AS MEDIA STUDIES- FILM OPENING SEQUENCE... COMPLETE :D

PLEASE VIEW MY ENTIRE BLOG FROM THE '2010' LINK, LOCATED UNDER THE BLOG ARCHIVE, AS MY BLOG ASCENDS UPWARDS.

7. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

The central focus of the preliminary task was to experiment and explore various camera angles to help us adjust to using a camera properly and also giving us an idea of how shots should be taken and established. As we successfully used a various range of shots within the opening of our media product, we felt that we had progressed further as a group since filming the preliminary task. Also establishing the 180 degree rule in the preliminary tasked helped us identify the line between a cameras postion and the audiences perspective. Over the duration time my knowledge and awareness of how to capture certain camera shots and camera angles has improved dramatically,this will contribute in the future when other media products are created, so I can again improve and develop on my knowledge furthermore. I firstly understood the simple basic camera shots such as the: low angle shots, mid shots and close up shots. My curiosity increased when i explored other various shots such as: over the shoulder shots, extreme close up shots and establishing shots. Through my curiosity I managed to develop my skills of camera use evenmore.

I have also learnt about the basic concept of media production and how the filming industry works to achieve its goals and its full potentials. I now realise that if you want a high quality standard product, you have to film in separate stages rather than rushing and trying to film in one day for example. I have also established the fact that you need to construct shots over and over again as the audience pay attention the slightest details and if errors are shown in production, you will lose recognition as a production label. Overall the filming process roughly took around one week. The opening scene was shortened down to 2 minutes and 50 seconds which emphasises the time it takes to produce a whole film.

As the software was unfamiliar to us at first we had no idea of how to edit our piece, but with time and experience, we had finally mastered a majority of the concepts as a group, learning new skills in the process, which will be beneficial in future media productions. Through using this software I have gained knowledge in how to: split shots, adjust colour filters, adjust lighting, add effective transitions, importing music, overlapping footage and many more technical features. I have now identified the skill level needed to produce a media product and also the simple steps that real media producers take before producing their product. But once these basic concepts have been mastered, you begin to familiarise yourself within media production, with aspects of production coming naturally.

In conclusion I believe I have learnt lots of valuable information since filming the preliminary task, which i will take into consideration in the future. I have been fascinated by the establishment of the film industry whilst enjoying the filming process resulting into to more insight into media production.

6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing a media product?

Throughout the process of constructing our media product I have learnt about numerous aspects of technology within media, advancing and progressing further due to my improved knowledge. Firstly from working alongside Josh Thorpe and Jordan Kennedy, I observed how a video camera was correctly operated. Judging from preliminary task, I could identify that the basic 'Sony' handheld camera was quite simplistic to use. I made a few contributions myself when the group appeared to suffer from a few technical difficulties, correcting them in certain circumstances. Whilst the filming for our opening, we were using a more technically advanced piece of equipment coutersy of a friend in the group. This camera appeared more professional due to the numerous buttons and the increase in size. But once we grasped the simple fundamental uses of the camera, filming came to us naturally. We also learnt how to upload footage onto a computer via the USB socket and cable, which became quite a task when using the more advanced camera, but the footage was successfully uploaded.


Here is the comparison between the two cameras we used

I also learnt how to use computer software through the editing process of our media product. To edit our media product we used a program called 'Vegas Movie Studio Platinum 9.0'. This software was provided by our school that we could create a quality media product by using sophisticated software. Through exploring and experimenting with various transitions and effects on the software I learnt how to split and postion individual shots to create a smooth flowing sequence within our media product. I also learnt how to adjust lighting and colour contrast filters that we used during the editing process by making our opening appear bleak and dismal through the use of the grey filter. Moreover we also learnt how to adjust and mute sound before we began editing music.



Vegas Studio Platinum 9.0

Finally we had to edit our soundtrack which would overlap over the edited footage, this would hopefully be at the right timing and pace, therefore making our media product flow smoothly. For editing the soundtrack we used a program called Audacity which was again available for our convience. Through using this program I learnt how to cut and split the soundtrack and merge the selected sections together to produce a similar sound but using aspects of our individual flair and creativity. I also learnt how to export our soundtrack into another format which would help reduce the size of KB used within the music. When we overlapped the soundtrack we left a few effective sounds such as the clattering gate and the rattling lock.

