Planning: Open Scene Narration - Miss Begum

What is an opening scene narration? Why is it important?

An opening scene narration is a written story that follows events chronologically therefore it gives meaning to it.

Scene Narration:

     The scene begins with an extreme close up of many bits of paper torn into pieces and being left on the floor creating a chaotic atmosphere for the audience. Then a crane shot reveals more cut outs which form the very first opening credit, the production name. The image cross-cuts into the front cover of Elle magazine, the model on the front cover has been beheaded which already concerns the audience and triggers their fear because it is an unusual and barbaric act. The screen crosses back to the messy pieces of paper, displaying a close up of another acknowledgment, the director’s name. Quick shot of a double page spread with more beheaded models is accompanied by an eerie sound, making the audience feel much more worried and inquisitive because this is such a sadistic idea. As the scene develops, a cross cut shows a close up of a hand drawing a ‘W’ with a red lipstick, thus creating a sense of violence because red connotes blood; making the audience scared. Back to the floor, there is more opening credits, this time it’s the main casts in the film written on the newspaper cut outs. This is accompanied by continued eerie non-diegetic sound which is enhanced by the change of pace, tone and volume in order to have a bigger effect and be more recognizable by the viewer. By the third cast member, a medium close up displays a red bra which is grabbed in a sharp movement by an anonymous hand. This already makes the viewer assume that someone must be in a hurry or stress because they are rushing, thus making the audience feel tense too because very little is explained to them.

     In the middle of the sequence a zoom in on the mannequin makes the viewer place their full attention on this iconography, hence infer that this will be a significant part of the scene. This short frame cross-cuts back into the opening credits, now acknowledging the editor. Because of this short edits the audience cannot form a clear structure therefore making them feel insecure and ambiguous. The camera quickly cuts back to a close up of the mirror, this time an ‘S’ is drawn on with the red lipstick which is confusing to the audience as the sentence is not fully revealed; making them curious. Another straight cut presents a medium close up of more magazine covers with female underwear on the floor which is grabbed off the screen by a hand. This is accompanied by eerie non-diegetic sound, thus making the viewer feel uncomfortable because this is quite uncommon and seems to be something the character is ashamed of because of the quick movements. Moreover the audience is displayed to an unknown figure with a close up. They seem to be putting on tights and the jump cut with under lighting make the scene look distorted and threatening which is a conventional trait of a thriller. Another extreme close up shows someone putting on a red lipstick and another, of a person putting on a handbag. This is still accompanied by the under lighting, which yet again seems mysterious and unclear for the audience who are still baffled about what is going on. These short edits then flash to a medium shot of the mannequin and a posture trying to fit a dress on it. The back lighting will allow to keep the character anonymous and create more build up and tension towards the climax.

      Towards the end of the sequence there are much sharper edits from one shot to another which yet again reinforces that the climax is soon to come and the audience will have a chance to see the mysterious character. A close up takes the audience back to the mirror where the red lipstick was used to write the letter ‘T’. This can be quite frustrating for the viewer who is still aggravated and eager to find out what is written and who is this mysterious character. A double page spread is additionally shown with more beheaded women. The top lighting proposes that they are innocent and vulnerable which makes the audience feel pity towards them. The frame crosses to a medium shot of a dress which is now violently taken off the mannequin and the character starts to dress themselves. The audience can see that the dress doesn’t fit at all and it takes this character a lot of effort to try and look good and feel satisfied with themselves. This dissolves into a long shot with a low angle of a muscular body. Because of the under light it is hard for the viewer to tell exactly who this is but there is sense of superiority created by the low angle. The viewer can feel threaten. The slow tilt shot fully reveals the character who in fact is a middle aged man. This is likely to shock the audience because this is not so common for a male to cross-dress. This reaction is conventional because many thriller opening have an element of surprise and a twist to it.

