mise-en-scene

the term Mise-en-scene refers to everything in-front of the camera including the set design, lighting and actors. Mise-en-scene is important through the visual arts, storyboarding, visual theme and cinematography in order to create narrative story telling for your film. it focuses on the theatrical design instead of the plot itself as you are focusing on what is in the scene instead of the story. Therefore mise-en-scene allows the director to convey messages to the viewer through what is placed in the scene and not just the content of the scene. this can add an almost forth dimension for the film as viewers have to think about why a certain item was placed in the film and the connotations it may have behind it.

setting and set design 

due to our opening title sequence being set in a rural environment surrounded by a large body of water we decided to set our sequence in a large park somewhere which offered waterspouts such as paddle-boarding so we could get the permission to film on the water as well as on land. we were trying to represent an abandoned place which seems secluded with no people.

location and lighting

we filmed our sequence in Buckland park and we chose to film here due to its availability to provide us to go out on paddle boards as this was a key part in our sequence. it also had a large body of water surrounded by lots of green land and rocky cliff sides. one limitation of filming in this location was that it is a public place therefore there were people there that we had to try and avoid being in our shots which presented itself as a challenge at times as at the beginning of filming we had to film very close to a kids park meaning there were many children running around that we had to avoid. the weather on the day of the shoot was mostly good, it was sunny with minimal cloud which was good for the shoot as we had good natural lighting. however, there were points where the cloud would go over the sun and we had to change the settings of the camera frequently or we hd to wait for the cloud to pass over the sun making it very time consuming. 

make-up, beauty, special effects and hair 

due to our sequence being set in a natural setting where the characters are just pulling up to a lake going swimming we had no specific hair and makeup requirements, we told our actors to come as they would any day with their normal hair and natural to no makeup. we also did not have to use any special effects.

costume

for the costume we had the actors wear wetsuits with trainers and a hoodie over the top. we made this design as we thought the hoodie over the wetsuits would be easy to take off and also represent a casual normal day out with nothing to fancy which matches the location and setting the title sequence is in.

props

the most prominent props we used for the sequence were the two paddle boards and ors along with the car Maddie drives and the phone she pulls out of the car. we had the paddle boards ready in position from where albie pushes it into the water so it would be obvious to the viewer that the is going to become a key part of the sequence. the next prop we used for the scene was the car . we had Maddie drive her car into school so she could drive a car in the sequence. we had to decide on the day the position in which we would place the car and it took many trial and errors to get the right position for the car but we eventually decided to pull the car into the lane by the beach section we were filming at. the final prop we used was baddies phone. we placed the phone I the passanger seat of the car so that she could go and reach for it as albie in on the lake and eventually disappears. the close up shot of her taking the phone is an attention pull for the audience and aims to pull the audiences focus away from what albie is doing on the lake meaning him having disappeared becomes more of a shock for the viewer.

shoot day

at the beginning of the shoot day we went to the studio to get the equipment which consisted of 

- camera 

- mics 

- tripod 

- light reflector

we then loaded the gear onto the mini bus and we left with our two actors Albie and. Maddie (Maddie followed us In her can as it was being used for the sequence). we got to our location and we unpacked our gear. we then told out actors to put on their costumes which were wetsuits with a hoodie over the top. we wanted to complete the sequences where the actors were dry first to make it easier for the actors and ourselves. we started by filming the in car sequences. me and Ashton sat in the back seat of maddies car with one of us holding the camera and one of us holding the microphone. Ashton did a shot of Maddie driving the car from a side profile angle. we were going to switch to film Albi from the same angle for it to go at the beginning of our sequence but we decided to not go with that idea and we went with the idea to get more scenery shots of around the lake to establish the sequence. 

we then moved on to taking the firsts shoots of the car driving in. we did a wide shot, close up, mid shot and a high angle view from across the river of the pulling up to besides the lake. we got albie and Maddie to make a conversation and to laugh so that it would look more natural.

