WHO ARE YOU? Official Opening Sequence

Final Thoughts

After the project, I think I was very happy and satisfied with both the process and the outcome. The AS Media Studies course has allowed me to challenge myself in producing and directing a media product, which I'm very thankful for. The knowledge I've gained throughout the journey really changed my way of viewing the media industry, and specifically their products, in a positive way. I've been able to connect with all the films that I watched after taking the course on a deeper level, which allows me to understand it better. Most importantly, the course has made a great impact on me as a person. After experiencing the process of creating a media product, specifically a film opening, I found out my passion and the career I would want to pursue. Besides, all the experience I've had helped me to broaden and improve my set of skills, allowing me to become better at every stage of the process.

Lastly, I wanted to say that I am really looking forward to the future, and to being able to create a new media product, like a music video next year, during A-Level Media Studies. I hope that all the effort I have put into this year's project will pay off and that I'm very thankful for all the opportunities that the AS Level Media Studies course has given me.

This is the end of my blog, I hope that you guys have fun viewing my journey and enjoying the whole process of the making of WHO ARE YOU?. This is the end note for the project, thank you for your attention, and see you next year, for the A Level Media Studies course. 

Best regards,

Nguyen Thuy An - Anna

Film Opening Analysis - WHO ARE YOU? (2024)

Introduction

Genre: Thriller/Mystery

Director: Anna Nguyen

Producer: Anna Nguyen

Distributed by: Namondej Productions

Synopsis: WHO ARE YOU? follows the journey of an amateur female investigator, Nadine, who suffers from dissociative identity disorder, as she agrees to investigate a murder case without realizing that she is the main suspect. 

As the story progresses, she slowly figures out the truth behind all the nightmares she has been experiencing and the altered identity that has been controlling her actions.

"Who are you?", Nadine wondered as she looked in the mirror and saw her high school self.

Film Opening Sequence

WHO ARE YOU? (2024)

Clip Duration: 02:05

Start Time: 00:00

End Time: 02:05

Analysis

    

    A title ident of the production company, Namondej Productions is seen, followed by 5 other idents of the director, screenwriter, and actors. The title ident appearing in the sequence has a hand-written font, that looks swiggly, which complements the genre thriller. It also has an effect of glitches, which may be a hint for the content of the film.

    A character is seen walking out of a classroom, towards a locker, which the audience could understand that the scene is taking place in the school’s hallway. Based on the appearance of the character, the uniform connotes that she is a high school student, according to Barthes's theory. The tone of the scene was set to be blueish and in low-key lighting, which brings in the mysteriousness and coldness of the environment. The diegetic sound of rain was heard, as a non-diegetic sound of a group of girls gossiping followed by a high-pitched sound that adds a disturbing effect for the audience.

    The sound echoes as the scene cuts to a tracking shot of a mysterious character, walking into the hallway, wearing a black hoodie from the back, which signifies that they are hiding their identity. The gossiping sound could now be inferred to be an internal diegetic sound coming from the mysterious character wearing a hoodie, which changes into an internal diegetic sound. According to Stuart Hall’s theory of stereotypes, audiences could infer that the character wearing a black hoodie could be a murderer or attempting a bad action. The choice of using a hand-held movement when revealing the back of the mystery character is to connote the unstable mentality of the character. Lightning and thunderstorms are also heard, adding further tension to the shot and introducing the character.

    

    

    A focus pull is then used from a single shot to a two-shot, when revealing that the 2 characters are spatially and temporarily in the same environment, interfering with each other’s world. The moment they interfere, a non-diegetic sound is heard to bring in the tension, alarming the audience about the upcoming event.

    

    A series of close-ups from foot level to eye level is seen, showing the shoes of the mysterious character, the hand holding an exacto knife, and the close-up revealing the identity of the character. The close-up of the knife is an alert to the audience of the upcoming potential murder that may happen, the knife is the weapon that will be used, and the character in uniform at the beginning might be the victim.

    

    The character is revealed to be a woman, with messy hair and smirks as she approaches the high school student. During this scene, we hear the constant diegetic sound of thunderstorms with lightning flashing, adding tension to the scene. We then hear a scream as the scene cuts to the 2 characters standing close to each other, and the mystery character raises her hand to attempt murder and the high school student drops her book, which is an alert to the audience about what is about to happen.

