To Do list! 29-01-10
Needed!
• Get tests onto blog with their descriptions
• Search of primary area
• Look into other areas
• Mock up
• Script
• Thumbnails
• Story board
Extra stuff
• One more film opening
• Profile of actors
• Research into names for film
• Name logo
• Research into corporation names
• Corporation logo
• Research into genre
• Links to websites used and comments
• Get tests onto blog with their descriptions
• Search of primary area
• Look into other areas
• Mock up
• Script
• Thumbnails
• Story board
Extra stuff
• One more film opening
• Profile of actors
• Research into names for film
• Name logo
• Research into corporation names
• Corporation logo
• Research into genre
• Links to websites used and comments
Opening sequence analysis - Bourne Supremacy
Note: For this film I couldn't find the opening sequence on Youtube so I hope my avid descriptions are good enough.
Similar to James Bond films is the series of Jason Bourne films originating from author... who wrote the extended trilogy in book for first. These films don't however have the class and sophistication of Ian Fleming and instead go for an even more realistic edge of uncover spy's and assassins which plot revenge and carnage whilst staying agile and hidden.
For analysis I have chosen the second film which uses one very key technique to hook the audience which is a running theme in all of the films: mystery. Obviously if enough mystery is created our nature is to discover all that we can to solve the unknown, this is also done by using one very big flashback which becomes faster and more potent as it carries on. The scene starts with these unfamiliar images which are all very blury but this is due to the flashback being a dream, but still the unusual images are very effective in showing the audience snippets of information but not enough to quench their taste buds.
another effective area is in the fast paced editing of the flashback, as if the unusual nature of it wasn't enough the shots are small bursts of energy and get quicker each time until the scene wraps up in a final climax of music and sound... (not finished)
Similar to James Bond films is the series of Jason Bourne films originating from author... who wrote the extended trilogy in book for first. These films don't however have the class and sophistication of Ian Fleming and instead go for an even more realistic edge of uncover spy's and assassins which plot revenge and carnage whilst staying agile and hidden.
For analysis I have chosen the second film which uses one very key technique to hook the audience which is a running theme in all of the films: mystery. Obviously if enough mystery is created our nature is to discover all that we can to solve the unknown, this is also done by using one very big flashback which becomes faster and more potent as it carries on. The scene starts with these unfamiliar images which are all very blury but this is due to the flashback being a dream, but still the unusual images are very effective in showing the audience snippets of information but not enough to quench their taste buds.
another effective area is in the fast paced editing of the flashback, as if the unusual nature of it wasn't enough the shots are small bursts of energy and get quicker each time until the scene wraps up in a final climax of music and sound... (not finished)
Opening sequence analysis - Casino Royale
To gain some inspiration on how spy films edit and construct their opening sequences I will analyse 3 film openings from movies that are either spy or action orientated.
A good place to start with a spy genre is James Bond but because most of the film openings from 007 films involve massive stunts and suave lines I chose to analyse the opening sequence from Casino Royale because of its harsh gritty realism unlike any other James Bond film. This particular beginning is perfect for inspiration because not only is it vastly realistic but the scene involves James Bond fighting his first target which is almost the exact same storyline of my film. Not only this but film contains flashbacks which break up the action and give some perspective which is again similar to my film idea.
Note: This video contains an extra minute of cricket which isn't included in the original film. I will not take this into account and analyse the final cut.
The first thing we notice about the opening is the unusual film noir setting which displays classic elegance and silence and adds the perfect mood, but this set alongside a very modern building gives it an even more unusual mood as the only light we see bounces off the glass walls of the building making it almost spooky. The camera shots at this point range from all different angles and use close ups at the same time to get the audience in a detective frame of mind and forcing them to think about the obvious changes in the environment, this again adds a spooky mood with a tinge of thrilling suspense. It is only until the character we are watching enters his office that we start to look for James Bond.
The scene then develops a darkened mood as the music fades in with spiking violin tunes that excite the audience's senses, as the character moves across the room our eyes are struggling to see any light and start to see things as the character and understand them as the character does. The pinnacle of this suspense is reached when we finally hear the voice of James and the audience is rewarded with a shot of his face but with his body covered. The shots are all slow and mid angled but little do we realise that they slowly reveal where James is sitting.
The effect all this has on the audience is making them search for the light in the room and with clever positioning the light only falls on James's face and the back of the mysterious character.
