Coursework Preliminary Task

For this task I had to show someone opening a door, crossing a room and have a few lines of dialogue. I decided to stage a job interview for this.

I decided to use a job interview because I felt it naturally fit the specifications, and the white transition i used is commonly used in flashback sequences, therefore, it isn't a single piece, it could be part of a bigger picture. By using a mid-shot you can begin to see some of the surroundings. The background suggests it's set in an art gallery or somewhere similar. The phone type used in the section shows that it is set recently.

The reverse zoom of the door handle as Josh opens the door was used to show certain things, such as the hand (in order to show a lack on continuity errors) and it could be seen as an insert.
The match on action I needed to include is in the next bit, where Josh walks out of the hallway and into the hall. For me this seemed to be the most natural place to put this transition, as it is the only change of scenery i used in the piece. Josh's walk is quite short, but you could count the opening shots as 'walking across a room'.

I used a Shot-Reverse-Shot for the conversation because it could fool the viewer into thinking i filmed this in an office, rather than a classroom. I had to keep to the 180 degree rule in order to keep this illusion, as if i changed the angles I used then objects only really found in classrooms could be seen. Here we have two props: a piece of paper, and a phone. The paper is meant to represent an application form or CV, but in reality is the script. Steve gets away with reading from the script, as it appears that he is going over key information. The phone is used as an intercom, to show that Josh is not the lonely candidate, and that many people are being interviewed, and the reactions add character. For instance, Josh is seen as a quiet person while Steve as a typical successful businessmen.

The shots remain the same throughout for each character (long shot of both sitting) is done because the lines are filmed at the same time, all of Josh's and then all of Steve's. This allowed me to keep the shots as similar as possible and therefore the continuity and 180degree. The actors left enough time between lines to keep editing a simple task.

The clothing worn is important. Although it is very different to what would normally be worn, Steve's chequered shirt is smarter than Josh's hoodie, and provides a contrast, as he seems unlikely to get the job based on what he is wearing.

Pretty Woman essay

This essay was written as an analysis of a film opening

The film Pretty Woman centres on a love story between a businessman and a prostitute, both living at either ends of the LA wealth spectrum. We can tell Edward is rich because of the views at his house, how everyone talks about him and the trick seen at the beginning on how money is created from nothing. This is a mirror shot later on in the scene, where drugs are dealt. Both of these are common in ‘their’ worlds.

We also hear the words ‘penny for the ear, how much for the rest’ which gives us a clue to the secondary character, Vivian, who sells her body. We hear about Edward and see the views from his house before we see him taking a call from his girlfriend – who is breaking up with him because he doesn’t care about her. This shows us he is not a likeable man, that he only really cares about his business, and that is what has made him rich. The people there take notice of him, and he is allowed to drive his lawyer’s car without consequence (the fact he doesn’t really know how to drive shows that he is so rich he has a chauffeur normally). However, because he tries to find his ex, it shows he does seemingly care about her. Dialogue with an ex also shows that he has always been obsessed with business more than anything else. However he is shown to mainly be in control, and this could also show his importance and wealth, as people are prepared to listen to him. By having him flirt with an assistant, it tells the audience he is somewhat attractive, and by buying a new carpet instead of cleaning it emphasises the idea of wealth, a key theme in the film.

He is stood above everyone, to show his importance in comparison to the other characters and because the camera pans around him but sticks mainly to the back of him, we are less likely to emphasise with him.

We then move onto a shot of Vivien. The tracking shot of her in the underwear and the shots before of the LA underworld show that she doesn’t live in a nice place. The hotel sign only has HO lighting up, slang for prostitute, which tells us more about the character. We also see that photos have been ripped apart, someone’s face is missing from them, but we do not know whose. The way she puts black felt tips on her shoes suggests to the audience that she is poor, and by hiding money in the toilet – rent money – we know she is somewhat honest. We can tell she doesn't want to be a prostitute, but circumstances have forced her. We also see her telling off her friend for doing drugs, making her likeable. The dialogue 'she's new' tells us the romance is more likely to last than if she had been 'in the business' for a few years. We also hear she doesn't want a pimp, saying that it would take away her freedom and her money, which is one of the central themes. It also shows that despite her line of work, she is respectable.

