Evaluation - Sadia Ali

Editing techniques - Sadia

Opening Sequence Editing techniques

Jack Reacher:

1) Action shot, 12 seconds: a bird’s eye view of a lorry on a clear motor way. This creates the style of genre because it builds tension. As we don’t know much of what is going on, there is no telling what kind of theory it follows.

2) Match cut, 29 seconds: a skyline is shown to set the scene. This creates suspense as the music in the background brings it all together. This gives away that it could be using the enigma code.

3) Cuts, 43 seconds: a close up of a man’s hand on a steering wheel, tapping his thumb on it. This creates the action styled genre because it implies that the character is getting impatient as if he is running out of time. This shows that the director is leaving clues to show that he is using the enigma code.

4) Iris, 2 minutes 46 seconds: this shows the camera closing in on people with a target shot of a gun. This gives away that it is an action genre because they usually involve guns. The amount of suspense when he targets the civilians shows that the director is using the enigma code.

5) Cut away, 3 minutes 52 seconds: it first shows a close up of the man’s face and then a shot fires at the civilians using a long shot and then goes back to the close up of the man from a different angle. The use of fast pacing angles show that it is action and is using the enigma code.

Analysis of Film Opening in sub genre - Sadia

At the start of the opening, a man is washed up on the beach and there was a little boy playing in the sand that he was looking at, which represents him from when he was younger. This shows that he is not conscious and he is using his imagination.

The inside of a house seemed dark and very old, which represents the 'villain's' base. There were men that looked very important and because they were all Chinese and the main character was of a different ethnic origin, which shows that he is in a different country.

In this room there is a long table and at the end of the table was a man. One of his men brought in the main character and sat him down on one of the chairs whilst another one of his men gave him a small spinner.

At this point, the audience would be thinking about who the main character is, who the Chinese man is and what does the spinner represent as the Chinese man was talking about how he has seen one of the spinners before.

A range of shot types were used such as long shots, close ups, establishing shot etc. Also, the transitions were smooth and it was not obvious that there were flashbacks/flash-forwards until about 10 seconds into it, which was effective.

Analysing hair and makeup - Sadia

The hair and make up show that it is a psychological thriller because although it shows elegance, it is also a very strong use of makeup, which could show the darkness of the character's personality.

The narrative is shown through the use of slick back hair to show the good side of her, but the use of dark eye makeup shows that there is darkness to her.

This screenshot is creative as there are a lot of contrasting colours such as her hair and makeup are dark but her costume is white, also her costume verses the black background.

We can use these colours of makeup to contrast with costumes and background so the audience can identify who is the good and bad character in our opening sequence.

The hair and makeup show the sub-genre because of the very bold and black eye makeup and as black portrays death, it shows that it is a psychological thriller.

It also helps the narrative as it only shows one black swan compared to all the white swans, which shows that there is an evil in this film.

This screenshot is creative as it shows a white swan is blurred out in the background and the black swan is the center of attention, which shows that darkness has taken over.

For our opening sequence, we could use black to portray our bad character and blur out the good character in the background to show that darkness has taken over.

The hair and makeup is natural as it is a normal day which doesn't necessarily show the sub-genre.

The hair and makeup unfortunately cannot help the audience to think about what sub-genre it could be either.

This screenshot is creative as it could show a flashback due to the lighting of the shot.

In our opening sequence, we could take their hair and makeup features of this character and convert them into ideas of our own and do natural makeup for Amaris, the stalker.

The hair and makeup of this man is natural, which is normal as men don't usually wear make up. This does not show what the sub-genre is as many people have natural makeup on.

The makeup does not help figure out the narrative, but the screenshot does as it shows a man on stage talking about a missing woman because of the sign behind him, which tells the audience a lot about the narrative.

This screenshot is creative as the use of mise-en-scene gives away a little bit about the narrative of the film in just one shot.

We could use this in our opening sequence as we could use one shot or a variety of shots to show the narrative of the film.

The cloak over the man's head shows the sub-genre as it is worn to scare someone.

The makeup of the girl is smudged, which is not normal and means she's been either crying or been swimming. Due to her frizzy hair, it shows that she has been swimming.

What is creative about this shot is also the use of mise-en-scene as it shows that they are at sea and on a ship.

What we can steal is the use of smudgy makeup in our opening sequence and show flash forwards of what's to come.

