2. Finding inspiration

For this lesson we looked at multiple openings from movies, tv series and music videos which conveyed a similar message to what we aim to achieve in our film opening.

Ideas and Inspiration:

American Horror Story: Hotel Main title sequence (Tv series)

• Editing: Faster towards the end, glitching effect to reflect the character’s instability/frustration of her old appearance

• Opening starts with a shot zooming into the spyhole then inside the room to create suspense ( suggests that the character is secretive and mysterious)
• Dark/Dim Lighting (enigmatic)

Dexter title sequence (Tv Series)

• Extreme close-up

• Blurred face of character in mirror (behind the head shot) - creates suspense 
• Allows audience to focus on her hair (white hairs to show that she is old)
• The music will be in a different tone and less upbeat as we are trying to convey a different atmosphere.

The Babadook title sequence (film)

• Plain font (easy for audience to read)
• Slow, fade in (then could speed up towards to end as the character becomes exasperated)
• Monotones (black and white) - focus on detail/textures not colour

Melanie Matinez - Mrs. Potato Head (Music Video)

• Cutting/peeling of skin (blood/gore suggests violence)
• Puffy/Bloated face
• Dark/Dim lighting (cool tones - depression)

HANNIBAL : Hannibal Lecter feeds Krendler his last meal (Tv Series)

• Slicing of the skin
• The non-diegetic music
• Dark lighting

1. Initial ideas and Sequence

Title : Limerence

We chose the title "Limerence: because of its meaning and association of obsessing over another person. The character we wish to create is infatuated with the beauty of other young women so we thought it would be suitable to use "Limerence" as our title.

Our initial ideas:

1. Wall full of faces of beautiful celebrities
2. panning of camera from wall/around the room to the entrance of toilet
3. close up of woman in front of mirror
4. plucks white hair - exaggerated diegetic sound
5. touches skin (aged, flaky and with wrinkles) while heavy breathing
6. sudden fast faced camera work reflecting her emotions
7. walks to desk
8. close up of vinyl needle playing (focused on vinyl but blurred background can see woman walking towards desk)
9. woman starts cutting pieces of magazine faces
10. zoom in of rusted scissors and messy workplace
11. shot of her back bending over desk hunched over (can see spine and aged skin)
12. slowly pan to show finished work of complete collage
13. zoom out to see the whole room + entrance of toilet
14. dead body can be seen hanging out of bathtub with curtains
15. camera focuses on dead body

Conversation In Thrillers

In this lesson we began to analyse a scene from movie training day, two character with different personalities meet.

How is meaning created using micro-elements in the clip?

Throughout this clip the use of the overall theme of the shift in power can be seen through the use of the four micro-elements: Cinematography, Editing, Mis-en-scene and Sound.

In the first clip we can see the a city landscape, this sets the location and lets the audience know that the film is likely to be set in the city centre, a busy location. The next shot that we see is Jake walking into the restaurant to meet Alonzo. This is shown by a panning of the camera from the left to the right of the store.

In this panning we see a row of full people eating at the counter, the lighting in this area is brighter, this shows the liveliness of the area with contrasts with where Alonzo and Jake sits. The location in the store where the two policeman (Jake and Alonzo) provides a dimmer lighting and is somewhat isolated from others, as very few people were around them. This conveys an idea of how Alonzo likes his privacy as he is seen in the booth where Jake later joins him.

A glimpse of Alonzo’s personality is shown through the mis-en-scene of his clothing as he wears and all black outfit with shiny silver jewellery, this is rather uncommon appearance of a policeman. The colour black is often associated with power, formality, death and mystery. The way in which also sits suggests that he is the dominant character in this situation. This is reinforced by the way he is accessorised with a chain necklace and earrings which is unusual for a police officer. During the conversation Alonzo remains in eye contact with Jake, however Jake appear to be avoiding the eye contact as he fidgets and constantly looks to a different direction.

