Initial Ideas for Filming

Here we are thinking through a scene that we imagine could be good in our opening sequence, and trying to work out how it could be filmed. This might all change when we establish our story ideas more firmly, but it makes a starting point for the group.

Practise Filming

Here is the murder sequence that I filmed with a differnt group. this involved filming a sequence from a film that lead up to a murder we had planned in a different piece of work. This was good practice for the coursework because although it happens in the middle of the film and not the beginning, it is a similar task - you have to set the scene and make sure the shots can be edited together.

Planning and Storyboarding

We thought out the storyboard quite efficiently in the initial stages, although as we got into the later stages of completing we didn’t take into account the time it would take to film each individual shot. So in the end we didn’t have every shot we wrote on our storyboard. This meant that that it was not as elaborate as we would have hoped and was at first quite hard to make sense of. Even though it made it harder to edit because we had not completed every shot necessary, it was still quite easy to film each shot because of our well planned storyboard. This is one of the easiest parts of the task because our group worked well together; this meant communicating our group’s ideas onto the paper was straightforward. To improve on this next time we could perhaps use different methods of planning ( such as a mind map)from this project we have learnt  that they take time and if you plan better it will really help when it comes to the next stage of filming.

Camera angles

We found that because of the way our story went we only needed one person from our group to act. This was to our advantage because it meant that the remaining three of us could concentrate more on things like camera angles. As this was the case we were able to get some quite professional camera angles with all of our ideas put together. I found that when it came to editing we had not taken into account background noise (i.e. planes) this affected our piece because it ruined the atmosphere slightly in certain scene. I think that we could have had more variety of camera angles because even though the ones we got were quite good the variety would have made it look more professional as an overall piece rather than individual shots. On the whole I think that our camera angles were ok but there was definitely be room for improvement. Mainly adding other camera angles relevant to the type of piece we are trying to show.

Working in groups

I was very happy with the group I was in as we each had individual strengths that we were able to offer to make the work better. We had good cooperation and had many different ideas. We were very good at using each of our ideas that were the best and merging them together to make it better. Any ideas that were perhaps not the best for the scene we were doing us we could say so. This meant that it was easier to get the best work we could. One thing that we found was how quickly we made some of the decisions. We took too long making some decisions for things like whether the acting was real and believable enough. This meant we had less time to complete each shot and ended up not finishing all of them. From doing this I have learnt that the key to working well in a group is to have cooperation. Letting everyone be involved in decision making and making the decisions quickly rather than debating to long. When doing the real thing I will keep these things in mind.

Acting

The quality of acting amongst our group was reasonable. Considering that the main actor had had no previous acting experience it was hard to make the acting realistic. This was probably the most time consuming part of what we did. This took long because most of our shots had to be repeated multiple times. I played a small part in this piece which didn’t require too much acting skills, so it was shot in one. One thing that was successful was the level of cooperation as we quickly agreed on who would play who. Also even though the main actor had no experience he was happy to take on the role. This helped us tremendously because it meant we could get straight into the filming. Next time I will definitely consider acting more myself as I have had previous experience, and I know that it takes longer to put together when the acting is not as strong.

Practice Filming

Here we have practised our planning, filming and editing skills. We had to create a short sequence from a film leading up to a murder. This meant that we had to carry out the same steps as in our real coursework by planning it, filming the ideas and then editing them together. We did this so we could learn from our mistakes and find out what works and what doesn't.

Planning

We planned our sequence in a A3 paper, we used as a guide to make our film. We planned it and turned our ideas into main sequences, so it would be easy for us to film. We discussed which person is best for different characters. If we had more time and resources, we would prefer to add costumes. We had to add people from outside the class and we had to change some parts of the storyboard.

 Acting

Most of the acting in our murder mystery was done well and very convincingly. Some of our actors found it hard to take it seriously so we had to film the same sequence few times to get it right. One of the actors were not very natural, therefore we found it hard to make it look like real murder scene. At the end, the victim was smiling (when dead) , so it was a disaster and should have been refilmed.

 Selecting shots and angles/music

We decided to start the film with an establishing shot of the murderer walking towards the camera. We filmed for some time to draw the picture to the audience. We filmed it in front of the library and we had a good view from there, it was a long shot as we were trying to give a sense of where the action is taking place. There were also cars parked on the other side so it would be a perfect place to do a drug deal.