Audacity software

Through using various modern technologies I have learnt about the various aspects within media production. Without any knowledge of using modern technologies our group wouldn't have be capable of producing a high quality media product, but by using our own creativity and initiative we produced a successful product.

5. How did you attract/address your audience?

To assess how successful our media product was, it was vital that we had audience feedback. This feedback would help us gain more knowledge and insight into what our targeted audience is looking for and how it can be improved. It will also help us progress and advance within filming as our knowledge will increase. I believe that any form of constructive criticism is great as it helps us recognise our mistakes and therefore it shouldn't be frowned upon by the group, if our mistakes weren't corrected how can we identify where we were going wrong? Any type of Compliments or positive feedback would be an extra bonus as it will not only prove that our media product was successful but it will also give us confidence that we can produce a film opening to a high standard.

Our group decided to use the social networking site 'Facebook'. As Facebooks popularity is ever increasing amongst the youth of today on a staggering global scale, we believed that it would be ideal to gain a response or a reaction from our 'Facebook Friends'. To do this we uploaded our rendered video onto the site before posting a link onto our profile to present our media product. From this we instantly recieved replies and comments. The 'like' function is used to represent someones appeal to a certain aspect, here is the feedback of 'likes' from our product:

Here is also some of the positive comments we recieved:

From this we could conclude that our media product was a success. The lack of constructive criticism was a slight disappointment but however we believed as a group we have achieved a successful media product. We then asked a stratified sample of 10 girls and 10 boys a few questions, which we have converted into a pie chart. Here are the results:

The results show that 17 people were aware that it was a zombie apocalypse genre, 2 werent aware and 1 remained uncertain. From the majority of people that voted yes, we could establish the fact that we have conveyed the genre for our media product successfully. Here is another pie chart and these are the results:

From these results our group can conclude that 19 people were engaged and wanted to watch more of our media product, and 1 person decided that the opening wasnt appealing. This again highlights how successful our media product would be if we advanced further than the opening sequence?

If we were to produce the rest of the film we would want to use advertisement as a form of attraction which helps address our targeted audience. This process is called synergy, without it, popularity of films would decrease dramatically, resulting into a lack of profit. Billboards, posters and magazine/newspaper advertisements are only a few examples of synergy presented through various media products which costs to publish but helps establish further recognition and help gain profit. This can also be presented through merchandise of media products, a fantastic example is the 'Grand Theft Auto Franchise' which has over time developed more sophisticated software for gaming products that appeals to its targeted audience, gaining phenomenal profit over the years.

Overall I believe we have attracted our targeted audience successfully through our advertisement of our media product via the internet, which will escalate when our media product is spread by word of mouth and will be sent over the internet generating more recognition.

4.Who would be the audience for your media product?

During the planning for our media product our group needed to take the certification label into account. We also needed to acknowledge the fact that the age bracket will be assesed by the level of offensive or violent content within our media product, which will be determined by the British Board of Filming Classification (BBFC) . We needed to base our product around these rules and regulations to maintain its standard as a popular product.

Due to the fact that our film opening was based around the zombie apocalypse genre, our group identified the fact that our media product will not be aimed towards the U,PG or 12 age bracket as it may scare younger viewers which would spoil the openings popularity. This would also cause controversial issues which may be raised by the viewing audience. Also the frightening theme of death would also be most certainly be unsuitable for young childen and even possibly young teenagers. During our research and planning of our media product, we noticed that a majority of zombie apocalypse films were based around the 15 and 18 certificate bracket. We set this as a potential boundary that we took into consideration before filming. As no weapons were used in the process of filming it immediately minimalised the possibilty becoming an 18 certificate. Blood and gore was restricted to a minimum which lowered the possibilty of an 18 age bracket furthermore. Despite using little dialogue in the opening, there were the occassional swear words used by the main character and also aggressive actions used, such as rattling the gate in temper which could represent violence. Also the use of brutality is expressed through the actions of the zombies secured our media product at the 15 age bracket.