we then went on to shooting alibi and madddie getting out of of the car and walking down to the river. we first filmed a mid shot of the car driving up and then the car stopping and them getting out. we then did a shot where we pointed the camera so you could see the edge of the river through the front windscreen of the car which framed albi and Maddie holding hands walking down to the edge of the river. 

we also got a shot from across the river of albie and Maddie walking down to the beach which I really liked as it framed the shot really well and would be a nice scene to cut to when we edited the clips together to get the final product.

this is where we set up the camera for the high angle framing shot

we next shot down by the river. alibi and Maddie would walk into the mid shot and would say their dialogue. we set up the camera and we took our shot. the shot consisted of alibi saying "you coming in then" and then Maddie replying "alright give me a sec" Maddie then walked out of the shot to go back to her car to get her phone and put her jumper in the car. Albie would then continue to stay in the shot, take his hoodie off to reveal the wetsuit and bend down to use the paddle board into the water.

this image shows us shooting the conversation by the lake we would all take turns to film with the camera and hold the microphone so we were able to pick up the conversation with clear sound.

we then continues to shoot the sequence where Maddie and alibi are acting in their own sequences. Maddie walking to the car to get the phone and put the hoodie away and alibi pushing the paddle board onto the lake and paddle boarding on the river.

this is the angle we shot Maddie walking up to the car in

before we could film albies sequences on the water he had to have a health and safety briefing. it was a work this would take up time when we could be filming but we were able to shoot all the scenes we needed with Maddie when he was doing his briefing and once he had finished we were ready to shoot his sequence.

for maddies sequence it followed this guideline 

- walk up to the car 

- open the car door 

- take hoodie off 

- put hoodie in car 

- get phone off passenger seat 

- close car door 

- say alibi as he has disappeared 

we shot this sequence in a wide shot and a mid shot along with a close up of her putting the hoodie down and the picking the phone up.

for allies sequence it followed this guideline 

- put life jacket on 

- push paddle board onto river 

- jump on paddle board 

- paddle out a bit 

- stand up on paddle board 

- push paddle boars in water

we started shooting the sequence at a mid shot and then as he went not onto the river we did a focus pull. when he was standing on the paddle board we got a few wide shots a few mid shots and a close up of him on the paddle board so we could make different cuts when Maddie was doing her sequence in the car.

once we had taken our shots of alibi we got him to get of the paddle board into the river and to push the paddle board into the open to look like he has disappeared. we then took a wide and mid shot of the paddle board floating in the open. 

once we had finished the water sequence alibi could get out the river. 

we then shot Maddie running down to the river shouting "alibie". we started with a mid shot of her running past the camera shouting alibi and ended with her screaming alibi loudly at a close up of her face. the albies were built up to create tension.

the final shots we did for the day were establishing shots of the lake. some examples of the shots we took are:

- three different pans of the lake 

- a low angle shot of the edge of the river 

- a tilted shot of the hut on the lake 

- shots of the ducks we saw down the river 

- shots of the side of the river which looked like cliffs 

some examples of the shots are below 

preparing for shoot day

 the day before our shoot day we did not need to do much preparation as we were not building a set in a studio and we were driving to a location however there were still some things we had to do

we had to check we were going to bring all the right filming equipment due to the weather the next day to maximise the filming.

we had to make sure Maddie had her car with her at school and was able to drive to and from school to Buckland park 

we did not have any props we had to bring with us so we did not have to much extra equipment we had to take on the bus with us

we had to tall the actors to meet us at 9:00 AM to get the equipment on the bus ready to go to the park 

we had to make sure we had a good idea of our story board and the shots we needed to take in order to maximise filming on the day of the shoot 

make sure we were going to be wearing the right clothes for the cold weather and being working outside all day. 

research into genre conventions

the thriller genre conventions 

the aim for any thriller genre film is to provide 'thrills' the audience whilst giving them adrenaline and apprehension as there is a build up to a climax.

there are different types of thriller as follows 

- comedy thriller (combines suspense and comedy)

- action thriller (combines suspense, stimulating and dramatic atmosphere, 'race against the clock', violence, antagonist, overcoming obstacles, scenarios involving action)

