Genre Specific Film Opening Analysis

Pre Production Planning - Further Thriller Analysis

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxqSIsxMlYQ

Cloverfield (2008)

The trailer begins with film rating by the motion picture association of America INC, which is an American trade association that represents the six major Hollywood studios. It was founded in 1922 as the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America to advance the business interests of its members. It then transitions to a Paramount pictures cooperation which is another American film studio, television production company and motion picture distributor, consistently ranked as one of the "Big Six" film studios of Hollywood. However, already before the trailer has even started the audience get a good idea about the film genre and the transition from one to another is how a TV or camera would cut in and out. After this the Bad Robot corporation is seen with the same transition as from one another.

Straight away at 0:08 we get given a sentence initialising that there is unusual sightings witch suggests a problem to the audience and it also informs us on the location and timing the upcoming scenes witch straight away means that the audience know what s going on.

At 0:16 this image of a man is transitioned in by falling down the screen with a drop sound effect, by doing this it gives the impression to the audience that this man is an important role in the movie, this idea is then reinforced because someone is filming him with their mobile. Although, the use of transition suggests that something bad has happened to this man. I say has happened because after this it travels back in time to him entering the room moments earlier witch gives the impression that its rewinding to a good moment. However, following the idea of the technical theme of the different transitions at the start this shot is also seen as either a P.O.V shot of someone else filming him. This is effective as it makes the audience feel as if we are there, evidently connecting us more to the movie.

At the end of the rewind shot at 0:20 the happy situation is quickly cut with a black and white version of the end of the clip witch could suggest what's to come further on in the film as black and white is seen to be scarier than colour shots. Also, earlier I mentioned that a rewind gives the audience an idea of bad to good and straight after the film gets cut at 0:21 and transitions to an explosion where the same character is near. This shows the audience that a problem has occur without giving us to much information about how serious the problem is, leaving us in suspense to find out. Again at the end it is also changed to black and white suggesting bad is still yet to come.

After this we are given a P.O.V shot of another explosion with major damage of the statue of liberty's head smashing threw the street. This shows us the gradually the situation is getting worse however it still leaves us in confusion as to what is causing all this mayhem. By having this shot type as threw a characters camera it makes the audience more intrigued as it feels as though we are experiencing this or we're there in the movie. It ends with the same transition as the first couple of shots where it cuts of and starts again, like technology would, to the same mans face in a different location. By setting the scenario is the night it means that there is dark lighting and that suggests to us that its going to be scary.

At 0:35 we are given a close up shot of the same previous mans face, he is sweaty and speaks fast. This suggests he has been running from something and is in a rush. The close up shot is threw the camera again as he is filming himself and the first thing he says to the camera is his name which is odd as it leaves the audience thinking why would he have time to do a video, unless this shot is at a different time. Seconds after we discover that actually he is filming this 7 hours after 'something' attacked the city. We are given obvious information near the start of the opening witch is effective as it still leaves the audience wondering what else has happened. Throughout his speaking it cuts in and out of events that happened earlier so this can show the audience the extent of how serious the attack was. At 0:43 when it cuts back to him speaking it becomes obvious he is leaving this in case someone else finds it meaning he doesn't think he will survive. However, the man is looking directly into the camera witch instantly makes a connection between him and the audiences and it then sounds like he is talking to the audience.

At 0:46 it transitions into the next shot by the technical way but this time it feels like something is attacking the camera. During the transition we get a split second of close up shot where we can see him wide eyed looking at something witch shows us his expression and emotion and then suddenly looks straight down the camera looking directly at the audience. This creates a sense of sadness for the man as we can tell something bad is happening still.

At 0:47 we are given a high angled shot which appears to still be in a P.O.V looking down upon the burning buildings and landscape. This shot reinforces and establishes the level of damage to the city to the audience. As well as this by having the shot looking down at the city it suggests that the city is now weak and whatever it is that has attacked is more dominant.

Starting from 0:48 until 1:14 we are given cross cutting of lots of different shots that have gone on through the attack. They consist of people being medically treated, people running, someone screaming in pain and lots of worried and scared people. Each cut only lasts 2 seconds witch means it doesn't give to much away and we still don't know what the cause is. However it in traduces the audience to knew people and involves them. Again, the cuts are all filmed on a camera which involves the audience more as it feels like we are running with them too. All the cuts end in a black screen which could either suggest the camera ending its clip quickly or the constant black screen could convey the thought of constant feeling of being scared. Also, during the cross cutting a page of the producers name appears with the background in black and writing in white which fits well with the movie although the writing is very similar too writing you'd find on technology which is effective as that fits with the way the film is being filmed on a characters camera.