15 age certification bracket

I feel that the chosen age bracket fits well with the contents of the opening. I believe that our media product would lose popularity if the age bracket was higher, as teenage audiences enjoy the aspects of death and gore, which has been evidently shown through similar films with the same age bracket such as 'Shaun of The Dead' and 'Zombieland'. The establishment of the Zombie Apocalypse genre is increasingly growing, which will inevitably lead to more of an interest in the genre shown through our film, therefore increasing profits and gaining recognition.

3. What kind of media institution might describe your product and why?

Institutions are established global organisations that generate profit through the distribution of media products which focus on advertisement and entertainment. There are various institutions that work within all aspects of the media world from the glitz and glamour of the film industry (Paramount, 20th Century Fox and Universal Studios) to revolution of the world wide web (Google, Facebook, Twitter). An institution can have the power to dictate and command within the media market, an example of this is Sony which has specialises in modern technology, and the institution has advanced further by investing into other companies to produce more sophisticated products. 'Sweetheart' deals are also used between global institutions that partner together to produce a global phenom that gains acknowledgement and recognition through the production of an advanced media product. For our media product to be established within the fim industry we would need an institute that could advertise our product.


a selection of media institutions

Our group have decided to distribute our media product through the advertisement of 'Film4'. Film Four is a well known and well established institution within the UK film industry as they are capable of distributing hollywood blockbluster and low budget independent films. This would be ideal for our circumstances due to lack of funding. The channel is well known for having themed nights or seasons which are centred around either a certain genre, actor or director. As Channel 4 has ownership within Film Four productions it also gains recognition for producing films such as 'Trainspotting', 'Four Weddings and a Funeral' and 'Slumdog Millionaire' including numerous others that have contributed towards its established institution. Filmfour Productions would also gain extra revenue if other channels (such as Sky Movies, ITV and BBC) would be interested in showing their media product.

The titled credits

The titled credits are shown to make the audience aware that Film Four is the institution that is distributing with our media product. Refering back to the themed nights that Film Four sets, we thought that it would be ideal if our film could be associated with the zombie apocalypse genre, with modern classics such as '28 Days Later' and 'Zombieland', which would help establish our recognition further.

2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Media products can represent a diverse range of social groups which is mainly shown through gender, clothing, skin colour, age and status. Various stereotypes enhance the diversity amongst society which in my opinion helps the audience acknowledge the modern world in which we are living in when shown through a media product. In our media product we mainly focused around the youth of today. Our character appears to have a fairly modern, middle class background, but his status can be questioned by the audience through his mannerisms when he spits on the floor due to his frustration. The use of swear words that the main character uses can interpret a bad image of the youth amongst society but we were trying to reflect the frustrated mood that our character was in. The character appears to be roughly around 17 years of age with medium hair (a trend within modern society). As a group we believed that there are too many media products placing bizarre characters amongst iconic surroundings so therefore we decided to position a more down to earth character within more rural surroundings to make our opening appear less glamourised.

stereotypical teenager amongst society

Our group also touched on the lack of groups within the society that our character was surrounded in, as he attempts to enter an abandoned pub, in search of some understanding into what has happened within his environment. This helps demonstrate the breakdown amongst society itself showing the abandoment due to the departure of other social groups. We aimed to create this collapsing world through the imagery of the abandoned pub, the lack of people and traffic. I do that believe that social groups were represented through gender and various stereotypes of the zombies, which shows the diversity in society of the youth. We believed that the mannerisms of the rebelious youth would reflect more chaotic destruction rather than adults and old people. We also believe that the character could have a connection with these zombies as they may have once been associated with him. The reaction of the main character when he sees the dead body emphasises his anger and upset. This could be because this dead body was a close friend to him or it could help emphasise his sudden realisation of this world he is living in.

various stereotypes shown through the 'Zombieland' cast

Whilst doing our research into our genre, we saw very little teenager zombies being used in media products. Our group thought that we could challenge this idea by creating this swarm of teenagers to help define the age bracket of society that is left within the world. Also the portrayal of innocence and purity of the youth is tarnished which creates a more disturbing impact on the audience, as their savage actions highlight their barbaric nature. By presenting our zombies in this way it, it makes the opening appear more controversial, as the audience may question the portrayal of their brutal nature comparing it to within their own society.

