Main Task Planning

Over the last couple of lessons 'Blob Productions' have managed to come up with a basic idea and plot for our film opening sequence. We have decided on:

• Location
  
  
• Certain Camera Angles
  
  
• Plot
  
  
• Costume
  
  
• Props
  
  
• Editing Effects
  

Plot

We have come up with a basic plot and storyline idea. We have decided to choose a mix of action and adventure genre for our openining sequence. The reason for this is because we wanted to do a chase scene and this would fit easily and well into both of the these genres. We have come with the idea that the start of opening sequence will start with a pan movement of the camera over a comic/cartoon effect picture or video and then almost move into one of the cartoon pictures and switch to normal camera images and have a 10 second ish period of establishing shots of the location we are going to be filming in. We have also decided on keeping this bit silent or having non digetic music on a quiet level in the background as this will create tension for when we cut to the chase scene. After the establishing shots we have decided to go straight into the chase scene because it will immediately entice the audience. We then follow the guy running away from behind to get the effect that the person is following him. After the on foot chase scene it will switch to the person who was running away jumping onto a dirt bike and riding off into the 'sunset' and the audience will think that he has got away but before the opening sequence ends we will put a fish eye lens onto the camera to make it look like he hasnt got away as someone is aiming at him with a gun and this will set the scene for the rest of the film.

There is some links below of where we got our ideas from

Location

The location we hope to film in is near Etton because it has nice tree lines and wide open spaces which could make the setting look sinister and creepy and also make the people in the chase look small. It also has a few tunnels and normally empty roads which could be used to show the motorbike and the person escaping.

Costume and Props

We have decided that the person chasing the other is going to have a sort of military look about him so camo/canvas trousers and big black boots. We went for this kind of look because it emphasises how powerful and scary he is hence why the other person is running.

We are a bit unsure on how to dress the other character at the moment but we are certain that he will be wearing a motorcycle helmet when on the motorbike. I think that we should go for a more casual look with this character because the chase would be unexpected so he would just be out and about walking in his normal clothes.

We have also decided to use an envelope with "#Client 247" that shows why the interceptor guy is chasing after the person to try and get that document and we have also decided to use this as the film name.

We also decided on using a snooker cue bag to make it look like the chase has a gun in the and to put it over his shoulder as he is running away because we think if we tried to show the gun then it would look a bit tacky and by 'hiding' it away it also creates mystery as the audience is forced to think about what is in the bag

Ideas for Editing Stage

As you can see, we have obviously thought deeply about this process as we have thought about it before we have even filmed anything.

We think that a cartoon/comic book effect similar to thew effect used in Sin City would be effective to start and end the sequence which you can read about in my plot section above. We also thought about creating an effect where it looks like blood is dripping down the screen like in James Bond but after a group decision we have decided against this because we don't want to insinuate that the guy running away has been shot, so the film can carry on.

We have also decided that we want to edit or camera shots so that it becomes a quick paced piece that runs smoothly and continously throughout.

We also had a discusion about what type of music we would like and we came up with fast paced music to coincide with what is happening in the opening sequence. I suggested that we use Kasabian - Club Foot because it has an eery silent start and then quickly goes into a fast paced beat which could work well with our idea but we will have to see when we get to that stage and we will all be looking for other pieces of music that could work.

At the moment the planning has been very sucessful and we are all clear about what we want film opening sequence to be like and we have already set a date to get the filming done. :D

New York

On the 3rd of Feb to the 7th of Feb i was in New York as part of an AS Media Studies Trip. While in New York we did a lot of shopping but we also had a 4 hour film masterclass on how to film,edit and even to act. Although i personally didnt learn much from the filming or the acting, i learnt a lot from the editing part so this will be of great benefit to me when i do my main opening sequence to a film. We also went on a 3 hour film tour around New York which showed us various locations that had been in films for example Peter Paker's Apparment in Spiderman. We also had a tour around the nbc studios so i got a feel for how things worked even though it was on a phenomally large scale compared to what i will be doing.

The main thing i have come back from New York with is new clothers but also new inspiration as it is the media capital of the world and you get a sense of that while your there. New York will definitly inspire me in the way i think about our film opening and i would also love to go back visit! :D

Preliminary Task Continued

After a few edits of our final clip we have completetly finished our preliminary task video! We made a couple of changes from what it was before. I came up with the idea of adding the Pink Panther theme tune into our video and the rest of the group also agreed with me. We thought that it might create an extra bit of tension and after watching it through a few times we agreed that it does this and it also gives a bit of a comic side to our clip which is added bonus because it gives the video a lighter feel to it but everyone will be able to grasp what the storyline is.


