Children of Men (2006)

Genre:

The genre of this film is a Sci-Fi Drama Thriller. this is due to the amount of tension built up in the opening sequence. The opening sequence of this film is also set in the future, this is why it is a Sci-Fi.

Narrative:

The narrative appears to be about  how women are infertile in the future and the youngest person alive is now dead. This is shown through the speech spoken by the news correspondents.

Character:

The main character of the film is the man that the camera follows out of the café. The camera follows him to find out his reaction for when a bomb explodes from the café he recently was in. The woman in the café that is holding a dog, is holding it as if it was a child, this could be that it is a child substitute as the women are not getting impregnated.

Atmosphere:

The atmosphere of the film opening seems to be quite slow paced and surreal. This makes an impression that the film is going to be in a documentary layout.

Themes:

The themes running through the film opening is hope and faith. These are the themes because they have faith and are hoping that the women will become fertile once more to carry on the human race.

Setting:

The setting of the film becomes apparent without even having to look at any images, there were two news correspondents speaking with a British accent so automatically the audience would think that this film is based in London. The time is then shown at the bottom of the screen as he exits the café as well as where.

Sound:

As the clip commences, there is silence, the fact that the Universal logo is silent connotes that the world is silent and it doesn't have any happiness. this make the audience question why. Sound then appears as news correspondents are talking, this  creates a sense of concern as the first thing the audience hears is the news, they know something bad about to happen, this carried on till after the man leaves the café. When he does so there a  short pause which builds up the tension till the next thing the audience hears is a loud 'bang' followed by an eerie noise, the audience then notices that we hear everything the character hears.

Titles: 

The titles of the film is written in white, white is bold colour, this gets the audiences attention, this is good as it also emphasises the words that are written, especially the name Children of Men.

Children of Men opening scene:

Lord Of War (2005)

Genre:

The genre of this film is a Crime-Drama. I know this because the opening sequence to the film I a man in a suit holding a briefcase. standing in the middle of a T-junction that is covered in bullet shells and the surrounding buildings are burnt out.

Narrative:

The narrative of Lord of War isn't very detailed in the opening sequence, this is due to the camera only focusing on the journey of the bullet, all throughout it's lifecycle. However, my prediction is that the film is a flashback of the first thirty seconds of the opening sequence. I think this because the film opening consists of a man surrounded with bullet shells, but then cuts away to the factory where we see bullets being made.

Character:

The first character, played by Nicolas Cage,  the audience sees is a man in a suit with a briefcase. This imposes that he is the main character, another reason that I think he is the main character is that it's because he is the first person to speak, this could also be that he is a narrative character. The possibility that he is a narrative character is because he stares down at the camera and talks directly to the audience watching the film.

Atmosphere:

The opening of this film is relatively slow paced, this suggests that it is meant to be a serious film. This film opening creates a sense of tension, this makes the audience want to carry on watching the film as they want to know what is going to happen in the rest of the film.

Themes:

The main theme that comes across is violence. This is due to the camera following the lifecycle of the bullet, in every shot you can see a bullet. Another theme is awareness, this is due to the narrative character informing the audience about the possession of guns.

Setting:

The setting of this film is seen to be in the 1990's, at the peak of illegal firearms trade. I think that this is also set on the ivory coast or central America, these places is where there were a lot of warlords and illegal trade activity.

Sound:

As the clip started it had to there was diegetic speech, this speech was addressed to the audience, informing it about the amount of firearms in circulation. The music then turned into a well known song by Buffalo Spring, 'For What It's Worth', this indicates that maybe the main character has regrets about his involvement.

Title:

The titles of the film are written in capital letters, this is to make it bolder, also by using a white colour means that it will stand out against the dark background. The fact that the font is small shows how big the illegal arms industry is, as well as the fact it appears as a bullet is being made.

Lord Of War:

My Best Friends Wedding (1997)

Genre:

My Best Friends Wedding is a Romance-Comedy, Rom-Com, I know this because it has a feminine touch to it, the first this the audience sees is a blank pink screen which then moves to women dancing in wedding outfits. this suggests that it will be a romance as weddings are associated with romance. The comedic side to is when the women are dancing and singing a girly song about their desires and hopes.