    

    A close-up of the murder situation is seen, with the murderer constantly stabbing the victim, until she stops and an extreme close-up is shown, with the knife dripping blood down, which brings in the thrilling effect for the opening sequence. Thunderstorms and lightning continue as she drops the knife, panting and breathing hard, while looking terrified, before running out of the hallway.

    

    Hand-held movement is again applied in this scene, tracking her running action, which signifies the unstable mentality of the character. There is a binary opposite between the 2 environments, the hallway that she is running out from is dark, while she is running towards a brighter environment, as Strauss suggests. This connotes that she is running away from her bad actions and leaving back all the murder scenes behind.

    

    

    

    The sequence then cuts to a close-up of the tap water, before it switches to the character washing her bloody hands. The diegetic sound of hard breathing is heard, connoting the rush and panic emotion of the character. She then looks up into the mirror, as the scene match cuts into a different character that looks similar to the first time she is revealed wearing a hoodie, but this time she is wearing a white shirt.

    High-key lighting is also applied in this scene, binary opposites to the scene in the hallway. This high-key lighting was used to create an unrealistic, dreamlike feeling. She now no longer looks rushed or scared, but just looks satisfied and smiling creepily. We could also see clearly the appearance of the character, as it is a close-up shot. She seems to have dimples and blemishes on her face, with messy hair. This could be a hint that maybe the character has 2 identities and this is the identity that attempted the murder. Glitches then occur, connoting the switches and changes between identities. High-pitch sound was also heard, adding tension and bringing disturbance to the audience.

    

    The pitch sound ends as the scene cuts to the character waking up, breathing hard, connoting that she has just been through a nightmare, which is all the events that just happened in the hallway. A close-up shot of the character captures her emotion after being through the nightmare, in which she looks very relieved that it was all a dream. A diegetic sound of a bell was heard, she then looked to the right as the camera followed her, showing the bedroom’s door.

    

    The scene then cuts to the character walking from outside to inside the frame, towards the house door, asking: “Who’s there?”. The tone of the scene also contrasts with the tone of the first scene set in the hallway, which has a warmer tone. The reason for the difference might be because she is at her house, therefore it might have more warmth than the scene in the hallway.

A small diegetic modulated sound is heard, that seems to be the beginning of the news is heard, while the scene cuts to the camera tilting down from eye level to reveal a piece of paper, that looks like a letter between the doors. She then opens the door, which the audience can infer that she is checking for the sender of the letter. The scene reveals the hallway, similar to the school’s hallway but there are no people seen. A high-pitched sound is applied once again to emphasize the feeling of confusion and afraidness of the character.

    

    The scene cuts to a panning motion of the camera, revealing that breaking news is currently playing on the TV, before a whip pan is used to capture the character's action as she walks back inside, examining the letter. Breaking news is heard to be reporting a murder case that happened in a school, yesterday’s night. A POV shot is then used so that the audience can understand what the character is currently seeing. She then opens the letter, with bold letters written in blood that read: “REVENGE” is seen.

    

    Right at this moment, the breaking news reported the victim of the case to be Joselyn Tran, 23 years old. The scene cuts to a wide shot of the character, turning to look at the TV while being shocked by what she just heard. The addition non-diegetic sound effect of tension was also used to further emphasize the piece of information that is just revealed. The same POV shot is seen as a notification sound is heard and the character receives a message from her captain, saying there is a new case and if she wants to accept it or not.

    

    

    The scene cuts to a medium-wide shot of a staircase and the character is walking up the stairs. The audience could now infer that she accepts the case and might be on her way to approach the murder scene. Based on her outfit, and the message she received in the previous shot, the audience could also understand that she might be an investigator.

    

    

    

    This is based on Stuart Hall’s theory of stereotypes that investigators typically wear a long brown coat whenever they are on a mission to investigate. A close-up shot set at a low angle then captures the shoes that she is wearing, which is exactly similar to the shoes that the murderer wore when attempting the murder during her nightmare.

    

    

    The scene cuts to a higher-angle shot, showing the character walking up, while glitches happen once again. This time, the glitch is between the character in the investigator's outfit and the character in her high school uniform. This is the confirmation that she is indeed suffering from a psychological disorder that causes her to have multiple identities.

