Breaking the 180 degree rule

We break the 180 degree rule multiple times in our opening. Whilst not something we had initially planned, this was a calculated choice on our part. The break comes during the P.O.V shots. It was done to show that the attacker was other to the girl, that the camera was showing a different viewpoint, and it was therefore necessary to break the 180 degree rule to show.

Questionnaire plan

I am planning a questionnare asking people if they like action films, their favourite type of protagonist, their favourite genre, etc... I am hoping ask this to a range of ages and demographics, so that my group has a better idea of what the target audience for our film opening should be.

Downloading bar

We had some difficulty in finding images of a single downloading bar at one percent, and then that same downloading bar at a hundred percent; especially ones without copyright. This was one of the reasons that filming was delayed. Eventually we had to take existing pictures and edit them to create our idea, and we ended up with two bars that looked perfect for our opening.

Keeping shots the same

Because we filmed during many separate days, we had to be meticulous in the location of our filming, making sure that we had the exact same point in the path for all the different shots. It was also difficult as we had to re-film the shot where Kira is knocked out many times, and we had to make sure that there was continuity with the close up shot that preceded it.

Location

We decided to film our opening at Oakwood Park as it had the sense of remoteness that was crucial for our idea, but it also had fairly flat paths for Kira to run down, so there was less danger of accidents. The long path gave the perfect background for our long shot, and the park is not that busy, so we weren't often interrupted by members of the public.

POV shots and Luther

When we were editing our opening, we realised that the girl getting attacked was very out of the blue, so we decided to have a counterpoint by having some shots from the attackers POV, which would hopefully help to build tension. This is an idea that was inspired heavily by an opening of an episode of Luther that we watched and used early in the course for storyboarding practice.

Downloading

We have run into a slight problem when filming, as our opening includes shots of something downloading, and it is proving extremely difficult to find pictures of a 1% download and a complete download that have identical download bars, which we need for the continuity of our opening.

Shots 2 and 3

During editing, we decided to deviate from the storyboard by switching the second and third shot as there was better continuity and it looked a lot smoother.

Intercutting scenes

We decided to intercut two of our scenes. This is to keep the high tension of our opening and to make sure that the pace doesn't drop. These two shots were the same event from two different angles and so intercutting was the best choice to get rid of long clunky shots and make sure the action stays fast paced.

Saturation

We decided to bring down the saturation of our opening to better capture the bleak mood of the film, and the sinister atmosphere of the opening.

Revised Film Schedule

Unfortunately, unforeseen circumstances meant that we had to revise our filming schedule, but we should complete filming in the near future, weather permitting.

Making of

Video of my group during filming

Updated filming schedule

Due to scheduling conflicts we were not able to meet for one of the dates planned, however on  the 1st of November we managed to film for around two hours before the sun began setting, meaning we had to stop.

We will not be able to meet again until the 9th of November, when hopefully we will be able to conclude the filming.

Film Scedule

My group and I are planning to film at Oakwood park during the day on the 27th of October, and if necessary on the 29th.

Sound 2.0

A lot of our sound is non-diagetic, as we hope that the music will build tension. It starts with calm music, and then a back beat is gradually added to build the suspense.

Storyboard animation

Sound

Our film has background music, but that background music cannot be copyrighted, so we found a website called 'Epidemic Sound' that provides a wide range of royalty free music.
This is where we got the entirety of the background music for our storyboard animation.

Opening storyboard

Art of the title

We looked at existing openings to see if any were helpful, and I found:

1) 'Beyond Clueless (2014)' This is very like our opening in the fact that the titles are over the action, and do not have a separate sequence.









2) 'Chasing Shakespeare (2013)' Had the same sort of establishing shots at the beginning of the opening, and the same sort of calm music to start that we had planned.









3) 'Panic Room (2002)' Gives the same feeling of tension through music that we are hoping to achieve.

Pitch

The Life Of David Gale

Our group took our main inspiration from the opening to the film 'The Life of David Gale'. In this opening there is a very large air of mystery, with a woman running frantically running from something. We took the same air of panic and time running out for our opening, though in David Gale the woman is running to somewhere and in our opening she is running away from something, we took a great amount of ideas from this, such as the long shot of the female running.

Prelim

POV shot

A POV shot is a shot that is from a specific character's point of view. For example, in our media opening there is a shot of the camera dropping, as the girl falls, making it seem as if the audience is seeing directly from the character's eyes.

Match on action

Match on action is where one shot has tan action and then the second shot continues it. For example, if in one shot we see someone opening a door and in the second shot they are walking through it, that is match on action.

Eye line match

An 'Eye line match' is where a character on screen is shown to be looking somewhere and then the camera shows what they are looking at, therefore the camera matches their eye line, hence 'eye line match'.

180° rule

The 180° rule is where you cannot film in a full circle around the characters, only a half circle or 180°

Shot- reverse- shot

This is often used in conversations. One character is shown looking at another character, and then the second character is shown to be looking back at the first.

Mise-en-Scene

The mise-en-scene is an extremely important part of every single shot. this includes:

• The colour
• The lighting
• The decor
• The props
• The acting
• The costume

These are crucial, as they each create a different effect, and have a different connotation.

To use a cliched example- A ripped prom dress- the woman wearing it is vulnerable.

Or patched clothes could convey poverty,

Or a suit conveys power. 

And that is just using the example of costume.

Lighting could convey an emotion: fear, anger, sadness,

 Or it could convey a state of mind. For example, if, during a conversation, one character is well- lit and the other is in shadow it could show that the lit person is confident in their decisions whereas the dimly-lit figure is still struggling with what to do.

All parts of mise-en-scene have to be consistent, otherwise the film looks hastily put together and not well-planned. 

Storyboarding

We practised story boarding, using the opening of 'Remember me' and the opening of an episode of 'Luther'. It was a very important learning curve, as before this practise I don't think any of us had (I certainly hadn't!) realised how detailed a storyboard has to be. Each shot has to be drawn individually and each piece of sound has to be detailed on this plan, the duration of each shot. It certainly puts in perspective how detailed the storyboard for our openings will have to be. However, the practice drawing the openings of these shows was invaluable experience for when we plan our own openings.

Camera movement, angles and shots source

Camera Angles

1. Eye level

2. Low Angle

3. High Angle

4. Overhead shot 

5. Undershot 

Camera Shots

There are many different camera angles, such as:

1. Establishing shots. These are mainly used at the beginning of scenes to show the audience where the action is taking place.  

 

 2. Long shots. These are used to show the character in relation to their surroundings.

3. Full shot. This shot shows the entire body of a character.

4. Mid shot. This Shows the top half of the character.

5. Close up. This is usually just the character's face, and is used to convey the character's emotions-or to show a feeling of intimacy

6. Extreme close up. This technique is used to draw attention to details that may be missed in other types of shots. For example- a character's eyes shifting to look at something.

7. Very extreme close up. This is an unusual shot, and is used for a multitude of effects.

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Finding inspiration

Preceding the making of a film opening, it is helpful to watch films of the same genre as yours. Taking inspiration, ideas and techniques from other films can be extremely beneficial. For example, the year before last one group created a film opening called 'Distressed':

This clip was heavily influenced by the opening of the TV series released that year on BBC 1; 'Remember Me'

Unfortunately, 'Remember me' is produced and copyrighted by the BBC and so the video cannot be linked to.

The inspiration is evident, however, with  the multiple establishing shots in the begginning of the clip, mirroring the shots from 'Remember me'

The man looking at photos also parallels the original opening closely.

However the changes are also evident, as , inside of the sinister figure at the beach, the scene cuts to a girl playing the piano.