FILM INSTITUTIONS

When we edit out final film opening, we will need to include a relevant film institution at the beginning as this will give the audience an insight to the film genre before it starts.
Of course, there are many different film institutions which could be relevant to our genre, so I have researched several possible institutions which we could use.

Warner Brothers

Founded in 1923, Warner Bros. Pictures are one of the most world renowned film institutions, creating between eighteen to twenty-two films per year. The institution involves a wide range of genres amongst the films which they release, therefore we could potentially use them for our film opening, however it would be better for us to find an institution which focuses on a more specific branch of genres.

20th century fox

20th Century Fox have a wide variety of genres also throughout their releases; however it could be argued that their main focus is on fantasy and occasionally action films commonly featuring binary good vs bad characters within them. The film institution most appeals to the age range of around 10+ years old, as although some themes within the films released are mature, they feature family appropriate themes mostly. I don't think we will use this institution as our film opening isn't what would be considered as 'family friendly' due to suggested and featured violent themes.

Universal

Universal Studios is a film studio which releases a broad genre of films, from children-friendly to horror, however there is a main focus amongst the institution of action, science fiction, and commonly horror, allowing a general age range of approximately 16 and up, obviously depending on the genre used. Universal could be appropriate, however part of our film opening features an urban drama style, thus may be too independent for the themes presented by universal.

Hammer

Hammer Pictures is a British film institution based in London, and was founded in 1934. The production company is well known for a gothic series ‘Hammer Horror’ films made from the mid-1950’s to 70’s. They are also renowned for such films as Dracula, Frankenstein, and The Mummy. The company has a main focus on the horror genre, featuring a variety of different horror sub-genres, including thriller horror- the closest genre relating to our final film opening. Therefore, we are highly likely to use Hammer as the institution for our opening.

Lionsgate

Lionsgate is a Canadian entertainment institution, formed in Vancouver, 2007. The most commercially successful independent film and TV distributor is Lionsgate, as they have produced and distributed over 200 films since they began. Again, the genre focuses on multiple genres of film, although they are considered as being more serious than that of the afore mentioned institutions, possibly being a suitable institution for our film opening.

Twisted pictures

Twisted Pictures is an independent American production company, founded in 2004. They are best known for their horror releases, such as the SAW series. This institution may be considered as one of the most suitable for our film opening, however it may also be too related to body horror- our film opening is possibly not ‘violent’ enough to suit the institution.

In addition to this, we thought it would be a good idea to add a frame which shows evidence of our own 'institution', clearly showing the audience that the film opening was created by us. It is simple, yet still allows the audience to see that the film opening is created by us.

TYPOGRAPHY RESEARCH

To work out the most appropriate movie typography I looked at movie typography that I consider relate to our genre and premise.

Saw
The film saw is notorious for it's graphic body horror and immense amount of violence. The typography for the majority of the films (with the exception of saw 5) have the same font with something next to it which makes it have its own identity. The colour of the typography is dark and messily done, which reflects the gory and disgusting nature of the films and suitable for the content within the movie. This film relates to our opening as it shares similarities with the body horror violence.

Friday the 13th

The famous slasher film "Friday the 13th" has font that looks like it has been carved out of something which is suitable and Mrs Vorhees and her son Jason (in the later films) carve up humans with many weapons - most notably Jason's famous machete. The blood splattered 13th successfully shows the audience what kind of film it's going to be as there is a lot of blood within the movie. If we were to take an aspect from this typography and implement it into our typography we would use the blood as several shots of our opening contain blood.

Nightmare on Elm Street

The typography for "Nightmare on elm street" is blood red, which is suitable as the movie contains quite a lot of it. Unlike Friday the 13th the entire title of the film is in red so it stands out. The nightmare is in a different font to the rest of the title and it arguably heightens the appeal of the film as viewers will want to know what is so nightmarish about this film to have a title like that. We would, as I said in the Friday the 13th part, use the red of the title.

House of the dead

The house of the dead typography is of particular interest because it looks like it has been written with blood with it splattered along the bottom of the title. Just like the others it is suitable for the film. We would definitely take inspiration from this typography as I feel it would be suitable for our film opening.