The use of blood shows the sub-genre as blood usually portrays negative energy.

The makeup helps tell the narrative as the audience might predict death because of the blood.

This shot is creative as there is most blood on the person at the front of the shot, a tiny bit of blood on the person behind her and the girl behind the man has no blood on her at all from what i can see.

We could use blood in our opening scene whilst showing the credits.

Location Ideas - Sadia

This could work for our opening sequence as it looks scary on that road at night, which could grab the audience's attention. This links to our sub-genre as it seems like a very nice area in the day, but fearful at night. It would work creatively as we can switch from someone walking through this road in the day and at night for one of the shots.

This is the Guildford High Street and this would work in our opening sequence as it could represent the are in which they live in and shows the character's status due to where they live. This links in with our target audience as this is a public where the characters work and our target audience is aimed at people who have sustained jobs. This would work creatively because it sets the scene for the audience.

This is the common and this could work for our opening sequence as it seems quite mysterious and draws the reader in. This links to our sub-genre as it is frightening. This could work creatively because it sets a spine-chilling mood for the audience.

Learning How to Storyboard - Sadia

What went well with my storyboard was the use of detailed drawings to show what was going on in each shot and we also mentioned what type of shot it was. It would be even better if we mentioned the movement of the camera and the duration of each shot. In my next storyboard, I will put these into use by stating how the camera moves in detail and counting how many seconds each shot is.

This task was to help me understand how to storyboard in detail and i have learnt that you need to be very specific in the storyboard so you know exactly what you are doing. Now that i know how to storyboard in detail, i will make sure our opening sequence storyboard is up to that standard to ensure that we know exactly what we are going to be doing throughout the time we are filming.

Evaluating the Preliminary Task - Sadia

In-depth Analysis of Thriller Opening - Sadia

Mission Impossible Research

Positioning, 23 seconds - This character is close the centre of the camera and is moving to the left, but doesn't show where he is and that would make the audience curious about what is going on. This suspense will help keep the audience engaged and make them more aware of the surroundings of the scene. 

Lighting, 34 seconds - This scene shows a man calling on a payphone, which was high key lighting telling the audience it is day and reassuring that nothing bad will happen in the light. It will also build up the tension for when something thriller-like happens which will keep the audience engaged and want them to keep watching.

Acting, 1 minute - There was positive and professional body language with happy facial expressions of a woman serving a man on an aeroplane, which is very realistic as a flight hostess you have to stay professional at all times and give great customer service, which is what she is doing in this scene.

Costume, 1 minute 9 seconds - The main actor on the aeroplane is wearing a blazer, shirt and trousers, which shows that he could be a business man, shows that he is important and rich because he can buy nice clothes. This will indicate to the audience that he might be a bad person due to that fact that stereo typically, rich people are rude and high maintenance.

Hair and makeup, 2 minutes 5 seconds - The main character was wearing no makeup and his hair was slick back, looking tidy which shows that he looks professional. This links into his character's personality of wanting to look his best and he needs to keep the audience's expectation of him always dressing professionally.
Expression, 2 minutes 30 seconds - The main actor is focused and listening to his mission. This shows that he likes to stay busy with missions and also tells the audience that he is a spy, but does not give away if he is good or bad.

Props, 2 minutes 38 seconds - The props that were used was an aeroplane, a TV, headphones etc.

Titles Research - Sadia

Black Swan Timeline:

0:01 - "Fox searchlight pictures presents"
0:13 - "A Darren Aronofsky Film"
0:26 - "In Association with Cross Creek Pictures"
0:34 - "Music by Clint Mansell"
0:43 - "Story by Andres Heinz"
0:53 - "Produced by Mike Medavoy"
1:04 - "And Arnold W. Messer"
1:16 - "Executive Producers. Tyler Thompson, Peter Fruchtman"
1.26 - "Screenplay by Mark Heyman. Andres Heinz"
1:33 - "Natalie Porter" (Actor)
1:41 - "Vincent Cassel" (Actor)
1:52 - "Mila Kunis" (Actor)
2:18 - "Black Swan" (Title)

There were 13 titles overall and the most important titles were the film companies and who the music was by. I know this because they were the first credits from the opening title.
The style and movement linked with the genre (thriller) because the movements were quite slow, which created suspense and mystery. The colours were quite dark, especially around the edges to create a mysterious effect. Also, there was a person drawing with black chalk on cream paper and the font of the titles were black and small with curves towards the end of each letter, showing danger. The angles are the same, but the transitions would fade slowly.
The titles show the audience that the film is a thriller because of the dark font on a light background; the black shows there is a dark side to the film. Also, the music shows the audience that there is elegance and fear at the same time, which tells the audience a little about the narrative of the film.

