ReSearch
In order to create a sufficient film opening for our main task, it was essential to do some research about our chosen film genre. As our film genre was a hybrid of action and crime, we had chosen the atypical Hollywood blockbuster films to analyse as they are of course the most successful. In contrary to the limited concessions that we were obliged to follow in the preliminary task our main task was open to creativity which gives us a chance to experiment with different camera effects, shots, angles and movements.
we decided to analyse the opening of the film colombiana, and it gave us some ideas of ways in which we could improve our camera skills.
we decided to analyse the opening of the film colombiana, and it gave us some ideas of ways in which we could improve our camera skills.
Another clip which was extremely helpful was the from the opening scene of 'All Things to All Men'
Amongst all the openings we had watched and analysed, all of these had given us the complete realisation that low-budget simplicity is the key (partially by default). As of course we didn't have the funds to rent a helicopter and fly across London just so our location would be obvious to the audience, we decided to still input the same idea of making the location and setting clear to the audience in less costly ways. As this was a common feature of all the openings we had watched. where they had also introduced us to our protagonists by at least the end of the opening scene, which we would also take in to consideration whilst planning our film opening.
matrix- detailed analysis
camera work
![Picture](/uploads/2/3/7/4/23747718/1393618882.jpg)
This obscure low angle shot shown in this scene was very interesting as it inspired us when planning our opening to use unusual camera positions as it would fit in with the Assessment criteria in terms of having a creative film opening.
![Picture](/uploads/2/3/7/4/23747718/1394099115.jpg)
Although the main character or their movement, is not the focus of the shot, is still shows them in the shot, yet further away. using a shot similar to this would help in making the person who is the focus of the shot, more noticeable, and as they are closer to the camera, also their facial expressions would be more obvious.
![Picture](/uploads/2/3/7/4/23747718/1394099069.jpg)
This shot shows a tracking movement. It shows that it's better to track whilst you're able to see most of your characters body in the shot. which was something that we'd have to keep in mind whilst filming. tracking is only done for a short period of time, to give space for other shot varieties, so timing it properly is key.
lighting
![Picture](/uploads/2/3/7/4/23747718/1394099094.jpg)
To add to the element of mystery this scene is filmed at night, with very low key/chiaroscuro lighting. It also fits in with idea of the scene as it isn't very logical to have an intense chase scene during the day time.
mise-en-scene
![Picture](/uploads/2/3/7/4/23747718/1394099139.jpg)
Although it's probably one of the most uncomfortable things to wear whilst running, men are dressed smartly, in suits. which had influenced the idea of the costume for our protagonists in our opening. we didn't intend on having any women in our opening scene so I needn't analyse their appearance.
![Picture](/uploads/2/3/7/4/23747718/1394099212.jpg)
The setting was very underground, suburban and filmed mostly on small side roads and abandoned buildings as if you were to film on main streets with loads of people, it would be hard to focus on your own characters amongst all the crowds. Also, a chase scene shouldn't be done around a lot of people as it would attract unwanted attention and it would look unrealistic and very staged if you were to have a chase scene where there were crowds of people continuing with their daily activities in the midst of your chase.
editing
![Picture](/uploads/2/3/7/4/23747718/1394099243.jpg)
slow motion was used a lot to emphasise on certain movements. like massive jumps or flips. Matrix is a movie which is known for using slow motion, because the characters can do cool stuff, like dodge bullets. which meant that we wouldn't use slow motion as much because our characters are not as cool.
![Picture](/uploads/2/3/7/4/23747718/1394099268.jpg)
Although there were a lot of cuts, as it is a fast paced chase scene, there was still the idea of continuity. The cuts were not obvious and they were very smooth. making it very easy to follow. It still balanced the idea of having lots of cuts but not making it look like a film trailer.
