Analysis of sound in 'Inception'

Video of the opening scene of 'Inception':

My 'prezi' analysing the sound in the opening scene of 'Inception':

Production Companies

What is a production company and it's role?
A production company provides the physical basis for works in film, television or radio. Production company's provide the funding for the film and sets the budget which is the amount of money which can be spent on the film. It also assists in the scheduling, scripting, casting and more aspects of a film.
The production company is also responsible for finding a director and most of the acting talent required. They are also responsible for anything which goes wrong while filming such as an actor getting injured or equipment getting damaged.

What makes an effective production company ident?

An effective production company ident usually contains the company's name, a moving animation and a change in the background which could be the colour or a different image. This movement or change in colour keeps the audience interested and this interest means that the audience will remember the company and the types of films they usually make. Two of the most famous idents are from 'Walt Disney Pictures' and 'Metro Goldwyn Mayer'. This is because the Disney palace with the fireworks and the roaring lion of 'Metro Goldwyn Mayer' have become iconic because the sound and imagery is memorable.

List of production company's and a film they made:

1. Dreamworks animation - Shrek
2. 20th Century Fox -Die Hard
3. Blue sky studios - Ice Age
4. Metro Goldwyn Mayer - Thelma & Louise
5. Universal Studios - The Bourne Identity
6. Paramount Pictures - Friday the 13th
7. Columbia Pictures - Ghost Busters
8. TriStar Pictures - Sleepless in Seattle 
9. Warner Bros Pictures - Gravity
10. Lionsgate Entertainment - American Psycho

Which production company would you choose to produce your thriller?
The production company which I think would best suit our Thriller would be 'Lionsgate Entertainment'. This is because I know that they have created a lot of Thriller films such as 'Abduction', 'American Psycho', 'The Lincoln Lawyer' and 'The Day After Tomorrow'. Since we are making a psychological thriller and 'American Psycho' is one of the most famous psychological thrillers we thought Lionsgate would be a good production company to be associated with.

Story board (Quick Plan)

Duration of:
Shot 1- 4 seconds
Shot 2- 2 seconds
Shot 3- 3 seconds
Shot 4- 3 seconds

Shot 5- 2 seconds
Shot 6- 4-5 seconds
Shot 7- 3 seconds
Shot 8- 2 seconds

Shot 9- 8 seconds
Shot 10- 5 seconds
Shot 11- 4 seconds
Shot 12- 3 seconds

Shot 13- 3 seconds
Shot 14- 3 seconds
Shot 15- 2 seconds
shot 16- 2 seconds

Shot 17- 2 seconds
Shot 18- 2 seconds
Shot 19- 2 seconds
Shot 20- 4 seconds

Lighting

Before the day of filming we will check the weather as this will effect the amount of natural light coming through the windows of our location. If it is a gloomy day then we may need to use the main lights in the house to get clear shots however if the day is bright, we may not need any other light but natural daylight. We are planning on editing the shots to create an effect of film noir and during 'film noir' films, shadows are commonly used to create a dark and grungy atmosphere. This means that extra light from lamps may not be needed as this could make our shots too bright and not created the desired 'film noir' effect.

The shots which the teenage girl are in will be more brightly lit than those shots containing the alter-ego. This is to physically show the contrast between the two characters and represent the girl as innocent or pure and the alter-ego as dark, complex and sinister. To make the shots of the teenage girl brighter, we will turn on the main house lights as well as lamps and other light sources so that the shot is as bright and light as possible while the shots with the alter-ego will be made darker by using no unnatural light and also covering any windows with a sheet or dark curtains to block some natural light too. Hopefully the audience will be able to recognise this contrast and when the shots are dark it should give the audience a feeling of tension and uncertainty. 

The lighting used in our thriller opening sequence is conventional of psychological thrillers. 'Sin City' and 'Se7en' are both lighting inspirations to our Thriller opening titles because they both make a great use of lighting/colour and the effects on the audience which lighting can create. For example in 'Sin City', although the titles are similar to a comic book strip, they are still only black and white with red typography and this reveals straight away that the movie is going to have dark themes while the red typography tells you that it is likely to contain violence.

