How to Change the Speed of a Clip in iMovie

For our Film Opening we wanted to make some of the clips slower to build up tension within the narrative. As none of us are very experience with iMovie we decided to look up on Youtube how to change the speed of a clip in iMovie. We found one that was especially easy to understand - here it is:

Classification: BBFC

When discussing our target audience, we also had to decide from this what the certification of our film opening was going to be. Our target audience we had decided on was 16-19 year old teenagers, so we based our certification research upon this:

We knew immediately that we weren't reaching to a younger teenage audience therefore we immediately ruled out the 12 rating as we believe we could not include a variety of codes and conventions by setting it this low, seeing as our target audience is 16-19 years. 

We went onto the BBFC website and researched into the different age classifications.

- No theme is prohibited, provided the treatment is appropriate for 15 year 
   olds and above.





In a 15, you may see: 

•   strong violence
•  frequent strong language (e.g. 'f***').
•   portrayals of sexual activity
•   strong verbal references to sex
•   sexual nudity
•   brief scenes of sexual violence or verbal references to sexual violence
•   discriminatory language or behaviour
•   drug taking

- No theme is prohibited at 18. Adults are free to choose their own entertainment provided the material is not illegal or potentially harmful, so it is possible some themes tackled at 18 may be offensive even to some adult viewers.

In an 18 you may see: 

•   very strong violence
•   frequent strong language (e.g. 'f***') and / or very strong language (e.g. ‘c***’)
•   strong portrayals of sexual activity
•   scenes of sexual violence
•   strong horror
•   strong blood and gore
•   real sex (in some circumstances)
•   discriminatory language and behaviour

From our research, we decided that we would rate our film with the 15 classification as it meets the guidelines of a 15 set by the BBFC however is not as strongly offensive as an 18 can be. It addresses issues of 16-19 year olds and therefore is capable of being a 15. 

The BBFC: 

Film Review: Black Swan

To aid our research, we thought that doing a film review would widen our knowledge and would encourage a deeper study of a psychological thriller:

Black Swan stars Natalie Portman as Nina, a delicate, overly mothered dancer with the New York City Ballet who goes into a state of mental breakdown when she lands the dual roles of the White and Black Swans, Odette and Odile, in a production of ‘Swan Lake’. Aronofsky has gone for a very unrealistic approach when representing the girls damaged mental state – and the ballet’s own story and themes – in everything from an invasive, swirling camera angles and shots, to the loud and creepy music used in most scenes and dark colours used to contrast the innocence of Natalie when she wears a white tutu.

It is not clear what’s real or not in Black Swan as there is no indication to what is mental thoughts and what is real life. Aronofsky’s approach to psychological drama makes other psychological thrillers that we have evaluated look very timid and unpowerful. He doesn’t go for a gradual reveal of insanity, instead, right from the start, we see Nina tearing off impossible amounts of skin from her fingers and hear awful cracks and snaps as she exercises her feet.

Throughout the film we see Nina's damaged psychological state becoming more and more obvious and aggressive. We see Nina’s legs bending and snapping, just as she hallucinates while looking at the walls of the flat she shares with her ultra-protective mother, played as a witch by Barbara Hershey. Her other nemeses are a newly retired dancer (Winona Ryder) and a pretty new colleague (Mila Kunis). Our view of both is entirely distorted by Nina’s breakdown as she struggles to play both swans and defy Thomas’s (her dance teachers) concerns that she’s too pure to play the more evil role.

The film’s endless pulp elements like the stabbing, drugs, blood and strangling are tempered by the innocence of the story’s context – the classical ballet music, dancing, costumes - and the films strong momentum. Aronofsky has taken a disturbed psychological state and displayed its effects and Nina's feelings visually. He’s more concerned with expressing Nina’s madness and reflecting it in the world about her than in making any sense of her character or the life of a dancer. It is overall a very powerful and disturbing film that displays all the common codes and conventions of a psychological thriller.



We also found this video which further outlines the film and encourages debate about the successes of the film and compares it to other films by the same director, Darren Aronofsky:

Film Opening Credit Sequences

  
-click here to see a small clip featuring the order of film credits in a film opening

Sequence of Titles in a Film Opening

In our film opening clip we need to include credits. In order for us to apply these credits we needed to know the order in which they are viewed. Here is some research on the sequence of credits/titles in a film opening.

Some examples of sequences in film openings... 