Narrative:

the narrative appears to be that someone is getting married, however, the wedding is a bit 'tongue and cheek' meaning that there are comedic elements as well as irony, this is shown through the opening sequence, when the bride throws her bouquet, but she's the only one who catches it

Character:

The characters the film opening are shown to be showing the stages before and throughout the wedding, at first the women are dancing and the bride shows her engagement ring, the next thing they do is what seems like dress shopping, after that, the bridesmaids are walking the bride down the aisle. This is the followed by the bride throwing her bouquet.

Atmosphere:

This is not set as a modern film. This is due to the slow pace of the opening. the film has a 1950's/1960's tone and mood to it, it establishes this through the music they're singing to and the type of dresses they are wearing.

Themes:

The themes included in the film is love and marriage, this is done through the iconography of a wedding ring, a veil, dress, and a bouquet.

Settings:

Film opening usually distinguishes the setting of the film, however, the setting of this film hasn't been distinguished, there is just a blank pink background, with no indication of a setting. Although, the musical feel to the opening suggests that this film is set in American.

Sound:

The whole of the film opening includes diegetic singing to non-diegetic music, this creates a sense of happiness, and joy.

Titles:

The titles of the film opening is written in an elegant font. This emphasises the femininity of the film. as well as the font being in a golden coloured connotes wealth.

My Best Friends Wedding:

Catch Me If You Can (2002)

Genre:

Catch Me If You Can is an adventure/crime film, this is shown through how fast-paced the opening is, as well as a light touch, this connotes that its quite a light film even though it is full of action, this is all shown between a figure running after another one that keeps changing identity,

Narrative:

Throughout the opening clip of Catch Me If You Can there is a chase, this shows the audience that throughout the film there is going to be a chase. We also know this because the fig
ure that is being chased, changes identity a few times, at first he is a suit, however, when it appears he is in an airport, shown through the iconography of airplanes in the background . The figure changes into a pilots uniform after that it appears in a hospital posing as a doctor, this is shown through the iconography of a doctor, a stethoscope and a long white coat.

Character:

The two main characters in the opening sequence are distinguished in the first thirty seconds. this is done through the airport signs, there are arrows pointing to the main characters. This notifies the audience that they are the main characters as well as who the actors are. The first character shown is the antagonist, the character is Frank Abagnale Jr., he is played by Leonardo DiCaprio, however the other character is a protagonist, Carl Hanratty, he's played by Tom Hanks. The protagonist is seen to be chasing the antagonist. He seems to be an undercover agent as he is following Frank Abagnale Jr. from afar.

Atmosphere:

The atmosphere of the opening, is quite a slow-paced chase between a 'good guy' and a 'bad guy'. This creates a sense of excitement as well as establishes a tense and dramatic atmosphere for the rest of the narrative.

Theme:

Catch Me If You Can establishes the themes of identity, chase and disguise. The identity of these two figures are still a mystery in the opening, we don't know anything about them apart from that one is chasing the other, this makes the audience want to watch the rest of the film as they want them to be established. Chase is another theme in Catch Me If You Can as throughout the opening sequence, one is following the other, this suggests what the film is going to be about. The opening distinguishes disguise though the constant changing of the clothing of the figure being chased, the figure disguises himself from the other figure chasing him, however, to spy on the first figure that its chasing, the second figure disguises himself by covering his face with a newspaper in the opening sequence.

Setting: 

The setting of the film is established in the opening sequence as America, I know this because there is a scene where there is a yellow cab being chased by police cars, the yellow cabs connotes that the film is set in New York; as it is where yellow cabs are associated from. The time period of which the film is set in is in the late 1950's, this is known because there is a post retro feel to the film, this is also shown through the film opening when the figure being chased ends up I'm a swimming pool where the surroundings, are all from the 1950 era as well as the combination of oranges and reds. 

Sound:

The sound of the opening sequence continues with the post-retro settings of the film, this is done through the 1950's jazz music playing in the background. This makes it more up-beat and it keeps the fast pace of the sequence through the fast tempo. 