Below is a video of the 'Sin City' opening titles:

The film 'Se7en' has been an inspiration to us from the beginning of planning. The lighting is something we especially admired because we thought it reflected the atmosphere we want to create with our own title sequence. The lighting is dark and full of shadows and a black & white or a sepia effect is used which gives a distorted effect and also reminded us of a 'Film Noir' style as these films are purposely made dark and black & white to show the corruption of life in the 1950s. The effects make the sequence look quite gritty and distorted and we thought that this suited the idea of a psychological thriller because it could suggest the corruption and darkness of a psychologically ill person's mind.

Below is a video of the 'Se7en' opening titles:

Company Ident

Below is an image of the original hand drawn AMOA Productions ident. Our ident is a still image and will appear on screen before the sequence of main titles. We decided on this image because the tree stood on it's own without any leaves looks quite sinister and evil which represents the genre of thriller film opening titles we want to create. 

Our ident is also very unique as I did some research on different idents and found that most idents represent the world or the universe. Other common features popular idents contain are the sky, clouds and different landscapes or city-scapes.
 

Not only does the bare tree in our ident look sinister and represent our genre of thriller but it also represents the way our company AMOA Productions is new & fresh and will keep bringing out new ideas similar to the way a tree keeps growing and changes it's appearance each season.

Our company ident is similar to that of Jerry Bruckheimer's as their main point of interest is also a bare tree. Their company ident also looks sinister which is added by the shot of lighting and the pathetic fallacy of the stormy sky. Video of the Jerry Bruckheimer ident:

Typography

Using the website 'www.dafont.com' we chose 5 different types of typography for our thriller title. Each typography is distorted which suits our theme of a psychological thriller. The story of our thriller is also quite sinister and mysterious and these typographies suit this idea because they all pose questions to why they are distorted and how their look relates to the title and story of our thriller. For example:

1. Typography one has a regular, 'Arial' style font which we thought could represent parts of the normal teenage girls personality however it also has lines which distort the title and this could represent the girls alter-ego tearing it's way out of her. 
2. Typography two has a similar effect to number one apart from the title looks as though it has been smudged or effected by something which would distort it which relates to the teenage girls mind.
3. Typography three has letters which seem regular apart from they are not printed in a straight line and the letters also have sharp little flicks coming off of the points. We liked this font because the sharp flicks made it look sinister and deadly which are styles we hope our thriller opening will accomplish.
4. Typography four is distorted using a second white shadow behind each letter. This relates to our thriller because we are using magazines which we will rip up and use as props and the white shadow looks a lot like ripped paper in the shape of the letters. We liked this typography because it could relate to the way that the alter-ego is always lurking behind the girls normal personality.
5. Typography five has a similar effect to 4 apart from instead of a paper effect, it has a shadow of lines behind it. This gives a similar idea of the alter-ego always lurking inside of the girl. 

1

2

3

4

5

We created a poll so that members of the public and our peers could text in the number of the typography which they preferred; this would also allow us to gain the needed opinion of our target audience:

This poll revealed the most popular typography to be number four. We think that this typography is a good choice as it reflects the story line of out thriller opening titles. In our thriller opening, we are planning for the teenage girl to be reading a magazine when she hears strange sounds coming from her bedroom and when she goes upstairs to investigate the sounds, she finds her sinister alter-ego in her room surrounded by ripped up magazines. The typography suits this because the white shadow behind it looks as though it is ripped paper which relates to our idea of ripped up magazines. This correlation works very well and since the magazines are a main feature in our thriller opening, the typography is perfect. The title also relates well to the thriller genre as it has typical 'type-writer' font which is used for crime or mystery thrillers and the ripped paper also links to a disorderly mind which works well with the psychological thriller genre of our opening titles. 

Job Roles

It is important that the job roles are divided equally so that every person in the group has an equal amount of work. This also allows the work to be completed efficiently and to the best of a persons ability. Without job roles, the work may not get completed and it would be unfair for one person to complete more work than another.

Kelsey McPherson - Editor - Kelsey is good for this role because she has had previous experience with editing software. She has also received positive feedback from past editing projects.

Holly O'Connell - Director - Holly is suited to this role because she is good at explaining her ideas and organising groups of people.

