Mise-en-scene - Makeup - Main Character's Injury

This Emaze presentation shows the steps I took and the difficulties I faced to create the main character's injury in our horror genre opening sequence.

Mise-en-scene - Makeup - Experimenting

For shots 17 and 24, the main character's arm cut must be seen. I experimented with acrylic paint in order to create a realistic cut which our group could possible use in the opening sequence.

My first try (closest to wrist) was not as expected because I used too much black paint at the start which did not allow the red paint to be bright enough and unrealistic to be blood. Although I tried to fix this by compensating with lighter colours, the shadowy black paint would not disappear. I was not pleased with this first try because I rushed through too quickly and was not detailed enough.  

On my second try (below first) I firstly outlined the shape of the scar in black leaving some small spaces near the middle to make the cut look fresh. The brightness of the red came out much better this second time because I added layer by layer, firstly creating a light base of red, then adding more red in some places and making it darker in others. I painted the darker red in the very corners of the cut, creating depth. Lastly, I added some very small splashes of red on the empty spaces on the black outline, to give the impression that blood was leaking out onto the rest of the skin.
I am quite happy with the result of the second try, but I believe it still could be much more realistic with more practice and using other products. 

Mise-en-scene - Makeup - Tutorials

For some of our costumes in our opening sequence, scars and blood are needed. To learn how to make these realistic I watched the following tutorials on YouTube.

This tutorial is called "Fake Cuts Tutorial (Super easy makeup)". This video was good because it showed how to make a cut with very accessible items: eye shadow, glue, pens, etc. If our group cannot procure certain items that are shown in other videos such as modelling wax and fake blood, we can rely on this tutorial.

 

This tutorial is called "Simple Cut SFX Makeup Tutorial - Lizzie Sitford MUA". The video was useful because it presented precise instructions and the video showed how the cut was made very clearly.    

This tutorial is called "How To Fake a Cut - Theatrical Horror Make-Up - by BBC blast". This video was more reliable than others because a theatrical makeup artist was involved. It was also done very quickly and efficiently.

This tutorial is called "Theatrical Makeup : How to Make Fake Wounds". This video was useful because not much items are needed unlike most of the other videos. This tutorial is suitable if we want to create small wounds on other parts of the body than the arm.      

This tutorial is called "Special Effects | Bloody Wound Make up Tutorial". This video was interesting because they used a different method than the wax and non-wax methods. Instead, the used latex and tissue paper. This also created a slightly different effect than the other tutorials.        

Equipment bookings

After creating our group's shooting schedule, we sent an e-mail to book the needed equipment. This help ensure that we would have all the equipment needed on the dates we want. Sending one e-mail with all of our dates also ensured that we do not forget to book equipment later on.

Shooting schedule

Location shot

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This location will be used in shot number 23 and shot number 24. This location is appropriate because the shots show the main character waking up. Therefore, a bed is needed to convey the idea of waking up after a nightmare. It also shows that it is during night time, instead of the character waking up in a unusual place which could make the audience assume that they were napping.

 

This location  will be used in shot number 3 and shot number 4. I think this location is very good for these scenes because the amount of space gives a feeling of emptiness and the fluorescent lights give off a cold atmosphere. Filming the location from this angle also makes it very symmetrical and therefore attracts the eye more. This angle also creates depth to the location since it is a corridor.   

"Dark Nightmare" Animatic Improvements

Casting

Storyboard

These three pages are our storyboard. Our storyboard includes all of our scenes, types of sound, type of camera shot/camera movement. This storyboard is useful as it is our group's plan which we follow to make our opening sequence. It also allows us to present ideas more clearly and spot mistakes more easily.


 

Costume list

Production Ident "Black Crow Productions"

We decided to create a new production ident for our film, as we felt that our first one was unprofessional due to a wide mix of different images. It did not suit our opening sequence as it was too complex. Our new production ident is much simpler and creates a more professional start to our opening sequence.    

Props list

This table shows what props will be used, on which shots they will be used, and where we will acquire them.

Opening sequence possible sound effects

 

Order of titles and names

The following titles will be in the following order:

LIONSGATE PRESENTS
A BLACK CROW PRODUCTION FILM
GABIE RAJENDRAM
MORGAN KELLMAN
SHANNON AMARASEKARA
DARK NIGHTMARE
CASTING BY JOHN SNOW
MUSIC BY WALTER WALLS
COSTUME BY ABIGAIL CRUTZ
EDITED BY GENE CALMER
WRITTEN BY FRANK JOHNSON
PRODUCED BY ECHO

Our opening sequence will have the order of titles. This is a consistent order as the editor, producers,  actors, and title are all included in the title sequence. It is important for the title to be at the end of the opening sequence because it communicates to the audience that this is the end of the opening sequence, and therefore the audience will be introduced to the film more evidently. 