      At the end of the sequence the male character walks towards a wall and we can see from over his shoulder another cover of a fashion magazine with a head of a model which has been scribbled on. His face is truly frustrated and full of rage which is caused by jealousy and the thought that he has been deprived of such beauty. In anger he smudges all the make up on his face and the under lighting helps to exaggerate this distortion creating fear for the viewer. Aggravated, the character walks out and the back lighting helps the audience to infer that he is up to no good. This slowly dissolves into a zoom in of the mirror and the viewer finally gets to see what was written on there. It reads ‘Who is that Woman?’ which is in fact the title of the film. This title would make the audience intrigued because they are unsure who this is about and will keep questioning themselves whether the male character meant himself, a model or completely someone else.

Theory that can be applied:

Barthes's theory can be applied because of the semiology and cultural understanding. For example the use of mise en scene will create meaning and response to the audience drawing upon emotions. For example the use of the red lipstick as iconography, connote femininity, however the red colour connote blood and passion which will make the audience feel confuse and threatened. Another example could be the mannequin which will connote fashion and the female gender to make the audience insecure about their body and make them curious who is the character and his actions.

Aristotle's theory can also be applied as it evoke meaning from the audience through the use of different themes. The theme of hatred and obsession will be demonstrated when the character has an obsession towards make-up, fashion magazine, dresses and a mannequin. This will create a feeling of fear and and insecurity as the frame will be presented with the use of low key lighting connoting danger. In addition, the theme of morality will be shown throughout the opening, where the viewers will be able to questions the actions of the character whether is right or wrong, to reflect on their own decision in their life. 

Conclusion:

In conclusion, creating an opening scene narration was a beneficial idea because this allowed me to understand the narrative in much more detail of what we are looking to achieve. It has also helped us to know exactly what is the audience response that we are hoping to receive form the viewers. This is because openings often determine whether the spectator is interested or not. Moreover from the narrative description it we will create a good story board which will help in the production and allow us to know exactly what each shot will look like.

Planning: Storyboard - Miss Begum

What is a storyboard? Why is it important?

A storyboard is sequence of hand-drawing picture which has been put together in order to create a story and meaning to it. They are often used in the pre-production stage, so they can be developed and visualize by all the other members in the group. This is because is the best way to share your own opinion and idea and also because it extremely easy to identify. Storyboard is important because it helps when you are filming. This is because you already planned what camera shot and angle you want to use and establish in the opening making, thus it saves time.

These are the hand-drawing of my storyboard:

Conclusion:

In conclusion, storyboard was beneficial during the production making, because it allowed me to visualize the narrative and compare my vision to the other colleges in my group. When producing this storyboard the elements that we need to consider were mise en scene, cinematography and editing. This is because when we will start filming our opening scene we will not waste time thinking which iconography, costume or camera shot we will use. Moreover, this will help our group when editing because we already know which editing techniques will be appropriate for the frame shot. Lastly, this story board was significant because without this our planning would not be completed and we would be unprepared to film.

Planning: Final idea - Mrs. Quinlan

What is a Final idea? Why is it important?

Final idea is the scheme that you consider for your definitive project. When planning the final idea you should consider about the advantages and disadvantages as well as how to overcome them. Additionally, this idea must be agreeable from every member of the group, whereas there will be conflict which will lead to a rubbish opening thriller. Lastly, final idea is important because it organised your plan and make sure that it has it's own sense and see if there are any anomalies that can be improved.

Final Idea:

Title: Who is that Woman?

Sub-Genre: Psychological thriller

Narrative/Plot:

The opening begins with pieces of paper ripped on the floor. Once in a while these will create the typography for the opening credits. The eerie music will accompany extreme close ups of beheaded women in newspapers which has been cut out or scribbled on which will help to introduce the mood as well as the theme of hatred. Moreover there will be short and quick cross cuts to someone putting on a hand bag, lipstick and tights as well as other clothes. Simultaneously the camera will dispose a mystery character putting on clothing on a mannequin; as if trying to put up a new outfit together. This will be accompanied by cross cuts of fashion newspapers of famous and expensive magazines such as Glamour or Elle with models. The anonymous character starts to take the outfit from the mannequin and puts it on themselves. The final shot will reveal the male who wears this costume and walks out the room. (Fade to black).

