Research Into Un-copyrighted Sounds For Opening

After my initial research into existing sounds used for Supernatural Horror openings, I had to find un-copyrighted music, which would potentially be used for our opening. In order to ensure the music I found did not have copyright, I searched for "royalty free" music. Below are possible theme music choices which could be used.

This soundscape would be effective between the transitions of our existing title production companies. The sound has dark connotations, which would match the graphology in terms of the gloomy colours in our existing title production companies. The non-diegetic sound gradually increases in volume, creating suspense. This suspense effectively places audience in a position of fright.

The music box tends to be a convention commonly used in supernatural horror films e.g. "The Conjuring". The sound could be a signifier of a young age group, which would be appropriate for our opening, as we have a young girl as the victim of possession.



This sound clip uses the music box again but this one however, sounds more sinister. The sound at 0.22 seconds sounds rather eerie and would therefore be appropriate for our opening. 

 The following is an exorcist theme sound.







Evaluation:

• After carrying out my secondary research, I found it was quite hard to actually find un-copyrighted music.
• After compromising with my group, we agreed that we needed a sound more eerie. Now I shall go and find a website specialising in sounds.

Editing main title

The main title is a very important part of an opening sequence, especially those of films in the horror genre, as it acts as a bridge between the opening sequence and the main body of the film. It also acts as a conclusion to the opening sequence which is designed to pull in the audience from the start so they have interest in the rest of the film. This means that how the main title is edited and presented is crucial in how it carries the rest of the film.

For our main title, I decided to use the editing technique 'bad TV' on the Mac program Final Cut Pro. One of the main reasons I decided to use 'bad TV' was because I had to keep the aesthetics of the title very similar to the previous titles which show the cast and crew of our opening.

*insert screenshot of bad tv*

This use of bad TV makes the title seem mysterious and almost as if it is being possessed itself, conforming greatly to the supernatural horror genre.

I also decided to keep the main title visually similar to the previous titles which are shown during the opening sequence by adding different titles in different areas of the screen and showing them in rapid succession so they seem to jump around the screen.

*insert screenshot of multiple titles*

This creates a jolting and uneasy effect which makes it seem like the title is out of control which reflects the events and manner of the possessed character during the opening sequence. I found that adding the same title in different positions is a simple yet effective method to create an appropriate effect which conforms to the eerie and relatively disturbing conventions of the supernatural horror genre.

I also added the 'flashing' effect to the title which makes it seem as though the title is flaring up.

*insert screenshot of flashing*

Although this effect creates an eerie feeling and atmosphere, I feel that it does not quite conform to the supernatural horror genre with the same effect as the bad TV, for example. This is because I feel that the effect it creates is too soft and contrasts too greatly with other editing effects such as bad TV. This also means that the 'flashing' effect makes the title subvert from the conventions of the supernatural horror genre.

Titles

In a previous post we explored the titles and typography, in the end decided on a few effects and transitions to use. I put these into our opening. Here the 3 step title sequence can be seen. They all have the same name, but are positioned in different places with different effects on them. We changed the font to 'Trajan Pro' as felt this looked similar to real horror film titles. E.g. The Conjuring.

In this image you can see that the middle section is a lot shorter. In this part, the bad tv effect is increased to 100, and the text is repositioned in the opposite corner. This gives the text a jolty look and adds to the possessed theme.

These are the settings that the last segment has, in each of the names used. Bad Tv is on the original 'amount', 15.38 after being on 100, however another effect 'flashing' is used to give the burnt out film appearance which reflects some parts in our sequence where quick flahses of pale colour and symbols appear.

Here the 'lighting' effect can be seen fully and it would then transition out with a fade. All the titles are in different places with the flashes occurring in different positions also. The text is overlayed over parts of the opening where Mia is comforting Neve. 

This is what we originally made:

Here are the titles applied to the opening:

-insert video-

Evaluation

I am very happy with this style of title as it looks professional and very similar to the 'Whitechapel' title that we were trying to recreate. However, this will probably get moved around and the speed changed to fit the whole sequence once the sound and editing is completed. For now, the titles are in place but we need to re-jig the order. 

Editing

In the process of achieving our transitions, a shooting error occurred due to camera misplacement between two shots. We needed to figure out how to cover up this anomaly and so we decided to use a flash effect. The flash needed, had to be quick and bright so that the error was unnoticeable. After searching on Final Cut Pro for a good flash effect, we found that we had to use an existing one from a film. The trailer of "Sinister" had the flash we needed (at 1.39 seconds).

We used "KEEPVID" to convert the trailer from YouTube directly to Final Cut Pro.

We then imported the clip onto Final Cut Pro.

Afterwards, we bladed the clip until we were left with the flash.

Now that we had the flash, we could insert it between the two misplaced shots.

Evaluation:

• The flash we found was incredibly quick, which effectively covered up the error. The transition we made after using the flash, appeared out much better than before.
• The flash is also conventional to our sub-genre, Supernatural Horror.