Film Openings- alisha mehta
Trainspotting - The opening scene for this movie includes a chase scene around London. This movie is similar to our groups film opening because it involves crime and action. In chase scenes the camera has to follow the actors however, if the camera did not move along with the actors, still shots would have to be used. We did not want to keep the camera constantly still as it would mean we would have to use long takes in each shot and I think that chase scenes should be fast to keep up with the pace of the actors running. Furthermore, this opening included camera shots that were hand held which followed the actors. By watching this we thought of many different shots we could use which were creative and effective for example a shot that consisted of Renton running towards the camera but the camera was still moving backwards. Even though our chase scene would be completely different plot-wise there are many examples of effective editing in this clip which could help our group with our own opening.
![Picture](/uploads/2/3/7/4/23747718/4802440.png)
Firstly, in the
opening scene, the audience sees Renton running. We see the anti-hero's legs at
a low angle shot running towards the target. We found this shot particulary
interetsing because it's as if the camera is also chasing the character.
However, no camera man could run while laying down so I'm guessing that the shot
was caputered on a tracker or someone running with the camera on a tripod. This
shot implies that there will be an upcoming chase scene and it allows the
audience to guess what is going to happen next. Renton is also narrating
throughout the scene. Furthermore, we thought that this would be effective to
use in our own chase scene as it gives the audience a primary idea of the
narrative of the rest of the film.
opening scene, the audience sees Renton running. We see the anti-hero's legs at
a low angle shot running towards the target. We found this shot particulary
interetsing because it's as if the camera is also chasing the character.
However, no camera man could run while laying down so I'm guessing that the shot
was caputered on a tracker or someone running with the camera on a tripod. This
shot implies that there will be an upcoming chase scene and it allows the
audience to guess what is going to happen next. Renton is also narrating
throughout the scene. Furthermore, we thought that this would be effective to
use in our own chase scene as it gives the audience a primary idea of the
narrative of the rest of the film.
![Picture](/uploads/2/3/7/4/23747718/8206283.png)
One long shot stood out to me especially. The long shot shows the distance
between the two victims of the chase scene (the chaser and the character being
chased). This creates tension for the audience because it allows the audience to
ask themselves the question: Will he get caught? Before you can see this the
scene jumpcuts on to another characters situation. I like this scene because it
puts the audience on edge and then quickly changes.
between the two victims of the chase scene (the chaser and the character being
chased). This creates tension for the audience because it allows the audience to
ask themselves the question: Will he get caught? Before you can see this the
scene jumpcuts on to another characters situation. I like this scene because it
puts the audience on edge and then quickly changes.
![Picture](/uploads/2/3/7/4/23747718/1576159.png)
The close ups on Renton's face are incredibly important as they portray the
characters emotions and facial expressions. Also, it gives you brief images of
the surroundings - Urban England. The location itself plays a massive part on
the audience as it gives away a lot of the narrative. For example, in this scene
it shows that the characters live in an urban area in London which has a lot of
drug use and violence. The location shows this as there are many shots which
involve dirty streets and tacky houses.
characters emotions and facial expressions. Also, it gives you brief images of
the surroundings - Urban England. The location itself plays a massive part on
the audience as it gives away a lot of the narrative. For example, in this scene
it shows that the characters live in an urban area in London which has a lot of
drug use and violence. The location shows this as there are many shots which
involve dirty streets and tacky houses.
![Picture](/uploads/2/3/7/4/23747718/7714455.png)
Also, this mid shot of Renton shows that he doesn't really care about his
appearance and he's not very well dressed which implies that he lives in an
urban area as most of the characters were dressed similarly. His make-up
implicates to the audience that he's a drug addict which increases the
stereotypical views presented on urban London.
appearance and he's not very well dressed which implies that he lives in an
urban area as most of the characters were dressed similarly. His make-up
implicates to the audience that he's a drug addict which increases the
stereotypical views presented on urban London.
In this chase scene there are also many jumpcuts to introduce the other characters to the film. The jumpcuts are quite rapid which is effective because the audience would not even be able to notice they are there. Jumpcuts are especially effective in action films as they allow the audience to watch things happening in different places which keeps the audience on edge, thus making the film a lot more exciting.