Catch Me if You Can

Se7en

Superman

Napoleon Dynamite

http://www.artofthetitle.com/title/napoleon-dynamite/ 

Boardwalk Empire

http://www.artofthetitle.com/title/boardwalk-empire/

Skyfall

http://www.artofthetitle.com/title/skyfall/Se7en

Through watching these opening credits I have summarised the order in which most film openings are commonly formed...

1. Studio Company
2. Production Company
3. Main Characters
4. Titles
5. Casting Director
6. Music Composer
7. Art director
8. Set Designer
9. Costume Designer
10. Hair/Make-up Artists
11. Visual EFfects
12. Editor
13. Director of photography
14. Producer
15. Writers
16. Director 

Opening Sequence Analysis - Se7en

To help gain a better understanding of what psychological thriller opening look like I habe analysed the opeing sequence of Se7en an American thriller film by 'New Line Cinema'. The video clip I used is below:

Mise-en-scene: Many magazine articles and objects that the killer has collected about his victims - indicates to the audience that this is a thriller/horror. Small, jagged font is used for the credits (presenting the names of production company, directors, producers and actors). Due to the fast pased editing not much time is given to really cap, some of these include silver tools, fingers/hands, blades, ink pen, paper, hand bound books, needles, thread. THe lighting is very dark and low key, and also has a sepia wash over the whole sequence with black and white shots too.

Sound: ALot of non-diegetic sounds with strange high pitched noises that are uncomfortable to listen too as they are similar to that of someone screaming. The music in the background is quite fast with deep bass sounds typical of a thriller movies - creating suspence.

Editing: Made up of fast pased shots showing the different materials the killer uses to kill his victims and maintain his cover. The editing helps set a mood and makes the audience curious about what this is all about. There are slow paced shots of the person writing, and any images go in and out of focus and are blurry - maybe the person is not stable mentaly/physically.

Camera shot/angles and movement: The title sequence begins with a close-up shot of a book which creates a sence of mystery for the veiwer. High and low angle shots are used lokking down onto things or upwards creating confusion. Many close-up shots of things that have no real significance or importance to the audience yet. There are no long shots or establishing shots, so the audience is left cluless as to where this is talking place. 

Themes of a Psychological Thriller

<a href="http://www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/7709060/Themes_of_Psychological_Thrillers"

I used Wordle to create a collarge of themes to help us understand the psychological thriller genre better.

(focus on eyes, truth and lie, memory, reality, a psychological state, narrative - conflict in the mind, existence/purpose, human consciousness, identity, fascination with death, intelligence, perception, uses of dark, isolated places)

Colour in a Psychological Thriller

Colour can create different emotions and feelings towards a certain attitude or representation and can adjust the mood and atmosphere in any image or clip. Through our film opening it is crucial we explore the different colours which will enhance the meaning of a phycological thriller in our piece. 

Black Swan Trailer

The Colours frequently used in this trailer are mainly black, white and red, which each contribute to the contrasting mood and atmosphere of this clip. The negative dark lighting and black colours used signify death, hiding a secret and evil. Differing from this imagery is the light spotlights and white which demonstrates purity, beauty and innocence. The red is also a very bold colour which stand outs, in revealing blood, death and danger. When creating our phycological thriller we may decide to incorporate these three elements of colours/lighting, to produce a similar representation and symbolism.

Se7en Film Opening

Here in the Film Opening Se7en, the use of colours explored are mainly exposed to be black, white and red, which were the same in 'Black Swan', representing a pattern of what the colours are in a conventional physiological thriller. In this film opening there is also a lot of dark shadows casted over the viewing, which creates a mysterious and fearful atmosphere. These shadows also make it hard to distinguish the setting, which further creates disorientation and concealment.  However, the light guided over certain parts of the shot reveal certain focus points, which direct the viewers attention to certain movement or objects. 

Colour Symbolism Chart 
Here is a colour chart which indicates the possible meanings behind how colours are represented. 

