Here we are walking through some initial ideas for our film opening. These are rough early ideas, we expect them to change, but we are trying here to see if our first ideas are practical.
Saturday 27 October 2012
Evaluating Practise Film Sequence
Here is our first attempt at filming a 2 minute film sequence. We were given the murder genre as a starting point.
Sound
2. Use sound-enhancement – the crunching of the leaves when the murderer walks was perfect but was quieter in the video.
Evaluation of the Murder Scene
Planning and Storyboarding
Our group rushed through the planning stage as we were eager to start filming. The plotline was simple and very vague – there was no dialogue planned and different camera shots and angles were mentioned four times at most. Naturally, it took longer to film as we had to think about how we should film it - what to say, how the characters have to act and what camera angle we should use for a certain scene. An improvement would be to have drawn out shot-by-shot breakdowns i.e., for one shot - it would consist of a rough sketch of the wanted shot; outline details such as what’s going to happen in the shot, camera angles that will be used, dialogues, sound effects, mise-en-scene etc.
Mise-en-scene
1. Setting/Location – our original plan was to use the backstage in the Hall as our primary location. Upon filming, we encountered an inevitable inconvenience; the Hall was being used for a PE lesson. We opted for the back of the DT workshops instead as it was considered by the group as ‘spooky’. The location didn’t work well because, the scene consists of a Drama student and teacher rehearsing lines and in any situation, those two people have no reason whatsoever to be in a place like that. An improvement would be to use an unused classroom as it would also be a suitable location for a scene like that.
2. Costume – we didn’t need any drastic costumes. Our uniforms were enough as the student and teacher but we acquired a hooded jumper to conceal the murderer’s identity.
3. Actors – we only needed 3 actors; the Drama student, the Drama teacher and the murderer.
4. Lighting – we were filming outdoors and it was sunny. It did not suit the terrifying atmosphere we were trying to create. On the other hand, the bright lighting with the dark atmosphere has created an ironic effect on death because usually, when death occurs outdoors, the skies are grey, the clouds roll in and it starts to rain. An improvement would have been to film indoors; bright artificial lighting gives off a harsher and colder atmosphere in contrast to natural lighting, which gives a warmer feeling.
5. Props – we were short of props when were filming. The props we had were a piece of paper and a chair. The chair was unnecessary because our location was somewhere devoid of chairs; it seems too random and too convenient for a chair to have appeared out of nowhere – deus ex machina. The most important prop we forgot to consider was the murder weapon – we picked out a large fallen branch from our location as our murder weapon and tried to make it look like it had a sharp edge at the end. A prop that would have been useful was a Drama textbook or a book of a play to make the scene more believable.
Camerawork
While filming, we experimented with what camera shots and angles worked best for a certain scene e.g., the duologue between the student and the teacher started off as a long shot, but was then decided to be a two-shot. Although we used an over the shoulder shot to portray the student looking at the teacher storming off, it wasn’t as effective as we had hoped – an improvement was to have shot the over the shoulder shot closer to the student’s shoulder. Another shot that could be improved is the scene where we see the murderer’s footsteps; instead of filming it from a high angle, it could have been on ground level, to make the footsteps appear bigger and the murderer seem like a powerful giant.
Another improvement was to have an establishing shot. Even though the location wasn’t ideal, it would still be helpful to introduce the audience to the location.
Editing
We had a lot of footage, but ended up using only a 1/3. During editing, we compared two similar footages and chose which one was better for the final cut. We only cut videos and spliced them together; we did not use any special effects or filters at all.
Improvements:
1. Use special effects such as slowing down when the murderer raises his weapon
2. Use a cool-coloured (i.e. blue) filter to eliminate some of the natural light to create a creepier atmosphere.
3. Use transitions such as fade in to start the film and fade to black to end it.
My editing partner and I used two pieces of music: one was a poignant piece for the emotional part when the student’s theatrical efforts were rejected and refused by the teacher and another was for when the murderer’s footsteps were followed by the camera – a sinister, drum-beating piece was used.
Improvements:
1. Use sound effects as well such as the wind, chatter of students in the background, scraping of the weapon etc.
Practise Film Sequence and Evaluation
In order to prepare for our coursework, we filmed sequences that ended in a murder, then looked at different areas where we could improve our work.
Overall, I do believe our film clip was a good murder mystery as the audience followed the story watching one of the actresses being chases resulting in her falling down the stairs. As a group I think we all worked well and voiced our views and opinions which were equally heard and taken onboard. For our coursework, I hope to be able to achieve a more professional finish to the final cut. In doing this, I wish to use more of the sound editing available as this can create a better feel for films and play with the audiences emotions.
Planning and story boarding
My group and I used the story board as a basic guideline to what we were doing on film. We looked at it to plan our basic approach to filming but then abandoned it as what we had planned out would have been too difficult to film. Our film was supposed to end in a fatal fall from Rachel down the stairs, but obviously due to health and safety we couldn’t really fulfil the main aspect of the film, so instead we had to film Rachel stumbling backwards and then a black screen in hope the audience would use their imagination picture Rachel falling down the stairs. This does not mean that our film clip wasn’t effective, just that our basic plot was possibly too complicated to do.
Location
For the video clip I feel that the over location for it was actually quite effective. We chose to use some outdoor stairs for our key action as well as using a walkway between classrooms to stage the chase. The walk way was quite ideal as it was clear and narrow enough to be able to film a intimidating chase. We also managed to use synchronous sound as, as we were filming, there were other pupils in the study rooms allowing us to incorporate natural sound into our film clip which made it more believable as a story line.
Editing Decisions
Overall, I think our group made some very good editing decisions. We decided to split out group in two, splitting the film into the beginning and end. With this, my partner and I worked on the beginning of the story, attempting to use our computer skills to the max. My partner and I did find it hard to cut scenes and add new sections into the video without it looking slightly unprofessional. Yet at one specific part, my partner and I did successfully pull off a clean transition from one cut scene to another, which we both were quite happy with. At one part, we were not happy with the speed the two actresses were running at so we decided to speed up that section of film, yet the downside to that was it ended up turning the little scream into a comical carton chipmunk sound making our ending less effective.
