Main Task

For our main task we were asked to put together a 2 minute opening sequence which included the 180 degree rule (which we also used in our preliminary piece) and different edits, camera shots and angles. We had to think carefully about which genre we wanted our opening sequence to be, whilst thinking up a unique story for our opening sequence which would also meet the requirements of OCR. For the main task I am working with Maddy Page, this is because we both work well together and are able to suggest a range of ideas.

Planning
We first of all decided what genre we wanted our opening sequence to be. Once we had decided the genre of our opening sequence, we began to draw up a spider diagram of different ideas we liked and thought would be successful, this helped us to decide on which idea we liked the best and allowed us to start to develop the idea. We developed the idea by drawing up a table which had two columns (camera shots and camera angles) this made it easier for us to work out which camera shots and angles we were going to use at different parts of our opening sequence. After we were sure of what camera angles and shots we were going to use, we drew up a storyboard for our chosen idea.

This is what our storyboard looks like:

Things we need to think about

Before filming we have to think about what props we are going to use, the location we are going to film at, what sound we want to play during our opening sequence, who is going to be acting in the opening sequence and also we need to think of a time that is suitable for all of us to film.

We decided that we would film at school because the school has a isolated woods area. This area fits in perfectly with our idea and gives a extra eery effect.We thought that Dom Bennett and Becca Owen would be the best people to act in to be in our opening sequence because Becca was a Drama student and Dom was a good and reliable actor in our preliminary piece. A key thing we needed to think about was if we were going to film in daylight or at night, we decided that filming in the daylight would fit in better with our storyline, this meant we needed to film in a limited amount of time so that the lighting was the same throughout our opening sequence.

Our chosen idea's main plot:

Dom rapes and beats Becca up and then abandons her in a isolated feild, Becca struggles to get up and searches around for her phone, once she has found it she rings for help. She tries to walk off to find some help but trips over whilst Dom's voice echo's in her head.

We thought that this was a good idea, because we knew that it was easy to make thriller's look authentic with the use of make-up, eery music, lighting and isolated areas.We decided that it would be more creative and interesting if all dialog was spoken in french, this also would help to give our sequence the eery effect that we were hoping to achieve.

Films that inspired us

La Haine

The french black and white film La Haine, released in 1995, was written, co-edited and directed by Mathieu Kassovitz. The film is about 3 teenage friends and their struggle to live in the banlieues in Paris. Real footage was used for the movie, during 86-96 when riots took place. Money was an issue in producing the film, a lot of the actors weren't professional and Kassovitz used simple effects and a handheld camera. The film was recieved very well, from 14 reviews it was seen to be 100% certified fresh on RottenTomatoes.com and 8.1 stars on IMDb.

A la folie ...pas du tout

A la folie...pas du tout (He loves me ...he loves me not) is a 2002 french film which was directed by Laetitia Colombani and stars Audery Tautou. The film is about a woman who is in love with a married doctor who becomes dangerous when her attempts to make him leave his wife fall through. A la folie... pas du tout was given limited release to 23 movie theatres in North America and it was also a box office success grossing in $2,802,202 in France alone. It recieved a overall positive reception, getting a 73% fresh rating on RottenTomatoes.com.

Irreversible

The 2002 film Irreversible was edited, photographed, directed and written by Gaspar Noe and several reviewers declared it one of the most disturbing and controversial films of 2002. The film, which is in reverse-chronological order, is about a woman who is brutally raped and beaten by a stanger in a underpass, her boyfriend and ex-lover then take matters into their own hands by hiring two criminals to help to find the rapist so that they can get their revenge on him. A lot of the scenes were shot with multiple takes which were then invisibly edited together using digital processing. Irreversible holds a 56% approval at RottenTomatoes.com and the response to the film was overall very divided.

We got our idea from films such as Toy Story, Pinocchio and Small soldiers. These were films that we grew up watching and knew well. We thought that the idea of toys coming to life was quite a creative and cool idea and that it would be fun to see our own toys come to life with the use of stop-motion. Even though the films that inspired us are high budget films (unlike our low budget independent film) we hope that our opening sequence looks believable, just like Toy Story, Pinocchio and Small soldiers did.

Filming
The camera we used was a Panasonic SDR-S26. We used this camera because no-one in our group had their own camera that we could use, so we decided to borrow a school one. We were lucky to get this camera as it was quite hard to get hold of one at school (because so many people needed to borrow them). It was a relatively good camera which provided a good clear picture and was easy to use, so we were able to get the camera shots and angles we needed.

