Audience Research

Delving into audience research of infatuation and our target audience feedback.

Our target audience found our opening to be very aesthetically pleasing through the use of connotations of black and red in costume and font colour, indicting the antagonists evil and 'trying to get something' and the ending scene is which the victim is dragged off, which also 'engages the audience to watch on'.

The tension is created and supported 'by the use of music and cuts' as well as the woods as a location, 'which set the mysterious and eerie tone to it'.

From our audience research we found that the audience felt, in order to enhance the 'creepiness' of our film,  it should of been filmed in worse weather, raining or dull grey, rather than the sun as seen in the beginning of the film.

Infatuation obviously pleased our target audience, as hoped because all candidates said, on a scale of 1-10,  on how likely they would be to watch the rest of this film, it was a 7-9 range.

However although the majority of the audience 'got' Infatuations theme, of the backgrounds of the stalker and victim and telling of their stories,  some felt infatuation had a 'moralistic value behind the film', although this underlying plot is rather underdeveloped it could be an interesting theme to adopt.

Final focus group for infatuation

Evaluation

In what ways does your media product use,develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?






"Psychological horror tends to be subtle compared to traditional horror and typically contains less physical harm, as it works it usually has something to do with sexual health and relationships with women and men mainly on the factors of mentally affecting the audience rather than the display of graphic imagery seen in the slasher and splatter sub-genres. It creates discomfort in the viewer by exposing common or universal psychological vulnerabilities and fears, most notably the shadowy parts of the human psyche which most people repress or deny." -wikipedia definition of Psychological horror
"Horror-of-personality is a specific sub-category of horror and thriller genres; as opposed to excessive violence or the presence of malevolent supernatural beings, such stories evoke horror and/or suspense through villains who are perfectly human, but possess horrific personalities. They usually focus on Freudian psychology, as well as the cause and effect of profound insanity. Each narrative will either document an unbalanced person's descent into madness, or else follow somebody on the trail of a murderous psychopath. The settings are often deceptively ordinary, such as cheerful suburban homes or shabby hotels." wikipedia definition of Horror-of-personality.

In the Horror genre,the films follow many conventions in the opening,through iconography,the narrative and shots and angles.
A typical horror film opening,takes place in an isolated setting,introducing a protagonist and antagonist. In order to create the necessary tension, the director will use a variety of quick cuts,with low-key or non-naturalistic lighting. An immoral teenager is always preyed upon by a monster,murderer or stalker,with a trademark appearance or way of killing, such as Freddy Krueger. The narrative will switch from the 'victim' and 'villain' point of view and the film is either left for closure or a sequel.


A title sequence/opening is to invoke the viewers interest,through telling them what genre the film will be,setting a location and background of the main characters. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tn_DjzN8410



A Nightmare On Elm Street,the story of infamous Freddy Kruger, an accused child murderer,killed by a mob of angry parents,is back. Stalking and killing the children of his murderers,in their dreams.

The opening of the film,is set in an abandoned industrial warehouse,something which already makes viewers uneasy, the place is old,run down and seemingly dangerous. By taking the audience out of there comfort zone of a safe place, through 'mise en scene', an uneasy atmosphere is created. The first character introduced is immediately the threat throughout the film, menacing,stalking an unknown victim and collecting everyday items throughout the warehouse to use as weapons,another iconography used in horror,is at ease and in control with the non-conformational setting. Contrasting with this character is the victim, portrayed as the innocent one,through age,costume-a white nightie,representing her innocence and also contradicting the situation she is currently in.
The camera angles also show the contrasting natures of the character,the isolation of the victim and the confident nature of the mysterious figure,stalking her,with establishing shots showing him preparing weapons and then cross cutting to the girl, using long shots,making her look small,vulnerable and isolated. The audience follow the girl running from her unknown stalker,yet as she is trying to get away,she runs towards the audience and as she turns around,facing away from us,an extreme close up/pov seems to put the audience in the assailants eyes,creating more suspense and tension,as the audience assume,this is when we/antagonist murder the girl,yet when she turns around  she is alone. This increased feeling of being watched and stalked adds to the turmoil of the scene.



