Opening Title: Film Title

This was done on final cut pro, which is the software that we are using to create our actual film opening. 

I took the font that we were using for all of our other titles to make sure the opening title was in-keeping with the whole film opening.  

I manipulated the font to make it slightly blurred any more suitable to the supernatural horror genre. I then downloaded a font that allowed me to manipulate the font further, by changing the 't' in ritual to a cross symbol.

This links well to the supernatural horror genre of the film opening, making the title more interesting and effective.

Opening: Context

Many horror movies give information/context to the audience at the very start of the opening (after production company titles etc.) This gives the audience more background and knowledge before the film begins, such as dates, events and sometimes characters. This would be effective as it is fairly typical of supernatural horror movies, and sets the scene for the audience whilst adding depth through background information. Here are some examples:


Paranormal Activity 4
0.09- Location, date
0.37- Date, event
1.54- Key information


The Devil Inside
0.06- Date, Location
0.07- 911 call dialogue (audio and visual)


'The film which you are about to see is an account of the tragedy which befell a group of five youths, in particular Sally Hardesty and her invalid brother, Franklin. It is all the more tragic in that they were young. But, had they lived very, very long lives, they could not have expected nor would they have wished to see as much of the mad and macabre as they were to see that day. For them an idyllic summer afternoon drive became a nightmare. The events of that day were to lead to the discovery of one of the most bizarre crimes in the annals of American history, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.'

This is the dialogue said by the narrator at the very start of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (slasher.) As you can see it hints at what the movie will entail (tragedy which befell a group of five youths,) and introduces some of the characters (e.g Sally and Franklin.) The 'facts' told at the start also allows the film to appear more realistic, making it more distressing for the audience.

Typography Practice

The name of our film is more than likely to be 'The Ritual' as this is what the majority of people voted for within the survey, and also what we feel would be the most appropriate (linking well to the supernatural horror genre.)

After lots of research from already existing film titles within our genre we were able to pick out the common conventions of typography within the horror genre. The main ones are:

• Capital letters 
• Using a traditional 'gothic' font (sharp, pointed letters)
• Colour schemes such as red, white, black, and grey
• Including 'The' in the title
• Manipulating the title slightly (only particular letters)

Here are some possibilities:

Editing Task: Reoccurring Clip

The point of this was to practice having a clip reoccurring throughout the scene. I purposely left out sound throughout the rest of the scene so more attention could be paid to the reoccurring clip and its sound (for practice purposes only.) This was I can asses whether or not it is effective and whether we can use it in the final sequence.

Firstly I uploaded all the clips needed to iMovie. I then selected the clip that I wanted to reoccur throughout, and split it into several parts.

I split the other clips within the sequence to allow the reoccurring clip to be placed there.

 I was then able to place the parts of the clip within the other clips in the sequence as shown below.

The parts where the girl was to look possessed with unrealistic body movements I sped up (X2.) This would make the movements look un-natural and it would therefore be disturbing to the audience, linking to the supernatural horror genre.

  I put a few of the other clips in slow motion as a way of distorting reality, again making the audience feel distressed and linking to the supernatural horror genre.

I added a heavy breathing sound that I downloaded to the reoccurring parts. This makes the girl sound distressed and anxious, allowing the audience to realise she is clearly frightened which helps to provoke sympathy as she is only a child. The breathing sound I downloaded was quite deep, so I took the pitch up one to make it sound lighter and more child-like to be more realistic.

I trimmed the sound so that it was only heard during the reoccurring clips and not throughout the whole sequence.

This is the final clip:



What worked well:

• The reoccurring clip was effective, giving a distortion of reality and making it quite distressing

What could be improved:

• The reoccurring clips could be longer so that the audience get a clearer idea of what is happening within them.
• The breathing could still sound more realistic and could be layered to be more effective for example over a 'heartbeat' sound.

Editing: Woods Practice

My task was to practice the audio that we could use for the woods scene within our supernatural horror film opening. I selected some of the footage that we have filmed and will be using in our opening, and added the audio effects created before (see older sounds blog post) that I felt were quite effective. I used iMovie for this as it is a simple way to practice with audio effects and manipulation.

I uploaded the clips and trimmed them to delete anything that was not needed. After the visual looked like I wanted it to, I was then able to chose the various sounds that I wanted to use within the sequence. I kept the visual fairly simple as the main focus of this task is the sound.

For the first clip I used the Demon Haunting Sound, as used before. This set a distressing mood for the audience as the harsh un-natural sound of the demon growls against the visual of the innocent young girl is a disturbing contrast. I finished the sequence with an un-nerving scream which I manipulated and made louder in order to have a maximum disturbing impact on the audience. In the second sequence I used the manipulated audio of the young girl singing, which is non-diegetic sound as the audience are shown girls emotionless face in the low key lighting.

I finished both sequences with the fade to black transition in order for them to have a clean finish.

I am pleased with:

• The sound is relevant and well-suited to the scene and the supernatural horror genre.