    As she walks towards the scene, she stops immediately after seeing the murder scene. A shallow depth of field is first used, only focusing on a part of the character’s shoulder, before a focused push is applied to focus on the murder scene, which is the same as the one she saw in her nightmare. A non-diegetic sound of tension is heard, adding a surprising effect to both the character and the audience, but also bringing in the tension for the opening sequence.

    

    

    A series of close-ups is then used to capture the evidence of the murder scene, including the exacto knife covered in blood and the blood splashes on the locker. The scene also uses the effect of the camera screen, together with the non-diegetic sound of a camera clicking, connoting that the character is capturing all the pieces of evidence she saw in the scene.

    The scene then cuts to a medium close-up shot of the character, capturing her emotions of confusion, terrified, and disbelief of all the events that she has been through in a short period. Lisbet Van Zoonen’s theory of narrow ideals of beauty is also seen during the shot, where the appearance of the character looks a lot more appealing compared to the character that appeared in the mirror after the murder happened. The dark identity looked less appealing with blemishes while the normal identity looked a lot better, with her hair all in place and her face having no blemishes.

    

    

    The camera slowly zooms into her face as the title ident, WHO ARE YOU? appears. This is not only the title ident but also seems like the question that the character is asking to the identity that has been causing all the troubles and attempting the murder. The ident also has a glitching effect, regarding the protagonist's mental disorder. The sequence then ends after the title disappears and the screen fades out to black.

    

    In conclusion, WHO ARE YOU? has established its thriller genre through the use of codes and conventions such as low-key lighting, blood, and murder events. The technical and symbolic aspects of the opening sequence also complement the genre well, such as the glitches, hand-held movement, or close-up shots. The 2-minute opening sequence is also able to raise the enigmas for the audience, having them questioning the real identity of the character, the person who sent the REVENGE letter, how the protagonist solves the case, and whether or not more murder attempts may happen.

I felt like in the modern media industry, WHO ARE YOU? Is a psychological thriller that incorporates the use of dream sequences, hallucinations, a character with a potential split personality, and the layer of mystery that the character could potentially be the murderer. Regarding modern relevance, the exploration of a character with a split personality taps into the growing awareness of mental health issues, especially of what the protagonist has to go through such as school bullying. The dream sequence and blurring of reality also keep the audience guessing and create a sense of unreliability, which is frequently used in modern thriller films. Overall, WHO ARE YOU? Is a blend of established genres with a modern twist by focusing on a complex protagonist and the psychological aspects of the crime.

Post Production Log #6

📆 Date: 15.04.2024

📍 Location: Home

💻 Device: ASUS VivoBook 15

💾 Software: DaVinci Resolve

Day 1: Monday, April 15

I initially thought that I would only have 5 rough cuts but I still felt like improvements could be made after rough cut #5, therefore rough cut #6 appeared. I made these adjustments after conducting the marketplace feedback, but even before carrying out the survey and recording data, I already had a shot and scenes where I wanted to make extra improvements. The marketplace feedback however does give me some high-quality suggestions on how to improve the product further, and a few were also similar to how I thought it could be improved. 

Firstly, I wanted to enhance the look of the blood, to make it stand out to the audience for the thrilling effect and complement the convention of the thriller genre. I also wanted the blood to look different depending on the timeline flow of the sequence. During the murder scene, I intentionally adjusted the color to be brighter, stating that the blood is new, while the blood at the murder scene in the morning was a lot darker, connoting that it have been drying throughout the night. I was a lot more confident working with nodes after the previous rough cut, therefore the process of adjusting the color of the blood was quicker than I expected, which I'm happy about

I also wanted to make further adjustments to the gossiping sound that is heard at the beginning of the sequence, as I got suggestions on how I could improve it to connect it better with the flow and the context of the sequence. I decided to add some echoing effects to the sound, as well as add in a layer of high-pitch sound, that could connote the gossiping was a flashback of Anne's memory. I actually have to find different ways to add in the echo effects, as it needs to be easy to hear but not too loud that it makes the audience lose their concentration on the overall context of the scene. In the end, I felt like it turned out well, and I liked it better than the previous attempt.

