Post Production

After recording the majority of the shots and adding the track that we had desired we began to edit our footage. During the editing process we had realised that we may have had to make changes to shots that we had already planned within our storyboard, or add entirely new shots that we had not previously considered.  

Order of Shots - See Above

• Getting Ready (makeup, getting dressed, the audience see the mask for the first time)
• Location and time change from characters home to an outdoors location 
• Car pulls up - both characters journey back to second character's home 
• Implied sexual activity 
• Implied Violence

First of all, we knew we had to establish within our product, the film institution that we had chosen to use, which was Hammer Film Productions. This is shown at the beginning of our film opening, as is done traditionally within existing media products. As shown above, the very first visual within our film opening, establishes the film institution that we have chosen to use.

Within the 'Getting Ready' sequence, we colour corrected most of the shots to give a slight tint, as well as to match up the colours between the shots that are supposed to carry on from each other to enhance the continuity between each shot.

This initial sequence was not originally a part of our storyboard, however we decided it would be an effective technique to establish the character of the Temptress.

We also used existing presets within Final Cut Pro X, such as "Romantic", which softens the shot amongst other things. we decided to do this because it gives us the ability to add a tint to create an atmosphere. In addition to this, we also created some of our own presets that would make colour correcting of each individual shot much easier for us to edit.

As shown above, we made use of transitions which is evident within our final product, and both shots and sound have been layered in order to create the desired effect. Sound is discussed in the sound recording post in more detail. This allowed us to create the desired effect of an echo within the soundtrack that we had decided to use. This enabled us to create an eerie atmosphere that would've created uneasiness amongst the audience.

We also used some sound effects that were accessible by FCPX, although these were used minimally. An example of a sound effect that used is shown to the right.

During the post-production process, we also experimented with transitions to achieve a particular affect, as seen above. We wanted the smoke from the candle being blown out to carry forward onto a black screen for a brief moment, before the location changes to signify the significance of the next part of the sequence. This creates an eerie and mysterious atmosphere which causes the audience to contemplate the narrative of the film opening, as at this point they know very little information about characters within the film opening.


Below, are comparisons of our storyboard to the corresponding shots within our film opening. This demonstrates that during the production process we had to make decisions as a group to decide what would be included in our final product.

This sequence was intended to give the character of the Temptress a mysterious vibe, as within our storyboard we did not include the 'Getting Ready' sequence, as aforementioned. The reverse tracking shot was unable to be done due to the busy location surrounding Greenwich Market where we had filmed. Additionally we were not able to create or find a makeshift track for this particular shot.

The final product mimics the storyboard quite accurately, although the order of the shots were changed in order maintain the continuity between the shots within this sequence. The Temptress is represented and established as a highly feminine character. We did not include a long shot of the characters' interaction as we did not want to create a personality for the character for the victim. We intended to represent him as a stereotypical hypersexual male who seeks sex workers for their services.

Again, this shot is how we had planned for it to be. It was intended to show the journey to the victim's residence. 

The purpose of this shot was to reflect the nature of the relationship between the two characters. It should have established tat the character of the Temptress is a prostitute who is providing her services to a customer who eventually becomes her victim.

Finally, within these particular shots, the manipulative and murderous nature of the Temptress is revealed to the audience. The low angle shot indicate her dominance and her power in this situation.

At the very end of our film opening, we added the title of our film opening, on top of a black background and a soft glow of a candle, which is blown out in time with the music as well as the flickering light of the title which also fades out with the music. We chose to do this because we thought it was an ideal point within the soundtrack for us to end our film opening, and we did not have nor need to add more footage, as this would have displaced the already edited footage which was edited in time with our soundtrack.



The ending of our film opening was carried out very much how we had planned it to within our storyboard, as shown by the clip to the left. Although the font we had used within our product was not how we had initially imagined it to look.

- S 

Title And Typography

In the 1980s a multitude of iconic horror movies hit the screens of cinemas worldwide. One of the most important aspects of each of these horror films is how they are defined by their well-known and easily recognisable logos and typography. Examples include:

The bloodied brushstrokes of "Friday the 13th"

The nightmarish font for "A Nightmare on Elm Street"

We hope that that the style of font that we choose to use will appeal to a female audience, by appearing aesthetically pleasing. Additionally, we would like the typography that we choose to effectively portray and reflect the nature and narrative of our film opening. For this reason, we are considering a font that resembles neon lights that are used as signs, as this imagery is associated with night life.

As a group, we have made the decision of naming our film 'Temptress', which had been decided and discussed in this post. We think that this is an ideal name for our piece, because of the narrative and the character of the antagonist. In some ways, it is similar to films that reference significant characters within the plot, such as "The Exorcist". 

