Presentation of initial ideas

Synopsis of preliminary task

My preliminary task begins with a despondent, but wealthy looking man walking into a bar. An experienced bartender who is cleaning a glass greets him and starts to ask him about his reasons for being in his bar. The wealthy man explains that he was a stock broker who has recently been sacked for losing a vast sum of money and begins to complain about his life. As he does, the bartender cuts in to berate him as he has seen many visitors to his bar in a much worse state than him, which causes the wealthy man to realise that he is being pessimistic about his life and subsequently leaves.

Script - Preliminary Task

A bar in New York. A wealthy but weary looking man walks in and sits in the seat opposite the bartender. A drunk man is also seated at the counter. 

Bartender

Hey bud. What can I get you?

Wealthy man

A whisky.

Bartender

Coming right up.

You don't look too happy, what are you in for?

Wealthy man

Got fired. 

Bartender

Tough break man. Have on on the house.

(Turns to other customer) Can I get you another?

Drunk man

What he's having.

Bartender

So, what job did you do?

Wealthy man

Stock broker.

Bartender

Hell of a lot of money in that.I used to think I was good with numbers but (looks around his bar, chuckles) evidently not.(Hands the drunk man another drink)

Drunk man

Thank you barkeep.

Bartender

So what did you get fired for?

Wealthy man

Lost a lot of money. 

Bartender

How much?

Wealthy man

30 million.

Bartender

(Whistles, surprised)That's a lot of dough. (hands wealthy man a drink)

Wealthy man

Thanks. My two kids have to be taken out of private school, my wife's gonna dump me (takes a swig of his drink)my life's going to shit.

Bartender

Listen to me you schmuck, you think you can come in here and talk about how your life is bad, you don't know pain, you don't know pain until you see people come in here day after day, ranting and raving about their sorrows, about how they're gonna die, they're parents are gonna die or how everyone they know is gonna die, You DON'T KNOW. Look at this guy (nods in the direction of the drunk man, who is slumped over the counter) His wife left him for his best friend, and his daughter, his only pride and joy in life was taken away from him, when he found out she wasn't even his. You DON'T know.

Wealthy man

I'm sorry-

Bartender

Don't be, you know what, let me get you another-

Wealthy man

No, I gotta go.(exits)

Bartender

Good luck, see you next time.

Drunk man

See you next time?

Bartender

He'll be back. They always come back.

Storyboard of preliminary task

Ideas for preliminary task

One idea for my preliminary task is to show a police interrogation, as it fits the requirements of a conversation between two people on other sides of a table. It would involve a calm start to the conversation before becoming heated as the man who has been arrested refuses to open up.

My main idea, however is to show a conversation between a bartender and a depressed customer. The customer will begin in a miserable mood, but after an enlightening conversation, he realises that there is no need to drink away his sorrows.

Setting of preliminary task

I chose to film my preliminary task in a small bar, as it is used for the same function in the scene as it is in real life, and therefore has the resources, in the form of drinks and glasses, that I needed to film already in place, which adds realism to my preliminary task. The setting was perfect for my preliminary task idea, and that was one of the main reasons for my decision to choose this particular idea.  Additionally, I wanted the bar to seem like a high end establishment, to reflect the wealth of the protagonist, and the setting that I chose, I felt, achieved this aim.

The History of the Opening Sequence

Opening sequences in silent film

In the silent era of film, opening sequences were purely made up of titles and these titles played an important role in the films in that era. The titles gave a way for filmmakers to convey information about their films to the audience. This is how title sequences, which are still used at the beginning of films today, were born.

As film developed, film studios began to use typecasts to form their title sequences and animated titles came into pass which resulted in more elaborate and complex sequences made by ambitious animators.

The Birth of Opening Sequences

Eventually filmmakers began to use title sequences in correlation with the introductory scene to films. The titles' purpose was to provide information about the production and cast of the film, while the opening sequence itself revolved around establishing key characters and events in the film, and this is the state of opening sequences today.

Lord of War-Opening Sequence Analysis

The narration at the start of the film strongly indicates the genre. The camera pans over thousands of bullets spread across the ground of a run down area, and the narrator speaks about illegal gun trade. Therefore from the opening sequence we can draw the conclusion that it is a crime/war film. The target audience for this film is probably adults because it is centred around current affairs and fairly complex ideas, while films that target younger viewers are usually fictional.

In this opening sequence, the audience is taken through the process of making and transporting bullets, and it is shot from the point of view of a bullet. It begins in a factory, and ends up in what looks like an African setting where it is used to kill a young man in a conflict. The choice of music for the scene is unusual as it is calm and does not suit the tone of a conflict, and it is done to add to the tragedy of the scene - this is sometimes referred to as 'soundtrack dissonance'.