Titles: 

The film titles are integrated into the sequence, this includes the ranges of jobs that are more influential as well as important cast and crew names, these are set for a specific amount of time and in a specific order. The title colours are in black with lines coming off them separating the screen, this connotes that the first figure is always a few steps ahead of the other one. The name of the title is also in a solid black colour however the word 'me' is written out of clouds, this along with the fact that it fades away connotes that the first figure is good at getting away unnoticed and he just 'fades' into the background.

Catch Me If You Can Opening:
 

Differences between a Trailer and a Film Opening

Film Trailers

A trailer and a film opening have distinctive differences. For example, a film trailer gives information about the film, this is done by showing a montage of a clip from the film, this is called fragmented narrative. By showing a montage of the film, by showing sections of the films that will grab the audiences attention which causes them to want to see more of the film, as they want to know why those clips of the montage is so important, and go into a cinema to watch the film.

Trailers always has the transition of 'Fade-to-Black', as well as voice overs, this creates suspension and time passing. The title of the film always appears at the end of the trailer as well as details of  the cast, and crew, however, the names of the actors, with important characters are  usually appear throughout the trailer, as well as character types, such as, super villain or super hero, and institutional logo's are usually found at the start of the trailer.

Film trailers also include:

• An indication of where it is,
• An indication of when it is,
• Information regarding mood and tone,
• Information to signature theme tune,
• Information about genre,

Most trailers include questions that the viewer finds intriguing and they will also have a tag line, an example of this is in 'The Dark Knight' when Joker says Why So Serious?':



Patters and types of editing that will be echoed or elaborated upon later in the film is used in the trailer, as well as Mise en Scène and cinematography. This makes the trailer more like the film, so the audience knows what type of film it will be.

A good example of a trailer that includes everything is:

Film Openings

The opening credits usually identifies the major actors, important crew and the director, as well as institutional logo's.
The order of this always starts with the institution that is distributing the film, these institutions will go first even if they have or haven't produced it. Such institutions include the likes of Universal, Walt Disney Pictures, Marvel Studios etc.
This is then followed by the name of the production company that made the film or companies/investment groups that had financed a large sum of the film. For example, ''A ... Production'' or ''In Association with ...''.
The next title in the sequence would be the directors first appearance usually ''A Film by ... '' or '' A ... Film''
Then it shows who the main characters are played by, which is then followed by the name of the film.
The featured actors comes after the title, then it would be the casting director's name, the composer of the music that's used in the film. After this person would be the production designer.
The editor comes just before the director of photography, soon after, the producers, co-producers and executive producers will appear on the screen. If the film is based on a book or anything of the sorts such as a play, then they will appear after the producers, the same applies if the film is based on characters are based on a book, this would appear after the name of the book.
The next title in the sequence would be of the person who wrote the story on which the script is based on. This would generally be shown with a ''Story By ... '' title.
The second to last title would be the writers names in the form of ''Written by ... ''.
The final title always belongs to the director. This is shown normally by ''Directed by ... ''

Apart from just the order of the title sequence, a film opening tends to establish:

• Genre: 

- A way of grouping films with similar techniques or conventions together. E.g. Horror, Action, Thriller etc.

You can also get sub-genres and hybrid genres. Sub-genres are a substrate of a genre that has their own distinctive iconography and style, such as Psychological Thriller, Supernatural horror etc. A hybrid genre is when two genres are merged together to create a new genre, e.g. Romantic Comedy.

• Narrative: 

- The way a sequence of events, the plot, are put together for the audience.

• Character:

- Establishes what type of role the actor is playing, and how the audience views them. E.g. a protagonist is seen to be the good guy by the audience.

• Atmosphere:

- How the film feels, this includes the pace, a fast paced scene would make the audience anxious, however, a slow paced scene would make the audience feel relaxed and comfortable.

• Theme:

- The underlying subject in the film. an example of this is Love or Revenge, etc.

• Setting:

- Where and when the scene is set. It includes iconography of the place and time, of which the audience will pick up on.

• Sound:

- Is what can be heard to convey an emotion or meaning to the audience. For example, soft violins connotes sadness etc.

• and Titles:

- The layout and when the title appears on the screen tells the audience what roles are played and how significant they are to the production of the film. For example the main character will be the first person to be shown in a title sequence. 

