Note to Examiner

Dear Examiner,

I have been working on this blog for over 8 months, and I have thoroughly enjoyed the experience, so I hope that you enjoy looking through it.

The first section of this blog consists of analysing different camera techniques, before my posts move on to my preliminary task. The final section of my blog is comprised mainly of my analysis of some opening sequences and that of my own opening sequence.

Sulaiman Khan

Inspiration for my opening sequence

The main inspiration for my opening sequence was a scene from the Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, in which the four hobbits are pursued by a mysterious rider and end up having to hide under a tree as they cannot outrun him. The scene culminates in a tense climax in which the hobbits are almost found, but narrowly escape. I chose it as an influence on my opening sequence as it builds up suspense brilliantly and I thought that it would therefore be a good model for the opening scene of a film.

My opening sequence features a very similar scene based on this one, and it is the climax, serving to make the audience want to watch more. 

Evaluation Question 6 - What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

During the filming of my opening sequence, I used a variety of technologies from camera equipment to editing software. While filming my product I learned how to use these technologies to effect.

Camera

The camera I used was not ideal as it did not produce footage of great quality.

 However, it was small and easily portable which was necessary for my opening sequence as I shot in various different locations

Also, another benefit of the camera that I used was that it charged quickly and this was important given the time restraints that I faced when filming due to light.

Manfrotto tripod

The tripod was easy to set up and allowed me to take stabilised shots.

I could also easily adjust the height at which the camera would sit, which provided me with various options when shooting 

Overall I believe that the tripod was very important in the production of my opening sequence. Had I held the camera for the all of the shots while filming, shots which needed to be static would not have been and therefore my product would have looked more unprofessional.

Final Cut Pro

I significantly improved my editing skills using Final Cut Pro and the little procession time for videos as well as the easily understandable layout made editing not only quick and efficient but also enjoyable.

The fact that a student like myself can access this kind of software and be able to use it effectively is an indication of the rapid development of technology in recent years, and it has certainly made creating media products much easier.

Editing on Final Cut

Using social media to share my film

This is a screenshot of me promoting my opening sequence on Twitter

Evaluation Question 5 - How did you attract/address your audience?

I attracted my audience with a fast-paced start, in which the escaped prisoner kills the prison warden, which catches the audience's attention immediately. This makes the audience want to watch more and indicates what my product has to offer.

Also, The music is immediately dramatic and suggests that an important part of the plot is about to take place, which builds the audience's anticipation and makes them want to continue watching to see the outcome of the scene.

Furthermore, the different scenery in my opening sequence also plays a part in attracting the audience. This also indicates that the film will be fast moving and therefore appeals to viewers who favour action or thriller films.

Evaluation Question 4 - What would be the audience for your product?

Question 4 media from sulaimank

Evaluation Question 3 - What media institutions might distribute your product and why?

Evaluation Question 2 - How does your product represent specific social groups?

Opening Sequence Evaluation q2 - How does your product represent specific social groups from sulaimank

Evaluation Question 1 - How does your media product use, develop and challenge conventions?

Opening Sequence Analysis

Audience profiling

The film will be aimed at all audiences over the age of 12, although stereotypically the action genre appeals mainly to men. In terms of age, action and thrillers generally particularly appeal to young adults, but are fairly popular across the board in terms of age.

These images show stereotypical action film audiences

Despite being in the action genre, the film is not intended to be specifically aimed at teenage audiences and would include intellectual aspects which may not usually be associated with an action film.

Title Font Analysis

I chose this font for the title in my opening sequence as it is clear and stands out, which was necessary at the moment it appears on screen, as it represents what is happening in the scene.

Props/make up/costume opening sequence

Props

Vehicle - I used a (jeep?) to provide the prison warden with a way of catching up to the escapee, while it also adds excitement to the opening sequence.

 Cigarette - The prison warden at the start of the scene can be seen holding a cigarette while on duty, and this was done in order to present him as lazy and incompetent

 

 Costumes

Prisoner - The prisoner in my opening sequence is wearing an flourescent bib, as often prisoners who are notorious for escaping or causing trouble will wear distinctive clothing.

 Wardens - Both prison wardens are wearing fairly casual clothing to present them as unprofessional and to suggest that the prison is disorganised and inefficient.

Character list opening sequence

Prisoner (Played by Kasim Khan)- He is the protagonist in this film, and will be presented as a likable figure rather than a villain,  which could be assumed by the fact that he is in prison. In the opening sequence, it is clear that he is frightened by the prospect of being caught, which makes him easier to relate to than a cold blooded criminal would be.

Prison warden (Played by William Henderson) - In this opening sequence, he is the antagonist as he is attempting to stop the protagonist from achieving his aim, which is escaping. He will be presented as fairly incompetent, which is shown by the fact that the prisoner was allowed to escape in the first place, but despite this, he is also intended to come across as determined, which is revealed by his tireless pursuit of the escapee.