At 1:15 we are given an over the shoulder shot witch yet again is effective because it makes the audience feel like  they are behind the two men also hiding in the food shop. One of the characters evidently are filming behind them and is showing what he can see. The shot ends just after the windows have smashed open towards the people, it is effective as it suggests that the camera has been dropped or damaged just like the person behind it which conveys danger. Straight away we are given a wide shot of army fighters trying to fight what ever it is attacking. This wide shot is from a low angle as the camera is on the floor which is giving the impression that the army fighters are strong and dominant to the public although we are then given a shot of the fighters shooting upwards at the creature suggesting that the thing attacking them is stronger than them. Throughout this fighting scene only dark colours are visible as street lights are the only source of light.

The whole of the movie is filmed on one of the characters camera witch is very effective as it allows the audience to feel like they are in the journey the characters are going threw as most of the shot types were P.O.V shots. The genre of this film worked as different shots and events that are shown are never in order which leaves the audience never quite knowing what has happened. To reinforce that idea the producer has put the title page as the end shot where it is seen that the writing is again in technology styles writing.

Genre Specific Film Opening Analysis

Pre Production Planning - Further Thriller Analysis  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-_-1nJf8Vg

Gone Girl (2014)

The trailer begins with film rating by the motion picture association of America INC, which is an American trade association that represents the six major Hollywood studios. It was founded in 1922 as the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America to advance the business interests of its members. Shortly after the 20 Century Fox Film Corporation is shown which is also an American film studio, distributor and one of the six major American film studios.

At 0:05 there is an establishing shot of the place where the two main people in the film live. By having this shot it shows the audience a beautiful set of land and houses which gives the audience an idea that the people may be rich. This contrasts with both the dark lighting and the voice over of a woman interviewing and explaining how Nick is the most hated man in America. It contrasts because the first impression is of the lovely setting which suggests that he has a very good life, however immediately it changes your opinion because of the voice over.

Also, shortly after at 0:07 you see a shot of the man standing alone outside of his house which also reinforces the idea of the man being hated and also his wife is not seen suggesting that there are problems between them.

At 0:13 the voice over than transitions into the actual interview itself which is interesting as the film starts with the end. What I mean by this is that the lady asks him if he killed his wife which is what the whole film is about. Because this is such an interesting bold question to hear straight away it keeps the audience interested as they are now curious whether he did or not. To leave the question a mystery the editing cuts out to a different scene leaving the audience wondering. Also it is a wide shot which is effective as it shows the body language of both people.

After this, different events that have happened in the husband and wife's life are going on, at the same time the voice over of the wife contrasts with all the happy memories as the voice over is all negative about how they wont work threw marriage. There is a P.O.V shot of the wife writing in her diary which usually means that she doesn't tell anyone else her thoughts apart from her diary meaning the wife as a person may also be a bit of a mystery. Each events transitions by fading into new events witch could be seen as quite slow and boring maybe like there marriage? Despite both of them being in the shot it only shows them together next to each other, throughout the don't touch and you don't see them kiss as it fades away, this shows the lack of love and loyalty they have for one another and leaves you questioning there marriage more and more..

It then fades into a wide shot establishing the amount of people who have come to listen to the husband when asking and informing about his wife, Amy. By him looking for her shows that he still wants her and isn't seen as a bad guy. Although, there is a slight uncertainty about it as throughout the speech Nick doesn't seem to have any sadness in his voice or body language and is dressed nicely which is seen to be quite odd as the situation he is in. At 0:27 it then changes to the same wide shot that was seen at the beginning of the clip where the husband stands alone. He walks over to a smashed table where it looks like he could of attacked Amy however walks up to its slowly and a close up of his face suggests he is confused meaning it leaves a possibility he didn't do anything.

At 0:35 there is a shot reverse shot between the husband and an officer as the husband is now a suspect. It starts with nick being asked questions about Amy which he doesn't know any of the answers this suggests that Amy didn't mean that much to Nick as he knows nothing about her, it also shows that there is clear disequilibrium with Amy's life as nothing can be answered for about her, she is a mystery even to the closest of people. Once again after this shot a wide shot shows Nick at a different event to find Amy which confuses the audience more as he is still looking for her even though he doesn't seem that close to her. Rather than montaging we are given cross cutting to show the differences with regards to the twos different lifestyles Amy and Nick are living.

Throughout these different shots various people are doubting Nick and starting to turn against him as all evidence looks as if he is the bad guy. Also, to reinforce the idea of this Nick has lots of groups of people ranging from his old friends to Amy's family are staring at him suggesting all evidence and eyes point at him. At 0:54 there is another P.O.V shot of Amy in the bath which is supposed to be a persons alone or private time in the day, however a P.O.V shot shows the audience that Amy has no privacy as Nick is looking threw the door at her. It is awkward as he slowly walks past without saying anything and fear is seen by the way Amy sinks down into the bath when she is visible to her husband. 

