Today we went out and did our first bit of filming for our two minute opening to our film. We chose two of our friends to be our actors as we knew it wouldn't be awkward ordering them about and it wouldn't be embarrasing for them to be acting in front of me and Emma. Our actors-
Olivia Baird-Piper playing HannahHannah is a normal average 16 year old girl, she likes to go out and socialise with her friends and by doing so she gets drunk. In this film Hannah, gets a little bit too drunk and gets taken but, who by?! Hannah is the protagonist of my film. What I wish to portray through this character is the vulnerability of the young and intoxicated and that everyone is at risk even in a seemingly empty area. I plan to use handheld camera shots to show that Hannah is infact very drunk, also, when it comes to editing I will get a few shots as if they are from Hannah's viewpoint and use the dissolve tool so it makes the shots go in and out of focus. I'm planning on using shots that are at her level or above- if they are at her level then she will be doing the the normal get thing and if the shot is above her from a high angle it adds to the vulnerability of the character.
Rhiannon Nother Carter playing the role of Alice.
Alice is Hannah's best friend, who deserts her on the drunken night in which she gets taken, she doesn't play that big a part in the opening but, later on in the film I think I'd like to make her more relevant; possibly by her helping Hannah escape or hide?
The screenplay for the opening two minutes, I don't particularly want any dialogue, but, if I'm going to include speech I would chose to add in a voice over, over the choice of music that I would like to use. My choice of music would be an upbeat party song, to show that Hannah is having a good time, and it also provides me with an even bigger contrast in atmosphere when it changes and she is somewhere else with no sound apart from herself and the footsteps of another.
I want the sound of waves crashing against the shore, whilst the image of waves crashing against the shore is being shown. Then it being cut to the underground car park which is when the music would start if I have music; then the shots of the two girls getting drunk having fun, then the last image of Hannah in this random place that the audience are going to be completely unaware of.
I'm planning on using mid shots and close ups mainly with a few long shots, extreme long shots, I will also incorporate panning and tracking into it.
For me I want the storyline of the entire film to be about this one girl; Hannah. and about how she is normal, goes out gets drunk with her friend, her friend wanders off and leaves this girl laying on the floor, she is passed out, then she wakes up and finds herself in a place she has never seen before, completely out of her comfort zone, she panics, and there is someone else in the house, the film is about what happens to her in this house, how she escapes, and if she escapes forever.
Grain of sand.http://vimeo.com/29780909
This is yet again a film directed by Oliver Hollingdale; I have chosen to write about this because I really like the opening from 18 seconds to 1 minute, this beach scene is what I generally wanted in my film, as the beach is an iconic thing for Hastings, and it gives a sense of setting whilst also looking quite artistic with the reflections in the water; I think that this almost reversal of the waves crashing would work well in my film as I'm showing a flashback to the night before so then this would symbolise going back in time whilst allowing me to give a sense of setting and natural sounds. I don't really like the rest of the short film as it is all a bit too si-fi for me, and that is not my personal preference, I do however think that the editing for this film is so well done and all the light shining through actually looks rather natural as if it should and is actually there not just edited in.
From this short film, I am going to steal the idea of the beach and the waves crashing as I think that it looks rather artistic and gives a feel of art involved also.
Sounds in opening sequences.
If there is no sounds whatsoever, it builds up tension but, it also allows the audience to get distracted, so it is always a good choice to include some sounds, even if just the natural sounds of the setting that you are filming at or an actual song. If you chose to use a song I think it adds to the genre of the film, but, it also makes you as a director make a personal decision to a song choice, so it would have personal preference behind the song choice, and not everyone shares the same choice in music taste so music can put a genre barrier on it.
For my film, I think it's going to be difficult to find an already made song to use, as we wont really be able to get permission from the artist, so we may have to just use the natural surrounding sounds, or get a friend with musical talent to create something for the two minute opening scene.
Because our opening scene we want to show a girl getting drunk having a nice night and then waking up somewhere else on her own and that's what I want to end the opening at, I think there should be a voice over perhaps of the two girls laughing at the beginning and then the sounds fading into the sound of the girl coughing, retching and throwing up and other disgusting noises the drunk make.
Trainspotting (1996)
*Directed by Danny Doyle- Who also directed Slum Dog Millionaire
*The films age rating is an 18
*The publishing companies are Polygram (which is a British company) and Channel 4 films
This film is set in Edinburgh in the 90s; The economic situation at this time was high unemployment much like today's current economic climate.
The first two minutes:
*Series of shots- these establish the setting and character; at the beginning the directer uses a mid pan backwards shot, this makes you as an audience member feel as if you are running with the actor, also his voice comes in on the voice over which also makes you feel more like you are there. There is also a shot used that I particularly like which is a mid shot of the boy and the shot is framed naturally with the arch way, this I think looked very artistic. The director also chose to do shots from the ground level up this makes the character look almost heroic.