FILM OPENING DECONSTRUCTION- SCREAM

One of the most famous horror films to come out in the last 20 years is Wes Craven's scream. Set in the town of Woodsburo, a murderer by the name of Ghostface is picking of members of the community one by one.

The film opens with title of the movie accompanied with the non digetic sound of a ringing phone followed by a loud scream. This informs the audience of the genre of the film they are about to watch, the scream connotes horror and violence.

The ringing of the phone is a sound bridge as it carried over to the next shot as we see a close up of a phone, thus the ringing becomes a digetic sound. The audience then see Casey Becker (Drew Barrymore) answer the phone. She is wearing white which usually connotes purity and innocence however, in the scene she gets into a semi flirtatious mood with the caller despite her having a boyfriend, something that can be seen as the convention of a . She is also wearing make up which may represents this sexualised manner. Wes Craven is credited with defying the regular conventions associated with horror with this film.

After hanging up after the caller dials her again the location of the opening is revealed to be a large house though the use of a long shot. Having the framed on its own and I the center of the shot creates a feeling of isolatedion . This contributes to the tension of the scene as Casey is all alone and a sense of helplessness begins to build.

The caller calls yet again, and they start talking about scary movies, which at the time, having characters within a horror film be self aware and start referencing horror films was unheard of. Which gives credit to Scream and Wes Craven revolutionising the horror genre. A zoom in shot with Casey's face framed in the center shows the concern and fright that is on her face. The non digetic sound of a dog barking perhaps alludes to the killer's presence outside and Casey begins to lock the door in response to this.

The killer begins to get more violent on the phone and the on screen diegetic sound of popcorn on the stove is getting louder and the bag is getting bigger perhaps to heighten the growing tension of the scene. The close up of Casey's face when the killer threatens to kill her shows the true terror she is feeling and the horror of the overall scene, Casey's mode of address begins to get frantic and scared conveying the sense of fright and desperation.

After the threat a non digetic drum beat begins to play and after a screech Casey runs and the drums beat faster to accompany the growing tension of the scene, and perhaps to show that the killer is getting closer. As Casey locks all the doors the music stops leading the audience into a false sense of security. The silence isn't there for long as an offscreen digetic sound of a doorbell is heard making Casey scream and jump in terror.

Then the phone rings again making her scream, the use of a long shot leaves her open and exposed so the audience are looking around her environment in case the killer is stalking around the house. Casey answers the call and a long shot of the door leads the audience to believe that the killer is on the other side. Then the killer reveals he knows the name of Casey's boyfriend and the background music of the string instruments stop playing, a close up of Casey's face shows how scared she is.

The killer demands she turn on the patio lights, the lighting is low key yet bright enough for the audience to see her boyfriends bound and gagged body, however at the same time not bright enough for the, to feel safe and secure. A close up of Steve's (the boyfriend) face shows that he has been injured and the audience now know that this killer is not messing around and is a very real threat.

The lights are turned off at the killer's command and after Casey gets one of his questions wrong he says that Steve is going to die. The darkness of the shot doesn't show the audience the killer. Then the lights return and the audience see his mutilated body. After more back and forth between Casey and the killer, then a jump scare with the sound of glass cracking is a sound bridge between a shot of Casey cowering and a shot of a chair coming through the patio door.

We finally see the killer from a P.O.V of Casey and a screech of non diegetic string instruments accompanies this. A chase ensues and a long shot shows the audience how the killer is right behind Casey, framed right in the center to show his close proximity to Casey. He manages to catch her and stab her in the chest with the phone still in her hand.

In a close up shot the killer then stabs her in the throat and destroys her vocal chords and her mode of address becomes gargled, as she tries and calls for help conveying the hopelessness of the situation . The audience can see the pain of Casey's face and endure this pain with her. She then tries and calls for her parents who have just arrived at the house however the dramatic irony that the audience know that Casey is in trouble but her parents don't creates a sense of hopelessness. Her parents come into the house and see the fire on the stove as a result of the overcooked pop corn and start to panic. Her mother begins to call the phone and in a close up shot we see Casey being dragged by the killer with the phone still in hand, the close up allows the audience to see the panic on the mother's face.

The mother exits the house and screams. This clues the audience into the fact that something has happened but they are not shown until the camera zooms in onto Casey's gutted body hanging from a tree. The zoom is fast paced and shows her body in gory detail making the audience very uncomfortable.