The editing of the opening sequence,sets the pace,it starts slow and confident,as we watch the unknown pursuer,assemble his weapon. The easy nature of the way he does this,is reminiscent of a predator stalking its prey,which is what essentially happens in the opening sequence; the victim is out of their comfort zone and running for survival. As the climax of the scene approaches,the cross cuts get quicker and more frantic,as the chase scene commences



The sequence opens,with diegetic sound,of the weapon being assembled, the metal sound is harsh and chilling,matching not only the industrial environment but the atmosphere to be created in the oncoming events,later amphlified by the victims long screams. Through non-diegetic sound, the tension is sustained and increased, the out of place sheep bleating and childlike laughter,adds to the surreality of the scene,along with the composed music which, is high pitched yet almost gives the impression of the sounds of a child playing the xylophone; a potential foreshadow,to the background of the potential killer.



Our opening sequence conforms to the majority of psychological,horror and horror of personality film conventions. We open in a desolate setting and slowly introduce the protagonist and antagonist,shown through typical horror iconography,the contrasting colours of pastel whites and pinks and black, as well as switching from their point of view.
Through sound, we stated the genre of our film, it was tense,disturbing and the pitch was slightly off key to create an eerie atmosphere. However we didn't develop the back story of our characters that clearly,despite having Flo's school picture, I don't think it was that obvious I was a school teacher or male, although this could be developed later in the film. Also Flo was not an 'immoral teenager' being preyed on but in fact a moral,bright, intelligent teenager, not one usually portrayed in horror, such as Friday the 13th,in which, a group of sexually active,drug taking immoral teenagers are camping in a forest and brutally murdered by Jason.
However the pacing of our opening is slightly different from the typical quick cuts used in horror. Ours are,long and tense to draw out the suspense.



How does your media product represent particular social groups?



-the sexually promiscuous bimbo- blonde and busty,the one of the first to die, usually during sex and is girl that you would wish would die sooner. She is normally the one that gets the viewer shouting “Kill her!” She somehow escapes death on several occasions, but when she finally meets her maker, her death is graphic, with possible nudity and the viewer rejoicing.
-the sidekick/best friend-usually spared from death,due to the ability to make people laugh or dies in a comical,disgusting way.
-the Goth/emo-the misunderstood soul,who just wants to be loved and ends up ironically getting stabbed in the heart,trying to save the girl he's secretly loved since primary school OR the bitter girl,everyone is secretly scared and openly disgusted with, rumoured to worship the devil or be a witch-sometime trues. She is enemies with the 'popular' girl at school.
-the jock- Sportsman of the group,he is either arrogant and obnoxious and dies after selling out his group of friends,in an attempt to save himself or is the boyfriend of a character previously killed and after consuming large amounts of his fathers expensive alcohol,grasp a weapon to avenge her death, only to be murdered himself.
-the black guy-either a rapper, from the hood or the sane friend or best friend,who knows its a ridiculous idea to go out into the woods,intoxicated with a group of your friends,where there's a rumoured killer living there. The voice of reason,always the second or penultimate to die and if listened to is why the heroine survives and leads her to mutilate the killer,to avenge the death of her best friend.






The stereotypical horror film characters aren't used in the sequence.
The antagonist is black but typically creepy and male. After feedback from the focus group,we decided to make him a teacher,to add a twist to the story,as a a teacher, is usually a figure of authority or trust,white and typically middle aged,middle class and just wants his students to like him. He is however,wearing scruffy attire and had a casual,slightly dity,haunted persona. This contrast to the persona he presents in his 'everyday normal' life as a middle-class, smart,respected teacher. Yet our teacher,is a strange man with a fixation on the innocent protagonist of the film.



The protagonist of the film conforms to everyone 'heroine' stereotype used in the horror genre. This character almost always has these traits:she is a female,she has dark hair,she is tall and under stately pretty and its only after she has saved herself and possibly the rest of her street,town,students,does anybody take notice of her and she is virginal,innocent and has no reason to be murdered. The heroine is sexually pure and she uses her intelligence,wit and charm to defeat the monster/killer in the end,with help from the voice of reason,black or best friend, though, of course, the antagonist never really dies. She is the person that will undoubtedly last through the whole movie and potential sequels because she is probably the first character introduced and the only one with unabashedly perfect moral values and an immense force of will,e.g. Sydney in the Scream franchise.


