A day in the life in lockdown

 

toast, short film

 

Task one coursework

 

• Research 3 existing professional-made film openings from the genre you are wanting to make. 

American Psycho- 2000 

Discuss the micro elements, particularly the mise-en-scene. 

Lighting, white, bright, no darkness, shot then goes into a room, this is all bright again and there is not a lot of darkness, although the bed frame is dark and there is darkness underneath the bed, can see that there is nothing underneath the bed. We then follow a man into the toilet, the costume is white pants, there are the props of white towels as well, in the mirror, can see he is on his own, at this point we have not been introduced to the main character. We then see his reflection we see it through the picture. His character expression we see is as though it is a smolder at himself. The shot then zooms into the face of the character, as we are introduced to him first this suggests that this may be the main character. We then go into what looks like a kitchen, the kitchen is completely metal and looks industrial, the way that each room doesn’t look homely it looks more like a workplace or somewhere that is comfortable. 

Discuss the opening sequences placed in the narrative. Is it at the beginning of the narrative like most films? Or is it towards the end like in Slumdog Millionaire? 

Yes, it is, it is at the beginning of the film, this shows the ‘perfection’ he feels he is through the setting, the lighting. 

What do we learn?   

We learn about the main character and his style and the way that he lives, we see the way he gets ready, the perfection of the way he picks everything up and the places that he puts everything down in a particular way.  

Who are we introduced to? 

A man, with an industrial house, his house is all white, the way he puts everything down and the he puts everything down the same again. We assume that this is the main character as we only analyse him and the way he acts and the way he does everything as he gets ready. 

What settings are used? 

We are introduced to the home of the main character. This is portrayed as pristine and suggests to the audience that he is also as pristine as his house is portrayed in the way he gets ready and the perfection of the way he gets ready. 

What is the look/style/aesthetic? 

The style of the film looks as though it is modern, the way his house is set out, the way is decorated also looks as though it is owned by someone who lives in a simplistic way, this suggests that they may be critical and obsessed in keeping their house this way through the way that the towels are, it is portrayed in this way.  

What conventions of the genre are there? 

This is the introduction of the main character; it withholds information about the storyline it just introduces the main character and then forms your first impression of the main character.  

Is it obvious what genre it is? Is it a hybrid? 

It is a horror genre; it is not obvious at first that is the horror genre it is just introducing. 

What titles are there? Do they fit the genre/style? 

There aren't any titles in this part of the opening. 

What sound is there? 

The shining- 1980 

Discuss the micro elements, particularly the mise-en-scene. 

We are introduced to the location of the film, the establishing shot is over the top of a forest, there is a small road winding through the forest, this suggests that it is in a remote area. We see a single car driving down the road, it is the only car on the road, also leading us to believe that this area is desolate and is separated from anywhere else, the shot then follows the car as it goes down the road. The shot then pans down to a view of the mountains and it again suggests how far away from any kind of human civilisation they are.  We then see them driving along the road, we are not introduced directly to the character/s however we are introduced to a car and the car looking as though they are driving away from civilisation. 

Discuss the opening sequences placed in the narrative. Is it at the beginning of the narrative like most films? Or is it towards the end like in Slumdog Millionaire? 

This is the start of the film to then carry on with, it is a linear narrative. 

What do we learn?   

Not a lot, it makes the audience want to continue watching and learning more about where these people are going and why they are heading this way and the destination they’re going from or two. 

What is the look/style/aesthetic? 

A remote place, a that asks questions like why they are doing it, where are they going? it also makes us want to know who they are. 

What titles are there? Do they fit the genre/style? 

The titles are in blue, they're all very bold and make a contrast to the colours we see  that are green and the other bright colours. 

Is it obvious what genre it is? Is it a hybrid? 

It conforms to the idea that they withhold information from the audience. 

Us (2019) 

Discuss the micro elements, particularly the mise-en-scene. 

We are immediately introduced to a rabbit, it is focused on this one rabbit slowly it zooms out, the fact it is a white rabbit and the association with white rabbits being tested, this then makes the audience wonder where this is, however we have this idea that this is a lab, this makes us want to watch more on why the rabbits are being tested and why they are then. 

What do we learn?   

This is withheld on why or how this is being done, this is withholding the information, the audience knows nothing but the fact that there's lots of rabbits that we may assume that are being held to be tested on. 

What settings are used? 

We can assume that this is a testing lab due to the tables we see etc. 

What titles are there? Do they fit the genre/style? 

The titles are in bold and are in red suggesting danger that may lay ahead of you. 

Is it obvious what genre it is? Is it a hybrid? 

It can be assumed that this is a horror genre due to the fact that there is red writing, the white rabbits against the red writing showing a contrast between innocence and perhaps evil. 

• Research 3 existing student-made film openings from the genre you are wanting to make. 

‘Lullaby’ (2019) 

Discuss the micro elements, particularly the mise-en-scene. 

