Final Cut

Redrafting Process

Font

Having one of the requests in my audience feedback been to change the font, I have chosen to experiment with some differing fonts on the title shot in the sequence.

To the right are the three different fonts that I had tested in the redrafting process. However, while I found the fonts palatable individually, I don't think they particularly suit the the opening sequence. The first font is too simple to a point that, when paired with the unsaturated colouring of the setting, it comes across as somewhat boring and stimulating visually.

The second font, while being slightly more interesting than the previous, is simply too big for the screen. Even though I would be able to scale all of the captions in the sequence down I would not be able to do it consistently, this will make the sequence inconsistent.

The third font is more eccentric than the other two however, this gives off the vibe that the sequence will appear to be more unprofessional. Also with this font the minimalist tone that I had aimed for with the captions will be lost.

As a result of this I have chosen to keep the captions in their original font. This would not be much of a problem for the majority of the target audience as personal taste varies frequently.

Company Logos

Another request for improvement was the presentation of the logos of the distribution company and production company. Initially these were less refined and looked somewhat grainy and unprofessional.
To correct this I had used a picture editing software to cut around the sections of each logo that appeared pixelated. I then put a slight blur around the outline of the cut so the edges will look rounded as opposed to how it previously looked.

How the logo will look in the sequence.

During the cutting process.

Elongating the Shot

The final request to improve my sequence was to lengthen a particular shot that some participants for difficulty fully reading in time. This was rather simple to improve.

To do this I simply pushed the clips after it further along the timeline and then dragged the end of the specific clip to meet the next one.

Audience Feedback

After rendering my first draft, I promptly asked a portion of those that had previously participated in my audience research to offer feedback on the opening sequence.
After watching the sequence I then asked them the following questions:

1. Would you continue watching this film having only seen the opening sequence?
2. What did you like about the opening sequence?
3. What could be changed to improve the opening sequence?

What I wanted to achieve by asking the these questions was to find out whether the opening sequence was successful in enticing the audience; what aspects of the sequence appealed to the audience; and how the sequence could be redrafted to allow the audience to further enjoy it.

Results
From the those that participated in feedback the majority had stated that they would continue to watch the film judging purely from the opening sequence.

Upon being asked what each of the participants enjoyed in the opening sequence it was stated that they enjoyed the suspenseful atmosphere that the music and cutting implemented which had left them intrigued to find out more. Some participants also commented on the varied use of camera angles in the sequence, saying that it made it more interesting.

There were three defined areas that required improvement regarding the participants, these were:

• To lengthen the shot of the social media profile describing the character as it cut away before they had chance to finish reading it.
• To use a different font for the sequence.
• To refine the company logos at the beginning as it the grainy image made it seem unprofessional.

In the redrafting process I will elongate the shot of the social media platform which describes the character which will allow more of the audience to gather the information about the character which is presented in the sequence.

While the concept of changing the font has been brought up there is a possibility that it will not be changed during the redrafting process, this is because the specific critique is purely a result of differing taste and changing this will not necessarily improve the viewers enjoyment. However, I may experiment with the use of different fonts.

The logos at the beginning of the sequence will be refined so they appear less grainy during the redrafting process, this should eliminate the chances of the sequence appearing overly unprofessional.

Evidence of Editing: Foley Sound

Over the course of the opening sequence a selection of ambient sounds can be heard. These sounds all consist of Foley sound which had been recorded at a separate period. Specifically at the beginning of the sequence, where no visuals are displayed as the murder is taking place each of the sounds have been singular recording that have been timed to create a consistent textured soundscape.
I have used the screenshot below to try to demonstrate the sounds used to create the action that takes place in the beginning.

The beginning contains two pieces of audio that feature a person falling over. The use of both of these make for a somewhat more authentic sound of someone hitting the floor with the initial crash of a body hitting hard flooring before the more subtle tone of the upper body tumbling to the ground. This comes briefly after the sound of glass smashing.

 This includes the two different door slams which are played simultaneously to create both the slam of the door as well as the sound f the door swinging open on its hinges.

First Draft

Music and Copyright

The music in my opening sequence does require permission from the artist who owns the piece. This means that I had contacted the composer of the two instrumental songs, Ramin Djawadi. The two music pieces I have used were "Light of the Seven" and "White Walkers". Below is a screenshot of the email that I had sent to him via his official website which outlines the content I intend to use in the sequence and requested for any objections to the use of the tracks to be voiced to me over my email.



However, after waiting for a sufficient period of time, I had not received an email from those who I contacted which requested that I refrain from using music in my opening sequence. As a result, I will take this to assume it had been acknowledged and they do not have any objections to it's use in my opening sequence.

Evidence of Editing: Colouring

This shot consists of the glass that can be heard breaking at the beginning of the sequence and it makes contact with the ground and smashes.
To show how the shot has been edited I have compared the raw footage with the edited footage. In editing the shot I had lowered the play speed. I also increased the contrast of the footage to make the background appear to be a solid colour and eliminate shadows cast on it.

Evidence of Filming

To the left is a picture of the set up which I used to capture the specific shot in which there is a birds-eye-view over the chair. Simultaneously in this shot there are several mundane objects place on the chair beside the bed. The several objects are placed with precision in their arranged assortment which is to show the intricate and almost finicky nature of the character. 

To achieve a steady shot I used a tripod which was positioned in front of the seat. The camera was then tilted almost all the way down to have the overlooking angle required for the shot. 

Lighting, as in most parts of the filming for this sequence, was difficult to control as sufficient light is required for the shot to create a consistent colouring through the sequence. However, this resulted in a shadow being cast by the tripod. As a result the camera needed to be meticulously positioned so the shadow remained out of frame while the shot remained as intended.

Shot List

Filming Schedule

This is the planned filming schedule for the opening sequence. As the use of the actors in the sequence is minimal there is little planning where they will be required for much filming.

Potential Production Company Analysis