	Red: Excitement, energy, passion, love, desire, speed, strength, power, heat, aggression, danger, fire, blood, war, violence, all things intense and passionate.
	Pink symbolises love and romance, caring, tenderness, acceptance and calm.
	Beige and ivory symbolise unification. Ivory symbolises quiet and pleasantness. Beige symbolises calm and simplicity.
	Yellow signifies joy, happiness, betrayal, optimism, idealism, imagination, hope, sunshine, summer, gold, philosophy, dishonesty, cowardice, jealousy, covetousness, deceit, illness, hazard and friendship.
	Blue: Peace, tranquility, cold, calm, stability, harmony, unity, trust, truth, confidence, conservatism, security, cleanliness, order, loyalty, sky, water, technology, depression, appetite suppressant.
	Turquoise symbolises calm. Teal symbolises sophistication. Aquamarine symbolises water. Lighter turquoise has a feminine appeal.
	Purple: Royalty, nobility, spirituality, ceremony, mysterious, transformation, wisdom, enlightenment, cruelty, honour, arrogance, mourning.
	Lavender symbolises femininity, grace and elegance.
	Orange: Energy, balance, enthusiasm, warmth, vibrant, expansive, flamboyant, demanding of attention.
	Green: Nature, environment, healthy, good luck, renewal, youth, spring, generosity, fertility, jealousy, inexperience, envy, misfortune, vigour.
	Brown: Earth, stability, hearth, home, outdoors, reliability, comfort, endurance, simplicity, and comfort.
	Grey: Security, reliability, intelligence, staid, modesty, dignity, maturity, solid, conservative, practical, old age, sadness, boring. Silver symbolises calm.
	White: Reverence, purity, birth, simplicity, cleanliness, peace, humility, precision, innocence, youth, winter, snow, good, sterility, marriage (Western cultures), death (Eastern cultures), cold, clinical.
	Black: Power, sexuality, sophistication, formality, elegance, wealth, mystery, fear, evil, unhappiness, depth, style, sadness, remorse, anger, anonymity, underground, good technical colour, mourning, death (Western cultures).

Literary Devices and Techniques in Psychological Thrillers

Stream of consciousness 

Is a literary technique in which an individuals point of view is produced as a written equivalent so we are able to see the individual's thought processes. In psychological thrillers, the narrative tries to manifest the characters psyche through word usage, descriptions, or visuals.

First-person narrative 

Is a literary technique in which the story is narrated by one or more of the characters. This technique is used to make the audience more involved with the characters themselves, and thus able to understand how the characters minds work.

Back-story 

Is the history behind the situation right at the start of the main story. This deepens the psychological aspect of the story since the reader is able to more fully understand the character; more specifically, what the charters motivations are and how his past has shaped his current cognitive perceptions.

Conventions of a Psychological Thriller

A Psychological Thriller is a specific sub-genre of the thriller genre. There is a deep focus on the characters and their state of mind, often incorporating elements from the mystery and drama genre, overlapping with the horror genre (particularly psychological horror).

What are the characters like?

Psychological thrillers emphasise with the characters just as much, if not more than the plot. The characters are not reliant on physical strength, rather on their mental resources usually battling other characters in their own mind. 

How is suspense created?

Suspense is often created from two or more characters preying one anthers minds, either by playing deceptive games with the other or by trying to demolish the others mental state. 



These major sub-genres help develop the plot of a psychological thriller film, shaping the characters personalities e.g.. usually the character will find the true identity/the devil side of himself/herself in a psychological thriller, in which it is one of the archetypes - the loss of innocence.

Iconic Directors Of a Psychological Thriller

Here I have created a short film which outlines some information on the iconic film directors that have produced some psychological thrillers.

Here are some clips of their work-

Christopher Nolan
Directed the film 'Momento'

Dario Argento
Directed the film 'Trauma'

Alfred Hitchock

Directed the film 'Psycho'

Deciding our Genre: Psychological Thriller

After much deliberation, we decided that we would do  Psychological Thriller film opening. We did also did research on many genres and we concluded that this one would be most fun to film and plan and that we would enjoy creating a psychological thriller the most, as it would challenge us. Firstly, we would have to come up with a thoughtful storyline which would challenge our imaginations, then we had to research all the codes and conventions to try and create a successful and realistic psychological thriller. We were all up for the challenge! 

Genre: Action

Action 

An action film is usually based around a group of people who are facing challenges or an individual. Action films stereotypically involves chase scenes, guns, explosions, fighting, threatening situations and an evil villain. This genre allows the audience to view the storyline through fights and car chases and creates a lot of tension throughout.

An example of an action film is...

This action film has the story line of a detective who has encountered some terrorists, and must take on this group during a heist, whilst they hold his wife hostage.