We immediately see the white shoes contrasted to the brown mud on the floor, the shot then changes to the woods, the shot is blurry and unclear, it is layered so it is unclear where there are, they're constantly running so to the audience it makes us as the audience wonder why they're there and what they're doing, by running around. 

Discuss the opening sequences place in the narrative. Is it at the beginning of the narrative like most films? Or is it towards the end like in Slumdog Millionaire? 

What do we learn? 

We learn there is a girl running around the woods, there's a shift between her being confused and running then it shifts back to the chaos and the mayhem of the character, it makes a thought of is the movement of the character the mayhem that is going through her head through the shots we see of her running through the woods. 

Who are we introduced to? 

The main character, we assume that this girl is the main character due to the fact that she is the only one that is introduced so we assume this is the person we should be focused on. 

What settings are used? 

 

The wood is used which immediately portrays the idea that we are focused on the location behind them. 

What is the look/style/aesthetic? 

What conventions of the genre are there? 

The conventions of the white costume, the dark woods, the conventions that immediately scream to the audience that it is a horror film. 

Is it obvious what genre it is? Is it a hybrid? 

It is obvious that it is a horror due to the colours that are used and the locations that are immediately introduced. 

What titles are there? Do they fit the genre/style? 

There are no titles. 

What sound is there? 

‘Acts of kindness’ (2019) 

Discuss the micro elements, particularly the mise-en-scene. 

In the distance there is a girl with a white top and red bottoms. This suggests a contrast between good vs evil or innocence vs evil. We are then introduced to the setting, where we see the trees and the forest setting. The shot makes it look as though it is a person walking. 

Discuss the opening sequences placed in the narrative. Is it at the beginning of the narrative like most films? Or is it towards the end like in Slumdog Millionaire? 

This is assumed that this is the beginning of the film. This cuts between the girl running and looking frantic, this then makes it seem as though she is in a rush and she is fearful of something. The forest is perceived as being this scary place through the fact that although it is light outside it still has a hue of darkness. 

What do we learn? 

We learn that there is a girl running frantically through the woods, fearful of something, however we are yet to discover what she is frightened of and what the fear is of. 

Who are we introduced to? 

A girl, who is wearing red and white, which suggests contrast between good vs evil. 

What settings are used? 

The woods are used, this immediately suggests that this is a horror genre piece. 

What is the look/style/aesthetic? 

The aesthetic of this almost looks slightly old due to the way that they have put a filter on top of their piece. 

What conventions of the genre are there? 

Close up shots, woods, high pitch noise, all of these suggest that it is a horror film due to the fact that stereotypically these things are associated with the horror genre. 

Is it obvious what genre it is? Is it a hybrid? 

I think that it is obvious that it is a horror piece, because there is close up shots and a girl running around the woods, this suggests a spooky atmosphere. 

What titles are there? Do they fit the genre/style? 

There are no titles, so there’s nothing to fit to the genre. 

What sound is there? 

A high pitch noise it present, this suggests immediately that it is a horror genre. 

‘Bloody Mary’ (2018) 

Discuss the micro elements, particularly the mise-en-scene. 

 

Discuss the opening sequences place in the narrative. Is it at the beginning of the narrative like most films? Or is it towards the end like in Slumdog Millionaire? 

What do we learn? 

It is very dark and there's a single light showing us a woman. We see she is trying to summon bloody mary. She is also recording the experience; she is claiming that the bloody Mary challenge is not real. 

Who are we introduced to? 

A character who we can assume is the main character, we see her trying to do the bloody Mary challenge and saying to the phone that the challenge is not real, the door then knocks, as this is a short film we can assume this is the opening sequence. 

What settings are used? 

We do not directly know where the shot is being filmed as the room is only being lit up by a single candle. However we can assume that this is in a bathroom as she is doing the challenge into the mirror. 

What is the look/style/aesthetic? 

It is dark and gloomy in the video, we take this as it being a horror genre immediately due  to the fact they are usually eerie and suspenseful. 

What conventions of the genre are there? 

Dark, eerie atmosphere, only one candlelight this then adds suspense to the whole of the film, the knock at the door is the classic horror genre thing to do. 

Is it obvious what genre it is? Is it a hybrid? 

It is obvious it is a horror because there is eerie atmosphere, only one candlelight this then adds suspense to the whole of the film, the knock at the door is the classic horror genre thing to do.  

What titles are there? Do they fit the genre/style? 

There are not any titles. 

What sound is there? 

There is also the sound of the girl's voice, apart from that the room is silent, the knocking of the door is then a shock due to the silence of the rest of the background.  

 GENERATION OF IDEAS

I made a mind map of the basic conventions of horror genre.  This allowed me to decide that I wanted to use a supernatural style of horror. I also used the theory of male gaze to decide that my main character would be female to conform to the stereotype of women/ girls being 'weak' especially with the stereotype of blonde people being more dumb/ more gullible.