Pictures of the Film's Set

Here are some pictures of the sets I plan to use:

3 Film Ideas

Idea 1: 
Genre: Action/Spy/Thriller
Main story: After being suspended by the intelligence agency secret agent Clancy Thompson has to go on an extreme adventure across the world alone tracking down a group of lethal terrorists. Luckily, to help him along the way he'll assemble a team of highly-skilled personalities to give him some extra back-up to defeat these harsh criminals.
The opening: It would be about Clancy Thompson working through a shopping centre's car park to get to the terrorist's bomb to disable it. Along the way he'll have to face multiple terrorists. At the end of the opening the terrorists will escape whilst taking a civilian hostage. This is the reason why Clancy will be suspended.
Protagonist: Clancy Thompson. One of the best secret agents in the world. Excellent hand-to-hand fighter. Excellent with firearms. Intelligent in his line of work but average intelligence overall. Sometimes too keen/eager; which leads him into trouble.
Antagonist: Tyreese Blonsky. He is the leader of the terrorist group. Born in London. Devious, cunning, evil.
Type of movie: This would be a big budget American Hollywood movie. My target audience would be males in their 40s and male teenagers. Especially aimed at the ones that love action films (generally 80s ones). It would be similar to films such as: Mission Impossible, Die Hard. When looking at Die Hard's Facebook page every comment on one particular post that I saw was from a man. The main age range seemed to be 30-50. I'm aiming to appeal to this audience so I would use similar techniques to Die Hard. For example some great features include: lots of explosions; big fight scenes; a likeable, funny, witty central character etc.


Idea 2:
Genre: Detective/Crime/Drama
Main story: A detective (Blake Johnson) is close to retirement and is on one last case before he stops, but this case is tough.
The opening: This would be set in the streets of London. It would be about Blake catching an average crook. He describes 'rules' of being a detective throughout the opening.
Protagonist: Blake Johnson. Aged 50. A very, very good detective. Not very fit compared to others in the business (mainly due to his age).
Antagonist: Mike Scalone. Late 40s. A high-level crime-lord.
Type of movie: This film wouldn't be a big blockbuster but also isn't a small budget indie film. My target audience for this film would be males in their 20s+. Similar to films such as: Goodfellas. As inspiration from Goodfellas my film would use techniques like: a large but interesting amount of characters (detectives, criminals etc.); a voiceover going over the majority of the film; being set over different decades of time.


Idea 3:
Genre: Horror/Detective/Thriller
Main story: A detective is sent on a long spiralling mystery as he tries his hardest to catch the only criminal left in his safe haven town.
The opening: It would be focused on the antagonist, this is to give a big focus on how smart, deadly etc. he is. The general story behind this opening is that this criminal lures a victim into his home and murders him.
Protagonist: Detective Brian Blunt, the 29 year old that is almost forced to leave his job due to the lack of crime. He’s smart but quite rusty thanks to obvious reasons.
Antagonist: Simon Teller. Simon is a veteran in the killing business; he used to terrorize the town many years ago when he was just a kid. However he was forced to stop when the heat became too large. Back then Simon was killing for vengeance (the cops failed to save his sister in time when she was in danger), but this time there is a much different reason. Simon has always wanted to be a world-famous cook. To enlarge the chances of him becoming the world’s greatest, he decides to kill the other chefs competing in the same competition that he is.
Type of film: This would be an indie film with a low budget. Due to the lack of funds the film would have little to no special effects. My target audience for this film would be both sexes (but predominantly males) in the age range of 16-27. The film would be similar to: Silence of the Lambs, Prisoners. The film I would create would be similar to Silence of the Lambs in the way that there is quite a large focus on the antagonist. As for Prisoners, it would be similar to that by having lots of shocking twists, as well as moments which build up a lot of (and sometimes unbearable) tension.


Decision:
I have opted for the third idea as I believe I will create the strongest and most creative script with this concept. I also think that visually I would make the most impressive film possible through the use of camera angles and mise-en-scne etc. using this idea.

Dawn of the Dead (2004) Opening - Enigma Codes, Action Codes & Camera

When watching Dawn of the Dead you understand that the equilibrium is the nurse and her boyfriend living a 'normal' and 'average' life. Through a mixture of dialogue and camera the audience interpret that the nurse is a relaxed but hard-working person and lives a generally happy life. The disequilibrium occurs when the girl appears in the room (6:37). And the agent of change is the zombie outbreak. There are plenty of enigma codes throughout this opening. Some of the enigma codes include: News bulletin, What happened to the little girl?, How widespread is the outbreak?, How did the outbreak start?. We are also given some action codes. There is a patient that arrives at the hospital with a “bite”, so through the use of dialogue and mise-en-scene we are given answers like how the outbreak is starting etc.