1.In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

For our media piece our group experimented with a selection of real media conventions. Firstly our group explored various camera angles which would help to improve our media product in the process. Through exploring with these different camera angles we could establish what looked more dramatic and effective. It was important that we used a variation in camera angle shots to prevent our media product from becoming 'visually boring'. Real media producers test camera angles from certain heights and positions to achieve the perfect shot that would link together smoothly with another shot taken from a different perspective which can be edited smoothly later on. Exploring with these camera angles oursleves gave us an insight into what shots can be included in our media product. By taking various shots from different perspectives gave us extra footage which we could mould or play with during the editing process to see which shots would flow together. However by identifying our mistakes from the preliminary task we could advance a step further by taking some more technical shots which helped us progress through the filming process.


research into zombie apocalypse

We also did some background research into the film genre which is also another media convention that media producers use. After our group chose to base our opening around the zombie apocalypse genre, we decided to focus on aspects such as music and traditonal storyline plots to convey our chosen genre. By doing this we drew inspiration from other media products to help produce our own. A simplistic but detailed storyboard gave us a general idea of the main plot for our opening.

In a real media product the opening scene must follow several principles that helps; introduce the character and establish the setting. This is to make it clear that the audience are aware of the films genre. We decided to portray the main character as an isolated and vulnerable figure to make him a target within the unusual surroundings of a society in turmoil. As his journey is being observed the audience can established that he is the focal point of the opening. The presence of the zombies in our opening can be identified by their rugged appearance, ripped clothes , static hair and their violent and aggressive manner. This is one of the key conventions to help portray the genre. Our group did challenge some conventions making the movements more sharp and rapid compared to their traditional sluggish and deformed actions. This added to the intensity of the chase making our zombies appear more alert and agile. I believe that this helps make our product stand out compared to the tradtional theme of the zombie apocalypse genre.


similaraties shown in another media product.

We also decided to explore locations which is again similar to what real media producers do as well as assesing the risks of the location. We believed that the setting should purposely appear desolate and lifeless to help reflect the society that the main character was trapped within. To help enhance this isolation during the filming, individual shots were taken of the main character, avoiding traffic and members of the public in the process. Many other film openings use fast or slow music to engage the audience within its surroundings to create tension. The slow pace of our music at the start of our opening created an anxious atmosphere portraying the elements of the horror genre. At The start of the chase the intensity was amplified as the sudden fast beats of our chosen soundtrack emerged reflecting their brutality and violence through the music. The zombies themselves, smeared in blood also helped convey the zombie apocalypse genre, alongside the zombie scream. The newspaper article was one of the key fundaments that helped establish the genre, through the use of text.

Overall I believe that our media product does follow the conventions of filming, but we have also developed and avoided certain conventions as well, as these were challenged during the filming process. I belive that our piece is successful as the general fundaments of our genre were portrayed accurately.

Evaluation Questions

1. In which way does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?
3. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
4. Who would be the audience for your media product?
5. How did you attract/address your audience?
6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing the product?
7. Looking back to your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt through the progression from it to the full product?

Feedback

To find out whether our opening sequence was successful, I will be uploading our piece onto the social networking site 'Facebook', this will give us an insight into what the targeted audience think of our work. Their views and opinions will be used constructive criticism to see if we could improve in any possible way, any form of compliments would be a bonus.

After we uploaded the video, we posted a link on our profile to draw attention to our piece, this way our 'facebook friends' can view our work and give their personal opinions. Negative opinions will be used as constructive criticism to help us progress furthermore and will help develop our knowledge of filming, any compliments will help us realise that we are progressing in the right direction.

The 'like' button on facebook is used as a simplistic view to show a person's appeal of something. Here are the results from the 'like' button:

Here are also a few of the comments we recieved:

As you can see a majority of the comments were postive which highlights how successful our work was. Feedback is important in media production as society has the power to determine whether aspects of media are popular or not. Success of media production is normally based upon the recognition of a brand, label, business, company etc or through the purchase of popular media products.

