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.