Final Opening Sequence - The Case

Monday, November 3, 2008

Public opinion on films

In choosing what film genre to make for my opening sequence I decided to look at some opinion polls on film. For this I went on IMDB and Empire to try and find top lists.

IMDB:

RankRatingTitleVotes
1.9.1The Shawshank Redemption (1994)382,951
2.9.1The Godfather (1972)325,037
3.9.0The Godfather: Part II (1974)185,268
4.9.0The Dark Knight (2008)294,436
5.8.9Buono, il brutto, il cattivo., Il (1966)109,661
6.8.9Pulp Fiction (1994)318,268
7.8.8Schindler's List (1993)210,675
8.8.8One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)160,747
9.8.8Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)221,383
10.8.812 Angry Men (1957)79,144
11.8.8Casablanca (1942)134,466
12.8.8Star Wars (1977)262,513
13.8.8Shichinin no samurai (1954)76,231
14.8.8The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)281,773
15.8.7Goodfellas (1990)174,194
16.8.7Rear Window (1954)91,110
17.8.7Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)197,820
18.8.7Cidade de Deus (2002)115,895
19.8.7C'era una volta il West (1968)53,012
20.8.7The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)310,922
21.8.7The Usual Suspects (1995)212,965
22.8.7Psycho (1960)111,207
23.8.7Fight Club (1999)285,371
24.8.6The Silence of the Lambs (1991)190,134
25.8.6Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)126,566

Empire:

1. The Godfather (1972)
2. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
3. Star Wars Episode V: Empire Strikes Back (1980)
4. Shawsank Redemption (1994)
5. Jaws (1975)
6. GoodFellas (1990)
7. Apocalypse Now (1979)
8. Singin' in the Rain (1952)
9. Pulp Fiction (1994)
10. Fight Club (1999)
11. Raging Bull (1980)
12. The Apartment (1960)
13. Chinatown (1974)
14. Once Upon A Time In The West (1968)
15. The Dark Knight (2008)
16. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
17. Taxi Driver (1976)
18. Casablanca (1942)
19. The Godfather: Part II (1974)
20. Blade Runner (1982)
21. The Third Man (1949)
22. Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (1977)
23. Back to the Future (1985)
24. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
25. The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly (1967)



From these lists I see action, sci-fi and thrillers dominating the top spot with not a single comedy to be seen! It is very useful to see which sort of films dominate these charts as to what to choose for my genre

Plot 7 actor choosing

I have decided to choose actors for Plot 7, set in a post-apocalyptic future where people have special powers. I have analysed 5 leading roles to which famous stars can be applied. The main character, the evil dictator, the rebel leader, the love interest and the toad like enemy.
For each I will say the actor I have chosen to play them and give backing as to why.

Main Character : Will Smith

I have chosen Will Smith as the main actor as he is generally a very good all round actor. He can be funny, serious, violent, peaceful, intelligent, dumb and sometimes all at once! He has a good repitoire of sci-fi films such as Men In Black, I Am Legend and Hancock. Hancock is most similar to this plot as he had super powers in that film and so he obviously will be able to fit the role. He is a widely loved actor and has a huge fan base in both music and movies so will attract many fans to the film

Evil Dictator : Sean BeanAnother flexible actor who has been in a variety of films. His performance in Goldeneye and The Lord Of The Rings is what drew my attention to him. In Goldeneye he plays the main villain and so obviously has had a past experience with this role. He is very good at playing sinister roles and has a look to him which suggests he is a good deceiver. A big trait of these sort of films is a leader who deceives his people into thinking he is good when really his motives are evil. Also in LOTR as Boromir he was drawn to the ring which brought out the anger and hate in him and gave him an aspect of betrayal. I think all these qualities will go well for an evil dictator and as he has a history for action films fans will know he is suitable for the role.

Rebel Leader : Bruce WillisFrom his performances in Die Hard, Unbreakable and Sin City it was obvious to choose Bruce Willis for this role. Action hero extraordinare, he has played the role excellently on so many occasions. Sin City, a comic book film, and Unbreakable, a comic book style film both portrayed him as a hero and he has the typical do good sense to him while also being able to appear rugged. He looks very well built in most of his films which would be good for this kind of film and I see him as a sort of Riddick like appearance from Pitch Black, but with the same Star Wars like persona as the rebels, leading the good side to victory. I think he will be a perfect supporting character for Will Smith and the two would work well together.

Love Interest : Jessica AlbaBesides being constantly polled as one of the sexiest women in acting, she has managed to pull of age ranges from 18 in Sin City to mid 30s in other films. She is a very attractive actress and so will obviously appeal to a male audience but is also a very talented actress. After being in the Fantastic 4 films and Sin City it is also obvious that she has played this sort of role before and will therefore be well suited to this role, being flexible to many different personas. I also think that she will contrast well with Will Smith and the two will create a good romantic interest. Also having worked with Bruce Willis on Sin City the two have a good on screen connection.

