My final opening sequence

CCR RASK 4: How did you integrate technologies software, hardware and online in this project?

Creative Critical Reflection 4

How did you integrate technologies software, hardware and online in this project?

https://maddieblack8.wixsite.com/ccrtask4

CCR TASK 3: How did your production skills develop throughout this project?

Creative Critical Reflection 3

How did your production skills develop throughout this project?

CCR TASK 2: How does your product engage with audiences and how would it be distributed as a real media text?

Creative Critical Reflection 2

How does our product engage with audiences and how would it be distributed as a real media text?

CCR TASK 1: How does your product use or challenge conventions and how does it represent social groups or issues?

Creative Critical Reflection 1

How does your product use or challenge conventions and how does it represent social groups or issues?

Editing my opening sequence

A few days after we had filmed our final sequence we began editing, we had around a week to edit our sequences and this included getting the picture together, coming up with names for our titles, completing our titles and adding sound / music. Overall this was a very enjoyable task but throughout editing this sequence we did come across a few problems therefore we had to adapt and change our initial idea slightly. 

The first step to editing this sequence was getting all the clips we wanted and put them into the timeline. This was not a difficult task, but it was very fiddly and we had to keep making sure we had the correct shots we wanted. Once we had all our clips on the timeline, we began to match each clip up and edit them so they would work with one another and fit each other, this was quite difficult as we had to line up different shots so that they would match with each other and in some clips they would not math with one another as the actor either did not put her gun up or she walked a different way or turned her head slightly differently. This took some time and constant adjusting which we had to do to make sure the scene looked as good as possible. 

Once we had all the shots fitting with each other and working together we concluded that the sequence was too long (just under 3 minutes). From this we then had to duplicate the sequence and re-edit it to make it shorter, this was a difficult task as we had to cut sections of the sequence which either Bashy, Neave or I really liked and thought looked good. We had to be very precise with what we were cutting to still make sure the story matched up and make sure that it did not look obvious that we had cut sections out. While editing the sequence to make it shorter we decided to cut out quite a large part of our narrative. We decided to cut Bashy's scene of him playing the 'dead' body / victim and just allow Matilde to just walk straight through the basement to the killer.

As a group we decided to cut this scene out for a few reasons, the first reason being that the shots were not good enough and it did not look 'real' enough, it was visible and clear that it was an actor playing the victim with 'fake blood' around his body and he was acting. This would deter the audience / viewer from the sequence and would make the viewer to lose focus. This created a slightly different atmosphere and plot behind the narrative but by cutting this scene out it allowed the tension to flow more and create a more eerie and tense atmosphere. This also created a greater build up to Matilde finding the killer as the audience are unaware of what to expect and it comes unexpected. 

The next step to completing this sequence was adding titles and coming up with names for our titles. This was a task which Bashy, Neave and I all enjoyed as we had to come up with different names and try find names which would go with one another and work. The difficulties which we came across when completing this task was finding a title, we decided to use a 'name' for our title (a strong female name) but we were very unsure of what name to use and what would work and look the best. 

Once we had completed all our titles and decided a name for our sequence, we moved onto sound and adding a soundtrack to our final sequence. Bashy, Neave and I all went online and onto different websites to find and listen to different soundtracks and music which could potentially work with our sequence. Once we had decided which soundtrack to use, we airdropped it to the computer which we are editing our sequence on and added it in. We then had to slightly adjust some of the titles and clips so that the sound worked and linked in with the timings of the sequence. 

Overall I am very pleased with our final sequence and the outcomes of our editing. I think this opening title sequence portrays the genre of our sequence well, the narrative of what's going on is clear and the correct atmosphere in which we were hoping to portray is presented. This opening title sequence also initiates the idea of what happens next? and intrigues the viewer to keep watching and find out what happens. This was our main aim while creating this sequence as we wanted the viewer / audience to be engaged and want to know what happens next.

Choosing our soundtrack

To find the soundtrack for our opening title sequence Bashy, Neave and I went online to find different soundtracks. We all chose and found three different soundtracks and decided out of all nine of those tracks which one would work best. As a group we selected one of the soundtracks I found. I found this soundtrack on YouTube, as I searched up 'soundtrack for thriller sequence', after looking for a while I came across the soundtrack which we chose to use, this track consisted of a light piano and violin but with a sense of urgency. This track synced with our sequence and worked well as when the piano got heavier and faster this was when our sequence began to build up and the tension was rising.