Premonition: Opening Scene Analysis

Premonition – Opening Sequence Analysis:

Premonition influenced my own thriller opening sequence since it is tells the story of a housewife who has a premonition of her husband being killed in a car accident as a large truck collides into his own car, causing a huge, disastrous explosion killing them. Fortunately, this is similar to my plot for our opening sequence for the reason that in our film a teenage girl has a dream/premonition of her boyfriend attempting to murder her by the use of suffocation.

The film begins with a series of numerous shots whereby the distributor, production company, a ... film, the actors and the title of the movie fade in onto a darkened backdrop in an intense white typeface. As each scene flows onto the next, the letters fade away from the frame steadily before re-emerging in the following shot. The film opens with a ‘birds eye view shot’ of a woman sitting inside a car with her face buried into her hands. The camera moves steadily through its surrounding before focusing on the main character. Slowly, the camera angle begins to zoom down onto the woman and we notice her partner come into view as he stands alongside the car. The angle increasingly changes to a ‘close up’ of the couple. This has been purposely done for the reason that as the audience we tend to take in and observe the setting and the characters present in the scene. It is an excellent way to set the atmosphere as well as positioning the audience to see clearly, what is taking place outside of the scene as well. It is sometimes followed by getting closer to the subject at hand.

The camera angle suddenly changes to a ‘tracking shot’ as it tracks the two main characters as they begin to walk in front of one another. Gradually, the camera stops moving and focuses on the characters as the camera angle changes to a ‘medium shot’ which is filmed at the side of their bodies. This demonstrates their body language so that the audience begins to understand their thoughts and feelings. During the cameras fast paced movements, it frequently captures an ‘over the shoulder’ and a ‘medium shot’ demonstrating the couple looking astonishingly at their new home. As a result of using these specific camera shots, this illustrates to the viewing audience a sense of romanticism and idealism.

As the scene continues, the camera gradually begins to do a ‘two frame shot’ whereby the camera angle changes from a close up showcasing the top third of their body from the front and then changing to a ‘medium shot’ where their bodies are shown from the side. A variety of fast paced shots are used as they occasionally cross dissolve into one another to illustrate the two main characters talking to each other and glancing back towards the house on various occasions which may provide narrative information about the main concept in the film. The camera angle swiftly changes to an ‘extreme long shot’ so that the audience gets an insight into what other scenarios are taking place around the couple and their home. Rapidly, the camera shot changes to a ‘close up’ and a ‘reaction shot’ to express the characters emotion and facial features to the audience. The camera eventually changes to an ‘extreme long shot’ as it steadily moves away from the character and the house before fading out into a plain white backdrop.

Throughout the entire opening sequence, especially the opening credit, a non-diegetic sound is heard throughout; this is a sound that comes from a source outside the world of the story. A high pitched, electronic musical sound is heard overpowering the text and images on screen. Compared to the shots on screen, the melody is evidently different unusual. This implies to the audience that not everything is portrayed as it should be. Additionally, the tune builds up trepidation and anxiety as you feel as though something unexpected is about to take place in the subsequent shot.

What was good about Victoria Parker's Media Blog?

Whilst browsing through another student AS media blog, it was clear to me that she has spent a lot of time and effort linking videos and pictures from other media sites and explaining in detail how they are necessary to her own media blog. Evidently, she has updated her blog every few days explaining what tasks she had to complete in order to create her opening sequence for her film. Additionally, she has broken down her blog and categorised sections of her work to make it easier for other members to view her blog. Some of these categories include: text/font, soundtrack, lighting, audience response and much more. What is more, is that she has recorded videos discussing the reasons why her group chose to film in a particular location and what clothing each character is going to wear.

One of the main things which I believe to be exceedingly good is that the student has also filmed a behind the scenes and blooper real to add to her blog. I believe this that this is exceptionally different as she has done extra work and done something different to show the examiner. She has obviously decided to do something dissimilar with her blog, which is that she does not need to keep on writing pages of text discussing what she has done to create her film and why she decided to do things in a particular way, instead she has done something creatively which is to film her group talking about the different things that they have taken into account when filming their opening sequence.

                                                                                                                              

Nightmare on Elm Street and Premonition Using Todorov's and Propps Theory

Nightmare on Elm Street 2010

I have chosen the film ‘Nightmare on Elm Street,’ as a thriller of my choice to illustrate both Todorov’s five stage model and Propp’s theory based upon character roles, also known as spheres of action. I picked this particular film, as it relates to my own group pitch which we are hoping to create and film as our own thriller opening sequence.

Nightmare on Elm Street is a horror, mystery and thriller movie which highlights how death stalks the dreams of many teenagers to claim its revenge on the killing of a man known as ‘Freddie Kruger.’ They are chased and tortured by this finger – bladed devil, as they begin to experience old memories and the denials of a past of revenge which brings this hellish vision of a nightmare by allowing death to become a part of their reality.

Applying Propp’s Theory to ‘Nightmare on Elm Street:

‘The hero’ is usually the main protagonist who is at the centre of the story, or sometimes on a quest, a search or a mission   = in the film there are two main characters Nancy and Quentin who in my opinion are the hero’s in the film since they are able to survive the dreams and find out what events are really taking place in ‘Elm Street.’

