Sunday, 31 January 2010
Equipment list..
General
Video Camera
Tripod
Video Tape
Microphone
Props
Alcoholic Bottles
Glass
Tablet
Lighting
Costume
Little Dress
High Heels
Heavy Make-up
Ripped tights
Video Camera
Tripod
Video Tape
Microphone
Props
Alcoholic Bottles
Glass
Tablet
Lighting
Costume
Little Dress
High Heels
Heavy Make-up
Ripped tights
Scripts..
Synopsis
Our film opening "Blackout" begins with the young girl [Rose Kensington] in the woods who has clearly been doing drugs the night before and has no idea how and why she got there. It then goes on to give the impression that something or someone is following her, however the viewer does not find out who or what it is to create an element of confusion. The viewer cannot tell if she is even being followed as it may just be the effect of the drugs. To emphasise this feeling of confusion the opening includes a series of flashbacks of Rose the night before where the viewer sees her at a club drinking with friends. Later on, as she is trying to remember how and why she got there she flash's back to her drink being spiked; this then reveals to the viewer that she was on drugs but they do not know who drugged her.
Throughout the rest of the film it goes on to tell the story of Roses tragic life from then on. It tells of her kidnapp and how she becomes the slave to her kidnapper.
Script
Character
Name: Rose Kensington
Age: 19
Background: Rose comes from a rich, middle class family and lives in a large family home in the suburbs of London. She is a very outgoing individual which her family do not agree with, they despise the fact that she is out all the time with her rebelious friends partying.
Plot
[Rose is led in the woods 'passed out'.]
[She then has a flashback of the night before of her at the party.]
[She wakes up under the influence of drugs and can't understand how and why she got there.]
[She has another flashback of her dancing with friends at the party, where someone spikes her drink.]
[She looks around to see if anyone is there and hears something so begins to run away.]
[She then has her final flashback of her drinking and then the drugs taking thier effect.]
[The glass falls and smashes across the floor.]
[She trips and falls in the woods while she is running as she is looking behind her.]
[Blackout]
Our film opening "Blackout" begins with the young girl [Rose Kensington] in the woods who has clearly been doing drugs the night before and has no idea how and why she got there. It then goes on to give the impression that something or someone is following her, however the viewer does not find out who or what it is to create an element of confusion. The viewer cannot tell if she is even being followed as it may just be the effect of the drugs. To emphasise this feeling of confusion the opening includes a series of flashbacks of Rose the night before where the viewer sees her at a club drinking with friends. Later on, as she is trying to remember how and why she got there she flash's back to her drink being spiked; this then reveals to the viewer that she was on drugs but they do not know who drugged her.
Throughout the rest of the film it goes on to tell the story of Roses tragic life from then on. It tells of her kidnapp and how she becomes the slave to her kidnapper.
Script
Character
Name: Rose Kensington
Age: 19
Background: Rose comes from a rich, middle class family and lives in a large family home in the suburbs of London. She is a very outgoing individual which her family do not agree with, they despise the fact that she is out all the time with her rebelious friends partying.
Plot
[Rose is led in the woods 'passed out'.]
[She then has a flashback of the night before of her at the party.]
[She wakes up under the influence of drugs and can't understand how and why she got there.]
[She has another flashback of her dancing with friends at the party, where someone spikes her drink.]
[She looks around to see if anyone is there and hears something so begins to run away.]
[She then has her final flashback of her drinking and then the drugs taking thier effect.]
[The glass falls and smashes across the floor.]
[She trips and falls in the woods while she is running as she is looking behind her.]
[Blackout]
Saturday, 30 January 2010
Story Boards..
To begin with we created a conventional 'drawn' story board to get some of our ideas down and then to evaluate them to see what we will keep and what we will change.
This basic storyboard does incorporate most of our ideas although it is not detailed enough for us to go out and shoot our film opening. Also some of these shots we have decided aren't good enough for our final product for example the pan of our characters body that we decided to change as we thought it would be better to use a series of long shots getting closer and closer to give the impression that something is gettting closer to her. We decided to shoot some potential shots we could incorporate into our film to establish which shots would be effective and which wouldn't.
