Shooting Script

This task was to create a script that chronicles every shot in our opening sequence, detailing the camera work for every shot as well as showing how long each shot will last after editing. This task has allowed me to have a clearer idea of how I will film my piece by giving me more substantial and practical information from which to assist my filming sessions.

Film Plot and Synopsis

For this activity I was asked to write the synopsis of my opening sequence and reveal the general plot of the movie that follows. During this task I learned how useful it is for both myself, my production team (actors, cameraman and partner) and for my audience to release a synopsis so they can know what to expect from my title sequence. I also learned the importance of revealing the plot of the movie as it would continue from where the title sequence ends as the plot of the film will reveal  information about the title sequence that some people may not have picked up on at first glance. This task will aide me in my production as it will further show my actors what is to be expected from the sequence, which means they will be able to connect with the plot a lot more personally and give a much more fluent performance.

Character Profiles

For this task I was asked to create a mind map for each character in my opening sequence in order to give some information about the characters and also to develop their roles and personalities within the sequence. During this activity I learned how developing my characters can have a hugely positive effect on the plot of my film and it will assist my production as these mind-maps will be useful in explaining to my actors the nature of their roles, giving them a better understanding of their characters.

Font Analysis

For this task I was asked to watch a range of thriller film title sequences and make comments on the fonts of the titles used and how they are appropriate for the film..This activity was done to find out more about the font used in the titles of thriller films and what criteria should be considered when I decide the suitable font to use for my opening sequence. I learned that the font used should reflect somewhat the nature and plot of the film, which has helped me to decide the style of font that would be appropriate for my particular genre of crime-thriller.

Opening Sequence Script

This is the initial script that I wrote for out opening sequence. I wrote it as an instructional piece for our actors, camera operators and ourselves to help us film in an efficient and fluent manner when the days comes to begin practical development and begin the filming process. It can be acknowledged that there is zero dialogue, which is rather unbecoming of a movie script, but as our title sequence is going to be entirely without talking, of course, no dialogue is needed in the script. This activity helped me to understand the level of detailed needed to write a script that is based entirely on setting, camera work, movement and action rather than dialogue, which helped me think more deeply about the passage of our film; which shots will follow which shots and what the actors will be doing at each point of the sequence.

Requisite Items for Opening Sequence

In this activity I made a list of all the props and costumes that will be required to make my opening sequence, as well as all of the costumes for each characters and the technical resources, such as cameras and lighting devices, that we will also need. During this activity I discovered just how many props are needed, even for a very shot piece for cinematography, and how deeply one needs to think about the less noticeable features of a film before the engage in producing it.

Screenshots from inspirational films

In order to get a few ideas on how I should film my piece, I took screenshots from films I feel influenced by, so as to gain inspiration on lighting, mise en scene, camera angles, etc.

Codes and conventions of thriller films

Codes and Conventions of Thriller Films Presentation In this task I set out to discover what themes were mutually present in most thriller films, in order to have a better understanding of what I should use in my opening sequence to more identifiable as thriller film to my audience. During this task I learned that thriller films use race-against-time situations in order to manipulate the audience into feeling more tense whilst watching the film. I also leaned that the antagonist of such films is also generally sadistic, brutal and psychologically disturbed. 

Look at iconic directors in your chosen genre – what inspiration can you take from these directors?

One of the most iconic and inspirational directors of the thriller genre was Alfred Hitchcock, who synthesized various formulas on how to suspense within in a film, and thus creating a greater sense of thrill for the film as a whole. One of his techniques was to, when introducing a character, follow said character with the camera and add a slight variation in the music, so as to highlight said character's importance, creating a link between character and audience from which a gripping plot would follow. Similarly, Hitchcock was famous for using a technique in which he'd show us a characters reaction to seeing something just before showing us what they are reacting to, which creates a sense of enigma and consequential suspense. I found many more of his directing techniques through videos and interviews on Youtube.

 

Analysis of what directors seek to establish in opening sequences

This is a graph that I made that shows what part of a film is established in what order during the opening sequences of various thriller movies. I made this in order to help me decide what I want to reveal about my film in what order during my opening sequence, based on the orders found in other thrillers. During this activity I learned that there is no specific order that should be acknowledged when revealing information about a film during the opening sequence, as this graph clearly shows there is little correlation between the order of information establishment in these 6 films.    

Timeline of Credits in 'Dial m for Murder'

 

This is a timeline that I made after having watched the opening sequence to Alfred Hitchcock's 'Dial M for Murder', that maps the order in which the titles and film credits are shown. I did this in order to have a better understanding of when a film credit should appear and in what order they people should be credited in, so as to use a similar order for my sequence to make it appear more professional. From this activity I learned that the production/distribution company logo should appear first, followed by the name of the director.  also learned that the names of the people responsible for the mise en scene elements of the film (the makeup artists, lighting operators, set designers, etc) should be credited toward the end of the title sequence.