Planning the animatic

Our group included all our ideas onto a piece of paper, which is the one below. This helped our group be more organised and arrange our thoughts more clearly. It also allowed us to remember all our ideas. From this point, we made some changes but mainly stuck to the our points. 

Finished animatic

This is our group's finished animatic.

Survey repsonses analysis

Our answers where divided equally between the two answers. This shows us that the opinions are divided. However if half of the responses are negative, this also means that they would not mind relating to characters - they simply do not need it. Therefore by default, we should have a relatable character.     

The answers to this question shows us the potential success of our film. Five people answered that they watched movies online, 4 answered that they watch movies using Netflix and online, and only 3 people answered that they watch movies at the cinema. By these results, it is clear that most people use Netflix and the web to view films. 

Our target audience is women and men under  25. However we asked a wide range of people to see 

whether people outside out target age range also liked horror movies. After we collected the results we saw only both male and female under 25 filled the survey out and this clearly shows that we chose the right target audience. 

More than half of our responders answered yes when asked if costume was important to immerse themselves into the movie. This means that our characters must have costumes which can speak to the audience and communicate a general description of who they are. Overall, costume ideas will have to be brainstormed, all the while thinking about how the audience could be most positively affected through this mise-en-scene.  



Extension Activity Documentary "Watching"

1) What does Thomas Sucliffe mean when he says "Films need to seduce their audience into a long term commitment. While there are many types of seduction, the temptation to go for instant arousal is almost irresistible".

Sucliffe means that when creating a film, it is tempting to begin the film with a shocking, intense, scene, because it will grab the audience's attention from the start and ensure that they pay attention to understand the film.


2) According to director Jean Jacques Beineix, what are the risks of "instant arousal"? 

Jean Jacques Beineix believes that "instant arousal" has the risks of not living up to expectations. Since the beginning would be so thrilling, the audience will expect more and better as the film goes on. However if the start was the most exciting part of the film, the audience will get tired during the remaining time and by the end the excitement will have passed, leaving them with feelings of disappointment.

3) Explain why "a good beginning must make the audience feel that it doesn't know nearly enough yet, and at the same time make sure that it doesn't know too little".

The beginning should be this way to make the audience eager to understand, but not to make them feel completely clueless to the film since they should be hooked from the start. It also allows the film to reveal things little by little and gives a sense of satisfaction to the audience when their ideas begin to make sense as the film goes on.

4)  What does critic Stanley Kauffmann describe as the classic opening? Why does this work? 

For Stanley Kauffman, the classic opening would begin with an establishing shot, a close up of a building,  the window of the building, in to the window, past the receptionist desk, to the private office, and leads to the main character. This classic opening works because it informs the audience of where the film is taking place, the job of the main character, and overall the organisation of the world. For the audience, the progress of the opening is normal and expected.

5) Why is Kyle Cooper's title sequence to the film Seven so effective? 

The title sequence to the film Seven is so effective because it begins the story already, introduces main points of the film, and it foreshadows many of the upcoming events. The visual and sound aspects of the text on screen also sets the tone for the film and makes the audience's interest grow as they seek to understand what they are watching. 

6) What did Orson Wellies want to achieve with his opening to the film A Touch Of Evil? What did Universal Studios do to it? Why? 

Orson Wellies wanted the opening sequence of A Touch Of Evil to be seen without credits and title music in order to bring the audience into the story with no preparation time whatsoever. Universal Studios added a score and credits to the opening sequence which caused the wanted effect of Orson Wellies to be lost. Universal Studios did this because they wanted to be safe and draw the audience's attention in a much more classical manner than what Orson Wellies wanted. Having no title music and no credits would have meant taking a big risk to not addressing the audience correctly and therefore having negative effects. 

7) What is meant by "a favourite trick of Film Noir"? What is the trick? 

The trick is to begin the opening sequence with the end of the film. This makes the audience curious about how the film could lead to this point and makes them feel like they are reaching a destination as well as leaving a departure point. By doing so, they are looking ahead to the film in order to understand, and they will be more captivated. 

8) How does the opening to the film The Shining create suspense?

The opening of The Shining creates suspense as all shots remain fixed on the same car from a large distance and follows it, giving the audience the impression of a predator stalking the car. The low pitched score also give a hostile tone. All of these points added give a sense of wrong direction to the audience.    

Creating the Production Ident

Blank Print Document

 

Target Audience

 

 

Target Audience Research - Survey

 

This survey was created in order to find out more about our target audience for our horror genre. The questions to be answered will allow our group to evaluate what would appeal to the majority of the audience. It is also a way of getting ideas and inspiration which can be used when planning and creating our opening sequence.