‘The Villain’ competes with and tries to destroy the hero = ‘Freddie Kruger’ is the villain in the film as he stalks the teenagers in their dreams and attempts to murder them with his finger bladed hands.

‘The donor’ provides a magic ingredient to move the story on = Nancy’s mum is the donor in the film as she provides information such as old photographs from when her daughter was in pre school. Through Nancy seeing the photographs she realises that everyone she thought she only met when she started high school, she now realises she was with them in her old pre school and that clearly there’s a link between them and the dream which they are all having.

‘The Princess’ is often the hero’s reward or prize at the end of the story =

Nancy is the princess in the film as she is largely considered as being the

main character in the film and the one who tries to solve the story and destroy

the villain.

‘The princess father/authority figure’ is usually someone who rewards the hero

= In my opinion, Quentin’s father is portrayed as the ‘authority figure’ in the

film as he was the character who found out that “Freddie Kruger” was a

paedophile and he was hurting the children at the pre-school, including his

own. He attempted to take action alongside the other parents but

unfortunately the plan backfired on them.

‘The helper’ is someone who provides guidance and support to the hero = I

believe that whilst Quentin is also a main character in the film, the movie

focuses on Nancy that little bit more compared to him. Therefore, Quentin is

portrayed as being the helper in the film as he tries to comfort Nancy and help

her to find out who “Freddie Kruger” is and why he is torturing them in their

dreams.

‘The dispatcher’ sends the hero off on his/her task or quest = In the film there

is not a significant character that plays the role of a ‘dispatcher.’ However, the

photograph of the teenagers when they were at pre-school motivates Nancy

and Quentin to find out what really happened years before. It encourages

those to go and visit the old pre-school and find any important evidence which

may be the answer to finding out why “Freddie Kruger” is torturing them in

their nightmares.

Todorov’s theory:

Todorov argues that “narrative involves a transformation. The characters or

situations are transformed through the progress of the disruption.”

Equilibrium: The equilibrium in the film was when the children attended a pre-school in ‘Elm Street' where they were happy and enjoyed sharing new learning experiences with their friends. It also highlighted that they came from happy families

Disruption: The disruption in the film was when a gardener who goes by the name of “Freddie Kruger” got a job at the pre-school. He slowly began to play games with the children and attempt to get closer to them.

Recognition of disruption: The realisation that there was a disruption in the

film was when the children began to tell their parents that whilst they were at

school the gardener always took them to his secret place, known as the

“magic cave.” Once there he would sometimes touch them and scratch their

clothes. 

Attempt to repair disruption: The attempt to repair the disruption became clear

to us when the children who are now teenagers slowly began to have

recurring dreams of the gardener “Freddie Kruger” who they once knew when

they were younger. The dreams end up as nightmares as they are chased

and tortured by this finger – bladed devil, as they begin to experience old

memories from their past. The two main characters, Nancy and Quentin

realise that one of them must stay awake whilst the other must fall asleep in

an attempt to end this nightmare once and for all, by killing “Freddie Kruger”

and beating him at his own games.

A return of new equilibrium: The ending of the film takes a peculiar twist as

“Freddie Kruger” decides that instead of killing the students by becoming a

visage in their dreams and murdering them in hellish situations. He now

comes to a decision that he will target the relatives closest to the students and

kill them violently and brutally one by one.

Todorov and Propp’s Theory for my own thriller opening sequence – Premonition.

 Applying Propp’s Theory to Premonition:

‘The hero’ is usually the main protagonist who is at the centre of the story, or sometimes on a quest, a search or a mission   = in the film Premonition there are two main characters Yasmin and Nimesh. However only one of which is the hero, this is the Yasmin as she attempts to survive her premonition and find out why it is that her boyfriend is trying to murder her.

‘The Villain’ competes with and tries to destroy the hero = Nimesh is the villain in the film as he attempts to murder his own girlfriend.

‘The Princess’ is often the hero’s reward or prize at the end of the story = Yasmin is the princess in the film as she is largely considered as being the main character of the film and the one who tries to solve the story, prevent herself from being killed and destroys the villain.

‘The dispatcher’ sends the hero off on his/her task or quest = In the opening sequence there is not a significant character that plays the role of a ‘dispatcher.’ However, the text that the female character receives from her boyfriend could have been the point in the story which motivated Yasmin to notice her boyfriend’s strange behaviour and weirdness towards her when she saw him in her Premonition.

Applying Todorov’s Theory to Premonition:

Equilibrium: The equilibrium in the film was when Yasmin was sleeping and received a lovely text from her boyfriend explaining how he enjoyed spending time with her. This was a happy moment in the film.

Disruption: The disruption in the film was when Nimesh appeared in Yasmin’s premonition acting differently around her and awkward. He slowly began to play mind games with her by not acting himself.

Recognition of Disruption: The realisation that there was a disruption in the film was when Yasmin began to notice that her boyfriend wasn’t acting himself and he was acting cold towards her. She realised that something was on his mind but she wasn’t sure what that was.

