Opening Sequences

Inception(2010)

inceptions opening sequence is engaging because as the titles come on screen they zoom and change perspective and show completely different titles. the audience is pulled into wondering what's going to come next. the movement of the words on the screen is complex, meaning the viewer has to concentrate to understand what going on, engaging them even more. the sequence uses a simple font with black lettering on a red background or red lettering on a black background. The sharp contrast is eye-catching and draws the attention of the audience. 

the title sequence uses the convention of the color red as it often symbolizes danger. this subconsciously puts the audience into a state of alert telling them that this film is going to contain danger. The convention of being lost is also used to give the audience a feeling of being out of place. the title sequence has an eerie atmosphere created by the use of dark colors and hazy lines, invoking a sense of uncertainty and mystery.

Split(2017)

Split engages the audience by iputing small clips of the setting inbetween the titles. This captures the audience as we are left wondering were it is set as the scenes we are shown a aren't enough on their own to reveal the setting.there is also a contrast of the dark background of the title and the bright lights. This jeeps the audience guessing.

Downton Abbey representaion

Downton Abbey

 1.groups being represented

Lower Class

these two groups behave very differently, for example, the butlers are well dressed and presented. however, the maids and cooks don't wear as elegant clothing . their colors are more dull and faded and very rough. this represents their roles within the abbey. butlers speak to the lords and ladies of the house on so must be well dressed and presentable. the maids, however, aren't to be seen and so their attire is not as immaculate as the butlers because no sees them.

- Upper Class
has a strong authority and commands the scene. he is well dressed and calm, unlike the maids who scramble around the Abbey. he walks slowly with dignity and control. he shows his dominance when Carson(the butler) calls him "my lord".




2. Messages. do they confirm or challenge the media?

this show does challenge conventions of the media it shows that the elites have all the power and command all those that are below them. all that is below them must do everything in their power to make sure that the lords' lives are as comfortable as possible. so much so as to go out of there way to stop their own breakfast to attend to their masters. this show is a period drama and shows what the lives of the people of that time were like.

this was commonplace back then, however, and so this is challenges common ideals as everyone wants people to have fair pay and equal opportunities. we see that the maids and servants wake before the lords and prepare the house for them before they wake up. they even go as far as to iron the morning papers so that they aren't creased and look good. one of the maids opted to work in the dark because if she had opened the curtains she would have mad them dirty with her hands. this shows that they give up their own livelihoods to service those that are in power. this would not sit well with a majority of people in this present day

3. 4 Technical elements 
 -Sound
the music, in the beginning, represents the servants' lives as hectic and busy. the music is fast-paced and filled with lots of rising and falling notes with a piano playing short sharp notes. this represents the short quick movements that the maids have to make as they scurry around the house to meet the demands of their masters. The way the servants speak shows that they are a lower class as they speak fast and in a hurry, this is because they re trying to complete their jobs in time. meaning that even their own lives are interrupted for the service of their masters.
As we go further up the line the butlers have a more relaxed speech and can even crack some casual jokes amongst themselves this shows that they aren't as in demand as the maids but they're still quite low. 

however, when the upperclassman comes into the scene. the music slows and calms down it evidently becomes more controlled and almost follows the pattern of the lord walking down the stairs. it represents his high standing and that his life is calmer than that of his subordinates. the slow music represents his relaxed mood as he slowly drifts down the stairs. this directly contrasts his servants who would be almost running down the stairs. even the way he speaks shows his power and dominance, as he is completely relaxed and in control of the situation even though he is talking about a serious matter he is completely unphased and is more concentrated on the repercussions his speech isn't interrupted by bells or drowned out by other speaking in the background his voice is the dominant sound. 

 -Editing
the scenes with the lower ranking servants are jumpy and often cuts quickly between scenes. we are shown many different angles of the servants. the butlers, the maids, the cleaners and the head butler and head maid.we see them rush around the place jumping around to answer to the bells of their masters this mimics how the editing is done its choppy all over the place. However, at some points, it's just one continuous shot. this conveys that even though they may be the lower class they still are in high-class society. They tend to follow one character and jump to other characters as they walk by emphasizing that the place is busy. this begins to lighten as the butlers who are higher up the ranking come onto the screen. 
 however, for the lord of the house, it becomes very clear that he is definitely the highest ranking. the editing is slow and controlled. it gives the audience time to take in the fact that he is the lord of the house.