The credits are cleverly used on screen. The characters are introduced to a moving image which becomes solitary to
differentiate the characters and single out who is who, one by one.
The credits are cleverly used on screen. The characters are introduced to a moving image which becomes solitary to
differentiate the characters and single out who is who, one by one.
you got served: beat the world, the free running- ASHLEY KAHLON
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One film that really inspired me was You Got Served: Beat The World, the free running showed in this film shows an excellent way in which we can display different shots in our film, there are a few amazing shots in these scenes which we can definitely incorporate into our film opening, these shots will surely make our film much more professional and will allow us to experience a new way of filming so that we can receive more marks for our creativity.
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gENRE
ACTION/CRIME
In order to make a film that fits our chosen genre, one must know what the conventions are. Also, as we had decided to give it a hybrid genre, it meant that we needed to fuse both conventions together, not meaning we'd have to use every single idea given, but this could be used as a guideline for our storyline. Here I've made a list of some of the typical conventions of the two genres.
Crime:
- Violence
- Murder
- Chase scene
- Dramatic plot
- Death
- Detectives
- Dramatic and tense music.
- Guns, weapons, vehicles
- Lack of morality
- Corruption
- Gun crime
- Deception
Action:
- Weapons, violence, attractive cars,
- High tech equipment
- Fast paced music
- Antagonists and Protagonists
- Damsel in distress
- Missions
- Sub plots
- Fast paced Chase scenes
- Violence
- Murder
- Chase scene
- Dramatic plot
- Death
- Detectives
- Dramatic and tense music.
- Guns, weapons, vehicles
- Lack of morality
- Corruption
- Gun crime
- Deception
Action:
- Weapons, violence, attractive cars,
- High tech equipment
- Fast paced music
- Antagonists and Protagonists
- Damsel in distress
- Missions
- Sub plots
- Fast paced Chase scenes
Distribution companies
![Picture](/uploads/2/3/7/4/23747718/324241751.png)
paramount, being a large film company makes it very easy for our film to have this company as a title for our film. as our film is meant to be a typical Hollywood blockbuster, therefore it should have a large company which would be able to offer our film a large budget. but, paramount are famous for the production of films such as the godfather. Paramount are less likely to produce an Action film which is why we had decided not to choose them as our production company.
![Picture](/uploads/2/3/7/4/23747718/8545333.jpg?269)
For our film opening we had decided to use Warner brothers. As it is very likely to produce a film which has similar conventions to ours and of the same genre. It was also the production company used for matrix and both of our openings are quite similar. We also chose Warner brothers as it is a very rich and successful company which will give us a mass audience, because it very well known. Due to it's success, Warner Brothers alone owns many other companies, such as;
- Warner Brothers Studios
- Warner Brothers Pictures
- Warner Brothers Interactive Entertainment
- Warner Brothers Television
- DC Entertainment
![Picture](/uploads/2/3/7/4/23747718/7228539.jpg)
20th century fox is also one of the six biggest film companies in America. but fox are racist and although sometimes a self deprecating company, they only do so without realising that people actually do hate them. aside from my personal vendetta against fox, they do seem to have a range of genre's and films, ranging from the sound of music, avatar to ice age. yet their most famous films do not seem to be any Action/Crime.
![Picture](/uploads/2/3/7/4/23747718/111507314.jpg)
Film 4 is a film company owned by channel 4 television co-operation. There is also a television channel called film4 which is owned by the same company. It is a small UK company however, it has had some successful films like 12 years a slave.
![Picture](/uploads/2/3/7/4/23747718/507737655.jpg)
Lionsgate is a North American entertainment company. Since November 2013 it is officially the most successful independent film and television distrubition company in North America. It has had countless successful films such as
Lionsgate also owns other studio companies, such as: Trimark Pictures, Summit Entertainment, Vestron Pictures and Artisan Entertainment.