Initial Title Sequence Idea

Our idea for our opening sequence is to begin by showing two men dressed in retro clothing, sitting closely, drinking wine and laughing in a house. The shot would then cut to a close-up of one of the men's ears with the other man whispering suggestively into it. The two men then stand up and begin to go upstairs. At this point the shot cuts to a close up of a car wheel pulling up to the house, the shot stays on the wheel as we hear the engine turn off, the door open then close, and then sound of high heeled shoes on the pavement.  The shot then cuts back to the men in the room, laughing and continuing to drink as they begin to embrace each other. At this point there is a close-up of one of the men taking off a wedding ring. Here it can be inferred that the men are engaging in an affair. The shot  then cuts to the women who exited the car entering the house, with her face cleverly covered by household objects (lamps, door, cupboards). The woman is then seen dropping her wallet, with the shot then cutting to a close-up of the wallet open on the floor, revealing her police ID. A hand comes and picks it up. The shot then cuts to the men upstairs again, who are continuing to embrace and nearing the bed. One of them knocks a picture frame over (containing a picture of the man and his wife), which we see fall off the bedside table. The shot then quickly cuts back to the woman downstairs hearing the sound of the picture frame hitting the ground and looking up towards the bedroom whilst gripping her gun. The shots then cuts back and forth between the woman slowly going upstairs and the men in the bedroom. The rate at which the cuts take place increases, building tension until the shot cuts to a close-up of the picture frame of the floor, with a crack over the face of the husband. The shot then cuts to the woman bursting through the door, her face obscured by the shoulder of one of the men, and shooting her husband.  

Se7en keywords deconstruction

Above is an amalgamation of keywords listed on the IMDB page for the movie 'Se7en'. Each keyword stated the amount of people who found it 'relevant' to the film, so I used these figures to create a 'Wordle', with the most relevant keywords appearing in the largest font. I eliminated any of the keywords listed on the IMDB page that didn't describe any themes found within the title sequence such as 'revenge' and 'FBI agent', but kept themes such as 'death' and 'sociopath', which can be clearly inferred from the very dark, twisted and unsettling montage style opening.

Preliminary Task

This is my preliminary task; a short video of someone walking into a room and engaging in a spoken conflict with another character. For this task, I was placed in a group of 3 and was allotted the role of the cameraman, a role that I had never before undertaken. The point of this task was too both exhibit three film techniques that we had learned (match on action, shot-reverse-shot and the 180° rule) and to simply practice filming, editing and scriptwriting to some degree, though the latter to only a very minor extent.

Preliminary Task Evaluation

Preliminary Task 

For my preliminary task I was asked to go out and and film a short interaction between two characters in order to exhibit three media techniques; 'match on action', 'shot reverse shot' and 'the 180° rule'. Firstly 'match on action' is a technique in which an editor takes one shot and then cuts to another which matches the action of the first one, which allows the film to play more fluently. 'Shot reverse shot', on the other hand, is a technique where one character is seen talking to another (whose face is usually unseen), the shot then changes to show the other character talking, with the first character's face now unseen. As the two characters are shown facing opposite directions it is assumed that they are looking at one another. Finally my short interaction had to work alongside the ' the 180° rule' which is a guideline within cinematography that states that cameras must film a conversation between two characters from the same side of an imaginary axis that runs between the legs of both people involved. We use this rule in order to assure that the first character to be filmed talking is always frame right and the other is always frame left, which helps to create consistency within an interaction between two characters. 

My preliminary task involved a dispute between two female characters, with little information offered. During the making of this piece I also learned how to use 'Adobe Premier', a piece of relatively simple video-editing software that I have been assured will become very useful and significant as the course progresses. In conclusion this task helped me understand the importance of camera angle on the fluency of a film, as well as teaching me how to edit a video to a satisfactory standard. 

Demographics and Psychographics - 'American Honey'

  Demographics and Psychographics - 'American Honey'

Filmmakers have different ways of attracting the specific target audience(s) of their films through, most notably, their trailers. For example in Andrea Arnold's drama "American Honey", she includes scenes of young people dealing with their social displacement through engaging in nefarious and somewhat risky activities. This attracts the demographic of young people who may share this social displacement and wish to see people like them struggle with similar issues in a new and exciting way. 

In terms of psychographics, the trailer for "American Honey" is likely to attract the attention of the 'Reformer' as such a psychographic is known for being intellectual as well as socially aware. As this film was released at the Cannes Film festival, which is a particularly intellectual festival that has great connections to social issues. 

What Is Genre?

Genre is a type of story; a way of classifying films so that the structure of the story can be understood by the audience prior to viewing the film. If a film is categorised as a specific genre, it means that it follows a certain set of structural conventions as well as conventions of content, which establishes audience expectations.

Introduction 


My name is Benny Burcke and I'm doing AS media because I'm keen to learn about the advertising and marketing side of the film industry, as well as learning about the more specialised areas of film making such as editing and shots.