[Potential Shots]
This close up works well as it gives a lot of detail of the characters emotions so this will be effective for our film opening as we need the viewer to empathise with our character so they will want to see what happens to her. We will be using this shot as the character wakes up from her flashback.
This over the shoulder shot is framed really well however it won't create the right effect for our movie opening as the viewer is going to be kept guessing to whether there is something/someone following her or if its her mind playing tricks on her.
This high angle long shot works very well to give the impression of vulnerability. We will definitely be using high angles in our film opening as we want the viewer to know that our character is feeling scared and lonely. This shot also gives the impression she is being watched which is very effective as this is exactly the impression we want to create.
From creating our initial story board and considering all the potential shots we could incorporate in our film opening we have created this final story board which we will be using to go out and shoot our film.
Shot List
•Panning establishing shot of the woods with actress in the shot.
•Long shot of actress led on the wood floor.
•Close up of actresses face establishing she is ‘passed out’.
•Flashback long shot of a party scene.
•Close up of actresses face as she wakes up.
•Three point of view shots taken as actress gets up, filmed as if she is on drugs.
•Medium shot of actress looking around to see if she can see anyone.
•360 degree pan around actress shot from a high angle.
•Medium shot of actress looking around.
•Reverse shot of actress looking around.
•Flashback long shot of actress dancing with friends at the party.
•Close up of the drink being spiked.
•Point of view shot of actress looking around the woods.
•Reverse shot of actress as she begins to run.
•Long panning shot of actress as she runs past, filmed from a tree to give a high angle.
•Flashback medium shot of actress drinking with friends after her drink has been spiked.
•Flashback medium shot of actress feeling the effects of the drugs.
•Close up of glass falling and rolling on the table.
•Medium shot of glass falling off the table and smashing.
•Close up of actress tripping over.
•Long shot of actress tripping over.
•Blackout.
This basic storyboard does incorporate most of our ideas although it is not detailed enough for us to go out and shoot our film opening. Also some of these shots we have decided aren't good enough for our final product for example the pan of our characters body that we decided to change as we thought it would be better to use a series of long shots getting closer and closer to give the impression that something is gettting closer to her. We decided to shoot some potential shots we could incorporate into our film to establish which shots would be effective and which wouldn't.
[Potential Shots]
This close up works well as it gives a lot of detail of the characters emotions so this will be effective for our film opening as we need the viewer to empathise with our character so they will want to see what happens to her. We will be using this shot as the character wakes up from her flashback.
This over the shoulder shot is framed really well however it won't create the right effect for our movie opening as the viewer is going to be kept guessing to whether there is something/someone following her or if its her mind playing tricks on her.
This high angle long shot works very well to give the impression of vulnerability. We will definitely be using high angles in our film opening as we want the viewer to know that our character is feeling scared and lonely. This shot also gives the impression she is being watched which is very effective as this is exactly the impression we want to create.
From creating our initial story board and considering all the potential shots we could incorporate in our film opening we have created this final story board which we will be using to go out and shoot our film.
Shot List
•Panning establishing shot of the woods with actress in the shot.
•Long shot of actress led on the wood floor.
•Close up of actresses face establishing she is ‘passed out’.
•Flashback long shot of a party scene.
•Close up of actresses face as she wakes up.
•Three point of view shots taken as actress gets up, filmed as if she is on drugs.
•Medium shot of actress looking around to see if she can see anyone.
•360 degree pan around actress shot from a high angle.
•Medium shot of actress looking around.
•Reverse shot of actress looking around.
•Flashback long shot of actress dancing with friends at the party.
•Close up of the drink being spiked.
•Point of view shot of actress looking around the woods.
•Reverse shot of actress as she begins to run.
•Long panning shot of actress as she runs past, filmed from a tree to give a high angle.