In order for our opening sequence to fit together we had to make sure we always filmed in daylight. This is because we had to film David waking up in the morning and getting ready, and it wouldn't of looked right if we filmed it when it was dark outside.This was quite difficult at first because when we would go to film after school it would still be getting dark quite early, this meant we could only film small parts of our opening sequence each day we filmed. We used Close-ups of David to show his emotions and his body language, we also used them to show the audience what David was doing, like when he opens the curtains in his bedroom. We used establishing shots and long shots of Davids house and street to show the location and the exact place the story is taking place. We also used shots and movements such as panning, tracking, mid shots, low angle shots and high angle shots, these shots allow the audience to understand exactly what is happening in our opening sequence and help to build the story.We each took it in turns to film, so we could all experience what it was like to use the camera.

Once we had filmed the first bit of our sequence, we watched it back and realised that the camera was really shakey, during our filmed work. We wern't happy with how it looked so decided as a group that we would film it again.

Props we used

The main props we used in our opening sequence were children's toys and teddy's. These were provided by individuals from our group. The toys were easy to get hold of as most of us had old toys from when we were younger or small brothers and sisters. We got a range of toys which we thought would look good in our opening sequence, such as Toy story characters (Woody and Buzz), teddy's, toys cars and soft toys. We gathered all the toys together and decided which toys we wanted to use and which ones we didn't, we wanted to focus on certain toys so it didn't look too messy(this is why we didn't include all the toys we had).




Here is a picture of the toys we decided to use.



We also used a mega sketcher as a prop, it was used at the end to display the title of our opening sequence. Stop-motion was also used at this point to make it look as if the title was being written at that exact moment, we thought ending our opening sequence like this would be a nice effect.




Costume

We used a casual costume for our opening sequence. This was because our sequence was about a boy waking up and getting ready for a normal day, so we thought that casual clothing would be the most appropriate. We felt that if we chose any other style of costume it would have stood out and made David look out of place.

Sound

We will use Diagetic sound and Non-diagetic sound in our sequence. Non-diagetic sound is usually put in when editing and is used to create an effect, background music in a film, or the sound of laughter in comedy's is a example of this. Diagetic sound is a natural sound like footsteps, breathing, a door closing, characters talking.

We have to think carefully about the Non-diagetic sound we want to play during our opening sequence. We want something which will fit in with the genre of our film, so we will narrow down a selection of songs which we think will be appropriate.

Location

Our story is set in a children's bedroom, so we had to decide as a group whos bedroom we would use. We needed to take into consideration how easy it would be for people to get to that persons house and also how authentic it would look. Two out of the four people in our group live in eye, so we thought that would be the best place to film. David was happy to let us film at his house and use his bedroom, he had a bright room and old bits from when he was younger, which helped us to make it look authentic.

We edited the picture above to give it a cartoony effect so it would fit in with our family friendly film.

This is the street David lives on. It was also where some of the filming took place.

Risk assessment

We filled in a risk assessment, so that we were aware of safety hazards and so we would know what to do if anything did happen.

Characters

We only needed one character for our story as the main feature of our opening sequence was our toys coming to life. We decided as a group that David would be the best person to act in the sequence as he acted in our preliminary and felt comfortable infront of the camera.

Editing

The software we used to edit was Sony Vegas 8. It was quite easy to use and gave us a range of edits and effects. We experimented with the different edits which helped us to decide which ones worked well with our sequence and which ones really didn't. A problem we had whilst editing was moving the stop-motion pictures we used, this was difficult because there was so many of them. Everytime we deleted or changed something we had to move all the pictures and it took up a lot of our editing time.We each took it in turns to edit and suggested things to the group which we thought would work well.

After audience feedback we decided as a group that we needed to change some of the story because the audience didn't understand exactly what was going on in the sequence. A few ideas were suggested and we sat down and drew up a new storyboard. We had to think carefully about the changes we were going to make, because we didn't want to have to change it again after we had filmed it all. Once we made the small changes to our story, we began to film again, insuring the camera wasnt shakey by using a tripod, so we wouldn't have to film it more than once.

Preliminary Task

The preliminary task is our first assignment we need to complete for our media studies coursework. Our short sequence must include someone opening a door and walking through it and also them sitting down and exchanging dialogue with a another person. These are the requirements of OCR. The preliminary task allows us to get familiar with different camera shots and angles and also allows us to practice different ways of editing. My group consists of four people; Dom, David, Maddy and me. We work well together as a group because we all have different ideas and skills which help us to make our work successful.


Planning
Once we were familiar with the different camera angles and shots, and were told what we needed to include in our preliminary, we brainstormed some ideas that we liked on a piece of paper. We decided as a group which idea we liked the most and made sure that the idea included all the requirements that were needed in order for the preliminary piece to be successful.We then began to draw up a simple storyboard, so that we knew the exact camera shots and angles we were going to use in our preliminary. Some of the camera angles and shots we decided to include in our preliminary piece were: Close up, Mid shot, Over the shoulder, Shot reverse shot, Point of view shot and Long shot.


