With a name like 'Schnauzer Studios' I only really had one option with my ident - the beautiful inspiration for the studio, my giant schnauzer Constance. However, with this decided, I didn't want my ident to be too cheesy as it leads into a serious genre of film so I decided to create an ident like the MGM lion only with Connie onscreen.
This idea came with a few difficulties, the main one being Connie's resistance to do what was necessary in order to create the effect; this problem was intensified by the fact that she never barks so getting her to open her mouth was a real challenge!
We needed to use a green screen to film against so we could add the studio name and background in post production. To get the best effect I needed good light on the scene so I chose to set up the screen in front of big windows we have in our living room which allowed the shot to have loads of natural light. As I was able to do this I had the white balance on the camera set to natural light to make sure the picture was the correct colour.
As Connie's fur is black she is often difficult to pick up on camera as she blends into the background so I used quite a low ISO in order to get a clearer picture. The high level of light also allowed me to use this.
Connie obviously didn't stay still so I used manual focus so the camera didn't adjust itself throughout the filming to ensure a clear, stable shot.
We used a tripod we had at home to make sure the picture was steady and make it look as professional as possible.
In the end we found waving a treat in front of Connie's face sometimes made her open her mouth however, as if she was being deliberately awkward, she never performed when the camera was rolling. It took us just over an hour (with several breaks for her) but we managed it! I am very happy with the end result and can't wait to see what it looks like when we add the after effects.
Scene 1
- Starts from a black screen, silent
- Muffled sound, just a child speaking as the picture fades in severely unfocussed
- Wide shot, characters are in the centre, sat on the floor. Child is being cradled by the girl
- Picture starts to come into focus and the child's words become more clear
- We can now see the image more clearly and hear that the child is asked where their parents are, teenage girl is upset but clearly trying to be strong, she doesn't speak
- Soft non-diegetic sound starts to come in as the picture becomes more clear signifying sadness and tragedy
- Colours are harsh and blue toned connoting loneliness and sadness
- Camera is steady, totally stationary, only the focus changes
Scene 2
- Really loud gunshot as the screen cuts to black, very severe, contrasts with the muffled softness of the opening scene.
- Silence
- After a couple of seconds we get a green line entering the screen accompanied by the diegetic sounds of a heart monitor. This carries the credits in
- As we reach the end of the credits we get the diegetic sounds of a hospital fading in, slowly becoming louder and louder
- Then, after the final credit, the line goes flat and we get one continuous beep. The diegetic hospital sound reaches a climax
Scene 3
- We cut from the black screen to a bright white hospital setting. Everyone's dressed in white and I would like to experiment with shining a light into the camera to create a severe glare.
- Camera is low down looking up at people moving around and in front of it, obscuring our view of the setting. There's a table which we're not underneath but are looking up at so we can't see what's on top of it
- Very hectic, camera is steady
- Lots of diegetic hospital sounds - beeps! talking, medical terminology, doors banging, wheels on the floor, phones ringing, trays clanging etc.
- We can pick up certain words like, "Cardiac arrest," so the audience has an idea of what's going on but still feels small and scared
Scene 4
This is really the same as scene 3 except with flashbacks cutting in and out. All flashbacks have quiet sound to contrast with the hospital setting.
- Defibrillator is brought out to cue the flashbacks, each flashback is introduced by the use of the defibrillator on the patient
- First flashback: Happy family, sat together on a sofa, mid-shot of them laughing
- Cut back to hospital setting but the camera is no longer so low down, we've moved up so are higher in the scene and have a better view of what's going on. Camera is stationary, it doesn't move whilst we're watching it
- Second flashback: Close-up of the girl listening to the radio where there's a news report about a mass murderer. This identifies the girl as the main character. Handheld camera work, shows her life's losing control, it's about to be destroyed
- Back to the hospital and the camera is now positioned higher up looking down on the table where we can see a patient's feet
- Third flashback: Girl is sobbing holding her heart, close-up of her again and handheld, reflects her loss of stability - dark lighting
- Back in the hospital the camera has moved up her body so we can now see her torso
- Fourth flashback: The girl is running through the woods, handheld really unstable camera work following her, tells the audience she's being chased
- Back in the hospital for the last time and the camera is right over her face in a close-up so we can see it's the girl. Her face is bruised and bloody connoting that she's been attacked - the person in the woods caught her
- The girl's eyes fly open and she sits up bringing her face towards the camera screaming really loudly
Title
- Screen cuts to black and the title fades in with some soft, sinister non-diegetic sound, a little like the soundtrack to the 'Stranger Things' opening.
As my company name is Schnauzer Studios I thought it would only be right to use my inspiration in my ident - my giant schnauzer, Connie. I am going to take inspiration from the MGM lion but replace the lion head with my dog's face.
There are some issues which would accompany this, for example trying to get Connie to do anything I want could take a lot of time. Also, I would have to film it on a green screen and add everything else in post production using after effects which could be challenging but which I am very willing to have a good go at.
I think this would be a good idea because it is relevant to my company name however it's still serious enough to come before my film opening whilst maintaining a professional tone.
I have chosen to work alone on this project. This is because I would like to learn how to complete every element of the task myself to improve my skills in media studies as it is a subject I really enjoy and would love to pursue as a career. I also have a clear idea of the opening of my film and the way it will look and I believe I will be able to achieve this myself. I am very interested in the history, theory, techniques, signifiers and conventions used in films and I am really enjoying exploring a genre I'd never paid a huge amount of attention to.
Therefore I am very happy with my decision to work alone as I am finding the tasks useful and interesting and I'm looking forward to starting to film and learning the skills that will go along with that. It also means that I am in control of the whole task and I know what's been done and how well, this makes me feel more confident and actually more relaxed, despite the fact that I'm doing more work.