•Flashback medium shot of actress drinking with friends after her drink has been spiked.
•Flashback medium shot of actress feeling the effects of the drugs.
•Close up of glass falling and rolling on the table.
•Medium shot of glass falling off the table and smashing.
•Close up of actress tripping over.
•Long shot of actress tripping over.
•Blackout.
Mind maps & Notes..
From watching and analysing the film openings in our initial research it has inspired us to come up with many different aspects we could include in our film opening. We made a mind map of these potential aspects that we could use:
Although we have come up with a range of different aspects to include in our film, we won't be using them all. We have to be decisive to make sure our film opening is successful in including the correct aspects to make the viewer want to watch more.
Disregarded Ideas
Genres..
We didnt like the idea of an action film as most action films have extremely high budgets due to the stunts performed in these films. As we have a small budget, even trying to attempt an action film would end in a disaster as we wouldn't have the money to create a huge stunt, for example a car crash. We decided against creating a comedy film as it is very difficult to create a successful comedy film due to peoples different senses of humour. It would look ridiculous if we created the film opening and nobody found it funny. We also decided against creating a chick flick as it would only appeal to females. Also chick flicks are very cliché and predictable.
Settings..
As we decided on a thriller/horror genre we have chosen to go against setting our film opening in a house, shopping mall or a theatre. This is because these settings wouldn't create the right effect for a thriller/horror film. Settings such a houses and shopping malls are too 'happy' and 'light-hearted' to set our thriller/horror film there.
Character..
We decided not to chose a male or older character for the main role as they wouldn't fit the role correctly. Our film opening needs an innocent, vulnerable character so an older person wouldnt give this effect as people would assume that they can fend for themselves. Males would also give this effect that they can fend for themselves.
Sound..
We decided against using any dialogue in our film opening, as we want to create the feeling of confusion for our viewer so they want to watch the rest of the film to see what happens.
This initial mind mapping and decision making has helped us to finalise some of our ideas for us to begin story boarding. This is what we have come up with:
The Chosen..
Genre: Thriller/Horror
Why?: We decided to chose a thriller/horror genre for our film as we thought that we could use an array of media skills whilst shooting. Also thrillers tend to have messages that they want to portray and have the most effect on an audience. This makes the genre appeal to most people.
Setting: Woods/Club
Why?: Most of the shots will be filmed in the woods, as we believe the setting will ephasise the vulnerability and fear of the character. The flash back shots will be filmed in a club, as this was the most apt setting for our character to be 'drugged'.
Character: Young female
Why?: We have chosen to cast a young female as our main character as it will create the right effect for our film opening. A young female will create a more innocent, vulnerable and petrified image, as the gender stereotype goes young women tend to be portrayed as weaker than males and more emotional.
Sound: No dialogue, great music, sound effects [foot steps/heavy breating]
Why?: The fact we have chosen to not include any dialogue is to create the impression of confusion, it enables the viewer to use their own imagination to figure out what happened to the character. We have decided to include some sound effects such as foot steps and heavy breating as it will emphasise the feeling of fear for both the viewer and the character.
Although we have come up with a range of different aspects to include in our film, we won't be using them all. We have to be decisive to make sure our film opening is successful in including the correct aspects to make the viewer want to watch more.
Disregarded Ideas
Genres..
We didnt like the idea of an action film as most action films have extremely high budgets due to the stunts performed in these films. As we have a small budget, even trying to attempt an action film would end in a disaster as we wouldn't have the money to create a huge stunt, for example a car crash. We decided against creating a comedy film as it is very difficult to create a successful comedy film due to peoples different senses of humour. It would look ridiculous if we created the film opening and nobody found it funny. We also decided against creating a chick flick as it would only appeal to females. Also chick flicks are very cliché and predictable.
Settings..
As we decided on a thriller/horror genre we have chosen to go against setting our film opening in a house, shopping mall or a theatre. This is because these settings wouldn't create the right effect for a thriller/horror film. Settings such a houses and shopping malls are too 'happy' and 'light-hearted' to set our thriller/horror film there.
