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