The idea of dead bodies in dumpsters, drug deals, bar brawls and prostitutes on the street set up a different mise-en-scene to Edwards, and we know that the stories disequilibrium will be the two meeting each other and this shows that despite living in the same city, the two are completely the opposite, and it is a chance meeting (Edward gets lost and tries asking for directions, she thinks he is a customer).

The non-diegetic music played while we see them either driving or getting ready are almost literal of their situation, Edwards is about breaking up ‘I’m over you’ being one of the main lyrics heard, while Vivien’s is ‘I’m a wild one’ indicating the promiscuity and the fact her job relies on selling her body for sex. The part of LA we see with her called be called a ‘concrete jungle’ where law and order is not common, and so the people could be like animals compared to the rich, upmarket set of people of which Edward belongs to, and so this is how he would see people. This helps us understand the characters even more.

The rest of the music is diegetic sound effects to help create an atmosphere, which had possibly been done to make the film seem more realistic. Some of the cuts and shot types make us feel for Vivien but not Edward, like their personalities (Edward is often long shot while Vivien is mid shot).

Both characters are shown mainly through cross cuts and mid shots, occasionally with close ups. This gives us an idea of their body language, and while Edward stands tall and confident, Vivien seems a lot more nervous or frustrated at her room mate, which is shown in the close-up's of her face

One of the establishing shots of downtown LA features a man saying ‘everyone that comes here got a dream. What’s your dream’ as if to say Vivien hasn’t lived up to what she was hoping. 


This is a typical opening because of the way character, plot, setting and themes are introduced. We can tell its going to be some kind of rom-com or comedy because of the way the characters interact with each other. It is slightly less serious than the opening of an action film or a drama.

Thriller Film Opening Sequences

Although I have studied opening sequences previously, none of them were specifically for Thriller films (although Dawn of the Dead may be seen as a thriller), and so I found some recent examples of thriller openings.

THE DARK KNIGHT
The opening to Christopher Nolan's second Batman film, sets up the villain, the Joker (Heath Ledger). After seeing the studio logo's we cut to an establishing shot of a skyscraper, where one of the windows explodes. It then cuts to a close up of a masked man fixing up a grapple to an opposite roof, before cross cutting to a third man, standing on the side of a road. After crossing back to the man and a third gunman going across onto the roof, we see the man on the street get picked up. Two of the men start talking about the Joker, and when his name is mentioned cuts to the guys on the roof who are fixing an alarm, and back again, to the ground trio on the ground entering a bank and starting a heist. We then cut to the pair on the roof, and see via a two shot one of the men shoot the other, after he completes his job. This continues inside after the vault is opened. The reason for this is 'one less share', however it also shows what kind of person the Joker is, not caring about anything but chaos. During the heist the bank manager tries to intervene, killing one man but being shot. At the end, we see a goon killed by a bus, where the Joker reveals himself through a closeup, telling the bank manager 'whatever doesn't kill you makes you stranger' before driving off in the getaway bus, killing the bank manager with a grenade he placed in his mouth, the pin attached to a string.

This opening shows how dangerous the Joker character is, without any sign of the Batman, and gives the theme of chaos to the audience.

