Animatic

This is the animatic we created. We made this by taking photos of the post-its that created our storyboard and editing them together in Final Cut. This is a way of finding out if you have a good idea of your timing and also looking at how the story ideas run together. We also started to work on our credits, looking at the options available in Livetype and working on our placement.

Practice Filming

We know how we want the credits to appear at the end. This isn't exactly how the filming will go, bvut we just needed an approximation so we could look at slow motion and how this would affect the end sequence we have planned.

Chosen genre - Heist film

Heist Films

Heist films usually consist of groups of main characters of varying sizes. Heist films involve a group of people, somehow connected, not just one person. These characters are the main focal point in the movie and frequently set up heists to steal from either a villain or perhaps a bank.

Within the main group of characters there is always a leader, the leader that sets up whom to steal from and gets them all together ready for the job. The storyline usually consists of some kind of big job that will land them all with millions. The heist will mean they all get so much money they can retire happy and wealthy. The heists usually goes well and they often get away with it unpunished.

Heist films have an element of suspense will they get caught? Even though they rarely do the audience is always still on the edge of their seat because we are on the side of the con artist, as they are usually bringing down someone who is a bigger villain.

In the past probably because of the ‘Hays code’ (created in March 1930) most or all of the members involved in the heist would wind up caught, or dead. Although, more recently, we see heist films in which the heist members get away with the goods, unpunished and always come off as the heroes while the police are left giving the impression they are not important.

A good example of this is in the film Fast and Furious 5, where the main group of characters all split up to escape. The police chase them but are constantly sent crashing into other cars during chase scenes. Although the police are being injured the audience do not react to the seriousness of what is happening. This is because the way the characters in the main group are portrayed as ‘good’, almost like a Robin Hood type character. In these films, though, the target of the heist is portrayed as ‘bad’, being corrupt and being of low moral standing- i.e. Casinos, corporations, rebel gang members, or having betrayed the people performing the heist (as is the case in the Italian Job)

The props in a heist movie in modern times are usually a lot of advanced tech that is not available to the audience. All the characters in the main heist group carry walkie talkies and specialist equipment, the equipment they carry is often to do with the job they have. For example the techie would have a computer; the lock breaker has lock picks and stuff to help break open safes.

Plots and narrative

The main plot usually consists of a 3 section plot with many twists. First the group makes plan, then the group carries out plan, and finally the group gets the goods. These kinds of film will have the ‘nemesis’ character, either an authority figure (‘Tower heist’, 2012), large bank or casino boss (‘Oceans 11’, 1960 heist film directed by Lewis Milestone), or former partner who previously betrayed group or one of group’s members (‘Italian job’, 2003). Elaborate schemes are made for the heist, using innovative technology location to be robbed is revealed, alarm system is unveiled. The modern heist film can be set anywhere where you can place a bad guy or group/corporation to steal from. For example in ‘Tower Heist’ the film is set in the middle of New York, and the bad guy is a millionaire hotel owner.

In contrast to Fast and Furious which is set in Brazil, and the bad group that is stolen from is a rich gang leader that also controls the police. In the original heist movies, such as Oceans 11 the characters would rarely get what they set out to. In Oceans 11 the characters end up burning the money they worked so hard to get, but this is not the case in modern day heist films. ‘Takers’ is a good example of a film that has not stuck to the ‘Hays code’.

The modern day impression given off by heist films is that it is cool and quite a desirable thing to do, to steal. In the film ‘Takers’ the characters that steal are also the ones living the great lives with expensive cars and homes, as well as always ‘getting the girl’. The older generation of heist was that it was still against the law and would not necessarily give the audience the impression that they could go and do the same and get away with it. This is because the classic heist film has completely changed over the last fifty years. You can get away with doing things nowadays that perhaps would have been greatly frowned upon fifty years ago. Although this is true, heist films have always had that three plot system as well as the specific characters and their individual traits.

Characters

Quite typical iconography of characters is each member of the heist group has a specialty i.e. ‘the techie’; they are the one who breaks into unbreakable security systems and does all the technical stuff. ‘The charismatic leader’; is the guy who leads the group in a heist that he usually made the plan for. ‘The lock breaker’, is the one that is always opening bank vaults and breaking into buildings. There are usually two main groups within the members, the ones (including the charismatic leader) who search locations and build up relationships (visible characters), and the ones who do all the shady work, (including the techie) like rigging cars, handling explosives, hacking into confidential software, etc (invisible character). If you lose any character such as the ‘techie’ the whole plan would not work in a heist film. This is because there is never anyone that can take the place of another member.