Character..
We decided not to chose a male or older character for the main role as they wouldn't fit the role correctly. Our film opening needs an innocent, vulnerable character so an older person wouldnt give this effect as people would assume that they can fend for themselves. Males would also give this effect that they can fend for themselves.
Sound..
We decided against using any dialogue in our film opening, as we want to create the feeling of confusion for our viewer so they want to watch the rest of the film to see what happens.
This initial mind mapping and decision making has helped us to finalise some of our ideas for us to begin story boarding. This is what we have come up with:
The Chosen..
Genre: Thriller/Horror
Why?: We decided to chose a thriller/horror genre for our film as we thought that we could use an array of media skills whilst shooting. Also thrillers tend to have messages that they want to portray and have the most effect on an audience. This makes the genre appeal to most people.
Setting: Woods/Club
Why?: Most of the shots will be filmed in the woods, as we believe the setting will ephasise the vulnerability and fear of the character. The flash back shots will be filmed in a club, as this was the most apt setting for our character to be 'drugged'.
Character: Young female
Why?: We have chosen to cast a young female as our main character as it will create the right effect for our film opening. A young female will create a more innocent, vulnerable and petrified image, as the gender stereotype goes young women tend to be portrayed as weaker than males and more emotional.
Sound: No dialogue, great music, sound effects [foot steps/heavy breating]
Why?: The fact we have chosen to not include any dialogue is to create the impression of confusion, it enables the viewer to use their own imagination to figure out what happened to the character. We have decided to include some sound effects such as foot steps and heavy breating as it will emphasise the feeling of fear for both the viewer and the character.
The Group & Their Roles..
Our group consists of four people including:
Myself [Layla-jay Fox] that we have decided to be the director of the film as I am organised so I can organise our shooting schedule and I will be decisive about how the film should be made. I will also be organising when and where we need our equipment to make sure we can get all the filming done when we need to.
Sophie Davies that we have decided to be the main actress in our film opening as she is currently an A level drama student and therefore has experience in acting so this should make our film opening more professional.
Becky Morrish that we have decided to also be a director with myself as she is also an organised person and can help to make decisions about the making of the film.
and Finally Steve Hook that we have decided to be the main camera man as he enjoys making films on the weekends so he has experience in filming so this should also make our film opening more professional.
As a group we have decided to all take part in some of the filming so we can all get involved with the making of our film. We are also sharing the role of editor so we can all get experience in using the editing software and learn some new skills from this experience.
Myself [Layla-jay Fox] that we have decided to be the director of the film as I am organised so I can organise our shooting schedule and I will be decisive about how the film should be made. I will also be organising when and where we need our equipment to make sure we can get all the filming done when we need to.
Sophie Davies that we have decided to be the main actress in our film opening as she is currently an A level drama student and therefore has experience in acting so this should make our film opening more professional.
Becky Morrish that we have decided to also be a director with myself as she is also an organised person and can help to make decisions about the making of the film.
and Finally Steve Hook that we have decided to be the main camera man as he enjoys making films on the weekends so he has experience in filming so this should also make our film opening more professional.
As a group we have decided to all take part in some of the filming so we can all get involved with the making of our film. We are also sharing the role of editor so we can all get experience in using the editing software and learn some new skills from this experience.
Initial Research..
To begin.. I will research five film openings to get inspiration for our film opening. To do this i will watch the first two minutes of each film as this is how long our opening should be and annotate which shots they use, what music/sound they are using and the mis-en-scene in each film.
State Of Play
This 2009 thriller is directed by Kevin Macdonanld. The film is about a rising congressman and an investigative journalist that are perplexed in a case of seemingly unrelated murders. The congressman Stephan Collins, played by Ben Affleck, is they rising star of his political party. This was until his research assistant, also mistress, was brutally murdered. Her murder leads to a lot of buried secrets to come tumbling out. Investigative journalist, Cal McCaffrey, played by Oscar winning Russell Crowe, is tied between his old friendship with Stephan and his ruthless editor who assigns him to the story and demands answers.