I think my film idea fits pretty smoothly into the crime/thriller genre. I am going to use common features such as dark, bluey tones, factual information (like press stories and the news), lots of diegetic sound and naturalistic costumes and settings.
How my film idea fits in:
- I am going to start from black, this was a generic feature that almost every film opening I looked at used.
- My first shot will be very out of focus and slowly fade in. This is part of my technique to make the audience feel uncomfortable, to kind of create the feeling of threat the characters feel through my use of contrasts. This idea was also encouraged by the depth of field used in the opening of collateral to show the untrustworthiness of the character we see and how there may be more to them than what is first presented to the audience. This is what I want to show with the first two characters introduced, there is a backstory to them, we don't know their circumstances, we don't know why they're where they are. All of this uncertainty is represented in the unclear vision the audience has of them.
- The colour scheme of 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' was very dark, blue and beak. I want to use this colour scheme in my first shot, I would like it to be quite blue as this connotes sadness and loss and is also a colour often used in police stations, where the characters are supposed to be.
- I really liked the sound used on 'The Snowtown Murders', it was exceptionally effective in creating tension which is what I want to do. I think I'll do a soundscape like this when the titles are rolling but it will sound like a hospital. This hints as to where the next scene will be but the audience don't know the circumstances which makes them feel on edge. There is also negative connotations attached to hospitals because of the upset and trauma they deal with.
- I am going to use mainly steady camera work to make the audience focus on what's going on in the scene rather than having loads of movement however, I really liked the look of the 'Bourne Identity' opening scene, all of which was filmed handheld. Therefore I was thinking of doing my flashbacks with a handheld camera to show the panic leading up to the climax. It will also add to my contrasts as it is different to the steady camera work.
- I am going to pan up the body of the patient on the operating table to build tension as the audience is wondering whose heart has stopped. This delayed entry or introduction to the character is used in crime thrillers to keep the audience guessing and on the edge of their seats. It was effectively used in 'The Departed' when the main character's face was kept hidden right until the final frame of the film, this instantly told the audience he was an important character but also connoted his doubtful past and motives. These suspicions were supported by the flashback later in the opening showing how he could murder without guilt.
- I am going to start my opening in a police station where the two siblings are told of their parents death (this detail would be revealed later in the plot, not in the opening scene). I will then cut to an operating table where the character has been shot, presumably by the same people that murdered her parents. Then I will do flashbacks to when her parents were alive leading up to their death. If the film was to continue it would follow the story of the girl who survived the attempted murder as she aids the police in trying to find the killer. The plot at the beginning hops around a bit and could be quite confusing for the audience. This reflects the complexity of the murder investigation and how the police are trying to work through every bit of information they know. If the film were to continue the plot would jump around different peoples perspectives and between past and present to mimic all the pieces of information coming together and the links slowly beginning to form until they find out who the killer is.
This is a bit like the opening sequence from 'The Departed' as we think all the characters introduced are going to be with us through the whole film however it turns out the entire opening sequence is a flashback in the protagonists life. Therefore at the very end the plot jumps back to present day to link us into the rest of the film.
However, I wanted this film to be a bit more unique with it's structure, not following the usual beginning, middle and end formula. This makes it stand out and keeps the audience on their toes. It also makes it more naturalistic as it is a more accurate reflection on how a crime is solved.
- I really liked the font on the titles of 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' as it was a bit different to the others and made the title sequence slightly more uncomfortable to watch. It also indicates that there may be more to the plot than the audience firsts imagines, possibly something dark and sinister. I am going to take inspiration from this text and make my title, which comes up at the very end of my film, an interesting font, possibly with all my letters slightly different indicating that something doesn't add up and these subtle differences in the text disrupt the formality and continuity we like to see, again making the audience feel uncomfortable.
However, my credits are going to roll about halfway through my opening scene on a heart monitor and therefore are going to be sans-serif, in line with the usual crime thriller titles. This is because I want it to feel clinical and factual to reflect how the characters are in a hospital. Also, I don't want the audience to be focussed on the text, their attention should be on the heart monitor and the diegetic sound as they try and figure out what's going on, therefore the sans-serif text shouldn't distract them as much.
- Characters:
A lot of the film openings I looked at either focussed on male characters or had female characters as the victims. For example, 'The Departed' focussed on a boy, our protagonist, being moulded by a man, possibly our antagonist. Also, 'Zodiac' starts with the murder of a young, blonde girl. 'Seven' has a male lead, as does 'The Bourne Identity', 'Collateral' and there wasn't a single female character in the opening of 'The Snowtown Murders'. This also goes for other films I looked at that were in the same genre but didn't have the right tone or no opening scene online e.g 'Tell No-one' 'Ocean's 11' and 'Heat'.
This is in line with the general representations of gender we see in the media today - men are strong, powerful, heroes, tough and villains, just generally the protagonist and often the antagonist of the story.
Women, on the other hand, are soft, weak, beautiful, there to serve as the other half of a relationship and very emotional. They are often the victims and need to be saved by our male protagonist who they promptly fall in love with.
However, there is a movement called feminism which arose in the sixties to achieve equal rights for men and women. This calls for women to have the same chance to have lead roles as men but, unfortunately, men are still represented three times as much as women. This is what I would like to challenge in my film opening. I want my lead character to be female. She is a teenage girl with a younger sibling and both her parents have been killed; this means she has to be strong, brave and independent, qualities never really represented by women in the media. She is going to be shot in the opening sequence but recover and, instead of running from a town she knows is fraught with danger, within which someone is trying to kill her, she says strong and remains to be the hero of the story and fight to capture whoever is terrorising the town.
