Deconstruction of Age Ratings

In order to understand who will be the most appropriate audience for our opening, I looked at the age ratings (UK) of horror/slasher films in accordance with the gore and plot. Our opening features a man chasing a girl, strangling her, then cutting her open and removing her fetus - some audiences may find this disturbing and/or offensive so I am investigating what age rating would be most appropriate for this.

All the Saw films are rated 18 because they "contain very strong bloody violence and gore" (BBFC). The deaths in Saw are sadistic and very gory so young audiences may find it extremely disturbing.

Evil Dead (2013) is rated 18 because it "contains strong bloody violence, gory horror and very strong language" (BBFC). Our opening contains some violence and a lot of gore so an 18 certificate could be appropriate. However, in terms of commercial success, as it is certified as an 18, the film could lose a significant amount of money because if it were a 15 then more people could watch it.

The Crazies is rated 15 because it "contains strong bloody violence and language" (BBFC) however our opening does not include 'bloody violence' but it is gruesome so could be a 15.

Final Destination 5 is rated a 15 because it "Contains strong gore" (BBFC) which is exactly what our film opening includes so we could certify ours as a 15.







Overall, the age rating of our film opening should be a 15 because (if this were to be a real film) it would lose out on a lot of money because limiting it to 18+ means less people can watch it than if it were a 15. Also, the 'violence' in our opening is simply the killer strangling to victim which is briefly shown. However, it is rated as high as 15 because of the gore and the idea of a man killing pregnant women and taking their fetuses which some people, especially younger audiences, may find traumatising.

Death Scene Non-Diegetic Sound Creation

For our film opening, now that we have almost finished the visual side of editing, we now need to think about the audio, diegetic and non-diegetic sounds. I decided that, for the death scene, I wanted to create some music, similar to that of Se7en and American Horror Story's non-diegetic sounds to play throughout the scene. To do this, I needed to find a form of software that would easily allow me to create good quality music with little training needed before hand- something key for this to work, as I initially had no previous experience with sound creation software.

In the end, my friend recommended Garage Band, a software already installed on the Mac's at school, to use for this particular project.


Using this YouTube tutorial as a guide of how to use Garage Band, I started the process of creating my own composition for the death scene, relating to my research on non-diegetic sound that I have previously done, and making sure that it is appropriate to the visual stimulus that the audience will get- linking it to the footage.

Initially, I tried creating the non-diegetic music from scratch- not referencing the two sounds that I had taken inspiration from, including Se7en and American Horror Story's sounds. This, however, as shown below, turned out very badly, producing a randomly spread set of sounds that didn't work together to create the desired effect.

To solve this problem, after quite a few hours of work, I scrapped what I had done, regarding it as a trial practice. I needed to do this in order to re-focus the sound I was creating, and make a good quality piece rather than a mediocre one.

Wanting to take inspiration specifically from Se7en's non-diegetic sound, I insert the downloaded soundtrack onto  the GarageBand timeline. This, I decided, I would try and copy with my own sounds, and then manipulate to be more appropriate to our footage, and more original- not sounding like a "copy" of the original.

Using Free FX, a website that I found that allows users to download sound effects for free, I started playing around with the music that I had a my disposal, trying to re-create Se7en's sound but changing it slightly to be original and appropriate to our footage.

At this point, initial point, this is what I had created:

Now that I have created my initial sound, of which is shown in the audio clip above, I need to "tweak" it and finish it so that it matches the audio. This, however, I cannot do this until the footage is completely edited- so that the audio is exactly how we want it. At this point, I now need to re-focus on the footage again, perfecting the video so that I can then perfect the audio.

This being said, I am pleased with the non-diegetic sound that I have made so far, it linking both to my inspirations- Se7en and American Horror Story's non-diegetic sounds- and the content of our film openings visual stimulus- the gore, blood, etc.