By using an attractive,age appropiate,in relation to our demographic,actress, we hoped to pique the male interest and follow the horror convention as well. This also makes her more relatable to the audience and helpless.





What kind of media institution might distribute your product and why?








New Line Cinema,founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye and Michael Lynne. New Line merged with larger sister studio Warner Bros and collaborates with independent company Platinum Dunes,on the horror remakes,they produce.
New Line, produces,markets and distributes all of its films and has units that are dedicated to home entertainment,TV,music,theatre,merchandise and an international sector.  Partnering with HBO to form Picturehouse,a new company releasing new independent films,this could make our film more likely to be considered as a contender to be financial backed by such a prestigious company,in a competitive industry.



In regards to genre specific films, New Line has produced such films as Final Destination, Texas Chainsaw Massacre and A Nightmare on Elm Street.






Platinum Dunes, a private company created in 2001, by Michael Bay,Brad Fuller and Andrew Form,specialises in horror remakes. Producing films such as The Amytville Horror,The Hitcher,The Unborn and Friday the 13th,with mainly teenage audience, I believe that this would be a good company to produce and distribute our film,with genre and audience specifications that match our own and its films grossing at least twice its annual budget. Michael Bay is a renound name in the industry and teen audiences,since his work on Transformers.  However due to it being a private company and its remakes getting generally negative reviews from critics despite commercial success, I think that marketing through this company would be a bad idea,due to the stigma received when Platinum Dunes release a film. http://www.brutalashell.com/2011/06/there-is-a-god-platinum-dunes-quit-horror/






Columbia Pictures Industries, a production and distribution company,renound worldwide as a member of 'The Big Six', formed part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group,owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment.
With genre specific films such as The Grudge,Panic Room,Single White Female and I Know What You Did Last Summer, Columbia,has the financial backing and prestigious name to market and distribute our film successfully,as the name would bring an automatic good stigma to any film,they release, as well as being able to be released in not only commercial cinemas such as the Odeon but as an independant film, in festivals such as Sundance or Film4.



Who would be the audience for your media product?






The  main target audience for 'Infatuation' would be both male and female,aged 15-24,which is also the common audience for Horror.
The demographics would be predominately E and D as well as C2, being in the correct age range and as well as having the right income and status for the genre of film. However some of the more sophisticated psychological elements of 'Infatuation',would perhaps be lost on the 'lower' bracket of demographic profession,so 'Infatuation' could perhaps draw a subdemographic of group A and B.
Psychological horrors,in the modern day,such as Paranormal Activity and The Ring,are not only genre specific to our sequence but to our intended,15-24 audience as well.
The psychographics would be explorers, as the psychological horror genre would be different,full of energy and adventure and action, the reformers-who have social awareness,attended higher education,would be interested again in the psychological elements and background of the antagonist.



As horror films typically have the 'spunky' female heroine,the only survivor, subtlingimplying female empowerment and films such as Jennifer's Body, having sub-plot undertones of the female hierarch y seen in female teenagers live,almost everyday,like 'The Plastics' in comedy 'Mean Girls'.



“I don’t see guys enjoying it that much, other than the fact that Megan Fox is in it,” Weiss said.
Horror plot lines, though, still seem to resolve with one reigning female character evading all danger and living through the terror.
“Historically the sole survivor … always tended to be this kind of pure, chaste, virginal character. Women who had sex in horror movies always died,” Campbell said, adding that even in older horror movies where this sexual stigma thrived, audiences saw a strong female character that beat out the odds to survive.
“Media seems to be giving women permission to take control of their own sexuality.”



I think the female audience will respond more positively to the psychological element in Infatuation,why Flo is being stalked,what is it about her character that attracts the antagonist and also exploring the antagonist's background and life,in an attempt to divulge what,has led to him having this unhealthy fixation, similar to Jason Voorhees, in the Friday The 13th franchise, who stalks and kills counsellors running Camp Crystal,after his murderous mother killed the campers,who failed to save her son from drowning,due to negligence; having sex,a typical narrative of a horror,the immoral teenagers are prayed upon.
Whereas the male audience will respond more to the pretty female lead,action  and gore scenes,we would use if we ever developed the sequence,into an full film.