Editing

Editing the clips

Once we finished all of the filming we had to upload our work onto the computer which took roughly around 5 minutes or so. We again used Vegas Movie Studio Platinum 9.0 to edit our 10 minutes worth of footage, as we only have a restriction of the opening being at the most 3 minutes long. Therefore we had to cut down a large amount of our shots as a majority of the shots ran on for too long and became visually boring. As well as reducing the amount of shots, we also had to exclude a few elements that were originally in the plot as the set boundaries and restrictions that were set wouldn't enable us to keep our original plot. Firstly as a group we decided that the girl's whispers at the start of the sequence would not be an effective addition to our zombie apocalypse, so therefore that idea was scraped, as valueable time can't be wasted. Many of the shots that we had captured were of a high technical quality, but again they ran on for far too long, so we kept the vital movements and actions and edited over the errors and mishaps that occured whilst filming, making our opening sequence flow smoothly.


Editing the chase scene.

When it came to editing the chase scene we had to make sure that it was fast and energetic so that it could counteract the earlier theme of isolation as the teenage boy is now suddenly trapped in this dangerous environment. To do this we cut down the long clips of me running to more shorter and sharp shots as they flowed into one another effortlessly once we had edited, which then created the impression of fast pace and speed. We also had to scrap one of the first shots establishing a cluster of zombies running towards the camera from a far distance, as there was passing traffic in the background, which ruined the overall shot, we felt that this would may possibly ruin the sequence if this shot was included. Finally at the end we reduced the playing time of the shot where i clutch the grass, to create the effect of slow motion which then faded out onto the movie title. I personally think that this leaves the audience engaged as the climax builds towards a cliffhanger, leaving the audience wondering at the teenage boy's unquestionable fate. We discovered that changing the colour scale can make the shots lighter or darker, we decided to lower the tone of colour to produce a grey and dismal atmosphere, which makes the weather conditions less noticeably in the sequence.

Editing sound and music

Firstly we muted a majority of the shots taken from the road as traffic can be overheard in the background, but we did manage to keep some sounds that added to the sequence such as the clinking of lock of the gate and the rattling of me jumping over the fence. I think that these intricate sounds add a nice subtle touch to emphasise how isolated the character really is. We then edited the music on a progam called Audacity which allowed us to chop and change sections of the soundtrack so that it would fit in with the timing and pace of the edited clips. I managed to cut the introduction of the soundtrack 'The Sadness Will Never End' and use it repeatedly throughout out the isolated to walk to reflect this deserted environment. I also enhanced pace on the soundtrack 'Death Breath' to help create a more energetic atmosphere with a few lyrics at the end which helped combine with the zombie scream to create more of an impact. I particularly liked how I faded the song at the end highlighting that the opening is coming to an abrupt end. I personally felt that we could've used a better soundtrack to the chase scene, as I felt the song was too upbeat in places and didn't flow as I thought it would but despite this I was happy with the whole of the editing process.

Editing the soundtrack in Audacity.

The Filming Process

Before we could start any filming our group had to carry out a risk assesement, assessing potential signs of danger and how they can be measured to lower the possibilities.

Filming

Our group decided that we would film the opening sequence on 3 separate days during our week of filming, as filming all in one day would be too much hassle and organisation.

9th of March

On the Tuesday we began filming the isolated walk of the teenage character. The group decided to scrap a few ideas as we felt that they didnt flow smoothly with the storyline, but whilst filming, we used some creative flair and improvisation to help develop the storyline further. A majority of the filming was done by the new addition to the group Jordan Kennedy whilst Josh was directing shots and explaining how they should be constructed. The weather was bleak and grey, therefore conditions were perfect to help convey the cold atmosphere. A couple of shots had to be retaken, as props were out of place and were in the way of the shots. A slight error which we corrected. We also had to make sure the traffic was avoided at all costs as it would ruin the isolation.

11th of March

On the Thursday we gathered our group of zombies and began filming the chase. We decided to film the last section of the opening sequence as that was the only convenient time that the group could help filming after school hours. We found that assembling the group of zombies was harder than we first anticipated as it was a challenge to get them to organised in certain positions for various shots, but they did a great job after a few attempts despite the cold and harsh conditions. Again the weather was dull and grey, again perfect for the cold isolated atmosphere. Again shots didnt go according to plan but we used our creativity and improvisation to make the shots appear more technical. Josh and Jordan both played their parts in filming various shots on that day.