Attempt to repair the disruption: The attempt to repair the disruption became clear when Yasmin woke up from her Premonition where she saw herself being suffocated and murdered by her boyfriend, Nimesh. Yasmin realises that the premonition that she is currently having will become a part of her reality soon if she doesn’t try to prevent this from happening. Yasmin realises that she needs to find a way to work out why it is that her boyfriend wants to murder her once and for all so that she can beat him at his own games.

A return of new equilibrium: We haven’t decided upon a new equilibrium yet but what could happen in the ending of our film is that instead of Nimesh attempting to murder Yasmin in her premonition. He could appear in different ways to her such as when she is day dreaming or when she looks into mirrors.  

Analysing two film openings: 'Silence of the Lambs' and 'Se7en'

Analysing ‘The Silence of the Lambs’ – Opening Sequence:

The film begins with a ‘long shot’ of a forest draped with snow as it gracefully collides into the branches and leaves. As the camera changes its focus, it gradually begins to pan the backdrop slowly, circulating the forest. As each scene flows into one another demonstrating the use of continuity, credits appear as a standstill upon the wintery backdrop in a bold, electric black typeface. As each scene follows onto the next, the lettering progressively fades away from the frame before slowly re-emerging in the subsequent shot. The camera moves hurriedly through its surroundings before ‘tracking’ a young women racing along an unnoticeable pathway before eventually fading into the midst of the fog. This film segment builds up anticipation and mystery as the audience is unaware as to what may appear in the following sequence, fortunately this sets a narrative expedition. Additionally, by using fast paced camera shots, dim lighting and an eerie soundtrack, they all build up to create a terrifying, unsettling atmosphere to coincide with the genre of “horror.” During the camera’s fast paced movements, it consistently captures ‘extreme close ups’ from distorted angles demonstrating the females shoes, and face as she sprints through the forest. Consequently, this depicts to the viewing audience a sense of trepidation and vagueness.

As the scenes persist, the camera begins to change to a ‘180 degree shot.’  The camera begins to pan across the backdrop steadily focusing on the young women as she hoists herself up onto a roped ladder before gracefully landing on the other side. The camera carefully rotates to distort the camera angle as we are presented with an ‘over the shoulder shot’ whereby two characters have a quick conversation regarding the young women having to visit her boss. The camera quickly changes to another frame in the film sequence, changing to a ‘medium/close up’ revealing four dismantled name plates which read “hurt, agony, pain and love.’ Perhaps these are phrases which represent scenarios that might be featured in the film. The camera suddenly moves on changing to an ‘extreme long shot’ as the camera focuses onto a building or institute of some sort. However, the camera slowly re-focuses itself onto the young women as she makes her way towards the entrance of the building.

The camera seemingly zooms in towards the building, changing the shot to an ‘extreme close up.’ The camera lens focuses onto a selection of misted windows before gradually fading away into the subsequent shot. The camera eventually changes to a ‘medium shot’ as it hovers over the young women as she makes her way down a narrow, aged staircase. Lastly, the camera changes to a POV shot (point of view) to illustrate the dissimilar situations taking place currently. This provides the viewing audience with more information as we are able to understand the scenarios taking place alongside her and whether they are relevant to the remaining scenes in the film.

In the background of the scene a high pitched, disturbing, and harmonious sound is heard overpowering the scenes from the film sequence. Compared to the images on screen, the melody is undoubtedly similar as it coincides with the situations and atmosphere exceptionally well. Additionally, this conveys to the audience that there is vast amount of danger approaching them.

In conclusion, the opening sequence has began to build up each frame of the film to identify the danger, worrying, isolation which may surround the characters in the situations they put themselves in. Additionally, it might portray how the character thinks and feels. The audience should begin to have a better understanding of the weird and unsettling events which may feature in the film.

Analysing the film opening ‘Se7en’

The file opens with a series of numerous medium and close up shots, demonstrating the burnt, crumpled pages, flickering as each page turns over in an old stained book. A variety of fast paced shots occasionally cross dissolve into one another to illustrate an extensive range of weapons and machinery which may provide narrative information about the main concept in the film. As each scene flows into one another demonstrating the use of continuity, credits appear glistening against the bleak backdrop in a faint white typography. As each scene follows on to the next, the letters fades away from the frame before slowly re-emerging in the subsequent shot. The camera moves rapidly through its surroundings highlighting a slightly disfigured hand holding a minuscule piece of metal as it slowly begins to hack away at the skin. During the camera’s fast paced movements, it frequently captures extreme close up’s from misshapen angles demonstrating objects of metal as they begin to fade away from the frame. As a result of this, this illustrates to the viewing audience a sense of eeriness and ambiguity.

As the scene continues, the camera gradually begins to move closer towards a collection of folders, tracking the same disfigured hand as it begins to caress each individual folder. The camera steadily rotates to distort the camera angle as we are presented with a notebook scripted with a vast amount of lettering inside. As the camera jumps to another frame in the film sequence, changing to a medium shot, revealing a role of film and faded black and white photographs being dismantled and cut to shreds before slowly being stuck back together on a sheet of plain paper. The camera swiftly moves on changing to a bird’s eye view shot as the camera re-focuses on the same notebook scripted with lettering inside but this time the disfigured hand re-emerges creepily crossing out words and faces of different people.