The opening of the film begins at a slow pace with the camera just edging in on the action switching from an establishing shot to a long shot, the viewer immediately notices that it is set in the night time. This may create the connotation that something bad will happen as it is dark and mysterious. The setting, of an urban city, is established immediately through the sound of helicopters in the background and the use of the long shot to show the traffic in the city. The pace immediately changes as a man runs into an old couple in the street. He then falls into the road, the camera then follows this action using a panning tilt angling down towards the man. From then on a series of jolty shots are used as the man runs and falls trying to get away from 'something'. The shots are taken from behind the man creating the connotation that someone is following him. As he runs through the back alleys the director wanted to give the impression that something is about to happen so he chose to darken the lighting as he falls from a wall there is barley any lighting used at all. After he falls from the wall he then hides behind some oil barrels, close up shots are used to give the impression someone can see him. However, you can only partially see his face through the barrels and shadows showing that this 'person' cannot see him properly. The shots then gradually get further away from him ending with a medium shot of him crawling out from the barrels. Suddenly the man is shot dead, the sound of the gunshot is loud and prominent giving the impression that that specific moment is significant in the film. A panning tilt up towards the shooter is then used to establish who he is, however the lighting is suspicious as the background is lit subtly so the viewer is unable to see shooter in detail. This creates a mysterious element to the opening making the viewer watch the rest of the film in order to see what happens next. Throughout this film opening no dialogue is used this creates a confusing edge to the film opening as the viewer has no idea who that man is, what he is running from and why he has been shot.
I think that this film opening is very effective and that we could incorporate many aspects of this film opening in ours. I particularly like the jolty shots that are used to give the impression that someone is following this man. The gun shot is also very effective however using this in our film opening would be a disaster as we don't have the budget to create that sort of scene. I also like the variety of shots they have used it makes a very good film opening.
21, When you change the rules, you change the game.
This 2008 movie is based on the true story of MIT students who mastered the are of counting cards and took Vegas casinos for millions. The star of the film Ben Campbell, played by Jim Sturgess, is looking for a way to pay for his tuition for university and finds himself to be recruited by MIT's most gifted students in a daring plot to break Vegas. With the help of their brilliant statistics professor, played by Kevin Spacey, and in the possession with fakes IDs, intelligence and a complicated system of counting cards, Ben and his friends succeed in taking the Vegas casinos for millions.
This opening of the film is simple but effective. It consists of a number of close up shots of cards, poker chips and the poker table. Over this is a monologue of Ben talking about the phrase "winner, winner, chicken dinner" and where it came from. He then goes on to talk about his success with counting cards, he even says "I couldn't lose". Ben then states that not just anyone can count cards you have to be gifted and that he "has a gifted mind". The use of this monologue gets the viewer in the correct frame of mind for the rest of the film and enables them to begin to understand the situation that Ben is in.
I think that this film opening is effective as it is appropriate for the film. However, most of the filming used in this opening would be impossible for us to create as we wouldn't have the equipment to do so. On the other hand I think the monologue used is a great aspect that we could maybe include in our film opening as it is very useful to get the viewer to understand the situations that the character may be in.
American History X
This 1998 thriller was directed by Tony Kaye and written by David McKenna. The film unfolds through the eyes of Danny, played by Edward Furlong, whose older brother Dereck, played by Edward Norton, is seeking revenge for their fathers murder. Full of anger, Derek becomes the leader of a local white power movement. His hateful actions towards black people result in a brutal murder and lead to his imprisonment for three years. On the outside his mother Doris, played by Beverly D'Angelo, his girlfriend Stacey, played by Fairuza Balk, and his brother Danny await his release. However, little did they know that Derek is a changed man. Out of prison and ashamed of his actions in the past, he now needs to save his brother and his family from the violence he has brought to them.