Toad like enemy : Owen WilsonAs soon as I saw this character I was reminded of the character Toad from the X-Men comics and films. He is a witty character and brings comic relief to serious situations. Therefore I think Owen Wilson will be great for the role. He hosts a massive list of past comedies that he has starred in but has equally proved he can be semi-serious. He will be a good contrast to all the other characters and actors who are all quite serious in their careers and he will bring some good humour to the film. Also I'd love to see him looking green and toad like!

The Mummy (1999) Stephen Sommers

For my individual research I decided it would be good to watch a film in the genre I wish to make for my opening scene. Currently I am undecided between action/adventure and thriller so I chose the family adventure film The Mummy to watch.

The film takes place in Egypt where ancient priest Imhotep (Arnold Vosloo) murders the Pharoah and is therefore sentenced to a fate worse than death. In 1923, adventurer and soldier Rick O'Connell (Brendan Fraser) finds his tomb and along with other treasure hunters awakens the Mummy. He is joined by librarian Eveyln Carnahan (Rachel Weisz) and her brother Jonathan (John Hannah). Eventually they find a way to defeat him and all is well. For a full plot synopsis go to: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120616/plotsummary

I am going to now examine part of the opening scene from the film and make analysis on the camera angles and techniques used.



I am using from 1:11 until 2:43 to establish the main shots used.
Unlike in the Dark Knight clip that I analysed before, there are not many consistant angles as most of the clip is characters moving into the room and from it. Therefore I cannot analyse the way I did before where I analysed each camera's individual use. I will analyse each shot as a separate thing.

1:11 : Mid Long shot to Close up, forward track/crane
In this first shot we see Imhotep on a balcony looking over the city and the camera starts from behind him but as he turns goes into his face from a MLS to a CU.

1:21 : Mid Long shot to Mid Close Up, Reverse track
We see Anck Su Namun walking through a big gold door towards the camera.

1:29 : Very Long Shot, High Angle
We see her continue down the corridor and there is a match on action from the previous shot. We see her from a diagonal angle. The shot pans down slightly at the end of the clip.

1:31 : Mid Long Shot, side angle, crab
Another match on action, she continues down the corridor and we see the back of some priest's heads in the foreground and at the end of this shot we see a priest's face and it becomes a CU as she looks at him and he watches her walk off.

1:36 : Long shot, reverse track
This shot shows Anck Su Namun from behind walking towards the curtains and draws back to show the size of the room.

1:39 : Close up
We return to the previous shot of the priest and we have a pan left which turns the shot into a long shot as the priests close the door at the end of the corridor.

1:42 : Long shot to Two Shot, Track left
As Anck Su Namun walks into the room the camera also goes left and zooms in as she goes up to Imhotep and they kiss.

1:59 : Close Up
This shot is used to show Imhotep smear the paint on her arm which is how the two of them are found out. It starts slightly further out but zooms in as he rubs the paint.

2:03 : Long shot, zoom to MCU
This shot shows the priests closing the door but the Pharoah bursting in and the camera zooms in on him into an MCU as he talks. He then walks out of shot and we pan left to see the priests close the door behind him.

2:24 : Long shot
Pharoah behind the curtains and then starts to sweep them

2:26 : Over the shoulder shot
Match on action as he opens the curtains and then a forward track as he walks towards Anck Su Namun.

2:30 : Over the shoulder shot
Anck Su Namun's shoulder, looking at the Pharoah as he talks.

2:31 : Close Up
Anck Su Namun standing by the cat statue

2:33 : OTS shot, shot reverse shot
We go back to the previous shot of the Pharoah over Anck Su Namun's shoulder as he points at her to shout "who has touched you?"

2:35 : OTS shot
Looking at Anck Su Namun over the Pharoah's shoulder. We see her glance behind him

2:39 : OTS
Shot reverse shot again, and we can now see Imhotep in the corner of the frame which is obviously who Anck Su Namun was looking at in the previous shot. The Pharoah turns around and we pan slightly left

2:42 : Mid close up, OTS
We can see all 3 characters in shot and the rule of thirds is used to space them out equally to show the reaction as Imhotep takes the Pharoah's sword.


Overall I think this shot demonstrates some basic but effective camera techniques which will be useful for making my own opening sequence

Mood Boards

For my individual research I have made 2 mood boards both to do with film genre. In each I have shown popular films from the genre.