16th of March

The final day of filming came on the following week. We decided to do the most of the filming on this day as we all had the most spare time on our hands. We thought that we would have to work around each section we filmed the previous week more carefully as aspects that we filmed may have alternated. The conditions were brighter than we wanted, but we thought that this could show the passing of time through the day in our piece which could look effective. Josh and Jordan again swapped filming for various shots, as we had more time on our hands we thought we could make the shots more technical, which resulted to Josh's attempt to film the teenager walking across the bridge from a roundabout, again cleverly avoiding traffic and vehicles in the shots. Jordan played the part as the dead body and did a fantastic job. We were all very pleased when the filming was finished and we were all very excited about the prospect of editing the 10 minutes of footage we could play with.

Props and Characterisation

Props play a vital role to help convey the genre of a film. It also helps define stereotypes and ages amongst society which is normally expressed through peoples appearance, without props the audience would be left clueless as to what the representation of characters symbolises in a film.

The main character who is a stereotypical modern day teenager in society (me) is lost or trying to escape the society which he is surrounded by as he is in severe danger. The teenager is left isolated and anonymous to help detatch the character from the audience, as no identification of the teenage boy is established, the audience can't emotionally connect with the character, creating this tense and cold atmosphere. The teenager is escaping from a situation that is unfamiliar to him as he is portrayed as being lost hence the warm clothes and satchel to express that this is his only way of survival. The teenage boy is dressed in a black bomber jacket, a grey hoodie, a pair of dark scruffy jeans, with a tattered belt and black plimsolls to help create the rugged look that Josh and I are aiming for.



The selection of clothes the teenager will
be wearing.



For the chase scene we needed a relatively large group of people to play the zombies, so we asked 7 fellow colleagues and asked if they would like to participate in this scene, which they thankfully did. We asked them to bring old ripped clothes and to hairspray to mess up their hair to create a wild look. We also made fake blood which consisted of flour, water, coffee and red food colouring which we dripped onto their clothes to make the zombies appear savage and violent. I thought that this was a useful addition which could look effective whilst filming. We told them to run fast but more limp and awkward to emphasise their deformed appearance to help portray the rage infested zombies. I personally feel they played their parts well and contributed greatly to our work.


The group of zombies.

One last additional prop which we will be using is the newspaper article that Josh created, the edges have been torn delibrately the show how time has passed. As the article is only barely seen for a split second it creates curiosity and mystery as well as conveying the genre and creating a subliminal message.


The newspaper article.

Soundtrack

For our film opening, Josh and I were hoping to use a soundtrack with a slow and steady beat, creating an eerie atmosphere as it adds tension to the desolate walk towards the open field. We also thought that this would convey the zombie apocolypse genre without having to use dialogue. It will hopefully emphasise how isolated the character in the unusual surroundings. A majority of the opening will be focused on the introduction of the soundtrack 'The Sadness Will Never End' by Bring Me The Horizon which has an eerie beat as the piano plays with gushes of wind in places to enhance the isolation. We also needed a sharp and edgy soundtrack with pace to highlight the intesity of the chase, building towards the end. We thought that 'Death Breath' also by Bring Me the Horizon would work well as the fast drumbeats help reflect 'Dan's' anxiety.

Bring Me The Horizon. The zombie look we are

hoping to achieve?

