Conventions of a horror/ thriller film

For my opening sequence I feet it is ideal for myself to make sure it has many of the stereotypical conventions of a horror/thriller opening and openings in general. Within my opening sequence I will include a soundtrack which will be fairly dark and dominating, which is one convention of a horror and thriller film. I will also use fast paced clips, cutting quickly between the clips to make sure that they are fast paced and dramatic.

There are several conventions of a horror and thriller film. These include:
-Quick editing, cutting rapidly between shots in fast paced parts of the film
-Slow, dramatic moevements and shots to emphasise suspense
-Deep and dark music to bring more drama to the film
-A dramatic, serious plot; lots of suspense and scaryness
-Credits

Although I am only producing the first two minutes of my opening sequence, I hope to achieve many of the stereotypical conventions in order to make sure that the genre comes through within my work.

Existing Typography

Whilst I have been working on putting my opening sequence together, I have felt it was necessary to look into existing typography that has been used, as I feel that it would allow me to look further into fonts that I could potentially use. I have looked at several films that are already released, both from my genre and others to see how they use them and I feel that from looking into the typography I will be able to get a wider idea of how I could work on my own for my sequence.

Typography

For my opening sequence I will be using titles/credits at the start and during the first few seconds of my opening to illustrate who the director is, the cast and name of my sequence. The typography of these names, and in particular the name of my opening sequence is very important as I want it to stand out and give off the idea that it is a horror/thriller genre. Ideally I would like fonts that will be big. bold and fairly dominating, that will also have a feel of darkness about it, which i think will be easy to portray if I am able to find the correct font style. I will experiment with several types of font to make sure that I am able to find one that will fit with my sequence and will also emphasise the horror and thriller genre. 

Types of shots within my Opening Seqence

For my opening sequence I have chosen the genre of horror/thriller. From this I produced a mood board which I detailed with types of shots, rough timings and drawings of what I wanted to happen in each shot. The type of shots I chose were important to me as I wanted to make sure that my genre was evident, which I felt the shots, the timings and editing with different style of fades would help to empahsise.

Within my opening sequence I am aiming to use several shots, remembering to make sure the continuity is good. I have chosen to use several longs shots, medium shots, panning, close ups, establishing shots and extreme close ups, which I will work on the timings and speeds of the clips to make sure that some are rapid and fast paced, but some are slow to emphasise suspense; which are the stereotypical conventions of a horror/thriller movie.

Soundtrack for my Opening Sequence

For my opening sequence I am not using any script or voiceover but instead I am using a soundtrack and sound effect for my piece. I decided to use a soundtrack as I wanted my piece to get more dramatic as the I got further into the piece. I want to make sure that the soundtrack would fit in with the idea of my opening sequence. I will choose sounds that will be quite dark and deep and fairly dominating, which I hope will work effectively with my footage and will emphasise the character being followed and her emotions. I think the soundtrack is a really important factor of my sequence, that I want to get correct so that it will work when put together with my footage.

Scripts and voiceovers

In many film openings there can be scripts and voiceovers used. However in my own sequence, there will be no script or voiceover as the opening sequence needs to be quite dramatic and keep the viewer in suspense, which means I will be using mainly music to make the opening more dramatic. I feel that my sequence will work much better with the music that i will work on to put into my piece.

Character make- up and costume

The costume and make up of the character within my sequence is an important element that I feel would benifit my opening sequence. The idea of my piece, is that the girl will be being followed, which she is having a dream about. Therefore I feel that it is necessary to make the costume and make up not too over the top; if someone was being followed in a real situation, they are more likely to have been dressed down rather than dressed up too much. Ideally I would like the character to be in simple clothing such as a hoody or jumper and then some jogging bottoms or jeans. Another possible idea is to have the character in pyjamas so that my idea of the dream is seen more clearly. However I think that the simple clothing will work just as well. The make up of the character again I feel needs to be fairly simple, although I will test with making the eyes more darker, as if the person is tired, scared and been awoken for days. I think my ideas for the characters costume and make up will work well within my sequence and will emphasise the weakness of my character.

People involved in my opening sequence

For my opening sequence I chose to work by myself as I felt it would be easier to. My idea for my sequence is fairly simple and there arent many people that are phsically involved within the filming element. The only people involved are:
-Myself- Editor, director
-Ysabel- character/ actress

Although there are only two people involved and I am the main person editing and directing, I feel that my opening sequence will still be able to work well.

Health and Safety

Health and safety is another key element to take into consideration when filming and also preparing the equipment for filming. I need to make sure that I keep any loose cable out of the way so that no one can trip over them. I also need to make sure that the locations are safe for myself and the actor to use, so that no injuries could be potentially caused.

One of the locations I am planning to use is outside, so there are only certain measures Ican do to make sure that it is completely safe to use. The place Ihave chosen is quite open, with a pathway which means that the area should mostly be clear. However there are alot of trees about which could potentially have broken branches all over, which could mean that people could trip. I will make sure that on the days I plan to film, I will check the areas to make sure that it is as safe that it can be.

For the other location, it is inside in a bedroom, where the space is fairly limited. This is where I will need to take extra care with cables and the tripod and camera, so that they are placed safetly and carefully, being as out of the way as possible. There are also other hazards such as objects around the room, such as desks, which I will need to also make sure they are out the way and aren't a hazard.

Props

For my opening sequence there are a few props that I will need to make sure that I have everything for my opening.

For the outside sequence I will mainly need the camera and tripod as there arent any props that I have included.

For the scene within the bedroom there are a few props that will be need.
-Bed
-Everyday items around the bedroom: jewellery, mirrors, phones etc
I will also be taking light objects, such as torches and bigger lighter to test out the lighting before I film my sequence properly.

I will also be making sure that my actor wears clothing that will be suitable for the filming. I ideally want my actor to be 'dressed down' in a jumper or hoody and jeans, which will make sure that she doesnt look too dressed up as she is supposed to be in a dream, with the feeling that someone is following her.