Camera angels and shots

(Takers) This is a very common shot in high action heist films because it not only establishes the scene but it shows the main group of characters in a powerful light. It can also show the characters and there individuality. The person in the middle is clearly identifiable as the leader; this is because he is in the middle of the walking group, and he looks quite charismatic along with authoritative. The clothes they are wearing are quite different to the normal heist film. This is because most heist films have a shot of all the characters like this but in the same clothes usually a suit. This is because it keeps the audience seeing them as a group, rather than individuals, such as in ‘Oceans 11’, although that is what made the film quite distinctive, because all the characters are very much different but all still one group.
 

(Oceans 11 original)

 

Update

A group shot is the most commonly recognisable when it comes to a heist film. This is very frequently used as it allows the audience to see the group of characters together and show the close relationship they always have. As a group the characters can become much more enjoyable to watch in a heist film as the characters can all play off each other. The lighting in this is effective when it comes to shots like this and a common lighting tool is filters. The filters are used to create and set a tone to each scene. For example if the scene is taking place in a casino the lighting would be bright but with a tint of yellow or green. Another example is if the scene is when they are making the plan it is usually darker lighting creating a lot of secrecy and privacy that the scene needs.

Editing and post production

The editing done in post production is to make the scenes flow and look more realistic. When the editing is done for the main heist scene there is a lot of cross cutting from character to character. The whole group is never really seen together in these scenes because it is important to show the audience each character doing there individual job. Otherwise it would be hard to make sense of how they got the vault open for example. The cross cutting is always of each character in the group doing his or her job, and it mixes and matches to show the whole plan unfold before your eyes. A good example of this would be in the original Oceans 11, where you see one character cut the power in the casino that opens the cages , whilst it then cuts to another who steals the money.

Researching the Chosen Genre

Action/Comedy - Heist Films

In a typical heist movie the main actors are usually revealed to the audience in a dramatic way. They are also dressed in a way which makes it obvious to the audience that they’re up to something. Some are dressed in prison uniform which automatically gives the audience the thought that they will be broken out soon. Some are also dressed in suits and look extremely smart.

In a lot of heist films the story line involves a group of people teaming up to rub a bank or an extremely rich person. There is also usually a person in the group that becomes greedy and turns against the team and leads them into a trap. In most heist films, some members of the group lose their lives or get seriously injured in the process of doing the mission. This is to let the audience see the danger in what the team are doing. Also there is usually a happy ending in heist films by them getting the money but in the process they may lose an important member.

Add caption

In a typical heist film, there are always people in the group that are there because they have a talent in what is needed to rob/kidnap someone. There is also a leader, he looks authoritative and automatically stands out to the audience, and he also looks like a guy that can do a work himself but get other people to do it for him. In heist film there are different types of high-tech weapon and stuff are usually blown up to so the audience realise the danger in the film.

Mise-en-scene

The lighting in the location of where the teams meet up is usually a low key lighting.  Even though they’re revealing the plan to the audience, the environment makes the audience engage with the characters as if they’re keeping their secrete as well. The costume of the bad guys is normally the same and boring so they don’t create an attachment with the audience. For example if they’re killed the audience would not take notice of it but on the other hand if one of the main characters is killed, the audience will feel a sense of sympathy for them.
 

In heist films, there is also lots of machinery props used, e.g. cars, guns, explosive. In most films the cars are usually the most import gadgets as it is what is used to finally get away after performing the con.

The most common setting is in city/urban area this is probably to show the reason why they’re performing the con there because cities/urban locations are usually thought to be rich areas.

The most iconic of the characters are individuals in the team about to perform the con. The main actors in a heist film have to have the ‘look’. It helps the storyline fall into place and makes the film more believable to the audience. The main characters in a heist film are usually dressed in suits to look professional and not draw attention to them.