The criteria for our font:

Feminine - Curly and/or slender 

Carved (having an appearance as though it has been carved)

OR Resembling neon light signs

Some of the fonts that we considered, however not satisfied with were:

We thought that the slender form of the letters and the jagged appearance would be ideal, however the letter spacing was not ideal as the when the slender letters were placed so close together it became slightly more difficult to read. Additionally, the red font (which would have been used in order for it to resemble the mutilation of the victims) made it more difficult to read on the dark coloured backgrounds. 

Whilst this font could be considered highly feminine, we did not like its appearance and thought that it was not the most ideal font to use for our own film opening. The cursive script could be considered feminine, however we thought that this particular style of typography would not appeal to our target audience and would not effectively reflect the nature of our film opening.

The font we had decided to use:

We found this typography ideal as a group due to its resemblance to neon lights which is often associated with night life in the city, a prevalent theme within our film opening. This resemblance also allowed us to make it appear as if it was flickering through post production editing as shown by the image above. We think that this is ideal and we are satisfied by how it is relevant to our narrative and the nature of the events that unfold within the film opening that we are creating.

The magenta glow gives the typography a slightly feminine twist as well, which is part of our criteria and something that we had hoped to achieve. The colour is cool toned and is accompanied by the flickering effect, which creates an eerie atmosphere that we believe is suitable for our film opening.

- S 

Sound Recording

As part of the post production process we had to consider our use of sound to build tension and suspense, which are key conventions within the slasher genre, in order to engage the audience. 

Filming

We produced our film opening over a series of shoots in two locations: Greenwich, and the bedroom of my suburban house. We shot both the beginning and ending bedroom scenes in the same room, but altered lighting and mise en scene to make them look like they took place in two separate homes. The middle section of the sequence was shot in Greenwich in the evening so that we could  produce an eerie atmosphere whilst maintaining an image quality that would be lost by filming any later in the day.

Pre-Production Experimenting

Before finalising the shots for our film opening, our group needed to test ensure that our mise en scene would be effective in our sequence. 

Firstly we made sure to try out SFX makeup in order to make sure the final piece was to a high quality, especially as nobody in our group had worked with this medium before.

For SFX we tested out two different methods: liquid latex, and scar wax.

• Scar Wax

• Liquid Latex

The liquid latex was the least successful of the two methods, showing obviously on the skin, whilst we were able to mould the scar wax to the chest and then apply makeup to it to fix any colouration issues. We tried out different sizes with the scar wax before deciding that the cuts looked more effective if they were spread all across the chest. We found fake blood to be more effective than the red paint used alongside the latex as it didn't dry up throughout filming time.

We also experimented with different masks and added an extra costume to the Temptress' wardrobe before producing the final film opening. We had a selection of 4 donated masks to choose from (we opted for pre-made masks as we wanted it to look of a quality we most likely wouldn't have achieved in the time we had to make it) of which we ranked in the following order:

Our final choice was the cream and gold mask as a lot of the climatic scenes of our opening would be shot in low key lighting and most likely darken the majority of the face; therefore by choosing a mask with gold glitter that would catch any light shone on it we had a way to film in low-key lighting but produce effective shots of the Temptress.



The additional costume added in was a black satin nightdress layered with a white floral kimono. Initially we wanted the opening to begin with the Temptress in her red dress walking along a quiet street at night, however after shooting a few scenes it became evident that some shots of her getting 'into character' would heighten interest and emphasise her sexual nature.

-R

Location Scouting

Before we began filming, we needed to establish the locations at which we would film. These places needed to be easy to access and film in (i.e not too far away or too busy) but also fit with the specifications of our plot. In order to ensure that we selected the best location for our film opening, we first scouted a few areas that we thought would fit our requirements.

Our Outside Location Specification:

- Easily accessible by all members of our group.

- Free to film there.

- Not overly busy at our desired filming time.

- Streetlights (preferably warm yellow)

- City/Town.

One of the locations we visited was Greenwich town.

This location seemed perfect, albeit slightly busy, it has the warm streetlights we were looking for, as well as a beautiful view across the Thames of Canary Wharf that we could use to establish our city location. We found a quiet one way road in which we could have a car park and drive off easily without having to battle traffic, meaning our car scene was able to proceed. Furthermore, as we were not on any private property there was no charge to film here.

Another location we visited was St Nicholas' Church, Plumstead.

This location has a history of prostitution, therefore we considered it to be ideal for filming. However aesthetically, the setting did not satisfy us due to the abundance of green which was not resemblant of the city environment that we were wanting to film in. For this reason we elected to film in Greenwich instead.