Regarding the sound, I also took in the suggestions from the marketplace feedback that it was too disturbing and loud, so I adjusted all the atmospheric sound (thunderstorms and rain) as well as the dramatic sound (glitches and high-pitch) to be a bit lower, to reduce the disturbance that may affect the audience experience while watching the opening sequence. Despite my plan when having those sound effects so loud is to create a disturbance, I think that it may be too much which might be a backlash if I refuse to reduce it. Also, I decided to remove all the zooming effects to make it more professional, avoiding the chance of being viewed as an amateur product. 

In the end, the photo on the right is how the final timeline looks, I could find a way to capture all the layers of sound but it is briefly how all the footage looks when put together. Compared to the timeline at the beginning of the project, I would say that I'm proud of how far I have come and that regardless of the results, I will still be happy that I have tried my best to produce the best product for my ability. In the beginning, everything was very vague and I really didn't know where to start, but as the process progressed, I was more comfortable editing. Therefore I felt like there is always room for improvement no matter how much I have already adjusted, but considering it is my first professional media product, I would say that I'm satisfied with the outcome. 

Result: Final Cut

Please refer to Rough Cut #6 to view the evaluation.

Rough Cut #6 - Final Cut

Final

What I have tried to do

• Add in echoing effects for the gossiping sound effect
• Lower all the tension/dramatic sound effects
• Color grade the blood to make it more realistic
• Final adjustments for the final cut

Marketplace Feedback

Purpose: To record the reaction of the audience towards the technical and symbolic aspects of the WHO ARE YOU? opening sequence, as well as how interested are they in the product.

Methodology: Online survey—Google Form

Distribution Methods: individual messages

Objective: Gain 10 responses (4 professional audiences and 6 general audiences) 

Duration: 02.04.2024 - 13.04.2024

Professional Survey

General Survey

General Survey questions

Proffesional Survey questions

Professional Survey Response Data

General Survey Response Data

Takeaways

    The reason why I decided to conduct 2 different surveys for 2 groups of audiences is due to their difference in the way they react to a media product. Professional audiences are the media students, who are more familiar when asked about specific media contexts, such as technical issues like camera work and mise en scene. Therefore they will be able to give more detailed responses to my 2-minute opening sequence.

    General audiences, specifically non-media students have a different survey to fill in, which is shorter with only multiple choice questions, mainly asking about specific scenes and whether they think it works out or not. I also did not include media vocabulary in the questions, ensuring that they could easily answer the questions and give their opinions on the scene. 

Professional Audiences Reaction

   Based on the audience response, I could be confident that the conventions, technical, and symbolic aspects have successfully represented the psychological thriller genre of WHO ARE YOU?. The response that only choosing thriller was also understandable as it is the main genre and that during the 2-minute opening sequence, it might be hard to identify specifically which sub-genre of thriller it is.

    

    I was very happy to receive the response that all the conventions, technical, and symbolic aspects I have used in my product have been noticed by the audience and helped them to identify that the genre is a psychological thriller. The response also pointed out a series of different codes and conventions in my 2-minute opening sequence, including sound effects, flashing light, harsh shadow, glitchy editing, blood, close-up shot, black hoodie, and more. 

    Based on the audience's reaction on what aspect they think works well during the opening sequence. Before carrying out the research, I already had a few aspects that I personally really enjoyed, and think that it came out well. Therefore when asking this question, I wanted to know if the audience had the same thoughts as me or not. Post-production was the stage that I think worked out better than expected, and fortunately, the audience also had the same opinion as me. Besides, I also received a compliment on how well the stabbing scene was executed and I'm also very happy about it.

    After that, I also asked about which aspects would prevent WHO ARE YOU? from being viewed as a professional product. The results this time varied in different aspects, such as the continuity of the sequence, the acting of the actress, or the artificial sound effects. These are also aspects that I was skeptical about during the making of WHO ARE YOU?. However, there was one similarity that I noticed in the response is how the footage is crammed into the 2-minute time limit, and that it is not developed sufficiently enough. I have tried my best to fully convey my ideas without exceeding the time limit, therefore it does feel a bit overwhelming with content.

    

    The next section of the survey was about the technical aspects of the film's opening sequence, such as camerawork, sound effects, mise-en-scene, and editing. The overall feedback was positive and the audience seemed to like the camera work, specifically the murder scene. I also received comments on how I could reduce the use of zooming effects in a few of the shots, to avoid having my product look amateur and basic. 

