Art of the Title Evaluation

1. Summarise your film idea. Provide a brief synopsis and outline what happens in your film opening.

The idea of the opening sequence is that the killer finds and kills innocent people in a secluded environment so that he remains unnoticed. The opening scene presents an average setting (school) and the victim being watched, followed by the disposal/neglect of the body on the stage. These scenes connote horror as they do not directly show the victim being killed, but the removal of blood from the weapon. The final shot includes the killer exiting the building without being seen.


2. What kind of information has been included in your film opening? 

The purpose of the opening sequence was to establish the normality of the setting and how it is disturbed by the killer's presence. We used long shots for the first two, and close-ups as the killer approaches the victim. In our opening, the nature of the murder is revealed and the isolated setting in which it occurs. This adds to the ominous nature of a horror film.


3. How do the titles link the main film idea?

The titles are in white (typical of horror films) and are shown mainly in the long shots. The final title is shown with a black background as the opening finishes and cuts away from the action of the scene.


4. Summarise the expected audience reaction. What should the audience be thinking by the end of your opening? Is your opening clear or ambiguous?

The initial reaction of the audience would be fear as they cannot clearly see the killer at the end of the hallway, the actual murder is not shown, which adds to the fear of the audience as only the compass is shown afterwards, leaving the audience to imagine how the victim had been killed. This allows more of the narrative to be revealed later on in the film by withholding violent scenes in the opening, which builds tension throughout the rest of the film. The audience should be anticipating the killer's attempts to find more victims and how the murders can be covered up. The opening is ambiguous as the audience is uncertain of the motive of the killer and the role of the girl in the opening scene.


5. Identify three things that you included in your grid that are important in the construction of an opening sequence and explain their role in understanding the film.

• Establishing shot of hallway is significant in showing the emptiness and isolation of the setting, helps audience to understand the normal environment that the film takes place in. The use of opening credits is crucial in an opening sequence as well-known actors/directors can imply the genre of the film
• Close-up of the killer after the murder helps audience to understand his intentions and instil fear
• Washing weapon in sink suggests the concealment of murder and attempts to remove signs of presence in the setting, as well as linking to the final shot, as he must wash away the blood before leaving the building

6. How effective is your project as a film opening? Explain your answer.

The genre of the film is evident through the use of wide shots in the beginning to close-ups and cutaways from the main action. Most of the shots are taken in darker settings and the use of blood on the weapon and hands is effective in conveying the struggle endured before the victim's death. However, the use of opening credits on the 5th shot is ineffective as it distracts the audience from the action and the font of the opening credits is not identifiable with horror films. The shots could also have been darkened to establish the setting as more isolated.

Accident sequence

1. To aid narrative flow of the sequence, we used different camera angles of the setting to direct the audience to the main action of the shot. The first shot sets the scene including both the hallway and the two actors in the corner. The 6 shots follow the logical order and the framing is useful to show the divide between the two actors sitting and the actor on his own. Apart from 3, all other shots had the correct framing to match the previous shot (example: 1/2).

2. To aid narrative flow (continuity) we could have taken the establishing shot to pan right (towards table) instead of left so that it would match the next shot of the two actors talking. The second shot could have been framed more close-up to direct the audience to the conversation. Also, we repeated too many events (shot 4/5) which broke the narrative flow and shot 3 was unrelated to the previous ones. To improve continuity we could have included another master shot in between 2 and 3. We also cut shot 3 in the wrong place as it was too long and did not finish where shot 4 started. Finally, in shot 6, the actors were looking in the wrong direction to the flow so the two shots did not match.

My Film Still

1. Analyse your chosen shot and identify in what way it could be described as signifying your chosen genre

The shot mostly consists of dark colours, typically associated with horror films as it signifies the concealment of murder. It includes a  body lying facing downwards to show the abandonment of the body and a brutal death. There are no other characters in the image implying that the victim was killed discreetly away from others.

2. What did you actually do to achieve the effect?

The actor was positioned in a dark room to indicate her being trapped by killer, closed doors allowing only dim light through (underneath the doorframe) to allow enough light for audience to recognise body on floor. The shot was taken from above showing that it was dumped in the room to be hidden from sight. The shadow of the handrail shows the nature of the room and that it is lower than ground level.

3. How did you intend the audience to 'read' or interpret your still?

There is an absence of a killer to create fear in the viewer, and it is taken from the angle of the person entering the room which gives the idea that they are the next victim. Also there are no visible injuries and the audience is unable to clearly see the rest of the room. The body is situated in the centre of the shot to pull focus to it, as the rest of the room is too dark. 

4. Identify what is successful about your shot

Positioning of the body in the centre, absence of other characters, darkness with only small area of light, view from above, body facing downwards

5. What would you do differently in hindsight?

Add light from more angles (above) so that victim is more visible, include more appropriate props, include more of the empty room to make it appear more isolated, bright light to contrast with darkness and highlight victim's presence.

Film opening analysis

• 127 Hours, Drama
• Takes place in the house, then car, then desert/canyon
• Fast-paced at the beginning, packing food and essentials, voice message playing in background, mindlessly drives further away from civilisation, repeated shots car moving along empty road, he films himself in car, in morning he is cycling through desert, films himself again from bike
• Order of events is significant as he is the only character in all 3 settings (house, car, desert) for first 8 minutes, pace slows down, in each scene he is further away and more isolated, shots the road from moving car shows how far he is going, road signs show that he is moving further away from shops, restaurants and other people. It is significant as it shows his freedom at this point and an abundance of food and drink in the beginning of the film
• The events link to each other as they show Aaron's daily routine and descent into the desert gradually from the safety of his house. First scene in house shows only close-up shots of objects with character in background, second scene contains medium shots and tilted frames, final opening scene is mostly very long shots or views from above
• Aaron Ralston introduced as main character, his sister leaves voicemail showing that she is concerned about him, two girls lost in the canyon display Aaron as knowledgeable of the area and helpful to others
• The isolation of Aaron in the canyon is shown repeatedly through panning of landscape with Aaron in the centre and slow zoom outwards showing more of the empty desert. There are scenes of him filming himself and taking pictures to reflect that he is completely alone and that the video camera might be a significant aspect of the story. Other cars and cyclists moving away from him and length of car journey shows how far he is travelling
• Aaron's personal life and memory is withheld deliberately so that he can reflect on it later on in the film
• At the start of the film the audience needs to be introduced to the main character through use of props or environment they are in. This shows subtle aspects of character without revealing the whole story