In the background of the scene a high pitched, unsettling, electronic musical sound is heard overpowering the images in the film sequence. Compared to the images on screen, the melody is clearly dissimilar. This implies to the audience that there is vast amount of danger surrounding them.

The camera seemingly passes over the notebook and focuses on the hand as it begins to peel away the binder of a book before unsettlingly twisting the metal bars and re-placing it onto the notebook with the sharp pin-point edges facing upwards. The eeriness and mystery of the high pitched melody is heard again as it continues to disturb the viewer.

The camera, eventually changes to a medium shot as it hovers over the same notebook. The disfigured hand is showcasing an unsettling use of tools as he begins to use a thread and needle to sow pages together. Each individual page depicts either a male or female being tortured in an alarming manner.

To conclude, the entire opening sequence has been slowly building up each frame of the film to identify the danger, worrying, isolation based on how the character thinks and feels. The audience should begin to have a better understanding of the weird and unsettling events which may feature in the film.



My Prezi Presentation = "Shadowed"

yas on Prezi

When we were planning and taking note of our ideas for what our thriller opening sequence might consist of, we came up with ideas such as rape which is discussed in my prezi ‘Shadowed’ murders, stalking and harassments. Whilst we thought the idea of rape would be interesting and could become a successful thriller film if we filmed and created it in a realistic and appropriate setting. We realised that this similar storyline had been used in previous films before hand and as a group we wanted to do something a little more original and different so that we could show off our creativity and imagination skills.

This is when we came to the realisation that we could use ‘Nightmare on Elm Street’ as an inspirational film whereby we could use the ‘dream like’ plot and import that into our own thriller opening sequence making sure that we changed features of it so that instead of our own opening sequence having the main character killed in her dream which meant she died instantly in reality, she could have a premonition of herself being killed so that throughout the remainder of the film she could try and resolve the situation and prevent herself from being murdered by her boyfriend.

What is more, is that the production logo that I decided to use in my ‘Shadowed’ presentation, we decided that as a group we would keep this particular logo and use it for our own thriller opening sequence. However, instead of having the image remain still, we would animate the logo so that the picture zoomed into the keyhole and faded to black allowing all other events to transpire.

Martin Scorsese:

Martin Scorsese:

Martin Scorsese is one of the most famous and successful directors in today’s film industry. He has directed an exact 31 films, all of which have been particularly popular with the viewing audience. Not only is he a film director but he is also a screenwriter, actor, producer and film historian. He is the founder of the ‘World Cinema Foundation.’ Scorsese has been awarded with numerous awards in his lifetime, from an Oscar, to a Golden Globe, to a BAFTA and finally he has been rewarded with a Directors Guild of America. Scorsese’s trademark is Italian/American Identity, Roman Catholic concepts such as redemption and guilt and lastly machismo and violence.

Here is a list of the 31brilliant films Scorsese has directed and in what year they were filmed:

Taxi Driver (1976), Goodfellas (1990), Raging Bull (1980), The Departed (2006), After Hours (1985), The King of Comedy (1983), Mean Streets (1973), My Voyage to Italy (2001), Casino (1995), Shine a light (2008), The Last Waltz (1978), The Aviator (2004), The Age of Innocence (1993), Kundun (1997), The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), Gangs of New York (2002), Bringing Out the Dead (1999), The Colour of Money (1986), Cape Fear (1991), New York, New York (1977), No Direction Home: Bob Dylan (2005), Shutter Island (2010), Boxcar Bertha (1972), Italian American (1974), American Boy: A Profit of: Steven Prince (1978), The Big Shave (1967), Made in Milan (1990), Silence (2008), Street Scenes (1970), Untitled Airbus Documentary Project (2006) and Vesuvius VI (1959).

Each individual film that Scorsese has ever directed has been a successful movie for the reason that they are films which are so close to the edge. They are realistic and gripping. What’s more is that his films are dangerous, they are the real thing. Scorsese is an extraordinary director because he is not frightened of using images and ideas from the “art world.” Every shot/scene in his films is truthful, humane and they speak of life realistically. He is a brilliant storyteller and a wonderful visual stylist.

Below are two trailers from the hit movies, Cape Fear and Shutter Island which were both directed by the incredible Martin Scorsese. By watching these trailers you can get a real understanding as to why he is one of the most renowned filmmakers of his era.

Cape Fear:



Shutter Island:



Screen Grabs of Memorable Shots From Martin Scorsese

Analysing 'The Eye' DVD cover:

Analysing 'the Eye' Dvd Cover

Preliminary Exercise:



Evaluation of our Preliminary Exercise:

In class, we were asked to create a short film sequence as part of our preliminary exercise demonstrating the use of continuity whilst filming and editing a character opening a door, crossing a room and sitting down in a chair opposite another character with whom she/he then exchanges a couple of lines of dialogue. The aim of this exercise is to demonstrate all the techniques we have studied in lessons and put that into practice. These include techniques such as match on action, shot/ reverse shot and the 180 degree rule.

1) Discuss how your group came up with the idea for the script. How efficient was the discussion? What key decisions were made?