Elle Abrahams - Producer - Elle is good for this role because she is organised and is good at creating ideas. She is also good at organising a team of people. In planning, Elle did the location, risk assessment and the shot list while also editing

Georgia Allman -  Co-Producer - Georgia is suited for this role because she is creative and has good organisational skills.

The jobs which I had to complete were the location analysis, risk assessment, analysis of typography and storyboard. I also wrote the profiles of girls who auditioned and wrote a small analysis of our ident.

Filming Schedule

 

Date	Scene	Details	Location	Props/Actors
29/11/2014	House	Shot of the outside of house to show location and to show that the character is a typically normal teenage girl.	Outside the house
29/11/2014	Quick shot of the bedroom	Shot of the magazines on the floor which have claw marks and hand blood on	Bedroom	Fake blood
29/11/2014	Living Room	Shot of the living room with the girl reading a magazine and watching tv	Living Room	Magazines
29/11/2014	Living Room	Shot of the girl flicking through the magazine where some titles may appear	Living Room	Magazines
29/11/2014	Living Room	Girl hears noises from upstairs	Living Room
29/11/2014	Living Room	Girl walking towards the door	Living Room
29/11/2014	Living Room	Girl beginning to walk upstairs	Living Room
29/11/2014	Living Room	Girl opens the door to upstairs	Living Room
29/11/2014	Stairs	Girl walks upstairs	Stairs
29/11/2014	Stairs	Girl on the stairs	Stairs
29/11/2014	Stairs	Walking to the bedroom door	Stairs
29/11/2014	Stairs	Girl opening the door	Stairs
29/11/2014	Bedroom door	Bedroom door has titles appear on it	Bedroom door
29/11/2014	Bedroom	Girl opens door to alter-ego	Bedroom
29/11/2014	Bedroom	Alter-ego on bedroom floor	Bedroom
29/11/2014	Bedroom	Close up of girls facial expression	Bedroom
29/11/2014	Bedroom	Alter-ego revealing their identity	Bedroom
29/11/2014	Bedroom	Shot of the A3 poster on the wall	Bedroom
29/11/2014	Bedroom	The alter-ego ripping the poster off the wall	Bedroom

 

Analysis of a Title Sequence

1) The typography of 'Dexter' is very revealing of what may happen in the series. This is because the writing looks like smears of blood which tells the audience that they can expect danger and blood shed. The edges of the screen are tainted with darkness while the centre is lighter. This makes the titles stand out more clearly while also revealing that things or people may be darker than they seem.

2) This screen shot shows the normal action of a man shaving in the morning. While this is normal, the image of it immediately makes you squeamish because of the previous shot of the bloody title. The blood dripping typography makes you think that the man may hurt himself and it shows vulnerability because a sharp and potentially dangerous object is near a vulnerable pat of the human body.

3) This shot shows more drops of blood and although we know that they are from the man catching himself with razor, the extreme close up of the shot makes the audience uncomfortable and makes it seem like the blood is an important part of the sequence. It could show foreboding and hints that future events will also involve blood shed.

4) This shot is a close up of the man eating meat which also could make the audience uncomfortable because you do not usually see a persons mouth close up while they eat which means this is a unnatural shot. The fact that he is eating meat after images of blood also hints towards the idea of cannibalism.

5) This shot shows the man's hand being unnecessarily clenched while making coffee. This reveals that the man is angry or is a violent person and the close up shot is used to clearly show this.

The shots used for the 'Dexter' opening titles are mostly all close up or extreme close up shots. This is effective because it allows the audience to notice things in a way you would not if they were mid-shots. The audience will notice the tension and anger in the mans movements and the extreme close up shots make the audience feel uncomfortable as though they are intruding on his life. The shots are also very slowDuring the sequence you don't see the man's face until the end and this is effective because it shows clearly that it is a mystery or crime thriller. The shot of the man cutting the orange with unnecessary force also hints towards the genre of crime because it shows violence. The lighting used is quite exposed and bright which means the movements and actions are clear and details are shown to the audience; this could also create an uncomfortable atmosphere. The clothes used are everyday wear but they are used to show the crime genre too. For example in the screen shot below, the white t-shirt is stretched across the man's face which could represent a mask. This links to the idea of crime and mystery of the man's identity. Throughout the sequence a the 'Dexter' theme song is played which uses a combination of piano, bassoon and string instruments such as the violin. This creates a strangely upbeat song however it has a sinister element because of the use of electric instruments which give the song a metallic sound. Behind the music there is a use of diegetic sounds such as the man eating and the razor dragging across his skin. The sounds are unnaturally loud which is uncomfortable for the audience because these actions are quite personal.