Narrative Structure:

• Aristotle: the different themes should evoke meaning and response from the audience, whether emotional or physical. For example the theme of mystery will intrigue the audience who will be curious to know who the mysterious character is.  

• Barthes: the idea of cultural references will be explored by the idea of a male putting on females clothing and being interested in becoming the other sex. Also the theory of semiology will be explored by the use of denotations such as magazines or lipstick and their different connotations.

Characters:

• Unknown character: the main character is the antagonist however his identity is only revealed at the end. The way that the shots will be framed and the contribution of lighting and cinematography will show that this character is evil.

Mise En Scene:

Costume, Hair and Make-Up:

• Antagonist: male antagonist in female clothing such as tights and blouses or dresses. This will subvert the conventional image on an antagonist but will be interesting to explore and develop in order to create an effect on the viewer. The Make-up should be heavy so it will be easy smudged in order to reinforce the idea of evil nature.

Lighting and Colour:

• Throughout, lighting will be mostly low key with highlights of top lighting and under lighting. The low key will allow the audience to feel the thrilling atmosphere. The top light will be used when the character begin to write in the mirror which allow to highlight the important iconography or typography which is relevant to the narrative. Moreover the under lighting will be used when the character puts on tights to help to create the chilling atmosphere as well as create a representation of the antagonist and reinforce his evil intentions.

Setting:

• The unknown setting will help to make the audience feel insecure because they are completely vulnerable and exposed to their surroundings as everything is hidden and mysterious. Because of the use of lighting it will look like they are surrounded by darkness.

Iconography:

• The newspaper cut outs which will also play as typography.
• The Mannequin.
• The magazine pages.
• Lipstick which will be used to write the title of the film.

Facial Expression and Body Language:

• The antagonist will have an aggravated facial expression to show his anger and frustration towards the magazine models. In addition he will also feel hatred towards these covers. His body language should look feminine in order to suggest that he is imitating the female models, however because this doesn’t work he becomes stiff and has rigid movements.

Film Influences:

• Seven - this is because there are many cut outs and highlighting just like the character from the Seven opening did. Also we plan to use lighting in a similar way to the opening of Seven where there were many light bulb flashes and yellow highlights to create fear among the audience. 

• Silence of the Lambs - this is because the antagonist in the film had brutal  tendencies towards the female gender and tried to become one by murdering his victims and taking their skin. Simultaneously he has an obsession with mannequins and make-up, similarly to our character.

Advantages of the Idea:

• Its original
• Influenced by a classical thriller
• It is chaotic and will make the audience question the material
• Doesn’t give away too much of a narrative which is what an opening should do

Possible Problems and how to overcome them:

• The possible issue that will occur is to find a dark enough location that will allow the lighting to work effectively. This could be tackled if we film during an evening or night.
• It can be difficult to find a mannequin , this could be tackled by either creating a simple one or change our narrative.

• It will be difficult to find a male actor that will be fine to wear a female dress. this could be tackled bu compromising with different costumes or finding someone professional to do this role.

Why is it a Conventional Opening?

This idea is conventional to the thriller opening because it evokes the right audience responses. These include fear from the anonymous as well as obsessed antagonist. Moreover the use of themes such as mystery, obsession and hatred are often explored in thrillers which will also cause the audience to feel tense as well as enhance the narrative. Furthermore, this opening doesn’t give a lot of information about the film but has just enough to intrigue the viewer and continue to watch. Lastly, from the use of cinematography of different shot such as close up and extreme close up it will allow to create a professional opening thriller as well as using different movements such as tilt shot and panning shot. Also the use of low angle will not revels too much about the character's identity.

