We tried to use a lot of close-ups in our opening sequence, this is where we first see the killers weapon, a chainsaw (in the bottom left) towards the end of our opening, he slowly moves in behind her so the character doesn't notice.
This is an extreme close-up, this fits well here because the audience can fully see the characters eye line turning around to notice what her friend was staring at.
This is a long-shot, we also used camera movement -following the character as she searches for 'Emma' her friend. hands in her pockets suggests that she isn't too frightening yet.
For this shot we had the camera held by hand because the tripod wouldn't go low enough to get the right shot. the camera is kept as still as possible whilst the character walks past. also to make the shot more effective we have slowed the pace down, and kept the background noise of footsteps.
This is a long-shot that we used from the antagonists point of view, the character soon becomes more anxious to find her friend and worried that she is being watched/followed after hearing a twig snap and a rustle of leaves behind her. also in this shot we can here diegetic sound of deep breathing-to disturb the audience.
We use this a a flash reaction mid-shot of the character turning around and looking in the direction of the noise. -builds tension
This is also a quick long-shot and fade to white, the audience can tell that is a young girl, and automatically presume that it is Lauren's friend she has been looking for-providing them a false scare.
This is a reaction shot that we have used after her friend jumps out at her, the audience see how this made Lauren jump, and become slightly frustrated with her friend, but become more relaxed because she knows Emma is with her again.
This close up clearly shows the audience her friends facial expressions and emotions.-linking them to the character. At first she seems happy, and laughing with her friend...
BUT her expression changes into a shocked, worried and disturbed face, and looks as if she has 'seen a ghost' focusing on behind Lauren. -close ups are a good way to get the audience to feel the same emotion as the character, and understand them.
This is the shot before edited of Lauren's friend. We have edited it to become black and white, and also blurred the edges trying to make it seem as if it's a flashback/dream.
The "hypodermic needle theory" implied mass media had a direct, immediate and powerful effect on its audiences. The mass media in the 1940s and 1950s were perceived as a powerful influence on behaviour change.
Several factors contributed to this "strong effects" theory of communication, including:
- the fast rise and popularization of radio and television
- the emergence of the persuasion industries, such as advertising and propaganda
- the Payne Fund studies of the 1930s, which focused on the impact of motion pictures on children.
The theory suggests that the mass media could influence a very large group of people directly and uniformly by ‘shooting’ or ‘injecting’ them with appropriate messages designed to trigger a desired response.
Uses and Gratifications
Originated in the 1970s as a reaction to traditional mass communication research emphasizing the sender and the message. Stressing the active audience and user instead. Psychological orientation taking needs, motives and gratifications of media users as the main point of departure.
Uses and gratifications theory attempts to explain the uses and functions of the media for individuals, groups, and society in general. There are three objectives in developing uses and gratifications theory:
1) To explain how individuals use mass communication to gratify their needs. “What do people do with the media”.
2) To discover underlying motives for individuals’ media use.
3) to identify the positive and the negative consequences of individual media use. At the core of uses and gratifications theory lies the assumption that audience members actively seek out the mass media to satisfy individual needs.
These are a few different types of shots which are useful in horror films:
extreme close-up this is useful to use mixed with a reaction shot or a zoom into. it helps connect the audience to the character and clearly shows the characters emotions.
close-up a close-up is common in all types of films, especially horror. this also helps link the audience to the character and shows emotion, but it also shows a little background of the scene, this is also well used with a reaction shot, and as having a conversation.
reaction shot One of the most important shots in a horror. the reaction shot shows the audience everything and sets the scene, the audience can become either very disturbed or very relieved. a reaction shot connects the audience and makes them feel the characters emotion and really pulls them into the film.
extreme long-shot this can be used to scare the audience and build suspense, you can't clearly see the person, or there expression, but you know they're there.
The Opening sequence of Scream 1 (approximately 12 minutes):
I did an opening scene analysis of scream 1, the picture I have put up of it isn't very focused or the right way around so I've decided to re-type some of the analysis:-
-The Establishing shot is of the house phone ringing. the flowery patterns and tidiness indicates that a female lives here.
-A young woman (Casey) answers the phone, she has very neat blonde hair telling us she is confident, innocent, and precise. she also seems to be very relaxed in her own home which is comforting for the audience.
-When Casey starts to fiddle with a knife- this is ironic because she seems relaxed here but this is how she is killed in just a few minutes time. this is also ironic because she begins to talk jokingly about horror films with the stranger on the phone he asks her about them and what she likes- this builds suspense for the audience because this is a horror they are watching, it's also slightly disturbing that she is comfortable talking about horror films and flirting with a stranger.
Stranger: "You never told me your name"
Casey: "Why do you wanna know my name?"
Stranger: "because I wanna know who I'm looking at."
-reaction shot of Casey. and a sudden realisation about what she's been talking about. she seems worried, disturbed, and frightened. this starts to panic the audience- they knew something wasn't right from the start. after this we see a cut away of Casey locking the doors- this is an enigma code to the audience about how worried she is. Casey has been lead into a false sense of security, as have the audience.
-When the killer finally shows in his mask, and is chasing Casey around the house, there is a shot I really like where you can see Casey scream and the reflection of the killers mask on her face. her reaction mirrors the scary screaming white mask the killer wears, and also links to the title of the film 'SCREAM'
-The audience is frightened by the killer because they find him clever, he immediately catches up with her and cuts and stabs at her throat so she is unable to scream for help, contrasting the film title.
-The audience is always kept on the edge of their seat in this opening sequence:
- Casey fights back.
- The killer chases her around a lot.
-rise and fall of suspense
-Casey's parents arrive giving the audience false hope.
- her parents fail to hear her when she is only a few feet behind them because of where her wounds are.
-Casey's parents eventually find her hanging dead in a tree by a swing. the swing represents innocence and children.
I really like this opening sequence because of the false sense of security and hope the audience receive, it keeps them involved in the movie.
We tried filming in public with a chainsaw after getting a criminal code in Beeston, but unfortunately we ran out of time and it became too dark to film, and had to re-do some shots, so we had to change location for some of the opening in my garden:
some parts of the story board have been edited since because of certain camera difficulties and weather, also there is no longer children running past the gate in the establishing shot.