The opening of this film is terrible. Despite the overall film being amazing with a heart-warming end, the opening does it no justice. It begins with a black and white shot of a beach which the credits are over. The use of large bold text makes it seem that the credits are more important than whats about to happen in the film.
I think that this film opening is not inspirational as it only uses one shot of a beach for the first two minutes of the film. I think that viewers would get bored immediately and wouldn't want to know whats about to happen.
Raging Bull
This award winning film from 1980 was directed by Martin Scorsese. It was based on the book written by Jake LeMotta and tells the story of an emotionally self-destructive boxer's journey through life, as the violence and temper that leads him to the top in the ring, destroys his life outside it. It tells the story of how when he steps into the boxing ring her obliterates his opponents and is a winner. However when he treats his family and friends in the same way, he definitely isn't the winner as he winds up in the ring alone.
The opening of this film is very similar to American History X as it is bland and has nothing going on. They have used a single black and white long shot of Jake in the ring punching the air. Almost psyching himself up ready for the film. This also has the credits over powering the shot behind it also making them look more important that the character behind them.
I think that this film opening is terrible as it wouldn't make a viewer want to watch the rest of the film. The only thing we may incorporate from this is to put the credit in shot of the opening however we will use small less overpowering text to make sure the viewer isn't distracted by the credits.
The Bank Job
This 2008 film was directed by Roger Donaldson and was inspired by an extraordinary true event, a daring bank robbery, that took place in the 70's. The film reveals an amazing back story where for once the criminals were the most innocents ones involved. The story begins when Martine offers Terry a lead on a foolproof bank hit on London's Baker street. She targeted a room that the security would be down that was full of safety deposit boxes worth millions in cash and jewelry. However, Terry and his crew do not realise the boxes also contain a treasure trove of dirty secrets in the form of photographs. Little did they know that these photographs will lead them to a deadly web of corruption.
This film opening has a lot going on for the first two minutes, however I think this works well as it is interesting to watch. It begins with a sexually orientated scene, with the very apt song by T-Rex, Get It On, playing in the background. The scene begins in the sea and lots of medium shots and close ups are used both under and above the water to convey the sexual tension of the characters involved. It then switches to them being in an assumed to be hotel room having sexual intercourse, however there is a twist to this as someone is taking photographs of them. Long shots are then used to show the man taking pictures and lots of camera sounds are added to establish that he is taking many photos of them. One reverse shot is used with the man in the foreground and the others in the background but slightly blurred suggesting that the man taking photographs is more important than what is going on in front of him. The title is then shown in order to split this sexual scene and the next scene. This then introduces the main character of the film, Terry. This scene begins with a close up of a car that tilts up to Terry and then switches to a long shot of him outside his garage. From using this tilt from the car up to him it shows his interest in the cars and how his business is important to him. The scene carries on with a conversation between him and his employee where a series of effective over the shoulder shots are used. Little dialogue is used in this film opening up until this scene where Terry has a conversation with his employee about what he is wearing to his wedding.
I think this film opening is good at interesting the viewer however there is a bit too much going on for my liking. There are various successful aspects to this opening such as the blurring effect at the beginning and the choice of song for the first scene was very good. I think we could incorporate a blurred effect in our film as I think it effective if used correctly. I also like their song choice so we will have to think very carefully about the song we are using.
State Of Play
This 2009 thriller is directed by Kevin Macdonanld. The film is about a rising congressman and an investigative journalist that are perplexed in a case of seemingly unrelated murders. The congressman Stephan Collins, played by Ben Affleck, is they rising star of his political party. This was until his research assistant, also mistress, was brutally murdered. Her murder leads to a lot of buried secrets to come tumbling out. Investigative journalist, Cal McCaffrey, played by Oscar winning Russell Crowe, is tied between his old friendship with Stephan and his ruthless editor who assigns him to the story and demands answers.