After this the obvious enigma code of action is developed through a quick shot of a gun hiding in the man's desk, this acts strongly on the audience who start to wonder if this mission isn't all it seems and fear the safety of our hero. Already the gripping music and mysterious dialogue maintain the film noir background but also start to make us anticipate some brutal action that reflects the gritty mood. Overall this is a perfect example of setting the scene, the soft realism makes the scene entirely believable and prepares the audience for a rocket ride of gritty action that hooks the audience in new way.
The audience's hopes are rewarded quickly with a flash of action completely separate from the setting we received but to keep the continuity of mystery the film remains in black which adds to the flashback's abrupt entrance. This highly basic setting for the action would have very little colour in it but by placing it all in black and white the geometric shapes become very drab and claustrophobic, which is perfect for the realistic edge the scene has to give. At this point we are drawn to the harshness of it all and almost request that the realistic nature of it ends and the man is dealt with but as we establish before hand this is the first kill and it had to be shocking enough to give the sharp and cold image James Bond has about him. This is critical for me to achieve, if I manage to give the spy a cold hard status the chase will instantly look realistic. This combined with thrilling music and sound effects will ultimately hook the audience to every slight movement and make them feel the danger and seriousness of the situation.
After the initial flashback the action is heated up in the original setting when the enigma of the gun gets more thrilling. As we're so used to James Bond handling these situations with ultimate knowledge and being able to stay 2 steps ahead we start to fear for his life even more and wonder if the danger is going to be resolved. This works by breaking the conventions of a spy thriller and showing a weak spot to the hard shell these characters give off. I will try to replicate this as best I can by showing the spy to make simple mistakes but actually coming out on top afterwards.
All the action is finally and supposedly resolved with another flashback that finishes with a brutal death and the slow realisation of what has happened. Expecting the scene to end with some more dialogue yet another convention is broken and the man is killed abruptly during his final line. This is yet again realistic by breaking the code of action films and not letting the villain finish his monologue, however it does add to the supreme suave nature that resonates throughout the whole scene.
Overall the areas of the film that I will take away are the film noir setting and how the strong use of black and white photography strengthened the mysterious nature of it. Furthermore I will now look into using longer flashbacks that break up the scene even more and give a more detailed description to the film so it can be as hooking as possible without leaving the audience lost. And last I will strive to use unusual camera shots that incorporate close ups, back drops, pans and slanted angles to grip the audience and show them something new.
A good place to start with a spy genre is James Bond but because most of the film openings from 007 films involve massive stunts and suave lines I chose to analyse the opening sequence from Casino Royale because of its harsh gritty realism unlike any other James Bond film. This particular beginning is perfect for inspiration because not only is it vastly realistic but the scene involves James Bond fighting his first target which is almost the exact same storyline of my film. Not only this but film contains flashbacks which break up the action and give some perspective which is again similar to my film idea.
Note: This video contains an extra minute of cricket which isn't included in the original film. I will not take this into account and analyse the final cut.
The first thing we notice about the opening is the unusual film noir setting which displays classic elegance and silence and adds the perfect mood, but this set alongside a very modern building gives it an even more unusual mood as the only light we see bounces off the glass walls of the building making it almost spooky. The camera shots at this point range from all different angles and use close ups at the same time to get the audience in a detective frame of mind and forcing them to think about the obvious changes in the environment, this again adds a spooky mood with a tinge of thrilling suspense. It is only until the character we are watching enters his office that we start to look for James Bond.
The scene then develops a darkened mood as the music fades in with spiking violin tunes that excite the audience's senses, as the character moves across the room our eyes are struggling to see any light and start to see things as the character and understand them as the character does. The pinnacle of this suspense is reached when we finally hear the voice of James and the audience is rewarded with a shot of his face but with his body covered. The shots are all slow and mid angled but little do we realise that they slowly reveal where James is sitting.
The effect all this has on the audience is making them search for the light in the room and with clever positioning the light only falls on James's face and the back of the mysterious character.
After this the obvious enigma code of action is developed through a quick shot of a gun hiding in the man's desk, this acts strongly on the audience who start to wonder if this mission isn't all it seems and fear the safety of our hero. Already the gripping music and mysterious dialogue maintain the film noir background but also start to make us anticipate some brutal action that reflects the gritty mood. Overall this is a perfect example of setting the scene, the soft realism makes the scene entirely believable and prepares the audience for a rocket ride of gritty action that hooks the audience in new way.