Thriller Conventions

Zodiac Composition

Experimenting with photoshop on the background:


To achieve this:

Original:

Final Outcome:

Credit Structure : Panic Room Opening Sequence

Credits in order:

1. Studio
• Columbia Picture
2. Production Company
• Hofflund/Polone
• Indelible Pictures
3. Actors/Actresses
• Jodie Foster   
• Forest Whitaker   
• Dwight Yoakum   
• Jared Leto   
4. Film title
5. Supporting  Casts
• Kristen Stewart
• Ann Magnuson
• Ian Buchanan
• Patrick Bauchau
• Paul Schulze
6. Technical Creative Staff
• Casting : Larry Mayfield
• Costume Designer : Michael Kaplan
• Music : Howard Shore
• Film Edition : James Haywood, Angus Wall
• Production Design : Arthur Max
• Cinematography : Conrad W. Hall, Darius Yhondji
7. Producers
• Gavin Polone
•  Judy Hofflund
• David Koepp
• Cean Chaffin
8. Writer
• David Koepp
9. Director 
• David Fincher

Extra Research on the making of opening credit sequence:

Information from an interview : http://www.artofthetitle.com/title/panic-room/

"What technology did you use to make this sequence?

Jeff: Lightwave for 3D, Digital Fusion for compositing and Photoshop for everything else. We also used various in-house software plugins as well."

"The Manhattan cityscape is obviously a hell of a canvas to work with. Did you have to scout locations in advance or did you already have what you needed thanks to storyboards or previz?

William: Since most of the movie takes place inside, in the dead of night, Fincher really wanted to bookend the film with short sequences outside, during the day, to give the movie a touch of lightness and some New York City flavour.
He wanted to clearly set that location, so there was some initial location stuff around, just through the course of scouting the entire film. That’s what we based some of our concept frames on."

"The goal was to present the titles so the viewer accepted them as a part of the landscape, not an additional element to the space." —JEFF BARNES

Picture Mill’s presentation book for the opening of The Panic Room — as it was then called — featuring concept images of modeled 3D typography painted into location stills, examples of typography in New York City, and a map with a proposed path from the south of Manhattan to Central Park.

Sub-genre mini film

As we explored into the sub-genres of thriller, me Eye and May were paired up to create a mini film based on a sub-genre of thriller in our preference. We began to edit our footage, however our film was unfinished due to time constraints.

Here is a part of our footage made into a gif.

Our Psychological thriller plot was based on a women being  mentally unstable. As she prepares a banana for a smoothie,  her mind switches between the her cutting and blending her own fingers. She is in her own head until a friend calls her name and everything returns to normal.

Sub-genres of Thriller

  

TYPES
1) Crime Thriller

2) Psychological

3) Espionage/Spy/Political thriller

4) Supernatural

5) Action

6) Film Noir

CRIME THRILLER

Based on a crime being solved or prepared and seen from either the detectives or criminals point of view and can sometimes be both.

Codes and conventions:

• Cat-and-mouse

• Chasing

• Mysterious

• Rivalry

Setting:

• Banks

• Crowded cities

• Dark nightclubs/ streets/ alleys

Technical codes:

• Camerawork- close ups to show the frustratio from the antagonist or protagonist, long shot/ establishing shot, blocking shots

• Fast paced music to build suspense

PSYCHOLOGICAL

Se7en (film)

Psychological thriller films contain both genres of horror and thriller. However, it often incorporates elements from the mystery and drama genre as well. The main characters are usually emotionally unstable (or have mental problems), making them not able to differentiate between good/bad and what is real/not real.

Codes and conventions:

• Perception

• Identity

• Reality

• Plot twists

• Scenes of violence

Setting:

• Old, abandoned houses (victorian buildings)

• Hospitals (mental hospitals)

• Dark isolated buildings/ places

Technical codes:

• Mirrors

• Shadows and low lighting

• Flashbacks

• Tension building music

• Quick cuts

• Mixture of slow and fast editing to show the up and downs of someone with a mental illness
• Claustrophobic spaces

ESPIONAGE/SPY/POLITICAL

All the President's men (film)

This sub genre focuses on the protagonist involved in conflict with a large secretive organisation (that has bad intentions). 

Codes and conventions:

• Secrecy and conspiracy

• Good VS Evil

• Includes working institutions (e.g: police, government, army)

• Fighting/chase scenes

• Possibly plot twist

Setting:

• Urban areas

• Huge modern locations

Technical:

• Dark/dim lighting

• Tension music

• Quick cuts

SUPERNATURAL

The Others (film)

Supernatural thriller is a sub genre which consists of the main character having supernatural abilities. The plot usually involves the protagonist fighting a malevolent paranormal force brought by the antagonist.

