Evaluation Of Preliminary Exercise

After posting the preliminary exercise 4 days ago we have had time to evaluate it, and consider what went well and what we did wrong. Firstly from this exercise I learnt how to properly use the shot/ reverse shot, and looking at the film I saw that I almost broke the 180 rule, which means when I film our final film I will know how to film the shot to make sure I do not break the rule, the way I will achieve this is by making sure that if my actors our on the right side of the screen, they need to ne looking across to the actor on the left side of the camera.

Match on action is another shot which is used in the film. In our preliminary film, the shot with the door displays our match on action, as the shot smoothly shifts from a shot of our actor approaching the door, to a close up of our actor opening the door handle. This shot was executed well and this reflects in our film, as the transition between shots are smooth.

The shot/reverse shot was another shot which was required in our 30 second film. This shot was also executed very well, as the shot was clearly identifiable when the conversation switches between the two actors in the shot, which shows the conversation from both character's perspective. A very minor improvement that could be made is the steadiness of the camera, as in our film, there are slight glitches where the camera has moved slightly which could be addressed with a steadier hand.
          
- Quinn

Preliminary Exercise - 30 Second Movie

This is our 30 second preliminary movie, we originally had different ideas on our storyboard, but in reflection we changed this, one example of this was the original shot was of just the door and then Alex walking up to it, although we did not think it worked with our next shot of Alex standing in front of the door, the reason for this being that in the original shot Alex reached out his hand towards the door handle, and in the next shot he had not, this meant we removed it for continuity purposes.
-Quinn and Jak

Synopsis of Film Introduction ( UPDATED)

The film starts by fading from black and the first thing visible is a person arriving at the location on a motorcycle, you can't see the persons face, an intriguing aspect as the character remains unknown. The camera then proceeds to film the character coming to halt and subsequently removing his helmet, however his face is still not revealed to further increase the growing tension of the opening.

Once the character his removed his helmet, the camera then follows him as he approaches the garage door, in conjunction with this, the underlying music continues to build up slowly to enhance the tension within the scene by slowly gaining pace to increase the suspense. A close up of the character reaching the handle and then opening the garage is shown. After this shot, there is an extreme close up of the characters eyes to show how he is looking around the area to ensure he hasn't been followed or to see if anything in the garage is of interest.

The character then reaches for an envelope which contains blueprints of a building. The character subsequently grabs a pen and circles the area of interest, which fuels speculation from the audience as to what's going on at the precise point in the sequence.

After this close up, the camera focuses on a laptop on a table, and the character comes into the shot rather than the camera following the character, this is to emphasise the importance of the laptop. The character then sits down at the table and opens the laptop up, and reveals a message on the screen stating that a download is complete, the characters face still isn't visible so the identity of the character or his motives remain untold, which keeps the audience intrigued and wanting to continue watching.

Then the character looks around the garage and finds a large tool and lifts it up to test its weight. Once again, the characters face remains hidden to conceal his identity throughout the sequence. After putting the object down, the character subsequently walks towards the garage exit, while remaining  very close to the camera to portray the mood in the scene.

The character then pens the garage, followed by the camera he then puts on his helmet, starts his motorcycle, then proceeds to ride away, the sequence ends at this point.

- Jak

Snatch,Skyfall and Star Trek introduction analysis-Quinn

As Jak has posted his analysis of introductions, I have now posted my analysis also, I analysed the introduction of three films: Snatch, Skyfall and Star Trek: Into Darkness. -Quinn

Analysis of film openings - Jak

Because I couldn't upload the file, I have copied the homework instead of uploading the file

                              Film Openings                    Jak Edgley

 

The first film opening I have decided to look at is The Terminator (1984). In the opening of this film, the characters aren’t introduced immediately by showing their faces, where you could put a face to the character before the film has started. Instead of this, James Cameron decides to display the characters names, and the actors who play them, after a tense, yet eerie three minute opening. This is a useful way to appeal to your target audience, because if James Cameron was targeting an audience who like to be engrossed by a film, then he has achieved this, because by not immediately revealing the identity of the characters, it creates a sense of intrigue, which subsequently engages the audience and almost forces them to pay attention to what’s happening.