Use of the Camera/ Tripod
Whilst using the tripod we did find it difficult to adjust the camera to how we wanted it without the tripod being unstable. Due to that, we struggled changing the cameras position smoothly and it resulted in having shaky footage. On the whole though, for our real coursework, I think better practise with the camera is necessary as it was our first time using that equipment.
Use of sound
Our film clip didn’t have any added sounds which I think did work as the film itself was too serious to have music in the background. Even with non-diegetic sound it wouldn’t have flowed with the scenes as there was always dialogue and sometimes hard to hear because of the location we shot it in.
Practise Filming Sequence
Here we tried to film a sequence from a murder / detective style film as practice for our coursework. This was supposed to last around two minutes and set the atmosphere, ending at the moment of murder. This was to help us understand how to create a mood without showing too much of the main event. We then evaluated it to see how we could improve.
Murder Scene
Planning and storyboarding
Before we started making our storyboard we decided to discuss what we wanted to happen in our murder sequence. By this I mean that we decided to come up with a story behind the murder so that we could set the scene properly and work on the build-up to the murder. I was really happy that we did this because it then meant that we could all properly put similar ideas across. We all contributed to the planning of this task which meant when making it everyone was clear with what we were doing. After we had the story in our minds we created a storyboard. We were given post-it note to stick on A3 paper that we could draw on and then add captions to. None of us were any good at drawing and thought that if we did the captions first then we could get down what we wanted to and if we had time (which we didn’t) we could then draw in the pictures. Having the storyboard really helped when we were filming as we could look at it to make sure we were filming what we wanted. We used the storyboard the whole time when we were filming and we were lost when we did not have it with us or accidently left it somewhere. I didn’t mind doing this part of the task as it helped us a lot when we were filming.
Mise-en-scène
Before we started filming we had to think about the location and the setting of our scene. The reason for this was because we wanted to make use that we chose the right setting for our scene. As we were in school we had to think about where we could film that would be appropriate for our sequence. We decided that we should just use the school as the setting so that the murder would take place in school. The reason for this is so that we did not have to look for anywhere that would not look like a school for our scene. As we were using the school for our location and theme of our sequence so our costume was just our normal sixth form uniform. We did not do our casting necessarily as a normal casting would be done. This is because we just went and started filming and whoever was not filming was the cast in the scene. I think that with the people that were cast did fit the roles properly even though it wasn’t planned this way. We did not really use any lighting in our scene as we were filming outside and wanted to get the natural feel from the audience of the location of our scene. When making our sequence we did not really need that many props, in fact we only used two props and that was the sink at the beginning for our murderer to wash their hands in. The other prop that we used was the door when our murderer goes out to find the victim. In my opinion I think that we used parts of mise-en-scène really well and then other parts could have been used a lot better.
Sound
When thinking about sound in our sequence we decided that we wanted to have a voice over in our sequence. The reason for this is because in our storyline our murderer is being controlled by a man tells her that she needs to kill her victim. We did make voice overs of a male speaking but we unfortunately did not get a chance to put them in because not all of our videos got uploaded on to our system so therefore we did not get to finish it. These were the only other sounds that we wanted because we wanted to use silence because when we were planning this it seemed like the most dramatic sound for our sequence.
Editing decisions
I found the editing part of the task the hardest. The reason for this was because this was the first time that I had ever used a ‘MAC’ properly and the first time that I had edit a movie scene. When I started to get used to using Final Cut Express and learned where the tools were, I found it a lot easier. When actually editing I you had to keep watching the videos over and over again so that you could see where you had to put things in and where you had to cut the video up. I found this difficult as I had never done it before. Now that I know how to do it I will be able to do it again.
Camera Angles
When we were planning our story we did not think too much about our camera angles. When we started actually filming is when we thought about what angles we actually wanted to use. We thought about how we could incorporate the different camera angles with our story, so we thought that we could do quite a few point of view shots from the different characters. We also did some cross cutting at the beginning of the sequence using low angle shots. We however did not really think that hard about the type of camera angles that we used. I think that if we had tried harder with this then our sequence would be a lot more effective than what it actually was.
HanishaEvaluation of my murder scenes
Planning and story board
My group and I thought carefully about how our murder scenes were going to take place and started by putting all of our ideas together. We used the story board as a guideline for what we were going to do. We didn’t always follow the story board however because we had to make a few changes to our murder scenes because the timing wouldn’t have been right. It was the least fun part of the task because it didn’t involve any camera work or acting and I think the things sometimes plan out better if they’re spontaneous. However, my group and I all had the same type of ideas so it didn’t take that long to plan out what we were going to do.
Actors
In our murder scenes, we had two main actors; Shauna and Hanisha. This is because the story was between two school girls and they fitted the part well. There were technically three people involved in the sequence but the third person is purposely heard but not seen. Megan and I didn’t act in the murder sequence but instead we dealt with the camera work. I felt that the part where Shauna murders Hanisha, is particularly good acting because it looked very real and believable.
Selecting shots and angles
In my group’s murder sequence, we used quite a lot of different angles. Our first scene was of hands being washed. We had this as a POV shot because it was supposed to be from the Shauna’s (the murderer) point of view and a POV shot provides this feature. We also had low angle shots which we used for filming Shauna and Hanisha’s feet which was another effect that we added in and this built up tension and mystery of whose feet it was. We had a few two shots as well which always featured Shauna and Hanisha. We had some close up shots as well but we weren’t able to put them in because of a lack of time for editing.
Location
St. Joan of Arc school has a variety of different locations that would be perfect for a seedy murder scene because it has dark back alley type areas, the chapel and the derelict island. We decided to have our murder scenes start of in the bathroom because it was of Shauna washing her hands and we wanted it to be the type of thing where the programme starts with the present time and basically has a flash back of the recent events. The other location that we used was the back of the sixth form block. We felt that this was a good location because it was quite seedy and quiet and it was the perfect location for a murder scene. It’s also quite a dark area as well and that was a bonus effect.
Lighting
I think my groups lighting was quite good. we had the majority of our murder scenes next to the sixth form block which was quite dark anyways and that was the kind of look we were going for, we could have enhanced our lighting by maybe adding some different filters or angles so that is something that I will focus on next time.