The opening is brilliant as it establishes the genre of the film and shows the killer in full force and shows what he is capable of. Drew Barrymore did a lot of the promotional material for the movie so to see her get killed off in the first few minutes of the film was a real shock to the audience. However, in my opinion- this opening peaks the film much too soon, as the killer doesn't really appear for much of the film until the ending and when he does it doesn't impact the audience like he does in this opening.

MOVIE TRAILERS VS MOVIE OPENINGS

In order to further our understanding in regards to how to edit our film opening, it was important for us to know the differences between a film trailer and the opening of a film.

Trailers
Trailer editing is about how you can condense a film into a 1-2 minute preview. A well cut trailer will have a flowing motion to it, a sense that everything follows one sequence to the next and the the viewer on a mini experience of the film. Trailers build up excitement and anticipation, and a keen sense of rhythm heightens those sensations. What plays a big part in the effectiveness of the trailer is the music used within it. Generally there are three music  cues, a basic formula of a trailer has been devised something like this: Act one; Introduce films' characters and environment. Act two; complicate the world act one has set up to overcome. Act three; intensify the conflicts and build up tension/excitement/humour(normally with a heightened pace and jump cut montage editing). There can be four acts but there also can be one it all depends on the material the editors have to work with. Most importantly; the editors never resolve anything within the trailer, this is because they don't want to give the plot of the film away at any point. A good trailer just reveals the movie's potential to be great. If the trailer has a seductive rhythm to it and an arresting structure the viewer will be more interested in seeing the finished product. Trailer editors, are disrespectful, they de-contextualise everything, the editors have to see everything  for what they are inherently, not how they function in the context of the film. They have to unpack the feature in order to repack it and turn it into a trailer. There are so many familiar editing tropes in trailers; dissolves, fades from black, fades to black, white flashes with slams, fast paced flutter cuts, double exposures, speed adjustments, audio rises, audio drones, audio stings. A romantic film for example, the editor will use dissolves and fades. In an action film, the editors will use fast cuts that crescendo in a metal door slam and white flash. The editors have to sell the story as well as tell it in its simplest form.

Depending on the studio and the project, the marketing work is often split between the studio's in-house marketing department and one or more outside agencies. These agencies are known colloquially as "trailer houses". A trailer is a condensed version of a feature, so it should be a collection of its greatest elements, lead with its merits. The genre of the movie will often determine how the trailer is edited, for example if its a comedy the editor will include som of its funniest moments, a good comedy trailer will include some funny moments without giving away the most hilarious jokes.

Openings
An effective film opening will have to grab the audiences attention straight away to make sure they'll continue watching. The film maker s will have to quickly introduce the characters briefly, with a couple of broad strokes and then throw them into the pit right away and over the course of the film let the audience see if and how they'll claw their way out. It should tell the audience the genre of the film right away and the setting/location. It should introduce one of the storylines and give the audience a taste of the narrative. Usually there is music and quick editing, particularly to create an element of suspense. The audience want to learn, in these opening minutes- the tone, the atmosphere, the stakes and what the characters have to overcome.

• Scream(horror)- In this brilliant opening the phone rings, a cute girl answers and a freaky voice is heard. The audience is given a few pieces of pop culture dialogue about horror films, the tension builds as the tension builds the killer begins to get more violent , her boyfriend ends up dead. Then the audience finally sees he masked killer. The girl (played by Drew Barrymore- who did a lot of the promotional material for the film) dies. The audience know the stakes ANYONE can be killed, now they're engaged.
• Star Wars (sci-fi)- The opening threw the audience into the world of the film. The star destroyer coming into endless view in pursuit of the smaller ship, the droids making their escape, the entrance of Darth Vader, his confrontation with Princess Leia where the audience learn about the pans, by the time the droids make their escape the audience know what they're in for and are engaged.
• Raiders of the lost ark(adventure/action)- In this classic opening the audience sees Indiana Jones, barely hear one word from him and learn next to nothing about his back story. He's a man of action, the audience learn about him by his actions and by the time he escapes from the natives and he film cuts to him wearing glasses and teaching a university class, the audience are hooked- where will this character take them next.

