Credits of my opening sequence

My opening sequence will have the following order of credits- 

1. Production company presents(the distributor) - NETFLIX
2. Production company production( producer)- SINISTER CUTS
3. Filmmaker- ISHIKA SHAHI
4. KUHU A SINGH as Shreya
5. ABHISHEK SHUKLA s 'the stalker'
6. Music- TONIGHT YOU BELONG TO ME
7. Hair and makeup- KUHU A SINGH
8. Costume- ISHIKA SHAHI
9. Editor- ISHIKA SHAHI
10. Writer- ISHIKA SHAHI
11. Producer- RAJAN SHAHI
12. Director- ISHIKA SHAHI
13. Film title- UNHINGED

Mis-en-scene

It is a French word taken from the theatre meaning 'placing on stage' or the stuff in the frame and the way it is shown/arranged.

Elements-

• Set design refers to the decor of the set or how it's dressed, comprising mainly of the furniture,props and set itself. Instead of just placing objects here and there, these elements need to bear significance in a deeper level, emphasizing on themes, creating meanings and provoking thoughts.

• Production designer is a professional responsible for building and dressing the set. Works with the art director, the set designer and the prop master to create and add physical elements to the filmic space.

• Iconography. It will be mentioned in a certain part of set design to create a specific meaning to the audience. Eg: buildings and landmarks helps audience to know that it is a particular place.

• Location props. Props can also add traditional information about the location and time period of the action.

• Make up reveals the character traits and signal changes in character.

• Costume simply refers to the clothes that the character wears. Using certain colours or designs, costumes in narrative cinema are used to signify characters or to make clear distinctions between characters. 

• Character props provides additional information about the character itself or the action taking place. It can be added to a person's clothing for more detail or simply be put in the person's hand.

• Lighting. The intensity direction, and quality of lighting can influence an audience's understanding of characters, actions, themes and moods. High key lighting is a lighting scheme in which the fill light is raised to almost the same level as the key light. This produces images that are usually very bright and that feature few shadows on the principle subjects. Low key lighting is a lighting scheme that employs very little fill light, creating strong contrast between the brightest and darkest parts of an image and often creating strong shadows that obscure parts of the principle subjects.

• Space. The representation of space affects the reading of a film. A film utilises deep space when significant elements of an image are positioned both near to and distant from the camera.Deep Space is often used to portray large distances. Significant elements of an image are positioned both near to and distant from the camera.In Shallow Space, the image appears flat or two dimensional because there is little or no depth. Shallow space gives the feeling that there is little or no distance between the forefront of image and what is behind it.

Credits

Opening credits are a functional as well as creative part of movies. Telling the audience who is in the movies as well as other known talents such as writers, directors and composers, sets the stage for what's to come. They include the major contributors of the film, which is not necessarily the same for every film. There is definite standard order but as observed in many films, the following order of titles may appear-

1. Production Company presents(distributor)
2. A Production Company production (producer)
3. A filmmaker film
4. Film title
5. Lead cast
6. Supporting cast 
7. Casting director 
8. Music composer
9. Costume designer
10. Associate producers 
11. Editors
12. Production Designer
13. Director of photography 
14. Executive Producer
15. Producer
16. Writers
17. Director

something like this- 

Codes and Conventions

Conventions are rules or generally accepted ways of constructing form and informing meaning in media products.
Codes suggest or construct meanings in media forms and products.
It can be divided into two categories- technical and symbolic

1.Technical codes( ways in which equipment is used to tell the story in a media text)-

• camera techniques 
• framing
• depth of field
• lighting- mainly dark and dim lights to show that the scene is taking place during night and to create a sense of fear.
• exposure
• sound.

2.Symbolic codes show what is beneath the surface of what we see. For example- a character's actions reflect his/her emotions.

• In my film, the last scene after she receives the image of her back suggesting someone is behind her at that moment. I wanted to show a state of shock. I will do that by making my actor look straight into the camera with a concerned but straight face to show how she is paralysed with fear.
• when she picks up the box, she instantly goes inside without giving it a second thought or being surprised or opening it to show that she already knows what to do with it and that it doesn't seem like a suprise to her. 
• when my character is solving the puzzle by aligning the notes, her urgency will be reflected by how she is rushing to solve it by constantly trying to align it.
• When she opens the last note. She will open that note slowly to show her state of shock and time she is taking to process what is written on the note.

3.Written codes-

• Fonts
• Link to websites
• Emails
• Slogans
• Headlines
• Caption
• Speech bubbles
• Sub-titling

Music fits both categories. 

Symbolic music is used in my film, I will use an eerie and creepy song in the background throughout to create an uncanny feeling.

Technical music in my film is the notification ring on Shreya's phone. The sound of her opening the door by turning the lock.

Codes can be further divided into to:

Colour- I will use contrasting colours. Black and white. Black is associated with fear, mystery and evil whereas white will show a safe zone as the colour will become bright as soon as she goes in her room. Though when the stalker enters her room, it will be invaded by black(lights will become dull).