 We had lots of point of view shots to provide a sense of tension to the audience/film. At the end of the clip, we had a low angle shot to represent violence and sympathy for the audience. It was also hides the identity of the murderer, which represents mystery and leaves the audience with uncertainty.

 Editing Decisions   

In total we had more than 8 minutes of film and most of the footage was not very good. The final film was only 1 minute and 35 seconds long, it was more than the expected time.

We decided to change the colour at some parts of the film to represent tension and in some parts to represent violence. We thoroughly went through the clips and deleted the unwanted parts of the film. The good thing we did was that we filmed each scene two times so that we can have the best scene in our original clip.

 The last part of the film was presented in slow motion and in black and white to represent violence. Diegetic sound on the video was in effect (in low pitch), which enhanced the emotions of the scene. The end of the film was a picture of the victim dead to drag the sympathy of the audience.

We also used non-diegetic sounds to make our clip/film looks more effective and convincing. The type of music we chose was fast pace HipHop/Rap and the lyrics makes it even more tense and violent. The music was very well presented and perfectly timed so that the actions are compared with the beat.

 We were not really focussing on our dialogue, we were giving more attention to our video more to get it right. As this was our first time/project we were quite nervous and were not really sure what we were doing.

 Mise-en-scéne

We chose good settings and places to do our filming, but some parts did not work as we expected. Due to PE lessons and other factors we could not get the perfect background without people in it. Especially in the first part of the film we can notice lot of mistakes and background sound of people which we did not want in our film.

 In the last part of the sequence the setting was pleasing but we can still notice some unexpected appearences.

I believe that we planned our props well but we did not have enough resources to do as we planned. Some parts of our film did not look as great as we expected due to lack of knowledge on how to effectively use lighting. Some of our actors laughed when they were running, which made the clip even more unconvincing. One of actors' running was very unreal and it was very disappointing.

We looked like school kids as we did not have costumes. This is something that we will be expecting to do for our real thing.

 Improvements

There are number of things that we would like to change in our clip such as costumes, roles of the actors, the setting. I would also prefer to improve our dialogue skills and make things look more natural. And also to improve our camera skills to present a better and convincing product to the consumers/audience. We would also like to improve our editing skills and to involve graphics and 3D animation to our final project. We would also prefer to have more people in our group and to have more convincing events.

Shehan

Camera angles

We tried to use as many camera angles as possible to make our clip look as professional as it can be. This didn’t work out as we had to get the actors to freeze in a position before we could cut it and change camera angles. For example, we used two shots at the beginning to show the two actors had to share a space in order for the viewers to see they will have to interact with each other, and we tried straight away to use the POV shot on one of the actors, but unfortunately it didn’t work out because the actors had already interacted and it took way too long in the POV shot before the second actor spoke for them to stand somewhere else. I believe our camera angles were relatively poor and could be improved if we timed it a little better.

I noticed we had over used the long shot. It would have been good to of had a low angle shot when they were running so it didn’t reveal where they were running to. On the other hand a bird’s eye view angle would have been also good to show where they’re running to.  

The scene would have been more dramatic if it didn’t reveal the killer at the beginning and kept the audience wondering who the murderer was though out the scene. I think we used the low angle shot at the end of the scene very well as it showed the power of the murder and the vulnerability of the victim.

Working in groups

We had a group issue at first as one of our members wasn’t in so we had to have another person in our group. Additionally, we had a problem with our group size as we were just 3 in a group but needed a fourth member to be involved in the scene. I was very pleased with the group I was in as we all spoke to each other and no one was scared to put forward their idea down.  

It was really hard to come to a conclusion as we all had our own ideas and took a long time to decide which ideas were best.

I have learnt that in other to make a successful work, everyone in the group has to be committed, willing to share ideas, commenting on other people’s ideas idea and I think that’s what my group had.

Planning and storyboarding

This I thought Planning and storyboarding would have been the easiest part of the whole project as it was 3 of us in a group and I thought ideas would just come to one of us quickly. Unfortunately it was the other way around as it took nearly a whole lesson to come up with a story board, also, when it came down to shooting the scenes  we found we had to change some of the planning as they didn’t suit the environment. For example, in class, we planned to shoot a bit of the scene around the canteen but had to change our location due to a class going on.