In class we were categorised into 4/5 different groups, our group consisted of myself, David, Nimesh and Keval. We began to discuss the different genres in the film industry today and what we believed would be a powerful, gripping genre that would hold our audiences attention. After several minutes of an intense discussion, we finally came to the conclusion that we wanted to film a horror, mystery and suspenseful thriller. The discussion was extremely efficient as each of us took turns to explain our thoughts and ideas whilst the remainder of us began to write these ideas down to include them to our script and storyboard. It wasn’t long before our script slowly began to come together, clearly demonstrating the shot numbers, pictures/titles/graphics, and types of shot, duration and music, dialogue/sound effects. The key decisions that we came up with as a group were that we wanted the film to be a mystery so that the audiences were unaware as to what scene would take place next.

2) Reflect on the planning/storyboarding stages and upload these:

In my opinion, I believe that we worked extremely hard and effectively to produce our storyboard and script. Whilst we took some time to decide the order of shots and the different camera techniques and angles that we were going to use in our film sequence. We were consistent throughout and continued to ask each other what we thought about our thoughts and opinions on the script. Illustrated below is the planning stages of our storyboard and shoot schedule:

Shot 1 – Title of the movie, screen fades into a black backdrop and slowly we see Nimesh sitting down at the desk working away on the computer. This type of shot is a high angle, medium shot. Thriller music can be heard in the background of the scene.

Shot 2 – An extreme long shot of Nimesh sitting down at the desk working away on the computer. Thriller music can still be heard playing the background of the scene.

Shot 3 – This type of shot is a medium shot of David who passes by the window and smacks the glass, standing eerily up against it before slowly backing away. The camera gradually moves towards Nimesh who is staring towards the window horror stricken. Thriller music is played quietly in the background.

Shot 4 – This type of shot is a reaction shot of Nimesh as he is in shock and disbelief about the strange occurrences that seem to be taking place around him. The shot then changes to a medium shot as we begin to track Nimesh moving away from his computer towards the window to see if his “stalker” is still outside the building.

Shot 5 – We continue to film using a tracking shot of David outside of the building as he begins to walk away from the window down the street. The music begins to increase its tempo due to the speediness of the scene.

Shot 6 – This particular shot is a pan shot as we turn the camera away from Nimesh to focus on the bang/smack which is heard on the door behind. Thriller music is still being played quietly in the background of the shot.

Shot 7 – The shot used in this scene is a POV (point of view) shot as we zoom onto David’s face, which is only visible through the window frame in the door.

Shot 8 – We decided to use another tracking shot of Nimesh as he begins to walk around the room heading in the direction of the classroom door.

Shot 9 – Close up of Nimesh’s hand gripping the doorknob.

Shot 10 – Medium shot of Nimesh opening and walking through the door way into the main corridor of the building.

Shot 11 – POV shot of David standing at the end of the corridor, head bowed down.

Shot 12 – Tracking shot of Nimesh walking towards David.

Shot 13 – Close up of David as he looks up gazing into the camera.

Shot 14 – Tracking shot of David walking up the corridor towards Nimesh meeting him halfway.

Shot 15 – Medium shot of David stabbing Nimesh. The camera begins to turn away from the scene and slowly changes to a close up of David as he looks into the camera.

3) How efficient was the shoot? Additionally, embed screen grabs demonstrating the required techniques from the brief.  

I believe that the shooting of our film sequence was extremely efficient for the reason that we all worked well together to co-operate and succeed in making a great thriller movie. Whilst we had a few hiccups where the camera stopped working we managed to fix these errors and threw ourselves back into our filming working harder than ever. Thankfully, we worked tremendously well together as a group and what’s more, we had lots of fun whilst filming our movie as well.

Screen Grabs Demonstrating the Required Techniques From the Brief

Man On the Run and Drag Me to Hell:

Thriller “Man on the Run”
In our groups we were asked to come up with a plot linked to the movie title “Man on the Run," this is a sub-genre of a thriller movie whereby the main character, either male or female finds themselves pursued by either a unknown character/an enemy/or the federal armed forces. In the majority of the film, the character must contemplate about the different ways he/she can make an escape whilst trying to avoid the 'enemy,' before eventually confronting them face to face.  We had to be creative, and decide on a scenario whereby something thrilling and dramatic would take place. This was a fantastic opportunity for us, as media students to think of a brand new and exciting plot, whereby an action sequence would unfold. As we based our movie, on a spoof, we realised that realistically we had to think of other ‘serious’ movies which included scenarios which we wanted to include in our own original film, turning it into a spoof. The three movies we watched and took ideas from before creating our own spoof for the ‘Man on the Run’ were ‘The Bank Job, Shawshank Redemption and Johnny English.’ Below are the trailers from the movie "The Bank Job" and "Shawshank Redemption," these are the two films in particular that we decided to take scenes from in order to create our own "Man on the Run" movie.