Overall, my film opening will have enough crime thriller signifiers to clearly place it within that genre of cinema, however I want to challenge social expectations and the generic representations of women in the media by having my protagonist as a strong woman. I also want to have a less generic structure to my film to set it apart from other crime thrillers and make it unique so it stands out in a very popular genre of film.
I think this film exemplifies my chosen genre because it strikes the right tone which I would like to replicate in my opening. I like the fact that the plot turns so someone we would normally be encouraged to feel very sympathetic towards we actually think is responsible for the murder of his wife. It is dark and has twists and turns so the audience is left on the edge of their seats constantly trying to solve the mystery.
If I was going to make 'Dreamtown' a full length film this is what I would drive to create. A feeling of threat and worry where the audience is never fully sure of what's going on or who to trust. It would maintain a tense atmosphere throughout the film as the audience would never be in the know meaning they could never truly relax, safe with a collection of facts; they would always be hanging onto the plot.
Gone girl achieves this and this is why I believe it is a key film that I should pay definite attention to when making my own film opening.
I feel like my pitch went pretty well, I made a keynote presentation to help me remember all my points so I managed to say everything I wanted.
Once I had a set idea I bullet pointed each section in a brief synopsis - this was the first slide of my presentation. Then I went into detail about each scene to cover camera angles, brief speech, sound, colours etc. I didn't read off the slides because I didn't think it would be as engaging so I made bullet points on the slide but elaborated on them when I was delivering the presentation.
I then made a slide that listed the strengths of my idea to help convince the group that my idea was achievable and would be effective when executed.
Overall I think I presented my idea well however I feel it may have been a bit long but I just wanted to get every point across to justify each of my actions in the film opening to make it as effective as possible.
These crime/thriller films actually had quite small budgets ranging from $90 million in 'The Departed' to $7 million in 'Fargo'. This is due to the lack of major special effects required in sci-fi and action films and makes the genre easier to recreate.
To create my whole film I would need an estimate budget of around $30 million. This is because I would need a significant amount of money to afford the different kinds of cameras for example the Arri Alexa Cameras which were used on Oscar award winning films such as 'The Revenant' and 'Birdman' which showed it's incredible capabilities to create shots with a huge amount of detail without distortion. This would be perfect for my film as I want to create a different look using contrasting camera angles and lighting so would therefore need cameras that can cope with such fluctuating conditions. I would also need a camera able to film in low light as many of the scenes would be filmed at night or in dark settings such as woodland to make the film more dark and sinister.
I would also need a professional make-up artist to create injuries and wounds that looked believable to the audience. This would go along with the need for hiring or recreating locations such as hospital wards and police stations to give it an exceptionally naturalistic feel which would greatly contrast with the changing camera work making the audience feel uncomfortable and unsafe.
I would also need to pay the script writers, producers, DOP, set designers, costume designers, a post-production team as well as actors and extras of which there'd be many to create the feel of a real town. This would take a significant chunk from my budget.
However, as all my scenes take place in one town I wouldn't need a huge number of sets which would reduce costs. Also, as it's so naturalistic, I wouldn't need a lot of expensive props as everything would need to be what you would see in an average town.
Therefore I would not need an extortionate budget but it would still need to be significant enough to create a professional, exciting looking piece.
I could use a UK distributer like Twentieth Century Fox or Warner Bros for my film as these companies distributed 'Gone Girl' and 'Zodiac' both of which had similar budgets.
Famous directors in the crime thriller genre are:
- Quentin Tarantino
- The Coen Brothers
- Alfred Hitchcock
- David Fincher
Alfred Hitchcock was born in 1899 and died in 1980 and in that time he directed one of the most famous thrillers in history, psycho, in 1960. He has now had a film made about him and his time directing 'Psycho', (called 'Hitchcock', released in 2012) securing his status as one of the most famous directors in history.
Quentin Tarantino was born in 1963 and has directed several famous films including 'Pulp Fiction' and 'Reservoir Dogs', both of which are crime films. One of his trade marks is that he likes to use tracking shots and always has at least one long, unbroken take where the character is being followed around somewhere. This is like Alejandro G. Iñárritu in the 2014 film 'Birdman' which is all one continuous shot and is exceptionally clever and effective.
Joel Coen was born in 1954 and Ethan Coen in 1957 and together they directed famous films such as 'Fargo' in 1996 and 'O Brother Where Art Thou?' in 2000, both of which were crime however their films span many genres which they often even parody. They have won serval awards for their work including 'Fargo' which won 'Best Original Screenplay'.
David Fincher was born in 1962 and directed many of the crime thrillers I chose to look at for inspiration which I didn't realise until I looked at the films director. I had been unknowingly drawn to his work. I liked the dark tone the films had as crime films can be taken in many different ways, through from thriller to comedy, and I liked the sinister tone of his opening scenes. I would now love to look into more of his work, especially watching the rest of 'Gone Girl' and 'Seven' and exploring the angle he took when creating 'The Social Network'.
It is difficult to show the changing of crime/thriller films as they came about in the 1900s from the beginning of romanticising the act of crime e.g. heroic detectives such as Sherlock Holmes as early as 1900 and 1903. Over the years crime thrillers have evolved and mutated, changing in direction, focus and tone to create the variety we have today ranging from films with comedic undertones such as 'Ocean's 11' to very serious formulas like 'The Girl on the Train.'
Early crime films were often about detectives e.g. 'Sherlock Holmes' and 'Mr Wrong Detective' in 1938 and the stories used were often based on novels. The films were not made for literary prestige or appeal until the rise of 'Film Noir', a term created by French critiques in 1946 to describe films with dark stories. At the time, this was a contemporary emergence of maturity in American Films and it left the heroes often doomed by passion, giving the traditional crime films more depth and bringing us a step closer to the severely sub-plotted crime thrillers we watch today.
