Title Sequence Analysis

This is a university students version of a title sequence for the film "Psycho". In my opinion, this is a good title sequence for a horror film. It uses etched, black writing which has a "horror" look to it. It also uses red font as part of it's titles. The colour red is often associated with horror films as it could represent blood. The title "Psycho" often flickers across the screen very quickly unexpectedly, which enables the viewer to know that they are going to watch a horror film, as it is very jumpy, and horror films are often created to make people jump.

FLASHBACK EFFECTS - EXAMPLE 2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_Fbwh384WQ

On this link is another example of a flaskback sequence, this time from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Here we see the flashbacks flicker from one to another, showing short clips and fluctuating from one to another. This is a good example for very quick flashbacks, as it is apparent which are the flashbacks and which aren't. Although, the flashbacks we are going to use in our film are longer than these, so we could not use an effect like this in our film.

Information about title sequences.

Title Sequences


Film title sequences are shown at the beginning of a film; they list the most important members of the production. They are usually shown with text in the foreground over a blank screen, static pictures or motion images. There can sometimes be non-diegetic or diegetic audio, depending on the producer. In films, the title sequence may come after a ‘cold open’ or a short scene, this is usually used to establish the scene and open the film.

There is a particular order to title sequences, however there are many variations.

This is an example of a basic order:

• Name of the studio. (The name of the distributor. For example Universal, columbria etc.)

• Name of the production company. (The company that produced the film or that had part of the finance.)

• Name of the producer and director.

• Name of the people starring (principle actors)

• The film title

• Featuring (featured actors)

• The name of the casting director

• Music composers

• Name of the production designer

Variations usually either change the order a little or add more contributors. Such as set designers, costumes, makeup artist, hairdresser, visual affect director etc.

Possible distributor/s

Possible distributors for out film are;

Breaking Glass Pictures: who was named after David Bowie’s 1977 hit song and was founded by Richard Wolff and Richard Ross is committed to distributing a wide range of provocative and challenging films from all genres. They plan on distributing up to twelve titles a year through their new specialty label, Vicious Circle Films, which is dedicated to extreme material. They've distributed some great indie and micro-cinema films, including "Brainjacked", "Sympathy" and "Ticked off Trannies with Knives".

Another possible distributor of our film could be;

Dimension Extreme: who is home to the most intense, edgy and provocative programming that will continually push the envelope. Horror films, thrillers, sci-fi adventures, and bawdy, outrageous comedies are a few of the genres that will drive DIMENSION EXTREME. They come out with a lot of good films and they've really pushed the horror genre forward. Recently, they've released such titles as "Inside", "Diary of the Dead" and "Teeth".

In an ideal world we would love such distributors as, Times New Warner and Fox Productions however as our film would be a low budget film, it is unlikely we could reach such a high standard of distributor easily therefore the distributors above are the more likely option.

Research into similar films

Psycho.
Psycho is a 1960 american psychological thriller directed by Alfred Hitchcock.

The film depicts the encounter between a secretary, Marion Crane, hiding at a secluded motel after embezzling money from her employer, and the motel's disturbed owner and manager, Norman Bates, and the aftermath of their encounter.

During the film, Marion is murdered, supposedly by Normans mother. In the end, the murderer turned out to be Norman himself, dressed as his mother, as he suffered from schizophrenia.

This is similar to our film as our main character, Peyton, also suffers from schitzophrenia, and the blame of the murders in our film is brought onto somebody else.

A review of this film is shown in the link below:

http://www.filmsite.org/psyc.html

The trailer for this film is shown in the link below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NG3-GlvKPcg

Hide and Seek
Hide and Seek is a 2005 psychological thriller film starring Robert De Niro and Dakota Fanning.

The film starts with the discovery of the body of the main characters wife in a bathtub after her suicide. Because of this, Dr. David Callaway (Robert De Niro), a psychologist working in New York City, decides to move with his daughter Emily (Dakota Fanning) to upstate New York. There, Emily befriends a mysterious imaginary friend who wishes to be named "Charlie". Her friendship with Charlie begins to disturb David when he discovers their cat dead in the bathtub. Charlie is apparently responsible for this horrific act, according to Emily.
Later on in the film, David has a date with a woman named Elizabeth. Emily talks to Elizabeth, and tells her that she is playing Hide and Seek with Charlie. Elizabeth joins in with this pretend play and starts to "look" for Charlie. As she opens the closet, Charlie bursts out and pushes Elizabeth out a second-story window to her death. David blames his next door neighbour to being Charlie, as his neighbour took an unusual interest to Emily.
It turns out that in the end, David is Charlie, as he suffers from a split personality disorder (schitzophrenia) and was the one who killed his wife after finding her in bed with another man. He created the character of Charlie and killed her, and covered the act by making it look like her suicide.