The things that are similar between Black Swan and Se7ven are that they are both dark and have a lot of the colour black that could portray death, evil or even fear.
The difference between the two is that the Black Swan is more slowed down and portrays elegance, whereas Se7en is more fast paced and has more objects that portrays death. Also, there are a variety of shots that move from one to the other very fast, which seems more edgy and dangerous.

I think the film, Se7en is more effective in the thriller genre because the pace makes much more of a difference and transitions are very effective, which gives it more of the thriller effect.

Narrative Theories in Opening Sequence - Sadia

1) Spectre - A cryptic message from the past leads James Bond to Mexico City and Rome, where he meets the beautiful widow of an infamous criminal. After infiltrating a secret meeting, 007 uncovers the existence of the sinister organisation SPECTRE. Needing the help of the daughter of an old nemesis, he embarks on a mission to find her. As Bond ventures toward the heart of SPECTRE, he discovers a chilling connection between himself and the enemy he seeks. This shows the enigma code due to the fact that they are trying to give the audience clues about what is going on.

2) Mad Max - Years after the collapse of civilisation, the tyrannical Immortal Joe enslaves apocalypse survivors inside the desert fortress the Citadel. When the warrior Impersonator Furiosa leads the despot's five wives in a daring escape, she forges an alliance with Max Rockatansky, a loner and former captive. Fortified in the massive, armoured truck the War Rig, they try to outrun the ruthless warlord and his henchmen in a deadly high-speed chase through the Wasteland. This is binary opposites due to the fact that there are two people on the run and one of them is a man and another is a woman.

3) Black Mass - Agent John Connolly is on the case and is willing to go to any lengths to achieve his aims. A South Boston native, he decides to "ally" the FBI with South Boston crime kingpin James "Whitey" Bulger, as his main enemies are the Mafia. This shows the equilibrium theory due to the fact that it would start off well, become bad and then there is a good ending.

4) Fast and Furious 7 - In the 5 years since the events of Fast and Furious 6, street racer Dominic toretto, former cop, Brian O'Conner, racer Letty Ortiz, and the crew have lived peaceful years after Owen Shaw's demise. But danger is never far for the crew. This shows the equilibrium theory because everyone was happy at they beginning, they fall into trouble during the middle of the film and they resolve their issues at the end.

Audience Research - Sadia

Inferno:

This film is targeted at young people, usually around the age of 18 to 30 and are most likely to be men with a job status of office supervisors (C1) and above as there is a lot of mystery and you need to work things out in your head. Social groups that the film is targeting are; mainstreamers, aspirers, succeeders and explorers.

This is a UK film poster of the film, Inferno. The layout of the poster shows that it is aimed at the audience i have chosen as the title is going down in a line in the center of the poster between two people. Also, the images in the background are very hard to see yet you can see just about what it is, which will intrigue that specific target audience. The graphics look very nice and is what a young person would rather comment on than older people. The font style is very neat and red to show blood with a red line coming down from the middle of the letters to also represent blood. The font size is quite small yet visible to show a sense of fear.

This is the trailer of the film, Inferno. The layout of the trailer is very clever as they go from one shot to another very quickly to be dramatic and draw the audience in. The characters are middle aged and so middle aged people would be drawn to this as well as a younger viewer. The graphics were high quality to draw in the younger adults. The font was very basic to show that it was a serious matter the characters were talking about. It was also white font on a black background to show the darkness of the film.

This is a screenshot from the trailer. The layout was used to show low key light as this picture is very dark, yet still visible. The ancient picture behind the actor shows historical background, which can catch higher class attention. There are no words in this screenshot, but the shadows represent fear and thriller aspects, which will catch a variety of people's attention to get a wider audience. 

This is a screenshot of the film's UK website. The layout gives you a chance to see their poster, the trailer and reviews of the film. This website will target at researchers, who would most likely be older and more into films than other people. The background is quite dark to give the thriller vibe through the website. The font is also very basic but also bold on white to stand out from the dark background.