The Plot:A young man (21-23) is depicted walking down a long, darkened alley way in a hurry. He is dressed in a dark pair of jeans, a grey shirt and a pinstripe blazer; he has a large holdall thrown over his left shoulder. He is in trouble as one of his enemies have kidnapped his girlfriend and the only way he can pay for the ransom is to rob a bank. As he emerges from behind the alley way, he begins to pick up his pace and is seen running towards a towering building. He smashes the window on the ground floor, breaking an entry into the building. Once inside he strolls through the lobby heading straight in the direction of a newly installed volt. Surprisingly, he manages to break through the entry code and ID test and robs just over 1 million pounds. However, what he doesn’t realise is that by removing the cash, a silent alarm has gone off, sending out an urgent signal to the nearest police station. Within minutes of the male trying to make an escape he is unfortunately captured and arrested for breaking an entry and stealing money from a bank. In jail, the man contemplates about the different scenarios whereby he could make an escape. Unfortunately all of his ideas fail to see him escape from jail. The male quickly decides that there is only one definite and realistic way to break out of jail, by removing the toilet from its holdall and squeezing down the sewage drain pipe placed underneath. From here, we see him slide all the way through the sewage pipe, amongst all the dirt and waste from the toilets above. Within seconds, he is seen making a run from the prison out into the unknown. Below is an example of a moodboard demonstrating the planning stages of our script based on the 'Man on the Run.'

Man on the Run Moodboard

The plot refers to a series of events or actions which sum up a films story line. A plot is a key/major turning point in a film's story which advances the action sequence and sets it into action.

The setting of our movie is quite dark, particularly eerie and suspenseful as it is set late at night, most likely two – three am. This builds up a more dramatic, enthralling scenario as we the audience are made to believe that something strange is about to take place in the scenes to follow. We thought that if our movie was to be filmed in broad daylight then it would not seem as scary as it was originally meant to resemble. By filming the movie late at night, this illustrates a more gripping and riveting setting.

The camera shots that I would most likely use to film our movie sequence would have to be a ‘close up;’ this will concentrate the audience’s attention on an important detail. Additionally, CU can be used to illustrate someone’s face when their expression tells us something. A ‘long shot,’ this zooms out onto a scenario or setting to highlight the whereabouts of characters and to direct the audience into understanding what else is happening beyond the characters. In addition, I would use a ‘crane shot,’ this is a technique which starts off as an eye level camera angle, and gradually changes to a low angle position and is titled upwards towards the subject. Furthermore, I would also include a ‘tracking shot,’ this demonstrates that when you are filming a character who is either walking or running, the camera should always be tracking the actor/actress so that you do not lose the character in your shot. Lastly, I incorporate the ‘match on action’ camera technique; this demonstrates a cut between two shots where no time has passed between them. This is an extremely important technique as it continues the flow of the scene.

“Drag me to hell – Horror, Mystery and Suspense”

“Drag Me to Hell,” is a horror, mystery and suspenseful thriller directed by Sam Raimi, starring Alison Lohman, Justin Long and Lorna Raver. The trailer indicated below is from the hit movie "Drag me to Hell."

The Plot:

Christine Brown (Alison Lohman) works as a loan officer at a local bank but she is worried about the different situations taking place in her life at the moment. She’s in desperate competition with another loan officer for an “assistant manager” position and she is unsure about her status with her boyfriend. Concerned that her boss will think less of her because of her weaknesses in her job, she decides upon herself not to give an extension on an elderly woman’s mortgage payment, Mrs Ganesh, who is now set to lose her house. In retaliation, Mrs Ganesh places a curse upon Christine Brown, unknown that she will be sentenced to hell in 3 days time. With the help of a psychic she tries to get rid of the demons who are torturing her but she faces several obstacles in the days ahead. Below is an examle of a genre moodboard illustrating the horror, mystery and suspenseful thrillers using film posters to demonstrate this:

Horror, Mystery Genre Moodboard

The setting of the movie is exceptionally dark and eerie as the majority of the film is set late at night or in dark locations, for example a graveyard. If the setting/backdrop is darkened this creates suspense and mystery. To the audience, this builds up a more dramatic and enthralling scenario, as we believe that something gripping and peculiar is about to take place in the upcoming scenes.

Sam Raimi used a variety of camera shots and camera angles in his movie “Drag Me to Hell,” to incorporate a more dramatic, uncanny film sequence. He used a ‘close up’ to concentrate the audience’s attention on an important detail and to illustrate a characters face when their expression tells us something. He used a ‘long shot’ to indicate a scenario or setting to highlight the whereabouts of characters and to direct the audience into understanding what else is happening around the characters. Additionally, he used the camera technique ‘reaction shot,’ this is to highlight a character’s reaction and to demonstrate whether they are shocked or surprised. He also used a ‘tracking shot,’ to highlight when you are filming a character that is either walking or running, the camera should always be tracking the actor/actress so that you do not lose the character in your shot. Finally, he used a ‘match on action’ technique to demonstrate a cut between two shots where no time has passed between them.

The Birds - continuity exercise:

The Birds – continuity explanation:

We were asked to watch a short clip from Hitchcock’s “The Birds,” as it is excellent at demonstrating the use of continuity in a sequence and how the range of techniques work together to create a fantastic film. Continuity has been used successfully in this particular section of the movie for the reason that it highlights how each camera shot flows into one another elegantly and how it continues from the last scene/shot into the next one. Continuity is a particularly hard technique to get to grasp with and understand since you have to keep check of where the last shot was taken, how close the camera was to the characters and what angle it was facing, if any of these rules were changed even slightly it could completely mess up the scene/shot as it would no longer flow against one another and it would jump, suggesting that the person who filmed the shot was most likely to be an ‘amateur’. If the scenes/shot in a film do not flow gracefully between one another this will annoy the viewing audience as they will get confused as to why the camera shots keep changing angles and why it seems to jitter between each individual scene, this creates an unfortunate, unsuccessful movie.

