Evaluation of AOTT Activity DYM

1.  Our film is a horror thriller film called Phobia. The film idea is that there are mysterious events happening in a large house where a young family are staying in. The collection of haunted dolls kill off some of the family members.

In the film opening, we introduced the setting of the house and showed a montage of objects around the house. Grid 6 is of a hand covered in blood, implying that there is a murder. The ending of the film opening focuses on the haunted dolls and informs the audience of the title of the film.

2.  We included information such as the title of the film, the director, the writer and the music composer. These are conventions of film openings. We made sure to follow codes and conventions so that our film opening was realistic and met audience expectations. We used the American Horror Story font for the titles. We also used the film title: Phobia and the lowly lit shots of the dolls in order to connote the horror genre.

3.  The titles link to the main film idea as it relates to the genre and refers to the narrative of the film. The word 'phobia' means fear and has connotations of horror and thriller. The titles' purpose is to inform the audience about the film.

4.  I expect the audience to be intrigued about the narrative of the film. By purposefully excluding the narrative in our film opening, we hoped to raise the audience's curiosity. This means that our film opening is ambiguous and unclear. By the end of the opening, the audience should be wondering 'why is there a key on the floor?' and 'what do the dolls signify?'

5.  Three things that we included in our grid that are important in the construction of an opening sequence:

• The film title - it is important that the audience know what film they are watching.
• Signifiers of the genre - the creepy dolls, the use of blood, the use of dimly lit settings and the ambiguity are examples of iconography to connote the horror genre.
• Production and cast - typically, a film opening introduces the production and cast members through the use of titles.

6.  I think that our project as a film opening is quite effective because we adhered to the codes and conventions of typical film openings. Our film opening was ambiguous and did not reveal much of the narrative. I believe that this successfully intrigues the audience and makes them want to watch the film in order to understand the significance of the visuals of blood and the dolls in the opening.

However, in hindsight, I would do some things differently. For example, we could have included an establishing shot of the haunted house in order to establish the setting. After viewing some film openings, I realised that the title of the film is usually introduced earlier on in the film opening whereas our film title is at the end. With this knowledge in mind, I would place the film title earlier on in the film opening.