Close-up
A close-up tightly frames a person or an object. They are standard shots used regularly with medium shots and long shots.Close-ups display the most detail and can help to show a characters emotion or body language.

Mid shot
A mid shot shows a certain part of the character in more detail, whilst still showing enough for the audience to feel as if they were looking at the whole picture.

Over the shoulder
This is when the camera is over looking someones shoulder and the back of their head is in the image too. It is commonly used when two characters are having a discussion and usually a establishing shot is used after it to help the audience to place the characters in their setting.

Shot reverse shot
A shot reverse shot is when one character is shown looking at another character and then the other character is shown looking back at the first character. The audience automatically assume that the characters are looking at each other as they are both shown facing in opposite directions.

Long shot
A long shot is a camera shot which is taken from a distance, it shows the entire object or human figure. A long shot is used to show the audience all the elements within the scene, so they understand who and what is involved and where they are located.

Point of view shot
A point of view shot is a short clip that shows what the character is looking at, which is represented through a camera. It is usually positioned between a shot of a character looking at something, and a shot showing the character's reaction.




We also had to think about what type of Genre we wanted our short film to be. There are various types of Genre categories, the main ones being: Action, Comedy, Crime, Drama, Historical, Horror, Musicals, Science fiction, War films and Westerns.




Action

Action films include high big-budget physical stunts and chases, with rescues, fights, escapes, destructive crises and non-stop motion. They usually include a 'good guy' and a 'bad guy' which are designed to create audience suspense. Die hard is a good example of a action film.


Comedy

Comedies are light-hearted plots which are designed to amuse and encourage laughter by exaggerating the situation, language, relationships and characters. The Hangover is a good example of a comedy.


Crime

Crime films are developed around the sinister actions of criminals or mobsters who steal and murder their way through life. Criminal and gangster films are often categorized as film noir or detective-mystery films, because of the similarities between the two cinematic forms. The usual suspects is a good example of a crime film.


Drama

Dramatic films are one of the largest film genres. Dramas are serious, plot-driven presentations which portray realistic characters, settings, life situations, and stories that involve intense character development and interaction. A good example of a drama is The shawshank redemption.

Historical

The Historical genre usually includes costume dramas, war films or medieval romps. Historical films often share the same elements that the adventure film genre does. They take a historical or imagined event, legendary or heroic figure, and add a outrageous setting and costumes. A good example of a historical film is saving private Ryan.

Horror

Horror films are designed to frighten the audience they often include our hidden worst fears and have a terrifying ending. Friday the 13th is a good example of a horror film.



Musicals

Musical films are cinematic forms that emphasize full-scale song and dance routines in a significant way. Musicals can also be films that are centred on different combinations of music, dance and song. Moulin Rouge is a good example of a musical.



Science fiction

Sci-fi films are often very visionary and imaginative, which usually include heroes, aliens, distant planets, villains and futuristic technology. Sci-fi films share some similarities with action films. A good example of a Science fiction film is knowing.



War films

War films show the horror and heartbreak of war, letting the audience experience what it was like in the dangerous battles. The Hurt locker is a good example of a war film.




Westerns

Westerns are said to be the major defining Genre of the Americans film industry.Westerns are one of the oldest Genres which have very recognizable plots, elements and characters such as cowboys and Indians. The good the bad and the ugly is a good example of a western film.

Match on action


In order for our preliminary piece to be successful we had to include Match on action editing. Match on action is a technique used in film editing, its a cut that connects two different views of the same action at the same moment in the movement. By matching the movement across the two shots, it seems that the motion continues uninterrupted.

The 180 degree rule

It was important that we applied the 180 degree rule whilst filming our preliminary piece.

The 180 degree rule is a basic guideline in filming that states that two characters in the same scene should ALWAYS have the same left/right relationship to each other. If the camera passes over the imaginary axis that connects the two subjects, it is called Crossing the line. The new shot from the opposite side is known as a Reverse angle. The 180 degree rule enables the audience to visually connect with unseen movement that is happening around and behind the immediate subject.

Here is a video explanation of the 180 degree rule:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdyyuqmCW14

Our final idea's main plot:

David is a patient who is waiting anxiously, at the doctor's, in the waiting room for his test results. Dom (the doctor) calls David in to get his results and gives David bad news, David leaves the room upset.

We had to think carefully about the location, costume, props and lighting we used if we wanted our opening sequence to look authentic. We decided to use a interview room in school for the Doctor's office and a long isolated corridor for the waiting room. These locations were both relatively new and modern, so they worked well in our sequence and helped it to look authentic.

It took more than one day of filming to complete our sequence so we had to make sure that both David and Dom wore the same clothes each day we filmed, in order for it to all fit together. We used chairs, a table and some paper as props, these worked effectively together and made our sequence look more realistic.