*The soundtrack- It's a song of that period which emphasises when it was set, it's an upbeat fun 'party' song. The general sounds of the street come in before the visual actually does, this gives the sense that things in the story have happened before hand to cause whatever we're about to see.
*Genre- I assume that it is a British gritty comedy from the song choice used, the font was simplistic yet a bubbly-ish font, indicating the age of the characters and also there is a hint to the comedic side of the film, a few of the shots done are generally funny, but I get the sense of the grittiness through the looks of the actors, the lighting choice made by the director- it is very dark, dingy and also quite creepy.
*Lighting- Looks natural; shadows are formed on walls- which I believe adds to the gritty side of the genre, as the shadows look quite grim and sinister. The lighting is generally dark, this may be as it's night time, but the some of the shots are inside so it's hard to tell.
This film is a representation of childhood/ young adults in Edinburgh in the 90s; and for me as a young adult myself it's quite over done, I feel that people would get the impression that all the kids in Edinburgh behave in this way when only a rare selection of kids in the entire country do act in this manner. To me though I think that it portrays quite a fun party like atmosphere with the alcohol, smoking, friends, laughing; It seems like an enjoyable thing to be doing as a person of that age. It also looks like all kids are energetic with the football and the running. I also get think that these kids are actually quite poor, as they look grotty, the setting looks grotty in the building and the lighting throughout the opening two minutes is very dark and dingy.
The director chose to use a typical British sport of football. This lets you know that it is set in a British town.
This film has a vintage/retro feel to it, with the colours chosen, the soundtrack, the lighting and the costumes worn. This might make the film a bit more specialised for a certain audience. The front of the DVD cover also has this vintage feel, with the orange band across the bottom and the white background, it's simplistic yet still not like many other DVD covers. Also the fact that the picture is the wrong way round (on it's side not vertical- horizontal.) This is different from the rest of the DVD covers which would make it stand out to anyone who walked by it, but, I think this was a risky choice but, I personally really like it. I think a few people may disapprove this choice and see it as pointless, I think that it is representing the fact the the film isn't any regular film, it's about things that aren't normal. Also the film is about drugs, so it might represent the fact that whilst on the drug the characters may feel like they're the wrong way round, or that drugs turn your life of it's side and as a result drugs are actually bad?
We decided to look for icons/symbols that represent that this is a British/ Hastings film. We came up with-
-Food- Fish and chips
Scones
-Drinks- Tea
Gin
Pimms
Bitter- Beer
-The seaside- Beach
Pier
Seagulls
Ice-cream
The rides
-Religion- The Church
Stain glass windows
-The monarchy- The Queen
-Money-pennies, pounds, notes with queens face on
-Teen pregnancies
-Underage smoking, drinking and sex.
We've decided to incorporate these in our film as much as possible to give the audience a sense of setting and British culture
http://player.vimeo.com/video/32641284?autoplay=1
This film called 'ZOI' produced and directed by Oliver Hollingdale, starring James Camp and William Camp, is very different from the other films in which I have researched partly due to the fact, it had no funding, is a different style from all the rest as it is actually a short film, and it was made not necessarily for mass production purposes but for an enjoyment factor of making it, the short 'film' itself is all of 6 minutes and 22 seconds, which for some films is just really the beginning. This I believe wouldn't be a mainstream film that would turn up in cinemas all over the UK, I believe that it would just be a few people viewing it for entertainment purposes but only the minority, some may describe it as an 'indie' film. The name of the film itself I think is really meaningful; In Greece ZOI means life, and I think what Oliver Hollingdale with this film was trying to show that life is all about, being young having fun by playing games, and that life should be simple, they are the meaning that I got from this film, and I think that these meanings aren't anything a mainstream audience would really respond to in great masses so wouldn't ever be on the big cinema screens. The music used in this is very si-fi like as it has a techno sound to it, but, I feel as if that contrasts and actually contradicts the realistic scenes that are happening with the two boys, I dislike the fact that the music is the same throughout as for me personally I found it rather samey and as an audience member started to become distracted from what was happening as no new sounds were coming through to me to specifically engage me so, if I was to personally re make this short film I would alter the soundtrack slightly to make it more engaging. I really loved some of the shots used as I thought they really captured and conveyed the two characters relationship but I think that the acting showed us more the emotions in this than the soundtrack or camera shots did. A few of the shots that I really picked up on was the one in which on of the boys was hiding from the other in the game of 'IT' that they were playing and the over the shoulder view of the brother running to find him, I thought was very good as it was a 'cute' shot that emphasised the actors age and also brought the audience into it by putting the camera at actors eye level so it make it look like you are actually there as an audience member. Another shot which i really found quite intriguing is the first real shot of the one boy on his own and in the foreground he is standing and in the background is fields and a tree, this gives a sense of setting and atmosphere which is a very natural peaceful one, I like the fact that you can tell someone else is about to enter the scene by the boy looking off into the distance and then slowly following something with his face, I think this worked really well as I as an audience member felt really interested in what he was looking off at.