This opening is filled with a range of camera techniques. One of the techniques is a POV shot. This shot shows a pair of legs hanging out the end of a parked ambulance. This puts you into the characters mind as you and her wonder what is going on in the vehicle. As well as being an interesting shot this also produces an enigma code, is this the first zombie? However this scene is a 'red herring', you're lead to believe that the zombie outbreak has started while in fact it is just an ordinary person. Another shot used was a shot-reverse-shot, this shot was used to create tension. In this opening a 'bird's eye view' has been used for one of the shots, it has been used to show the normality of the world. However later on an aerial shot is used, this happens after the outbreak, it's used to contrast the earlier shot. The track technique is another type of shot used in this opening. This one is used to show the setting, it familiarizes the audience with the surroundings.

The Difference in Film's Opening Credits

I have recently watched the opening credits for the following films: Shallow Grave, Casino and Twelve Monkeys. These are descriptions of what happens and the differences between them.

Shallow Grave

This film doesn't have many titles during it's credits. The probable reason behind this is that the film isn't a major blockbuster and the director isn't a well known person (yet). Therefore the film doesn't need to waste time showing you the director's name when it is likely you have never heard of him before. These are the credits:

“Film four international in association with the [continued]”. This is scrolling right to left as white text on a red background. A voice over begins whilst a scene is being shown.

Next you are shown the actor's names “Kerry Fox”, “Christopher Eccleston”, “Ewen McGregor”. At the time of release Kerry Fox was the most famous star so she was listed first in the titles. These names are also in white text however this time it appears over the film rather than a solid colour background.

The final piece of text you see in these opening credits is “Shallow Grave”. This text is in red on top of the film.

'Smaller' films generally include a low amount of titles in their credits as they don't want to risk losing the audience and want to get straight into the film. Having some of the titles appear on top of the movie also suggests that the film-makers just wanted to start showing the film. It seems silly for a not very well known group of film-makers to be blasting the names of various production staff. From this opening you understand that the credits are not an important part of the film in Danny Boyle's opinion.

Casino

Martin Scorsese is one of the most respected directors out there, this means that many people will at some point in their lives be watching this film. With that in mind it would seem crazy to guess that the opening credits will be quite long and feature many names. In this opening a certain font is used that gives you a casino-like vibe, it is a very classy font.

This is what the credits show:

“Universal Pictures and Sylalis D.D. & Legende Enterprises Present”. This appears as white text on a black background.

“A De Fina/Cappa Production”. Also as white text on the same black background.

“Adapted from a true story”. White text. Black background.

“1983”. White text. Black background.

(A few seconds later after a voice over)

“A Martin Scorsese Picture”. White text but this time on film. From here we see a quite shocking first scene.

“Robert De Niro”. White text on top of the same scene.

“Sharon Stone”. White text. Same scene.

“Joe Pesci”. White text. Same scene.

“Casino” (drifiting). White text. On film.

“James Woods”, “Don Rickels”, “Alan King”. There are fade-outs and fade-ins for each name. The names are now on top of a different type of background. What is on top of the background is hard to recognise however you still get the sense of the 'casino' theme.

“Kevin Pollak”.

“L.Q. Jones”.

“Dick Smothers Frank Vincent John Bloom”.

“Casting by Ellen Lewis”.

“Costume Designers Rita Ryack and John Dunn”.

“Title Sequence by Elaine & Saul Bass”.

“Editor Thelma Schoohmaker”.

“Production Designed by Dante Ferretti”.

“Director of Photography Robert Richardson A.S.C.”.

“Based on the book by Nicholas Pleggi”.

“Screenplay by Nicholas Pileggi & Martin Scorsese”.

“Produced by Barbara De Fina”.

“Directed by Martin Scorsese”.

Now that is a very long opening sequence. You could say it has been created like this to create tension, especially after what happens part way through the credits. You can definitely see the differences in opening credits when you compare Shallow Grave with Casino. Casino has a much flashier and more elegant opening whilst Shallow Grave has a simple, extremely short one. But then again there is one similarity. Both opening credits feature a voice over at some point.