- crime thriller (hybrid of a crime and thriller film, combines drama, thriller and suspense, focus on criminal rather than police)

- mystery thriller (mystery and suspense, storylines have extravagant plots, viewer must pay full attention to get the most out of the movie)

- psychological thriller (mental state of the characters, protagonist involved in a situation that effects their sanity)

- conspiracy thriller (protagonist meets someone who has more power than them)

- sci-fi thriller (narratives of science basted storylines, aliens, space, time travel, futuristic)

conventions of the genre 

narrative 

- protagonists 

- antagonist 

- variation of characters 

- realistic characters and action

- climax 

setting and sound 

- usually set in city areas or woods, secluded areas 

- woods = less diabetic background noise 

- natural sounds 

lighting 

- low key lighting, stimulates tense environment 

- high key lighting, stimulates more upbeat environment 

mise en scene 

- mirrors 

- shadows and Silhouettes

- weapons 

- drugs 

- dark urban setting 

- cars

- red

- blood 

lake sequences in similar products

 

the shack - boat scene 

this is a good clip with good ideas on how we want to shoot our lake scenes

it has wide establishing shots of the big lake which has inspired us to include this in our sequence. it also has close up shots and mid shots of the characters on the lake with efficient editing and cuts making it a clean sequence. we can take this on in our shoot day by getting close ups and mid shots of albie on the paddle board and with good editing we can make a clean sequence cutting between establishing shots of the lake and close up shots of albie on the paddle board 

getting and confirming the cast

 to get the cast for our media shoot we had to send a formal email and explain to them the following 

- would miss a day of school 

- need to be confutable around water 

- be comftable getting in the water 

- be comftable driving their car to and from school 

- understood the sequence and what it was about and if they would be ok to do it 

here is the template we had to use to formally email the potential cast

Dear ______

I am currently working with a group of A1 Media Studies students to plan our Film Opening Sequence coursework project.  We are making a film about _____________.  We are trying to cast an actor /actress to play the character of  _________ (describe the character eg Bob, a serial killer, aged 30-50, powerful and super clever - be careful about insulting the teacher!).

We are wondering whether or not you might be happy to play this character in our opening sequence?   The filming is likely to take place on (give date) ​but the department shooting schedule is not yet finalised and could still change. 

The scene we are filming involves  _______________ (Let them know if there are any issues which might affect them eg fake blood, or them having to do something like running fighting, screaming etc eg Bob tying up a victim in a basement).  We anticipate that we would need you for approximately ________ (give indication of time needed, if it ia very small part, barely seen,  maybe only 40 mins, if it is a main character on screen a lot, then maybe the whole day 9-3?​)  We would love to have you involved. Please could you let us know as soon as possible if you can help us?  

Many Thanks

__________ (names of students in your group)

after emailing the potential cast we found that cassia Jackson would not be able to shoot with us so we had to get another actor, we have chosen Maddie Higgins to be the girl in our sequence and alibi confirmed he would be able to shoot with us.

we made sure alibi knew he would have to be in the lake and paddle boarding and he agreed to the terms and was our boy in our opening title sequence 

potential cast

characters include 

Teen/early 20s young women, blonde/brunette, full of life but equally invested in her phone. the outdoors type who has an ever growing collection of festival and friendship bracelets.

Teen/20s, young man(of the same age as the women), short haired, posted pubescent 'soft boy' teased for being so invested in his girlfriend (and having a matching love braclet). He is down to have fun but is in touch with his emotional side.

our potential cast for the girl 

cassa jackson

potential cast for the boy 

Albie reading 

 

costume design

for our costume design we want to go with something casual but practical and easy to work with getting in and out of the car multiple times on the shoot day. 

we are deciding to go with wetsuits with a hoodie over the top along with a sort of beach girl/boy vibe 

the girl character could also wear accessories such as festival bracelets 

location hunting

 for our final title sequence idea we needed to find a good location that gave the idea of a secluded area whist having a large body of water in which we were able to paddle board in safely.

the first place we thought of filming was Ashly park river in Walton on thames if we were not able to shoot at our desired place which was Buckland park.