Non-Diegetic Sound Deconstruction

In order for my group and me to get a good idea of the type of non-diegetic sound to use within our death scene of our film opening, I felt that it would be a good idea to do a deconstruction on two different film openings of two TV-series that have inspired us in our film opening development and research.

Looking at the sound only in the sequences, I carried out in-depth deconstructions of the non-diegetic music used- explaining the effects it has on the footage, the feeling it gives to the extract and the different methods used with layering to accomplish the sounds produced.

Se7en

)

Format of sounds

• Starts off with a booming sound- used to shock the audience and create an immediate tension.
• Beat of electronic "shhh" sound accompanies this booming sound initially.
• Booming repeats every four beats.
• A "typing" sound is then added for a bit- but then fades out.
• A strange "zooming" sound added for a bit- but then fades out.
• Screeching sound added for a bit- but then fades out.
• There is a constant booming and "shhh" sound throughout and is used as the beat.
• Random selection of the different sounds already heard are played to build intensity.
• About a quarter of the way through another strange, striking sound added- to keep the attention of the audience and add more depth to the sound.
• As it goes through extract, the collection of sounds get more clustered, playing at random times.
• Half way through, the beat changes to a quicker pace- a new high pitched sound is added for the beats that are slightly different to the previous one.
• This is repeated a few times.
• Three quarters of the way through more of a base sound added- increasing intensity- linked to the speeding up edits off shots
• This gradually gets more intense- drums creating the base- with a mixture of sounds- reaching peak.
• At the end, dialogue of a man singing "You bring me closer to God" is played, finishing the  non-diegetic sound with a final beat that then fades out.

Effects it has on the footage and the feeling it gives to the extract

The non-diegetic music used in this sequence adds to the tension within the scene, primarily, but also signifies to the audience- without even needing to look at the footage, that the genre is a horror. The weird sounds, and deep base booming also denotes that there is going to be something within the film that is scary- being that the sound is aimed at shocking and "scaring" the audience. It really works well with the footage also- relating to what is being shown on screen.

American horror story 



Format of sounds

• The extract starts off with silence.
• A sharp static sound suddenly plays, but only lasts for a second- used to make the audience jump.
• Then goes back to silence again.
• A sudden buzzing noise starts then stops immediately.
• Loud and, again, sudden "Dum, dum dum, dum dum, dum dum" beat initiates with a static noise over the top.
• "Dum, dum..." sound carries on, but dies down a bit from the original loud initiation 
• The static noise also fades, but then starts intensifying again before another beat is added- a scratching sound in with different tones.
• A sudden, very load, metallic, chattering sound starts, then stops.
• Again the static sound.
• A soft scratching sound is constantly played, accompanied by the buzzing, This with the -"Dum, dum..." beat intensifies the scene.
• Suddenly, all the sounds slow down and fades away to a stop.
• A load beat breaks this pause, a constant, load scratching sound representing the beats
• The extract ends with the sound of fire cracking, the "Dum, dum..." beat fading out into silence.

Effects it has on the footage and the feeling it gives to the extract

This non-diegetic music, similar to Se7ens sounds, is used to build the tension within the scene, also creating a mood, signifying to the audience that the TV-series consists of twisted horror- not even needing to look at the footage, but in just the representation of the sounds played. The use of layering, again like with Se7en's non-diegetic music, is used to add depth and irregularity to the extract- linking to the conventions of the horror genre.

Conclusion

From my deconstructions of both Se7en's and American Horror Story's opening title extracts, I have found that when making the non-diegetic sound for our death scene, in our film opening, I need to use layering, linking each different sound and beat with what is happening on screen. The use of beats and dramatic "bangs" is also really effective- as found in both of the extracts.

Another tip that I found was that by using sounds that are "related" to the footage, it makes it more realistic, allowing the audience's minds to wonder into more graphic scenarios from the audio stimulation. For example, in Se7en, a screeching sound is used as well as high pitched scratching, really stimulating the audience's minds to wonder, with the help of the footage. Another example is in the American Horror Story extract- the use of "buzzing" really reminded me of flies surrounding a gory corps- stimulated from both the audio and the images in the video. Looking at our footage, we could use "squelching" sounds and cracking along with the gory images, allowing the viewer's mind to imagine more graphic scenes than what are displayed from the combination of visual and audio stimulation.