The typical black stereotype in horror,isn't used,instead of dying near the beginning of the film and being the voice of reason,our character is the antagonist,with a chilling fixation on the pure protagonist.
As a twist on a typical horror, I think this will intrigue the audience more,as its a fresh and different perspective on race and antagonists in the Horror genre.

Taking inspiration from films such as Psycho, Scream and Silence of the Lambs, we attempted to bring in a different twist to the horror genre.
The antagonist has an obsession with a innocent girl, a teacher and pupil relationship,this would be relatable to our audience at one point in time or another. As a position of trust,a teacher brings a different prospective to the 'villain' of the film, not a typical disfigured man or creature out for revenge but a normal everyday person,you would expect to be able to trust,not fear or be wary of.



How did you attract/address your audience?

"Oh, it’s [music is] vital. If it’s right, it can do so many things for a film. And, and if it’s wrong, it can absolutely destroy a film. I’m sure we’ve all seen films where the music just kept you out of the movie, and—or made you feel that you were being manipulated so obviously that you refused to respond. And, and if that happens, you’re dead. Music...it’s a very...there really are no rules, in fact. But—and you can make up your use of music as you go along, or film by film. Even scene by scene, you know. Is the music there to accentuate something that’s already in the scene, or is it there to work in counterpoint against that? Or is it there to suggest something that’s going to happen that you wouldn’t know just from what’s on the screen? I mean, there are many, many things that you can do with music." - David Cronenberg






Sound was an important factor,in creating the right atmosphere and establishing the mood for our sequence,as it also drives the narrative and as well as the producers having a way to control and manipulate the audience.

Music and sound is always used to portray the nature of a character; Flo as the innocent,pure heroine has light,pure,strings and piano, whereas the antagonist has the darker harsher and off pitch tones of the music.

Through diegetic and non-diegetic sounds, we have created and upheld the necessary tension, non-diegetic,the dramatic sections whenever the antagonist appears,also an acknowledgement to the audience; they will realise the menance and apprehension of what will happen whenever the antagonist is near/on screen. The diegetic music,such as when the twig was trodden and snapped,began to introduce the protangonist's paranoia and dread, accompanied by the silence of the music,always began to increase the audience's more.

I think that although the primary audience of 'Infatuation' will appreciate the added suspense the music will bring, I believe that the secondary audience of higher demographics; A and B will fully appreciate the music and sound included,especially in group B, containing creative and media people,who potentially have the experience in that area.

The title, though ironic as the connotations of ‘Infatuation’ are ones of sweetness and young love and the antagonist’s obsession is anything but that, will attract our predominately female demographic, through the themes of love, romance and drama.

Explorers –seek discovery, individualism and are of a younger demographic. They will be attracted to the opening, with the frantic music and edits and cuts.

Strugglers-into drugs, junk food and alcohol, meaning that their after instant gratification, which is what our film offers, as a psychological, personality horror.

The narrative 'Infatuation' uses is different from the usual horror convention; immoral teenagers are prayed upon, by a killer or monster, with a traumatic childhood past or medical condition. We have however, decided that there could be room for a sequel.

By using a young, attractive protagonist, this would sustain the audience- particularly male interest. This tactic is used in such films as Jennifer’s Body, starring Megan Fox and Amanda Seyfried, who at one point, more than just friends. “I don’t see guys enjoying it that much, other than the fact that Megan Fox is in it,” Jamie Weiss, a café manager from Ambler, Pa. A real audience demographic opinion.

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

-Sony Video Camera
-iMovie
-GarageBand






As a previous GCSE media student, the concept of iMovie and editing was a familiar one. I have a good knowledege of how to upload and edit clips and usage of transitions and special effects. I did however manage to develop my iMovie skills, in editing,learning how to split clips. In splitting clips, the continuity and transition of our sequence was made much more smooth and less amateur looking.
Blogging and uploading footage etc. wasnt a new experience, from school and social work, I had a very knowledgable expertise on what to do on Blogger.com



The technology was relatively understandable and not a new concept for me, except when it came to making the music.
Having never experienced GarageBand, I had to understand the programme and produce a fitting piece of music as well. Despite not having a wide variety of instruments to choose from, I had a lot of strings and piano in the piece, to match the hauntingness,isolation and eerieness of our opening sequence.
In developing the music to match the visuals I had to crop,cut and move sections of the music to match the developement of our scene, as well as lowering and changing the pitch and tone of certain strings,to make the music slightly off kilter, a subtle indictation to the audience of the tone and genre of the film.
My first piece of music was purely piano and string instruments yet when put to visuals and after a group discussion, the tone was generally too light and not dark enough for our pyschological element.