The opening of the film begins at a slow pace with the camera just edging in on the action switching from an establishing shot to a long shot, the viewer immediately notices that it is set in the night time. This may create the connotation that something bad will happen as it is dark and mysterious. The setting, of an urban city, is established immediately through the sound of helicopters in the background and the use of the long shot to show the traffic in the city. The pace immediately changes as a man runs into an old couple in the street. He then falls into the road, the camera then follows this action using a panning tilt angling down towards the man. From then on a series of jolty shots are used as the man runs and falls trying to get away from 'something'. The shots are taken from behind the man creating the connotation that someone is following him. As he runs through the back alleys the director wanted to give the impression that something is about to happen so he chose to darken the lighting as he falls from a wall there is barley any lighting used at all. After he falls from the wall he then hides behind some oil barrels, close up shots are used to give the impression someone can see him. However, you can only partially see his face through the barrels and shadows showing that this 'person' cannot see him properly. The shots then gradually get further away from him ending with a medium shot of him crawling out from the barrels. Suddenly the man is shot dead, the sound of the gunshot is loud and prominent giving the impression that that specific moment is significant in the film. A panning tilt up towards the shooter is then used to establish who he is, however the lighting is suspicious as the background is lit subtly so the viewer is unable to see shooter in detail. This creates a mysterious element to the opening making the viewer watch the rest of the film in order to see what happens next. Throughout this film opening no dialogue is used this creates a confusing edge to the film opening as the viewer has no idea who that man is, what he is running from and why he has been shot.
I think that this film opening is very effective and that we could incorporate many aspects of this film opening in ours. I particularly like the jolty shots that are used to give the impression that someone is following this man. The gun shot is also very effective however using this in our film opening would be a disaster as we don't have the budget to create that sort of scene. I also like the variety of shots they have used it makes a very good film opening.
21, When you change the rules, you change the game.
This 2008 movie is based on the true story of MIT students who mastered the are of counting cards and took Vegas casinos for millions. The star of the film Ben Campbell, played by Jim Sturgess, is looking for a way to pay for his tuition for university and finds himself to be recruited by MIT's most gifted students in a daring plot to break Vegas. With the help of their brilliant statistics professor, played by Kevin Spacey, and in the possession with fakes IDs, intelligence and a complicated system of counting cards, Ben and his friends succeed in taking the Vegas casinos for millions.
This opening of the film is simple but effective. It consists of a number of close up shots of cards, poker chips and the poker table. Over this is a monologue of Ben talking about the phrase "winner, winner, chicken dinner" and where it came from. He then goes on to talk about his success with counting cards, he even says "I couldn't lose". Ben then states that not just anyone can count cards you have to be gifted and that he "has a gifted mind". The use of this monologue gets the viewer in the correct frame of mind for the rest of the film and enables them to begin to understand the situation that Ben is in.
I think that this film opening is effective as it is appropriate for the film. However, most of the filming used in this opening would be impossible for us to create as we wouldn't have the equipment to do so. On the other hand I think the monologue used is a great aspect that we could maybe include in our film opening as it is very useful to get the viewer to understand the situations that the character may be in.
American History X
This 1998 thriller was directed by Tony Kaye and written by David McKenna. The film unfolds through the eyes of Danny, played by Edward Furlong, whose older brother Dereck, played by Edward Norton, is seeking revenge for their fathers murder. Full of anger, Derek becomes the leader of a local white power movement. His hateful actions towards black people result in a brutal murder and lead to his imprisonment for three years. On the outside his mother Doris, played by Beverly D'Angelo, his girlfriend Stacey, played by Fairuza Balk, and his brother Danny await his release. However, little did they know that Derek is a changed man. Out of prison and ashamed of his actions in the past, he now needs to save his brother and his family from the violence he has brought to them.
The opening of this film is terrible. Despite the overall film being amazing with a heart-warming end, the opening does it no justice. It begins with a black and white shot of a beach which the credits are over. The use of large bold text makes it seem that the credits are more important than whats about to happen in the film.