After World War Two crime thrillers in America were shaped by the fear of nuclear bombs (e.g 'Kiss me Deadly' made in 1955).
In the UK 'A Touch of Evil' was the last film before the decline of 'Film Noir'. This strand of crime thrillers was replaced with more comedic crime films such as 'The Lavender Hill Mob' in 1951. This time period also saw the emergence of psychological thrillers such as 'Stranger on a Train' made in 1951 and 'Psycho' in 1960 which, along with others, were directed by the emerging director Alfred Hitchcock.
Crime films were reinvented for a younger audience in the 1970s by films such as 'The Godfather' (1972) and 'Chinatown' (1974).
At the end of the century the rise in public fear of crime created a great target audience for crime thrillers across the globe and allowed the creation of films such as 'Pulp Fiction' in 1994. Another strain of crime thriller blossomed in this era with 'Basic Instinct' leading the way for more 'romantic', steamy crime thrillers.
Finally, a very distinctive take on this genre has come to light - deadpan crime comedy - with directors such as the Coen brothers creating successful films such as 'Blood Simple' in 1985 and 'Fargo' in 1996 which won two academy awards.
I'm hoping to take the darker strain of crime thriller in my opening such as 'Gone Girl' - I want to create a very tense, unpleasant feel for the audience to make the film very uncomfortable to watch, kind of like the French practitioner Artaud who worked in 'Theatre of Cruelty' and even had audiences at his plays seated in cages. I want to reach out to them and make the film uncomfortable for them to watch by using harsh contrasts to shock them and make them feel under threat, just like the characters of 'Dreamtown' who don't know who's going to be the next to die.
Here the font is very simple, it's all sans-serif and capital giving it a matter of fact feel reflective of the way crimes are solved. It is also slightly translucent connoting that there is more to the crime than we first see and it will ultimately be be very difficult to solve.
The screen changes from the picture of a girl to a black screen which reflects the title 'Gone Girl'.
The general colour palette is dark, blues and greys. The have connotations of sadness, tragedy, crime and 'wrong doing'. This sets the tone for the rest of the film.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Opening Titles
Much like 'Gone Girl', these titles are very dark, almost all black which definitely connotes danger and death. Furthermore, the title is engulfed by a black liquid showing the all consuming darkness of the film - it sets a very clear, tense tone.
The text is sans-serif but odd looking, almost spiky and unpleasant to look at. This could be implying an unpleasant story line and foreshadow future discomfort later in the film.
Pulp Fiction Opening Titles
These titles, unlike the first two, have serif text and are actually quite bright. There is vibrant orange underneath a mucky yellow. This connotes that there is more to the characters than meets the eye and their actions are very unexpected.
This does not fit in with the general crime/thriller title as they are pleasant to look at and the text is serif - it's almost more commercial, less matter of fact than the rest of the titles I've looked at.
Fargo Opening Titles
These titles are more like 'Gone Girl', clean and matter of fact. This could reflect how it is based on true events and, again. how they are trying to solve a crime.
The colour choices are interesting as they do not conform with the standard crime/thriller colour scheme. Even 'Pulp Fiction' is on a black background but here the background is white, a colour usually associated with innocence, goodness and safety. It was actually used in the opening sequence to blend into snow white a car then drove out of which was effective editing. Therefore the white has a slight blue tint connoting there is sadness and tragedy in the story. It also makes it seem cold and unwelcoming which creates negative emotions within the audience before they've even seen where the car is driving.
The font is simple, capitalised and sans-serif, the general look for crime/thriller films.
Zodiac Opening Titles
This font is also capitalised and sans-serif suggesting that a something is being solved that involves factual information and careful planning and consideration.
However the strike through the 'O' is sinister and disrupts the order of the text creating a feeling of unease. This connotes how something strange is going on and how there's more to the story than there first initially seems.
Seven Opening Titles
These titles actually jump around on the screen in the title sequence so it was difficult to get a screenshot. They are sans-serif, much like most of the other titles but appear scratched on indicating that much of the case is yet to be solved, possibly the characters are faced with something they've never seen before.
The 'V' in the word is replaced with the number '7' in the titles indicating the importance of the number and how it will eventually lead to the pattern the murderer is following - the 7 deadly sins.
It also disrupts the flow of the text connoting how this case is different to all the others and is difficult to solve.
The words are on a black background, again setting a dark tone for the film.
The Bourne Identity Opening Titles
These titles are very simple, capitalised and sans-serif which could connote how the protagonist has lost all his memories and is only left with simple disjointed thoughts. This is also reflected through how the text is separate, not joined up. They are on a black background showing the underlying darkness of Bourne's story which we come to learn later in the series.
There is a slight blue tint shining behind the text. This has connotations of loneliness and sadness possibly relating to Bourne's history as an assassin but also symbolising how he is alone in a dangerous, frightening situation.
The almost futuristic very computerised look of the text reflects the technology used to try and find him and his background in the secret service.
Hostage Opening Titles
In this title sequence cast names appear on the side of buildings trough a city, this particular shot is a bird's eye view looking down between the buildings possibly showing how the characters search high and low for answers.
The colour scheme is black and white, much like the other titles, but the background is not solid, there's things going on, possibly connoting chaos later in the film. The font is red so it stands out in the titles. Red has connotations of danger, pain and warning suggesting to the viewer that the film is about an unpleasant event that the hero has to stop or save. There are bits of black in the first few letters creating a darker feel to the picture showing us the severity of what happened.
Overall, crime thrillers use:
-Sans-serif text
-Capitalised text
-Dark colours
-Solid backgrounds
They are generally quite factual as they are about crimes but have a darker spin. Some have slightly different text like 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' which I really like as it creates a real sense of unease.