 -Camera

Camera angles portray the servants as crowded as we see in the kitchen scene where people are scurrying around to attend to the bells, all the people it at one table shoulder to shoulder. all the scenes with servants in them contain many people in them that crowd the scene and show that it's busy. The scene gradually thins out when the butlers come on screen to show that there is a progression in status. their shots are calmer and with fewer people in it.

when the higher classman enters the scene he is completely by himself and this shows he is in charge. the camera makes sure that he is in the shot completely even cutting out his dog. His camera angles are low as to force the audience to look up at him signifying that he is above us.as opposed to the maids and butlers who we all see at eye level or from above their shoulders.

-Mise en scene-

the maids and the and servants wear a drab uniform that shows that they have a lack of options in her life as to what they can wear as it's the same clothing over and over again. the rooms in which they sleep are dull and grey and not well lit. like their lives as they have no hope for a better future. 

The upper-classman have many options, in contrast, this is shown by the banquet breakfast presented to him after he comes down the stairs. the stairs are elegantly crafted and show beautiful pictures on the wall. the scenes are bright and cheerful and full of color.

the maids and servants carry around buckets and other tools, whilst the butlers carry food and the morning papers this shows that even what they do is up to the status as cleaning tools are dirty and clean up messes, whilst food is eaten and must be presented well.

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Preliminary Task 2 Planning

PT2 Planning

Brainstorming process-

in the beginning, we had two plans. One was to have a party scene where someone dies in the pool. We intended for it to have a mysterious ending. but this idea seemed to require too many people and too much time, neither of which we had.

so we went with our second idea which was a kidnapping. this was much easier to convey and required a minimal amount of people 

Props and Costumes-

 Kidnapper_

this time around I was in charge of sourcing the props and costumes. for the kidnapper, I went for a classic burglar look with dark clothing and a balaclava this made it easy for the audience to identify the kidnapper instantly. black is meant to invoke fear into the audience as it helps conceal the kidnapper's face.

 The Babysitter_

for the character of the babysitter, I went for a night time look. The babysitter was wearing baggy pants and a loose top, this was meant to give the feeling that she is relaxed, this directly contrasts to the high tension scenes later on in the film. 

 The Child_

for the child, I went for a cute look having her receive a soft toy from the babysitter, and sleep in a room with lots of pinks. This gave the idea that she is innocent and is undeserving of this kidnapping. It also makes the audience more emotionally invested in the character, meaning that when she disappears it's going to affect the audience as much as it did the babysitter.

 The Balaclava_

this was an important prop as it makes the face of the kidnapper disguised not only does this instill fear it also helps create more tension in scenes that it is shown. there is a sharp contrast between the black of the mask and the white of the eyes. the mask only slightly reveals that a kidnapper is somewhat a person by revealing only some parts of his face distancing him from the audience and creating a physical barrier that doesn't allow the audience to become invested in the character meaning they are forced to side with the main characters.

 The Plush Toy_

this toy indicates the relationship between the babysitter and the child. It helps drive the fact that the babysitter and the child are very close and share a tight bond. this means we are shown the empty bed and the plush on the floor we feel a connection to the characters as we understand the importance of the plush to the babysitter and to the child.

 The Gun_

the gun, though only seen briefly pushes the thrill factor to a new level. as the home is seen as a safe place. but when there are guns and other weapons involved that safety is then removed and replaced with suspense and tension as the outcome of the situation will be unclear. we want the audience to debate whether or not she will shoot and if she does what will the outcomes of that be. this helps make for a more engaging film.

 The Reporter_
we intend to have a reporter on the tv say that there are kidnappings going on in the area. This is meant to put the audience on high alert. this is the moment when it becomes clear that the characters are in a dangerous situation.

Shot List-

 the idea for the shot list was to get all the shots in a logical order for filming day however this ended up changing as Aria had to go to bed earlier so those scenes were filmed first instead and then we had to film the flashback scenes earlier in the day before Theo arrived. Theo provided a drone for us so we waited until then so we could get our establishing wide shot and some more flashback shots.