We also decided that it would be a good idea to have a credits page/screen at the end of our video. In the end we decided that a simple text shot of 'Blob Production' would be suffcient enough at this stage.

The full video can be watched underneath .... :)

EVALUATION

Overall, I feel that we worked well as a group throughout planning, filiming and editing our video. I believe that our plan was done efficiently and sufficiently which let us get on with our filming A.S.A.P.

I believe we have ticked all the boxes on the criteria therefore making a sucessful preliminary task video. We stuck to the 180 degree rule and added in match on action and put in a little bit of dialogue.

Overall, i believe that all the camera shots and movements used in our video worked well as they got the desired effect. The under the stairs shot worked excellently because it was something different to normal shots but it still managed to show Aidan walking down the stairs. The next camera shot where its a hand cam showing aidan walking down the stairs is effective because it is run into smoothly from the previous shot and it also gives off a secrecy effect because it is like the camera is not supposed to be there. The next shot used in the video is a extreme close up of a lock and a hand undoing it, this is effective because it shows the door being unlocked which enables the next camera shot to happen. A long shot follows this showing Aidan walking through the door and the camera then follows him as he goes to open the door. This is where we used match on action. We filmed Aidan opening the door from behind then showed him opening it from the side but we edited well so it runs smoothly and looks good. We then use another piece of match on action from the inside of the room this time which shows the door closing. The next shot is another close up but on a foot shaking, this gives off the desired effect which is that the person is nervous and worried about the meeting ahead. We then finish the video off with 2 over the shoulder shots, one from behind Scott and one from behind Aidan.

The Editing process went well as i believe we did it sucessfully as everything seems to flow nicely. The was a difficultly or two along the way but we managed to get round them quite easily in the end and if a difficulty like a fast forwarding action comes up again then we know how to deal with it.

Lastly i would like to thank the group.... Aidan 'chest pass' Bryan, Callum 'camera man' Ramsey and Scott 'Scoot' Stevens.

Preliminary Video is DONE!

Genre Research

Recently, i have watched a few opening sequences of films to help me and my group come up with a genre and an opening sequence, the films i have watched are :

• Dirty Harry


• The Usual Suspects
  
• Dawn of the Dead
  
• Blair Witch Project
  
• Zombieland
  
• Paranormal Activity

All of these films have action/ horror / thriller connatations and this type of genre is something i would like to try in our production. Also, these opening sequences are also very good for camera angles and movement and i have fully analysed the opening sequences of Dirty Harry and The Usual Suspects.

Dirty Harry Notes

From my research into the opening sequence of Dirty Harry i found out that both digetic and non digetic is very important and effective in an opening sequence of a film. In Dirty Harry the non digetic music is effective because it is idealogic so the audience get a sense of what is about to happen and this builds up tension. Also, digetic sound in Dirty Harry is effective i.e. the girl splashing around in the swimming pool. It is effective because it clearly shows to the audience she is in trouble and the sound of splashing exagerrates and emphasises this.
From watching Dirty Harry i have realised that mise en scene and the framing of a scene is going to be important in our own opening sequence. Don Siegel has clearly thought about where to position the camera and the actors for example obscuring the killers face.
Also i have learnt from Dirty Harry that an establishing shot in an opening sequence is very important and that you can't really have a good opening sequence without one.


Usual Suspects Notes
The opening sequence of this is very effective because it clearly establishes the setting, genre, characterisation, visual style and mood. I believe that we will need to do this in our opening sequence because the audience will need to get a feel of what to expect after the opening sequence.
Like in Dirty Harry, the camera shots create a bit of mystery about a character which i think is very effective because it leaves the audience wanting to know who the character is.
Also the music is effective in The Usual Suspects because it is ideologic and lets the audience know that something is going to happen .


Empire Reviews
I have chosen to use empire film reviews as my chosen reviewer because they are well known and usually very accurate when it comes to film reviews. All the films i have studied and/or watched recently have at least 4 star reviews which shows that i will be getting good inspiration from these films as they are 'excellent' or 'outstanding.

Zombieland ****

Dirty Harry ****

Dawn of the Dead ****

The Usual Suspects *****

The Blair Witch Project ****

Paranormal Activity ****