The Plot/Narrative Structure

The most common type of heist plot either involves something to do with robbery or a kidnap. Additionally, a plot normally is going to plan and something really wrong happens that changes the storyline the audience were expecting. This is used to keep the audiences interest in the   film and keep them excited to know what will happen next. Sometimes comedy is also added to make the film not just intense all the time. Depending on the characters in the film, there is usually a sense of romance going on between two characters. Most of the time there is a happy ending but a character loses his life in the process of completing the mission.  

      

Sound and Editing

In most heist films there is usually a voiceover on a scene, it is mostly used when the leader is describing what each individual will have to do. There is also a lot of non-diegetic music used, this is to establish time period, atmosphere, character and emotions. The non-diegetic sounds are

Silence is mostly used when there is an explosion. It expresses how tense the moment is. And it also lets the audience know the impact of the explosion. Silence is very powerful and it creates a real sense of emotion, especially when used with slow motion. It also forces the audience to concentrate only on what they can see. Dialogue is essential in a heist film as it helps tell the story and allow the audience to understand the film more. A lot of mid shot and close ups are usually used in a heist film to show the characters change in emotions when an action has occurred

Second Draft Storyboard

As you can see we have added more detail to our storyboard and additional notes about the way certain shots have to be filmed. This has made us much more confident we will get the effects we want.

Camera Movement Task

We have planned in some camera movements so here we are practising working with shbots with a moveing camera to see if we can pull them off effectively or whether we will have to change them.

TASK

Film a conversation using:

Establishing shot that zooms in

Panning shot to show character 2’s arrival

Shot / reverse shot not equal distance representing one character as less prominent / lower status

Arc shot / 360 shot – character 2’s reactions to dramatic news

Tracking shot as character 2 runs off.

Objective: to practise camera movements and evaluate technical issues around them / pros and cons for their use.

Researching The Chosen Genre

Action/Comedy - Heist Films

In a typical heist movie, all the action stars are dressed in suits and look very smart. A few of the actors also have small weapons like handguns and very mechanical weapons / gadgets which are quite high tech. In many heist films  they do not have knives or other sharp objects as the audience does not expect a 'bloody' ending. The story line usually involves some kind of a robbery or a kidnap (criminal activity). Most of the story goes as they planned but some films makes it dramatic by adding some misleading information to the narrative. Most of the time one of the group members die or break up from the group. Almost all the heist films have a happy ending. In many films they act as a group and look like they are very close friends.

Actors in the team - group shot (typical hero shot)

Typical iconography of a heist movie includes police paraphernalia and people with guns. The iconography tends to be crime related - stolen money, safes, security systems etc.  The common locations presented in heist films tend to urban places - big cities, banks, large corporate buildings. In most of these films they have a traitor in the group, a computer/ techie person, a weapon expert, and a leader who plans the whole operation.


Actor who dies - the hero - with a light weapon

The group shot - the lighting is very effective in this shot

The most common setting a city/urban area where there are lot of people and cars. The main characters usually dress smartly (suits) and look like gentlemen to fit in with the wealthy people that they are hoping to con. Almost all of them look like they have good jobs and earn good money. Lighting enhances the scenes and tends to be bright and well lit (if the action takes place outside). It is very rare when the action takes place in a soft lit environment. When inside, the room looks full of light, but there is also effective use of low key lighting to create shadows, which suggest nystery and secrets.In terms of camera angles, there are many panning shots and tracking shots to follow the characters as they carry out the heist, and shot /reverse shots are commonly used as these filns tend to be dialogue-heavy as characetrs explain their plans and what is going well / has gone wrong.  Close-ups to show the reactions of the main characters, mid shots to set them in a context while still seeing their emotions and group shots are also very common.

The Plot/Narrative Structure 

The standard heist plot is to plan and succeed a robbery or a kidnap. This is often 'one last job'. This usually involves weapons but tends to rely more on brain work and trickery than violence. Comedy is involved and there are humorous moments as well as tense ones. Action sequences are very common throughout the movie, cross-cutting ebtween the different characters as they carry out their section of the plan. This mix between tense and funny moments and the overall slick style gives heist films their distinctive feel. Most of them also include romantic moments, although this is usually a sub-plot and female characters aren't very rounded - they tens to just be the 'love interst' for one of the male characters. In several cases, one of the team members dies or betrays the group - there needs to be emotional tension within the group at some point. A good example of this kind of plot device is seen in the  film called 'Takers'.