Codes and conventions:

• Good VS Evil

• Tension and suspense

• Villain/protagonist possess superpowers/psychic ability

• Plot Twists

• Unworldly elements or creatures

• Religious elements

Setting:

• Forest

• Abandoned areas

• Small houses (isolated)

Technical:

• Dark/dim lighting

• Tension music

• Quick cuts

• Diegetic sound of breathing

• Montage of shots

ACTION

James Bond: Casino Royale (film)

The main protagonist is the hero and controls the action, while the villain is often a millionaire or ex-military who sometimes hides his/her identity. The villain may also have an evil companion.

Codes and conventions:

• Black(villian) VS White(hero)

• Guns = danger

• Helicopter chase

Setting:

• small American town(everything appears okay and tranquil providing an equilibrium.)

• city centres (sense of speed can be shown easily this provides a sense of urgency during a disruption)

              

Technical: 

• Dark and mysterious lighting is used to show danger, bright lights is used to show happiness.

 • Emphasis of power is created by the camera angles

• Tracking shots during chase scenes

• Diegetic sounds are amplified

FILM NOIR (dark film)

Double Indemnity (1944) (film)

The film noir genre generally refers to mystery and crime drama films produced from the early 1940s to the late 1950s.The genre was prevalent mostly in American crime dramas of the post-World War II era.

Codes and conventions:

• Omniscient narrator

• Flashbacks

• Black and white

• Plot twists

• Emphasised narrative gaps

Noir hero: 

• hard boiled detective, alienated from society, morally ambiguous

Tragic flaws -  uncontrollable lust for duplicitous women. 

Setting

• Small town, suburbia

• Streets in the early morning

• Street lamps with shimmering halos

• Flashing neon signs on seedy taverns

• Diners

• Apartment buildings

• Streams of cigarette smoke wafting in and out of shadows

Technical

• High contrast lighting

• Low & high angles

• Narration

• Flashbacks

• Denouement in the opening scenes

• Audience is cognisant of impending doom

• Sudden noises

How fears are used for entertainment

Dexter Credits : Shape Theory

1. Information:
• The Tv show "Dexter" is an American television with crime, drama and mystery.
• Genre:  
• Crime drama
•  Psychological thriller
• Mystery
2. Main Character: 
   Dexter Morgan, Miami Metro Police Department blood spatter analyst, has a double life. When he's not helping the Homicide division solving murders, he spends his time hunting and killing bad guys that slip through the justice system. He spends his sun-drenched days solving crimes - and moonlit nights committing them. But not to worry, our cool-blooded Dexter doesn't kill just anyone. He reserves his homicidal hobbies to taking only the lives of other killers. Written by Enrique Tovar from Delano, CA.
   
   
   
   
3. Analysis of Connotation and Denotation
   
   

Denotation: Cutting meat

Connotation: Cutting human flesh 

The colour of the meat and the connotation of the triangular shapes created when the meat is cut suggests the idea of danger and violence.

Denotation: Cutting up egg + Ketchup
Connotation: Cutting up a body + Blood
The cutting of the egg, again into triangular shapes along with the yolk seeping out as it is cut Creates connotations of a body being cut with blood(represented by the yolk) bleeding out. This is then reinforced by the splatter of the ketchup which has obvious connotations of blood.

Denotation: Coffee grinding

Connotation: Disposing of bodies

The idea of repetition and cycle associated with the round rim of the coffee grinder along with the coffee beans(=human meat) being blitz suggests the act of disposing the body repetitively as the character may have had many victims. 

Denotation: Cutting and juicing oranges

Connotation: Guts/brains being removed

The triangular shape of the knife cutting into the circular shape suggests the sense of disruption and discomfort,reinforced by the dark red background which signifies blood. The idea is then further built-up by the red colour of the orange's flesh that is squeezed which suggests guts being removed.

Denotation: Shoe being put on and laces tied

Connotation: Strangling a victim

A High amount of pressure on the hand can be seen as the character pulls on the shoe lace this suggest the strangling of a victim as the first shots of the shoe being tied, the shoe can barely be seen. This allows the audience to wonder what the character is actually tying : body? shoe?

Denotation: Shirt being put on

Connotation: Suffocation of victims

The tension of the fabric as the character puts on his shirt implies the idea of asphyxiation as the features of a face is shown through the fabric.