INCEPTION
This film opens on a beach, after the studio logo's, without any title. We cut to a close up of Dom Cobb's face, before cutting to a child playing in the sand. We then see a foreign soldier discover Cobb and call to another troop. It then cuts to the inside of a building where two men are talking, one of the soldiers and we assume their boss. It is subtitled rather than dubbed. Cobb is then brought in, where he is seen talking to a younger man, talking about ideas using the analogy of parasites. After the speech, where Cobb reveals himself to be an 'extractor', we discover they are currently in a dream, and a war is breaking outside the building they are in. The opening to this film is used to demonstrate the idea of stealing dreams.
http://youtu.be/-VXkUzf1et4 (embedding disabled)


TERMINATOR 2: JUDGMENT DAY
T2 opens with a title card, before cutting to stock footage of traffic and children playing, setting up a normality that the audience can identify with. It then cuts to a ruined car and a skeleton inside, with a date given (2029AD). The destroyed playground is also seen while we hear Sarah Connor narrate about Judgement Day, non-diegetically. She mentions the survivors are in a war against the machines, to which we have a close up of a Terminator crushing a skull. The camera tilts up to reveal it's face, while lasers go off in the background. This cuts to war scenes where men are trying to destroy a tank. We then cut to a man walking through a passageway, while Sarah talks about Terminators being sent back in time, so we assume that we are following John Connor. We cut to a zoom on his face, which then cuts to an explosion. In the explosions foreground are the title credits, in the same font as the title logo. We cuts to different scenes on fire, so the audience can believe that this is the start of Judgment Day. After the credits, we have a zoom on the face of a Terminator through the flames, ending on an extreme close-up of his eyes.
http://youtu.be/N9YU0hQEZ5M (embedding disabled)

Narrative Structure

All stories have a common narrative structure, although it is more complicated than beginning, middle, end. 

The normal narrative structure is: equilibrium -> disequilibrium -> new equilibrium. The disequilibrium is caused by the protagonist meeting an agent of change, where he/she must go on a quest, which will lead to a new equilibrium. It can take place over one or many films (films like Lord Of the Rings are one continuous story split into three films).
Some examples of this include:
Back to the Future: Marty and Doc Brown travel back in time  and must get back to the future. Because of the events in the film, a new timeline is created.

Scott Pilgrim Vs The World: Scott Pilgrim meets Ramona Flowers and must defeat her seven evil exes in order to date her. It ends with both characters walking into the sunset, starting off a new life. This is intertwined with a secondary narrative of Scott's band winning the Battle Of the Bands (hosted by the final ex)
Inception: Dom Cobb must implant an idea into someone's mind by travelling into it. He succeeds in the end, but the ending is left purposefully ambiguous (is he still in a dream or the real world)

Sometimes the narrative structure can be flipped on it's head, such as with Chris Nolan's thriller 'Memento', where the film alternates between the reverse of the film and the chronological order, meeting at the climax, where it is only then the viewer can understand what is going on. This structure is down to the lead character having short term memory, only remembering things for a few minutes, and so he keeps things written down on photographs.

LAYER CAKE OPENING

In the opening sequence of Layer Cake, we see firstly a flashback to the beginnings of selling drugs in the criminal underworld. Then we meet X, Daniel Craig’s character (who isn’t given a name, and X’s are used in the credits) who we are shown is a brilliant drug dealer. He plans to retire, after making his £1,000,000. However, he is then told that he needs to see ‘Jimmy’ which starts the disequilibrium of the film.

The way the plot is set up is the use of flashbacks, where we see a bank robbery, some hippies taking drugs, and both groups meeting in prison. This is around the time drugs were seen as something new for criminals, and all of this uses graphic matches and match on action to show. There is also narration by Daniel Craig, which brings us up to speed on events. After this we see drugs being sold in a store, a time in the future, before they turn into pharmaceutical drugs, and this is the first shot we see of Daniel Craig. We can tell that he is the main character because of the way he moves, and that we see him clearly, whereas the robbers and hippie were not clear. The speech also tells us he is the main character. We then see him in his line of business, cutting and processing Heroin with a friend. At points it cross cuts to Amsterdam, where we see the opposite to X, a loud mouth hooligan who doesn’t respect police (he is seen kicking a police car), further showing some form of disequilibrium.