Twelve Monkeys

“Universal Pictures and Atlas-Classico Present” White text on a black background.

“An Atlas Entertainment Production”

“...5 billion people will die from a deadly virus in 1997...[continued]” This appears in a green font, the text is displayed like it is being typed up whilst you are watching. You also hear the 'typewriter' sound effect. These credits give you a sense of what this film is likely to be about. You instantly are able to deduce what kind of movie you are likely to witness.

“excerpts from interview [continued]” White font on the same background as above. However when this segment is then added on you are given a sense of confusion.

“A Terry Gilliam film” Scrolling from right to left. This appears on a very different background displaying images of monkeys in a 3D spiral effect.

“Bruce Willis” Also scrolling from right to left. The rest of the credits follow on from one another each scrolling from right to left.

“Madeleine Stone”

“Brad Pitt”

“Twelve Monkeys” This title appears at the 'back' of the screen in very small font in slowly gets bigger to reveal to the audience what it says.

One of the similarities between all three films is each film displayed their actors in the order of most famous to least. However Casino also showed many more members of the production whereas Twelve Monkeys and Shallow Grave only gave us the actors' names. Something Twelve Monkeys and Shallow Grave did differently to Casino was end with the title.

Reservoir dogs

This film begins with a scene in a diner that introduces the characters whilst showing you part of their personalities. Then you are shown the credits. A voice over is playing when the credits start.

“A Film by Quentin Tarantino”. This is in orange font on a black background.

It then cuts back to the film, the characters are walking down a street.

“Harvey Keitel”. This again is in orange font but now on top of the film. Each actor title from now is shown beside the character on the film.

“Michael Madsen”. Orange font. Black Background.

“Chris Penn”.

“Steve Buscemi”.

“Lawrence Tierney”.

“Eddie Bunker”.

“Quentin Tarantino”.

“and Tim Roth”.

“are”.

“Reservoir Dogs”. This title scrolls up from 'underneath' the screen.

Then it goes back to the black background.

“Randy Books”, “Kirk Baltz”, “Rich Turner”, “and the voice of”, “Steven Wright”. All appear one after the other scrolling up on the left hand side of the screen.

“Casting” “Ronnie Yeskel, C.S.A.”.

“Music Supervisor” “Karyn Rachtman”.

“Costume Designer” “Betsy Heimann”.

“Editor” “Sally Menke”.

“Prodcution Designer” “David Wasco”.

“Director of Photography” “Andrzej Sekula”.

“Co-Producer” “Harvey Keitel”.

“Executive Producers” “Richard N. Gladstein” “Ronna B. Wallace” “and” “Monte Hellman”.

“Produced by” “Lawrence Bender”.

Considering that this is Quentin Tarantino's first feature film it is quite surprising how large the opening credits. His name is also shown twice in the credits, some may find this ballsy and arrogant as he isn't as famous. Back then he wouldn't have been as well known and loved as he is now. However ultimately it seems it does pay off as this film ends up being brilliant. It still is worth remembering though that not all rookie's first films will end up as great as this one has, so it is safer to not go through a credit scene as long as this. He does make it work very well by creating a unique sequence. Having the actor's name pops up next to the character is a great touch.

Jaws Opening - Analysis of Sound and Camera.

The film truly starts whilst the credits are still being shown. Marine-like sounds are heard at low volume whilst we are watching a mostly black screen. This instantly gives the audience a sense of where the film will begin. Soon after those sounds, the tense score begins to play, it also is at a low volume. The sinister music builds up throughout the opening credits and then into the first shot of the film. It begins with a lengthy POV shot from underwater. This POV shot along with the deadly music makes the viewer subconsciously interpret that whomever's eyes we are looking out of is someone/something to be afraid of. And now that we think this, whenever we hear this music it will bring up the thought in our minds that something scary will happen. It is also key to mention that this music is non-diegetic sound. At the final moments of this long POV shot we are listening to this score which almost becomes unbearable with the amount of tension it is bringing. However instead of revealing something shocking it cuts to a calm location elsewhere. This is effective as it 'hooks' the audience. We force ourselves to keep watching for the very least to find out what is in the water.

The next scene (which is also the second shot) is a track. The camera takes us around a group of happy people. The tracking shot establishes what this group is like. Sound also establishes the overall personality of the civilians, we hear casual chatting which is happy and friendly. There are some playing instruments too. This music is diegetic sound. Since we link the score at the beginning as danger and that is non-diegetic sound, the diegetic sound from the instruments creates a contrast which creates the illusion of 'safety' in this location. On the other hand faintly in the background you can hear bells ringing. Bells ringing connotate with doom.