Sound
In our murder scenes, we had some really good sounds and some bad sounds. The good sounds started in the beginning when we filmed the feet because we had the footsteps making noise which added effect and tension to the film. Another good part of our sound design was when Shauna was going to kill Hanisha because when she was opening the door, it made a creaking noise which is the type of thing that is effective in a murder scene. On the other hand, we didn’t have any creepy music or music whatsoever because we had a slight malfunction when putting the scenes onto the computer so this let us down on the sound part.
Editing decisions
Our editing decisions were like our sound. The good part of our editing was the walking feet. We were able to cross cut Shauna’s feet and Hanisha’s feet and shows how they were both going to the same place but from different destinations. We also slowed down one set of footsteps so that it was a sort of juxtaposition. On the other hand, we weren’t able to finish our editing because we ran out of time.
Shannon
Analysis of Opening Sequences - The Reichenbach Fall
Film opening for ‘Sherlock: The Reichenbach Fall’ – First two minutes
The scene opens with a black screen and diegetic sounds such as thunder rumbling and rain splashing can be heard. It then cuts to a close-up shot of sombre-looking John Watson. We can see the emptiness in his eyes as he looks at someone off-screen. Although the camera is in shallow focus, you can see the rain falling outside the window. The effect of pathetic fallacy is used in this scene too, because whilst John is in distress, the rain is pouring outside. Also, the sound of the rain can be used as a sound motif because the splashing can be a magnified version of falling tears. Ella, his therapist speaks to him off-screen and he responds in the same shot.
The setting is in Ella’s therapy room and takes place sometime after the death of Sherlock Holmes. Concerning the costume, John is wearing a dark grey, almost black shirt which reflects his sorrow and him mourning the death of Sherlock. Alternatively, Ella is wearing bright colours, which signifies that she is indirectly unaffected by Sherlock’s death. They are both wearing casual, everyday clothing, but Ella has a relaxed but reasonable outfit to maintain professionalism as John’s therapist.
Props used in this scene are armchairs, ornaments and flowers to make the patient feel relaxed while they are in the room. Also, there is a box of tissues on the side table next to the patient’s armchair.
Close-up of John displaying his sadness. Also shallow focus, to have all the focus on John.
The next shot is of a two-shot and a long shot filmed at a low angle, level with their feet. We see Ella in this shot, and we can see that although they are sitting close to each other, they both have their legs crossed – this body language indicates that they both have closed minds. Ella’s crossed legs are more relaxed than John, because she has nothing to hide but cannot divulge any information about herself in order to maintain a professional relationship. On the other hand, John, as the patient is suggested to talk about his feelings, but he’s a little reluctant to talk any more than a couple lines of dialogue.
The scene then cuts to a mid-shot of Ella, who maintains a neutral and professional facial expression, careful not to provoke John too much. Despite the heavy rain outside, rain is not pounding on the window behind her and there are trees outside her window, signifying that she still has life left in her. In contrast, when we cut to John’s long mid-shot, we can see that the heavy rain is beating down on the window behind him which echoes his grief and the fact that there are no trees or any plants indicate that he is hollow and that he feels like there is no life left in him. The use of rule of thirds and edge of the frame suggests that he is distant and reserved from everyone.
The scene cuts back to Ella’s mid-shot again, but this time, she is leaning forward, towards John, trying to get close to him to encourage him to let his feelings out. It transitions to a closer mid-shot of John, trying to talk about his feelings, pausing every now and then, when the camera zooms in to capture a close-up of him, his facial expression shows him grimacing as he tries to say the words, “My best friend, Sherlock Holmes, is dead.”
Although the lighting is natural, it has a stony, cold feeling because of the rainy weather. The lighting casted on John depicts definitive contrasting of shadows – this illustrates that he is trying to hide in the dark to avoid showing his emotions to Ella. It could also signify that he is in the dark about Sherlock’s true mortality status – John does not know that Sherlock is still alive. Ella has more light casted on her because she has nothing to hide.
Screenshots
Close-up of John displaying his sadness. Also shallow focus, to have all the focus on John.
Two-shot in a long shot filmed at a low angle. Shows the interactions and the relationship between John and Ella.
Mid-shot of Ella, sitting on an armchair, relaxed. Follows the rule-of-thirds, this allows the window to be seen.
Similar to Ella’s mid-shot and rule-of-thirds, window can also be seen. In this shot, as well as seeing the windows, John’s expression can be seen clearly.
Similar to Ella’s previous mid-shot, difference is that she’s leaning in to try and interact with John.
Closer mid-shot of John frowning, starting to talk about Sherlock’s death.
Close-up of John grimacing as he struggles to get the words out.
We could:
1. Use the weather in the same way when we reach the part where the girl wakes up from her dream
2. Use close ups to show distressed facial expressions
3. Add a blueish filter to replicate this mournful lighting
We could:
1. Use the weather in the same way when we reach the part where the girl wakes up from her dream
2. Use close ups to show distressed facial expressions
3. Add a blueish filter to replicate this mournful lighting
Analysis of Opening Sequences - Men Who Stare at Goats
Film opening for ‘The Men Who Stare at Goats’ – First two minutes
The film starts with credits appearing on a black background accompanied by easy-listening music. After the credits, the scene fades in from black to introduce us to a close-up of a man in his late 40s to early 50s staring intently at the camera. The close-up is near enough to identify the sweat beads forming on his forehead and the scowl lines between his eyebrows – as the audience, we can tell that he is concentrating on something intensely. This might well be one of the men who stare at goats from the title. The close-up also shows his greying moustache which further supports that his age is 40+. In the background we can hear the diegetic sound of a typewriter.
The next camera shot is a mid-shot of the man sitting on his desk. At this point, we are starting to get to know him because as he sits on his desk, still concentrating on something off-screen, subtitles appear at the bottom-left hand corner, “Brigadier General Hopgood/U.S. Army Intelligence/ Fort Bragg, NC 1983” and his identity is further backed by the Army uniform he is wearing and the tanned skin also suggests work spent under the sun. The mid-shot also shows an office as the background – it has the American flag which suggests that he is a patriotic man; the certificates on his wall shows that he is an educated man; the neat desk also tells us that he is a well-organized man.
