Analysis of an opening sequence: 'Summer Scars' - Sophiya

I chose to analyse the opening sequence of the teen thriller ‘Summer Scars’ directed by Julian Richards in 2007 and it’s  based on a real life hostage situation that occurred in Richards childhood. This low-budget British feature film has acted as inspiration for our own thriller opening sequence.

The sequence begins with the opening credits presented in a graffiti style font sprayed on to a brick wall, which instantly emits a sense of rebellion and disorder. In addition, non-diegetic music is heard which gives off a mischievous, young feel due to its moderate tempo. This is all reflective of the characters attitudes shown later in the sequence and indicates the film will revolve around troubled youths. We then see the credits wipe to reveal a close up of a school bus window and the shot is disrupted when a teenage boy outside hits the window and the camera pans round to show two teenage boys asking for confrontation with those on the bus. A mid-shot is shown with the boy who hit the window at the front of the shot whilst the other is positioned behind him. This signifies the boy closest to the camera is a more dominant, troublesome character who clearly possesses the most power. The clip shows a long shot of the bus driving away, hinting the teens should be on it and then cuts to a mid-shot of the boys laughing and using expletive language, highlighting their carelessness and negative behaviour. The mise-en-scene of this particular shot tells us a lot about the characters. It presents the boys wearing ‘trackies’ plus they have their hoods up which signals the stereotypical view of teenagers; threatening and mischievous. Also, the run-down council flats in the background signify the teens are working class and the lack of vibrant colour in the shot indicates there is little happiness in their lives. The shot is then frozen with the most dominant boy pointing at the bus whilst laughing and by freezing the shot here; it highlights his high social status and intimidating persona. Moreover, the music heard has transformed into a rap which enhances the gangster image the boys portray.

The sequence wipes to show a long shot of an elderly woman in an allotment and a motorbike in the centre of the frame. The camera cuts to a mid-shot of another teenage boy and then pans round to reveal a teenage girl; they both have their hoods up which signifies rebellion and fearlessness. We witness them stealing the motorbike and they drive off whilst the camera tracks along the line of action to follow them, indicating they have prevailed and possess power over the woman who is captured in another freeze-frame to contrastingly imply her low status and distress.

Another ‘wipe’ shot transition is used and presents a mid-shot of a teenage boy pushing another boy in a wheelchair and the camera tracks to follow them until they disappear from the frame and we are left to see the two boys from the beginning of the sequence. This shows a contrast of character status and the audience get a sense of who has the most authority since the teens we’ve seen earlier still have their hoods up and the dominant one is smoking a joint, suggesting his tough persona. We then see a long shot of the boy being lifted out of the wheelchair by the boy who was helping him, which presents a sign of true affection and care. However, this is juxtaposed with a close up of the other two teen boys smoking the joint which is an example of cross-cutting juxtaposition editing and foreshadows the conflict within the group. The wheelchair is then dumped behind a bush, indicating it was perhaps stolen which adds to the constant theme of rebellion embodied in this sequence. Furthermore, the mise-en-scene of this long shot is foreboding to later events in the film as there is a sign reading ‘Danger. Keep Out’ on a fence behind the boys and the leafy surroundings suggest they are heading for the woods. The camera then focuses on the disabled teen being carried by the boy looking after him and the camera tracks to follow them walking down a winding path behind their two friends, which implies the everyday struggle the teenagers face in the world.

The camera cuts to illustrate the two teens introduced earlier, speeding on the motorbike along a path surrounded by trees, hinting that they are heading to the same place as the others and the audience recognise they are all linked as friends. Additionally, the camera shows them enter the shot then pans round to capture them leave, which highlights the immense speed they are travelling at, signifying their lack of fear and disregard of possible consequences.

We soon witness a high-angle shot of the four teenage boys when they reach their destination which suggests that the location is more intimidating than them and the audience realise that the woods can be a very isolated and dangerous place, identifying the film as a thriller. Also, the two dominant characters are chanting and sprint out of the shot and the camera slowly tracks to follow the other two behind, representing the differences the characters share even though they are a group of friends. Furthermore, a long shot of the mise-en-scene shows that this is the teens ‘escape’ from society and that they have visited this place before, due to the shed, chair and punching bag that appear in the frame. A mid-shot shows the two dominant teenagers boxing with the punching bag which is symbolic of the aggressiveness and violence that will occur later in the film. On the other hand, this is juxtaposed against a mid-shot of the other boy helping the disabled teen sit down, showing another clear sign of care and warmth.

