Research - Audience Profile

 

 

 

 

 

 

Research - Mood board

This is a duo of mood boards collecting images, words, and feelings that really represent the themes and concept of my opening sequence. my concept is a crime movie and I intend for the opening sequence to resemble the overall feeling the images provide. my film opening will be a British crime film and many of the ideal props and sets are displayed on this mood board. I have done two mood boards as there are two contrasting themes in my film, the first mood board is showing the suave and organised crime scene, this is the scene that my lead character will get entangled in during the movie. my second mood board shows the background and life that my lead character is in, the contrasting atmospheres will be my films unique selling point.

Research - Questionnaire on audience

QUESTIONAIRE ON AUDIENCE

Are you male or female?

o   Male

o   Female

What is your favourite genre of film?

o   Action adventure

o   Sci-fi

o   Horror

o   Thriller

o   Crime

o   Drama  

o   Romantic

o   Comedy

o   Other… please specify

Would you say that you notice and enjoy the opening credits scenes in movies?

o   Yes

o   No

If yes, choose one of these reasons why you enjoy the opening sequence.

o   Music

o   Interesting visuals

o   Company credits

o   Cinematography

I released ten of these questionnaires to family, friends, and strangers in order to get a fair result. my findings where that the male audiences were more interested in action, thriller, and sci-fi. and the male individuals also said that they really love the impact that music and 'interesting' cinematography have on the opening sequence of films, I will use this to my advantage when making my opening sequence and apply the use of music and camera angles in an effective way. on the other side of the spectrum, the women audience members aid that they enjoyed romantic, comedy, and drama genres. also the a couple of the women commented that they don't even really pay much attention to the opening sequence, the other three said that they don't think the opening sequence is much of an asset but they enjoy the music and the atmosphere hat it provides for the watcher. 

Research - Production Companies And Logos

 

Warner Brothers Pictures

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What I Think Makes An Effective Opening Sequence

First of all I believe that an opening sequence should be able to tell a story on its own, should be riddled with suggestions toward the films themes and ideas. I would also expect to see SOME company credits and the top billed cast displayed on screen. The more powerful and effective opening credits scenes always include music to help set an atmosphere, and always makes me want to continue watching the movie. It should be a powerful and establishing moment of 2-3 minutes to help set up the story and most of the time the scene will be very high impact in some way. In the opening sequence for the secret life of Walter Mitty all of the shots used are extreme establishing shots, which suggests themes of loneliness and the fact that the world is huge and waiting to be explored. The music used in this sequence heighten these themes with very melodic yet inspirational music, slow motion shots are used in some shots as the character is walking to almost make you think that he is stuck in an average lifestyle/ daily scheme. Another thing I find very effective in opening sequences is when you have the film summed up in a subtle and hinting way, for example in the opening scene for James Bond Skyfall we see  a sequence of interesting imagery that hint at  failure and getting back up again, also we see sets and props that will become huge parts of the story. this is very effective at setting up a story in my opinion.

 What I will need to avoid when making my own credit sequence.

• filming interesting things that don't help tell the story.
• over complicating things
• using the same types of shots
• letting the music tell the story
• using too many company credits

Opening Credits Analysis Part Two - James Bond 'Skyfall"

In the first shot of this opening title sequence we see the lead actor's name displayed as some interesting Bond style cinematography is exhibited, the colour scheme is very consistent throughout the sequence until the final scene when the scheme changes for dramatic effect storytelling. You can hear the bond theme for this particular film "skyfall by Adele"

The main characters name is shown to establish that the actor previously mentioned plays that character, in the mise en scene we see the character plunging into a whirlpool hinting at danger. the colour scheme is consistent with the previous image, the song is still playing. We see  Bond's lower legs and feet at an angle that makes it seem as if the audience is looking down with the character's perspective.

  The film's title is then displayed with the renowned bond style imagery in the background, the theme song by Adele is reaching its peak at this moment to create a very impressive moment, just as Bond is being consumed by the sea floor. The sound effects played on top of the song begin to change nearer the end of this sequence. what was once a mellow sound turns to a deeper more gritty sound.



This ending scene changes to a deep blood red colour which highly contrasts with the rest of the sequence which was blue, this has huge connotations toward death/blood, and could link the location shown on screen with a certain death to come at that location. we see knives and pistols falling down and hitting the ground as the camera pans through the graveyard, which reinforces  a theme of death.