This is a screenshot of an Inferno Facebook Page. The layout is very straight as Facebook does not let you change the layout, yet they have used a different image for their main and cover photo. This social media will be more appealing to younger viewers as they use social media more often.

This task has helped me get a better understanding of what age group is usually targeted at when it comes to films and how you grab their attention to interest them in the film you are trying to present. I have learnt that you need the audience's attention from the very beginning and we can do that through how an image is displayed, for example, the lighting; is it high key or low key? For my opening sequence, i will make sure that there is advertisement of the film on social media to interest our target audience.

Visit to Harry Potter Studios - Sadia & Neamh

In the first picture, you can see the use of black costumes as well as the use of dark mise-en-scene, which represents the evil characters. We can take the use of dark clothing and mise-en-scene to represent the evil characters in our opening sequence.

In the second picture, you can see that the characters are good due to the use of light clothing. We can make sure our good characters stand out like that by wearing light colours. 

In these pictures, you can see that they have used mise-en-scene very well as the surroundings of the staging is very detailed and there are a lot of props being used. We could add in a lot of props to our opening sequence that were significant to the location to make it look like more of a kitchen, bedroom, basement etc.

There are models of the locations, which we as a group cannot design and make, but the drawings on the walls show exactly what they want on the buildings. We can use the idea of drawing out plans of what we want in our locations for the use of mise-en-scene in our opening sequence.

Comparison of 2 sub-genres

The Black Swan and The dark night

Theme:
The Black Swan - At the beginning of the opening scene, it started off very calm and elegant which shows the audience that this is a good setting. It could also show that the character is a good person due to her wearing a white costume that contrasts with the darkness surrounding her. All of a sudden, a man in a dark costume and dark make up appears out of no where, making the woman in white very concerned and the look on her face showed that she was worried about the darkness consuming her.

The Dark Knight - From the beginning, you can see that there is something bad going on due to the deep music, the dangerous weapons and the use of scary clown masks that the actors wear whilst getting into a black van. This definitely indicates that there is going to be violence as it looks like they are the villains on a bad mission. 

Characters:

The Black Swan - The main character portrays innocence with her white costume and the elegance of her dancing, which could tell the audience that the innocence inside her becomes darkness.

The Dark Knight - At the beginning of the opening scene, you don't realise who the main person is until the end of the opening scene. His makeup is scary and his personality is very violent and doesn't care about anyone. I say this because at he starts off with a group of people trying to rob a bank and then he manipulates people into killing each other off and he kill people himself.

Devices:
The Black Swan - There we no devices used in this thriller film as this film is all about elegance and how someone so pure and innocent can turn into someone so dark and sinful.

The Dark Knight - There are multiple weapons used in the opening sequence of this film such as different types of guns, but the one that stood out the most was when the joker put a grenade into a civilians mouth after he robbed the bank. This give the audience and incite of what the Joker is capable of doing and how little he cares for other people.

Locations:
The Black Swan - Because of the theme of this film, the location is on a stage with one light beam to show that there is one main character in this film. This will intrigue the audience as it is pitch black and there is no one else but her and they might be wondering why there is not an audience that has appeared in the opening scene.

The Dark Knight - The main location for this opening scene was a bank. This shows that this is an action/crime thriller due to the robbing of a bank and tells the audience what kind of genre this film is straight away so that they will stay engaged to the rest of the film.

Props and Costume:
The Black Swan - You can see that the main character is wearing a white dress to portray her personality of being an innocent girl and during this opening sequence, no props were needed. This will tell the audience that she is a nice, young girl that doesn't get up to any trouble and most likely sticks to the rules.

The Dark Knight - You can see that the Joker is wearing smart clothes to deceive the audience of his true personality but also shows the audience that there is darkness to him through the mask he wears when robbing the bank and his clothes being dark colours. The props used were mainly weapons such as guns and grenades but also money, bags and a lot more whcih are all important for detailed mise-en-scene.

In-depth Analysis of Director - Summer assignment-Sadia

Media michael mann from St Peters RC Comprehensive

Group dynamics- Sadia

I am 16 years of Age and I study Art, Media and BTEC Business. What I hope to be in the future is yet to be discovered.