Possible Themes:

• Mystery
• Morality
• Obsession
• Hatred
• Revenge

Audience Response:

• At the beginning the audience is likely to feel confused as they are kept in tension because of the lack of knowledge about characters and narrative.
• During the cross cuts of beheaded models in newspapers the audience will feel disgust and fear as well as curiosity because they are unsure of what is going on.
• As the Audience are exposed to the shots of putting on lipstick, tights and hand bag they can become more relaxed as if thinking that this is all a mistake and someone is just getting ready to go on a night out.
• When the audience are finally introduced to the antagonist they are probably shocked to see that it is a male and will feel uneasy. They can also feel confused and question what is he up to and why does he feel so strongly about these models and fashion.  
• At the end they will find themselves terrified and insecure because the sequence leaves them with no answers to their questions.

Conclusion:

Overall, producing a final idea from the initial plans was beneficial because it gave me a solid idea to develops later on. This final idea is conventional and will work well because it's original and realistic which have meaning and response from the audience.

Research: Graphs & Evaluations - Miss Begum

What are graphs and Evaluation? Why are they important?

A graph is a visual records of the answer from my questionnaire represented is a simple way. From using my questionnaire, I have evaluated the answer the public gave me, to have an idea on what they like the most and create a product that will satisfy them. This was helpful because it allowed me to organise my feedback and have a clear understanding on what the audience wants. Moreover, after evaluating the graphs, I've made my decision for my thriller opening based on the audience response.

Conclusion:

In closure, creating and analyzing graphs was useful for my understanding because it showed me what audience prefers in an easier way. It also help me for my further planning for my opening thriller, on what themes to include and different micro-elements to incorporate. This is because in order to make a successful thriller opening I should consider what the public wants. Therefore evaluating their preferences had helped me in my decision for my thriller opening.

Planning: Developing ideas in groups - Miss Begum

What is an initial idea? Why is it important?

An initial idea is a plan or scheme designed for a main target. This is usually used to organize your first idea and judge whether it's realistic, original and successful. This is also beneficial to use as it build up and develop the product, when you compered them with members of the group. The members of my group are Natalia, Gulustan and obviously me. The first task that was assigned to us was to create a initial idea that suit the thriller genre. From here we were able to combine our idea and judge which one was the professional and realistic. This will evolve and make a better and innovative product. Initial ideas are important because it allows you to have an idea and later on change it if necessary, also because working in a group it will be easier because you have to compromise with other component of the group to create a product that will fulfilled everyone. 

IDEA 1 - NATALIA:

Narrative:  I want to divide the opening into 2 sections that will both make sense and work with one another. In the first section the opening credits will be presented with little narrative in order to establish the mood, atmosphere and genre of the film. This section is inspired by the opening of Seven where we don’t see the characters but can tell what is happening and what this could resolve in. In section one the main focus will be the anonymous letter that someone is creating by gluing and sticking newspaper cuttings together to create a whole. The newspaper cuttings will also become the typography for the opening credits. Section 2 on the other hand will have a clearer story line. It will start with a female character simply jogging in a forest until she finds a mysterious letter which is the one from the first section. She then feels unwell and takes medicine which causes her to hallucinate and hear things that are non-existing. She spots a weird ritual where an unknown figure does something to a child’s dead body. The sequence ends with an image of a female who wakes up on the floor with blood on her face leaving the audience with wonder whether the ritual was just a hallucination or reality.

Sub-genre: Psychological/ Mystery thriller.

Themes: Mystery, Super-naturalism, Death, Medicine, Chaos, Darkness.

Characters:

• Female Protagonist
• The Supernatural antagonists
• The Child Victim

Narrative Structure and Theory:  

• Todorov: in section 2 there will be a clear start, middle and end. The equilibrium when the female simply runs for leisure. Disequilibrium when she takes the pills and sees things. New equilibrium when she wakes up.
• Aristotle- the theme of child’s death should draw the audiences’ emotions and make them feel pity and distraught. The theme of mystery will make the spectators feel engaged with the narrative more and make them intrigued.
• Propp- the female character as a hero and the supernatural figures as the villains and the victim is the child.

Mise En Scene:

• Iconography- the Pills are the key iconography in this opening. This is because they are one of the causes of the visions and they give meaning to the narrative and character. The letter which is another stimulus for the protagonist.