 

This trailer demonstrates the key signifiers of an action film of guns, explosions, fighting etc. Gender is also represented in this trailer, through the casting of the hero who is seen to have a low voice, tough exterior and a casual dress sense, which implies masculinity. The women's sexuality is implied through the leather one piece as she strips down to only her bra, also presenting vunerability. The music has a lively tempo in high energy situations which contribute to the action and drama.  At the beginning of the trailer there is only the diegetic sound of a helicopter with humming tones and beats throughout,  which raises in pitch giving off tension and anticipation. The diegetic sounds regularly show gun shots, the sound of explosions and helicopters merging the key themes in an action movie. In contrast there is a gospel choir singing which is played loudly and dramatically and speeds up towards the end with an orchestra, emphasising the lively and chaotic atmoshpere. Editing is also seen in sparks, explosions and a smoke which all contribute to the exhilarating and eye catching movement. There is a lot of unsteady movement in the camera work which indicates the fast paced and lively atmosphere of the film. The lighting presents a lot of night time shots and dark surroundings which add to the mystery and contrast the bold and bright explosions of yellow and orange fire. Bold titles are also shown during the trailer which is seen in action films, as it gives a bold entrance to the film.

Some more examples of action films are...

From the first glance of these films the audience can see the different codes and conventions typical to an action movie. A main theme colour which is presented in most action films are black and red, signifying danger, death and destruction.

In this film clip we can see masculinity plays a major role in action films, as heroes are presented to be muscular and attractive. It is seen that they wear leather jackets which presents dominance and vests to draw the attention to their body. It is also portrayed through them having a deep and low voice, and taking control of the situations. Women are also contrasted in this film clip through what they are wearing in one scene, compromising of shorts skirts and strappy tops, again exposing vulnerable sexuality, further implying women as 'sex objects'.





The Feminist Theory

The feminist film theory has been used to analyse action movies. The separation between the physical male, who controls the scene and the gaze, and the female, who is almost always the object of the gaze, is very clear in most such films. Although female characters in most action films are nothing more than objects, a prize for the winner, hostages and the loving wives. There has been a move towards stronger female characters such as those in works by James Cameron and Kathryn Bigelow, moving towards "girl power"-style feminine empowerment (e.g. Charlie's Angels), in place of the traditional "damsel in distress".

(For example, Ghost Rider and Doomsday)







(For example, Dumb & Dumber and Big Momma's House)






(For example, The Matrix and District 9)










Due to the development of technology, the audience can view special effects which are common in a lot of action movies. An example of these special effects is in 'Death Race'  

(Trailer- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RU4TUCh-HwE)

These special effects create an illusion for the audience which grips their attention and creates tension in the way it is presented. 

Genre: Horror and Thriller

Horror and Thriller are examples of a genre of film, these genres aim to create fear and panic for the audiences by portraying their worst fears and nightmares on screen. A lot of horrors are based around an evil force or being or involve a mythical creature such as zombies or vampires.

A lot of horror films use the feature of sound to create suspense or an eerie atmosphere, this can be done with a squeaky door a loud bang or even silence can be very effective in creating a tense atmosphere.

Another typical feature of horror films is the use of symbolism and imagery for example a haunted house, chainsaws, blood, and graveyards. All of these images are commonly used in horror films and aid in creating a scary atmosphere. Setting is also created using certain objects and locations to create vulnerable situations such as night time and abandoned warehouses.

A common feature of horror films is the use of point of view shots, showing the scene through the killer or the victims eyes, putting you in their shoes and bringing the audience into the action, this aids in creating fear and panic in the audience.

The following clip is from "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" and shows the opening scene. "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo"  is a thriller and is rated 18 by the BBFC (British Board of Film Classification). This film contains sexual abuse and is based around an unlikely pair uncovering a serial rapist and murderer. This opening scene is very different to other film openings as it uses a realistic animation style rather than actual actors. This is very effective in creating a tense atmosphere and along with the music overlay and mis-en-scene makes it clear to the audience that this is a thriller. I chose to show this clip as it shows an un-typical feature used in horror movie openings and shows a contrasting idea and technique.

In contrast this opening scene from "The Women in Black" uses actors. However much like the previous clip it uses a music overlay that is non-diegetic that juxtaposes the mis-en-scene of little girls having a tea party to create and eerie atmosphere and create the suspense of something bad that might happen. This music overlay shows the viewer that this is a horror movie. The use of getting the girls to do things in sync creates the idea that they have been possessed which adds to the scary atmosphere and helps to create fear in the audience.