DVD Cover and Comic Strip

As a group we have decided to make a dvd cover for our opening sequence. We thought that we should do this because the cover will give a clear indication about what the film will be about and also the name of the film "#Client 247" both are very important. It also links in with our cartoon/comic strip introduction to our opening sequence which is what we intended to do because it is clear to the audience that there is a comic strip theme. The comic strip at the start of the opening sequence shows that we have put a lot of effort into making this opening sequence, it also allows the audience to see the basic story line at the beginning. After several attempts on the sony vegas software we managed to show the camera almost panning across the strip and zooming in and out where we wanted to and at different speeds. It zooms in to the comic strip and dissolves into our opening shot so the audience get a sense that the story has gone into the comic strip. Here is the comic strip scott stevens made for our opening sequence...


Here is the dvd cover....
This DVD Cover allows the audience to see that this character will be important in not just the opening sequence but the rest of the film and it esatblishes him as the main character. It also has kept in line with what we intended to do in our opening sequence and show his face as little as possible and by darkening the face of this character in this DVD cover the audience aren't entirely sure what he looks like.

Main Task Update

Recently we have filmed our main opening sequence....


The filming went pretty well but it was quite windy when we got most of our shots/clips so we though that might be a problem in the editing stage but we figured we wouldbe able to mute the sound a place a music soundtrack over the top. We worked well as a team and we got all the desired shots/clips we intended on doing. The camera we used was excellent as it was easy to use and very high quality even though the battery life wasn't exceptional and caused us to worry a bit when filming our last couple of clips. We used a variety of shots, from close ups to mid shots to long shots to high angle to over the shoulder shots. We didn't film any dialogue as we thought it would break up the pace of the opening sequence. Here are some pictures from us filming...

When we went to edit the clips we had, we realised we had filmed in HD which is a bit of a problem for the computers or the sony vegas software. We managed to rectify this by rendering the clips down from HDV to AVI, but this took us a long time and put us back a little bit in terms of time for editing.

The editing stage went very well in my opinion. We manged to intergrate our comic strip theme into our opening sequence at the start which looks brilliant, we also managed to almost zoom into the comic to give the effect that the audience are going into the story. We also managed to make the clip run smoothly and also add in a few dissolves and fades which show a time change.

Action Genre Research

As we have decided to do an action film i have researched the sub genres of action....

Action Sub Genres

I got all this information on sub genres from this website http://new-actionmovie.com/action-film-genre/ and decided to use it to help in my research of genres.

"Superhero Movie

The superhero is a larger-than-life hero who stops all manner of villains and rights all manner of wrongs. Film superheroes of old were fearless and motivated only by their duty to mankind. Modern superheroes are more well-rounded and usually have an emotional wound, often a lost love, from which they continue to suffer. Iron Man 2 is and example of this subgenre.

Spy Movie
Where would we be without James Bond to save the world? The spy movie is usually focused more on the exploits of a super-intelligent man, rather than a super-strong man. The spies are usually one-step ahead of the villains, but always find their way into danger. They usually also find their way into the arms of a willing woman.

Apocalypse/Disaster Movie

Any action film featuring Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan character fits the bill here. Now the every man must battle to save the world from certain doom. In a popular twist, the every man must battle to rescue the world from the evil that has already befallen, as in I Am Legend.

Action-Adventure Movie

No one does action-adventure as well as Indiana Jones or The Mummy. These movies may feature some explosions, chases, and fights, but they’re more focused on recovering the lost item. They often feature the hero, or sometimes a ragtag band of heroes, swinging from ropes and running from danger he’s bungled into. There’s also usually a female love interest who holds her own amidst the action. Check out Green Zone and Clash of the Titans for a small sample of the genre.

Assassin Movies
Movies about assassins can also be dramas, but they’re more frequently action movies these days. These hired killers may be motivated by revenge, but more often they’re motivated by a paycheck. The movies may also involve spying, but the spying is a means to an end, not an end in itself.