The camera shot then goes back to close-up to capture his facial expression as he speaks to a colleague off-screen. This positions the audience to feel like we can hear him better because he seems closer to us. The long shot of an office wall with frames at the very centre encourages the audience to assume that this was his object of concentration earlier and that he might steal the frames or do something with it. As he starts to stand up, the camera pulls back into a mid-shot and the camera moves with him, keeping the same distance – as if the audience is being respectable because of his rank in the army. The typewriting sound from earlier now changes into a military march-type music. He stops for a moment, giving us more idea of the office and he speeds past his colleague, whom we get a brief glimpse of, also dressed in an Army uniform. Hopgood runs head straight into the wall and this creates a diegetic sound as he bumps and falls backwards into the floor. In real-life situations, falling backwards wouldn’t create a sound as loud as that. This type of effect is used to emphasise the impact of the fall, as well as colliding with the wall.
On the floor, Hopgood is lying down and the camera shot is taken from his waist upwards at a high angle. This makes us feel like we’re looking down on him, but the high angle is low enough as if we have crouched down to his level as if to help him. The scene cuts to a black background with the text written in white, “More of this is true than you would believe.”, as if to tell the audience that although the previous scene was humorous and seems ridiculous, it is in actual fact real, at least in the universe of the film. This makes the situation even more comical.
The scene switches to an establishing shot of a house and a driveway, in which a car is approaching the house. The lighting is a soft sunlight therefore, we can tell that the scene takes place during mid-morning to noon (the subtitles on the bottom-left hand corner states that the setting is in ‘Ann Arbor, Michigan’ and it takes place in autumn 2002, therefore the lighting will be softer).
The camera switches to a different viewpoint so that the car appears to move towards the camera. The scene cuts back to the original establishing shot and a man then gets out of the car, donning a light, trench coat – this then becomes a long shot since a person appears in it. During this scene, a non-diegetic sound is produced – the man starts a narrative about his life and how he got into the situation he currently is in now, giving the audience a backstory.
When the scene changes to the interior of the house, he starts to give the backstory about his interviewee. It starts off with a close-up of a man holding a VHS tape and we see the interviewee’s face as the camera zooms out from the close-up. The camera pans to the right, bringing in the main character in to the shot, making it into a two-shot. Both characters are sitting at a table but are at the edges of the frame, this suggests an established distance between them even though they have just met. They both have an over-the-shoulder shot in an unconventional way – in most films, an over the shoulder shot is capturing the character who is speaking. In this film, instead of capturing the one speaking, it does the opposite; it captures the other party’s reaction to the dialogue. The scene then goes back to the two shot and it becomes a group shot when the interviewee’s mother starts to serve tea between them.
Screenshots
Close-up shot of Hopgood staring intently at the camera, clearing concentrating on something off-screen. Shot is also shallow focus; this creates an effect that that could signify that his concentration is sharp and that he is very focussed.
Mid-shot of Hopgood sitting at his desk, with his fingers interlocked and pulling the same expression he had with the close-up earlier. We get to know more about him here – we can now tell that he belongs in the Army and is American judging by the uniform he’s donning and the American flag at his right hand side. The subtitles indicate these too.
Hopgood’s POV shot – the other side of his desk. This shot displays a few frames hanging onto a wall, one of them containing the map of America, which again suggests that he is a patriotic person. The frames are dead centre on the wall; we assume that it is these things Hopgood was staring at intently.
Mid-shot of Hopgood standing up, still looking at the wall with the same expression in his close-up and the other mid-shot. He takes his position as he gets ready to run.
Text against a black background to tell the audience that despite the previous scene being comical, it is actually real and occur frequently.
Establishing shot of the next location shows a friendly neighbourhood with a good-sized house as the main focus since it is in the middle and is caught by our eyes immediately.
Close-up of interviewee’s VHS tape. Shows that the VHS tape is instructional and starring himself.
Over-the-shoulder shot facing the interviewee, purpose of shot is to capture his reactions to what the main character is saying.
Over-the-shoulder shot facing the main character, purpose of shot is to capture his reactions to what the interviewee is saying.
Two-shot turned into a group shot when the interviewee’s mother appears with tea.
We could:
1. Start with close up and pull back rather than other way round as is more usual for establishing
2. Film conversation between sisters from slightly unusualangles to show mise-en-scene
The film starts with credits appearing on a black background accompanied by easy-listening music. After the credits, the scene fades in from black to introduce us to a close-up of a man in his late 40s to early 50s staring intently at the camera. The close-up is near enough to identify the sweat beads forming on his forehead and the scowl lines between his eyebrows – as the audience, we can tell that he is concentrating on something intensely. This might well be one of the men who stare at goats from the title. The close-up also shows his greying moustache which further supports that his age is 40+. In the background we can hear the diegetic sound of a typewriter.
The next camera shot is a mid-shot of the man sitting on his desk. At this point, we are starting to get to know him because as he sits on his desk, still concentrating on something off-screen, subtitles appear at the bottom-left hand corner, “Brigadier General Hopgood/U.S. Army Intelligence/ Fort Bragg, NC 1983” and his identity is further backed by the Army uniform he is wearing and the tanned skin also suggests work spent under the sun. The mid-shot also shows an office as the background – it has the American flag which suggests that he is a patriotic man; the certificates on his wall shows that he is an educated man; the neat desk also tells us that he is a well-organized man.
The camera shot then goes back to close-up to capture his facial expression as he speaks to a colleague off-screen. This positions the audience to feel like we can hear him better because he seems closer to us. The long shot of an office wall with frames at the very centre encourages the audience to assume that this was his object of concentration earlier and that he might steal the frames or do something with it. As he starts to stand up, the camera pulls back into a mid-shot and the camera moves with him, keeping the same distance – as if the audience is being respectable because of his rank in the army. The typewriting sound from earlier now changes into a military march-type music. He stops for a moment, giving us more idea of the office and he speeds past his colleague, whom we get a brief glimpse of, also dressed in an Army uniform. Hopgood runs head straight into the wall and this creates a diegetic sound as he bumps and falls backwards into the floor. In real-life situations, falling backwards wouldn’t create a sound as loud as that. This type of effect is used to emphasise the impact of the fall, as well as colliding with the wall.
On the floor, Hopgood is lying down and the camera shot is taken from his waist upwards at a high angle. This makes us feel like we’re looking down on him, but the high angle is low enough as if we have crouched down to his level as if to help him. The scene cuts to a black background with the text written in white, “More of this is true than you would believe.”, as if to tell the audience that although the previous scene was humorous and seems ridiculous, it is in actual fact real, at least in the universe of the film. This makes the situation even more comical.
