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

The first frame we chose to include from our opening sequence was an establishing shot which was one of the first shots included that expresses relevance to the plot of our sequence. This shot reveals the setting and environment in which the filming took place. The house positioned in the middle highlights isolation as no other buildings are surrounding it and it the only visible building seen. Isolation being shown in this can symbolize the characters personalities as there would be no one around to communicate with so it can give you a feel of what sort of people would be included. A mysterious feel is a sense that the audience can get from this shot due to the house being hidden by branches, the lighting of the shot and also the style of the house. The tree branches coming in from the top right hand corner is almost hiding the house illustrating secrecy and makes it seem that there is something to hide as it isn’t clear view from the camera. Each branch has an extension of smaller branches which can relate to the storyline in general on how there can be unexpected occurences as it isn’t a simple structure on what will happen in the sequence. The lighting on this shot is dark and gloomy making the opening sequence relate to the genre we chose which was psychological horror; dark colors connote death and give a mysterious atmosphere. The style of the house is old fashioned suggesting it has been there for a long time which links back to the isolation of the house as it may have been built purposely not to be around other houses. We researched the codes and conventions of opening sequences and found that the setting was what occurred in them at the beginning of each one. To follow the codes and conventions we did this which allowed the audience to get a feel of the atmosphere before we revealed any detail of information.

The second frame we chose was this shot of superimposition which consists of a gate in the background with a photo of the children’s father over the top. This shot is relevant to our opening sequence as it is starts to include detail of the storyline. We had this shot over the gate because it highlights how the father isn’t around anymore due to the fading of the photo. The way the photo is on a square piece of paper and the way it has been edited relates back to an old fashioned style which can demonstrate the past and referring back to what has happened. Behind the photo is a gate which is in lines. In opening sequences lines can connote being trapped as if someone was in a prison and were unable to get out or someone trying to hide. The smaller lines of the gate with the spikes on the top can delineate danger and this can link to the photo as it can suggest how the children’s father’s death was associated with danger. In the far background trees are seen which can still reveal isolation and it can also show that the storyline hasn’t been shown in detail yet as the shots are still outside in the open so the feel that the audience would be getting would still be vague. This shot has a flickering effect when played in the sequence which is intertextuality of ‘The others’ as in that opening sequence they have a similar shot of photos which are in a book. We chose to do intertextuality of that opening sequence because that is a horror so it relates to ours as it in the same genre category and has a similar target audience. As the area is isolated and the father has died it could suggest someone in the house having a connection with the death due to know one else being around.

The third frame we chose from our sequence was another open shot of the setting. It is a long shot with different angles of different objects included to reveal the isolation once again in the sequence. Again we see the house in the background keeping relevance to the what is going to come in the opening sequence as it is included when possible. In this shot different shapes are used such as circles and lines which can connote different aspects. In the bottom left hand corner is a tyre swing. The tyre is a circle shape which is another convention and this demonstrates how there is repeated events as it is never ending and what comes around goes around. The lines again represent how someone could be hiding and due to the shot being in a children’s play area it can relate to the danger coming from children or associating danger with the children. The tyre is attached to a chain and there is also another chain in the middle of the shot. The chain are small circles linked together meaning there is no way out of what has happened or what will happen which gives a gloomy feel and atmosphere to the audience. The children’s play area and house give a sense of normality as this portrays realism to everyday life. In the bottom right hand corner is the production company in an edgy font. We chose to use this font as is shows significance to our sequence and put the colour to white to contrast with the dark background.

The forth frame we used a was a long, low angled shot. This shot reveals a lot more of the storyline and also adding detail to what has previously been seen. The title appears in the shot which is right in the middle of the frame to express the importance of the name. We have kept the same edgy font to keep the sequence flowing without making it look out of place. The Twin is alliteration and the two t’s can represent crosses highlighting importance of religion in the family. The small cross at the end of the name also portrays this and it can represent a full stop. A full stop is used to end a sentence which can link to how the title is short yet it is important because it is the end of the sentence as you can’t add to this; it is all about the twin and no one else. Twins are two people which suggest more about the characters as twins are connected in a closer way in comparison to other siblings so the way the chains were previously used to show how the small circles are closely linked together it could be relating danger to the two children. However, the title begins with ‘the’ demonstrating how it is only focusing on one of the twins. This can reveal more depth on what the sequence is about. In the background up in the tree house we can see one of the twins. We know this is the main character because we have her on the same shot than the title. It is directing the storyline towards the twin and the audience will believe that the twin is the cause of distress to the family and is the one being secretive. This is shown by her sitting alone at the top of the tree house hidden away from the house and anyone in the house. Again we have the lines however this time we can see them a lot more clearly and the gap closer to the camera is bigger in comparison to how big it is when it is near the twin expressing how she is hiding even more because the gap where she could be seen is closing. The darkness of the frame delineates the bad things the twin has done can do in the future.

