Evaluation: Question 1

Betrayed in Blood Film Opening

Risk Assessment

When filming it was important that i wasn't doing anything to put my actors or myself in any sort of harm or risk. As i was filming outside (by a car) and inside the house (on stairs), for this reason it's vital that i carried out a risk assessment to ensure i was keeping myself and others safe but also looking after the equipment.

It was important when transporting the equipment from school to my location that i had them in here cases and keep them close at all times so that they were out of the way of being hit or knocked.
When removing equipment i was cautious to make sure not to lose anything like the SD card or chargers ect. I also had to make sure to use the equipment correctly and not misuse it so it became damaged. 



Inside the house i had to make sure the Actress (tania xavier) who plays Verona was able to walk down the steep stairs in high-heels without falling or injuring therefore before filming she was able to walk up and down the stairs to see if she was comfortable doing so. I also had to make sure that the stairs were clear from any objects. 
As the other actress (maria rosaria) who plays Marie Amsel was laying on the floor i had to make sure there was no sharp objects where she could injure or harm herself on. Once cheeked she was able to lay on the floor and i was able to film.

In one scene i filmed i had to hold the camera and track inward while walking up the stairs. When filming i had to make sure i was aware of where i was stepping therefore not causing myself any injuries.

When filming around the car with the ignition on i had to make sure the hand break was on and that the actress behind the wheel (emily dina) who plays Vanessa was comfortable.

Film Destination, Storyboard & Shot Sheet

I originally wanted to film in a hospital however was unable to get this location so i changed it to filming in a house. I chose to film in someones house as my opening was soul suppose to introduce the two main characters and the fact that they are vampires. 

Below is my original digital story board which i created on Final Cut Express. I did quick drawing which took me less then 5 minutes to create. I originally wanted to film in a hospital however was unable to get this location so had to change the some shots and some of the opening to fit my new location of a home. 

Some of my titles are not the same as I at the time I hadn't finalised or fully decided on the title order. I didn't however want to change this digital story board as it was my orgianal idea, i instead decided to do a shot sheet and plan on there where all my finalised titles would go.

Shot Sheet

This shot sheet below shows my plan for my shots with some finalised titles. The 2nd sheet has no written titles as i had them on scrap pieces of paper which i blue tacked into places to decide where to put them. These shots where carefully thought out as i wanted a slow paced opening which introduced the characters and the fact there vampires. I chose to do close up to add suspicion and a sense of mystery. They also allow the audience to get a clearer picture of the detail with a scene like for example the women laying on the floor 'dead.'  

Actors & Titles-Betryed in Blood

 7 Main Important Character & their Actors/Actress:

 Betrayed in Blood(2015) Titles Sequence:

 The following titles is the Title Order to be used in my film opening title sequence.

 REASON FOR TITLES USE: 

Distributor: Lionsgate

I chose 'Lionsgate due to my research into Vampire Films. As 'Daybreakers' distribution company was Lionsgate therefore I did research into it and found that the films in which they distribute have similar genres to my films. For this reason i chose Lionsgate.

Production Company: Summit Entertainment (which is a Lionsgate company)

Film Title: Betrayed in blood

In the film there are lots of betrayal on both vampire and human sides:

A Human becomes a spy for the Vampires.

Verona Țepeș is betrothed to Drago Valcari and betrays him as she's in love with her bodyguard Kai Lucan.

Vanessa Țepeș (verona's sister) falls in love with a Leonardo Gray. She helps humans kill her own kind but at the end she's betrayed by him and killed. For this reason I chose to name the film 'Betrayed in Blood.' 

Actors/Actress:
I chose to have 7 actors at the beginning as in my Film openings research (both vampire and non vampire movies) there where 2 films which had 7 actors at the beginning therefore decided to have 7. I decided to order them in importance:
Tania Xavier 
Emily Dina
Tony Curran
Kris Holden-Ried
Maria Rosaria 
Lucas Francesco 
and Jackson Rathbone

Casting: Jennifer Smith and Stuart Aikins

I've done the casting for betrayed in blood however as I only wanted my name to come up once which would be as director so i used Jennifer L. Smith most well know for her casting the Underworld Quadrilogy, and Stuart Akins did the Casting for the Twilight Saga: Eclipse

Music: Barrie Gledden and Chris Bussey 

These two people are the composers of the music used in my opening. I used them as they created the music that went into my opening. Music was got of audio network.