Top 5 (in no particular order because that would be impossible): - Beauty and the Beast
- Tangled
- Top Gun - Titanic - Kingsman - Monsters Inc.
- Love Actually
- Jason Bourne - Slumdog Millionaire -Love, Rosie - Bridesmaids
- The Breakfast Club
- The Grinch
- Catching Fire
- Despicable Me - Alice in Wonderland
- Harry Potter (all except 6, if pushed I would have to say 4's my favourite)
This was very difficult to narrow down my because I love watching films however, I've kind of done it, but I'm pretty sure my top 5 will change again tomorrow (or at least after I've seen the new Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them).
Beauty and the Beast:
A Disney classic and I love Disney so I think my connection to this film was an inevitable fact of life. I have watched it my entire life, from being very little to just last week and I think that's why it holds such a place in my heart. Whenever I watch it it's like being wrapped in a warm blanket whilst being handed a cup of hot chocolate; it has a feeling of safety about it that I'm drawn to every time my life hits a bump in the road.
The story itself is so good and Belle is a great, strong female lead who I'm so glad I looked up to as a child. Unfortunately in the early Disney films, it's not often the female character is the hero of the story, but here it's Belle who gives herself up in the place of her father being brave, strong and independent. This is what I've grown up to be, yes because of my environment and how I was raised, but also because my childhood hero was a strong, selfless girl and I think that's something really important.
This film is so familiar that even the opening chords of the intro give me goosebumps - I'd know them anywhere. This is actually one of the two films whose soundtrack I hear come in and out simply because I know it so well. This happened when I watched the teaser trailer for the new live action Beauty and the Beast, the first thing we heard was the music which I believe was a very good editing decision for a film with such a big fanbase.
The opening sequence is a voiceover telling us a story to give us a background view on the characters and an idea of what the story is going to be. This also makes it feel like a bedtime story adding to the warm, relaxing mood I experience when watching it. However, to the younger viewer, the film is actually quite scary. The beast is very menacing and the music used when he's around really creates a frightening scene for younger viewers - the target audience for the film. This is an interesting choice made by the director as it risks the film actually being too scary for the target audience, possibly reducing profit as parents refuse to buy the film that traumatised their child. However, luckily for Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise, they managed to strike the balance just right, appealing to older children with the heightened level of maturity than in other early Disney films such as Cinderella and Snow White, but keeping it child friendly enough for younger children and therefore making a profit of $424,967,620.
Titanic:
I will hang my head in shame as I confess that I didn't see the Titanic until I was 17. The thing was, I am a very emotional person, especially when it comes to films and books, as I become heavily invested in the characters and storyline. Therefore I chose not to put myself through the crushing pain this film would undoubtably bring. And I should have waited longer. When it comes to pausing the film because you can't actually hear what's happening over the all-consuming sound of your sobs, you know a wrong decision was made somewhere down the line. However, despite the emotional trauma and scarring, you cannot fault the extraordinary film making demonstrated on all parts to create this masterpiece.
There must have been just a slight bit of pressure recreating the most famous ship sinking disaster in history but I believe they pulled it off flawlessly. Leonardo Dicaprio and Kate Winslet played their parts down to a 'T', completely engrossing me in their story that, in just 3 hours and 15 minutes, totally finished me off (as in, we had to order a pizza and watch Jurassic World just to try and recover the strength to get me up the stairs).
The sets on the film were amazing, creating all the grandeur the Titanic would have had and, when it came to it sinking the effects were so real I struggled to remind myself that I was in fact sat in a living room and not aboard myself.
And lets not even mention the heart wrenching soundtrack provided by Cèline Dion. It was so perfect for the film and fitted in seamlessly, even though there was lyrics. I can find that if a song with lyrics is used in a film it ca detract from the action as you are focussed on the wrong thing. Not here. This added to the tone of the film, creating an absolutely heartbreaking tragedy.
Overall I thought this film was phenomenal, an absolutely epic creation that did the real event justice. I was awed by the visual effects, storyline and music, all combining to create one of my definite top 5 films however, it's not one I will be watching in the near future, there's only so much emotional upheaval one person can take.
Slumdog Millionaire:
Again, I was a little late on the bandwagon but I finally got round to watching this film in February this year. I thought it was amazing. The time and effort that must of gone into creating such a phenomenally complex and intertwined storyline is unimaginable but massively appreciated by viewers of the film.
At first the film is quite confusing as we jump from the beginning to the very end all the way through, slowly finding out how our protagonist knows the answers to the questions on the gameshow 'Who Wants to be a Millionaire'. The filming and editing process must have been so complicated and, now having an insight into the world of media and production, I have the upmost respect for everyone involved in the creation of such a film. Not only did the film have an amazing storyline but it dealt with serious issues affecting developing countries and hammered home the impact this is having by making them personal to the characters we support and warm to. It's a very effective way of raising awareness without it being boring or just words on a leaflet, it makes it seem more real and upsetting as we sympathise with the characters.
The camera work and editing also make the film feel so personal and life-like. Close-up shots and the use of and handheld cameras make us feel as though we're in the action, living through each moment with the protagonist. It's exceptionally well done and still sticks out to me as one of the best film's I've ever watched.
Bridesmaids:
This is by far one of my absolute favourite films of all time. I love comedies because, as good as it is to watch a film as jaw-dropping as the Titanic, sometimes you need to come away from the settee with a spring in your step rather than with your knuckles dragging along the floor.
The opening scene is certainly an eyebrow raiser and the narrative enigma really draws the audience into the film. Slowly they reveal character relationships and backgrounds but this is done gradually so it's not an onslaught of information. This makes the film easy to watch as there's not a huge amount of concentration required. It also helps that everything is laid out for the viewer, they're not left wondering who's who or trying to figure out a complicated plot. This means we can just sit back and accept what we're given making it my go-to chill out film.