Film Opening Synopsis

1. The opening begins with a black screen as the girls words whisper "I dont want to die", this then switches into the extreme close up shot of the teenager character's eye's opening as he awoken due to the sound of an alarm.
2. The camera again switches to the close up shot of the watch on the wrist which is switched off by a shaking hand
3. Next there is a medium shot of the character arising from the wall cautiously from a slumped postion in what appears to be a bus stop
4. The following medium shot is of the character exiting the bus stop at a steady pace
5. Slow beat music begins, emphasising isolation
6. The character gradually makes his way down the pathway, with a wary expression on his face as the slow beat music continues
7. Low diagonal shot of the character walking past, as the audience focuses on his footsteps
8. We then see the character walking past another bus stop where the newspaper headline "The Dead Continue to Rise" acts as a subliminal message which helps convey the Zombie Apocalypse genre.
9. Long shot of the teenager clambering the gate and jumping off the gate, as he begins to walk down the public footpath through the fields
10. Three separate shots are shown of the character fading further and further away from the camera
11. The camera is postioned behind the body as we see the teenager run towards in the dead body in curiosity
12. An over the shoulder shot is taken from behind the character as the slow music stops as he whispers "shit".
13. He hears a loud screech in the distance and turns around abruptly
14. Next an extreme close up shot is shown of the characters shock and horror as he begins to run for his life, this is where the fast upbeat music enters to help higlight the intensity of the chase
15. Then a long shot of the zombies is shown as a group of zombies are running towards the camera at fast pace
16. These shots are shown intricately switching between the character and the group of zombies weaving in and out to emphasise the zombies sharp ridgid movements, which also highlights the intensity of the chase
17. A low shot is then taken with the character tripping, resulting into the victim being captured as one of the zombies takes him to the ground
18. An extreme close up shot is shown of his hand clutching a patch of grass as the character gradually slides down the bank, this leaves the opening sequence as a cliffhanger and keeps the audience engaged
19. The screen fades black and ends.

Storyboard

Now Josh and I have established our filming locations, we can now focus on the storyboard, which will involve a chase. The plot of the opening sequence starts off with a brisk walk from the bus stop which gradually leads towards the abandoned pub (only a short distance away).Hopefully a variation of shots can make the opening more visually exciting. We then move onto a development of shots taken of the main character, Dan (me) crossing over the bridge. After this several detailed shots will be taken of the isolated character jumping over a gate, and slowly fading into the distance, walking slowly down the narrow pathway in the field. The character eventually reaches the vandalised wall where he discovers the dead body. In shock and frustration Dan reacts due to his shock, anger and disbelief. We then see various shots of Dan in shock as he sees the zombies appear. This is where the chase scene begins with a series of fast shots of the chase taken in quick succession establishing the chase, where Dan is eventually captured.

Here is the storyboard, illustrated by Josh Thorpe.

Film Locations

Before Josh and I could plan a storyboard we had to explore our surroundings to find a suitable location for filming. Our group needed to be within distance of each other so that it would be possible to arrange filming times when necessary. We thought that the village of Glinton located near our school would be the reasonable place to assemble our opening sequence. We found several locations that would be suitable for the opening such as the bus shelter and the old abandoned pub which creates a mysterious and desolate atmosphere for our setting. Despite there being nearby traffic, we have to focus the shots being filmed on a certain side to avoid the camera catching glimpses of traffic. I would particularly like to film at night, but proffessional lighting would be required due to the lack of daylight and as we have a limited budget this would not be possible, so filming around afternoon/evening time looks like the only option. As we explored further we came across an isolated field, with a public footpath, with intricate touches such as small brick bridges and wasteland with a vandalised wall. Amongst the harsh conditions of the snow, Josh and I could see the potential for this as we finally found an excellent spot for filming 'the chase'. Again as we walked further down the field, you can identify the traffic in the distant background, again a minor problem that we can easily solve.

Here are a few shots of our location chosen locations:

Here are a range of shots taken from google maps, the RED markings indicate possible shots which can be constructed in these areas:

Zombie Apocalypse

The zombie apocalypse is focused on a particular scenario based around the horror/science fiction genre. This usually has a plot involving a widespread rise of zombies that are unfamiliar to human life which vent a violent assult on civilisation. In some cases victims may endure being bitten by zombies which releases the 'zombie plague' therefore multiplying the numbers of zombies immensely. This rapidly grows out of control as they are precieved as mindless and disorientated. The response of this matter by authorities is slower than the rate of growth therefore resulting into ultimate chaos giving the zombie plague to expand further. As zombies are left in control it means there are pockets of humans that must fight for their survival, which are caught in a sudden crisis. Recent films have recreated the zombie apocalypse by using fast rapid figures, prefered to the sluggish mindless beings. Zombieland (2009) and 28 Weeks Later (2007) demonstrate a fantastic example of this.

Here are a few shots from the opening of '28 Weeks Later' which have caught my eye and given me inspiration:

Here we can see a very dynamic shot of the victim running away from the zombies. As they are entering from the side it alternates from the traditional approach of running towards the victim from behind. Also the figures are blurred which emphasises their presence in numbers.

