Film

Evaluation

Evaluation

Task: to create the opening of a feature length film of my chosen genre.

Research

In order to plan for the task I watched and researched a number of film openings. The genre I chose was action, I watched he opening few minutes of ‘Casino Royale’, ‘Sleuth’, ‘Saving Private Ryan’ and ‘Sin City’, these are films I like, and are similar to the style I wanted to achieve in my film. I found that some of these films had sub-genres such as horror or crime, making them appeal to wider audiences.

I made notes on the films, looking at the way it is filmed and edited as well as themes of the genre so that I could begin to think of ideas for my film. I looked for generic convention that I saw in all of the films and made notes on them, this way I could best recreate the genre in my film.

Many of these films were shot in black and white, they used unusual high and low angle shots, with harsh lighting. I liked the camera angles used in ‘Sleuth’, the lighting used in ‘Casino Royale’, the atmosphere created in ‘Saving Private Ryan’ and the editing used in ‘Sin City’. I wanted to recreate these aspects in my film opening and I think I have done so successfully.

Planning

The next step was to come up with a plot summary for the entire film, this way my opening could be put into context:

Set after a series of terrorist attacks targeting public transport. When searching the debris of a train, footage is found in a destroyed camera, apparently filmed by someone on the train in the moments before bomb exploded onboard. It may hold vital evidence that will help in police investigations into the incident. The film opening shows the footage as two police investigators watch it and begin to analyse the video questioning what it shows in order to find out who was responsible and to prevent similar attacks from happening in the future. It would deal with current issues within society and represent a number of groups within society.

Set in an office room, the film opening would start with some film credits, it would then show two men investigating the discussing the tape that had been found.

From this I could create a storyboard and script, these would be used when filming and editing the film. Once I had watched the films and thought about the plot, I had a good idea of how I wanted the film to look.

I wrote out a short script, and began to make changes to it in order to improve. I made several draughts of the script and was finally happy with it. The storyboard gives a rough outline of the varied shots I wanted to use.

I think my product would be distributed a smaller British institution such as Working Title rather than a larger American company. It is set in London and primarily targets British audiences and therefore should be distributed by a British institution. My film targets a smaller audience than many of the films produced by larger companies, my finished film would be low budget and therefore does not need to target a large group in order to make a profit. My film is likely to attract a small audience, primarily targeting young men to whom the action genre appeals and it may attract other groups. As a genre, action generally has a young male audience, though I believe that a more artistic and unconventional approach to the way the film is shot (in black and white) may bring in wider audiences, although maybe reducing appeal to others. I wanted to give the film a ‘gritty’ aesthetic rather than a polished and idealistic look. The effect of this is to make the film more believable and it reflects the mood of the story being told.

Editing

The film was edited with Ulead software. I chose to edit the film in black and white (reminiscent of film noir), like a number of the film that I had analysed, I like this effect. I am pleased with the variety of camera angles I have used, following the 180-degree rule and giving thought to the composition of each shot. I used high and low angle shots as well as over the shoulder to give different perspectives.

There are a few credits at the start of the film, I added music to this. I used various effects through the film; it fades to black at the end. I also added a number of sound effects to the film, there is some white noise in parts and a police siren toward the end of the clip.

Conclusion

In order to improve the film, I would have liked to improve the editing. I would like to have used software other than Ulead to achieve better effects to improve the film. I also feel that the setting and dialogue could have been improved.

Overall, I am pleased with my film opening; I used a variety of angles throughout the film and pieced it together with continuity.

As I have produced the film opening after the Preliminary exercise, I was more competent with the technology used to create process and construct the product, such as camera and editing software used in the film industry. I was able to use what I had learnt from the first exercise to ensure a successful opening scene.

Editing

I have finished editing my film opening using Ulead. I chose to use black and white like many of the films I had watched when looking at generic conventions of the genre. I think it works well overall, I am pleased with the finished film, continuity and editing work well. I think it is a believable opening to a feature length film, now need to write up an evaluation.