Dark Knight Rises-Opening Sequence Analysis

The genre of the film can be established immediately due to the music, which, although it is subdued, suggests a dramatic opening scene, which is typical of a thriller. This is also made clear by the props, such as guns, and the dialogue, which includes threats. The audience's interest is attracted straight away as it is fast paced, the setting is spectacular - they are in a plane flying across mountainous terrain - and there is action from the start rather than building up to it. We can tell from this scene that the target audience is for teenagers at least, because violence is indicated by characters holding weapons and threatening one another.

In this scene, a group of mysterious characters, whose faces are concealed by hoods and hands are bound, are lead by an honest looking doctor onto a plane controlled by a group of people who are soon revealed as FBI agents. The plane is seemingly used to scare the suspects into explaining what their plot is but they remain calm, which indicates their confidence that their plan will be successful. The main speaker in the sequence initially seems to be in the position of authority because of the way in which he talks to the antagonist (Bane), but once the antagonist's hood is removed the power seems to shift in his favour, as he speaks with confidence and this almost begins to frighten the FBI agent.

The location and setting suggest that the film had a high budget, because it is clear that the plane and the surroundings are real. This immediately makes the film more attractive, as it is realistic and therefore more believable, which adds excitement to the scene. The sounds are vital in creating realism, for example, the force of the wind when the plane has been broken can be gauged because of the harsh sound.

Multiple camera shots are used when views of the plane are shown, mainly high angle shots, and this highlights the scale of the plane and the landscape. Shot reverse shot is used during the conversation between Bane and the FBI agent, while tracking shots are also used, most notably when Bane and the doctor parachute out of the plane. The shots become shorter as the scene progresses to build tension up to the climax, at which point shots are at their shortest and it is at times difficult to see what is happening, which makes the situation seem frantic.

Analysis of the opening sequence of Casino Royale

We can see that this is an action film from the opening sequence because there is a fight scene a few minutes in to the opening sequence. We can also tell that Bond is a calm but efficient figure and also that he is in the position of power over the antagonist by the fact that he takes him by surprise. The sequence shows a conversation, which does not initially make sense to the audience, which makes them want to continue watching in order to find out what the confrontation is about.

The film's target audience is teenagers and all adults. There is some strong language and violence, and also the plot is fairly complex, while Bond films have been coming out since the 1950s, meaning that almost all generations are familiar with the franchise. At the start of the scene, a shady looking character finds Bond sitting opposite him in a darkened room and they begin talking about a recent event. A flashback then shows Bond chasing down and killing another suspicious looking character, who the audience then find out was associated with the man Bond is talking to. Bond is calm throughout the scene, while the antagonist is startled at the beginning of the sequence although he becomes more relaxed as the conversation begins. It is clear that the characters have contempt for one another, despite them remaining composed.

We can see it is a modern setting as the car is a new model and the characters' clothing is also modern. The darkened room in Prague in which the scene is set is mysterious and suggests that there could be hostility between the characters. The dialogue and music match the mood in that it is tense and not much is being revealed. The scene is shot in black and white, which creates a sense of mystery, while there is minimal lighting to create suspense. Bond is shrouded in shadow, while the antagonist is not, reinforcing the fact that Bond is in the position of authority. Shot reverse shot is used during the conversation between Bond and the antagonist. At the start of the conversation, shots are fairly long and the camera is mostly static, but as the scene progresses, and approaches its climax, the shots become shorter and the camera moves more, which is used to stir anticipation in the audience. The pace is relatively slow at first, but speeds up as the scene intensifies, which helps to build up to the climax. The music in this scene is typical of a thriller, although during the action scene it becomes more frantic to suit the tone.

If I had watched the opening sequence alone, I would ask what relevance the opening sequence had to the rest of the film, and I would predict that Bond is going to delve deeper into the situation and travel to more locations in search of the true antagonist. As they are in all Bond films, the titles are integrated after the opening sequence and are iconic and therefore important to any Bond film.

180-degree rule

The 180-degree rule is a basic guideline regarding the on-screen spatial relationship between a character and another character or object within a scene.

The rule is illustrated clearly by this image:

Shot Reverse Shot

Shot Reverse Shot is a technique where the camera switches from one character to the other during a scene

An example of Shot Reverse Shot: 

Match on Action

Match on action is a technique where the perspective of the camera changes while the same action is being performed and the scene continues to flow.

An example of Match on Action:

Coursework Brief

Video

Preliminary exercise: Continuity task involving 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. This task should demonstrate match on action, shot/reverse shot and the 180-degree rule.

Main task: the titles and opening of a new fiction film, to last a maximum of two minutes.

All video and audio material must be original, produced by the candidate(s), with the exception of music or audio effects from a copyright-free source. Both preliminary and main tasks may be done individually or as a group. Maximum four members to a group.