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.

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.