Doing this, I have learnt that planning takes time and patience for it to be right and successful.

Acting

Over all the acting was quite poor as it was incredibly hard not the look directly at the camera or laugh when you’re acting. There is a lot of improvement to be done. It is also extremely hard to pass on information when someone is already acting. For example, the actors couldn’t hear when the phone was ringing for them to turn their attention to it, and there was no place to pass on the information to them, so they hard to rely on just pure instincts, which in the movie didn’t look good as it took them too long to react after the phone had rang. The bright side was that no one was shy to be in front of the camera. I don’t know if we got the right actors to play the role, as the victim looked like he would be able to put up a little fight before he was killed. This mistake will make us make improvements as we will now be aware of the depth need to pick the right actor so the scene looks more convincing.

Kennedy

Analysing Film Openings - Lottery Ticket

Scene summaries – Lottery Ticket

There is a fade in from the credits into the opening establishing shot of what looks like an environmentally friendly town as there are trees in the area and people walking on the road and cycling. This could also mean the town is poor and not many people can afford to have cars that are why the road is so empty. The establishing shot is an aerial shot, it hovers over the town to show people going around in normal business. We then cut to a low angle shot of a man washing his car. This to me indicated a sense of pride as the car was pretty clean. It could also mean how much a car means to anyone that has it in the town, as the guy is taking care of it.

We cut to the mid shot, and we see a typical boy room and activity as he’s ironing something on his bed and has shoes posters around his wall. This may be his hobby, which could be his obsession with shoes. Additionally the room doesn’t look big which could indicate he’s a middle class kid. He is dressed in white trousers and a white t-shirt. Then we cut to mid shot,  We then see him put on a strippy white and black shit on and then we cut to a close up shot, and we see him put on a footlocker badge, with the name “Kevin” on it. This shows he works for Footlocker, which is a place where new expensive shoes are sold, and his name is Kevin.

The mise-en-scene of all the characters that were in starting scene of the movie show this might be a middle class town. In the same house of the first main charter to be showed, which was the boy in the all-white dressing, there was an older woman, which could indicate, the boy lives with his grandma or an older relative. She’s making breakfast and is dressed in pink and has short hair. Also, in this scene a young dark skinned male wearing a black hat and sleeveless shirt with grey trousers walks into the house and refers to the older lady as “Mrs Carson”. An over the shoulder shot is then used as they have a conversation. This could indicate he’s friends with the family as he walks in without knocking and goes straight up to the stripy dressed characters room.

When the boy with the black hat goes up stairs to meet the chararcter in the stripy shirt a deep focus is used as the character in the stripy shirt is blurred out so the charatcer in the hat has a chance to be the main focus if attention as he speaks.

We then cut to a mid shot of a woman on the TV downstairs, who’s a presenter on  a news channel talking about the lottery that’s about to take place. This could be an indication of who might win the lottery (old lady, boy with black hat and black shirt, boy wearing the footlocker shirt) as the three main characters are the beginnig took most of the spotlight at that scene.  Also in the televison, a group shot is used as a group of people are being interviewed on what they would do with the money.

The boys soon come downstairs and are shot in a two shot, which could indicate that their relationship is close, possibly best friends.

Although very little happens in the first two minutes, we get the impression that the two boys are good friends and one on the characters at the beginning are likely to win the lottey. The bright lighting and active town setting makes it look like a middle classed area. I would also be interested in watching the whole movie to know what the story is when the lottery is won.

 

The opening establishing shot is an aerial shot that shows a location of a town, with no cars on the road, which might indicate this might be an environmentally friendly place. It also shows trees around. And perhaps people are very friendly as it looks like all the characters are talking/ about to talk to each other.

The low angle shot might be  to show his place as being higher class, because at this point in the movie he’s the only one seen with a car. This could also mean that people value what they have in this town as he’s cleaning his car.

 

The mid shot used in here shows a possible main character to this movie as it shows his house/ bedroom and has him doing choice as he’s ironing something on the bed. The mid shot also allows the views to see he’s bed room. It looks like a middle classed room as it isn’t big. We also know he has an obsession on shoes as they are everywhere on the wall in this shot.