The acting is incredible and that's what makes it such a success; the storyline is fab and the script is funny but the lines delivered any other way than they were in the film wouldn't have been even half as hilarious as they were.
The non-diegetic sound is subtle and creates the right mood at certain points in the film. This is important as, although it's a comedy, there's still the underlying sad plot line of the main character which gives the film some depth and adds even greater satisfaction to the audience at the end when her problems are resolved, increasing it's feel-good effect. But the stand out sound moment has to be the perfectly selected Wilson Philips song which caps off the entire film making us feel like we can do anything at all. This intertextuality also adds to the film's 'real life' feel and appeals to the audience as it's a song they've possibly listened to before making the film seem really personal and applicable to their own lives. I for one just love the song and have it on my phone for an instant boost if I'm ever feeling down.
Although it's my favourite genre of film to watch, I would never take on a comedy as they are so difficult to pull off. You have to strike the right note on something that is relatable but still exaggerated just enough for it to be comical. This is a balance 'Bridesmaids' strikes perfectly.
I love the concept and I can't believe it wasn't fallen upon sooner; each character's individual personality trait is funny in it's own right and combined they leave me struggling for breath and with abs an olympian would die for.
Alice in Wonderland:
As much as I'm a fan of original Disney, my favourite version of this film is Tim Burton's live action remake of the classic. Even if you hated the story there's no way you could come away from this film in anything other than awe at it's visual effects. They are outstanding, Wonderland may as well exist. Of course I had no real appreciation of this when I first watched it 7 years ago but as I re-watched it through my teenage years I started to realise the phenomenal techniques required to create such a life like land. That's when I started looking online at how they did it, I watched hours of behind the scenes footage, looking at sets, make up, costume and post-production visual effects to see the whole film come together. What really surprised me was that almost the entire film was done on a green screen. I kind of expected there to be sets built of things like rooms in the Red Queen's Castle or the tea party for the Mad Hatter and the March Hare, but no, everything in Wonderland was green screened, even down to some costumes such as Tweedledum and Tweedledee (both of which were played by Matt Lucas) who were just in green suits. Everything we see was added afterwards - a huge task that took design after design. It's truly unbelievable.
And what struck me after I found out about all this was how talented the actors must've been to act in a world that didn't exist, to talk to things that weren't there and react to actions that weren't happening. I have a huge amount of respect for anyone involved in the production of such a cinematic masterpiece.
I love this film so much I could sing you the theme music right now, I would know it anywhere and this is the second of the only two films I notice the music in at all, when it starts to play and when it stops - I love it that much! In fact last night they played it in the recap of I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here and the Australian jungle simply faded into total insignificance. It fits the tone of the film so perfectly, it's haunting and magical and tense and exciting all at the same time. They somehow managed to make a nursery rhyme-like tune dark and thrilling to listen to, it's truly outstanding (in my humble and admittedly quite biased opinion).
I went to see it at the cinema and, at the tender age of 10, the first thing I said when it ended was, "Will they make a second?!" I never held out much hope for that and, after 6 years I'd all but given up. Then, out of nowhere I had a mini breakdown in the cinema as a trailer for 'Alice through the Looking Glass' flashed before my very eyes. I could return to Wonderland.
And what had enticed me so greatly into that world? Well, the world. It's amazing, a whole society that co-exists with our comparatively mundane, boring one where animals and flowers can talk, where drinks make you shrink and cakes make you grow, where exciting and terrifying creatures roam free and absolutely anything you dream of is possible, especially the impossible. It was something that captured the mind of little ten year old me and is still a world I love to be enveloped in now. Even the words, exciting simply because they were different from ours, etched themselves into my mind and I can still shamelessly remember every single word of the Jaberwocky poem and the six impossible things Alice can do before breakfast.
It's safe to say I'm a little obsessed.
All of them start from black, this creates a sense of mystery.
Most text is sans-serif except The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. This is because it makes it feel more factual, like a real life crime. This is added to by the use of factual information creating a timeline of events for the audience like the police do when they're trying to solve a mystery.
There is also quite a lot of use of real life information - the news, radios, press questions and old footage. This is mostly in Fargo, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Zodiac and The Departed. It added to the 'real life' feel, made it more believable.
There was a lot of use of diegetic sounds to create life like scenarios like in The Snowtown Murders and Seven's credits. I liked the layering of diegetic sounds and the atmosphere this created.
On a similar note, there was also a lot of sound the audience couldn't hear - muffled or in another language (The Bourne Identity) - this created tension and added to the air of mystery as we didn't know what was going on.
I also liked the sound contrasts in Seven (metronome and bedroom) and Collateral (outside the taxi and when he shuts the door). This jolted the scene and foreshadowed something unexpected. It also made for uneasy watching which is what I want to focus on in my opening.
Lighting was all quite dark and blue/grey tinged, especially in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. This is because these colours have negative connotations and help set the tone of the film - serious and scary.
I liked the use of focus and depth of field in Collateral, the fact that the character was surrounded by an unclear background symbolised his unclear personality, motives or whether he should be trusted.
Mostly steady camera work but I liked the chaos the handheld camera gave in The Bourne Identity. I also liked how people were walking in front of the camera, it made it feel real and more panicked - I could do this in the hospital scene.
I like how in The Departed the audience's view of the man character was obscured until the end of the opening scene. It built tension and highlighted the characters importance and untrustworthy nature. I might do this when revealing who's on the hospital bed, slowly panning up the body to reveal the face last to build tension and emphasise the importance of that character.
