1. Evaluation of film
opening
Winters Killing
Jessica Hall-Egan

2. Convention
used
Did it meet its
expectations?
How was it used? Evidence
Introducing a
character
Develop
(similar, but
with changes)
I have edited the opening so that it fades in when
the characters are introduced, so that the do not
appear on the screen straight away, which would
make it look jumpy . The characters act friendly to
each other, which may be confusing at first, as its
a horror themed opening, but this helps build
anticipation for when the horror scenes begin.
Introduce
setting
Use (similar to
typical film)
I made sure I had shots of just the environment,
so that the audience could see where the film will
be set. The shots are of the snow covered forest
and pond, which helps to build an eerie
atmosphere as not many horror films are set in
the snow, mainly in houses, so this gives the
opening a twist
Titles Develop The titles fades in and stays there for about 3
seconds and then fades out, this makes it so the
audience can read it ,I used these effects to make
it more mysterious as the effect is in sync with the
back ground shots. I made the text a light red for
the titles but a dark red for the name of the film
so that it stands out and is more dramatic as it’s
the most important part of the titles.
Conventions that are used

3. Conventions
used
Did it meet its
expectations?
How was it used? Evidence
Genre Develop At the start the actors act friendly towards each
other, which may be confusing because its genre
is horror, however after a few scenes they find
the first dead body and run away, which builds
tension as to who will survive. I’ve done it this
way as it surprises the audience when the dead
body is discovered, moments after that person
is alive.
Music Use The music at the beginning is simple but
effective as it in not happy or sad, it just makes
the scene more interesting, I did this so that it
does not give away anything that happens in the
first scenes. But I made sure the music took a
more darker sadder tone for when there was a
chase scene, and for when the daughter runs
away.
Narrative Develop At the beginning there is a calm sense of
equilibrium, this is when the cast greet each
other and act friendly, however there is soon
disequilibrium as they find the first dead body
and begin to run, this completely changes the
mood which I wanted it to as it then begins to
build the genre of a horror movie.

4. Research done for other film openings
For my research that I completed before I began my film opening, I looked at many
different film opening such as ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’ and ‘Edward Scissorhands’, so that I
could get a clear picture of what genre I would like, and I eventually settled with Horror.
I chose this particular genre as I find it interesting and thrilling and thought this would be
more exciting to do rather than a romantic genre.
I then looked at films such as ‘Cabin in the woods’ but thought this was a little to much
horror, so I decided I should include a family in my opening to tone it down a bit and keep
it more friendly.
Other films I looked at include, Indiana Jones and radars of the lost ark, Scott Pilgrim vs.
the world, Batman, Pride and prejudice,
London to Brighton, The Sweeney Todd and
many more.
By looking at a variety of genres I also saw how
the made their genre work and fit into the film.

5. The shots and editing I used
I made sure to use a variety of shots through out my opening so that it remains interesting
and non-repetitive through the sequence so that the audience does not become
uninterested.
I used shots such as long shot, mid shot , close up, panning shot, point of view shots and
low angles and high angles.
I used long shots and mid shots, so that the setting could be seen and the characters from
a distance with the long shots, and with the mid shots you could see what they were
wearing.
With the use of the close ups, the audience are able to see the characters facial
expressions for example, when they find the dead body you are clearly able to see how
distraught and afraid they are.
Panning shot was used in the first few scenes to see the setting and also when the murder
makes its first appearance when they come out of the forest.
The point of view shot comes from the murderer when they look at there feet then
towards their murdered victims.
I zoomed in on some parts such as when the girl runs to the tree, this was so you could
tell where the next scene would be and where she plans on hiding.

6. How does my media project represent a particular
social groups.
The film in total does not represent much about ethnicity as I did not focus it on that,
however it does slightly focus on age and gender.
Gender can be portrayed through out the opening as you have the typical caring mother
who looks after her daughter and the father who holds her hand when she’s in danger,
this is different to many films I researched such as Lara Croft who is shown as a powerful
women who is not controlled by men, where as in my film the characters run away when
in danger even the man, who does not help out his wife when in danger just makes sure
he looks after their daughter, also stereotypically the women is normally shown as the
weak member of a group in horror films, which is shown as the first character to die is a
women.
In stead of a unattractive typical man being the murderer it is an average looking girl
instead which goes against the norm of horror films.
Age can be seen, however instead of the older women getting away just like in many
horror films it is the young daughter who manages to get away in time and not be killed,
so it shows that the adults put her first as she is weaker and younger.

7. The target audience and the media distribution it is aimed at
I aimed my media project at teenagers and young adults, as I
thought this would be more suitable and easier because being
a teenager my self means I know what type of horror films
that attracts teenagers.
I stayed away from films that are more psychological or disturbing as teenagers tend to go
for more films that involve chasing and murder such as ‘House of Wax’, this means I could
simplify my film and not involve to much gore such as scenes that involve blood.
Teenagers tend to go more to the cinema to see horrors films as the wide screen and
loudness of the films means its even more scary such as the jumpy scenes just like the
scene in my media project where the murderer jumps out at the girl from around the
tree, this is more likely to scare someone in a cinema as there is not any where else to look
but the screen, as it is too dark.
I think what would be expected from my film are chase
scenes and murder scenes which I have included, however
I did not include typical horror scenes such as a
haunted house or paranormal activity, which I don't
regret including as there are already enough films like
that already.

8. What I have learnt
Through out the process of filming all the way through to editing I have learnt many new
skills using technology.
During the editing process I was able to cut out scenes and get the footage down from five
minutes to two minutes, and with each shot I was able to edit them so that they fade in
with each other to make the film flow and not jump from each scene to the next.
I had to change many of the sound levels, as there was a lot of back ground noise, such as
birds or dogs that where in the park, this was useful as you were not able to hear the back
ground noise over the music from garage band I included.
I did not have to speed up any of the scenes as the were the right length nor did I have to
change the lighting of the scenes as we were outside the whole time during mid day which
meant we did not have to include any lighting effects.
Garage band helped make my project more suitable as with the inclusion of music I was
able to make scenes more dramatic and build tension.
I used many different songs I created so that it stayed interesting for example for my first
song in the opening scene, I included instruments such as an acoustic guitar, drum kit and
a tambourine which meant each song was different and each piece had a variety of
instruments.