Frame One; Opening title and credits - introduction to genre
In the picture above, you can see that the first shot is a key credit which is the name of our production company and logo. The shot after also illustrates the name of our film, 'Hidden'. The way that both of the text enters into the frame is a way that is common within most opening titles, with the text fading in and staying on the screen for approximately three seconds and then fading out, in sync with the non-diegetic sound. The fading also gives off an eerie atmosphere as the titles are creeping in behind fog, suggesting that the film is going to have an edge and a level of suspense. Also, the fact that the titles don't rush in and rush out gives a clue to the audience that the genre of the piece most likely won't be action.
Frame Two; story opens up and setting is introduced
This next frame is an establishing shot and shows the panning of the landscape. This is used to set the scene and inform the audience on where the film is taking place. The panning shot also shows the mise en scene that we had created, from the way that the main character is slouched and the costume he's wearing to the house we had chosen for filming. In this frame we see two things, the house as I have listed above and a potential antagonist or protagonist. This is an important code and convention as we have introduced a potential main character.
In this frame we have an extreme close up of a candle being blown out, potentially revealing more about the story line - is the smoke an important part of the story? (anaphoric reference to the fog presented in the opening titles). The frame also introduces the actors names, which is an important code and convention. As the frame is a close up, the audiences attention isn't distracted by either code and convention as their attention as they focus on the center of the screen and they have been incorporated into each other - the name appears as the smoke is blown out. This is done so the audience don' miss anything. It also identifies conventions as it encloses the characters lifestyle and the way the smoke has been blown out slowly and the shot seems to drag on builds up a sense of tension and suspense.
Frame Four; connotations and plot
This frame is an important part of mise en scene and set dressing. The red heart shaped pepper, knife and bloody red writing represent connotations of blood, danger and violence. This could be a potential key moment for the audience to remember and it could be the starting point of bad things to come. Before this, there was no real indication that the character being seen on screen was dangerous but this is the first trigger moment that warns the audience of the main characters potential dark side.
Frame Five; close up
This next shot is an over the shoulder shot of the main character. This has been the closest we've been to seeing the characters facial features. This means that the audience are limited into what the character is allowing to reveal about himself and this adds to the mysterious, eerie, thriller genre. However, the fact that there is a close up of the character getting a wine glass and pouring himself a drink reveals that he likes to drink and this may be a hobby of his as this was the first thing he did as soon as he got home. This shows that the character is revealing more about himself as the film goes on, even though its very limited access. This is an important code and convention as the audience are learning more about the character through the use of mise en scene and camera.
Frame Six; close ups and connotations
In this shot, we see the character pouring an almost empty bottle of wine into a glass he had picked out in the previous frames (continuity, elliptical cut). We chose to use red wine over white as it gives the connotation of blood and danger, just as the pepper did. The colour red has now become a key element in the film as it seems to be recurring throughout each shot. Also, as the bottle is empty it suggests that the main character likes to drink as I suggested in the previous frame. Also in this frame is a credit which tells the audience who directed the film - key titles emerge into each frame throughout the opening sequence and this is subsequently a key code and convention.
Frame Seven; Lighting
This shot really stresses the thriller/horror genre. The lighting in this shot fades the characters face out so his identity is still hidden, continuing the mysterious atmosphere. The low angle puts the character in the dominant position as it may put the audience on edge by the way that he's walking towards the camera as he did in the beginning, creating a sense of communication and relation between himself and the audience. The majority of the lighting throughout the opening sequence is dark and gloomy, we did this on purpose for the exact reason that the genre of our film is thriller/horror and the dim lighting fits this genre perfectly. In the beginning shots, we used a spotlight to light up the house in the establishing shot and for the spotlight facing the camera for the alleyway scene to show that the character is isolated and lives in his own world where the 'spotlight' is only on himself, making his character mysterious.
Frame Eight; Key event
In this frame, we are able to catch a glimpse of a girl in the corner of the basement, tied to a chair with a bag over her head. The code and convention here is that a key event has happened - the mysteriousness that has been luring around the main character has suddenly presented itself as we now know his secret. Up to this moment, he has been presented as quite an ordinary man, with mise en scene lighting and set dressing suggesting that there's something eerie about him. The fact that also in this frame he looks directly at the girl and doesn't seem to hesitate or seem surprised by the fact that she's down there suggests that he knows that she's down there, and has very well put her down there himself. This frame also exaggerates the thriller side of the film as a kidnapping appears to have happened and this is going to keep the audience interested as it suggests a further plot twist. The lighting stays dim on the girl so it doesn't pull too much attention towards her as we didn't want to reveal to much about her and her identity - hence the bag over her head. This is also a common factor throughout the opening sequence - the fact that we never see the mans face, the girls face and the mask that was placed on the table when the character has arrived home.
Frame Nine; fade to black
The last frame of the sequence is a fade to black. This represents the end of the opening sequence and leaves the overall film on an intensified feel and on a cliffhanger. (Hopefully) the audience will want to watch more as they're left with suspense and almost an anticlimax as we suddenly see this hostage in a 'normal' mans house and we're left on this cliffhanger without knowing who, what, where, when and why?
No comments:
Post a Comment