Revenge Movies

Revenge movies are similar to assassin movies, in that killing the villain is the goal. In this case, the assassin is bent on vengeance and usually isn’t working for a spy agency/criminal underground/secret organization. He’s one man against the world. This winter’s The Losers fits the bill perfectly.

Cop/CrimeCops

and crime go hand-in-hand. Since cops carry guns, they’re also perfect action movie heroes. From Paris with Love wasn’t the first, and won’t be the last, in a long tradition of crime action movies.

Thrillers

Thrillers not only treat us to heart pounding action, they also include several good scares or psychological chills. Shutter Island is the latest in the line of action-thrillers.

Futuristic/Sci-Fi

The Terminator and Star Trek franchises are both perfect examples of the futuristic/sci-fi action film subgenre. Both present ample opportunities for explosions and pathos. They also present opportunities to question our current society and the direction it’s heading, without getting too heady to spoil the fun. Repo Men is an example of the darker side of sci-fi.

Family Action-Adventure

These days it’s not enough to take the kids to the movies. Now they want to be thrilled, too. National Treasure is one example of the family action movie. Unlike adult action fare, family adventure movies feature larger casts of heroes, less blood, less gunfights, less sex, less gore, and more emphasis on finding the treasure."

Opening Sequence Research

As we are filming soon, we though that it would be necessary to have a play with the camera we are using yesterday. This was very valuable because the camera had a digital effect that could potentially help us and save us a massive amount of effort in the editing stage. The effect that we stumbled across is called 'art' and it makes the picture/video look like a cartoon/comic and this would help us as we want to create a comic strip image at the start of our opening sequence. Here are the photos we took......

Some More Opening Sequence Research

The Crazies

The opening sequence of The Crazies was quite poor in my opinion. The opening sequence was basically images of fire and destruction. Although it had good use of camera angles and a good variety of camera angles which is what is needed to make a good opening sequence.


It had no substance and lacked a lot as nothing happened, yes the fire created a foreshadowing image of what is to come but thats all it created and it didnt really introduce to important opening sequence things like location, characters and plot.

I definitly didn't gain any inspiration from this opening sequence and i am not intending to use any of the camera angles or images used in this.

.....but it was a good film!

Synopsis/ Shooting Script

1. The first shot will be almost scanning over a comic/cartoon book and it will look like the camera has gone into this and this shows that we will now be going into the story in the comic/cartoon.

2. The next shot will show the one person knocking at a door furiously and trying to get in, and it will then switch to a mid shot of another person inside that house hearing the knock.

3. The next show will then show the person being chased after running through the house collecting a letter which has "#Client 247" and there will be a close up of this document.

4.The next shot will show the person who is knocking on the door peeking round the corner of house and seeing the other person coming towards him on motorbike. This will be a P.O.V. shot.

5.The next will be a long shot which will see the motorbike turn right out of the drive and the person running after him but turning left, hinting that he knows a shortcut.

6.The next shots show the runner running through tunnels and jumping over gates, these will be a mixture of close ups and mid shots but trying to disguise the runners face as much as possible.

7.The next shot will then see the motorbike speed by (long shot) and then the runner chasing after him ( mid shot).

8.The next shot will be a close up of the motorbike coming to a stop and the person getting off and running on foot.

9. The next shot will be an extreme close up of the chaser's feet.

10. the next shot will be a two person shot and we will be able to see both people in the shot, one in foreground one in background.

11. The next will be a high angle shot looking down at both runners and they jump across a river and run into separate tunnels.

12. The next shot will show both runners running through the tunnels from a ground view.

13. The next shot will be a long shot showing the guy on motorbike laying on the floor.

14.Then there will be two extreme close ups, 1 of the document lying on pavement and the other of the runner unzipping his gun bag.

15. It will cut back to the cartoon/comic effect.

Preliminary Video Photo's

Better late than never.......