 

Another midshot show the boy who was ironing something change he’s shirt and is about to pick what shoe he want to wear. The background also gives more evidence about his obsession with shoes.

 

We now see a close up of why he changed his shirt as he’s putting on his badge for work. The audience find out to important things about this shot, which are that he works in Footlocker which explains his obsession with shoes, and his name is “Kevin”.

 

This shot shows an over head shot between the the guy that just walked into the house with out knocking, and the older woman who  is the Grandma of Kevin. This is significant as it shows the relationship the man who just walked into the house must have with the family.

 

The midshot inhere is a midshot on the TV in the scene. It’s announcing a significant event taking place which is the lottery.

 

This is a group shot used. It is in the televison and it has a woman interviewing people on what they would do if they won the lottery.

 

A deep focus is used here as the boy in stripy white and black shirt is blurred and his friend (guy in black hat) walks into his room and engages in a conversation.

 

Two shot is used here to maybe show the boys' relationship as they are about to leave the house.

There are 6 distinctive slides before the film actually starts. The first five are of production and company logos and credits. And the last one is the title of the movie. The last four slides are designed to allow the audience to know what the movie is about as it is a scratched out lottery card with the names of the production companies and title name.

Use of Sound – Lottery Ticket

The first title slide which was the Warner Bros, was presented witj a soft gentle piano being played.   As the credits begin to appear on the screen a non-diegetic music is being played in the background. The athmosphere presented by this music is a loud, jokey, fun environment. It is almost like a ghettoish music which could represent the town. As the movie starts, the music fades but is still in the backgorund and a diegetic sound of that scene stands which it the woman on the TV talking & interviewing people about the big lottery day.

Then we finally hear  dialogue as the boy with the black hat shouts when he enters the house, and the older lady replies to him in an angry tone. Then when the boy with the black hat goes to the boy in the stripy shirts room we see another dialogue as they both engage in a conversation.

This is more of a conventional film opening with lots of attention on establishing and allowing the audince to settle in and get to know that characters and the situation, and setting the mood for the viewer.

Analysing Film Openings - Never Back Down

Never Back Down

The film begins with two production logos and few production and publication credits. The First two production logos have their own music and animation, there is no adaptation of the logos to suit the film.

The next scene begins with a background which looks like it’s raining and the production credits appear. Non-diegetic music is there as the rain falls down, you can hear the sound and there is background music. The music played in the background is very energetic and feels more motivational.

The first thing we see is a close-up on a camera and the next shot we see is the establishing shot of the movie. It looks like the setting is in a football ground. The audience can hear lots of non-diegetic sound and music also keeps playing on the background. Then we see a player in a mid-shot, but it is still an unclear shot to recognise who it is and establish the character. There are a lot of group-shots. You can hear players shouting and the rain. As the game speed fastens, the music tempo and the beat gets higher.

The light from the stadium reflects well with the rain and on wet players. It is also a night time which tells us little information about the environment

This is the first production logo. It zooms out from the screen with its own music.

 This is the second production logo. It is an small video clip which turns into a 2D image later. It has it's own music

 

These are the production credits. The background looks dark and looks like it’s raining.

 

This is the film title. It is in Bold letters and in a bigger font to make it standsout.

 

This is the close-up shot on the camera and it is the first shot of the film.

 

This is a Point Of View shot at the camera. Looks like the person is recording a football game.

 

This is the establishing shot of the movie. It looks like it is a football stadium and there are lights on which means there is  an on-going game.

This is a rule of thirds shot with the main character to one side of the image, showing the heavy rain in the background.

 

This is a group shot and it shows what’s happening in the scene.

 

This is a two shot. The fast movement could represent violence.

This is an over-the-shoulder shot. It shows some facial expressions of the player.

This is a very broken up opening. The credits interrupt the action and as an audience we never really get the chance to settle down. This is a different kind of approach to the normal kind of establishing and slow start approach but it still works well and makes you want to concentrate and find out what is happening.

Analysing Film Openings - Battle Ship

Scene summaries – Battleship First Two Minutes

There is a fade in from the credits into the opening establishing shot of what looks like an advance space satellite and also a picture of the earth beyond it. It is also an establishing shot. This could mean that the place the next scene is located could be a top secrete place or a scientist lab. We then cut to a mid-shot of a man doing a presentation which could indicate an importance in him as being the possible leader of a space mission that’s about to take place. He is dressed in a suit and a blue shirt, which makes him look smart. The mise-en-scene of computer screens showing different space pictures could help establish where the scene is being taken, which is a building that involves space activities. The expensive smart clothing worn by the characters makes it look like they are from a higher class background.