Below is a video of the 'Dexter' opening title sequence:

Thriller Opening titles Pitch

Our pitch went quite well because we explained our points and our ideas clearly. We also made sure that we included our main idea, typography, job roles, the style and genre of our thriller and the unique selling point (USP). We explained where the titles might appear throughout our opening sequence and where and when our main title will appear. To improve our pitch we would make sure that we learn what we are going to say so that we are not reading our notes.

Feedback:

Question 1 - Do you like the name of the film? 
(No/ 1 /2 /3 /4 /5 /Yes) and Why?

• Shannon circled the number 5. She thought our name suited our story line and liked it because it sounded interesting and intriguing.
• Cameron circled the number 5. He liked our name a lot and said that it was interesting, fits the narrative and leaves the audience with questions.
• Sam circled the number 5. He liked our name because it sounds quite sinister and suits the narrative.
• Leona also circled the number 5. She loved our name and said it was because it fits the story line and suits the genre of our Thriller.

This tells us that our choice of title for our Thriller is very good because it suits the narrative/genre and creates an enigma.

Question 2 - Would you watch the film?
(Yes or No) and Why?

• Shannon circled YES. Reason: It's an interesting narrative and is creative.
• Cameron circled YES. Reason: It seems like a new and different idea.
• Sam circled NO. Reason: It sounds a bit cliche.
• Leona also circled NO. Reason: Too cliche.

This feedback is very mixed. Two people told us they thought the idea was new and interesting whereas two other people said that our idea was cliche. Due to these mixed views, we will look into our narrative and try to twist it to make something unexpected and not cliche happen.

Question 3 - What do you like about the story?

• Shannon: It is a creative idea and it sounds scary/freaky.
• Cameron: He likes the use of just one actor playing two parts.
• Sam: It's well thought out but it is similar to some other thrillers.
• Leona: It seems thrilling and may be scary too.

This feedback tells us that the narrative is very likable and the ideas why they like it are very vairied which is good because it tells us that it appeals to people in different ways.

Question 4 - Are the titles clear? 
(No/ 1 /2 /3 /4 /5 /Yes)

• Shannon circled: 4.
• Cameron circled: 5.
• Sam circled: 4.
• Leona circled: 5.

This tells us that our titles are very clear to our audience which is good. This means that we will not change our typography and we will continue will our poll to decide which typography out of 5 different ones is preferred. 

Question 6 - What would you improve?

• Shannon did not answer this question.
• Cameron said that he would want more events to occur.
• Sam said there should be a better back story.
• Leona said make it less cliche and it should to be more exciting.

We decided that our opening titles shoudl create and enigma and so the backstory will be explained during the actual film. As for wanting more events and excitement, we will look at our narritive and try to twist it to make something unexpected happen.

Question 7 - Rate the film out of 5 stars.
1-5* - 5* being the best?

• Shannon said 4*
• Cameron said 4*
• Sam said 4*
• Leona said 3*

This tells us that on average our film is very likable and using the rest of the feedback above we will make the necessary change to improve out Thriller and attempt to make it appealing to as many people as possible.

Auditions for the role of the Alter-ego

Four teenage girls auditioned for the chance to be the main characters in our thriller opening title sequence. Due to the fact that the two main characters are going to be played by the same person we only need one actor to play both parts. We will be filming all of the shots which the teenage girl is in first and then we will change the actors make-up to a more sinister look and film all the shots that the alter-ego will be in. Every actor in the auditions acted out the same scene from our thriller opening, which is the scene where the alter-ego is crouched on the floor covering her face and then slowly looks up into the camera lens. We decided that they should audition using this scene because it is a very serious part of our thriller opening and we needed to make sure that the actors were comfortable expressing intense emotion and were able to stay serious until the filming was over. However we were filming these auditions outside and the ground was damp from the rain so we decided that we would film the actors doing the facial expressions of the alter-ego standing up. 