AGE CERTIFICATES

Before a film can be released to the public it must be approved by the bbfc and given an age certificate. They range from U(universal) to 18. The the number certificate means an audience member must be at least this age to view the film.

Universal

A U certificate means that the film should be suitable for every one ages 4 and upwards. Most U films are aimed at younger audiences but also cater to the parents as well. Which means that there are often hidden meanings or ideas throughout the movie that older audiences will understand. Generally these films are animations to appeal  to younger audiences   .

Language

Discriminatory language or behaviour is unlikely to be acceptable unless clearly disapproved of. Infrequent use only of very mild bad language.
 

Drugs

References to illegal drugs or drug misuse must be infrequent and innocuous, or have a clear educational purpose or anti-drug message suitable for young children.
 

Imitable behaviour

Potentially dangerous or anti-social behaviour which young children may copy must be clearly disapproved of. There is no emphasis on realistic or easily accessible weapons.

Nudity

Occasional nudity, with no sexual context.
 

Sex

Only very mild sexual behaviour (for example, kissing) and references to such behaviour.
 

Threat

Scary or potentially unsettling sequences should be mild, brief and unlikely to cause undue anxiety to young children. The outcome should be reassuring.
 

Violence

Violence will generally be very mild. Mild violence may be acceptable if it is justified by context (for example, comedic, animated, wholly unrealistic).
                                               

Parental guidance

A parental guidance certificate is for general viewing but certain scenes may be unsuitable for younger audiences(8 and under). Children of any age may be unaccompanied whilst viewing but parents may need to consider whether certain content may upset or scare the children. 

Discrimination

Discriminatory language or behaviour is unlikely to be acceptable unless clearly disapproved of, or in an educational or historical context, or in a particularly dated work with no likely appeal to children. Discrimination by a character with whom children can readily identify is unlikely to be acceptable.
 

Drugs

References to illegal drugs or drug misuse must be innocuous or carry a suitable anti-drug message.
 

Imitable behaviour

No detail of potentially dangerous behaviour which young children are likely to copy, if that behaviour is presented as safe or fun. No glamorisation of realistic or easily accessible weapons such as knives. No focus on anti-social behaviour which young children are likely to copy.
 

Language

Mild bad language only. Aggressive or very frequent use of mild bad language may result in a work being passed at a higher category.

Nudity

There may be nudity with no sexual context. Sex Sexual activity may be implied, but should be discreet and infrequent. Mild sex references and innuendo only.
 

Threat

Frightening sequences or situations where characters are in danger should not be prolonged or intense. Fantasy settings may be a mitigating factor.
 

Violence

Violence will usually be mild. However there may be moderate violence, without detail, if justified by its context (for example, history, comedy or fantasy).

12 and 12A

A 12 or 12A certificate is given to a film that contains material generally considered unsuitable for children under the age of 12.  No one under the age of 12 may purchase a film with this certificate.

                                           Discrimination

Discriminatory language or behaviour must not be endorsed by the work as a whole. Aggressive discriminatory language or behaviour is unlikely to be acceptable unless clearly condemned.

Drugs

Misuse of drugs must be infrequent and should not be glamorised or give instructional detail.

Imitable behaviour

No promotion of potentially dangerous behaviour which children are likely to copy. No glamorisation of realistic or easily accessible weapons such as knives. No endorsement of anti-social behaviour.
 

Language

There may be moderate language. Strong language may be permitted, depending on the manner in which it is used, who is using the language, its frequency within the work as a whole and any special contextual justification.
 

Nudity

There may be nudity, but in a sexual context it must be brief and discreet.
 

Sex

Sexual activity may be briefly and discreetly portrayed. Moderate sex references are permitted, but frequent crude references are unlikely to be acceptable.

Threat

There may be moderate physical and psychological threat and horror sequences. Although some scenes may be disturbing, the overall tone should not be. Horror sequences should not be frequent or sustained.
 

Violence

There may be moderate violence but it should not dwell on detail. There should be no emphasis on injuries or blood, but occasional gory moments may be permitted if justified by the context. Sexual violence may only be implied or briefly and discreetly indicated, and its depiction must be justified by context.

Certificate 15

A film with certificate 15 is considered o contain material unsuitable for anyone under the age of 15. No one under the age of 15 may purchase a film with this age certificate. 