We then cut to a 3 second mid shot of another character listening to the man in the suit giving his presentation. This could signify as another main character as he’s the only one apart from the man in the suit who has really stood out to be important in this scene. This man is wearing a brown jumper and is wearing glasses. The glasses may be a way to make the audience stereotype him as being smart.

We then cut to a low angle shot which shows scientific equipment’s on a mountain possibly which transmit a signal to another planet in space. This could give the audience a possible hint that they’re trying to communicate with aliens from a different planet.

There is then a deep focus shot used as the man in the glasses is communicating with the person next to him. This could also be a way to highlight him as one of the main character of the film.

There are also camera men in the scene, which signify that the event about to take place is big and interesting.

Even though very little happens at the beginning, we get the impression that this movie is about a space mission and something is likely to go wrong, hence the starting name of the film “Battle”. The beginning of the film leaves the audience wanting to know what will happen when they have transmitted the signal into space and I would also like to watch it future to find out.

The opening establishing shot is an aerial shot that shows a space satellite. We also see a picture of the side of the earth. This may be saying that the location about to be shown is top secret .

 
The midshot of the character which gives him an importance as he took most of the screen time in the first two minutes. We see he’s well dressed and is presenting a space project to the media. This could mean he’s the leader of the whole space operation
 

 

This is another mid shot of a character; he is likely to be a main character because he had the second longest scene time. And he is likely to be stereotyped as smart because of his glasses.

This low angle shot show that there is about to be something transmitted into space through this equipment

This might be a way to show the audience that the man in glasses is important as a deep focus has been used when he was speaking to  make him and what he’s saying stand out as someone important in the future 

 
This shows a group shot, it also shows how important the man in the suit giving his presentation is, as they are the press and are trying to take pictures of what’s going on

 

 

 

 

 

There are six separate slides before the film begins. All of them are production and distribution company credits and logos. The name of the movie is never introduced at the opening two minutes. The slides are just simply cut from one yo another The title slides seem to be there to just provide production information in the simplest way. They suited the fast paced music at the start of the film.

Use of sound- Battleship

The first title slide showing production and distribution credits is shown while a fast building up beat plays.. The pace of the non-diegetic music keeps building as credits appear on the screen. The atmosphere established by this music has sort of a dangerous tone. Possibly something bad is about to happen and seems to support the name “Battle” in its title. It doesn’t really establish a clear genre for the film, but suggest that there will be some destructive moments. As the establishing shot is being shot, the sound perspective on the man in a suit begins to talk about the project and making the fast beat music to fade away. Diegetic sound is also being used as the man in the suit is communicating with and audience in the scene. As the man in the suit is explaining what his space presentation is about, the fast beat that was there at the beginning starts to get louder again. And as soon as the man in the glasses begins to talk to the person next to him the fast pace beat dies out. This could signify him as one of the main characters as well as what he’s saying is important enough to stop the fast paced music.

 We also know the man in the suit is important  as there are camera men around him and we can hear the clicking to the camera after the pictures have been taken so we notice the camera men and understand that they are taking pictures because an important event is about to happen.

Analysing Film Openings - Blade

Scene summary – Blade –

There is a fade in from the credits to the opening scene. The opening scene starts with a shot that establishes where the scene is and when it’s set. This shot is of a double door in a hallway, which is easily and quickly established as a hospital wing. This is because the scene starts with a strong use of mise en scene. There are props that indicate that it is a hospital, extras that walk past the camera are all dressed like doctors and nurses some with clipboards in there hand and stethoscopes around there necks. The lighting is bright; as hospitals usually are bright it helps complete the image. At this point through the glass pains of the window you can see people approaching the door. These are doctors running through with a patient on a stretcher. They burst through the door and run toward the camera. The shot cuts to an aerial close up shot of the person lying in the stretcher. The person is a women and it becomes quickly apparent that she has a serious injury. She is in serious discomfort but doesn’t make any sound. The audience can tell this because of her facial expressions. The doctor that is helping to push the stretcher is also holding a cloth to the women’s neck in an attempt to try and stem the flow of blood from her neck.

