The discussion has helped me to
analyse how I should go about presenting action in the film opening and if I
would be able to get the locations I need. For example in idea 1, I would need
shots of famous buildings in different countries showing that they are
travelling the world, such as a shot of the Eiffel tower.
Furthermore, I have made a
conclusion that I would be carrying out idea 2. This is because I believe it is
easier to have access to the location as well as the actors. Carrying out idea
3 would be bit difficult as older actors would be needed, as finding out when
they are available is hard as they are busy people. However, idea 2 is simple
as I can ask members/ friends of school and family if they want to take part in
the production.
In
order to create an exciting and intriguing film opening I have decided to do
synopsis of the whole films. This way have a clear understanding what I want in
my film opening.
Idea 1- The Protector
When an agent named Sally Jones is
force to unlock her past and remembers her man of her dreams but, she soon
discovers that he is back. Daniel Thomson does not seem to recognize her and
takes her into a thrilling cat and mouse chase around the globe in order to
solve a case. As they fight and investigate together old feelings start to
creep up again. Now they both dependent on each other in order to survive.
Idea
2- Love Me Dead
It is a sunny day when a group
of highly trained teenage agents decided to hanging out. When suddenly one of them
gets shot. After four years there is only one person still mourning for his
lost. Agent Roberts has not let go of the past and is eager to find out what happened
that day. However the question is, is he really dead?
Idea
3 - Life Without You
When
you have lived out your life, you start to recall what you have done and question
if it was worth it. Retired agents, Tom and Esme, find themselves get again in
the battle field however, they are not as equipped as they used to be. When an
old enemy appears again. This time there is no escape for them.
Gives the impression of a relationship suggesting romance between the first characters.It does not necessary have to suggest a relationship between the first male and female characters. However, for the male character(s) to show interest in female character(s) connotes that the protagonist maybe a playboy nevertheless, it still foreshadows a romance with in the film.
Cat and mouse chase
It instantly connotes to the audience that the film will contain some action between characters. It could be of a guy chasing after a girl or a guy chasing a guy due to a love triangle.
Fights & Explosions
Immediately informs the audience of the film genre.
Protagonist and Antagonist
Shows that the film is an action genre, could be that the protagonist is protecting the person they care most for.
Upbeat music
Emphasizes the action sequence that may be occurring. It could also indicate to the audience how serious the action scene is. If the 'upbeat music' sounds lighter or bit comedic it could suggest that the fighting may have commenced due to love trouble. On the other hand, if the 'upbeat music' sounds heavier and serious, could indicate to the audience that this scene is high significantly for the movie.
Due
to that I do not have easy access to props, costumes and a setting to carry out
a period drama opening I have changed my choice of genre. I have decided to
carry out an action/romantic film opening. The reason why I have chosen an
action/romantic genre is that am able to have easy access to the location as
well as costumes, as it will be set in the present day.
Initially I wanted
to carry out a period drama film opening. However through researching the
convention and doing a timeline of 'Pride & Prejudice' helped me to
comprehend what is required of an period drama opening. Which to my dismay
found out that setting and costumes is the key into bring the opening to life.
One of my biggest problem was not being able to have easy access to costumes
from the 18th/19th century.
Another great
downfall was the setting, there is no doubt that England still conserve historical
buildings however, that was not the problem. The problem is that most of them
are situated outside of London, which meant that in a case of re-shooting, it
would not be easy to back to the location. Another problem was having these
place vacated (as back in the 16th there were not cars around and women dressed
in trousers) or booked which is time consuming and at times I would have had to
pay for the reservation.
Overall, what I
have notice about film openings is that many opening have a sense of ambiguity,
however they do still transmit to the audience what the film maybe about. This
informs me that a film opening is the base which will hold everything yet to
come. Furthermore, depending on the genre of the film conventions change to fit
into that particular genre. For example a convention of horror would be for the
antagonists to be chasing after the protagonist however, this convention would
not fit into a romantic drama.
A film opening in
my opinion is one of the most important and essential part of a film. A film
opening will normally include a title sequence, which will show the name of the
film as well key members in creating the film such as the cast. The reason why
I say that a film opening is important is due to that an opening establishes
numerous elements; such as the genre of the film, the target audience, the
gratification, introduction to the storyline and etc. In addition, the opening
is what must hook the viewer to watch the film rest of the film. In bedding the
title sequence in the film opening has a greater effect on the audience. This
is due to that the audience are able to perceive the cast names and, due to
that they may want to carry on watching as their favourite actor/actress are
playing in the film.