The scene switches to an establishing shot of a house and a driveway, in which a car is approaching the house. The lighting is a soft sunlight therefore, we can tell that the scene takes place during mid-morning to noon (the subtitles on the bottom-left hand corner states that the setting is in ‘Ann Arbor, Michigan’ and it takes place in autumn 2002, therefore the lighting will be softer).
The camera switches to a different viewpoint so that the car appears to move towards the camera. The scene cuts back to the original establishing shot and a man then gets out of the car, donning a light, trench coat – this then becomes a long shot since a person appears in it. During this scene, a non-diegetic sound is produced – the man starts a narrative about his life and how he got into the situation he currently is in now, giving the audience a backstory.
When the scene changes to the interior of the house, he starts to give the backstory about his interviewee. It starts off with a close-up of a man holding a VHS tape and we see the interviewee’s face as the camera zooms out from the close-up. The camera pans to the right, bringing in the main character in to the shot, making it into a two-shot. Both characters are sitting at a table but are at the edges of the frame, this suggests an established distance between them even though they have just met. They both have an over-the-shoulder shot in an unconventional way – in most films, an over the shoulder shot is capturing the character who is speaking. In this film, instead of capturing the one speaking, it does the opposite; it captures the other party’s reaction to the dialogue. The scene then goes back to the two shot and it becomes a group shot when the interviewee’s mother starts to serve tea between them.
Screenshots
Close-up shot of Hopgood staring intently at the camera, clearing concentrating on something off-screen. Shot is also shallow focus; this creates an effect that that could signify that his concentration is sharp and that he is very focussed.
Mid-shot of Hopgood sitting at his desk, with his fingers interlocked and pulling the same expression he had with the close-up earlier. We get to know more about him here – we can now tell that he belongs in the Army and is American judging by the uniform he’s donning and the American flag at his right hand side. The subtitles indicate these too.
Hopgood’s POV shot – the other side of his desk. This shot displays a few frames hanging onto a wall, one of them containing the map of America, which again suggests that he is a patriotic person. The frames are dead centre on the wall; we assume that it is these things Hopgood was staring at intently.
Mid-shot of Hopgood standing up, still looking at the wall with the same expression in his close-up and the other mid-shot. He takes his position as he gets ready to run.
Another mid-shot of Hopgood, this time, with his face planted on to the wall. Initially, as the audience, we assume that he was going for the door – but as the story progresses, we learn that in fact, he wanted to walk through the wall.
High angle shot of Hopgood on the floor, having been defeated by the wall. His closed eyes imply that the force of his collision was painful.
Text against a black background to tell the audience that despite the previous scene being comical, it is actually real and occur frequently.
Establishing shot of the next location shows a friendly neighbourhood with a good-sized house as the main focus since it is in the middle and is caught by our eyes immediately.
Close-up of interviewee’s VHS tape. Shows that the VHS tape is instructional and starring himself.
Over-the-shoulder shot facing the interviewee, purpose of shot is to capture his reactions to what the main character is saying.
Over-the-shoulder shot facing the main character, purpose of shot is to capture his reactions to what the interviewee is saying.
Two-shot turned into a group shot when the interviewee’s mother appears with tea.
We could:
1. Start with close up and pull back rather than other way round as is more usual for establishing
2. Film conversation between sisters from slightly unusualangles to show mise-en-scene
Analysis of Opening Sequences - Children of Men
Film opening for ‘Children of Men’ – First two minutes
After the credits, the screen stays black while diegetic sounds can be heard – news reports about the stabbing of the world’s youngest person, ‘Baby Diego’. The scene appears with no transition to a crowded group shot in a café, judging by the sandwiches in the shelves and the words ‘hot chocolate’, ‘cappuccino’ and ‘americano’ painted on the wall. The group of people appear to be stunned by the news, other diegetic sounds that can be heard in this scene are women sobbing and the occasional quiet murmur of a conversation. This shot is also taken from a high angle as if the camera was the television the people were watching from. The mixture of blues, greys, blacks and purples give the scene a dark and gloomy atmosphere, reflecting the nature of the news.
A man, who looks to be main character, makes his way through the crowded café to get to the counter and buy a coffee. His disinterest in the upsetting news is shown by him not looking up even once towards the television. After having received his coffee, he then proceeds to make his way out again, the camera from the high angle trailing after him. The viewpoint of the camera looks like a POV shot because the height of the view is almost the same compared with the main character’s eye level and before it went out the door, it looked at the TV above the doorframe and back down to its eye level.
Once out of the door, the camera creates an establishing shot by looking around the city – it depicts swarming pedestrians on the pavement and a jam-packed road. The subtitles, ‘London, 16th November 2027’ then appear, giving us more information about the setting. A futuristic vehicle then races past the shot, which the camera then follows and as the vehicle speeds into the distance, our attention is caught by the main character, who is now starting to walk down the pavement. The camera then goes back to following him, keeping a respectable distance between him and the camera, keeping the shot a long shot.
The setting is in a futuristic London, unlike other sci-fi films, Children of Men is almost as realistic as possible – the advances in technology is subtler, nothing more than floating holographic televisions/monitors, whereas other films have flying cars, robotic pets, communicating robots, spaceships. It also maintains the simple features of the modern world as we see it today i.e. the traditional way of making coffee, the use of cars and buses, lack of bins (there were abandoned blackbags on the pavement).
The costume is still neutral, similar to what we wear today and no robot-like shields or video enabled sunglasses. Most of the people who appear in the scene wear darker colours to echo the miserable atmosphere of a dystopian society.
The lighting used comes from artificial fluorescent bulbs and a ‘cold’ sunlight (due to the cloudy weather). These lights are emitted in hues of white, blue and grey which gives the environment a bitter and cold feeling, in contrast to warm sunlight where everything appears in colours of gold, orange and brown. The use of diegetic sound makes the scene seem ‘realistic’, such as the news reports, the music for the tribute from the news, the sobbing women, dialogue (transactional conversation) and sound of traffic – mixture of honking and sputtering engines from old cars.