Pics of the Birds

I have screen grabbed/shot two clips from Hitchcock’s “The Birds,” both shots in particular demonstrate the use of continuity successfully in this specific scene of the movie. This is depicted as the woman begins to open the front door from the outside of the house and as the scene changes we are shown the woman opening the front door but this time the camera shot is filmed inside the house. Miraculously, the camera stays in the same distance from when the camera was filming outside the house to when it began filming again inside the house. Clearly, this is an exceptionally good use of continuity as the scenes flow elegantly beside each other without and jumps or disruptions.

Halfway through the sequence, different effects and soundtracks are used to create anticipation and nervousness as we the viewing audience are uncertain as to what might appear onto our TV screens in the upcoming scenes. When the female character first comes into view, standing at the bedroom door, she hesitates for a brief moment before carefully and cautiously, pushes the door slightly ajar before peering into the room. One might say that this scene was produced in this particular way for the reason that it engages the viewing audience, allowing them to come up with a wide variety of thoughts and meanings as to why she might be hesitating to open the door. Additionally, the camera shots build up tension and apprehension as we are unsure as to what might take place in the following scene.

Moreover, when the woman appears in the kitchen glancing throughout the different rooms, the camera is presented as a medium shot, however moments later, the camera suddenly changes to an eye level close up, and this is continually used in filming to illustrate the actor/actresses expression.  In this scene, an eye level close up has been specifically used to emphasize the actress’s shocked expression and to draw attention to the direction in which she is glancing towards. In addition, this builds up further anticipation as we desperately want to understand what has happened in the scene and why the actress appears to look taken aback. Additionally, this particular scene of the movie has to be my favourite section of the sequence, simply because it demonstrates a fantastic and successful use of continuity and the use of camera shots and techniques are mesmerising. Each individual technique and camera shot is dissimilar and work extremely well together. Each scene flows pleasingly well alongside one another throughout the movie.

 

Casino Royale - Opening Sequence:

Casino Royale 9 frame opening sequence story board:

Casino Royale 9 - Frame Opening Sequence Story Board

I have produced a 9 frame opening sequence story board based on the award winning film ‘James Bond – Casino Royale,’ directed by Martin Campbell, starring Daniel Craig, Eva Green and Mads Mikkelsen. The aim of this task was to understand the concept of how a movie’s opening sequence is created and how its effects and designs are used to name the actors, directors, producers who have either starred in the movie or have helped to contribute to the making and directing of the movie.

The opening sequence in ‘James Bond – Casino Royale,’ is filled with extremely entertaining, vivid frames relating to the characters, settings and action sequences which will all appear onto the screen later on in the movie. The opening sequence is usually the most important part in the entire movie for the reason that the first few minutes into the film is what either draws your audience in or can lose their interest completely. One might say, that the 9 frame opening sequences which I have chosen as part of my story board, are tremendously fast paced, engaging and brightly coloured, for me these are all areas which create a successful opening sequence as they engage the audience and lure you in, questioning what you think will happen in the movie and whether the rest of the scenes/sequences in the movie are going to be just as attention-grabbing as the opening sequence.

The producers of ‘James Bond – Casino Royale’ are Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli and the distributors of the movie are ‘Columbia Pictures’ and ‘Metro – Goldwyn – Mayer.’ Each of these roles is both extremely important and major roles in the film industry, the difference between these two roles are: a film or movie producer is someone who creates the scenes/sequences and the conditions of making a movie. The producer must also co-ordinate, oversee and organise matters such as fund raising events, hiring key equipment, employees and set up the distributors. A distributor is an independent company which acts as a manager among a film production company and a film exhibitor. Furthermore, it is a company which releases a movie/film to the general public either theatrically or for home viewing, for example DVD, Blue Ray, Download and many more.

Continuity task/exercise:

In class, we were asked to produce a short film sequence, demonstrating the use of continuity and how it affects pre and post production. Whilst filming, we were asked to include a short segment of dialogue and display how to open and walk through doors in different shots/takes. We were asked to use a variety of shots that enabled us to create a successful mini film which showed signs of continuity and how each scene should end up flowing into one another simultaneously.
Using the necessary and relevant skills that we have learnt throughout the media course we decided that when filming scenes such as opening and walking through doors and a conversation between two characters, we thought that it would be a good and creative idea to incorporate shots such as a match-on action and shot/reverse shot to display how these are the correct techniques which should be used when wanting to create a successful film.

The video uploaded above, is a first cut of our attempt to edit our continuity sequence.

Compare 2 Film Openings: The Notebook and When A Stranger Calls

The Notebook:

Narrative Expectations:

* We meet the two main characters in the movie ‘The Notebook,’ in the first few minutes of the opening sequence of the film. We meet an elderly women, who is spotted in an ‘old people’s home,’ most likely suffering from a mental disease preferably dementia as she cannot remember the names or the identity of the people living with her.