Character-Straight away
we can connote that this film is aimed at a teenage audience. As the
opening starts by focusing on a teenage girl played by Drew
Barrymore getting ready for a movie night. By establishing the
character as a teenager, teenage audience can relate to this
character as it evokes familiarity to them, as it would be perfectly
normal for a teenager to prepare for a movie night. However, within
establishing the target audience it also states the film genre,
which is horror. This is viewed through Casey Becker's (teenage girl) body
language, which ensures us that she is scared and afraid from the person
calling her. Her face is the key in telling the audience that the phone
call is not just a phone call, but it indicates the horror of the situation.
Sound-Furthermore, body language is not the only thing that gives away the
genre of the film but, it is also the use of speech. Speech in the film opening
is a key element as it helps us to understand the situation when Casey
says "what do you want?" and in reply the man on the phone says
"To see what your insides look like!" This establishes the genre
even more as what the man on the phone is sayings is alarming and foreshadows
death, which is a convention of a horror movie. In addition, right at the start
of the filming opening when 'Scream' the title of the movie appears, dramatic
sound effects are added to convey a horror genre.
While the text
'Scream' comes up the audience are able to hear a loud drum sound which may have
scared the audience already, followed by a girl screaming which
immediately is followed by a knife sound. These three different
sounds sets the mood/genre. Moreover, the sound to the home phone ringing is
very effective as the sound of the phone starts of by being an 'innocent'
sound. Later on it the sound of the phone is being portrayed as the threat as
each time it rings Casey jumps and cries.
Setting-The first
shot of the film opening is of a home phone which immediately connotes to the
audience that the first few scenes will be established in a house home. Besides
the home phone we can tell that it is set in a house as numerous of home
items are on view, such as sofas, lamp, book shelves and a television. All this
items indicate that this shot is actually taking place in the living room.
Which in the few later shots it moves into the kitchen, that's has a home vibe
to it. In my opinion I think this setting is very important and effective
as a home represents safety and comfort, which it is being contradicted as
Casey find herself being threatened in her own home. Which may start audience
to question themselves about their own safety in their homes this is due to
that the audience were able to relate their home to the film setting.
Mood-Right at the
start of the opening ( not counting the film title) we would not
guess that it is a horror as it opens up with a teenage girl answering
the phone to a 'wrong number' and later moves on to the kitchen where she
is cooking popcorn; which is a perfectly normal thing to do. Which sets the
mood as quiet and clam. However, this is not the case for the whole opening as
it gradually tension and mystery starts to be created which lifts
up the mood into a horror. This mood has been accomplish by the
strange phone calls that Casey receives constantly which as a result makes
her jumpy.
Narrative Hook-The reason why the film opening is great it as due to that the
audience are constantly kept in suspense and are maintained ambiguous
of the situation. Question such as who is he? Why her? What is so important
about her? What is he going to do next? The audience want the answer and
the only way to get them is to carry on watching. Also, the fact that later on
the film opening he turns the small talk into a deadly game, hooks the
viewer as the audience are waiting for Casey's answer.
Titles-In this film
opening there is only one title being presented, Scream. The name of the
film is the only title that is showed which can indicate that the most
important word/sound throughout the film is 'Scream' therefore, the audience
would be expecting to hear screams. The typography of the name of the
film adds even more to horror as it is placed in a black
background and coasted is in white and bloody red which highlights the
title 'Scream'
The
Hangover- Comedy
Character- In
this opening scene there are about five main character that have been established.
From the very first character comedy has been establish already. This is
through his (old man) body language as he moves his head and finger like a girl
would when chatting back. Which the audience may find it hilarious as it is not
expected for a grown man. Later into the opening we are introduced to some of
the names of the characters such as Phil and Tracy; which allows the
audience to be able to relate to the characters as having established
their names brings the characters 'to
life'. Tracy establishes comedy through her facial expression and her body
language.
The way Tracy get
up from her chair in a sudden way ,while having a serious and straight face,
which in my opinion she over does in order to convey comedy. In response
to her reaction, Phil's body language is a complete contrast to hers. As
he is all clam and does not take this situation serious compared to her.