By engaging the audience early, Cameron has immediately succeeded in targeting his audience, which will result in the target audience interpreting the film the way he wants them to, because he has specifically catered to their interests by creating the opening in this way, the intended audience.

 

                           How is the mood set?

 

In the opening, the mood is set straight away, with the sound used, and the colours involved.  When watching the opening of The Terminator, the audience can instantly have the assumption that the mood is an eerie, dark one. This is because the film is dark, not in terms of the content i.e. dark humour, but the actual colours themselves. The opening scene is set at night, because it’s dark, with a large aircraft patrolling an area which appears to have been decimated in some way, with absolutely no sign of life. The audience can assume that the aircraft has done this, because lasers are fired from the aircraft during the scene, but the fact that the scenery has been completely destroyed suggests that the mood within the film is certainly going to be a dark, downbeat one, however it is also eerie, because of how the sound corresponds to the mood and atmosphere from the pictures. The dark, quiet and low pitch tune in the background further emphasises the eerie mood, because the tune is monotonous, it rarely changes pitch or volume, which could be argued portrays quite a dull or boring mood, because of the repetitiveness.

                                      How is sound used?

The sound in this opening has been used effectively to accommodate the atmosphere and mood within the film itself. As briefly stated above, a dark, low pitch tune is constant throughout the opening, creating a very real sense of tension, which captivates the audience immediately, because it has caught their interest, something James Cameron would have thought of when targeting his audience. Also, the sound of the laser being fired during the opening is also particularly effective, because it immediately implies that the film is not a realistic one, it is in fact fictional or extravagant; this again shows how James Cameron has specifically targeted his audiences by including these little details, which have a lasting effect on the film, and the audience who watch it.

 

                           How is the text constructed?

The text is constructed to stand out and be noticeable. The main text of the openings, such as the actors names and the characters they play, are bold and in white. The text is accompanied by a moving blue background, which is extremely effective, because it brings the text to life, it stands out significantly more than if the background had not of been moving. The text shows a resemblance to a computer in the way it appears. It appears with a large flashing square to the left of the text, which can suggest that the film is quite futuristic, or intended to be technologically advanced.

 

                                             The Style 

The opening of the film tends to use a variety of long shots and close ups in the opening few minutes, this shows that the film is concealing information from the audience at the start, because of the effect it shows, by keeping the action at a reasonable distance. The mise-en-scene is very dark; therefore you can’t see a lot of the surroundings, which creates a sense of eeriness.

                                                 Skyfall

In the opening of Skyfall, the character names are introduced immediately, by the opening title sequence. The opening is only limited to images of the main character, James Bond himself. This shows that the film has deliberately done this, because they want to focus solely on the main character, and not wander off to less significant characters throughout the film. The action packed opening, nearly 4 minutes in length, focuses solely on Bond, and his potential troubles in the film. The target audience is an audience looking for an action film, which focuses on the main character throughout the film , usually an heroic, macho character who eventually ends up saving the day.

 

                                                Mood

The mood is set instantly. Throughout the opening, the scenes change rapidly, with action and tension progressively building up, accompanied expertly by the background music, which progressively gets livelier as the scenes continue. This is an effective method to create mood, because the way in which the scenes change so quickly, clearly indicates that a lot will be happening in this film, which instantly thinks the audience to lean towards the prospect of an action film, which is this case, is accurate. The target audience has been sighted as one that enjoys action films, while following the stories and/or adventures from the main character in the film.

 

                                                     Sound

The sound in Skyfall is used in a manner which creates tension, and also builds up the action packed content that is on the screen. The sound is quite upbeat, and is progressive, it build up in stages which promotes the feeling of tension throughout the opening sequence. This is effective in an action film, because you want your target audience to be excited and intrigued by the opening, as it makes them want to continue watching the remainder of the film, to see how the mood and atmosphere develops throughout the rest of the film.

 

                                    How text is constructed

The written text is predominantly located at the bottom of the screen, which is an ideal place to put it, because in conjunction with the moving text, the titles set up a lot of the events and images that appear later in the film, instilling a sense of déjà vu in the viewers mind, which is effective, because the audience will remember this, and will refer back to it when the film ends. The moving text is varied; sometimes it’s very bright and fiery, when on some occasions the moving text can be very dark, both ways display a different meaning which the audience will pick up on. The fiery feeling will make the audience think that either the character on screen is fired up to do something, or the mood in general is a hostile one, based on what may of happened previously. This is a huge contrast to the dark text, where this gives the impression that the mood at this specific time is a negative one, or a sad one, as the dark colours depict anger and anguish.