The fifth frame we used was a mid shot of the twin standing beside the pond facing towards the camera. We see a reflection of the twin in the pond highlighting how she has a split personality. The split personality could convey the good and the bad side of the character. The pond looks dark which allows her white dress to become darker expressing how the reflection is almost like someone who isn’t real telling her things she has to do otherwise she will be in danger. In contrast to this, her standing on the side in her white dress is seen a lot more clearly. This could show how she is a good character but there is something stopping her from having the nice personality that she may want. The circular shaped pond conveys danger and the bad things will never end so it could symbolize how the bad personality that she has got will never go. This is portrayed through the reflection being in the middle of the circle so there is no way of her being able to escape meaning she is unable to control herself putting not only herself in danger but also the other people around her. In this shot we can’t see her face so the expression of how she is feeling isn’t seen for the audience to know. This gives time for the audience to create their own opinions for it then to be seen by the camera panning up her afterwards. When the camera pans it is another conventions in which can have included in our sequence. This shot is positioned closer to the house which can express how the detail is going to become a lot more clearer as more information is going to revealed in depth. It will give a clear insight of the characters and the surrounding of where they are. The storyline will become more clear due to the shots slowly zooming in to certain aspects of the sequence which give out vital pieces of information for the audience to understand is what is happening.

The sixth frame we used from our opening sequence was a high angled long shot which was taken inside the house. Here more information is revealed as more characters are involved which gives more of a clear image on what the sequence is about and how the characters are as an individual. We see the mum and one of the twins sitting at the table with a newspaper and then the other twin in the background sitting on the floor. This positioning of the characters has been clearly thought out to portray emotions as we can see the mother and one of the twins communicating as the table and the other twin in the right hand corner not interacting with either of them. The way the twin is positioned makes it seem as though the other two don’t know she is there making the atmosphere more ghost like. The mother and one of the twins are looking at a newspaper which makes the mood more serious because newspapers are associated with realism as people read them to see what is happening in their area; as the father has died it could be them reflecting on his death in the paper. The way you can see the chandelier adds to how it is quite old fashioned and fits in with the theme. This challenges the conventions due to having a wire twisting round the chains holding the chandelier up. Lines represent being trapped or hidden and this is circled round the chains which is small circles linked together. These can give a variety of meanings highlighting danger in the room and in the place in which they live.

The seventh frame we chose was a shot during the POV (point of view) shot of the twin walking around the house and going upstairs into her bedroom. We chose to use this because with this shot it again shows the inside of the house however we see it from a different angle still illustrating the different shapes and patterns. During a POV shot it allows the audience to feel as though they are apart of the sequence and are in with the characters as they are all seeing the same thing together. It highlights how the characters don’t know any more information than the audience so the reaction is more likely to be similar. In this shot, close to the camera is the lines from the stairs and this can show her sneaking away where she cant be seen and hiding so that no one knows where she will go, being secretive. On the floor in between the lines is a variety of patterns. The various patterns can express the variety of personalities and twist which occur through the sequence and the mystery within the house. The candle which appears to be on the table represents the old fashioned style which the house has. This reveals more on how it is quite an old sequence due to there being no lights on showing how they don’t have electricity. With the house being shown empty it portrays isolation.

The eighth frame we chose was the shot where we have put the directors name in. Behind the name an image is shown of the newspaper which was previously shown in another shot. Following the codes and conventions in title sequences we put the directors name near the end of the sequence and to pay full attention to this we didn’t put any other text on the page. We reviewed other title sequences before we completed ours so we could see how they were done to make sure we did it right. We analysed them so we knew that the director was presented near the end of the sequence so that it was we did as it was a common occurrence. The newspaper which had already be seen conveys how the story hasn’t gone away and people are clearly still being affected by the death of the father. It can suggest that the characters aren’t over the death and aren’t sure on what to do. Behind the newspaper is open air as you can see the image of the tree. This shot was taken from the tree house which could express the shot being a POV from the twin as we have previously see the twin in the tree house. This links the death more to the twin due to this being seen in her eyes. This highlights how the news of the fathers death is out so that everyone knows about it and it cant be hidden however the twin being in the tree house is showing her hiding so this could convey guilt. The use of super imposition here demonstrates the links between objects to the storyline of our opening sequence.

The final frame we chose to do was a mid shot from the end of the opening sequence. We chose this one because it was a shot were we saw both the twins together portraying how they do have a connection. The way that the room is dark suggests they are being secretive and are hiding something which other people don’t know. You can slightly see the twins hair on each side then through the mirror you see the facial expressions from the twins. In this over the shoulder shot we see their hair in plaits. This can again represent patterns which can highlight how they are twisted and something right with them.The twin on the left is the innocent one as you can see this through the light being shown against her making it brighter and clearer to see her. This illustrates how she doesn’t need to hide away because she hasn’t done anything wrong. However, on the right the twin is less visible due to lack of light and not being in the shot as much. This delineates this twin being more secretive and an independent person because she does what she has to do. She tries to get her twin to be like her and forces her into secrecy however the twin doesn’t agree with her which distances their relationship.The way a mirror is used can show the different personalities in which the twins have because we are seeing more than one of them. This shot is similar to a shot which occurred in ‘The others’ which is also of the same genre and a sequence we have referenced to.This shot illustrates the genre being a psychological horror due to the lighting, positioning and the mood that reflects off of the twins.