There are lot of cars around which shows that it is an urban area. Also note the suits and the way the relationship between the two characters is established to create an emotional connection.

Sound and Editing

There are lot of non-diegetic sounds involved during editing. Music is important to set the style and often has a jazz feel. Other sounds need to be added in post-production such as gun shots, explosions etc. The film also includes lot of ambient sounds like foots steps and door shutting sounds etc. Dialogue is crucial to explaining the plot to the audience, so thought has to be given to making scenes of exposition inteesting, often by filming from slightly unusal angles - this is something we need to think about carefully when we are planning our own dialogue, also the style of speech as this has to fit with individual characters.

During the video editing we may have to do lot of matches on action to create a sense of pace and movement and matches on dialogue to transition smoothly between scenes and to operate as a kinf of exposition - introducing a character or situation by something that was said before. Cross-cutting sequences help keep track of the characters and transitions present the movie in an interesting way and stylised way that keeps within the non-transparent, tongue-in-cheek feel of these kinds of films. We are also planning on a 360 shot which we may have to enhance during editing, as these are also common to establish a sense of wonder / awe / confusion as the con is carried out.

We have decided to display our titles and credits over the sequence rather than on separate blank title slides that come up between the action. This means that during filming we may have to leave some space for credits and will need to take account of this in our planning. The title will be displayed at the end of the two minute sequence with the conventional low angle slow motion 'hero'  shot. We will be using hip-hop music which is less old-fashioned than jazz but will still give the right laid-back and stylistic tone and also creates an urban and 'hero' vibe.

Researching Titles and credits

Takers (Heist)

• At the beginning of this film, a fast paced sound track is used then it introduces the company’s logo. This was pretty quick and only took about 8 seconds to be shown.

• The background colour after the first company logo is black. This might be a way to set the tune that this film might not end with a happy ending as the colour doesn’t brighten the start of the film.

• White light then fades in and then back out creating another company logo at around the 20 seconds mark.

• No other credits are introduced after the ending of the second company logo. This might also be a way in making the film look mysterious as they aren't revealing any other information.

• When the logos are finally shown, they’re are bold and stand out

Fast Five (Heist) 

• This film begins with a slowly building up soundtrack which is introducing the company’s logo.

• As the first film I reviewed, there were no other credits involved.

• Also the music at the beginning, being fast paced, could make the audience expect an action packed film, and might be targeted at teenagers / adults

Think Like a Man (comedy)

• The beginning of this film is started off straight away with a cheerful music in the background while the credits are being introduced. 

• The background colour of the first credit is quite bright and happy, which could indicate to the audience that this is a happy / comedy film.

• There are then credits for the first 5 characters, showing their roles in the movie which could create an attachment to them and the character straight away, which means if something happens to them in the film, the audience will be affected by this.

• The credits showing the characters role in the film are bold and last up to 3 seconds so the audience can read them, but are still relatively short. The audience may judge the film as losing pace if they were too long.

Summary
 

We’ll be doing a heist/action/ comedy type kind of film, so I researched two heist films and one comedy film, so I got an idea of how we should produce a suitable beginning to our film. I’ve learnt that the music at the beginning is very important as it sets a pace for the whole movie, and we’ll need to pick the right type of music so it reflects in the audience’s eyes as being a comedy/action film. The font in which the credit will be presented will need to be considered as certain types of fonts represent the whole movie. E.g. if it was a red and bold font, the audience would expect that film to be a sinister / danger type of film. Also in the heist films I look at, there were no credits influencing the audience to believing that there was a special character, which I think was good as it would keep them interested to know what is going on. Who should I like? Who’s the bad guy? This are all question I believe the heist films gave to the audience in the opening by not revealing characters names. We can use different animations to make the film more exciting and keep the audience intrigued to know what will happen next

Production Ident Research

Production Company Logos and Idents

Screen Gems:

A lot of animation building it up

Duration:  14 seconds

When the name is shown, it stays up for about 5 seconds then fades out

Happy music playing not any bass in, creates settled feeling

Universal:

     22 seconds

8 bit

Slow paced music at the start, which begins to build up to a louder but still gentle tone

Pixel

Original Film:

Duration:  10 seconds

Dark fronted and bold (Gives an uncertain tone to the audience builds up an excited tension.)