Deconstruction of Dolls

In The Horror of the Dolls (2010), the dolls are given a mind of their own. They are 'possessed' and kill people as a result - supernatural & horror genre.

In a few shots, some of the dolls are crying blood which we could include in our film opening because it conforms to bloody horror conventions.

In the shot, the doll is standing in the corner and the camera focuses on it for a couple of seconds then the doll blinks. This reinforces the supernatural horror genres as well as scaring the audience because dolls are not alive. Though this would scare the audience which is what we want to achieve, live dolls would not be appropriate for our film opening as our genre is not supernatural.



Other films with dolls in are the Chucky films. Chucky is a talking doll however turns out to be alive. Again, this would not be appropriate to our genre and its conventions however Chucky's face is scarred and his eyes are wide and devilish. We could make our dolls look like that which will show the audience how the killer mistreats people; leaves them bloody and scarred and does not care.

The Conjuring (2013) features a possessed evil doll which looks innocent and pretty which subverts the usual convention of evil dolls looking malicious (like the examples above). However, looking closely you can see her 'rosy cheeks; are actually cuts and she has several cuts all over her face and neck.

In the trailer, a quick shot appears of a muddy dolls head buried beneath branches and we could include something like this; a quick shot of a stereotypically evil-looking doll (possibly soaked in blood - conforming to horror conventions) to shock the audience.

Other films featuring dolls include the Saw films, Dead Silence (2007) and Demonic Dolls and these dolls are also alive, some being possessed.  These emphasize their supernatural genre even though they are horrors as well. Possessed/living dolls will not be appropriate for our film opening however having female dolls around his 'den' will be interesting to the audience and will further add to the killer's personality and his obsession with women. The Saw doll has strange make-up on his face which we could do on our dolls as well.

Deconstruciton of camera angles- not seeing a characters face

Within our re-shoot of the chase scene we have decided that we don't want to see our killers face, whether it be because he is wearing a mask, or because, with the use of camera angles and movement, the shots edited do not allow the audience to see his face.

To be able to do this well, I felt it necessary to do a deconstruction into an advert that I had recently seen on the television that manipulated the use of camera angles, shadows and reflection to conceal the identity of a specific character through the sequence, until the end where you get the first look of his face, an effect that we wish to replicate in our film opening within the chase scene and the diary scene.
The advert that I deconstructed was advertising the new tv-series "Fleming". The initial shot of the sequence is a long, full body shot, a door concealing more than half of the screen, but the main focal point of the image directed to the top right of the screen where Fleming is standing, facing away from the camera. This initial shot gives the feeling of being hidden, as if we as the audience are watching this man, unbeknown to him.


A fast edited extreme close up shot of the man doing up the cuffs on his shirt, is sequentially shown, followed by another long shot of the man facing away from the camera, looking in a mirror- this just adding to the feeling of watching, and spying on this person, that we still don't know the face of.

An extreme close up shot of the side of Flemings face, his reflection shown in the mirror is shown, just missing the view of his full face and an extreme close up shot of just behind his ear run quickly at the end of this scene, building up the desire to see his face, teasing the audience by giving them almost glances.

The use of focus is played upon a lot in this small sequence, used to highlight Fleming in all of the shots that he is in, even if he isn't in the main image. This is to keep the audience focused on him, not allowing their eyes to wander to the things in his surroundings.

Using objects to conceal half of the screen, and distored reflections to give disjointed images of Flemings face, is another thing that is used a lot within the sequence, making the audience focus on Fleming, and giving them small glimpses of his face, building the desire to know what his face looks like even more.