The character of X is introduced to be a nice guy, instead of just another petty criminal. They do this by saying that he won’t be around much longer, and also that he isn’t a user, due to the facemask he wears. He also appears to be quite likeable and trustworthy because of his rules, such as respecting the police and paying your associates, this means we can relate to him more. He also appears to be a businessman, not only in the drug world but outside it, he owns a letting company.

The style also helps the opening to ‘work’. There are lots of different camera techniques and ways in which the mis-en-scene work. This style means quick cuts and a better flow; we never stay in one location/time more than is needed. The use of graphic matches also helps explain the story, and characters quite well, something the introduction needs to be able to do in order to succeed and draw people in. By using graphic matches, we establish first criminals who steal from banks and shops. This becomes the drugged up hippies and how they are earning more but serving less. The criminals discover this because both sets of people are sent to the same prison. This manages to set the story up, as well as being aesthetically pleasing to the audience, and goes with the voiceover. The movement of the legalised to pharmaceutical drugs also brings us back to the real world, from X’s dream where he’ll no longer be needed.

As said before, the use of narration brings the audience up to speed on events, and what is happening in X’s life up until the film opening, so that we as the audience can understand him and how his mind works. The underlying music also helps to generate a calm feel while the past and parts in England are taking place. However when we cut to Amsterdam the music becomes more sinister, helping to show the disequilibrium which will happen here. This is also the same for the section where they are meeting Gene, who tells him that Jimmy wants to meet him. Again this shows the characters mood to the audience.

In conclusion, a mixture of camerawork, editing and location changes help make the introduction of Layer Cake work. It introduces us to both the films plot and characters very clearly, and gives the audience an indication of what will happen in the rest of the film.

The opening 10 minutes to Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story. Note that this video is mirrored, so text appears to be backwards.

The film opening I have chosen is Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, starring Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn and Justin Long. It is about a gym who must win a dodgeball tournament in order to stop the demolition of their gym by a rival company.


In this opening section (the 10 minute clip), we are introduced to all of the Average Joe's team, as well as the leader of Globogym White Goodman. Although he is the first person we see/hear, we can tell he is the antagonist by the language used by White, he is cocky( "it's your fault if you don't hate yourself to do something about it"), arrogant and also a little stupid ("we understand ugliness and fatness are genetic disorders, much like baldness"). However, the way the advert plays may be trying to trick the audience by making us start at the end, with White actually being the protagonist, and that this is the end result. we can get this from the story of him being a customer. The camera then reverse zooms onto Peter LaFleur's living room, where we see a contrast. He is the average Joe, but is down on his luck (water going off, late video's). We then see him at work, in average Joe's, where we meet the rest of the group, a group of slackers and losers in a variety of ways. We see Peter as a philosophical person, while a flashback tells us why one member of the group ends up at Average Joe's. The fact Peter allows Steve (the pirate) to skip on fees shows why he is in debt and this allows the audience to see why a banker is needed.


We see the characteristics in the characters and because of their troubles it makes us feel for them, rather than Ben Stillers corporation. It also introduces some enigma codes, such as how  are Globogym and Average Joe's related, how did the group join the gym and how are they going to get out of debt. 


The music and edits in this film show that this will be light hearted and fun. All the conventions (180 degree rule, match on action etc) are filmed so that there are little to no continuity errors. The opening music is contrast to the rest of the scene, which shows Peter is more relaxed than White is.


The film almost all based on the relationship of characters and this is what advances the plot, and this is what the section does, sets up the relationships between the Average Joe's characters.


We also see that there is humour in this section, from the cheer-leading section to Peter getting towed by locals and Steve. Most of the characters are comic figures but they are so different that none of them clash.


This is why I like the film, the story is good, the characters are relatable and although it's a comedy film, this can have serious moments, such as the Lance Armstrong conversation

Coursework Introduction

For my AS Coursework we have to create the opening 2 minutes of a feature film, and a preliminary task where someone opens a door crosses a room and has some dialogue. Both have to adhere to certain conventions such as continuity and 180 degree rule. I have decided to make the opening to a thriller film