Throughout the next shots we are given a montage of different shots of people continually looking for Amy and are given more information about Amy in these shots. Mostly all the shots are dark lighting which makes the situation seem gloomy and bad. In every shot of Amy she never speaks there is just a voice over which suggests that she's secretive from her husband. At 1:02 and 1:10 both Nicks sister and Amy's friend are seen looking down at Nick, this is conveying that other people could be thinking Nick is a possible suspect as because they are looking down at him they are seen as more dominant and he is week.

After this the audience gets more information about clues Amy has written to try set up her husband, although there are now different mystery's being discovered by Nick. At 1:11 there is an over the shoulder shot over Nicks shoulder witch is effective because its as if the audience, along with Nick, are trying to solve this mystery. By using this shot type it puts the audience in the characters shoes. 

Also, by montaging these events in different orders it keeps the clip interesting as it doesn't give you the answer straight away.

A key close up shot of Amy's face at 2:05 resembles the attitude of Amy and Nick throughout the whole opening of the film. Amy is seen hugging nick which could be seen as they have an emotional connection as they are so close together. However there is a suttee sense of confusion and plotting going on in her head as confirmed threw the tilt of her eyebrows, straight mouth expression and widened eyes. Also Amy is not looking directly at her husband, shes looking just off to the right which implies a sense of deception towards the audience as she doesn't make eye contact. The contrast such as this shot is seen throughout the opening leaving their relationship and connection a mystery until the very end.

  Throughout the opening the narrative is not clear as the opening doesn't tell us what the film is about it just shows us two main assets of the film. At 2:23 we are given the title page witch conveniently fits the trailer especially as the audience gets given vital information as soon as the opening begins.  By having the title page at the ending of the opening it leaves the audience in suspense, just like the film opening does.

Peer Comments On My Pitch

These are the comments of a peer from a different group who evaluated my first pitch, there are advantages and disadvantages:  

\

First Pitch- Choosing An Idea

None Genre Specific Analysis

https://youtu.be/rBNnHlqO4cs       - link to opening scene video

Hot Fuzz Opening Scene:


At the beginning of the scene it starts with the universal logo however we get the sound of police sirens even before the title sequences therefore we get the sound of the movie before the audience sees an image. This could attract the audience even before the movie has started as already there is a dramatic event happening and it makes the audience feel apart of the film as police sirens are usually heard when a dramatic event is happening. Shortly after, the two sliding doors are seen opening long before the character is visible on the screen which reinforces the idea that the audience is being invited into the film especially as when the character is seen he looks directly into the camera as if he is looking at us. Also, throughout the whole sequence the character is actually talking to the audience as he describes his past experiences. Throughout the scene after different events the character is seen looking straight at us which reinforces the idea of us being involved.

The speed of the whole sequence is very fast which suggests that both the character and his work life is very fast going and hectic. The music also makes it seem more chaotic, especially as the shots are very short and the editing seems to help speed up the rhythm of the scene as it contrasts from the beginning of the scene as the character took very long when he was walking up to the camera. At the beginning the shot stayed on that specific shot for a very long time and I noticed that it very slowly zooms into him making him the focus of the shot.

However, quickly after the character shows the photo of his badge it directly moves into shots that are very fast and its as if we are keeping up with him. One big point of the scene is obviously that as its so upbeat and dynamic, basing it on this scene it sets the tone for the rest of the movie. Also the character is walking very fast and is in a rush to get somewhere which could reflect on his personality as he is a police officer and should always act fast. Throughout the scene when it zooms in or out of the characters face it shows the determination and pride that the character has. The use of the shots shows us a variety of different angles of the character and it shows that he takes care of his appearance and cares dearly about his career in the police industry.

In most of the shots he is seen in the middle of the shot in between other characters which suggests he is the centre of attention and makes us focus mostly on him. There are lots of flash back scenes going from the present moment to what has happened earlier in his life and with the rapidity of this shows the coming together of both the scene and the characters current position. During the whole scene there is an abundancy of two colours, blue and white. These two colours are representative of the police force and also suggests purity but sadness which could contrast with the characters job. This opening scene is very effective because it shows both his past experiences but sets expectations for the rest of the film and gives the audience a sense of different events to come.

In the scene there are clear binary opposites, you can clearly identify the good people in the film but also notice the evil people. Throughout it is clear that the character is a protagonist which is clear from his care for his job and also the care he shows towards London. You can also see that  he cares so much for his job because of the amount of different things he has done for his job and to get to the position he is in currently,

None Genre Specific Analysis

Evaluation of Forest Gump Opening Scene

At the beginning of the scene, there is a continuous establishing shot to open the scene. This shows the audience the surroundings of the scene. After this shot there is one white feather floating down on its own, this contrasts with the dark gloomy sky which is the background behind it. Possibly, this could represent that a character in the film is a contrast to society and doesn't quite fit in with others. Also, the feather falls very slowly side to side which may represent that the character is also very slow within interaction within society, therefore, may be a loner.

