The title of the film- the fourth frame of the 9 frame storyboard shows the title of the opening sequence, “psycho”. This is placed on a red misty backdrop which creates tension. One of the main reasons of using the colour red is that we thought it would create suspense and tension as it wasn’t just an ordinary red, it had a smoke affect to it. This made the title stand out more and gave it a sense of authority. This was one of our features relating to a thriller convention as to ensure your film is a thriller you have to ensure that you have something that creates an upbeat atmosphere. Furthermore, we used capital letters for the title. By doing this, it makes the title stand out while the audience are viewing. Not only did the background have the smoky affect, but the title did to. This was to build more fear for the audience and to make sure the title was eye-catching. The sense of red helps the sequence to seem the crime/psychological thriller we wanted it to be. It also gives a hint of the narrative.
Setting/location-Part of our opening sequence was filmed in the d.t room as the tables where very rough and messy. This was the ideal location as this would build tension and suspense. We needed a table that had some sort of writing and was very old as this would create the mood of the sequence. As we had tools lined up it gave a deeper sense of anxiety as everything was old and worn out. As we tried to build tension we wanted a room that was full white, with nothing in it giving a sense of isolation and mystery. But we couldn’t find this. Instead we came up with another idea. Filming in the d.t room meant there were all sorts of machinery around. This would immediately create tension as the machines where big and it related to our narrative. The audience may assume something disturbing or scary may occur as a result of the machinery e.g. a belt sander. Furthermore the first bit of our sequence was filmed in the hall way. As we had various plans of how our title should fit in with our sequence we decided to film where there was carpet and stairs. Also the lighting and atmosphere in this location was very good as the colours where very dull and blunt, which fitted with our sequence successfully.
Camerawork and editing- The sixth, seventh and ninth frame in the storyboard shows some of the different types of shots used within the opening sequence. One main convention of a thriller is to have different types of shots so the viewer is always alert and interested in the film. Rather than just doing medium and extreme close-ups we used a long shot and high/low angle shots. These shots emphasise the main actor’s authority and gives the sequence a meaning. Also as we had all these range of shots, the continuity was hard to do. However, using our skills learnt on Final Cut Xpress we done this successfully. When played, the sequence flowed well. All our shots where mainly focused on what the actor was doing, there wasn’t any type of dialogue in the sequence as we wanted the actor to be the main centre of attention. Using different shots allows the viewer to closely focus on what is actually going on.
Lighting- The third frame in our storyboard resembles the type of lighting used. We used dark lighting to highlight the tension built from the shot and the subsequent shots after. This helped us as it gave a sense that our sequence was scary and therefore meeting the requirements of a thriller. We varied the lighting from the beginning as then it showed how the story progressed onwards.
Genre- The ninth frame gives a impression of what the intended genre is for this thriller. You can see a guy is doing un-normal things as he has all sorts of cutlery/sharp objects out. He is mixing, testing, and examining things. This gives a scene of a crime/psychological thriller as the actor is seen as a mysterious guy who doesn’t want his identity to be revealed. This immediately builds tension. The audience are then interested as they might be thinking why is the guy doing all these unordinary things, is he planning something?. By this it makes the audience more interested in the film. The film “seven” reflects this as when i viewed it, questions started creeping into my mind. Also the audio helps to identify the genre of the filming as normally in comedy, adventurous films the music is normally clam, quite and slow pace. However in our opening sequence the audio is fast, loud which varies in tempo creating a tense atmosphere, which reflects our genre.
Special effects- The eighth frame shows the use of special effects that we done. As we filmed out footage during the day, we couldn’t get the dark lighting as we expected. Using After Effects we changed the lighting of all our footage making it more darker. This helped us as we wanted the audience to feel tension and anxiety when watching our opening sequence. Also, as we wanted some of our titles to actually be a part of our footage we had to use a programme called After Effects. As you can see in the first frame in our storyboard the title that is written on the door moves, as the door moves. This was so we had something interesting with our titles making our sequence look more professional.
Costume and props- frame five and four demonstrates what costume we used. To ensure that our character looked mysterious and scary, we used a plain white lab coat. This worked well as he was handling things like chemicals and knifes. This made out opening sequence look more realistic and professional. Also to go into more detail, rather than the person doing everything with bare hands, we used latex gloves as in a surgery or an operating theater gloves are used. This set the mood to the sequence as again, it looked professional.
Story and how the opening sets it up- Right from the start of our sequence we wanted to build tension and suspense. This would give the viewer an insight of what type of genre the opening sequence will be. Also so the viewer doesn’t get bored we used a range of shots from high to low angles. This built great authority to the character. As we really wanted to hit the crime/psychological thriller we needed to come with an idea to do so. The basic outline of what is happening in the opening sequence is that a mysterious person is going through all sorts of phases to plan and kill someone. We showed this by him pouring things into the beaker and doing weird things with tools. This set the scene. Furthermore we never revealed the main characters face. From out questionnaire results we found that this was the main feature that our target audience wanted. This would build further tension. Also it makes the audience think and believe the unexpected.
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