Gentle music, yet at the same time the music is able to build up, which builds up in to the opening scene effectively.

Summary

These are usually 10-20 seconds long and are all designed in bold fonts. This gives the audience a short but good look at the production company’s logo. It also allows the audience to get the information they provide. From all the logos I have looked at it is clear that they are purposely thought out to be as attention grabbing but subtle as possible. The logos are not too 'in your face' but have been designed so if you see them once you can generally recognise them again. This is why I think that logos such as Universal and Original film are always recognisable by the name, as well as the constant use of them they are easy to recognise and remember. The sound or music before most of the logos were mostly dramatic, they built up from slow and quiet to quite loud and obnoxious. The animation of the actual logo or design around the logo was also one of the key ways helping take hold of the audience’s attention. They were all worked well infused with the sound or music, which makes it recognisable as well.

Titles and Credits Research

Researching Titles and credits

Think like a man (comedy film)

The beginning of this film is starts off with cheerful unassuming music in the background while the credits are being introduced. This creates a much more laid back atmosphere to start with as the music gets louder it doesn’t alter tone.

The background colours of the first credit are bright and happy, which indicates to the audience that this is a comedic film and there shouldn’t be any uncertainty in the tone of music.

There are then credits on 5 characters, showing their roles in the movie and that they are clearly important to the story. This creates a relationship to the characters straight away because we know something about them already.

The credits showing the characters role in the film is bold and lasts for three seconds each 3 this is so the audience can read it, additionally if it becomes long it takes away from the beginning of the film and any uncertainty we have about the characters.

Takers (Heist film)

At the beginning of this film, a very fast paced sound track is used. This creates a quick action atmosphere where the audience know something exciting or action packed is going to happen straight away. It then it introduces the company’s logo. This was quick and only took about 8 seconds to be shown. This is a relatively good time to spend on one logo.

White light then fades in and then back out creating another company logo at around the 20 second mark.

When the logos are finally shown, they’re are bold and stand out, Setting a few seconds for audience to prepare for the first scene the sound goes silent.

The background colour after the first company logo is black. This might be a way to set the atmosphere as the colour doesn’t brighten the start of the film, the audience can get the impression that it is not all going to be good and something bad may be about to happen.

No other credits are introduced after the ending of the second company logo. And it starts into the first scene.

Thor (Action/Sci-fi)

The sound at the start of this film is very different from Takers. The first logo appears from a fade in from black and the sound is carried with it. It slowly builds up and begins to just get louder. This sound gives the audience a quite tentative atmosphere as it is quite slow in pace and mysterious.

The animation starts from 0 seconds and it builds into the Paramount logo. The logo stays for about there seconds and then fads out.

At this point the famous Marvel comic strip animation fades in.

The sound now gets louder and has more instruments playing in it, by about 30 seconds into the whole film the music gets even louder and becomes more of an orchestral sound. It stays on the logo of Marvel for about three seconds and then as it fades out, so does the loud music. This all created quite suspense filled atmosphere, making the film seem exciting.

Summary

We’ll be doing a heist film that genre would be more or less action/ comedy. This is why I researched a heist film, a comedy film as well as an action film. It gave me a good idea of what ours should look like, sound like and what kind of atmosphere it gives off, it helps our group think about how we should create a suitable opening to our film. I’ve learnt that the music/sound at the beginning is very important as it sets a pace and atmosphere for the whole movie, and we’ll need to pick the right type of music so it reflects in the audience’s eyes as being a comedy/action film. The font in which the credit will be presented will need to be considered as certain types of fonts represent the whole movie E.g. if it was a red and bold font with a dark background, the audience would expect that film to be a sinister / horror film. I think it would be important to create a specific logo that can relate to our chosen genre because through the research I have done into tittles and credits I have seen that it sets the atmosphere, and considering our opening scene is only two minuets long it is a good way to set a precise professional atmosphere before the movie starts, relating to our genre. We can also use different animations to make the film more exciting and keep the audience intrigued to know what will happen next.

Production Logo Ideas

As a group we decided to take the lead and think about logo ideas. The first production logo idea was to create a distinct animated logo for our group. I was planning to do the logo in after effects; as a result, I managed to finish a draft logo. It was an effective logo but it did not necessarily fit well with the name of our group.