We discovered different ways of editing and picked up new skills. This allowed us to become more comfortable with editing and was good practise for our main opening sequence. We decided to overlap most of the cuts so they would fit together. This created a fade effect, which successfully linked one cut to the next. We also decided to use a black and white effect which emphasises the sad emotion and tension in our sequence.

Evaluation
I am pleased with how well our preliminary piece went. The edits, camera shots and angles we used helped our sequence to look both effective and authentic. The black and white effect emphasised the emotion and tension in our piece whilst the overlap of each clip created a faded effect, which allowed each clip to fit together. The close ups allow the viewers to understand the emotions the characters are feeling and the over the shoulder shots explain to the viewers that the characters are having a conversation whilst showing the reaction of the listening character. My group worked well together, because we all listened to and discussed suggested ideas, this is a key reason as to why our sequence went well. A weakness of our preliminary piece was the sound changes. Because we filmed at different times and in different locations some places were noisier than others, this made the link from one clip to another more obvious. We also discovered after audience feedback that it was hard to hear what the two characters were saying, so we will keep this in mind for when we work on our opening sequence, and make sure the characters speak clearer and louder.

Research Into Opening Sequences

We have been researching opening sequences in media studies, we did this by completing a detailed textual analysis for each TV drama and film opening sequence we looked at. This helped us to practice essay writing and also allowed us to get familiar with the style of writing we were comfortable with. The textual analysis we completed for each TV drama and film opening sequence identified a opening sequences main features:
-Characterisation
-Setting
-Mise en scene
-Ideology
-Music
-Soundtrack
-Lighting
-Camera shots
-Genre
-Representation

These features combined together make a opening sequence hugely effective, they allow the audience to experience suspense and help the audience to take interest in the rest of the film.

Here is a example of a textual analysis I completed for The usual suspects:

Analyse the effectiveness of the opening sequence of ‘The usual suspects’ (1995)

The opening scene of ‘The usual suspects’ is set on a boat in the middle of the night. This is clear to the audience because of the use of close-ups on different parts of the boat. The dark setting adds a sense of mystery and also shows the secretiveness of the characters. The lighting on the boat is dull with the fire helping to dimly light it, this adds eeriness and suspense as the audience are aware that anything can happen in the dark. The fire is what stands out to the audience the most, because of its bright colours, and because it appears to be the only sense of light and brightness in the opening scene. The fire emphasises danger and uneasiness, and helps the audience to conclude that the scene isn’t going to end well. By using close ups on the fire and the oil the audience can immediately see that these are key factors in the scene and again danger is represented.
The opening sequence introduces the audience to two different characters the protagonist and the antagonist. The killers identity is hidden throughout the scene as the audience never get to see his face but his gender is confirmed when we hear him speak. By using a long shot, the audience see that the killer is fully dressed in black, and is wearing a long heavy coat and a hat that helps to cover his face. This emphasises his secretiveness and fits in with the dark setting by also adding mystery and curiosity. This contrasts with the other character in the scene, who is also dressed in what appears to be a heavy coat and dark clothes, but instead his identity is confirmed when the audience hear the killer say his name ‘Keaton’. Also by using close ups on his face and effective lighting the audience get a clear picture of what he looks like and of who he is. It is clear that both characters are careless when they are seen smoking even though they are aware that there is oil surrounding them. The audience see a juxtaposition between the killers carelessness and carefulness, his carelessness is shown to the audience when he drops his cigarette knowing that the boat is going to go up in flames, and his carefulness is shown when the audience hear that he has used two shots to kill Keaton, which shows he is being careful in making sure that he has defiantly killed him.


The scene opens with the diegetic sounds of oil dripping, fire flames and matches being lit, this along with costume and setting adds a sense of danger to the film, because of the tragic outcome these things could bring if they are put together. Sound is one of the most important things in the scene, as it helps to add tension and anticipation, this is shown throughout the scene such as when the non-diegetic low pitched background music is heard. The background music quickly changes after the gun shots have been made, from a low pitched music, to a dramatic high pitched music, this adds more tension and also confirms that Keaton has been killed. The sound of the killers heavy footsteps and the loud gunshots help the audience to understand the crime genre of the film and also add uneasiness to the scene.


Towards the end of the scene all of these elements come together, which helps to make the scene hugely dramatic. The audience see the killer trying to escape from the boat, but his identity is still a mystery, he is head to toe in black and looks shadow like which helps to give the audience an uncomfortable feeling about him. The whole boat lights up when there is the explosion of the fire, the high pitched music fits in perfectly, and creates a hugely dramatic effect on the audience, leaving them shocked and surprised about what has just happened. This is an example of how effective the scene is, the effectiveness is made by making sure things such as the costume, music and lighting fit together which help to create tension, anticipation and mystery, without these fitting together, the scene would be extremely boring and less effective.