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Treatment

Treatment for

The Baby Sitter

prepared by Age Productions

 Addison, Gilmark, Ella 

26/3/19

it is proposed that the film will be of 1 to 2 minutes duration and that it will be filmed at the following locations:

Ella's House
we chose to film at Ella's house because we did not need much permission to film there. The house is in a rural area and has the feeling of being secluded from the outside world. we were going for the feeling of it being all alone in the dark of the night to help build the tension during the night scenes. the house also contains an old willow tree which we had decided would be a good flashback point for the two characters to show their relationship. The house also has a very family orientated feel to it which we hope to contrast on seen as there is a kidnapper in a place that supposed to be secluded. 

The film will include the following conventions of thriller films:

Weapons-

 we will use a gun in this production on screen as this will invite a sense of danger in the film and shot will be fired and will kill people. Having a gun in this production will capture the audience's attention as it will make it very clear what is going on the situation of the film and that the person does have the intent to kill to save her sister. this will definitely show the type of character that she is.



Secluded Location-

 Having the film set in a secluded location gives the feeling that there is no help from anyone when there is a danger. this will help build the tension as the character will have to overcome the situation on her own accord this makes the character seem stronger than most as she is able to hold off a kidnapper on her own and save her sister. we  hope that the audience can realize that she is in a helpless situation which will definitely help build the tension even more

Dark setting-
 having the scenes shot at night helps the film become more thrilling as darkness represents the unknown. we do this by having the power cut and the character have to move through the house with nothing but the phone torch. we intend to use close-ups of her face at these moments to show deliberately hide her surroundings making the scene more engaging as the audience will be left wondering what will happen next

Balaclava-
 hides the face of the intruder, this makes the fact that he is a bad guy obvious. it is also a common attire for thieves as it blends into the dark and helps them stay hidden at night time.
they also have a very scary feel as they only show the eyes and there is a sharp contrast between the face and mask.

Flashbacks- 
flashbacks help to convey the relationships between the two characters without having to build it up over time. Having light, fun flashbacks show a good relationship we are going to use this as a way of showing why there is such a bond between the two characters, the Baby sitter and the child.

Suspenseful Music-
suspenseful music helps drive the tension of the scenes and makes it clear to the audience that something is not right in this situation.
also makes sure that the audience feels the right emotions at the right point.

After Watching the trailer of the Movie Kidnapped I got the idea of having an ordinary woman make a daring attempt to save her child from the kidnapper. having this means the audience is unsure whether or not the baby sitter will be able to achieve the mission. making it an ordinary person allows the audience to relate more to the character. that is why we have decided to incorporate a normal baby sitter and a normal household as this hopefully will relate more to the audience. Similar locations like the home make the possibility of such an event occurring seem even more likely indirectly causing the audience to be more wary as they could envision this in their own lives.

Problems encountered-
Some problems we encountered were possible rain forecasts, this meant we had to make two plans on film as one was to cover if rain did occur. for example, we were going to film the flashback scene inside rather than outside if it did rain.
another problem we faced was running out of battery during filming, we had brought two batteries two our location and had left them there overnight so that on the day of filming we wouldn't have to haul them with us. But filming ended up taking longer than we expected and so both batteries ran flat and we had no charger and so were forced to schedule another date to continue filming 

Summary-
the opening= Baby sitter is washing the dishes when the child walks onto the kitchen brushing her teeth. no words are spoken only a smile is given by the baby sitter. there is then an over the shoulder shot of the baby sitter washing the dishes specifically a knife which is then placed onto the counter.  we then cut the child's room where the baby sitter is about to enter is going to give the child a stuffed toy. the baby sitter says goodnight and turns out the light.

BEGINNING=

there is a wide establishing shot of the house at night where we see the kidnapper sneaking around the house, baby sitter and child are introduced and they trade an item, the stuffed toy 

MIDDLE=

 the baby sitter is watching tv we hear that there have been kidnappings in the area  then the kidnapper walks past the window behind the baby sitter ,baby sitter realizes that something is not right when the power goes and out and there are strange noises in the house and eventually finds that the child is missing an has been taken by a kidnapper 

END=

The baby sitter picks up a gun and runs outside to where the noise was coming from where she finds the kidnapper and shots him as he is about to drive away and rescues the child from the kidnapper's vehicle.

Main Conflict-

the main conflict occurs between the baby sitter and the kidnapper. as first the kidnapper is unseen but is the one orchestrating the strange noises and power outages, as the baby sitter investigates she find the kidnapper and eliminates him.

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