Setting- In
my opinion I think that the setting is the key to this opening in order to
convey comedy. As there are two completely different setting established in the
opening. One of these settings is set in a very luxurious bridal room and the another
setting, what seems like a desert. The reason in having two completely
different setting is due to that it creates questions and ambiguity. My biggest
question is what in the world have they done?
I love this opening
as it makes me appreciate how beautiful nature and that it bring me a sense of
relaxation. I have to mention the thing that makes this opening wonderful is
the contrast used of colours and shades. Having different shades of red and
having a the colour back as the contrast creates a clam mood.
Fast and Furious 6-
Action/Crime/Thriller
This opening
is one of the few that keeps me on alter from the very first shot. This is due
that the audience (I) are ambiguous of scene and can't tell what really is
going on. Their facial expression is what keeps us in the dark. Which
keeps me hooked into watching the rest of the film.
Catch Me If
You Can-
Biography/Crime/Drama
The main reason why
I enjoy this film opening is that it is illustrated through drawings and
not through having actors. Having the film opening as drawings is amazing as it
is very artistic and different to the normal. What makes the film opening
outstanding is that it tells us a short story and the way everything is linked in
order to reveal credits.
Pride &
Prejudice-
Period
drama/Romance
In this opening
what grabs my attention is not really what I see but, what I hear. The piece of
music named Dawn what highlights this opening scene. What I love most is how to
sound has been editing in, as it started of as a non-dietetic sound and moves
into a dietetic sound. Which I through was a beautiful transition of sound.
On Thursday 21 November
2013 our media class attended to the B.F.I (British
Film Institute) Southbank to listen to a lecture titled 'Making Film
Opening for AS Media Studies Students' direct by Pete Fraser.At the start we were given the program for the day
(put up a pic of the program)
I thoroughly enjoyed the first part of the day as we were introduce to
the whole concept of a film opening. Pete
Fraser gave us a real insight to a film opening and how important is to
know the genre that I have chosen really well. In my opinion the best part of
first half of the day was when having the chance to ask and gain answer
directly from Simon Frame. Simon Frame is a visual effectsSpecial effectproducer and supervisor.
He is well known for taking the role as special effects supervisor for the
TV series Da Vinci's Demons -2013
Simon Frame broke it down for us on how he had created this
opening. What impresses me was that he had carried out this task the 'old'
fashion way which was to draw it on paper then transfer it digitally.
Which I found it amazing because it showed me that I didn't need high tec
equipment or high quality editing software but I just needed my imagination
In addition, the second half of the day was more to do with
what we had to do in order to carry out our film opening task. Pete Fraser had
a very helpful sildeshare up, which informed us key facts of what we should
avoid such as to sure that the typography of the titles matches with your genre of
the film opening. What I found really helpful was the four different examples
that was presented to us in the lecture. All four were awarded different grades
which indicates me straight away what I should do for my film opening as well
as how to gain as mark for my film opening.
Furthermore, we also had a Q&A with Jake Hume
who I found very interesting as someone in the audience asked "how to do
became a producer?" in reply Hume said "you start of by making your
own film" Which to me was not a really good answer as I thought he would
give a step by step 'plan' however, I understood that in media if you are
determined and creative you can become what you want to become.
Tzventan
Todorov is a Franco-Bulgarian historian and
essayist. In the year of 1969 he believed to have a theory that every
single film follows the same narrative structure. Within this theory there
is five parts:
The
Equilibrium is the state were all is as it should be, meaning that the
film starts of in a clam note.
The
Disruption is the state were a problem breaks through the equilibrium
state
The
Resolution state is were it is recognised that there is a break/disorder
by the disruption state and it able to start to find a solution
The
Restored Order state is to repair the break/disorder of the
disruption
The
New Equilibrium state is were is equilibrium is returned back and the
films ends in a clam resolved ending
Saul Bas is an
American well known in the Hollywood film industry as title designer, film
director however, Bass gains more credit for being an outstanding graphic
designer. This is due to his accomplishments such as for his deigns of
motion pictures title sequence, film posters and corporate logos, he
was awarded the Academy Award winning film-maker. Along his 40-year career,
Bass had worked with some of Hollywood's most prominent film-makers such as:
Stanley Kubrick
Sir Alfred Hitchcock
Martin Scorsese
Bass was a great
asset to the film industry as he was the person in revolutionizing how the
opening credits will be presented. Bass ensured that the opening credits
grabbed the audience's attention by making his opening title sequence eye
catching. He did this through creating poster using graphic design.
