Placement of our Titles

For our opening, we have made the decision of combining our titles into our shots rather than the white screen as we had to take into consideration the time available to us to slot in white screens and we feel for our opening the titles aren't the focus like other openings as it revolves around what is included into the shots. 

In terms of the placement of the titles, we had to consider certain objects or actions interfering with the titles as well as the colour as they had to be clear and standout enough to be noticed.

Example of our titles

Our Chosen Title

We have decided to name our opening 'Trapped'  as it is ambiguous and all up to interpretation. Our central character is physically limited in terms of their surroundings and illustrates  the state of mind of our character as she has to deal  with the claim of being a murderer and has to live with that which results in all her hallucinating and becoming a nervous wreck as our opening follows her recalling it all.

We had originally planned to write the title with pills like below and were going to have a pan going across it.Yet we felt when incorporating it onto iMovie we felt that it didn't look right and just didn't match with our opening as a whole.

Original Title Appearance 

We decided that it would look better if we had the title on a white screen with the trapped writing enlarged and messy, as it puts a large focus on the screen and it a little suffocating for the audience as that is all they see.The words gradually gets bigger without being too quick or slow.

Titles Seconds research

When editing we had made our opening titles appear on the screen for about 2-2.5 seconds originally but were advised to do at least 4 seconds as this was what a typical film would have. Therefore I did some research into different film opening credits.

After watching all of the opening credits I found that Deadpool and Drive both followed the 4 seconds of the titles being on screen however se7en was the anomaly in this case as they were only on screen for 2 seconds which stood out but could be due to the fact that it is a horror genre and the shots were pieced together to appear very fast paced therefore the titles replicate the frantic and unsettling atmosphere.

Adjusting the levels

As we have included our actress having flashbacks in our opening we have edited in  a home film shots where they are seen laughing and being happy. We decided to add a sort of effect so that the audience could obtain a clear understanding that they are flashbacks rather then very rough cuts that look disorderly. We were mindful when applying the filter as we wanted to have an old-fashioned/ old feel to the shots  and make sure to apply the same effect to every single throwback shot. 

Summary of Percentages  :)

Update - Editing Stage

We have now entered the editing stage for our film opening process and currently the opening is still a rough cut, we still need to fix the sound and alter it as we see fit, and also we have included some match on action so therefore we want to ensure everything matches up at the correct points to maintain continuity.

Silent Retreat Opening Title Sequence

In terms of inspiration and features that particularly struck out to me in the opening credit sequence for 'Silent Retreat' were that the titles were embedded into the shots which we are going to be replicating in our own opening sequence. Also in terms of similarities the inclusion of non-diegetic sound is significant as it follows the conventions of a thriller/ horror genre.

Lastly, I really found it quite clever how they sort of began the opening through the woman looking out of the window and dreaming and then the last shot is of the young woman waking up therefore all of the shots in between have been stringed together from that.

Filming Day of Our Opening

During the past week, we as a group have been filming our film opening after school hours due to the the availability of our location. Our filming for the opening ran for 3 days  due to some scenes not having the same level of continuity or having something interfere in the frame that ruined the mis-en-scene.As a result we had to go back for another day to fix any errors and get the suitable shots that we aimed for.

We all had  multiple roles amongst us as everybody filmed different shots with the camera as well as having an input in directing when we felt it was needed and to guide our actress with the expressions we wanted to capture.

We also filmed our title which would appear before the opening began. We decided to name the film "Trapped" as we felt collectively it went with the whole point that she was physically trapped in the mental asylum and away from any source of normality yet it also reflected her state of her mind as she is trapped from within and has to cope with the illusion of the blood on her hands  and tears as her memories haunt her and leave her in an anxious state.

Woman In Black Opening Scene

In the opening of The Woman in Black I felt like the tone that the directors wanted to put across was in some ways similar to what we hope to achieve as non diegetic sound gradually increases in volume which heightens the dark and uncomfortable feeling.
Likewise the slow paced shots keep you on edge. 
The constant close-up shots aid the fact that we as the audience do not have the access to The whole picture and it's all a matter of interpretation.
Also I admired the use of depth of field included when the young girls are having their tea party and feeding their dolls and when girls crush dolls head as it directed my focus towards the specific movements .
The sound of the dolls head being crushed is painful for audience and adds to how cryptic it all is.
Moreover high key lighting as sunshine coming through the window on the right of them suggests the young girls are happy and presented in a positive light.

In my opinion the opening gives subtle hints to what the movie may be about children having dark side to them that remains unknown and the theme of disguise as the dolls have black eyes, as black has connotations of death and this could even mean death of childhood innocence in this instance.

Our Main Actors

We have made the decision to have Mehreen Javaid ,who is also a student at Enfield County School as one of our main characters .She will be playing the main role of the girl in the  asylum who is distressed , our reason for this is because she has a look of innocence and naivety about her therefore it startles the audience when her reality is unveiled.

Our second actor will be myself and I will have the role of playing the friend who appears in the flashback that haunts Mehreen and she has supposedly killed.

American Horror Story: Trailer

Whilst searching the internet I found the American Horror Story; Hotel title sequence relatively significant in relation to our opening and I felt like It was undoubtedly very effective in terms of the shots,create layout and sound.

Whilst watching the clip, I felt very on edge and that may be due to the fast paced shots that are strung together in a sequence,this helped the title sequence as  it helped build frantic atmosphere which is typical in the horror/ psychological thriller genre. As a result I felt like I  was more attentive when watching.

In addition the titles appear on a background replicating the black/white screen which is   common in many film openings, it's just been tweaked in this instant to fit the aesthetic.The choice of this layout rather than the titles being included into the shots fits perfect in this instance as it aids the placement of the shots not being continuous and different events happening, therefore creating this confusion and mismatched effect resembling a jigsaw.

Example of a white screen : Hannibal

Example of a black screen : The Wedding Singer

VIEW 20 IMAGES

VIEW 20 IMAGES

Likewise, the glitches are constantly added throughout the opening adding to the realism of it all and sort of deceiving the eyes.

Lastly, I noticed the non-diegetic sound in the background again helps reinforce that cryptic mood that the opening is trying to put across to the audience.