Next we have an eyeline match, it is of a boy looking out away from the group. This may fool viewers into believing he has seen the thing what is hiding underwater. A little suspense rises from this as we await to witness an image of the creature. However the guy is actually looking at a girl. The duo have a conversation, whilst this is going on the other conversations in the background are 'blurred', this is to make sure full focus is on these two. The couple then run off away from the group. This was a key move from the film-makers as it separates them from the others. It is also worth mentioning that these two are running away from the 'safe' music into a more dangerous scenario.

As the male character is running across the beach he shouts out some expositional dialogue. He jokes about being “not drunk” which obviously indicates to us that he is. The writers have tried to make it subtle, but it is still quite blatant. This speech is here to show that the character won't be of any use if anything bad should happen.

Once we get to the beach and the sea the female character jumps right in whilst the drunk male is laying on the beach. A wide shot is used to show how far the female is away from land and how alone she is in the masses of ocean.

Now for the scene where the girl is attacked. A mixture of close up shots are used to give us great detail of the terror on her face. The close up enhances the horror of what is happening. We are also shown more POV shots just like the very start, this is just to make sure that these water-dwellers are one and the same. During this attack the tense music is brought back. This brings back the feeling we thought earlier during the opening shot of the film. As long with this sound we hear the screaming coming from the lady. During this frightening attack the scene cross-cuts to the boy every now and then. When these shots appear the music and screaming stops, this shows that even if he was in a state where he could help the girl is too far away to be noticed. Once the female is killed everything goes silent. But then shortly afterwards you hear those bells once again. And that is how the opening closes.

Silence of the Lambs Opening - Character, Characterisation, Action & Enigma Code Analysis

The movie opens is a forest-like setting. The first character we see is the main one; Clarice Starling (played by Jodie Foster). Starling is climbing a hill in what seems like the middle if nowhere, this makes the audience instantly think up many questions. Such questions would include: "where could she be running from/to?" "Why does she seem so out of breath?" "Where is she?" Once she reaches the top of this hill we can see that Starling is wearing a jumper which has 'FBI Academy' written on it. This is one of the first bits of information we learn about Starling; the fact she is an FBI trainee. The addition of FBI hat man (use of a prop) further along in the scene backs up this assumption. Another enigma code is created when FBI hat man says that Crawford needs her. The fact that Clarice was training in her own time alone gives off the vibe that she is a hardworking character.

When Starling is walking through the building a clever action is shown that denies any attempt to say that she is a loner. Starling is shown high-fiving a friend in a corridor. It's a simple but very effective feature that works so well.

Once Starling reaches her destination she witnesses a wall full of newspaper clippings. Showing these images creates more enigma codes in an interesting way. It would have been very dull if this shot wasn't included and Crawford spoke about the incident instead. The second 'important' character we see is Crawford. The first thing he does when he sits on his chair is put his hands behind his head whilst leaning back. This suggests to us that he is a big-headed man as well as trying to promote his superiority. In the piece of dialogue between Crawford and Starling we learn about Clarice's intelligence in her field. This is shown by Crawford reading out her grades, this is to tell the audience what type of character she is. In addition we also learn that she is a polite and respectful person. We know this through the dialogue, Starling addresses people by sir. The enigma code about why Starling is needed by Crawford is answered here. However more enigma codes are created some even quite major such as "who is Buffalo Bill?" All in all this scene seems to mainly be about introducing key parts of the story and bringing more details about both characters. 

To conclude, the film-makers have successfully completed what they have set out to do with this 'mystery-thriller' film by creating some big questions while not leaving the audience confused, which is why it is so effective.

Analysis of the editing on the first minute of Breaking Bad.

The clip begins (after the establishing shots) with a slow-motion shot of a pair of trousers falling down from the sky. This is effective as it gives you a longer chance to process what is happening. It creates a little tension too as you wonder what will take place next. A few shots later the viewer is shown two consecutive eyeline matches. These shots have been added in to make it easier for the viewer to see how the inside of the RV is laid out. More specifically, you are shown which characters are located in which areas. Another reason why it's an effective use of the shot is that you see the events unfold from the perspective of the main character (Walt). The end of the minute long clip finishes with some quick cuts. These add to the pace and to the intensity of the scene.