After more research into different types of music, I explored the other instruments on GarageBand, as well as programmes on the internet and evolved the piece,into a slightly more 'techno' region. The third and final music, I 'composed', not only matched the visuals of 'Infatuation' but had the right amount of innocence to represent Flo and tense,eerieness to represent the antagonist.
From the Preliminary task and full product, I realise how important music is in sustaining audience interest and setting a tone for a film.






Looking back at your preliminary task,what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

From the Preliminary task to the final product, I have learnt alot about organisation and time management.

In order to effectively have enough time to film and edit and add ample changes, a planning schedule is a good idea. As a group,we quickly decided that the horror genre was the best option to explore,with the previous research in lessons,on Saul Bass and Pyscho,we decided to do a Psychological or Horror-of-Personality. Researching into similar media products,we had to take inspiration without directly copying the plot,which was hard,as most we decided to follow the most common narrative convention, of a teenage girl being preyed upon in an isolated area,however, we decided to add some changes,in order to maintain  'Infatuation' being original and not just a carbon copy. The protagonist was a innocent,moral teenage girl and the antagonist,a black male, in a position of trust and seemingly normal exterior.

As a group,we had efficient discussion and ideas for the storyboard, before actually drawing it,making sure every shot and movement was achievable in the situation we were going to film in. During our filming,we stuck to the storyboard,incredibly closely and i believe because of this effective planning,thats the reason,minimal reshoots were needed. This contrasts with our work on the preliminary task, in which the storyboard, was followed in the opening shots but when it came to dialogue was ignored; partly due to unfocused actors and an unsuitable background.

Organisation in the group,during filming was impressive,everybody knew their roles,shots,angles and movements being made. Comparing this to the Preliminary, we were unprepared and had an unfocused group and didnt always follow the storyboard, leading to more changes to the storyboard,wasting more time.
The group work,was shared out mostly equally,everybody playing to their strengths in order to achieve a good video and grade. As Loren felt more comfortable  filming,she filmed and as I knew what direction, to go in,regarding sound, I produced the music. As previous media students, we both edited footage but with more original editing ideas, the majority of Lorens sequence was included in the final sequence.



Research into similar films, was used in, what shots and edits were used, what type of music was used and how the tension was created and sustained. As our film conformed to most of the Horror conventions,I  believe that was a positive and negative attribute.






In the preliminary task, music was not used but as a horror that had psychological elements,music was a key part in our film opening.  Using music for effect was my task and after research into similar films, such as Prom Night and Drag Me To Hell, a piece,that progressed as the action did.
Music not only tells the audience,the killer is being stalked or just around the corner but to expose a characters feelings,actions and tensions. The music,whether a contempary song, or an orginal composed piece,is placed in a certain section of a film because the lyrics or sound,portray something in the film.



In order to emphasis Flo's innocent character, I decided to use piano and string instruments. The connotations of those instruments, are innocence,emotion and purity, all the feelings, i wanted to represent Flo and the audience to feel those things for her as well.
The technical side of GarageBand, was although new, a easy task to pick up. I rearranged the strings to match the visuals of Flo for our footage and changed the pitch  of them,whenever the antagonist was present and leading up to them.
Having just those innocent instruments, the tone of the piece wasnt dark enough and so to develop it,to truly match the sequence, I added more bass and techno bass,to lower the tone.
From making the music, I feel I have a good knowledge of how important music is to the tone of a character and film, the different types of genres of music that are compatible with different genres of film and how to build and uphold tension through music.