So as a group we re-imagined how we could improve our logo and we came up with some ideas. We thought that it should match our logo name and it should have a meaning. So the first thing came to my mind was that I could create something involving light and fire which could give a stunning effect. 

Before we start developing we researched about distribution and production logos. As a result we found that, it should last around 10-20 seconds and it should have a still image at the end. Most of the production logo's image is linked with its animated sequence but some are not. So we decided to make a difference and change the colour schemes of the two media types.


FireLight Logo

This logo is the official logo which could use in the blog and other publications. This is also the still image we are expecting to insert into the animated logo. 

I created the logo according to the design below. It is a very complex and time consuming design but we were expecting quality than quantity. The final logo was created according to the plan and awaiting for feedback.

This is the Drawn Design

I prefer not to use camera effects as it could create confusion and difficulty during production. We decided to keep it complex but not too much. As soon as the fire starts, the dark area in the screen lightens up, the wiggle in lighting makes it looks like it is almost real.

I also edited and created a sound clip for the animated logo. I matched the sound to action: in this case burning sound which fades out at the end. At the beginning of the audio clip I added a sound of 'fire start' to symbolise that the fire aggressively starts and lightens the area.

Production Company Logos

Screen Gems

• A lot of animation building it up
• 14 seconds
• When the name is shown, it stays up for about 3-5 seconds then fades
• Very happy music

Universal

• 22 seconds
• 8bit
• Slow paced music at first which builds up to louder but still gentle
• Pixel

Original Film

• 10 seconds
• Dark fronted and bold (makes the film look like it has darkness in it, i.e. something bad might happen in the film.)
• Gentle, yet at the same time sad music which builds up in to the opening.

Summary
 

The credits are usually 10-20 seconds long and are all designed in bold fonts to allow the audience to get the information they provide. And from the logos I've come across, I've learnt that they are usually, attention grabbing. The music before most of the logos were presented was mostly dramatic and built up from slow and gentle to fast and furious. Animation was also one of the key to all their presentations as it helped grasp the audience’s attention.

Titles and Credits - Shehan

Research into Credits

• Action and comedy hybrid films sometimes have credits over the action, good way to put them together is to crosscut between the titles and the clip.
• Many action films have credits on a separate title card. In many cases they have graphics and visual effects so they are noticeable. They also have enhanced music  which fades into the film beginning. 
• Some sci-fi movies have a separate screen for titles and credits, most of them are animated by effects and editing techniques to adapt to the style of the movie.
• Thriller and horror movies also have a separate screen for titles and credits which includes graphics to suit the movie.
• Use of fonts and text size is also important.
• Most films put titles and credits over a movie scene so it can get the attention of the audience without disturbing their entertainment. And also because the film won't start with boring titles and credits screen which puts off many people from watching a movie.
• Make the main actor's/ popular actor's name stand out and put it in the beginning of the movie so the audience know who's acting.
• In my research I found out that there is a order of presentation of title sequences:
• (NAME OF THE STUDIO)
• (NAME OF THE PRODUCTION COMPANY)
• (PRODUCER NAME) PRODUCTION or/and (director only) A FILM BY (DIRECTOR NAME)
• STARRING
• (FILM'S TITLE)
• FEATURING
• CASTING or CASTING BY
• MUSIC or MUSIC COMPOSED BY or ORIGINAL SCORE BY
• PRODUCTION DESIGN or PRODUCTION DESIGNER

Production Logo

• Most production logos last about 10 to 20 seconds to establish the company's creativity and it's brand in the audience.
• Most/all production logos are animated.
• They all dramatically build up, music creates the mood for the logo.
• Still image of the logo at the end.
• In some cases the logo and the image links but not all the time.
• Noticeable effects and transition used on the titles.
• Many of them had music playing but not all.

Ideas for Coursework

• Cross cut between credits and the sequence.
• Show main titles and credits at the end of the sequence.
• The font should also suit the movie.
• Effects and transition can be used to make it less boring. 
• Production logo is animated and music is added to the background.
• The still image at the end could be unlinked to make a difference.
• Production logo should be at least 10 seconds long.

Presenting Draft Storyboard

Here we are presenting our storyboard draft to our teacher and being questioned on it. Having to answer the questions helps you to make your ideas more clear and also shows whether the whole group are thinking the same thing or not.

