PRELIMINARY FILMING EXERCISE

In groups of 2-3 we were asked to create a preliminary filming exercise, this was in order to get familiar with the equipment we would be using to film on this course. It also gave us practise of working in groups to create a finished piece, from filming and acting, to editing and finishing the scene.

We were asked to create 4 lines of dialogue between two actors and to incorporate different shot types within our scene. We had a 6-8 shot limit to create this scene.

In our Preliminary exercise we used a wide variety of shot types such as close up, long shot, medium long, two shot and over the shoulder/reverse over the shoulder shots. We followed the 180° line by always filming the same side of the characters on screen, even when using shot/reverse shot, we did this to keep continuity within the scene and avoid confusion for the audience. When framing our shots we always kept the focus on the character who was talking, to show the dialogue clearly and make it easy for the audience to understand. Within our piece we use both still shots and panning movements with the camera, panning was used to show movement in the corridor, which worked with the movement of the feet. In contrast we used stationary shots for the dialogue, as on screen camera movement would have been confusing to watch, we did however change shot type and position to show dialogue pattern and character change throughout the shots.

Within the shooting of the footage we forgot to include handles on the shots, so some of the shots are short and appear slightly rushed, because of this the sound within the scene is a bit rushed and so seems the scene seems unnatural, if I did this exercise again i would remember to include around 3-6seconds of handles at the start and end of eat shot in order to give the scene better flow.

KILL BILL,2003, QUENTIN TARANTINO

opening analysis
The first thing that comes into the audiences view is a quote which sets the scene for the entire film. The quote “ revenge is a dish best served cold” sets the mood for the whole film, telling the audience the film genre type and sets the scene for what is to be expected straight after the quote the film scene starts showing a woman laying on the floor. This is a strong film noir link as it shows a distorted storyline, where the outcome of an event is shown before it is explained with the story.
This distorted storyline creates an enigma for the audience to follow throughout the film .This is the aspect of the opening which holds the attention of the viewers but also links to the rest of the film without giving away the entire narrative of the whole film. The enigma in the film is the man who is out of shot. the mise en scene in the shot tells the audience the name of the man as all that is shown of him is a hand and an embroidered handkerchief with his name on.
The dialogue in this shot is very important as it familiarises the characters and shows the viewers that they know each other. This creates a stronger sense of enigma as it leaves questions (such as why is she covered in blood, what’s he done to her, why has he done it etc) unanswered.
After the main opening scene the shot goes to black and the credits start to role. The non diegetic music which sounds over the top of the credits links with the first scene and so the effect of the scene still remains in the audiences subconscious as they listen and watch over the title sequence.
I think Tarantino has listed the titles on a plain black background as it increases the sense of suspense left from the last scene and also gives the audience some thinking time about what has just happened.
Right at the end of the opening sequence the silhouette of the woman laying down is very similar to the characteristics shown in classic film noir, because of this the film immediately seems a bit darker and grittier and it also shows the focus is mainly on that one female character which makes the audience focus more of her side of the story and also makes it clear why the narrative is from the woman’s point of view within the film

ROMEO + JULIET, 1996, BAZ LUHRMANN

Opening analysis

In the opening scenes of Romeo and Juliet, the shots are fast panning and zooming shot, these are used to create establishing shots and also to put greater emphasis on the characters which are important within this scene. The tracking of Tybalt Capulet when his shoes are in shot shows the importance of his character even without exposing his face or appearance. The shots within the scene continuously move from the Montague family to the Capulet family, this shows emotions contrasting between the two and sets the Capulet family with higher power, this is backed up by the fact that when “Abra Capulet” is first introduced he walks into a low angle shot, whereas the male Montague character is shot at eyelevel, making his seem inferior to the Capulet and showing the fear linked with the Capulet family. Towards the end of the shot as dialogue speeds up, the shots transitions become more frequent, cutting from one shot to another, to create a fast action feel to the scene.

    The graphics in this scene only appear to show the names of the characters and therefore are for introduction alone. The introduction of these select characters show the audience the importance of them in the scene and that they are also likely to appear within the rest of the main film. The actual graphics themselves  are small in comparison to the whole shot and  are clearly visible so it’s clear to the audience however its set off centre and so the characters are still left as the main focus within the shot, because of this the graphics act like a label, visually introducing the characters.

   The narrative within the scene shows a definite history between the two families and because of this it creates an enigma. The audience are led to want to find out what has caused the Montague’s and Capulet’s to argue and so want to watch to see if the enigma is resolved within the film.

        The Mise En Scene shows the audience a warm location , the Montague’s are laid back and the more childish of the two families, with unbuttoned shirts and immature behaviour, whereas the Capulet’s are dressed smarter and have a mature feel to them , making them seem like the higher power between the two. The expensive cars and ownership of guns suggests wealthy backgrounds. The division between the families is reinforced with the positioning of the two families, they both stay of separate sides of the gas station, and when Benvolio Capulet comes out the door, he crosses that like subconsciously and so the fight is started.

    The sound within the scene is mostly in diegetic form, dialogue, and sound effects within the shot, however when certain characters are introduced non diegetic music is added in order to create dramatic effect and suspense.

INDIVIDUAL IDEA

My own idea for a film opening:
A man wakes up at home in his room, he has a head ache and appears confused and dazed. His phone rings and he checks, it’s a new text message asking where one of his friends is as he hasn’t been seen for 3 days. Confused as he saw the friend in question just yesterday he checks the date, he has been unconscious for 4 days and starts to wonder what happened as he cant remember anything from the 4 previous days. He goes about his day and starts having short, few second long flashbacks about the past 4 days, slowly the flashbacks start to piece together and he follows the places he sees in his flashbacks in order to find out what happened to his friend. His search goes on for a week and he finally comes to the end of the mystery of his missing friend, the dark gritty street life he was part of reveals the truth behind the missing person, and the reality behind what he has done.

KISS KISS BANG BANG, 2005,SHANE BLACK

In the opening of kiss kiss bang bang the director Shane black has used an animated opening. Because of this the whole mise-en-scene is under the directors artistic control. The opening also uses the concept of shadow very cleverly as silhouettes are used instead of the actual characters this gives the viewers a sense of “film noir” style in a neo noir format. It also creates an enigma within the opening which draws the audience in. The opening includes what appears to be a lead female character and a smart male character which could be the neo noir equivalent of an “anti hero” and a “femme fatale”. The non diegetic music in the opening also creates a slightly sinister atmosphere which in turn leads to a certain scene being set for the film ahead.

SIN CITY,2005, ROBERT RODRIGUEZ,

Sin City uses the basics of film noir in order to create a neo noir experience to a similar effect of the classic film noirs. In this opening black and white is the main visual similarity to the classic noir genre, Rodriguez uses the idea of shadow to his advantage in this seedy neo noir as the small use of colour highlights the main aspects of the film. This opening strongly shows the basic aspects of film noir in the three minutes of the opening. The character being played by josh Hartnett shows the anti hero character that is familiar to that of the type of character in classic noirs and the lady in the red dress is the “femme fatale“ the female character who deceives the anti hero, forcing him to act against his usual state of mind.