Lionsgate also owns other studio companies, such as: Trimark Pictures, Summit Entertainment, Vestron Pictures and Artisan Entertainment.
survey
In order to satisfy our target audience, we had to do a survey to see what our audience would expect. here is an overview of our results.
target audience
![Picture](/uploads/2/3/7/4/23747718/6513588.jpeg?209)
As a group, we had agreed to have our target audience as 12A. Although it is very unusual for an Action/Crime film not to be at least 15A, we felt this was a suitable rating for our film as it didn't consist of any explicit scenes, and it only had minor profanities. Also, as children, we know how frustrating it was when we were 12 and really wanted to see a 15 rated movie (and bought it on dvd anyway), even though we knew we were mature enough to able to handle the content, which is a another reason we had decided to make it a 12A as we feel that the most recent generations are maturing at much younger age.
soundtrack/music
Having a suitable soundtrack for our film opening was very important as our opening had no dialogue. we had chosen a couple of copyrighted trailer ideas, of course we are unable to use those for our actual film openings, but here are a couple of ideas.
Having based our film opening on the idea of people running, we needed a fast paced fitting soundtrack, but unfortunately many tracks came under the category of 'upbeat', 'fast paced' and most of all 'fitting', Although each sound very different, these were my personal top five, and the top two were chosen with the help of my group.
1- Ladytron- Ghosts (Blestenation Mix)
2- Cubanate- Oxyacetylene (Instrumental)
3- Rage Against the Machine- Bulls on Parade
4- Jane's Addiction- Stop
5- Blink 182- Violence
Having based our film opening on the idea of people running, we needed a fast paced fitting soundtrack, but unfortunately many tracks came under the category of 'upbeat', 'fast paced' and most of all 'fitting', Although each sound very different, these were my personal top five, and the top two were chosen with the help of my group.
1- Ladytron- Ghosts (Blestenation Mix)
2- Cubanate- Oxyacetylene (Instrumental)
3- Rage Against the Machine- Bulls on Parade
4- Jane's Addiction- Stop
5- Blink 182- Violence
possible directors
![Picture](/uploads/2/3/7/4/23747718/5735422.jpg?175)
Roland Emmerich-
Emmerich is a German director. He is also a screenwriter, and producer. His movies are very successful and have made more than $3 billion worldwide. He is now the 14th-highest grossing director of all time in the US. He may help create a larger gross for our film seeing as most of his movies have become so successful.
Emmerich is a German director. He is also a screenwriter, and producer. His movies are very successful and have made more than $3 billion worldwide. He is now the 14th-highest grossing director of all time in the US. He may help create a larger gross for our film seeing as most of his movies have become so successful.
![Picture](/uploads/2/3/7/4/23747718/450639170.jpg?177)
Bruce Lee-
Although Lee is famous for acting, he directed his own movie way of the dragon in 1972.
Seeing as our movie is an action it would be very helpful to have a martial arts expert direct our movie, as it is bound to consist of at least a couple of fight scenes.
Although Lee is famous for acting, he directed his own movie way of the dragon in 1972.
Seeing as our movie is an action it would be very helpful to have a martial arts expert direct our movie, as it is bound to consist of at least a couple of fight scenes.
![Picture](/uploads/2/3/7/4/23747718/857136285.jpg?174)
Zack Snyder-
Snyder is well known for directing Action/sci-fi films. He's the Co-Director of a recent, quite famous movie called man of steel. He's also a film producer and screenwriter. He is also the co-founder of a production company called cruel and unusual films, which was established in 2004. Although he specialises is Action/Scifi, he has produced many different movies over the years, which is useful to us.
Snyder is well known for directing Action/sci-fi films. He's the Co-Director of a recent, quite famous movie called man of steel. He's also a film producer and screenwriter. He is also the co-founder of a production company called cruel and unusual films, which was established in 2004. Although he specialises is Action/Scifi, he has produced many different movies over the years, which is useful to us.