The audience's hopes are rewarded quickly with a flash of action completely separate from the setting we received but to keep the continuity of mystery the film remains in black which adds to the flashback's abrupt entrance. This highly basic setting for the action would have very little colour in it but by placing it all in black and white the geometric shapes become very drab and claustrophobic, which is perfect for the realistic edge the scene has to give. At this point we are drawn to the harshness of it all and almost request that the realistic nature of it ends and the man is dealt with but as we establish before hand this is the first kill and it had to be shocking enough to give the sharp and cold image James Bond has about him. This is critical for me to achieve, if I manage to give the spy a cold hard status the chase will instantly look realistic. This combined with thrilling music and sound effects will ultimately hook the audience to every slight movement and make them feel the danger and seriousness of the situation.
After the initial flashback the action is heated up in the original setting when the enigma of the gun gets more thrilling. As we're so used to James Bond handling these situations with ultimate knowledge and being able to stay 2 steps ahead we start to fear for his life even more and wonder if the danger is going to be resolved. This works by breaking the conventions of a spy thriller and showing a weak spot to the hard shell these characters give off. I will try to replicate this as best I can by showing the spy to make simple mistakes but actually coming out on top afterwards.
All the action is finally and supposedly resolved with another flashback that finishes with a brutal death and the slow realisation of what has happened. Expecting the scene to end with some more dialogue yet another convention is broken and the man is killed abruptly during his final line. This is yet again realistic by breaking the code of action films and not letting the villain finish his monologue, however it does add to the supreme suave nature that resonates throughout the whole scene.
Overall the areas of the film that I will take away are the film noir setting and how the strong use of black and white photography strengthened the mysterious nature of it. Furthermore I will now look into using longer flashbacks that break up the scene even more and give a more detailed description to the film so it can be as hooking as possible without leaving the audience lost. And last I will strive to use unusual camera shots that incorporate close ups, back drops, pans and slanted angles to grip the audience and show them something new.
Bullet test no.1 - Stop Motion
To make our film as good as it can get we decided on a new stop motion idea to display a bullet flying which would incorporate more than one type of editing and boost our overall marks. But before we started to draw up ideas we received valuable information from Miss Sutton which helped us realise we had many different ways of doing it and that it was best to explore each one to find the best. This was also feedback from when we pitched to the class and all commented on how it would be difficult but worth spending a lot of time on to get right. Our first test was the basic photo stop motion idea where we would string up a bullet from the celine using wire string and slowly move the bullet along the camera's view taking a photo every time it moved. This by definition should give us a steam of frames which when put together would look like a piece of ordinary film. 
However when we did this we were short on time so not enough pictures were taken and the whole process was rushed, on top of this the blue tack we used was heavy on one side and wouldn't stop moving so some pictures lost the continuity of where the bullet was travelling. 
But the string didn't appear on the pictures and the background was the same throughout the whole range of pictures. Also when we put them all together on the E Mac's imovie software we were able to speed the transitions up to 0.2 of a second making the whole clip just under 2 seconds and all of the mistakes barely noticeable. While this test took 20 minutes and 18 pictures if we were to conduct on a larger scale for our final scene we would put in the extra effort and aim for around 50-60 pictures for a 4 second clip. This would achieve a bullet flying with effortless fluidity and almost no noticeable mistakes.
However when we did this we were short on time so not enough pictures were taken and the whole process was rushed, on top of this the blue tack we used was heavy on one side and wouldn't stop moving so some pictures lost the continuity of where the bullet was travelling. 
But the string didn't appear on the pictures and the background was the same throughout the whole range of pictures. Also when we put them all together on the E Mac's imovie software we were able to speed the transitions up to 0.2 of a second making the whole clip just under 2 seconds and all of the mistakes barely noticeable. While this test took 20 minutes and 18 pictures if we were to conduct on a larger scale for our final scene we would put in the extra effort and aim for around 50-60 pictures for a 4 second clip. This would achieve a bullet flying with effortless fluidity and almost no noticeable mistakes.
Target Audience Mood Board
To get into the mind set of my target audience I have created another mood board that will be used alongside my first mood board of action and spy films, this will help when making crucial decisions like film name and setting. this mood board contains images of objects and people my target likes.
Ultimately this mood board is my reference to the target I have in mind and referring back to it will hopefully improve every aspect of my film.