Screenshots
A black blank screen. During this, news reports on the stabbing of ‘Baby Diego’ can be heard.
Crowded group shot, taken from a high angle. Everyone in the shot are looking up at the television, judging by the sombre expressions on their faces, they are affected by the news.
Same shot as above, but this time, with the main character in the middle, counting his change, not looking up even once at what everyone else is looking at. Not the slightest perturbed by the news.
Shot behind main character’s back, almost the same height of what main character’s POV would be like. Low angle, camera pointed directly at television, as if watching it.
Establishing shot #1, can see streets of London, easily identified by the construction and design of the architecture and the fact that people drive on the left and that the drivers are on the right. Shows cloudy sky – typical British weather.
Long shot of main character from behind, like the camera is following the main character, keeps a distance, as if stalking.
We could:
1. Start with a dramatic scene - the fallout from it dictates the rest of the plot
2. Track one character with the camera to feel as if weare in the scene with them
After the credits, the screen stays black while diegetic sounds can be heard – news reports about the stabbing of the world’s youngest person, ‘Baby Diego’. The scene appears with no transition to a crowded group shot in a café, judging by the sandwiches in the shelves and the words ‘hot chocolate’, ‘cappuccino’ and ‘americano’ painted on the wall. The group of people appear to be stunned by the news, other diegetic sounds that can be heard in this scene are women sobbing and the occasional quiet murmur of a conversation. This shot is also taken from a high angle as if the camera was the television the people were watching from. The mixture of blues, greys, blacks and purples give the scene a dark and gloomy atmosphere, reflecting the nature of the news.
A man, who looks to be main character, makes his way through the crowded café to get to the counter and buy a coffee. His disinterest in the upsetting news is shown by him not looking up even once towards the television. After having received his coffee, he then proceeds to make his way out again, the camera from the high angle trailing after him. The viewpoint of the camera looks like a POV shot because the height of the view is almost the same compared with the main character’s eye level and before it went out the door, it looked at the TV above the doorframe and back down to its eye level.
Once out of the door, the camera creates an establishing shot by looking around the city – it depicts swarming pedestrians on the pavement and a jam-packed road. The subtitles, ‘London, 16th November 2027’ then appear, giving us more information about the setting. A futuristic vehicle then races past the shot, which the camera then follows and as the vehicle speeds into the distance, our attention is caught by the main character, who is now starting to walk down the pavement. The camera then goes back to following him, keeping a respectable distance between him and the camera, keeping the shot a long shot.
The setting is in a futuristic London, unlike other sci-fi films, Children of Men is almost as realistic as possible – the advances in technology is subtler, nothing more than floating holographic televisions/monitors, whereas other films have flying cars, robotic pets, communicating robots, spaceships. It also maintains the simple features of the modern world as we see it today i.e. the traditional way of making coffee, the use of cars and buses, lack of bins (there were abandoned blackbags on the pavement).
The costume is still neutral, similar to what we wear today and no robot-like shields or video enabled sunglasses. Most of the people who appear in the scene wear darker colours to echo the miserable atmosphere of a dystopian society.
The lighting used comes from artificial fluorescent bulbs and a ‘cold’ sunlight (due to the cloudy weather). These lights are emitted in hues of white, blue and grey which gives the environment a bitter and cold feeling, in contrast to warm sunlight where everything appears in colours of gold, orange and brown. The use of diegetic sound makes the scene seem ‘realistic’, such as the news reports, the music for the tribute from the news, the sobbing women, dialogue (transactional conversation) and sound of traffic – mixture of honking and sputtering engines from old cars.
Screenshots
A black blank screen. During this, news reports on the stabbing of ‘Baby Diego’ can be heard.
Crowded group shot, taken from a high angle. Everyone in the shot are looking up at the television, judging by the sombre expressions on their faces, they are affected by the news.
Same shot as above, but this time, with the main character in the middle, counting his change, not looking up even once at what everyone else is looking at. Not the slightest perturbed by the news.
Shot behind main character’s back, almost the same height of what main character’s POV would be like. Low angle, camera pointed directly at television, as if watching it.
Establishing shot #1, can see streets of London, easily identified by the construction and design of the architecture and the fact that people drive on the left and that the drivers are on the right. Shows cloudy sky – typical British weather.
Establishing shot #2, panned from Establishing shot #2, following motorcycle to transition to next scene. Subtitles ‘London, 16th November 2027’ to indicate setting.
Long shot of main character from behind, like the camera is following the main character, keeps a distance, as if stalking.
We could:
1. Start with a dramatic scene - the fallout from it dictates the rest of the plot
2. Track one character with the camera to feel as if weare in the scene with them
Analysing Opening Sequences - Children of Men
Scene Summaries – Children of Men
The film starts with four slides of titles and credits with a voice over which appears to be a news man reading the main news of that day. The newsreader then leads onto the main headlining news which appears to be a death of the youngest person on the planet. This section of diegetic dialogue cues the opening group shot in which we see a middle aged man looking up, watching something. The people in the scene are not talking as they are fixed to the TV screen. A man interrupts the fixed crowd to get to the front of what appears to be a café of some sort. The man orders a black coffee and doesn’t take much interest in the news, in contrast with the other characters. As the man is paying for his coffee, he looks up and we see a POV shot of what is on the screen. The viewing of the TV reveals effectively the date when this film is set which is in the future of 2027. The man then turns away and walks out the door; we hear a few sobs from the crowd creating a sense of strong emotion towards the apparent youngest man on earth. The man then leaves and turns left and the camera turns right showing an establishing shot of London in 2027, which gives the feel of a dull emotion as it almost reflects the man’s emotion towards the death. The establishing shot colour palette appears to be quite dark and the costumes that the characters are in are also quite dark and dirty. We then see some forms of transport such as a bus and motorbike showing us that the forms of transport haven’t actually changed even though it is set in the future suggesting that technology hasn’t moved with the times. There then is a large explosion to which everyone panics and screams. This explosion finishes the 2 minute time frame leaving a cliff hanger. Very little actually happens in the first 2 minutes yet it establishes where we are and who the possible main character is. The man that walks out of the store leaves us with the impression that he has maybe something to do with the death as he shows such a lack of emotion in comparison with the other characters in the store. The camera appears to follow the man, leading into us believing that this film will be from his point of view as the camera captures the man as if it was a real POV shot.