Film Summary

Summary Idea

Set after a series of terrorist attacks targeting public transport. When searching the debris of a train, footage is found in a destroyed camera, apparently filmed by someone on the train in the moments before bomb exploded onboard. It may hold vital evidence that will help in police investigations into the incident. The film opening shows the footage as two police investigators watch it and begin to analyse the video questioning what it shows in order to find out who was responsible and to prevent similar attacks from happening in the future.

Film Synopsis...

After researching the generic conventions of the drama, I can now begin to think abour plot ideas for my film. Before I think about exactly what I am going to film, I need to come up with a vague outline of the full film, to put my opening scene in context.

Film Openings - Generic Conventions...

For the second coursework, I need to film the opening of a film. I have chosen to film the start of an action film and I am researching the genre in order to get an idea of the key conventions and themes that I can use in mine.

I watched the start of a few films from my chosen genre - Casino Royale, Sleuth, Saving Private Ryan and Sin City. I made notes of everything I saw and heard(Mise en scène).

Casino Royale

Unlike the rest of the film, the opening scene is shot in black and white. It is reminiscent of Film Noir, with hard side lighting causing shadows to fall on the characters faces. The characters faces are well lit and the background is very dark. A variety of shots and composition are used, the rule of thirds is used and the 180-degree rule is kept to throughout, each character stays one side of the frame as it cuts between them, though over the shoulder shots are not used. Wide angle close-up shots show characters expressions.

Though the scene is mainly very dark, it cuts to a much lighter scene of action, also shot in black and white. This contrast allows the viewer to differentiate between time frames; it implies that the crosscut is to something that has happened in the past that the characters are remembering.

Sleuth

Sleuth starts with slow classical music, this is used to build suspense and create atmosphere. Very few shots make up the opening scene, the first, shot over the shoulder of a character, is of a monitor showing CCTV of a car pulling up to a house. The next is a symmetrical shot, looking down at the front door from outside (as if from the surveillance camera). Similar aerial shots are used throughout the film, it cuts away from these to more conventional shots to show detail and character responses. Many of the aerial shots make the characters look small. A strong blue filter is used and it almost looks like it is shot in mono colour, the fact that everything is blue makes it feels cold and creates atmosphere.

Saving Private Ryan

Saving Private Ryan also uses a jump in time frame. It starts with an elderly man remembering the events of the war, and the film is about what took place. Music is used that is relevant to the scene. Scenes of action are fast paced, short cuts, with handheld camera movement and canted angles. It makes the viewer feel as if they are there, part of the action almost as if what we see is through the eyes of someone there. The lighting is quite dull and natural, a blue/ green filter is used, the colours look dull.

Sin City

Sin City is shot in black, white and red. It is also mostly CGI and a lot of special effects are used. Like Casino Royal’s opening it is very reminiscent of Film Noir. Hard lighting causing shadows to fall on the characters and it is very dark.
It is shot in an artistic way and is aesthetically pleasing, though the shots are fairly conventional. The set design adds to the feel of the film. It is very atmospheric. The opening scene ends with someone being shot, the shot is from a high angle looking down on the subject, making her seem small and powerless. The characters faces are well lit and the background is very dark. The 180-degree rule is used with over the shoulder shots. Jazz music plays in the background.

Evaluation...

Preliminary Exercise

Continuity task involving filming and editing a character opening a door, crossing a room and sitting down in a chair opposite another character, with whom she/he then exchanges a couple of lines of dialogue. This task should demonstrate match an action, shot/reverse shot and the 180-degree rule.

I created a storyboard of the film, thinking about the best angles to film from. I chose to start the film with a simple shot from the other end of the corridor, establishing the scene. For the part where the character walks down a corridor, I chose to use handheld camera and follow the characters feet as he walks towards the room. I made sure I followed the 180-degree rule for the lines of dialogue and used a tripod for these still shots.

When editing I made sure there were no continuity errors. I made sure it flowed well when piecing the shots together with no pauses between dialogue. I kept the editing simple with simple cuts between shots. I used a fade from black at the start and a fade to black at the end. I am pleased with the editing, the film is effective and simple.

I feel I could improve the film with more varied and imaginative camera angles, such as shots from high and low angles. I would also have liked to use some close up shots to show characters reactions to what others are saying.