 

                                                     Style

The opening uses a variety of camera shots/angles which can depict many different feelings or emotions within the text. There are numerous close range shots, which indicates that the attention is solely based on one particular person or item in any given scene, which is effective as it could identify a character of interest to the audience, which they may pick up on. The mid shots are less effective; however, they usually include more than one character in these shots; which shows that there may be a sense of togetherness within a certain scene.

Right at the start, in the title sequences, the mise-en-scene includes things such as vicious, fiery dragons, which in turn creates a sense of danger, as the colours red and orange signify danger. Also the fonts used are basic, but are useful, because the whiteness of the text stands out in front of all of the bright colours, which makes the text easier to identify and read.

 

 

                                  The Incredible Hulk (2008)

In the opening of this film, the characters aren’t introduced by dialogue, they are introduced through the use of written text, which is a smart method, because it just states who the characters are, the audience will have to wait until further in the film to decide which characters have certain personalities. The target audience for this would be people who obviously enjoy Marvel films; but also people who enjoy an action film, with an unrealistic plot, almost science fiction esque.

 

                                                   Mood

The mood is instantly set through the use of dark images, which portray a sense of danger, which could coincidentally make the mood a negative one, because of the danger depicted in the opening. This is a good way of immediately showing the mood, because the audience will instantly get a perspective of the potential plot of the film, and the way on which characters subsequently react to the mood. Also the scary music adds to the mood of the film a little bit too. The way in which the music drones in a low pitch, shows how the mood is a negative one, something the audience can pick up on, even without watching any of the film or its predecessors.

 

                                     Construction of text

The written text is green, which is good, as it depicts the colour of the main character, which of course is green.  The moving text however is a variety of colours, ranging from black, to red, green and orange. The use of these colours is fairly significant because each individual colour sends a message to the audience about the atmosphere in a particular scene. Orange for example shows danger and alertness, whereas green is a nasty colour, associated with sickness and illness.

 

                                                Style

In the openings, close range shots are used brilliantly. A close up of a man’s slightly bloodied face and bloodshot eyes, widely depicts horror or terror within the film, something which is prevalent in the film.

The mise-en-scene is also used well. The backgrounds are bright, or dark which each show a different style of atmosphere within the film , such as danger or horror.

Moodboard images

  Here are a couple of images which show the creation process of our mood board - Jak

Transcript of conversation for ideas of film.

Jak: So, what should our film be like?

Quinn: I think we should do an action film.

Jak: Why's that?

Quinn: The content will be more interesting, and it would be fun to produce.

Jak: I agree, it would be very interesting to produce, in that case, what should our film be about?

Quinn: I'm not sure, how about we have our characters trapped on a desert island?

Jak: No we can't do that, it would not be practical to produce, we don't have the equipment to pull this off.

Quinn: Ok, fair enough, what do you think we should do?

 Jak: Something more practical, how about a bank heist?

Quinn: That sounds like a good idea, but how would we film this?

 Jak: How about for the start of a sequence, we have a character in a makeshift prison, reflecting on his life, and then the scene skips to the character, in a mask, outside Barclays Bank?

Quinn: Yes, that sounds perfect, we should go ahead with that!

Quinn: I had this idea earlier, but was unsure whether it would work.

Jak: It will definitely work, it was a fantastic idea, it will work brilliantly.

Quinn: What music should we include in our title sequence?

Jak: I'm not sure, what do you think?

Quinn: I think we should use some soft, reflective music at the start for when the main character reflects on his life, then the music should speed up and become more dramatic, then it suddenly stops, with the character outside of the bank, in a mask.

Jak: Sounds brilliant, but how will we create the music?

Quinn: I know someone who could assist us in that.

Jak: Who's that?

Quinn: Jack Moore is very good at music and would be willing to help us.

Jak: That will be great, we will ask him then.

Quinn: Is there anything else we need to discuss?

Jak: I think that's everytthing for now, we will discuss more ideas as we think of them.






-Jak