 

From left to right: Kennedy, Jordan, Shehan

Prelim Task

This is the Prelim task that we have to film. We will evaluate it properly after we have filmed our main piece, seeing whether we have improved or not.

Opening 2 Minutes

In the opening two minutes of our film, we have an establishing shot of the location of the area and then it cuts to a tracking shot and also a no head shot mixed together. The man walks a few meters and stops at the door. Then it turns to a long shot behind him, still not showing his identity. Then it cuts into a POV shot of him opening the door. Then and over the head shot showing when you would see if you were behind him and entering the building. A high angle shot is then followed showing him walking through the room with 4 people sitting on chairs in front of a desk and the man walking through will interacting with the other individual’s already in the room.  The angle will still not reveal his identity which will keep the audience more interested to find out who this man is.
Then we’ll turn to a POV shot of one of the four people sitting down in the room look at the mysterious man walk forward to his desk then a mid-shot of him turning around, therefore finally revealing his identity. And a close up of his lips to show him communicating to the others in the room saying what the job is, and at the same time to an extreme close up of the blue prints title he will drop on the table which will have the title “Master Robbery Plan” which in it will have all the details they need to rob the bank.
Then we’ll cut to a long shot of all of them walking out as a group but in slow motion and then we keep cutting to mid-shots and within the mid-shot we’ll write their names and what their specialist skills are.  

Debating Initial Ideas

We have all come up with our own ideas for the opening sequence and here we are talking though how we can combine them, with help from the teacher and the rest of the class.

 

From left to right: Kennedy, Shehan, Jordan

Ideas for First 2 Minutes

Storyboard:

A)     * Titles appear, with edited sound playing for limelight media, Footsteps begin as it shows the rest of the titles.

* First shot – rear view of legs walking into a darkened room. Only light is in the middle of the room. Words appear onscreen saying ‘10 years ago’ and where it is set.

·         Shot doesn’t change, but it rises to a mid-shot. This is where we hear indistinct chatter from where the light is.

·          The four characters sitting in chairs around a table are seen talking about the person approaching.

·         The characters greet him in a friendly way and sit back down.

·         They all begin to ask the character standing up why they all are there.

·         A bird’s eye view of the table, then an over the shoulder shot shows the character standing and slowly sliding something onto the table. The other characters laugh and this makes the audience want to know what they were looking at.

·         This is where the scene ends.

·         This is important for the audience to see because they can clearly identify that the characters are all friends so they know nothing bad is about to happen. Also they get an idea of the leader of the group of characters although it’s not a clear idea. This shows them that he is perhaps a significant character in the film.

Value of Research So Far

What I have learned from research into opening scenes is:

•       It is important to set the scene.
•       It is important to try not to put too much into opening scenes.
•       Don’t establish the characters personalities too much, but enough so we know they are going to be important in the film. This is related to my opening scene because I have shown the main characters and how they are friends, but not shown there individual personalities yet.
•        It is a good idea to show the main character first so the audience sub-consciously identify the character as being important. This is why I choose to show the main walking into the room, he is on his own and stands up while greeted and doesn’t sit down whereas the others do.
•       Giving the audience a reason to continue watching. This is why I thought it would be a good idea to see the character slide something onto the table, and without the audience seeing what they are makes them want to watch on.
•       Do not make it to exciting as to give away too much at the start. No action takes place in my opening scene even though it’s quite an action filled film.
•       Establishing the scene is the most important thing i.e. where it is set, when it is set. This is why in my opening scene there will be writing on screen to show when the scene was set and where.
•       It is good to show the audience less. In this case less is best.
•       Showing a snippet of the storyline so it can entice the audience to watch on.

Ideas for Film Outline

A)     – Heist film

-          5 people/ characters re-united

-          They are all old friends that are coming together for one last job. 

-          They are going to rob 5 separate banks at the same time.

-          One is the leader that gets them together and thinks up the plan.

-          He needs each one of these people to help so he can rob all 5 banks at the same time. He is very pushy about this.

-          The robberies all work, but not without glitches.

-          They get a clean getaway, or so they think.

-           The leader of the group who thought the plan up and got them together has set them up to get caught.

-          He steals the money and leaves the rest of them to take the fall.

-          The rest of the film is about the 4 other characters, ten years later, trying to get the money and their so called friend back.