From the scene in the room where Fleming is looking in the mirror, away from the camera, the scene changes, the location being a bar, where Fleming walks across the room, shown in a range of camera angles including a long shot, mid shot and close up shot, all avoiding his face again. This change in scene, still keeping the feeling that we as the audience are "stalking" him, with the blurred out screen invading objects such as a wine glass or a persons body getting in the way, yet again increasing the need to see his face by the audience,


The final shot before we are shown Flemings face is a zooming camera movement towards his back, as he is sitting down. A range of different shots, all with quick pace editing, are shown before, the final camera movement, a 180 degree turn around his head,  is executed, showing his face, finally. Eye contact with the camera in this ending shot with the man who's identity had been a mystery, gives the feeling of being caught, adding tension, and finishing the scene with a final "pow"- exactly what my group and I wanted to do as the final shot of our film opening, seeing our killers deformed bloody face with "ADORE AND ENDURE ME" carved into it.

 This deconstruction, however only looking at the camera angles and editing, seeing how they portray different effects, gives me a much better idea of how to do our chase scene filming, including what camera angles to use, how to get the audience to focus on the character we want them to focus on, and how to make them want to find out what our killer looks like, creating the feeling of mystery and danger.

Deconstruction: Non-Diegetic Sounds

Deconstruction of Non-Diegetic Sounds:

As we are still undecided whether we are including an actual violent death scene I decided to look into the different music and sounds heard during a death scene. This should hopefully give us an idea of what types of music and/or sounds we should have if we decide to include a death scene.

One of the most recognisable sounds from a horror film, the scary horror music from Psycho is extremely well-known as it automatically makes any scene so much more scarier. The fast paced beats make the audience think of a countdown, leading up to something which would appear to be a death. The change in pitch also adds to this and the weird scraping knife sound that the instruments create is really effective. The low paced 'humming' sounds which interrupt the shrill beats also provide variation so the music isn't the same all the way through.




In this scene from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning, the dialogue and the diegetic sound of the chainsaw are probably more dominant but I am focusing on the music in the background as I feel without it, the death would not be as effective.
During the first 20 seconds or so, the audience should be listening to the dialogue but there is some slow background music which is very consistent at the same speed and volume, almost luring the audience into a false sense of security while at the same time making sure they are conscious of the situation at hand. This builds up slightly, making the audience think something big is going to happen but it's kind of a red herring as the characters change.
Almost immediately though, the music increases, even louder than before and the quicker tempo and the added drum beats make it sound more impatient and builds up to the moment where Leatherface appears. The combination of a deep rumbling noise and a higher pitched note used also add a sinister, eerie feel to the situation and help to increase the tension even more.
Throughout the next moments the music stops, there are drum beats but they are quieter than before, however the music increases again quickly as the action in the scene becomes more intense. The sound of the chainsaw then overpowers the music, showing how impressive and deadly it is and to make the audience focus on the weapon itself.
The simple drum beats return slightly louder and then the stringed instruments also join in towards the end of the clip, to stop the scene from being silent with just the man talking. The non-diegetic sound during this sequence is very effective as it is creepy and adds tension to the scene as the music seems to fit the action perfectly.





In another clip from Texas Chainsaw Massacre, there is a lot of screaming from the girl but the sound effects in the background can still be heard. From the very beginning we can hear low pitched bass notes almost once every second, as the girl tries to run away, but then as he catches her and picks her up, a high pitched ticking noise joins in almost to signify she can't escape now.
The bass notes are still playing but the tempo has become much more fast paced and urgent. Gradually the sound of stringed instruments, possibly violins, builds up to increase the tension and also the desperation in her screams. The whirring of the chainsaw then joins in with the music, obviously telling the audience what is about to happen and the steady rhythm of the ticking helps make the scene more scary for the audience.





I decided to mention the song below which is also from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, as it is completely different from what you would expect from a trailer for a horror movie. This extremely subverts the conventions of trailer music as you would not expect a film like TTCM to use a song like this to promote the film, however it is still one of the most well-known horror films around.

