Evaluation Activity 3

Evaluation Activity 2

Nightmare On Elm Street

Nightmare On Elm Street contains a group of characters who are friends, however the main character of the group is Nancy Thompson.
This character experiences nightmares and is affected in her real life by them. This is very similar to our main character in "Dark Nightmare" called Fai as she has nightmares and wakes up with real injuries. However, unlike Fai, her friends also experience the same nightmares and consequences.
Nancy Thompson is an overall normal 16 year old girl. This is unlike Fai as she is 8 year older and therefore is a more mature person. Nancy is also a relatively smart person as she tries to fix the situation she is in during the film in different attempts. This is unlike our main character as she is 8 year older and therefore is a more mature and logical person. 

Texas Chainsaw Massacre 

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre contains a group of characters. In this group is included Sally Hardesty, an ordinary young woman from a rural background. This is similar to our main character in our film as she is also an ordinary woman.
Sally is set apart from the other characters as she is the only survivor by the end of the film. This is similar to our main character is "Dark  Nightmare" called Fai as she is set apart from the group since she is the only one having disturbing nightmares.
In a way, Sally is the character which suffers most emotionally during the film as she watches her sibling get murdered in front of her eyes and has none of her friends from the group with her for support. Her fear and stress therefore increases as the film goes on. Our main character is "Dark Nightmare" is victim of similar emotions as the people close to her die one after the other, building her fear and panic every time another person dies.   

 Final Destination 2

The Final Destination 2and Dark Nightmare is very similar. In the story there is comparison where the main character has a dream/ vision of what is going to happen in the future. She tries to stop it from happening and she tries to protect her friends but however she realises that no one can escape from death. In Dark nightmare it is a similar story where the main character (Fai) has a dream about how however group of friends are going to die and she is very disturbed about there’s dreams as she has been having them every day. She gets scared and depressed in how she is going to lose her loved ones. The thing Fai is frightened about is how she wakes up with scars of what happens to her in the dream.

Our chosen main character for Dark Nightmare looks similar to Kimberly Corman (main character in Final Destination 2).they both have brown hair, pale smooth faces and both casual dressers. Fai is very emotionally attached to her friends especially her boyfriend where in this case it is also the same case in Final Destination 2.

Dark Nightmare

In our opening sequence "Dark Nightmare" our main character is a young woman in her twenties named "Fai". She is a stereotypical young woman as she has a calm personality and is fairly popular, however she is mysterious in some ways because she hides the physical injuries she obtains during her nightmares from others except her best friend. She is a kind person and does not judge people quickly.

This can be considered a horror convention as horror films often use characters representing realistic people. This allows the audience to relate more to the characters and feel more involved in the film therefore being more affected by the horror genre. However our film does not follow this convention exactly as the character is shown as someone with unusual troubles and this builds the character as a special individual which is not often seen rather than a normal young woman year old. 

Evaluation Activity 1

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

My media product includes conventions of real media. Conventions of opening sequence, especially in horror media products, includes: low key lighting, long takes, use of makeup and costume, close-ups, establishing shots, jump cuts, and transitions.

Low key lighting helps create the mood of the product; it can create a sense of mystery and also a sense of fear and danger, as the audience can not see what is going on clearly and therefore they feel vulnerable.
Long takes can be used to intensify tension in certain situations as the seconds pass or can also be used to set a peaceful mood.
The use of makeup and costume is conventional in the sense that it is always important for the characters to be part of the media product and match the setting.
Close ups are very common in most media products and allow the audience to focus on certain areas of the media product they would otherwise not notice. They can also be used as hints for the audience to understand the media product's plot, story, or other.
Establishing shots are often used at the beginning of media products to let the audience know where the product is taking place. This creates a clearer image for the audience and allows them to immerse themselves in the story.
Transitions are used to go from scene to scene, and can be used to create different types of atmosphere based on which type of transitions.

My media product uses low key lighting in certain shots. They are mostly used to create tension and set the mood for the dream sequence to ensure the audience views it as a nightmare, and not a normal dream. Low key lighting is also used when the main character wakes up, this shows that they were asleep and it is the nightmare which woke them up, not other factors (alarm clock, sunlight, etc).

