Costume and Props for Opening Sequence

We want Lauren to be dressed in clothes that resemble a teenage school girl. Therefore we have chosen typical clothing such as black skinny jeans. Also, white converses are typical for a young person to wear. As well as this, her hair will be up in a ponytail to show her innocence in the opening sequence.We are thinking about putting glasses on her to make her seem more vulnerable to the viewer as well. Her props involve her iPhone, covered in a case that makes it evident that she's young, and her backpack is to make her seem as she is coming home from school.

Tinika's costume is different because we want her to also look childish, but have a creepy element to her so it's obvious that her character isn't normal. She will be wearing a dress and a cardigan, which are normal items of clothing for a young person to wear, but the prop that makes her whole costume is the mask she wears. She will be wearing a mask so that the viewer can question whether she's the antagonist or not. Also, the mask hides her identity to create an effect that suits the genre (thriller).

Main Task - Schizo Script

Production Task- Schizo Script

EMILY- Lauren Hewitt

ABBIE/ABIGAIL- Monique Jackson 

FADE IN:

EMILY:

Human beings, we have dark sides; we have dark issues in our lives. To progress anywhere in life, you have to face your demons.

I learnt that the hard way.

EXT. PATHWAY - DAY

EMILY walking - On an empty pathway next to a field.She turns around, but doesn't see anything.

A girl is behind her 

'ping'

She checks her phone,then texts ABBIE. She looks behind again and continues to walk up the path.

She Takes out her phone calling ABBIE on her phone.

'ring RING RING!!!' 

EMILY:

Hey, where are you?

ABBIE:

I'm at home, where are you?

EMILY:

But you said you wanted to play a game.

ABBIE:

No I didn't. You're acting crazy.

A girl is standing closer, to her left. She turns her head

EMILY puts the phone in her pocket and runs to--

EXT. THE FRONT DOOR - DAY

And turns around when she feels a hand on her shoulder.

EMILY:

You?

THE END

Shot List - Opening Sequence

Here is our shot list that we used for our opening sequence. We printed it off and took it with us to use whilst filming to make sure that we got all of the shots that we needed.

Theories of Narrative

These are two theories of narrative which I have researched about the structure of narratives. They are very popular and I may use this in the creation of my opening sequence, as the aim of an opening sequence is to set up a narrative.

TZVETAN TODOROV'S THEORY

He states that most story's follow the same pattern, consisting of 5 steps:

• EQUILIBRIUM - The first part of the film, whereby everything is balanced and in order.
• DISRUPTION - A problem will arise in the story to disrupt the balance and happiness. 
• REALISATION - The characters realise that something is wrong in the story.
• RESTORED ORDER - The characters will attempt to fix the problem.
• NEW EQUILIBRIUM - The final part of the story, where balance is restored and the problem is resolved.

This theory follows the idea that the narrative of films is a repetitive pattern of harmony, disruption, and then harmony again. This is evidently true for most films and therefore we must assume that our film will also follow this theory. We must make sure that the elements of our opening sequence (music and lighting) can set up the equilibrium of somewhat peacefulness, but we must also make sure that we add a sense of darkness to create some unease.

VLADIMIR PROPP'S THEORY

He developed his theory by noticing a pattern in characters in folk tales:

• THE HERO - Usually seeks something.
• THE VILLAIN - Struggles against the hero.
• THE DONOR - Helps the hero or gives them a magical object.
• THE FALSE HERO - Perceived as good but emerges as evil.
• THE DISPATCHER - Sends the hero on their way.
• THE HELPER - Helps the hero on their quest.
• THE PRINCESS - The person who marries the hero.

This theory states that the characters in a film help to move the story along. In our opening sequence, only 3 characters are included. The protagonist is established as she is first seen and looks to be seeking something. We can therefore assume that she is the hero, and the second character who is seen and not heard is the villain. However, because not much us seen during the sequence, the characters aren't definite and could always change around as the plot changes.

Shots, Angles, and Movements - Research Discussion

In this video we look at different camera shots, movements and we look a bit at editing. This has helped us see common ways these techniques are used and how we could use them in our own sequence.

Location Planning

After considering other places to film our opening sequence, we decided to settle on the area around Tinika's house. This way, we could get the shot of Lauren running up to the door as discussed for the scene end scene.














The long paths near Tinika's house enable us to create an eerie effect to match our genre as a thriller. This is because long paths relate to never ending trails, which make for a creepy effect in a film opening.

This is a public field, so we won't have to get permission for filming here. However, there may be a few people passing by, so when filming we must make sure to not get them in shot and work around them.

Progress Check Discussion #1