The sequence cuts to reveal a mid-shot of the two teens with the motorbike and the boy steps forward so he is positioned closest to the camera and whistles. The camera then cuts back to the teenager’s ‘den’ and a mid-shot of the most dominant, rebellious boy imitates the whistle back. This reciprocal signal suggests a bond between them as friends and symbolises how they stick together. The camera then focuses on the disabled boy and his closest companion playing clapping games, highlighting the true innocent nature of the youngsters and foreshadows they are perhaps the most vulnerable characters. This image is quickly juxtaposed with the dominant boy locating his friends and pouncing on them in an immature manner. This is captured in a freeze frame, reminding the audience just how childlike and naive the teenagers really are.

Lastly, the film title ‘Summer Scars’ appears in a graffiti style font, which draws attention to the rebellious characters and the non-diegetic rap music fades down with the last lyric that is heard being : ‘If it all kicks off, what the hell are you gonna do?’ This foreshadows that the teenagers will find themselves in a disastrous situation beyond their control and out of their hands, which becomes the narrative of the film.

Sophiya Ali

Production Log: 26 Feb 2011 - First Day of Filming

Today was the first day we had planned to film footage for our main task; a teen thriller set in Richmond Park. We chose this location due to it being so spacious and open, plus it has a forest and also hills so we can vary the mise-en-scene. Unfortunately, we didn't manage to capture any usable footage today due to the rainy and windy weather conditions which made it extremely difficult to film in and hard for our actors to perform to their best. Also, the fact that there were dark rainclouds up above us made the lighting really poor and we tried using torches but it didn't appear to look like natural daylight, which was necessary for us to shoot a clear shot. The footage we shot didn't meet our expectations at all and we agreed as a group that we would much rather film everything again on a different day next week to a high standard and ensure that all our original actors can make it, as we had to find replacements for today's shoot. Despite all of these problems, we are determined to capture footage that meet our expectations and then begin editing as soon as possible.

Sophiya Ali

Production Schedule No.1 - Sat 26 Feb.

Saturday 26th February 2011
Richmond Park
Near Kingston-upon-Thames

- Establish the exact location within the park in which we would like to film in.
- Rehearsals.
- Test shots.
- Film footage.

• Rehearsing with our actors is vital so they know what we are aiming to capture, where the camera will be shooting from and so they have the opportunity to perfect their performance, making the final outcome look professional. We also think this will help the filming process to run more smoothly as direction will be clear.
• We know that Richmond Park is our chosen location but we are planning to establish an exact location within the park which looks extremely desolate and threatening; a place that would be ideal for conveying a typical setting of a thriller.
• Filming test shots is an effective method in order to see how everything looks on camera and from this we will be able to see if the positioning of our actors is correct, if the mise-en-scene exudes a scary atmosphere, where the best lighting is and whether our camera shots look as good as we want them to.
• We hope to film the majority, if not all, of our footage on this day and will allow the entire day for this process to take place. Taking into account the rainy weather conditions predicted and the fact the light will disappear at around 4.30pm, instills a sense of doubt in us and we might have to return at a later data to re-shoot.

Sophiya Ali

Textual Analysis of similar existing media texts: 'Summer Scars' - Sophiya

‘Summer Scars’ is a low-budget British teen thriller directed by Julian Richard in 2007. The plot is based on a true story and revolves around six young Welsh friends who meet a mysterious man in the woods who easily manages to gain their trust, until he unexpectedly turns on them and holds them hostage. The film title ‘Summer Scars’ is an oxymoron and hints that occurrences during the summertime have traumatic consequences which physically and emotionally ‘scar’ the characters. This short feature film captures the essence of what we are hoping to obtain when filming our own opening sequence based on the thriller genre. Focusing on a variety of low-budget British thrillers is an effective research strategy as we can spot the key conventions of a thriller in terms of narrative, setting, characters and camerawork.