Ultimately this mood board is my reference to the target I have in mind and referring back to it will hopefully improve every aspect of my film.
General Intro to my Media Project
When asked to choose between a film opening sequence or a magazine my mind ran wild with film ideas and all the film influences I've been hooked to over the past few years. This obviously meant I had to do a film but I came across problems like: wanting to be unique and which genre to choose. I first decided to team up with my faithful media partner Beau but he had a strong passion for doing a Horror opening scene with a difference-convinced this was an idea that had been thought of too many times I broke off and teamed up with Ollie to try and piece together a new idea that had never been tried before. Unfortunately our focus ran to Actions films and we quickly decided on a chase scene 'with a difference'. The first few weeks of discussing this idea showed that the filming would be moderately hard depending on our setting but the real struggle was with keeping the audience's attention.
With guidance from our practical teacher Miss Frearson we changed our classic chase scene idea to one that involved breaking up the shots with flashbacks and voice overs. This we thought was great but we went one further and started to plan extra jaw dropping features like a stop-motion clip of a flying bullet and our own sound effects that will add to the suspense. This combined with unusual shots and Free Running would make our final product diverse, interesting and the new yard stick for media chase scenes.
With guidance from our practical teacher Miss Frearson we changed our classic chase scene idea to one that involved breaking up the shots with flashbacks and voice overs. This we thought was great but we went one further and started to plan extra jaw dropping features like a stop-motion clip of a flying bullet and our own sound effects that will add to the suspense. This combined with unusual shots and Free Running would make our final product diverse, interesting and the new yard stick for media chase scenes.
Target Audience
After deciding on my film genre and how the film will be made I then had to develop my understanding of the film's target and who are the most likely people to see it or get hooked. As I chose the type of film that will excite the viewers my target would have to have an appreciation for special effects and explosive photography, but more than this, the target would have insider knowledge on how films create thrilling scenes. This type of target may also have interests in spy books such as the Bourne Trilogy and enjoy the obvious film franchise of James Bond films. But because my filming will be basic I decided to make my film genre more specific and head towards gritty real life spy films and use the Bourne films as my main inspiration because of their harsh reality.
Here is some basic information on my target audience:
Age: 25-35
Gender: Male
Occupation: Mainly to do with computers and IT but possibly jobs such as teachers
Background: Comes from an intellectual family and holds high regard for the authorities around him.
Likes: Detective and thriller films with a strong interest in army and spy novels by John Le Carre and Ian Fleming. Music interests range from rock to acoustic. More general likes are chinese food, social time spent in pubs socialising and a keen sense of casual style. Even deeper interests: free running and far away travelling.
Dislikes: Obvious drama films and unusual foreign films with very little context. dislikes in music start with classical music and end with popular HipHop and Rap. more general dislikes include deadline pressure and stress, not having anything to read and girly connotations about his life.
Ambitions: May include to one day become a private investigator or to just plainly manage his own team of workers to therefore reduce his workload. More advanced ambitions include owning his own company or becoming a director of actions films.
this could even lead into being a reviewer of films for a popular newspaper such as the Guardian.
Idols: These may include mainly fictional characters that are either spy's or assassins like James Bond-but this will only be because of the suave nature about them. More sophisticated idols include George Cloony and Brad Pitt.
Media Habits: As mentioned before my target dislikes not having something to read and has to be up to date with current affairs, this means his attention to the news is regular and often uses live updates on his computer and phone. Other than that his taste in programmes range from Horizon and Panorama to Heroes, Big Bang Theory, Scrubs and even a like for wildlife programmes such as Life.
Overall my target is constantly in the loop and is drawn to any law breaking news or conspiracies, also his general knowledge is highly built up by constant references to the newspapers he reads. Furthermore his strong taste in music and independent films drives his creativity.
Here is some basic information on my target audience:
Age: 25-35
Gender: Male
Occupation: Mainly to do with computers and IT but possibly jobs such as teachers
Background: Comes from an intellectual family and holds high regard for the authorities around him.
Likes: Detective and thriller films with a strong interest in army and spy novels by John Le Carre and Ian Fleming. Music interests range from rock to acoustic. More general likes are chinese food, social time spent in pubs socialising and a keen sense of casual style. Even deeper interests: free running and far away travelling.