* An elderly woman who I believe to be one of the two main characters in the movie is seen wearing a white pearl necklace, pearl earrings and a smart, possibly an expensive outfit consisting of a blazer, blouse and a skirt. This suggests to the audience that she might be rich, or was rich when she was growing up.

* An elderly man who I believe to be the other main character of the movie is shown making an effort to look his best, despite the fact that he as well lives in an ‘old people’s home.’ Within minutes of leaving his room, he is seen turning up at the elderly woman’s room, he is praised by the nurse as being a “funny man who she would like,” this comment suggests more to the actors than what she is letting on to us, the audience. I believe that there is a hidden romance buried beneath the story, and as the tale continues, slowly information will unfold and all will be revealed to us the viewer/audience.

* We find out that the elderly man’s name is ‘Duke’ and as he begins to tell the story of a couple named Noah and Allie and their first meeting at a Carnival in 1940, we begin to understand that not only is this a story, but it might actually be a flashback of the two of them years ago.

*Romance = Love.

Shot Types:

* There are a lot of ‘Extreme Close Ups’ and ‘Close Ups’ in the opening sequence of the film, many of these techniques are used to show detail such as the actor’s expression, the clothes they are wearing, brushing hair, illustrating many signs of perfection and imperfection.

* There is a couple of ‘Long Shots’ and ‘Medium Shots’ to highlight other actors/extras, surroundings and environment/setting to set the scene.

* Clearly, the director has decided to use slow motion in certain segments of the scene especially when filming a ‘Close Up’ of the elderly woman. This is to create an enigma, as we want to see her face and her expression. This encourages the audience to focus on her more than anything or anyone else.

* When the director films the carnival scene, he usually films in an ‘Extreme Long Shot’ or a ‘Medium Shot’ in order to enable the audience to follow and get a sense of the characters surroundings, but at the exact same time still see parts of her and what she is looking at.

Character Types:

* One of the main characters in the movie, the elderly woman is spotted in an ‘old people’s home,’ most likely suffering from a mental disease, preferably dementia. However, the elderly woman seems materialistic as she wears white pearls around her neck and is dressed in a smart, possible expensive outfit.

* Another main character in the film, ‘Duke’ is seen taking the opportunity to read a story or perhaps reminiscing about an old memory with the elderly woman, whereby two people met and fell in love. However, it is hard to get a clear understanding of what the plot is about as it is to early on in the film – the truth is buried beneath the story.



When A Stranger Calls:

Narrative Expectations:

* At the beginning of the film we don’t get to meet any of the main characters in the opening sequence, what we do get to see though is a young child, perhaps a young teenager (13-15) who receives anonymous phone calls from a middle aged male asking her strange, personal questions, for example, “What’s your name? How old are you?” This creates mystery, tension and uncertainties as we, the audience are unsure as to what might happen next. However, this is a perfect connotation for a classis thriller movie.

* It could be said that the middle aged male who is making the anonymous phone calls might be a significant character in the movie, he may not be the ‘main character’ but his character might be just as important as the leading role.

*The young teenage girl seems to react as being extremely scared the more times she receives the anonymous phone call from the same anonymous person. Her voice clearly begins to tremble and become shaky as she begs the caller to “Please stop calling me,” this encourages the audience to pay attention to the story and the young teenage girl as we, the audience/viewers try to understand her feelings and emotions and sympathise with her.

*A slow, quiet, mysterious song is played in the background of the opening sequence, throughout the introduction and the dialogue. The music presented in this section of the movie fits in tremendously well with the genre of the film.

Shot Types:

* Most of the shots filmed in the opening scenes of the movie are either ‘Extreme Long Shots, Long Shots or Medium Shots,’ the director has decided to film this sequence using these specific camera shots for the reason that the director wants to enable the audience to follow and get a sense of the characters surroundings, but at the exact same time still see parts of the young teenage girl’s house and what she is looking out at.

* The director has used a couple of wide shots in the opening sequence to draw attention to the characters, their neighbourhood and some of the extra’s in the background to show how important the setting and backdrop is overall.

* ‘Crane Down, Look Up and Low Angles,’ are often used to make the characters seem bigger and more important – higher status.

Character Types:

* About four minutes into the opening sequence, police and detectives are presented onto our screens, this represents crime, murder, stealing and so on, and this is an ideal connotation for a classic thriller movie.

* The anonymous phone calls from an anonymous figure/voice build up suspense and uncertainty as we; the viewers are unable to identify what will happen next. This is what usually positions the audience to sit at the edge of their seats.

*The young teenage girl seems vulnerable, terrified and uncertain as to whether the anonymous caller will re-call her again.

* The middle aged male, anonymous caller represents mystery and secrecy.

What similarities can you identify between the two examples? What are the differences?

*Each of the films immediately establishes the main characters in the movie and show how they live and work in their own environments/setting.

*Whilst “When a Stranger Calls,” is a mysterious, horror, thriller movie, “The Notebook” is the complete opposite as it is filled with romanticism, adventure and above all else ‘love.’

 *”The Notebook,” starts off playing a slow ballad in the background, whilst a couple are seen floating by in a boat watching the sunset on the horizon, a rather beautiful setting. Whereas, “When a Stranger Calls,” begins with a slow, quite, mysterious song which depicts a complex, thriller film which will clearly have an unhappy, secrecy ending.