Then we cut to a shot still slightly above her of the stretcher being pushed into what looks like a surgery. The doctors are frantically trying to save the women and treat her injury. The shot is now in a position that we can see the women is also pregnant. This makes the audience feel even more inclined to want her to survive as she is clearly heavily pregnant. The shots continue to exchange to the doctors trying to treat her and an angle shot where we can see she is pregnant and in pain.

It becomes clear that not only is she bleeding badly from the neck but she is also giving birth. The shot at this point cuts to an angle still above what is happening onscreen but shows a newly born baby covered in placenta and blood. This indicates it has just come from the mother’s womb. As the shot changes we see the doctor turn away from the camera and place the baby in a blanket of some sort, as this is happening the shot changes to the mother holding one hand out to the camera. This we imagine is perhaps a POV shot of the doctor that had the baby in his hand and the mother is trying to touch it. The mother looks like she is just about to die and is trying to hold her baby before she does.

Then at this point the screen goes black and time seems to be fast forwarding. The next part is an aerial establishing shot and we can see the view of a city skyscraper. Time is forwarding because you can see day and night pass in the city a few times. Then the scene cuts to what looks to be a camera shot from out the window of a moving vehicle. It is another establishing shot because you can see that it is in the city and information “NOW” appears up onscreen which highlights the fact time has moved on.

 

This is a mid-shot that helps set the scene. It shows the audience that the scene is in a hospital and the emergency room. This is because ‘emergency’ is written on the window pain of the double doors in view. The shot also creates a sense of when it is set because of the information that appears onscreen. This is highlighted by the fact the equipment on the edge of the frame doesn’t look very technologically advanced.

 

This is the same mid-shot but from a closer position. Its low angle shows the surrounding environment and yet the facial expression and posture of the doctors is also seen. This helps the audience know that it is a serious situation.

 

Here we are in the doctors’ POV looking down at the wounded woman, who is stretching up as if asking for help.

This shot is just helping establish a new time period from the last scene. The shot is blurred because it is moving and is a shot from a moving vehicle passing shops and offices.

Overall

I analysed this sequence because many of the films I have looked at start slowly with very little happening, and this film starts right in the middle of the action, which I think is effective as well. You are made to engage with the action straight away and all the POV filming makes you try to work out what is happening. I think this could be an effective choice for our film.

Analysing Film Openings - Ocean's Eleven

                                                             
Scene summary - Oceans Eleven - 

The scene opens unusually with a faded in mid-shot, the shot is of a wooden chair in the middle of a room. The small size of the room and the dark lighting together along with the sound of prison talk give the impression that the setting is somewhere within a prison. This adds a sense of uncertainty in the minds of the audience as it is in a prison the audience may think that something violent could happen.The shot remains the same for quite a few seconds before a man walks in and sits on the chair. The shot doesn’t change at this point but the sound quietens down as someone who is off screen begins to talk to the character in the chair. This then becomes like a POV shot, except you’re not in the perspective of the character but it’s like the audience are in the room watching what is going on. At this point in the scene it is clear he is in a prison because of the dialogue used and the fact that the man sitting in the chair was wearing a grey uniform. This clearly indicates that he is a criminal in the prison. The mise en scene of an empty room with nothing in but a chair, bars on the window and the plain clothes of the character indicate that it is in a prison environment. It then cuts to a close up of the character which then indicates he is main character.

The close up of the man’s face continues for a few more seconds than usual as dialogue is said. It then cuts to another shot at perhaps a minute in to the extract. The shot is a two shot and a long shot at the same time. The way the two men are positioned when walking towards the camera indicates that there is no relationship between them. They are walking about one metre apart and one of the men is standing just behind the other to the left. He is walking as though he is leading the man in front somewhere. This along with the security uniform he is wearing shows that he has authority over the other character. The lighting is dull and colourless which indicates somewhere of disdain. The environment around them in the corridor is plain and boring which highlights the disdain.