My first Mood Board is for films of the Comic Book genre. I have taken both mainstream, cult, old and new films in this montage to display common conventions. Most of the characters are in costumes or wearing masks to conceal their identities. Many show extraordinary qualities such as the Human Torch and Hulk. Many films of this genre already have a cult following before they come out, but often the release of a comic book film will bring a new generation of readers to the comics. For example, not many people knew of the Sin City and 300 comics by Frank Miller until films were created, although they have a large following in the comic book world. Other films such as Spiderman, Superman and Batman are world known characters who have had their own television shows, merchandise and more. The comic book genre is both easy and hard to be audience pleasing. Although the films have many pre made stories for them from the comics themselves, writers can often end up upsetting fans of the original comics for "not staying true" to the original content. However, they will draw in new fans which keeps the industry going.

My second mood board is for Sci-Fi. Again, I have taken many classic sci-fi films and shown famous scenes or characters from them. Obviously Star Wars launched a whole new breed of sci-fi and most futuristic space films today can be related back to the Star Wars films. Not only was the sound company THX created for Star Wars but they advanced special effects greatly bringing in a new age of computer animation making many films possible to make. You have your typical sci-fi/thriller films such as Alien, Predator and of course Blade Runner, but also many cult classics like Back To The Future and Planet of The Apes. Sci-Fi is one of my favourite genres as it delves into the realms of the unknown and almost anything is possible. I find them more interesting than films like comedies as they can easily break so many boundaries which is why they have such a large appeal and fan base.

Sunday, November 2, 2008

BLK feedback

Nick, I'm concerned that there hasn't been any blogging action on here for over 3 weeks??? this blog should represent ongoing independent research and big gaps in time are really difficult to justify with this kind of project.

You have such little time left to present your research findings, it's making me rather nervous, please calm my nerves with some fab posts asap

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Star Wars V The Empire Strikes Back (1980) George Lucas



For my continuity analysis I have chosen to analyse possibly the most famous and surprising scene in the Star Wars saga. The scene is from the end of The Empire Strikes Back, when Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) goes to fight Darth Vader (David Prowse). The scene comes to a stunning climax when Darth Vader chops off Luke's hand and reveals that he is his father, to which Luke replies "No, it can't be, that's impossible".


0:00 : We begin by seeing Luke walking along a dark corrider towards the camera. We can hear nothing but the low buzz of machinery and his breathing and footsteps. Around 0:09 we hear the sound of a lightsaber being swung and Luke looks shocked.


0:10 : There is a match on action here as Vader swings his lightsaber and Luke ducks. This also uses Use of Shot Order as it continues immediately after the previous shot.


0:18 : Luke is pushed out of the door and the new shot is used to reveal more of the location. It is a good match on action.


0:20 : We see the sparks from where Vader hit the wall in the new shot showing that it has continued smoothly. He is also raising his arm as he was in the previous shot.


0:21 : As Vader swings down we switch to this very long shot which shows Vader and Luke continuing fighting but reveals even more of the location. There is a good match on action there.


0:24 : Vader and Luke continue to fight (match on action) but the shot is zoomed in.


0:26 : We change to a high angle here to show a different perspective of the location to see the deep chasm beneath them. We are still matching the action from before and so far all cuts have showed a continuing motion. There has been no dialogue either.

0:36 : As Luke falls the shot changes and we see a reaction shot from him. We now get into a sequence of shot - reverse shot throughout the dialogue. This continues to show reactions to the action and responses from each character. As Vader moves his lightsaber towards Luke we see him edging backwards. Then he slashes back.

0:44 : We see a reaction shot from Vader as he stumbles backwards. The following shots all follow smovely matching the action and paths of the lighstabers. This continues until finally Vader chops off Luke's hand. At this point the music comes back in after around a minute of just natural noise. This gives dramatic emphasis and shows we have reached an important part in the scene (0:54).

1:00 : From this point on we follow a sequence of shot- reverse shot throughout the dialogue in terms of reactions and responses from each character. These continue until 2:27 where we get point of view shots from Luke as he looks down into the chasm which is his only escape, then back up to Vader.

In general this clip has very good use of continuity. It is all straight cuts, no transitions, and follows the action directly to give a sense of realism and real time, unlike films like Pulp Fiction and Sin City which jump about the timeline constantly to create an unnatural feeling.

The sound also follows in continuity as we can always hear what is going on at that specific time in the clip.

Saturday, October 4, 2008

The Dark Knight (2008) Christopher Nolan



For my Shot Analysis I have chosen to use a clip from Christopher Nolan's most recent Batman film, The Dark Knight starring Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Michael Caine and Aaron Eckhart.
The clip takes place just after the Joker's first arrest and he has been interviewed by soon to be Commissioner Gordan (Gary Oldman). The Joker makes a gag that Gordan is using the "Good Cop, Bad Cop" technique to which Gordan replies "Yeah, something like that" and exits the room. The room has been purposely lit from only one side and we soon see that the "bad cop" has been hiding in the shadows.