• Lighting and Colour- low key natural lighting which will help to make the scene much more threatening and scary for the viewer.

• Setting- forest. Forests tend to be isolated and have connotations of mystery and danger. This will help to establish the thriller genre.

• Facial Expression and Body Language- the antagonist should slouch a little bit to show that they are mysterious and will not open up to anyone. The female protagonist will have a steady and firm body language and facial expression so the audience can put their hopes in her. The child victim will lay on the floor with open hands to show that it was a welcoming and good child who should be pitied by the viewer.

• Costume- the antagonist will wear a black cloak with white or black masks. This will help to hide their identity and show that they are in fact a supernatural character rather than humans. The hidden identity will scare the audience. The protagonist on the other hand should wear something casual to show that she is a typical person who the audience can relate with. The victim will wear a white to represent its purity and vulnerability.

Title: ‘Can You Hear Me?’ – This title will fit this opening because it will reinforce the idea of suffering from schizophrenia which is what the protagonist tries to fight. Also this is a direct question that aims at the audience too. The spectators will question themselves which will be engaging for them.

Advantages for choosing this idea:

• It is original
• Isn’t cliché
• It will draw the right emotions from the audience
• It has accurate thriller themes
• The characters are untypical
• The setting can be easily accessible
• The typography for the opening will be original and will not be added but it becomes a part of the scene which is also unique.

Potential problems and how I plan to overcome them:

• The natural lighting can be an issue as there needs to be a right balance so the scene isn’t too dark and still seems believable. However this could be tackled by editing the sequence and making it darker in Final Cut.

• The pills can be hard to access. This could be overcome by simply using sweets that look like medicine.

IDEA 2 - GULUSTAN:

Narrative:A young lady is lost and finds herself in Liverpool Street Train station at 11:45 pm. While turning around on the spot trying to figure out where she is, she realises a little girl sitting in the middle of the empty train station playing with a doll. As she approaches the little girl and is about to sit down to see if she’s ok she hears the voice of a foreign old man saying “isn’t it a little too late for a young girl like you too be out here… especially here.” As she turns around to ask why, there is no one there and she and the little girl are the only ones there. Exactly at 12:00 the big grandfathers clock bongs and she hears chants and a loud drum beat coming from outside. She is afraid to go take a look but doesn’t want to show her fear to comfort the girl but as she looks back at the girl, she is gone and her doll is still there. She picks up the doll and moves the arm, but weirdly when she does her own arm moves, almost as if the little girl controlled her and brought her precisely at 12:00. She slowly and steadily takes steps towards a window to see what’s going on and she see a crowd of people in ranks marching and chanting words in a different language. First she thinks it’s some kind of creepy festival but as she becomes conscious that something is controlling everyone she sees figure in a black cloak which she can’t make out due to it being dark and the figure being camouflaged.

Mise en scene:

Costume - black cloak.

Iconography - the doll that controls the damsel.

Setting- Liverpool train station.

Lighting & colour - High key back lighting  to make the setting look harmless and glamorous to defy the audience from the coming events.

Sound:

Diegetic sound: Chants and drum beat, Grandfathers clock bong, The old foreign man’s voice.

Non-diegetic: The unpleasant humming sound before and after the old man speaks.

Parallel sound: Chants and drum beat

Narrative theory:

Todorovs theory: There will be a clear start, middle and end. Start being when she arrives at the train station, middle when she sees the little girl and hears the old man, and end being when she hears the chanting and is trying to make out whats going on.