Costumes Designer: Wendy Partridge 

She designed the costumes in Hellboy, Thor: the Dark World and underworld

Edited: Matt Villa

I will be doing the editing for betrayed in blood however only wanted my name to come up once which would be as director therefore i used Matt Villa who edited Daybreakers.

Director of Photography: Ben Nott

He directed the photogrpahy in Daybreakers

Co-production: Kevin Grevioux
He stared as Raze in Underworld but was also the associate producer and helped writer the story for underworld.

Executive Producers: David Kern, Eric Reid
Was an executive producer on I Frankinstin and Underworld.
Was an executive producer on The Ugly Truth, I Frankinstin and Underworld as they both worked on the same production i decided to use them both.

Produced: Tom Rosenberg, Karen Rosenfelf
Tom Rosenberg: Was a producer in Underworld
Karen Rosenfelf: Was the executive producer in Twilight

Directed: Lily Freitas
The film was directed by myself 

 Title Font 

 I have chosen to us Lucida Blackletter as it looks old fashioned, decretive but is still readable. For me this font stood out from the others as it looks regal and as the main character is royalty it fits with the film. Not only this but as its an old fashioned font highlights the ancientness of the vampires and contrasts to there modern setting as they have lived through many eras. I looks aesthetically pleasing, eye-catching and sophisticated which are also reasons why i chose this font.

For the other opening titles i have chosen to use Copperplate Gothic Light as it looks more modern then the film title however still holds an antique look to it. All the letter are also in capital giving them a sense of importance so people are more likely to read them when they come on scene. It's clear to read because of the capital lettering and but also more importantly complements the film title more then all the other do due the the fact that it has retained an out-dated look while still looking modern.

The Plot-Betrayed in Blood (2015)

 Main characters: 

Verona Empusa Den-hur Țepeș: Queen of Vampires

Vanessa Carmilla Den-hur Țepeș: Verona's sister (in love with Leonardo)

Leonardo Gray: Reporter/ part time private detective

Marie Amsel: New servant to the Țepeș Family

 Supporting characters: 

Drago Valcari: Nobel Vampire, betrothed and in love with verona
Kai Lucan: Knight Vampire, verona personal bodyguard and love interest
Zero Black: Knight Vampire, Vanessa personal bodyguard

Behind the Name:

 Plot: 

Follows the villain Verona Empusa Den-hur Țepeș who is an extremely rich billionaire who lives in London. She owns 3 major companies:

Tartarus Corporation

Cronus Enterprise

Pandora's Box

They all 3 companies deal with: medicine-research in curing diseases
technology
weaponry
food supplies
biological research ect. 
These companies can be found all over the world however her companies are based in the Uk. Most the staff that work for her are of the vampire community. Since her companies have lunched, due to vampires vast intelligence they have developed technology and medicine further then any human could.

In her past Verona was betrayed by humans, she trusted them and they betrayed her my slaughtering her family. For this reason she views them as untrustworthy and vile creatures who are just a food source and threat to vampires future.

She aims for world domination and plans to make humans just like cattle (a food source). Verona does this by setting up her companies all over the world in order to achieve her goal. However as we all know plans don't always go so smoothly.

This Film would be 1 of 3 films making it a film series. Within the movie there would be one betrayal after another however the most shocking would be Vanessa Carmilla Den-hur Țepeș (verona's sister) falls in love with a Leonardo Gray. She helps humans kill her own kind but at the end she's betrayed by him and killed. For this reason I chose to name the film 'Betrayed in Blood.' 

 Stereotypical Vampire Characteristics/Traits: 

Immortality

Heightened senses

Have sharp teeth

Infect humans to become Vampire

Super strength

Super speed

Heal quick

See in the dark

Nocturnal

Killed by stake

Killed by garlic

Killed by the sun

Have no refection

Have no taste buds

Killed by religious objects (holy water, cross)

 Vampiric stereotypes which I dismissed: 

 Infect humans to become vampire-Only certain vampires can do this

 Nocturnal-Not nocturnal just have different cycle as time passes differently for them

 Killed by stake-Anyone would die if you put a stake through there heart, however due to vampires unique healing ability if this where done to them compared to a human a vampire would have more chance surviving

 Killed by garlic-Vampires have heightened sense and as garlic has a strong smell its just got a potent smell to a vampires sensitive nose

 Killed by the sun-As vampires are undead walking in the sun cause there skin to decay and burn however it doesn't instantly kill them. Verona company Pandora's Box soul purpose is to fine cure for vampire problems such as this. They came up with a special sunblock which blocks sun rays from your skin for 4 hours.