Screen Shots- Children Of Men
This group shot opens the film. It simple shows a group of people watching the news in a coffee shop yet it is breaking news. This shot captures the people’s emotions as they look quite distressed.
This is the next shot to which a man comes into the shop to get a coffee. The man appears not to take any notice of the news or the people around him giving him a more arrogant first impression. This shot also shows us what is going on in the news as there is another TV screen in the background revealing to us the situation.
This POV shot is a useful way to show us what the current date the film is set in.
This shot tells us the date and the city the film is starting in which explains the colour scheme as it would be cold in November so the clothes of the public are quite dark reflecting the weather.
The film starts with four slides of titles and credits with a voice over which appears to be a news man reading the main news of that day. The newsreader then leads onto the main headlining news which appears to be a death of the youngest person on the planet. This section of diegetic dialogue cues the opening group shot in which we see a middle aged man looking up, watching something. The people in the scene are not talking as they are fixed to the TV screen. A man interrupts the fixed crowd to get to the front of what appears to be a café of some sort. The man orders a black coffee and doesn’t take much interest in the news, in contrast with the other characters. As the man is paying for his coffee, he looks up and we see a POV shot of what is on the screen. The viewing of the TV reveals effectively the date when this film is set which is in the future of 2027. The man then turns away and walks out the door; we hear a few sobs from the crowd creating a sense of strong emotion towards the apparent youngest man on earth. The man then leaves and turns left and the camera turns right showing an establishing shot of London in 2027, which gives the feel of a dull emotion as it almost reflects the man’s emotion towards the death. The establishing shot colour palette appears to be quite dark and the costumes that the characters are in are also quite dark and dirty. We then see some forms of transport such as a bus and motorbike showing us that the forms of transport haven’t actually changed even though it is set in the future suggesting that technology hasn’t moved with the times. There then is a large explosion to which everyone panics and screams. This explosion finishes the 2 minute time frame leaving a cliff hanger. Very little actually happens in the first 2 minutes yet it establishes where we are and who the possible main character is. The man that walks out of the store leaves us with the impression that he has maybe something to do with the death as he shows such a lack of emotion in comparison with the other characters in the store. The camera appears to follow the man, leading into us believing that this film will be from his point of view as the camera captures the man as if it was a real POV shot.
Screen Shots- Children Of Men
This group shot opens the film. It simple shows a group of people watching the news in a coffee shop yet it is breaking news. This shot captures the people’s emotions as they look quite distressed.
This is the next shot to which a man comes into the shop to get a coffee. The man appears not to take any notice of the news or the people around him giving him a more arrogant first impression. This shot also shows us what is going on in the news as there is another TV screen in the background revealing to us the situation.
This POV shot is a useful way to show us what the current date the film is set in.
This establishing shot shows us the future of London is 2027. We are shown TV screen which are on the sides of tall buildings which are showing the news as well as a banner that runs across an older looking building which is implying that in this future London there is more crime.
This shot tells us the date and the city the film is starting in which explains the colour scheme as it would be cold in November so the clothes of the public are quite dark reflecting the weather.
This shot shows the camera following the possible main character walking through the busy streets. This could suggest that he is a business man of some sort as he is dressed smartly.
Titles and Credits- Children Of Men
There are 5 separate title slides which are shown before the film actually starts. There is not a slide to which it states what the film is called, the title slides are only showing the logos of the companies that have something to do with film, and then leads into a plain black screen which then starts the action. The colour scheme is black with white text which is consistent throughout. These slides just provide the necessary information instantly without distracting the audience.
In the first 2 minutes of the film there is no music, only diegetic ambient sounds. The film starts with a voice over which is the news which everyone can hear and then as the man starts to walk out of the shop, we hear the sounds of a busy high street with cars and people. This does not set the genre of the film but suggests that what the news headline was about relates to the film. There is no dialogue in the scene apart from when the man is trying to get to the front to buy a coffee when he says only simple words.
Analysing Opening Sequences - The men Who Stare At Goats
Scene summaries- Men Who Stare at Goats
As the film starts, the credits fade from black to a close up of a man staring intently at the camera. The camera viewpoint reveals that he is in a camouflage patterned jacket which instantly connects to the army. The opening scene then fades out into a mid-shot of the man sitting behind his desk, still staring intently at something. In the bottom left hand corner, the shot establishes who the character actually is by specifying who he is “Brigadier General Hopgood” and the division he works in “U.S Army Intelligence” as well as establishing where the scene is taking place which is in North Carolina and the year, 1983. We then cut back to a close up of the General. We then become aware of what the General is looking at as the camera changes to a POV shot which reveals that he is actually staring at a wall. The General then proceeds to talk to another man know as Boon who is sitting at another desk in his room, sharing little dialogue. The General gets up and once again stares at the wall before running at it to which he hopes to run through yet fails and runs into the wall and falls backwards. The camera then films him from a high angle from waist upwards so that we can see his facial expressions. The scene then fades to black and text is presented to reveal a back story to us. It then cuts to an establishing shot of a house which a man (Bob Wilton) pulls up to in a red jeep. Once again the bottom left hand corner sets the scene by revealing that this scene is set 19 years later in Michigan in the autumn. Bob then gets out of his car, and walks towards the house. During this, there is a voice over to which Bob is explaining his job and how it is the beginning of the story which could be seen as the story of the men who stared at goats. Bob is seen to be interviewing a man who claims to have a psychic power. The scene opens with a close up of the DVD which appears to be the interviewee’s own film. He then passes it to Bob who takes an intriguing look at it which is shown using a mid shot and two shot showing that they don’t know each other very well as there is an obvious gap between them. Shot / reverse shot is used to show Bob’s pretend interest in the DVD itself. Bob then asks the interviewee a question to which his mother enters carrying a tray of tea and biscuits and a mid shot is used to keep all the characters in the same shot. This then triggers the interviewee to start answering Bob’s questions to which Bob pretends to write down notes, a POV shot is used to show exactly what Bob is writing which is a cheeky comment about the man. Very little happens in the first two minutes yet the impression is given to us is that the journalist will be one of the main leads in the film, as it appears to be his journey to researching into the men who stare at goats. The General at the beginning of the story might have some significant part in the film as it was quite strange for him to announce to his colleague Boon that he was “going into the next office” and run at the wall instead of using the door as this specific moment must connect somehow to the overall theme of the film.