Ashley park 

Buckland park 

we were eventually able to film at Buckland park which had a large body of water with a creepy boat house as an extra along with permission to paddle board on the lake with a safety briefing for anyone going out on the water 

my initial idea

i would base the film on a crime drama having the same kind of vibe as criminal minds. the opening title sequence would start with a tracking shot of the car which would move to over the shoulder shots in the inside of the car showing the driver and the passenger who has the bomb. the characters would be silent for the journey with uplifting contrapuntal radio music in the background for the audience as the know what is going to happen. the car would then stop at the drop off point and the driver would then say “here you go” to the passenger expecting him to get out the car. the passenger would then be silent and stay still with no expression on his face as the driver acts confused and asks “have i taken you to the wrong destination” as he looks at his phone checking he has taken him to the right place. the drivers dialogue chatting to the man would slowly get more snd more muffled and a ear ringing noise would slowly become prominent as the camera zooms into a close up shot of the passengers face. the bomb would then go off and the camera would switch to a high angle crane shot of the car exploding and the uplifting radio music would turn into non-diegetic  background music with the sound of nearby car alarms going off. it would then go into shots of a police station with the opening credits 

preparation for evaluation questions

what kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

a media institution is a company that owns and creates the media product. our media sequence is a thriller sequence.

Hammer is a British prodcution company based in London, founded in 1934. Its commonly regognised for its series of gothic films and thrillers. During its most successfull years, Hammer dominated the horror film market. It has various partnerships with major united states studios such as warner bros. Its responsible for many classic thrillers such as dracula, frankenstein and more modern ones such as the woman in black.

Specifically looking at the production of thrillers as it is our choosen genre, its very interesting to see which thrillers were produced from this particular company. Hammer made a series which were known as 'mini- Hitchcocks'. These low budget films in black and white were often compared to 'psyhco' because of there twist endings. the twist ending relate to our sequence as there is a twist at the end where he is disappeared from the paddle board.

I think Hammer would be an appropraite producer for our thriller as it has created some iconic movies that represent the genre extremely well. Its also regognised for making tense and suspense movies which would be ideal for the type of opening I want to create for my project. it also did a series of low budget films which heavily reflect what our opening title sequence is.

Warner Bro's. pictures 

When researching more into the company and the types of films they produce the results were very varied due to the vast amount of films they make. However, I did find that they produce a multitude of thrillers such as Inception, The Dark Knight and The Shining. These are all highly regognised thrillers moreover, I think they are very succsfull in what they make which is why they are such a big company. They have such a wide target audience futhermore cater for all types of genres. Although despite this, the thriller movies they have produced are all very good. I think it would fit the genre we are aiming towards.

Distribution

A distibutor is a company who is responsible for the marketing of a film. This may include setting the release date for a film. this could be privately or publicly.

When i researched thriller distributors , a varied amount of companies shown. I first came across 'Kaleidoscope' in the UK which was one of the fastest growing independent film distributors assosiated with thrillers.

It would be a good company to approach because of the thrillers it works with and it fits the genre well. It works by advertising for producers, directors, writers ect to contact them with regards to new ideas via there website. They are a very open company therefore, will be very beneficial to the thriller genre as they will be willing to evaluate any ideas.

New line cinema is also a popular distributor for thriller genre films due to its popularity. The distributor has released films such as 'The Butterfly Effect' and the famous thriller 'Seven'. This is a good distiputor as the thriller films are all alike and follow the connotations therefore, it would be similiar to those. A lot of the thrillers follow a common storyline of thriller which I will most likely research and take insperation from.

after conducting this research I think the best suited companies to produce and distribute my film are, Hammer and kaleidoscope.

my reasons for both are as follows 

hammer

- independant British company 

- have worked on small budget films 

- have produced good films such as 'the woman in black' so therefore have experience