    

    The sound effect was the stage that I was most proud of but at the same time, I think that it also required the most improvements. Most of the comments revolve around 2 main ideas, the first is how I could lower the high pitch of sound because it is too disturbing. The second aspect is the gossiping voice in the first scene, where I could add in the echoing effects, to create a better connection with the scene. I think this is also similar to what I was worried about and would need to be improved. 

    

    The general response to the editing was positive, even though I also got comments on improving the continuity of the sequence, specifically the transition between scenes of different color grading. I struggle a lot during the continuity editing of the process (mainly due to my computer) so it is understandable that the continuity could be further adjusted to improve the opening sequence. 

    The mise-en-scene surprisingly received positive comments from the audience because I genuinely didn't put too much effort into setting up the scenes or creating the costumes for the characters (compared to the post-production with the editing). However, I did get a comment on how I could be more creative with the appearance of the character and using makeup to enhance the dark circles or add in the scar. I personally think that this is a great idea and would definitely care more about the makeup for the next project.

    

    In the end, I asked them about their experience when watching WHO ARE YOU? and 100% of the audience responded with a positive rating, 4 and 5. Based on the response, I am confident that my product will also be well received by the general public as it has already received positive ratings from professional audiences, who specialize in the field.

    Besides, I also asked them to leave some final notes as a supporting message for me and they all help to feel more positive and optimistic about the results. Overall, I'm happy that my work is appreciated, especially by the professional audiences.

General Audiences Reaction

    In this survey, I only asked 5 questions related to a few specific scenes that I wanted to know if the audience felt like the effect worked out well. In the first question, I asked if the thunderstorms and lightning at the beginning brought in the tension or were distracting. It was a positive response that they all think does add to the tension, however, the majority stated that it is also a bit distracting. Personally, I felt like it was because the sound was too loud and it was a bit artificial, according to how the professional suggested. 

    In the next question, I asked them about the creepy scene in the bathroom, to know whether or not I had achieved the convention of the thriller genre through the use of close-ups and conveying the emotion of the character. The response was positive which I am happy about. However, I think that the main reason why the few stated that it was not that creepy was due to my choice of lighting since I chose high key lighting to create a contrast with the previous scene, which limits the thrilling effect of the scene. 

    

    I also wanted to know the audience's reaction to the use of sound effects in my 2-minute film opening sequence, therefore I asked their opinion about the scene in the bathroom and if they think the glitch sound effects bring in the tension. The majority does think that it brings in the tension and I was happy with their reaction. 

    Besides, I also asked the general audience if they could understand that the protagonist is suffering from a psychological disorder. The response was varied but the majority stated that there are a few hints but it is hard to spot. This was an understandable and expected response since the opening sequence is only 2 minutes and I also did not want to give out too much hint about the mental state that the protagonist is going through.

    

    In the end, I asked 2 questions to know their interest in watching my WHO ARE YOU? film opening sequence and a large portion stated that they are interested. 

    

    

    Furthermore, I asked them to rate on a scale of 5, how enjoyable it is watching the sequence. Despite the majority saying it was enjoyable, there is still a neutral result, which I think I would need to work on to improve the sequence and increase the interest rate of the audience.

    

    

    In conclusion, I think the overall response of the audience (both professional and general) is positive. After conducting these 2 surveys, I felt more optimistic and more confident about my 2-minute opening sequence. I've also learned the importance of marketplace feedback for researching the audience's feelings and thoughts on the product.

    For next time, I believe that it might be better to conduct the marketplace feedback not only at the end but throughout the process as it would help me to maximize engagement with the audience, leading to a better media product that meets the needs and wants of the audience. 

Question 6 - How did you integrate technologies - software, hardware and online - in this project?

Below is the presentation for my Question 6. If there are any viewing problems, please click here to visit the Canva website for a better viewing experience. 

[Question 6] How did you integrate technologies - software, hardware and online - in this project? by Anna Nguyễn Thụy An

Question 4 - How would it be distributed as a real media text?

Below is my presentation for the creative critical reflection Question 4 and in case of any viewing problems, please click here. There is a slide at the end with all the external links to any page that I have referenced in the presentation so please don't miss out on it. Enjoy!

[Question 4] How would it be distributed as a real media text? by Anna Nguyễn Thụy An