This film is similar to ours as yet again, the main character suffers from schitzophrenia, and someone else has the blame put upon them.

A review of the film is shown in the link below:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0382077/

A trailer of the film is shown in the link below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9uEkTPchIo

Research into a certificate rating of our film

By looking into and researching other film certificates we have agreed on giving it a rating '15'. This is because it meets the bbfc guidelines for a '15' rating.

These guidelines are :

Discrimination
The work as a whole must not endorse discriminatory language or behaviour.

Drugs
Drug taking may be shown but the film as a whole must not promote or encourage drug misuse. The misuse of easily accessible and highly dangerous substances (for example, aerosols or solvents) is unlikely to be acceptable.

Horror
Strong threat and menace are permitted unless sadistic or sexualised.

Imitable behaviour
Dangerous behaviour (for example, hanging, suicide and self-harming) should not dwell on detail which could be copied. Easily accessible weapons should not be glamorised.

Language
There may be frequent use of strong language (for example, ‘fuck’). The strongest terms (for example, ‘cunt’) may be acceptable if justified by the context. Aggressive or repeated use of the strongest language is unlikely to be acceptable.

Nudity
Nudity may be allowed in a sexual context but without strong detail. There are no constraints on nudity in a non-sexual or educational context.

Sex
Sexual activity may be portrayed without strong detail. There may be strong verbal references to sexual behaviour, but the strongest references are unlikely to be acceptable unless justified by context. Works whose primary purpose is sexual arousal or stimulation are unlikely to be acceptable.

Theme
No theme is prohibited, provided the treatment is appropriate for 15 year olds.

Violence
Violence may be strong but should not dwell on the infliction of pain or injury. The strongest gory images are unlikely to be acceptable. Strong sadistic or sexualised violence is also unlikely to be acceptable. There may be detailed verbal references to sexual violence but any portrayal of sexual violence must be discreet and have a strong contextual justification.

The bold text shows possible features that may occur in our film - therfore it would be rated a '15'

An explanation of psychological horror

Psychological horror is a sub genre of horror. It is different to ‘splatter films’ which revolve around graphic violence and gore. Psychological horror uses manipulation of fears, guilt and beliefs etc. It messes with emotional instability, and uses disequilibrium to build tension and further the plot. There usually isn’t a use of the monstrous other, but rather a normal human being with a hidden identity or a twist, which neither of these is discovered until the ‘evil’ is well into the work, or sometimes even at the very end.

Psychological horror tends to be subtle, and contains little physical harm because its usual main aim is to work on the factors of mentally affecting the audience. It exposes the viewer to vulnerabilities and fears, the things that people usually repress or deny. It could be argued that psychological horror could in fact be more of a thriller type genre. However psychological horrors true intentions are to frighten whereas in thrillers this is not the case

This is someones idea for a title sequence to the film 'Saw' (2004) it uses the same type of idea as the 'nightmare on elm street' (2010) however instead of chalk it is a different design and uses a type of etched writting effect. This sort of static movement creates a demonic effect. This idea contrasts with our film, as it revolves around negative personalities. The title sequence also uses establishing shots that give the demographic an idea about the film. This design idea is something that we would like to interpret in our title sequence.

Non-diegetic audio ideas.

The 'Halloween' title sequence uses non-diegeticc audio which reinforces the genre, horror. It uses a minor key which creates disequilibrium, and uses the bass to unsettle the lighter high pitch notes.
We could re-create something similar with the us of a piano and sound effects the create the same anxiety that the composer has done here. Something alike this would really go well with the mood of our film.

FLASHBACK EFFECTS - EXAMPLE 1

I am researching into different ways of portraying a flashback in films, as our film will include flasbacks. This is an example of a flashback sequence used in Doctor Who. As you can see, the flashback is highlighted in this scene by the use of black and white. It is a very simple effect, yet it works very well as the flashback is very clear. An effect like this could be used in our film, as it is effective for longer flashback sequences.

LOCATION INFORMATION

LOCATION INFORMATION-FOR FILMING

SCENE 1: ‘Abandon factory’- a construction warehouse on Redbrook Industrial site.
Unit 2 Redbrook Industrial Estate, Barnsley, South Yorkshire S75 1JN.

SCENE 2: ‘Adam’s bedroom/house’-
Glenville Close, Hoyland, Barnsley, South Yorkshire S74 0HW.

OTHER: Surrounding roads such as Huddersfield Road, Barnsley Road.
Adam’s car’ – Peugeot 306

FLASHBACKS:‘Peyton’s house’, high school (Barnsley College),‘Adam’s house’.