Themes: Kidnap and Psychological

Sub-Genres: Paranormal, Psychological, Mystery

Advantages of my opening thriller:

• It's unique
• The setting is easily accessible

Disadvantages of my thriller opening:

• Hard to find a large number of people to play in it
• Train station are hardly empty
• It hasn't been influenced by any other film

IDEA 3 - BIBI: 

Narrative: The scene begins with a man sleeping alone in his bedroom. It's the middle of the night and the house is silent. The man, half asleep and stirring around, hear what seems to be a shard of glass fall in the distance. He opens his eyes, but ignores it. Several heavy footsteps thud outside of his room. He reluctantly sits up from his bed. A sliver of light shines in from beneath his door. He hears more footsteps approaching and heavy objects falling to the ground. Completely awake now, he turns his bedroom lamp on. The man is petrified. He hears two men approaching his door, and shuts off his light. He decides to hide under his bed. From underneath he can see two men in combat boots pace around. From the untidy sheets of the bed the criminals assume that they are not alone in the room. They find the protagonist and kidnapped him. They wears a clown mask covering their identity. Moreover, the antagonist cover his eyes with a band and tape his mouth and throw him inside their van. The criminals drive for 1 hour to an unknown destination. At last they pick the protagonist and tied him up in a chair in a dark place. The protagonist already knows that he is going to be tortured end up dying. The two antagonist start preparing knife and trap to afflict and abuse the main character. One of the antagonist come closer to the protagonist facing him. The protagonist try to scream and shout louder as he possibly can, with anger. The antagonist approach him to make him shut up, takes off his mask and start laughing. The protagonist with a shocked and surprised facial expression start screaming with more anger. This is because the two antagonist are his best friends and is the protagonist’s birthday. They untied the protagonist and go to a club near the location and start drinking and dancing. As they are having the last shot, one of the friend put LSD on his drink. The protagonist start hallucinating and a fade to black is displayed. He wakes up the next morning from the hang over. He feels dizzy so he goes into the toilet and looked him himself to the mirror. He is confused as he is covered with blood and it’s not his one. He start panicking and begins to be nervous as he finds an axe next where he was lying.

Sub-genre: Crime, Psychological thriller

Themes: Kidnap, violence, torture, hang over

Characters: Protagonist - Antagonists

Narrative Structure and Theory: 

Todorov: there will be a clear start, middle and end. The equilibrium when the protagonist is lying in bed and he starts to hear some noises. Disequilibrium when the antagonists kidnapped the protagonist and tied him up in the chair. New equilibrium when he wakes up and finds blood and an axe.

Aristotle- the theme of kidnap should draw the audiences’ emotions and make them feel pity and distraught. The theme of mystery will make the spectators feel engaged with the narrative more and make them intrigued.

Mise En Scene:

Iconography - Knife, Mask, Van, Drugs and Axe.

Lighting and Colour- low key lighting to suggest evilness and danger and create a chilling response for the audience.

Setting- Apartment, Warehouse, Club, Room

Facial Expression and Body Language - Firstly the protagonist will be terrified and anxious as he does not know what’s going on in his apartment. Then has the narrative develops his body language will be vulnerable and weak as he cannot counterattack the antagonist. Moreover, when he will go to the club he will be relaxing and joying himself by dancing and drinking alcohol. Lastly as he wakes up he will be confused and terrified discovering blood in his hands and face. On the other hand, the two antagonist will be presented as strong and agile as they need to carry the protagonist in the van. They will also be muscular and treating as they will cover they face with a mask.

Costume – The protagonist will wear a white shirt and grey sweatpants. The white connote to his innocence and vulnerability, whereas the grey contrast his persona as being capable to do evil things. However, the two antagonist will wear a clown mask and black shirts and treasure. The mask will make their identity anonymous and the black clothing to their evil actions and danger.

Title: 'The Last Shot'

Advantages for choosing this idea:

·         Original and unique
·         Create suspense
·         Theories can be applied
·     Makes the audience have response and meaning on opening thriller

Potential problems and how I plan to overcome them:

•          It will be hard to tape

Conclusion:

In conclusion, after creating and sharing these initial ideas, me and my group came up with an original project that had covered most of ours ideas put together. This was helpful and satisfying as the idea is original and credible and will meet the audience expectations and create a professional opening thriller. We decided to rely on Natalia's idea as it was more easy to film, however we combined my idea and Gulustan's one to create the new plan for our thriller opening.