This title is of the name of the film. The title fades in so the audience see the title saying 'Snatched' in an eerie, spooky font that matches the narrative of the opening sequence. The title then smashes like glass off screen. After the smash the opening sequence begins. As soon as the titles appear on screen, the eerie music begins.
The titles start at the end of the sequence once the boy has been dragged over the hedge. The titles enter the screen through the use of a wipe that we edited in. The titles are in a white font and appear on a black background. The use of these contrasting colours make the titles stand out. If the titles were in bright colours on a colourful it would not fit the thriller genre, for that reason we decided on using black and white.
This shows how the first title appear on screen. The titles start from the first word and the last word and roll in to meet in the middle. Once on screen the letters look as if they are pulsating. When the title leaves the shot it spirals off in a wave like motion to the right of the screen.
This title enters the shot in a wave like motion, the letters also spin as they enter the shot. When on screen the letters look as if they are pulsating. This creates a quite disorientated image for the audience which matches the thriller genre.
The titles then leave in a similar way to what they entered the shot. However they leave to the right of the shot rather than the left. Then words get smaller as they leave the shot.
To ensure the titles matched the thriller genre we wanted to create a disturbed and disorientated feel. From the way the titles enter and exit the shot we feel as if that feel was met.
The pictures below show all of us contributing to the editing stages. It shows me (Left) looking for suitable music for the opening sequence. It shows Nikki (middle) on the editing program editing various shots together.
This shows the timeline of our opening sequence. From the timeline it shows the order in which shots appear, as well as what music we used. It also shows how we recorded sound separately and placed it on top of the shots, by doing this it made the sound a lot clearer and more emphasised in places it needed to be. From the timeline you can see how we layered sounds. During some parts of the sequence there is sound from the film as well as the music and recorded sound. The timeline also shows the various titles we used within the opening sequence.
Throughout the editing stages we used cross dissolving to blend a few of the shots. By using cross dissolving it allowed us to make the cutting as smooth as possible without looking to obvious and to ensure continuity was maintained throughout.
After evaluating our first draft, we began to plan the final edit. However, when arranging to re-film parts of the first draft it became clear that we would not be able to get the same characters together again for re-filming due to the young children being on holiday. Therefore as a group we decided it would be better for us to re shoot the whole of the opening sequence. Also by re-shooting the whole opening sequence it allowed us to create a new narrative which would be easier for audiences to follow.
First of all, we made a mind map of possible ideas.
This mind map shows:
Possible narratives
Locations, sounds
Camera
Costumes
Props
Edits
Characters
Like before, as a group we decided on a narrative, from the ideas we had down on the mind map. From the idea we had came up with we came up with a mind map showing the different shots that would be included within the opening sequence.
Storyboard:
The narrative for the final opening sequence, is similar in ways to the first draft. For example, both are set on a park with two children playing. However this time, the children are elder than in the first draft. The narrative for the final opening sequence is also more explained. For example the narrative is that a boy gets kidnapped on his way home from playing football with his friend. One boy is focused on more than the other, this is shown through numerous point of view shots of the kidnapper to show that someone is watching the young boys. Also a number of cross cuts show the young boys playing football, and footsteps of the kidnapper. By doing this it will make it clear to the audience that boys are being watched. Also the fact that the kidnappers face isn't shown fully throughout the sequence will create suspense and tension for the audience.
As a group once the first draft had been finished, we came together and evaluated what we could do to improve the first draft. We came up with a list of improvements we could make to the first draft. The improvement included:
More titles are needed, as well as making them more creative, however keeping to the genre of a thriller
The pans at the start is too quick and quite jumpy, therefore needs to be smoother and slowed down.
The music is eerie and does create tension and suspense, however it does not match the narrative of our thriller.
Throughout the opening sequence a few shots are shaky therefore a number a shots need to be re-shot to prevent the shakiness of shots.
The mother character of the film is too young, therefore, we could change her character to being the little girl's nanny or elder sister.
Throughout the opening sequence there are a number of awkward cuts, to improve this we could film a few more shots which would give the opening sequence more continuity.
The Narrative is confusing for the audience, however it works as a narrative, it just needs to be explained more to the audience so they understand how the little girl becomes possessed.
The shot of the possessed little girl is a good shot, however it is too brief which is confusing for the audience, therefore the shot needs to be prolonged to make it clear what has happened.
When filming we all had various roles, the roles that had to be filled for the production of the first draft included:
Casting
Makeup artist
Costume
Editor
Director
Filming
Script writer
Title arrangements
Props
Some of these roles were a team effort, for example, we all took it in turns filming the first draft, this meant we all had an equal opportunity to film. We also equally worked on the title arrangements. The individual roles included Casting, Props, Title arrangements, Makeup artist, Hair artist, and Director.
I took the role of casting and props. Chloe took the role of director, whilst Nikki took the role of Makeup artist and costume. I feel as if we all carried out our roles to the best of our ability.
However, the roles of editor, and and script writer was not filled. Therefore I feel the first draft was not as successful as it could of been. I felt as if the editing stage was quite one sided and not all the group worked equally on the editing. Due to the fact I did the majority of the editing, it left us with little time to complete all the titles, therefore out first draft lacked titles which left the draft looking unfinished and not as good as it could of been. No one took the responsibility of writing a script either, therefore during the filming stage we had to improvise of what the characters were to say.
We originally planned to film our opening sequence at Wollaton Park, but because the children we had asked to be in our film could not get to Wollaton Park, therefore we decided to will at a park close to where they live to make it easy for the. The location we chose had a forest part and park, therefore the location would still work just as well as Wollaton Park.