Research On Non-Diegetic Sound Used In Supernatural Horror Films

For our opening, we want to have a theme tune which sets a specific mood/tone. The mood we want to set needs to be suspenseful and frightening. This will effectively go well with our possessive clips. After carrying out research, I have found that the soundtracks used in "The Conjuring" happen to be incredibly daunting.

Our existing production companies we have selected are those of "The Warner Brothers" and "New Line Cinema" from the opening of "The Conjuring". I find that the soundtrack used between the transition of these production companies is rather effective. Furthermore, I like the way in which the non-diegetic sound starts of quite subtle and then gradually increases by volume, creating a sense of sudden shock.

 

 

For the possessive parts, I thought using a similar soundtrack again would be useful. This is because, at times the possessive movement can be weak, whereas in others it can be forceful. The non-diegetic sound at 0.15 seconds in the clip above has a huge increase in volume. The sound connotes something shocking. Therefore, having this type of non-diegetic sound would be parallel towards the quick, rapid possessive movements, as the movements build climax.

 

I found another sound clip however, which may be more useful when Neve is showing signs of possession. The soundtrack, "The Witch Comes Through" includes a woman screaming in the background which could signify possession. The track also includes heavy use of chiming sounds which can be parallel to the possessive movement.



 

Towards the end of our clip, Neve disappears. This is a pivotal point in our opening, as audience begin to question the whereabouts of her. Her reappearance is very sharp, with her pouncing in front of the camera. Therefore, it would effective in using a loud sound to which echoes her sudden appearance. The sound clip below includes non-diegetic sounds at the beginning which carry slight emptiness. A similar sound would be useful when the audience see that Neve has escaped from her bed. At 0.30 seconds, the chimes begin to create suspense. After having these sounds, one similar to the impactful sound at 4.27 seconds could be used when Neve reappears.



Evaluation:

• After carrying out this research I shall now go on to find legal free sounds to use in our opening. I find suspenseful sounds which carry force, would be very useful for our opening.

Titles | Research and Practical

Our task for this week was to improve our titles and begin to implement them into our opening. We started by researching different ways in which we could make movements within the titles and took inspiration from the following (Whitechapel):

We liked the way the editors manipulated the text so it would flip, suddenly flash up, become larger and smaller etc. We wanted to recreate this type of text for our own opening.

We found this tutorial whilst searching for different effects we could use and we was interested in trying to replicate some of the movements, however we discovered you have to pay to get this software included in Final Cut Pro and so decided against it, instead we decided to use it as inspiration for our own movements:



We began by using a simple text box in Final Cut Pro, which was basic and plain, starting with the text in the bottom corner. We then put on the effect 'Bad TV' as we use this frequently throughout our opening and we wanted to keep a constant theme throughout, we changed the amount so it was a bit more noticable.

We changed the font to 'Trajan Pro' as felt this looked similar to real horror film titles. E.g. The Conjuring. As you can see below in the screenshot, we put in the actors name and applied the effect. We then manipulated the text in a different way.

 We copied the exact same text but as two different strips of video. Then we put one tiny short clip of text, which appeared for a fraction of a second (saying the same thing) in between.

 In the inbetween one we moved the position of the text to the opposite corner and applied the effect 'Bad TV' for a very short period of time but as a much higher amount, so it looks like it flashes up and goes very jolty and shakey.

Following this, in the longer 3rd clip we applied an effect which looks like a film burning out called '...' which can be seen in the video.

Here is what we made:

Evaluation
We are very happy with this style of title as it looks professional and very similar to the 'Whitechapel' title that we were trying to recreate. To improve we would like to make the text jolt backwards and larger and smaller like in the Whitechapel opening sequence. We also want to try adding in more quick flashes up or in slightly different places just to make it look even more impressive. However, this would require more professional skills and we'd have to download or install other software which could be costly. For now, we are happy with the results.



Editing To Conform Possession Conventions

From my deconstruction task on editing effects used in "Paranormal Activity", I tried out some of the techniques. Below I have demonstrated how I achieved the CCTV look and the "black eyes".

I firstly imported the video into Final Cut Pro. I then used the "blade" tool by selecting 'b' (on the keypad) and cropped the video until I had the image I needed. To apply the CCTV look, I selected "midtones" and applied a green filter.

By changing the "amount", I could decrease the weight of the effect.

 

To try out the "black eyes" effect, I used Adobe Photoshop Editor. I first selected an image to use.

I then selected the brush tool to cover both eyes in a solid, black shade.

After covering both eyes, I changed the colour of the brush tool into white. I then applied the white shade in the centre of each eye to achieve the possessive look.

My final image

Evaluation:

• Overall, my task went well. The CCTV effect can easily by applied by using Final Cut Pro. However, in my group's final footage, we may just use "bad tv", as this is more realistic.
• The "black eyes" effect can be applied well by using Photoshop. The effect is inredibly effective in conforming a possessive character.