 Killed by the Religious Objects-Untrue these no nothing to vampires

 Have no refection-Once they quench there thrust (drank blood) they have a reflection however they need to feed regularly or it fades.

In my Film I wanted to make the vampires different from stereotypical vampires. I decided since the main character is the Queen of Vampire there should be a hierarchy of authority within the Vampire Community. 

 There only weakness is the Queen, decapitation, sun and fire. 

Vampire Research Analysis

From the above research i have conducted its clear that my opening scene should be slow pace and the titles should have a fade in fade out transition. I have become clear from the evidence that i should, in my opening, establish the setting, introduce main characters and show that the film is about vampires. I could also make the film title stand out from the rest of the titles by changing the font, colour and possibly the size. As 2 of my openings had monologue i may consider using one in my opening to give my audience additional information on the story. The colour of my titles should be black or red as these colours highlight vampires however could also consider white as it would reflect good vs bad.  

Vampire Films Research: Daybreakers

 Daybreakers (2009) 

Genre: Action, Fantasy, Thriller

Plot: In the year 2019, a plague has transformed almost every human into vampires. Faced with a dwindling blood supply, the fractured dominant race plots their survival; meanwhile, a researcher works with a covert band of vamps on a way to save humankind.

Title Sequence Order:

• Lionsgate

• ffc australia

• Lionsgate

• and film finance corporation australia presents

• A lionsgate and paradise production

• in association with the pacific film and television commission and furst films

• A film by The Spierig Brothers

• Daybreakers

• Ethan Hawke

• Willem Dafoe

• Claudia Karvan

• Michael Dorman

• Isabel Lucas, Vince Colosimo

• And Sam Neill

• Casting by Nikki Barrett

• Special makeup effects created by Steve Boyle

• Visual Effects by Postmodern kanuka studio and the spierig brothers

• Music by Christopher Gorden

• Production and costumes designed by Geroge Liddle

• Edited by Matt Villa

• Director of photography Ben Nott ACS

• Co-producer by Todd Fellman

• Executive producer Jason Costantine, Peter Block

• Produced by Sean Furst, Bryan Furst

• Produced by Chris Brown

• Written and directed by The Spierig Brothers  

The first 6 tiles at the beginning are on black screen and the text colour is red this makes them stand out and black and red are the colours usually associated with a vampire. The editing pace is slow and the 1st shot is of sun rise then unanticipatedly a bat fights across the shot giving the audience a shock as its unexacting. Bats are also associated with vampires therefore hinting again that the film is to do with vampires.

From 'Datbreakers' it clear from the beginning that the film is about vampires as a female vampire commits suicide by walking into the sun. The audience however don't know she's a vampire until she is killed by the sun. They are able to see close ups of her writing the suicide note and photos of her along with a calendar with the year 2019 in big bold writing  This therefore has established the year the film takes place in. 

After she walks out the door the audience is then shown close-ups of her suicide note phrases 'never change', 'never grow up' and 'can't go on' stand out. Between the shots the audience is shown the sun rising and they therefore know something is going to happen to her. The girls eyes are a non natural orangey colour and as the sun rises higher the audience hear her scream and then see her burn up and crumble. It fade to a black screen where the audience then see the title 'Daybreakers' fade in and out.