During my research, I also decided to look at horror music that other people had done themselves to see how simple it would be if we were to do it ourselves from scratch. I liked the use of the piano in this one for example, it sounds good especially with the deep notes in the background and the held notes (possibly strings). I also liked the big drum beat at the end as I think it's best to finish on a loud note rather than just fading out unless you want it to be creepy and feel it would worth with the scene. To me however, it didn't sound that scary, I think it wasn't either fast or slow enough, it was kind of in the middle and just sounded to me like it was sad music and I could picture it being in a tragedy film, rather than a scary horror film.





During my investigation, I found that the piano and also a lot of stringed instruments were mostly used to create tension, that is why I feel that in our opening, it could be more effective if we decided to use those instruments if we choose to have music as it builds up the atmosphere to that final moment where usually a death or something important happens. As we don't have any experts in music in our group, we would either have to get help from a friend or try to keep it relatively simple, but still scary.

Deconstructions of Existing Professional Production Companies for Slasher/Horror

Evil Dead
TriStar Production Company is represented by a horse that enters the screen through a god-like strobe of light around clouds which gives us a heavenly image. This does not fit in with the slasher genre of Evil Dead and seems quite misleading, so for our opening we should have a production company which hints to the audience what our genre is.

The next production company for Evil Dead is Film District and the camera moves down the sides of buildings then tilts upwards where Film District fades in an establishing shot of the buildings. This gives off an action genre, again, not Evil Dead's slasher genre.

Ghost House Pictures is the next production company for Evil Dead and this is more suitable to its genre because it shows a close-up of a doorknob and the door closing by itself which is scary because this has a supernatural element to it. Then, a skull appears in the keyhole - skulls symbolising death and disease. Also, the dark colours and low key lighting create a gloomy atmosphere. This is a better production company because it hints the genre to the audience, including the name.

 

American Mary
The first production company is Industry Works and has an image of a factory on a hill surrounded by clouds. Industry Works is 'wiped' on the hill and looks metallic, then each letter flashes light as if light has been passed over it. This bring attention to the name, especially as it is against a black backdrop. This fits in well with American Mary's slasher genre because it is dark and sinister looking.

The next production company is tt and this, like Industry Works, is against a black background which makes the name look more mysterious. However, a 'sun' rises behind the name which then subverts the previous mysteriousness theme and makes it seem playful and happy. This makes the production company seem versatile - that it can produce films of different genres. We would not have a flexible production company animation because our opening is only 2 minutes so we want to suggest our slasher genre as much as possible.

The Crazies
Overture is the first production company for The Crazies and it begins with a strip of blue shining over and across the name, which then illuminates for the audience to see properly. 'Films' then appears underneath, and shortly after 'a STARZ company'. To me, this seems quite cluttered because more words keep coming up when I believe that it should just be the name so it looks neater and more professional. So, for our production company we will include only the name, no other words.

Next, Participant Media appeared through a series of vertical multi-coloured lights and then the letters are pulled together from left and right. Once only the name is showing, fire blazes the screen which washes out the name and this fire is part of the opening of The Crazies so incorporating the opening with the production company looks interesting and professional.

Boogeyman 3
Stage 6 is the first production company and the logo is already on the screen. It keeps moving up and down slightly as if shown in an old cinema, then the background repeatedly changes to white and 'Films' appears. This does not indicate what type of genres Stage 6 caters for which is beneficial because, again, it shows its versatility.

Ghost House Pictures produces this film as well which proves that it is suitable for slasher and horror films. Also, it proves that it is a trusted company because they make popular films.

The production company name is shown again and this exits the screen when the camera is panning across a wall. This effect, as with The Crazies, makes the opening seem more professional and continuous because they are both smoothly incorporated.

For our production company, we should indicate to the audience what the genre is so they have a better understanding of our opening. Also, it must be quite simple with not a lot happening so to keep the audience engaged and not to confuse them. In addition, we should incorporate the opening with the production company animation as it looks better and more professional.