Kezia Smith- Kezia auditioned for the role of the alter-ego, the antagonist in our thriller opening. Kezia has had experience with acting and has had past successful theatrical performances. She was very keen and had clearly prepared for the role. She also showed a lot of theatrical skills and we decided her dark facial expression suited the character.

Alex Storey- Alex auditioned for the role of the alter-ego. Alex is currently studying drama and has had experience with acting in a successful theatrical performance in the past. However we found she wasn't confident in performing as a dark and evil character. She also was not committed for this role and had other commitments at the time which we would be filming.

Leona Bilby- Leona auditioned for the role of the alter-ego. Her performance was very good however she did not take it completely seriously which is shown by the laughter at the end of her performance. We would have found it hard to work with this person as they would need to be very confident and comfortable expressing intense emotion.

Claudia Wilkie- Claudia auditioned for the role of the alter-ego. We decided her acting style was more suitable for a comedic role. This is shown by the humorous gesture at the end of the audition. We decided she wasn't suitable for the role because we needed to work with someone that would be serious and efficient while working.

Shot List

Props, Costume, Location and Make-up

Props 

- Magazines/Posters

- Fake blood

- TV remote

- Mug

- Eye-liner or lip liner (Red or Black)

We will be using a magazine in our thriller opening at the start and this will be used by the protagonist as she will be downstairs acting like a normal teenager before she starts to hear the sinister sounds. We will buy a magazine that is targeted at female teenagers, for example Cosmopolitan or Sugar, this is so that it relates to the actor playing the girl and also our target audience of our thriller. The magazine connotes that the girl is stereotypical and presents the idea that teenage girls like to read gossip or fashion magazines. Some of our titles might appear on pages of the magazine, this is because we want our titles to appear on different objects around the house, as we took inspiration from the 'Se7en'  opening titles sequence.

We will be using posters and magazines in our thriller opening sequence at the points which the alter-ego is on screen. We will be ripping the front covers of the magazines so that it looks like claw marks and we will do this by using a pen to rip the fronts; the magazines will be placed on the floor around the room and some of the magazines will have hand prints created by fake blood on them. We will also be sticking the posters on the wall behind the alter-ego and we will use the fake blood to create hand prints to make it look intense and dark and also make the alter-ego significant. This is unconventional because most thriller films don't have teenagers in them and therefore won't have any magazines or posters relating to that age group. We will also be using a large poster at the end of our thriller and it will be placed over the main title on one of the walls in the bedroom, the alter-ego will rip the poster off to show the title.

 We want to create the connotation of the typical teenager girl wanting to decorate her room with posters that inspire her or that appeal to her. We will be using a TV remote and a mug in our thriller opening to make the protagonist look like a normal teenage girl at home, doing everyday activities. The television will be playing in the background while she is reading her magazine. This is to show a stereotypical action that all teenagers do when they are home alone. We will also be using red or black eye-liner or lip-liner to write titles on the alter-egos arms, as it is different from most thrillers so it will be eye catching to our target audience. The representational ideas that the props create about the characters and setting are that this is a psychological thriller.

Costume

The "Alter Ego" character will wear all black clothing, which will be a hoodie, leggings, strappy top and black shoes. These clothes will be worn towards the end of our opening however there will be quick shots of the character wearing them at the beginning.
With the all black costume we are wanting to connote a girl who is an "Alter Ego" and is not in control of herself. Our only actor in our opening will wear this, who is a girl and will be portraying the darker and more evil side of herself, hence why we only see this character in her bedroom as no one else get's to see her 'alter-ego' outside of an area which is her personal room and surroundings. This suggests that everyone, including the girl, has a darker side which they show to know one else.
 The darker clothing is representing the darker side of the character which has not been shown before to anyone else, and that the character herself is still unsure about her "alter ego" and what it will make her do. The black will also make the character stand out in the surroundings where we will film as the walls will be covered with paper and writing on and contrast the clothing. Wearing darker clothing is typical for 'evil' characters in thrillers as the black colour connotes darkness and negativity which is what  normally is wanted to be portrayed by an antagonist in the thriller genre.