The audience is given hints as the opening continues that society as we know it isn't the same in this film and that possibly everyone is a vampire. For example: 

• Shot with sign: 'School Zone between 2am-3am school nights'
• Shot with sign: 'special report The outbreak 10 years on' this sign shows the audience that this society was infected with some kind of disease
• Shot with escalator: 'How a single bat started it all' gives the audience the source of the disease
• Shot with newspaper: 'German blood substitute fails' shows the audience that as vampires feed off human blood and there might not be many left and are therefore trying to find and alternate way to feed.
• Poster with women: She's a vampire advertising tooth-paste therefore her fangs are very noticeable

Vampire Films Research: Twilight

 Twilight(2008) 

Genre: Fantasy, Romance

Plot: A teenage girl Bella Swan risks everything when she falls in love with a vampire

First 2 minutes, 9seconds with opening monologue in correlation to shots:

The beginning of the opening is slow pace however quickly escalates to a fast pace chase scene between predator and pray(the deer). The way the shots are created are in the POV of the predator so the audience when watching become the predator however it changes to a 3rd person narrative and at the end are able to see that the predator is a human. This leaves the audience puzzled as no human would have the speed to chase a deer. The beginning could also be seen as a method of foreboding as the girl in the opening 'Bella' is prayed on by vampires.

When the girl in the opening is talking about moving she say "I'd miss the heat" this could have been done on purpose as she's moving from somewhere sunny to a cloud covered (small) town. This could also reference to the face that vampire cannot step into the sun therefor having the contrast of light and dark. By her moving to live with her dad, the opening is setting the scene. The mise-en-scene of the setting of the forest shows the contrast from where she lives to where she's moving to.

Vampire Films Research: Underworld

 Underworld (2003) 

Genre: Action, Fantasy, Thriller

Plot: Selene, a beautiful vampire warrior, is entrenched in a war between the vampire and werewolf races. Although she is aligned with the vampires, she falls in love with Michael, a werewolf who longs for the war to end.

First two minutes of the Film:

00:57 seconds into the film we hear a voice over monologue. By doing this the audience is being given information or background to the story/plot.

"The war had all but ground to a halt in the blink of an eye. Lucian, the most feared and ruthless leader ever to rule the Lycan clan, had finally been killed. The Lycan horde scattered to the wind in a single evening of flame and retribution. Victory, it seemed, was in our grasp, the very birthright of the vampires. Nearly six centuries had passed since that night, yet the ancient feud proved unwilling to follow Lucian to the grave. Though Lycans were fewer in number, the war itself had become more perilous, for the moon no longer held her sway. Older, more powerful Lycans, were now able to change at will. The weapons had evolved, but our orders remained the same..." 

In is the opening monologue the audience is able to establish that there is an 'ancient feud' between 'Lycans' (which they later find out are werewolves) and Vampires although it's uncertain how it's started. The audience is able to establish that this war has been 'nearly six centuries' long and  is described as 'perilous' showing the true danger this feud is bringing. 

As this monologue is in the point of view from the female vampire shown in the opening, the audience side with the vampires and not the lycans as 'Lucian' who was 'the most feared and ruthless leader ever to rule the Lycan clan' was killed by vampires. By using adjective like 'most feared' and 'ruthless' gives the audience a negative representation of the lycans before they are even introduced to them and also labelling them as dangerous and villainous.

The audience find out that despite 'Lycans' being 'fewer in number' they have become 'more powerful' and are  able to change at will. As the vampires are trying to kill 'Lycans' means that these factors will make it harder from the vampires to kill them however the audience find out that these vampires have orders (which haven't changed over time) showing that they must have a leader. 

The mise-en-scene of the opening sets a very ominous tone due the the rain, thunder, lightning and the dark lighting in the scene. The female character (who we are introduced to) attire is also black which adds to this ominous feeling. As she is crouching on the top of an old looking building it contrasts to the modern day setting however highlights the 'ancient feud' between 'lycan' and vampire. The old looking build shows the longevity of this war to its present day in modern society and how the 'ancient' past is still carrying on to the present.

Vampire Films Research: Let Me In

As my film will be about vampires i have decided to do research into existing vampire films. I'm going to look into the first 2 minutes as that is how long my opening will be, i will be able to see what different vampire films have in the first two minutes and should help inspire my opening.

 Let Me In (2010) 

Genre: Horror, Mystery, Fantasy 

Plot: A bullied young boy befriends a young female vampire who lives in secrecy with her guardian.

The first 2 minutes of the Film:

The first 2 minutes of the movie are very slow, the title transition is a simple fade in and out however when the title of the film comes up  the words come in one by one. The title is also a different colour form  the rest of the titles this shows the audience that the title has great significance to the film and is important. 