Shortly after non diegetic music plays which was the piano keys which is very light and simple sounding which may is completely opposite to the background of the city as city are usually known as being very busy and loud. The shot I noticed throughout this scene was an ariel shot.
The credits are in white which is a neutral colour which is not to harsh. However, as the feather is moving and attracts most of the audiences attention it moves closer to the credits as they change to draw focus to them.
The use of high angled shots give the audience a sense of settings and allows us to both track the feather and shows the change of location. Although the high angle allows us to see location it also could have been used to show how small and unnoticeable the feather actually is in comparison to the surroundings and things going on.

Eventually, the feather touches down into the location which is interacting into society although none of the characters notice it which could suggest that a lot of society is unable to see the simple details and also does not pay attention to anything par themselves/own lives. The wide shot of the man on the bench shows the audience the mans posture and biculiour behaviour whilst showing the setting around him. The camera only glimpses at the characters body language for a short amount of time but within that time the audience are able to see that  the character is very still which could also be a representation of his personality.

Just as the feather is about to touch the ground it hovers into the centre of the mans feet which makes it obvious to the audience that he is the main character and that the feather and him may be very similar. The use of a close up shot of his dirty shoes represents the character and gives the audience clues. For example it shows that he does not care about his appearance and perhaps enjoys the outside. It is very unusual for someone to pick up a feather from the floor which could suggest that the character is unusual as he does pick it up which also shows that he is very different from other people and reinstates the idea of him contrasting to society. A medium shot allows the audience to see the characters reaction to the feather and also shows him wearing a clean polished white suit which contrast with his muddy trainers. Also, the peculiar composition of outfit enforces the idea of an unusual character. However, it leaves the audience guessing weather he usually wears things like this or it is just something different about today and this plot.

The props beside him are a suitcase and a box of chocolates which shows he could be going somewhere or been somewhere. Also, as his suitcase is very neat it could represent that he is a tidy guy as he cares about his things being tidy. At the end of the scene the simple piano keys music stops and you see a mid shot of the characters facial expression which is seen staring into the distance which could suggest that he is not thinking of anything and shows that he is simple.
Finally, at the end of the scene it goes into a wide shot and allows us to see that the character is sat in the middle of the shot on his own and I the only person in the shot. Also a bus is seen to go past the character which could suggest that society is moving around the character and he's stuck still and isn't really noticed.

Small Group Preliminary Task and Evaluation

What difficulties did you face? 
Some difficulties that we faced were that the location the we choose to film in had a lot of distractions that meant we had to refilm some shots. For example, various people walked past in our videos and other students had loud music on in another room. Therefore this ruined the mis en scene which meant we didn't use those clips. Also, we found that sometimes we were not completely clear about what we were doing when acting as we didn't plan as much as we thought we should.

How did you plan it?
We thoroughly planned our shots as we knew what we were doing in each shot and how we wanted it to look overall. However we decided we should have planned a bit more so that we could have filmed it quicker and not waisted as much time.

What did you learn? 
Throughout the filming i learnt that using different shot types made the film more interesting and also continuity editing makes the film flow better and looks smother which made editing easier. We have also learned that when filming you should film a variety of different shots for the same scene so that when you come to editing you have a big choice, this is useful to know for when coming to film my main film opening.

Class Preliminary Task and Evaluation

What is the purpose of the preliminary task? 

The purpose of the preliminary task was to learn and improve upon our continuity editing in short films. It demonstrates the basic rules as we incorporated match on action and we kept by the 180 degree rule.

What difficulties did you face? 

Some difficulties that I faced was that when it came to putting all the shots together when editing they didn't quite match. For example, Sabill's hood is up in one shot and then directly after it is down. This obviously a problem as it doe not flow within the film. Also, some conversational shots didn't match to the rules which is why they had to be redone.

How did you plan out the shots?

Throughout the classes we decided what and how we wanted our shots to look like and then decided upon the destination if them. We drew up a story board to plan each shot one by one and to see what shot looked better.

What did you learn about continuity editing?

I learnt that with continuity editing all the shots have to flow smoothly in order for the whole film too work properly and be effective. Also, the smoother the film looks the better impression of editing skills and it shows the audience that it has been properly thought out when editing.

What did you learn about the demands of filming a sequence?

That firstly you have to draw up a story board of what you want in your sequence so that it defiantly makes sense and there are no problems during filming. Also, I learnt that its important to draw up a plan because the less problems during filming mean you don't have to film as long also meaning that you have more time on editing your sequence and making it as good as possible.