                           Discrimination

The work as a whole must not endorse discriminatory language or behaviour, although there may be racist, homophobic or other discriminatory themes and language.
 

Drugs

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

Imitable behaviour

Dangerous behaviour (for example, hanging, suicide and self-harming) should not dwell on detail which could be copied. Whether the depiction of easily accessible weapons is acceptable will depend on factors such as realism, context and setting.
 

Language

There may be strong language. Very strong language may be permitted, depending on the manner in which it is used, who is using the language, its frequency within the work as a whole and any special contextual justification.

Nudity

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

Sex

Sexual activity may be portrayed, but usually 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.

Threat

There may be strong threat and horror. A sustained focus on sadistic or sexual threat is unlikely to be acceptable.

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 violence is also unlikely to be acceptable. There may be detailed verbal references to sexual violence but the depiction of sexual violence must be discreet and justified by context.

18 Certificate

A film with an 18 certificate has material which is considered only suitable for those for are aged 18 and above. No one under the age of 18 may view a film in the cinema with this certificate or purchase a film with it. Adults are free to view what ever they choose and any material in these views may be viewable to them.

FILM OPENING DECONSTRUCITON- JAWS (1975)

One of the most famous horror films to ever be made is Steven Spielberg's Jaws. Set in the seemingly peaceful island town of Amity, not all is well as a series of attacks on the residents of the island start to happen. It is up to Police chief Martin Brody to assemble a team to stop the shark that is wreaking havoc in the shores of Amity island.

The film opens with a bunch of young people drinking and sitting by the campfire.  Various couples are kissing and generally having a nice time. Then ,in a pan,Chrissie teases one of the boys in the group and entices him to playfully chase her. During the case scene they begin to remove their clothes and end up on the beach at which point she says that she is going skinny dipping and suggests that he join her. The lighting throughout the whole sequence is very dark and this enhances the ominous feeling of the scene.

A long shot of Chrissie swimming in the ocean is feature at an angle below her is zooming in on her   constantly. This is the point of view of the shark getting closer to its prey, it puts the audience in the position of the shark, perhaps making audiences uncomfortable.

Then a close up shot of a happy Chrissie smiling and calling to her love interest on the beach (who is in the process of undressing), who is highly intoxicated and close to passing out, asking him to join her in the water.

 Another close up shot of Chrissie from below is shown briefly which leads to Chrissie being dragged under water in a close up shot, this close up shot is particularly effective as you can see the horror on her face, even though the shot is dark(which for me at least enhances the scene, as it could be argued that the whole situation is shrouded in darkness as it Chrissie has no idea hat is going on). Another notable thing about this shot is that the iconic Jaws theme starts to play. The theme is so iconic that even if you haven't seen the film you have at least heard it, and for first time viewers they have a feeling that something bad is going to happen.

The medium shot that follows  shows Chrissie being dragged around, which is combined with close up shots of her face. The fast paced editing demonstrates the chaotic nature of her ordeal, with is furthered when we see the look of terror on her face.

For a short moment in a medium shot, Chrissie manages to grab hold of the buoy and the carnage stops, making the audience think that she may make it out alive, but this sense oh hope is snatched away when the chaos resumes and she is yet again being thrashed about in the water, the sounds included are her screams of terror and the phrasing of the water, I feel that this really puts the audience in the scene. 

Then, in a final close up of Chrissie, she screams for help but it's futile and she is quickly pulled under the water- this time for good. After this the music stops completely and all we hear is the sound of the buoy. 

The next shot is a long shot of her friend lying on the beach passed out.The way the scene changes from absolute terror to a calm atmosphere shows how quickly a situation can change. It created an effective opening and sets the tone for the rest of the film. An example being when all the children are in the water by the beach enjoying themselves and suddenly the tone changes from happiness to absolute chaos when yet again the shark claims another victim, this time a little boy.

The whole sequence is effective because it creates a real sense of hopelessness. Chrissie is all alone in the water and no one is around to help her. The darkness creates an ominous tone and this fits as Chrissie and the audience don't know whats going on below the waves. The use of sound enhances the tension and terror especially the iconic Jaws theme, along with the fast paced editing. All of these aspects make one of the most memorable and iconic film openings in history.