From this opening we establish that its set in "Los alamos, new mexico, march 1982." The sound is low and eerie and which gives the opening a creepy feel as its slow paced editing.The beginning scene you can see a light and its not until the camera tracks in that the audience see that its an ambulance (the sound here was cleverly edited as you don't hear the ambulance until its clear enough to see) which implies and accident has taken place. The first two minutes don't really tell you much about what the is going to happen however that fact that the film starts with an accident keeps the audience wanting more as there curious to know what happened.

Genre & Film Ideas

 Genre Ideas: Word Clouds 

 Film Ideas following Todorovs Theory 

The main genre:
1. Action,Thriller, Fantasy 
2. Thriller, Action, Horror
3. Thriller, Fantasy

As you can see I mainly focused them on Thriller as there very popular and I enjoy them. One of the most famous Thriller movies would have to be Taken and this movie is what inspired me to focus on the Thriller genre. 
After much consideration and debate I decided to do the 1st film idea which is a Action, Thriller with a Fantasy twist and sight romance.
I made this decision as pop culture shows that vampire films are very popular "Twilight Saga" for example. From this franchise has other similar movies have risen such as "Hunger Games" and "Divergent" which will have or already have more than one film.

Reflection on Title Order

My findings for commonalities for titles with in a title sequence is;

1. Distribution company 

2. _____ presents

3. A ____ production 
4. Film Title
(the order from 5-13 can vary)
5. Minimum 7 Actors/Actress
6. Casting by
7. Music by 
8. Costume Designer
9. Edited by 
10. Director of photography 
11. Co-producer
12. Executive producer 
13. Produced by 
14. Directed by (always comes last)

Reflection on Research into Film Openings

From looking into these 5 film openings its become clear that my film opening must establish at least 2 of these factors;

Genre
Setting
Characters

I have found that for my film I would have to establish 2 of these in order to keep the audience incited however mustn't given any too substantial away about the plot. I have noticed that film opening are used to subtly forebode events that may happen later in the film and may aim to do so within mine. On the other hand however 'Spider-man 2' and 'Life of Pi' did not do this, and despite not foreboding what is to come there movie opening where still effective as it would leave vague/subtle hints.
I noticed I have also noticed that the number of actors and actresses may vary due to how many characters with in a story for example 'X-men' would have a bigger cast then 'Juno' as there are more characters with the plot.

Identity Opening Scene

Title Sequence Order
Columbia a sony pictures entertainment company
Columbia pictures presents
A Konrad picture production
A film by James Mangold
John Cusach
Ray Liotta
Amanda Peet

Identity

John Hawks

Afred Molina

Clea DuVall

John C. McGinley

William Lee Scott

Jake Busery

Pruitt Taylor Vince

and Rebbeca DeMornay

Carmen Argenziano, Marshall Bell, Leila Kenzle

Matt Letscher, Bret Loehr, Holmes Osborne

Casting by Lisa Beach, CSA Sarah Katzman

Costume designer Arianne Phillips

Executive Producer Stuart Besser

Music composed and conducted by Alan Silvestr

Film editor David Brenner, A.C.E

Production Designer Mark Friedberg

Director of Photography Phedon Papamichael, ASC

Produced by Cathy Konrad

Written by Michael Cooney

Directed by James Mangold

The Opening of Identity is very insightful for the audience as it intriguing. Right from the beginning, through the music to close up shots of castes recordings and murder case files the audience already knows the genre of Mystery, Thriller. 

Much like Alien (1979) the Title 'Identity' creeps in through other titles, because as they fade one letter is left behind. 

As shown in the white circles below:

All the titles fade in and out however apart from the Title 'Identity'. The title comes in after the first 7 titles. Each letter in the 'Identity' fade in at different times and then out together this make the title look more significant or important compared to the other titles.

This adds to the low toned eerie music along with the tape recording. The audience are given an insight into the case as they are able to see close up of files, pictures and the name 'Malcolm Rivers' which pops up numerous times. From these close up we are able to establish that the case has something to do with a murder in a Motel possible committed by 'Malcolm Rivers'. This leaves the audience intrigued, therefore wanting to continue watching on to find out the answers to there questions.

From the tape recording we can also hear 'Malcolm Rivers" talking to an interviewer, this gives us an insight to to killers mind and what he was thinking. 
The Audience is also introduced to a character, the man reviewing or looking at 'Malcolm Rivers' case, as the audience is just introduced they are unable to say his relation to the case which leaves the audience wanting to know more.