- is associated with the thriller genre so you know the company would be able to get the best of of your        film 

- lower budget company 

kaleidoscope 

- independant british film distributer 

- willing to evaluate any ideas 

- very open company, not exclusive 

- would be beneficial to the film as it has done lots of work with the thriller genre meaning it would be able to distribute your film effectively

- easily contacted through their website 

- lower budget company 

therefore these two companies collaborating would get the best outcome for my film due to them not being to big nor no small in the industry meaning I can get the most effective final product and the most effective marketing for my film giving it a higher chance of it being successful amongst audiences.

who would be the audience for your media product?

below are some typical traits of our target audience 

the age group of our target audience would be young adults from the age of about 16-25 due to the sequence entering on young adults therefore it would appeal to people of a similar age and maturity.

the target audience would come from rural areas due to the scene taking place in an extremely rural location surrounded by trees fealts natural beauty and large bodies of water. the target audience would also be mainly western white cultures as they are apart of the same group as the actors and the environment the sequence is shot in meaning it can be more relatable. however the murder mystery thriller genre of the film could also appeal to the more urban society due to it being a mystery film with a 'who done it' connotation which a wide majority of the western population enjoy watching.

the target audience would most likely be interested in outdoor activities, such as walking or sightseeing due to the location of the shoot. likewise they could also be interested in water sports such as paddle boarding or could be interested in researching water accidents and therefore find the film interesting to watch.

the target audience would mainly be people who are working class to middle class. working class people would be interested in the film due to it not bing flashy or glamorised in any way and shows realism in what the film is about, on the other hand it would also be an interest to middle class people due to the location of the shoot as many middle class people live in similar areas surrounded by countryside. 

history of opening titles and credits research task

Words and lettering played a big role when the first silent films were being produced. Film titles made their appearance in the earliest silent films, along with letter cards which provided context. These cards were the responsibility of the lettering artist, who collaborated with the scriptwriter and director to create narrative continuity so that audiences could follow what they were seeing. apart from these titles was the film’s main title.

Here is the main title from D.W. Griffith’s 'Intolerance', 1916, who many people consider the greatest film of the silent era. Note that variations of the director’s name are featured in five ways:

the first movie to have end credits was west side story made in 1961

below are some examples of production companie logos which have changes over the years due to the evolution of the business and the evolution of filmmaking 

films of the same genre of our title sequence that work the narrative and genre into the theme of their titles. 

- the girl on the train 

the girl on the train is a murder mystery film which I think fits quite well into the narrative of our title sequence. the font of the opening titles are spaced out and discreet until you get to the title of the movie 'the girl on the train' which almost has a strobe double effect to it where the same letters are overlapping each other. this fits in well to the genre and narrative of the sequence as it makes it look mysterious and like something has gone wrong as the title of the film is not neat, I think this ties in well to the genre and narrative of our opening title sequence as our sequence could have the potential of being a murder mystery or a disappearance film and the abandoned lake definitely gives off the connotations of solitude and wondering.

- candy man 

the next films opening title sequence I think fits well into the genre and narrative of our opening title sequence is candyman. even though candy man is a horror/thriler genre, our opening title sequence defiantly gives off the impression of a thriller genre movie. the reason why I love this title sequence relating to our title sequence is the idea of solitude it gives off. the arial shots of the cars on the road make it seem like the film can go anyway in terms of narrative as it does not establish much therefore the titles fit in well die to the soft but bold font which gives off vintage vibes as the film is so old. our title sequence also has a pre 2000 vibe due to the old hut on the lake giving it a creepy old scenery.

from these examples I can take inspiration for my titles for my sequence by been able to see how the titles are placed in the scene so the shots are not blocked and the titles don't overpower or not fit the narrative of the sequence. it can also show me how important it is to have a font that fits in with your opening title sequence so the finished product looks clean, professional and not overpowered.

Saul and Elaine Bass research

"in a sense, all modern opening title sequences that introduce the moodier theme of a film are a legacy of the basses work."

Saul Bass 

Saul Bass was an American graphic designer who is best known for his designs for many opening title sequences and film posters.