The setting of the film is situated in the leafy, desolate woods and the teenagers view this as their escape from society. This makes them seem isolated from the world and the audience recognise that they are immediately placed in a vulnerable position as they can be seen as easy targets, with potential danger lurking all around. In addition, the woods is portrayed as a place of secrecy where no-one will ever find out what the youths are up to and more tragically, about the frightening hostage situation. The typical connotations of the woods are somewhere dark, gloomy and bleak. However, ‘Summer Scars’ challenges these key conventions and sets the scene in broad daylight and in the film there are close-ups of nature such as, woodland creatures and sunlight emerging in between plants which gives the impression that the woods is a very welcoming, pleasant and serene environment. This is juxtaposed with the violence and horrific events within the film and makes the audience feel a sense helplessness and danger, since such things can appear to occur in the day rather than under a blanket of darkness at mid-night, which is the usual expectation. This inspired us to set our thriller sequence in the day and in a deserted woodland area but when it is cloudy, damp and grey to create a spooky mise-en-scene and to convey the vulnerability of our characters whilst still challenging the conventions. Furthermore, our sequence involves burying a dead body in the woods which emphasises the idea of it being a secretive place.

The teenage characters portrayed in ‘Summer Scars’ share a fatal flaw; their innocence and naivety towards the mysterious man, which adds to their vulnerability. This influenced our ideas for character development and we thought that in our opening sequence it is important to establish each character’s social status to foreshadow that some are more susceptible than others. In ‘Summer Scars’ there is only one female character who is seen as the most vulnerable due to typical gender representation in thriller films. This inspired us to challenge this so that a male character is viewed as weak and possesses a lower status than the leader of the dysfunctional group of teenage friends presented in our sequence, who is in fact female and holds the most power and authority over everyone.

A variety of camera angles, shots and movements are shown in this film that all add to the narrative and low-budget feel it exudes, which is what we aim to achieve. High angle shots are used in the film to signify the young girl’s innocence and vulnerable position, for example, when she is sexually approached by the psychotic man and the camera slowly tracks towards the girl and the audience feel her terror and violation of space. This influenced us to use a high angle shot in our own sequence to highlight the position of a timid and frightened character against a stronger and more powerful character. An effective shot like this will capture one character’s low status whilst emphasising another character’s dominant presence. Additionally, this particular scene in ‘Summer Scars’ contains a point of view shot from the girl’s perspective where the stranger is slowly approaching her, which allows the audience to empathise with her and feel her fear.

Moreover, the editing of the film constructs representation. For instance, there is use of cross-cutting juxtaposition where there is a close-up shown of sunlight shining on trees which symbolises hope and happiness and this is contrasted with a shot of the strange man holding the teens hostage, which represents danger. This exaggerates impact of each by highlighting a point of difference and has influenced our ideas in developing our sequence as we can perhaps juxtapose nature or signs of true friendship with the dead body and dark situation. What’s more, the pace of editing is shown in Julian Richard’s film when a young boy runs to try escape from the deadly man and the fast pace suggests panic and also builds tension within the audience. In our opening sequence, the group of friends flee as they hear someone coming and we became inspired to maybe use a point of view shot from one of the character’s whilst running and the speedy pace represents the terror he/she feels.

To conclude, ‘Summer Scars’ received a lot of praise from film critics and made it to the British cinemas in 2009. ‘Little White Lies’ magazine reviewed the film: ‘A chilling allegory about the fragile innocence of youth with a climax as brutal as any Hollywood slasher.’ This is inspiring to us as it proves that a low-budget British thriller film can be successful and has motivated us even more to create a chilling and unique opening sequence.

Sophiya Ali

'Tormented' Film Poster Deconstruction - Sophiya

Open publication - Free publishing - More d1

Sophiya Ali

Main Task: Character Analysis

Sabrina Kadri

Sara
Sara's personality is: pessimistic, ignorant and selfish. She will always put herself first before anyone and has complete disregard for other people and their emotions. Also, she is seen as the leader of the group and enjoys having total control over them and the situation. In our opening sequence, it is clear to see that she dominates the group and therefore takes authority over the dilemma. Her negative outlook on life and assertive attitude makes her a fearful and threatening individual that many find difficult to relate to, except Ben. Sara takes full advantage of her power and high status within the group by manipulating them, like she does with Jenny and Michael.