![Picture](/uploads/2/3/7/4/23747718/257529127.jpg?182)
Steven Spielberg-
Steven Spielberg is one of the most well known directors around, but also a screen writer, producer and business magnate. He's extremely famous for Jaws, Jurrasic Park and E.T (extra terrestrial). He tries to also present humanistic ideas that try and publicise the worlds problems, for example slavery, war etc. He's released a range of genre's which is helpful.
Steven Spielberg is one of the most well known directors around, but also a screen writer, producer and business magnate. He's extremely famous for Jaws, Jurrasic Park and E.T (extra terrestrial). He tries to also present humanistic ideas that try and publicise the worlds problems, for example slavery, war etc. He's released a range of genre's which is helpful.
possible actors/actresses
![Picture](/uploads/2/3/7/4/23747718/9612395.jpg?140)
Lena Headey-
due to her exceptional performance in the film 300, she would be very suitable to play a female character in our movie. She's also very attractive and underrated, so the success of our film may help boost her profile.
due to her exceptional performance in the film 300, she would be very suitable to play a female character in our movie. She's also very attractive and underrated, so the success of our film may help boost her profile.
![Picture](/uploads/2/3/7/4/23747718/2278616.jpg?147)
Young Michael J Fox-
Although it's impossible to turn back time, the younger version of Michael J fox would be very suitable. During the movie back to the future, he's featured in many chase scenes, if we could use him, our movie would be a larger success, as he is very famous. Our movie requires a lot of movement and we feel that he would be very good at this.
Although it's impossible to turn back time, the younger version of Michael J fox would be very suitable. During the movie back to the future, he's featured in many chase scenes, if we could use him, our movie would be a larger success, as he is very famous. Our movie requires a lot of movement and we feel that he would be very good at this.
![Picture](/uploads/2/3/7/4/23747718/6272569.jpg?153)
Channing Tatum-
For god knows what reason, many females seem to find this thumb looking object named channing, attractive. Having a good looking male protagonist is key to attracting our female audiences.
Because the female species seem to live up to their expectations, their feeble brains function (or should I say DYSfunction) in such a way that they believe that because he is so 'good looking' that he can actually act. unfortunately this is not the case, sorry females.
Although all of this may seem negative, having him in our film will still attract more females meaning
A larger profit.
For god knows what reason, many females seem to find this thumb looking object named channing, attractive. Having a good looking male protagonist is key to attracting our female audiences.
Because the female species seem to live up to their expectations, their feeble brains function (or should I say DYSfunction) in such a way that they believe that because he is so 'good looking' that he can actually act. unfortunately this is not the case, sorry females.
Although all of this may seem negative, having him in our film will still attract more females meaning
A larger profit.
![Picture](/uploads/2/3/7/4/23747718/7280862.jpg?146)
Chris pine-
Chris pine is actually good looking, and he can act. He's very well known for his talents, so because he is famous and attractive, that will attract a mainstream audience, because many people know of him, which will for fill our goal of having a mass audience.
Chris pine is actually good looking, and he can act. He's very well known for his talents, so because he is famous and attractive, that will attract a mainstream audience, because many people know of him, which will for fill our goal of having a mass audience.
![Picture](/uploads/2/3/7/4/23747718/1396798187.jpg)
Amy Adams-
Although she has never starred in a successful Action/Crime, she has the ability to be serious and stern, which would be perfect for our role. Her height is also important, because she's supposed to have an important role. Her being tall is supposed to show her hegemony over other people. She is also very good looking which will attract different audiences, as most people enjoy looking at attractive women.
Although she has never starred in a successful Action/Crime, she has the ability to be serious and stern, which would be perfect for our role. Her height is also important, because she's supposed to have an important role. Her being tall is supposed to show her hegemony over other people. She is also very good looking which will attract different audiences, as most people enjoy looking at attractive women.