sequence is James Bond, this is due to the blank nature of Saul Bass's title sequences, which don't give much away about the movie but also tell us enough for us to tell what he theme and genre of the movie is going to be.
Yesterday I spent my eventing making the first satanic symbol we are going to use for our photo shoot, this took me over an hour. This time was used finding sticks in the woods at night, this took around half an hour trying to find the best sticks for my symbol. I used the flashlight from my phone to look for the best sticks some of them were lodged into the ground so I had to fish them out. I made multiple journeys bringing sticks to outside the boarding house, in order for me to collect more. I got five sticks and I stuck them together with elastic bands, this took around another half an hour, which also included spray painting with crimson red gloss. Whilst spray painting the symbol in the pitch black, I heard a weird noise from the woods, it wasn't a fox..
The BBC is the British board of film classification, they are in charge of the regulation of films and the age rating, as well as that, they are in charge of setting the rules that control a certain set of products in a film industry. This includes what is allowed to be in a film and what isn't. The public are able to complain or talk to the BBC if they have an issue or are unhappy with the films content. This means that films or movies in the cinema are not allowed to be exposed to the public if they haven't received an age classification. These ratings include 6 different ratings:
This will also look into the context of the film. If the film is either realistic, fantasy based or animated this means that these type of films are often allowed to include RI8+ more violence and get a lower age rating as audiences are able to identify that this isn't real, this is due to what is believed by the BBIC. This includes having to look into INC-17 the way ideas are presented within films and how these are dealt with, For example if a film includes the use of drugs and it is presented in a sensible fashion, then a PG-13 film might be given a lower film certificate. Where as if it is presented as fun and no consequences to it (unrealistic) then a film will be given a much higher film certificate, When it comes to violence and the way they look at it, they have to investigate it in a detailed way. There is a lot more that is considered but this is a few of the most important ones, for example they have to ask why there is violence/ is it self defence/ what harm or injuries were caused/ is the violence enjoyed.
Our movies age rating is a 15, this has been inferred by looking at similar movies to our idea. The movies that are similar to our opening scene include the movie Wrong Turn and the Scream movie trilogy, although these are both 18s our opening scene is a lot less violent. Our target audience would be towards anyone over the age of 15 that enjoys horror, this is very broad but when it comes to horror movies, a horror enjoyer can be anyone of age.