These films actually had quite small budgets ranging from $90 million in 'The Departed' to $8 million in 'Pulp Fiction'. This is due to the lack of major special effects required in sci-fi and action films and makes the genre easier to recreate.
To create my whole film I would need an estimate budget of around $50 million. This is because I would need a significant amount of money to afford the different kinds of cameras for example the Arri Alexa Cameras which were used on Oscar award winning films such as 'The Revenant' and 'Birdman' which showed it's incredible capabilities to create shots with a huge amount of detail without distortion. This would be perfect for my film as I want to create a different look using contrasting camera angles and lighting so would therefore need cameras that can cope with such fluctuating conditions. I would also need a camera able to film in low light as many of the scenes would be filmed at night or in dark settings such as woodland to make the film more dark and sinister.
I would also need a professional make-up artist to create injuries and wounds that looked believable to the audience. This would go along with the need for hiring or recreating locations such as hospital wards and police stations to give it an exceptionally naturalistic feel which would greatly contrast with the changing camera work making he audience feel uncomfortable and unsafe.
I would also need to pay the script writers, producers, DOP, set designers, costume designers, a post-production team etc. This would take a significant chunk from my budget.
However, as all my scenes take place in one town I wouldn't need a huge number of sets or actors which would reduce costs. Also, as it's so naturalistic, I wouldn't need a lot of expensive props as everything would need to be what you would see in an average town.
Therefore I would not need an extortionate budget but it would still need to be significant enough to create a professional, exciting looking piece.
I absolutely love watching films and consequently have seen many openings in several different genres (admittedly excluding horror as I have never made it through a title sequence). From what I've seen there are different ways you can approach openings; you can either start it with a bang, have a full on action sequence providing a little, initially meaningless information but really leaving the whole thing as a narrative enigma (e.g. Dr Strange and Heat) or start out with scene setting, laying out all the information the audience initially needs (e.g. Beauty and the Beast and The Great Gatsby). Either way, the audience has got to be hooked by either the shocking opening sequence or the gripping, interesting plot.
Usually, the opening scene comes before the titles when the sequence ends (normally dramatically) the title then appears on our screens to give it the maximum effect - the audience is already pretty riled up or hooked in so when the titles come on they're like, "Oh yeah! I'm so excited for the rest of this film!"
If the credits come at the start (which they normally do in older films e.g. The Breakfast Club) something should be happening at the same time, in this example they have a soundtrack playing. Even so it can get a little tedious just watching name after name appear onscreen. Therefore in modern films they tend to have opening credits appearing in a more interesting way e.g. following people or objects into the shot or having them rolling while there's some kind of action taking place or sound they can listen to. This keeps the audience engaged in the film rather than having them zoning out. Some modern films such as 'Deadpool' even acknowledged the 'boringness' of credits and made them humorous for the audience which clearly set the tone for the film.
Overall the opening scene of a film has to engage the audience and set the tone for the rest of the film. It is the most important part as it what the audience will base their initial thoughts on and could be the grounds on which they decide whether to watch the rest. Therefore it needs to be impactful and concise, it sets the scene whilst leaving a lot of room for development and drama in the rest of the film.
Films in the same genre as my opening - Crime/Thriller
-The girl on the train - no opening scene
-The departed
- Cellular - no opening scene
- Hostage - just credits, no actual opening scene
- Pulp fiction
- Fargo
- The girl with the dragon tattoo
- Gone girl
- Tell no one - no opening scene
- Zodiac
-The snowtown murders
-Seven
-Bourne identity
-Collateral
Gone Girl
Director: David Fincher
Year of Release: 2014
Budget: $61 million
Profit: $369,330,363
IMDb User Rating: 8.1/10
Production Company: Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation
UK Distributer: 20th Century Fox
-Black screen
-Voiceover
- Character is in the first third of the screen but moves across to the final third
-Starts like its going to be normal but then takes a really weird, dark turn with the voiceover
-Simple, steady shot
-Very little movement
-Soundtrack, subtle
-Text sans-serif
-Starts with black, ends with black
-Short, concise
The Departed
Director: Martin Scorsese
Year of Release: 2006
Budget: $90 million
Profit: $289,847,354
IMDb User Rating: 8.5/10
Production Company: Warner Bros.
UK Distributer: Entertainment Film Distributers
-Soundtrack with lyrics
-Text sans-serif
-Starts with black with text telling us when it was - not specific but factual information
-Begins with 'real life' footage of violence
-Voiceover
-First time we see the main character he's silhouetted, we can't see him properly throughout the entire first scene, his face is always in the dark. It's only right at the end when he steps into the light
-Steady camera, tracking shots
-Flashback
-Starts early on then cuts to when the boy's grown up, gives us a bit of backstory first
-Long, we get a lot of information all at once but very little about the plot, more about the main character's views and opinions
-Little boy is always in the light
-Light when he's alone bright and yellow, when he's with the man it's dark and shadowy - implying he's a bad influence although we really pick this up ourselves from the voiceover
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Director:David Fincher
Year of Release: 2011
Budget: $90 million
Profit: $232,617,430
IMDb User Rating: 7.8/10
Production Company: Columbia Pictures
UK Distributer: Sony Pictures Releasing
Opening credits
-Black then with fire coming in
-Aggressive soundtrack with lyrics
-Text - serif until the actual title
-Extreme close-ups CGI images
Opening scene
-Steady camera work
-All very dark, black and grey, sometimes a slight blue tint
-Raining
-Press stories
-Mid-shots, no close-ups initially, only one of the main man later on
-No soundtrack, only diegetic sound
-Very very little dialogue
Pulp Fiction
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Year of Release: 1994
Budget: $8 million
Profit: $213,928,726
IMDb User Rating: 8.9/10
Production Company: Miramax
UK Distributer: Buena Vista International
-Starts off relatively normal coffee shop until you hear what they're talking about
-Steady camera
-Varying camera angles, switch every now and then throughout the scene
-Lighting coming from the window on one side, puts one side of their faces in light and the other in dark - two faced? More to them than first appears? Dark side?