 The two characters at this point are walking toward at gateway in the corridor, as they get closer to it the shot cuts to a slightly to the side view of the men passing through the gate. The gate is floor to ceiling and has a doorway in it. He is lead through the doorway by the guard that was walking with him and two other guards are on either side of the door. All this indicates to the audience that it is a prison hallway he is walking down. Although it indicates this, the shot seems to be showing the man as if he is leaving. This is because of the positioning of other characters. The shot shows in the background another inmate still locked in his cell who is watching as this character is lead away.

The next shot is of the character being lead up to what appears at first to be an information desk. The shot is from the side so we can see him walking up to the desk. Once he reaches the desk he bends down and places something down in a hatch that is picked up from behind the desk. The desk is behind a glass window which is yet another indication of the security of the prison. The next shot is close up of a man holding a ring in his hand. The ring is obviously an important prop in the film it is a close upof it and the shot remains for several seconds. Even though it is a close up of the ring in the man’s hand the camera has been positioned to look over the man’s shoulder and we can see what kind of clothes he is wearing. The man is wearing a tux and after this close up it cuts to a mid-shot of the man looking down at the ring. At this point into to the extract we see that it is the inmate from before. We can clearly see that he is about to leave because now he has got changed. Now the audience understand that the man was not putting something in the hatch he was picking something out of it. Also we see that he was probably just collecting his possessions and is leaving. The mid-shot here is showing the man’s facial expression and the ring in his hand is clearly important to him.

Screen shots – Oceans Eleven –

 

This screen shot is the first shot that is cut to after the titles and credits. The mid-shot show’s the top of a wooden chair and is far enough away to see that in the background there is a window with bars on it, which indicates the room is secure from the inside so no one can try and escape.

 

This screen shot is quite important because at this time in extract we meet a man who is clearly one of the main characters because the film starts with him and he is the focus point in the rest of the extract. The shot stays the same from the last one and the man walks in to the frame and sits down. The character is wearing prison clothes, which shows he is inmate in this prison.

 

The third screen shot is a simple shot with four people in it. You can see the inmate from the shots before being lead by a guard to a doorway. The other two are what look like guards guarding the door. It looks like he is being led away by the guards because he is walking away from the other cells.

 

As this is a close up it is very likely it is an important object. As well as this because the shot stays on the ring for a few more seconds than if it was just a random object, it shows that it has importance to the man holding the ring. The tux he is wearing indicates that it could be a different character being introduced as no one previously was wearing a tux.

 

This mid-shot shows the audience a fair bit in one shot. It shows that he is still in the prison because the guards are in the background; it shows that the character holding the ring was the inmate; it also shows the ring he is holding means something and is important to him. We see this in his facial expression and the way he looks like he is thinking.

These are some the titles at the start of the extract and are plain in colour which is an effective piece of editing as the shot fades in to a prison where the lighting is dull and colourless. They aren’t distracting but have been made to set an atmosphere before fading into the first scene. The atmosphere set is one that shows the audience that the first scene is perhaps going to have an unpleasant atmosphere.

Use of sound – Oceans Eleven –

The title slides are the beginning of the extract where the audience first hears sound. The sound used is diegetic, and using this kind of sound along with the title slides dull and plain colour sets the audience an atmosphere before the film begins. As the sound begins the audience can hear a person walking down a hollow corridor, it is clear this person has keys because you can hear them jangling. Then you can hear someone opening a gate. The next piece of sound is dialogue and is of a man shouting for people to line up. At this point the sound has made it apparent that the next scene should be set in a prison.

This is where the film begins and as the character wearing prison uniform walks in and sits down we hear more use of dialogue. This character is clearly an inmate at the prison. Here someone that is not in shot begins to address the inmate, and they begin to converse. After they finish talking it is apparent to the audience that the man is exonerated and is leaving the prison. The next few shots there is no added sound, just that that the camera picks up in filming. Eventually when we see the man walking out of the prison and this time non-diegetic sound is used. The sound is music and it has a casino like feel to it.

Overall

Our first thought is to do a heist film opening, as we all like this kind of film and also it is practical for us to manage this as an all male group. It is also a kind of film that can be twisted to suit a younger cast. So therefore watching Ocean's Eleven was a good idea. It has quite an unusal opening with a single unmoving shot while George CLooney's character speaks to unseen interviewers. It contrasts with the previous film I analysed which used many shots. So I am learning that there are lots of different effective ways to start a film and as long as it works, there actually aren't that many set rules for what you do.