Clothing- clothing helps know which century it's taking place at and whether the person is rich or poor. My film takes place in the modern time and in order to show that the girl is young, outgoing, has a good fashion taste and rich, I will make her wear a modern party outfit. For example- A black elegant jumpsuit to show that she dresses classy and well. Her bag and heels will suggest that she spends on herself well which means the family is wealthy.

Conventions

consist of:

1.Studio/production company logo-These are expected by the audience to help set expectations for a film in respect to the budget and genre.   

2.Titles- They are designed to tell the audience the names of the people and organisations involved with the making of the film. This respects and gives recognition as an acknowledgement for their role within the production of the film. There is a conventional way of presenting information in the credit sequence. The format-

• Production company(distributor)
• Production company(producer)
• Filmmaker
• Film title 
• Lead cast
• Supporting cast
• Casting director
• Music composer
• Costume designer
• Associate producers
• Editors
• Production designer
• Director of photography 
• Executive producer 
• Producer
• Writers
• Director

3.Genre 

My opening sequence will be able to establish that it is thriller because of the eerie music, low key lighting to create mystery and colours such as black for a sense of darkness.

4.Themes and topics

This is the story of the film within a genre and gives the audience a hint as to what the narrative will be like.

5.Establishing Characters

Within specific films, establishing of characters help the audience identify the genre of the film as some actors are associated with a specific genre.

6.Introduction of characters
My character, will be introduced as she enters home by a long shot to first reveal her full self and then continued with close up shots.

7.Actions and events
The action portrayed in the opening sequence of a film, helps the audience gauge the speed of the rest of the film along with the genre.

8.sound
I will use non- diegetic sound to set the mood and scene in the film. This will convey my thriller genre and what to expect from the film

9.Narration/text

It is information for the audience to know what is going on in the film. Non-diegetic voiceovers gives an audience a better understanding on the film. Some films do not have narration/text to encourage the audience to imagine on their own and add some mystery to the opening sequence, like my opening sequence. 

10.Enigma
Enigma codes are used to create questions and tension right at the beginning of the film to entice the audience, and keep the audience interested in watching the film.

Narrative theories

Vladimir Propp
He was a Russian critic and literary theorist who analysed over a hundred Russian fairytales in the 1920s. He gave the Theory of Character Roles, and proposed that it was possible to classify characters and their actions into clearly defined roles. According to him, the following characters build up a narrative:

1. The Hero- He seeks something
2. The Villain- Opposes the hero
3. The Donor- Helps the hero by providing a magic object
4. The Dispatcher- Sends the hero on his way
5. The False Hero- Falsely assumes the role of the hero 
6. The Helper- Gives support to the hero 
7. The Princess- Is the hero's reward, but also needs protection from the villain 

Claude Levi-Strauss

He was a French Anthropologist who studied myths of tribal cultures. He examined how narratives subconsciously reflect the values, beliefs and myths of a culture. He came to the conclusion that humans make sense of the world, people and events by seeing and using Binary Opposites. He found out that narratives are arranged around the conflict of binary opposites. For example, these include the conflicts between the Good and Evil, Men and Women, War and Peace, Humanity and Technology, etc.

Tzvetan Todorov

is a Bulgarian literary theorist. He suggest most narratives start with a state of equilibrium in which life is 'normal' and the protagonist is happy but the state of normality is disrupted by an outside force, which has to be fought against to return to a state of new equilibrium.

Narrative

A narrative is a report of connected events, real or imaginary. It could be presented in a series or written or spoken words. It has many categories, including Non-fiction, fictionalisation of historic events and fiction.

Different Structures in Narrative:

• Linear- They are the most common form of a narrative story. It goes in a sequential order with little or no variation.Such stories follow an orderly series of predictable events- introduction, rising action, the conflict, the obligatory moment, the climax, the resolution and the falling action.  
• Non-Linear- They are not concerned with the chronological sequencing of the events. They usually use flashbacks.Some writers prefer to stray away from the structured linear norm and enjoy jumping back and fourth in time to add elements to drama, mystery and excitement. For example- The titanic. 
• Circular Narratives- They conclude where they began. For example- Lost highway, triangle and dead of night.
• Framed narrative. These are stories within a story. Where an introductory or main narrative sets the stage either for a more emphasised second narrative or for a set of shorter stories. 

My opening sequence is Linear as it is in a chronological order, showing how the situation escalates after Shreya reaches home. The narrative is fiction based.

Audience theories pt2

4. Two step flow by Katz and Paul Lazarfeld(1944).
Information first goes to the opinion leaders. This information is then transmitted to the audience and media has no direct power. Audience is passive here and is influenced by opinion leaders.This proves that interpersonal interactions have a far stronger effect on shaping public opinion than the media.

5.Reception theory by Staurt Hall(1970)
When a producer constructs a text,it is encoded with a meaning or a message.The audience needs to decode this message in order to understand this. Based on this theory, there are 3 kinds of audience

1. Dominant. Who decode a message and understand what the producer is trying to convey.
2. Negotiated. When the audience accepts or rejects elements in the light of previously held views.
3. Oppositional. Rejected by cultural or political ideologies.