Opening Credits Analysis Part Three - Lone Survivor

Opening shot is of navy seal undertaking extreme training, hinting toward not only the theme of the film, but the intensity also. we see company credits displayed on screen in plain military style text again suggesting themes. we hear an emotional yet motivational song played throughout. we see the marine being pulled up out of the sea, suggesting a helplessness that follows up through the film.



we then see recovery footage of the marine just before we are thrown into the movie's title in the next scene, we begin to see cast member's names displayed. the Sargent behind the camera is testing the soldier on times tables as he shivers with hypothermia. this shows the audience how tough these men are, setting us up to meet the main characters. 

the movie's title is shown as the music peaks creating a huge impact for the watcher. the text of the title is in military/uniform white text to again hint at the movie's theme and the intensity and inspiration you are about to experience. toward the end of this scene we begin to hear 'heaves and hoes' (pain and effort) this sound continues as it cuts to the next scene.



we see footage of hard hitting training that leaves the watcher feeling motivated and also helps the audience understand how the characters more as they've just seen what they have all been through. the song is no longer playing for this scene we can hear grunting and shouting. this scene is really intense to watch, setting us up for the following events.

This sequence sets us up for the film so efficiently as it shown us as the watcher the intense and brutal training the lead characters have been through which makes us support the characters from the very beginning and we feel as if we know more about them.

 

Opening Credits Analysis Part One - The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty

The opening shot to this movie's credits scene is an establishing shot of the main character exiting his apartment, you can hear the film's soundtrack playing with the sequence, the music is very inspirational and makes the watcher almost feel as if they are in the story. this initial establishing shot is one of many as almost every shot of this credit scene is establishing, this is so effective at hinting to the watcher that theres a big world out there and the character is very schedule driven and is almost trapped in a world of routine.



We see the main character walking past a building with his briefcase in slow motion, we can see company credits displayed on the wall, all the credits are displayed in a way that seems as if they are part of the footage rather that overlaid onto the footage like many films. this is very pleasing to watch and this style of presenting text is continued throughout the sequence. costumes used are almost all formal wear such as suits and dresses to hint at strict routine. the fact that the main character is wearing slightly less formal attire may suggest that he wants to test limits.

Establishing shot of character crossing a bridge with company credits displayed on the side of the bridge, the soundtrack is still playing. the mise en scene consist of a bridge, the main character walking and buildings in the background. we begin to see very interesting camera angles in the next few clips possibly connoting that the lead has a different take on life and is out of the ordinary so to speak. 

we see company credits displayed on the road as a train passes across the screen, this is establishing the current location of the character. at this scene you may begin to notice a higher colour contrast, intact if you look down the images you can see that the contrast goes from very colour drained, to vibrant colour at the end of the sequence, this can be seen as showing the character blooming like a flower and becoming better in a way.

Closer footage of train station and character, the director is using very visually interesting images throughout this opening scene, we see the film's title displayed on station signs as the character runs away, we still hear the soundtrack and also train sounds in this scene. this shots cinematography is beautifully executed as the train platform in perfectly in line with the bottom of the screen with the character centred. this can be considered very aesthetically pleasing.

in the penultimate shot we see a birds eye view of a colourful floor with the film's title displayed, The colour then fades away to reveal that the pattern is on a marble floor of a building, we see the character walking across the screen. this makes us think that he is back into routine after letting his imagination roam wild. 

Storyboard

Preliminary film and explaination

 

 

 

This is our final film in which we displayed knowledge of: the 180 degree rule, reverse shots, over the shoulder, panning, editing skills.

 our task for this short clip was to use and understand the 180 degree rule and reverse shots, we used the reverse shot for the opening of the door as we could make the transition really smooth and pleasing to watch, the 180 degree rule was applied during the dialogue scene as this is how the technique is used in film most often.

 we came up with the idea not to show the characters face that walks in until the dialogue scene to create a moment of suspense and mystery for the watcher. This was also a little play around with skills that we are looking at using for our actual opening sequence. the title of the clip cuts away at the exact moment the character reaches for the door knob, this makes the transition from title to action more crisp and saves the viewer watching a low quality fade out.
We see an establishing shot of the room and two characters, as soon as the character walking in begins to sit down there is a cut to a closer shot of the character sitting down, this makes a very smooth cut and is seen as being pleasing to watch as opposed to multiple jumpy cuts.