Synopsis of opening sequence

The opening sequence begins with a lazy looking prison warden standing outside of the door of a prison. A prisoner suddenly bursts through the door behind the warden and kills him before fleeing the scene. Another prisoner appears a few seconds later to find the dead body of his colleague, but the escapee has disappeared through another doorway, and the warden pursues him. After seemingly losing the escaped prisoner, the warden climbs into a vehicle and drives in the direction of the forest, where he has assumed the prisoner has gone. After a determined but fruitless pursuit, the warden suddenly spots the prisoner's fluorescent bib in the distance and accelerates towards him as he disappears into the woods. A chase through the forest ensues and the warden finds the prisoner's discarded bib on the ground, which gives him a general idea of the direction in which the escapee has run. Finally, the warden catches another glimpse of the prisoner and shouts, and the prisoner reacts by changing direction and finding a place to hide. The warden passes by the tree behind which the prisoner is hiding and seems to hesitate for a moment before moving on through the woods and out of sight. The escaped prisoner then carefully walks across a stream away from danger and the opening sequence ends.

Setting of opening sequence

I chose a countryside setting for my opening sequence for a number of reasons, firstly, that it afforded me various different areas to shoot in. As my opening sequence is an action thriller, and has a fast paced start, featuring a pursuit, I needed a number of different areas for the different phases of the scene, and the setting that I selected provided this. Also, I wanted the prison depicted in my opening sequence to be in a rural region, and the setting I used fitted this description. Furthermore, the setting I shot in helped to give the impression that it was easier for the prisoner to escape than it would in an urban setting, due to the expansive space surrounding the prison, which includes woods.

A screenshot of the area I chose to film in

Opening Sequence Script

A prison warden standing outside of a compound. Fire escape exit door is behind him. The warden looks bored.

Suddenly, a prisoner wearing a jumpsuit bursts through the door and before the warden can turn around fully, the prisoner grabs hold of his head, covers his mouth and breaks his neck swiftly. He then frantically exits the frame.

After a few seconds, Prison warden B enters the frame with a torch.

PRISON WARDEN B

Prisoner escape

Cuts back to the prisoner, who sprints into the woods surrounding the compound and exits the frame. After a few seconds, two men, one of them Prison warden B, in a vehicle enter the frame and get out, holding torches. They move quickly into the woods in pursuit of the escapee.

Cuts back to the prisoner again, who is running through the woods, panting heavily. He stops briefly and looks around wildly before continuing through the woods.

The prisoner, who is still running, trips and falls. After hearing the wardens not far behind him, he knows he will be seen if he continues running, so he quickly scrambles for a hiding spot.

Just after he does this, Prison warden C arrives. He senses he is close to the prisoner, and begins to search the area. He crouches just above the prisoner, who is sweating, and stays there, looking around, coming closer until the silence is broken...

Gary sighs, looks around one more time, and then exits.

The prisoner waits until he can no longer hear footsteps, and then exhales and relaxes. He looks exhausted, and closes his eyes.

Fade to black

Opening sequence third shoot

In my third shoot, I aimed to correct the errors from my second shoot, and I was successful in doing this  as well as adding new content to my product. I had problems with the fading light in my first and second shoots, so I ensured that I started filming early in the day to avoid this. This gave me comfortably enough time to finish my opening sequence and even to film additional scenes to give me a wider variety of options when I am editing. Overall, I think my third and final shoot was my most successful, as I could learn from the mistakes I made in the first two.

Opening sequence soundtrack

I used an extract from the soundtrack of 'Sherlock Holmes - A Game of Shadows' for my opening sequence. The extract is from a chase scene which is similar to that in my opening sequence and therefore I felt the soundtrack worked well with it.

Opening Sequence Second Shoot

After reviewing the rushes of my second shoot, I was much happier with the quality of the footage than I was after my first, which I will not use. However, I observed that my opening sequence was too short, and additionally, that I did not have a sufficient range of shots in the later stages of the sequence. Also, the quality of the footage was fairly poor at the end of the opening sequence.

Opening Sequence Equipment

Nikon D7000

Manfrotto tripod

Rode mic

Opening Sequence Storyboard

Opening Sequence Location

This opening sequence will be shot in Oxfordshire, within the area shown in the image above

Character list preliminary task

Bartender (Played by Joseph Wallace) - He is a long serving bartender who has seen many cases similar to the one that unfolds in this preliminary task, and he, along with the man who has been sacked, are the focus of the scene. He is not concerned with etiquette, although is, at the same time, not rude. He is unsympathetic for the unemployed man once he begins to complain as he has seen many customers in a worse state, and therefore becomes angry when the man he is speaking to starts feeling sorry for himself in his eyes.

Unemployed man (Played by Kasim Khan) - He is a wealthy, former stock broker who has been sacked as he has lost an enormous sum of money. He goes to the bar shown in the preliminary task in order to drink away his sorrows but after receiving a dressing down from the unsympathetic bartender he realises he is still in a far more fortunate than many others whose lives are falling apart and subsequently leaves the bar.

Drunken man - He is a minor character in the preliminary task and it is made clear that he is a regular visitor to the bar shown in the scene. His purpose is to show the unemployed man that there are many people in far worse situations than himself.