Evaluation Activity 1 - How typical is the opening scene of our film

• For the title of our film we used a plain, capital font. We didn't want to use any fonts that are like handwriting (e.g French Script) or any fonts that are rounded (e.g. Comic Sans). This is because it would give a soft look to the film. Where as using a harsh, straight font this gives the feeling this film isn't going to be a comedy, romance etc. , but a horror. We used the colour red for the font as from researching other films, it is clear that for horror films titles red is a popular colour as it represents blood, and reflects the angry feeling usually expressed in horror films.
• We introduced the location of our film by using an establishing shot. This is something usually done in horror films, as the audience need to be clear where all of this action is taking place. This establishing shot can be compared with the establishing shot used at the beginning of the film The Ring, similarly it is an establishing shot of the house. We also used a panning camera movement with this shot to clearly show that the house the conversation is taking place in isn't alone, it is on a street with other houses, highlighting the fact that the action of the film will not happen here. This contrasts with the beginning of The Grudge as in this establishing shot the house is placed on its own, showing that the action in the film will begin here.
• From the third screen shot it is clear we have used a prop. This prop is a knife, which clearly highlights who the victim and who the attacker is in this film. By having a close up shot of the knife this clearly shows the prop to the audience, making it clear to them some action is about to happen. In many horror films close up shots are used to highlight props which are key to events happening, e.g in the opening of The Grudge the close up of the phone ringing shows this is key.
• The fourth screen shot shows the editing we have used in our film. We used the effects 'black and white' and 'old film' to capture the feeling of a CCTV camera. The 'old film' affect also created movement on the shots, giving across the idea that CCTV cameras are moving looking for action all the time. This isn't similar to many horror films, as a lot do not use editing in this way, though some do reduce the amount of colour in shots to give a dull feeling to the film, therefore reflecting it's not positive and is a horror film.
• For our opening credits we used the same font as our films title. Instead we used the colour white for these, so that they are more noticeable against the dark colourings of all the shots. We decided to show the credits ontop of the opening scenes of the film, instead of being on a block colour background. This is so that the credits aren't distracting for the viewer, even though they're important we do not want the flow of the film to stop and the viewers interest to deteriorate. Some films can work using credits ontop of a block coloured background, for example in The Grudge this works well for seperating scenes which I saw in my research previously. But in The Ring, which I also researched this used credits over the top of the opening scenes which worked well in keeping the flow of the film going. Also, because the opening locations do not change a lot, this means keeping the credits over the top of the opening scenes ensures a steady flow for the film.
• The prop the 'lost cat' poster shows the story of the opening. This prop shows why the victim is going out at night. Also the fact that she is going looking for her cat gives the feeling of innocence to the character, meaning that she is more likely to get attacked in this stereotypical horror film.
• The genre of the film is suggested by the attacking character, as they are mysterious because of the costume (the hood covering the face and hiding the identity). Also the fact that our film is shot at night gives the idea it is a horror film, as usually attacks in horror films do not happen in the day. Also being at night gives the feeling the victim cannot be helped, as nobody will be around to help whereas they would be in the day time.
• Two characters are introduced by the conversation scene which is typical in horror films. E.g at the beginning of The Ring, two girls are introduced to the audience through a conversation scene. The attacker is introduced by being seen following in the distance, which is typical in a horror film, as by using this technique it does not give away the identity of this character, therefore adding suspense.