The requirements for our inside location was less detailed as we had the ability to change interior décor and this wouldn't be seen too much anyway as we would film mostly with close ups to disorientate the viewer. For this reason we chose to use my house as it was accessible to both group members, and the room we would be filming in was white - so lighting and décor could be changed to portray different moods easily.

-R

Editing Research

During post-production, the software that we will be using to edit our footage will be Final Cut Pro X, which is also the program that was used to edit our Preliminary Task. As our film opening is categorised as a Slasher/Horror, we must consider this during the post production process in order to ensure that the final piece will be effective and meet expectations of a horror film opening, by using editing and post-production effectively. 

Characters - Costume

Costume is an integral part of any film as it provides a reflection of a character's personality or intentions; therefore we had to carefully consider the costume of the characters in order to portray to the characters, as we as filmmakers perceive them, with clarity to the audience.

Character Profiles & Screen Testing

Creating character profiles enable us, as film makers, to ensure fictional characters are as realistic as possible to form the correct impression upon the audience and for continuity within the action. 

Final Design: Mask

Pictured above is the mask we have decided to use for our antagonist, Temptress.

Although a variety of possible ideas for the mask were explored in this post, the final mask that we had decided to use did not satisfy the criteria that we had previously created. 

The criteria we created as a group consisted of:

Concept Designs: Mask

Masks are an important aspect of the slasher genre, we as a group decided to include a mask within our storyline as it can be used as a tool to induce fear amongst the audience.

As a group we have decided to use designs that are considered to be feminine due to the nature of the plot and the characters that are involved within this plot. The plot is explained in this post.

Topic Research: Prostitution

In order to gain an understanding of our female character, 'The Temptress' - who is a prostitute that kills her male clients- and to create greater depth to our character profile we had research into the typical representation of female prostitutes within films. Slasher films tend to explore human nature and how we react to murder, violence and sex with the antagonist- the Temptress within our opening- challenging and pushing the boundaries of human behaviour. Therefore this research will help also so that we can successfully explore the subversion of the genre of slasher to have a promiscuous female killer.

Target Audience

During both the pre-production and production process, it is essential to have the audience in mind. In regards to our idea, we must find an ideal and suitable group to target and appeal to as our audience. We are using our survey results to determine which groups would be ideal as our target audience. More survey results are analysed in this post. 

Survey Analysis

In order to gain an understanding of our audience preferences and what would be most effective for a slasher film, we decided to create a questionnaire and advertised it on social media; we received 32 responses over the course of a week.

Initial Idea

Due to our extensive focus on the genre during our initial research, we have decided that we will be producing a slasher film opening. However, we think it would be interesting to subvert the genre, so as to have a promiscuous female killer (the character who, in a typical slasher, would be killed off first). Aside from this subverted element, we would largely stick to the codes and conventions:  set in a suburban area, having a masked killer, a close-contact weapon (most likely a blade), a gory death, etc.

Film Trailers vs Film Openings

Trailers and openings are both fundamental aspects of cinematic production; however they are not to be confused. Trailers are utilised to combine a series of the most exciting/climatic elements of the full film whilst ensuring a basic plot line is conveyed. A film opening, despite being around the same length, is rather dissimilar to a trailer. This is because film openings must not be jumping around the entire film, it must simply provide an introduction - setting the scene, giving some background information, introducing an integral character etc. 

Summary of Research

As a group we have decided that our film opening would be of the genre horror, as throughout the research stage we had been looking at Horrors for our individual deconstructions of film openings and we have established the many codes and conventions of horror - specifically Slashers.

Pros and Cons of Horror Sub Genres

SLASHER

Slasher films are generally set in a suburban environment and focus around young people, generic victims are attacked by a masked killer with a handheld bladed weapon. 

e.g. Friday the 13th, Halloween, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and A Nightmare On Elm Street.

Codes and Conventions of the Slasher Genre: The Mask

Masks are largely considered to be iconic aspect, as well as symbolic, of horror films. Many well-known Slashers are often immediately recognised and distinguished by the design of the mask worn by the antagonist of the story.

Code and Conventions of the Slasher Genre: The Final Girl

The Final Girl is a key concept within the slasher genre- the term refers to the last girl surviving in a group, where the antagonist is killing their victims one by one, and overcomes the killer or escapes. Typically, the final girl is sexually inactive or virginal and does not drink or smoke and sometimes has a unisex name. Final girls are presented through the male antagonist's point of view in a voyeuristic style and through this it makes the audience relate and root for the final girl.

Codes and Conventions of the Slasher Genre: The Antagonist

The antagonists place a huge tole within horror films; their responsibility: to be scaring the audience. In order to do this, these Killers tend to conform to a set of codes and conventions:

- mentally deranged and/or physically deformed.