Dislikes: Obvious drama films and unusual foreign films with very little context. dislikes in music start with classical music and end with popular HipHop and Rap. more general dislikes include deadline pressure and stress, not having anything to read and girly connotations about his life.
Ambitions: May include to one day become a private investigator or to just plainly manage his own team of workers to therefore reduce his workload. More advanced ambitions include owning his own company or becoming a director of actions films.
this could even lead into being a reviewer of films for a popular newspaper such as the Guardian.
Idols: These may include mainly fictional characters that are either spy's or assassins like James Bond-but this will only be because of the suave nature about them. More sophisticated idols include George Cloony and Brad Pitt.
Media Habits: As mentioned before my target dislikes not having something to read and has to be up to date with current affairs, this means his attention to the news is regular and often uses live updates on his computer and phone. Other than that his taste in programmes range from Horizon and Panorama to Heroes, Big Bang Theory, Scrubs and even a like for wildlife programmes such as Life.
Overall my target is constantly in the loop and is drawn to any law breaking news or conspiracies, also his general knowledge is highly built up by constant references to the newspapers he reads. Furthermore his strong taste in music and independent films drives his creativity.
Pitch and Feedback
As a way of helping with peer mentoring and getting our idea across the teacher we had to conduct a pitch in front of the whole class in under 2 minutes using any medium we wanted. To do this efficiently I chose to set up mine and Ollie's ideas on a power point because of its ability to hold most types of media but mostly because it would help us deliver everything quickly. Whilst each pitch was being delivered it was the job of the rest of the class to write the potential problems, positive comments and advice etc. This was our power point:
The feedback we received on paper was minimal but the feedback whilst presenting was fantastic. As pointed out by the class our ideas were going to make the scene different and stand out but we might have problems keeping continuity and not being able to film all of it in one night might ruin how realistic the film is. Other feedback included mentions of our stop motion idea being a very good one but that we should investigate other areas of filming the bullet to find the best one before start filming. But collectively me and Ollie decided the best feedback of all was the advice on editing: in order to keep the audience hooked we need to use quick editing and unusual shots. Furthermore where most chase scenes fail is in the direction of shots, in other words most chase scenes can become confusing and the audience can't keep track of what's happening.
Paper feedback included: 'finding a place for chase and incorporating flashbacks may cause problems' 'use slow motion before each flashback and dramatic music during chase scene' 'have lots of close ups and mid shots' '2 second shots' 'experiment with sound effects' 'sounds like its well planned out'
These comments however brief will also help massively when concentrating on each aspect of the film during editing, it is these comments that we can refer back to during any stage of the project, making sure that we always have something to think about or improve.
Film Pitch
View more presentations from Tim Andrews.
The feedback we received on paper was minimal but the feedback whilst presenting was fantastic. As pointed out by the class our ideas were going to make the scene different and stand out but we might have problems keeping continuity and not being able to film all of it in one night might ruin how realistic the film is. Other feedback included mentions of our stop motion idea being a very good one but that we should investigate other areas of filming the bullet to find the best one before start filming. But collectively me and Ollie decided the best feedback of all was the advice on editing: in order to keep the audience hooked we need to use quick editing and unusual shots. Furthermore where most chase scenes fail is in the direction of shots, in other words most chase scenes can become confusing and the audience can't keep track of what's happening.
Paper feedback included: 'finding a place for chase and incorporating flashbacks may cause problems' 'use slow motion before each flashback and dramatic music during chase scene' 'have lots of close ups and mid shots' '2 second shots' 'experiment with sound effects' 'sounds like its well planned out'
These comments however brief will also help massively when concentrating on each aspect of the film during editing, it is these comments that we can refer back to during any stage of the project, making sure that we always have something to think about or improve.
Mood Board
To gain the perspective of my target market for the film I will make, I have made an extensive mood board containing screen shots of films and film posters relating to the target's likes of films or relating to the chosen film genre.
My chosen genre is Spy Action:
This is only a basic insight into their prefered films so to get even deeper into their mind set i will have to create another mood board focusing on their lives in general which will then help when making deciding factors on the content of my scene. This will comment on their likes, their dislikes, interests, even their life style.
My chosen genre is Spy Action:
This is only a basic insight into their prefered films so to get even deeper into their mind set i will have to create another mood board focusing on their lives in general which will then help when making deciding factors on the content of my scene. This will comment on their likes, their dislikes, interests, even their life style.