By establishing this means that the audience will be more engaged and 'Hooked' which means that they would want to watch the rest of the film. 

Preliminary Task

 Description

For the preliminary task, I was working in a group of three consisting of me, Ryan Chapman and Connie Smyth. We had decided to do a scene in which an interrogation took place. We chose this idea because we thought that it was the best way to incorporate the 180 degree rule, shot reverse shot and match on action.
We started off a match on action shot. This was done by opening a door. As this happened I was sitting in a chair across from the door, on the other side of the table. He then interrogated me and we made sure we incorporated the other two angles as well.

Storyboard

 
This is the storyboard for our film, it includes which shots we would be using, by doing this helped us to know what exactly was going to happen, which in turn made us fully prepared.

Script

Characters:

• Matt - an experienced cop who’s known for doing whatever’s necessary to get results.
• Alicia - a successful criminal who’s currently suspected of murder.

Scene starts with a mid-shot of Matt from behind walking to a door. He then opens the door in the same shot. Once he’s in the doorway, it then cuts to the other side of the door and he walks the rest of the way through. There is then an establishing shot of the room, showing Alicia sitting at the table.


Matt: The camera is at table height and follows. Matt paces in the room. So… you know why you’re here, don’t you? (Alicia pays no attention)

Alicia: Same shot. I want a lawyer. (Still not looking at Matt)

Matt: Low angle shot of him. He’s on his way. But until then, we’re going to have a little chat. Cuts to a mid-shot of Matt sitting down.  

Alicia: Long shot of both of them at the table. I haven’t even been charged with anything.

Matt: Not yet. Mid-shot of Matt. But as soon as your lawyer gets here, you’re going to be charged with first degree murder. (Looking smug and confident)

Alicia: Side on mid-shot of her. (Suddenly alerted) What?! That’s ridiculous! Where’s the proof?!

Matt: Over the shoulder shot from Alicia’s perspective. We found your fingerprints on the murder weapon and we have several eyewitnesses that can put you at the scene.


Alicia: Panning mid-shot of her. I didn’t kill anybody!


Matt: Mid-shot of Matt. (whacks his hands on the table, and Alicia jumps in fear) Don’t lie to me!
 

Alicia: Mid-shot of Alicia. Okay! Okay, I did it! I killed that man. But it’s not what you think!


Matt: Long shot of both of them at the table. (sarcastically) Is that right?


Alicia: Same shot. I was just following orders!

Matt: Mid-shot of Matt. Who ordered the hit?


Alicia: Mid-shot of Alicia. (Hesitation) The Prime Minister.

Close up of Matt shocked of this news. The screen then goes to black, quickly followed by the phrase: ‘to be continued.’

 

 Filming

At first we had to figure out how to use the camera, this was pretty simple however putting it on the tripod to keep it steady was a little tricky.
Throughout filming we didn't encounter any difficulties filming apart from object, such as a wall, being in the way. Other than that filming the preliminary task was straight-forward because we knew what we wanted it to look like, which we put onto our story board, so we kept to it.
I think that Connie, Ryan and I prepared fully before we started filming, we made sure we made a story board and a script to work from, we also memorised them both so it would be easier to film continuously without having to stop all the time to re-read the script. we also picked the room we were going to use and cleared unnecessary equipment out of the way so it would look plain and remotely like an interrogation room.
Throughout the filming, my group worked together to make sure we had the correct camera angles and camera shots and if we definitely did the 180 degree rule, match-on-action, and shot-reverse-shot. I think filming the match-on-action was what I enjoyed filming the most because it's a challenge to make sure the camera matched on either side of the door.

 The Film

Evaluation

During the filming of the preliminary task, we had a few difficulties of where we were going to set the interrogation room as interrogation rooms are generally quite small. We overcame that by finding a relatively small classroom. This made it possible to create a hostile environment to intimidate the female antagonist.
Due to the limited resources, we had problems holding the camera steady, this is reflected in the film as at some points we couldn't keep the shots steady. We over came this by using a tripod, this kept the camera steady, therefore, creating a better result.

Personally, I thought that even though we had some difficulty, that we did execute the key elements as best we could. Compared to other classmates preliminary task that had poorly executed a certain key element, such as match-on-action.