The camera shots and angles were important in our piece, in showing the character dynamics; As the stalker, a lot of 'point of view' and tracking shots were used, to put the audience in the antagonists 'shoes'.
From the tracking shots of Flo and point of view for the adversary, this was to create fear from the audience for Flo, as she is unaware that she is being followed.
The preliminary task consisted mainly of long and medium shots,with no variation on the angles and movements,this made the sequence, very static and uninteresting to the audience. Learning fromt this,the final product,used long,mid and close up shots as well as tracking movements and low and high angles.


Overall the use of a preliminary task was a good experience to recap knowledge of the software and perfect film rules,such as the 180 degree rule.
As well as, helping us to prepare for group work and plan areas such as; planning,camera movements/angles and shots,lighting and sound and how to construct in an appealing way to an audience.
The final product showed a better amendment process from the preliminary, with an advanced use of angles,edits and movements as well as the added music,increasing suspense and tension.

Basic Logline

1st Lesson: We discussed ideas about what genre our opening sequence could be. We all decided,due to location and season,that we could use this to advantage and create a horror/thriller. We then created a mind-map to showcase these ideas and what conventions are used.

2 Lesson- We created character profiles for the pro/antagonist and how best to portray their characters to the audience, through clothes and action.

Infatuation: Final

Importance of Film Opening Research and how it relates to Infatuation

 

 

 

 

 

As seen in 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo',  opening sequences can introduce an audience to the genre of the film, plot,themes any foreshadow certain events. The title sequence is key in piquing the audience's interest visually and musically. In Infatuation, we aim to keep the demographic interested from the very start through, definitions of the key theme, tense music and instant realisation that our 'Infatuation' isnt the 'cute,sweet,young connotations associated but the darker,ugly underbelly of love and fixation.

 

 

The importance of title sequences in the movies

Ryan Lambie

As The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo reminds us, a powerful title sequence can have a huge impact. Here’s Ryan’s celebration of a resurgent art form…

Published on Dec 19, 2011

David Fincher’s version of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo opens with a booming, teacup-rattling title sequence, in which hideous forms – some technological, others biological – ooze in and out of black oil and fire. Cut to the howls and thunderous riff of Trent Reznor and Karen O’s cover of The Immigrant Song by Led Zeppelin, it’s an aggressive statement of intent, as though Fincher’s violently stamping his authority on a property that was only adapted for the screen two years ago.

Fincher’s no stranger to opening his films with a dazzling display of sound and imagery. Images of pain and suffering are compiled by nimble, evil fingers to the music of Nine Inch Nails at the beginning of Seven. Fight Club opens with a high-speed race along neural pathways to the shriek of The Dust Brothers’ main theme.
Great though these examples are, the title sequence has, for many years, become an increasingly ignored art form. As filmmakers have clamoured to launch audiences into the first scene – often without any credits at all – the title sequence has gradually, it seems, fallen out of favour.
Nevertheless, some filmmakers, including Fincher, have continued to open their film with attention grabbing title sequences. Over the course of his long career, director David Cronenberg has continuously used them to often startling effect. 1983’s opening to The Dead Zone, designed by Wayne Fitzgerald, was beautiful in simplicity, with images of its rural Maine setting cut to the sombre pace of Michael Kamen’s score. eXistenz’s titles, designed by Rob Pilichowski, focused on strange textures of paint, bark and reptile skin.

These are but two examples of Cronenberg’s repeated use of title sequences, and provide a handy illustration of why they’re so important. Whether we’re watching a movie at home or in the cinema, our experience will almost certainly have been prefaced by a bombardment of adverts or external distractions. A title sequence acts as a bridge between the outside world and the imagined one in the film, and allows the filmmaker to ease the viewer into the rhythm of their movie. In the majority of Cronenberg’s films, this rhythm is methodical, like the slow tick of a metronome, or a scientist clicking through a collection of slides.
In the case of a James Bond movie, its famous use of titles is precisely the opposite: its gun barrel sequence, as designed by Maurice Binder for 1962’s Dr No, acts as a fanfare. Then the raucous music, vibrant colours and dancing silhouettes kick in, preparing the audience for a heightened realm of sex, intrigue and violence. The Bond films have changed much over the past 40 years, but their use of titles as a means of establishing tone and pace have remained broadly the same.