To improve:

• Play around with the manipulation of the sounds, perhaps on different software for greater impact.

Exorcisms Deconstruction

This first clip is just a scene of possession, from the film Possession (1981.) It is interesting to note the classic features used in possession scenes, such as un-natural movements, voice manipulation and the leakage of bodily fluid (most commonly blood.) The scene opens with a mid shot of the girl looking unstable with the on-screen diegetic sound of her laughing loudly to herself. This continues with the audience watching her from behind throwing herself at the subway walls. The lighting is high-key due to the well lit walkway from the lights. The long shot shows her rolling along the walls laughing hysterically, before she starts screaming loudly and the long shot shows her violently spilling her shopping everywhere. She begins screaming in an un-natural voice with jerky and disturbing body movements before collapsing to the ground where there's a straight cut of her with fluid coming out of her mouth and she supposedly has a miscarriage.


This exorcism is taken from The Exorcism of Emily Rose. She is being exercised by the priest in the barn-house. The clip opens with a close up of Emily screaming, with low-key lighting due to the heavy storm, so she is very much in the shadows.  The priest is first shown in a close up, where the audience can clearly see by his dress (clerical collar, liturgical vestment and black robe) that he is a religious figure. The on-screen diegetic un-natural sound of her voice is very much distressing to the audience. The priest has a bible, in which he quotes out of in an attempt to rid of the demon that is possessing her. There is also a doctor present at the exorcism whom keeps an eye on her physical state throughout the exorcism, The priest tries to find out the names of the demons in a series of fast-paced straight cuts in order to get rid of them.


This is another exorcism scene from the film The Devil Inside. The scene opens with a mid-shot of the possessed lady, whom is on a treatment bed in a mental hospital in which she has been placed to look after and control her. Her physical state (red around the eyes, pale) and the distressing diegetic screech let us know that she is over-taken by a demon. The priests are easily identified again but the white clerical collar and liturgical vestment, which displays an image of the cross. They hold a wooden cross symbol over her whilst quoting lines from the bible in an attempt to rid the demon, The priests continue despite being physically assaulted by the woman, who is in an un-natural and distressed state. The woman escapes the table but is tied back be the persists, who try to find out the name of the demon in a series of frantic straight-cuts. The cross and vestment are placed on the woman whilst the lords prayer is spoken in a final attempt before the scene comes to an end.

Opening Credits Practice

My task was to practice a variety of ways that we could have our credits during our final film opening. I put some clips together and added different credit styles to we could analyse what would look best. There is no audio as this is a small clip just showing credit styles.

I used iMovie as they have a variety of credit and title styles. I imported various clips that I filmed a while ago when we were searching for our locations as a basis for the credits.

As normal I split the clip to get rid of the large sections that I did not want.

I slowed a couple of the clips down in order to add some dynamics too the clip, and too see how credits looked alongside this effect.

I then detached the audio as there were un-necessary sounds such as wind and talking. I did not add any audio effects so that maximum attention could be paid to what is happening within the frame.

I added cross blur transitions and a fade to black transitions at the end so that the clip ran continuously and smoothly, with no jumpy straight cuts.

I then selected the credit styles that I felt would go best with our supernatural horror genre. I slotted them in throughout the clip to see how each of them looked as part of a sequence. 

They were placed on top of the clip so they appeared during it, not in between sections of the sequence.

I added the text 'DARF' as this is just as a practice, in reality you would have production companies, actor names etc. The font, colour and size can also be modified, which will be done during the final editing stage of our opening sequence.

I am pleased that:

• I was able to capture a wide variety of credit styles

I could improve:

• By adding more title styles, as there was only really one at the end that would be appropriate for this 
• Played around with the font, as we already know that to link well to our supernatural horror genre, the font will have to be gothic and either red, white or black

A Nightmare on Elm Street Opening Credits

A Nightmare on Elm Street Opening Credits Deconstruction

0.0- American production company

0.4- Another American production company

0.6- Main actor starring as 'Freddy Kruger'

The typography of the credits is typical of the horror genre, using capital letters with pointed edges. The classic 'black, red and white' theme is also used, with the words being white. These features are followed all the way through.

0.9-Actor starring as 'Quentin Smith'

0.13-Actor starring as 'Nancy Holbrook'

0.15- Actor starring as 'Kris Fowles'

0.18- Actor starring as 'Jesse Braun'

0.25- Actor starring as 'Dean Russell'

0.31- Actor starring as 'Gwen' (Nancy's Mother)

0.36- Actor starring as 'Alan Smith' (Quentin's Father)

0.38- Casting director

0.46- Costume designers

0.50- Co-producer

0.53- Music composer

0.58- Editor

1.05- Production designer

1.10- Photography director

1.16- Executive producer

1.20- Executive producers

1.24- Executive producers

1.28- Characters former creator 

1.33- Production team

1.40- Story creator

1.43- Screenplay producers 

1.48- Director