Mise-En-Scene
We also decided to keep the makeup and clothing on characters simple, as this would make the opening sequence more realistic, as young children don't wear makeup. Or go to the park in dresses. Therefore we made sure the young girl was wearing casual clothes such as jeans, a hoodie, wellies and a coat. We also made sure the mother of the little girl was wearing casual clothes as well.
Natural lighting was used throughout the filming. However, when we filmed the scenes in the woods, the lighting was dark, which added to the tension we were trying to create. Thrillers often use dark lighting to create tension. Therefore this scene especially added to the tension. During the editing stages we as a group decided to darken the lighting, as we thought it would create a more airy and tense atmosphere, which is essential for a thriller.
Sound
Throughout the filming there were backgrounds such as other children playing on the park, birds, traffic noise. This dieagetic sound made the opening sequence more realistic. For the non dieagetic sound we decided to use the 'Hex' theme as the music at the start of the sequence, we decided upon this because the music starts of airy and builds with tension throughout. We also thought this was the music that matched our narrative the most. We also used the 'thirteen' theme in our opening scene. We used it towards the end of sequence, when the camera pans down from the side shot of the swing and the audience begin to see footsteps, that is when the music begins. We chose this music because it is a song that can be associated with children due to the fact it is taken from a well known nursery rhyme, as well as being sang by what sounds to be a young girl. This music is quite spooky and airy which along side the footsteps, builds the climax of our opening scene.
This is the music that starts as the mother character leaves her daughter.
This is the song that starts when the little girl is left on her own at the swings.
Editing
During the editing stages, we all took it in turns to edit the clips together. We used a number of editing techniques, such as action matches, dissolves. We also changed the colours of the clips to make them look darker to create an airy tension, however we made sure the lighting still looked natural. Towards the end of the sequence when the footsteps begin the shots change to black and white which create a more airy atmosphere which creates tension and suspense for the audience.
Filming
When filming we made a few changes to the story, for example we didnt film the clip where the little girl spins round with the teddy bear. We also filmed the little girl dropping the teddy, we then zoomed into the teddy so audience realised that it had been dropped for the purpose of the story. Later on in the sequence after the footsteps the audience see the little boy the little girl was on the swing with, stood behind her holding the teddy she dropped wearing a gasmask. This shows the audience that something unnatural has happened and creates a tension for the audience when they see that the little girl has become possesed.
As a group we came up with a mind map containing possible ideas for the opening titles of our film. The mind map included possible characters, mise en scene, locations, narrative, sound and editing. The mind map would allow us to see as a group all our ideas on one sheet of paper, then expand on them in order to come up with a possible narrative for our opening.
From the finished mind map and the ideas we had expanded on, we came up with a mind map as a group. We decided upon using a park as the location. The characters would include a young girl around the age of 5, and mum and a young boy. The characters will be wearing just normal everyday clothes, as this will make the narrative realistic. The story we decided upon was the the mother and young girl were going to the park, however the mother left her phone in the car and therefore told her daughter to head to the park herself whilst she just went back to get her phone. The little girl arrives at the park and sees her friend on the swings, after the boy leaves, strange things begin to happen on the park and the opening ends with the girl swinging on the swing she then looks into the camera slowly and through the use of an extreme close up the audience can see the girls eyes have turned red, suggesting she has become possessed. With this idea in mind we put together a storyboard for the filming.
After we completed the storyboard we decided on creating a storyboard which would show the stages of editing. The editing storyboard also shows when music will get louder or quieter, and when titles will fade in and out.By doing this it would show what we would need to do when editing the clips together. However as a group we knew this would only be a rough guideline, as when it came to actually editing the clips together, certain clips may not go together as we hoped so might have to change what edits are put in where.
This song would be used right at the start of the opening sequence, this is a possible music choice for the opening sequence because this music is quite airy and creates suspense and tension for audiences. Suspense and tension is what we want to be created throughout our opening sequence due to the fact it is a thriller, and therefore the opening has to be thrilling, and this music fits into that category. This music is the theme for the ride Hex at Alton Towers, this ride is one of the main thrilling rides at the theme park, which is based around a thriller/horror genre just like our opening scene.
This is another possible music choice for the opening sequence, however this will go towards the end of the opening, when the footsteps are going around the little girl. We have chosen this because 'If you go down to the woods' is a well known nursery rhyme, therefore we thought it would fit into the narrative as the girl in the opening sequence is of the age where children enjoy to sing nursery rhymes. Also the little girl had also walked through woods before she entered the park. This song is also a more spooky version of the original song 'Teddy Bear picnic' (which is shown below) which fits in well with the genre of the opening sequence.
This is the original version of the song which is a potential music choice for our opening sequence. This version of the song we have chosen, is more child friendly as the lyrics originally were about teddy bears having a picnic, where as in the version we have chosen the song is about not about teddy bears, but it is more spooky which creates tension for audiences, however still making that like to children from the well known song.
This is another song we think may possibly go well in the opening sequence. This song has quite a child feel about it due to the twinkling sound in the background of the song which makes the music seem quite magical, this is good for the opening sequence because our thriller is based around a child. Whilst being a music that can be linked to a child it also as an airy feel to it because of the echoing voices in the background which creates tension which can be linked to the thriller side on the opening sequence. However the problem with this song is that it is too upbeat. Therefore it may not go with the narrative of the opening sequence.
This title is of the name of the film. The title fades in so the audience see the title saying 'Snatched' in an eerie, spooky font that matches the narrative of the opening sequence. The title then smashes like glass off screen. After the smash the opening sequence begins. As soon as the titles appear on screen, the eerie music begins.