I think that this film opening is not inspirational as it only uses one shot of a beach for the first two minutes of the film. I think that viewers would get bored immediately and wouldn't want to know whats about to happen.
Raging Bull
This award winning film from 1980 was directed by Martin Scorsese. It was based on the book written by Jake LeMotta and tells the story of an emotionally self-destructive boxer's journey through life, as the violence and temper that leads him to the top in the ring, destroys his life outside it. It tells the story of how when he steps into the boxing ring her obliterates his opponents and is a winner. However when he treats his family and friends in the same way, he definitely isn't the winner as he winds up in the ring alone.
The opening of this film is very similar to American History X as it is bland and has nothing going on. They have used a single black and white long shot of Jake in the ring punching the air. Almost psyching himself up ready for the film. This also has the credits over powering the shot behind it also making them look more important that the character behind them.
I think that this film opening is terrible as it wouldn't make a viewer want to watch the rest of the film. The only thing we may incorporate from this is to put the credit in shot of the opening however we will use small less overpowering text to make sure the viewer isn't distracted by the credits.
The Bank Job
This 2008 film was directed by Roger Donaldson and was inspired by an extraordinary true event, a daring bank robbery, that took place in the 70's. The film reveals an amazing back story where for once the criminals were the most innocents ones involved. The story begins when Martine offers Terry a lead on a foolproof bank hit on London's Baker street. She targeted a room that the security would be down that was full of safety deposit boxes worth millions in cash and jewelry. However, Terry and his crew do not realise the boxes also contain a treasure trove of dirty secrets in the form of photographs. Little did they know that these photographs will lead them to a deadly web of corruption.
This film opening has a lot going on for the first two minutes, however I think this works well as it is interesting to watch. It begins with a sexually orientated scene, with the very apt song by T-Rex, Get It On, playing in the background. The scene begins in the sea and lots of medium shots and close ups are used both under and above the water to convey the sexual tension of the characters involved. It then switches to them being in an assumed to be hotel room having sexual intercourse, however there is a twist to this as someone is taking photographs of them. Long shots are then used to show the man taking pictures and lots of camera sounds are added to establish that he is taking many photos of them. One reverse shot is used with the man in the foreground and the others in the background but slightly blurred suggesting that the man taking photographs is more important than what is going on in front of him. The title is then shown in order to split this sexual scene and the next scene. This then introduces the main character of the film, Terry. This scene begins with a close up of a car that tilts up to Terry and then switches to a long shot of him outside his garage. From using this tilt from the car up to him it shows his interest in the cars and how his business is important to him. The scene carries on with a conversation between him and his employee where a series of effective over the shoulder shots are used. Little dialogue is used in this film opening up until this scene where Terry has a conversation with his employee about what he is wearing to his wedding.
I think this film opening is good at interesting the viewer however there is a bit too much going on for my liking. There are various successful aspects to this opening such as the blurring effect at the beginning and the choice of song for the first scene was very good. I think we could incorporate a blurred effect in our film as I think it effective if used correctly. I also like their song choice so we will have to think very carefully about the song we are using.
The Introducion..
The task I have been given is to create a film opening lasting two minutes.
[Specification]
All video and audio must be original, although music and audio effects must come be copy-right free. The task may be done as an individual or a a group with a maximum of four members.
In order to complete this task I have decided to joined a group of four people, as I believe being in a group has the advantage of different opinions and ideas which can come together to create a great film opening. As a group we will come up with many different ideas and aspects that we could include in this film opening and also complete some research into different films that can inspire us to come up with our final product.
[Specification]
All video and audio must be original, although music and audio effects must come be copy-right free. The task may be done as an individual or a a group with a maximum of four members.
In order to complete this task I have decided to joined a group of four people, as I believe being in a group has the advantage of different opinions and ideas which can come together to create a great film opening. As a group we will come up with many different ideas and aspects that we could include in this film opening and also complete some research into different films that can inspire us to come up with our final product.
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