I have deciphered that there are about 5 different point of views in the clip I am using. I am only analysing the first minute of the clip (up until 1:05) so there may well be more camera's introduced later in the scene. I have named each camera due to what it shows;

Camera 1 : From Batman's side of the interview table looking at the Joker
Camera 2 : From the Joker's side of the interview table looking at Batman
Camera 3 : From the door of the interview room looking at the back of Batman and can see the Joker from the front.
Camera 4 : Used only once in the clip, a high angle looking down on the table as if from Batman's eyes.
Camera 5 : Outside the interview room showing the police looking onto the interrogation.

Using these deceptions I will analyse the clip.

0:00 : Close up, Camera 1
The clip starts in a darkened room where only the Joker is illuminated. The lights come on and we are aware that Batman is behind him. Batman slams the Joker's head into the table and the camera follows his head.

0:08 : Over the shoulder - low angle, Camera 2
We see over the shoulder of the Joker looking up at Batman at quite a low angle to give Batman an element of fear as he seems bigger than the Joker.

0:09 : Close up, Camera 1
We have a close up on the Joker's head as he is talking and is therefore the important character at this point.

0:12 : Long shot, Camera 3
We see the room from the door and see Batman standing and the Joker sitting on the opposite side of the table. The rule of thirds is used well here so that our focus is drawn into the middle of the frame as Batman lifts up his arm to hit the Joker.

0:13 : Close up, Camera 4
This is the only time camera 4 is used. It shows the Joker's hand being hit by Batman. This shot is used so that we (the audience) see what it is exactly that Batman does to the Joker. We could have stayed with camera 3 however this shot gives more dramatic effect.

0:14 : Over the shoulder - low angle, Camera 2
This shot is put in so we have a brief glimpse of Batman before we go back to seeing the Joker. The low angle is still used to show that Batman is "above" the Joker, whether this is the fact that Batman is feared or that he is above in the sense that he is good.

0:15 : Mid close up, Camera 1
We now see the Joker again but slightly more zoomed out to show more of his body. This shot is also used to establish Batman sitting down while the Joker is talking. We see Batman in the left hand side of the shot so that eventually we will get an interview like sequence.

0:18 : Over the shoulder, Camera 2
The camera is focusing on Batman as he is talking and the over the shoulder shot is used to see that he is now looking directly at the Joker. The two character's are now level as is the camera angle. I think this is used to symbolize Batman coming down to the Joker's level to talk with him.

0:20 : Forward track, Camera 5
This is the only time Camera 5 is used in the first minute of the clip and it shows the other cops outside the room looking in through the window. The forward track is used to zoom in on the main cops who have been introduced to us as primary plot characters (Gordan, Romirez).

0:24 : Over the shoulder/Mid close up, Camera 1
The next few shots are very well thought out. In approximately the next 20 seconds of clip Camera 1 uses the arc shot technique to start on the right side of Batman looking at the Joker and end up on the left side of Batman looking at the Joker. These clips are shown from almost over the shoulder but so that Batman is only just in the clip. This clip has a few clips in between showing Batman. I will label all of these clips with which part of the arc they use. By the end of this shot, Batman occupies half of the screen and the Joker's face is all still visible.

0:36 : Over the shoulder, Camera 2
This shot shows Batman talking and we see that it is also performing a similar arc to Camera 1 so that eventually both Camera 1 and Camera 2 will be looking at the characters from a different angle.

0:39 : Over the shoulder, Camera 1 (part 2 of Arc, now on left side of Batman)
This shot simply continues the arc from 0:24 and shows the Joker talking to Batman.

0:48 : Mid close up, Camera 2
The Camera 2 arc is now complete and so we can only see Batman in the shot.

0:50 : Mid close up, Camera 1
We see the Joker's reaction to Batman's comment and as he laughs hysterically the camera follows his head movement.

0:54 : Mid close up/over the shoulder, Camera 2
This shot is arguable as we can just about see part of the Joker's head in the shot. However I think it demonstrates an over the shoulder more than an MCU as when the Joker's head is in shot we see as if from behind him.

0:58 : Mid close up, Camera 1
We see the Joker talking and the Camera follows his head as he moves.

1:05 : Over the shoulder, Camera 2
This shot is showing Batman talking and has zoomed out from when Camera 2 was last used at 0:54.


I think this scene is very well thought out and all the shots compliment themselves well. The arc in the middle is a very clever device as it makes your typical interview scene more interesting to watch.