-A lot of mid-shots
-A lot of dialogue and information for the audience
-Tracking camera shot
-No soundtrack, just diegetic sound
-Quite quiet, soft voices. Contrasts with the sound of the gun on the table - loud and abrupt
-Close-up of gun, indicates it's significance
Fargo
Director: Ethan and Joel Coen
Year of Release: 1996
Budget: $7 million
Profit: $60,611,975
IMDb User Rating: 8.1/10
Production Company: PolyGram Filmet Entertainment and Working Title Films
UK Distributer: PolyGram Filmed Entertainment
-Starts from black
-Text is sans-serif
-Starts by telling us its a true story - factual information. Font for this is kind of like a typewriter, not perfect, makes it seem authentic
-Credits are black on a white background
-White background merges to snow in the scene - Smooth transition
-Soundtrack, no lyrics, almost classical
-Camera angles switch - first car coming towards camera, then driving past the camera side on (tracking shot), the camera is watching it from behind
Zodiac
Director: David Fincher
Year of Release: 2007
Budget: $65 million
Profit: $74,785, 914
IMDb User Rating: 7.7/10
Production Company: Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros.
UK Distributer: Warner Bros.
-Starts with an establishing shot of the city
-Dark, night time
-Soundtrack, with lyrics
-Steady camera work
-Date given at the bottom - factual information
-Diegetic sound as well
-Soundtrack fades out into just the diegetic sound of the radio
-Brightly lit fro the side they're murdered from, makes them seem vulnerable
-No sound other than speech when the man comes round to the car so shots come as a shock
-Soundtrack comes back in when the murder's taking place
The Snowtown Murders
Director: Justin Kurzel
Year of Release: 2011
Budget: N/A
Profit: $8,452
IMDb User Rating: 6.6/10
Production Company: Carver Films and Screen Australia
UK Distributer: Revolver Entertainment
- Starts from black
- Diegetic sound, phone, can't make out the words - draws you in.
- Very subtle high pitched sound always running through.
- No soundtrack. I really like this sound combination!! It's really effective
- Still camera, characters in the final third
- Yellow/browny colours, musty, dirty, unpleasant
-Flickering light coming from the left of the screen, makes the scene unpleasant and uncomfortable to watch
- Slow motion
- Tracking shot, camera moving towards the characters. Characters are relatively still
- Close-up on one character's face
- Blue tinge when we see the body in the bath
- Body in the first third
- Harsh, quick transitions
- Voiceover, mumbly. Again, draws you in
Really like this opening, it made me feel uncomfortable to watch and thats how I want my audience to feel.
Seven
Director: David Fincher
Year of Release: 1995
Budget: $33 million
Profit: $327,311,859
IMDb User Rating: 8.6/10
Production Company: Cecchi Gori Pictures
UK Distributer: Entertainment Film Distributers
- Starts from black
- No soundtrack, just creepy sounds in the background - effective
- Dark
- Still camera
- Character in the last third
- People's voices, muffled - draws you in
- Close-up of his glasses
- Metronome builds tension
- Tracking shot very slowly coming towards the character
- Cuts from close-up of metronome with only that sound of whole room with background noise as well, good contrast
- Goes from silence and metronome into quite loud credit start noise - good contrast, a bit of a shock
- Credits have non-diegetic sound layered with diegetic sound - good, effective
Bourne Identity
Director: Doug Liman
Year of Release: 2011
Budget: $60 million
Profit: $214,034,244
IMDb User Rating: 7.9/10
Production Company: Universal Pictures
UK Distributer: United International Pictures
- Starts from black
- Starts with a storm foreshadowing turbulence
- Blue light, negative connotations
- No initial soundtrack, comes in when we meet the new characters
- Sailors speak in a foreign language - mystery
- Handheld camera - unease, chaotic
- Floating body suggests there's been a murder, creates mystery - this is what want to do with the child in the opening scene
- Title comes in before opening sequence is done
- Music tempo increases as they pull the body from the water
- Heavy rain - so much pathetic fallacy!
- Diegetic sound increases, increases the sense of panic
- Looks un-choreographed, people walking in front of the camera, blocking the action etc. Feels natural and puts you on edge as people are very close to the camera so you can't see much - frustrating
Collateral
Director: Michael Mann
Year of Release: 2004
Budget: $65 million
Profit: $217,764,291
IMDb User Rating: 7.6/10
Production Company: Paramount Pictures and Dreamworks SKG
UK Distributer: Paramount Home Entertainment (Wasn't at the cinema)
- Starts from black, we hear sound just before we get a picture
- Steady camera, Suggests this character is organised, knows what he's doing.
- Some people in focus and others out, main character in focus so stands out
- People walking in front of the camera, blocking our view of the main character, natural
- Diegetic sound only
- Slight sound effect when briefcases are dropped, emphasises the importance of the moment
- Starts off seeming normal but then the interaction between the two men creates a feeling of unease
- After their interaction the soundtrack kicks in, no lyrics
- Montage of taxi station, sets the scene
- Get the diegetic sound of the taxi station after the soundtrack has played over the montage for a while almost like a delayed sound entry
- Handheld shots of the taxi driver, a bit more rough and ready, more normal. Emphasises the differences in the two characters
- All quite close-up shots of taxi driver, more personal, less clinical
- When he shuts his door he shuts out all the outside sound, natural but also creates a contrast, suggests isolation. Jolts the audience