This shot also captures the fast paced movement emphasised by the zombies body postions which appear ridgid, their extended fingers demonstrates their violent nature and destruction.

This fantastic establishing shot shows us how isolated this character is as he appears to be making an escape towards potential safety. This shot also emphasises how victimised and intimidated the character is. As you can see the potential terrain alternates from land to water as the constant shots of the chase on land may appear visually boring.

This is one of my favourite shots as it visually looks effective and again captures their sharp movements as well as their gormless appearance as they wander through the water aimlessly.

I believe that this opening sequence represents the zombie apocalypse perfectly as the characterisation and setting has been established clearly through variety of short, sharp effective shots combined with fast pace and movement to create suspense and tension. The use of props and make-up are quite simplistic which makes our opening sequence achievable.

I would quite like our sequence to be filmed in an open landscape such as a field as it creates tension and the unexpected that something will inevitably occur. I am hoping to find a location that suits my wants and needs which I aim to find around my local village.

Horror Genre

My partner Josh and I have decided to focus on the horror genre as we want a fast upbeat opening with pace and short technical shots that look effective and we thought that the horror genre will fit in perfectly with our plans.

The horror genre intends to cause emotional, psychological or physical distress during viewing of disturbing or traumatic moments. This causes individuals to react in fear due to either elements of shock or pure violence. Various techniques are used to create this affect on the viewing audience whether its using unrealistic characters and figures (zombies or phantoms etc) or by using more realistic issues such as; murder,kidnap and so on. It is these freakishly scary aspects of the horror genre that contribute towards the tension and panic. The main purpose of the horror genre is the unexpected events that occur within certain sections in the film, this makes the viewer anticipate what will happen, which takes place when the audience least expects it. The horror genre is usually built up upon these anxieties and fears. There are many sub genres that originate from the horror genre such as: slasher, paranormal, creature features, comedy and survival.

Horror films that appeal to me and may be inspirational in my opening sequence include the following:

Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)- Texas Chainsaw Massacre revolutionised the slasher genre and became one of the most horrific films of all time. This film was inspired by Wisconsin serial killer Ed Gein. The film's opening claims the storyline is factual which adds to the emotional and psychological stress which makes it more horrifying. Psychopathic characters such as 'leatherface' engage in activities such as murder and cannibalism which makes the film appear very barbaric and sadistic, using chainsaws and sledgehammers as weapons. I particularly like the chase scene where leatherface is running after one of the victims with a chainsaw, which emphasises furthermore the brutality and destruction of his chaotic mind. The use of the wide range shots that are used to show her isolation as she is being intimidated within natures surroundings, I would particularly like our film opening to have an isolated character as it creates a focus as well as adding suspense and tension.

Halloween (1978)- Halloween is an American independent horror film directed by John Carpenter. The film is set in the fictional suburban Midwestern town of Haddonfield, Illinois which focuses around a young boy (Mike Myers) who murders his 17 year old sister at 6 years of age. After escaping from a psychiatric hospital he commits murder on numerous teenagers, whilst Dr Sam Loomis tries to prevent him. The main character played by Mike Myers wears a simplistic mask quite similar to a face of Frankenstein, this makes him appear menacing and daunting accompanied with a a selection of knives which presents him as psychopathic. In certain scenes the victims appear to be isolated and trapped which reinforces his presence and his destructive mind.

Friday the 13th (1980-present)- Friday the 13th is an American franchise, which consists of 12 slasher films, mainly centred around fictional character Jason Voorhees who apparently drowned at Camp Crystal Lake due the the negligence of camp staff. Decades later the lake is rumoured to be cursed which again is set in an open area prone to vulnerability and murder. An open or abandoned setting would be perfect for our potential opening scene. Jason is in all of the films which makes him a vital character to the sequels either as a killer, or a motivated murderer. I particularly like the fact that the horror film is set around a natural quiet environment which evidently proves that anything can occur. Jasons hockey mask has become one of the most recognisable images in popular culture, which emphasises how successful this franchise has become.

I think I would like an isolated character rather than a individual killer, but i particularly like the isolation that is created within these settings to reinforce the idea of dominance and menace they possess. I will be focusing on the 'Zombie Apocalypse' as this is the ultimate isolation of character/s being trapped within their surrounding environment.