Actors

In our opening sequence I will be playing the main character and Yasmin will be playing a supporting character who I end up killing. We decided to use ourselves as we can film whenever we want to and don't have to wait for anyone else.

Script

For our opening sequence we didn't have a script as there will be no talking, only movement. For that aspect we directed what to do when it was needed.

"Blood on the Beach" Jaws

Sound techniques used in this clip

In the beginning of this clip, there are ambient sounds of the waves crashing into the sand, in addition to groups of people talking and laughing in the background. This gives the setting of a normal, fun day at the beach. There are people everywhere and this is shown using pans.

The camera then follows the boy and leaves him when it reaches Martin Brody. He is looking out to sea and in the meantime you can hear people talking. There are still no non-diegetic sounds, every sound is natural which makes the audience feel as if they are there at the beach.

A man comes to talk to Martin Brody but the camera shots make sure that the audience don’t focus on what he says. This is an interesting technique as most people would decide to muff out what he is saying and make it not understandable, but here we can clearly hear what he is saying but out attention is taken away by Martin peeking over the man’s shoulder looking at the couple yelling and playing in the water.

Then we see a man floating on his back in the water alone. Martin Brody is looking out to see, so the audience know something is going to happen. The vulnerability of the man being alone suggests he will be the one in danger. However, this is not the case. When the shark is approaching the child in the water, we get a point of view shot from the shark’s perspective, and the first non-diegetic sound is introduced; the classic Jaws music. This suggests something bad is about to happen as the music sets the tone and atmosphere of the rest of the scene. The music then stops, and you can hear splashing of the water followed by children’s screams as they rush to get out of the water. This brings the audience back to reality and they feel like they are yet again at the beach witnessing what just happened. Then you hear sounds from underwater of the boy being dragged down and the Jaws music starts again. The rest of the clip is dramatic music which is parallel to the situation, along with the hysterics of the public.

The ending is just the boys raft ashore with the waves pulling it back and forth. This is a calming sound which is contrapuntal as the water is slightly red from his blood.

Storyboard Timings

On the 18th October Morgan came over to my house to finish storyboarding and discuss timings for our opening sequence. We did this at my house because that is where we will be filming the second half of our opening sequence. After we drew the rest of the shots on the storyboard, we take about titles and timings.

We knew we wanted the titles to come in the second half of our opening sequence because we wanted the audience to focus on the first half as, if we were to finish the film, that part would be a huge key in the rest of the story as it is a flash forward. We decided to have the main title when the scene changes from the bathroom to the house. In the bathroom, the camera zooms into one of the girls eyes, then she closes her eye. The title will appear over her eyelid, fade away, and then she will open her eye and the camera will zoom out and she would be at home.

For timings, we timed how long 4 seconds were just so we had an idea of how long we should spend on each shot. I then worked out that we have 24 shots, so if we spent around 5 second on each shot, it would equal the 2minutes required. So we then put timings on each shot, and once we did that we added it together and it only came up to 84seconds. We decided not to change anything else as we would do that with the third member of our group, Yasmin.

We then wrote down potential names for this film.

 

 

Prelim Outtakes

I made a Prelim Outtakes video for us to laugh at, but also to help improve my editing skills as I need practise.

Pitch

On the 5th October 2016 our group pitched our idea to the class. After presenting our ideas, we received other ideas from the class that we could incorporate in our opening sequence.

We talked about setting, such as where we would film; the school old building toilets and my house.
We were asked questions about why the character is killing the person, mercy or gleeful killing, to which we answered that it is a bit of both. The girl is already in pain before she is murdered.

Our original plan for the second half of the opening sequence is for the girl to wake up, but we realised that this is a common shot used in opening sequences and is unoriginal, so we asked for ideas for another shot we could use, but our conversation drifted from that topic to us talking about the man/shadow that enters earlier.

One thing we did not mention in our pitch which is crucial is where we will be adding the opening titles. I believe we should do it in the second half of the opening sequence when the girl is getting ready, as the first half with the killing and blood is important for the storyline if we were to continue making and finishing the film. The second half is just the girl getting ready to meet her friend, and is not as important so this is where we would include the titles.

Art of the Title

I have chosen 5 title sequences as some will be used for inspiration for our groups own opening sequence, and the others I have chosen due to their interesting techniques.

The first one I have chosen is 'The Neon Demon' (2016) as I like how the music, until 0:40, is not overpowering yet it is significantly important. We could use music like this combined with the breathing and talking of the girl from our opening sequence for the first half.

The second title I chose was "Drive' (2011) as our titles will appear while there is something going on, like in this title where the man is driving. This is how we would introduce our titles, while there is acting.

The third one I chose is 'Ovarian Psycos" (2016). In the first 55seconds, there is music accompanied with natural sounds from their surroundings. The music draws the audience in.

The fourth is 'Beyond Clueless' (2014). We could use music like this in our second half of our opening sequence as this is where it is the natural routine of a girl getting ready to meet her friend. She would put on the radio and a song like this will play

The last one I have chosen is 'Great Expectations' (2011). This is because I like the transitions and effects used in the titles; they pop up then crack and fade away.