Main Task Shoot Itinerary

We  are going to shoot our opening sequence on the 8th February, since we have been planning our Main Task for quite a while, we are aiming to complete all the shooting in one day.

Objective: We are aiming to shoot as much for the opening sequence as we can and since we have planned and have all the correct equipment ready, we are concentrating on getting it all done and finished by the end of the day.

Equipment: We have a camera ready, a plastic screen to go over the lens, tripod

Props: Fake blood for the bath, vodka bottle, cloth for cleaning bath

Personnel: Kate, Shaiane, Tayler, Kona

Costumes: Main Character (Shaiane) - Baggy Jeans, baggy t shirt

Ring Opening Scene

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gIuCfnmPQg

This is a clip from The Ring opening scene which creates a lot of tension right from the start which is something which we want to replicate in our opening scene. The suspense builds up and everything becomes stranger, especially when we realise she is alone. The camera shots used emphasise her vulnerability. The close up of her face at the start immediately tells the audience that this person is the victim and the point of view shot used makes the audience seem as if they are seeing what she is seeing. At 1:06 you can see the reflection of something in the TV but then she turns around there is nothing there, this is a common technique used and one that we also want to use to add effect.

Se7en Opening Scene

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUqj2OOEeXc&feature=fvst

Se7en opening credits

The music in this clip starts straight away and you immediately get an idea of what the genre is going to be, the music is quite loud and sounds a bit like someone working in a factory. It sounds creepy and makes you feel uncomfortable because of the combination between the clips and the music it gives you the idea in your head that this person is not up to something good. The clips of the person are very short which adds effect because you don’t get to see properly what he is doing which leaves it to your imagination. You do not get to see this persons face which adds to the mystery and makes him seem dangerous as if he does not want to reveal his identity.

Screen Shots for Main Task

This is a close-up shot of the girls cupboard, which contains all of her medication. This is an important shot because it immediately tells the audience that she is clearly sick or mentally ill solely from the quantity of medicine there is. In this shot there is an ice cream tub with some medication in but for the real Main Task we are going to take this out because it takes away from the effect. The cupboard also has a mirror on the front which we will use later.

We now have a birds eye view shot of the girl getting her medication out of the cupboard and flushing it down the toilet. We use this shot because it gives the audience a clear view of what the girl is doing and it also makes her look extremely vulnerable and weak.







This is a two shot of when the girl shuts the cupboard door and she sees a figure standing behind her. Using a two shot lets the audience see the figure behind her at the same time as the girl does and they feel empathy for the character. This shot gives the audience a clear view of the girls reaction of when she sees the figure and it is also close enough to see her facial expressions.









This is a point of view shot from the girl as she is looking behind her to see if the figure is really there. When the audience see that there is nothing there that is when they confirm that she is mental. It also leaves it to the audience's imagination to decide whether the figure was really there in the first place or if it was the girls imagination.













This is a long shot of the girl looking up at the attic because she can hear something coming from up there. The good thing about this shot is that she looks extremely small in comparison to the space that she is standing in, the audience can also see that she is living in a very plain and dull environment which confirms to them that she is mentally ill due to the fact that she has no desire to decorate her house. The shot is at a slightly low angle which could make her seem powerful and we will focus on having it at a high angle while shooting the Main Task.












This is when the girl goes into the attic to see if there is anything there, this shows that she is clearly mental due to the fact that she is going to see what is making the noise, whereas any normal person would get away from it. We have shot this from a birds eye view to show how vulnerable she is and get a clear view of her walking up the ladder. There is no light coming from the attic which adds suspense and tension for the audience because they suspect something is going to happen while she is up there.

Woman in Black opening scene

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCR4tfQBd6w

This opening scene is in some ways similar to the idea that we have about what we want our opening scene to be like for example, there is no talking between characters, which is something that we intend to do in our opening scene. We will have one character in our opening scene and there will be no other characters but you will hear characters voices with a voice over and this will be her thoughts. The music used at the start is quite simple and sounds like a children’s song but then it starts to sound creepy with the sound of a clock and the expressions on the children’s faces change. The music gets louder which adds suspense and then it is put into slow motion which emphasises the movements and this is also something that we intend to use in our opening scene.

Thriller Research

As a group we have discussed the possible genres to use for our Main Task and we have come to the conclusion that Thriller/Horror would be the best genre due to the fact that they use a lot of typical conventions and techniques that can easily be seen as thriller just from watching the first two minutes of a movie. We are leaning towards a thriller because horror is more gory and it is hard for us to portray this in the opening scene because we do not have the technical equipment that would be essential for a successful horror opening. We have researched many thriller openings and have got a lot of inspiration from this clip of The Ring opening: