RESEARCH: Previous Student Blog and Title Sequence Analysis

Jada Sandy-Hersh Blog and Title Sequence Analysis

BLOG BACKGROUND:

The blog background of Group 28 is a shot from their film itself. The background comes from the title sequence, at 00:35, and is therefore extremely relevant and fitting to the genre of horror. This shot is effective in terms of it's connotative effect, as the dark colours and facial expressions of the character all allude to a mysterious and eerie atmosphere surrounding the still from the film. Having this shot as the background of the blog is effective in the way it links the film and the blog together, the two pieces of media are separate but clearly linked and so the relevance of the image supports the blog in documenting all aspects of the film and coursework.

SHOTS:

This shot in the film is extremely effective following the typical conventions of a teen horror film, with a threatening message written on the bathroom mirror in lipstick. This shot allows the viewers to see both the reaction of the victim and the message itself, the reflection making it clear who is being targeted, as the lipstick somewhat engulfs the girl when she first sees it. The dominant writing on the mirror, which reflects the girl behind it, shows the power of the message and the fear it elicits from the character. Furthermore, the connotative effect of red is used well in this shot, the message on the mirror becoming even more malicious and dangerous as it's written in a colour which suggests rage and violence. It could even foreshadow future events in the film, as viewers could infer from the use of the colour red many different things. The mise en scene in this shot is therefore very successful in inviting the audience to come up with their own theories about what will happen in the film, and leaves them wanting to find out more. This element of mystery is typical of the horror genre, and the way in which the message is represented (on a school bathroom mirror, written with lipstick), with the costume of the character in shot (a college lanyard, casual clothing) appeals to the target audience of teenagers. 

TITLE CREDIT:

The title credit again follows the general colour scheme of the blog and rest of the title sequence, and follows the conventions of a horror film completely. The font used is a sans-serif graphic font, bold and intriguing. The scratch marks on the font are a graphic feature which makes the title credit more sinister and mysterious, suggesting the film has these qualities too. The title credit is arguably one of the most important parts of the title sequence, and this credit gives a clear outline of the genre of the film and what we can be expecting in terms of type of content, without giving away too much. The title has a whole credit to itself, with no other text of footage on screen at the same time. In this case, the title credit is perfectly fitting for the genre, and the flickering of the font as it appears on screen is effective in mirroring typically eerie moments in horror films, for example lights flickering or a TV screen showing static, which therefore sets the tone for the rest of the film.

EDITING:

The editing of the film worked well for many reasons. The frequent jumps from location to location and scene to scene were guided by the TV static edited in every time the scene changed. This helped the audience to understand the jump was meant to happen, that the title sequence is disjointed purposefully in order to maintain an element of mystery while the directors, actors, crew and title credits roll, rather than one scene going straight to the next. The manipulation of the actual footage to portray it as security camera footage is also highly skillful and effective. As an audience, this makes us feel as though we are watching real security footage, and so adds a real-life element to the film, increasing it's fear factor. This type of shot and editing is typical of horror films in order to introduce the film as realistically as possible, and so this type of editing helps establish the genre in the first few shots.

SOUND:

 The use of non-diegetic is another element to the title sequence which makes it successful. There is no dialogue throughout the entirety of the piece, which is effective in not giving any clues or too much information about the plot of the film, captivating the audience. The narration/voiceover that begins at 00:57 is parallel to what plays out on screen. An example of this is when the narrator, the main protagonist, says 'grave', the shot on screen is of someone being strangled with a noose. The different shots run quickly along side the narration, teasing the audience and enticing them, showing quick, curious shots of different events, without showing the full extent of what happened. This reflects the ambiguity of the narration, which mentions 'secrets' and 'memories' without explaining what they were, or why they were important. This further alludes to things not being as they seem and maintains the mysterious nature of the film. Furthermore, instrumental, intense music is played throughout to build tension, as it almost halts at the end, before becoming even more intense and upbeat at 2:02, where the film title is mentioned, and the narrator suggests she is in danger, 'until she decides to shutdown my life'. The timings of the change in tempo of the soundtrack and dramatic end to the narration is executed extremely well and successfully builds tension.