Binder continued to design Bond titles almost until his passing in 1991 – Licence To Kill was, sadly, his final contribution – and also provided memorable openings for such films as The Grass Is Greener, The Billion Dollar Brain and The Mouse That Roared, which all featured an effective collision of graphics, sound and colour.
The most famous designer of film title sequences, though, is surely Saul Bass. Having mastered the art of eye-catching poster design, Bass turned his talents to title design in the 50s, beginning with the controversial drama, The Man With The Golden Arm. Bass’ work then came to the attention of Alfred Hitchcock, who hired him to create the unforgettable sequences for North By Northwest, Vertigo and Psycho.
In each instance, Bass used typography, contrasting colours and simple shapes to remarkable effect. With little more than a few animated lines, married to Bernard Herrmann’s unforgettable theme, Bass created one of the most striking title sequences ever, and one that perfectly matched Hitchcock’s back-to-basics approach to filmmaking.
In the 90s, Martin Scorsese repeatedly employed Bass as his title sequence designer. Bass’ first, for Goodfellas, appeared to reference Psycho quite openly, with its economical use of moving type. His next, for the director’s remake of Cape Fear, used typography, colour and imagery to extraordinary effect – it may, in fact, be one of the most disturbingly understated title sequences ever made.

The Cape Fear sequence also carries echoes of what, for me, are two of Bass’ finest works in the field – his titles for Robert Aldrich’s 1955 film noir The Big Knife, and 1962’s Walk On The Wild Side. In both instances, we’re confronted with a single, striking image (the face of a grieving man in the former, a prowling black cat in the latter), beautifully framed and balanced against his carefully positioned typography. It could be argued, in fact, that these sequences are better than the films they accompany.

The influence of Bass’ simple, direct usage of type and imagery continues to be felt. The opening titles of 2010’s claustrophobic thriller, Buried, were a homage to the late master. And bringing us back almost to the present, the appropriately 60s-style titles for X-Men: First Class, designed by Simon Clowes, are a playful exploration of both Bass and Maurice Binder’s styles.
The recent use of entertaining title sequences in films like X-Men: First Class and The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo are encouraging to see because, I’d argue, they’re more important to our cinema-going experience than ever. As adverts become ever louder, longer and greater in number, and audiences often spend several minutes chattering or fiddling with mobile phones, it’s vital that some sort of tonal cushion lies between them and the feature we’ve paid to see.
Whether they’re loud and aggressive, or quiet and soothing, title sequences are the cinematic equivalent of an opening curtain in a theatre – and, as the films mentioned in this brief celebration hopefully prove, the movies simply wouldn’t be the same without them.


http://www.denofgeek.com/movies/1174230/the_importance_of_title_sequences_in_the_movies.html

What is an Obssession?

An obssession,is the domination of somebody's thoughts or feelings by a persistant person,desire or image and is linked with many different emotions such as, bitterness,infatuation,hatred and love yet can be distorted into something more sinister.

When someone is unable to think or do anything else,that doesnt concern the pinnacle of their fixation it can turn dangerous and in the case of relationships can turn to stalking. 'Love' is attempted to be bought,through a continuation of gifts and contact.

There are many types of obssessions; OCD,music,hairstyles,the internet and cleaning.


As we decided to focus on the horror genre,which is a vast area, I delved into what different sub catergories there were and where our film would be placed. Due to the stalking and obsessive nature of the antagonist,which forms our plot,our film fits into the psychological horror and personality of horror genre.

Stalking and unhealthy fixations are part of 1 in 5 womens lifetime,with only 1 in 12 stalkers being convicted of the offence and as our primary audience is women, I think they would be able to empathise and connect more with the 'heroine' of Infatuation. Despite women being the primary focus, I also hope the themes of Infatuation will help the male audience feel more emotionally connected to the protagonist as well; as an everyday person,Flo could be their younger sister,friend,girlfriend and if older,mother.

In order to give the antagonist more background, I believe he would be either a 'Resentful stalker'-who stalk purely to cause the victim fear and a 'predatory stalker',who follow their victims in preparation for an assault, usually sexual, in order to give them control and power. Although in America, statistics showed, 60% of stalkers were aged 26-40 and 51% were African American.