FILM OPENING

I worked with Rebecca Todd 1982

Our brief was to make the titles and opening of a new fiction film (to last a maximum of two minutes). We made a horror film opening entitled Vendetta

I took responsibility for parts of the camerawork, in particular, the guitar scene, and the opening scene of when the killer enters a house. 

I took responsibility for the directing of the scenes where the guitar is playing, and when the masked killer is entering a house with CCTV footage

I took responsibility for some set design, such as I used a squire guitar with an amp to create mystery when playing, with a light to create dimness and build up. I also sourced my ring doorbell camera to show CCTV footage of someone entering the house. Also, we used a green screen for the news report.

I took responsibility for editing most of the scenes, including editing parts of the production logo, the certification of age, and the guitar playing scene with the flashbacks, and also edited most of the audio. Also, I edited the entering the house scene with the CCTV footage, and applied the green screen to the news report. I used Premiere pro.

I created the music for the final scene because I play the guitar. I picked the track Hotel California and used my Squire guitar. I used an amplifier to create more voice, and make the scene seem louder when playing.

I mostly designed and made the Production Company logo BELVEDERE STUDIOS I used Adobe photoshop then edited the image in  I designed the image in Photoshop then took it into Premiere pro to add into the intro of the film opening, with the rain and thunder in the background

 

FEEDBACK

 

fEEDBACK by Matt S

GUITAR SHOT: VENDETTA

 CCR1: GUITAR SCENE IN VENDETTA

In my film opening Vendetta, we have a 45 second clip of the masked murder playing a guitar over a voiceover talking about his decisions that he has made, and what he has done. I am a very keen guitar player, and I decided to play the guitar myself in the scene. To come up with what I wanted to play on the guitar, the song has to be mysterious but chilled at the same time.

At this point, I want to convey the troubled state of mind of my protagonist; he has done something terrible that he will regret, but he is trying to defend his own actions to himself. He is a passionate, jealous, and romantic man, who has just been tipped over the edge. I decided to play the intro to Hotel California by the Eagles, as it has a mysterious vibe to it. 

Music has its own language; it has shades of dark and light, which connote a world of different emotions. The reason why it is a mysterious song is because the chords I play in the song are B7, E minor, C major, G major, and a few other flat 7th chords. This chord progression creates a sense of mystery, but are also some chilled, jazz chords. Each string is individually plucked on each chord that is played which creates a sense of control, not just aimlessly strumming. The guitar a chose was a Squire Strat, which is a guitar used a lot for funk, and jazz, and is similar to a fender Stratocaster, which players like Hendrix and John Frusciante would use. The tone used in the song has a lot of reverb and uses the neck pickup, which is a warm smooth sound, and not a quacky funk sound, which the bridge pickup is primarily used for. It also contains a chorus pedal during the chorus of the song, but that is not used in the video. The key of the song is in B minor, which is a key used for sadder, or more mysterious songs, showed by the solo in the song which isn't in the scene, but also has a vibe of mystery, using the B minor pentatonic scale to create melodies that resemble the rest of the song, This whole vibe creates an enigma as to who the player/murder is, and the voiceover creates the idea that he is insane.

HESMONDHALGH THEORY

    I chose the theory of Hesmonhalgh

CASTING

 

THE KINGPIN

The KingPin  As practice to prepare for making my film opening, early on I made a film opening in the thriller genre called The KingPin. This involved organising locations and props on set, planning a sequence of different shot types to make the work visually interesting, editing it into a sequence on iMovie, adding sound and titles, then seeking feedback.

 

VENDETTA - SHOT LIST

 (

Sound/Voiceover	Shot/Scene	Actor(s)	Props	Notes
Speech - News Report	News Shot	Olivia & Sam	Sofa	Sat in front of the green screen
Music in the background Footsteps through the stones Voiceover of news report	Killer approaching the house	Matthew	Killer Mask Knife	Night Time, Dark
Scary Music	Girl comes into hallway to apply makeup	Rebecca	Lipstick	Dark hallway
Scary Music	Killer slowly reveals knife from behind back. Close up shot of knife	Matthew	Knife
Scary Music	Girl spots the killer behind her in the mirror, knife is lifted and girl screams.	Rebecca Matthew	Knife Lipstick	Shot through the mirror
Scary Music	Girl lying dead on the floor. Pan up body as the killer takes her arms and crosses them over her chest.	Rebecca
Scary Music	Blood knife placed next to the dead girl, alongside a picture of her. Close up shot.	Rebecca Matthew	Knife covered in ketchup Framed photo
Scary Music	Killer goes to exits, but sees another framed photo of the girl’s sister. Black out, goes into a flashback of when the girl’s sister was killed	Matthew
Scary Music	Pan Across of killer playing the guitar to Hotel California by The Eagles. Overlay of flashbacks, including the knife and girl being stabbed.	Matthew	Knife Guitar Amp/Speaker Photo Frame Flowers