The opening shot is a close up of one of the characters in the film. It just shows the character’s face with the sweat beads on his face, showing his deep concentration. We can also briefly make out his army uniform giving us the sense of power and possible ranking of the man.
This mid shot reveals more about the character in the opening close up. We see a neat desk as well as certificates that are hanging on the wall behind him suggesting that he likes to excel and do things properly. This shot also reflects on the character’s status as he appears to have his own office with a name place on it too.
This POV shot allows us to see exactly what the character was staring so intently at. It does not reveal much as we can only see a door and 3 pictures hanging on the wall. Yet it does show that this General has quite a large office showing his status must be quite high and respected in the army.
The text on this shot is an almost light hearted joke aimed at the audience as the scene before we witness the General running at a wall in hope to run through it. This piece of the text is a starting point for the next seen which is the main plot to the story itself.
This establishing shot allows the voice over to be listened to properly as the only action taking place is Bob walking from his car to the front door. This sets the scene to which allows for an easy transition for the scene taking place inside the house next.
The close up of the DVD clearly illustrates what the reporter (Bob) came for. At this point the voice point is still on going over the scene with no dialogue. The DVD has also got bright colours used on its front cover whereas the man holding it is dressed in a dark purple top allowing the DVD to be the main focus.
As the film starts, the credits fade from black to a close up of a man staring intently at the camera. The camera viewpoint reveals that he is in a camouflage patterned jacket which instantly connects to the army. The opening scene then fades out into a mid-shot of the man sitting behind his desk, still staring intently at something. In the bottom left hand corner, the shot establishes who the character actually is by specifying who he is “Brigadier General Hopgood” and the division he works in “U.S Army Intelligence” as well as establishing where the scene is taking place which is in North Carolina and the year, 1983. We then cut back to a close up of the General. We then become aware of what the General is looking at as the camera changes to a POV shot which reveals that he is actually staring at a wall. The General then proceeds to talk to another man know as Boon who is sitting at another desk in his room, sharing little dialogue. The General gets up and once again stares at the wall before running at it to which he hopes to run through yet fails and runs into the wall and falls backwards. The camera then films him from a high angle from waist upwards so that we can see his facial expressions. The scene then fades to black and text is presented to reveal a back story to us. It then cuts to an establishing shot of a house which a man (Bob Wilton) pulls up to in a red jeep. Once again the bottom left hand corner sets the scene by revealing that this scene is set 19 years later in Michigan in the autumn. Bob then gets out of his car, and walks towards the house. During this, there is a voice over to which Bob is explaining his job and how it is the beginning of the story which could be seen as the story of the men who stared at goats. Bob is seen to be interviewing a man who claims to have a psychic power. The scene opens with a close up of the DVD which appears to be the interviewee’s own film. He then passes it to Bob who takes an intriguing look at it which is shown using a mid shot and two shot showing that they don’t know each other very well as there is an obvious gap between them. Shot / reverse shot is used to show Bob’s pretend interest in the DVD itself. Bob then asks the interviewee a question to which his mother enters carrying a tray of tea and biscuits and a mid shot is used to keep all the characters in the same shot. This then triggers the interviewee to start answering Bob’s questions to which Bob pretends to write down notes, a POV shot is used to show exactly what Bob is writing which is a cheeky comment about the man. Very little happens in the first two minutes yet the impression is given to us is that the journalist will be one of the main leads in the film, as it appears to be his journey to researching into the men who stare at goats. The General at the beginning of the story might have some significant part in the film as it was quite strange for him to announce to his colleague Boon that he was “going into the next office” and run at the wall instead of using the door as this specific moment must connect somehow to the overall theme of the film.
Screen Shots- Men Who Stare At Goats
The opening shot is a close up of one of the characters in the film. It just shows the character’s face with the sweat beads on his face, showing his deep concentration. We can also briefly make out his army uniform giving us the sense of power and possible ranking of the man.
This mid shot reveals more about the character in the opening close up. We see a neat desk as well as certificates that are hanging on the wall behind him suggesting that he likes to excel and do things properly. This shot also reflects on the character’s status as he appears to have his own office with a name place on it too.
This POV shot allows us to see exactly what the character was staring so intently at. It does not reveal much as we can only see a door and 3 pictures hanging on the wall. Yet it does show that this General has quite a large office showing his status must be quite high and respected in the army.
The text on this shot is an almost light hearted joke aimed at the audience as the scene before we witness the General running at a wall in hope to run through it. This piece of the text is a starting point for the next seen which is the main plot to the story itself.
This establishing shot allows the voice over to be listened to properly as the only action taking place is Bob walking from his car to the front door. This sets the scene to which allows for an easy transition for the scene taking place inside the house next.
The close up of the DVD clearly illustrates what the reporter (Bob) came for. At this point the voice point is still on going over the scene with no dialogue. The DVD has also got bright colours used on its front cover whereas the man holding it is dressed in a dark purple top allowing the DVD to be the main focus.
The mid shot here allows the entrance of the man’s mother to be clearly noticed. Unlike the others, the mother is too dressed in brighter colours refreshing the scene from just an interview.
Titles and Credits- Men Who Stare At Goats
There are six separate title slides before Men Who Stare at Goats actually begins. All the title slides are production and distribution company credits and logos. The colour scheme is black with white writing except for the very first company credit “Momentum Pictures” which is on a sky blue background as it leads into the starting of the film credits. The slides show the companies that have sponsored the film and offer no distraction as they are simply providing basic information.
Use of Sound- Men Who Stare At Goats
From the second title slide there is a little soft orchestral, bubbly, non- diegetic music leading into the actual start of the film when it dies down so that all you can hear is a quiet shaker in the background. This piece of music makes the scene quite light hearted yet is contrasting to the General as he appears to be quite a serious character. The music stops as the General prepares to run at the wall, yet there is the odd ticking in the background, making it slightly mysterious. The sound that the General makes when he runs into the wall is diegetic as Boon heard it as well as the people in the other room.
The same music is repeated in the next scene yet it is a fast pace. The music in this scene is loud at the start yet lowers when Bob starts his voiceover.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)