Charlotte Robertson





Jenny

Jenny is very problematic and suffers from extreme anxiety and paranoia, which the rest of the group find irritating at times because of the way she is perceived as a 'drama queen.' In our sequence, she is clearly over-powered by the more aggressive characters, for example, Sara takes advantage of Jenny's lack of self-esteem and control which makes her seem like an easy target. Despite the fact her friends don't treat her well, she sticks with the group to feel secure and believes they will look out for her. Furthermore, she can't do things for herself and tends to rely on others to do things for her which highlights her immaturity.




Thahmeed Chowdhury

Jason

Jason is an overconfident, cocky and arrogant guy who, like Sara, always puts himself first. These negative qualities make him seem unlikeable to some and the only reason he sticks with the group is to feel a sense of pride and so he can claim he has friends - to him, appearance is everything. In our sequence, Jason breaks up a fight between Sara and Jenny and is presented as heroic, but he only does this because he is worried about getting caught himself and wants to flee the scene as soon as he can. He is extremely intelligent and lets this get to his head as he regularly looks down on people like Jenny and Michael, signifying his egotistic and self-centered persona.

Elli Abernethy

Emily

Emily is dead and at the heart of all the commotion. The character remains a mysterious one as the audience doesn't know the cause of her brutal death from the opening sequence. However, Emily was in fact a victim in the past of bullying and often felt immense peer pressure from the group. She was extremely gullible and her lack of confidence made it impossible for her to stand up to intimidating individuals such as Sara and Ben, therefore she was taken advantage of. Due to her innocent and naive nature, she would follow the group to be accepted and internalise her emotions whilst casting her morals aside. Emily's death is symbolic as it signifies the corruption within the group and foreshadows the consequences they may face; they are literally the ones with her blood on their hands.




Kareem Elgendy



Michael

Michael is a very quiet character who likes to keep most things to himself and finds it a great struggle to express his emotions to people. He tends to get along best with Jenny by helping her through difficult situations and her emotional breakdowns which suggests that this is the only true friendship within the corrupt group. In our opening sequence, he is seen as a nervous, tentative guy who feels he has no choice but to listen to Sara's orders which portrays how easily he gives into pressure and is too shy and timid to do otherwise. 





Text: Sophiya Ali

Photography: Monica Wyithe





Preliminary Task Evaluation: Editing and Filming

When editing our preliminary task we found that it's always better to have more footage to work with because you can test which shots work best. Also, we spent time making sure that the sequence ran smoothly, for example: editing the match on action shot so that it was accurate and precise. This is important as the viewer can easily notice flaws and continuity errors which can spoil the realism of the footage.
The two photos below show the mise-en-scene of our task. The camera at the bottom of the photos is positioned on a tripod at a subtle low angle to highlight the authority of Lucy's character. We also found that sometimes it can be effective, for example, to shoot all the shots that are supposed to be at a subtle low angle after each other to ensure the camera is in the same position for each shot, which maintains continuity.

 

Sophiya Ali

12D1 Preliminary Task

Lucy Johnston

Preliminary Task Storyboard

Lucy Johnston

Preliminary Task

My group have finished filming for the preliminary task 'Feed the Fish' on DV camera and have uploaded our footage onto iMovie. We are hoping to edit it as soon as possible and then start progressing on our storyboard for the main task. Storyboarding has proved to be an effective planning method as when I was filming for the preliminary task, I found that it really helps when shooting footage, in order to achieve the right shots, angles and maintain continuity. Before filming for the preliminary task, we all watched various opening sequences of low-budget British films such as ‘Fish Tank’ and ‘Control’ to find inspiration for our own. We’re currently in the process of developing our ideas and will continue to do this after completing our preliminary task. The benefits of the preliminary include understanding the importance of planning and working together as a team. It has also got us into the creative flow and allowed us to put our knowledge of camera shots and angles into practice.

Sophiya Ali