During his 40-year career, Bass worked for some of Hollywood's most prominent filmmakers, including Alfred Hitchcock, Otto Preminger, Billy Wilder, Stanley Kubrick and Martin Scorsese. Among his best known title sequences are the animated paper cut-out of a heroin addict's arm for Preminger's The Man with the Golden Arm, the credits racing up and down what eventually becomes a high-angle shot of a skyscraper in Hitchcock's North by Northwest, and the disjointed text that races together and apart in Psycho.

Bass designed some of the most iconic corporate logos in North America, including the Geffen Records logo in 1980, the Hanna-Barbera "swirling star" logo in 1979, the sixth and final version of the Bell System logo in 1969, as well as AT&T Corporation's first globe logo in 1983 after the breakup of the Bell System. He also designed Continental Airlines' 1968 jet stream logo and United Airlines' 1974 tulip logo, which became some of the most recognised airline industry logos of the era.

Elaine Bass

Elaine Bass is also an American opening title sequence designer and filmmaker.

Elaine worked for 40 years alongside Saul Bass, a graphic designer, title designer, and filmmaker whom she married in 1961. Together, they developed many projects for directors such as Martin Scorsese and Danny DeVito. She is one of the main designers who helped to elevate the short film and the title sequence to an art form.

Saul and Elaine 

Elaine designed title sequences alongside Saul Bass for 40 years, and employed diverse filmmaking techniques from Bunraku-style maneuvers in Spartacus, live action sequences in Walk on the Wild Side, Nine Hours to Rama, The Victors, Seconds, Grand Prix to time-lapse photography in The Age of Innocence, and even chopped liver in Mr. Saturday Night.

From the mid-1960s to the late 1980s, Saul and Elaine moved away from main titles to focus on filmmaking and their children Jennifer born in 1964 and Jeffrey born in 1967. Remarking on this time, Saul said:

"Elaine and I feel we are there to serve the film and to approach the task with a sense of responsibility. We saw a lot of pyrotechnics and fun and games and I suppose we lost interest. At the same time, an increasing number of directors now sought to open their own films in ambitious ways rather than hire someone else to do it. Whatever the reasons, the result was ‘Fade Out.’ We did not worry about it: we had too many other interesting projects to get on with. Equally, because we still loved the process of making titles, we were happy to take it up again when asked. ‘Fade In’…"

In the 1980s, the Basses were rediscovered by James L. Brooks and Martin Scorsese who had grown up admiring Saul Bass's film work. For Scorsese, Saul and Elaine Bass created title sequences for Goodfellas, Cape Fear, The Age of Innocence, and Casino (1995), their last title sequence. This later work with Scorsese saw the Basses move away from the optical techniques that Saul Bass had pioneered in his early career and move into the use of computerized effects. These later title sequences featured new and innovative methods of production and startling graphic design.

Director Martin Scorsese spoke about his collaboration with the Basses, saying:

"I had the honor of working with Saul and Elaine Bass on the title sequences of four pictures in a row. Each time they would study the film, take a few months, and then send us back a test that exceeded my wildest expectations. The simple, speeding graphic of the Goodfellas titles synced to the sound of speeding cars on an expressway … the ominous, wavering reflections in water of phantom images that began Cape Fear… the endlessly blooming flowers, like love renewing itself again and again, under layers of lace for The Age of Innocence… the form of a man falling through a neon hell in Casino. These title sequences didn’t just complement my pictures, they gave them another layer, embodying the themes and the emotions in a way that led viewers into the mystery of the film without giving it all away. And, of course, every sequence was different in style and approach."

Screenwriter Nicholas Pileggi said of Saul and Elaine Bass, "You write a book of 300 to 400 pages and then you boil it down to a script of maybe 100 to 150 pages. Eventually you have the pleasure of seeing that the Basses have knocked you right out of the ballpark. They have boiled it down to four minutes flat."

you tube video shoot day interview

https://youtu.be/lwdJ9xRkaVU