 

A long take is used as the first shot in my group's opening sequence. This shot was created for a number of reasons; firstly, it creates a sound bridge from the titles to this shot as the sound is suited to both. Secondly, it allows the audience to focus on the voice over which plays during the shot; they are not distracted by other images and can watch the rest of the opening sequence while remembering the ideas of the voice over.

Thirdly, it creates tension as the conventional use and this is suited to our opening sequence as it is a horror genre. In the opening sequence, the use of makeup and costume is important to realise the atmosphere of the nightmare. White clothes are used as it is often associated with the horror genre, and this makes it clearer for the audience to pick up on the genre of the media product.   

Jump cuts are sometimes used in horror films especially during high tension scenes such as chasing scenes, or in the case of our opening sequence, nightmares. Jump cuts build the tension by suddenly changing, this gives an impression of the film suddenly advancing unnaturally and unexpectedly. In the nightmare scenes of our opening sequences, jump cuts are used while one of the characters stays still. The character gets closer and closer to the camera with each shot, building the tension until they reach the camera. The three images below break down the jump cuts we used during the nightmare part of the opening sequence. We also used a different lighting for each one, as if lights turn off when the character gets closer, representing how the emotional state of the character is affected by her nightmares.

We used transitions in our opening sequences from Adobe Premiere Pro. The transitions were used to create a more smooth effect from one scene to another unlike jump cuts which were used for the opposite effect, highlighting the contrast between the two types of editing. We used mostly dissolve transitions in our opening sequence because they seemed more natural to the eye and gave a more fluid movement when going from scene to scene.

Close-ups were not often used in our opening sequence as we mainly focused on costume, and relied on the setting of locations to create the atmosphere. However we did use two close up shots which are shown below. The close up of the light bulb was used to create a sound bridge and setthe tension for the rest of the film. The second close up was used because it was an important part of the opening sequence and highlighted the fact that this was important. When the shot is shown, music starts to play to set the atmosphere once again.

Class Feedback Reflection

This is the feedback we got for our first opening sequence draft.

From this feedback, our group understood that our opening sequence was confusing to watch at certain points. There were two comments which stated that the bedroom shot was too long which could be fixed by shortening the scene and creating jump cuts. The title sequence was received negatively as they were said to be too long and not suited to our genre. This could be fixed by shortening every individual title, and using a different font conveying a more horror feel. The titles could also be spread out as the scenes play instead of having all the titles before the scenes start. Two comments stated that they did not understand the argument scene; we may have to remove the scene. Our use of make up was received with two positive comments. Our light bulb shot with sound bridge was received very well. Our soundtrack to the opening scene was said to be good.    

In the future we should aim to have a better layout of our opening sequence and make sure that the scenes are understandable. This will ensure that our audience understands the story and will therefore feel more immersed  

Dark Nightmare First Draft

Analysing Media AS pieces 2013/14

ONE FOR MY BABY

Some of this opening sequence's good aspects of practice are:

•  Sound conveys the feelings of loneliness as small sounds such as the ticking noise and the water tap running are very loud. This gives an unusual tone to the opening sequence, as if the character is trapped.
•  The mise-en-scene shows a very messy room; clothes are lying everywhere, a lamp is knocked over, and a bottle of alcohol is lying on the floor. The amount of alcohol could indicate that the character is in depression.
• The use of different types of shots had good variation. They used many different types, including:  close-ups, wide shot, focus pulls, pans, tilt. Many of these shots, especially focus pulls, were used to draw the attention of the audience to certain objects such as photographs and alcohol.  

ABSOLUTUS

Some of this opening sequence's good aspects of practice are:

•  The mise-en-scene was very good as costumes reflected the genre of the opening sequence. Some of the props - chemistry equipment - also suggested that the sequence is a science-based film.
• The titles were created in a very interesting way, as element names were used to replace some letter in people's names in the opening credits. This suggests from the start, that the opening sequence will be related to chemistry and science.
•  The use of lighting, particularly during the beginning scenes of the opening sequence is low-key, and makes the audience more empathetic towards characters because they are in the same type of feeling - lost, confusion.

Extension Activity - Title Sequences

This extension activity allows me to understood in more detail the way opening sequences are made and the relationship between workers. It also allows me to comprehend how designers get inspired which could help me come up with imaginative ideas for my own opening sequence.