- probably traumatised and/or injured at an early age; this incident sometimes has a link with the killer's weapon of choice.

- identity is often (but not always) concealed/unknown 

(by a mask or creative lighting and camera work).

- often mute.

- superhuman abilities that allow them to withstand injuries inflicted by their victims.

- usually very big/strong.

- it's always implied that the killer is male with extremely masculine qualities.

- prefer handheld weapons.

- killer remains constant throughout most franchises.

Film Institutions

What are film institutions? Why are they relevant?

Film institutions are organisations, either publicly or privately owned, that produce and distribute media. Many of the top film institutions are responsible for producing and distributing high grossing and iconic films; this research will help to inform us, which film institute would be best suited to distribute our slasher film.

Narrative Theory

Tzvetan Todorov's narrative theory, introduced in 1969, describes the five main stages of most films and stories. He believes that there is a narrative pattern, and that most stories start in a state of equilibrium, and it is from this point on that the equilibrium is disrupted by an event or person. The disruption is often addressed and there may be multiple attempts to resolve the cause of the disruption in order to return to or find a new equilibrium.

"Alien" (1979) Deconstruction

Alien is a Sci-Fi Horror film, directed by Ridley Scott which is about the crew of a merchant vessel receiving an unknown transmission which they choose to treat as a distress call which they go to explore. This leads to horrific and bone-chilling events unfolding before the audience. The sci-fi horror genre expertly uses the unknown as a device to frighten the audience, as there is a common fear of the unknown, and/or what is not understood.

"The Silence of the Lambs" (1981) Deconstruction

Silence of the Lambs is a psychological horror directed by Jonathon Demme, which is focused on the infamous character of Hannibal Lecter, created by the author Thomas Harris. Within the opening sequence, the audience is introduced to the main character Clarice Starling, as well as the character of Jack Crawford.

"A Nightmare on Elm Street" (1984) Deconstruction

I decided to analyse and deconstruct the opening of "A Nightmare on Elm Street" as it is an iconic film that helped set many of the modern conventions and tropes of a slasher film. For example the idea of a slasher as a morality play with the virginal and innocent girl being the 'Final Girl'- the last surviving member to face the killer- whose purpose is to evaluate the consciousness throughout the film.

"The Woman In Black" (2012) Deconstruction

"The Woman in Black" is a supernatural period horror film directed by James Watkins and produced by the British company, Hammer Film Productions; it is an adaptation of the novel of the same title by Susan Hill written in 1983. The film is set in Edwardian England and focuses on the young widowed solicitor who journeys to an isolated village, which is haunted by the ghost of a woman avenging her dead son by murdering the village children.

The film opening marks the overall Gothic tone and introduces the antagonist- "The Woman in Black" and her intentions to lead all the village children to their death. The sequence opens with a close up shot of a toy tea set, creating a sense of normality that conforms to the conventional opening of a horror film by establishing a familiar setting; however paired with the contrapuntal non diegetic audio of the organ and tinkling music box in a minor key- creates a sinister and foreboding tone.

The little girls are framed within a mid shot to show how innocent and happy they are as they play together with their dolls. However the change in mood is signified with the pause of the non diegetic audio and the long shot, almost like a point of view shot- of the girls as they all turn to look up and stare; with this the non diegetic audio changes to become a lower pitch, confirming to the audience that there is the presence of something sinister with the girls synchronously look towards the window framed in a mid shot. The pairing of the slow zoom into the window with the reintroduction of the motif of the tinkling music box non diegetic audio speeded up slightly, increases the tension within the scene.

The succession of quick cut shots as the girls simultaneously stand up with close ups of the feet of the girls emphasises the quick pace of action as the mood changes. The close up shot to follow drop of the toy tea cup is further emphasised with the post production diegetic audio of a crash as the tea cup breaks; followed by the series of close ups of the children stepping on the dolls heads and tea pots crushing them, highlights the sudden disorder of the scene contrasting greatly with how careful the girls were previously with their toys.

The slow motion tracking mid shot of the girls walking in line towards the window is cut to the sinister shot of the girls stepping up and opening the window simultaneously, conform to a typical depiction of a seemingly innocent child becoming creepy or possessed.

The off screen diegetic audio of a shriek confirms to the audience the tragedy of the little girl's death and paired with the close up shot of a wide eyed doll creates a ominous atmosphere. This off screen scream creates a sound bridge into the slow zoom out of the room to reveal part of a female figure dressed in black framed in the corner of the screen, revealing to the audience that the death of the girls linked to the presence of this supernatural figure.

- E