The normal teenage girl character will be wearing a white dress, white shoes and a flower crown round her head. She will appear throughout the sequence in different settings wearing the same outfit. With the all white costume we wish to connote an innocent girl who is pure and happy, which is a contrast to the clothing and the character of the "alter-ego." The flower crown can relate back to something you could have worn when you were younger, which is when you are typically at your most innocent and happiest. When the actor is wearing this she is portraying the normal side to her which everyone gets to see, which is why she is not locked away in her bedroom like the "alter-" character is. Once the girl steps into the bedroom wearing these clothes she will instantly stand out from the other character although they are the same girl, showing the contrast in personalities and how they are perceived by other people. Wearing white is typical to the thriller genre as it is common that it connotes innocence and tends to be worn by the 'damsel in distress.'

Location

The location which we will be filming our Thriller opening titles at is a house located in the center of Bourne. Bourne is a small town in Lincolnshire which contains two secondary schools. This is important because our Thriller sequence is about a teenage girl who is around the age of 17 and would attend schools like this. This proves that our location is a believable one which our character would live in. The house is a Victorian style and this adds character to the location. It has dark corners and is not perfectly lit which is useful because the style of our thriller opening titles is dark and atmospheric. The house is also 'lived in' which means the set for a normal family home is already present. 

The location was chosen because it is relevant to the story line. The story line is about a teenage girl who is home alone when she hears sounds coming from upstairs. When she goes upstairs, she finds a girl in the corner of her bedroom who is rocking back and forth and is a mirror image of herself. The house we have chosen to film at is lived in by a teenage girl which means the bedroom is already there to be filmed in and the only alterations we need to make is the part of the bedroom which the alter-ego has destroyed with blood and magazines.

The main places in the house where we will be filming are:

1) The Living Room

2) The Stairs

3) The Bedroom

One risk which is possible at our location is filming on the stairs. This is because we are planning on filming a tracking shot which will require the camera to follow the actor up the stairs, there will also be a low angle shot from half way up the stairs. This is only a risk because the stairs we are filming on are curved round and the steps are thin on the right side. To prevent the risk of falling down stairs, we will make sure that we will walk up the stairs slowly and have only one person on any one step of the stairs at once.

A second risk which could occur is spilling fake blood or getting it on equipment/items at the location. To prevent this risk, we will be using the fake blood the day before and putting it on props a day prior to filming. This will allow time for the fake blood to dry so there will be no risk of spilling it or smudging it onto equipment.

Make-up

In our thriller will be using theatrical make-up. This is because it makes our thriller look more like a psychological thriller. The theatrical make-up will be used only on the alter-ego and this is because it makes the character look a lot different from the teenage girl and therefore makes our thriller opening intense and dark. The use of make-up could also create tension for the audience when they see the alter-ego's face towards the end of the thriller opening title sequence. The use of the theatrical make-up on the alter-ego suggests that she represents the darkest parts of the teenage girl and therefore it suggests that the alter-ego is evil. We want the alter-egos make-up to look like the make-up in the picture, this is because it makes the character look sinister. We will be using pale foundation and black and blue eye shadow to create this look, the black and blue eye shadow will be used to make the eyes look dark and also to make the face look a dirty. This make-up will be used throughout our thriller opening title sequence on the alter-ego, this is to create continuity and also to make her look threatening and scary. Theatrical make-up like the picture is typical of the thriller genre because it puts fear into the audience and makes the thriller creepy as well as introducing dark themes. We want to create the connotation that our thriller opening title sequence has a dark theme and that it has a hint of danger and sinister aspects. The representational ideas that this make-up creates about the character are that this character is evil and could be the villain of the film.

 The teenage girl will not be wearing theatrical make-up and this is because we want to show that she is innocent. We will be creating an everyday natural look which will be created using foundation which matches the characters skin tone, mascara and a little bit of blusher to highlight the cheeks and make the character look warm and kind. This make-up will be used throughout our thriller opening title sequence on the teenage girl, this make-up connotes that she is a typically normal and approachable teenage girl. Natural make-up like the picture is typical of the thriller genre because it could suggest that the character is pure or innocent and is also just a simple everyday look for a character. We want to create the connotation that the teenage girl is the complete opposite of the alter-ego, who we want to use to express dark themes. Therefore it should become clear that our thriller shows two different parts to teenage girls personality (the light & innocent and the dark & sinister). The make-up represents the idea that this character is pure or innocent and is seen as the protagonist in our thriller.