I think that this film reflects more of a film in which I would do, due to the simplistic feel that it has about it, with the low budget etc.
Long Shot- shows where action is taking place, it also allows the audience to follow broad movements, shows relative positions of subject and it also establishes the mood.
High Angle Shot- audience has dominance over character.
Closer/ midshots- Allows audience to take a detached view without personal involvement.
Extreme Close Up- Creates intimacy honesty, emotion, often discomfort.
Very long shot (Establishing shot)- Maintains sense of space, shows some detail.
Genres- HorrorWesternWarDramaMusicalActionAdventureRom-ComRomanceFantasyComedyDocumentarySi-fiSwashBuckleAnimationCrime and Gangster Epics/ HistoricalDisaster Detective Those are a few of the different film genres that are about, for my film as I have little/ no budget for this the majority are not fee-sable. Also due to the fact I do not have enough funds to travel my film shall have to be set in the town in which I live- Hastings or neighbouring areas such as Bexhill, Battle.. I personally think that I would like for my film to be a serious film, possibly a horror, thriller type film.
Panic room (2002)
Distributor- Columbia
Producer- ColumbiaDirector- David Fincher Writer- David Koepp
Stars- Jodie Foster, Kristen Stewart and Forest WhitakerGenre- ThrillerStoryline- Recently divorced Meg Altman and her daughter Sarah have bought a new home in New York. On their tour around the mansion, they come across the panic room. A room so secure, that no one can get in. When three burglars break in, Meg makes a move to the panic room. But all her troubles don't stop there. The criminals know where she is, and what they require the most in the house is in that very room.
- Two female characters introduced in the first two minutes of the film.
- Quite eery slow music that then speeds up to a quite tense jumpy type of music (strings I think)
- This opening doesn't really tell me what is going to happen in this film, but it does set the atmosphere with the music so it could be a good opening but I personally dislike it.
North By Northwest (1959)Director- Alfred Hitchcock
Production Company- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
Writer- Ernest Lehman
Stars- Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint and Jason MasonGenre- Adventure, Romance, Mystery
Storyline- Middle-aged Madison Avenue advertising executive Roger O. Thornhill is mistaken for a government agent by a gang of spies. He gets involved in a series of misadventures and is pursued across the States by both the spies and the government whilst being helped by a beautiful blonde.
- Set in New York. The height of the buildings emphasised by camera angles either above or below. The height in buildings indicates power.
- Time period set= not too long ago but it's not a recent film, 80's perhaps?..
- Titles tilted in angles of buildings by camera angle. He credits small production teams such as the technical people, which in more modern films they do not tend to do.
Seven (se7en) (1995)Director- David Fincher.
Production company-Cecchi Gori Pictures, Newline Cinema
Writer-Andrew Kevin Walker
Stars- Morgan Freeman, Brad Pitt, Kevin Spacey
Genre- Crime, Drama, Mystery.
Storyline- A film about two homicide detectives' desperate hunt for a serial killer who justifies his crimes as absolution for the world's ignorance of the Seven Deadly Sins. The movie takes us from the tortured remains of one victim to the next as the sociopathic "John Doe" sermonizes to Detectives Sommerset and Mills -- one sin at a time. The sin of Gluttony comes first and the murderer's terrible capacity is graphically demonstrated in the dark and subdued tones characteristic of film noir. The seasoned and cultured Sommerset researches the Seven Deadly Sins in an effort to understand the killer's modus operandi while green Detective Mills scoffs at his efforts to get inside the mind of a killer...
- The opening made you think of a murder mystery
- No actors in opening two minutes of this film, this adds to the mystery for me.
- Dark screen
- Set in New York
- creepy/ eery music
- Main characters name comes on before titles of the production and distributors..
- Titles early on
I really like this opening. I would like to achieve one along these lines, without actors or very little appearance from actors. Or possibly a voice over..
SUBMARINE. ( a British film)
Director- Richard Ayoade.
Producers- Ben Stiller, Marj Herbert, Andy Stebbing, Mary Burke.
Screen Play by- Richard Ayoade.
Studio- Film4, Wales Creative IP fund, Warp Films, Red Hour Films.
Distributers-Optimium Releasing (UK) The Weinstein Company (USA)
The National Lottery fund British films.
BOX OFFICE- opening weekend- £244, 476 (UK)(20th March 2011)
gross- $466, 702 (USA)(14th August 2011)
