Evaluation - Question 5

How did you attract/address your audience?

Narrative• Our audience research helped us in confidently executing the idea with the ‘witch’ and supernatural theme for the title sequence, as was made clear by their positive reactions to the idea.

• The target audience found the female representations appealing, hence the opening consists of the narrative of two females; the witch and the teenager.

• The enigmatic element of avoiding revealing the characters’ faces is effective in heightening the level of anticipation and mystery; an evident example is the film “Seven”. This technique did intrigue our audience as they enjoyed horror films that were not ordinary and expected.

• Also, the lack of dialogue and the omitting of any sign of a clear relationship between the two characters, engages and encourages the audience to make their own judgements and assumptions.

• Finally, the fact that both characters are shown to be isolated and alone adds to the fear element as usually when women are portrayed in this genre, they are shown to be vulnerable and in potential danger. Therefore, the audience naturally expects some danger or fright.

Camera• As the sequence is a discrete title sequence, we wanted to include constant cuts and

close ups of different elements of the mise en scene and characters. This ensured a mysterious atmosphere as the audience would not be able to see everything that is going on, rather they would only see glimpses of certain shots.

• The use of over-the-shoulder shots and point-of-view shots compensate for the lack of relativity that would be otherwise gained by the characters’ faces and emotions. This is because, they show what the character is seeing however, it still does not reveal too much, causing the audience to be unsure of what to expect.

• The only incidents where too much is revealed through the use of wide shots, is when the teenager’s character is filmed walking alone along an isolated pathway. Also, towards the end of the sequence, when revealing the completed pentagram. This is significant as throughout the audience is confused as to what is happening when they see constant glimpses of a hand dragging blood, and in the end they can finally understand that it was the process of the pentagram being drawn.

Editing• The editing consists of consecutive cuts and short shots that intrigue the audience as they can never completely understand the narrative.

• By including the close-ups of the process of the pentagram being drawn, and in spite of their uncertainty, there is a constant element that the audience can find familiar as it keeps reappearing.

• In certain incidents we ensured continuity editing to make the actions of the actors as natural as possible, also adding a sense of realism to the opening. Examples are, when lighting the candle, and when looking at the photographs.

Sound• The dark choir soundtrack throughout the opening is effective in

instilling the eerie and dark atmosphere from the very beginning. It seemed natural to associate this soundtrack with the opening due to the relevance of the religious/spiritual aspect and the element of female representation in this choir.

• The use of the incantations playing in the background of the scenes with the teenage girl was to increase the uncomfortable nature of watching the girl. The audience can sense that the witch’s presence is following the girl through the chanting.

• Also, we included diegetic sounds to, once again, a sense of reality. For example, the sound of the match being lighted, and the book being placed on the table can be heard over the soundtrack.

• We aimed to avoid the conventions within the genre of loud noises and soundtrack after watching openings such as “The Conjuring” and “The Woman in Black”. The low and subtle soundtracks encourages the audience to focus on the events occurring in the sequence.

Mise en Scene• The two settings we chose for the opening come across as

isolated. The witch’s scenes appear to be in a small and dark room, while it is clear to see that the teenage girl is alone and walking in a park. This was effective as these are two factors that are commonly associated with fear; the dark and isolation.

• We found props that were connected to witchcraft in some way. The “Book of Shadows” that was produced contained spells, symbols, and drawings of different elements of witchcraft and covens. Other objects were used to make the mise en scene more traditional and fitting to the witch’s character.